Playoffs versus Polls - Week Eleven
As predicted here last week, wins by both Oregon and Notre Dame would still see the Ducks hop the Irish in the subsequent BCS poll. Oregon had the toughest (best) remaining schedule left of any of the top four teams. They handled USC in their first test of the final month. Still having two road games left and two games against ranked opponents, not to mention the conference title game; it is shaping up well for them to hop Kansas State as well if the two win out, especially since neither of the human polls will drop Oregon from number two if they don’t lose. Notre Dame, on the other hand, seems doomed. They need two of the three teams ahead of them to lose for any chance at the National Title. Since they keep squeaking out victories against subpar opponents, no human voters will put them ahead of the other three teams and their current ranking of second in the computers should drop considerably with their next two opponents (Boston College and Wake Forest, hello ACC!).
Alabama still rests in the first spot but now also nabbed number one in the computer rankings after edging LSU. With ridiculous talk this week about whether the Crimson Tide could beat an NFL team, the talk should have been about how Alabama had the worst resume out of any of the top four. Now, with the LSU victory, that argument is also moot. Although, with a cursory glance, you can see that Alabama did not have to play any of the top SEC East teams during the regular season, somehow avoiding Florida, Georgia, AND South Carolina.
Oddly enough, this has become a boring year for a predicted top four playoff. As of now, the top four is firmly set. If one of these SEC East teams manages to beat Alabama in the conference championship, it’s another story. But, at this moment, there is no excitement for who’d be in and who’d be left out. However, this fact has morphed into a terrible situation for the current BCS. What if four teams finish undefeated? It would be disastrous, worse even than last year’s title game rematch. I cannot imagine what would happen to the catholic faith if an undefeated Notre Dame team gets thrown in the Fiesta Bowl against Louisville.
This would also be a fascinating year for an eight-team playoff, if such things existed. As of now, numbers five through eight in the BCS are all SEC teams. Imagine having an eight team playoff where five of the participants were from the same conference. It would be pandemonium. And don’t pretend like it’s not possible. Ranked ninth and 10th this week are the Big East leader and the ACC leader respectively. It is a sad state of affairs but does anyone really think Louisville or Florida State is better than South Carolina? The fifth best SEC team is probably deserving of a playoff berth over those conference leaders. Luckily we don’t have to worry about that mess coming to fruition.
AOTM Predicted BCS Top Two:
(1) Alabama vs. (2) Oregon
AOTM Predicted Playoff Top Four:
(1) Alabama vs. (4) Notre Dame; (2) Oregon vs. (3) Kansas State
Week 11 Football – What to Watch For
