Posted by moranis on 12/8/2017 10:29:00 AM (view original):
For the record, in this day and age I actually think Utah would have had a great shot at making the 2008 playoffs if it was a 4 team (again under the current system). Utah had victories over two teams ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS rankings (TCU at 11 and BYU at 16) and opened the season winning at Michigan (though they finished 3-9) and also beat Oregon St. at home. Oregon State finished 7-2 in the Pac 10 (and 9-4 overall after winning its bowl) and was ranked 17th until it lost to Oregon in its last game of the regular season. They always played Utah St. who was down, but did have FCS Weber St. as its final non-con. Had Weber St. been replaced with a good FBS program, even way back then, it might have elevated Utah to a much higher ranking.
People on here keep talking about "if they scheduled a tougher opponent". Have you ever tried to make a schedule for a college sports team? It's not as easy as we need to play a good team this week.
1. Power 5 teams don't want to play good smaller schools. It's a lose, lose for them.
2. You have to find a team that's willing to play that also has the same open weekend. Schedules are made 3 to 4 years in advance.
3. Logistics play a factor. People on here keep talking about how teams need to play schools from different regions of the country. Kids have class. Getting an AD to approve a game on the West Coast for a SEC is not always a guarantee.
4. Coaching changes happen a lot in college athletics. New coaches will sometimes drop teams from their schedule. This leaves teams scrambling for games.