Extra Points: Is ACC bending over backward to protect Notre Dame, ensure 2 Playoff teams?
College football insider Matt Hayes tackles the biggest topics ahead of this week’s games:
Paving the way
The ACC made a clear decision earlier this week to protect Clemson and Notre Dame’s path to the ACC Championship Game – and more important, to potentially land 2 teams in the College Football Playoff.
And that’s not sitting well with 3 ACC coaches I spoke to over the last 24 hours.
The ACC schedule changes this week eliminated Dec. 12 games for Clemson and Notre Dame. The Irish were scheduled to play Wake Forest, and though Clemson didn’t have a scheduled game, FSU was interested in a makeup game for that date.
“It’s bull—-. No other way to say it,” an ACC coach told me. “We’ve already bent over backward for (Notre Dame) for years. And now we’re going to make sure they only have 1 loss this season no matter what happens in the championship game? Just so we can get 2 teams in? Bull—-.”
The Irish finish the regular season this weekend against Syracuse, the ACC’s worst team. Clemson plays at Virginia Tech.
“I’ll tell you who should be really pissed off – Miami,” another ACC coach told me. “Are you kidding me? Miami has 1 loss. What if Clemson loses to Tech or in that (Dec.12) week? Sure, it’s rare, but we’ve seen stranger things. We have no idea who is going to get hurt, how many turnovers a team is giving away. You’re telling Miami 2 weeks before the end of the season to go jump in a lake. We don’t care about you. That’s a big, big deal. If I were (Miami coach) Manny (Diaz), I’d be screaming from the mountaintops how this goes against everything we stand for in athletic competition.”
If Notre Dame and Clemson win this weekend, the ACC is almost a lock to get 2 teams in the CFP. The only way it could fall apart: Clemson routs Notre Dame, and Florida beats Alabama.
In that scenario, Clemson, Alabama and Florida are in, and Notre Dame is fighting for the last spot with Ohio State and Texas A&M. And the team with the best win among that group would be Texas A&M, which beat – in that scenario – Florida, which just beat No.1 Alabama.
“I’m telling you, when you do things like this, they eventually blow up in your face,” a third ACC coach told me. “I’m all for all things that promote our conference. But I think you do it the right way. We’re better than this. This is a blatant move to make sure we get 2 teams in the Playoff.”
The case for Ohio State
Michigan’s game with Maryland was canceled earlier this week because of COVID cases and tracing within the Michigan program.
This, of course, leads to the uneasy reality that Michigan may not be able to play next week vs. Ohio State, which would leave the Buckeyes with 5 total games – and 1 under the Big Ten mandated 6 to play in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Big Ten officials (hello, Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez) already are talking about the possibility of changing rules midstream, in the best interest of the conference.
See what we’re doing here?
Like the ACC, the Big Ten is desperate for access to the CFP. And there’s only one conference team (Ohio State) worthy. But the Buckeyes have played 4 regular-season games and already are in a tenuous spot with the CFP committee because their résumé doesn’t compare to others in the top 10 who have played full(er) seasons.
One Big Ten coach I spoke with says there’s “no doubt” the conference office will make sure Ohio State plays in the Big Ten Championship Game, “even if they have to change the rules about how many games must be played.”
“I guarantee this,” the Big Ten coach said. “We’re not going through these months of isolation and staying in our bubbles and playing games for television money, to let a silly rule about who can play in the (Big Ten) championship game prevent our best team from a shot at the Playoff.”
The cold truth
Florida hasn’t played a game in snow conditions, or in weather that could produce snow, since 1996.
That national championship season for the Gators included a 28-21 victory over a vastly inferior Vanderbilt team in Nashville – in what eventually was Florida’s toughest SEC test. The game was played with temperatures in the 30s, and it snowed later that night.
Saturday’s game at Tennessee will be similar weather conditions, with game time temperatures projected to be in the high 30s and rain possible. That’s clearly not ideal passing game weather, and plays into what Tennessee does best: run the ball.
Eric Gray is one of the top SEC tailbacks, and Ty Chandler has proven he can get difficult yards. The Gators, meanwhile, have been inconsistent in stopping the run.
Florida has given up more than 200 yards rushing twice (Texas A&M, Arkansas), and at least 159 yards in 5 of 8 games. In all but one of those games (Texas A&M), the Gators’ offense (see: passing game) was so potent, the opponent’s run game eventually wasn’t a factor because teams were chasing points.
If the weather slows the Florida passing game, a vastly inferior Tennessee team could make things interesting.
Mac on the move
If Alabama is the odds-on favorite to win the SEC championship, Mac Jones is the clear favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Next up: the LSU defense, No. 13 in the 14-team SEC against the pass. The Tigers are giving up 302.9 yards per game, and – this is not a misprint – are allowing quarterbacks to complete 72.2% of their passes.
LSU’s cornerbacks have been inconsistent, but more damning, one SEC coach told me, “their safeties are constantly out of position.”
That’s a bad combination to stop Jones and the Alabama passing game. He’s completing 76.2% of his passes, and is No. 1 in the nation in yards per attempt (12 ypa.).
Translation: deep balls. Plenty of them.
By the time Jones and Alabama play Florida and Gators QB Kyle Trask in the SEC Championship Game, the winner of the game will likely win the Heisman. Jones’ numbers – with games remaining against LSU and Arkansas — will be comparable with Trask’s by championship weekend.
If Notre Dame beats Clemson for a second time then Clemson should be out. Miami should feel screwed, but that’s how the ACC has felt for years getting a powder puff team when they were expecting a powerhouse in South Florida.
I am genuinely concerned that the cold weather gives Tennessee a fighting chance. We’ve come on slow and have been going through the motions in the first half for a few weeks now, and that has been in warm weather.
I think the best bet for the Alabama vs LSU game is whether Bama’s victory comes by over or under 70 points. Whether we want to admit it or not we will all be tuning in just to see the blood-letting.
I don’t know when Hayes wrote this story, but the current forecast for Knoxville on Saturday is mid to high 40s and no rain. That’s not really cold enough to affect the Gators.
The ACC(Always Cushy Conference) has to protect Clemson & Notre Dame. Normally it has only one team, Clemson to carry that ACC torch into the Playoffs, but in this COVID year they actually may get two(2) teams into the Playoffs. If Notre Dame beats Clemson=only one(1) team & it is not Clemson(w/2 losses=no Playoffs whiney-Dabo). Go Fighting Irish !
Roll Irish lol
Whiney Dabo? When has Dabo ever whined? It is always Alabama and SEC fans who whine over Clemson making it into the playoffs. Despite:
A) Clemson being 2-3 against the SEC in the playoffs and UNDEFEATED against everyone else
B) SEC teams getting into the playoff – and prior to that the BCS championship – without so much as winning their division (Alabama in 2012 and Alabama in 2017)
C) there not being any better options (go back to Clemson absolutely hammering Ohio State twice, Oklahoma and Notre Dame) so what else were you going to do? As the Pac-12, Big 12 and Big 10 COMBINED have won HALF as many playoff games as Clemson has BY ITSELF (6-3, as Oregon over FSU and Ohio State over Alabama and Oregon are it) then what were you going to do? Only take 3 teams? Or maybe just make the playoffs the winners and runners up of the SEC divisions? Nah. That isn’t what you want. You want the committee to stop taking Clemson – whom you are not certain of your ability to beat – in favor of Pac-12, Big 12 and Big 10 teams that you know you can. Disgusting. But typical.
Actually, waycross, and I speak only for myself, as a Bama fan I can see Ohio State giving Bama a tougher game than Clemson this year. ND? Nope. aTm? Really? Cincy? Good team but no. Just my opinion.
You could google “Dabo whining “. There are volumes.
I guess who missed the tirade Dabo went on over having a game canceled due to a positive test on his team.
Dabo doesn’t whine per se, he just gets pretend-mad at press conferences way too often and its easy to categorize it as whining.
Not winning a division is not a requirement for post-season play. This is a tired argument. 2011 Alabama is the team you meant. As the regular season played out, they were the second best team that year. The best team happened to be in the SEC west also. Bama lost by three to them in OT. The BCS’s goal was to get the two best teams to play for the natty. It happened most years, it did for 2011.
The following year the SEC had half the conference finish with at least 10 wins. UGA was a few seconds away from giving ND the curb stomping instead of Bama doing it. Several teams were good enough that year in the SEC to win about any other conference.
A team not winning a division sometimes means jack depending on how strong a division is and how weak others are. The conferences are not equal, so not winning a division does not mean a team isn’t still worthy of playing for the national title.
It’s amusing to see a conference bending over backwards to help a team that will turn their back on them next season.
Probably hoping bribing them will get them to stay.
Notre Dame’s “arrangement” with the ACC got them that massive TV contract that they would have had no shot at getting otherwise. And that TV contract increases revenue to the ACC athletics departments that helps them balance budgets and improve facilities – which were WAY behind those in the SEC and Big 10 – as well as pay better salaries to coaches and increase recruiting budgets. It is a mutually beneficial thing.
Not an ACC apologist and certainly no fan of ND. But the deal made financial sense for both parties.
Ain’t that the dang truth. ND needs to BE in a conference or be left out of ANY conversation about the playoffs ANY year.
Why? They play a tougher schedule than many conference affiliated teams.
They do this year when they’re more or less forced to. Left to their own devices, their hardest game is what passes for USC these days.
News Flash: Wake Forest wasn’t beating Notre Dame.
Maybe, maybe not, but players get hurt, strange things happen. This is blatant by the ACC and somebody should probably do something about it but nobody will. Nobody can most likely.
Ah, so you’re just hoping key guys for ND get hurt. Nice.
The ACC is just gaming the system, which suggests to me that the problem is the system.
You are right. It is only the SEC who should be allowed to game the system. Right?
Look, the SEC got both teams into the 2012 title game – for a rematch of a game played earlier – and both teams into the 2017 playoff. In both 2012 and 2017, Alabama got in despite not winning the SEC West. And then there was LSU getting to play for the 2007 title despite having 2 losses to unranked teams.
Granted, it doesn’t always go the SEC’s way … see Auburn in 2004. But – ahem – amends were made in 2010 when the NCAA declared Cam Newton ineligible, “did an investigation” and cleared him WITHIN THE COURSE OF FOUR DAYS. But Bama fans shouldn’t complain about that one … remember the oversigning thing … “medical scholarships” and kids transferring to the same Alabama division II school – but notably NOT the UAB program that Alabama tried to shut down! – that became such a controversy that the SEC had to intervene.
Yeah, how dare other conferences play the game that the SEC thoroughly mastered.
The thing is this whole deal is a nothingburger. The ACC isn’t gaming the system, there’s zero chance WF was beating ND anyway. It’s not a game that has to be played to determine if ND is a playoff team or not.
Waycross is a crap town. You are a crap poster. Your momma wears combat boots.
Deflect all you want: ACC just bent over, spread wide, and begged for more ND lovin’.
Not an ACC apologist? Could have fooled me
SEC haters have such weird theories as to how things work. It’s never that Alabama is good and wins a lot of games, they’re always the beneficiary of a conspiracy.
Dang, got a lot into that post. BCS and CFP stated goal is to get the best teams. Ot sure how it was gamed by SEC, but cancelling games to avoid injuries or some weird upset is wrong.
At least Notre Dame and Clemson would have both played 10 games (9 in conference). To me, an Ohio St. team making the CFP with only 1 win over an opponent with a record .500 or better is the bigger issue.
Yeah, but remember: the playoff is a made for TV event. Ohio State would draw far more eyeballs than a second SEC team, a 2 loss Big 12 team or any Pac-12 team not named USC.
I immediately thought the same thing. Theyre desperately looking to make up lost money from viewership. If you arent USC, Texas, Notre Dame, Alabama, Ohio State, or more recently Clemson then they really dont care.
It is a little perplexing. The committee came right out and are clearly punishing BYU for their S.O.S, yet there’s no team ahead of BYU with a weaker S.O.S than Ohio State, who they have ranked 4th right now. Ohio State has the weakest SOS of the top 11 teams.
Dont know why this is so surprising. The sec and BIG did the same things before the season started. trying to protect the best bets for the playoff with what was believed at the time to be easier scheduling. In a year where conferences are not making the kind of dough they are used to they are using every rule in the book, plus some new ones apparently, to massage things to their advantage. That is one reason the season will have an asterisk beside it and, depending on who eventually gets in the playoff, the NC may have an asterisk too. IMO. It stinks but the covid has provided a method to change games and schedules to suit your fancy. I do think changing the rule to allow ohio state to get in the conference championship is overstepping. They are likely very deserving and would be in if they played the games but they didnt so…
There won’t be any asterisk. I have no idea why people are saying this. Instead, just like the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL champions – note that no one is referring to the Laker or Dodger championships with asterisks … and if you had better believe that if a large market team like Notre Dame or Ohio State wins the title instead of another southern team they won’t for those either – the teams who win the title will be the ones who persevered through extremely difficult circumstances. The ones who recruited and coached well enough to have quality depth to handle COVID-19 outbreaks, and whose players, coaches, training and medical staffs had the discipline to perform testing and minimize outbreaks. No situations like with the Denver Broncos this week where the entire QB depth chart refused to wear masks, forcing them to play the Saints with a WR at QB. (That entire QB room should be cut this offseason regardless of salary cap penalties. None of them are any good anyway so why not?)
Case in point: Clemson. They are still in the running because they recruited a 5 star QB who was able to put up almost 800 passing yards in two weeks against quality opponents (Boston College is already bowl eligible, and the ND game was against a title contender on the road).
Even better: so what if the playoff is Alabama/ND/Clemson/A&M. (Or Florida/ND/Clemson/Alabama). Those were the two conferences who IGNORED all of the concern trolls in the media who despise college football and would ban it tomorrow if they had the power to – Nancy Armour and Christine Brennan of USA Today are two examples but there are more … I remember this person for ESPN who stated that she would no longer watch football because of the sport’s “disrespect for women” (and the evidence that baseball, hockey, MLB, basketball, golf and not to mention HOLLYWOOD with types like Harvey Weinstein treat them better, including harassment issues at her own ESPN?) … stuff like that. The Big 10 and Pac-12 listened to the concern trolls and shut everything down. The ACC and SEC … DID NOT. The ACC was able to put in a plan to play nearly a whole season INCLUDING NONCONFERENCE GAMES and even brought Notre Dame along for the ride! They were the first to start playing which gave them maximum flexibility to reschedule games. The Big 12 followed suit soon after, and the SEC came up with this audacious plan TO PLAY AN ENTIRE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE SEASON, which also gave them maximum flexibility.
The Big 10 only caved because their athletes – led by SEC expatriate Justin Fields – refused to participate in a meaningless “spring season” WHICH WOULD HAVE OCCURRED DURING NFL DRAFT PREPARATIONS AND PROBABLY DURING THE DRAFT ITSELF … and because THE TOP ATHLETES THREATENED TO ALL LEAVE FOR THE NFL EN MASSE despite the Big 10’s getting the NCAA to grant everyone an extra year to try to pacify and hold onto them. The Pac-12 only caved because the Big 10 did. And the Big 10’s plans were ridiculous: they didn’t allow Big 10 teams to play OOC games “out of concern for athletes being exposed by teams who aren’t following OUR protocols.” Meanwhile, the single best game of the season was Liberty vs. NC State, and NO OUTBREAKS HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO A SINGLE ACC NONCONFERENCE GAME.
So please, no one talk about asterisks. Instead, this year’s championship trophy should be the biggest ever because the team that claims it will have overcome the greatest obstacles since the WW1/WW2 teams to do so.
Did you seriously compare the sweet and sour sniffles to WWI and WWII? Trolling on steriods
He’s still rolling. Diarrhea don’t just up and quit, ya know.
Wait, you mean you actually read all that?
I stopped at no asterick.
To say a bit more: the ACC, SEC and Big 12 – let’s not leave them out just because Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State got exposed as frauds a few weeks earlier than usual … especially since we are actually seeing stops on defense in that league this year – performed a master class of crisis management and planning, with the single best job being done by the ACC commissioner John Swofford, who is so different from the people who led the league of losers (plus FSU) in the 1990s and 2000s. The folks running our state and federal governments should learn a lot from Swofford and the rest. Meanwhile, the guys running the Big 10 and Big 12 are no different from the folks we have running our governments right now.
I started to read your post but it is so long I lost interest. Suffice to say there will definitely be an asterisk by some and not by others. Sorry but nothing you could say would convince me Ohio st doesnt have an asterisk if they only play 6 games. there may be other situations too.
I fully expect there to be an asterisk, if only to explain the games played differential from seasons past.
Please, say a bit more. There is no way you can be finished. I hear there is something brewing in the Middle East that you can maybe sort out for us less-than-waycross-intellect folk.
“Jones’ numbers – with games remaining against LSU and Arkansas — will be comparable with Trask’s by championship weekend.”
In most categories ya, except a very important one – TD’s. Mac is unlikely to catch Trask in that regards (34 vs 23) and that’s a pretty important stat.
Yes I know Bama fans, Najee Harris is why Jones has a lot less TDs. Personally, I think Najee and Devonta Smith deserve it over Jones. Just like I think Pitts deserves it over Trask. But such is life for non-QB’s.
QBR, yards per pass, higher yards per TD pass, wins. Those are important stats also. Wins is probably that most important stat. Personally I think it is unfair that Trask & Jones are the contenders when Pitts & Smith are the better players. If the trophy truly went to the Best Football player instead of QBs with the best stats than neither would be in the conversation.
If the Gators had a run game I think the numbers are comparable. They score almost entirely thru the air.
The SEC did the same thing at the beginning if the season by rearranging the schedule so the Bama didn’t have to play UF in the regular season.
That was … not quite how things happpened. Especially since – according to UGA fans – Florida was supposed to lose 4 or 5 games with Mullen exposed and on the hot seat this year anyway. (Which is the same thing that UGA fans predicted about 2019 and 2018.) Or don’t you realize that your conspiracy theory requires the SEC knowing that Florida would beat Georgia in advance? And while we are at it, Alabama not playing Florida versus Georgia not playing Texas A&M. 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Especially since BOTH Alabama and Florida had defending national champs LSU on their schedule. Meanwhile, unless Auburn upsets A&M, Florida and Alabama are going to wind up being the only ranked teams that UGA plays this year … and both were double digit losses.
It wasn’t so much who they didn’t schedule but who they did. Before the season they were anticipating LSU to be a Playoff contender as well. They gave Bama Mizzou and KY and gave LSU Mizzou and Vandy as additional crossovers. Arkansas who already had Bama and LSU were added to both FLA and GA as an additional sacrificial lamb. Yeah there’s no question the SEC were looking out for their contenders with the rearranging.
They weren’t scheduled to play Florida this year. Can’t reschedule a game that wasn’t scheduled to begin with.
I think he means the games that were added to the schedule.
Mac Jones SHOULD NOT win the Heisman. Trask has 11 more TDs, more YDs, and does it with worse players around him
He’ll be there with Mac and either Devonte or Najee so perhaps, with the rest of voters nationwide having to pick 1, 2, and 3. Is there a split vote between the Bama guys giving Trask the most points? Pure speculation on Hengst’s part.
Florida is ranked #6. You keep hammering one stat. Notice you forget all the stats Jones leads in. QBR, yards per pass, yards per TD pass (Trask has 3 times more TD passes inside the 10) and wins. Hate all things Bama if you want but obvious biased is tiresome. I don’t care if you throw 20 TDs in a game if you lose.
They’re both quite deserving. I’d have no problem with either winning.
Doesnt the heisman go to the best player on the best team? Yeah sorry trask that aint you
That’s not Mac Jones either.
I don’t think the games canceled in the ACC would have been competitive. At the same time how is it fair if one of the other contenders play their make up game and losses a key player to injury. The Big14 changing the rules in favor of OSU is to be expected. Clemson, Bama & Florida would all light up that defense.
I am not sure that should be the consideration. Injury to key players in these games could affect the playoffs etc. It is clear the ACC is covering their backside with both hands
It’s 2020 was anyone expecting normalcy? This is background noise. The real question is after the 4 playoff teams are chosen. That’s when covid effects on games will get really interesting. Every single team in contention has had games delayed/cancelled for covid. And cases are rising in every contenders state. How are they going to handle a playoff game postponement?
Is Gus going to be the HC for a while longer?
If the ACC would admit what they are doing I think this would be rather entertaining, would not care. In this jacked up year where the Big 10 will get a team in playing only 5 games, then absolutely do what is in your conference’s best interest. Just don’t give people a bs reason. Would be great if ACC commissioner would just release a statement saying something like Yeah, we want a shot at getting two teams in the playoff. Probably won’t ever have this chance again so we doin it.”
I the Joe Cox article about upsets that could cause chaos in the CFP picture he fails to include the one that GatorGrad20 mentions; a second ND defeat of Clemson. We can only hope, right, Gator?