VERY RANDOM THOUGHTS PART 5...

[collegefbfan-8898]

So, I am sitting in the doctor's office with my wife this morning (just procedure, nothing major). The edge of a Sports Illustrated magazine catches my eye. It is the college football preview edition. It has the final 4 listed on the front: Ohio State, Auburn, TCU, and Notre Dame. I thought, "Man, were they way off about Auburn". So, that got me to thinking: What if the committee (or at least some it) is way off come selection time?

I mean this is one season you have to take so many things into account. I mean when a team beats Oklahoma now, how will that be viewed? Oklahoma gets beaten by Texas. A Texas team that was beaten by a combined score of 88-10 by Notre Dame and TCU. Then, Texas beats Oklahoma.

Look at Ole Miss. They were on a tear. Beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa, getting drilled by Florida, and then losing to... Memphis? What? No way an SEC team that strong loses to a team like Memphis. And Ole Miss still has some tough games remaining.

Some media heads are talking about the Big 12 not making it last season. I am thinking the ACC might not make it this year. Just a feeling.

On a final note, I am not so sure about being one of the committee members this upcoming December. Teams that lost early are picking up the pieces and winning. Teams that started strong are falling off here and there.

[billybud]

Not too original a thought...that the ACC might not make it. That has been the narrative since the season began.

But, if an ACC team runs the table, they will be in.

Every year there will be a P5 conference left out of the play off and we will have the nattering starting pre season. There, I think, might be an agenda to ensure that that the Big 12 does play this year. Missing two years in a row would cause a major upheaval in that conference.

The Committee is more akin to the days when power brokers in a smoke filled room made decisions. They will make a decision and then adjust the criteria to suit that decision. If winning your games doesn't give them the result that they desire, they will sift metrics to find those that provide the proper shading.

"Game control"...but if several teams that they want won on a fluke play, then it becomes"scoring differential...then SOS...then some computer matrix like ESPN's FPI...they will keep trying on that dress until they have the one that fits.

I am more cynical about the Committee than I have ever been about the Coaches Poll (and I could see the fallacies and self interest there because the voting was transparent).

[Spence]

Not too original a thought...that the ACC might not make it. That has been the narrative since the season began.

But, if an ACC team runs the table, they will be in.

Every year there will be a P5 conference left out of the play off and we will have the nattering starting pre season. There, I think, might be an agenda to ensure that that the Big 12 does play this year. Missing two years in a row would cause a major upheaval in that conference.

The Committee is more akin to the days when power brokers in a smoke filled room made decisions. They will make a decision and then adjust the criteria to suit that decision. If winning your games doesn't give them the result that they desire, they will sift metrics to find those that provide the proper shading.

"Game control"...but if several teams that they want won on a fluke play, then it becomes"scoring differential...then SOS...then some computer matrix like ESPN's FPI...they will keep trying on that dress until they have the one that fits.

I am more cynical about the Committee than I have ever been about the Coaches Poll (and I could see the fallacies and self interest there because the voting was transparent).

I think you are exactly right about the committee. It is an awful way to pick teams. There are always going to be agendas doing it this way.

[donovan]

Amen. Mrs Donovan and I have discussions about reality TV Shows. She believes the outcome is not fixed. I suggest that no one is spending zillions of dollars to produce a TV show without controlling the ending. They would end up with another Geraldo opening the vault. She thinks I am cynical. On that, I plead guilty. The committee make sure the vault is full.