Read through all the responses and there has been some really good points made. One point I would bring up is that the rankings gave me a little faith in the committee in taking into account the holistic control over games and the circumstances. If you watched us Saturday, you saw a team that dominated the game but tried to give it away with costly turnovers...yet still win the game by 7, and against what I think is a pretty good team on the road and in the elements. There were some questionable rankings (by far Auburn, they should be nearly unranked right now).
Obviously, we have to win the next 2 games by a fairly wide margin and win the B1G championship relatively convincingly (if we squeak by in 2 out of 3, we need all hell to break lose). I think Minny beating Nebraska helps us big time after Nebraska's huge loss. If Wisky wins out fairly convincingly, that puts them somewhere between #12-15 heading into the B1G championship game. If we do the same, it is a titanic matchup of two likely Heisman finalists in JT vs. Gordon, which just adds to the agenda with two highly ranked teams.
Even still, we do need help imo, though I think it is more likely than not to happen. IF we really do win out convincingly, then I think we hop over TCU. That still leaves 4 others. F$U plays awful every week and manages to win...if they lose to UF, they are out based on the other games and I would not even rule out BC beating them this week. That alone likely gets us in. Mississippi State still has Ole Miss and Bama still has Auburn...we just need one upset from there (highly likely imo for at least one to happen). That alone likely gets us in. Then what if if Ole Miss loses or barely beats Arkansas, yet beats or almost beats Miss St? That pretty much kills a one-loss Miss St team without a championship appearance if a one-loss OSU team takes care of business. Even if the upset does not happen, the 1 loss champion could very well lose in the championship game to the East. That late in the season to go to two losses...that alone likely gets us in. Finally, I am not convinced TCU will win out/not struggle against OK State and Texas. Baylor might lose to Tech.
In sum, I used to think it would almost take the perfect storm to get us back in...now I think it would almost take the perfect storm to keep us out assuming we do what we need to. We have improved nearly every week and if it comes down to us and a Big 12 team...who actually plays both offense and defense? Who actually has an alumni base that will generate ticket and sponsorship revenue? Who has a storied tradition? As mentioned earlier, if we keep looking this impressive moving forward, I tend to think we are in because one of the above scenarios will likely play out. I agree that the team needs to worry about just beating up on opponents each week, but the fun part of being a fan is that we get to endlessly speculate
Obviously, we have to win the next 2 games by a fairly wide margin and win the B1G championship relatively convincingly (if we squeak by in 2 out of 3, we need all hell to break lose). I think Minny beating Nebraska helps us big time after Nebraska's huge loss. If Wisky wins out fairly convincingly, that puts them somewhere between #12-15 heading into the B1G championship game. If we do the same, it is a titanic matchup of two likely Heisman finalists in JT vs. Gordon, which just adds to the agenda with two highly ranked teams.
Even still, we do need help imo, though I think it is more likely than not to happen. IF we really do win out convincingly, then I think we hop over TCU. That still leaves 4 others. F$U plays awful every week and manages to win...if they lose to UF, they are out based on the other games and I would not even rule out BC beating them this week. That alone likely gets us in. Mississippi State still has Ole Miss and Bama still has Auburn...we just need one upset from there (highly likely imo for at least one to happen). That alone likely gets us in. Then what if if Ole Miss loses or barely beats Arkansas, yet beats or almost beats Miss St? That pretty much kills a one-loss Miss St team without a championship appearance if a one-loss OSU team takes care of business. Even if the upset does not happen, the 1 loss champion could very well lose in the championship game to the East. That late in the season to go to two losses...that alone likely gets us in. Finally, I am not convinced TCU will win out/not struggle against OK State and Texas. Baylor might lose to Tech.
In sum, I used to think it would almost take the perfect storm to get us back in...now I think it would almost take the perfect storm to keep us out assuming we do what we need to. We have improved nearly every week and if it comes down to us and a Big 12 team...who actually plays both offense and defense? Who actually has an alumni base that will generate ticket and sponsorship revenue? Who has a storied tradition? As mentioned earlier, if we keep looking this impressive moving forward, I tend to think we are in because one of the above scenarios will likely play out. I agree that the team needs to worry about just beating up on opponents each week, but the fun part of being a fan is that we get to endlessly speculate
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