Who you think will be the final 4 teams for the College Football Championship

[SissyBoyFloyd]

Now that the season is past the half way mark, the top teams' remaining schedules pretty much point to who the top 4 teams might be.

My picks are:

1. Alabama - as long as they are undefeated going into the SEC Chmp Game. They could even lose that game, as long as they aren't blown out, and still make the top 4.

2. Penn St - (actually, whoever comes out of the Penn St, Ohio ST, Wisconson matchups. Obviously, one of them has to win out, but Wisconsin has the edge since they only have to beat the winner of the other half of the Big 10 in the championship game. Penn ST and Ohio ST has to face each other before one has the right to face Wisconsin.)

3. TCU - (again, whoever comes out on top of the Okla, Okla St, and TCU matchups. Oklahoma has the toughest road since they still have to play and beat both teams. Okla St has to beat Okla and hope Okla beats TCU handily even to be considered. Much stranger things have happened. The committee does seem to always favor the team with the earliest lost in the season which actually would be Okla ST in this latter scenario.)

4. Clemson - will sneak in over Georgia as the 4th team among much controversy, with the fact that they are the defending champs weighing heavily in the final choice. The exception would be If Clemson fails to win out, or Georgia's only loss is in a close exciting or controversial game to Alabama in the SEC championship, getting them the nod with fans demanding a rematch. Usually, a repeat of a game played on the final week is very unlikely, since that game is looked at similar to a wild card game or a prelim to entering the championship series. That game would almost have to have a controversial ending or something else that leaves a question to who the better team was and/or who deserved the win.

Who do you all see sneaking in when the regular season is finished?

 

[Ronin]

Alabama
Penn State
Syracuse
Clemson

 

[Ronin]

Syracuse

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

Well, now that TCU and Penn St has gone down, it makes the final four picks a lot easier. I would bet it will be:
1. Winner of Alabama/Georgia conference championship game

2. Ohio State/Wisconsin winner of their conference championship game, with the voters praying hard that Wisconsin doesn't win. I doubt they would ever want to rank them as a top 4 team. I could see a situation where Wisconsin goes undefeated, but is left out when voters pick Penn St over them. This of course will cause a bit of an uproar and a demand for an 8 team tournament, which actually will be a good thing for the future.

3. Notre Dame

4. Clemson will beat out the one loss champ from the Big 12 conference due to their solid wins and the fact that they are defending champs. The Big 12's best chance to get a team in is if Wisconsin would eliminate Ohio St. If that should happen, I think it will come down to Big 12 winner and Penn St, with Penn St remaining higher than both Wisconsin as a no loss team and Big 12 one loss team.

Alabama/Georgia game may very well be the true Championship Game with either team being favored to winning it all. If it is close, which all signs point to, the loser will be crying and yelling like hell to be included in the final 4. I doubt it happens though since they would have played right before the championship tournament. The masses don't really like rematches, especially that close together. That game will be looked at as an entry game into the tournament, almost like a wild-card game.

The first poll comes out next week and I expect it to look about like this and support what I have said above:
1. Georgia/Alabama
2. Alabama/Georgia
3. Clemson
4. Notre Dame
5. Ohio St/Penn St.
6. Penn St/Ohio St.
7. Oklahoma
8. TCU
9. Oklahoma St
10. Wisconsin

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

Well a lot has changed in 2 weeks. The rankings are a mess right now with 2 defining games remaining, Alabama vs Auburn and Clemson vs Miami. Then the championship of each of these conferences will help finalize the poll: Alabama vs Georgia, and Wisconsin vs Ohio St. The poll is so wide open this year that one can make a case that if things fall right for them, even teams like USC and Auburn are still in it. After all that being said, here is my projection of what the final poll will look like leading into bowl season:

1. Alabama (even if they get beat by Auburn or Georgia, but not both)
2. Miami (even with a close loss to Clemson could very well eclipse Oklahoma)
3. Clemson if they should beat a Miami team who looks like they would now be the favorite over Clemson)
4. Wisconsin (are definitely now in if they win their conference championship and end up undefeated)

4 or 5. Oklahoma (Personally, I think Oklahoma is the weak link and may rightly be skipped over by a 1 loss Miami and undefeated Wisconsin teams)

Top Alternatives:
Auburn if they beat Alabama in 2 weeks
Ohio St if they beat Wisconsin and Auburn loses another game
Notre Dame would need 2 or 3 teams ranked above them to lose another game for them to sneak back in.

The team that could feel cheated the most if there are still more upsets to come is UCF. They could be the only undefeated team left and end up at 5-8 in the final poll. I don't see any way even with several more huge upsets that they would be considered over teams like TCU, USC, or Auburn.

 

[GatorAZ]

I think Alabama loses to Auburn but still makes it with 1-loss. If Georgia beats Auburn in the SECCG the SEC will get two teams in. Oklahoma and the winner of Clemson/Miami.

What would really shake things up is Auburn beating Bama and Georgia, you could see another Iron Bowl in the playoff.

 

[Southpaw]

1. SEC team Alabama/Georgia/Auburn ( 2 losses? )
2. Miami/Clemson winner (if Miami gets past Pitt).
3. Oklahoma
4. A BIG 10/12 rep - Ohio State/Wisconsin

West coast gets shut out.

No chance for a non power 5 team. Sorry UCF.

Definitely see a Penn State/USC rematch non playoff bowl game. Rose?

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

With Alabama losing today, they are saying its a mess to who might be going. Personally, I think it is easier now.

1. Winner of Georgia/Auburn
2. Winner of Miami/Clemson
3. Oklahoma if they beat TCU
4. Wisconsin if they beat Ohio St.

The problem comes in if Ohio St and/or Oklahoma loses.

I think it is almost a given that if one of them falls, Alabama, with only 1 loss to Auburn, would and should be in over TCU and Ohio St who both have 2 loses.


1. Winner of Georgia/Auburn
2. Winner of Miami/Clemson
3. Wisconsin/Oklahoma - whichever one wins if the other loses
4. Alabama

If both Oklahoma and Wisconsin loses their league championship, of the two winners, I think TCU, not Ohio State, deserves the 4th spot due to its strength of schedule and the fact they redeemed one of their 2 losses by beating Okla.

1. Winner of Georgia/Auburn
2. Winner of Miami/Clemson
3. Alabama
4. TCU

Another reason I would exclude Ohio St even if they are the Big 10 Champs is I don't think they are the best team in their own conference, even though they had the 1 point win over Penn St., I think Penn St is the better team in my opinion. They left Penn St out last year, so the same scenario this year with Ohio ST should produce the same results if the committee is trying to be consistent from year to year.

 

[Southpaw]

1. Big 10 team
2. SEC team
3. ACC team
4. Big 12 team

Advertisers would pay for a national schedule

 

[Ronin]

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[Daniel Edwards]

its a mess to who might be going

Summed up nicely.

Super Early lines out at Vegas Insider. My preferences in bold.

Wisconsin(+6) beats Ohio St. OSU QB one hard tackle (or clumsy camera man) from injury. Wis #1 seed, hard to argue with undefeated. Wis offense can't or won't run it up. The defense is decent.

Clem(-7) beats Miami. Miami not looking all that dominant all year as @Southpaw pointed out in another thread. Clem letdown games vs Syr shouldn't keep them out. Have to say the same for Miami loss to Pitt.

Georgia(+2.5). Auburn was thin at RB and lost 2 yesterday in epic win. Don't know if they play next week. Their defense will keep it close until Chubbs\Michel (combined 2000 yds on 300 carries) wears them down. QB Fromm= Cards QBOTF literally.

Oklahoma(-6) beats TCU. Wouldn't be surprised to see TCU win in this rematch. When you lose the first time, you know what to adjust. Both have decent QB's and RB's named Anderson. Another B12 Shootout. Take the OVER


If Wis, OK and Georgia all win I can almost see the Comittee putting Alabama in over the ACC since those two each lost to a 4 win team. I don't agree with that at all.

 

[GatorAZ]

The Bammers are definitely rooting for Ohio St and TCU.