Let's be honest, CFB system is not being fair on Tennessee

#76
#76
volfan102455 said:
I think USC has to have some help even if they win out. If TN continues to win impressively it will be difficult for any team below to move ahead of them. LSU was not impressive at all last week, yet USC did not move ahead of them. They only moved up the 1 slot like everyone else.

USC would need to win impressively over a highly ranked team. They would have benefited most if UCLA and Oregon had both won as both of those would have been in the top 11.
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Unfortunately if USC beats UCLA and Notre Dame and wins the Pac 12 they are likely in. Yes I do think TN is probably the better team, but I’m afraid that’s the way the committee will go. Who knows though. Time will tell. And honestly I think USC doesn’t win out anyway
 
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#77
#77
VOLfrombama said:
Sitting at 5 behind 4 undefeated teams is not only fair, its where we should be. Now when Michigan or OSU loses, and we don't jump them into 4th place, I will wholeheartedly agree.
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Sacremento St is undefeated in FCS, I imagine they'd probably beat TCU too...no reason to have FCS or FBS, just take undefeated teams.

Hell, I imagine a top ranked high school would probably play TCU competitively.
 
#79
#79
DirtyDawg said:
Unfortunately if USC beats UCLA and Notre Dame and wins the Pac 12 they are likely in. Yes I do think TN is probably the better team, but I’m afraid that’s the way the committee will go. Who knows though. Time will tell. And honestly I think USC doesn’t win out anyway
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I tend to agree on both counts. If they do all of that they have a case that is compelling even if we are very likely the better team. It’s a big if though. They have to get past all of those games, and dropping any of them is very possible and would be less shocking than for example if we lost to South Carolina. I think chances are good they lose at least one.

Committee could choose us anyway, but I tend to think they would give the one loss conference champ a chance, and honestly it’s fair and sort of the price we potentially pay for not just losing one game, but also losing one important enough that it eliminated our potential to play for the SEC.

The way to avoid having to win these debates is to win all of your games, but especially to win games that eliminate the loser from competing for the conference. Once you’re out that’s a game you can never play in, let alone win, and that means a team like USC or TCU that does win their regular season will have the chance to compete in a game that if won will give them an honor that you can no longer achieve.

Our path to win the east when we could may have been difficult, but our failure to do so is not the fault of other teams in other conferences who may or may not (probably are not imho) be as strong but certainly have their own non-trivial challenges they have already overcome, with more that they have not yet accomplished and might not when all is said and done.

The thing is maybe TCU or USC gets in but neither might, or only one might. Georgia is in if they finish their slate and best LSU and LSU is only in if they finish theirs and win the SEC, and then only maybe since they still will be a 2 loss team. If that happened maybe Georgia and LSU both make it but just as likely only one of them does.

Really I sort of doubt the committee picks this field to decide an LSU that does win the SEC gets in. They still lost 2 games and we have a compelling case against that team specifically since we beat them and impressively. I’d be less surprised with Georgia getting in at 12-1 divisional winners who lose the conference than LSU getting in with 2 losses over us or both getting in. The case to go with them and make history with the first 2 loss seed is easier to make when we specifically are not the team they get compared against.

The big 10 is gonna end up blemishing Michigan or Ohio State and while the committee could put them both in anyway based on how that game went, they probably drop one of them unless both teams played a great game. Even then I think Michigan would be out if they lost but maybe Ohio State and Michigan could both make it if Michigan wins and the game was very close. On the other hand maybe the committee only puts one of them in.

So to recap, for all 4 seeds to be taken by teams who aren’t Tennessee, with us at 11-1, a bunch of things have to happen, none of us which we have any control over, and in my opinion are unlikely to happen. Sure any those scenarios could occur but right now Georgia has the most likely path to a sure seed. One of Michigan or Ohio State probably gets in but Ohio State is the big favorite.

Both of them getting in is possible but it would take a really weird game for that happen, probably Michigan needs to win and it needs to be super competitive for that happen and even then maybe it doesn’t happen.

That means in all likelihood 2 seeds are accounted for in most cases but potentially 3. So then either 1 or 2 is still in play. If only 1 because big 10 shenanigans then USC or TCU will get the last assuming one or both of them do win out which will not be easy for either. If it’s 2 then both would have to do it to take up the last spots.

If multiple of the unlikely scenarios above don’t happen then probably at least a seed will be open and we are best positioned to claim it.
 
#80
#80
volbound1700 said:
The simple fact that we have Georgia on our schedule and in our division hampers us.
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First it was becasue we have to play Alabama every year, now it's Georgia. The fact is we play in the SEC, which is the toughest conference in the country. To get to the top we have to recruit and develop at a high level. That's how Alabama and Georgia did it, and we are very capable of doing the same.
 
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#81
#81
ftsandersvol said:
First it was becasue we have to play Alabama every year, now it's Georgia. The fact is we play in the SEC, which is the toughest conference in the country. To get to the top we have to recruit and development at a high level. That's how Alabama and Georgia did it, and we are very capable of doing the same.
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It’s our teams job to do the things necessary to put themselves into good situations. We’ve had a great year but if we end up in something like the sugar bowl it will not be because of politics or intentional unfairness. If that happens, it will be because we put ourselves into a situation where enough teams could finish with stronger records than us to fill the bracket.

It’s not the fault of other teams if they end up overcoming the challenges they have left and we get passed up. They can only beat the opponents they play, and if some have one loss but still won their conference their record is still better. Sure we can probably make strong arguments that we are actually the better team but it’s not something that can be known for sure until it’s proven on the field. Very likely but until we show them directly or someone else knocks them out there’s a chance they are actually better than we think.

If it does end up happening that we miss the playoffs because of other teams, which is again out of our control at this point (well we can eliminate ourselves if we don’t handle our business with SC and Vandy), a New Years bowl is still an amazing achievement. Our future is very bright which is more important than if we get to the playoffs or the sugar bowl. Playoffs and having a shot at the NC would be awesome and we definitely want to get there but if it doesn’t quite work out this year at least all indications are that we are setting ourselves up to have great chances next year and beyond.
 
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#83
#83
ftsandersvol said:
First it was becasue we have to play Alabama every year, now it's Georgia. The fact is we play in the SEC, which is the toughest conference in the country. To get to the top we have to recruit and develop at a high level. That's how Alabama and Georgia did it, and we are very capable of doing the same.
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Absolutely, having to play Bama and GA every year is a huge hurdle for any team trying to get back to prominence. I’m not saying that in an arrogant way but it’s a fact the way Bama and GA has recruited recently. TN with Heupel is way ahead of schedule. You have potentially a great QB coming in. Who knows what’s next?
 
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#85
#85
Vol*n*teer said:
Truth
That's also why they get their A$$ kicked in the playoff. It's a tradeoff their willing to make.
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They sometimes do but the weird thing with Ohio State is they still end up being competitive at times against other teams in the playoff. They won the NC once since the playoff era started, made the finals and lost by 20 to Alabama last year, got shut out in the semi by Clemson 31-0 once, and narrowly lost another semi to Clemson 29-23.

Clemson is another team that often has benefits from fewer strong conference opponents but they also have good results pretty often. They made the playoffs 6 consecutive years and got to the finals 4 times and won the NC twice. Their two semi-final losses were 24-6 to Alabama and 49-28 to Ohio State. Their two final losses were 45-40 to Alabama and 42-25 to LSU.
 
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#87
#87
Whether UT makes into the CFP or not, even after winning out the rest of the way, I could not be disappointed with this season. I mean after the run of coaches that have been put up there and now there actually is one that has UT mentioned, seriously talked about in the NCG scenario, in his second season there. I will gladly take a News Year Day Bowl in place of playoffs if UT doesn't make it. But a second shot at Georgia, would be sweet.
 
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#90
#90
DirtyDawg said:
Unfortunately if USC beats UCLA and Notre Dame and wins the Pac 12 they are likely in. Yes I do think TN is probably the better team, but I’m afraid that’s the way the committee will go. Who knows though. Time will tell. And honestly I think USC doesn’t win out anyway
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Then if LSU beats UGA in the SEC Championship game and USC and Clemson win their championships with 1 loss - based on this argument they should be selected before UGA. So UGA must win out - not only to help TN but also to ensure they don't get put in the mix with all the other 1 loss non-conference champion teams.

If you look at the polls historically, teams don't normally fall or jump other teams without a loss by one or impressive win by the another. The championship games do give the teams that play in them a chance to have that last impressive win over the teams that are not playing that week. It also can lead to a team in the top 4 taking a tumble they cannot overcome. If in the championship game a team is playing a highly ranked team, that helps.
 
#91
#91
volbound1700 said:
I have gotten into debates on threads.

Who wins at Athens?

Ohio State? Michigan? LSU? TCU? USC? Clemson?

Everyone is citing Tennessee's out for a loss that none of these teams likely pull out as well. The simple fact that we have Georgia on our schedule and in our division hampers us. Give Tennessee Ohio State's schedule and we are 10-0 right now and in top 4 of CFP rankings. Is it really fair to dock us? Why should LSU pass us if they beat Georgia when we beat them and they also lost to FSU?

If Tennessee was called "Alabama" right now, we would be a lock for the Playoffs.
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I think we are in, if we do our part.
 
#92
#92
Stephen Gray said:
They sometimes do but the weird thing with Ohio State is they still end up being competitive at times against other teams in the playoff. They won the NC once since the playoff era started, made the finals and lost by 20 to Alabama last year, got shut out in the semi by Clemson 31-0 once, and narrowly lost another semi to Clemson 29-23.

Clemson is another team that often has benefits from fewer strong conference opponents but they also have good results pretty often. They made the playoffs 6 consecutive years and got to the finals 4 times and won the NC twice. Their two semi-final losses were 24-6 to Alabama and 49-28 to Ohio State. Their two final losses were 45-40 to Alabama and 42-25 to LSU.
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Clemson has more success in the playoffs than Ohio State because they're basically an SEC school with SEC resources, recruiting SEC talent in SEC territory, but playing in the ACC against a weak schedule. Ohio State became more SEC-like under Meyer, but they're still a Big 10 program through and through.
 
#93
#93
Did we really need another it’s not fair/espn/the committee/the world hates us thread? This emo poor pitiful UT stuff has to stop.
 
#94
#94
Caspian said:
Emotions are running high right now to be in the CFBC top 4. Let's assume we got our wish at the end of the year. We're in. But now let's consider 2 scenarios. Scenario 1 - we're in the CFBC but lose in the first game, or maybe get blown out again by Georgia in the final. It was a great ride, but we end the season with a bitter taste in our mouth. Scenario 2 - we're NOT in the CFBC and feel like it's unfair. Then we go to a New Years bowl game and win big. We feel great about the year and can't wait for next year.
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I'll take the shot in the CFP all day, every day. In terms of building a program, nothing beats having the month long exposure and audience that the CFP provides, and although we all hope that this is only the beginning of a great run here, CFP opportunities don't grow on trees (unless you are Alabama or Ohio State). If we lose there, so be it, but we were still one of the elite in 2022 and play an exciting, fun brand of football, and that's where top recruits want to be.

I hate to say it, but it's a sad truth that bowl games have become meaningless exhibitions, and there is no greater evidence than the number of top NFL prospects that skip them to avoid possible injury and a risk to their draft status. Nobody remembers bowl games any more the way they did in the pre-CFP, and really the pre-BCS years. It sucks, but it's the new reality.
 
#95
#95
I do think it’s funny that some Vols fans are saying the Georgia game wasn’t a blowout because they only lost by 14 and are citing dropped passes, the fact that Georgia didn’t do much offensively in the second half, etc, but if Ohio State, TCU, or USC lost to an SEC team in that exact same scenario they would say how the score wasn’t indicative of the ass beating.
 
#96
#96
Creekcat said:
Whether UT makes into the CFP or not, even after winning out the rest of the way, I could not be disappointed with this season. I mean after the run of coaches that have been put up there and now there actually is one that has UT mentioned, seriously talked about in the NCG scenario, in his second season there. I will gladly take a News Year Day Bowl in place of playoffs if UT doesn't make it. But a second shot at Georgia, would be sweet.
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No one would be disappointed in the team, quite the contrary. But to not be disappointed if we are 11-1 with Georgia being our only loss and not get a chance at a possible rematch and more importantly to be on the national stage of the CFP? Wouldn't be human to feel otherwise.
 
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