My question to committee

[Pig In The City]

Beat a team head to head. Win the conference championship but the team you beat late in the season plays for the national title.

Just pick the four teams in August and be done with it

Have to agree. You beat OSU head to head. Doesn't make sense.

[DeltaBoy]

OSU coach said in 2006  when he was at FLa that you should Not play for the NC if your not the Conferance Champion.

[ChicoHog]

The conference championships do count, but it is only one part of the whole. Most of the time the best team wins a conference, but that isn't always the case. I would rather have the best 4 teams, regardless of conference championships.

Kind of like when LSU and Alabama played a few years ago when it was the BCS era still. They were the best two teams, even though they were from the same division & conference.

Well said.  Penn st should have beaten Pitt earlier in the year.  And I'm a PSU fan and not an Urban Liar fan.  The thing I like is that the entire season matters.  USC may be one of the best teams now but they lost 3 games earlier so too bad, they are out. 

[ChicoHog]

Washington only has 1 good win this season, and that was against Colorado.

Here are the good wins for the main teams that were considered for the 4 spots.

Alabama  Only 2 good wins, Auburn and LSU.  Florida is not a good win for Alabama.

Clemson   4 good wins, Auburn, Troy, Louisville, and Florida State.  Two of those were road wins (Auburn and Florida State).  Before anyone questions the Troy win, Troy went 9-3 this season.

Ohio State  3 good wins, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  Ohio State did play some real mediocre non-conference competition (Bowling Green and Rutgers).

Washington  Only 1 good win, Colorado.  Washington's non-conference competition was atrocious.

Penn State   3 good wins, Ohio State, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
Go Hogs,  I almost choked on my beer when I read your "Good win" statements.  I agree Louis ville, and FSU were good wins for Clemson.  Don't count Troy unless u give UW a good win for beating stanford and/or Utah both whom would be heavily favored to beat Troy.  Troy is a pretty good team this year but not that good!  Then give Bama good wins for A&M, Tenner and even the god awful on offense UF.  I have no problem with Clemson #2, OSU #3 and UW#4.  I think they got it right. 

[hawgsalot]

I was consistent.

If I gave Alabama a good win for beating Florida, then I would have given Clemson a good win for beating Virginia Tech.

I didn't give Alabama or Clemson a good win for either.

Hello bama beat So Cal that's a great win

[Pig in the Pokey]

Beat a team head to head. Win the conference championship but the team you beat late in the season plays for the national title.

Just pick the four teams in August and be done with it

totally agree. it's a total disgrace. #LikeProWrestling #StagedBeautyContest #ICantBelieveImDefendingPeddSt

[DEVIL DOG HOG]

totally agree. it's a total disgrace. #LikeProWrestling #StagedBeautyContest #ICantBelieveImDefendingPeddSt

THIS!!!!!!

[(notOM)Rebel123]

#WMU13-0

[lumphog]

ESPN rules collage football and decide who they want and start building it up weeks ahead of time and start their campaign machine. Crazy

^^^^ THIS GUY, GETS IT ^^^^

[NuttinItUp]

Guys, it doesn't really matter who the 4th team in is. (or even #2 or #3)

Bama is beating everyone. This year's team is not just good, they are one of the greatest teams ever in college football. (barely #2 all time in Elo before the SEC Championship game; not sure what it is after)

No one can stop them.

[grayhawg]

Beat a team head to head. Win the conference championship but the team you beat late in the season plays for the national title.

Just pick the four teams in August and be done with it

Looks like they did just that.

[GoHogs1091]

Hello bama beat So Cal that's a great win

Southern Cal is overrated.

Southern Cal lost to an average Stanford team and to an average Utah team.

[NuttinItUp]

Looks like they did just that.

Now that is just silly.

[tophawg19]

PSU has two losses against Pitt and a blowout loss at Michigan.

Ohio State only lost one game by a FG, to PSU and beat that same MU team that smoked PSU.

Ohio State simply has a better resume.

how can you play for a National Championship when you didn't even make your conference championship, much less win it .

[EastexHawg]

Want to be in the playoff?  Don't lose.  Penn St lost twice.  Ohio St lost once.  If Penn St wouldn't have lost to Pitt, they would be in.

Don't get gang raped 49-10 by Michigan, either.

[EastexHawg]

how can you play for a National Championship when you didn't even make your conference championship, much less win it .

The same way Alabama did it in 2011.  Hey, I know, let's search late 2011 posts.  I bet the board was enraged that an Alabama team that didn't even win its division was put in the championship game over 11-1 Big 12 champ Oklahoma State.

[tophawg19]

Washington only has 1 good win this season, and that was against Colorado.

Here are the good wins for the main teams that were considered for the 4 spots.

Alabama  Only 2 good wins, Auburn and LSU.  Florida is not a good win for Alabama.

Clemson   4 good wins, Auburn, Troy, Louisville, and Florida State.  Two of those were road wins (Auburn and Florida State).  Before anyone questions the Troy win, Troy went 9-3 this season.

Ohio State  3 good wins, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  Ohio State did play some real mediocre non-conference competition (Bowling Green and Rutgers).

Washington  Only 1 good win, Colorado.  Washington's non-conference competition was atrocious.

Penn State   3 good wins, Ohio State, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Penn State Go Hogs,  I almost choked on my beer when I read your "Good win" statements.  I agree Louis ville, and FSU were good wins for Clemson.  Don't count Troy unless u give UW a good win for beating stanford and/or Utah both whom would be heavily favored to beat Troy.  Troy is a pretty good team this year but that good!  Then give Bama good wins for A&M, Tenner and even the god awful on offense UF.  I have no problem with Clemson #2, OSU #3 and UW#4.  I think they got it right. 

Go hogs Clemson lust is showing . Florida was a good win for bama and why is Auburn a good clemson win but not a good bama win. they both beat Auburn but it's only good for clemson ?

[GoHogs1091]

Go hogs Clemson lust is showing . Florida was a good win for bama and why is Auburn a good clemson win but not a good bama win. they both beat Auburn but it's only good for clemson ?

I showed in my post Auburn as being a good win for Alabama.

Clemson did beat them on the road at Jordan-Hare, whereas Alabama beat them at home in Bryant-Denny. 

[TNRazorbacker]

I hate that the conference championships don't really count though.  The cool thing about college football in the past was that the entire season was basically a playoff.

But it wasn't, not in the least, because at the end of a playoff you have a clear winner who has beaten, or beaten another team who has beaten, every other credible contender. What we had before was a bunch of disparate seasons topped with bowl games largely featuring uninteresting and irrelevant matchups, then people who didn't play voted to bestow a national championship. It was also biased to college football royalty even worse than the current system is.

[ChicoHog]

Southern Cal is overrated.

Southern Cal lost to an average Stanford team and to an average Utah team.

They were early in the year.  Now they are very good.  And Utah is better than average and so is Stanford. Arkansas is average.  TCU is average.  Miss st is average.

[Biggus Piggus]

Alabama did not beat the USC that went 8-0. It beat the version that went 1-3 (losing three road games). The Trojans promoted a redshirt freshman to starting quarterback, and he really got rolling in the second half of the season. The win looks very good for Alabama, but in context it wasn't as significant.

Clemson is the playoff four team I believe should not be there. Clemson's season (FBS games only):

-1 Pitt (8-4, fourth or fifth in the ACC)
+3 @ Florida State (9-3, fourth or fifth in the ACC)
+6 @ Auburn (8-4, somewhere between third- and fifth-best in the SEC)
+6 Troy (9-3, third place in the Sun Belt)
+6 Louisville (9-3, second or third in the ACC, but lost to Houston and Kentucky)
+7 North Carolina State, in OT (6-6, a second-division ACC team)
+7 Virginia Tech (9-4, second or third in the ACC) - at Orlando, ACCCG
+19 @ Georgia Tech (8-4, second-division ACC team)
+22 @ Wake Forest (6-6, second-division ACC team)
+46 @ Boston College (6-6, bad ACC team)
+49 South Carolina (6-6, second-division SEC team)
+54 Syracuse (4-8, bad ACC team)

If the world had any justice, Clemson would have lost that game against Florida State. They were bailed out repeatedly by awful officiating. Clemson didn't earn a victory, and FSU wasn't even one of the top ACC teams.

The only reason why Clemson won at Auburn was because Auburn's offense was a steaming mess to begin the season. It was so bad that Gus Malzahn, self-styled offensive genius, turned over play-calling to an assistant coach later, a move that salvaged the Auburn season.

After Clemson eked out a win over Auburn, it had to scramble to avoid a disastrous home loss to Troy. The Trojans also lost to Georgia Southern by 4 and to Arkansas State by 32.

Clemson's supposedly best win - over Louisville at Clemson - looked pretty mediocre after the Cards lost to Houston and Kentucky. Clemson couldn't even finish well, sputtering to a one-score win over Virginia Tech in the ACC title game.

Finally, North Carolina State all but earned a win at Clemson, and the way that unraveled was particularly sad. Having to go to overtime to beat NC State at home = pathetic.

Compare this heap of crap with the record of the Big Ten champion:

-39 @ Michigan (10-2, top 5-6 in the nation)
-3 @ Pitt (8-4, intra-state rival)
+3 Ohio State (11-1, ranked No. 2 in the country)
+3 Minnesota (8-4, mid-pack Big Ten)
+7 Wisconsin - at Indy, Big Ten CG (10-3, Big Ten West champ)
+7 Temple (10-3, AAC champ)
+14 @ Indiana (6-6, mid-pack Big Ten)
+20 Kent State (3-9)
+24 Maryland (6-6, second-division Big Ten)
+27 Iowa (8-4, second in Big Ten West)
+33 Michigan State (3-9, lower-division Big Ten)
+38 @ Purdue (3-9, lower-division Big Ten)
+39 @ Rutgers (2-10, worst team in Big Ten)

At least Penn State's loss to Pitt was on the road in September. Clemson lost to Pitt at home in November, a week after the Panthers had lost to Miami by 23.

Penn State's wins over Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa (due to its magnitude) are more impressive than anything on Clemson's record. Three superior wins.

If the choice is between the Big Ten champion and the ACC champion, the former should win this battle, hands down.

The method of advertising weekly rankings leading up to selection Sunday is fatally flawed. It kept the committee from making the right decision.

Clemson doesn't win the "body of work" argument, and it doesn't win the "hottest finish" argument. Clemson should have lost, but the committee's method prevented justice. It will play out that way in football's final four, when Clemson gets ruined by Ohio State.

The committee was stuck in its method really bad. Their approach actually ended up with them rating Clemson No. 2, solely because Clemson was the one-loss ACC champion.

But even Michigan had a better season than Clemson had. The Tigers didn't deserve to be in the top five, but because of its weekly rankings, when Clemson won the ACCCG the committee had no way to change direction.

If you objectively rank the top 10, Clemson isn't in the top five. Clemson stumbled through its season and piled up wins against a soft ACC, in which even traditional powers were down. Even Louisville didn't stand the test of time.

It's a friggin' joke that ACC teams like Boston College and Wake Forest are bowl-eligible. The Big Ten is equally bad at its bottom, but much stronger at the top. For that reason alone, it would be justifiable to move Penn State ahead of Clemson in the playoff.

This whole committee-driven process needs serious re-engineering. Clemson got in on its weak schedule and name. A team that barely survived a mediocre schedule should never be viewed as a national title contender. Clemson couldn't stay in half a game against Penn State and Michigan.

[PonderinHog]

Advantage, Biggus.   

[HotlantaHog]

Alabama did not beat the USC that went 8-0. It beat the version that went 1-3 (losing three road games). The Trojans promoted a redshirt freshman to starting quarterback, and he really got rolling in the second half of the season. The win looks very good for Alabama, but in context it wasn't as significant.

Clemson is the playoff four team I believe should not be there. Clemson's season (FBS games only):

-1 Pitt (8-4, fourth or fifth in the ACC)
+3 @ Florida State (9-3, fourth or fifth in the ACC)
+6 @ Auburn (8-4, somewhere between third- and fifth-best in the SEC)
+6 Troy (9-3, third place in the Sun Belt)
+6 Louisville (9-3, second or third in the ACC, but lost to Houston and Kentucky)
+7 North Carolina State, in OT (6-6, a second-division ACC team)
+7 Virginia Tech (9-4, second or third in the ACC) - at Orlando, ACCCG
+19 @ Georgia Tech (8-4, second-division ACC team)
+22 @ Wake Forest (6-6, second-division ACC team)
+46 @ Boston College (6-6, bad ACC team)
+49 South Carolina (6-6, second-division SEC team)
+54 Syracuse (4-8, bad ACC team)

If the world had any justice, Clemson would have lost that game against Florida State. They were bailed out repeatedly by awful officiating. Clemson didn't earn a victory, and FSU wasn't even one of the top ACC teams.

The only reason why Clemson won at Auburn was because Auburn's offense was a steaming mess to begin the season. It was so bad that Gus Malzahn, self-styled offensive genius, turned over play-calling to an assistant coach later, a move that salvaged the Auburn season.

After Clemson eked out a win over Auburn, it had to scramble to avoid a disastrous home loss to Troy. The Trojans also lost to Georgia Southern by 4 and to Arkansas State by 32.

Clemson's supposedly best win - over Louisville at Clemson - looked pretty mediocre after the Cards lost to Houston and Kentucky. Clemson couldn't even finish well, sputtering to a one-score win over Virginia Tech in the ACC title game.

Finally, North Carolina State all but earned a win at Clemson, and the way that unraveled was particularly sad. Having to go to overtime to beat NC State at home = pathetic.

Compare this heap of crap with the record of the Big Ten champion:

-39 @ Michigan (10-2, top 5-6 in the nation)
-3 @ Pitt (8-4, intra-state rival)
+3 Ohio State (11-1, ranked No. 2 in the country)
+3 Minnesota (8-4, mid-pack Big Ten)
+7 Wisconsin - at Indy, Big Ten CG (10-3, Big Ten West champ)
+7 Temple (10-3, AAC champ)
+14 @ Indiana (6-6, mid-pack Big Ten)
+20 Kent State (3-9)
+24 Maryland (6-6, second-division Big Ten)
+27 Iowa (8-4, second in Big Ten West)
+33 Michigan State (3-9, lower-division Big Ten)
+38 @ Purdue (3-9, lower-division Big Ten)
+39 @ Rutgers (2-10, worst team in Big Ten)

At least Penn State's loss to Pitt was on the road in September. Clemson lost to Pitt at home in November, a week after the Panthers had lost to Miami by 23.

Penn State's wins over Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa (due to its magnitude) are more impressive than anything on Clemson's record. Three superior wins.

If the choice is between the Big Ten champion and the ACC champion, the former should win this battle, hands down.

The method of advertising weekly rankings leading up to selection Sunday is fatally flawed. It kept the committee from making the right decision.

Clemson doesn't win the "body of work" argument, and it doesn't win the "hottest finish" argument. Clemson should have lost, but the committee's method prevented justice. It will play out that way in football's final four, when Clemson gets ruined by Ohio State.

The committee was stuck in its method really bad. Their approach actually ended up with them rating Clemson No. 2, solely because Clemson was the one-loss ACC champion.

But even Michigan had a better season than Clemson had. The Tigers didn't deserve to be in the top five, but because of its weekly rankings, when Clemson won the ACCCG the committee had no way to change direction.

If you objectively rank the top 10, Clemson isn't in the top five. Clemson stumbled through its season and piled up wins against a soft ACC, in which even traditional powers were down. Even Louisville didn't stand the test of time.

It's a friggin' joke that ACC teams like Boston College and Wake Forest are bowl-eligible. The Big Ten is equally bad at its bottom, but much stronger at the top. For that reason alone, it would be justifiable to move Penn State ahead of Clemson in the playoff.

This whole committee-driven process needs serious re-engineering. Clemson got in on its weak schedule and name. A team that barely survived a mediocre schedule should never be viewed as a national title contender. Clemson couldn't stay in half a game against Penn State and Michigan.

Clemson just beat South Carolina by the largest margin.... not just the largest margin ever for the rivalry but the largest margin an ACC team has EVER beaten an SEC team in the history of the two conferences... the same South Carolina team beat Tennessee, played Florida close, ended up with a decent record in the SEC.... Plus beat a good Auburn team that as we all recall destroyed Arkansas.... the one loss to Pittsburgh was at home, was also married by terrible officiating that really gave the game to Pitt.

Last year, no one thought Clemson would do anything. They destroyed Oklahoma. They have played Ohio State twice and beaten them twice in their history. It should be a closely fought game.

[code red]

Penn State got owned by Michigan....that is why they are out. 

[Biggus Piggus]

South Carolina stinks. Clemson ran up the score out of desperation. It worked ... on fools.

[EastexHawg]

I can't wait to hear the explanations and excuses after USC stomps Penn State in the Rose Bowl.  Wait, let me guess..."After they were left out of the playoff, Penn State probably didn't even want to be there." 

[Biggus Piggus]

Penn State and Michigan both beat two teams ranked in the playoff top 10.

Clemson beat zero. Played zero. Weakass schedule, weakass team, gonna get destroyed.

[HotlantaHog]

South Carolina stinks. Clemson ran up the score out of desperation. It worked ... on fools.

Clemson pulled its first team in the middle of the third quarter. It was 42-0 at start of the third quarter. They could have scored 80.

[HotlantaHog]

Penn State and Michigan both beat two teams ranked in the playoff top 10.

Clemson beat zero. Played zero. Weakass schedule, weakass team, gonna get destroyed.

Slow Big 10 teams beat up other slow Big 10 teams. There is a reason the Big 10 always gets destroyed in the Rose Bowl. Including Bielema's Wisconsin teams.

[DeltaBoy]

Alabama did not beat the USC that went 8-0. It beat the version that went 1-3 (losing three road games). The Trojans promoted a redshirt freshman to starting quarterback, and he really got rolling in the second half of the season. The win looks very good for Alabama, but in context it wasn't as significant.

Clemson is the playoff four team I believe should not be there. Clemson's season (FBS games only):

-1 Pitt (8-4, fourth or fifth in the ACC)
+3 @ Florida State (9-3, fourth or fifth in the ACC)
+6 @ Auburn (8-4, somewhere between third- and fifth-best in the SEC)
+6 Troy (9-3, third place in the Sun Belt)
+6 Louisville (9-3, second or third in the ACC, but lost to Houston and Kentucky)
+7 North Carolina State, in OT (6-6, a second-division ACC team)
+7 Virginia Tech (9-4, second or third in the ACC) - at Orlando, ACCCG
+19 @ Georgia Tech (8-4, second-division ACC team)
+22 @ Wake Forest (6-6, second-division ACC team)
+46 @ Boston College (6-6, bad ACC team)
+49 South Carolina (6-6, second-division SEC team)
+54 Syracuse (4-8, bad ACC team)

If the world had any justice, Clemson would have lost that game against Florida State. They were bailed out repeatedly by awful officiating. Clemson didn't earn a victory, and FSU wasn't even one of the top ACC teams.

The only reason why Clemson won at Auburn was because Auburn's offense was a steaming mess to begin the season. It was so bad that Gus Malzahn, self-styled offensive genius, turned over play-calling to an assistant coach later, a move that salvaged the Auburn season.

After Clemson eked out a win over Auburn, it had to scramble to avoid a disastrous home loss to Troy. The Trojans also lost to Georgia Southern by 4 and to Arkansas State by 32.

Clemson's supposedly best win - over Louisville at Clemson - looked pretty mediocre after the Cards lost to Houston and Kentucky. Clemson couldn't even finish well, sputtering to a one-score win over Virginia Tech in the ACC title game.

Finally, North Carolina State all but earned a win at Clemson, and the way that unraveled was particularly sad. Having to go to overtime to beat NC State at home = pathetic.

Compare this heap of crap with the record of the Big Ten champion:

-39 @ Michigan (10-2, top 5-6 in the nation)
-3 @ Pitt (8-4, intra-state rival)
+3 Ohio State (11-1, ranked No. 2 in the country)
+3 Minnesota (8-4, mid-pack Big Ten)
+7 Wisconsin - at Indy, Big Ten CG (10-3, Big Ten West champ)
+7 Temple (10-3, AAC champ)
+14 @ Indiana (6-6, mid-pack Big Ten)
+20 Kent State (3-9)
+24 Maryland (6-6, second-division Big Ten)
+27 Iowa (8-4, second in Big Ten West)
+33 Michigan State (3-9, lower-division Big Ten)
+38 @ Purdue (3-9, lower-division Big Ten)
+39 @ Rutgers (2-10, worst team in Big Ten)

At least Penn State's loss to Pitt was on the road in September. Clemson lost to Pitt at home in November, a week after the Panthers had lost to Miami by 23.

Penn State's wins over Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa (due to its magnitude) are more impressive than anything on Clemson's record. Three superior wins.

If the choice is between the Big Ten champion and the ACC champion, the former should win this battle, hands down.

The method of advertising weekly rankings leading up to selection Sunday is fatally flawed. It kept the committee from making the right decision.

Clemson doesn't win the "body of work" argument, and it doesn't win the "hottest finish" argument. Clemson should have lost, but the committee's method prevented justice. It will play out that way in football's final four, when Clemson gets ruined by Ohio State.

The committee was stuck in its method really bad. Their approach actually ended up with them rating Clemson No. 2, solely because Clemson was the one-loss ACC champion.

But even Michigan had a better season than Clemson had. The Tigers didn't deserve to be in the top five, but because of its weekly rankings, when Clemson won the ACCCG the committee had no way to change direction.

If you objectively rank the top 10, Clemson isn't in the top five. Clemson stumbled through its season and piled up wins against a soft ACC, in which even traditional powers were down. Even Louisville didn't stand the test of time.

It's a friggin' joke that ACC teams like Boston College and Wake Forest are bowl-eligible. The Big Ten is equally bad at its bottom, but much stronger at the top. For that reason alone, it would be justifiable to move Penn State ahead of Clemson in the playoff.

This whole committee-driven process needs serious re-engineering. Clemson got in on its weak schedule and name. A team that barely survived a mediocre schedule should never be viewed as a national title contender. Clemson couldn't stay in half a game against Penn State and Michigan.

Well stated

[PorkSoda]

I hate that the conference championships don't really count though.  The cool thing about college football in the past was that the entire season was basically a playoff. 

while I do agree I hate to see the conference champion ignored, I am glad that they only chose one from the big ten.  I figure the big ten had a choice, who gives the big 10 the best chance to win a NC, OSU or PS?

[Biggus Piggus]

One team in the final four didn't even play a game against a team that finished in the top 10 of the college football playoff rankings. Guess which one that was?

Guess who had multiple wins against top 10 teams? Penn State and Michigan.

[hogsanity]

The same way Alabama did it in 2011.  Hey, I know, let's search late 2011 posts.  I bet the board was enraged that an Alabama team that didn't even win its division was put in the championship game over 11-1 Big 12 champ Oklahoma State.

different setup. That was the bcs and was a computer calculation that took in various human polls, and statistical data. It also only matched up #1 & #2. Now we have a group of people picking 4 teams, and having no set criteria to do so. I'd have no problem if, before the season started they said " rule 7 if you lose by 30+, you aint making the top 4 ", then PN St would know, as soon as the got blown out by Mich they were done as far as the playoff. As it is now, it just looks like the committee makes it up as they go along to fit whatever 4 teams they like.

I firmly believe if they thought they could have realistically justified it, they would have put Mich over Wash. But with 2 losses by Mich, they just could not do it and kept any level of credibility.

[lasthog]

I showed in my post Auburn as being a good win for Alabama.

Clemson did beat them on the road at Jordan-Hare, whereas Alabama beat them at home in Bryant-Denny.

Bad as I can't stomach Auburn, I believe the team fielded on September 3 was not comparable to the team they became later in the year.  Maybe I'm wrong.

[HotlantaHog]

Bad as I can't stomach Auburn, I believe the team fielded on September 3 was not comparable to the team they became later in the year.  Maybe I'm wrong.

None of the teams are directly comparable to how they were on Labor Day weekend. But the first two weekends and the last weekend are the times when most teams can schedule nonconference games, the last for rivalry games. So everyone who wants to schedule decent competition has to do it in September, and we are all stuck with those comparisons.

[GoHogs1091]

Clemson just beat South Carolina by the largest margin.... not just the largest margin ever for the rivalry but the largest margin an ACC team has EVER beaten an SEC team in the history of the two conferences... the same South Carolina team beat Tennessee, played Florida close, ended up with a decent record in the SEC.... Plus beat a good Auburn team that as we all recall destroyed Arkansas.... the one loss to Pittsburgh was at home, was also married by terrible officiating that really gave the game to Pitt.

Last year, no one thought Clemson would do anything. They destroyed Oklahoma. They have played Ohio State twice and beaten them twice in their history. It should be a closely fought game.

Swinney and Venables out-coached Urban Meyer in the 2014 Orange Bowl.

That Ohio State team had a better QB and a better RB than the current Ohio State team.  Braxton Miller was a more dynamic QB than J.T. Barrett, and Carlos Hyde was a better RB than the current Ohio State RB.

2016 Clemson has more talent than the Clemson team that won that 2014 Orange Bowl game against Ohio State.

[Biggus Piggus]

2016 Clemson has more talent than the Clemson team that won that 2014 Orange Bowl game against Ohio State.

If this is true, then everybody else has upgraded even faster. This year's Clemson team is a sack of darn.

[HotlantaHog]

Penn State and Michigan both beat two teams ranked in the playoff top 10.

Clemson beat zero. Played zero. Weakass schedule, weakass team, gonna get destroyed.

Well, they didn't get destroyed last night and certainly looked like they deserved to be in the playoffs. Not sure what you have had against Clemson all year, but they  seem to be playing kinda well...

[Dr. Starcs]

Lol @ Biggus and the others.

Big ten has been exposed, many by the acc this bowl season.

[ChicoHog]

Beat a team head to head. Win the conference championship but the team you beat late in the season plays for the national title.

Just pick the four teams in August and be done with it

So if you win the conference championship with 9-4 record that team deserves to get in the playoff?   I say pick the 4 best teams throughout the entire year.  Of course that is still subjective and that's the committee's job to choose those teams.  If they go to an 8 team playoff then I can understand picking 5 conference champions and 3 wild card teams.  For now, I'm fine with the way it is.

[ChicoHog]

Penn State and Michigan both beat two teams ranked in the playoff top 10.

Clemson beat zero. Played zero. Weakass schedule, weakass team, gonna get destroyed.

Good team that proved it yesterday.  If they play like that they will give Bama a good game.