Quote Originally Posted by East Cobb Hokie View Post
I'm in favor of a calculated ranking, with major calculation credit for:

1. Playing in conference CG.
2. Winning Conf CG
You mean like, maybe a point system which awards each team 1 point for every win, 1 point for winning their division (playing in the title game), maybe 2 points for winning the conference championship, and points for ending the year in the top 5 (5 points for a #1 ranking, 4 points for #2 and so on)? Something like that? Such a system last year would have given us a playoff #1 LSU, #2 Oklahoma State, #3 Oregon and #4 Alabama. Three conference champs and an at-large.

I suppose that could be tolerable, but I still don't think a team that fails to win its conference should have a shot at a national championship. That's just my feeling on it though. I will forever scoff at Bama's 2011 national title because they didn't even win the SEC West, much less the SEC. It's a tainted tile any way you slice it. Had Oklahoma State got the title shot they'd earned then regardless of the winner, it would have been an indisputable national championship. Either LSU would have been undefeated and national champs or LSU and Oklahoma State would have both finished with one loss and Oklahoma State would have had a head to head win for the title. Alabama would have also had only won loss, but it would have been at home to LSU and any claim to a title would have been rightfully ridiculed. Keep it between the conference champs, I say.