Weak league. Cake schedule. Get off the bus 10 times and head to the CFP.
PSU may make the CFP without beating a ranked team
- Thread starter Sean Miller Fan
- Start date
pittdan77
Athletic Director
That’s their entire existence in the B1G. And when they do beat a top 25 team, like an Iowa, is that team really top 25 or just overinflated because of the overrated weak conference that they’re in?
It might all be moot though. I’m thinking WVU pulls out a win next week.
I'm back and forth on this. On one hand, I agree. On the other, it frustrates me when Pitt fans don't see the hypocrisy with how easy our schedules almost always are. I wish we would have just "gotten off the bus" and defeated all the teams we had more talent than in 2021; we'd have gone 13-0.
But how many teams that we play this year are going to finish ranked? I'm thinking two at the most, and neither all that high.
But how many teams that we play this year are going to finish ranked? I'm thinking two at the most, and neither all that high.
Get beyond the top of the B1G and there is little to no difference in the teams. That’s just they way it’s always appeared to me. And not that bowls are anything more than meaningless exhibitions, but it’s something slightly tangible to go off of and the B1G shows every year that their teams aren’t any more worthy of being ranked than their peers in other conferences who are not.
I genuinely agree with this. It's laughable that we have never gone undefeated in the non conference schedule. Now....PSU and the majority of the BIG10 have historically played the little sisters of the poor and directional MAC schools for their non conference....but Pitts lack of ability to stack 4 easy wins every year at the beginning of the season is insane. If historically we played chumps and went 4-0, we would eventually get the Iowa treatment of being ranked 25 even if we finish 8-4.
Well for one, we always hear about their non-conference schedules being so weak, but people are too dumb to realize they play 9 conference games. Pitt playing WVU, Cincy, and two scrubs is literally no different from PSU playing WVU and two scrubs. They're both ten P4 games and then two scrubbo games.
Bowl games... eh. I'm making literally zero conclusions from those. BIG was 5-4 last year; ACC was 5-6. The year before, both were 5-4. The year before, the ACC was 2-4 and the BIG was 6-4. So do people even know what they're arguing with that, or is it just a talking point they've heard? If anything, I would go by non-conference portions of the schedule, but even that is imperfect and dependent on matchups.
I'm just saying in general... feels like we'd see Penn State playing an unranked 6-2 Minnesota team (random example) or something, and we say how easy of a game it is. But then Pitt will play an unranked 6-2 UNC team (again, random example) and we'll talk about how tough of a matchup it is. I think the BIG has done a decent job lately of raising its floor. Like, Rutgers and Illinois aren't that bad anymore. On the whole, I think it's a more talented conference than the ACC. We see everything through a Penn State lens, but it's not as thought they didn't have to have a decent program to begin with for all these games to look so easy for them. If Miami was performing to where it was "supposed" to for the last 20+ years, its stroll through the Coastal wouldn't have looked much different.
The obsession amongst some of you - wow. Said it before but it bears repeating. I can’t stand them as much as anyone. But my god it’s like a cult about the cult. Sheesh.
I’m not one to rip PSU’s schedule and then praise ours. I don’t subscribe to any of that tribalist fandom. My position simply is as you say, the difference between a random game vs a top 25 6-2 Minnesota or unranked 6-2 UNC doesn’t have any statistical significance… to me. And it shouldn’t to pollsters either.
Pull up all the PSU and WVU threads started on this board and you’ll see a common theme with who starts them.
Yep, it always cracks me up when people will talk about how difficult Alabama's schedule is because they play 3 top 10 teams, but those teams are usually within the SEC like Mississippi or Texas A&M. Meanwhile they never play north of the Mason Dixon line (would love to see an Alabama-Michigan game played at the big house) and they play 4 OOC games usually of the cupcake variety.
PSU is wise to this model. Check out next years OOC for them, zero P4 games. Can't blame them, smart scheduling. I've been screaming for Pitt/Heather to do this for years. Instead we get games with UCF, Wisconsin, etc.
My knock is not on PSU and pro Pitt. I don’t care what PSU does. Obviously they live rent free in SMfs head. My only point is they have a pretty good gig in the B1G. I’ve always said that since they joined, they lose to the top 2 teams, take care of business by beating all the medicrity of that league, and then they play on New Year’s Day every year.
When has Pitt ever won all the games they were supposed to? 45 years ago?
There terrible. They should not even have a program for the rapes that happened.
Hilarious topic though because they will suck even worst this year. Got KILLED but OSU, Michigan and Ole Miss and the SEC showed them what real football was. There awful and James Fraudlin is the worst coach in the country, who has he beated? They will show the country again that they cannot win the biggest games or even games against good teams.
Hilarious topic though because they will suck even worst this year. Got KILLED but OSU, Michigan and Ole Miss and the SEC showed them what real football was. There awful and James Fraudlin is the worst coach in the country, who has he beated? They will show the country again that they cannot win the biggest games or even games against good teams.
Kirby's line is pretty good at defending SEC schedules.
"Why don't come down and get some of this SEC if you'd like?"
I’m not sure I understand why it matters that the Top 10 are SEC?
And they don’t usually play 4 cupcakes.
They play Wisconsin this year.
FSU and Wisky in 25.
WVU, FSU, and South Florida in 26.
West Virginia and Ohio State in 27
Etc, etc
In 17 they played FSU
18 was Louisville
19 Duke
20 COVID so didn’t get to play USC
21 Miami
22 Texas
23 Texas
That’s a pretty good OOC list considering how difficult their conference schedule is.
They will beat several ranked teams due to Big Ten ranking inflation.
Our fans do this stupid twister gymnastics to denigrate Penn State and Franklin vs Pitt.
Franklin and PSU have went to the Rose Bowl twice, Fiesta, Peach, Cotton, Citrus and Outback bowls. They have finished in the top 10 four times, 2 more in the top 25.
Narduzzi and Pitt have been to the Peach Bowl. Two Sun Bowls, a Quick Lane Bowl, finished in the top 25 polls twice.
B1G ranking inflation is a good one.
It’s like the pollsters have beer goggles every week, it’s late, the bar is closing…and that 5 standing over in the corner is looking like a 7 or 8.
Won’t the two top teams in the B10 play for the conference championship?
People just refuse to admit the obvious--the SEC is far superior as a football league than any of the rest. Year in, year out, for a very long time. It's just a fact.
That is classic. And 100% true.
People just refuse to admit the obvious--the SEC is far superior as a football league than any of the rest. Year in, year out, for a very long time. It's just a fact.
I'd argue more often than not, the difference in the teams ranked approx. 16-40 is negligible. Brands and conferences are of course going to win the tie breaker if it is even somewhat close.
So, if they end up top 2 in the B10 at the end of the reg season, you don't think the team they play in the B10 championship game--likely to be OSU-- will be ranked? OSU will almost certainly be a top 5 team by the end of the regular season. And if they lose to that team, which they would--probably by a lot--do you think they'll actually make the CFP?
That's true and in another thread I reference that these power conferences and teams are propped up by preseason ranking 6-7 teams from those conferences which makes all of these teams seem better than they are. Sort of like the Big East basketball when Pitt was a perennial top 10, even top 5 team. We were good no doubt, but were we that good???
Here's the thing about PSU and their schedule. True outside of those 3 teams, the Big 10 is garbage. But Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State aren't any worse than UNC, GT, Miami and Syracuse and they don't lose to them. And while Akron, Central Michigan and Army aren't powers, PSU doesn't lose to them. They don't go to OT to beat YSU.
That’s a pretty good OOC list considering how difficult their conference schedule is....hahaha, that's funny.
Any "conference inflation" is only a preseason thing. It's absolutely negated by conference cannibalization.
Was 11-3 Wake Forest really the 13th best team in America in 2021, or did they just have a prettier record than some of the SEC, etc. teams? For instance, we barely squeaked out of Tennessee with a win over a team that finished 7-6 and didn't have its QB situation figured out at the time, but we absolutely pounded Wake Forest into submission. I have a feeling the Pitt players could tell you which team was better.
Was 11-3 Wake Forest really the 13th best team in America in 2021, or did they just have a prettier record than some of the SEC, etc. teams? For instance, we barely squeaked out of Tennessee with a win over a team that finished 7-6 and didn't have its QB situation figured out at the time, but we absolutely pounded Wake Forest into submission. I have a feeling the Pitt players could tell you which team was better.
They wont make the B10 Championship, which actually works out very good for them. They will lose to OSU and 1 more (@ USC?). OSU will play Oregon in Indy and PSU, with their 10-2 record will rest up for the CFP
I agree to an extent, but you don’t think conference affiliation had anything to do with Texas or Alabama jumping FSU last year?
No. It had something to do with FSU not having even a D2 caliber QB and not having strong enough wins.
Quality of wins? That doesn’t even make sense. FSU was ranked 4th heading into championship weekend and the beat the 14th ranked team. Texas was ranked 8th and beat the 19th ranked team.
FSU should have moved down earlier but thr committee gave them the benefit of the doubt. Had FSU's D3 QB came out and lit Louisville up, they would have made it but they couldn't even get a yard. The committee made the right decision.
Why does that even matter? Tate Rodemaker would’ve played in the CFP, not Brock Glenn.
I keep forgetting this is the year the CFP goes to 12. On that basis your scenario for PSU is at least plausible. I was about to ask you what you’re smoking. There will be several other pretenders in there with them.
