HOSED

[Ygridiron4ever]

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the 14 ranking. But I kind of am!

HOSED!!

[Fido]

I'm not surprised. We need a 12/5 game against a good opponent (I want to be building toward the bowl game anyway rather than backing in on a bunch of byes). And we need help from teams ranked 1-13 to lose games.

[GAKunkel]

Who have we beat? BSU. That's it.

I was hoping for a ranking higher than #14, but I am not surprised. BYU is going to have to make a decision, how much risk and money are they willing to put on the line to play a P5. We need to play and handily beat a P5.

[EM_Puma]

Who have we beat? BSU. That's it.

I was hoping for a ranking higher than #14, but I am not surprised. BYU is going to have to make a decision, how much risk and money are they willing to put on the line to play a P5. We need to play and handily beat a P5.

True, we haven't played anyone of any consequence outside of BSU, but when the P5's controlled that result, how can you punish BYU?

I didn't think we'd be lower than 13, so just one tick below that, but it is disappointing. I like what Michael Perchick said the best, as it reflects how I feel about the situation.

[Sammich]

I'm totally in the "happy with anything at all good that happens this year" boat.

That said, this seems like a big asterisk year for everyone. Nobody gets to argue strength of schedule because there just haven't been enough games, period, to clearly rank people according to that metric outside of "Well, they're usually good!" The AP and Coaches' poll voters know that this is an asterisk year, and judging more by wins and the eye test is why BYU is currently in 8th place. But the people who made up the CFP poll seem to be judging everything according to normal-year standards. Disappointing, and maybe even understandable. But no less stupid.

The strength of schedule thing is 70% a circular argument anyway. "Oh, that's a good win." Why is it a good win? "Because it's a good team." Why are they a good team? "Because they play other good teams." What makes them good? "Because they play each other, and they're good, so all the wins are good." Oh, okay.

[EM_Puma]

In a year where there is so much financial challenge to college athletics, I'm not surprised BYU was "graded" by the CFP Selection Committee to be lacking due to their schedule. They're always going to protect their own. It's been allowed to be that way and it will continue.

As noted, this is a year when this selection committee needs to be pressured to judge a body of work and not look as deeply at the schedule.

We need some major upsets to the teams ahead of us by a team that isn't already ranked ahead of us and I don't know if that's possible. IMHO, if we can get at least to #10 by end of season, we'll be in NY6.

[snoscythe]

I said it weeks ago -- the committee is not going to give BYU an NY6 berth this season unless they are absolutely forced to.

Every single athletic department in the country is absolutely hemorrhaging money this season. These voters represent institutions and conferences that need every red cent they can get. If a G5 or P5 team gets in to the NY6 games, their CONFERENCE gets the $4MM payout to split, plus ~$2.5MM to cover travel (with special stipulations for Notre Dame, who just gets a flat fee each year regardless of NY6 berths). So, if an ACC team gets a berth, ALL ACC schools split the $6.5MM after deducting the team's travel costs--all 15 schools benefit.

BYU is different -- if BYU lands an NY6 berth, that $6.5MM goes entirely to BYU.

I don't see these folks having any motivation to give BYU the benefit of the doubt this season. A conference-aligned team getting in benefits a host of schools financially. BYU getting in is just one school benefitting.

[frdbtr]

I said it weeks ago -- the committee is not going to give BYU an NY6 berth this season unless they are absolutely forced to.

Every single athletic department in the country is absolutely hemorrhaging money this season. These voters represent institutions and conferences that need every red cent they can get. If a G5 or P5 team gets in to the NY6 games, their CONFERENCE gets the $4MM payout to split, plus ~$2.5MM to cover travel (with special stipulations for Notre Dame, who just gets a flat fee each year regardless of NY6 berths). So, if an ACC team gets a berth, ALL ACC schools split the $6.5MM after deducting the team's travel costs--all 15 schools benefit.

BYU is different -- if BYU lands an NY6 berth, that $6.5MM goes entirely to BYU.

I don't see these folks having any motivation to give BYU the benefit of the doubt this season. A conference-aligned team getting in benefits a host of schools financially. BYU getting in is just one school benefitting.

Yep, this sums it up. Not fair, but when was the last time college football was fair?

[jadesroom]

This is yet another example of the reason why I enjoy college basketball more than college football: The college football playoff is an elitist championship controlled by a few individuals looking to protect their own. March Madness gives the smaller schools and conferences the chance to compete even though the numbers are skewed in the major conferences' favor.

[Ygridiron4ever]

I confess I got caught up in the excitement. It has been a lot of fun this year; it feels vaguely familiar, and I missed this level of excitement for a long time. But in the back of my mind I feared a letdown. I was afraid it would come at the hands of a ‘stumble’ in a game we were expected to win.

But..... the disappointment came at the hands of a committee and a system.

Sadly, this is not unfamiliar territory. And like Sammich, I am really happy with how the year has gone.

I’ve heard some say that Tom Holme should be considered for AD of the year. Let’s see if he can really earn that. Maybe we can face one or two really good teams, and this edition of BYU football really is as good as they look.

Happy thanksgiving all!