Penn State is an elite team because they are part of the big dawg family. Texas and USC is also elite but that doesn’t mean they’re playing at a high level. Teams get down and have bad years and it happens to ALL teams even all the elite teams. Oklahoma isn’t one of the best 4 teams but they’re still in the playoffs. If Oklahoma played in the SEC or big 10 they’d lose 3 or 4 games a year they just ain’t good enough on defense but since they play in the big 12 they sit we’d a defense because all the other teams stink on defense to. For goodness sake had Baylor beat Oklahoma would y’all consider Baylor an elite team lol. Y’all see what happens to ND when they make the playoffs and Oregon gets their butts kicked to. Tradition, money, prestige, fan base and winning at a high level and hanging around the top 10 with a chance to make the playoffs is what makes a team elite. Only one team can win the NC and most years even that team has a loss. The system we’ve got ain’t nothing but opinion so until we get a true playoff how can we judge on who is elite and who ain’t elite. Some teams get a pass for losing and some don’t, it’s that simple. I think Pete Carroll showed you when USC has the right coach they kick the chit out of teams and Florida State and Miami ain’t no different because these are still elite teams they’re just struggling right now but they will get back.
Elite is a big word to use. If I were a coach, I would probably not use that word and stay away from using it. Just my opinion
@exesuwarrior95
I would agree with you. Coaches need to walk the fine line of encouraging player confidence vs. inflating the egos of 18 to 20 somethings. For example, look at what happened to Jimmy Johnson's superb Miami team. It seems to me Joe Paterno did a really good job of managing this.
James Franklin has been here 6 years and we’ve gone to the Rose Bowl, fiesta bowl, cotton bowl, cap one bowl, pennstripe bowl and tax slayer bowl considered 3 out of 4 years we’re in one of the big dawg bowls and the Cap one bowl wouldn’t you think that was almost as good as it gets because the bottom line is we aim got the players that Alabama, Clemson and Ohio st does we just don’t but I believe in 2 or 3 more years we will. It takes a lot of time to fix what Jim Delany and the ncaa did to penn st.
@exesuwarrior95
I would agree with you. Coaches need to walk the fine line of encouraging player confidence vs. inflating the egos of 18 to 20 somethings. For example, look at what happened to Jimmy Johnson's superb Miami team. It seems to me Joe Paterno did a really good job of managing this.
Yep, that's a great example. It's almost like you are putting yourself on the spot, setting yourself up with something that can backfire when making promises. We all know mostly everything we plan never works out the way we see it in our minds. From life experience.
Elite is Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama. IMO to be elite you need to be among the best AND have won a NC recently.
That’s a good point about the NC. I was thinking the usual top 10 to 12 teams is elite but I can agree with winning a NC lately.
James Franklin has been here 6 years and we’ve gone to the Rose Bowl, fiesta bowl, cotton bowl, cap one bowl, pennstripe bowl and tax slayer bowl considered 3 out of 4 years we’re in one of the big dawg bowls and the Cap one bowl wouldn’t you think that was almost as good as it gets because the bottom line is we aim got the players that Alabama, Clemson and Ohio st does we just don’t but I believe in 2 or 3 more years we will. It takes a lot of time to fix what Jim Delany and the ncaa did to penn st.
No, sanctions are long gone Southern. I have to disagree with you .
@exesuwarrior95
They weren’t in 2016, 2017 and 2018. I still believe we need another year or 2 to catch Ohio st
I consider Penn State an elite program because their history under JoePa was elite. The key is recruiting, and now the northern teams are at somewhat a disadvantage because the most elite high school talent is in southern states and CA. Michigan and Ohio State have to pull talent out of those states, plus New Jersey and DC area, and get the players to come play and attend school in cold weather. Penn State has to do the same and does get very good players, but they miss on some they would sure like to have. It’s a battle, I’m sure, to win the blue chip talent, and winning your conference and competing nationally is important to recruiting.
Well, my opinion of what Elite is ... is as follows. Opposing coaches have to field question after question on why they can't beat (Elite Team here). Other teams successes are compared to (Elite Team here). And like Roam said, are continually discussed in NC race. Just as Harbaugh has to field question after question about why he can't beat OSU ... would be nice to hear Mr. Day at some point have to field those same questions till he is Blue and White in the face on why he can't seem to beat Penn State - that is what I call ELITE!
I think part of the argument is semantics. There are "Premier" programs all around the country and are the ones Southern mentions, USC, Texas, ND, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, etc.... But the difference of being a Premier program and an Elite Program, are what we've all mentioned here.
So really we only have 3 maybe 4 Elite teams? I was thinking winning 10 to 13 games and winning bowl games, good recruiting and great tradition made you elite but I do think it’s important to win a NC every once in a while but IMO unless we go undefeated we ain’t gettin in the playoffs they’ll always come up with something why we got left out.
@bobs-dimpled-chin
I agree with that bob that’s a good point buddy
So really we only have 3 maybe 4 Elite teams? I was thinking winning 10 to 13 games and winning bowl games, good recruiting and great tradition made you elite but I do think it’s important to win a NC every once in a while but IMO unless we go undefeated we ain’t gettin in the playoffs they’ll always come up with something why we got left out.
Don't agree, if we beat Ohio State and won the Big Ten we'd be in the playoff. Not even a question, don't even try to say otherwise.
There is absolutely zero chance that they would have taken OSU at 11-1 and left us out at 12-1 when we beat them and won the BTC. Only reason it happened in 2016 is we lost twice.
Who decides who goes to the Rose bowl? We lost 2 games and Wisconsin lost 3 games. We lost 2 close games Wisconsin got blown out one game? We got the worse game of all the big 10 teams unless you just don’t like competition
I've given that some thought, we all agree championships count for something, so Wisconsin won their Division (a championship of sorts) and advanced to the Big10 Championship game, but lost. The winner would normally go the the Rose Bowl, but now with the playoffs, that winner went there instead. So the only other Big team with a championship of sorts was Wisky - even though they got that 3rd loss. I initially thought Minny should go, since the 2 remaining teams with 10-2 records were them and us, and they own the tie breaking game.
@exesuwarrior95
The great Jimmy Johnson record’s speak for itself regardless if it’s the NFL or college football he just run up on the greatest Joe Paterno and he got put in his place! 2nd place by the way
@bobs-dimpled-chin
They take who they want bob. I believe they got the top 4 right this year. We got the shaft having to play Memphis because whatever that conference they play in will sue if their champion don’t get a big bowl game so they had no choice but to put Memphis in. I’m going on what David Jones said anyway lol. It’s on PennLive where he explains how they could sue and win if their conference champ doesn’t get one of the big dawg bowls.
Elite to me means perennial power house for a consistent 3 year period and beyond. That gives a coach/team time to develop, hit the road running, demonstrate ability to adapt/plug in players during season to continue winning, winning consistently against top 10 opponents and winning championships; it doesn't mean winning a NC every year. Texas, ND, etc are no where near elite other than in myth and the minds of their fan base; that doesn't mean they are SA schools/teams, just aren't elite.
Who decides who goes to the Rose bowl? We lost 2 games and Wisconsin lost 3 games. We lost 2 close games Wisconsin got blown out one game? We got the worse game of all the big 10 teams unless you just don’t like competition
The committee decides who goes to the Rose Bowl, except for one circumstance where if there is a "cluster" of teams all ranked closely to each other the Rose can choose which one they want. So it's basically:
1. Winner of Big Ten goes to Rose Bowl
2. If winner of Big Ten goes to the CFP, the next highest ranked team in the Big Ten (ranked by the committee) goes to the Rose Bowl
3. The Rose Bowl may override #2 IF there are a cluster of teams ranked closely to each other. So if 3 Big Ten teams are #8, #9, and #10 the Rose could choose any one of them and disregard the ranking.
That's how it goes, however the third rule is kind of vague so I don't know if the Rose Bowl was really allowed to override it this year or not. It states a "cluster" of teams, which could mean 3 or more. Since only Wisky & PSU were close and Michigan was 4 spots behind us, that wasn't a cluster so they could not override. Also, it could have been and they just decided Wisconsin will go. Who knows, but that's how it's set up.
As for Wisconsin losing 3 games... they also played more games than us. We didn't have to play Ohio State twice, and from what happened in the first game I don't think any voters think we would have beaten them the second time either. Wisconsin was the only team all year to be leading OSU at halftime, so I'm sure that went into it as well. In the end, a common opponent was also probably used by the committee: Minnesota. They won, we lost. As for their Illinois loss, I think the committee showed they didn't care all that much about "bad losses" by ranking Georgia so high. Both Georgia and Wisconsin had a lot of top 25 wins so they probably viewed those bad losses as more like flukes.
Either way I don't know why so many people care, Cotton or Rose why does it matter? Both are NY6 bowls and we will be just fine. I'm actually happy about the Cotton bowl because I think it's an opportunity to get some recruiting noise in Texas.
@bobs-dimpled-chin
They take who they want bob. I believe they got the top 4 right this year. We got the shaft having to play Memphis because whatever that conference they play in will sue if their champion don’t get a big bowl game so they had no choice but to put Memphis in. I’m going on what David Jones said anyway lol. It’s on PennLive where he explains how they could sue and win if their conference champ doesn’t get one of the big dawg bowls.
OMG Southern, do not listen to Wiretap Jones - not a good source for anything.
And in 2016 PSU should not have been left out... They were the better team. Goes to the point of what they are really looking for, the best teams or the biggest national audience.
And in 2016 PSU should not have been left out... They were the better team. Goes to the point of what they are really looking for, the best teams or the biggest national audience.
I'm sure a bunch of people think Wisconsin was the better team. Just because we feel we're better doesn't make it so. They looked better against a both Michigan and Minnesota than us, the same against Iowa, and the only game we point to as us looking "better" is a game we lost by 11 points. I mean, I know everyone wants to think we are so much better than Wisky but what exactly are we basing it on? Our loss to Ohio State and their loss to Illinois (who we didn't play)? That's it?
I'm not saying I think they are better, but I think many of us are going a bit overboard on how much better we really are or how everyone else must be biased to think Wisky is #8
