#16 in Both Polls

[VA Husker Fan]

Why would people find it surprising to have two teams from the same conference in the playoff? We've had two teams from the same conference in the championship game before. I don't want it to happen, but if Ole Miss wins the rest of their games and Alabama wins the rest of their games, Alabama would have a good argument that they're one of the top 4 teams. Their only loss would be to the #1/#2 team in the country in an early game. If Mississippi State and Auburn win the rest of their games, Auburn would have a good argument that they're one of the top 4 teams. Their only loss would be to the #1 team in the country in an early game.

The issue people have this season is these SEC teams got big lifts by beating a vastly overrated aTm team who were rewarded for beating a vastly overrated South Carolina team. 'Bama has defeated nobody of note and Mississippi's only noteworthy win is over that same 'bama team. MSU has an impressive win over Auburn, but got a huge lift by beating a weaker LSU.

So who (other than FSU) are you going to put higher, and why? Those top 4 SEC teams beat Boise St, West Virginia, Kansas State (top B12 team right now) out of conference, on (kind of) neutral fields or on the road; and in conference beat LSU and A&M (who looks weaker now, but only after playing 3 of the top 6 teams). Ole Miss has the weakest schedule of them but they've left no doubt in their other wins.

If you want to drag the SEC down because Indiana beat Missouri, Missouri is barely connected to those teams right now.

What's Michigan St done to be up with these teams? Excuses for a loss against Oregon that really wasn't very close don't cut it, and Oregon doesn't look so great anymore. They beat Nebraska, almost crapping that game away. That's something, but we've done less of note than Alabama.

Notre Dame? That Stanford win doesn't look like much anymore, and Michigan is everyone's punching bag. UNC nearly beat them in South Bend.

Who else you got? I'm certain I can drag down any other team easier than your weak arguments against the SEC.

Still a lot of season left to shake things out. The SEC isn't that much better than the other conferences, but those 4 teams belong pretty much right where they are at right now.

 

[Stumpy1]

Why would people find it surprising to have two teams from the same conference in the playoff? We've had two teams from the same conference in the championship game before. I don't want it to happen, but if Ole Miss wins the rest of their games and Alabama wins the rest of their games, Alabama would have a good argument that they're one of the top 4 teams. Their only loss would be to the #1/#2 team in the country in an early game. If Mississippi State and Auburn win the rest of their games, Auburn would have a good argument that they're one of the top 4 teams. Their only loss would be to the #1 team in the country in an early game.

The issue people have this season is these SEC teams got big lifts by beating a vastly overrated aTm team who were rewarded for beating a vastly overrated South Carolina team. 'Bama has defeated nobody of note and Mississippi's only noteworthy win is over that same 'bama team. MSU has an impressive win over Auburn, but got a huge lift by beating a weaker LSU.

So who (other than FSU) are you going to put higher, and why? Those top 4 SEC teams beat Boise St, West Virginia, Kansas State (top B12 team right now) out of conference, on (kind of) neutral fields or on the road; and in conference beat LSU and A&M (who looks weaker now, but only after playing 3 of the top 6 teams). Ole Miss has the weakest schedule of them but they've left no doubt in their other wins.

If you want to drag the SEC down because Indiana beat Missouri, Missouri is barely connected to those teams right now.

What's Michigan St done to be up with these teams? Excuses for a loss against Oregon that really wasn't very close don't cut it, and Oregon doesn't look so great anymore. They beat Nebraska, almost crapping that game away. That's something, but we've done less of note than Alabama.

Notre Dame? That Stanford win doesn't look like much anymore, and Michigan is everyone's punching bag. UNC nearly beat them in South Bend.

Who else you got? I'm certain I can drag down any other team easier than your weak arguments against the SEC.

Still a lot of season left to shake things out. The SEC isn't that much better than the other conferences, but those 4 teams belong pretty much right where they are at right now.

Why should those 4 teams be there to begin with? Who have they beat to prove that they deserve to be tops? Southernoregonhusker layed it out on how they got there but it is looking like those "great" wins are looking more and more mediocre with the way A&M and LSU are looking and the fact it took KSU's kicker to miss 50000 FGs in order for Auburn to win that game.

 

[Joe_5700]

There was a time when Nebraska being ranked #16 would incite riots. Now...we rejoice *sigh*

Who is rejoicing!? We all wish we didn't have our asses handed to us for 3 quarters in East Lansing. We were a catch away from stealing that game which showed how the team did not quit. We will rejoice only when we have another undefeated season... So quit trying to spin a poll standing for complacency or celebration. We all want this team to move up much higher in the poll. #16 is a good start though...

 

[deedsker]

Exactly, those neutral site games are fools gold. Alabama playing in Atlanta, LSU playing in Houston, and Ole Miss playing in Atlanta while Boise comes from Idaho (and lets not pretend this is the Boise of old as they lost to Air Force). That is garbage. Those are home games. Let's play Florida State in Des Moines and call it neutral site.

UCLA crossed the entire country to play Virginia and went to Dallas, Texas to play Texas. Oregon beat MSU at home. Utah went to Michigan and won. Stanford lost in South Bend. California went to Northwestern and beat them. Something Wisconsin cant say (looking at you as well then LSU). Washington beat Illinois at home. USC went all the way to Boston College, but lost.

The PAC is doing way more to go to other teams house and are winning. SEC has gone to one teams house.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Exactly, those neutral site games are fools gold. Alabama playing in Atlanta, LSU playing in Houston, and Ole Miss playing in Atlanta while Boise comes from Idaho (and lets not pretend this is the Boise of old as they lost to Air Force). That is garbage. Those are home games. Let's play Florida State in Des Moines and call it neutral site.

UCLA crossed the entire country to play Virginia and went to Dallas, Texas to play Texas. Oregon beat MSU at home. Utah went to Michigan and won. Stanford lost in South Bend. California went to Northwestern and beat them. Something Wisconsin cant say (looking at you as well then LSU). Washington beat Illinois at home. USC went all the way to Boston College, but lost.

The PAC is doing way more to go to other teams house and are winning. SEC has gone to one teams house.

So the Pac12 travels to Michigan, Northwestern, and Illionois to get wins. Those are some big time teams they played that's for sure (dn't need sarcasm do I?).

Then they traveled to Boston College (another dominant team) and lost. And Notre Dame, and lost.

So 3 essential gimmes and they are 0-2 in the other road games. That's winning? 3-2 against, the only 3 coming against the bottom half of the B1G. Yup, that'll calm the SEC proponents....

:

oh, i forgot UCLA's wins against a 3-4 Texas, or a 4-3 Virginia with losses to BYU and Duke. #dominant

 

[Redux]

Gonna go ahead and state this now. If more than one SEC team gets in, we should boycott any Bowl or playoff game they are involved in.

great idea don't go out a beat them just not show up cuz it's not fare. That a great idea

What?

 

[sd'sker]

exactly, if miss st., ole miss, bama, and auburn have not demonstrated that they are 4 of the top 5 teams, then who has?

 

[deedsker]

I would talk about true road games in the SEC but only found one. Plus we have losses at home to Indiana (bottom of B1G, note the PAC not having that problem) and Oklahoma.

 

[VA Husker Fan]

Why would people find it surprising to have two teams from the same conference in the playoff? We've had two teams from the same conference in the championship game before. I don't want it to happen, but if Ole Miss wins the rest of their games and Alabama wins the rest of their games, Alabama would have a good argument that they're one of the top 4 teams. Their only loss would be to the #1/#2 team in the country in an early game. If Mississippi State and Auburn win the rest of their games, Auburn would have a good argument that they're one of the top 4 teams. Their only loss would be to the #1 team in the country in an early game.

The issue people have this season is these SEC teams got big lifts by beating a vastly overrated aTm team who were rewarded for beating a vastly overrated South Carolina team. 'Bama has defeated nobody of note and Mississippi's only noteworthy win is over that same 'bama team. MSU has an impressive win over Auburn, but got a huge lift by beating a weaker LSU.

So who (other than FSU) are you going to put higher, and why? Those top 4 SEC teams beat Boise St, West Virginia, Kansas State (top B12 team right now) out of conference, on (kind of) neutral fields or on the road; and in conference beat LSU and A&M (who looks weaker now, but only after playing 3 of the top 6 teams). Ole Miss has the weakest schedule of them but they've left no doubt in their other wins.

If you want to drag the SEC down because Indiana beat Missouri, Missouri is barely connected to those teams right now.

What's Michigan St done to be up with these teams? Excuses for a loss against Oregon that really wasn't very close don't cut it, and Oregon doesn't look so great anymore. They beat Nebraska, almost crapping that game away. That's something, but we've done less of note than Alabama.

Notre Dame? That Stanford win doesn't look like much anymore, and Michigan is everyone's punching bag. UNC nearly beat them in South Bend.

Who else you got? I'm certain I can drag down any other team easier than your weak arguments against the SEC.

Still a lot of season left to shake things out. The SEC isn't that much better than the other conferences, but those 4 teams belong pretty much right where they are at right now.

Why should those 4 teams be there to begin with? Who have they beat to prove that they deserve to be tops? Southernoregonhusker layed it out on how they got there but it is looking like those "great" wins are looking more and more mediocre with the way A&M and LSU are looking and the fact it took KSU's kicker to miss 50000 FGs in order for Auburn to win that game.

I must've missed all those other unbeaten major conference teams more deserving than Ole Miss or Miss St. Winning all of your games rather than making excuses for losses has to mean something, doesn't it? Beating A&M and LSU are only a part of the picture, the big bump that they got came also came about when a bunch of other top 10 teams lost that week. Also, they weren't there to begin with, Ole Miss was ranked in the teens and Miss St unranked in the preseason.

Again, make a case for someone else to be ranked higher. deedsker took a shot at it, and kchusker easily shot it down.

 

[Mavric]

exactly, if miss st., ole miss, bama, and auburn have not demonstrated that they are 4 of the top 5 teams, then who has?

This is true. They are two of the three Power 5 uneatens and two teams whose only loss is to those unbeaten teams. You really can't argue with Ole Miss or MSU being at the top right now and Alabama and Auburn have the two "best losses."

The only caveat I'd throw in is who is the best win among those four (other than beating each other)? Probably Auburn's win against a KState team that killed itself. Next would be Alabama over West Virginia?

 

[deedsker]

So what your saying is Ole Miss is up there for beating Alabama and Alabama is up there for losing only to Ole Miss? I like that. Who has Miss St beat? Pillow fighting LSU? A&M? They beat Auburn. Auburn has gone to KSU and won. There is a credible link. Ole Miss beat Boise. This makes them great? Bama has beat WV in a home game basically and struggled. Oklahoma beat WV on the road in the same manner. What makes them the best one loss team?

 

[HUSKER FREAK]

This is only going to get harder as the conferences move to 9 conf. games a year. It will be hard to judge how good the team/conf. is when they don't play anyone else. It will definitely make it interesting to see how the few non-con games are scheduled from all conferences after this happens.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Miss St, Florida State, Ole Miss are 1-3....no one can really argue that, they're Power5 conference teams who happen to be undefeated. That's a recipe that even works for non-SEC teams believe it or not...unless you are Marshall, but not many would debate their worthiness.

That means the argument is about the #4 and #5 spots, and who among the 15 or so 1 loss teams deserves them. Lets start towards the bottom...

Utah: Lost to Washington State...at home. Won @ Michigan, @UCLA, @Oregon State. Impressive road victories when taken together...but the lost...at home...to Washington St, who has 2 wins, and 5 losses including Rutgers and Nevada. OUT

East Carolina: Non-Power5 OUT - but if you want to expand on it they lost to USC which has 3 losses now including Missouri, Kentucky and an A&M team that is falling fast.

Nebraska: (I don't even need to bring up McNeese or MSU) we aren't top 5.

Arizona: Lost at home to USC by 2, but knocked off #6 Oregon. Otherwise pretty weak schedule. Underrated, but not top 5 - OUT

ASU: Lost to UCLA - By 35 points. Have you watched a UCLA game lately? That's a bad loss. OUT

Ohio State: Lost to VTech, which has gone on to lose 3 including ECU, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburg. Ohio State was transitioning QBs, they have a plausible argument for a solid top 10 ranking, not a top 5 yet. OUT

Baylor: Just lost to WVU by 14, a WVU that is looking solid last couple of weeks. Squeeked by TCU week before. Underrated, but not top 5...DON'T LOSE LATE! - OUT

K-State: The lost to Auburn, at home - missed field goals and all...still counts as a loss. Kind of hard to put them above...Auburn. Alabama however? It was an early loss too....they have an argument. The 2nd best one on this list and they are 6 places back. PLAUSIBLE

TCU: 3 point road loss to Baylor. Dominant win over Oklahoma State, Minnesota and a solid win over Oklahoma. The best argument on this list. PLAUSIBLE

Georgia: Lost to USC early - not a good USC team either. No big wins since. Overrated. OUT

MSU: Lost to Oregon early, who went on to lose to at the time an unranked Arizona. Got dominated for a half of football, then almost allowed it to happen again against Nebraska. OUT

Notre Dame: Barely beat Stanford who is not the team we thought they were with 3 losses already racked up. Lost to FSU. Slightly overrated, still top 10, not top 5. OUT

Oregon: Lost to Arizona, stuggled @WSU, but a decent win over a top 10 team MSU. STILL OUT

Auburn: Lost to Miss St. Win over KState. Can't penalize the team much for losing to the #1 team in the county, after beating a possible top 6-7 team. Margin of victory over other opponents is staggering. HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE

Alabama: Lost to Ole Miss by 6. Hard to penalize a team much for losing to the #2-3 team in the country (unless you are ND). Beat WVU by 10, which is looking like a much stronger win than it did. No other signature wins, and a close game against Arkansas in there too. PLAUSIBLE

So, while the 1-3 are decided, I would say #4 is easily Auburn. #5, #6 could be a toss up between Alabama and TCU IMO. Win 3 national championships in the last 5 years and you're going to get the benefit of the doubt on that spot. K-State is my other team that would get into that mix, probably at #7.

I can see why the rankings are what they were 1-5. The 6-11 rankings need a little bit of a shake up though IMO.

 

[deedsker]

Struggled to Arkansas and struggled to Washington State is the same thing. MSU>WV.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Struggled to Arkansas and struggled to Washington State is the same thing. MSU>WV.

It's certainly similar - but losing to #15 Arizona (@ home) is not the same as losing to #3 Ole Miss (on the road). Alabama > Oregon.