CFP Rankings: A ND Conspiracy?

[dtwalrus]

Rankings:
1. Clemson
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor
7. Michigan State
8. TCU
9. Iowa
10. Florida

I'm sorry, but in what world is ND ranked above Baylor, Michigan State, TCU or Iowa? Notre Dame's most impressive win is Temple. Their much vaunted schedule turned into a dud. Texas? GT? USC? Why would the committee rank ND at #5?

Unless...

It's a conspiracy to drive Notre Dame into a conference!

Bear with me for a moment. Here's a very possible scenario:
1) ND will rise to #4 next week. They'll beat Pitt and either LSU or Alabama have to lose.
2) If ND wins out they probably are clinging to that #4 spot, especially with a Stanford win...until...
3) ND drops out of Top 4 after the last Saturday of the year, when an undefeated winner of Baylor/TCU or OKST/OK game rises to #4 with the marquee win.
4) ND sits at home during Championship Week, stuck at #5 in the rankings helpless as maybe a 1 loss Utah still has a chance to jump the Big12 Champ in the Pac 12 title game, but Notre Dame has nothing.

By putting Notre Dame at #5 in the rankings, they've essentially placed them in TCU's shoes from last year. Would absolutely love it.

For Notre Dame fans, the only way they really get in is by hoping for chaos. They need a 1-loss Big 12 champion. An undefeated definitely jumps them. Actually, a 1-loss Oklahoma, currently #15, but finishing with wins over Baylor, TCU and OKST and a win over Tenn might jump them. They probably need a 2-loss Pac 12 champion, Stanford would be ideal. A 1-loss Utah that also beats Stanford in the P12CGprobably jumps them. Even a 2-loss UCLA with wins over Utah and Stanford in the P2CG might jump them. And they need Clemson out of the ACC picture, because even a 1-loss ACC Champ Clemson should finish ahead of ND considering the 12th win in the ACCCG and the head-to-head.

Such a narrow window, and yet here they sit oddly ranked at #5 and almost certain to rise into the Top 4 next week....

Conspiracy...

[DuxEagle26]

I have to say, I like this theory walrus. How about putting ANOTHER team in the ACC Atlantic that we will never be able to beat!

[apbc12]

Those are all good points, but you're missing the most important one, which is who fucking cares

[DavidGordonsFoot]

I'm sorry, but in what world is ND ranked above Baylor, Michigan State, TCU or Iowa? Notre Dame's most impressive win is Temple. Their much vaunted schedule turned into a dud. Texas? GT? USC? Why would the committee rank ND at #5?

Because ND is polarizing and it will get people talking about the CFP.

There are holes in every argument. Baylor padded their schedule with an FCS opponent. ND did not. You knock ND's best win, but Michigan State's best win was on a fluke play as time expired.

The teams at the top all have four games left to play. These rankings are mostly going to sort themselves out over the next month. LSU & Bama play each other Saturday. The loser is going to fall out of the top 4. While this poll has some significance, it is a marketing tool more than anything else at this point in the season.

[hansen]

This will become irrelevant when BC again knocks off ND.

[eepstein0]

I'm sorry, but in what world is ND ranked above Baylor, Michigan State, TCU or Iowa? Notre Dame's most impressive win is Temple. Their much vaunted schedule turned into a dud. Texas? GT? USC? Why would the committee rank ND at #5?

Because ND is polarizing and it will get people talking about the CFP.

There are holes in every argument. Baylor padded their schedule with an FCS opponent. ND did not. You knock ND's best win, but Michigan State's best win was on a fluke play as time expired.

The teams at the top all have four games left to play. These rankings are mostly going to sort themselves out over the next month. LSU & Bama play each other Saturday. The loser is going to fall out of the top 4. While this poll has some significance, it is a marketing tool more than anything else at this point in the season.

Baylor knew what they were getting into here. Schedule poorly and this is what happens. ND passes the eye test.

[tallsy]

I wonder if ND wasn't helped by UVa beating GaTech last weekend. It makes their last second win over a crappy team look less bad.

[Eaglekeeper]

ND is essentially an ACC team this year by playing 6 conference games. If CU wins out, will the committee really take a 2nd ACC team and set up a rematch? By taking ND, the committee will have to leave out 2 conference champions. If they do leave out an undefeated Bayor or TCU or even a 1 loss Big 12 team again, that might cause the Big 12 to dissolve with 4 teams joining the PAC 12, 2 to the SEC and 2 to the B1G. WVU might end up in the ACC.

[HJS]

LSU-Bama and MSU-OSU and TCU-Baylor have all yet been played. This isn't the AP poll where there is no movement unless you lose. The winner of those 3 games will all be in the playoffs (unless they lose a following game). CU will be in the playoffs unless they lose... and, even if they Clemson, they still may make it.

[dtwalrus]

LSU-Bama and MSU-OSU and TCU-Baylor have all yet been played. This isn't the AP poll where there is no movement unless you lose. The winner of those 3 games will all be in the playoffs (unless they lose a following game). CU will be in the playoffs unless they lose... and, even if they Clemson, they still may make it.

Clemson actually has a tight rope, especially if the Coastal ends up with a 2-loss champ ranked low (20-25). Losing to FSU likely costs Clemson the division, so game over. Losing to Wake or Syracuse would just be a really bad loss late in the year. Maybe they can overcome that by winning the ACCCG, but that's going to be scary close.

The most interesting case is losing to South Carolina the last week of the year. Sure, Carolina is only 3-5, but its still a rivalry game on the road. A close loss to the Cocks might be forgiven. I think just to be safe the ACC needs to pray for UNC to win out and climb up to like 10-15 before the ACCCG, just in case Clemson slips up.

Of course, could you imagine if the ACCCG involved two 1-loss teams who both lost to the same mediocre South Carolina team!

[eepstein0]

LSU-Bama and MSU-OSU and TCU-Baylor have all yet been played. This isn't the AP poll where there is no movement unless you lose. The winner of those 3 games will all be in the playoffs (unless they lose a following game). CU will be in the playoffs unless they lose... and, even if they Clemson, they still may make it.

Clemson actually has a tight rope, especially if the Coastal ends up with a 2-loss champ ranked low (20-25). Losing to FSU likely costs Clemson the division, so game over. Losing to Wake or Syracuse would just be a really bad loss late in the year. Maybe they can overcome that by winning the ACCCG, but that's going to be scary close.

The most interesting case is losing to South Carolina the last week of the year. Sure, Carolina is only 3-5, but its still a rivalry game on the road. A close loss to the Cocks might be forgiven. I think just to be safe the ACC needs to pray for UNC to win out and climb up to like 10-15 before the ACCCG, just in case Clemson slips up.

Of course, could you imagine if the ACCCG involved two 1-loss teams who both lost to the same mediocre South Carolina team!

Clemson isn't losing to any of those god awful teams

[claver2010]

ND is essentially an ACC team this year by playing 6 conference games. If CU wins out, will the committee really take a 2nd ACC team and set up a rematch? By taking ND, the committee will have to leave out 2 conference champions. If they do leave out an undefeated Bayor or TCU or even a 1 loss Big 12 team again, that might cause the Big 12 to dissolve with 4 teams joining the PAC 12, 2 to the SEC and 2 to the B1G. WVU might end up in the ACC.

maybe it's a conspiracy started by espn?

if an undefeated b12 team doesn't make the playoff, making it 2 for 2 the shitty conference gets shut out. maybe ou / ok st / texas / texas tech (?) go to the pac 16. then big 12 / 10 becomes big 6 and dissolves making it one less contract a struggling for cash espn needs to pay for?

[commavegarage]

no.

nd is good.

and who cares. weve got weeks of football left.

personally, if nd goes 11-1 with the only loss @ clemson, id have a hard time keeping them out (unless there are 4 undefeated teams). it would mean that they had a lot of quality wins. that said i hope they dont as it could perhaps hasten the joining of the conference.

if they know they can get into the final 4 without being in a conference (with 1+ loss) theyll never join the acc.

[eepstein0]

no.

nd is good.

and who cares. weve got weeks of football left.

personally, if nd goes 11-1 with the only loss @ clemson, id have a hard time keeping them out (unless there are 4 undefeated teams). it would mean that they had a lot of quality wins. that said i hope they dont as it could perhaps hasten the joining of the conference.

if they know they can get into the final 4 without being in a conference (with 1+ loss) theyll never join the acc.

If ND joined we're not adding them to the Atlantic right? This division is already impossible enough to win

[HJS]

ND's strength of schedule is about to take a monster hit as they face Pitt, Wake and BC. But, it then gets a moderate bump when they face Stanford. Ultimately, an undefeated team who only had one tough game (TCU-Baylor winner) is getting the bid over a team who played no one and lossed its only tough game (Notre Dame). Throw in the preference for conference champs... and it ain't even close. Maybe, if ND was in the Coastal and got a second shot at Clemson, they would have chance.

[twballgame9]

ND is not one of the top four teams in the country. If they run the table, however, they will end up in the playoff unfortunately.

[commavegarage]

ND is not one of the top four teams in the country. If they run the table, however, they will end up in the playoff unfortunately.

id love to see what happened in a 11-1 LSU/bama vs 11-1 ND scenario

[DavidGordonsFoot]

if an undefeated b12 team doesn't make the playoff, making it 2 for 2 the shitty conference gets shut out. maybe ou / ok st / texas / texas tech (?) go to the pac 16. then big 12 / 10 becomes big 6 and dissolves making it one less contract a struggling for cash espn needs to pay for?

Alternatively, wouldn't it be a lot easier for the B12 to shore up the conference by adding UConn?

[EagleDave]

The only conspiratorial aspect of those first rankings is Alabama at 4. This is the same team that lost at home to Ole Miss...a team was pasted by a Group of 5 team just a week ago.

Notre Dame is there because the "buzzword" from the committee was "wins over teams above .500", of which they have several. They're fine where they are, but as walrus pointed out somewhere in his convoluted theory, they won't be there long if Baylor/TCU/Oklahoma/Oklahoma St run the gauntlet this month and/or Stanford/Michigan St win out.

All of this will be moot anyway when Stanford beats them.

[dtwalrus]

ND's strength of schedule is about to take a monster hit as they face Pitt, Wake and BC. But, it then gets a moderate bump when they face Stanford. Ultimately, an undefeated team who only had one tough game (TCU-Baylor winner) is getting the bid over a team who played no one and lossed its only tough game (Notre Dame). Throw in the preference for conference champs... and it ain't even close. Maybe, if ND was in the Coastal and got a second shot at Clemson, they would have chance.

This.

ND's best win is a #21 Temple right now. And Temple still has to face Memphis and Houston. They might not still be Top 25 after that last week of the year. GT, USC, Texas...none of those wins are looking impressive. Stanford might be ND's only Top 25 win, and with two losses they'll be like a 15-20 ranking. Not impressive at all.

Teams that will DEFINITELY be taken ahead of a 1-loss ND:
- Undefeated SEC, BIG, Big 12, or ACC Champ (this includes Iowa)
- 1-loss SEC Champ or Pac 12 Champ Utah (will have the same "impressive" win over Stanford, as well as Michigan and UCLA)
- 1-loss Big 12 Champ Oklahoma (W's over Tenn, Baylor, TCU and OKST)

Teams that MAY be taken ahead of a 1-loss ND:
- 2-loss SEC Champ Florida (lose close to FSU but then win rematch against LSU in SECCG) !!!
- 2-loss BIG Champ Michigan (fluke loss to MSU and close loss to Utah, wins over Ohio State and undefeated BIG West Champ) !?!
- 1-loss ACC Champ (Clemson losing to SC rival, winning ACCCG, w/ head-to-head over ND) !?!?
- 1-loss Big 12 Champ Baylor or TCU (each will play 3 top 15 teams the rest of the way, 2 wins over top 10/15 teams and a Big12 Championship trumps ND's 1 Top 25 win and no championship?) ?!?!
- 2-loss Pac 12 Champ UCLA (rookie QB taken into account for early losses, W's over Utah and Stanford in Pac12CG) !?!


Teams an 11-1 ND will LIKELY beat out:
- Any ACC Coastal Champion (sorry UNC, not happening with your terrible OOC, loss to S.Car, only Wake and NCST in division crossover, and worst division in college football)
- Stanford winning Pac12 with 2-losses
- Big 12 Meltdown "Champion." Like a 2-loss Oklahoma somehow coming out with the championship. Even a 1-loss OKST is questionable considering how terrible their schedule is.

That's it. ND has no guarantees against anyone else.

[dtwalrus]

no.

nd is good.

and who cares. weve got weeks of football left.

personally, if nd goes 11-1 with the only loss @ clemson, id have a hard time keeping them out (unless there are 4 undefeated teams). it would mean that they had a lot of quality wins. that said i hope they dont as it could perhaps hasten the joining of the conference.

if they know they can get into the final 4 without being in a conference (with 1+ loss) theyll never join the acc.

If ND joined we're not adding them to the Atlantic right? This division is already impossible enough to win

ACC "Big East":
- ND
- Louisville
- VT
- Miami
- Pitt
- BC
- Syracuse
- UVa

ACC SOUTH:
- FSU
- GT
- Clemson
- UNC
- Duke
- Wake
- NCST
- (fill in the blank)

[b0mberMan]

You idiots

[commavegarage]

uconn in the fill in the blank flipped with uva

no brainer

I actually heard this past weekend from a very solid source way up in the acc that uconn will be official members of the ACC by Jan 1, 2016

idiots

[claver2010]

what if uconn turns down the acc like they've done in the past?

[Dick Rosenthal]

ND has a stronger case then Alabama. There is really no way around it. Also, when USC goes on to freight train the rest of the Pac-12 and Notre Dame beats Colie O'Brien's nephew in the season finale, it will be impossible to keep them out. Ohio State lost to an execrable VA Tech team last year, beat no one of note and still made it and won it. It will work the same for Notre Dame as pretty much everyone agrees Notre Dame would be favored over Cleamson on a neutral field.

Can't wait to get my honorary degree so I can leave you losers and your small-timey, MAC-ey AD and awful football coach behind. Of course, I'll still root for Coach Champion, but that is just common sense.

Notre Dame our mother pray for us!

[dtwalrus]

uconn in the fill in the blank flipped with uva

no brainer

I actually heard this past weekend from a very solid source way up in the acc that uconn will be official members of the ACC by Jan 1, 2016

idiots

There's already a 20 page thread devoted to this post on the boneyard...

[Eaglekeeper]

WVU flip with UVA when the Big 12 dissolves.

[hansen]

It bothers me that we have 2 threads on the front page dedicated to those corn field living ass pirates.
Who gives a shit about them?

[angrychicken]

It bothers me that we have 2 threads on the front page dedicated to those corn field living ass pirates.
Who gives a shit about them?

The KKK and Marcellus Wiley.

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

It bothers me that we have 2 threads on the front page dedicated to those corn field living ass pirates.
Who gives a shit about them?

The KKK and Marcellus Wiley.

angry dick