College Football

[Flysmallie]

 This is not unique to college football. The NFL has a 4 game preseason to serve the same purpose.

No it's not unique to college football, just unique to NCAA. The NFL has 4 preseason games that allow them to get ready for the season, but it doesn't count. High school football does the same type thing with jamborees. You can't include basketball, it doesn't matter. But in NCAA football it does count. And if your a ranked team and you slip and lose you have just ended your season. Well unless you are an SEC team and then you can still do whatever you want. But it doesn't matter to me. Like I said I've been totally underwhelmed so far and I don't see that changing. High school ball has been way more entertaining at this point. I'll just stick to my Friday nights and use Saturday to mow and fish.

I will be most likely taking one of my daughters to the Arkansas Mizzou game so I will see that one.

[stlfisher]

Yeah the only reason that I can accept it is because of the funds that the smaller schools receive. That pretty much makes their season. But with that good comes a lot of bad. There has to be a better way.

Yeah, I agree. I would much rather watch quality games each week.  An 8 team playoff may help that to some extent as the pressure of an undefeated season is mitigated to some extent and SOS would be weighed amongst the wild card teams. The only downside is that may further the gap amongst the power 5 and the rest of the teams...which is probably going to happen regardless. 

[ozark trout fisher]

I think one of the big misconceptions in CFB is that a strong non-conference schedule is a benefit in terms of making the playoff. It's not.

A lot of people point to Baylor as an example of a team that didn't make it because of a poor non-conference schedule. There maybe a little truth to that, but I'd say it had a lot more to do with Ohio State playing so well in the B1G title game that they gave the committee essentially no choice. If that score (OSU/Wisconsin) was 31-24 instead of 59-0, we're almost certainly flipping a coin between TCU and Baylor for that #4 spot.

The best thing you can do if you're in a major conference is schedule the worst power 5 opponent available (since most conferences require one p-5 non con game per year) and three absolute joke, cupcake games. You are much better off with a poor non-conference SOS and 12-0 than a strong SOS and 11-1. We saw that with FSU last year. If there was ever a power 5 undefeated getting left out, it would have been them. They (according to the computers) played like a borderline top-25 team most of last season, had a terrible SOS, and ended up in the #3 spot just because they never quite got around to losing. And the idea of scheduling games for the "good of college football" of the fans is silly IMO. You do whatever you have to to make the playoff, or, failing that, at least crack bowl eligibility. As a fan (not of the game of college football, but of a specific team) I care way more about that than having another exciting game in September.

[stlfisher]

I agree to some extent, and an undefeated record from a power 5 will trump anything, but two schools with 11-1 records will be decided by SOS and 4 patsy's will hurt you.  It is not the deciding factor, but a deciding factor. The weakness (or perceived weakness) of the Big 12 hurt Baylor and TCU last year.  Go to an 8 team playoff and the out of conference schedule's will get better as you have a greater margin of error.

Your are correct there is a certain art to scheduling your power 5 opponent though.

[jtram]

Well ill be driving the 5 hrs to Jonesboro to harass the locals and drink beer before watching the ZOU (hopefully) do their thing.

[ozark trout fisher]

 What an awful (but imminently enjoyable, from a purely neutral perspective) weekend for the SEC. Auburn nearly goes down to Jacksonville State, Missouri narrowly avoids disaster in Jonesboro.Tennessee loses a big lead against an Oklahoma team that was last seen getting hopelessly turned around on the way to their bowl game and never quite showing up.

And Arkansas...well, Arkansas was off this week, right?  We'll go with that.

At least Georgia and bama won. And LSU looks good. It looks like those three may have to carry the torch this year. If that's not boring I don't know what is.

And all of this will be moot in three weeks when Arkansas and Auburn are tied atop the SEC west. Because almost nothing you say in mid-September makes any sense by midseason. If I've learned anything it's that.

[Flysmallie]

The hogs paid a million dollars to lose. That stings. Weird day. 

[ozark trout fisher]

Yep.

Both MO and Arkansas have a ton to work on. I think both will be fine long term, but it's a long road back from performances like today to being able to win big-time SEC games.

[Quillback]

Arkansas loss was inexplicable and downright embarrassing.  I started watching in the 3rd quarter when I saw the score.  I didn't plan on watching because what fun is it to watch the Hogs pummel TOLEDO 56 to 7, right?

Anyway, from what I saw, the Hogs got beat by the better team yesterday, they didn't lose because of fluke plays or bad calls, they lost because they were flat outplayed.

[Justin Spencer]

This weekend will help every conference that isn't the SEC depending on how the rest of the season goes.   Might just keep SEC from getting 2 teams in the playoff.