AP: It's barely September and BT may already be out of College Football Playoff race

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per the AP:

It's barely September and the Big Ten just might be out of the inaugural College Football Playoff race.

That sure didn't take long, did it?

A conference that has had more than its share of epic failures in big showdowns in recent years had a night to forget on Saturday. Three of its biggest bullies — No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 Ohio State and once proud Michigan — all were soundly defeated.

Factor in Wisconsin's loss to LSU a week earlier and it's easy to see why the conference could be a spectator for the next four months when the talk turns to the best teams in the country.

"We have enough skill people on this football team to get by people," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said glumly after his team took a 35-21 thumping against unranked Virginia Tech at home before an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 107,517. "It didn't look like it (tonight). But we HAVE to get by people or you're going to see what you saw today every week."

Wow, that is a dire forecast.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/274266351.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 

Lets see PSU is 2-0, Maryland is 2-0, Rutgers is 2-0, Iowa is 2-0, Minnesota is 2-0, heck Illinois is 2-0, Nebraska is barely 2-0. The problem is focus. Wouldn't drive the Big 10 sports writers, ESPN, and National media wild if the Big 10 Championship was a Rutgers vs. Minnesota game?
 

husker70 said:
Lets see PSU is 2-0, Maryland is 2-0, Rutgers is 2-0, Iowa is 2-0, Minnesota is 2-0, heck Illinois is 2-0, Nebraska is barely 2-0. The problem is focus. Wouldn't drive the Big 10 sports writers, ESPN, and National media wild if the Big 10 Championship was a Rutgers vs. Minnesota game?
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Delany would make some rule change at the last second to make it Ohio St. vs. Michigan.
 

Look, if your talking SEC is the best, remember the SEC is and will always be the cheater conference. They do not have the same rules everyone else has. A large number of their players would have a hard time getting into Normandale. I have no respect for the SEC until they roll like everyone else.
 





I wonder how much of the B1G's struggles revolve around recruiting and how much revolves around coaching? There are a few teams around the country that can be pretty vanilla on offense and still do well (Alabama is a great example), but it seems like a lot of teams around the country are just much better about finding ways to get playmakers the ball with space to do something with it. I don't see nearly as much creativity in the average B1G offense as you see in the Big 12 or Pac 12 or even with some of the ACC teams. Auburn was able to get to to the title game last year (with the help of quite a bit of luck) with some very creative schemes despite talent that certainly wasn't at the top of the SEC.

If the B1G does get shut out of the playoffs this year, I wonder if the conference will look to make changes, or if it will take a several years of not having a representative(not saying that will happen) for some sort of shift to occur.
 

Michigan State losing *at* Oregon, in a back and forth game, certainly does not knock them out, although they probably have to win out to get in now.

Wisconsin never should've been in the discussion, Michigan never was, and Ohio State's chances died when Miller got hurt. Maybe a team like Minnesota can sneak into the discussion.

We are pretty similar to the Big 12 and ACC in basically having one real contender. Maybe Pac 12 as well...UCLA, USC and Stanford aren't any better than our 2-4 teams.
 



WanderingGopher said:
Michigan State losing *at* Oregon, in a back and forth game, certainly does not knock them out, although they probably have to win out to get in now.

Wisconsin never should've been in the discussion, Michigan never was, and Ohio State's chances died when Miller got hurt. Maybe a team like Minnesota can sneak into the discussion.

We are pretty similar to the Big 12 and ACC in basically having one real contender. Maybe Pac 12 as well...UCLA, USC and Stanford aren't any better than our 2-4 teams.
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Wait! What?
 

It's been a crappy nonconference for the Big Ten, no doubt, as ESPN will continue to remind its viewers over and over and over and over. But for those saying the Big Ten is already out of the CFP, that's pure hyperbole and piling on.

Any undefeated Big Ten team (or any other Power 5 conference team, for that matter) will always have a legit shot at the playoff, no matter how ESPN tries to spin it. And certainly a 12-1 Michigan State or 12-1 Wisconsin team will be in the conversation if they run the table the rest of the way, especially if Oregon and/or LSU go on to have stellar seasons.

Oregon is MSU's best friend right now. Any chance Sparty has at making the playoff rests on running the table & the Ducks going 12-1 or better, both which appear doable after watching how both teams responded to body blows, Sparty early (down 18-7 in a hostile environment), and Oregon late (down 27-18 and teetering on the ropes with 5 minutes left in the 3rd).

I do think it's safe to say that no Big Ten team will have a shot at the playoff (this season) with 2 losses. ... Sparty and Bucky can't afford even one slip-up.
 

I'm afraid if msu runs the table, they will take a back seat to an sec or pac12 team(s) that has only 1 loss.
 

station19 said:
I'm afraid if msu runs the table, they will take a back seat to an sec or pac12 team(s) that has only 1 loss.
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I agree, MSU would need some help. Basically, they need some of the better teams in the Pac 12 (Stanford, UCLA, USC) and SEC (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, etc.) to beat each other up and get most of 'em with 2 losses. They'll also likely need Notre Dame to lose twice (very likely) and someone to knock off Oklahoma. For all the crap the Big Ten takes (deservedly so), the Big 12 isn't any better. Oklahoma best not slip up anywhere because their conference schedule isn't likely to help them much. I'd take my chances with a 1-loss Michigan State over a 1-loss Oklahoma. Any loss Oklahoma suffers is likely to be a worse loss than MSU's to Oregon.

Feel confident that Florida State (no legit challenger in ACC) and the SEC champion will be 2 of the 4 playoff teams, pretty much a sure thing. It's those last 2 spots that should be available. I would agree the SEC's likely to get a 2nd spot but far from a sure thing if they beat each other up.
 



If Oklahoma runs the table, they are in. Florida State should run the table, they are in, unless VA Tech beats FSU and runs the table then they are in. I don't think there will be a 1 loss team from the SEC, they are out. Michigan State runs the table and wins the Big 10 Championship, they are in. That leaves the Pac 12 or Possibly Notre Dame?
 

I'll go with Florida State, SEC Champ, Pac12 Champ and an SEC one loss team..........always remember my predictions suck.
 

The Big Ten really did themselves no favors these first two weeks. You'd have liked to think that ONE of these games would have fallen the Big Ten's way.....but that didn't happen. Unfortunately.....we keep hearing about how the Big Ten is down in comparison to other conferences. We aren't doing much to shut that notion down. Rutgers beating WSU and Maryland beating USF doesn't really do much either....especially since these are the two newest members. A Minnesota victory against TCU would be a decent boost.
 

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