Watched the Fox special on the college playoff and two of the issues that really resonated with me was the notion of the BEST 4 teams versus the MOST DESERVING 4 teams and the notion of "branding" associated with the final 4. Clearly the discussions about BEST 4 teams had a strong Michigan slant. Most thought however that MOST DESERVING 4 teams should carry the day.
I actually thought that PSU gets a big push from branding given the fan base and the "story" of the PSU resurgence this year. If our Nits win the BIG, we are deserving and an argument could be made that our branding carries big weight. The PSU story sounds like it would be the central story of the playoffs.
It seemed pretty obvious to me that everyone was looking for an excuse to remove Washington given their lack of branding and their weakness in strength of schedule. If PSU smokes Wisc and Washington struggles in their game, could any scenario be made to jump BIG winner over Washington?
They went through a lot of scenarios and included the chaos scenario where both Clemson and Washington lose. There was some thought that OSU, Mich, and BIG winner could join Bama under the chaos scenario. There was also some debate that if PSU wins and Washington loses, could Mich be the 4th team with PSU looking in. The thought process was that UM beat BOTH the BIG title teams and that they are one of the 4 BEST teams and have great branding to boost interest.
If chalk holds, the final 4 will be Bama, OSU, Wash, and Clemson. If either Wash or Clemson loses, the 4th team sounds like it will be a BIG team. If chaos takes place, BIG could place 3 teams. It sounds like they did not support OK getting in under any scenario, same with OK St and Colorado.
The other interesting thing is that the final vote for NC was 5 votes Bama and 4 votes Clemson. So vote had Clemson beating OSU and it was pretty strong view that Clemson would beat OSU. The panel thought that they desperately want Saban v. Urban match up which I don't really understand. Who really cares if these guys coach against each other. They might not get it so curious if OSU gets dinged and pushed to 4 to ensure the Saban/Urban face off takes place even if in a semi game. This would then reward Wash and Clemson as 1 loss teams but with a conf championship to their credit.
I actually thought that PSU gets a big push from branding given the fan base and the "story" of the PSU resurgence this year. If our Nits win the BIG, we are deserving and an argument could be made that our branding carries big weight. The PSU story sounds like it would be the central story of the playoffs.
It seemed pretty obvious to me that everyone was looking for an excuse to remove Washington given their lack of branding and their weakness in strength of schedule. If PSU smokes Wisc and Washington struggles in their game, could any scenario be made to jump BIG winner over Washington?
They went through a lot of scenarios and included the chaos scenario where both Clemson and Washington lose. There was some thought that OSU, Mich, and BIG winner could join Bama under the chaos scenario. There was also some debate that if PSU wins and Washington loses, could Mich be the 4th team with PSU looking in. The thought process was that UM beat BOTH the BIG title teams and that they are one of the 4 BEST teams and have great branding to boost interest.
If chalk holds, the final 4 will be Bama, OSU, Wash, and Clemson. If either Wash or Clemson loses, the 4th team sounds like it will be a BIG team. If chaos takes place, BIG could place 3 teams. It sounds like they did not support OK getting in under any scenario, same with OK St and Colorado.
The other interesting thing is that the final vote for NC was 5 votes Bama and 4 votes Clemson. So vote had Clemson beating OSU and it was pretty strong view that Clemson would beat OSU. The panel thought that they desperately want Saban v. Urban match up which I don't really understand. Who really cares if these guys coach against each other. They might not get it so curious if OSU gets dinged and pushed to 4 to ensure the Saban/Urban face off takes place even if in a semi game. This would then reward Wash and Clemson as 1 loss teams but with a conf championship to their credit.
