I think the only thing that it shows is that Bama and Clemson are far and away better than everyone else right now. It ebbs and flows, and may right itself eventually. But the way the CFP is going, the rich will get richer and all of the nationally elite recruits will go to one of about 6 or 7 elite teams every year. Everyone else will still get good recruits, but they will not have the restocking depth that it takes to be an elite like Bama or Clemson right now.

(01-07-2019 02:46 PM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(01-07-2019 12:37 PM)ericsaid Wrote:  I would argue that this doesn't change a thing. Last year UGA was blown out at Auburn, making it seem like they didn't belong in the playoff much less like they could possibly win the SEC. Final week rolls around, Auburn also beats Alabama securing their spot in the Championship game against UGA. By the logic utilized by OP, you'd think Georgia didn't belong. However, UGA came back and defeated Auburn quite easily.

The reasoning for this is as Brian Kelly put it (paraphrase), "...there was no talent disparity in this game. It was a tactile issue and there were things we could've done differently to produce a different outcome". People would seem to see this as coach speak but UGA is a perfect example of this. Notre Dame showed that there isn't much difference between them and the other contenders last season by nearly knocking off Georgia as well.

They were outcoached in the Clemson game. They weren't beat physically.

ROFLMFAO at this. If the four playoff teams this year had played a full season of 12 games in a home-road neutral neutral rotation with each other, Notre Dame would have been lucky to be 2-10. They would have been 0-8 vs Clemson and Alabama, and might have split with Oklahoma if three of the four games were played in either a blizzard or a monsoon.

I'm sure many people said the same about Georgia after they lost to Auburn in 2017. I assumed it was a fluke, and this happens in the NFL at times where a coaching staff simply drops the ball in their game planning rather than on the field.

You can suggest Notre Dame would've been winless but the truth is that if they played again the game would either be much closer or a Notre Dame win.

With the premise of some being "well the semi-final games weren't close, why have a playoff?", that could be taken further to say, "well the national championship game wasn't even close, why even have the game?". The fact of the matter is that football is a game of match-ups and preperation. There are plenty of examples proving the preparation issue in Georgia v. Auburn in 2017, and MTSU v. UAB in 2018. Teams of a similar talent level can be blown out and the fault be on coaching rather than on the players.

Coaches lose, players win. There is no such thing as a bad team, only a bad leader.

Kelly admitted as much. In watching the game, I only saw issues with the game plan and execution and not the ability of the players, in a vacuum. I also believe that Oklahoma and Texas are both much better than they are given credit for. If not for the slow start, Oklahoma might have actually won that game; Texas went out and beat Georgia.

If anyone was left out of the playoff, it was Ohio State. They were curbstomped and embarrassed by Purdue but again, that falls on coaching. No one is going to say that Purdue was more talented than Ohio State. At the end of the season, coaching had caught up to the ability of the players and I think Ohio State could've competed well with Alabama or Clemson.

Georgia lost their shot in the SEC Championship Game, as they should have. That was their second loss and everyone knew it was a playoff game for them. Win and your in, lose and go to a NY6 Bowl. Their loss to Texas only verified that they weren't playoff material. Don't go and say "Well they didn't have anything to play for or motivation". You play to win the game. You play to win every game. You play for your school, fans, employees, your childhood dreams, and for pride. If Georgia couldn't get up to play Texas, they didn't deserve to be in the playoff to begin with.

Expand the playoff to 6 teams and have a play in game for 2019-2020. If that goes well, expand to 8. If you want to do away with Conference Championship games, expand to 16, force regional alignment for conferences, reduce the number of teams per conference, and create more interest in college football in general. Maintain Bowl Games to the best extent possible.

Clemson physically whipped Alabama far more than they did Notre Dame. The SEC is ridiculously overrated.

(01-08-2019 01:24 AM)eagleskins Wrote:  Clemson physically whipped Alabama far more than they did Notre Dame. The SEC is ridiculously overrated.

Fun fact, after Q1, Clemson our scored Alabama 30-3.

Looks familiar.

(01-08-2019 06:37 AM)Dave. Wrote:  

(01-08-2019 01:24 AM)eagleskins Wrote:  Clemson physically whipped Alabama far more than they did Notre Dame. The SEC is ridiculously overrated.

Fun fact, after Q1, Clemson our scored Alabama 30-3.

Looks familiar.

It's funny because many posters here and on many other message boards claimed that Notre Dame was overrated and never should've been allowed in the playoff. In my estimation, this game against Alabama was vindication for Notre Dame and the CFP more than it was an indictment on Alabama and the SEC. As I stated on here previously, Clemson wasn't physically better than Notre Dame accross the board and they weren't physically better than Alabama.

The difference in both games was trench play. You have four Day 1 - 2 Draft Picks on Clemsons defensive line and all starters are upper classmen. That is nearly impossible to pull off when you're Alabama or Clemson anymore. Coaches schemed correctly and going against each other for the 4th year in a row has resulted in some familiarity that Clemson took advantage of due to the continuity on their staff and the lack of continuity on Alabama's sideline.

The SEC is good but they aren't head and shoulders above anyone else. Their problem right now is that Georgia lost to Texas, Alabama beat Oklahoma based on their Q1 output and was outplayed as a whole from Q2 - Q4. LSU beat a UCF team without their primary play maker, and signal caller on offense, by one score.

Side Note: I believe it will come out eventually that Nick Saban thought that Fake Field Goal try was going to be waved off if Clemson came out in a defensive formation rather than special teams. He said it was his call but I find it hard to believe given Clemson came out planning to stop a fake.