Wouldn't it be cool if the two undefeated teams played

[Telly Savalas]

so that college football would have a national champion?

[lazarus]

1. maybe if TCU played in a big boy conference

they'd have had the chance. And I don't see the Big East as much of a move up, either.

SEC, baby. :D

[Telly Savalas]

2. Why does TCU's conference matter?

If college football's post-season wasn't a joke then somebody would have beaten either them or Auburn and there would be a clear national champion.

In real sports teams get eliminated from championships by losing games.

On edit: good game, and kudos to Auburn for beating a tough Oregon team.

[Upton]

4. TCU played in a weak conference..

they didn't have to through a gauntlet of tough games to achieve their undefeated record. SoS matters.

[lazarus]

5. because of who they played

Auburn beat 7 top 25 teams, counting Oregon. How many did TCU play?

That's the whole point of my belief that the non AQ schools have no business being ranked in the top ten. Sure, they'll win a game against an AQ school once in a while, but try playing an SEC schedule one year, and see how that works out.

(BTW, it hurts to cheer for Auburn, as I'm a Bama fan from way back, but I'd prefer that we lost to the Champs.)

[JonLP24]

6. I'd quit watching college football

if they barred non-AQ teams from the top 10. The fact that there isn't a playoff is pushing me away.

Let me say it like this, what if a non-AQ team has the most talented roster out of anyone in the nation? Do we keep that team out because they play in what you consider a weaker conference? Also what if they aren't getting any invites? I know the Mountain West gained some pretty good teams and TCU still left to join the Big East. I'm sure if they got an invite to the Big 12 they'd go.

[lazarus]

7. how do you establish that, though?

if they haven't played any elite teams, how can you say they have the most talented roster?

Props to TCU for moving up to a BCS conference, though. Shame it's the Big East, but maybe the BE can start to cycle up now.

[JonLP24]

8. Just who they have and how they play

In no way I'm saying TCU is the best, I'm saying they were very good. Andy Dalton has played very well his whole time there. Their defense consistently ranks in the top 10 or top 20. They sent two linebackers to start in the NFL last season and they still showed up with a top 10 defense. Plus Gary Patterson has an excellent record against AQ schools.

Anyways, say you think Auburn is the best team in the nation. What if that very same team played a Sun Belt schedule? What I'm saying is, it is not always how good your opponents are but how good you are.

[lazarus]

9. to go around again

how do you determine how good team is if not by who they play and beat? There are likely undefeated Div III teams, but nobody's putting them in the top 25. They simply haven't played the same schedule and the elite opponents.

Troy University has a very good team, won a bowl game and everything, but they're in C-USA, I believe. Shouldn't be ranked, no matter how good their record is, because they're playing patsies. (Actually, they play Auburn this year. :D )

I remember when the non-AQ we all talked about was Boise, and how Boise couldn't schedule tough opponents because they wouldn't play Boise. Alabama's AD said Boise had never contacted him, so they obviously weren't trying that hard.

[JonLP24]

10. Troy actually plays in the Sun Belt

I have great respect for Troy though, a very consistent team that plays good football. They will take risks, travel to Florida(last season). Ohio State, Oklahoma St, and LSU(in the same season). They went to or played South Carolina this year. If they win 10 or more games and especially if they pick up a win against an annual tough opponent I think they should be in the top 25.

I don't know how to settle this, I tried to describe their ability from QB play to defense(which is really great) and their record against AQ teams (Under Patterson, TCU is undefeated against the Pac-10). I look at players on the field, QB play, defense, how the run the ball(whether they run a lot or throw for 50 times a game like Leach) things like that. That is how I determine how good a team is.

I'm not so sure Boise isn't trying that hard. They did a home and away thing with Oregon. They scheduled Virginia Tech and Oregon State who didn't turn out great but I'm sure at the time of scheduling, they were looking at those games as risks. They got Georgia next year and Michigan State a couple years down the road.

[Broken_Hero]

11. Agreed, the arguement

to keep AQ teams out of the top 10 would push me away completely. As of right now, I hardly keep tabs on college football, with the exception to see who beats OU. This year, I watched ZERO....college football. I didn't watch a single second of live play, because I'm sick and fucking tired of this sport who shits on anyone who isn't a beloved BCS school/team.

Also, last year pushed me away a lot, when OU was 2/2, they were still ranked 14...what a fucking joke the ranking system is. I hate the argument that "well, who did they play, team X played 5(or whatever) ranked opponents" The argument to me is utter crap, because the talking heads/coaches/whomever does preseason ranking, ranks these teams, and by and large the rankings are earned by school name alone. About the only time I can really agree with the team X play Y many ranked opponents is at the end of the season(including bowl), because usually only during bowl games do these teams play other good/name squads.

What concerns me of late is the utter love worship of the SEC, where these talking heads have/appear to rank half of their division in the top 25. With a starting ranking where half the division is ranked, of course the winner of that division will be ranked high, and look good on paper. It would be nice if there was no ranking til mid way through division play, because a lot of these teams have patsies during the first 4-5 weeks, hell the system is set up for just about everyone to be 4-0 before division play, hell win two or three division games, you are bowl eligible.

I would love to watch college football again, the politics, and system of the beast has pushed me away...

[hughee99]

3. With the Big 10 and Pac 12 having conference championships next year

I could see TCU going undefeated next year only to not get a shot at the National Championship (because it's still just undefeated in the "Big Least"). I'm surprised the Big 12 didn't go after TCU to try to keep their Conference championship. Now they (the Big 12) will have to start to schedule tougher out-of-conference games to bolster their rankings, and with the Pac 12 and Big Ten adding Championship games, they won't need the tough out-of-conference games, so it's going to be slimmer pickens.