Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

The saying "Flags fly forever" suggests you want the NC, because it's permanent.  



10-win seasons is not a good bar to set, as seasons used to be 10 games and now are 14 or so.  Even from 2000 to 2015, there's a difference.  Going 10-1 is MUCH better than going 10-4.

I kind of wonder how MSU's 11-2 2014 would have been viewed today, in a vacuum.  Instead it's the middle of a 3 year run, with a Big Ten title on either end, with a Rose Bowl title on the front end, and a CFP appearance on the back end.  I also think, being the first year of the CFP/NY6, and before skipping bowls became a thing, winning a Cotton Bowl was cooler 5 years ago than it would be now.

Obviously, post-Saturday, things will clear up considerably even though the CGs will remain to be played. An LSU loss would still mean an SEC champ would be 12-1 (presuming UGA beats Tech).  An OSU loss and Minnesota win would mean the same for the B1G.  OU and Baylor likely will yield a 12-1 champ, though Bedlam could ensue there.  If Oregon beats Utah, the Pac is left out again I suspect.  We presume Clemson will beat a Virginia team, though VT has shown a pulse of late.

I'd guess anyone not a Clemson fan would like to see them get scorched in the playoff by say OSU or LSU.

For me, it is a something.  My main hope is to win the conference each year, that is a something for me of note.  Winning the NC requires some amount of luck.  

The Citrus Bowl is down into real meh territory unless your program is rebuilding.  So, an NY6 is a solid notch up from that.

I don't think the Dawgs will beat LSU so they consolation likely would be the Orange (which is my least favorite of the NY6s).  Of course, if they lose to VaTech there it will be a real disappointment anyway, 11-3 again.  This really was "their year" IMHO, great OL, Fromm and Swift, ND at home, what could go wrong?  Their offense has me stumped.

A NY6 bowl loses nearly all of its luster if you're facing a G5 team or (this year) the #2 ACC team.  Ick.

What each of the 11 contenders need to make the CFP:

#1 11-0 Ohio State:
The Buckeyes are virtually guaranteed of a slot with a win in the B1GCG regardless of what happens in Ann Arbor.  They probably have about a 50/50 shot with a win in Ann Arbor and a loss in the B1GCG and only a minuscule chance with losses in both games.  

#2 11-0 LSU:
Much like the Buckeyes, the Tigers are virtually guaranteed of a slot with a win in the SECCG regardless of what happens against aTm.  They probably have about a 50/50 shot with a win over aTm and a loss in the SECCG and only a minuscule chance with losses in both games.  

#3 11-0 Clemson:
These Tigers have exactly zero wins over currently ranked teams and that isn't going to change by beating a sub .500 USCe.  Unfortunately for Clemson it probably will not change by winning the ACCCG either because VaTech is #24 while UVA is unranked.  The winner will surely be ranked heading into the ACCCG but unranked coming out of it assuming that Clemson wins.  Clemson's laughable SoS is not a problem if they finish 13-0 but at 12-1 even with an ACC Championship it would be problematic.  At 11-2 they have no shot.  

#4 10-1 Georgia:
The Dogs need to win out to be assured of a spot.  If they end up 11-2 they are a LOT better off as an 11-2 SEC Champion than as an 11-2 non-champion.  They are obviously out if they lose both games.  

#5 10-1 Bama:
The Tide need to beat Auburn then root for OkSU, Colorado, Oregon, and anybody else that can knock out one of the other contenders.  

#6 10-1 Utah:
The Utes need to win out and root for Auburn.  

#7 10-1 Oklahoma:
The Sooners need to win out and root for either Colorado or Oregon to beat Utah and it wouldn't hurt if Auburn beat Bama.  

#8 10-1 Minnesota:
The Gophers need to win out and it would help them if Ohio State beats Michigan such that Minnesota's CG win is over #1 rather than a team that already lost once.  At 12-1 with back-to-back wins over UW and tOSU and with a B1G Championship they are probably in anyway, but it wouldn't hurt for Auburn to knock off Bama.  

#9 10-1 Baylor:
The Bears need to win out and it would help them if Oklahoma beats OkSU such that their CG win is over a highly ranked 11-1 OU rather than a two-loss team.  They also need to root for either Colorado or Oregon to beat Utah and Auburn to beat Bama.  

#12 9-2 Wisconsin:
The Badgers need to win out and hope for mayhem.  

#14 9-2 Oregon:
The Ducks need to win out and hope for even more mayhem than Wisconsin needs.  

It is to me, as long as the opponent is a name team.  Getting into a NY6 bowl seems like you're in the "in" group for that season. 
Compare it to going to any bowl, back when there were only a handful of them.  Being a bowl team meant you had a good season.  Now that there are 248 bowl games, you need a line drawn somewhere, and the NY6 means you were generally a top-10ish team that year.  That's a good line to be above, if not in the playoff.

I think I agree.  But meh.  There is no discussion of who is playing in the Sugar Bowl or the Rose Bowl.  A good deal of the time one team or the other is either the Go5 team, or a team that had CFP hopes dashed, and it just feels like a lame consolation prize.  How often in the CFP era have we had a NY6 (non CFP) game between two P5 teams that didn't have CFP plans dashed either in a loss in the finale or a selection committee decision?  Like for Florida last year, or MSU in 2014, absolutely.  But both cases they played teams that saw playing in "just" a NY6 game as a drop from what they thought they were getting, so it didn't have the oomph of some non-title BCS games.