College football 2018 championship week thread

Dan Wetzel. Good column on the playoffs.

College Football Playoff doesn't need expansion – it needs reform


"This is the slate of games (rankings are projected) for the “opening round” of the current postseason:

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Georgia: Alabama only has to not lose by, say, 50 points and they advance. Georgia either has to win, or maybe just lose by a couple points, to advance.

No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 22 Pitt: Clemson just has to not lose by more than, say, 21 points and they advance. Pitt can’t advance.

No. 3 Notre Dame. Idle. They advance.

No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Texas: Oklahoma needs to win, Georgia needs to lose and then they need to win a debate with Ohio State (or have Ohio State lose) to advance. Texas can’t advance.

No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 18 Northwestern: Ohio State needs to win, Georgia to lose and then they need to win a debate with Oklahoma (or have Oklahoma lose) to advance. Northwestern can’t advance.

No. 7 UCF vs. unranked Memphis: Game is meaningless.

No. 13 Washington vs. No. 16 Utah: Game is meaningless."

or

"If the conference championships were scrapped, here’s what we could have instead, using five automatic bids for the major conferences, three at-large bids and home sites for the first round:

No. 8 Washington at No. 1 Alabama, yes, in Tuscaloosa.

No. 7 UCF at No. 2 Clemson, yes, in Clemson.

No. 6 Ohio State at No. 3 Notre Dame, yes, in South Bend.

No. 5 Oklahoma at No. 4 Georgia, yes, between the hedges.

Which set of games would you choose to be the first round of your postseason/playoff? This is not a trick question.

If you answer the former over the latter, you’re either a bowl director terrified of the playoff being staged in electric and historic on-campus stadiums (while generating economic activity for the towns that support the sport all year long) because people might realize there’s no need to give the bowls the semifinals, either, or you’re an asleep-at-the-wheel conference commissioner."

 

TV rights to an expanded playoff will be worth as much or more than the title games are anyhow.

 

You can expand it and make the conference playoffs the first round

 

The Herd has no interest in playing that game, which its administration is making the team play in order to make ESPN’s favorite sons bowl-eligible. Hokies by 30.

 

I don’t know what’s most amazing about this story and coach: that he stuck around and rebuilt or that he seems content to stick around even more. Normally someone with that resume is having his agent float his name for every bigger job in the game.

 

Clark seems really dedicated to UAB on a lot of levels.
I wonder, though -- and NC might can answer this -- if he'd be a candidate for the Auburn job if they dump Malzahn? Is he too low-level for them to consider or would politics come into play? Would he even consider a move up the ladder to another school in Alabama?

 

Malzahn came from Arkansas State....UAB can't be any more low level than Arkansas State.

It would be very Auburn-esque for them to dump Malzahn, get their fan base riled up over the thought of Bob Stoops coming and then hire Bill Clark. For his sake I hope it doesn't happen because he'd be going into a situation where the people would be ungrateful to have him and he seems to deserve better than that. I'm glad he's doing what he's done at UAB. Good for him and good for them.

 

The Herd is getting plenty out of this, including future non-conference games in Huntington and $300,000. The players may have no interest, but nice job by their admin to get a lot to come over to Blacksburg to play.

Also, I'm sick of Tech fans saying that the Hokies are "buying" a chance to keep the bowl streak alive. You can't tell me that, at the time the original ECU game was scheduled in Blacksburg -- before the ODU loss, right after ECU lost at home to a fucking MEAC school, when Tech's defense was still healthy and mostly intact -- that the Hokies wouldn't have won and been bowl eligible as it is. The players enjoy bowl games, even shitty ones. Would have been crap for the VT admin not to try to reschedule and give them a chance to earn that spot.

 

If Marshall loses, it should have to forfeit its bowl game, as it will cost a G5 school a bowl spot. At least a CUSA team should, but it appears it will cost a Sun Belt (ULM) or a MAC team a spot.

 

Michigan gets pummeled and loses it's second game and is still ahead of UCF. That's a joke.

 

The Milton injury gave the committee the out it was hoping for.