1st ever 12-team playoff is set for college football. Of course, there is whining and gnashing of teeth. Heck, in basketball there is over sixty team and still butt hurt teams/fans.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"><a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/college-football-playoff-set-alabama-out-smu" target="_blank"><B>College Football Playoff Set: Alabama Out, SMU In</B></a> <BR><BR>PublishedDecember 8, 2024 1:11 PM EST|UpdatedDecember 8, 2024 1:11 PM EST<BR><BR>The first ever 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is set, and there was drama on the back end. Would it be SMU fresh off of a dramatic loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game? Or Alabama based on its strength of schedule?<BR><BR>The Alabama brand and three losses - two of which were ugly - didn’t get the nod as the two-loss Mustangs slid in at the No. 11 spot.<BR><BR>As expected, Oregon will get the first seed with SEC champion Georgia, Mountain West champion Boise State and Big 12 champion Arizona State rounding out the top four and earning first-round byes. Clemson played its way into the field by virtue of an automatic bid for the fifth-best conference champion.<BR><BR>What Does The Bracket Look Like?<BR><BR><B>First Round:</B> <BR>9. Tennessee<BR><BR>8. Ohio State<BR><BR>12. Clemson<BR><BR>5. Texas<BR><BR>10. Indiana<BR><BR>7. Notre Dame<BR><BR>11. SMU<BR><BR>6. Penn State<BR><BR><B>Quarterfinals:</B> <BR>12/5 Winner<BR><BR>4. Arizona State (Big 12 champion)<BR><BR>9/8 Winner<BR><BR>1. Oregon (Big Ten champion)<BR><BR>11/6 Winner<BR><BR>3. Boise State (Mountain West champion)<BR><BR>10/7 Winner<BR><BR>2. Georgia (SEC champion)<BR><BR><B>Top Takeaways</B> <BR>I’m stunned that they got it right in the debate between Alabama and SMU. The Mustangs ran through the ACC without a loss, got off the deck to erase a 17-point deficit and tie the game with Clemson with under 20 seconds to go and has only one other loss (to a ranked BYU team). Yes, Alabama has the head-to-head win over SEC champion Georgia. But two ugly losses to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, combined with another at Tennessee, gave Alabama too many warts. If SMU had been left out, they would have essentially played their way into another loss. Coach Rhett Lashlee said that, if they don’t get in, it would give teams no reason to play in conference title games if they’re already in the field.<BR><BR>Texas is in the best spot other than the teams with byes. The Longhorns will host the last team in the field - Clemson - in Round 1, and draw Arizona State in the second round if they’re able to topple the Tigers. I know that the Sun Devils were incredible in the blowout win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game, but they’re far from a juggernaut. Maybe the committee should take away byes for conference champions and honor the best four teams with the luxury of sitting at home in Week 1? Nah, that would make too much sense. Texas is the beneficiary of that nonsense this year.<BR><BR>The 8/9 game is going to be a monster. Tennessee will visit Ohio State in the first round, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the crowd welcomes their own Buckeyes into the CFP after the disastrous loss to Michigan last weekend that knocked them out of the Big Ten Championship Game. Tennessee’s defense has been solid all year, and it has a punishing rushing attack with Dylan Sampson leading the charge. If Ohio State falls in Round 1, could that spell trouble for Day? It might.<BR><BR>Curt Cignetti will get his wish. The first-year coach of the Indiana Hoosiers has a chance to further the reputation of his squad with a first-round matchup with in-state power Notre Dame. Can you imagine what will happen if the upstart Hoosiers slays the giant? It would send shockwaves through the Midwest. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Did the playoff committee get the Alabama vs SMU decision right?Yes - SMU had less losses and made it to conference championshipNo - Alabama had strength of scheduleI just like to vote in polls

I think the playoff committee got it right:

Regular season losses - SMU only had 1 for 3 points, but Alabama had 3 including the unforgiveable Vanderbilt loss. The Oklahoma loss was pretty low quality loss as well.

Conference championship - SMU was in theirs but Alabama wasn't. SMU only lost by 3 points in theirs.

Strength of schedule - this is in Alabama's favor. Both only had two top 25 wins, but Alabama played a tougher schedule. Beating Georgia is a more impressive win than any SMU win.

Don't forget those tough Western Kentucky and Mercer games that the Tide played.

quote:

Originally posted by MRMATT:
Don't forget those tough Western Kentucky and Mercer games that the Tide played.

They lost to Vanderbilt.

Why is anything else relevant?

FCS has been doing it this way forever. FBS should have as well. The "best" team should be decided on the field, not in a board room somewhere.

Oh, and Go Cats!

Seems like Or. may have the toughest second rd. game being a number one seed

They got it right. My Commodores beat them for the first time since I was on the sideline for our last win in ‘84 so Bama couldn’t afford a third loss and expect to have a shot at the playoff.

"Texas is in the best spot other than the teams with byes. The Longhorns will host the last team in the field - Clemson - in Round 1, and draw Arizona State in the second round if they’re able to topple the Tigers. I know that the Sun Devils were incredible in the blowout win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game, but they’re far from a juggernaut. Maybe the committee should take away byes for conference champions and honor the best four teams with the luxury of sitting at home in Week 1? Nah, that would make too much sense. Texas is the beneficiary of that nonsense this year."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Yep. And if Sark will put Arch on the field the Horns have a chance to take full advantage of their bracket. Ewers is not a 4 quarter player, he is not mobile. Manning has the fire to win, that horse needs to be on the field.

Yup, they got it right.

And FWIW Clemson owes a HUGE thank you to Syracuse for knocking out Miami.

Can someone explain how SMU is seated higher than Clemson when Clemson beat them in the ACC Championship game?

I said yes because simply I’m bored with the same set of teams. I’d be happy for Boise to win it all just to shake it all up.

Not that I expect it. But I’ll root for it. Meanwhile, trying to decide if I’m going to Birmingham.

Winning on the field removes computers and feelings from deciding your fate. Just like boxing. Knock out the other guy or deal with scorecards.

They need to fix the seeding after the first round or do like basketball and seed based on ranking because some lower seeded teams have what appears to be an easier path than some higher seeded teams. They should also expand the field to 16 or 24 teams.

Alabama needs a good helping of "humble pie" IMHO, and this is a start. Sure, it's fun to win a lot of games, but consistently winning, winning, winning, cheapens the sport. Organized sports are a life lesson for the athletes. It may not seem that way, but I know lots of people who refer back to their playing time as being critical in their later lives. So, it's good to have a few game losses, to have the experience and emotions in dealing with those losses, to allow the players to handle adversity later in life.

JMHO, YMMV.

I was raised as an SMU fan since birth. I was on their practice field weekly back in the Dickerson & James Pony Express hanging out and shagging balls for their kickers. I was in the Cotton Bowl in 1983 when they beat Pitt/Dan Marino and finished the season #2 in the country. Then it was 40 years of mediocrity. I'm really happy to see them in the playoffs.

The competitiveness the past 2 weeks leading into the playoffs has been incredible. The season has been really exciting.

Alabama ended in a 6 way tie for 4th place in their conference. They are out for one reason, they lost too many games...

I'm impressed how much national support they Mustangs are receiving. Hope they can knock out Penn State. I may have to book a flight and go see it myself.

The Ohio State Buckeyes were handed some humble pie by TTUN ( Mich. ) a few weeks ago! They have an opportunity to redeem themselves against a good Tenn.team @ home. If they can play good hard nosed football, instead of acting like a bunch of thugs, they stand a chance of getting to play Oregon again!

We have heard all year how good and talented the Buckeye roster is! They can still prove that by winning a National Championship.
0r they can fold up like a house of cards,and endure another somewhat successful season where they can beat everyone but the Tough Big Boys

How bout it Buckeyes ?