Impact of Arizona's 56-35 win over Arizona State

[ScottHood]

The Pac-12 will have just 6 bowl eligible teams. So, if UW makes the 4-team playoff and Colorado/USC to Rose, the Las Vegas and Cactus Bowls won't have Pac-12 teams. Here is how I see the Pac-12 bowl picture right now:

Playoff: UW
Rose: Higher ranked of Colorado or USC in final CFB committee standings
Alamo: Lower ranked of Colorado/USC
Holiday: Washington State
Foster Farms: Stanford
Sun: Utah

Bowl Ineligible: Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

The Pac-12 will have just 6 bowl eligible teams. So, if UW makes the 4-team playoff and Colorado/USC to Rose, the Las Vegas and Cactus Bowls won't have Pac-12 teams. Here is how I see the Pac-12 bowl picture right now:

Playoff: UW
Rose: Higher ranked of Colorado or USC in final CFB committee standings
Alamo: Lower ranked of Colorado/USC
Holiday: Washington State
Foster Farms: Stanford
Sun: Utah

Bowl Ineligible: Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona.

FWIW, this SITE says that a number of Pac-12 teams will be eligible based on APR. According to them, UCLA, Oregon, Cal and ASU are all contenders if they are 5-7. So, ASU is eligible by that measure. Oregon needs to beat OSU and the winner of UCLA vs Cal are other teams that will have a shot. Las Vegas would love to choose between Oregon and UCLA and ASU would likely sell some tickets to the Cactus Bowl.

 

[brettcraycraft51]

FWIW, this SITE says that a number of Pac-12 teams will be eligible based on APR. According to them, UCLA, Oregon, Cal and ASU are all contenders if they are 5-7. So, ASU is eligible by that measure. Oregon needs to beat OSU and the winner of UCLA vs Cal are other teams that will have a shot. Las Vegas would love to choose between Oregon and UCLA and ASU would likely sell some tickets to the Cactus Bowl.

man, the bowl system is such a joke at this point (not like that's news). i'd be 100% in favor of blowing it up completely and expanding the playoffs.

 

[fingerdisco]

man, the bowl system is such a joke at this point (not like that's news). i'd be 100% in favor of blowing it up completely and expanding the playoffs.

I don't have a problem with the bowl system per se, there's just too many of them--like 10 or even 15 too many. Get it back to rewarding teams with winning records and it would sort itself out.

 

[chugspig]

Anything but sun

 

[Glad Cougar]

Absolutely need to contract the # of bowl games so that only teams with winning records get a post season reward.. If Oregon sneaks into a bowl game with the horrible season they've had (or UCLA, Cal, ASU, etc...), it's a joke.

Glad Cougar

 

[95coug]

The Pac-12 will have just 6 bowl eligible teams. So, if UW makes the 4-team playoff and Colorado/USC to Rose, the Las Vegas and Cactus Bowls won't have Pac-12 teams. Here is how I see the Pac-12 bowl picture right now:

Playoff: UW
Rose: Higher ranked of Colorado or USC in final CFB committee standings
Alamo: Lower ranked of Colorado/USC
Holiday: Washington State
Foster Farms: Stanford
Sun: Utah

Bowl Ineligible: Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona.

I would not be surprised at all if Michigan and Clemson just trade places. Michigan won't get punished severely for losing to the #2 team in 2 OTs.

IF UW doesn't bump to #4:
The UW/CU winner gets the Rose. If CU upsets UW, then the Huskies probably stay ranked high enough to get an at-large bid for a January game, the Rose gets SC (who would be higher ranked at that point, and a bigger draw anyway). Then the Alamo gets to pick between Colorado and us. If the Alamo takes us, the Holiday gets Colorado. If the Alamo takes Colorado, the Holiday gets to pick between us and Stanford. Holiday probably gets us (and then FOster Farms gets to pick between Stanford and Utah), but if Holiday takes Stanford we have to go to Foster Farms. We can't fall to the Sun in this scenario.

If UW beats CU, or if Clemson gets upset, that might be enough to move UW into the top 4 (as long as the Wisconsin-Penn State winner doesn't jump over them). That would set up a very similar scenario to above. Except: USC will move to #11 this week, with Louisville's loss. #8 Oklahoma and #10 Oklahoma State play next week. If Oklahoma wins, USC rises another spot to #10 in the final rankings, and then they could get the Cotton. Colorado falls out of the top 10 (probably) and could still end up in the Rose. Then we either get the Alamo or Holiday, and can't fall to Foster Farms.

Honestly, I'm having a hard time coming up with a scenario that puts us anywhere but the Holiday or Foster Farms. Rising up to the Alamo requires UW, CU, and USC to all go to NY6 games (which isn't likely). Falling to the Sun requires that only the conference champ gets a NY6 game - which also seems unlikely.

 

[Coug-Vandal]

My rant against the playoff system. I don't think any system is perfect but the main problem with the current system is it continues to devalue conference championships which really ought to be the goal. An 8 team playoff that protected the five major conference champions would be much better. Than we could just argue about the 3 wildcards. The current system allows voices like ESPN to basically ignore the conference championship games and continue to speculate about who is obviously (according to them) one of the top 4 teams in the country. A couple of weeks ago I wasted 15 minutes listening to several on ESPN tell me that Louisville was obviously one of the top 4 teams in the country. Since then they have lost to power houses Houston and Kentucky. Now we get to listen to how Michigan & Ohio St are clearly deserving even though neither team will be in the Big 10 championship game. If I was a Wisconsin or Penn St fan I would really be upset. This glorification of the big name school with the big name coach will never end. At least going with conference champions allows teams to play there way in. I would be rooting for Colorado in a champion based system but since they won't get in under the current system and I'd like the Pac-12 to be represented I guess I'll have to root for the dreaded Huskies.

 

[Coug95man2]

My rant against the playoff system. I don't think any system is perfect but the main problem with the current system is it continues to devalue conference championships which really ought to be the goal. An 8 team playoff that protected the five major conference champions would be much better. Than we could just argue about the 3 wildcards. The current system allows voices like ESPN to basically ignore the conference championship games and continue to speculate about who is obviously (according to them) one of the top 4 teams in the country. A couple of weeks ago I wasted 15 minutes listening to several on ESPN tell me that Louisville was obviously one of the top 4 teams in the country. Since then they have lost to power houses Houston and Kentucky. Now we get to listen to how Michigan & Ohio St are clearly deserving even though neither team will be in the Big 10 championship game. If I was a Wisconsin or Penn St fan I would really be upset. This glorification of the big name school with the big name coach will never end. At least going with conference champions allows teams to play there way in. I would be rooting for Colorado in a champion based system but since they won't get in under the current system and I'd like the Pac-12 to be represented I guess I'll have to root for the dreaded Huskies.

I was talking about this with my brother. He was asking why the playoff system wasn't bigger. I told him there were many points. 1. Politics. They have to figure out how the bowls will fit in. Easy enough fix but need time to let the dust settle on this. 2. Honestly, the masses don't like "change". "Change" is a long term goal. Take little steps, chip away at their resistance. Then they feel good about it, when 1 year ago they were humming and hawing about it. 3. And also it is an easy leap to think something like this would happen. This, again, would allow the masses to feel like they have a voice in the matter, when really it was only given time. A big scandal on whom should be where is exactly what the doctor ordered. Now it can head into that space with little public resistance. When the next scandal of "#9 and #10 should be in", then 16 teams will progress, and so on.

Everyone is making the money and the public gets to feel outraged and they have a voice. Just my view...

 

[BiggsCoug]

If you can't win your conference do you really have a claim at playing for the national title?

I don't think so. OSU getting into the playoff is BS. Why have conference title games if the winner gets passed over by a lesser team in their own league for a playoff berth?

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

If you can't win your conference do you really have a claim at playing for the national title?

I don't think so. OSU getting into the playoff is BS. Why have conference title games if the winner gets passed over by a lesser team in their own league for a playoff berth?

This is similar to the argument that many have expressed about the Big Dance. What's the point of being a conference champion?

 

[Coug-Vandal]

This is similar to the argument that many have expressed about the Big Dance. What's the point of being a conference champion?

Well at least in BB everyone has a chance to play themselves in by winning the conference tourney. I agree with Biggs conference champs ought to get into the playoff before anyone else. The problem is that we have a 4 team playoff and one of the major conferences gets left out every year. Stanford got skipped last year and then blew Iowa apart in the Rose Bowl. That's why I favor going to an 8 team playoff with the 5 major conference champions getting an automatic bid. Allowing Ohio St in while telling Penn St and Wisconsin to buzz off is ridiculous. The winner of the Big 12 is also likely to get left out.
The conceit is that a bunch of people sitting in a room can discern who really is the best team. This allows all sorts of bias to creep in. Ohio St lost to Penn St and thus didn't win their division. They should be out I don't care how many people think they are really great. They wouldn't be the first great team to lose and get left out. Perhaps the 2001 Mariners should have said they really should be in the World Series because we they won the most regular season games ever.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Well at least in BB everyone has a chance to play themselves in by winning the conference tourney. I agree with Biggs conference champs ought to get into the playoff before anyone else. The problem is that we have a 4 team playoff and one of the major conferences gets left out every year. Stanford got skipped last year and then blew Iowa apart in the Rose Bowl. That's why I favor going to an 8 team playoff with the 5 major conference champions getting an automatic bid. Allowing Ohio St in while telling Penn St and Wisconsin to buzz off is ridiculous. The winner of the Big 12 is also likely to get left out.
The conceit is that a bunch of people sitting in a room can discern who really is the best team. This allows all sorts of bias to creep in. Ohio St lost to Penn St and thus didn't win their division. They should be out I don't care how many people think they are really great. They wouldn't be the first great team to lose and get left out. Perhaps the 2001 Mariners should have said they really should be in the World Series because we they won the most regular season games ever.

There are some that are excited about OSU getting in because it will force the 8 team conversation. As you said, the 5 Power Five champs get in, top ranked Group of Five and two at-large. This year, it would be:

#1 Alabama vs #8 Western Michigan
#2 Clemson vs #7 Michigan
#3 Ohio State vs #6 Oklahoma
#4 UW/CU winner vs #5 Wiscy/PSU Winner

Higher ranked team at home on December 16th and 17th. If CU wins the Pac-12, Big 10 is home team. Awesomeness ensues!