Gray Robertson

Welcome to the sixth edition of The Hangover where I recap the previous weekend in college football. This week, The Hangover comes Atlanta, Georgia, where I watched the Georgia Bulldogs avenge an early season loss to the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship. It was the 20th time I’ve attended the SEC Championship game, and it was thrilling to see it in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Since that game ended, I’ve debated and tweeted and discussed the key question: “Who’s In?” It was a wild weekend of football, so let’s dive in to who’s in the playoff and what went down this past weekend.

It’s official, America. Here’s your College Football Playoff Final Four

Rose Bowl: #2 Oklahoma vs. #3 Georgia

Sugar Bowl: #1 Clemson vs. #4 Alabama

Yes, you’ve probably heard by now that Nick Saban’s team slid into the top four, much to the chagrin of Ohio State and Big Ten fans everywhere.

Nick Saban is certainly smiling today.

Three factors played into this, in my opinion:

  • The 55-24 loss to Iowa for Ohio State is what, ultimately, kept the Buckeyes out. Ohio State didn’t lose in one of those typical 16-10, 13-7 games–they were dominated by an average team that finished 7-5. At the end of the day, the committee couldn’t look past that.
  • The Big Ten itself didn’t help Ohio State’s cause. The entire league didn’t snag a single Top 25 win out of conference all season, which likely downgraded the whole conference in the eyes of the committee.
  • Ohio State just wasn’t very impressive in the Big Ten title game. This pretty subjective, but anyone that watched that game knows that the Buckeyes should’ve run away with it and they didn’t. That was the only Ohio State game all season that the committee watched together, so I’m sure the look of last night didn’t help their case. Side note: Ohio State was wildly inconsistent this season. You never really knew what you were going to get. Alabama was certainly more consistent this season across the board.

What this decision gives us is an answer to the pivotal question that we’ve been asking for four years–who should be in, the four best teams or the four most deserving teams? Today, the committee answered that with “the four best.” I truly believe that Alabama should be in ahead of Ohio State, and I’m glad the committee made the right decision. ESPN’s Peter Burns agrees with me, and all week he was trolling Ohio State for it’s loss to Iowa and reminding America of Alabama’s accomplishments.

In my opinion, though, Booger McFarland put Ohio State’s exclusion in the best terms I’ve seen.

The message sent by the committee isn’t “schedule Mercer,” it’s “don’t lose twice.” Alabama lost once, in a rivalry game, to a top 10 team on the road. Ohio State lost to a top 5 team at home in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated, and also on the road to 7-5 Iowa by 31. That’s the difference. Those citing “SEC Bias” and “Alabama Bias” are just throwing out terms trying to rationalize a decision that they personally don’t like. That’s not the case, though; except for basically one and a half games (Auburn and the first half against Mississippi State), Alabama was dominant throughout the entirety of the season. Ohio State cannot say the same, and if the committee’s charge is to truly put in the “four best teams,” then the Buckeyes only have themselves to blame for not being included.

 

Gray’s Top 10

Here’s my updated top 10 after this past week’s action. Remember, I rank these teams using both the eye test and resumes. These rankings are as of right now, not how I think the season will end.

  1. Clemson
  2. Oklahoma
  3. Georgia
  4. Alabama
  5. Ohio State
  6. Auburn
  7. USC
  8. Wisconsin
  9. UCF
  10. Miami

I genuinely think that Clemson is best team in the country right now, and Oklahoma isn’t far behind them. Georgia has a really solid resume, and they’ve beaten every opponent on their schedule (no this isn’t a typo. If you don’t get it, think about it). I had Alabama ahead of Ohio State even before the official decision was announced. While the top of Ohio State’s resume was better than Alabama’s, I think from top-to-bottom, Alabama’s is better. Plus, on film, they just look like the better team. While I also think Auburn has a better resume than Ohio State despite the three losses, I have Auburn at six. USC should move up to seven, and it’s seriously a shame that they aren’t being mentioned more for that final spot. Wisconsin moves to eight, although I believe that there are probably five SEC teams, three ACC teams, and three other Big Ten teams that would beat them (or have beaten them, in Ohio State’s case). Major props to UCF, who finished the season undefeated. Miami is at ten because, well, I don’t know who I’d move above them.

 

Coach of the Week

I didn’t watch the game and won’t pretend like I did, but I have to give special commendation to Doug Martin from New Mexico State. The Aggies beat South Alabama 22-17 to end a 57-year bowl drought. New Mexico State will head to Arizona Bowl where they will face Utah State, and it’s certainly well-deserved. Congratulations to Coach Martin and the Aggies for breaking their ill-fated streak and getting a second game in December.

 

Idiot of the Week

Completely unfair to call him an idiot, but he gets the lowest coaching spot of the week. Before Saturday, the line didn’t budge from (-7) in favor of Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game. That was all because of the respect for Gary Patterson and his ability to adjust. While I think Oklahoma is just that good, TCU wasn’t ready to play and didn’t have the game plan to hang with the Sooners for 60 minutes. Gary Patterson is a very good coach, but his team got shut out in the second half and looked overwhelmed. Simply because of the lack of candidates this week, I give the nod to TCU’s head man.

 

Random Rankings

Not really random this week. With all of the debate about the college football playoff over the last few weeks, last night I got into a discussion about which sport’s postseason is the best. Here are my rankings, with no explanation, of the best postseasons in America.*Usual Disclaimer*: once Random Rankings are posted, they aren’t changing. So if you like the NFL more than college football, sorry. I’m very stubborn.

  1. College Football Playoff
  2. NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
  3. MLB Playoffs
  4. NFL Playoffs
  5. NBA Playoffs

 

Gray Goes Off

Lots of moves have been made on the coaching carousel, so it’s time to pull out the report card. Here are my grades for all of the hire so far this silly season:

Nebraska

New Coach: Scott Frost (former UCF head coach)

Grade: A

“Local boy comes home” is the headline, but a program turnaround will be the result. This hire is a slam dunk, and I expect Nebraska to be back in the Big Ten Championship game very soon. Props also to Scott Frost for how he handled the reports of this coaching change coming out during the American Championship Game.

 

Texas A&M

New Coach: Jimbo Fisher (former Florida State head coach)

Grade: B+

Is Jimbo worth it at A&M? We’ll have to wait and see.

I have mixed emotions about this one. On one hand, I think having Jimbo Fisher in College Station makes the Aggies an immediate threat. I don’t think they win the SEC West next year, but I’d be very surprised if they didn’t win 9-10 games. Jimbo will recruit, too, so this program will only get better and better. On the other hand, I’m worried expectations may be too high. Rumors I’ve heard say that Jimbo is a bit of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde personality, so I’m interested to see how that works out in Aggieland. I also hope A&M fans aren’t expecting national championships to suddenly start happening. You got a good coach, but you have to give him time.

Mississippi State

New Coach: Joe Moorhead (former Penn State offensive coordinator)

Grade: A

Two Mississippi State people that I talked to Friday night said that they’re “over the moon” about this hire, and I agree. Nick Fitzgerald should be over the moon too, because he’s working with an offensive genius and a good developer of quarterbacks. Mississippi State should be very pleased with this hire.

Oregon State

New Coach: Jonathan Smith (former Washington offensive coordinator)

Grade: B-

Not the sexiest hire, but bringing in a former player usually unites the fan base. It’s going to be a tough turnaround for Smith and, considering some of the other coaches who have expressed interest in this job, I’m not sure that the Beavers got the best option.

Florida

New Coach: Dan Mullen (former Mississippi State head coach)

Grade: A

He knows the landscape of Florida, he’s a great recruiter, he can develop quarterbacks, and he’s well liked in Gainesville. While not the Gators’ first choice, he is a great fit that makes Florida an instant threat next year in the SEC East.

Ole Miss

New Coach: Matt Luke

Grade: B

If the sanctions from the NCAA were less severe, this would be in the C-range. Instead, considering the uphill battle the Rebels will face over the next few years, taking the interim tag off of Luke makes sense. He’s an Ole Miss guy that loves the school and gives them the best chance to keep as many players as possible. Not the long term answer, but good enough in the short term.

UCLA

New Coach: Chip Kelly

Grade: A

The best hire of silly season, Chip Kelly makes UCLA a contender next year in the Pac-12 South. He’ll bring in some good players in a wide open division, and I’m excited to see how this offense will look next year.

Arizona State

New Coach: Herm Edwards

Grade: C-

What? This came out of left field and makes zero sense. How will he do when recruiting? How will the rigors of the college game affect him after being away from that level for almost 30 years? This is the ultimate “wait and see.”

SEC Power Rankings

I’m an SEC guy through and through, so I have to include my SEC Power Rankings. These are the final rankings before bowl season. We have a shake-up at the top, with Georgia taking over and Alabama passing a three-loss Auburn team. Here’s how it looks:

  1. Georgia (3)
  2. Alabama (2)
  3. Auburn (1)
  4. LSU (4)
  5. Mississippi State (5)
  6. Missouri (6)
  7. South Carolina (7)
  8. Kentucky (8)
  9. Ole Miss (9)
  10. Texas A&M (10)
  11. Arkansas (11)
  12. Vanderbilt (12)
  13. Florida (13)
  14. Tennessee (14)

Who’s Ready for Bowl Season?

It’s almost time for the best part of the year. As bowl match-ups pour in, the Hangover will be taking a break until after the CFP Semifinal games. I’ll be in New Orleans for that, and it’ll be a blast. Thanks for riding with us this year. See you in the bowl season!