Proposed Selection Process: Establish a committee that will be instructed to place an emphasis on winning conference championships, strength of schedule and head-to-head competition when comparing teams with similar records and pedigree (treat final determination like a tie-breaker; apply specific guidelines).
Under the current construct, polls (although well-intended) have not expressed these values; particularly at the margins where teams that have won head-to-head competition and championships are sometimes ranked behind non-champions and teams that have lost in head-to-head competition. Nuanced mathematical formulas ignore some teams who “deserve” to be selected.
Principles. The committee will select the teams using a process that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering: * Conference championships won, * Strength of schedule, * Head-to-head competition, * Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory), and, * Other relevant factors such as key injuries that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.
Unless the committe has decided to complerely disregard this, their very mission and reason for existence, we will still be in the top 4, and will still be ranked ahead of Louisville. Even if they do somehow slip ahead of us this week, the ONLY way Louisville could beat us for a spot in the final 4 will be if we lose another game. The only way we could not make the playoff is if we lose another game. For some reason, most of the people I talk to, many of whom are avid college football fans seem to be unaware of these guidelines, and instead act as if they will base their rankings in large part on the "eye test", which is exactly what they will not do.