For Round 1 results, click here.
For Round 2 results, click here.
I'm switching the scheduling around this weekend because of Christmas. Normally I would have held the games on the Saturday, but given that it's Christmas Eve and I want the players and coaches to be with their families, and also because the NFL moved its games to that day, we're doing 3 games on Thursday and 3 on Friday in this round. With only 12 teams left, we can do one game from each set of semifinals on Thursday and one on Friday to allow players, coaches, and fans to catch possible opponents.
There are some fun matchups this week in all 3 groups of semis, especially the championship bracket. With a lot of OSU fans feeling snubbed, this is their chance to prove they belong in the title game over Alabama. And LSU doesn't have an easy task ahead with Oregon's strong offense.
With the bowl games being next week and still being held at their traditional sites, this is the final week of home field advantages. Higher seeds host, with local weather taken into account. And again, thanks to WhatIfSports.com for the simulations.
Losers Bracket
(16)Georgia vs. (12)Baylor (10)Wisconsin vs. (14)Oklahoma
Game 1: BAY 34, UGA 27 Game 1: WIS 44, OU 36
Game 2: BAY 45, UGA 17 Game 2: OU 27, WIS 13
Game 3: BAY 31, UGA 23 Game 3: WIS 37, OU 26
Final: BAY 37, UGA 22 Final: WIS 31, OU 30
Georgia and Oklahoma are eliminated from the playoffs.
Baylor will play Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Consolation Bracket
(8)Kansas State vs. (4)Stanford (7)Boise State vs. (6)Arkansas
Game 1: STAN 35, KSU 18 Game 1: BSU 40, ARK 19
Game 2: STAN 31, KSU 10 Game 2: BSU 39, ARK 24
Game 3: STAN 44, KSU 17 Game 3: BSU 55, ARK 48
Final: STAN 37, KSU 15 Final: BSU 45, ARK 30
Kansas State will play Arkansas in the Fiesta Bowl.
Stanford will play Boise State in the Sugar Bowl.
Championship Bracket
(1)LSU vs. (5)Oregon (2)Alabama vs. (3)Oklahoma State
Game 1: LSU 40, ORE 13 Game 1: ALA 47, OSU 17
Game 2: LSU 34, ORE 9 Game 2: ALA 41, OSU 40
Game 3: ORE 20, LSU 13 Game 3: ALA 47, OSU 31
Final: LSU 29, ORE 14 Final: ALA 46, OSU 29
Oregon will play Oklahoma State in the Orange Bowl.
LSU will play Alabama for the national title.
LSU finally lost a game in the simulations... after getting 2 blowout wins, and they still end up facing Alabama for the national title, but both teams earned their way back there. I love the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl matchups as well. See what a playoff can bring?
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I just finished reading Death to the BCS today, and I can tell that my system has a couple flaws. I do exclude some conference champions that I should otherwise have in there (though LSU was the lone unbeaten). My system kind of made me a hypocrite in that I didn't include everyone. MWC champ TCU is out despite winning its conferece, and no Sun Belt, MAC, WAC, C-USA or even Big East teams made the playoffs since I based the seeding off of the BCS rankings... another reason why they're flawed.
As a transitional system though, I think this would work until a system like the one the book suggests where the 11 conference champions make it and a selection committee picks 5 at large teams (which would likely include some participants from here). When I do the bowl game round, I'll also try to put together a sample bracket of the system implemented in the book and a rough outline of how that tournament would have gone. In the ideal world, their system gets put into place immediately, though knowing the minds of the Cartel, as the authors put it, they'll dismiss it as garbage and go back to counting their money.
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