MT West

[highfly24]

I'm not real sure how Boise loses to Fresno and then host Fresno the next weekend for the conference title. I like Boise and hope they win but they have no business hosting this game. IF they hadn't played, then I suppose you could go to computer rankings but I think there are better options than that too. I know Las Vegas isnt exactly neutral but it sure seems like this game should be played there or some other neutral site. If you want to award it to campus, for the sake of better ticket sales, then shouldnt head to head mean something? Or rotate it, even years Mountain division, odd years the West division. No it may not always be the better team, but you know going into the season what the fate is.

[Spence]

I didn't know the championship game was not on a neutral site. I think that it should be, but the powers that be in the conference must have all agreed that it should work that way or it wouldn't. As for them playing two weeks in a row - that can happen to anyone who schedules out of their division the last week.

[donovan]

I am not defending anything. Before the year began the home site for the championship was to be the team ranked highest in the poll at seasons end. That is Boise. Not saying a good idea...was predetermined and always makes sense not to change rules in mid stream.

The silliness and there is no way to prevent it, is back to back games with the same team.

One reason a neutral site is not used in the "lesser god" conferences is that there would be zero draw. First principal in football is fill the coffers.

[Spence]

And that makes since. Having the game hosted by the highest ranked team would promote giving the conference’s beat team the beast chance at a good bowl of playoff spot. Also the conferences have to make money and if a neutral site doesn’t make financial sense then they shouldn’t do it. Doing thinks to highlight the conference best teams make sense.

[Cane from the Bend]

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The only problem I have with this, is that the home site was supposed to be the team who was the highest ranked in the Playoff Poll going into the Championship game.

Boise State was ranked #20 going into the game last week against Fresno.
Boise St was 9-2, whereas Fresno St was 8-3 --- And now they are both 9-3.

In any other given week, Boise State would have been knocked out of the top 25. Fresno, having beaten them on the field, and now tying their overall record, would suggest that if either team were to be ranked, it should be the Bulldogs.

It just seems there was some manipulation with regards to the final placement, in order to get revenue sharing. I simply cannot find another logical angle to this, outside of the MW chairs lobbying the voters, in an attempt to persuade them to let Boise State be the home team, because they figured the Fresno fans all came out to the last game, and wanted to try bolstering the ticket sales by giving a larger allotment to Broncos' fans --- If not that, then to attract a larger TV viewing audience by keeping Boise St ranked, rather than ranking Fresno State, to draw upon the interest of people who are otherwise familiar with Boise's recent success, since they have gotten more press than Fresno ever received.

Outside of that, what else could it possibly be?

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[Eric]

If that's the case, then it's a totally stupid rule. Home field should be decided by conference record, then head-to-head as the tiebreaker, and then go down the list if they haven't played each other yet.

I understand why the AAC, C-USA, and MWC have home field for the championship games. The teams are too dispersed geographically to find a good location and with smaller fan bases it's a tougher sell to get them to travel.

[billybud]

There have been a lot of proponents in the ACC of having the highest ranked team host a championship game...not as a reward but as a method to ensure more fan participation.

Having the games set permanently in North Carolina as they have been, can lead to attendance issues...when the North Carolina teams have played in 3 games and FSU, Clemson, Miami, Boston, GT, VT have played in 33 it doesn't seem to make fan sense...it is long expensive haul for fans just before the bowl season...and many fans choose to make the bowl...not the CCG.

[billybud]

The ACC stretches from not far from the Canadian border to an inner tube ride from Cuba...North Carolina may be centrally located...but is still a long way from Miami, FSU, Boston, etc.

For the Big 10...having their CCG in Indianapolis makes fan sense...it is centrally located not that far from the usual suspects...Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin who will have accounted for 13 of the last 14 appearances in the game.

[billybud]

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The only problem I have with this, is that the home site was supposed to be the team who was the highest ranked in the Playoff Poll going into the Championship game.

Boise State was ranked #20 going into the game last week against Fresno.
Boise St was 9-2, whereas Fresno St was 8-3 --- And now they are both 9-3.

In any other given week, Boise State would have been knocked out of the top 25. Fresno, having beaten them on the field, and now tying their overall record, would suggest that if either team were to be ranked, it should be the Bulldogs.

It just seems there was some manipulation with regards to the final placement, in order to get revenue sharing. I simply cannot find another logical angle to this, outside of the MW chairs lobbying the voters, in an attempt to persuade them to let Boise State be the home team, because they figured the Fresno fans all came out to the last game, and wanted to try bolstering the ticket sales by giving a larger allotment to Broncos' fans --- If not that, then to attract a larger TV viewing audience by keeping Boise St ranked, rather than ranking Fresno State, to draw upon the interest of people who are otherwise familiar with Boise's recent success, since they have gotten more press than Fresno ever received.

Outside of that, what else could it possibly be?
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Rule:

The division champion with the higher College Football Playoff ranking going into the final week of regular season is designated as the host school unless it loses its final regular season game. If the latter occurs, or neither team is ranked in the latest available College Football Playoff rankings, then the following procedure is used:

Team with better composite ranking among selected computer rankings
[b]Head-to-head record
[/b]
and on and on..


Boise lost the last game of the season...so it went to the composite rankings...and then, the head to head...I can not find just which composite rankings are used...Massey has Boise higher than Fresno...and most rankings have Boise higher...BUT...the AP has Fresno ranked and Boise unranked.

[Cane from the Bend]

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That's just it.

They did not wait for the Playoff Rankings. They announced the home team for the game after the AP poll rankings came out. Last week Boise State was ranked #23 in the playoff poll, where the Coaches poll had them ranked #24 and the AP poll also had them ranked #25.

The AP & Coaches poll for this week have been released; Boise State is not ranked in either, but Fresno State is ranked #25 in the AP poll.

Granted, they had to announce the site for the game, and obviously could not wait until Tuesday for the Playoff poll [which is why the Rule needs to be adjusted].

Rule:

The division champion with the higher College Football Playoff ranking going into the final week of regular season is designated as the host school unless it loses its final regular season game. If the latter occurs, or neither team is ranked in the latest available College Football Playoff rankings, then the following procedure is used:

Team with better composite ranking among selected computer rankings

In this case, the higher ranked team did in fact lose. And it was to the team who will be their opponent for the Mountain West title.

Whatever their formula to discern composite rankings. You would think losing to the team you are about to play, 7 days earlier, who finished with the exact same record as you [both are 9-3, 7-1 in conference], there would be a heavy lean in their favor for the home field under the conference parameters.


And maybe even stranger; espn's power ratings have Boise Winning this Saturday's game with a 72.7% chance --- when Boise lost to the same team this past Saturday, prior to that game espn had Boise's chance of Winning at 52.4% ..?

Then again, I'm not thinking dollars ... I'm just thinking sense.

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[donovan]

Here are the polls that were used. Never heard of any of them.

Boise State, currently No. 23 in the College Football Playoff, is expected to fall out of the rankings, so the host site will be determined by four computer rankings: Anderson & Hester, Billingsley, Colley Matrix and Wolfe.

[billybud]

CFP ranking is irrelevant in this scenario...no need to wait for their release.

Boise lost the last game of the season...and thus it falls to the computer composite set forth in the conference rules...and Fresno ranks higher in those...as well as the AP.

[billybud]

Those computer ranking systems were also made up the majority of the BCS mix

[donovan]

That is what I thought, that Fresno State ranked higher in the four cited.

[Old Ducker]

I have to root for Fresno State because of Jeff Tedford.