Quote Originally Posted by TRAIN69:
You have to take into account what being the reigning champ means.....which is you are a target and get EVERYONES best shot. Miss St, TCU, Baylor.....no one expects them to keep winning (until now of course)....
THIS is an excellent point and I agree. At what point though does this just turn into an excuse for a team that just isn't elite? I mean even if you DO get everyone's best shot, against some teams, that shouldn't matter. If FSU is really elite, certain teams "best" shot should still just be a shrug off the shoulder? Personally, I can let one or two close games against worthy opponents slide like against Louisville, Clemson...but a 6 point win against a mediocre Okie St? 37-12 against citadel? At best that should be the HALFTIME score. NCST. was a 4 point game into the 4th. 14 point win vs. the cavs?
On a smaller scale, can/should this logic be applied to Oregon getting the entire P12's best shot since they are the standard bearer? Specifically against an above average, live dog (cats?) in AZ who has a marquee Thursday primetime game to show what they are made of?
This is college football, where mediocre teams can elevate their play for 4 quarters against a worthy foe....
So, you have the reigning champ and unbeaten Florida St, from a Power 5 conference (we arent talking WAC or Sunbelt here) behind Oregon, who lost by 35 points, @ home to a team the were supposed to beat by 3 tds....thats a 56 point swing for the #2 team in the nation....
I may not articulate this point correctly...but do you think AZ should have been and would be NOW a 24 point underdog? If so, then how does that relate to Oregon?
If -24 is because AZ is that bad, are you saying that AZ is roughly the same quality as Syracuse? FSU was -24 against the orangemen. AZ is probably a big step up from the Cuse right? Maybe a smaller step up from UVA, who were +21 against the Seminoles?
Then OTOH, if it's because UO is THAT GOOD, -24 against a quality team like AZ, isn't that strong justification that UO is just as good if not better than FSU? I understand lines aren't a true indicator of comparative team strength etc..but roughly, if you stand by that 24 point spread, I think that's more an argument that UO>FSU, even if it's only slightly. AZ>UVA>Syracuse....
Then, they got TCU ahead of Baylor, who beat they SU. Sure it was @ Baylor. However, like Al Davis said "Just win baby." Head to head HAS TO BE THE DECIDING FACTOR if you are gonna have a "selection committee" as its the ONLY THING THAT ISNT DEBATABLE.....Team A and Team B are otherwise equal....Team A beat Team B....I know, lets send Team B JUST BECAUSE WE THINK THEY ARE BETTER....Say what!!??
Does that sound right? If the answer is yes, I am no longer able to continue this discussion.
How you put it of course it's not right...but I disagree that ALL THINGS ARE EQUAL between TCU and Baylor. They haven't played the exact same teams/venues and they did not play each other on a neutral field. TCU HASN'T lost to a 6-4 WV team that couldn't even beat TEXAS. TCU was able to go to Morgantown and BEAT WVU, something Baylor was unable to do in a 14 point loss. If this was last game of the season, TCU/Baylor both 11-0 playing the same teams, I'd fully agree with head to head is the trump card.
You make good points bro...and in the end, it boils down to a subjective opinion on how much weight we give all the factors. TBH, I really haven't thought too much about Oregon and where they belong prior to this post, mainly because it's too early. You can make strong arguments either way...me personally, I'd put FSU ahead of Oregon but understand why they aren't. FSU DOES just win so it's hard to discount them.
The common theme, and I totally agree, it's too dang early to be setting these rankings and we shouldn't get our panties in a bunch over them. It will most likely work itself out. But at least it leads to good discussion.