[BostonCard]

It doesn't "need" to be anything.  It is worth noting that had we wound up with only one loss, we would have gotten into the playoff precisely because of our difficult schedule and a team like Oklahoma, who played an easier schedule, would have been on the outside looking in with one loss.  Sometimes, a tough schedule is what gets you into the playoff (or a creampuff leaves you out... right Baylor/TCU ca 2014?) and sometimes a tough schedule means you lose a game you otherwise might not have.

And as I said in another thread, last year wound up as bad as it could have for Stanford getting in the playoff, and I was still happy as a clam at how the season turned out, maybe even more so. I don't "need" to see Stanford in the playoffs, it adds nothing to my experience as a fan.  I will root for Stanford to make it, but that's because I will always root for Stanford.  But that also means I enjoy a trip to the Rose Bowl as much as, if not more so, than a trip to the national championship.

BC

[BostonCard]

It doesn't "need" to be anything.  It is worth noting that had we wound up with only one loss, we would have gotten into the playoff precisely because of our difficult schedule and a team like Oklahoma, who played an easier schedule, would have been on the outside looking in with one loss.  Sometimes, a tough schedule is what gets you into the playoff (or a creampuff leaves you out... right Baylor/TCU ca 2014?) and sometimes a tough schedule means you lose a game you otherwise might not have.

And as I said in another thread, last year wound up as bad as it could have for Stanford getting in the playoff, and I was still happy as a clam at how the season turned out, maybe even more so. I don't "need" to see Stanford in the playoffs, it adds nothing to my experience as a fan.  I will root for Stanford to make it, but that's because I will always root for Stanford.  But that also means I enjoy a trip to the Rose Bowl as much as, if not more so, than a trip to the national championship.

BC