ACC title game should be

[bc_cock]

Clemson vs Notre Dame this year. ND should be part of the ACC equation since they have an agreement with that conference. This nonsense that Notre Dame doesn’t have to play a CC game is a bad precedent.

If Notre Dame has the better record vs one of the ACC divisions, they get a spot in the Championship Game. It would actually give the conference more credibility.

 

[lazenge44]

They are an independent in football.

 

[Carolina4]

They are an independent in football.

They are independent but have an agreement with the ACC to play 5 teams from the conference each season. I believe the OPs point was they should just have to join the conference or something along those lines pointing to the unfair advantage ND has in not playing a title game despite being tied to a conference even if not a member for football.

 

[bc_cock]

No team should be allowed into the current playoff system without having to play an extra game like the rest of the country, no matter what you claim to be.
It’s like leading the game at the end of the 3rd quarter, then claiming victory and the right to move on to the next round.

 

[GCDC1959]

OP forgot one thing...they’re Notre Dame and they follow a different set of rules.

Only thing to make them fully join a conference is to be left out of the CFP (undefeated) to 4 Power Five conference champions with undefeated records.

That would be sweet revenge.

 

[lazenge44]

But they don’t want to. They prefer to remain independent. Acc gets a better bowl lineup for having ND in their bowl tiers. The league also benefits from member schools getting a nd home game every five years. And IF ND is forced to join a conference (and that seems unlikely given they are in the playoffs now without having to be a member), they have to join the ACC.

I don’t know one acc fan that dislikes the agreement. Every now and then they will steal an orange bowl bid from say Clemson, FSU, or Miami when an acc team is in the playoffs, but again that’s a risk the league is willing to take.

 

[lazenge44]

No team should be allowed into the current playoff system without having to play an extra game like the rest of the country, no matter what you claim to be.
It’s like leading the game at the end of the 3rd quarter, then claiming victory and the right to move on to the next round.

So Bama didn’t deserve to win it all last year?

 

[heelzfor2]

Agree BC....IMHO it gives them an unfair advantage. They get to rest up and not subject their players to injury in a conference champ game.

 

[GCDC1959]

So Bama didn’t deserve to win it all last year?

Good point, but even Bama fans were sweating it out during final selections.

 

[HI Cock]

They do ostensibly play tough games against PAC-12 teams (So Cal and Stanford). Those teams stink this year - and the PAC-12 is on par with the ACC. So they've had it easy. They should have to play the previous year conf champs from ACC and PAC-12 if they want to "qualify" for the playoffs. That might fix it. If ND played Clemson this year it would have eliminated one of them.

 

[playerhater66]

plus, Other than the A-She-She conference, you are normally having to play a Really Good team..

Because Northwestern and Utah (sans a starting RB and QB) are "Really Good" and Washington hasn't been underwhelming. i could bring Texas into this too but that is mildly more difficult to prove.

 

[Superior7]

No team should be allowed into the current playoff system without having to play an extra game like the rest of the country, no matter what you claim to be.
It’s like leading the game at the end of the 3rd quarter, then claiming victory and the right to move on to the next round.

Alabama played 1 less game last year.....

 

[brunswickfan05]

They do ostensibly play tough games against PAC-12 teams (So Cal and Stanford). Those teams stink this year - and the PAC-12 is on par with the ACC. So they've had it easy. They should have to play the previous year conf champs from ACC and PAC-12 if they want to "qualify" for the playoffs. That might fix it. If ND played Clemson this year it would have eliminated one of them.

The irony of this year in college football is that even if Clemson played ND in the ACC championship there is a good chance both of them could still make the playoff. It is essentially the same as the scenario where UGA beats Bama in the SEC championship and Bama still gets in this year.

If (in this hypothetical) Bama beats UGA and Clemson beats ND (also assuming OSU and Oklahoma win their conferences) you would be left choosing the best 2 teams from the group of ND, Oklahoma, OSU, and UGA. UGA probably gets eliminated first because they have 2 losses. Then you have to pick 2 of the remaining 3 and my guess is ND would get the nod as one of those two.

 

[cockofdawn]

Because Northwestern and Utah (sans a starting RB and QB) are "Really Good" and Washington hasn't been underwhelming. i could bring Texas into this too but that is mildly more difficult to prove.

Texas would be Pitt by 20 Northwestern would beat Pitt by ten.... BUT YES, point taken.. Miss st or LSU would beat all three

 

[HI Cock]

I'm starting to believe that if OK puts a big hurt on TX, they will get in - even over a 1-loss Bama.

And if that happens, viola, you have a case for 8 playoff teams... which would include UCF (but they still have a conf champ to play without their QB).

I actually think that having ND in there at all makes the case for 8.

 

[67gamecock]

Agree BC....IMHO it gives them an unfair advantage. They get to rest up and not subject their players to injury in a conference champ game.

Well, now, that's what ND football has been mostly about since its inception in South Bend . . .' rest(ing) up and not subject(ing) their players to injury . . .' - you know, what ever it takes so long as the golden dome gets polished.

 

[bc_cock]

The MAIN question is do all teams go thru the PROCESS. It DOES matter if Ok spanks Texas or barely gets by. It does matter if Clemson were to spank Notre Dame or if Notre Dame spanks Clemson or if it’s a close game. But, ND is exempt. We’ll never know.

Last year was an anomaly. After the process was completed, there was no one that won or lost the conference championship games with a better record than Alabama. Ohio State was the closest but had two losses, unless you put UCF ahead of Alabama. I think Alabama was better, but I would have fine with UCF getting in. They were damn good and it would have been interesting to see them play Clemson.

 

[uscg1984]

Wait. I thought the playoff was going to fix everything that was wrong with college football? Nobody had any trouble filling college stadiums when the AP and UPI were picking different champions, but now that we have the playoffs, stadiums and bowl games have tons of empty seats. And people are still arguing about who deserved what.

 

[jbouton]

No team should be allowed into the current playoff system without having to play an extra game like the rest of the country, no matter what you claim to be.
It’s like leading the game at the end of the 3rd quarter, then claiming victory and the right to move on to the next round.

So Bama didn’t deserve to win it all last year?

how did bama get in this discussion. We were talking about the acc

 

[king ward]

I keep seeing people on here who aren't perspicacious enough to have figured out by now that it a waste of breath or print to question the unique and privileged status of Notre Dame.

 

[lazenge44]

The MAIN question is do all teams go thru the PROCESS. It DOES matter if Ok spanks Texas or barely gets by. It does matter if Clemson were to spank Notre Dame or if Notre Dame spanks Clemson or if it’s a close game. But, ND is exempt. We’ll never know.

Last year was an anomaly. After the process was completed, there was no one that won or lost the conference championship games with a better record than Alabama. Ohio State was the closest but had two losses, unless you put UCF ahead of Alabama. I think Alabama was better, but I would have fine with UCF getting in. They were damn good and it would have been interesting to see them play Clemson.

First year of the playoffs Ohio St got in without playing in the big 10 title game. So that “anomaly” u speak of has occurred twice in the 4 years of the playoffs (and both teams won as the 4 seed).

Do away with the league champ games, invite 8 with the top 4 hosting home games this weekend. You would have UCF at Bama, Michigan at Clemson, OU at ND, and Ohio St at UGa. Those games are infinitely more interesting than all the conf champ games sans the SEC.

 

[jbouton]

The MAIN question is do all teams go thru the PROCESS. It DOES matter if Ok spanks Texas or barely gets by. It does matter if Clemson were to spank Notre Dame or if Notre Dame spanks Clemson or if it’s a close game. But, ND is exempt. We’ll never know.

Last year was an anomaly. After the process was completed, there was no one that won or lost the conference championship games with a better record than Alabama. Ohio State was the closest but had two losses, unless you put UCF ahead of Alabama. I think Alabama was better, but I would have fine with UCF getting in. They were damn good and it would have been interesting to see them play Clemson.

First year of the playoffs Ohio St got in without playing in the big 10 title game. So that “anomaly” u speak of has occurred twice in the 4 years of the playoffs (and both teams won as the 4 seed).

Do away with the league champ games, invite 8 with the top 4 hosting home games this weekend. You would have UCF at Bama, Michigan at Clemson, OU at ND, and Ohio St at UGa. Those games are infinitely more interesting than all the conf champ games sans the SEC.

SEC Championship game will be like a playoff game most years. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[midline]

I totally understand the feeling that ND should be in a conference championship game, as they are sort of a de facto playoff game in their own right. Unfortunately, ND is a bit of a special case. They kind of write their own rules. Who else has their own major network to cater to them by covering their games? Not really fair, but just like in life, the rich and powerful make the rules

 

[funktavious]

They are independent but have an agreement with the ACC to play 5 teams from the conference each season. I believe the OPs point was they should just have to join the conference or something along those lines pointing to the unfair advantage ND has in not playing a title game despite being tied to a conference even if not a member for football.

and oddly that agreement actually waters down their schedule.

 

[jonesz21]

Clemson vs Notre Dame this year. ND should be part of the ACC equation since they have an agreement with that conference. This nonsense that Notre Dame doesn’t have to play a CC game is a bad precedent.

If Notre Dame has the better record vs one of the ACC divisions, they get a spot in the Championship Game. It would actually give the conference more credibility.

Notre Dame and CleMson both are over rated

 

[Wiles2]

The overall ND setup remains ridiculous.