NCAA Football 2017 season

[Chrisoc13]

I think it's hilarious and awesome that they are claiming a national championship. Good for them.

[msteelers]

Good for UCF. The National Championship is a joke anyway, and I'm glad that UCF is actively pointing that out. When you only let four teams into a playoff, you can't let a team like Alabama in there who didn't even PLAY for their conference championship.

UCF is the only undefeated team this year, and beat a team that has beaten the two teams playing for the "National Championship". Their claim is way better than the 1973 Alabama team, which lost to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Spoiler:

Full disclosure: I graduated from UCF in December of 2005. Go Knights!!!

[Pyperkub]

Knew about 7 of the 8. The $2 bill one was new.

[Skinypupy]

I was mostly just annoyed at the radio interview with one of the coaches who was claiming they were the only G5 team to go undefeated and beat a top-10 P5 team I’m their bowl game, which is not even remotely true. Boise and Utah both did that already.

In other news, both Rosen (UCLA) and Darnold (USC) declares for the draft today. That makes me rather happy.

Oh, and Arizona and Les Miles have ”mutual interest”. I still don’t think Miles is that great of a coach, and LSU mainly succeeded despite him rather than because of him. They had exceptional talent that Miles often wasted...a luxury he wouldn’t necessarily have at AZ.

[Pyperkub]

I was mostly just annoyed at the radio interview with one of the coaches who was claiming they were the only G5 team to go undefeated and beat a top-10 P5 team I’m their bowl game, which is not even remotely true. Boise and Utah both did that already.

In other news, both Rosen (UCLA) and Darnold (USC) declares for the draft today. That makes me rather happy.

Oh, and Arizona and Les Miles have ”mutual interest”. I still don’t think Miles is that great of a coach, and LSU mainly succeeded despite him rather than because of him. They had exceptional talent that Miles often wasted...a luxury he wouldn’t necessarily have at AZ.

Rosen was a sure thing to me, especially with Chip Kelly coming in. Darnold could use another year, but if you're going to be a top 10 pick, you should come out.

Les Miles? Hmm. Think they'd be far better off going after Tedford (sorry Scuzz).

[Skinypupy]

I hear Todd Graham is available.

[Jaymann]

I was mostly just annoyed at the radio interview with one of the coaches who was claiming they were the only G5 team to go undefeated and beat a top-10 P5 team I’m their bowl game, which is not even remotely true. Boise and Utah both did that already.

In other news, both Rosen (UCLA) and Darnold (USC) declares for the draft today. That makes me rather happy.

Oh, and Arizona and Les Miles have ”mutual interest”. I still don’t think Miles is that great of a coach, and LSU mainly succeeded despite him rather than because of him. They had exceptional talent that Miles often wasted...a luxury he wouldn’t necessarily have at AZ.

Rosen was a sure thing to me, especially with Chip Kelly coming in. Darnold could use another year, but if you're going to be a top 10 pick, you should come out.

It's amazing how many potential top picks stay another year and their stock actually declines. Strike while the iron is hot and why risk injury.

[Skinypupy]

I was mostly just annoyed at the radio interview with one of the coaches who was claiming they were the only G5 team to go undefeated and beat a top-10 P5 team I’m their bowl game, which is not even remotely true. Boise and Utah both did that already.

In other news, both Rosen (UCLA) and Darnold (USC) declares for the draft today. That makes me rather happy.

Oh, and Arizona and Les Miles have ”mutual interest”. I still don’t think Miles is that great of a coach, and LSU mainly succeeded despite him rather than because of him. They had exceptional talent that Miles often wasted...a luxury he wouldn’t necessarily have at AZ.

Rosen was a sure thing to me, especially with Chip Kelly coming in. Darnold could use another year, but if you're going to be a top 10 pick, you should come out.

It's amazing how many potential top picks stay another year and their stock actually declines. Strike while the iron is hot and why risk injury.

Especially for Rosen, who hasn't proven particularly durable during college.

[Apollo]

A few thoughts:

* The Big 10 continues to be the best conference in football, top to bottom. Their record during bowl season is just another sign of that fact. And, please, don't try to tell me that Bowl Games are "Exhibition Games". The stats count, the win or loss counts, it has a big impact on your teams final ranking in the polls, and it's likely one of the most watched games your team plays all season. Bowls don't affect a team's conference record, but otherwise they count every bit as much as any other game on the schedule.

*I didn't realize that my Tigers were playing for the National Title! I wish someone had told the team that beforehand.
I'm actually flattered that UCF fans think so much of dealing Auburn their fourth loss of the season, but I don't have the heart to tell them that the Tigers are 1-4 in Bowl Games under Malzahn (though we'll never forget that monumental beatdown of Memphis in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl ).

*The SEC, after years of decline, actually seems to be on the right path again with the excellent Texas A&M and Florida head coach hires. People seem to forget that when the SEC was on a roll several years back it had head coaches like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, and James Franklin. The decline was, IMHO, due 100% to the fact that the league lost a number of great head coaches while the Big 10 was snapping them up (and continues to snap them up) left and right. With Jimbo Fisher back in the league, Dan Mullen leading Florida, and Georgia's rapid ascent under Kirby Smart, the league seems to be moving in the right direction.

[msduncan]

As much as I love what UCF did this year, they do need to quit pretending like an undefeated G5 has never been done before.

And how many of those G5 teams beat an SEC school that had the distinction of beating both teams that are playing in the NC game? I say give them their due and let them have their moment. It not like other schools have not padded their championship resumes.

A 4 loss SEC school.

And they also had 2 of their games cancelled -- one at Georgia Tech. And they have the 54th SOS in the country.

It's a clown show what they are doing.

[msteelers]

It's a clown show what they are doing.

The only "clown show" here is that a team that didn't even win their Conference Championship is allowed into a 4-team playoff to determine the National Champions out of a field of nearly 130 teams.

Also:

Is their title any less legitimate than the one claimed by Alabama in 1941? The Tide went 9-2 and finished third in the SEC and ranked No. 20 in the final AP poll, which was compiled before the bowl games. Even though Minnesota is the acknowledged national champion that season, Alabama claims a title because something called the Houlgate System selected the Tide as the top team.

Alabama is the worst violator of the we're-champs-cause-we-said-so tradition. The Tide claim 16 national titles, but the NCAA only acknowledges 14.

...

Claiming titles isn't only a practice of the distant past. Nick Saban won his first national title when his LSU team beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game after the 2003 season. But don't tell that to USC. The Trojans claim a national title that year after being voted No. 1 in the final AP poll.

[ImLawBoy]

As much as I love what UCF did this year, they do need to quit pretending like an undefeated G5 has never been done before.

And how many of those G5 teams beat an SEC school that had the distinction of beating both teams that are playing in the NC game? I say give them their due and let them have their moment. It not like other schools have not padded their championship resumes.

A 4 loss SEC school.

And they also had 2 of their games cancelled -- one at Georgia Tech. And they have the 54th SOS in the country.

It's a clown show what they are doing.

Lighten up, Francis.

There's no harm in them claiming a National Title here, and it won't do anything to diminish the College Football Playoff championship of Georgia or Alabama. Since it's about the best a G5 team can hope for, it's a bit of harmless fun, and the only clowning would be overreacting to it.

[Apollo]

It's a clown show what they are doing.

The only "clown show" here is that a team that didn't even win their Conference Championship is allowed into a 4-team playoff to determine the National Champions out of a field of nearly 130 teams.

That's because the committee is dedicated to picking the four best teams, as they have stated over and over again, not Conference champions. Just think of them as a Wild Card team.

It is true that Alabama claims some bogus National Titles, so maybe UCF is just trying to follow in the Crimson Tide's footprints.

[Scuzz]

It's a clown show what they are doing.

The only "clown show" here is that a team that didn't even win their Conference Championship is allowed into a 4-team playoff to determine the National Champions out of a field of nearly 130 teams.

That's because the committee is dedicated to picking the four best teams, as they have stated over and over again, not Conference champions. Just think of them as a Wild Card team.

It is true that Alabama claims some bogus National Titles, so maybe UCF is just trying to follow in the Crimson Tide's footprints.

The committee is a stupid idea. They might as well use the old BCS polling system.

Until every school plays the same schedule they should go to 8 teams and make all the big 5 conference champs auto entries. Alabama probably would still have got in, but at least under an 8 team system they would have deserved it.

[Lassr]

As a Bama fan I have never bought anything saying how many national championships we've won and I never claim a number. If you look at the record books you will see Alabama was named NC 25+ times (I forget the number). How the early ones were chosen is somewhat of a mystery to me. I know someone studied it (not the University) and chose the ones he did and it kind of stuck. So I just always say we have won a lot. Is it 16 going on 17 (hopefully), is it only AP & BCS titles, I don't care. Alabama has a storied football history.

[Scuzz]

I was mostly just annoyed at the radio interview with one of the coaches who was claiming they were the only G5 team to go undefeated and beat a top-10 P5 team I’m their bowl game, which is not even remotely true. Boise and Utah both did that already.

In other news, both Rosen (UCLA) and Darnold (USC) declares for the draft today. That makes me rather happy.

Oh, and Arizona and Les Miles have ”mutual interest”. I still don’t think Miles is that great of a coach, and LSU mainly succeeded despite him rather than because of him. They had exceptional talent that Miles often wasted...a luxury he wouldn’t necessarily have at AZ.

Rosen was a sure thing to me, especially with Chip Kelly coming in. Darnold could use another year, but if you're going to be a top 10 pick, you should come out.

Les Miles? Hmm. Think they'd be far better off going after Tedford (sorry Scuzz).

Don't go there, just don't.

[Pyperkub]

As a Bama fan I have never bought anything saying how many national championships we've won and I never claim a number. If you look at the record books you will see Alabama was named NC 25+ times (I forget the number). How the early ones were chosen is somewhat of a mystery to me. I know someone studied it (not the University) and chose the ones he did and it kind of stuck. So I just always say we have won a lot. Is it 16 going on 17 (hopefully), is it only AP & BCS titles, I don't care. Alabama has a storied football history.

There is msd's sig however

[Pyperkub]

I was mostly just annoyed at the radio interview with one of the coaches who was claiming they were the only G5 team to go undefeated and beat a top-10 P5 team I’m their bowl game, which is not even remotely true. Boise and Utah both did that already.

In other news, both Rosen (UCLA) and Darnold (USC) declares for the draft today. That makes me rather happy.

Oh, and Arizona and Les Miles have ”mutual interest”. I still don’t think Miles is that great of a coach, and LSU mainly succeeded despite him rather than because of him. They had exceptional talent that Miles often wasted...a luxury he wouldn’t necessarily have at AZ.

Rosen was a sure thing to me, especially with Chip Kelly coming in. Darnold could use another year, but if you're going to be a top 10 pick, you should come out.

Les Miles? Hmm. Think they'd be far better off going after Tedford (sorry Scuzz).

Don't go there, just don't.

Tedford or Miles?

Sounds like Sumlin's a candidate too - may be the best fit for Kahlil Tate...

[Scuzz]

Tedford.

I heard a couple people talk about Miles on ESPN the other day. They thought he had never even been offered another job.

I would think Sumlin would make a good coach somewhere.

[Pyperkub]

Tedford.

I heard a couple people talk about Miles on ESPN the other day. They thought he had never even been offered another job.

I would think Sumlin would make a good coach somewhere.

Your Emperor avatar change fooled me . Here's hoping you get at least another year out of Tedford!

[Isgrimnur]

Is it 16 going on 17 (hopefully), is it only AP & BCS titles, I don't care. Alabama has a storied football history.

Well, regardless, you're the belle of the ball.

[Scuzz]

Tedford.

I heard a couple people talk about Miles on ESPN the other day. They thought he had never even been offered another job.

I would think Sumlin would make a good coach somewhere.

Your Emperor avatar change fooled me . Here's hoping you get at least another year out of Tedford!

For some reason the avatar I was using was designated as being to big, after I had used it for several years. This was the only one I had that fit. I may have to look into some others.

[msduncan]

It's a clown show what they are doing.

The only "clown show" here is that a team that didn't even win their Conference Championship is allowed into a 4-team playoff to determine the National Champions out of a field of nearly 130 teams.

Also:

Is their title any less legitimate than the one claimed by Alabama in 1941? The Tide went 9-2 and finished third in the SEC and ranked No. 20 in the final AP poll, which was compiled before the bowl games. Even though Minnesota is the acknowledged national champion that season, Alabama claims a title because something called the Houlgate System selected the Tide as the top team.

Alabama is the worst violator of the we're-champs-cause-we-said-so tradition. The Tide claim 16 national titles, but the NCAA only acknowledges 14.

...

Claiming titles isn't only a practice of the distant past. Nick Saban won his first national title when his LSU team beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game after the 2003 season. But don't tell that to USC. The Trojans claim a national title that year after being voted No. 1 in the final AP poll.

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them. What is your problem other than hating Alabama?

[msduncan]

As a Bama fan I have never bought anything saying how many national championships we've won and I never claim a number. If you look at the record books you will see Alabama was named NC 25+ times (I forget the number). How the early ones were chosen is somewhat of a mystery to me. I know someone studied it (not the University) and chose the ones he did and it kind of stuck. So I just always say we have won a lot. Is it 16 going on 17 (hopefully), is it only AP & BCS titles, I don't care. Alabama has a storied football history.

Some of them were Rose Bowl victories in the 20's, which was at the time universally regarded as the national championship.

[msduncan]

As a Bama fan I have never bought anything saying how many national championships we've won and I never claim a number. If you look at the record books you will see Alabama was named NC 25+ times (I forget the number). How the early ones were chosen is somewhat of a mystery to me. I know someone studied it (not the University) and chose the ones he did and it kind of stuck. So I just always say we have won a lot. Is it 16 going on 17 (hopefully), is it only AP & BCS titles, I don't care. Alabama has a storied football history.

There is msd's sig however

You just made me realize it's out of date.

[Pyperkub]

Bargain is spelled with an "a".

P.S. Can I be official site editor?

[Pyperkub]

Weird, I quoted msd and got MHS. Who's using an alt ?!?

[Chrisoc13]

It's a clown show what they are doing.

The only "clown show" here is that a team that didn't even win their Conference Championship is allowed into a 4-team playoff to determine the National Champions out of a field of nearly 130 teams.

Also:

Is their title any less legitimate than the one claimed by Alabama in 1941? The Tide went 9-2 and finished third in the SEC and ranked No. 20 in the final AP poll, which was compiled before the bowl games. Even though Minnesota is the acknowledged national champion that season, Alabama claims a title because something called the Houlgate System selected the Tide as the top team.

Alabama is the worst violator of the we're-champs-cause-we-said-so tradition. The Tide claim 16 national titles, but the NCAA only acknowledges 14.

...

Claiming titles isn't only a practice of the distant past. Nick Saban won his first national title when his LSU team beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game after the 2003 season. But don't tell that to USC. The Trojans claim a national title that year after being voted No. 1 in the final AP poll.

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them. What is your problem other than hating Alabama?

Could it be that he thinks they aren't the 4 best teams? It's pretty simple. Some people think UCF might be better. I'm on the fence on it. I think Alabama deserves to be there but I also think UCF does. And I'm not 100% sold they got the four best teams.

[Lassr]

I honestly thought Clemson was the weakest of the 4 but not sure how you could justify leaving them out.

I blame this all on Auburn. I knew if Auburn played their usual crappy game away from home then UCF could beat them and we'd have all this controversy.

[Scuzz]

It's a clown show what they are doing.

The only "clown show" here is that a team that didn't even win their Conference Championship is allowed into a 4-team playoff to determine the National Champions out of a field of nearly 130 teams.

Also:

Is their title any less legitimate than the one claimed by Alabama in 1941? The Tide went 9-2 and finished third in the SEC and ranked No. 20 in the final AP poll, which was compiled before the bowl games. Even though Minnesota is the acknowledged national champion that season, Alabama claims a title because something called the Houlgate System selected the Tide as the top team.

Alabama is the worst violator of the we're-champs-cause-we-said-so tradition. The Tide claim 16 national titles, but the NCAA only acknowledges 14.

...

Claiming titles isn't only a practice of the distant past. Nick Saban won his first national title when his LSU team beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game after the 2003 season. But don't tell that to USC. The Trojans claim a national title that year after being voted No. 1 in the final AP poll.

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them.

I can see why if you are an Alabama fan you might think that way.

[Chrisoc13]

I honestly thought Clemson was the weakest of the 4 but not sure how you could justify leaving them out.

I blame this all on Auburn. I knew if Auburn played their usual crappy game away from home then UCF could beat them and we'd have all this controversy.

Yeah they might have been. But as you say hard to leave them out having won the acc and defending champs and all that. Alabama would have been the team to leave out due to not winning the conference. Of course they will likely prove to be the strongest of the four. Funny how that works.

Expand to 8. All p5 champs and best g5 champ get a shot plus two at Large teams. Hard to argue the best team won't be among them at that point. Of course every now and then you might get a really weak conference champion in there like we used to with the BCS Auto qualifiers. Not perfect but at least every team would have access.

[Scuzz]

Expand to 8. All p5 champs and best g5 champ get a shot plus two at Large teams. Hard to argue the best team won't be among them at that point. Of course every now and then you might get a really weak conference champion in there like we used to with the BCS Auto qualifiers. Not perfect but at least every team would have access.

100% agree with this. If you don't win your conference you have no reason to bitch about not getting in.

[Pyperkub]

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them. What is your problem other than hating Alabama?

This is actually an unknown - UCF is undefeated and beat the SEC West Champ on a neutral field. We think it's true, but it will never be tested.

[Pyperkub]

Expand to 8. All p5 champs and best g5 champ get a shot plus two at Large teams. Hard to argue the best team won't be among them at that point. Of course every now and then you might get a really weak conference champion in there like we used to with the BCS Auto qualifiers. Not perfect but at least every team would have access.

100% agree with this. If you don't win your conference you have no reason to bitch about not getting in.

Unless you're Ohio St or Alabama .

Heck, it's a good chunk of the fun in College football, arguing like this.

[Chrisoc13]

Haha maybe they're worried about ruining the fun of college football if they completely fix it.

[ImLawBoy]

They're never going to completely fix it. Even if you expand to 8, there will still be complaints around who gets those 3 wildcard spots. If you go by straight-up rankings, UCF still wouldn't have been in. Now, that's not necessarily an argument against going to 8 teams (although I don't really support it), but I do think it weakens the argument that it will resolve controversy.

[RunningMn9]

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them. What is your problem other than hating Alabama?

This is actually an unknown - UCF is undefeated and beat the SEC West Champ on a neutral field. We think it's true, but it will never be tested.

Even if you test it, you’ll never know because it’s football, and playing a single game doesn’t really give you an answer. It just seems odd to me (a very casual CFB fan) to claim a national championship just because you are undefeated, when there are more than 115 teams you didn’t play. Do we think they would still do this if Auburn didn’t beat UGA and Alabama?

It seems childish to me.

[Pyperkub]

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them. What is your problem other than hating Alabama?

This is actually an unknown - UCF is undefeated and beat the SEC West Champ on a neutral field. We think it's true, but it will never be tested.

Even if you test it, you’ll never know because it’s football, and playing a single game doesn’t really give you an answer. It just seems odd to me (a very casual CFB fan) to claim a national championship just because you are undefeated, when there are more than 115 teams you didn’t play. Do we think they would still do this if Auburn didn’t beat UGA and Alabama?

It seems childish to me.

Well, if Auburn hadn't beaten UGA and Alabama, then they wouldn't have been playing in the Peach Bowl, and it would have been someone like Ohio St, or UGA might not have made it into the playoff (say Auburn beat UGA, but didn't beat Alabama, and then Alabama beat UGA in the SEC Championship, then UGA's probably not in the playoff...).

See - fun!

[ImLawBoy]

The entire STATED PURPOSE of the Playoff is to get the 4 best teams. They got them. What is your problem other than hating Alabama?

This is actually an unknown - UCF is undefeated and beat the SEC West Champ on a neutral field. We think it's true, but it will never be tested.

Even if you test it, you’ll never know because it’s football, and playing a single game doesn’t really give you an answer. It just seems odd to me (a very casual CFB fan) to claim a national championship just because you are undefeated, when there are more than 115 teams you didn’t play. Do we think they would still do this if Auburn didn’t beat UGA and Alabama?

It seems childish to me.

Sure it's childish, but it's also poking at a system that effectively locks them out of contention for a CoFoPo championship before the season even starts. This is the best they're ever going to get, so they might as well have some fun with it, even if it means they have to suffer the shame of being called childish on the internet.

[RunningMn9]

Sure it's childish, but it's also poking at a system that effectively locks them out of contention for a CoFoPo championship before the season even starts. This is the best they're ever going to get, so they might as well have some fun with it, even if it means they have to suffer the shame of being called childish on the internet.

I certainly think they should celebrate *something*. What locks them out of contention?