hed up Garza for 26 runs (16 earned) in his las

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Penn State fans want answers.We beat Ohio State and won the Big Ten. Why arent we in?The Big 12 commissioner wants clarity.We just added a conference championship game for the sake of the playoff, but Ohio State didnt even need to win its division.Athletic directors across the country want a blueprint on how to schedule.Washington got in with one of the worst nonconference lineups in the country; can we do that, too?The third season of the College Football Playoff has brought some confusion, but it has also revealed a clarity that will be difficult for many outside the committee room to understand and accept: In order to pick the four best teams, the committee will sometimes be as inconsistent as the sport itself.Fans and coaches craving step-by-step instructions for how their team can get into the playoff can forget it. There isnt any if-then promise. The criteria that have been repeated ad nauseum -- conference championships, head-to-head results, strength of schedule and common opponents -- are guidelines, not answers. The tiebreakers didnt come into play between Penn State and Ohio State because the committee never deemed their résumés comparable enough.Quite simply, they deemed the Buckeyes unequivocally better.This year was different than the previous two, but the committee did set a precedent beyond its inclusion of Ohio State -- by illustrating that there are no precedents in a subjective system determined by 12 people.Football seasons are like snowflakes; theyre all different, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. Next year well be standing here talking about some other way it fell out.There will be times when a weak nonconference schedule can be overcome, as No. 4 Washington did with wins against Stanford, Utah, Washington State and Colorado. There will be years when the eye test trumps the head-to-head result, as was the case with No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State. There will also be seasons in which two teams from the same conference get in, or a two-loss team is in, and a woeful nonconference lineup keeps a champion out.The committees protocol went out the window this year, but in came a breath of fresh air -- the reminder that finding the four best teams overrides anything else in the committee handbook.Fundamentally we kept in mind that our job is to determine who are the best teams, committee chairman Kirby Hocutt said. That is what we did.It wasnt about Penn State winning the Big Ten championship. It was about the committee thinking Washington and Ohio State were both better than the Nittany Lions. Period. It wasnt about Washingtons nonconference schedule. It was about Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin, John Ross and Budda Baker.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.Those on the outside have grown accustomed to the committee justifying its rankings by referring to wins against teams with records over .500, and wins against top-10 teams, but Hocutt was prepared to go beyond the schedule, and provide the numbers to back up their opinions.He told us why Washington was better.Those five former coaches in the room? They know how hard it is to win a conference title, and the value of a head-to-head win, but their voices in the room were influential in guiding the committee beyond resumes and into the talent.As we looked to our coaches to share their perspective on what they saw on the field, Hocutt said, it was determined that Washington was the more talented team.It wasnt that conference championships dont matter -- Clemsons title is a big reason it jumped Ohio State for the No. 2 spot. Washington never would have gotten in without beating a top-10 Colorado team and topping its résumé?with the Pac-12 title.It was that Penn States conference title wasnt enough to overcome its non-competitive showing in a 39-point loss to Michigan.The committee had reasons for every decision it made. It just wasnt in sync with what we heard the first two years, when so much emphasis was placed on conference title games (Ohio State, 2014) and head-to-head results (TCU-Baylor, 2014).But just when you think it overlooked its protocol, there is an example of how the committee followed it.Im not sure Ohio State would have been in the [playoff] this year, Hancock said, if it hadnt gone and played Oklahoma.So strength of schedule does matter. And it can be overcome.But I believe, I feel strongly about this, that the way to be sure you get in the playoff is to let your players show what they can do against the best competition, Hancock said. I dont envision that part of it changing.The playoff is not going to change. The protocol is not going to change. The last thing the CFP wants to do is mimic the knee-jerk reactions of the BCS.We are confident that this process, this protocol, works well, and this playoff is extremely popular, Hancock said. Were extremely proud of it.The only thing thats really guaranteed in this system?Somebody is going to get left out. Air Jordan 1 Discount .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Air Jordan 1 Retro . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. https://www.cheapairjordan1outlet.com/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Cheap Air Jordan 1 .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. MILWAUKEE -- Andrew McCutchen, Jody Mercer and Josh Bell each drove in two runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates preserved their faint playoff hopes alive with a 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.The Pirates won their fifth straight at Miller Park, and fifth of six overall to improve to .500 (75-75) for the first time since they were 69-69 on Sept. 8. Pittsburgh began the day five games behind San Francisco for the second NL wild card spot and St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins in between the Pirates and Giants.McCutchens two-run double in the first staked rookie left-hander Steven Brault to an early lead. Bells two-run single in the fifth chased starter Matt Garza (5-8). Mercer produced run-scoring singles in the fourth and sixth.Brault was making his seventh career start and had already lost twice to the Brewers. He allowed Domingo Santanas run-scoring double in the third and Martin Maldonados home run in the fourth, and then ran into trouble in the fifth.Jonathan Villar opened the inning with a walk and stole second before advancing to third on Orlando Arcias single to center. Jared Hughes (1-1) took over for Brault and gave up Chris Carter run-scoring double-play grounder and struck out Domingo Santana to end the inning.Tony Watson pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 17 chances.Adam Frazier went 3 for 4 and scored twice for the Pirates.Garza allowed five runs and eight hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out two while slipping to 1/3 in four starts against the Pirates this seasonThe Brewers had won 11 of 17 since the Pirates four-game sweep in Milwaukee at the end of August, with home and away series victories over the NL Central Champion Chicago Cubs.UNNDER REVIEWBrewers manager Craig Counsell challenged the out call on a force play at second in the sixth.ddddddddddddAfter a 1:38 review, the call was upheld.FEELING RIGHT AT HOMEMcCutchens two-run double in the first extended his hitting streak to eight games and gave him 48 RBI in 62 career games at Miller Park.GARZA RUNSOpponents have roughed up Garza for 26 runs (16 earned) in his last seven starts. He is 1-4 with a 4.00 ERA over that stretch.NEW BREWERS DADSLF Ryan Braun and C Manny Pina missed the game in order to be with their wives and the newest member of their respective family. Brauns wife, Larisa, gave birth to a son, Greyson Joseph. Pinas wife, Leny, gave birth to a daughter, Jimena. However, Pina pinch hit in the ninth and flied out to end the game. Both players were expected back before the weekend.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: C Chris Stewart underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is expected to be out six-to-eight weeks. Dr. James Andrews operated on the 34-year-old catcher in Gulf Shores, Florida. ... LF Starling Marte missed his 15th consecutive game with low back discomfort.Brewers: The Brewers selected the contract of C/1B Josmil Pinto from Triple-A Colorado Springs.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Chad Kuhl (4-3, 3.97 ERA) makes his 12th major-league start. The 24-year-old right-hander is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA in one career outing against the Brewers.Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson (8-14, 4.42) makes his 10th career start against the Pirates. He is 5-2 with a 3.16 ERA in his previous nine starts, including 1-0 with a 4.80 ERA ibn three starts this season. ' ' '