I think the only thing weighing against that position is, at that point, the committee just needs to assume they subjectively believe that the SoCon just isn't good enough. I'm not sure how you objectively reach that conclusion with leagues that play virtually no common opponents.
Remember, two weeks ago the committee had Furman slotted as #3 in their preliminary rankings. Since that time, the #2 team last lost while Furman has won twice, including a win on the road over a top 15 team.
I get that the national pundits want to dock Furman, but Furman really hasn't done anything to warrant being docked. If you drop a 10-1 Furman out of the top 4, the committee basically just has to concede that a team they thought was #3 at the end of October, who hasn't lost, who has beaten another ranked team since that time, just subjectively isn't as good as the second or third best team in some of these other conferences.
I'm also inclined to think that the committee is unlikely to load up every seed from two conferences, especially when there just are not common opponents to compare the programs.
Remember, two weeks ago the committee had Furman slotted as #3 in their preliminary rankings. Since that time, the #2 team last lost while Furman has won twice, including a win on the road over a top 15 team.
I get that the national pundits want to dock Furman, but Furman really hasn't done anything to warrant being docked. If you drop a 10-1 Furman out of the top 4, the committee basically just has to concede that a team they thought was #3 at the end of October, who hasn't lost, who has beaten another ranked team since that time, just subjectively isn't as good as the second or third best team in some of these other conferences.
I'm also inclined to think that the committee is unlikely to load up every seed from two conferences, especially when there just are not common opponents to compare the programs.
