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Polls and Bowls
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November 19th
CU at No. 16 in latest CFP rankings (BYU at No. 14; Boise State gets No. 4 seed)
From ESPN … Boise State moved ahead of BYU in the third installment of rankings released by the College Football Playoff selection committee on Tuesday night, putting the Broncos in position to get a first-round bye ahead of the Big 12 champion.
The top five remain unchanged, with No. 1 Oregon leading the way, followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana. But the biggest story is the way the committee dropped BYU after a 17-13 loss to Kansas ended its unbeaten season.
BYU (9-1) moved down eight spots from No. 6 to No. 14, falling behind No. 12 Boise State (9-1).
Using the current rankings, Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), Miami (ACC) and Boise State (Mountain West) would be the four highest-rated conference champions and would receive first-round byes in the 12-team playoff. BYU (Big 12) would be included in the playoff as the fifth-highest rated conference champion but would be the No. 12 seed and have to play in the first round.
Based on resumes, Boise State has a better loss than BYU — on the road against No. 1 Oregon, after the Ducks kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. BYU lost at home to a Kansas team that is 4-6. The week before, BYU needed a miraculous comeback to beat Utah. The Cougars have not yet played any of the Big 12 teams ranked in the current Top 25, though they play at No. 21 Arizona State on Saturday.
BYU’s best win is over SMU, and though the teams are both 9-1 and BYU has the head-to-head win, the Mustangs are ranked one spot ahead at No. 13.
That would still leave them on the outside looking in.
Notre Dame (No. 6), Alabama (No. 7), Miami (No. 8), Ole Miss (No. 9) and Georgia (No. 10) round out the Top 10.
The first-round matchups would look like this: No. 12 BYU at No. 5 Ohio State; No. 11 Georgia at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Indiana; No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Notre Dame.
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November 17th
CBS Sports bowl projections: CU to the College Football Playoffs (as a No. 12 seed)
From CBS Sports … After flirting with disaster last week, BYU embraced it late Saturday night in a 17-13 loss at home to 4-6 Kansas. That result has given the College Football Playoff portion of the bowl projections an unexpected look. I now have Colorado winning the Big 12 over the Cougars, but I also have the Buffaloes topping out in the final rankings at No. 13. That is one spot below where I have projected Mountain West champion Boise State, which means the Broncos earn a first-round bye as they land at the No. 4 seed.
Colorado would still automatically qualify as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion and get seeded 12th in the CFP field.
However, BYU may be playing Iowa State back into the picture. The Cougars are at Arizona State this week, and a loss there could create a three-way tie for second at the end with the Cyclones and Sun Devils. Iowa State would win that and get to face Colorado for the Big 12 title.
That knocks a team off the bubble. Specifically, Ole Miss misses out in this projection, while Tennessee is the last team in the bracket.
The Volunteers joined the list of two-loss SEC teams after a 31-17 loss at Georgia. I will be curious to see how the CFP Selection Committee ranks them compared to the Rebels and Notre Dame this week. Barring an upset of one of those three teams in the last few weeks of the season, that order will likely stay the same going forward.
The Big Ten and SEC each have four teams in this week’s CFP projection with one each for the ACC, Big 12 and Mountain West, along with Notre Dame.
Coming up this week, we finally see Indiana get the test we have all been waiting for. It has taken 12 weeks, but the Hoosiers will finally face a team that is already bowl eligible when they travel to Ohio State. Indiana’s only chance to miss the playoff would be to get run out of the Horseshoe — which seems unlikely. Of course, the Hoosiers could put themselves in the Big Ten Championship Game with a win and the expected slaughter of rival Purdue the following week.
College Football Playoff
Quarterfinals
| Date | Game / Location | Projection |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif. | (1) Ohio State vs. (8/9) Winner |
| Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl New Orleans | (2) Alabama vs. (7/10) Winner |
| Jan. 1 | Fiesta Bowl Glendale, Ariz. | (4) Boise State vs. (5/12) Winner |
| Dec. 31 | Peach Bowl Atlanta | (3) Miami vs. (6/11) Winner |
First round
| Date | Location | Projection | Winner faces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 20 or 21 | Autzen Stadium Eugene, Ore. | (5) Oregon vs. (12) Colorado | (4) Boise State |
| Dec. 20 or 21 | Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium Austin, Texas | (8) Texas vs. (9) Indiana | (1) Ohio State |
| Dec. 20 or 21 | Beaver Stadium State College, Pa. | (6) Penn State vs. (11) Tennessee | (3) Miami |
| Dec. 20 or 21 | Sanford Stadium Athens, Ga. | (7) Georgia vs. (10) Notre Dame | (2) Alabama |
… Continue reading story here …
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CU up to No. 16 in latest AP poll; Arizona State/Iowa State join poll
… Buffs up two spots to No. 18 in Coaches Poll …
From ESPN … Oregon remained the unanimous No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday after its close call at Wisconsin, while Notre Dame and Alabama each jumped up two spots and Georgia returned to the top 10.
LSU is unranked for the first time in two years.
The unbeaten Ducks are atop the AP Top 25 for the fifth straight week, passing Texas as the No. 1 team for the most polls this season. They received all 62 first-place votes for the third week in a row after scoring their fewest points in 37 games in their 16-13 win over Wisconsin.
Oregon also holds the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings and will attempt to complete its first perfect regular season since 2010 when it hosts Washington in two weeks.
The Big Ten again held four of the top five spots, and the SEC had five of the top 10.
BYU’s 17-13 home loss to Kansas dropped the Cougars from No. 7 to No. 14 and put them in a first-place tie with Deion Sanders’ Colorado in the Big 12. The Buffaloes are No. 16.
A season-high four Group of 5 teams are in the Top 25. No. 12 Boise State remains the highest ranked of those programs and first in line for the guaranteed playoff spot. No. 23 UNLV joins Boise State as Top 25 Mountain West teams. No. 18 Army and No. 20 Tulane give the American Athletic Conference two ranked teams as well.
LSU, which dropped to 6-4 following its 27-16 loss at Florida for its third straight defeat, is out of the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 16, 2022. The Tigers were ranked in 36 straight polls.
| 1. Oregon (62) | 11-0 |
| 2. Ohio State | 9-1 |
| 3. Texas | 9-1 |
| 4. Penn State | 9-1 |
| 5. Indiana | 10-0 |
| 6. Notre Dame | 9-1 |
| 7. Alabama | 8-2 |
| 8. Georgia | 8-2 |
| 9. Ole Miss | 8-2 |
| 10. Tennessee | 8-2 |
| 11. Miami | 9-1 |
| 12. Boise State | 9-1 |
| 13. SMU | 9-1 |
| 14. BYU | 9-1 |
| 15. Texas A&M | 8-2 |
| 16. Colorado | 8-2 |
| 17. Clemson | 8-2 |
| 18. Army | 9-0 |
| 19. South Carolina | 7-3 |
| 20. Tulane | 9-2 |
| 21. Arizona State | 8-2 |
| 22. Iowa State | 8-2 |
| 23. UNLV | 8-2 |
| 24. Illinois | 7-3 |
| 25. Washington State | 8-2 |
Others receiving votes: Missouri 56, Memphis 38, Kansas State 36, Syracuse 21, Louisville 15, Pittsburgh 6, LSU 6, Louisiana 5, Vanderbilt 4, James Madison 2, Duke 2, Colorado State 2, Georgia Tech 1
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7 Replies to “Polls and Bowls”
I usually don’t read much into these seedings but how, at this point, can Oregon be the #5 seed? Am I missing something?
The writer is assuming Ohio State beats Oregon in the Big 12 title game. With the four highest ranked conference champions getting byes, the loser of the Big Ten championship game (be it Oregon or Ohio State … or Indiana) can’t be a higher seed than 5th.
This is why being the 12th seed for CU is not much fun … you’ll likely end up playing the No. 2 team in the nation … on the road.
We like being underestimated underdogs. Underbuffs? Whoa. That could be a whole other thing.
Go Buffs
Preseason, the games on the back end of CU’s schedule were suppose to be the harder part of the schedule; and then they all fell, and they became possibly the easier part of CU schedule.
BUT IT’S NEVER THAT EASY FOR THE BUFFS!
Those teams got back up by the time they were to play CU; they were… 1) a wounded animal and a team to be concerned about. 2) a team that is now peaking [again] or making a comeback. 3) A team that one side of the ball is playing really well, read Utah & their defense, and they can still be a “wounded animal”, so beware. 4) IT’S EVERYBODY’S SUPERBOWL when playing the Buffs, so buckle up!
BUT…. CU has taken the last half of the season by storm and beat teams by way more than the Vegas line!!! Even with the line against Utah being 9.5 to 10.5 or 11, CU killed it. Playing bad and sloppy at times while at other times scoring TDs & making stops. They’re a truly competitive team that believes in themselves and their teammates and what they can accomplish. No stress of fear of losing, just a mentality of: “We will make adjustments and take over the game and comeback to take the lead the game before or during the second half… IF NOT SOONER! And there’s nothing your’ll going to be able to do about it!”
These men have a confidence about themselves and it shows even when they are down with a pick on the first play of a game or another team has a three score lead and the Buffs just find a way to make the right adjustments , damn how long have we been asking for a staff that can make adjustments during the game?
And, they make the adjustments and take over the game. Even when fumbling the ball, committing stupid penalties and every other “shoot yourself in the foot” moments plays they make a comeback and win by double digits!
Feel free to correct my punctuation, Stewart. 🫣
I’m holding my breath to win the big 16. But I also wonder… if the buffs slip and lose 1 game and the chance. For the championship, might the tv ratings gods pull strings to still get them in as a 12 seed?
The scenario described above is truly awful news for the Big 12 (and C.U.). A conference champion being relegated to a TWELVE seed. There is supposed to be VALUE in winning the championship of a Power Conference. Wow, winning the Big 12, not receiving a bye, and being sent on the road. Ouch!!