I honestly did not think SMU played that bad. Yes, their quarterback played horribly, but the rest of the team played pretty good. Their defense played tough all game long. Their offense showed the ability to move the ball. They just could not finish in the red zone and turnovers killed them.

I'm all for the 16 team playoff using existing bowl games for early rounds. No one would have a home advantage in this system but maybe they could seed the games to be somewhat regional. For example, Indiana v ND in Indianapolis; Clemson v Georgia in Atlanta; ASU v Texas in El Paso; etc. These are hypothetical suggestions but you get the idea.

It won't happen because the entire structure of the ESPN Blue Blood Invitationals is designed to maximize the revenue of the main sponsor and to give advantages to the Blue Bloods.

coldhardtruth said:

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Ghostrider said:

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coldhardtruth said:

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The ACC is clearly the distant 4th power conference. Both Clemson and SMU look outclassed. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be in the playoffs...just that the ACC is an extremely weak conference.

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do you think the big 12 is an incredibly strong conference?

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Yet to be determined. However, I feel like the Big XII is significantly better than the ACC and on par with the Big 10.

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How could we be on par with the big 10 when they have Oregon, Ohio State, Penn St. and Michigan (last year winner of the CFP). I'm not even sure how anyone could think this. Is there a big 12 team on par with any of those teams?

Most of the Big 12 is on par with the middle of the Big 10. We are every bit as good if not better than the ACC.

MRPorter7635 said:

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Most of the Big 12 is on par with the middle of the Big 10. We are every bit as good if not better than the ACC.

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Absolutely!

Considering the status of Michigan now, I'd say it's possible that 2-3 Big 12 teams are comparable. None has defeated the #2 team in the country but they have similar records. And their win over OSU is not the same since it's a rivalry game.

JeremiahJT said:

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I honestly did not think SMU played that bad. Yes, their quarterback played horribly, but the rest of the team played pretty good. Their defense played tough all game long. Their offense showed the ability to move the ball. They just could not finish in the red zone and turnovers killed them.

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The SMU game was really the closest of the three ...

Kevin Jennings single handedly lost the game on three plays:
1. The first drive making the bad throw to the TE vs. running another yard for the first down
2. Pick 6 #1
3. Pick 6 #2

Add that to the failed fourth down attempt in SMU territory, and SMU effective gave Penn State 21-28 net points. Realize that is the part of the game, but those three plays go different and maybe it is a 24-17 Penn State win.

Comparably, ND dominated IU across the game and OSU dominated Tennessee.