I could give two sh!ts if Ohio State won their conference or not bc the bottom line is that the whole big 10 conference is a walk over. Couldn’t wait to get that sh!t Wisconsin in a spot with that duck lefty of a qb to get their ass handed to them and they did by Ohio State. If wisky went undefeated I still would take bama over wisky that team would lose to bama by 30 7ganes out of 10. Just a horrible schedule and a horrible conference. Dabo is now way pissed he didn’t get his big 10 team which Ohio State is no cupcake and I’d almost of rather it been OSU over Oklahoma bc they aren’t good either lol. I know I may sound ridiculous but this is why it should be 8 teams and u weed out the riff raff 1st round. Anyways bama is going to prove they deserve it. It is a revenge game, they are better than Clemson, if they can score 20 on Clemson’s D it’s over, and Clemson’s wins are not that impressive at all either. Going Bana large in this one. No reason to side with the public here and bet a #1 team getting points. Clemson would of gave Ohio State 6 and Wisconsin 9.5 most likely so tell me they deserve to be there. Everyone get off it bama will hold the trophy up again baring they beat Georgia who’s gonna ruin okie also. Ok rant over.
You make solid arguments Diesel which supports my argument that play-off berths should be determined by (wins) on the field, not by some committee using ambiguous criteria to make their selections. Ever since college football has decided to use the play-off format to determine the NC, it should expand to at least
8 teams, maybe even 16. (look at the NFL). This would end the debates and us football fans could Rest In Peace.
8 teams, maybe even 16. (look at the NFL). This would end the debates and us football fans could Rest In Peace.
8 would be perfect for college I believe. Past 8 could get sloppy. Keep as many big 10's out as possible lol. Look at Mississippi State for example in my case. I'd put them up against any big 10 team any day, Auburn also. I wouldn't even of been opposed to auburn getting in that's how good these teams are.
Clemson is constantly undervalued in these playoff games. 4-0 ATS now as underdogs in the playoffs, with 3 outright wins. They were significant (five point) dogs as the #1 seed over Oklahoma two years ago and blew OU off the field. Again a dog last year and made OSU look like a high school team.
Clemson has 9 wins over teams in the top-40 of the FPI. 9 wins over the top 39 in Sagarin. Yet "Clemson's wins aren't that impressive," from the guy backing an Alabama team that played one good team all year and lost that game by two scores.
Eventually people will come to understand that Swinney empties his bench all year, making scores look better than they could have been. Then he plays nothing but starters in the playoffs. They're structurally, fundamentally underrated because they give 20 carries to the worst running backs in games where they could step on the pedal. They turn would-be 31-3 wins into 24-10 wins ALL THE TIME because Swinney plays more guys than anybody in college football.
This is also why Clemson is always surprisingly good when the big lights come on. No more bullshit; they give the ball to their horses and win. You won't see CJ Fuller getting carries in the 2nd quarter of playoff games.
Clemson is battle-tested. Not only did they beat a bunch of quality teams, but they took everyone's best shot all year. Louisville was undefeated, had College Gameday and a night game, with a big, stupid blackout. Clemson rolled them up.
Virginia Tech was undefeated, got a night game, had a crazy crowd, and got slapped around.
NC State had College Gameday in town and had its best crowd of the year. Clemson won. Clemson went on the road at night to beat a South Carolina team that was supposed to make a statement. Crazy crowd? Tough spot? Looking ahead to Miami? Didn't matter. Clemson blew them off the field.
Clemson in tough spot after tough spot all year, and beat lots of good teams easily. I don't know how many times Clemson is going to have to show up big in these big games before people are going to stop fading them. If you think this Alabama team is better than this Clemson team, you haven't been paying attention.
Who did Bama beat Diesel ? Mercer? LSU is their best win. Come up north and play some big 10 teams in the cold. Bama plays their one nuetral site game in their opener and then stays in the south the rest of the year. As do the rest of the conference big boys. How did Auburn fare at Clemson? Pussies.
It's great. Not that either team needs more motivation than winning a playoff game but clemson coaches can point to bama being the favorite and getting no respect and bama can point to revenge and the deserved outrage logical people have about them being there at all. More chips than shoulders to put them on in this one. Dabo has coached Saban under the table in both championship meetings (1 in defeat, obviously). See if he can do it again.
THIS.........although I'd throw that Auburn win out the window, that happened in September. Personally men, I'm gonna buy the total to 49 and hammer the dog piss out of the under. It's gambling, wtf, but two great defenses, hoping this one goes along the lines of the Bama/LSU championship game.
~T~
alabama will be healthy and ready. i think the health aspect is being greatly overlooked. alabama had a weak schedule, but they also beat up on that weak schedule. miss state is also better than given credit but not gonna pound the table on that (losses are to aub, ala, geo, and ole miss with an injured qb). i think its a close game and alabama wins. biggest part from last years game i took out was watson was incredible and scarborough broke his leg. he was a force last year in that game prior to breaking his leg. i think he has a big game against clemson this time around.
Osubucks, as I said earlier, I think Clemson wins too. But not a blow out. I think 23-20, 24-17. First Bama is NOT better than last year. They lost all timers off their defense. Now I know they reload, not rebuild but this year’s d does not match up with last year’s in my opinion. Foster, Williams, Jackson, Allen, etc were monsters. Hurtz is another year along but is not better. He is a leader and athletic but not a qb. He is a strong safety playing qb. Saban called it last year but stubbornly stuck with him instead of developing Tua. Moreover, Bama again has coaching upheaval and drama. Clemson d is better than last year. Their offense is not better because of loss of DW4; HOWEVER, their offense is deeper and less apt to turn it over. All we need is KB to go 14-24 for 175 yds passing, 10-12 carries for 50-60 yds and a Td throwing and a Td running. Etienne is a MAJOR upgrade from Gallman in talent and he and Feaster should be good for 150-175 yds and a Td or two. Clemson o gives Bama fits and will not have to overcome turnovers and special teams tds that Bama has gotten (clemson’s Special teams is much improved as far as kick coverage and returns with mcloud). Their d will key in on run and make hurtz beat them and he can’t (see auburn game). Bama’s d will do the same to clemson but Bryant will make one or two throws to Cain, Higgins, Overton, etc. And we know Renfro is a Bama killer. First down machine. Anyway, just the way I see it. It would not shock me if Bama wins. This is an even match up but I think Clemson is the better team and is certainly more tested. Bama very well maybe one of the top 2-4 teams in country BUT they did NOTHING to deserve their spot. The stupid eye test means nothing. People are wrong constantly about it. They were granted their spot based on their crazy success for the last 10 years. Anyway, we will see!
the committee had 3 easy picks and 1 tough pick.
the tough pick was Bama, tOSU or USC.
Bama got in because 1 loss and ....Bama. Were they really really good like they usually are? Probably not but they looked good in many games and they didnt lose to Iowa by 30.
tOSU and USC belonged in the playoffs IMO. UCF too. we really need to move to 8 teams and put an emphasis on SOS, especially non-conference SOS.
as a big college football fan, I want more USC vs Texas and LSU vs Wisky games instead of Penn St vs Kent St and Bama vs Mercer.
also maybe we can stop scheduling non-conference games 6 years in advance. never understood why they did that.
i'm rambling.
I agree with LSUPete....wrong team favored. Clemson will beat Bama. They have the exact type of team to, um, roll the Tide
the tough pick was Bama, tOSU or USC.
Bama got in because 1 loss and ....Bama. Were they really really good like they usually are? Probably not but they looked good in many games and they didnt lose to Iowa by 30.
tOSU and USC belonged in the playoffs IMO. UCF too. we really need to move to 8 teams and put an emphasis on SOS, especially non-conference SOS.
as a big college football fan, I want more USC vs Texas and LSU vs Wisky games instead of Penn St vs Kent St and Bama vs Mercer.
also maybe we can stop scheduling non-conference games 6 years in advance. never understood why they did that.
i'm rambling.
I agree with LSUPete....wrong team favored. Clemson will beat Bama. They have the exact type of team to, um, roll the Tide
I totally agree sdf.........an (8) team play-off format will eliminate 90 % of the debate (there will always be an argument for the 6th, 7th and 8th slots but it will not be as significant as to how the 3rd and 4th slots are selected today). The pairings will still be argued but the best in college football for the year will be on the playing field.
