OT: D1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah I’m not sure it was worth getting pepper sprayed just to be able to walk around Ann Arbor crowing “We knocked those fools in Columbus down to the 8 seed! Hail to the victors, baby!!”, while preparing for whatever meaningless bowl Michigan is headed to.

They'd take the pepper spray all day to win that game.

[Chuck Norris]

They'd take the pepper spray all day to win that game.

That’s true. But the point is, what did they actually cost Ohio State? Less than 10% of FBS teams make the playoff and Ohio State is still one of them. Losing to your biggest rival will still suck, but still having a shot at the big prize will probably get you over it much quicker.

[Ship69]

Yeah I’m not sure it was worth getting pepper sprayed just to be able to walk around Ann Arbor crowing “We knocked those fools in Columbus down to the 8 seed! Hail to the victors, baby!!”, while preparing for whatever meaningless bowl Michigan is headed to.

Well, the players obviously thought it was worth it, and Day was walking around in a daze after the game. Apparently it was not a meaningless game to the participants.

[Ship69]

Yeah... I mean... Okay, it meant something. Sure.

I liked when teams walked onto the field with everything on the line in one of those games. If getting a home game in the College Football Playoff equates to "meaning something," then we are pretty far apart in our definitions and likely won't find common ground.

The league champions get a bye, so that definitely means something by any definition. Who would you rather be right now — Ohio State playing a strong SEC team in a first-round game, or Oregon sitting at home with an automatic berth in the quarterfinals? And I don't think a game that cost you a chance to play for your conference's championship lacked meaning.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The league champions get a bye, so that definitely means something by any definition. Who would you rather be right now — Ohio State playing a strong SEC team in a first-round game, or Oregon sitting at home with an automatic berth in the quarterfinals? And I don't think a game that cost you a chance to play for your conference's championship lacked meaning.

That loss has Ryan Day one step away from being Jack Torrance.

[Chuck Norris]

Well, the players obviously thought it was worth it, and Day was walking around in a daze after the game. Apparently it was not a meaningless game to the participants.

Of course it’s meaningful. On game day, in the moment, it’s still Ohio State vs Michigan. My point is, as soon as the pepper sprayed dissipates, Ohio State is still in the playoff. It wasn’t in doubt before the game started or when it ended. Sure, their path is tougher, but they are still there.

Maybe this isn’t the best example since Ohio State fans are a different level of weirdo, but I think most fans would endure a loss to their rival if they still won the big prize at the end of the season. That was rarely a possibility before. Now it could happen regularly.

[Ship69]

Of course it’s meaningful. On game day, in the moment, it’s still Ohio State vs Michigan. My point is, as soon as the pepper sprayed dissipates, Ohio State is still in the playoff. It wasn’t in doubt before the game started or when it ended. Sure, their path is tougher, but they are still there.

Maybe this isn’t the best example since Ohio State fans are a different level of weirdo, but I think most fans would endure a loss to their rival if they still won the big prize at the end of the season. That was rarely a possibility before. Now it could happen regularly.

Well, for it to happen regularly, teams playing in the first round will have to win four games in a row against high-quality opposition. If they can do that, they probably deserve to be champs.

[Fightingscot82]

Still no word on coaching changes at any FCS schools. I assumed that we'd see changes at Robert Morris and Youngstown State, but both appear to be staying put.

[IUP24]

Well, for it to happen regularly, teams playing in the first round will have to win four games in a row against high-quality opposition. If they can do that, they probably deserve to be champs.

I am not trying to argue, but I think you're missing the point.

Do you think that West Virginia team in 2007 would have loved to have been in the position that Ohio State is in right now? You bet. Or that undefeated Oklahoma State team that lost to Iowa State in the last week of the season in 2012? For sure. Sustaining a gigantic upset means very little now.

Every game meant something back then. Specifically, those rivalry games had way more juice. Because winning or losing could singlehandedly ruin a season, a dream, a career, etc. Ohio State will reach the playoff 8 of every 10 years (or better). Losing to Michigan meant nothing other than a bunch of idiots calling talk shows saying they would rather go 1-11 and beat Michigan, than go 11-1 and lose to them, but win the national championship (newsflash to those folks... No you wouldn't).

[EyeoftheHawk]

That loss has Ryan Day one step away from being Jack Torrance.

There was a really good article in The Athletic this morning talking about what coaches have the most pressure going into the playoffs. Of course Day was listed as having the most pressure. The bad part for him is that nutso fanbase will look at anything less than a national championship as a failure. If he loses to Tennessee, they’ll obviously want him out and despite the behemoth buyout and disruption to the program at a bad time, I do think they’d let him go. If he at least gets to the 2nd round I think they keep him.

Of course the guy listed as having the least pressure was Curt. If Indiana is even competitive against Notre Dame he’ll be praised. If they win…wow.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There was a really good article in The Athletic this morning talking about what coaches have the most pressure going into the playoffs. Of course Day was listed as having the most pressure. The bad part for him is that nutso fanbase will look at anything less than a national championship as a failure. If he loses to Tennessee, they’ll obviously want him out and despite the behemoth buyout and disruption to the program at a bad time, I do think they’d let him go. If he at least gets to the 2nd round I think they keep him.

Of course the guy listed as having the least pressure was Curt. If Indiana is even competitive against Notre Dame he’ll be praised. If they win…wow.

Correct. Day better beat Tennessee if he wants to stay in Columbus.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Still no word on coaching changes at any FCS schools. I assumed that we'd see changes at Robert Morris and Youngstown State, but both appear to be staying put.

It is surprising. I thought both would have opened by now.

[IUP24]

Notable (and comical) portal news...

Pittsburgh native and former Pitt defensive end Dayon Hayes, who famously said after the spring game last year that he wanted to be "remembered as a hometown hero" and a "mentor to the young bulls" on the Pitt roster, just days before entering the portal to transfer to Colorado, has announced that he is transferring to away from Coach Prime.

Hilarious sequence. Left Pitt for a "better opportunity to go pro," and was barely a factor at Colorado, amassing just 16 tackles.

During the summer, Deion Sanders famously said he, "doesn't know who Pat Narduzzi is" and then said that Hayes and his Sam Okunloa (another Pitt DL transfer) are "NFL ready players" and that he "wanted to thank whoever the Pitt coaches were that recruited and coached them up for him." Okunloa had 24 tackles.

I guess Hayes wasn't the "Louis" that Prime said he was.

[IUP24]

There was a really good article in The Athletic this morning talking about what coaches have the most pressure going into the playoffs. Of course Day was listed as having the most pressure. The bad part for him is that nutso fanbase will look at anything less than a national championship as a failure. If he loses to Tennessee, they’ll obviously want him out and despite the behemoth buyout and disruption to the program at a bad time, I do think they’d let him go. If he at least gets to the 2nd round I think they keep him.

Of course the guy listed as having the least pressure was Curt. If Indiana is even competitive against Notre Dame he’ll be praised. If they win…wow.

Speaking of articles, I read some stuff yesterday that turned back the clock to the BCS era. Basically said, "How would the BCS era of ranked these teams?" Interestingly, Oregon and Georgia would have played for the national championship.

What's kind of funny is, I could get behind that as being the championship game. They justified it all in the conversation...

- Oregon ran the table by beating Boise State, Ohio State, and Penn State.
- Georgia beat the perceived strongest team, Texas, twice. And won the perceived strongest conference.

------The rest of the field--------------------------------------------------------

- Ohio State beat Penn State and lost to Oregon, but they own a bad loss to Michigan.
- Penn State had two shots to beat top 5 teams and get two signature wins, and lost both opportunities, along with losing the B1G Championship Game. They beat just 4 teams that were bowl eligible.
- Clemson was a 3-loss conference champion and would not have been considered.
- Arizona State's 2 losses (Texas Tech and Cincinatti) were worse than the losses UGA sustained.
- Texas lost both games they played against UGA, which automatically drops them below the Dawgs.
- Notre Dame's wins over Texas A&M, Louisville, Navy, and Army would help get them to #3 in the BCS era rankings, but the loss to Northern Illinois (fairly) was not enough to overcome.
- Indiana's poor SOS would not allow them to climb enough to be in serious consideration.
- Boise State would have been ahead of Indiana. But they would not climb high enough to get into serious consideration.
- SMU, like Penn State, lost both games that were their real opportunities to get signature wins. Best wins were Louisville and Pitt.
-Tennessee owned a nice win Alabama and Ole Miss, but their loss to Arkansas, and the head to head loss to UGA put them into a spot where they would have been unable to vault UGA.

I think that's all fair and justified. Basically the finally rankings would have looked like this...

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Tennessee
5. Texas
6. Boise State
7. Ohio State
8. Penn State
9. Arizona State
10. SMU
11. Indiana
12. Clemson

All things considered, it's wild that how these rankings shook out and with all the craziness, etc., the BCS would have resulted in the top 2 seeds we have today still playing for the national championship.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Speaking of articles, I read some stuff yesterday that turned back the clock to the BCS era. Basically said, "How would the BCS era of ranked these teams?" Interestingly, Oregon and Georgia would have played for the national championship.

What's kind of funny is, I could get behind that as being the championship game. They justified it all in the conversation...

- Oregon ran the table by beating Boise State, Ohio State, and Penn State.
- Georgia beat the perceived strongest team, Texas, twice. And won the perceived strongest conference.

------The rest of the field--------------------------------------------------------

- Ohio State beat Penn State and lost to Oregon, but they own a bad loss to Michigan.
- Penn State had two shots to beat top 5 teams and get two signature wins, and lost both opportunities, along with losing the B1G Championship Game. They beat just 4 teams that were bowl eligible.
- Clemson was a 3-loss conference champion and would not have been considered.
- Arizona State's 2 losses (Texas Tech and Cincinatti) were worse than the losses UGA sustained.
- Texas lost both games they played against UGA, which automatically drops them below the Dawgs.
- Notre Dame's wins over Texas A&M, Louisville, Navy, and Army would help get them to #3 in the BCS era rankings, but the loss to Northern Illinois (fairly) was not enough to overcome.
- Indiana's poor SOS would not allow them to climb enough to be in serious consideration.
- Boise State would have been ahead of Indiana. But they would not climb high enough to get into serious consideration.
- SMU, like Penn State, lost both games that were their real opportunities to get signature wins. Best wins were Louisville and Pitt.
-Tennessee owned a nice win Alabama and Ole Miss, but their loss to Arkansas, and the head to head loss to UGA put them into a spot where they would have been unable to vault UGA.

I think that's all fair and justified. Basically the finally rankings would have looked like this...

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Tennessee
5. Texas
6. Boise State
7. Ohio State
8. Penn State
9. Arizona State
10. SMU
11. Indiana
12. Clemson

All things considered, it's wild that how these rankings shook out and with all the craziness, etc., the BCS would have resulted in the top 2 seeds we have today still playing for the national championship.

And, of course, the most important item in all of this: College Football gets (4) more huge weekends of big ratings. The (serious) cash will flow.

I have no doubt this field will continue to grow. There's too much money to make.