Why is the AP more important than the coaches poll? Do you trust some scribe's vote from the Miami Herald over Dabo's vote? It's fun and talking fodder for the fans but not sure how much the "committee" relies on these polls on Selection Sunday.
poll position is important, gives teams like ole miss better spot after a loss than say an indiana
If we’re top 8 at close of regular season, I think we’re fine. Outside of that, there will be a lot of rationalizing the 9-12 seeding.
Wake me up when the first CFP poll comes out.
themselves an awful lot ( coaching)
Into the playoffs win their conference title and force 2 teams to make it. Maybe the ACC or Big 12 second team getting in due to higher ranked team losing in conference title game. I think this is our biggest threat. At the end of the season we want all the top teams to win out and leave the fringe teams out of the running.
Then a team an undefeated Boise st gets in and we are right in the bubble.
4 SEC teams and 3 or more big ten teams would be an issue too. We need to win and decisively for a stretch to look good and keep in that top 10 as the season progresses. We need top teams to keep winning or lose multiple games.
I think it’s too our advantage if OSU and Texas win out.
The AP is not bound by any rule to pick the playoff winner as their Champion. They do though because it's normally obvious.
But you wanna know how we could still have a split Natty? Just look back to last season...imagine 13-0 FSU is left out of the playoff and then they beat Georgia 63-3 instead of what actually happened.
The AP could easily vote that 14-0 FSU was their NC. It's a lot less likely now with a 12 team Playoff, but with a poll that has the power to create a split NC if it decided to and has an immeasurable influence on playoff committee members, it's irresponsible to dismiss it as meaningless.
The fact is that it is seldom obvious. Unfortunately, it is left to the conclusion of sportswriters, most of whom have never played close to the level they are charged with judging. And most of those have a hard bias towards particular teams, coaches, and regions. Coaches polls are generally far more accurate, but hardly without bias.
But assuming that something in college football is "normally obvious" is a sheer fantasy, and especially when trying to discern which group of young men are deserving to be slotted where.
FSU would have earned the ACC auto bid and a top 4 seed. Also, there will never be a Geogia waiting in a bowl game like last year, because they would be in the playoff as well.
The non playoff world now is one of losers and wannabes.
Large # of opt-outs by players on Power teams not in the playoffs.
Regardless how unlikely it is now, these polls still influence the committee. They don't live in a vacuum until it's time for the first playoff poll.
They have seen all that happened up to that point including the polls.
