Week 9 wrap up

Chaos reigns, sort of.  A lot of shakeups going on, and a lot of teams officially getting eliminated from contention.  And yes, we know that some of the scenarios are ridiculous, but until teams are officially eliminated, we're keeping track of what keeps them in contention.

ACC Wheel of Destiny update

So I don't junk up the main wrap up post, here's an explanation for why Florida State and NC State are both out of contention for the ACC Atlantic division, even though they could force a tie at 5-3.

Week 8 wrap up

Sorry, Miami, you are still not back.

And Ohio State lost.  Well, that's what I get for deciding to switch to the game on ESPN after baseball because I figured it would be on longer.

Apparently, a lot of teams got gifted with a bye, or nonconference game this week.

Oh, and the magic number is coming back.  As I explain every year, that's determined by taking the team with the most wins in the division and adding the remaining number of games to their loss column, then adding one.  Any team that has the magic number or higher in the loss column is automatically out.  We have a few teams dangerously close to that number.  There's probably a few teams that are pretty much eliminated from contention, but I would have to work through a lot of tiebreakers to be 100% sure.  Since that's usually a waste of time, I'll hold off until announcing them being out until I am sure.

Now, on to the conference races...

Reactions, Post-Week 8

With the second half of the season underway, it's back to jotting down some weekly reactions. See below.

Midterm review

With rough calculations, I have determined that Monday, October 17 is the midpoint of the college football season, beginning on September 1 and ending with the conference championship games of December 3.  (Even if we add the Australia game and Army-Navy, this is still the midpoint.)

Let's assess where we are this season.

Week 7 wrap up

The nice thing about the long rotation of ACC cross divisional opponents is that the Hokies don't have to go to the accursed Carrier Dome for 12 years.  Now if only they hadn't been required to return there after leaving the Big East . . .

Anyway, on to the conference races . . .

Reactions from Week 6

Just as the polls were a little late this week due to the hurricane, as am I due to an extended weekend of travel.

Chaos Theory: Week 7

The easiest way to throw the CFP into chaos is to not have any undefeated teams.  Currently, we have 9 undefeated Power 5 teams, and 2 Group of 5 teams.  That breaks down to 1 ACC team, 2 Big 12 teams, 3 Big Ten teams, 2 SEC teams, 1 Pac-12 team, 1 MAC team, and 1 Mountain West team.  Obviously, at least 1 Big 12, 2 Big Ten, and 1 SEC team are guaranteed to lose at some point before the postseason.  That means, at most, we'll have 7 undefeated teams at the end of the year, only 5 of them from the Power 5.

We know that three teams will survive this week due to bye:  Michigan, Washington, and Texas A&M.

Otherwise, here is the list of teams to root for in the name of chaos.

NC State over Clemson
Kansas over Baylor
Texas Tech over West Virginia
Wisconsin over Ohio State
Indiana over Nebraska
Tennessee over Alabama
Akron over Western Michigan
Colorado State over Boise State

Week 6 wrap up

A little late, so we can grab the delayed games due to the hurricane.

We had a crazy weekend, starting with the weather.  Notre Dame at NC State turned into a water polo match in the fourth quarter.  The field at UNC had a much better drainage system, but only one team that was ready to play, and that was Virginia Tech, who was eager to earn the #25 ranking bestowed upon them by the AP.  They earned that, and took away the #17 from the Tarheels.  Then, the FSU/Miami rivalry rolled on with a crazy finish that was slightly delayed when Miami fans felt the need to throw their drinks on the field after a targeting penalty was called on their player.  Down 7 late in the 4th quarter on 4th and 5, Miami throws a TD, but has the extra point blocked.  Poor Brad Kaaya -- he lost the game, and a tooth.

Since this is week 6, the undefeated teams that have yet to have a bye are now bowl eligible.  I'm sure those ranks will swell in the next two to three weeks.

And finally, the conference races have been divided into three parts -- "Controls destiny" (those who are in if they win out), "Needs help" (those who can jump into the first category with a well placed loss), and "Just start winning" (those who have yet to win a conference game, or are so far back that it's not worth listing what they need to possibly win).

Division Records for Championships: SEC Edition

Chip postulated what would have happened in years past had the ACC used Division Records (instead of overall conference records) to determine the representative in the Conference Championship Game. I figured I’d follow up with another conference…the SEC.

What if . . . ACC divisions

It's always a hot topic in a conference that has 14 teams, but only 8 games per year.  So, what are the different ways to restructure the ACC, that could help out on some of the scheduling issues?

SEC and Hurricane throws a monkey wrench into conference standings

With Hurricane Matthew attacking the state of Florida, the SEC knew that they could not play the LSU at Florida game as scheduled this weekend.

They had a few options, some better than others.

What if the ACC used divisional records for champs?

Thanks to some internet discussion, I came up with a thought exercise.  Most conferences use conference records to determine their representatives for the conference championship game.  But, what if divisional records were given preference?  In theory, this could level the playing field a bit, depending on the luck of the draw of cross divisional games.

As usual, let's take a look at the ACC.

Reactions from Week 5

What an awesome weekend of games!  Awesome finishes, some high-profile matchups...what a way to begin October!

Week 5 wrap up

Even without the Hokies playing, college football still managed to deliver one heck of a weekend.  Bravo, teams, bravo.

Although, what was with all of the missed kicks today?

And Duke, I'm calling you out.  You lost to UVA.  Shame!

So, the conference races have already gotten interesting.  Some divisions are already damn near sewn up with only two games played.  Meanwhile, the Big Ten and Pac-12 like to front load their schedules with non-conference games, followed by cross divisional games.

Bowl eligibility starts creeping in next week!