2018 Atlas CFB Pick Em Contest

[GeorgiaModerate]

UCF flattening Pitt.

Where are the naysayers that say they can't possibly make the playoff now?

Well, Pitt lost last week to UNC, which is now 1-3.

But yes, UCF is good, I would even say very good.  But they have not demonstrated that they're on the level of likely playoff teams like Alabama and Georgia.  Unfortunately for UCF or any mid-major, it's almost impossible for them to demonstrate this because of their level of competition.  This is why I think that even if they go undefeated again, they won't make the playoff as long as there are four credible playoff-level Power 5 teams.  This is nothing personal; I like the AAC and think they get a raw deal in the current power structure.  But it's the way it is.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

UCF cannot possibly make the playoff. Maybe if they scheduled P5 opponents other than Pitt.

[Sirius_]

UCF cannot possibly make the playoff. Maybe if they scheduled P5 opponents other than Pitt.

Perhaps they will jump to a power conference if they have another good season?

[YE]

UCF cannot possibly make the playoff. Maybe if they scheduled P5 opponents other than Pitt.

Perhaps they will jump to a power conference if they have another good season?

Who wants them? I don't really want them in the Big 12 - they'll just be another high powered offense no defense tea and it'll be the end of the era of a round robin schedule.

Then again if both us and West Virginia are 11-0 entering the final week of the season and we get the dreaded situation that many feared would happen when the BIG XII was launched, the BIG XII may be forced to expand...

[NewYorkExpress]

UCF cannot possibly make the playoff. Maybe if they scheduled P5 opponents other than Pitt.

Perhaps they will jump to a power conference if they have another good season?

They fit in both the ACC and SEC's recruiting territory, so that's probably where they'd go.

The ACC would be a better fit competition wise, though if they end up in the SEC East, they really only have to worry about Georgia and the West winner right now.

[Alabama_Indy10]

UCF flattening Pitt.

Where are the naysayers that say they can't possibly make the playoff now?

You’re joking right?

[NewYorkExpress]

UCF flattening Pitt.

Where are the naysayers that say they can't possibly make the playoff now?

You’re joking right?

I thought you knew me better than that

[NewYorkExpress]

UCF cannot possibly make the playoff. Maybe if they scheduled P5 opponents other than Pitt.

They did have North Carolina on the Schedule...but Hurricane Florence washed that game away.

[Dereich]

UCF cannot possibly make the playoff. Maybe if they scheduled P5 opponents other than Pitt.

Perhaps they will jump to a power conference if they have another good season?

They fit in both the ACC and SEC's recruiting territory, so that's probably where they'd go.

The ACC would be a better fit competition wise, though if they end up in the SEC East, they really only have to worry about Georgia and the West winner right now.

UCF isn't as good a candidate to join the P5 as they might at first glance appear, especiall for the ACC or SEC. The biggest problem is that UCF isn't a great media market (and thus don't bring in much money) for those conferences. While UCF has a huge student population, their fan-base outside the student body isn't remotely comparable to FSU/Miami/Florida. They are clearly a tier below UF/FSU in support in-state and they don't have the national presence/fans of Miami to gain viewers elsewhere. Many (most?) of the football viewers in Orlando already root for one of the big state teams so the market is already pretty saturated. Oh, and Florida (and Georgia/Alabama who recruit Florida heavily) wouldn't want them in the SEC and neither FSU nor Miami would want them to join the ACC and would fight to keep them out.

From that perspective, UCF would make more sense for the Big 12 if they ever wanted to break into the Florida market. And putting aside money, I'm not sure UCF's academics and performance in other sports would do much to help their case. The conferences don't JUST look at football when making realignment decisions.

[NewYorkExpress]

Just because, an updated look at what I think the playoff will look like:

1. Alabama (I don't see how they don't win the SEC, and assuming they do that, they should be the #1 overall seed)
2. Ohio State (After beating Penn State, the Buckeyes are now the favorites in the Big Ten, and should get in assuming they don't collect two losses the rest of the way, though they could be seeded anywhere from 2-4)
3. Notre Dame (The Fighting Irish now have their marquee win over Stanford, plus a win over Michigan under their helmets, that resume should get them in, even with one loss, given their national reach...keep in mind they have one more big opportunity to show off against USC at the end of the season)
4.  Oklahoma (before everyone jumps down my throat about Clemson being left off, it's possible Clemson goes through the regular season without facing a ranked opponent if Duke does not maintain an AP ranking, and then the most likely shot at facing a ranked opponent in the ACC Championship game would be Miami or Virginia Tech, while Oklahoma will face a ranked Texas next week, and has dates with a possibly ranked West Virginia and Oklahoma State, plus a rematch with one of those three teams in the Big Twelve Championship game...in short, if I were on the committee, I would rather have Oklahoma)

Alabama defeats Oklahoma
Notre Dame defeats Ohio State

Alabama defeats Notre Dame

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I unfortunately agree with NYE. If OU or ND lose, it opens a spot for the Georgia-LSU winner or Penn State.

[Dereich]

Just because, an updated look at what I think the playoff will look like:

1. Alabama (I don't see how they don't win the SEC, and assuming they do that, they should be the #1 overall seed)
2. Ohio State (After beating Penn State, the Buckeyes are now the favorites in the Big Ten, and should get in assuming they don't collect two losses the rest of the way, though they could be seeded anywhere from 2-4)
3. Notre Dame (The Fighting Irish now have their marquee win over Stanford, plus a win over Michigan under their helmets, that resume should get them in, even with one loss, given their national reach...keep in mind they have one more big opportunity to show off against USC at the end of the season)
4.  Oklahoma (before everyone jumps down my throat about Clemson being left off, it's possible Clemson goes through the regular season without facing a ranked opponent if Duke does not maintain an AP ranking, and then the most likely shot at facing a ranked opponent in the ACC Championship game would be Miami or Virginia Tech, while Oklahoma will face a ranked Texas next week, and has dates with a possibly ranked West Virginia and Oklahoma State, plus a rematch with one of those three teams in the Big Twelve Championship game...in short, if I were on the committee, I would rather have Oklahoma)

Alabama defeats Oklahoma
Notre Dame defeats Ohio State

Alabama defeats Notre Dame

That could happen...but Clemson has to lose somewhere. 2014 FSU showed that an undefeated conference champion, no matter how bad they look, is a lock for the playoff. I'm not sure who Clemson could lose to on this schedule...NC State and Muschampian SC are probably the best teams left and while they look fine, neither looks particularly world-beating. And I don't think ND gets in with a loss unless its against a two loss champion.

And as for the ACC, from what I've seen so far my guess is that Clemson ends up with ranked wins over (no matter how weird it sounds) Syracuse and NC State. Syracuse is a better team than UNC, Louisville, and Pitt. They're probably better than Wake and BC. Win all those or lose one and beat NC State and you're ranked. And NC State should beat everyone left on their schedule but Clemson and maybe Syracuse.

[NewYorkExpress]

Looking forward to seeing Notre Dame cement their playoff record and beat another ranked team this week (Virginia Tech).

[Sirius_]

Looking forward to seeing Notre Dame cement their playoff record and beat another ranked team this week (Virginia Tech).

Awful damn confident huh?

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Notre Dame will probably lose when you least expect it, to like USC, lol

[Terry the Fat Shark]

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Week 5 results, ExtremeConservative wins week 5 with a very high score of 23, meanwhile, RINO Tom overtakes Santander with the lead at top.

[NewYorkExpress]

Looking forward to seeing Notre Dame cement their playoff record and beat another ranked team this week (Virginia Tech).

Awful damn confident huh?

After that win over Stanford, I think the only teams that could really pose problems for Notre Dame are Alabama, Ohio State and maybe Oklahoma (and even then,if Notre Dame can keep up with Oklahoma offensively, they probably win).

It's worth noting that Stanford remains the favorite in the Pac-12, and Michigan, another previous Notre Dame win, is a powerful team in their own right...and I'd argue USC are still the favorites in the PAC-12 South...even if they lose to Colorado next week, because they already played Stanford and avoid Washington, while Colorado still has to play Washington, and might lose to Arizona State this week (though I picked Colorado in that game, in the interest of full disclosure).

If you want to worry about a top-tier team winning this week, look at either Clemson or LSU.

LSU faces a ranked Florida squad, which will be their toughest test since beating Auburn two weeks ago, and is a trap game, because they face Georgia next week (in fact, I almost picked Florida, but decided LSU was simply a better team this year...hope it doesn't bite me), while Clemson almost lost last week to Syracuse, and may be without it's starting Quarterback due to injury...and while Wake Forest isn't a particularly strong team, they are at home, and we have no real idea who Clemson will start at Quarterback if Trevor Lawrence can't play.

[GeorgiaModerate]

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Week 5 results, ExtremeConservative wins week 5 with a very high score of 23, meanwhile, RINO Tom overtakes Santander with the lead at top.

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[RINO Tom]

 Notre Dame.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

RIP BYU (and Louisville)

[RINO Tom]

Damn it, I missed Friday's.  LOL

[GeorgiaModerate]

Damn it, I missed Friday's.  LOL

Well, I made picks for both and didn't get any points either.

[RINO Tom]

Dear Illini,

Please don't lose to Rutgers, LOL.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Texas.....is leading 24-10 right now

[Green Line]

Dear Illini,

Please don't lose to Rutgers, LOL.

Omg.  Rutgers is THAT bad.