2024-25 College Football Season

[tazzmaniac]

Committee has a lot of tough decisions to make this week.  People are going to be mad no matter what.

Miami likely moves out of the top 12 which would open the door for either South Carolina or Alabama.  If it?s down to those two, I know it?s gonna irritate a lot of people but I don?t know how you don?t give it to Alabama.  They won the head to head and have a victory over Georgia.

That game SC got screwed by the officials against LSU is really haunting them

The officiating has been horrible this season.  With all the money in college football. they need to professionalize the officials at least at the P4 level. 

[tazzmaniac]

This is going to continue to be a problem for College Football.  With 12 teams getting in, and likely more in the future, this is going to lead to more debate, not less.  More teams are going to feel snubbed, no matter how they work out the selections, straight record, strength of schedule, viewer ratings, etc.  I will say that these teams that are in the mix for say the 8-12 spots, they are probably not going to win the title.  They could win one fluke game, but not likely they win 3 games.

Teams are still going to gripe if they finish 13th or 14th and don't get in.  But when you had 4 teams, the 5th and 6th teams that didn't get in had a better chance to win the title.  So yeah, some teams/fans are going to gripe, but if you are 9-3 or whatever, it is hard to make an argument that you have a legit chance at the title.

There aren't any elite teams this season.  The "better" teams have either shown vulnerability or played easy schedules where they weren't tested much.  If Bama or South Carolina make it in, I think they could win the title especially with top 4 seeds going to conference champs.  Having to face Notre Dama or Penn State in the 1st round and then the ACC, Big12 or G5 champ in the 2nd round isn't daunting. 

Now for Bama to win, it would require bad Milroe to not show up and for that to happen for 4 straight games would be a miracle.  As a Bama fan, I'm not really hoping this team makes the playoffs but it would be fun to see the Bama haters lose their minds if Bama does.  If Bama were to make it and run the table to win another title, their heads might explode.

[tazzmaniac]

December really is a crazy month for college football.  The "early" signing period for high school recruits is tomorrow through Friday.  This weekend will be the championship games and the playoff selection.  Next week the transfer portal opens and lasts until the end of the month.  And the bowls and playoffs start in a couple weeks. 

Edit - I forgot to include all the coach firings and hirings in the list of December activities. 

[greg683x]

December really is a crazy month for college football.  The "early" signing period for high school recruits is tomorrow through Friday.  This weekend will be the championship games and the playoff selection.  Next week the transfer portal opens and lasts until the end of the month.  And the bowls and playoffs start in a couple weeks.

I?m excited for it.  Everyone will always have something to complain about with the playoff, myself included, but man, so many more good games in November that had playoff implications that in previous years would?ve just been a matchup between two dead teams.

I?d like to see them do away with the top 4 spots going to conference winners.  It?s a bit of a joke that teams like SMU and Arizona St get awarded top seeds.  Conference winners should automatically make the bracket.  But the top 4 teams and byes should go to the top teams.  Also, since Notre Dame is unaffiliated, the highest they could get is the 5?  If that?s right, they need to make changes.

It kinda reminds me of back in the day the Celtics made the playoffs with a sub 500 record but since they won the Atlantic, they had home court in the 1st round against Indiana, and everyone was whining about it

I think they changed that rule the following year in the NBA.

[Donoghus]

December really is a crazy month for college football.  The "early" signing period for high school recruits is tomorrow through Friday.  This weekend will be the championship games and the playoff selection.  Next week the transfer portal opens and lasts until the end of the month.  And the bowls and playoffs start in a couple weeks.

I?m excited for it.  Everyone will always have something to complain about with the playoff, myself included, but man, so many more good games in November that had playoff implications that in previous years would?ve just been a matchup between two dead teams.

I?d like to see them do away with the top 4 spots going to conference winners.  It?s a bit of a joke that teams like SMU and Arizona St get awarded top seeds.  Conference winners should automatically make the bracket.  But the top 4 teams and byes should go to the top teams.  Also, since Notre Dame is unaffiliated, the highest they could get is the 5?  If that?s right, they need to make changes.

It kinda reminds me of back in the day the Celtics made the playoffs with a sub 500 record but since they won the Atlantic, they had home court in the 1st round against Indiana, and everyone was whining about it

I think they changed that rule the following year in the NBA.

Arizona State won?t be a top four seed if the favorites win out this weekend. Boise State will get that fourth spot.

Notre Dame being an independent affords them the luxury of not having to play a conference title game so that should be mitigated by forcing them to play a first round game.  If they want a bye, join a conference.  If they nab that 5 seed, they?ll also be playing the weakest bye seed in the quarterfinals so another advantage there.

The system isn?t perfect but I don?t have an issue with the way that is set up.

[BitterJim]

December really is a crazy month for college football.  The "early" signing period for high school recruits is tomorrow through Friday.  This weekend will be the championship games and the playoff selection.  Next week the transfer portal opens and lasts until the end of the month.  And the bowls and playoffs start in a couple weeks.

I?m excited for it.  Everyone will always have something to complain about with the playoff, myself included, but man, so many more good games in November that had playoff implications that in previous years would?ve just been a matchup between two dead teams.

I?d like to see them do away with the top 4 spots going to conference winners.  It?s a bit of a joke that teams like SMU and Arizona St get awarded top seeds.  Conference winners should automatically make the bracket.  But the top 4 teams and byes should go to the top teams.  Also, since Notre Dame is unaffiliated, the highest they could get is the 5?  If that?s right, they need to make changes.

It kinda reminds me of back in the day the Celtics made the playoffs with a sub 500 record but since they won the Atlantic, they had home court in the 1st round against Indiana, and everyone was whining about it

I think they changed that rule the following year in the NBA.

It was even dumber: the Celtics were the 4th seed because they won the division, but the Hawks were the home team because they had a better record. Also, the Celtics weren't under .500, they went 39-27 (48 win pace), the Hawks went 40-26. Meanwhile the 42-24 Pacers were the 3 seed because there are 3 divisions but winning only guaranteed you a top 4 seed. The rule was so, so dumb.

[greg683x]

December really is a crazy month for college football.  The "early" signing period for high school recruits is tomorrow through Friday.  This weekend will be the championship games and the playoff selection.  Next week the transfer portal opens and lasts until the end of the month.  And the bowls and playoffs start in a couple weeks.

I?m excited for it.  Everyone will always have something to complain about with the playoff, myself included, but man, so many more good games in November that had playoff implications that in previous years would?ve just been a matchup between two dead teams.

I?d like to see them do away with the top 4 spots going to conference winners.  It?s a bit of a joke that teams like SMU and Arizona St get awarded top seeds.  Conference winners should automatically make the bracket.  But the top 4 teams and byes should go to the top teams.  Also, since Notre Dame is unaffiliated, the highest they could get is the 5?  If that?s right, they need to make changes.

It kinda reminds me of back in the day the Celtics made the playoffs with a sub 500 record but since they won the Atlantic, they had home court in the 1st round against Indiana, and everyone was whining about it

I think they changed that rule the following year in the NBA.

It was even dumber: the Celtics were the 4th seed because they won the division, but the Hawks were the home team because they had a better record. Also, the Celtics weren't under .500, they went 39-27 (48 win pace), the Hawks went 40-26. Meanwhile the 42-24 Pacers were the 3 seed because there are 3 divisions but winning only guaranteed you a top 4 seed. The rule was so, so dumb.

Ahh I misremembered, I knew it somehow involved Indiana

[greg683x]

December really is a crazy month for college football.  The "early" signing period for high school recruits is tomorrow through Friday.  This weekend will be the championship games and the playoff selection.  Next week the transfer portal opens and lasts until the end of the month.  And the bowls and playoffs start in a couple weeks.

I?m excited for it.  Everyone will always have something to complain about with the playoff, myself included, but man, so many more good games in November that had playoff implications that in previous years would?ve just been a matchup between two dead teams.

I?d like to see them do away with the top 4 spots going to conference winners.  It?s a bit of a joke that teams like SMU and Arizona St get awarded top seeds.  Conference winners should automatically make the bracket.  But the top 4 teams and byes should go to the top teams.  Also, since Notre Dame is unaffiliated, the highest they could get is the 5?  If that?s right, they need to make changes.

It kinda reminds me of back in the day the Celtics made the playoffs with a sub 500 record but since they won the Atlantic, they had home court in the 1st round against Indiana, and everyone was whining about it

I think they changed that rule the following year in the NBA.

Arizona State won?t be a top four seed if the favorites win out this weekend. Boise State will get that fourth spot.

Notre Dame being an independent affords them the luxury of not having to play a conference title game so that should be mitigated by forcing them to play a first round game.  If they want a bye, join a conference.  If they nab that 5 seed, they?ll also be playing the weakest bye seed in the quarterfinals so another advantage there.

The system isn?t perfect but I don?t have an issue with the way that is set up.

I do think there?s a chance Boise gets upset this weekend by UNLV(or hopefully unlv at least covers! ). Regardless, neither Boise or Arizona should be a 4 seed IMO

I don?t have a huge problem with the Notre Dame thing, I just think it?s easily fixable.  I might be crazy but I?d much rather have the easiest path through the bracket than the first round bye and a 2nd round slugfest.  It?s moot though at the moment bc they?re  at 6 and got matched with Alabama (yikes!)

[tenn_smoothie]

You have to weigh the impact of an SEC Conference schedule, which is tougher, week after week, than any other league in the country and it's not even close.  Tennessee have Alabama and Georgia every year. But they also had a group of tough 6/7 win teams to play, most on the road - Arkansas, Oklahoma and even Vanderbilt plus Florida and then NC State out of conference. Those SEC middle-of-the-pack teams are much better than their middling cousins in the ACC, Big 12 and Big 10. Weekly competition like that has a cumulative effect that other conferences don't have to deal with.

[tazzmaniac]

Manuel has said that the ordering of the teams not playing in the championship games is set and won't be affected by results of those games.  It is still going to be interesting to see how the championship game results affect the seedings. 

Personally I'd rather be in Penn State's position (5th) hosting the Big12 champ in the 1st round and then playing Boise State in the 2nd round than Oregon's position (1st) getting a bye in the 1st round but then having to play the winner of Ohio State/Tennessee. 

[greg683x]

We could and very likely will see Georgia play Texas 3 times this year

[tazzmaniac]

We could and very likely will see Georgia play Texas 3 times this year

That's a possibility but I'd guess that the committee will put them in opposite sides of the bracket to decrease the likelihood. 

[tenn_smoothie]

CFB Signing Day was today. With the out-of-control NIL factor increasingly in play, it's becoming more and more like pro free-agency run amok.
I miss my college football.

And don't tell me that players have always been paid, just under the table before NIL.
Huge difference between a $500 envelope and a million-dollar contract negotiation.

[Phantom255x]

I'm sorry but Alabama should not be in the Final 12.

And also, apparently the CFP committee (one of their people) came out and literally said that if SMU loses to Clemson this week in the ACC Championship Game, it's likely they will be out of the playoffs and Alabama gets in. Clemson is ranked ahead of SMU and in the playoffs now.

So explain this to me, how is it that you make a Championship Game for your conference and could get penalized for losing it while another team that doesn't play a Champ. Game could benefit as a result?? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think something similar happened a few years ago where USC got screwed because they lost their PAC-12 championship Game so Ohio State who was sitting out that weekend got to sneak in as a result.

[greg683x]

I'm sorry but Alabama should not be in the Final 12.

And also, apparently the CFP committee (one of their people) came out and literally said that if SMU loses to Clemson this week in the ACC Championship Game, it's likely they will be out of the playoffs and Alabama gets in. Clemson is ranked ahead of SMU and in the playoffs now.

So explain this to me, how is it that you make a Championship Game for your conference and could get penalized for losing it while another team that doesn't play a Champ. Game could benefit as a result?? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think something similar happened a few years ago where USC got screwed because they lost their PAC-12 championship Game so Ohio State who was sitting out that weekend got to sneak in as a result.

I?m confused.  Maybe I?m misunderstanding you, how is Clemson ranked higher than SMU?

Clemsons literally in the championship game by default.  They lost their game, Miami lost their game.  Someone has to play SMU.  Clemsons game against SC was largely viewed as a playoff game, win and you?re in, and they lost.  I don?t disagree with you about Alabama not being the most deserving team, but I don?t agree about Clemson getting in no matter what after losing to South Carolina.  I?d rather see Ole Miss  get in over Alabama. 

Not a popular opinion, especially here, but Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Alabama both have much tougher schedules and signature wins against ranked teams (Ole Miss with a dominant win over Georgia stands out to me the most).  This tends to hold more weight than the additional loss.