Smoke your cigars and enjoy the band while you can....

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Hey dumbasses

Undefeated champ is in
1 loss OU or UT champ is likely in
1 loss anyone else champ is likely out

That's the formula with or without CCG, so playing it can only screw things up

Bingo

[Katpappy]

It is clear that Houston is a Power 5 school looking for a Power 5 Conference to take them. They are no different than TCU or Louisville. Take them and an a north non Texas school say Cincinnati and the divisions will look like this.

SWC Division               

Baylor
Houston
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
West Virgina

Big 8 Division

Kansas State
Kansas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Cincinnati

I really like this idea!   

[Steffy08]

You are attacking a false premise. The Big 12 isn't risking missing out on the playoff because of a CCG. That is an ad hoc excuse used by the committee to justify it's profit driven scheme. Just like the ooc strength of schedule excuse was used earlier this season to exclude tcu and Baylor from the top 4.

The Big 12 plays one more p5 game on average than everyone else, because 9 conf games.

TCU was criticized for playing @minnesota, while ou was praised for playing @tenn. Minnesota is arguably better, and hardly dramatically worse than tenn, yet that's the dialogue.

Bama gets a free pass every season. OU gets in with one loss, tcu and Baylor never could have.

The thing is entirely ratings driven. The rational is rationalization.

I think OU or UT would've been left out last year, too.  Because 12-1 is better than 11-1.  I agree with you on ignoring the narrative/dialogue, though.

[Steffy08]

I wish steffy and emo's proposals could've involved convening a summit of all the Big 12 atheltic directors and presidents and having a series of secret ballots and then having the media huddled outside the big 12 offices attempting to read the color of the BBQ smoke to determine if there would be a Conference Championship Game or not.

Yes, this.

[MadCat]

It is clear that Houston is a Power 5 school looking for a Power 5 Conference to take them. They are no different than TCU or Louisville. Take them and an a north non Texas school say Cincinnati and the divisions will look like this.

SWC Division               

Baylor
Houston
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
West Virgina

Big 8 Division

Kansas State
Kansas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Cincinnati

I really like this idea!   

If we have to draw straws for cross divisional rivals...I'm not sure I like any of those other teams (excl. Texas) that much.

[joda]

It is clear that Houston is a Power 5 school looking for a Power 5 Conference to take them. They are no different than TCU or Louisville. Take them and an a north non Texas school say Cincinnati and the divisions will look like this.

SWC Division               

Baylor
Houston
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
West Virgina

Big 8 Division

Kansas State
Kansas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Cincinnati

I really like this idea!   

If we have to draw straws for cross divisional rivals...I'm not sure I like any of those other teams (excl. Texas) that much.

In that scenario Cincy and WVU better be paired because so help me if we drew WVU

[MIZMAW]

It is clear that Houston is a Power 5 school looking for a Power 5 Conference to take them. They are no different than TCU or Louisville. Take them and an a north non Texas school say Cincinnati and the divisions will look like this.

SWC Division               

Baylor
Houston
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
West Virgina

Big 8 Division

Kansas State
Kansas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Cincinnati

I really like this idea!   

It's probably going to happen in 2017.  Not the setup (West Virginia mumps the whole thing), but Houston and Cinci are coming.

[MakeItRain]

I wish steffy and emo's proposals could've involved convening a summit of all the Big 12 atheltic directors and presidents and having a series of secret ballots and then having the media huddled outside the big 12 offices attempting to read the color of the BBQ smoke to determine if there would be a Conference Championship Game or not.

Hahahaha yes

[MakeItRain]

Hey dumbasses

Undefeated champ is in
1 loss OU or UT champ is likely in
1 loss anyone else champ is likely out

That's the formula with or without CCG, so playing it can only screw things up

What is it about human nature that doesn't allow people to just take things for what they are. This is conspiracy theory-y lunacy. There was a one loss Oregon in the playoff last year, if people really think the committee was in the tank for Oregon, then I can't help you. There is nothing the committee can tell you other than to win all of your games. Circumstances change from week to week, thats why the rankings change, sometimes they get them right, sometimes they don't. I'm guessing all of this conspiracy theory and looney hypotheticals would go away if they didn't do this stupid poll every week.

[Panjandrum]

The weekly poll is actually where the money comes into play. There's no other reason for it.

[Gooch]

The committee dropping OU to fourth this weekend was pretty telling.  Essentially, the committee was saying: a 12-1 conference champ is better than an 11-1 conference champ.  In other words, OU got in because Stanford was 11-2.  If Stanford would've been 12-1, I really think OU would've been left out.  And, I can't really blame the committee for coming to that conclusion.

With that information, I think you could develop some cut and dry rules as to when the Big 12 would have a championship game:
1.  If a Big 12 team is 12-0, no championship game.
2.  If two Big 12 teams are 11-1, have a championship game.
3.  If the two best Big 12 teams are 10-2, have a championship game.
4.  If the two best Big 12 teams are 9-3, etc. etc.

After that, it obviously gets a little trickier.  Part of the equation would be whether the other conference have two loss teams.  So, if 10-2 Florida State is playing 10-2 North Carolina, and we have one 11-1 team, don't have a championship because 11-1 is better than 12-2, which means we will be in front of the ACC champ.  In terms of resolving these situations, you could do this:  ask the two teams eligible for the Big 12 championship game if they want to play.  If they both say "yes," play it.  If not, don't play it.

I don't think we will ever go there, but I also 100% agree that the Big 12 could get a tactical advantage by implementing the above rules.  If Baylor and TCU had played last year, there is no doubt in my mind that the 12-1 winner of that game would have had a BETTER chance to get in.

One other thing:  My sense is that the last two championship weekends have been very "chalk" in terms of the  results.  Meaning that no two-loss teams have gotten in, yet.  In most years, I believe, there will be at least one two-loss team in the playoffs.  Hell, LSU got into the BCS title game with two losses.  If an 11-1 team is preferred over an 11-2 team, I think the current format of the Big 12 gives us a slight advantage over other conferences (even though we could buttress that advantage by having a "maybe" championship game).

This might be the dumbest thing I have ever read on this blog and I have read some really dumb crap on here.

Coming from the guy who just shot down a north/south split because "ou and ut have to play each other," I should probably just discount you entirely. (Have you ever heard of protected rivalry games?  Like the sec had been doing for years?)

Anyway, I'll bite:  What is so dumb about my post?  I'm trying to show that you could develop some rules as to when to play a championship game after a round robin.

The protected rivalries are really rough ridin' dumb. They lead to horribly unbalanced schedules. See the big 10 and SEC.

[tdaver]

It's not a conspiracy theory and not about the committee being in the tank for certain teams.  It's college football polling 101 since the beginning of time and this committee is no different than the AP or any other human poll in how a big name can break a tie.  Now this year one of the "others" could have gotten in because the Pac12/ND didn't provide a fifth 1 loss or better team.  But if ND had beaten Stanford, OU has a much better shot of getting in than OSU would have and not because of resumes.

I had a hard time typing that out because MIR's signature had me hypnotized.

[ChiComCat]

People wanting a consistent blueprint from the committee are always going to be disappointed.  There are a dozen people that value all that crap differently.  I think the only clear cut thing to takeaway is you better be a conference champion to have a shot.

[Emo EMAW]

I wish steffy and emo's proposals could've involved convening a summit of all the Big 12 atheltic directors and presidents and having a series of secret ballots and then having the media huddled outside the big 12 offices attempting to read the color of the BBQ smoke to determine if there would be a Conference Championship Game or not.

It was really michigancat's proposal.  I just thought it was a good one.  Having the option of something is always better than not having any option at all.  The deciding when/how to exercise the option is the hard part, but it could be figured out for sure.  Maybe the option is only exercised like 10% of the time and having the option isn't much better than not having it.  Tough to say.

[Katpappy]

I wish steffy and emo's proposals could've involved convening a summit of all the Big 12 atheltic directors and presidents and having a series of secret ballots and then having the media huddled outside the big 12 offices attempting to read the color of the BBQ smoke to determine if there would be a Conference Championship Game or not.

It was really michigancat's proposal.  I just thought it was a good one.  Having the option of something is always better than not having any option at all.  The deciding when/how to exercise the option is the hard part, but it could be figured out for sure.  Maybe the option is only exercised like 10% of the time and having the option isn't much better than not having it.  Tough to say.

The crap Steffy, Rusty and you want is the very reason Delaney wants this blocked.  The rough ridin' picking and choosing isn't fair to the other P5 conferences.   

[Emo EMAW]

I wish steffy and emo's proposals could've involved convening a summit of all the Big 12 atheltic directors and presidents and having a series of secret ballots and then having the media huddled outside the big 12 offices attempting to read the color of the BBQ smoke to determine if there would be a Conference Championship Game or not.

It was really michigancat's proposal.  I just thought it was a good one.  Having the option of something is always better than not having any option at all.  The deciding when/how to exercise the option is the hard part, but it could be figured out for sure.  Maybe the option is only exercised like 10% of the time and having the option isn't much better than not having it.  Tough to say.

The crap Steffy, Rusty and you want is the very reason Delaney wants this blocked.  The rough ridin' picking and choosing isn't fair to the other P5 conferences.   

The fact that any of the other conferences would be against it is evidence enough that it would be potentially beneficial to the Big 12.

[Katpappy]

I wish steffy and emo's proposals could've involved convening a summit of all the Big 12 atheltic directors and presidents and having a series of secret ballots and then having the media huddled outside the big 12 offices attempting to read the color of the BBQ smoke to determine if there would be a Conference Championship Game or not.

It was really michigancat's proposal.  I just thought it was a good one.  Having the option of something is always better than not having any option at all.  The deciding when/how to exercise the option is the hard part, but it could be figured out for sure.  Maybe the option is only exercised like 10% of the time and having the option isn't much better than not having it.  Tough to say.

The crap Steffy, Rusty and you want is the very reason Delaney wants this blocked.  The rough ridin' picking and choosing isn't fair to the other P5 conferences.   

The fact that any of the other conferences would be against it is evidence enough that it would be potentially beneficial to the Big 12.

Of course it would.

[MakeItRain]

Still waiting for someone to present the scenario in which it would be beneficial to the Big 12. It's been four days with this and I've yet to read one.

[Steffy08]

Still waiting for someone to present the scenario in which it would be beneficial to the Big 12. It's been four days with this and I've yet to read one.

JFC read the posts.  Two teams at 11-1......like last year.  The 12-1 team has a better chance to get in than they did at 11-1.  Pretty simple, really.

[DQ12]

Still waiting for someone to present the scenario in which it would be beneficial to the Big 12. It's been four days with this and I've yet to read one.

Where two 11-1 Big 12 teams are ranked 5th and 6th, and the undefeated ACC champ is playing 24th ranked Duke in the ACC championship game.

[chum1]

There are definitely scenarios in which a Big 12 team would make the playoff with a CCG and not without.

There are also scenarios in which a Big 12 team would make the playoff without a CCG and not with.

And then there are scenarios in which a CCG would have no affect on whether or not a Big 12 team makes the playoff.

[DQ12]

Still waiting for someone to present the scenario in which it would be beneficial to the Big 12. It's been four days with this and I've yet to read one.

Where two 11-1 Big 12 teams are ranked 5th and 6th, and the undefeated ACC champ is playing 24th ranked Duke in the ACC championship game.

You do understand that the winner of our game would be 12-1, right?

The premise is that we are trying to get one in the playoff, not both.  If you are trying to get two in the playoff, yes, the analysis is different.  But that possibility is so remote that I don't think it is worth spending much time on.

uh yeah.  i just gave him a scenario where a championship game would be beneficial.

[MakeItRain]

Still waiting for someone to present the scenario in which it would be beneficial to the Big 12. It's been four days with this and I've yet to read one.

Where two 11-1 Big 12 teams are ranked 5th and 6th, and the undefeated ACC champ is playing 24th ranked Duke in the ACC championship game.

You do understand that the winner of our game would be 12-1, right?

The premise is that we are trying to get one in the playoff, not both.  If you are trying to get two in the playoff, yes, the analysis is different.  But that possibility is so remote that I don't think it is worth spending much time on.

uh yeah.  i just gave him a scenario where a championship game would be beneficial.

That still doesn't guarantee anything. Wouldn't it be better just to hope for a top 4 loss on championship Saturday? Chum's post is 100% correct.

[Panjandrum]

Still waiting for someone to present the scenario in which it would be beneficial to the Big 12. It's been four days with this and I've yet to read one.

Where two 11-1 Big 12 teams are ranked 5th and 6th, and the undefeated ACC champ is playing 24th ranked Duke in the ACC championship game.

Well, FSU hadn't lost a game in something like two years, right?  Defending national champs were going to get the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how shaky they looked through the year.

In retrospect, we know Ohio State was deserving, but at the time, the argument was that TCU was better.  And, given how TCU was playing at that time, it's hard to say that they probably wouldn't have won it, too.

What last year underscored was the need for eight teams, IMO.

What I'd do is have all of the P5 conference champs + the Top 3 ranked G5 champs.  I'm sure Notre Dame would find some criteria to squeeze in there like they did the BCS.  No at-large.

So, we'd have:

Clemson
Alabama
MSU
OU
Stanford
Notre Dame
Houston
Western Kentucky

You'd play the first round at the higher ranked team's home stadium the week following the announcement, then you go into the bowl season as per usual.

Clemson vs. WKU
Alabama vs. Houston
MSU vs. Notre Dame
OU vs. Stanford

Winners get whatever bowl game corresponds with their seeding.

If people get all angry about the extra game over finals week, just eliminate the bye week in the middle of the year.

[MIZMAW]

This entire discussion is nonsensical.  The Big 12 is not going to be allowed to stack the deck in its own favor.  The rest of the conferences simply won't allow it, nor should they.  The conference is going to grab a couple teams, probably Houston and Cincinnati, and have a real live conference championship like every other major conference does by 2017.