CFP members should be forced to announce their votes Vols/Bama

[Behr]

If several teams die, it’s possible.

 

[Behr]

8 team playoff would have been good here.

I'd love to see 8. I think 6 is perfect, but 8 would be a nice compromise.

 

[zydane47]

Doesn't another conference refs call the game?

No, they're both PAC-12, so PAC-12 refs will call the game.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Well, we already know the people running the CFP and its committee members are biased, profit-centric, and all-rounder heats. Until they change for the better, it will remain that way. That being the case, I suggest that we:

 

[Godfatha]

The only real reason to watch this Tuesday is to see the 5-7 rankings.
it will be a combination of OSU, Bama, Vols.
Reece Davis, a Bama grad and the host of the rankings show, has already said that he gives head to head results a big weight and that means two teams with the same record should be first judged by that.
so, after he reveals them Tuesday night, and if Bama is 6 and Vols 7, I bet that Davis will call out the committee and say they were wrong (even though he’s a Bama grad, he’s not a Bootlicker of his alma mater like a David Pollack).

Reese has always seemed to be fair to us

 

[jimed1]

I don't see any scenario where a 2-loss UT gets in over a one loss team when the most recent loss was by 25 pts to an 8-4 So. Carolina team. TCU has already beaten K-State this year so as long as they don't lose bad they are in. We aren't jumping OSU either. With either a TCU or USC loss, OSU will be the first team in. Not convinced they would jump TCU, especially if it they have a close loss.
So when the dust settles I think UT can be as high as #5 after this weekend and have a shot at being #3 in the final polls after bowl games and CFP games.

 

[Raebo]

Since Alabama was ahead of us last week, why would we jump them??? The same criteria I see listed above existed last week.

Unpopular opinion but I think the committee saw basically a tie in our head to head game with Alabama. The committee probably thought home field advantage played a HUGE role for the first 25 minutes or so of the game when we jumped to a 28-10 lead. Alabama was able to claw back to tie us and we won when Alabama missed a field goal and we made a crazy FG as time ran out. On a neutral field, they probably think Alabama would have won in a very close game.

I know, some will say that the score doesn’t matter but then the TCU close scores don’t matter either.

 

[JMSqb11]

I don't see any scenario where a 2-loss UT gets in over a one loss team when the most recent loss was by 25 pts to an 8-4 So. Carolina team. TCU has already beaten K-State this year so as long as they don't lose bad they are in. We aren't jumping OSU either. With either a TCU or USC loss, OSU will be the first team in. Not convinced they would jump TCU, especially if it they have a close loss.
So when the dust settles I think UT can be as high as #5 after this weekend and have a shot at being #3 in the final polls after bowl games and CFP games.

Obviously if TCU and USC win, they prevent a lot of chaos for the committee. If they both lose, you have 5 teams ranked 3-7 who have no checkmark in the Conference Champ box, you have to go down to next criteria of Head to Head wins (only 2 teams played each other Tenn over Bama)....

Top 25 wins, Tennessee has 2 (#6/7 and #12ish), OSU has 2 (#8-10ish and #15-18ish), Bama has 1, maybe 2 if Ole Miss stays in. USC would have 2 or 3..... TCU would have 2 but would lose the rematch so that 1 ranked win over KSU gets washed out.....

I really think Hooker's injury is going to be the cop out if that chaos scenario happens where TCU and USC loses. That seems like an easy excuse for the committee to use and they can gladly take it, mark us #7 and go about figuring out the rest.

 

[JMSqb11]

Since Alabama was ahead of us last week, why would we jump them??? The same criteria I see listed above existed last week.

Unpopular opinion but I think the committee saw basically a tie in our head to head game with Alabama. The committee probably thought home field advantage played a HUGE role for the first 25 minutes or so of the game when we jumped to a 28-10 lead. Alabama was able to claw back to tie us and we won when Alabama missed a field goal and we made a crazy FG as time ran out. On a neutral field, they probably think Alabama would have won in a very close game.

I know, some will say that the score doesn’t matter but then the TCU close scores don’t matter either.

Partially because tonight's rankings are the second most important rankings of the year. The committee has to rank teams 5-7, normally 5 and 6 but two teams that played each other are 10-2 at 6/7, in the event there are losses in the top 4.

If we are ranked ahead of Bama and TCU and USC don't lose, I will be a bit pissed off because I do NOT want to go the Sugar Bowl.

If TCU and USC both lose and we are 6th, I will be happy.

I don't expect both to lose so I really want to be ranked behind Bama so we can go Orange Bowling. The matchup will be better with a 10 win at minimum ACC team rather than playing a 4 loss Big 12 team.

 

[zydane47]

Reese has always seemed to be fair to us

Reese, and Chris Doering, a Gator mind you, both would have us above Bama. I've also seen a few tweets like Barrett Salle talking about us being above Bama as well.

 

[zydane47]

I really think Hooker's injury is going to be the cop out if that chaos scenario happens where TCU and USC loses. That seems like an easy excuse for the committee to use and they can gladly take it, mark us #7 and go about figuring out the rest.

I got to thinking about this last night. It's possible that they might, maybe they wanted to see how we did against Vandy with Milton in there. We did what we normally have done all season and that was score a crap ton of points. We even switched it up and ran it more and won that way.

If they go that way, then to me they have to compare us with Hooker out to Bama with Young out. Bama struggled without Young, where as we switched the way we played and won. I'd hope they wouldn't go with that excuse but if they did I'd hope Vol twitter gives them hell.

 

[GVF]

Why?
do you think that TCU stays in the top 4 if they lose to KState?
I admit that is a possibility since they would finish 12-1. But, they play in a weak conference.

The KState Big12 game will be TCU's 6th game this season against a ranked opponent. Only UT and Bama can match that. If TCU does lose, it's not a shocker if they stay in.

Interesting tidbit however...SEC & Pac12 both end regular season with 6 ranked teams each. ACC/B1G/B12 only have 3 each. And Bosie State has an undefeated conference record, and an overall record equal to or better than all but the Top 10 in the rankings yet go unranked.

 

[DougVol]

We are ahead of Alabama by all of the committee's qualifiers. When circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable, then the following criteria must be considered:

• Championships won (not applicable)
• Strength of schedule (Tennessee's is better)
• Head‐to‐head competition (if it occurred) 52-49
• Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory) we smashed LSU, they lost

CFP Selection Committee Protocol

Don’t forget Vandy.

 

[TCNC53]

Tennessee lost to Georgia by 13 on the road and dropped from 1 to 5 in the playoff rankings.

Let’s see how far Ohio State drops after losing to Michigan at home by 22…

Exactly - why do people want to refer to our loss at Georgia as a “blow out” loss - 13 points is by no means a blow out and we all know we were just a couple of completed passes from potentially winning that game and pretty much shut down their offense in the second half. SC - that was a blow out - GA - not a blow out at all.

 

[rjd970]

We are ahead of Alabama by all of the committee's qualifiers. When circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable, then the following criteria must be considered:

• Championships won (not applicable)
• Strength of schedule (Tennessee's is better)
• Head‐to‐head competition (if it occurred) 52-49
• Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory) we smashed LSU, they lost

CFP Selection Committee Protocol

The other common opponent is Vanderbilt. And if we look at margin of victory we have the slight edge there as well.

 

[temptn]

We are ahead of Alabama by all of the committee's qualifiers. When circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable, then the following criteria must be considered:

• Championships won (not applicable)
• Strength of schedule (Tennessee's is better)
• Head‐to‐head competition (if it occurred) 52-49
• Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory) we smashed LSU, they lost

CFP Selection Committee Protocol

.
Some of the guidelines and protocols expected to be established to guide the committee would include, but not be limited to, the following:

• While it is understood that committee members will take into consideration all kinds of data including polls, committee members will be required to discredit polls wherein initial rankings are established before competition has occurred;
• Any polls that are taken into consideration by the selection committee must be completely open and transparent to the public;
• Strength of schedule, head‐to‐head competition and championships won must be specifically applied as tie‐breakers between teams that look similar;
• Committee members associated with any team under consideration during the selection process will be required to recuse themselves from any deliberations associated with that team;

 

[90 Vol]

They would love for TCU to be out. It’s terrible for ratings for them to be in. If they lose by a point, they’re out. If USC loses, they’re out. If they let a two loss SEC team in over three different conference champions (ACC, Big 12, and PAC) they better have a sound story. UT collapsing to an unranked SC is not that. Losing our top player puts us further out. It’s a terrible quandary for the committee, but they’d take Alabama first. It’s a credible story. Their losses were by a few points. Sadly that’d trump head to head from October.

It's not a credible story. If they place Alabama ahead of Tennessee, they violated their own stated protocol.

 

[sjt18]

We're fans so many of us don't want to see it... but there are arguments for/against different orders.

tOSU played no one. They played one good team and got thumped hard. OTOH, they're one of the few top 1 loss teams and who would take TCU to beat them on a neutral field?

Bama lost twice and who would you call their "quality wins"? Ole Miss? Texas? But they were competitive in both losses with one coming against UT with a huge homefield advantage.

UT lost twice. Once was to the undisputed best team in the country. But the other really hurts. They were stomped by a middling USCe team. Not just upset... or defeated but beaten in embarrassing fashion. OTOH, they beat Bama and LSU for two of the best "quality" wins of anyone trying to make an argument.


You can make a case for and against all 3 of these teams. Barring a second loss by USC, I don't think any deserve one of the top 4 spots. If USC does lose again... then the committee should take three coins and award the spot to the team that doesn't flip the same as the other two.

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

Doesn't another conference refs call the game?

Doesn't matter. Football is corrupt. Refs included.

 

[kckempf]

We're fans so many of us don't want to see it... but there are arguments for/against different orders.

tOSU played no one. They played one good team and got thumped hard. OTOH, they're one of the few top 1 loss teams and who would take TCU to beat them on a neutral field?

Bama lost twice and who would you call their "quality wins"? Ole Miss? Texas? But they were competitive in both losses with one coming against UT with a huge homefield advantage.

UT lost twice. Once was to the undisputed best team in the country. But the other really hurts. They were stomped by a middling USCe team. Not just upset... or defeated but beaten in embarrassing fashion. OTOH, they beat Bama and LSU for two of the best "quality" wins of anyone trying to make an argument.


You can make a case for and against all 3 of these teams. Barring a second loss by USC, I don't think any deserve one of the top 4 spots. If USC does lose again... then the committee should take three coins and award the spot to the team that doesn't flip the same as the other two.

The biggest neutral opinion I have in favor of Tennessee over Alabama is that the way you rank them affects the way that teams play going forward if they're aiming for playoffs positioning. If close losses (moral victories) count for more than strong wins, teams have an incentive to play conservatively against stronger opponents in the hope that they can keep the score more respectable. That's not nearly so fun to watch as an underdog taking more risks in the pursuit of victory.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

It's not a credible story. If they place Alabama ahead of Tennessee, they violated their own stated protocol.

Thanks Matlock. Their stated protocol is ambiguous and conflicting enough that they can justify about anything.

 

[sjt18]

The biggest neutral opinion I have in favor of Tennessee over Alabama is that the way you rank them affects the way that teams play going forward if they're aiming for playoffs positioning. If close losses (moral victories) count for more than strong wins, teams have an incentive to play conservatively against stronger opponents in the hope that they can keep the score more respectable. That's not nearly so fun to watch as an underdog taking more risks in the pursuit of victory.

In all honesty, UT didn't get spanked by USCe because they were throwing caution to the wind. USCe seemed to find every soft spot in a pretty soft D.

And Bama didn't lose to UT playing conservative.

I see your point but don't think it works just like that.

 

[CNCVol88]

I doubt that anyone on CFP really wants to vote for Bama,


In the north, west, east....they are public enemy # 1.


Not really all that popular around here

The committee has crimson tide all over their chin. It's been obvious since the beginning.

 

[Jax_Vol]

The committee has crimson tide all over their chin. It's been obvious since the beginning.

Not any more. The entire Big 10 just hates them with a passion. Obviously, Saban has cheated for over a decade.

If it gets down to us versus bammer, it will be close. I think we win a close one. Vote count something like 52-49.

 

[dobre_shunka]

Since Alabama was ahead of us last week, why would we jump them??? The same criteria I see listed above existed last week.

SCAR beat another top 10 team on the road and is now ranked in the polls possibly making the loss in Columbia not as bad in their opinion.

Tennessee racked up over 50 points showing that the offense can still score without Hooker.

There does seem to be some buzz on national websites (ESPN, SI, CBS) questioning why Bama is above Tennessee when all the published CFP criteria state UT should be ranked above Bama (head to head, SOS, common opponents, record vs ranked teams).