OT: D1

[Chuck Norris]

I think Conference Champions getting a bye is fine. Boo hoo hoo runner ups…win your games.

I mean it’s all neutral field after round 1 so there is no home field advantages going forward.

I don’t have an issue with it but it feels like Boise and Arizona State getting them isn’t going to sit well.

for all the hand wringing leading up to the reveal, it’s a good field and should be fun to watch. There’s always going to be controversy/debate about the last spot.

[iupgroundhog]

I think Conference Champions getting a bye is fine. Boo hoo hoo runner ups…win your games.

I mean it’s all neutral field after round 1 so there is no home field advantages going forward.

I'm hoping for a Penn State - Indiana semifinal matchup. I think Penn State sits in a favorable position in this field.

[IUPNation]

I’d guess the first tweek to the format will be not reserving the first round byes only for conference champions and giving them to the top 4 teams. I couldn’t hear all the talk because my kids were going nuts but I thought I heard Rece Davis call for it.

I think Conference Champions getting a bye is fine. Boo hoo hoo runner ups…win your games.

I mean it’s all neutral field after round 1 so there is no home field advantages going forward.

[Chuck Norris]

I’d guess the first tweek to the format will be not reserving the first round byes only for conference champions and giving them to the top 4 teams. I couldn’t hear all the talk because my kids were going nuts but I thought I heard Rece Davis call for it.

[IUPNation]

So Alabamastan got sent packing. Thank Goodness.

SMU heads to Happy Valley for the Sanction Survivors Bowl. I wonder if Craig James and the 42 year old chip on his shoulder will attend. Winner faces Boise State.

Cignetti Mafia at Real Notre Dame…that will have a great crowd.

Conference Title games matter. As they should.

[Chuck Norris]

SMU made it.

[IUP24]

Good on the committee for putting SMU in the field.

[Chuck Norris]

After 15 minutes of talking head ramble, I’m feeling like I’m wrong. Bama is getting in.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I agree with Mr. (Chuck) Norris on this. First of all, if the % in the NCAA is 41%, as you say, that means not making it 3 out of 5 times, while a 1 pt. attempt is probably 95% or more at that level. The reality is, for that particular situation in a game between PSU and Oregon, the % is likely much less. The reality is that PSU had a 0% success rate.

I guess I'm a traditionalist but to me kicking that 1 pt. XP was a no-brainer at that point in the game. Had the score been 45-38 in the end, PSU would have been in a much stronger position to tie it up and force OT.

Penn State also missed a very makable field goal earlier in the game that would have changed some things down the stretch. I think they would have made the extra point (they’re 52/53 on the year) and agree they should have just done that. Going forward though, the best teams have elite kickers and Penn State doesn’t. The two kickers have combined to hit just 70%, and they’re only 5/10 from 40 yards or more. That’s not nearly good enough and you have to ask yourself, how does a team like Penn State not have an elite kicker? Clemson got in because their guy hit a 56 yarder to win it. Penn State has no prayer in that situation.

[iupgroundhog]

The NFL is hitting 31 percent of two-piont attempts.

NCAA is hitting about 41 percent.

Interpret those as you will. But, those are the success rates this year.

The nerd theory is all the buzz this year - for better or worse.

I agree with Mr. (Chuck) Norris on this. First of all, if the % in the NCAA is 41%, as you say, that means not making it 3 out of 5 times, while a 1 pt. attempt is probably 95% or more at that level. The reality is, for that particular situation in a game between PSU and Oregon, the % is likely much less. The reality is that PSU had a 0% success rate.

I guess I'm a traditionalist but to me kicking that 1 pt. XP was a no-brainer at that point in the game. Had the score been 45-38 in the end, PSU would have been in a much stronger position to tie it up and force OT.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Alabama is ahead of SMU in today's AP Top 25.

We'll see what weight that carries.

I read it as setting the stage. Now the committee can say they took the higher ranked team.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I’m going to be naive and predict that Alabama does indeed get left out. Is this tournament really going to be lacking in “brand power” without them? You’ll still have Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Tennessee, and Oregon. Now if we end up, for instance, with an Arizona State-SMU semifinal, then you better believe that won’t be allowed to happen again going forward, but short of that, every game in this tournament is likely going to have at least one big brand in it. And I wouldn’t underestimate the hit that Saban being gone gives to Alabama’s cache.

I’m with you. I think Bama is going to be left out. I’ve gone through it a bunch of times in my mind and I think it’s more realistic that Bama is left out than Indiana because you have two teams that were idle, but one of them has three losses. If Indiana had a second loss, they’d put Bama in. I really believe SMU is safe. It would be an awful precedent to set by putting a three loss idle team in over a two loss team that lost in its conference championship game. I like SMU’s resume, and let’s not forget ALABAMA LOST TO VANDERBILT. There should be a price to pay for that.

[Chuck Norris]

I’m going to be naive and predict that Alabama does indeed get left out. Is this tournament really going to be lacking in “brand power” without them? You’ll still have Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Tennessee, and Oregon. Now if we end up, for instance, with an Arizona State-SMU semifinal, then you better believe that won’t be allowed to happen again going forward, but short of that, every game in this tournament is likely going to have at least one big brand in it. And I wouldn’t underestimate the hit that Saban being gone gives to Alabama’s cache.

[IUP24]

These coaches ultimately work for the pimp. The first time a James Franklin declines going to the Big title game in order to make a point ... well, it will never, ever happen.

For starters, he'd lose his job. The school would be fined out the a$$. The fan base would go crazy. The list goes on.

All this drama is actually 'good' for the sport. Remember that. Controversy is good for business.

Only 12 are going to the Prom. There will always be an SMU in spot 13.

I certainly think SMU is worthy. Alabama is best for business. We'll see which the pimp chooses here soon enough

Rhett Rashlee works for the same pimp.

He said last night about the state of his team after the game: “Their faith in the system is, for good reason, shaken right now. They’re wondering if the fix is in.”

A few hours earlier, the coach for a football team that hasn’t beaten more than one team with a winning record was on CBS complaining about how his team may not get a home game.

Who is more deserving out of those two? I get Bama is good for business, and I bet they are in. I’m not suggesting that this will happen, but I think you are incorrect to assume the NCAA isn’t thinking about this. They already set precedent for maneuvering and manufacturing what they wanted by leaving FSU out last year due to Jordan Travis’ injury.

Will this happen? Likely no. But there’s a better than zero chance.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Earlier this season I was critical of the decision to go for two in an attempt to cut an 8 point lead to 6. I’ll admit my ignorance in not being aware that this was a new trend in analytics. With my eyes now opened to this, I have seen this strategy employed with some frequency as this season has gone along and I can say confidently that I personally have not seen it pay off a single time. Last night Penn State attempted it, and failed, but the game never reached a point where that decision made a difference. If it had, they would’ve been faced with a do or die 2 point attempt rather than having the choice to tie or win at the end.

I don’t consider myself anti-analytics, but I’m going to go ahead and declare that the nerds got this one wrong.

*steps down from soapbox

The NFL is hitting 31 percent of two-piont attempts.

NCAA is hitting about 41 percent.

Interpret those as you will. But, those are the success rates this year.

The nerd theory is all the buzz this year - for better or worse.