[OutsiderFan]

..we DON'T deserve a playoff shot at the NCG this year. Next year, who knows? Don't lose to Utah and University of Spoiled Children, or anyone else, and we'll be in that Top 4 ranking.

This would be a perfectly reasonable position to take if the other teams played nine conference games.  However, not only do they only play eight, the Pac-12 has better teams than the B1G and ACC, and based on Sagarin, the SEC as well.

If I have to lift 100 pounds once to win a prize and you have to lift 200 pounds twice to win it, don't I have an unfair advantage?  It's not like one team gets four outs in baseball and another three.  This is what this "just beat Utah and USC" mentality is akin to accepting.  Like we didn't score enough with our three outs, so we can't complain about the team that beat us that was given four outs.

The fact is college football at the FBS level is tough.  Teams can only get "emotionally up" for about three games per season.  Stanford had to play too many really good teams to be able to match the intensity of every team on the schedule.  Why do you think Alabama schedules Chatanooga at home after playing LSU?  Stanford beats #3 Oregon and its off TO the L.A. Coliseum for homecoming in front of 93,000 to play one of the most talented teams in the country, arguably more talented than Oregon, at least the starters.

Stop it with the "We don't deserve it" mentality.  Stanford played and beat more good teams than anyone else in the country.  They won every big game they played (against a ranked opponent).  Did Ohio State?  Did Alabama? Did Auburn? Did Michigan State? No.  Only Florida State did, and they too played a much less rigorous schedule than Stanford.

[OutsiderFan]

..we DON'T deserve a playoff shot at the NCG this year. Next year, who knows? Don't lose to Utah and University of Spoiled Children, or anyone else, and we'll be in that Top 4 ranking.

This would be a perfectly reasonable position to take if the other teams played nine conference games.  However, not only do they only play eight, the Pac-12 has better teams than the B1G and ACC, and based on Sagarin, the SEC as well.

If I have to lift 100 pounds once to win a prize and you have to lift 200 pounds twice to win it, don't I have an unfair advantage?  It's not like one team gets four outs in baseball and another three.  This is what this "just beat Utah and USC" mentality is akin to accepting.  Like we didn't score enough with our three outs, so we can't complain about the team that beat us that was given four outs.

The fact is college football at the FBS level is tough.  Teams can only get "emotionally up" for about three games per season.  Stanford had to play too many really good teams to be able to match the intensity of every team on the schedule.  Why do you think Alabama schedules Chatanooga at home after playing LSU?  Stanford beats #3 Oregon and its off TO the L.A. Coliseum for homecoming in front of 93,000 to play one of the most talented teams in the country, arguably more talented than Oregon, at least the starters.

Stop it with the "We don't deserve it" mentality.  Stanford played and beat more good teams than anyone else in the country.  They won every big game they played (against a ranked opponent).  Did Ohio State?  Did Alabama? Did Auburn? Did Michigan State? No.  Only Florida State did, and they too played a much less rigorous schedule than Stanford.