Here's my place to put out my thoughts, wagers, strategies, etc for the upcoming season. Last season (here) was successful, let's hope it continues this season. For wagers, I list odds at the time they are made, unlike some who on game day use lines from earlier in the week.
Let's have a positive season!
For the first time in a decade, college football has changed the way it determines its champion. In case you've been living off the grid, the field will expand from four to 12 teams in the fall of 2024.
The 13-member selection committee remains in place, and its mission is essentially the same as it's always been, according to the College Football Playoff:
"The selection committee's task will be to select the best teams, rank the teams for inclusion in the playoff and selected other bowl games and then assign the teams to sites."
Here's everything you need to know about how that will actually work.
Who qualifies for the college football playoff?
The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams will earn a spot in the 12-team bracket. There is no limit to how many teams from one conference can qualify. The rules also don't guarantee spots for certain conferences. The champions of the Big 12, SEC, ACC and Big Ten will almost certainly routinely qualify, though, along with the highest-ranked champion from the Mountain West, American Athletic Conference, Sun Belt, Mid-American Conference or Conference USA.
There is no minimum ranking requirement for the five highest-ranked conference champions. There could be a conference champion ranked No. 23, for example, that's the fifth highest-ranked league winner and earns a spot in the playoff -- at the expense of the committee's No. 12 team.
How does the seeding work?
The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top four seeds and receive a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or "at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution."
That means any team that doesn't earn the luxury of a first-round bye will have to win four straight games to win the national championship. If a team lost in its conference championship game and played in four straight playoff games, it would have played an unprecedented total of 17 games.
Be careful not to confuse the seeding with the selection committee's ranking. The 13-member committee will still issue its weekly top 25, which will be used to determine the highest-ranked conference champs. That means, though, that if Georgia wins the SEC and is ranked No. 1 by the selection committee, and Alabama loses that game and is No. 3 in the CFP ranking -- or even No. 2! -- the Tide will be seeded No. 5 behind three other conference champs and Georgia.
(Read that again, please.)
Any independent like Notre Dame cannot earn a first-round bye because it cannot win a conference title. That also applies to Washington State and Oregon State, which have a temporary scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West and can compete for the national championship but aren't eligible to win the MWC and don't constitute a league of their own, per NCAA and CFP rules.
Once the teams are seeded on Selection Day, the seeds are final. There won't be any reseeding.
What about rematches?
There won't be any modifications made to avoid rematches or games between schools from the same conference.
How does the bracket work?
First round (all home games)
Friday, Dec. 20, and Saturday, Dec. 21
No. 12 seed at No. 5 seed
No. 9 seed at No. 8 seed
No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed
No. 10 seed at No. 7 seed
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Dec. 31, and Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025
No. 4 seed plays the winner of No. 12 vs. No. 5
No. 1 seed plays winner of No. 9 vs. No. 8
No. 3 seed plays winner of No. 11 vs. No. 6
No. 2 seed plays winner No. 10 vs. No. 7
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
CFP National Championship
Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
What do I need to know about the selection committee?
There are six former coaches and players in the group, six sitting athletic directors representing seven conferences (including one from each Power 4 league) and one former sportswriter:
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel (committee chair)
Nevada coach Chris Ault
Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk
Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe
Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler
Former sportswriter Kelly Whiteside
Former All-American Nebraska lineman Will Shields
Former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel
Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades
Virginia athletic director Carla Williams
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek
Former Oregon State and Nebraska coach Mike Riley
Former Arizona State All-American guard Randall McDaniel
How long are their terms?
Committee members serve three-year terms.
When do they meet?
The committee members meet every Monday and part of Tuesday morning to determine each of their six weekly rankings, starting on Nov. 5.
What is their protocol? When circumstances indicate that teams are comparable, committee members must consider:
Championships won
Strength of schedule
Head-to-head competition
Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory)
Other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that might have affected a team's performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance
These factors are not weighted, and an individual committee member can place a greater value on one factor than the person sitting next to them might.
What is their recusal policy?
If a committee member or an immediate family member is (a) compensated by a school, (b) provides professional services for a school or (c) is on the coaching staff or administrative staff or is a player at a school, that committee member will be recused. Recused members aren't allowed to vote for those teams and are allowed only to answer factual questions about that school. Recused committee members aren't allowed to be in the room during any deliberations about that team's selection or seeding. They also aren't allowed to participate in discussions about what bowl game that team might be assigned to.
Here is my Post Spring Practice Football Top 25 Rankings
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Mississippi
4. Texas
5. Notre Dame
6. Oregon
7. Alabama
8. Utah
9. Missouri
10. Florida State
11. Penn State
12. Michigan
13. LSU
14. Tennessee
15. North Carolina State
16. Clemson
17. Oklahoma State
18. Kansas State
19. Oklahoma
20. Arizona
21. Virginia Tech
22. Kansas
23. Miami, FL
24. Iowa
25. Wisconsin
Missed a really great chance to try something interesting w the seeding .. committee tells us whose in and then let the lower seeds pick who they want to play like commettee tells us top 4 then 5th seed picks the G5 team etc .. minor quirk with the bye week but actually would be an even more intriguing next round if they then let the top 4 pick after the first round?.. maybe wouldn't also be just such an OVERWHELMING advantage to all the top seeds sitting back and knowing who they got next .. tough to imagine after 13 or so games and a month off that a team could bang out their 3 toughest games to win the natty ..
Another quirk might be if there's a real penalty to making the champ game if yer like #3 in the SEC or B1G maybe ACC or B12 even.. Seems almost inevitable a team that gets left out the champ game will end up leapfrogging .. you'd think maybe the rules people see that and just incorp the champ game as the first playoff round or something because conceivably end up seeing the same matchup 3x in a season .. like LY we woulda had Mich/OSU twice and maybe a 3rd time .. Would imagine TV networks have no qualms about milking every last drop of fun from the game so yeah another thing we might end up seein .. good notes TBK .. good luck this yr
I only have a few different from yours but close! 
GL this season
Differences are fine as everyone looks at things in their own way. What that confirms is the teams listed, most likely, are good plus. What differences do you have?
this season to you as well.
[Quote: Originally Posted by Bridge1]Missed a really great chance to try something interesting w the seeding .. committee tells us whose in and then let the lower seeds pick who they want to play like commettee tells us top 4 then 5th seed picks the G5 team etc .. minor quirk with the bye week but actually would be an even more intriguing next round if they then let the top 4 pick after the first round?.. maybe wouldn't also be just such an OVERWHELMING advantage to all the top seeds sitting back and knowing who they got next .. tough to imagine after 13 or so games and a month off that a team could bang out their 3 toughest games to win the natty .. Another quirk might be if there's a real penalty to making the champ game if yer like #3 in the SEC or B1G maybe ACC or B12 even.. Seems almost inevitable a team that gets left out the champ game will end up leapfrogging .. you'd think maybe the rules people see that and just incorp the champ game as the first playoff round or something because conceivably end up seeing the same matchup 3x in a season .. like LY we woulda had Mich/OSU twice and maybe a 3rd time .. Would imagine TV networks have no qualms about milking every last drop of fun from the game so yeah another thing we might end up seein .. good notes TBK .. good luck this yr[/Qteams)
You bring up good points and the powers that be are most likely hoping "everything will work itself out" (similar to when the playoffs had only four teams. Thank you and to you as well.
For 08.24.24
Noon
1Q, FSU & Georgia Tech over 13.0 (-102), 100/98.04
1H, FSU & Georgia Tech over 28.0 (-106), 100/96.34
1H, FSU -4.0 (-143), 200/139.86
1H, FSU over 17.5 (+116), 100/116
1H, Georgia Tech over 9.5 (-148), 100/67.57
FG*, FSU & Georgia Tech over 54.0 (-130), 500/384.62
------------
8:00pm, SMU vs Nevada
1Q, over 13.0 (-120), 100/83.33
1H, over 30.0 (-125), 100/80.00
1H, SMU over 21.5 (-135), 100/74.07
FG*, over 55.0 (-153), 200/130.72
----------
-------------
1Q = First Quarter
1H = First Half
FG = Full Game
Thread went 2-7-1 and was -$1,132.39 yesterday. I know, bad start to the season but I've read other threads here, this forum, in which punters lost even more.
FSU had moments in which they looked like a top five caliber team and others when they couldn't defeat a High School team. I would not to be on the practice field Sunday and Monday as I have a feeling those practices will be a bit more challenging.
Georgia Tech is a good team, those whom asked me prior to the game were told that by/from me. The bar for them has risen but the question is, how will they handle it.
SMU did not impress me at all and this was against a below average Nevada team. I can give them the benefit of the doubt (this game) but it will take some doing.
Nevada at home has the makings of a team worth a second look.
Time to move forward and learn from the past (this season).
Established in 1995,
Hot Forum Topics
