2025-2026 College Football Thread

[Moviefan1203]

Originally Posted by terp_fan99

That kind of crap will probably help there be a push for a larger playoff. Each major conference champion should get an automatic bid and then they can choose other teams to fill out an 8 or 16 team playoff.

I think it should be an 8 team playoff. Take the 5 conference champions and 3 wildcards. We are very unlikely to see any major changes for quite some time though. Unless the current TV deal can get voided.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

SEC teams play a tougher schedule (espcially the Western Division) than schools in other conferences. If you have a bunch of 1-loss teams competing for playoff spots the SEC is going to have the edge. Just the way it is.

It is deemed as tougher because people assume the SEC opponents are tougher before the season even starts.

It's a self-fulfilling cycle.

And if they really start getting 3 teams in to the playoffs every year, it'll be nearly impossible to break that cycle. It would take them getting destroyed by the 4th team repeatedly (like 5+ straight years) before people would even consider that maybe the SEC is overrated.

And note: Just because they might be overrated doesn't mean they aren't also the best. I still think Texas A&M proved that the SEC is not THAT much better than the other conferences week-in, week-out, since they did the first two years with only "Big 12 talent", and did not get destroyed the way people thought they would.

[fatediesel]

Yesterday's ranking were irrelevant, there's way too much football left to be played. I can't see the SEC getting more than 2 teams in the playoff. Mississippi State still has to play Bama and Mississippi and Auburn has to play Mississippi and Bama. Those teams will knock each other out to the point where there's at most 2 SEC teams in the playoffs.

[fatediesel]

The NCAA just ruled that Georgia running back Todd Gurley must sit 2 more games. He will miss the games against Florida and Kentucky, but will be eligible for the Auburn game.

[UK_fan_05]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

The NCAA just ruled that Georgia running back Todd Gurley must sit 2 more games. He will miss the games against Florida and Kentucky, but will be eligible for the Auburn game.

That helps us because we give up tons of yards to the run.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by UK_fan_05

That helps us because we give up tons of yards to the run.

You still have to deal with Nick Chubb, who has rushed for 143 yards and 202 yards in his 2 starts and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry for the season.

[UK_fan_05]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

You still have to deal with Nick Chubb, who has rushed for 143 yards and 202 yards in his 2 starts and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry for the season.

At least it's not Gurley.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Yesterday's ranking were irrelevant, there's way too much football left to be played. I can't see the SEC getting more than 2 teams in the playoff. Mississippi State still has to play Bama and Mississippi and Auburn has to play Mississippi and Bama. Those teams will knock each other out to the point where there's at most 2 SEC teams in the playoffs.

I would have said there was too much football to ever have two teams from the same conference in the BCS championship game too yet there we were a few years ago. And all because the SEC was deemed that good before the season even started, since that was the year the entire league had 1 quality non-conference victory before the Bowls.

If things don't change I could totally see a 4 SEC playoff in a couple years, it seems every year the system becomes more and more pro-SEC.

[fatediesel]

I think yesterday's rankings should be a wake up call to Baylor that they need to upgrade their OOC scheduling. They are a complete joke. Here's their OOC schedule through 2019:

2014
SMU
Northwestern State
at Buffalo

2015
at SMU
Lamar
Rice

2016
Northwestern State
SMU
at Rice

2017
Liberty
UTSA
at Duke

2018
at UTSA
Duke
Open (history would show they'll fill this with an FCS team)

2019
Incarnate Word
UTSA
at Rice

They better buy their way out of some of these games and get some real opponents if they ever want a shot at the playoff. The only Power 5 team they scheduled is Duke, and when the game was scheduled Duke was at the bottom of the ACC.

[Moviefan1203]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

I think yesterday's rankings should be a wake up call to Baylor that they need to upgrade their OOC scheduling. They are a complete joke. Here's their OOC schedule through 2019:

2014
SMU
Northwestern State
at Buffalo

2015
at SMU
Lamar
Rice

2016
Northwestern State
SMU
at Rice

2017
Liberty
UTSA
at Duke

2018
at UTSA
Duke
Open (history would show they'll fill this with an FCS team)

2019
Incarnate Word
UTSA
at Rice

They better buy their way out of some of these games and get some real opponents if they ever want a shot at the playoff.

I don't think Power 5 conference teams should be allowed to schedule FCS opponents.

[The Lizard King]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

I don't think Power 5 conference teams should be allowed to schedule FCS opponents.

Agreed!

Did you know that there are *exactly* three FBS schools who have never scheduled/played an FCS opponent?

Those schools are:

[Show spoiler]USC, UCLA, and Notre Dame.

[The Lizard King]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

SEC teams play a tougher schedule (espcially the Western Division) than schools in other conferences. If you have a bunch of 1-loss teams competing for playoff spots the SEC is going to have the edge. Just the way it is.

Yeah, that 8-game schedule in a 14-team conference is just a killer.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

It is deemed as tougher because people assume the SEC opponents are tougher before the season even starts.

It's a self-fulfilling cycle.

And if they really start getting 3 teams in to the playoffs every year, it'll be nearly impossible to break that cycle. It would take them getting destroyed by the 4th team repeatedly (like 5+ straight years) before people would even consider that maybe the SEC is overrated.

And note: Just because they might be overrated doesn't mean they aren't also the best. I still think Texas A&M proved that the SEC is not THAT much better than the other conferences week-in, week-out, since they did the first two years with only "Big 12 talent", and did not get destroyed the way people thought they would.

Come on, nobody is suggesting the SEC is going to get 3 playoff sports. The top SEC teams still play one another several games. We might get 2 SEC teams in a 4 team playoff in some years, but there's almost zero chance of 3 making it.

As far as calculating SOS, I don't think you know what you're talking about. Polls do not factor into strength of schedule rankings. There just isn't a human element involved in SOS rankings.

http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/B...le_explain.htm

Here's the avg SOS for each conference this season. The gap between the SEC and every other conference is a mile wide.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2014.html

SEC - 6.58
Pac-12 - 3.33
ACC - 2.08
Big 12 - 2.00
Big Ten - 0.29

[UK_fan_05]

Well played FSU. Well played.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by UK_fan_05

Well played FSU. Well played.

To be fair they didn't actually eat at Joe's Crab Shack, they were just walking by after their walk-through. They also tried to force the press to leave the walk-through but were unable to since the walk-through was being held at a public park, so they cut the walk-through short.

[walruswarrior]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

Come on, nobody is suggesting the SEC is going to get 3 playoff sports. The top SEC teams still play one another several games. We might get 2 SEC teams in a 4 team playoff in some years, but there's almost zero chance of 3 making it.

As far as calculating SOS, I don't think you know what you're talking about. Polls do not factor into strength of schedule rankings. There just isn't a human element involved in SOS rankings.

http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/B...le_explain.htm

Here's the avg SOS for each conference this season. The gap between the SEC and every other conference is a mile wide.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2014.html

SEC - 6.58
Pac-12 - 3.33
ACC - 2.08
Big 12 - 2.00
Big Ten - 0.29

[walruswarrior]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

I think yesterday's rankings should be a wake up call to Baylor that they need to upgrade their OOC scheduling. They are a complete joke. Here's their OOC schedule through 2019:

2014
SMU
Northwestern State
at Buffalo

2015
at SMU
Lamar
Rice

2016
Northwestern State
SMU
at Rice

2017
Liberty
UTSA
at Duke

2018
at UTSA
Duke
Open (history would show they'll fill this with an FCS team)

2019
Incarnate Word
UTSA
at Rice

They better buy their way out of some of these games and get some real opponents if they ever want a shot at the playoff. The only Power 5 team they scheduled is Duke, and when the game was scheduled Duke was at the bottom of the ACC.

They don't want to face UCF again. That's for sure

[Spurrier Sucks]

Originally Posted by UK_fan_05

At least it's not Gurley.

Chubb is better.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

Come on, nobody is suggesting the SEC is going to get 3 playoff sports. The top SEC teams still play one another several games. We might get 2 SEC teams in a 4 team playoff in some years, but there's almost zero chance of 3 making it.

As far as calculating SOS, I don't think you know what you're talking about. Polls do not factor into strength of schedule rankings. There just isn't a human element involved in SOS rankings.

http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/B...le_explain.htm

Here's the avg SOS for each conference this season. The gap between the SEC and every other conference is a mile wide.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2014.html

SEC - 6.58
Pac-12 - 3.33
ACC - 2.08
Big 12 - 2.00
Big Ten - 0.29

This is a definition of Strength of Schedule. One that, I might add, the BCS got rid of after 2003 because it was not accomplishing what they wanted. RPI style SOSs have some really big problems, especially in a sport where there's not much crossover in who teams play.

The BCS formula that was reformulated had many different SOSs, built into the computers, some of which did, in fact, pre-rank the teams before the season starts and then give bonus credit for good wins. They would reduce the "points" for early weeks, but colleges don't play enough games that the preseason ranks did not influence the final ranks. Sagarin was one that did this.

And yes, this particular year the SOS you used is very good for the SEC. Better, I might add, than it has been in years. Does this mean the SEC was overrated those years? Last year the PAC-12 blew away the SEC in the SOS schedule you used. Two years ago the SEC and Big-12 were roughly even.

Three years ago the Big-12 blew away the SEC(7.02 to 4.03). That was the year the SEC got both slots in the championship game.

Seems pretty clear to me the SOS only matters to people when it favors the SEC, or in the preconceived belief which goes in to the polls.

[MaCruz]

I'll be around the stadium this weekend for the Florida/Georgia game. Not a fan of both teams obviously, but this is a huge event in our city every year so we always try to check out the festivities. High on Saturday will be struggling to reach 60 degrees! Have to bundle up. This might be the coldest Florida/Georgia game ever per the weather man.