Bill Connelly

Hey, speaking of ... I didn't think it would be *UTAH* first inviting the vampire into the house, but I guess there are still surprises in the world...
bsky.app/profile/sltr...

It feels like everything dumb in the world is getting dumber and more inescapable.

two police officers are shaking hands in front of a building ALT: two police officers are shaking hands in front of a building

2016 Outback Crew

Yeah, having lots of interims made things tricky enough already, but obviously now the teams SP+ is grading aren't necessarily the ones that will play in the bowls...

Oh, Norman's going to be great. No complaints about the four sites, especially since Oxford's gonna be angry.

Used to do really well. Now ... not so much.

SP+ BOWL (AND ARMY-NAVY, AND CFP) PICKS

OU 24, Bama 21
A&M 29, Miami 26
Rebs 39, Wave 21
Ducks 34, Dukes 19
Arch 25, Underwood 24
Pitt 29, ECU 28 (gonna be a wonderfully stupid game, can't wait)

14 of 40 games projected w/in 3 pts, 29 w/in one score. I'll take it.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

this year alone, we're wondering if the Committee:

—was trying to protect the value of championship games
—was trying to avoid shutting out the ACC
—reverse-engineered the rankings to make the h2h between Miami and Notre Dame matchup relevant

We shouldn't have to think about any of this!

Yep. They drive me mad at all times, and I don't like being driven mad, but I also can't imagine how much they might win if they actually made calm, rational decisions.

Also, I love that one thing that might save Xabi at the moment is the Vast And Obvious Anti-Real Madrid Refereeing Conspiracy. I appreciate that the sports I write about are in the hands of such rational actors.

Liverpool watches and waits with bated breath.

Updated SP+ rankings for all 136 FBS teams The latest SP+ rankings, plus strength of schedule and résumé SP+, following this weekend's results.

SP+ is updated, by the way. Ohio State's still No. 1, Indiana's résumé is No. 1 ... and Texas Tech closed the gap on both of them.

www.espn.com/college-foot...

Ha, I was *more* forgiving of that one, if only because the alternatives were tricky. (And at least Rebs-Dawgs was fun.) But them being paralyzed by what to do with Bama -- and the fact that Bama's placement would somehow determine whether ND or Miami got in -- was ... damning to the entire system.

How each of the 12 College Football Playoff teams could win the national title Bill Connelly breaks down the path to victory for every team -- and what will hold each of them back.

Anyway, the playoff field is set, for better or worse! I wrote about why each team will (or won't!) win the national title.

www.espn.com/college-foot...

In retrospect, this is the most annoying part, lol. The committee overthought, overanalyzed, tried to artisanally craft a set of playoff teams instead of just ranking them ... and STILL gave us The Rematch Absolutely No One Wanted.

Yeah, in reading about it, it seems like the team had no say in it and was confused.

Boise won, making their resume slightly better. Not hard.

This also completely sucks. Horrible precedent (even though, as was just pointed out to me, they did it once in the '90s too).

bsky.app/profile/chri...

How each of the 12 College Football Playoff teams could win the national title Bill Connelly breaks down the path to victory for every team -- and what will hold each of them back.

Anyway, the playoff field is set, for better or worse! I wrote about why each team will (or won't!) win the national title.

www.espn.com/college-foot...

I have no idea what goes into FPI.

(last six weeks)

Alabama played terribly yesterday, made their résumé worse, and didn't fall. Notre Dame didn't play, saw their résumé get slightly better, and fell.

Just a painfully stupid process.
bsky.app/profile/espn...

well never mind

Still assuming this is how it plays out.

I'm still disoriented by the reaction to the Penn State game. Intensely mediocre for 58 minutes, and his Heisman moment comes when his receiver makes the catch of the year. I mean, it's fine, I like Mendoza, but this has been baffling to watch. (Because I'm taking it too seriously.)

I was ready to accept this until neither QB actually did much!

BREAKING: I have yet again underestimated the "It's all about vibes, dummy" aspect of the Heisman race. I will forever attempt to apply rationality to this award, and I will forever end up looking silly for it.

bsky.app/profile/danw...

Both the B1G (top-heavy) and SEC (deep) became caricatures of themselves this year.

Still waiting for the updated Heisman odds to show up at Draft Kings, but ... yesterday went about as well as possible for Pavia. Both Sayin and Mendoza put some yards up late, and neither was bad, but neither seized control of matters either. (Also: 23 total pts.)