I have not done this all year because, frankly, no one has been here but what the Hell. Note my fondness for potential chaos in a final four team Playoff Field that might otherwise feature the only four unbeaten teams in the Country.
CUSA Championship, New Mexico State v. Liberty
I know Liberty handled NMSU pretty easily early in the season but I will not, under any circumstances, pick a school inextricably entwined with the Hell ensconced Jerry Falwell for anything, ever. New Mexico State.
May It Rest In Peace Conference, Oregon v. Washington
Just sticking in my oar here, but please please please can one result of this conference dying be that USC and UCLA play each other on the last Saturday of the regular season again? Anyway, Washington is a good team, but I watched their earlier win against Oregon and thought that Oregon was the better team, hamstrung by an over reliance on analytics over plain football sense. Kick a fucking field goal now and again for fucks sake. Not only are they the better team, they are also the Chaos Choice. Oregon
Pure Prairie League Championship, Oklahoma State v. Texas
Texas has a couple of close wins to go with the loss to Oklahoma, but at least they did not lose to South Alabama AT HOME. I have seen nothing from Okie State to make me think they will win this. So they probably will, but. Texas
MAC Championship, Miami (OH) v. Toledo
Toledo won a fairly close game in Oxenford the first time out. Other than that loss, the two teams only have their Power 5 conference loss on their plate. I will rely on the prior game result. Toledo
Future Home of Wazzou and Oregon State, Boise State v. UNLV
Not much to go on here. Both got bitch slapped by currently Top 4 teams, both lost to the Fresno State Fighting Raisins. Maybe it is brand recognition, but I will take. Boise State
American Conference Championship, SMV v. Tulane
Tulane is in line for a trip to the desert with a win. They have been pretty good all year, a respectable loss to Old Mississippi being their only loss. SMU has two respectable losses, by virtue of playing two Power Five teams instead of one. But there is a strong chance that a Tulane loss might put Liberty into a NY6 game, and I will not allow that. Tulane
God apostrophe s Conference Championship, Georgia v. Alabama
As for chaos, Alabama winning would create clarity, not chaos, because in the event of a loss by any of the other unbeatens, a one loss Georgia would clearly get in. But I do not think that happens. Alabama has gotten better most of the year, fluke near miss to PAYTON FUCKING THORNE notwithstanding. But Georgia is on a Bud Wilkinson at Okie kind of run right now. They are the best team in GFB, and I do not see a let down. Georgia
Sun Belt Championship, Appalachian State v. Troy
App State once beat Meatchicken. I have friended them ever since. App State
SWAC Championship, Prairie View A and M v. Florida A and M
My sole data point on this? Last year, while vacationing in the St. Augustine area, I bought a polo shirt with the FAMU Rattler logo on it at a T J Maxx. My wife and I make odd tourism choices. FAMU
South Atlantic League Championship, Florida State v. Louisville
With Travis, this would be FSU. But without him? I watched the back up play last week against a mediocre Florida squad and, even accounting for the rivalry factor, it was not great. It is probably the chaos worshipper in me that makes this pick. Brohm was a pretty good hire. Louisville
Engulf and Devour Conference Championship, Meatchicken v. Iowa
Have to respect the Iowa defense enough to think it will be close, but between their offense and the Meatchicken defense, Iowa could wind up with negative yards from scrimmage. It pains me to do this, but Meatchicken
So, with those results, two teams are obviously set for the playoffs, Georgia and Meatchicken. But these results do leave us with a few choices for those final two spots.
First, I think the easy choice is Oregon, as a Conference Champion, and the most likely currently highest rated one loss team. That leaves four once beaten teams (Remember, the Committee has never in their final rankings elevated a two loss team over a one loss team, so even Alabama is out). Florida State, Texas, the, and Washington.
First out would be, I think, Florida State. They really do not have a signature win over a highly ranked team. In fact, it looks like the only Top 25 team they will play all year will be Louisville. They will not have a conference championship. You need to be perfect with that kind of schedule. I think that the Committee is not supposed to take injuries into account, specifically, but it is hard to separate the loss of their starting quarterback from consideration.
Herbstreet was treating the Meatchicken loss as disqualifying for the, but I do not think it is. For a one loss team they have a lot going for them. They have the best loss and wins over two of the Top 25 teams. The Committee also clearly likes them based on the eye test. It will be interesting to see where the Committee puts them in relation to Texas this week. But remember, they will not have a conference championship and they are also lacking that crucial thirteenth game data point. I think Texas leapfrogs them, regardless of where they are ranked.
So in the end, it comes down to Texas and Washington. In theory all the cards should be playing for Washington. They will have had the best win of the two, Oregon as opposed to two loss Alabama. Also, the best loss of the two, Oregon over Oklahoma. The RIP Conference was also stronger than the Pure Prairie League and stronger than it had been in a while, which gave Washington three wins over Top 25 teams in the AP, as opposed to Texas winning two, counting the Championship game. But, it is hard to envision the RIP Conference getting two slots when there are other valid choices. It would essentially give three slots to the Engulf and Devour Conference. I think being a Conference Champ would elevate Texas. So, my final four would be
Georgia
Meatchicken
Oregon
Texas.
Poll
