College Football Week 8 thread

The other three would have better wins than Michigan State.

 

Michigan State is similar to Notre Dame in the "best win is a loss" category except A) that Oregon game was pretty lopsided by the end; and B) it doesn't mean much since Oregon has eliminated itself from the playoff conversation.

The Big Ten doesn't have a solid resume anywhere. Unless I missed something in the last week or two, the league's best OOC win was Indiana at Missouri.

 

Not sure about the bolded part. If both Oregon and Michigan State win out (not a gimme, but not impossible, either) I can't imagine the Pac-10 champion Ducks being left out of the playoff, especially with a convincing win over a one-loss Big 10 champ.

 

Ack -- I biffed that one. For some reason I thought Oregon had two losses already. Yeah, win out and Oregon is definitely there. Apologies.

Michigan State, though, doesn't get a whole ton of credit for keeping it close-but-not-really, especially when a team did go in and beat Oregon there.

 

The big problem for Michigan State isn't so much the loss but the lack on non-conference wins by other Big 10 teams. Losses to VTech, LSU, West Virginia, Utah, Notre Dame (twice), TCU, Iowa State, Cal, and Washington are pretty clear evidence that the league just isn't on par with the others. They've had plenty of chances, the Big 10's signature win is Indiana beating Missouri because it's the only win of note.

 

The NCAA Playoff Selection Committee is going to get very interesting. Archie Manning has recused himself, partly because of Mississippi being in it, partly over health issues. I don't think that there is another SEC partisan on the committee, is there? When it gets down to whether two of the four chosen will be SEC teams, with the SEC champ likely to have one loss, and the other possible choice probably having two, will the long knives come out?

I don't see any of the other teams that are in the hunt being good enough to get by the sort of defense that Miss St, Ole Miss, or Alabama play. The speed differential is huge. How many losses would FSU have if they were in the SEC?

This is going to be very interesting to watch. Georgia is playing as well as anybody right now, LSU is getting much better and is going to play spoiler in the SEC for somebody's hopes, and the whole political angle on the committee is likely to cause howls of dismay from all over the nation before its over.

 

Partly because of Mississippi being in it? Who said that?

 

No one. He quit because he's having a second knee replacement surgery.

As for other SEC partisans on the committee, the chairman is the AD at Arkansas.

 

Here's the part that makes me crazy. All of this "info" that gets thrown into the debate, seems to be done with no thought of context or nuance. Case in point, Michigan State.

What they are, is a team who's won 17 of their last 18, including their conference championship & the Rose Bowl. Period. Before anyone says "the past has nothing to do with the present", past performance seems to be the basis for most SEC arguments ("WE" won 7 straight!!).

In addition, while the masses scream for better OOC matchups....name ONE bigger/ better challenge than the one Sparty took on this season. What other team had the stones to get on a plane, fly 2,000 miles & cross three time zones, to play in the home (not neutral) stadium of another top 5 team. Yet when they run out of steam in the 4th quarter.....Sorry, Sparty!! Playoff hopes are over!!

Teams change. Young players grow up (J T Barrett, anyone?). Injuries (Oregon's O-Line)/ suspensions (Gurley) happen. Victories that looked huge before, weren't really so great (for the love a PETE, can we stop calling wins vs. So. Carolina, Stanford and A&M "Top 5/10" wins?)

Sorry. Rant over.....

 

I think if Michigan State wins out, the Spartans will certainly be in the mix.

However, I'm not sure the context of their recent track record overcomes the context of the Big Ten being a pile of hot garbage this season.

Yes, Michigan State's one loss looks pretty solid. But is it better than Alabama's? Or Auburn's? Or Notre Dame's? All lost on the road versus undefeated teams.

Michigan State lost to a team that lost at home to Arizona, a team that needed a Hail Mary to beat Cal and beat UT-San Antonio (a bad Conference USA team) by a field goal.

 

The term win out interests me. In the first half of the season, three teams in the mix have "won out," Florida St. and the two Mississippis. I'd be very surprised if more than two of the current one-loss teams "win out" yet so much of the speculation takes that as a given in various arguments.

 

Again, we can play this game all day. You're right, Alabama is (in all likelihood) excellent. But 7 days before curb stomping A & M, they came ONE POINT from losing to an Arkansas team that last won an SEC game HOW many years ago? Or is 'bama somehow exempt from the "6 degrees of suckitude" game that every other (Non-SEC) team seems to have to play?