News Article: LA TIMES- In football politics, only selection committee's votes matter

bamaga · Nov 25, 2014

interesting read, in that a West Coast paper makes a pretty good observation in the politics of the networks. Especially Fox. Also, that the committee is West Coast heavy, and the PAC12 is ranked a total of 17 spots higher than they are in the Coaches poll. I also believe he forgot about 2 loss Georgia. They have a chance to beat 9-2 Ga Tech and 10-1 Alabama. I think that would get them in the Playoffs over UCLA..

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-college-football-dufresne-20141124-column.html

We are two Sundays removed from a vote that will ultimately decide who will become champion of the United College Football States of America.

This is the time of year when the gloves come off and the rhetoric goes up.

Coaches who, weeks ago, preached confidence that everything would work out have fired their handlers and gone straight to the bully pulpit.

Florida State Coach Jimbo Fisher is done thinking just winning games will secure a spot in the new four-team playoff.

. The networks, too, are intricately tied to the politics of college football.

Fox vs. ESPN is the Fox vs. MSNBC of sports.

The network operated by media maven Rupert Murdoch, who has launched yet another frontal attack on ESPN, leans to the causes of the conferences Fox broadcasts.

Fox announcers are more prone to talk up the Pac-12 and Big 12, while CBS and ESPN carry more water for the SEC.

The committee is packed with a disproportionate number of members with West Coast ties. The panel also lost a voice for the South, former Mississippi star Archie Manning, who had to temporarily step aside to address a lingering knee injury.

Two weeks ago, the committee ranked Pac-12 teams 17 total rankings positions higher than they were in the coaches' poll.

Tide1986 · Nov 25, 2014

Duh...who really thought a 12-13 member selection committee would be free of politics?

TrueCrimson7 · Nov 25, 2014

Tide1986 said:
Duh...who really thought a 12-13 member selection committee would be free of politics?

I know there is going to be politics in a committee because humans can never be completely free of biases and attempts at swaying their votes. I will admit that I have been pleasantly surprised with the committee's "top 4" choices thus far. It appears they are trying to be objective based on who teams have played. I reserve my right to change my opinion in the next 2 weeks, though

45longcolt · Nov 25, 2014

How can you really believe that they are be objective.
No.1 TCU is ranked higher than the team that beat them and both only have one loss. Baylor is 9-1 also.
No.2 They have Bama no.1 so as they will have to play Mississippi state again in the event the pole remains the same that
it is now. This way one of the SEC teams gets knocked out. Do you not see that they are eliminating the possibility
of two SEC teams in the Championship game? If not then you are BLIND!!!

DzynKingRTR · Nov 25, 2014

comparing ESPN to MSNBC is incorrect, people actually watch ESPN

bamaga · Nov 25, 2014

DzynKingRTR said:
comparing ESPN to MSNBC is incorrect, people actually watch ESPN

The writer obviously gives Foxsports to much credit . I try to like Fox, I would like an alternative to ESPN, but Fox doesn't really seem interested in becoming a CFB media power. Perhaps they are MSNBC in that analogy.

cuda.1973 · Nov 25, 2014

They only seem to be interested in carrying things that less people watch, like UFC. ESPN may have too strong of a grip on all the good stuff.

TrueCrimson7 · Nov 25, 2014

45longcolt said:
How can you really believe that they are be objective.
No.1 TCU is ranked higher than the team that beat them and both only have one loss. Baylor is 9-1 also.
No.2 They have Bama no.1 so as they will have to play Mississippi state again in the event the pole remains the same that
it is now. This way one of the SEC teams gets knocked out. Do you not see that they are eliminating the possibility
of two SEC teams in the Championship game? If not then you are BLIND!!!

I purposefully did not say I agree with their top 5 teams for the very reason that I do not agree with TCU's ranking. I do agree with the top 4 at this point. As for the Alabama-MSU matchup, it may very well work out that way. We'll see. An 1-4 matchup like that would make a lot of people outside of the SEC very happy. There's still business to be taken care of in Tuscaloosa, Atlanta, Tallahassee, and Oxford, to name a few. I have a feeling that 1,2,3 and 4 will look different in two weeks.

JDCrimson · Nov 25, 2014

I really think a MSU - BAMA rematch is really unfair to the conference imo. Just how much of a gauntlet do they want to put the SEC through? Think about how difficult this conference has been this year yet they want us to have to play the SEC championship and then play another game of the same equivalent against a team it has already beaten. I mean good grief.

TIDE-HSV · Nov 26, 2014

JDCrimson said:
I really think a MSU - BAMA rematch is really unfair to the conference imo. Just how much of a gauntlet do they want to put the SEC through? Think about how difficult this conference has been this year yet they want us to have to play the SEC championship and then play another game of the same equivalent against a team it has already beaten. I mean good grief.

Well, they wanted something different from the BCS, and we have it. Everyone who's had any contact with management (or even in church) knows how effective rule by committee usually is...

KrAzY3 · Nov 26, 2014

JDCrimson said:
I really think a MSU - BAMA rematch is really unfair to the conference imo. Just how much of a gauntlet do they want to put the SEC through? Think about how difficult this conference has been this year yet they want us to have to play the SEC championship and then play another game of the same equivalent against a team it has already beaten. I mean good grief.

If you listen to some people, a lot more. No more FCS, nine game SEC schedule, and only power 5 schools on the schedule.

It's not fair though, none of it is fair to the SEC, because the SEC already plays the toughest schedules in the nation, each obstacle just raises that to even more ridiculous proportions.

Anyway, the Pac-12 bias was obvious from the start, there's so much that for instance Stanford has more representation than most conferences, I'm surprised they got that much in there but... politics.

Nolan · Nov 26, 2014

What are they worried about anyway? They are going to get a PAC12 team in and host a semifinal game.

Redwood Forrest · Nov 26, 2014

In my estimation the AP poll is not only the most prestigious and oldest, but also the most accurate. I would choose it for ranking the playoff games.

CrimsonNagus · Nov 26, 2014

Here are some things that really bug me about this committee.

There is starting to be a lot of chatter about conference champions and how that will push OSU into the top 4 even if every one wins out. If conference champs are going to count so much then what is the point of starting the poll October?

Does it bug anyone else that all year they've taken their time and waited to release each new poll on Tuesdays but the final poll, the only one that counts, is coming out the day after the games have played. Why do they need so much time when it doesn't count but when it matters they only need less then a day? What this tells me is they know what they are going to do and all they'll have to do is plug in the conference champs.

I think Miss State's chances are really slim unless they run Ole Miss out of the stadium.

B1GTide · Nov 26, 2014

I don't see politics - just bias. I believe that there is a sincere effort to remove bias, but I also understand that it is impossible to completely remove it. Our experiences in life make us who we are, and weigh in every decision that we make - even when we try not to let it happen.

We can't change our past, and that past pushes on our minds in ways that we can't see or understand.

AgentAntiOrange · Nov 26, 2014

45longcolt said:
No.2 They have Bama no.1 so as they will have to play Mississippi state again in the event the pole remains the same that
it is now. This way one of the SEC teams gets knocked out. Do you not see that they are eliminating the possibility
of two SEC teams in the Championship game? If not then you are BLIND!!!

So let me get this straight: When State was #1 and we were #5 it was a conspiracy against us. Prior to that game Alabama fans said that if Bama wins and State drops below #4 then it's a conspiracy against the SEC. Now that State is #4 it's a conspiracy against the SEC. C'mon, man.

JDCrimson said:
I really think a MSU - BAMA rematch is really unfair to the conference imo. Just how much of a gauntlet do they want to put the SEC through? Think about how difficult this conference has been this year yet they want us to have to play the SEC championship and then play another game of the same equivalent against a team it has already beaten. I mean good grief.

I have read on this board that many feel that there is no way MSU advances vs any other current top #4 team. I fail to see how playing Oregon. TCU, Baylor, or Ohio State would be easier than playing State. FSU might be but 1)I'm not sure you can justify dropping an undefeated FSU to #4 and 2)They are undefeated over the course of 2 seasons now. Maybe they really do know how to win.

It seems like some will not be happy unless 2 SEC teams get in and are seeded in such a way that allows them to both get to the championship game. Honestly, that's just ludicrous and reflects the very attitude that so many claim is set unfairly against them.

Roll Tide 57 · Nov 26, 2014

If I had my way Bama would be #2, I think our team really responds to that challenge.

Go ahead & put Felony State #1 just to watch them fall hard.

now you have to ask yourself Who are the BEST 4 teams? I don't think the committee is making THAT the priority, they are trying to please to many Groups.

do you think TCU, Baylor, Ohio State, UCLA, whoever I left out is BETTER than Mississippi State?

then there is your # 4

i don't think they are & the top 4 is right just not in that order.

Right Now Alabama is the BEST team it's just the #1 ranking is tough being on top, when we are #2 & EVERYONE knows we are the Best, that small level of disrespect seems to motivate our guys. Anyway this team is so different it may not matter, I just have a silly superstation.

Bama Reb · Nov 26, 2014

I don't mind the playoffs the way they are now set up. I do mind though the way they have the playoff schedule set up. If any two of the final 4 are in the playoffs, they should both have to first play one of the other two teams in that playoff bracket. For instance, if Bama is #1 and MSU is #4, then #1 should first play the #3 team and #4 should play the #2 team. If by chance the #1 and #4 team survive their respective semi-final games, then they can play each other for the championship. Imo that would be the best outcome for all concerned.

News Article: LA TIMES- In football politics, only selection committee's votes matter

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