2024-25 NFL (Week 15)

Games I saw (some of):

Rams 12-6 Niners

Yawn! A real snooze of a game. Deebo Samuel dropped a pass that might've been a TD, biggest play of the game. The Rams did well last week against the Bills and kept it going by catching the Niners giving up on the season and, suddenly, that surge I thought the Rams might go on (and then assumed they wouldn't) is back on! I thought a surging Cards might have been a more dangerous playoff team but a surging Rams squad is gonna be a real pain in the ass. 

Bills 48-42 Lions

Fun game! The Bills owned the 1st quarter, from then on it was a boat race where the Bills managed to hang on. Fun but there wasn't much defense. The Lions needed this game more than the Bills did, they've got the Vikings and Eagles breathing down their necks. So even though the Lions have been the best team on both sides of the ball, suddenly they might be going on the road to open the post-season. The Bills (by which I mean: Josh Allen) are rolling and if they can get some luck with Mahomes's ankle, they might still snag the #1 seed in the AFC.

Bears 12-30 Vikings

The Bears are not a fun team to watch and that's unfortunate--I love a good youth movement! But they are better than last year and I presume they'll make a leap in coaching (Mike Vrabel interested in this gig?) and might be pretty good....next year. The Vikings are a nice team, quietly piling up W's, might still win the division, might get the #1 seed in the NFC--all on the table for them. This is a good team and I still think no one's noticed. 

The rest of the slate:

Chiefs 21-7 Browns. Browns have given up on football; Chiefs may have lost Mahomes for a while, we'll see how bad his high ankle sprain turns out to be.

Bengals 37-27 Titans. The Titans have at times this year impressed me in the O-line and D-line play, especially considering how useless the skill players are arrayed around them; but even the good parts of the team are calcifying and I think the Titans just don't have enough talent (or will) to win any more. Do you see how bad the Bengals D is? They gave up 27 to the frickin' Titans!

Commanders 20-19 Saints. The Saints came back late, went for 2 after the buzzer, I respect that but I didn't much care for the play call. The Commanders are still getting by, I figured they were due for a pullback but I think they can keep winning. 

Ravens 35-14 Giants. The Giants have given up on football; the Ravens need to pass to set up the run, that is their mission from here til the final gun. 

Cowboys 30-14 Panthers. The Cowboys are actually playing their best ball of the season but I don't think anyone has noticed; the Panthers are having fun but that doesn't mean they're going to win games.

Jets 32-25 Jaguars. Yeah, I don't care.

Dolphins 12-20 Texans. The Texans are weirdly uninspiring but they are clearly the class of their division. The Dolphins are done, I guess. 

Colts 13-31 Broncos. The Colts have given up on football. The Broncos are still figuring out how to play with consistency, but they're rounding into shape going into the playoffs, they won't be an easy out. 

Steelers 13-27 Eagles. The Steelers can be dangerous as an underdog, but as soon as you start to believe in them, I think they will disappoint. Nice W for the Eagles, who seem disgruntled even while winning. 

Patriots 17-30 Cards. Yeah, I don't care.

Bucs 40-17 Chargers. Wow, 40-burger on the Chargers? Dang. The Bucs are getting better at the right time. The Chargers are nice but not yet there. 

Packers 30-13 Seahawks. Good win for the Packers; the Seahawks may be in trouble if QB Smith is out for a while. 

Falcons 15-9 Raiders. Yeah, I don't care. (Are we gonna see QB Penix next week?)

2024-25 NFL (Week 14)

Games I watched (some of):

Packers 31-34 Lions

Good game! The Packers played well, the Lions played just a little better. Good to see the Lions get it done against a tough division opponent, good to see the Packers bringing it down to the wire. These are both good teams, the NFC playoffs are gonna be rugged this year. 

Panthers 16-22 Eagles

Yeah, this game was just what I thought it would be: the Panthers have been getting better lately (they bottomed out earlier than anyone else in the league) but still aren't actually good enough to win games--but they are good enough to put a scare in the best teams, such as the Chiefs and Eagles, neither of whom came close to covering the spread on the lowly Panthers. The Eagles didn't seem that interested but they came alive when they needed to, did what needed to be done. Keep an eye on the Panthers if you like teams that cover the spread while losing. 

Bills 42-44 Rams

Fun game! After watching a game with seemingly no defense (no turnovers, for example), its worth remembering that the different in the game was a blocked punt. If the Bills just get that punt off as normal, there's a chance they get the stop and....ah, who am I kidding? There were no "stops" in this game! Hell, it probably benefitted the Bills to get the ball back that much quicker. As a Bills fan it is disconcerting that QB Allen put up 42 points on the road in a flawless performance and still didn't get the W. But, the Rams are wily veterans and they made their stand at home. Good for them. 

Chargers 17-19 Chiefs

The Chargers did nothing at all in the 1st half and were only down 13-0 at halftime. Then the Chargers pretty well dominated the 2nd half but got the FG instead of the third TD and that was all the opening that Mahomes needed to steal the game. The Chiefs don't blow people out, they just get by and they seem able to do that with the bestest or wortest of opponents....but we'll see how long that lasts. As for the Chargers, well, they almost knocked off the champs but...they didn't...so....nice uniforms.

Bengals 27-20 Cowboys

Jeez, Cowboys, all you had to do was not screw up the blocked punt, run out the clock, kick an FG and you'd get the W at home. Instead, you muffed the blocked punt (turning a great play into a 1st down for the other team) and watched helplessly as QB Burrow carved you up and covered the spread (and we come to my real consternation). Oh, Cowboys. I thought this game would've featured a lot more scoring as the Bengals have a great offense and a terrible defense and the Cowboys are kinda middle of the pack in both. More of a barnburner than I would've thought but the Cowboys still managed to look awful. 

The rest of the slate:

Jags 10-6 Titans. Yeah, I don't care.

Jets 26-32 Dolphins. Yeah, I don't care.

Falcons 21-42 Vikings. The Falcons ran out of gas, the Vikings just kept going. 

Saints 14-11 Giants. Yeah, I don't care.

Browns 14-27 Steelers. Thought the Browns might give the Steelers a game but QB Winston just can't get through a game without giving it to the other team, just a matter of time before the Steelers sealed the victory.

Raiders 13-28 Bucs. The Raiders tried but they're just not good, the Bucs are playing their best ball right now--NFC playoffs are gonna be rugged. 

Seahawks 30-18 Cards. Thought the Cards would overtake the Seahawks but losing to them twice in the last 3 weeks has pretty much finished their season. 

Bears 13-38 Niners. Thought the Bears might hustle their way to a result against the fading Niners but it turns out the Niners still have enough to beat a not-good team. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 15)

Watched some:

Mountain West: (20) UNLV 7-21 (10) Boise State 

Boise State just straight smoked UNLV in the 1st half and then not much happened in the 2nd half--to which I would credit Boise State's stifling attack. UNLV did not belong in the playoff and I'm glad Boise State handled their business.

SEC: (5) Georgia 22-19 (OT) (2) Texas

I thought Texas was the better team, the game went back and forth, UGA kinda took off after QB Beck got injured and they had to go to the backup, who was better (though he still threw one of the most inexplicable interceptions I've seen in a while). The two teams are similar: at their best when they're running but sometimes stall and can't sustain, both have top quality pass rush, both have some spice on special teams, but neither team has any standout WR's and UGA's QB is suspect, while UT's is just not as good as it seems like he ought to be. In short: both teams have good--but not great--depth of talent

and play to their strengths, but there are chinks in the armor that top flight opponents can nibble away at. Again, I thought Texas was better but they didn't get it done in OT, so that was that. Both are in the playoff but the winner gets a bye and the loser doesn't. 

Big 10: (3) Penn State 37-45 (1) Oregon

Typically in a normal year there are 3-4 teams (sometimes 5) that look truly capable of winning the championship; but expanding out to 12 teams throws so many more teams in the mix that I think it waters down the top tier schools and this year, only Oregon looked like a real champion all season long. Penn State has been getting better but can't get over the hump of beating the top tier schools for a few years now; expanding out to 12 teams is a godsend to good-but-not-great teams like Penn State. Here, Oregon jumped out to a commanding lead with an offense that ran and passed with ease, converted 3rd downs like pros and just generally always seem to catch the defense out of position. You would expect a team like Penn State to fall to pieces after such an early shellacking, but I was impressed at how well they hung in and came back to make the close, the game went to the final minute when it looked over early. That said....it was over early. For all of Penn State's impressive stick-to-it-tive-ness, I never thought Oregon was losing this game. Oregon is the clear obvious no-brainer #1 team in the land; Penn State is a nice contestant in the tourney, solid enough (if a little vanilla) to hang tough and make the most of others' mistakes. 

ACC: (17) Clemson 34-31 (8) Southern Methodist

SMU played about as awful as they could in the 1st half and I still thought they were gonna win--and was kinda shocked that they didn't. Clemson made SMU pay for their early mistakes (turnovers, bad penalties, dumb plays--they put on the full show of awful!) and rode a 24-7 lead into the half. But after that, SMU picked up their game and looked damn good on offense and pretty good on defense. Clemson was able to sneak in the game-winning FG, but, man, I just didn't think they had it in them to make those kinds of plays down the stretch. I'm glad SMU made the tourney--I think they deserved it; flipside: I think Clemson is the 12th best team remaining (and the reason the extra SEC squad isn't here--not SMU, who totally deserves to be ahead of Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss). 

Watched none (or very little)

C-USA: Western Kentucky 12-52 Jacksonville St.

Wow, quite the pasting Jax State dropped on the Hilltoppers. I know nothing about of either of these teams or this conference or this game....except that it looks like Jax came to play and WKU did not. 

American Athletic: Tulane 14-35 (24) Army

Both of these squads have been pretty good all year long, both faltering in November. Every time I turned this game on, Tulane was turning the ball over and Army was poised to increase their lead. Yeah, I saw not much of this because it was clear Army was housing them throughout. Thought for a while that an undefeated Army squad would have to get some kind of consideration from the committee, could there have been enough election year fervor to get the Cadets into the inaugural playoff? (If they'd beaten Notre Dame, we might've found out)

Big 12: (16) Iowa State 19-45 (15) Arizona State 

Yeah, the Sun Devils put in on the Cyclones early and often and this was over pronto. Iowa State is a nice team for keeping the score low, getting a lucky break or two and stealing W's from better teams. But ASU's onslaught nullified all that and Iowa State had no chance to get back into this game. Arizona State got hot late and stole this conference (yeah, I just noticed they were in the Big 12, like, last week), so all I know about them is they're kinda hot right now. But whooping up on Iowa State doesn't get me too pumped this year as even the top of that conference was pretty mediocre (and the bottom featured a lot of typically reliable teams having stinkburger years). Good luck, Arizona State (I have you ranked #11 out of 12).

MAC: Ohio 38-3 Miami (OH)

Nice work, OU! Don't take no guff from the mean preppy kids from the rich camp on the other side of the lake. I can't imagine the Bobcats are worthy of a tournament invite but they went 10-3, avenged their one conference L and stomped their way through the championship. Good season. 

Sun Belt: Marshall 31-3 Louisiana

Two more teams I was not acquainted with this season, looks like Marshall came to play.  

My top 12 

1 Oregon (1)

2 Ohio State (8)

3 Notre Dame (7)

4 Texas (5)

5 Penn State (6)

6 Georgia (2)

7 Southern Methodist (11)

8 Indiana (10)

9 Tennessee (9)

10 Boise State (3)

11 Arizona State (4)

12 Clemson (12)

I'm not in favor of holding the top 4 seeds for conference winners. I think winning a conference earns you a spot in the top 12 but otherwise you get ranked alongside everyone else. So Arizona State taking the #4 seed is positively absurd--really a dumbass way to kick off this new invention! See, Clemson won their conference and they are ranked #12, which is what they deserve (yes: behind the team they just beat!), because Clemson is not that good and the fact that they were able to backdoor their way into this tourney is all the reward they should get. Clemson won and they are getting what they deserve, while Arizona State won and are being waywaywayway overrated. 

That said, this produced some excellent matches that I'm looking forward to. And I'm going to watch as much as the TV will allow.

2024-25 NFL (Week 13)

Games I watched (some of):

Dolphins 17-30 Packers

The Packers came to play, the Dolphins did not, this was over quick. The Dolphins made every conceivable mistake in the 1st quarter and were only marginally better from then on. The Packers moved the ball well, took full advantage of Dolphin miscues and piled up a nice lead right away. The Dolphins are playing better but the frozen tundra was not kinda to them. If the Packers play like this every week they might be able to catch the Vikings and Lions slipping.

Raiders 17-19 Chiefs

The story here is that the Raiders had the ball well within FG range ready to run out the clock and the center mis-snapped the ball and the Chiefs got the fumble to secure the victory. Yeah, the Raiders literally gave it away instead of getting the W. The Raiders have given up, the only thing buoying them at this point is the petty bitterness of division games (you know: the Raiders beat the Chiefs every year, this final should not be shocking), and they do have TE Bowers, the Offensive ROY, I'd say. The Chiefs play to their level of competition, as exhibited by an absolute gift from the Raiders and an OT tussle with the Panthers in the last coupla weeks; the Chiefs have to scuffle at the end of games to beat arguably the two worst teams in the league. That said, they could do the same thing to the Bills, Lions, Eagles, Steelers, etc. I wouldn't count them out just yet but this team gets a little more Mahomes-dependent every week, he's the best in the world right now (*), but the hills he has to climb only get higher from here. Good win--lucky win!--but those count, too. 

Steelers 44-38 Bengals

Okay, okay, hold up a second here: don't go looking at this and thinking the Steelers offense will be regularly putting up 40-burgers, nah nah nah. That ain't happening. The Bengals defense is that bad (like, italics bad!) and this game was a mix of sloppy and opportunistic. Nice to know that the Steelers can do this from time to time but I wouldn't count on seeing this too many more times. QB Burrow is having one of the greatest seasons that no one will ever notice that I've ever seen (**) but its not enough, the Bengals are in too deep of a hole and just not built to win games, so I think Burrow-to-Chase might break some records but they've got no shot at the playoffs. The Steelers have a really good pass rush and a rickety offense (what I envisioned the Kirk Cousins Falcons to look like) that can sneak up on ya. But this kinda of offensive output is an anomaly. I still feel like the Steelers are due for a correction but they're getting their moxy going now, might seal the division for them. 

Cards 22-23 Vikings

The Cards were the better team for, like, 58 minutes of this game. But the Vikings are savvy and they got it done down the stretch. Good W. The Cards are playing their best ball right now, moving in the right direction, I thought they would catch the Seahawks, we'll see. The Vikings are good on D, kinda good on offense, not overpowering, (not particularly fun to watch, either), but they get W's, they're a tough out. I thought the Packers would pass them in the standings, I guess I still think that.

Niners 10-35 Bills

This was not the Niners' night. The lake effect snow was just getting going right as the game started and the slopfest in every way benefitted the Bills and doomed the Niners. The Niners have had a rough season, injuries all over the place, no continuity, tough L's, this game was just waiting to punish them and it did. The Bills didn't really even have to work hard. QB Allen completed a hot route to WR Cooper, who got stood up by the corner, Cooper was able to lateral the back to Allen, who got credit for a receiving TD of his own pass. That kinda game: the Bills were having fun and the Niners were not. The Niners are done for the year, I'd say, they might spark alive in a division game, they might have some spoiler in them, but they don't feel like they're going on a run to me. 

Eagles 24-19 Ravens

I thought the Eagles were better. The Ravens are a reverse of their usual selves: their ground and pound offense can pummel people but their defense is sketchy at best. I though they'd get hot enough to skip past the Steelers but I dunno, man, if that running game doesn't get going, they lose. The Eagles are getting hot at the right time, their offense is in a nice groove, their pass rush is evolving nicely, this the team we thought they were going to be last year. Lions-Eagles NFC game is gonna be a good one, already looking forward to it. 

The rest of the slate:

Bears 20-23 Lions. Called this one: I thought the Lions would run up a nice lead and then mail in the 4th quarter, with the Bears furiously trying to come back. Yup, pretty much. The scuffling as the clock ran out got Coach Eberfluss fired (hate to be that guy but....yeah), perhaps a new hand on the rudder will bring some late season success. The Bears aren't good but they play hard, they're frisky, they're out beat people, they just can't get it done; the Lions are just good at every phase of the game, they rolling right now. 

Giants 20-27 Cowboys. I think NYG have given up life, I don't expect them to be particularly competitive down the stretch, they're playing for that #1 pick, but they look capable of piling up garbage numbers. The Cowboys are actually playing pretty good right now, not great but strangely dangerous. 

Chargers 17-13 Falcons. QB Cousins just doesn't look healthy, certainly isn't playing well; a pretty good Cousins and this team could win games and be mildly dangerous in the post-season, but without him, I'd be kinda shocked if rookie QB Penix came off the bench and got W's at this point of the season; I think the Falcons may be done. The Chargers are a good defense and a frisky offense and a coach that seems in control; they can beat anyone and don't see quite as likely to lose to anyone they way have in years past; I think I kinda like this team to finally get over the hump and make a nice playoff run (just like I have...in years past). Good W for the Chargers to take a division leader on the road. 

Colts 25-24 Patriots. I wondered which team was more likely to gack it away. It was the Colts. 

Seahawks 26-21 Jets. NYJ have given up on life, they just aren't good on offense and the D that has been dominant lately don't seem that dominant this year; the season has been a disaster and they're all ready for Cancun. The Seahawks have a great passing game but I'm not sure what else they got, kinda felt like they'd slide out of the playoffs but they are frisky and should score a few more W's. Not a blowout victory, but a good W on the road for the Seahawks. 

Titans 19-42 Commanders. I missed on this one: I thought the Commanders were riding too high, ready for a fall and likely to treat the Titans with too little regard. I actually kinda the O-line and D-line on the Titans, its the lack of playmakers on either side of the ball that keeps this team from winning, they're not good but they're not a complete disaster. A longshot, but I thought the Titans would give the Commanders a game. Not so much. The C's dominated from beginning to end. A good W for a young tema, wrapping a game they should've won isn't as easy as it sounds, kudos to the C's for keeping the winning vibe going. 

Texans 23-20 Jags. The Texans haven't gotten better at anything all season long. They're okay, they don't suck and their division is a disaster area, so I fully expect them to make the playoffs, but I don't expect them to last long because they seem just to the high side of mediocre to me. I don't understand why the Jags suck so bad, I thought they were poised to have a growth year and that did not happen, they've pretty much sucked all year. I don't know why and I have no idea if they've given up or not because I can't read anything about this team (they hate the coach, maybe?). Texans needs to not lose and they didn't, good W for a young team.  

Rams 21-14 Saints. The Saints started the season with two massive victories and have done absolutely nothing since. Not sure if they've given up, I just think they're not very good. I thought the Rams might be the veteran savvy team that pulls it together and steals a wobbly division but I don't think so; I love QB Stafford as much as the next guy (he's the only reason the Rams win a game like this on the road), but I just think this roster is too thin all round to get to the next level. A road W in the NFL is always something to applaud, we'll see if it inspires the Rams to get moving. 

Bucs 26-23 (OT) Panthers. The Panthers have been playing much better the last few weeks, once you've given up, you can begin to build something new and the Panthers reached that point earlier than any other team, hence they've actually be balling lately. The Bucs are ready to steal the division from the Falcons, they just need to pile up W's and though this match wasn't a stunning victory, it was a road W in the division, nice work. 

Browns 32-41 Broncos. Saw none of this but the highlights looked fun. The Browns have a good defense and a terrible offense (like the Steelers, but opposite of the Bengals and Ravens); so when the offense shows up, the defense can keep them in the game, but when it doesn't the defense just collapses. Here there was some offense and some defense, enough to make the game fun to watch but never enough to really challenge for the W. The Broncos are in a good groove, they're gonna be a tough out in the playoffs. 

(*) I'm not saying Mahomes is the greatest of all-time, he's still got a ways to go there. But Mahomes is absolutely positively clearly the best QB in the game right now. 

(**) My thought was like Andre Dawson's MVP season with the godawful Cubs....but Dawson did win the MVP and Burrow will be piling up 5th place votes at best. The MLB, NBA and NHL casually produce good stats/bad team guys but the kind of numbers Burrow is putting up generally wins games in football, but the Bengal defense is truly that bad. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 14)

Games I saw (some of):

Georgia Tech 42-44 (8OT) (7) Georgia

I turned this on at halftime when Tech was up 17-0. I still thought UGA would win, but it was pretty clear they wouldn't be covering the 19.5 point spread. But I was blown away at Tech's offense casually slicing and dicing the vaunted Dawg defense. Tech kept converting 3rd downs, ran the ball effectively, made plays when they needed and more or less just looked like the better team. Then, deep in the 4th quarter, it happened: Tech's QB fumbled (after clearly getting a helmet-to-helmet hit that no one bothered to do anything about) and from there UGA was able to hold off the fatal blow and tie it back up. The OT's went on forever, I now actually understand the rules on college OT, and Tech had their chance in the 1st OT to go for 2 and end the game, but honestly I'm not sure the coach knew what he was doing. Look: after the 1st OT, both teams are required to for a 2-point conversion after a TD, so why not just do it after the 1st one? If you tie the game with a TD in the 1st OT, you have the advantage to finish the game...why not just go for it? Anyway, UGA crawled back out of their hole and staved off disaster, but take away that fumble and they lose in regulation--and UGA certainly wasn't dominant in OT. UGA just isn't as good this year and it isn't simply their stiff QB, this defense gets turned around. This playoff is gonna be weird. 

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich

I was in and out of a bunch of games this weekend but the big Bundesliga match was the most interesting to me. As a Dortmund fan I had low expectations, it has been a frustrating season so far, but when Dortmund went up before halftime, I was piqued. The game had very little offense, not match action around either goal, Bayern was a little better but never got anything dangerous going with any consistency. Felt like Dortmund was gonna sneak out the W, but Munich (of course!) got the equalizer late on some chaos after a free kick. *sigh* Hey, man, a draw against the best team in the league and your #1 rival is a good result, but, man, the W was in hand. 

Michigan 13-10 (2) Ohio State

Man, I just kept waiting for the Buckeye offense to get going and it just never did. I grant that the Wolverines still have a superior defense but the rest of the squad has taken a major step back since last year's championship run and I would've thought this was easy money for an Ohio State squad that hasn't beaten Michigan in 4 years. Well....I guess not. I've seen enough of both of these teams this year to know that the Buckeyes are clearly easily the better team but they just never got going in this game. Great W for the Wolverines--they can tell themselves they had a GREAT season! Puzzling L for the Buckeyes, this lost them the Big 10! They're still gonna do damage in the playoff, but this one was on their racket and they let it get away.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Oregon, (3) Texas, (4) Penn State, (5) Notre Dame, (8) Tennessee, (9) Southern Methodist, (10) Indiana, (11) Boise State, (13) Alabama, (14) Mississippi, (15) South Carolina, (16) Arizona State, (18) Iowa State, (19) Brigham Young, (21) Missouri, (22) UNLV, (23) Illinois, (25) Colorado

Won but did not impress

(7) Georgia. I dunno, man, UGA strikes no fear in me these days. 

Bad beat

(20) Texas A&M. A&M just isn't as good as Texas, they avoided a blowout but they were never in this game. 

(24) Kansas State. The Wildcats had a chance to resurrect their season, but Iowa State is the better squad. 

Not so good

(2) Ohio State. Still losing to Michigan? WTF is going on? 

(6) Miami. Called it! Syracuse has actually been quietly pretty good this year, while the Hurricanes have plowed through a soft schedule. Should've won money on this one. 

(12) Clemson. I thought it would be Clemson winning with a late FG but it was South Carolina. Close games yield unpredictable results. 

(17) Tulane. Every year they either beat Memphis or they don't. This year was a don't. 

Next week's CHAMPIONSHIP matches:

Mountain West: (19) UNLV v (10) Boise State (Haven't watched either of these guys all year long, I look forward to correcting that mistake this weekend)

American Athletic: Tulane v Army (both teams had moments this season, not sure who is the better team)

Big 12: (16) Iowa State v (12) Arizona State (holy shit! I just now realized that ASU is in the Big 12! (Yeah, I'm not very good at this football-watching thing); both teams seem to be getting hot at the right time, should be a fun match)

SEC: (5) Georgia v (3) Texas (a rematch of UT's lone L this season, will they get their revenge? I think they will)

Big 10: (3) Penn State v (1) Oregon (okay, this is interesting; I think Oregon is the best team in all of college football, and while Penn State has trouble against the big boys, the Nittany Lions are a solid team and not gonna be an easy out)

ACC: (18) Clemson v (8) Southern Methodist (SMU has been one of the more consistent squads all year long, Clemson has been up and down; gotta go with the Mustangs)

My Top 12

(Aw, crap, I gotta do one of these? Look: for years and years we've measured the top teams by L's, who had the worst losses against those that had "forgivable" losses. I think that still works fine for the top 4. But expanding out to 12 requires a deeper look at the good W's. For example, Georgia Tech has not made an appearance in the top 25 this season but if they had completed the W over Georgia the other night, that would've given them 3 top-10 W's this season and why not throw them into the playoff? Look, man, you're looking for teams that have unexpected wins, teams that have gone above and beyond, those are the teams that are gonna give better bang for the buck in the playoff. Meh, I'll probably still end up with the same 12 teams I was going to anyway, just a thought for future seasons)

1 Oregon

2 Texas

3 Notre Dame

4 Penn State

5 Ohio State

6 Southern Methodist

7 Indiana

8 Boise State

9 Arizona State

10 Georgia

11 South Carolina

12 Tennessee

(Just couldn't get there with Iowa State, Brigham Young or Alabama. As for, Mississippi, UNLV, Miami and Clemson, they never really even got to my radar. I know, I know: I backloaded three SEC squads in there, even though I have never been less impressed with the SEC than this year. But I think South Carolina is playing well lately and UGA for all their faults do still deserve to be in the playoff conversation and the Vols, well, I dunno, I just thought they were a little better than ISU, BYU or Bama)