Alabama loss to unranked TAM

[cykick]

The College Football proponents had their world turned upside down with Alabama's loss to unranked Texas A&M. It is interesting to read and to watch the verbal gymnastics going on as the loss hit the fan Saturday.

The question is, why didn't the "Tide" fall even further down the polls? ( currently AP has them at 5 ) When the Cyclones lost to Iowa they dropped to 15th from 6th and after Baylor they sank completely out of the top 25 ( not saying they shouldn't have ).

Is the reason they didn't because of their "tradition"? Because of it being they are from the SEC or is it because of another reason?

I believe the bias of ESPN, and other media towards the SEC is the reason. I wouldn't mind hearing others.

 

[MushroomPinball]

The College Football proponents had their world turned upside down with Alabama's loss to unranked Texas A&M. It is interesting to read and to watch the verbal gymnastics going on as the loss hit the fan Saturday.

The question is, why didn't the "Tide" fall even further down the pools? ( currently AP has them at 5 ) When the Cyclones lost to Iowa they dropped to 15th from 6th and after Baylor they sank completely out of the top 25 ( not saying they shouldn't have ).

Is the reason they didn't because of their "tradition"? Because of it being they are from the SEC or is it because of another reason?

I believe the bias of ESPN, and other media towards the SEC is the reason. I wouldn't mind hearing others.

As much as I hate SEC bias in the media, Bama is still Bama so they're going to get the benefit of the doubt after dropping a game. When was the last time Alabama lost two regular season games under Saban?

 

[istater7]

Here is why:

Track record matters. This is probably a total anomaly. I expect Bama will be back on track and roll through the rest of the SEC with ease.

 

[DeereClone]

Bama’s track record has probably earned them the benefit of the doubt, which I don’t mind. My higher pet peeve with the SEC is the soft non-con and starting the season ranked high, then every win/loss is against a “ranked team” - it essentially turns into self-fulfilling prophecy where they have no bad losses and all good wins.

 

[JM4CY]

It's really stupid. But it's completely predictable and unsurprising.

 

[VeloClone]

Here is why:
View attachment 90700
Track record matters. This is probably a total anomaly. I expect Bama will be back on track and roll through the rest of the SEC with ease.

This is exactly the problem. Rankings are supposed to be about this team. I'm pretty sure this team has not played together since 2005, 2019, 2018, nor played 14 games, 46 games, 101 games, 24 games, 59 quarters, 15 games, etc...

 

[baller1]

Probably cost them a playoff spot unless they can beat Georgia in the SEC title.
Hypothetically, if Iowa wins out and then loses to Ohio State and Bama wins out and loses to Georgia, does 1 loss Iowa get in the playoff over 2 loss Bama?

 

[xboxfever]

Because Alabama is the most talented (and highest paid) team in the nation and it’s absolutely pathetic when they lose. Their is no reason for them to ever lose with the talent they have. They’ll win out and win the National championship, as they should.

 

[LivntheCyLife]

There's some bias but Alabama does have wins over Miss, Florida, and Miami (plus So. Miss and Mercer). Iowa State has wins over UNI, UNLV, and Kansas. So there is a fair amount of difference in quality of wins.

 

[Clonehomer]

This is exactly the problem. Rankings are supposed to be about this team. I'm pretty sure this team has not played together since 2005, 2019, 2018, nor played 14 games, 46 games, 101 games, 24 games, 59 quarters, 15 games, etc...

I don't think it is as much their historical success but rather what they've done this season that kept them up. Their body of work is still a top 5 team even if they lost the latest game. They've been dominant until Saturday.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Probably cost them a playoff spot unless they can beat Georgia in the SEC title.
Hypothetically, if Iowa wins out and then loses to Ohio State and Bama wins out and loses to Georgia, does 1 loss Iowa get in the playoff over 2 loss Bama?

Lol, no. A 3 loss Bama team might even get in over a 1 loss Iowa team. Alabama is a national brand ratings generator.

 

[Cyched]

 

[istater7]

This is exactly the problem. Rankings are supposed to be about this team. I'm pretty sure this team has not played together since 2005, 2019, 2018, nor played 14 games, 46 games, 101 games, 24 games, 59 quarters, 15 games, etc...

If it was anybody but Alabama I would agree with you…but it’s Alabama. They’ve earned a pass because of their history and talent level.

 

[Land Grant]

Perhaps Alabama should have slid a bit further. That said, there was absolutely no injustice done to ISU in its fall in/from the rankings. ISU was overhyped in the preseason both by the media and in-house. Alabama's status is very different based on years of domination.

For ISU, It's gonna be really hard to earn our way back into a 15 or higher ranking. One bitten, twice shy. Alabama will probably still make the playoff.

The College Football proponents had their world turned upside down with Alabama's loss to unranked Texas A&M. It is interesting to read and to watch the verbal gymnastics going on as the loss hit the fan Saturday.

The question is, why didn't the "Tide" fall even further down the polls? ( currently AP has them at 5 ) When the Cyclones lost to Iowa they dropped to 15th from 6th and after Baylor they sank completely out of the top 25 ( not saying they shouldn't have ).

Is the reason they didn't because of their "tradition"? Because of it being they are from the SEC or is it because of another reason?

I believe the bias of ESPN, and other media towards the SEC is the reason. I wouldn't mind hearing others.

 

[CascadeClone]

Probably cost them a playoff spot unless they can beat Georgia in the SEC title.
Hypothetically, if Iowa wins out and then loses to Ohio State and Bama wins out and loses to Georgia, does 1 loss Iowa get in the playoff over 2 loss Bama?

Depends what happens elsewhere. One of PSU/OSU will eliminate the other, and don't forget Michigan may beat one of them too, who knows. It's about to hit the fan in the B1G East. Oregon may win out and get a berth. OU could run the table and be in, or they could end up with 2 losses with UT, OSU, or even ISU winning the CCG. It's total chaos this year, and still too many moving parts.

FWIW, I still think Iowa will have a day where they are -1 on turnovers and get beat by someone. Hell they are vulnerable to that every week except NW.

ALL that said... if 1 loss Iowa, and 2 loss Bama, both losers of their CCGs, are the best options for the 4th spot... yes Bama gets in on "eye test". The committee breaks those kind of ties with potential not with resume, always has, no matter how much we may not love it.

Here's a better question -
suppose PSU beats OSU, then Michigan beats PSU but loses to OSU. So they all have 2 losses (assume Mich drops another somewhere). So the B1G east champ has 2 losses, but then beats a 0 or 1 loss Iowa. Does the B1G even get a team in? Again, lots of moving pieces, but imagine the carnage if a 2 loss B1G champ gets left behind for Bama and Ga with 1 loss each, plus 1 loss Oregon and OU as Big12 champ...

 

[PSYclone22]

The College Football proponents had their world turned upside down with Alabama's loss to unranked Texas A&M. It is interesting to read and to watch the verbal gymnastics going on as the loss hit the fan Saturday.

The question is, why didn't the "Tide" fall even further down the polls? ( currently AP has them at 5 ) When the Cyclones lost to Iowa they dropped to 15th from 6th and after Baylor they sank completely out of the top 25 ( not saying they shouldn't have ).

Is the reason they didn't because of their "tradition"? Because of it being they are from the SEC or is it because of another reason?

I believe the bias of ESPN, and other media towards the SEC is the reason. I wouldn't mind hearing others.

I would argue that a drop from 1 to 5 is similar to a drop from 6 to 15. The quality difference between the first and 5th best team is probably about the same as 6th and 15th. I hope that makes sense.

A more extreme explanation would be to say a team fell from 46th to 50th. Is that a very big change relative to 1st to 5th?

 

[Cyclonepride]

The College Football proponents had their world turned upside down with Alabama's loss to unranked Texas A&M. It is interesting to read and to watch the verbal gymnastics going on as the loss hit the fan Saturday.

The question is, why didn't the "Tide" fall even further down the polls? ( currently AP has them at 5 ) When the Cyclones lost to Iowa they dropped to 15th from 6th and after Baylor they sank completely out of the top 25 ( not saying they shouldn't have ).

Is the reason they didn't because of their "tradition"? Because of it being they are from the SEC or is it because of another reason?

I believe the bias of ESPN, and other media towards the SEC is the reason. I wouldn't mind hearing others.

Start with the premise that the entire process is rigged to achieve their desired matchups at the end of the year, and everything else makes pretty good sense.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Depends what happens elsewhere. One of PSU/OSU will eliminate the other, and don't forget Michigan may beat one of them too, who knows. It's about to hit the fan in the B1G East. Oregon may win out and get a berth. OU could run the table and be in, or they could end up with 2 losses with UT, OSU, or even ISU winning the CCG. It's total chaos this year, and still too many moving parts.

FWIW, I still think Iowa will have a day where they are -1 on turnovers and get beat by someone. Hell they are vulnerable to that every week except NW.

ALL that said... if 1 loss Iowa, and 2 loss Bama, both losers of their CCGs, are the best options for the 4th spot... yes Bama gets in on "eye test". The committee breaks those kind of ties with potential not with resume, always has, no matter how much we may not love it.

Here's a better question -
suppose PSU beats OSU, then Michigan beats PSU but loses to OSU. So they all have 2 losses (assume Mich drops another somewhere). So the B1G east champ has 2 losses, but then beats a 0 or 1 loss Iowa. Does the B1G even get a team in? Again, lots of moving pieces, but imagine the carnage if a 2 loss B1G champ gets left behind for Bama and Ga with 1 loss each, plus 1 loss Oregon and OU as Big12 champ...

If that team is Ohio State, yes.

I think it’s adorable how many of you seem to think who gets in is who is deserving. If they can justify it, they’ll put the biggest names in every single time.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Bama’s track record has probably earned them the benefit of the doubt, which I don’t mind. My higher pet peeve with the SEC is the soft non-con and starting the season ranked high, then every win/loss is against a “ranked team” - it essentially turns into self-fulfilling prophecy where they have no bad losses and all good wins.

This happens in the Big 10 too. The Big 10 and SEC are so far ahead of the other conferences when it comes to propping up their teams. It's intentional. Look at the Big 10 schedules this year. They are completely backloaded with the conference's most important matchups. Granted, the teams have to still win, and having Michigan and Michigan St start unbeaten is a fortunate turn, but with name recognition and soft early schedules, you can ensure that your teams never fall too far after a loss.

 

[cyfanatic13]

Rankings are so stupid and one of the reasons I'm starting to enjoy NFL more than college. Iowa is not the 2nd best team in the nation. There are not four better teams than Alabama in the country. I hope whenever CFB hopefully goes to four 16 team conferences, they do away with rankings and just let the results on the field do the talking