As if there wasnât already enough uncertainty in collegiate athletics in the wake of the House settlement, itâs mind-boggling how the primary revenue producing sport has yet to figure out how best to determine a champion.
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12 best teams determined by a metric which considers strength of schedule…..1 v 12, 2 v 11 and so on. There would be 3 play offs with the last play off #2 v #3 and #1 getting a buy….Championship #1 v winner of 2 & 3.
"or most profitable" - I think we know which one.
Wonder how many times has the self proclaimed "expert" Wentzel has been called out? I'm sure its a lot more than Kirby..
Wetzel said he didn’t want to single out a coach, BUT he DID. He’s on a podcast which means his writing isn’t good and he’s not good enough to be on the main espn channel. 99% of sportswriters are trying to bump up themselves. This wetzel guy isn’t doing a good job.
There is no way to tell "the most deserving teams" in advance. First off, championship caliber teams absolutely do emerge from weak conferences. Texas in the 1970s, Oklahoma in the 1980s, Nebraska and FSU in the 1990s, USC in the 2000s and Clemson in the 2010s prove that. The claims that first the BCS and then the 4 team playoff was going to expose and eliminate "weak conference frauds" never happened. If you have a staff that excels at recruiting and developing players, conference doesn't matter.
Second, a lot of times "strong conferences" are just mediocrity. Or should I say a bunch of very good teams with no great ones. In a situation where there are 1 or 2 legitimately great teams in a conference, they run through conference play only losing a game or two between them like Florida and LSU in 2006 or UGA and Bama in 2017. That makes everyone else look weaker when in reality Auburn in 2006, for example, goes 13-1 and is a top 2-3 team any other year. But the last 2 years in the SEC, you had Alabama hobbled by the decision to start a tailback at quarterback and not shift to a 90s style Big 8 offense to suit what he was actually capable of, plus UGA hobbled by a lack of talent and depth in guys catching and running the football.
Alabama losing to Vanderbilt 40-35 last season wasn't a testament to the depth of the SEC. Vanderbilt was nowhere near as good as those top 25 James Franklin squad that sent a bunch of players to the NFL. Instead they were a 7-6 team that lost to 3-9 Georgia State. Similarly, the Ole Miss loss at home to Kentucky didn't show how crazy deep the SEC was the way that Florida's loss to Ole Miss did in 2008. That Ole Miss Team went 9-4 and beat the late Mike Leach's best Texas Tech team - actually his best team as head coach period - in the Cotton Bowl. Instead, that was 4-8 Kentucky's only victory against a major college team. Their other wins this season came courtesy of Southern Miss, Ohio and Murray State.
Folks who wanted Ole Miss, Alabama and/or South Carolina to get in the playoff last year because they were "more deserving" failed to realize that "more deserving" would have meant an SEC with Jalen Hurts playing QB at Alabama and a UGA with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel AND D'Andre Swift at RB). Instead, SEC fans wanted the 2024 playoff committee to give the SEC credit for the accomplishments of SEC teams past. People wanted to treat Ole Miss like they were LSU in 2018 with 3 losses against a nightmare schedule (Miami, 8-5 Auburn, Ole Miss, 10-3 Florida, UGA, 8-5 Mississippi State, Alabama, Arkansas, 8-5 Louisana Tech, 9-4 Texas A&M, with the Ole Miss, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi State games all in a row, then finally a bye week … followed by a Bama team also coming off a bye week!) but it wasn't the case. Not even close.
Alabama shouldn't be in this; they lost to Vanderbilt and a mediocre Oklahoma team. In what world should Alabama lose to, Vanderbilt. That loss alone is disqualifying in the discussion of best teams in the country. Ole Miss lost to two team Georgia beat, Florida and Kentucky at home. If Ole Miss beats Florida, they are in the playoffs, but they laid an egg. A case can certainly be made for South Carolina being one of the top teams by the end of the season.
Who is Wetzel? Not that I care, but, really, who is he? Never heard of him.
Exactly !! I don’t want to use my platform to pick on just one coach but I’m fixing to use my platform to pick on This one coach. SMH. I’m like several people here I’ve never heard of this guy. But I bet people that’s not even necessarily CFB fans have heard of Kirby Smart. Case closed !! 😀
