Offtopic/fun » former Scarlets No. 10 Rhys Priestl

Conference championships matter. Head-to-head matters. Strength of schedule matters. Every game counts, though some seem to count more than others and good luck figuring out which ones count most.This and more is what the College Football Playoff selection committee sorts through to pick the four best teams in the country.If consistency, certainty and clear-cut criteria are what you crave, this may not be the sport for you. Yes, the goal posts move from season to season. That may be the way it is for awhile -- at least until the playoff grows up.Every year is going to be different, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. Football seasons are like snowflakes, theyre all different. Next year well be standing here talking about some other way it fell out. And thats great.It worked out great Sunday for Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington. Not so great if you root for Penn State.No. 1 Alabama (13-0) will face No. 4 Washington (12-1) in one semifinal and second-seeded Clemson (12-1) meets third-seeded Ohio State (11-1) in the other on Dec. 31.The committee stayed with the same top four it picked going into championship weekend, leaving out No. 5 Penn State (11-2) even though the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten title game and beat Ohio State earlier in the season.The Buckeyes are the first team to reach the playoff in its three-year history without winning their conference.Many questioned why Ohio State deserved a spot, especially over Penn State. Selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt made it clear that the 12-person committee did not.Ohio States three victories against top-10 teams (No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 6 Michigan) and only one loss, by three at Penn State, won the day over the Nittany Lions. Penn State lost to Pitt and Michigan (by 39) before closing the season with nine straight victories.Several times, Hocutt cited Penn States noncompetitive loss and Ohio States strong nonconference victory at Oklahoma.So the key is to play a difficult nonconference schedule?Well, maybe not.The final spot came down to Penn State (11-2) and Pac-12 champion Washington.The Huskies only loss was to 10th-ranked Southern California and its nonconference schedule featured FCS Portland State, Rutgers and Idaho. Penn State played Pitt, Temple and Kent State out of conference.I think because of Washingtons strength of schedule, their margin for error was very slim, Hocutt said. I think our discussions and our decision would have been much easier if Washington would have had a stronger strength of schedule this college football season.You could say Washington benefited because it did not play a difficult nonconference opponent. But you can also say that if Penn State beat Pitt it would have benefited from playing a difficult nonconference schedule.Hocutt said the committee dug deep into the Huskies and Nittany Lions.As we looked at those key statistics from an offensive standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, from starting field position differential, the edge was to Washington, Hocutt said. You look at turnover margin, Washington ranks first in the country in turnover margin compared to Penn State, ranking 50.If there is a pattern to be found in the committees work over three years it may be this simple: For the most part, the teams are ranked by the number in the loss column.No two-loss team has made the playoff. Even a close head-to-head win over Ohio State and a conference title was not enough for Penn State to overcome two losses.Maybe next season will be different.In many ways the College Football Playoff is no different than the Bowl Championship Series, a highly subjective system that relied on poll voters to pick the top two teams. The one crucial difference, though, is enormous. Four instead of two makes the CFP better than the BCS.What could provide more consistency, more objectivity while removing much of the subjectivity, is bigger playoff. Eight teams, with five automatic qualifying Power Five conference champions, the best team from the Group of Five and two wild cards. Fewer debates, plus it could put some juice back into championship weekend, which has become a little anticlimactic.It would also bring Cinderella into college footballs postseason, providing an opportunity for a non-Power Five team to win a meaningful postseason game and an underdog conference championship game winner to move on and play for the national title.Sounds interesting, but it is not happening anytime soon.Hancock said expansion of the playoff is not up for consideration by the conference commissioners. The CFP is in year three of a 12-year television deal with ESPN.Clemson coach Dabo Swinney cautioned that more postseason would lessen the value of the regular season and that adding another round would require eliminating other games.I dont think you can go past 15 games in college football, said Swinney, whose did just that last season and lost to Alabama in the national championship game. Something would have to give.Ohio States Urban Meyer said he empathizes with Penn State and would not mind seeing a system that rewards all conference champions.Im not sure theres an easy answer, said Meyer, who has won two BCS championships and the first College Football Playoff. I think were heading in the right direction.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twittre.com/ralphDrussoAP---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org Hydro Flask LID & CAP Wide Mouth Straw Lid Kobalt . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. Hydro Flask Coffee 16 oz Coffee Citroen .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. http://www.hydroflasknederland.com/hydro-flask-standard-mouth-18-oz-citroen.html . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Hydro Flask Coffee 12 oz Coffee Wit . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Hydro Flask Coffee 16 oz Coffee Kobalt . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Sundays matches in the Anglo-Welsh Cup were carbon copies of each other as?Exeter?and?Wasps?both scored 62 points and 10 tries in big wins over?Cardiff?and?Worcester?respectively.Cardiff began brightly against the Chiefs at Sandy Park with a quick 10 points but were then overrun by the pace and power of the home side, going down 62-25.Michele Campagnaro, Tom Hendrickson, Damian Welch, Sam Simmonds, Stuart Townsend, Tom Johnson, Tom Lawday, Jack Innard and Shaun Malton scored Exeters tries and there was also a penalty try award - with Joe Simmonds converting six.Worcester?held a 10-7 lead midway through the first half at the Ricoh Arena but thats as good as it got for the Warriors as Wasps scored nine unanswered tries in a 62-10 thrashing.Scrum-half Dan Robson pulled the strings when he came on the second half, scoring twice and creating a further three tries to guide Wasps to a convincing win.?Reigning Anglo-Welsh Cup champions Saracens got their first win in this years competition with a 29-18 win against 14-man Newcastle at Allianz Park in the first of three matches on Saturday.After losing their first round game to Gloucester, tries from Nick Tompkins, Scott Spurling, Jared Saunders and George Perkins helped the hosts to a bonus point win.For the Falcons, who ended the game with 14 men after Craig Willis red card for a dangerous tackle, it meant a second defeat in the competition after the opening round loss to Northampton.Gloucester were denied a second straight comeback win as Northampton held on for a 19-13 victory at Franklins Gardens.The Cherry and Whites came back from 25-5 down to Saracens last week for a dramatic success, and looked set to do the same here when they got back to within a score with four minutes remaining, but in the end Saints were able to hang on.Former England fly-half Freddie Burns scored 15 points as Leicester made it two wins frrom two games with an easy 42-3 home victory over Newport Gwent Dragons.ddddddddddddThe Tigers scored six tries through Owen Williams, Adam Thompstone, Greg Bateman, Ellis Genge, Harry Roberts and Burns, who also kicked two conversions and two penalties in a fine all-round game.The bonus point win gives Leicester nine points in pool four after their one point win at Bath the previous week.In Fridays trio of clashes Scarlets produced a stunning second-half comeback, running in 35 unanswered points to beat old rivals Bath 44-21 in an entertaining encounter in Llanelli.Trailing 21-9 at the break, the West Walians turned on the style after the interval, crossing for five tries to claim a deserved bonus-point triumph.It turned into a night to forget for former Scarlets No. 10 Rhys Priestland who was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on opposite number Dan Jones.After a run of 10 defeats, Bristol won for the first time this season with a deserved 26-11 success over Sale.The win saw the home side avenge their league defeat when Sale triumphed 31-13 at Ashton Gate only three weeks ago.Jason Woodward, Jack Tovey and Rhodri Williams scored Bristols tries with Billy Searle kicking two penalties and a conversion. Replacement Adrian Jarvis added a penalty.The win came at the end of a stormy week for the club which saw Andy Robinson leave his coaching role to be replaced by Mark Tainton.Halani Aulika scored a try for Sale with Dan Mugford and Tom Arscott both adding penalties.Harlequins continued their unbeaten Anglo-Welsh Cup run with a hard-fought 15-12 victory over Ospreys at St Helens.Quins scored tries through number eight George Naoupu and lock Charlie Matthews with replacement Tim Swiel kicking a conversion and a crucial late penalty. ' ' '