f13.net

College Football has officially begun!

Talk about it here.

Roooooooll Tide.

We've actually got a fairly sizable fan base here...

Me, You, CmdrSlck, a couple other guys.  Dunno if Raph is a fan or follows the team; he received is Masters from UA.

I'm excited for this season, largely because I'm hoping that JPW will finally get his shit under control and become consistently good. It was nice to see us passing a lot last year, but fewer "whoopsie" moments and more accuracy would have been nice.

My team is rebuilding after at least a decade of futility. Should be their best team in several years, but they have THE toughest schedule in the country. To wit-

08/31/07    at Syracuse TV    Syracuse, N.Y.    5:00 p.m. PT
09/08/07    vs. Boise State TV    Seattle, Wash.    12:30 p.m. PT
09/15/07    vs. Ohio State TV    Seattle, Wash.    12:30 p.m. PT
09/22/07    at UCLA *    Los Angeles, Calif.    TBA
09/29/07    vs. USC * TV    Seattle, Wash.    5:00 p.m. PT
10/13/07    at Arizona State *    Tempe, Ariz.    TBA
10/20/07    vs. Oregon *    Seattle, Wash.    TBA
10/27/07    vs. Arizona * TV    Seattle, Wash.    12:00 p.m. PT
11/03/07    at Stanford *    Stanford, Calif.    TBA
11/10/07    at Oregon State * TV    Corvallis, Ore.    7:15 p.m. PT
11/17/07    vs. California *    Seattle, Wash.    TBA
11/24/07    vs. Washington State *    Seattle, Wash.    TBA
12/01/07    at Hawai'i TV    Honolulu, Hawai'i    TBA


6-6 would be yeoman's work IMO. If they make a bowl game it will be a huge success.

He didnt have a bad season last year.  2700ish yards IIRC. 

JPW's troubles last year didn't stem from his talent or accuracy.  It's stemmed from the craptastic offense ShulaRader had in place. 


Who you pulling for?

Check bold  :-D

I have another disappointing year ahead of me as a University of Arizona fan.  I got season tickets this year after getting them last year and really enjoying the experience.  Watching your lousy team underachieve is a lot more fun when it's live and with friends.

We're planning on starting the same QB as last year, even though he got knocked out of a game at least 3 times last year with a concussion (may have been 4).  A strong breeze hits this kid in the forehead, and he's seeing stars.  Here's  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao5ZL0uEWLQ) where Landry pasted him in the LSU game.  That hit screwed him up for the entire year. 

We may end up with a decent record this year, we have a weak non-conference schedule.

Even though I follow more EPL and MLS, my icon shows the heritage. I will watch  every game the Tide play and cheer them on to victory.

Snake, you're from Mobile. You think Saban has a serious chance of getting Julio Jones from Foley?

Prothro is officially  off the roster. That's sad, but expected.

Imagine him as a Senior and the freak of humanity that is Julius Jones as a freshman  wide out  with a Solid  O line?

Go Wolverines.

My Georgia Bulldogs will start off the year against Oklahoma State in a night game. Then, we take on South Carolina against the old ball coach at night the next week. These two weeks of night games and long tailgating days promise to be trouble for the fans and/or property at large.

(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s183/ec1016/OSU_MICH.jpg)

(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s183/ec1016/ginnrun.jpg)


 :thumbs_up:

Not bad, but he also dropped plenty of snaps, muffed passes, etc. The "whoopsie" moments. I hope he's matured a bit, otherwise I'll have to break out a new set of profanity for this season.

Who can say?  I went to Auburn for two years.

I imagine Alabama has about as much chance as getting him as anyone else right now. 


Yeah, it is.  He was a constant highlight reel.  A phenomenal athlete with an immense desire to succeed.  Good guy, too, from what I hear.


*IF* Bama gets him.  We'll see.

Woooo!

(http://homestudy.ihea.com/wildlifeID/fws_badger.jpg)


By the way, the third entry on a GIS for Badger is pretty disturbing

Nice to see some fellow Big 10 fans.  I have to stick with the team I played for, no matter how painful.

(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:A-mAzk7p5BopVM:http://gophercount.com/images/gopher.jpg)

Gophers haven't been that bad past few years. What's your opinion of Mason?

Isn't that a chipmunk?

I don't think that Brewster is going to live up to his own hype.  He seems to be a great salesman (and dare I say... a politician?), but getting talent to come and play in whitebread Minnesota is a stretch at best.  The change to a spread offense is also going to be an interesting experiment against the more talented teams that Minnesota faces in the Big 10.  I think that this season will be pretty underwhelming and we'll see how long they are willing to let Brewster rebuild to satisfy his wholesale changes.  

As for defense, given the collapse against Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl (wasn't it like 31 points in 23 minutes?) I've almost considered asking for my jersey back.  At my age, that's a sad statement.  I do think that Minnesota does have a pretty soft schedule by Big 10 standards this year with 7 home games (instead of 6 like last year), games against 2 MAC teams, and they dropped Penn State and Mich State for games against Northwestern and Illinois.  If I remember correctly, they also close out against Wisconsin and Iowa which could help them down the stretch... we'll have to see. 

I hope that's what you were after.

It's a 13 lined ground squirrel, damnit! (http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/fieldguide/13linedgroundsquirrel.html)

Well at least I was right about it not being a gopher!  :-D

Google says this is a chipmunk-

(http://www.crimsonmyst.com/photos/chipmunk.jpg)

You can understand my confusion. And no, it is not just due to my rapidly advancing age.

Read my link before you make me cry...

Badgers and chipmunks?  Nothing compared to the fearsome purple cow.

(http://www.williams.edu/athletics/images/cow.gif)

Yeah, and color me retarded for forgetting Mason got fired.

Minny's offense was definitely not the problem, least back when you guys had Maroney and Barber, so  I don't get the whole spread thing. Then again, I'm not a big fan of the spread itself. It seems like coaches adopt it more because it's a pain in the ass to defend than because of its effectiveness.

(And yeah I'm aware OSU ran out of the spread more often than not, but I think that was more taking advantage of 5 receivers that could run 4.3 and an offensive line that couldn't drive block my mother rather than an offensive philosophy)

GO UTES!!!

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Abagadro/fg3-sized.jpg)

What's a Ute?


And Rasix, if your boys can beat BYU in the opener, I will be a Wildcats fan for the rest of the year.

Go Bucks!

Great year for Ohio sports fans coming second in College football, College basketball, and the NBA.

I'm honestly not sure if I'm being sarcastic in saying that...

It's only sarcastic if you're a Gator.  :wink:

My keyboard would die before I finished typing the number of swear words I could dedicate in the general direction of that fucking school...

I'm still not over that national championship and I only was able to stand for the first quarter and a half I got myself so drunk in such a hurry as a defense mechanism.

Anyways, I'm excited for the college football season but less so then usual, something about having no idea who the starting QB is always does that to me.

Losing a National Championship is bad, but you'll still come up a few swear words short of any Georgia fan when it comes to Florida.

Sigh, the buckeye. An uneatable nut. Any self respecting squirrel will jump over a pile of buckeyes to get to an acorn. Anyway GO STATE!!!

Heh. I tried that one a couple of years ago when the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl. My last clear memory is watching the game through the window (the keg was outside) and screaming obscenities about the colorful refereeing. Must have been about half time  :-D

(http://www.kickoffzone.com/articles/Images/NotreDame_Logo3.jpg)

My alma mater might have a rough year without Quinn, but we'll see how she goes.

I can no longer look at ND since they stole my coach away from me.  If you look at Minnesota history, you'll know what I'm referring to. 

(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa251/snakecharmer_04/notre_dame_sucks_11.jpg)















 :-D

Fail.

edit: fixed

FYI for all you CFB fans.  I started a NCAA football pick 'em league on Yahoo, if you are interested.  Details can be found in the Fantasy Sports forum.

Cheers!

Watch your back September eighth :D

My brother went to UF and half my family went to UGA. They are the type of UGA fans that go to every UF/UGA game since they have graduated.


There is no end to the ribbing that goes on during holidays.

South Florida? Not a chance in hell of beating Auburn, as much as I'd love to see it happen.

They said that two years ago when we stomped Louisville 41-14.

It'll be a game you don't want to miss ;)

Wait. Is that the school with..ah hell...Whats his name...Jim something I think as head coach? 

Green/white uniforms?

I think they've actually snuck up on a few teams and beaten them if it's who I am thinking of.

http://www.gousfbulls.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&KEY=&SPID=2981&SPSID=37319

University of South Florida Bulls. Jim Leavitt is the head coach.


Matt Grothe and Mike Ford are going to be really good this year. The defense is perhaps the most underrated part of the team. Last year they would have done better if they would have had a competent quarterback. Now they have a star.

South Florida has a huge advantage on Auburn this year. Auburn has lost almost all of its offensive line, its great running back Kenny Irons, and has to rely solely on the playmaking ability of Cox. Also, South Florida sits in second best spoiler position that it can in the schedule, sitting in the middle of Auburns very easy home schedule. Everybody knows that a good football team gets up for their first game, which is against Kansas State. Everybody also knows that you don't want to lose your first SEC matchup, which is against Mississippi State in the 3rd week. Right there in the middle in the 2nd week is South Florida, just begging to get overlooked.

Why will they be such an upset probability against Auburn you ask? Well, for starters, South Florida has two of the best cornerbacks in college football, both of which will be playing in the NFL, Trae Williams and Mike Jenkins. They will make Cox's day very very hard, because you can't throw around them, not to mention that defense records 2.5 sacks per game. They cover both sides of the field like a blanket. Also, I'd take their QB who led the team in passing, rushing, and scoring last year against Cox's talent any day of the week. The dude is a playmaker and he's only a sophomore. If they can get Mike Ford to establish a ground game, Auburn is royally screwed.

I just don't see it.  Auburn is still loaded with more talent than USF, regardless of how much they lost from last year.  Losing Irons hurts, but the kid they have back there now is reported to be even better than Irons was/is.

Sure, there's Cinderella upsets every year, but from top to bottom, across the board, Auburn is better, bigger, faster, and stronger.  Auburn has been knocking the bottom out of recruiting the last couple of years; there's no shortage of talent at the Plains.

Having said that, I will admit that AU under Tubby has on the rare occasion lost games that they should have no problem beating.  But overall, AU beats the teams they should beat, and by pretty wide margins.

Maybe it's the SEC fanboi in me coming out, but I'd be extremely surprised if USF comes within 3 touchdowns of Auburn.  I'd give them a 1 and 5 shot against beating Auburn.

Call it Auburn 41, USF 13.

24-21, USF. :D

Hey I'm a UGA guy and an SEC backer, but Auburn is thinking the exact way you are as well. They will think USF will be a quick knockdown opponent and roll over for the might that is Auburn. However, Auburn lost to Georgia Tech in '05 in the first game of the year, and Tech went 7-5 on the season losing to teams like NC State and Virginia. They got CRUSHED by Arkansas and Georgia in '06 when they were expected to roll over both teams on their way to a National Title shot.

Auburn screws up against teams they don't respect, SEC or not. They have a long home-stand against 4 unranked opponents before they have to play Florida. They are going to be practicing hard and completely focused on Florida from the get-go. Of all the teams that have a shot at the upset, and one of them will do it, USF is the top choice.

Don't forget, USF also beat the 9-1, 7th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers last year in Morgantown.  The Bulls could end up sneaking into the top 25 this year for the first time.  Not bad for a program that's all of 10 years old.

They were ranked #20 last year for a brief period after that win :)

Don't get me wrong, if the analysts pick up on it and start touting the program, USF is screwed. That's usually a deathknell to an up and coming program. In the words of Al Pacino in the Devil's Advocate, "No matter how good you are don't ever let them see you coming. That's the gaffe my friend. You gotta keep yourself small. Innocuous. Be the little guy."

What poll was that?  I don't think it was any of the major polls, since the Bulls finished #29 in the final AP poll last year.  Since the West Virginia game was the final game of the regular season and they handily won their bowl game, it seems unlikely they'd have plunged 9 spots.

It was before the loss to Rutgers, if I remember correctly. There was a big buzz about it last year.

In other random Bama-related news, my beer-wine purchaser gig has me scheduled off for the first three Saturdays of college football season. Apparently, there's no plans to make me work on a Saturday until after the end of the season. This makes me happy.

Also, on a new episode of Sesame Street (38th season, woo), one of the monsters (Telly) is playing with a train set and says, "All aboard for Tuscaloosa . . ."

This post may not make sense, but I blame a distributor meeting wherein I had to sample about ten different wines.


Roll Tide!

Those tasting sessions can leave one pretty messed up if you're a rookie.

This thread needs more people spouting their teams' propaganda.

(Or maybe it is a shameless bump because I love college football.)

Those high school kids just don't give it the old collage try like the pro's. :evil:

More propaganda you ask? Well alright! Here's why my Georgia Bulldogs are going to win the SEC.

The Good: Our skill players are fantastic. On offense, QB Matt Stafford is coming out of his shell in his sophomore year, and he's not going to be as skittish in the pocket, tossing up interceptions like he did in the middle of last year. He proved he could handle the pressure in the great comeback bowl game last year. Sean Bailey is back out on the field after a knee injury last year as is Mo Massaquoi, and Mark Richt will be gluing the rest of the receivers' hands to the ball in practice if it will cut down on the drops this year. On defense, our veteran secondary should give the opposing quarterbacks nightmares while our relatively younger line works out the kinks in the early part of the season. By the end of the year, both front lines and backfield will be in full-on lockdown mode.

The Bad: We're inexperienced in the trenches.The Offensive line is a bunch of freshman. Four starters are gone this season, and Georgia has always had the luxury of a great O-line, but now we have to rely on them growing up fast in September. On the other side of the ball, the defensive line lost a few players as well, and they will have to learn how to keep the running game in check since a clever coach won't try to bully our strong secondary unless necessary.

The Prediction: We'll go 10-2 in the regular season. Losses will come in a heartbreaking home opener against Oklahoma State and against Florida because we're completely psyched out in that matchup. We'll go 7-1 in the SEC East, edging out Tennessee who loses to us in the head-to-head, and Florida who takes two losses to Tennessee at home and LSU on the road. Georgia goes on to play a one loss LSU team in the SEC Championship as a heavy underdog. UGA will edge out LSU by a touchdown in a extremely defensive grindout game.

If I read this year's schedule right, that would mean that Georgia, by your math, would go 9-3....since they'd lose to the Tide.

Nice try. Saban's not going to turn Alabama into a superpower overnight, and they were (and still are) very deficient in what it takes to win games in the SEC, especially against a team like Georgia. Like, for example, who the hell is going to run the ball? You're not going to turn Alabama into a bomber offense with John Parker Wilson and no running support. The defense will be solid, even though they couldn't sack groceries last year, but the offense is one-dimensional. In a conference known for strong defense on all teams, that kind of offense gets your quarterback killed.

Let them toss the ball up all they want against Georgia. We have one of the best secondaries in the game. We also have 2 senior runningbacks and the best sophomore QB in the country. I expect to be favored going into that match by at least 6 points.

Johns is being converted to Fullback. There's some sort of wierd alchemy going on up there at Tuscaloosa.

'Bama will be (mark my words and hold me to it) an offensive powerhouse this year.  They're loaded on offense at all the skill positions (WR, QB, RB, FB), and reports are that the much maligned offensive line from last year has made leaps and bounds improvements over last year*.  Scoring points won't be a problem.  During last weeks scrimmage, Saban told Applewhite to open it (the offense) up.  The result?  650ish total yards of offense and scoring on just about every possesion.  So what does that mean?  One of two things:  The offense is THAT good, or the defense is that bad.  My belief is the offense will dominate teams, the defense is going to need some time to come around.

Defensively?  That's the big question mark.  IMHO, they should have kept Kines around - if something isn't broke, don't try and fix it.  Granted Kines' schemes didn't agree with Saban's defensive philosophy (Kines prefered a 4-3, Saban prefers a 3-4), but I honestly think they should have kept Kines.  He didn't teach fancy schemes, just solid, fundamental defensive football.  And it worked (top ranked defense of close to it for three years).

*Offensive line:  Word around the campfire was (everybody has a source, right? heh) that the offensive line that was recruited wasn't fit for the blocking schemes they were trying to teach them (zone blocking), rather than just straight ahead old school O Line blocking.  Joe Pendry is old school, reportedly one of the best O line coaches out there. 

Schedule:  This years schedule favors 'Bama in a BIG BIG way.  With the exception of Auburn, every conference game of any consequence is home (Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU) is at Tuscaloosa.  If 'Bama gets on a big roll early, the ferver at Title Town will be unparralleled by anything ever seen in Tuscaloosa.  The noncon schedule is a cakewalk with the exception of Florida State. 


The way he runs, he needed to be moved to FB, or even converted over to LB to help on the defense.  He's like a freakin' freight train going up the middle...

Terry Grant is getting rave reviews at RB, supposedly the absolute fastest player on the team.

Disclaimer:  I fully admit I'm drinking gallons and gallons of the Saban Kool Aid. 

It's a better  flavor than the old Coach Franchione Kool-Aid.

Side note: I've always loved the local balding curmudgeon reporter's representation of  Coach Fran as a simpering  former pedophile.

Oh yah, Neal McCready is freakin' awesome.

WNSP (http://www.wnsp.com/) is a freakin' GREAT sports talk radio station.  They don't just cover the homers (Alabama and Auburn), but cover the Southeast as whole really, really well, as well as fairly good national coverage.  They get alot of nationally known people on their show, especially from ESPN.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I think Alabama can toss the ball up a ton and get a lot of yards on their own retuned defense. I think you're insane if you believe for a second that JPW Airlines will get the job done against Georgia's secondary alone. You have to pull those guys up with a running game to keep them from keying on your skilled receivers all the live long day. Besides, your skill players may be great, but you have the same problem that UGA has: your O-line is mediocre in setting up the run. To quote your own coach after this Saturdays scrimmage:


Not exactly shining performances a week before gametime. Also, you are dreaming if you think Terry Grant's impact will be between the hashmarks. He's a fast guy, yes, but his main gains from practices are coming off of passing. The team is so geared around passing it's not even funny. It's going to bite you in the ass, too, because JPW will throw 2 picks a game.

I'm not worried about UGA, or their secondary. 

We'll revisit this convo on Sept 22 when Uga gets sent back to the pound with his docked tail between his legs after being neutered without benefit of anesthesia. 

Elephants > Bulldogs  :-D

As an aside, the 1994 meeting between the Tide and the Bulldogs is one of the greatest college football games I've ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQGul2mUrPA

They let me bring up  the Gold Cup and Beckham on the show, even if they did cut me off.  It was a deserved cutoff, I was starting to stammer at the fact they were letting me speak about  such arcane things as Superliga and the Mexican Football league.  Radios were probably clicking off by the hundreds.

They handle the sheer douchebaggery of most Alabama Football fans well.

I"m going to have to rely on you to get up to speed.  I can tell you all about MLS and half the premier league as well as the US nats roster two positions deep, but I forgot  John Parker Wilson's name.

Mobile and ESPN have strong ties, the Senior Bowl, Gottfried is from here, as is Ivan Maisel. It follows that they have connections

 

Put down the koolaid for a while, and you would be. Or you could just check the rankings. Laying out palm fronds and letting Saban ride in on a donkey won't save your program this year. Next year, I'd be worried about you as a contender for the SEC West throne. This year, you should consider yourself lucky if you win 9 games, but that won't even matter because LSU isn't going to lose more than one. Your team is gonna get a harsh reality check when Arkansas rolls into town puts on the heavy pressure. Even if they don't win, they'll provide enough film for the Dawgs to exploit your defensive holes. By the time Georgia shows up, you'll wonder exactly what the hell has gone wrong.

GO DAWGS!

LSU isn't the end all be all everyone thinks they are.  They lost Russell and two receivers to the pros.  I'm STILL not sold on Miles as a coach, and they lost Jimbo Fisher (their OC) to FSU.  They've got holes to fill.  Big holes.  LSU is a 9-3 team, 10-2 at best.  Which is still damn good, but they won't be in the NC game.  Miles tightens up in big games (see Florida, Auburn) and chokes.  Will his new OC make the difference?  Time will tell.  The pressure is on Miles to produce this year.  Mark it down:  He'll choke.  LSU begins it's fall back into mediocrity.  And it's going to happen faster than people expect it. 

UGA is a solid team, and whilst Richt (sp?) has proven himself as one of the better coaches in the country to do as well as he does with what talent he has, the recruiting just isn't there for some reason.

Arkansas has had so much controversy this past year, it's a wonder Nutt knows his own name at this point.  He'll pull a marquee upset win like he does every year and keep his job.  Last year was an aboration.  Other than McFadden, they don't have much in the tank, and their bowl game revealed them to show how one dimensional they are.  Too much reliance on McFadden will result in an injury early in the season.  Teams will stack the line and dare them to pass.

Florida is going to have some growing pains this year.  They were a senior laden team that avoided injuries.  Will be playing lots of freshmen.  Rebuilding year.  Will NOT win the SEC East.

South Carolina is going to really leap forward and surprise people.  They WILL win the SEC East.

Kentucky has a chance to be a good team this year.  Well, 7-5 is GREAT for Kentucky.  They'll surprise a few teams this year.

MSU, Ole Miss, and Vandy will continue to be door mats.

Alabama's schedule is the best they could hope for.  Hooking up a mainline IV of SabanKoolAid....

Western Carolina = Win (42-14)
@ Vandy = Win (35-21)
@ Arkansas = Win (28-21)
Georgia = Win (31-21)
@ FSU = Win (28-24)
Houston = Win (41-14)
@ Mississippi = Win (21-10)
Tenn = Win (17-13)
OPEN WEEK
LSU = Win (24-17)
@ Miss St = Win (28-6)
LaMonroe = Win (45-17)
Auburn = Win (24-20)

Unhooking the KoolAid drip...

Auburn is going to be damn strong this year.  People are making the big mistake of underestimating them.  If Cox stays healthy (he's got some sort of physical ailment that flairs up...Can't remember what it is), they can run the table. 

They could go undefeated and unscored on, but at the end of the day they are still in Alabama  :evil:

Anything else is a step down.

South Carolina is gonna win the SEC East? If everything fell exactly into place for South Carolina, it's feasible, but I seriously doubt the Vegas odds are better than 12-1. The problem with picking them is that even though they may have a balanced squad this year, they play Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, and Arkansas all on the road. That's really harsh. They'll be lucky to go 2-2 in that stretch, and I don't believe a 6-2 team is going to win the SEC East this year.

You also ignored Tennessee, who outside of Georgia is my betting pick to win the East. If they can hold on to win their home game against Georgia, they'll be unstoppable. However, they haven't beaten the Dawgs in Knoxville since 1999. So, I don't think they will.

As for Alabama, I'll start to become a believer if you can dispatch Arkansas with no real difficulty. If not, you're going to have some major issues against the rest of the top 25 SEC opponents, home or not.

Ah yah, Tennessee...I knew I forgot someone.

I'm not sure what to think about Tennessee.  Part of me thinks ol' Fat Phil is beginning to wear out his welcome.  He's so frakin' old school that I wonder how well he can relate to todays players.  Despite having Cutcliff back, I still think he's stuck in the 3 yards and a cloud of dust mindset.  I really believe Tenn has been on a downward slope the last couple of years, but admittedly I didn't follow their recruiting the last couple of years.  Granted, they're *still* Tennessee, which means more than LSU who only recently has become what is viewed as a powerhouse.  That being the case, it's going to come down to Tenn and SC for the SEC East.  Tenn plays SC AT SC, which is a loud place to play even when SC was going 1-10 or whatever.  They'll be pumped. 

Edge for the East: South Carolina, by only by a slim margin.

Here's the thing with Alabama that people aren't recognizing...

Saban has more to work with his first year at Alabama than he did when he got to LSU.  Shula and co., while shitty coaches (with the exception of Kines) were damn good recruiters and had an eye for talent.  There is some talent on the 'Bama squad, more than what people are giving them credit for.  ShulaRader just had absolutely no idea how to utilize it on offense.  They were at least smart enough to let Kines do his job.  Hell, I could sit on the couch and tell you exactly what they were going to call on offense 75 percent of the time.

Re UA vs Arkansas:  That's going to be the big litmus test for me as well.  I'm hoping Saban rediscovers that mean streak and puts the Elephants foot on the little piggies necks to send a message (even though it's still only Arkansas).  They've got a scrimmage against Western Carolina (which the starters should be out of the game by midway through the second quarter), a tune up against Vandy, then the Hogs come to town.  If 'Bama rolls them over like they should, all will be right in the world.

Everyone who isn't in this (http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=10671.0) yet should join. Hurry up and show me your college football prowess. Plus, the league is thin so far, even though it is early.


Plus, I want to gloat over all of you who don't pick USF over Auburn. <3

I signed up, that should be interesting.

I've found a lucky coin to be quite useful on many picks. 

Haha, that should work.
Or you could go with whose mascot could beat the other.

My ex won 2 NCAA pick pools in a 5 year period by choosing the city that she'd rather live in for each matchup.  Mascots aren't a bad option either.

Is the league spread or non-spread? I didn't even look.

Straight up picks with two tie breakers.  Kinda ruins the fun, but makes it ten times easier.

Harder is better-er. I would have preferred covering the spread, but this will do.

The first week is a bunch of ranked teams vs. tomato cans.  I expect maybe 1 or 2 upsets and even that is radical thinking.

Meh, I'm less excited then. I mean it's kinda ghey when we're all picking the favorites every week.

I was mentally drained picking the USC vs. Idaho game. 

Who to chose in the Michigan vs. Appalachian St. game... I'm going to be up all night!

<I'll laugh if I have to eat my words on one of these two games>

5 days 6 hrs, 7 minutes, bitches!!!

More like 4 days and 9 hours!

LSU plays this Thursday in the opener right?

Yeah, I am pretty sure there is a Thursday game. There might even be a Wednesday game! Guess I better get my picks in soon.

I think so.  But the season doesn't officially start for me until kickoff of the Alabama / West Carolina game.  Everything else is just fluff.

Oh for heaven's sake. How the hell can you even CARE about a game that lopsided.

HERESY!!! BLASPHEMY!!! EVIL!!!! 

A man says something like that around here, he's liable to get his ass kicked.


Damnit, son!! It's A L A B A M A football!! 
It's our own religion down here.  Well, mine anyways. 

Yeah, I go to every Georgia home game, shitty or not. I'm out there tailgating, waving the flag and generally acting a like an SEC jackass. Still, I don't give two damns about Western Carolina, ever, on any season that we played them. It's a chance to check out your shitkicker boots. Give me a break. Those are the games I wandered into in the 2nd quarter and was gone by the early 4th so I could get back to my mini-bar at the tailgate.

I'll probably be passed out by halftime.  My liver is out of drinking shape, and the obligatory whiskey drinks will probably kick my ass. 

The Utes get off to a great start by having their new stud JC transfer running back breaking his leg and the QB (4th in the nation in total offense in 2005 before redshirting with an injury last year) dislocating his shoulder....all in the first half.

OUCH.

I remember you being excited last year. I guess we can't expect as much this time around.

Also, LSU Tigers looked strong.

I discovered a new channel on my cable lineup that was carrying that game. I was hopping back and forth between it and the Seahawks, but then went to bed before I saw the end. That sucks.

You should probably come drown your sorrows in Vegas next weekend  :evil:

 :roffle: @ the University of Michigan  :-D

All hail Appalachian State!

Not going to happen. UM is going to pull it out :)

For their sake, I hope so.

And, there they go :)

Or, Maybe not.

Win of the Season for Appalachian State :)

Unreal game.

WOOT!!!

Nice job, App State!

DOH! I was rooting for Michigan in that one.  Now the Bucks won't get nearly the ratings boost at the end of the season for beating them, and effete West Coasters and Southerners will keep whining about how their leagues are superior to the Big Ten because of their fancy speed and forward passes and horseless carriages.  Bad day for the conference.

It's not a whine if it's fact.

I hate to say this.  In fact it pains me to say it.

But...

OWNED.

Mike Hart (RB for Michigan) showed a lot of class here:

Lou "sufferin' suckatash" Holtz needs to be fired.

Worst. 

Broadcaster. 

Ever.

That lisp has got to GO.

We'll see whose laughing when the Bucks capture that big ol' championship trophy in January.  2002 was supposed to be a rebuilding year or something, too.

Oh look.

Notre Dame is getting stomped by Georgia Tech to the tune of 19 to nada.

Buckeyes aren't winning any NC's with that offensive line. I say this as a die hard OSU fan.

Gah Tech beats ND 33-3. Cheesecake Charlie could go 3-8 this year.

28-13! USF v Elon. Go Bulls!


I went to the game. We looked a little shoddy on offense, Groethe looked a little raw, but Mike Ford is a monster. If they click in week two, look out Auburn, our defense is going to eat you up.

What a day of college football.

Notre Dame going down like a 2 dollar hooker that was just offered a 50 spot...

Michigan getting beat by a I-AA team (albiet twice defending national championship I-AA team)...

Cal beating Tennessee with Tennessee brand football.  What little I saw of the Cal/Tenn game, Cal just lined up and knocked the taste out of Tennessee's mouth.  I gotta wonder though...How bad is the second string quarterback if Tennessee is playing Ainge with a broken pinky on his throwing hand? 

Auburn going to the wire against Kansas up until the last couple minutes.  Kansas was picked by many to win that game, despite Auburns ranking.  Auburns OL is in trouble.  Cox took a beating tonight.  He'll be feeling it tomorrow.  After seeing them in action tonight, I know recant my statements about USF's chances against them...



Alabama...

Oh, sweet, sweet Alabama.

Offense:  A-
Dominated like they should.  John Parker Wilson looked sharp, accurate.  Nice zip on the ball.  OL finished blocks, running backs found their holes and hit them like a Auburn fan beats his wife after a loss.  Terry Grant has some serious jets; to paraphrase/quote the SI article, "he runs like something bad is after him".  Jimmy Johns is a man; a beast.  WR's blocked like machines, and really laid the lumber on some people when Wilson took off running.  Backups produced, looked sharp.  Only thing keeping this from being an A+ was the lack of the long ball.  Granted, with the ground game on track the way it was, there was no need to really even toss it up.  But it would have been nice to see what they could do, and the one pass they tried to go deep, the ball seemed to float a bit too much.   For a 'plain' offense, they put up some nice numbers, like they SHOULD.

Defense:  C+
Great pursuit.  Average tackling.  Fast.  Good Gawd Almighty are they fast.  But small and undersized.  Defense should have truly dominated.  Tendency to give up a big play.  Disciplined.  Will get pushed around by SEC offensive linemen.  Going to be Alabama's Achilles heel.  In past seasons, the defense has carried the team.  This season, the offense is going to have to produce.  They can't take a game off. 

Special Teams:
Kick Off:  C+
Leigh Tiffin needs more leg.  Good pursuit and coverage.

Kick Return:  A+
Javier Arenas should his speed and vision.  Will be a threat to go all the way every time he touches the ball.

Punt:  C
Coverage was average, punt was average.  Nothing spectacular.  Granted, Alabama only punted once.

Punt Return: B
Blocking was little suspect.  Arenas, given a couple blocks, will be high stepping into the end zone.  That kid is talented.

Field Goal:  F
Leigh Tiffin, without a doubt, is the worst kicker in I-A football.  Hell, he'd be lucky to make a Div I-AAA team.  If his dad wasn't Van Tiffin, he'd be cleaning jockstraps.  No leg, inaccurate.  How Shula EVER saw fit to give him a scholarship is beyond me.  Oh, I know.  Tiffin is a nice last name to have at Alabama.   Fuckin' Shula.... 

Overall: I'm pleased.  Offense looked like it should, defense played about like I expected them to be.  There's stories going around about how much weight people lost under the training regime Saban and co have had them under, as well as this summers practices, but wow...The defense needs some weight behind them.  They're small.  Fast, and pursue well, but it won't matter when a hardnose running team comes to down.  A speedy defense is easy to overcome:  You run straight at it; with your bigger backs.  It was good seeing Saban taking an active role, whereas the previous wingnut that was there looked lost every time the camera panned over to him.  No jumbo package.  Nothing seemed to change no matter where they were:  the offense looked the same on the 50 as it did on the 1.  Good, solid performance to build some confidence with.

The speed that Cal has is eye-popping. I missed recording the play as it was happening but here's the replay of DeSean Jackson's punt return for a touchdown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GFEOseUQWU

What's amazing as well is near the end you can see number 4 on Cal, Jahvid Best the California 100 meter High School champion, blazing past DeSean Jackson looking for somebody to block like Jackson was standing still. Best, a true Freshman runnng back, later on had his own nifty 34 yard run as well.

Offense-wise Tennessee was able to match Cal but the difference was that punt return TD and a QB sack fumble that Cal returned for a touchdown.

You really need an aircraft carrier with a banner making statements like that.

It's the Beavers baby. They'll chew your motherfucking ankles off.

I didn't see much of the Cal-Tenn game, but I give credit to the Pac-10 here. This was a legit matchup of two teams in the conferences who actually had a chance to go either way, rather than USC playing Arkansas or some shit and declaring superiority. Cal surprised me, but I really hope they can back it up against USC, otherwise it's a worthless win. Also, this raises the question of whether or not Tennessee is headed for another year where they suck so hard they fall out of the top 25. I really don't think they are that solid on defense the way Cal pushed them around, and that's a freaking disaster waiting to happen against teams like Florida and Georgia where the QBs are very dynamic as well.

Georgia looked great against OK St. and surprised a lot of people by blowing it open as big as they did on offense. The O-line blocked very well on runs and adequately enough for the first game of the year on passes. They controlled the clock well on offense and made big stops on D. Overall, it was a solid win against a team that threatened early but then faded away in the second half.

Bama won big in a game they were supposed to win big in. This will of course open more national championship talk from the Bama fans. The first big test comes next week with Arkansas, so I'm still deferring judgement until then on this squad. Should they destroy an SEC team, we may have a true turnaround happening.

App State showed up Michigan and made them look like little girls. This diminishes a lot of the Big 10's credibility this year when your top ranked team got stomped, but they still have Wisconsin to fall back on. If anyone loses to Michigan now, they'll take a much bigger tumble in the rankings. Ohio State will look good this season early on because they don't play anyone seriously until the very end, but I don't see that program turning any heads this year playing Youngston, Akron, and Kent State as your out of conference games.

Georgia Tech beating Notre Dame is just hilarious because it was an asswhooping. I hate both teams, but I hate Notre Dame's smug asses more. Suck on that for a while, Irish.

The pinky didn't seem to bother him, as his day was pretty good despite the loss.  It was pretty much an offensive show with Cal's special teams (they have SKILL in skill positions) making the difference in the game.


Not trying to be a dick, but how would Cal losing its third to last game against the overwhelming consensus best college football team the past few years make their other wins worthless?  If that's the only game they lose all year, and they'll probably lose, then I'll take it.  It would be great if they win, but I'm not getting my hopes up.  Their defense would have to make some serious strides from what they displayed last night.  Granted Tenn is no turd, but still.  They'll probably lose that game and take it out on Stanford.  If they get close to top 5 ranking by remaining undefeated until then, and they probably will with all the Tedford hype floating around, then a loss to USC will probably not hurt their ranking that much.

Also:  Musberger yelling at hippies in trees = money! (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1890028/posts)

PPS: 

Dear SEC,

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v57/Harmond/simpsons_nelson_haha2.jpg)

Love,

Cal

Well for starters, that was the only game you had a moderate chance of losing for the next two months. If you happen to lose to the powerhouses that are Oregon, Oregon State, or Arizona, that's an entirely different issue. My point was that if you don't beat USC, you don't win shit. You don't win the conference, you don't win a national title shot, and you basically waste a quality win at the beginning of the season that was one of your 3 possible stumbling blocks in the road to success. I give Cal kudos for actually accepting the SEC challenge and playing a team that's not a whooping boy in our conference. USC would never do that in a million years because they are a bunch of cowards who don't need to play anybody worth a damn outside the conference to get top-billing every year. Until we get a playoff and everything isn't decided by polls alone, human stupidity will reign and teams will try their best to skirt as many tough games as they can. It's just counter-intuitive and I hate the fact that USC takes advantage of it every single year.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the Pac-10 because I think they suck. I hate the Pac-10 because you can take a month and a half off to relax in your season before facing off against your tough games. LSU has to play VA Tech, Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas, all top 25s and all spread out. USC plays #20 Nebraska, then doesn't play another ranked opponent for TWO months. Florida plays Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, and Florida State just to cap it off. I mean the chances that USC is gonna lose anything are astronomically low. They don't even have to show up until mid-November for heaven's sake.

Yup, it sucks to be in the SEC.

Bama plays Vandy Next week.

Bama Historically has real trouble with the Dores. If they win decisevly, it will be a clear sign of change within the program.

I don't talk National championship until we're undefeated after LSU.

I do think Bama will have a nice season.

Ah yes, Vandy. I was thinking two weeks ahead. My point still stands about Bama v. Arkansas, so I guess I'll have to wait a while longer before we get a good look at the true team.

National Title Shot!  I'm honored to even hear the words.  Also humbled.  I think I just peed a little.

I guess you're right in that sense.  But I was more or less saying they could still finish well with one loss to USC.  Not to mention the fact that 'The Tedford Era' is the most excitement we Cal fans have had out here since we knocked over the Stanford band.  It's fun being an optimist when your team seems like it's finally crawling out of the dregs.  Sure losing to USC will be a disappointment, but it's way better than the college football vacuum in the Bay Area before Tedford showed up.  I mean, but for tuba incident, have you even heard of Cal outside the Bay Area since at the very least the 80's?  The 70's?  And hey, we DID beat USC a couple years ago, so it's at least possible.  Although even I think that was a fluke.  But a consecutive ranked finish?  That will be really good for Cal.  So, okay, you got me, this season will probably be pointless for national title hopes.  But for now please indulge us this one opportunity to gloat - just this once...

But I'm definitely not going to argue about the infinite stupidity which can be found in NCAA Football and BCS rules.  Neither would anyone with living cells in their brain.   That's a long thread though.  And yea, USC is kinda Notre Dame West.  One day Carroll will retire or go back to the NFL, their big recruiting draw will go bye-bye, and we'll probably go back to laughing at the Pac 10 once again.

Yours was the only team in the top 25 who actually proved themselves in a quality matchup in Week 1. Add in the fact that you don't have another ranked matchup for 7 weeks, and there's a very realistic chance you'll be 6-0 going into UCLA. There's an outside shot that Oregon might sneak into the Top 25 if they too can beat Michigan, but we'll see. Either way, I don't see them as much of a stumbling block for a Cal team if they can contain Dixon running around like a crazy bastard since his accuracy kinda sucks.

re: Cal

Lots of fun to watch them play, we'll see if they can close out their easy games and if third time's the charm against a school they had every chance of beating two years running.

re: Michigan

This is a big loss, but really they need to fire Carr.  Also we'll see how they rebound.

re: The Ohio State University & big10 in general

We'll see, gonna need more running game, the easy out of conference schedule is a plus as they are working on fitting the pieces into place.  The OSU v Michigan game will still play a part in who wins the big10.  Illinois should have won vrs Mizzou, tough day for the conference but not that big of a deal.  Wisconsin played like favorites versus Wazzou and won comfortably at the end after fucking up hella much on special teams.  That "TE" Beckham is going to play in the nfl, for sure.

Upset watch update: USF 35, Auburn 24.



Oh wait, that's a few days early.

Really tough to get a good read on the Big 10 right now but my gut tells me this year the conference flat out sucks. OSU is decent but they're a year away from NC contention. The running game isn't as bad as it looks (yet) because YSU stacked the line with 9 guys in the box and even went goal line on 1st and 10 a couple of times to take away the run. Michigan is a wildcard. They have the talent on offense to beat anyone but Carr is phoning it in. My guess is he pulls an Earle Bruce and announces his retirement a couple of weeks before the OSU game. Wiscy looks good but I'm not sold till Bielema beats Michigan or OSU. Penn State looked good vs. Miami Dade High eerrrrrr Florida Intl. The rest of the conference sucks out loud except maybe for Iowa.

Missed the Cal/Tenn game, but watched the video. Holy Christ those uniforms are fugly.

Watch out for Jake Locker. He is going to be a BEAST by the time he gets done at U-Dub. They will probably get whipped by Boise State this week, and will definitely get whipped in Columbus the week after, but they have a good young team.

They should have fired Lloyd Carr like five years ago. The guy royally sucks. I have been watching MI forever and I can just predict his shitty calls half the time. 

So just for the record, I'll be trying out for the kicker spot on Monday at USF.


Bullshit. Our kicker may have lost us the game.


EDIT: GO MOTHERFUCKING BULLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great win by South Florida. Excellent work.

USF should crack the top 25 with that win.  Great game to watch.

In other news, how can Michigan not fire Carr after that debacle vs. Oregon?  Can Michigan and Notre Dame somehow both lose their game next week?  You'd think it couldn't be possible, but the way those two teams are playing you never know!

I wouldn't normally say I called it. But I did.

Go Bulls.

I felt bad for UGA in their loss -- I only caught the tail end of the game, what happened?

Anyway, the Bulls have some tightening up to do: Ford looked a little weak in the second half; the kicker can't hit a field goal to save his life; and Groethe needs to stop taking huge sacks. Was anyone else surprised that USF doesn't run more bootlegs/waggles? I kept screaming at the television last night because they kept running that fake stunt shit.

Edit:

We couldn't get the ball in the end zone, period. You can't win trying to kick field goals in a highly defensive game, and SC put in a TD. We didn't. Also, we made a very stupid decision to go for it on 4th down in the 3rd quarter instead of playing field position when we were only down by a TD, and it blew up in our face. SC scored a FG making it a 10 point game, and we could never climb back in it. Also, late penalties screwed us completely.

That's no longer true thanks to Oregon being ranked now and Auburn dropping out. Also USC has to play their ranked opponents on the road except for UCLA while LSU gets to play all of theirs at home.

VT being ranked at all was such a mother fucking joke it hurt.  Everyone I know called that game versus LSU as being the biggest nonevent of the weekend.  Sympathy AP rank?

Henne + Carr = Hart should just quit that fucking team.  Seriously it would be the greatest injustice ever if he was hurt playing for those two fuckups.  I'm not sure he has a future on Sundays but even so..

Fucking safety on a  running play, goddamn Ohio State...

UGA looked terrible, I wish I saw any of the Tenn game & that Auburn game was damn fun.  The best game of the weekend though was the Fresno State game.  They should have won but 3OT is always awesome in college.

Going to be a bad season for me, UF and USF games are going to be keeping out of any clubs and purely in sports bars for the rest of my Saturday's.

At least the waitresses and bartenders at sports bars tend to be good looking females with skimpy clothing.

Re SC vs UGA:  Not having a horse in that race, it was nice to see the ol' Ball Coach pull off the win.  Having UGA pretty much hand it to him aside, it was a fairly dull game, IMHO. 

Re USF vs AU:  THAT was a helluva game.  Nice win by USF, proving me totally wrong about my earlier prognostication.

Re ND vs PSU:  Loved seeing ND get beat.  I'm a closet Penn State fan; how can you not love Joe Pa?

Re LSU vs VT:  I hate Frank Beamer with a passion, and loved every minute of that spanking.  Was like watching a pro team versus a pop warner team. 

Re Michigan vs Oregon:  What the hell has happened to Michigan??  They have completely derailed. 

Re Alabama vs Vandy:  Ugly win, but I'll take it.  The running game of Alabama is it's saving grace right now, with JP Wilson having some early season struggles.  Defense continues to shine, oddly enough.  Rolando McClain is a beast at middle linebacker, Terry Grant and Javier Arenas are superstars in the making, if not already.  If the passing game comes around, which it will, they'll be hell on wheels if they can keep up the running game and the defense continues to get better and better.  Lots of surprises in that Alabama defense:  The aforementioned true freshman McClain taking control of the defense, Rashad Johnson at free safety is playing lights out, Lorenzo Washington providing a solid anchor at nose guard, and Wallace Gilberry going nuts at the end position.  Nick Walker on offense (TE) is making plays, Terry Grant moves like nobodies business and playing much bigger than his size, and Javier Arenas is a human highlight reel everytime he takes the field.  That 69 yard punt return was an absolute work of art. 

SabanSteele are working wonders with a young undersized (albiet blazing fast) defense that is going to get better and better every game. 

13 points given up in two games?  I'll take it, regardless of competition.

Don't read too much into it yet Snake. Bama will face its frist real, if one dimensional, threat this week.

Dueling field goals for most of the game.  USC spent several of the last 5 minutes doing running plays, and pulling them off with 3 1st downs in a row, but mostly just to burn the clock up.  They almost screwed up on a 3rd and 4; a short lateral pass or simple dive to try and pick up a few yards would've been best, to either get a 1st or stay within FG range.  Instead they tried to get fancy, and lost considerable yardage which put them out of FG range for the 4th.  UGA had a good passing game, which was good for them in not eating up the last minute and change on the clock.  They did good at driving back down the field, nearly made a longshot touchdown pass, but lost their chance with several penalties in the last half minute that stacked up to 3rd and... I dunno, 25 or so.  I was dealing with kids and missed all but the last 7 minutes (sans score updates every so often), but far as I can tell it was the only bit of the game worth watching.  But against Georgia I'll take it.  GO COCKS!

I'm trying not to, I really am. 

Here's why I'm so hyped on the defense: 
They pursue. 
They are fast. 
They are fundamentally sound in tackling. 
They get themselves into position to make plays. 

Other: 
Wlison seems to be pressing things (trying too hard to live up to the hype?), but should settle down. 
Even moreso than Prothro and Shaud Williams, they have a legitamate game breaker in Javier Arenas on punt and kick return.

Concerns on defense:
A little on the small side.  A big offensive line MIGHT have a field day with them.  Stunting and scheme will help with that, but in the end, it's big man versus big man, and our defensive big men are a bit smallish.

Concerns on offense:
Wilson needs to calm down - is he trying to hard, is he not yet comfortable with the system in a game environment?  Applewhite needs to get him in check and get him in check soon.

Concerns on special teams:
Tiffin is unreliable.  'Bama is going to be in some tight games the rest of the year, and need every point they can get.  He's got to step up to the plate.

This is the story according to a couple of Michigan fans I know:

Lloyd Carr is out to lunch, and Ron English runs the team in all but name only. Carr didn't even really want to coach this year after Bo's death but the chance to go out on top and to deflect the pressure of all those high expectations off of English brought him back.

Jim Tressel locking the door to Ohio has hurt Michigan more than most UM fans want to admit. During the Cooper years, Carr could count on getting 3 or 4 top-notch Ohio recruits every year. Now, he's lucky to get one. This has really hurt the defensive recruiting especially, because none of the Michigan back seven would even crack the OSU two-deep at this point, except maybe Crable and even that is questionable since Tressel doesn't put up with idiots.

Speaking of idiots, the inmates are running the asylum. When your 4 year starting senior quarterback isn't a captains, that speaks volumes about leadership on the team. Crable is captain by default even though he has all the mental awareness of a block of cheese. Mike Hart is a great talent but is by far the most despised player in the lockerroom.

It would take a herculean effort by Carr to get a 6-6 season out of this mess. The only question is will Les Miles leave a stacked program at LSU in order to take the UM job.

 

 

I was listening to the local sports radio show when this was brought up.  I can't remember if it was the local guys or one of the ESPN guys, or hell, maybe it was on TV.  This weekend is a blur of beer, ribs, wings, whiskey, more beer.  Anyway, they were talking about how Henne was on the ground after getting sacked and the linemen walked right past him without helping him up.  That's a big no no, something you_do_not_do as a lineman, considering it's your fault (the linemen) fault he's on the ground anyway.  You always pick your QB up, and pick him up fast.

Sounds like Carr has just completely lost the team.

Yeah, there's plenty of infighting and tension you can just tell by watching the game. This team reminds me of the 2000 Ohio State team (Cooper's last year), and the 2002 Nebraska team. Cooper was on autopilot and wanted to coast through one more year of his contract then retire, and Frank Solich let Osborne's dynasty go to crap by not catching on with the times and recruiting faster defensive players.

By the way, I find it hilarious that Steve Pederson fired Solich after going 10-3 in 2003 because he was "not going to tolerate mediocrity" and Callahan gets a contract extension for going 23-15 as of last week.

I would think so. I was shocked they stayed at #9 after their first game given how poorly they played (Cal should've been ranked above them). I figured it was the sympathy vote then, given the tribute and all the stuff they went through the previous school year. Some voters may still feel that way.

Just add it to my list of reasons that preseason polls are FUCKING CLOWNSHOES. Look at the top 10 this year! My lord, can anyone argue that if the polls were never voted on until the 4th week that they would be totally different aside from the Top 2?

No, you won't get an argument from me. 

I'd push it back to midway into the season, by about game 6.  Previous year accomplishment means something, yeah, but shouldn't be (and aren't) a judge as to what you are going to do the next.

USF only got to #26. ><

Yeah, what the heck is Texas A&M doing at #25?

And Oregon jumps from 29 to 19 after beating an unranked and by all accounts pretty bad Michigan team?  Yeah, ok.  What's truly hilarious is the coaches poll, which has Auburn at 26 and USF at 27. 

We'll see what happens this weekend when Tennessee and/or Boston College lose.  USF has been getting a lot of national press this week so if either of those two teams fall out of the top 25, idle USF could move up.

To truly show prowess as a national contender (Top 20), USF needs to beat UNC by a margin of 14 or more, and have a strong showing at West Virginia.

West Virginia looks really, really strong this year though. I wouldn't be so sure to pick USF over WV this year like I was USF>AU.

West Virginia is the Kansas State of this decade. A decent program with an explosive offense that runs up the score on lesser teams and thus gets more hype and exposure than it deserves. When the Mountaineers beat a team with a defense of the caliber of USC, Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma, etc I'll be impressed. Otherwise, they're overhyped and overrated imo.

The bowl game they played against Georgia proved otherwise to me, and I'm a Dawg fan. I won't shit on W. Virginia anytime soon in the hopes they don't look our direction again.

Thing is, Georgia can't hope to be mentioned in the company of USC, Ohio State, Florida, etc.  Georgia was a midling SEC team last year. 

Montague nailed it:  Overrated.  They run up the score and put up gaudy offensive stats.  Chicks dig the long ball, or something to that effect.  They play in a weak conference, and have a very, very soft schedule.  South Florida, Rutgers, and Louisville are the only tests they'll have. 

Um, so what? West Virginia beat Georgia two years ago in the Sugar Bowl after we'd won the SEC. It was sort of a reminder not to look past opponents just because they weren't from a major conference. Last year, Georgia played Va Tech and won in one of the biggest bowl comebacks in history. My point was that W. Virginia shouldn't be automatically shit upon because they are Big East.

Uhm. The Big East isn't the weakie conference it used to be. It's not the SEC yet, but it's not a chump conference like CUSA or the like.

Cincinnati could surprise a lot of people this year as well.  They have a very good defense.  The Big East might not be the SEC but it's looking a whole lot better than the ACC, ironically enough.

Someone give me a scouting report on Ohio State. I hear their defensive front seven are monsters, but that their offense is young and inconsistent. They played two creampuffs early, and now go on the road to what should be a very hostile environment. Do the Huskies have any chance to stay with them?

Yes.

Because Ohio State lets anyone who knows how to play football "stay with them" and their running game is fucking annoying the hell out of me.

But hopefully the defense will just eat your QB and shut your crowd up and we can march to a 10 point victory (20-10) that nobody will rave about but will make me happy.

Offense:

The offensive line is huge, but slow and weak. Unfortunately this is a recurring problem with OSU. The past couple of years the offense has benefited from Troy Smith's elusiveness and defenses keyed to stop him that Antonio Pittman could take advantage of, so the weaknesses on the OL haven't been as apparent. Now that Todd Boeckman is unproven, teams are stacking the line against the run and again the line is incapable of opening holes in that situation.

Boeckman has a strong arm but his mastery of the offense isn't proven at this point. Robiskie is the next NFL bound OSU receiver. Hartline is a possession receiver with good hands. Sanzenbacher is a talented freshman receiver that is a lot like Anthony Gonzalez.

Chris Wells is a beast. He's 230lbs with legit 4.4-4.5 speed. He could win a Heisman if he was on a team that actually had 5 OL that could drive block.

Washington will probably stack their defense against the run and make Boeckman beat them. They need to get pressure on him, and that can be done around the edges with speed rushers (as Florida so adroitly showed last year). If they can stack the line and get pressure on Boeckman they have a very good chance of winning. If not, Boeckman throws a very accurate deep pass and OSU's offense might get untracked.

Defense:

The defensive line is young but beastly. Vernon Gholston is a monster. Robert Rose is in the same mold and the Washington line needs to have very quick, very technically sound tackles to block these guys or the Huskie offense is in big trouble. The tackles are young but very stout.

OSU has an embarrassment of riches at linebacker. Everybody knows about Laurinaitis (who is overrated, IMO) but the real strength here is depth. OSU will rotate eight different linebackers on the field, and they are all extremely fast. Yards can be had with an experienced quarterback behind solid playcalling because the Buckeyes tend to blitz often. Washington may be at a disadvantage here with the frosh QB.

The secondary is the weak spot but it's probably average for a top 25 team. Malcolm Jenkins is a pro cornerback next year. Donald Washington is ok but has physical limitations. Jamario O'Neal is a physical beast but has brain cramps. Kurt Coleman is a good safety but inexperienced and a little undersized. OSU has several DB's it can rotate in the game but is not particularly deep.

Special Teams:

No more Ted Ginn. Robiskie is ok but unlikely to break a return. The kicker and punter as always are very good.

Prediction:

Washington stuffs the run and gets some turnovers but Boeckman gets off a big play or two. OSU shuts down the Huskie running game but Locker makes some plays. In the end, OSU's defensive depth wears down the UW offensive line and Locker makes some mistakes under pressure. I think OSU wins something like 24-20

I just want to say that this is the best year of college football ever.  After this weekend, either Michigan or Notre Dame will be 0-3.  The joy this thought brings to me is beyond comprehension. 

Add USC to that list and it would be The Rapture.

Ugh. If deep balls are the QB's specialty, UW is doomed. Their secondary is easily the weakest part of their defense. And their OL is the weakest part of their offense. Sounds like the OSU DL will be having a party in the UW backfield all day long. The only hope is that Locker is SERIOUSLY elusive and fast. I have never seen a QB his size move like he does. Unfortunately he is still learning to make the right decision on every play, so he is going to make some mistakes Saturday.

The good news is I completely expected them to be blown out (although I thought the game was going to be in Columbus, which would have been a nightmare with a young team), so anything less than that is gravy. A close game would be fine, a win would be unreal, and a blowout/domination would make me giddy for days. If they play OSU close I think they deserve a spot in the Top 25, win or lose.

Halftime - Wash 7 OSU 3. Feeling better, WAP?  :lol:

Observations so far:

Locker is good. Once he learns how to watch film and throw downfield he will be a star. So long as Willingham can get an o-line to protect him.

The OSU offensive line has a pulse, but its still inconsistent.

Wells and Saine are both monsters stuck behind a below average line.

The Washington defense is pretty good, but Boeckman spent the first half shitting his pants.

The OSU defense is spying Locker but looks like they're trying to limit the big play. Be interesting to see if they attack more in the second half.

Other games:

Notre Dame is beyond bad. Verbosity alone cannot describe the pure suckage coming out of that team. 3-9 is very probable.

Minute or so left in the first quarter...

Alabama 21
Arkansas  0

'Bama offense looking sharp, particularly JPW.  Defense stuffing McFadden.

Life is good.

------------------------------------------

Halftime

Alabama 21
Arkansas 10

'Bama seemed to go conservative on offense in the 2nd quarter.  They went away from what worked in the 1st.  McFadden still being held in check, though you can't really stop him - you can only hope to contain him, to paraphrase Dan Patrick.  Couple breakdowns in coverage on the Alabama defense; got caught on a touchdown pass looking into the backfield.  Overall?  Pleased.  Very pleased.  Hopefully, they'll come out after the half and get aggressive on offense like they were in the 1st.

Life is still good.

Tyrone Willingham got a raw deal in South Bend.  Personally, I think he shouldn't have left Stanford.  He's a damn good coach.  I'm a big time Willingham fan.  Lots of class.  I really hope he does well with the Huskies.  He's a good man; he deserves it.

Yes he did. It always make me happy now when Notre Dame loses.

Stanford's not a great place to stay at for any length of time if you have higher aspirations (Bill Walsh excepted, but he was an assistant coach in the NFL prior to that) so I can understand why he took the Notre Dame job.

OK, I'll go on the limb.

Bama is for real.

Smart quarterback, plus good reciever corps plus good running backs plus good line and great Left tackle and Center, combined with solid, smart defense and real threats on special teams= look out

Nebraska is taking it to USC. I think they can do it.

Hey Snake, you thinking what I'm thinking?

Here comes Arkansas, they're too good to just roll over and die.

Pac 10 took it hard on the chin. See, when you can't beat teams in mid major conferences, that round robin looks more and more like a circle jerk.

Yeah, I can too.  ND, the history, all that.  Who really would turn that down?


Pissed right now. 

'Bama's gotten sloppy, defense is getting tired.  Granted, McFaddenJones is a freakin' freak of nature, but 'Bama knew this coming in.  Offense has looked a bit off since about midway through the 2nd quarter.  They got tight.  Conservative.  Which I blame Applewhite entirely.

The shining moment out of this?  'Bama won't face a better running team again this year.  If the defense can get ONE good stop in the next series, and a touchdown on their next possession (after Ark scoring to make it 31-24), they'll win.   If not?  Then it's probably overtime.

Turnover.

GODDAMNIT.

JPW needs to sharpen the fuck up, Applewhite needs to let the reins loose and lay it all out.  Fuck ball control, fuck running the clock.

yep

It's like the switch got flipped.

McFadden is a beast, however.

Well, time to see what they're made of.

As a side note, The defender on the phone from the women's national team is quite a piece of ass. There are several severly hittable women in that group.

And that, my friends, is why we hired Saban.


Roll Tide.

It's going to be a nice week for a Bama fan in the state.

44-6!

Utah puts an asswhoppin on number 11 UCLA. Oh, the sweet, sweet tears of the Bruins. They taste so good!

What a fucking GAME.  I'd rather it been a blowout that the first quarter teased it to be, but goddamn what a fucking game.  Instant classic.  No way was Arkansas going to lay down.  Hats off to them in that regard.

How much of a boost to the confidence of the team can that win be?  For the defense to come up with the stop at crunch time, for the offense to click when it had to...For a while, I didn't think 'Bama could BUY a pass interference call, but the zebras finally called it right.

McFadden IS a beast.  He's unreal.  That kind of size with that speed and the moves he can make?  If he stays healthy, no limit to what he can do.

The really great news is that 'Bama won't face another running team like that this year; won't face another team with the amount of absolute pure talent that McFaddenJones has.  I worry now about a letdown against Georgia this next week after such an emotional win.

It's a win, and I'll take it to the bank.

One thing that really stuck out for me was McFadden showing off his pimped out and lifted Crown vic.

That and sweet rides like Shaun Alexander had his senior season just laugh open mouthed  at the idea that these guys are really college kids.


Ok ,so the deep snapper and third string  linebacker will probably have to schlep around T-Town in an old party van, but the stars are definitely getting their perks.

Who? What? Huh?

The guys who star in the SEC and other places get so much money under the table they're doumping thousands into things like cars, chains, what have you

That's all

Heh. BYU puts up 688 total yards and loses.  Oh what a perfect weekend of college football.

I feel a lot, lot better about the Buckeyes after today.  This was a game that had upset written all over it if OSU was truly just a middle of the Big 10 team this year.  Before this game I wasn't even sure OSU would win one of the Big Three (PSU, Wisconsin, and Michigan).  I think Wisconsin is slightly overrated and will get edged out in Columbus, and Michigan will be handled because of the reverse John Cooper thing Carr has going on.  But its looking more and more like PSU is the class of the conference, and the Bucks never play well in Happy Valley.

Eh, it's not just reserved for SEC schools.





Anyway, BRING ON THE BULLDOGS!!! 

If people thought BDS was loud for Arkansas, holy shmoly, they have another thing coming when UGA comes to down.  We're 3-0 coming off what is one of the best football games evah, and another SEC school comes knocking on our door.  Might have to roadtrip up Friday, especially since my wifes uncle just got a 32' motorhome that needs to be broken in.

Paelos, has there been ANY sort of announcement or rumor up in Athens (or anywhere else UGA related) about the time of the game?  ESPN said last night they expected to be back in Titletown for 'Bama / UGA game, especially if Alabama won versus Arkansas.

7:45 announced for ESPN. It's gonna be insane.

As for Bama, they played well enough to win that game. JPW tossed up almost 330 yards and 4 TDs, your runningbacks put up 130 yards on the ground, and your defense was dominate when they had to be.

However, JPW basically pulled his own ass out of the fire from a game he tried his best to give away at the end. His late fumble in the 3rd lead to a TD. The first pass he threw on the next possession got picked off, resulting in the TD that tied the game. If not for Matt Caddell and a very beneficial 3rd and 9 pass inference call, your team was doomed. Some look at that and say, well when it mattered we pulled it together. Others will look at that and see it as a glaring weakness that a more developed team would have made you pay for. The game was basically out of your hands until Arkansas decided to for some weird reason take McFadden out on the last drive that could have iced the game. Arkansas fans will always question why his ass was on the sidelines looking confused with a "slight" concussion. A win is a win, but like I said earlier in the thread, it was going to take a dominate win over Arkansas to silence the doubters, and that didn't happen at all here. People calling it an upset are pretty insane in my book.

As for Georgia, we played Western Carolina and looked good doing it, but it was a nothing game. We're salivating for the chance to shut Bama up after they looked vulnerable to Arkansas' defense. Do I think we'll win? We'll look at the matchups:

Quarterback: Stafford - 621 yards, 4TDs, 1 INT, 130.0 rating; JPW - 666 yards, 4TDs, 3 INT, 120.6 rating; Both are great QBs and both will have to play well against two very good defenses in order to win. The difference here is that JPW has been shown to make a few more turnover mistakes than Stafford, and that can make a huge difference. ADVANTAGE: UGA.

Runningbacks: UGA: Knowshown Moreno & Thomas Brown - 407 yards on 81 carries with 4TDs; BAMA: Terry Grant & Glen Coffee - 561 yards on 89 carries with 7 TDs. Simply put, Alabama runs the ball better, and they can break a big one if you're not paying attention. The tricky part about UGA though is that Moreno has over 100 yards receiving that skew the numbers. ADVANTAGE: Alabama

Wide Receivers: UGA: Bailey, Massaquoi, and Henderson - 25 catches, 323 yards, 1 TD; BAMA: Hall, Caddell, & McCoy - 32 catches, 450 yards, 3 TDs. Again, the Alabama top receivers are clearly better than Georgia's men. Georgia has a well-documented history of dropping the damn ball which never helps either. Frankly, the fact that Stafford has a 130.0 rating with these guys shows you how good he really could be if we could put people in there with some decent hands. ADVANTAGE: Alabama.

Kickers: UGA: Brandon Coutu - 11/11 XP, 5/6 FG, long - 44; BAMA: Leigh Tiffin - 12/12 XP, 6/11, long 42. Coutu is a great asset on any kick from inside 45 yards, and his stats show it. Tiffin is a question mark on anything longer than 30 yards, and it frightens Alabama fans when he comes into the game on longer kicks. ADVANTAGE: UGA.

Defense: Forget the Western Carolina games both of these teams played. Currently, both defenses are vulnerable to the passing game, and they both could be playing a hell of a lot better than they are late in the game. Georgia has an edge on the running defensive stats because they didn't have to play McFadden. It's basically a wash no matter how you cut it. ADVANTAGE: Nobody

Prediction: Alabama's playing at home, and that's going to be hard on the Dawgs offense early on. I think anything is possible in this game, and I'm not confident enough in UGA's consistency to make any kind of definite call here. If the offense that played in the OSU games shows up, Dawgs win. If the offense that played in the SC game shows up, Dawgs get slaughtered. All in all, this one will be a huge game come Saturday.

Buckeyes started shakey as fuck but eventually rolled.  Good times.  C Wells is a fucking great back when he waits half a second for the play to develop.  I'll take his running style over, fucking 8 steps in the backfield on every running play Pittman.

Next week there are three interesting Big10 games.

1.  MSU @ ND how great will it be if they plant the Spartan flag on those stupid golden domer assholes?

2.  Penn State @ the Big House.  If Michigan can win this one they have some chance of regaining some pride this season.

3.  Purdue @ Minn.  Any Purdue game interests me because they have sure been making for great highlight reels so far this season.  I wonder how good they really are?

Yes it will.  And I'm going.  Cemented the deal tonight.


It was weird watching the game.  They were aggressive as hell in the first quarter, and it paid off huge, then Applewhite seemed to go a bit conservative in his playcalling.  Odd. 


Yeah, he almost tossed the game away.  Regarding the 'very beneficial' PI calls.  You'd have to be blind not to see those as legit calls.  Further, they ('Bama) were robbed of a few calls (two PI, one roughing the qb, and at least 2 unnecessary roughness calls) earlier in the game.  'Bama was DUE for some calls to go their way.


That's the way I look at it; albiet I'm a permanent optimist.  And they pulled it together for the first time in over 2 years.  They learned a lot about themselves in that game, and more importantly, they learned how to WIN.


Tweaked hamstring


Was a concussion mentioned from the TV talking heads?  I was listening to the glorious lungs of Eli Gold.


They started out dominant, then got conservative.  In the end, it was the punishing running of Arkansas that exposed how thin the defense is on the front.  They can't rotate the front 7 like other teams can.  The bright side?  Is there a better running team in the nation than Arkansas?  I can't think of one.


I agree.


As I said before, the vulnerability to the run was exposed by the constant pounding of McFaddenJones.  Who else can boast that combo?  I certainly don't think UGA can.


How has Stafford played in big games?  That is what needs answering.  I'd say overall, they're (at this point) about even.  So, I'd call it a tie.  Further, as evidence by Morenos receiving yards, some of that rating / yardage by Stafford are swing out passes and such to the RB, which really are disguised delayed toss sweeps and/or screen plays.  JPW seems to get a bit too excited and misses relatively easy throws.  If he settles down, he's as accurate as they get.  He's STILL telegraphing his receivers though......


Which of those UGA backs gets the bulk of the workload?


I'm not quite sold on Alabamas receiving corp.  Caddell is emerging as a solid receiver with glue on his hands, and why Will Oakley isn't in the game more often is crazy. 


Goddamn Tiffin.  If it wasn't for his last goddamn name, he'd be at a Div III school.....


I'd actually put the edge to UGA, regardless of the bloated stats from the Ark game.  UGA is without a doubt deeper at every position.  Our #1's match up as good as or better as UGA's #1's, but UGA's #2's are better than 'Bamas #2's.  Depth pushes UGA over the top.  The starters can't play every down of every series.  Especially D linemen.  Further, 'Bamas defense spent ALOT of time on the field against Arkansas getting pounded relentlessly by the best two back combo in the nation.   I'm wondering how worn out 'Bama is going to be overall after such a physical and emotional game. 

No doubt though, the conditioning program at 'Bama has paid HUGE dividends.


Playing at BDS, that's worth at LEAST 7 points, possibly 9 in Alabamas favor.  It's UGAs first road game of the year, and it's going to be in front of 93,000 loud Alabama rednecks (including myself) who've had all day to consume their beverage of choice.  It's going to be absolutely INSANE in Titletown Saturday. 

And I can't freakin' wait.

----------------------------

AP came out today.  SEC has 6 teams (LSU 2, Florida 3, SC 12, Alabama 16, UK 21, UGA 22) in the top 25.  How Louisville is ranked AHEAD of the team that just beat them (UK) is beyond me. 

In the USA Today poll, it's listed as LSU 2, Florida 3, SC 13, Alabama 15, UK 17, UGA 23). 

Is there any coach in the country doing a better job relative to the talent they have than Rich Brooks at UK?

Tim Tebow.  All I can say is...goddamn.  Freak.  Of.  Nature.  UF could win two more titles before he is gone....

Nick Saban.  Every time I see an interview with him, I think of Tony Robbins.  It's like it's one big self help 10 keys to success in life infomercial. 

It'll be the game of the year for me. Auburn is literally eating shit these days, and I know Bama fans are just loving every second of it like it's candy. Tennessee doesn't win against Georgia in Chatanooga this century. Florida is a cocktail party where UGA goes to get humbled, year after year.

This is it. This is the game. And I will be watching...every...single...second.

USF #23! :D

Heh, they didn't even play this weekend and they moved up 3.  Nice.

Heck, I predicted that last week.  I think a lot of voters left USF off their ballots last week because the USF/Auburn game was so late that Saturday night and the Bulls were still flying under people's radar.  Even if Auburn turns out to have an atrocious year, it's still a huge win for South Florida because it's the win that put them on the map for a lot of people who hadn't paid much attention to them before.  There were a lot of articles written about the Bulls last week and it looked very likely that more than just a couple of top 25 teams would lose over the weekend.  I was wrong about BC but that just meant Georgia Tech lost instead.  Couple that with the Tennessee and Arkansas losses and the UCLA and Louisville upsets and it would have surprising if USF didn't move up.

Now they just have to back that ranking up by continuing to play well.  North Carolina this week is a classic trap game if they get caught looking ahead to the big game the following week:  the home game against West Virginia.  The Mountaineers are looking all kinds of scary this year.

USF is a only a 13 point favorite over UNC. Frankly, I think that's the kind of lock bet I'd take in Vegas any day of the week. I was expecting the spread to be in the 20s with UNC giving up an average of 350 yards a game to teams like Virginia.

The USF/UNC game is making me nervous.  I don't care if USF loses to WV, they're supposed too, but losing to UNC would be like getting a kidney punch from a bouncer as you are escorted out the door of the strip club.

USF losing to UNC?

 :hello_kitty:

Georgia's an underdog. BEWARE! We do exceptionally well as the on the road underdog team.

I'm regretting the plans I had made months earlier.One of my bosses had his thick stack of Tickets  for the Georgia game (combination of Alumni/contributor/Father of a player) I had just finished setting up his new laptop when he said," you wanna go?"

I had to decline, but I so wanted to take him up on it. Skybox too. dammit.

If you have ESPN Insider, there's a couple write-ups comparing Terry Grant vs Knowshown Moreno and JP Wilso vs Matt Stafford. 

Leaving Mobile in about and hour or so, bound for Tuscaloosa! 

I imagine I'll be passed out about 4 pm.

I don't, but I can guess what they say. Moreno v. Grant is all Grant because Moreno came out of nowhere. Stafford v. Wilson is a tossup with a point that Stafford can overthrow people but still has a great QB rating, and an acknowledgement that Stafford's receivers suck.

Alabama vs Georgia - September 22, 2007 - Gameday
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Laptop via Sprint broadband wireless

Arrived about 3:30 pm.  One sober person (driver).  The five of us pooled some cash together and slipped the manager of a Firehouse Subs 500 dollars not to call the cops on us for parking our motor home in the parking lot.  Invited him and his friends/family to tailgate with us and enjoy free food and beer today.  So far, so good.  Brought Dreamland BBQ from Mobile, 10 cases of Corona, 5 bottles of Jack Daniels, 2 bottles of Absolut and requisite bloody mary mix.  1 bottle of Havana Club.  Stocked fridge with food (burgers, hotdogs, etc).

Tossed the football around.  Met Kirk Hirbstreet yesterday afternoon, got his autograph on said football.  Nice guy.  Shorter than I imagined.

Went to the fraternity house (Kappa Sigma).  Felt very very old.  Stayed about an hour, then went back to the motorhome whereby we passed out about midnight.  Slept on the dash(!!) of the motor home.  Woke up freezing my ass off because someone turned on the 2nd A/C in the middle of the night.

Got up, got a pot of coffee going.  Took a shower.

Put "Yellowhammer" in the CD player, turned up the volume and pressed play. 

This was at 6:45 am.
My traveling companions were not amused.

"Electric" is not the word to describe it.  "Nuclear" is more like it.  It's going to be an unbelievable day.

Grill is warming up, beer in hand.  Two Georgia fans have joined us for the moment.  ESPN is on the TV, thanks to Direct TV satellite. 

This is the way to travel.

YOU ESS EFF

YOU ESS FF!

<3

Edit: By the way, George Selvie is a god damn monster. Holy Christ.

Amen. A motorhome with satellite TV is THE way to tailgate.

Is that pronounced like it looks or phonetically (Na shawn)?

 :-D  Now a week of nail-biting before the USF/WV game.

Everything went perfectly for the Big10 triple header.

The Ohio State University, fucking ROLLED N'western.

Penn State lost a close and honorable game to Michigan who will be back in the top25 after a few more weeks.

MSU smashT pathetic Clausen and the dumbass Golden Domers.

STATE!!! You go bucks.

Snake's going to be crushed, but that was a great game.

Kudos to Georgia, who played the better game.

I am not worried about Alabama. Without Saban we lose by two touchdowns.

The only thing that gave me solace about that game was the fact that we never gave up the lead until OT. Still, I was a freaking wreck watching our Georgia offense do their best to let Alabama stay in that game, and watching our Defense just say, "Not Tonight!"

I will say one thing about our victory. Alabama has nothing to hang their heads about in that game. They played in a great defensive battle that culminated with Matt Stafford finally stepping up after God knows how many opportunities to win the stupid thing.

We warned you about Georgia on the road. They are a tough team to match in the underdog role. Good luck to Alabama with the rest of the West. LSU looks retardedly good.

Finally the Pac-10 might be worth watching next week.

Cal v Oregon, go bears yaddayadda but I kind of like this Oregon team...

In the Big10:
Purdue, who may be great this year nobody seems sure yet gets a chance to make ND 0-5 if that isn't the greatest sounding thing I've ever heard I dont know what is.

The upset specials are the Illini against a Penn State team that may be suffering hangover.  More likely though I expect them to jump to a 14+ lead and just grind it out while those LB's try to maim everyone wearing orange.

Also the Spartans have to be worrying a Badger team that just can't seem to put anyone away with conviction.  I like these Mich State WR's we should see at least one of them do big things on Sundays in the future.

Back in Mobile, watched the game again on the way back.

What a shitty shit shit game.  Georgia won that game on the backs of their insane 3rd down conversion rate.  Whoever the offensive playcaller is for UGA needs a raise; he did an absolute phenomenal job with an answer to nearly every situation, if it was 3rd and 2 or 3rd and 12.  Hats off to the players who still had to go and make it happen.

Thoughts:
1)  JPW:  Tired of apologizing for him.  Tired of saying "He needs to settle down, and once he does, he's lights out".  He consistently misses throws, makes bad reads, and my 9 month old son has a stronger arm than him.  Outside of the last minute drive against Arkansas, he has consistently underperformed and ridden the coat tails of some very talented receivers.  He should have been yanked midway through the 2nd, and McElroy put in to see if he could provide a spark.  How many times have we seen 'Bama's receivers beat the coverage and have to freakin' STOP to catch the ball? 
2)  Stafford:  Not impressed.  Going into the game, I felt his stats were bloated due to 'easy' passes (swing outs, screens, etc) and still feel that way.  He DID make THE throw when it counted, I'll give him that.  I still don't see what the hype is.
3)  Alabama's defense:  Looked confused the first series, then settled down and played better.  Couldn't buy a 3rd down to save their life.  Granted, the play calling by UGA was about the best I've seen in a long time, but you still have to execute.  'Bama's defense didn't seem that well prepared, or they were too geeked up.  I'm going with a combination of all three:  UGA's superior play calling, with the distractions 'Bama had this week (for fucks sake, Saban was on Gameday on Saturday), and this didn't bode well for Alabama.
4)  Applewhite:  His inexperience showed yesterday.  His play calling is erratic, with no strategy whatsoever.  He had a quarterback that couldn't get into a rhythm, and didn't do anything to help him (swing outs, dumps, etc to help Wilson gather some feel).
5)  Tackling:  I'd have the defense running tackling drills until they passed out.  Then toss cold water on them and do it again. 
6)  Special teams:  UGA did a fantastic job of bottling up Arenas
7)  From the first play, Alabama just seemed disjointed.  Neither team looked all that great to be honest; it almost seemed to me that the game was going to be decided by who ever wanted to give it away more.  They both played sloppy. 

Add up the Gameday crew, the hype, the Corso curse, and I can't really say at this point I'm surprised at the outcome.  The mentally and physically draining Arkansas game hurt, a bit of a hangover?

I think, looking back, 'Bama's not ready psychologically for this kind of attention.  It will be interesting to see how they rebound next week against FSU.

The playercaller for UGA is Mike Bobo, ex-UGA Quarterback. He was promoted from QB coach to offensive playcaller two years ago when Richt finally realized being a head coach means diversifying duties.

My Thoughts:
1) JPW played like I thought he would against the Georiga secondary. Not well. I said it all month and it was reinforced by his erratic play in the Arkansas game. The Georgia defense was very consistant except for the 50 yard bomb they gave up in the 4th quarter.
2) Stafford didn't impress me either because he made too many critical errors. That was his largest failing last year, and it's something that he must steadily improve as he ages, which I think he has done compared to his freshman numbers. Still, he won the game FINALLY after having an insane number of chances to give it away.
3) Georgia didn't capitalize on Alabama's mistakes at all. I mean you fumble the freaking ball to us at the beginning of the 2nd half, and we don't even get a field goal? What the hell was that? That play could have easily crushed your spirit and put the game away.
4) Georgia scoring the first TD set the tone for the game. It said that we weren't going to be the lackluster offense that came out against South Carolina.
5) Moreno played like a demon out there. He made something out of nothing more times than I can count. At one point, he basically willing himself into a third down conversion when he was all but completely wrapped up. I love this kid.

UGA v. Ole Miss is this weekend, but not featured on TV. The big games that are going to get the nationwide audience in the SEC are: Alabama v. FSU on CBS, and Florida v. Auburn on ESPN

Let's discuss the implications of those games. An Alabama win re-establishes some of the frothing fury they had before the Georgia loss, while another loss, to an unranked opponent no less, will pretty much crush the combined spirits of all the Tide fans. Add in the fact that Bama is actually an underdog in this game, and I think they are going to be pretty pissed off and motivated to crush the Seminoles.

If Florida was going to trip up before the inevitable "Let's decide the SEC East game" otherwise known as Georgia-Florida Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, this game against Auburn is it. The problem is that Auburn isn't even close to the threat they were a couple years ago, and I don't think anyone is expecting a huge fight out of them. The spread has Florida as an 18.5 point favorite.

Here to give the WVA v USF game some lovin' is your fellow Bull, cmlancas.


Keys to the game:

1. Matt Grothe must show up and run the ball well. If he is contained in the pocket, the USF offense will flounder.
2. The USF defense must carry the team in times of lackluster offensive production. If WVA can break the best secondary in the league, then more power to them, and they deserve to win.
3. Mike Ford needs to put up solid numbers. When Ford runs the ball well, it opens Grothe's running game as well.

This is USF's game to win this week, I'm afraid. I know that the spread has them as an underdog, but most commentary I have heard/seen/read lately is quite optimistic for USF.

By the way, this is the game to watch this week. Forget SEC/ACC/BigX. This is it. Let me put it this way. USF put people into the second deck at Raymond James for Elon. For UNC, they put a few in the second as well. For WVA, the stadium (three tiers) is almost sold out as of Tuesday, 4:00 PM EST.

It's big.

Anyone not giving Cal v Oregon the nod for game of the weekend is suffering serious east coast bias.

FIFY.

 :heart:

USF went into WVA's house last year and won though. It may be because my team is Big East, but I think that's why this one is game of the weekend :)

Bingo.  Oregon's weekpoint is their Defence (as freaking always).  God we've put up some big numbers, but there's flaws in that D. 

From my perspective as someone who has nothing to do with either of your conferences, I will say that both your games are incredibly important because they are all in the top 25 and they are all unbeatens. Unforntunately, the west coast game gets hosed because ABC picked it up, and they only do regional coverage on Saturdays. So, the rest of us will never see snap one over here on the East Coast.

HOWEVER, West Virginia and South Florida are on Friday night, ESPN2, with full national coverage. In addition, the winner will inevitably be the winner of the conference. The same can't be said for Oregon and California. That's why WVA and USF are the official "Game of the Week!"

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/college_football/20070925-0838-fbc-ohiost-playerarrest.html

How could a player on a team coached by a man wearing a sweater vest come to this?

Better yet, why is a football player hiring hookers? I mean are the chicks at Ohio State THAT frigid?

As an Ohio State alum, I can unequivocally say that is definitely NOT the case. Err... at least it wasn't 20 years ago.

With regards to hookers, yeah it's incredibly easy for an OSU football player to get some but you also have to realize it's not always that simple. Once chicks find out that you're on the football team, especially a position like QB or RB, they all want a piece of you. The problem is that most of them have dubious morals and motives.

Back when I was at OSU one of my roommates was 6'5, 250 lbs and sculpted like fricking Atlas. He wasn't on the team but damn if he didnt look like a football player. Whenever we went to hit the bars on High Street he would literally have to fight through hordes of women. He'd tell them he had a girlfriend, wouldn't matter. Sometimes they would try to follow us back to our dorm room to find out where he lived. Eventually he figured out that they thought he was on the football team and he'd have to tell these chicks up front "I'm not a football player" to get them to disappear (unless of course he saw one he liked and then he wouldn't tell her till after - giggity giggity).

Long story short is that there are a ton of chicks on campus who would love to snag down a football player in hopes of getting that sweet NFL money. They'll lie and tell you they're on birth control, they'll put pinholes in condoms, get you drunk enough that you're not careful, etc etc. Sometimes the hooker seems like the safest option to these guys.

GO USF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

21-3? Holy Christ.

4-0? Beaten WVU and AU?

Chalk it up to the top 10, baby.

I'm not sure about top 10.  I figure they'll clock in around 11.  The defense looked outstanding, especially considering how much they had to be out on the field in the second half.  The offense looked pretty bad though, to be honest.  Worst I've seen the offense look all season.  But that defense looks so good they have a realistic chance of running the table if they can play well against Rutgers in New Jersey.

They'd better not jump OSU at 8.  I just have a sinking feeling that OSU will end the year undefeated and all the Southern/Western elitist dumbass critics will keep them out of the title game.

Why shouldn't they be in the Top 10? Who in the Top 10 other than LSU has played a tougher schedule so far than FSU?

If that happens the BCS is done. I'm sorta kinda hoping it happens, even though I'm an OSU fan.

The Big Ten is rather lousy top to bottom this year. Wisconsin is a phantom power that should have lost to UNLV of all teams and OSU hasn't played anyone and won't play anyone.

I'm assuming you meant USF.  I think they should be in the top 10, I just don't think they will be.  I think the pollsters will look at all the turnovers, the relatively lackluster offensive performance and the injury to Pat White and they'll end up punishing West Virginia in the polls more than they reward South Florida.  But hey, if I'm wrong then all the better!

I think USF has the best defense in the nation right now. Both CBs, George Selvie (DE) and possibly Ben Moffit (LB) will go pro.

You don't want to throw into USF's secondary. They are gross.

However, I will agree that USF looked quite sloppy on offense, but I also wonder how much of that was WVU's defense. They weren't #7 for nothing, imo.

Be that as it may, I'd bet on USF over OSU if they played. OSU is riding high on reputation right now; USF has the creds.

Oklahoma down.  Texas down.  Rutgers down.

Yeah, ok.  USF could crack the top 10 after all.  And Florida and Ohio State haven't even played yet.

Edit: oh yeah, Clemson down too.

Yes I did mean USF. Given all the Top 10 upsets so far (plus Clemson) I think their chances of cracking the Top 10 are pretty good now.

Edit: Assuming Florida wins is Cal going to move up to #4 (behind Florida at #3) or jump over Florida to #3?

ON WISCONSIN!

Barely scrapping by against an unranked team, yet again!  :-D

I bet we gain a place in the polls, too.   :evil:

If you have to barely scrape by an unranked team, do it when half the top 10 lose.   :wink:

It made me quite happy to call my brother (who goes to UF and has pulled for them since I was very, very young) and tell him...


WAR EAGLE!

Black Saturday continues.  Florida down!

Its 2002 all over again, with all teams falling exactly when its best for OSU.  I think I'm going to have that banner printed up, Ab. 

They are indeed getting lucky as hell for an absolutely mediocre team. But they won't crack the top two this year.

Gas is $1.50 a gallon, Bush's approval rating is 60%, and a desirable Britney Spears rules the pop charts.

In other words, welcome to 2002. 

That whole timeout before the kick thing needs to stop.

Yeah, I've seen that three weekends in a row now (Auburn-Florida, Browns-Raiders, and Denver-whoever).  Did it really take football until this year to think of that shit?

I can't wait for the day that crap backfires and the kicker misses the first kick and nails the second one.

Yeah, it's just cheap.  The whole, "icing" the kicker thing never worked and this version of it is just assholeishness.

Denver-Raiders. I.e. the Raiders used the same tactic Denver used to beat them to beat the Browns.

So USF beats WV and Auburn upsets FL but USF beat Auburn so...top 5 ranking for USF? Okay so they (probably) won't jump that high in one week but if they can keep winning I don't see why they wouldn't be a national title contender.

Since I hadn't seen it written yet, Cal ( 6)  beat Oregon ( 11 ), which will be interesting as well. Given all those in the top 10 that lost, Cal is probably moving up a bit ;)

What will be interesting is if LSU jumps over USC given their thoroughly mediocre performance against Wash. last night.  Cal could jump as high as #3.  There's an off-chance that since Oregon played Cal well, that they could not only not lose rank but actually go as high as #5.  That would mean the Pac 10 would have 3 of the top 5 teams.  At the very least they should jump a rank or two which will mean 3 Pac 10 teams in the top ten for the first time in like, ever.  Now I know that my current happiness is based on a completely stupid system.  But fuck it.  Wheeee.

Auburn beating Florida just made my year. Shut the hell up Tebow fans, he's not that good. If you get a defensive coordinator that has seen ANY film of him and their formations, it's incredibly easy to shut down his running game. Make him reliant on the throw, and you will own him.

Georgia is now back in the SEC hunt with the conference basically shooting itself in the foot at every possible turn. LSU will play a very angry Florida team next week, and that may be the only stumbling block they have this season. However, it's in Death Valley at night, and anybody that knows anything about that stadium wouldn't wish that on their worst enemy.

AP is out.  LSU #1, USF #6.   :-D

I disagree here Paelos. Tebow is special: he's a monster sized runner with a huge arm. I watched Tebow singularly keep his team in the game in the second half. I think he's going to be really something in the NFL if he can stay healthy.

USF #6?  The critics want to see a newcomer crash the party really badly.  Their coaches poll ranking is a bit more sane.  

EDIT:  And it practically hands then a position in the championship game.  Only four teams ahead of them need to lose for them to get in the big game, and all of the five ahead play quality games.  USF plays nobody the rest of the year (well, Rutgers).

Wow.  LSU #1 by 2 points.  Also, Oregon got screwed.  Oh well.  Fuck them.  Cal's #3.  If there are 2 miracles, LSU will lose, and Cal will win its game against USC.  Okay, yea right I know, but a boy can dream.

The polls are on crack this year. BC? Are you kidding me? I know that 24-14 victory over powerhouse U.Mass was impressive, but 6/7?  Kentucky? They beat a mediocre Louisville team that then lost to another crap team and they are 8?

This year shows the inherent weakness of a poll system like this. It's a year with maybe four good teams and then a pack of about 15-20 that are decent, but nothing special and some downright mediocre teams that have risen to the top by sheer luck of playing weak schedules and having better teams ahead of them lose. I have a feeling that the BCS rankings are going to widely diverge from the AP/USA Today polls.

EDIT: To add more outrage.

How many other teams have beaten two top 20 teams, including one in the top 5?  Kentucky has played really well so you could make an argument there, but not BC or Florida.

My badgers are somehow #5.  That's both hilarious and awesome.   :-D

That's true, but its not like the Oklahomas and Texas's and Floridas of the world are playing other top ten teams and losing to each other, letting the weak schedulers swoop in like vultures.  They all lost games to UNRANKED teams.  There is something to be said about teams (yes, like OSU) that don't lose the retardedly easy games because they are sleepwalking/planning for the big one next week. 

Auburn was at least ranked (edit: I mean at one point) and only has one bad loss (to Miss State). K State's only loss is to...Auburn. W.Virginina lost to South Florida, the team that beat...Auburn. Colorado is always a dangerous team with a well-established program.

These teams are at least playing top competition amongst themselves and good programs, not beating up on U.Mass and Akron.

Well, OSU has Purdue, Michigan State, and Wisconsin coming up, all no or one-loss teams.  Also Penn State in Happy Valley, and Michigan in the Big House, and they already have a win over a quality Washington team (see: this week).  If they get through that unscathed, I don't believe you can trot out the "but they didn't play anyone, and in the South its practically like pro teams playing each other" screed.  All the big programs (except maybe Notre Dame) have some fluff in their lineup. 

I won't argue that if they get through the Big 10 they are a good team, but not top two (or really even top 5), which is what I am afraid will happen with Cal/USC and Florida/LSU in the offing.  The conference is very down this year IMO so beating Wisconsin or Penn State isn't much of a barometer.

I agree he is a special runner. He's an oversized QB who can run a good draw out of the shotgun. It's also one of the most obvious things ever to see coming as soon as they set up in the formation. If I'm a defensive coach, I'm training my linebacker core to key on his ass constantly if they come out in it.

As for the "huge arm" I'm in disagreement here. His completion numbers are high because he's working in the dink and dunk spread offense that Florida plays. He's also reliant on most of his yardage coming after the completion because his receivers are very good. Besides, Tebow didn't keep his team in the game in the second half. He failed to put in a TD on 1st and goal from the 3 in the third quarter. He tossed a pick on the first play of the next drive. He went 3 and out on the next drive. The ONLY thing that kept Florida in this game was the fact that Auburn fumbled the damn ball on the first play at their own 38, giving Florida a short field when they were basically doing nothing but spinning their wheels. If Auburn grinds the ball even halfway down the field and burns down some of that clock, punting it back, Florida couldn't have done diddly shit.

They can't put the entire game and season in Tebow's hands. This is not Vince Young, and this is not the Big 12. If you are that one-dimensional, you'll get stomped into the ground eventually. You know who else rushed the ball that game? 3 other guys for a COMBINED 36 yards.

Uh? UCF, Louisville and Rutgers are all not bad teams. Are you going to tell me OSU has a tougher schedule? I'd give it to you that LSU/UF play tougher schedules, but I'd put USC's schedule right on par with USF's.

Let's also not forget that USF has beaten WVU two years straight now. USF isn't some luckyduck chump school. Maybe you missed the Auburn game where USF's defense did what UF couldn't.

USF isn't a newcomer. This has been a year or so in the making.

If it's going to happen this is a year to do it. Cal is playing at home and USC is beat up and not playing all that well.

Don't forget a ranked, currently unbeaten Cincinnati.  The same Bearcats that beat USF last year.  It's not exactly cruise control to a bowl game.

Triforcer's completely whacked on his opinion that the Big Ten is at all relevant this year. Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State are unranked shadows of what they used to be, and one of them is the biggest joke in the NCAA this season. Ohio State's played 5 nobodies in a row and is starting to get all uppity because they are 5-0 in a season where everyone is getting upset. Hell, my money is on Purdue next week. You heard it here first.

Wisconsin plays ONE ranked team this year, barring Michigan clawing its way back from total shame, and you don't get big points in the national eye for letting The Citadel hang 31 on your defense. They have to play each other in the end of the year slap fight that will knock one out, but you want to know what the funny part is? Michigan is still tied for first in the Big Ten and could easily win it late.

Still, with all that said, Louisville blows. They don't just blow, they manage to both suck and blow at the same time. I think they've actually created a portal of negative defense on the field when they play. They gave up 131 points in 5 games against unranked opponents. They are a joke, and I personally can't entertain the thought they will even be above .500 in the conference. Rutgers lost to Maryland. MARYLAND! I'd be shocked if Rutgers can beat Cincy.

USF has one stumbling block left, and I think it's the Cincy game in November.

Watch Louisville shut down the craptastic Utes this Friday.

What a weird year so far.

West Va. and Louisville have been exposed, finally.

I look at Ohio State at #4 and I think to myself "No way" but I then I look at 5-15 and really who would be favored to beat OSU on a neutral field? Florida I think would win and Oklahoma is a tossup - I think the OSU D could handle Bradford but they would have trouble scoring on the Sooners. Whoever voted OSU #1 in the USA Today poll has some issues though...

Notre Dame is 0-5 and rising. Reading some of the Domer forums is amusing - did you know that Ty Willingham is the reason that Charlie Weis can't win a game this year?

Michigan sucks out loud. The one clip where that slow-ass Northwestern running back that got something like 10 yards against the OSU defense outrunning a Michigan linebacker was classic. Penn State is being held back because JoePa would rather lose with his 80's style football than take a chance on a more modern approach - pretty sad.

LSU is indeed a gorilla with a chainsaw penis, but I think Les Miles loses a game for them somewhere down the line.

(http://www.orlyowl.com/haha.jpg)

I agree the Big 10 sucks this year, but OSU had no problems with a Washington team that almost beat USC. If I was a betting man I wouldn't go with Purdue. Tiller tends to freeze up against Tressel and the OSU defense can actually defend the spread. OSU's 3 most likely losses are Wisconsin, which plays well at the Horseshoe, Penn State because Tressel tends to freeze up against JoePa, and Michigan because despite UM sucking that will likely be Carr's last regular season game and anything can happen.

What I think you'll see is when OSU or Wiscy lose, they will drop from the rankings like a stone. If OSU lost to Purdue my guess is they would drop down to like 16 or 17 because of the weakness of the Big 10.

I knew somebody would bring it up eventually, but I'll say this. This ain't the USC you remember. This isn't the overwhelmingly dominant team of the past that is gonna roll over everyone and look scary all year long. This is the USC that is only #1 in some polls because they started that way. This is the team that played a hugely overhyped Nebraska on the road and won. That's pretty much it for them for a while. They are going to be looking past everyone else until Oregon because they all suck. Stanford, Arizona and Notre Dame? Yeah, I'd love the schedule going into my big end of the year games. Then, either Oregon or Cal is gonna rock their socks off, and LSU will end up at #1 on the year.

I will also say this, the Pac-10 has more parity in this current environment of craziness and upsets than it has had in years. This is the first time I've put it on par with the SEC in terms of not knowing who will emerge. There is almost no way anyone there is going to go undefeated, because all those teams at the top echelon are all playing at a very similar level of football. It's not dominate "oh my god watch out everyone" kind of football, but it's much more fun to watch than the past years. The only team playing scary good football right now is LSU, but they still have to take on Florida. Should they lose, it's anybody's conference to win in the SEC.

Also, on a new topic, how shitty is the Big 12 this year? #14 Nebraska, #4 Texas, and #8 OU at the beginning of the season. The top 10 teams took embarrassing losses to unranked teams. Nebraska got stomped on at home letting USC score more points against them than any other unranked team USC has faced this season. In 5 games, those top contender teams have dropped a combined 28 positions on the AP poll. Yikes.

I still don't see why the Big10 is "terrible" this year.  By the same logic you just used to say the Pac-10 is finally good the Big10 has always been good.

Admittedly I haven't watched the fuck out of CFB this year so far but here's a fun little game..

Top 7 from each conference (admittedly this should wait until about week8-10 for more relevence).

LSU > Ohio State > UCLA
Florida > Wisc > ASU
Cal > Georgia > Illinois
USC > UM > Alabama
Oregon > S.Car > Purdue
Kentucky > Arizona > Indiana
Mich. State > Vandy > OSU

Admittedly I'm making tons of stuff up there but whatever.  Here are the 5 games I would most like to see from that list:

1. UM v Alabama - Alabama lost so much credit with me watching them not be able to beat a shakey Dawgs team.  Mike Hart & McFadden force you to root for them because they get fucking no help...

2. Oregon v Purdue v S. Carolina - Any matchup of these 3 would be damn fun I'd imagine.  Unless Purdue plans on choking on dick again in the coming weeks.  Carolina and Oregon would be great for sure though.

3. Cal v Georgia - Cal crushing another SEC "powerhouse" = 4tw.

Hoax, you're effectively smoking crack. At least compare apples to apples.

From top to bottom it would be:

LSU - USC - OSU: This will be decided for sure, but there's no way to decide it on paper. I'd say USC is the only one to show any signs of weakness thus far, and LSU has a top 10 destruction of VA Tech (who was obviously overrated) and South Carolina (who is not). Advantage at the moment is with LSU. A Florida victory makes this undeniable.

Florida - Cal - Wisconsin: Cal is undeniably the best of the second tier teams, having faced a tough test already and winning.

Kentucky - Oregon - Purdue: Kentucky was "tested" against Louisville and won, thus putting them on top as the only undefeated program on the list to face a top 10 and walk away a winner, so they get the top bill; Purdue could easily make a huge move with an OSU win, or we'll never hear from them again.

Georgia - Arizona State - Illinois: That sound you hear is the Big Ten falling out of the top 25 in the rest of these battles. Personally, I'd love to see a UGA versus Arizona State game simply because they suffer from the same OSU illusions of grandeur that beating teams like Stanford, San Diego State, and San Jose provides. I give Georgia the nod if the game was on the road. Mark Richt doesn't lose on the road.

South Carolina - UCLA - Michigan: Michigan starts to show up late in the year and they might turn it around, but we'll always remember Appalachian State. Right now South Carolina is the best in this group and I believe they can beat Kentucky next week to move further up. UCLA's awful loss to Utah 44-6 knocks them out of contention here.

Re Michigan:  I think that they could win out, and this game in the Big House is OSU's most likely loss.  By that point, Michigan will have crawled back to #20 or so, and will have literally nothing to lose going against OSU.  Michigan is, right at this moment I believe, still a top 15 team.

USF in the Nat'l Championship.



That is all.

You need to stop smoking what Hoax is smoking.

I can't wait until Michigan wins the Big 10 and goes to a BCS game.  All the internet arguing will be fun!

Paelos, if you looked closely you would know I was going off fucking standings which is why I said this will be much more meaningful/fun in a few more weeks once the conference games are truly under way.

I'm not so stupid as to think UCLA is the best of the pac-10 but they are 1st in the pac-10.  W/e though I don't expect much from you ever.  I was bored at work so figured I would do the only useful/fun test of conference v conference which is a total waste of time if you start pickign who each person decides the "best" teams are.

Yeah, the conference standings. I noticed that, even though for some reason you sort of just tossed Kentucky down at the bottom when they lead the SEC East currently. As you probably notice, I just went down the list of the AP poll and paired teams up based on that, which at least takes into account overall records instead of pure conference. If you want to just want to banter about games we'd love to see to prove the worth of the conferences, I'll give you my top 5 this year.

1 - USC v. LSU - it will be glorious should things hold up
2 - Georgia v. OSU - why the hell not? We'd probably lose but it would show some balls on OSU's part to try it instead of that other non-conference crap they pull.
3 - Cal v. Oklahoma - Personally, I'd do this just because OU would probably lose, and I hate everything about the Big 2, I mean 12
4 - USF v. Florida - Can you imagine? Can you? Insanity.
5 - South Carolina v. Boston College - The old ACC/SEC rivalry doesn't get much respect anymore, but I'd like to see the Old Ball Coach take on BC.

EDIT: Plus you insulted my Dawgs, I can't stand for that!  :-D

OSU's non conference crap? Uh excuse me, we played Texas the past two years.  NC State the two years before that (back when they were pretty good with Phillip Rivers and TA McClendon), and we play USC the next two years. Not to mention that one of each of those games was played on the road. Do I have to go into Georgia's nonconference schedule, particulary their road schedule (or lack thereof) the past few years?

And which non-conference national powerhouse did you play this year?

USF v. Florida in the Sugar Bowl is actually a very distinct possibility this year.

The Orange bowl picks their second team before the Sugar Bowl so it's more likely that USF as Big East champs (assumption) will go to the Orange bowl to play the ACC champs. If for some reason the Orange bowl and Fiesta bowl pass over USF then yeah they could play Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

ehh, Washington was supposed to be our tough game. The games were scheduled in the late 90's when they were pretty good. I admit the schedule is weak this year, but to say that OSU just schedules cupcakes is plain wrong.

Those Texas games were awesome, fucking CFB world should be thanking us for providing such good games to watch.  Too bad nobody could beat Vince Young when he put his fucking mind to it...  They had that game.

I don't care if you played an NFL team LAST year. I'm an SEC guy, and I'd like to see more solid teams play our solid teams. I'm not sure who is the one controlling that, and I'm willing to blame the SEC if it's us. I'm betting it's 50-50 deep down.

What I'm pointing out is that this year your team essentially plays one ranked team. It's a cupcake schedule because the conference is having a shitty year in big non-conference game and the polls. Washington was not big, btw. Do we really need to hash this out more? Do I need to point out how far the teams have fallen out of favor in the top 25? It's OSU, Wisconsin, and maybe Purdue if they beat OSU next week as the ranked teams in that conference. Compare it to the 4-5 in the Pac Ten, or the 5 in the SEC. It's a down year for the Big Ten, let's just face facts.

Georgia's always pissed me off with their non-conference selections, but they are getting better. We're starting to play teams like Colorado, Boise State, and Ok. St. at the beginning of the year. I'm hoping they will continue up that ladder and get more invites. The problem with the SEC is you have to play 8 conference games a year, most likely half of them against ranked opponents. It's hard to convince a program that you should take on more.

Right.  I know I'm late to the party and all... FUCK, BALLS, COCKGOBBLING CROTCH FUNGUS!

If you didn't get a chance to watch the UO vs. Cal game you missed a really good game.  Despite the fact that we lost...

A few things bothered me down the stretch.  Why call a short pass play down near the zone when you are trying to run the clock down anyway?  Cal was getting pressure on Dixon for almost the entire second half... just admit it and suck them in with a trap/draw and eat some more time off the clock.  That interception was a result of a bad play call (and a Dixon showing the whole world where he was going to throw... Jesus, I could have read that pass).  Oregon really needed to stay in the hurry-up offence (or that weird "almost" hurry-up they run).  It looked to me that once we got that going Cal wasn't able to find ways to stop the offence as well. 

Yeah, Cal did a good job of recovery in the second half... grumble, grumble.

BALLS! 

Cal v UO was a fantastic game. Cal kept trying to give it to Oregon, but Oregon kept stepping all over its own genitalia. The fumble at the 1 inch line through the end zone had to be sickening.

Also- DeSean Jackson is AMAZING. The little stutterstep he put on the DB and then blew past him for 6 was otherworldly.

We'll see him on Sundays, I'm looking forward to it.  Marshawn Lynch is going to do so much for Cal recruiting, too bad the Bills are fucking trash still, goddamn Loserman.

But how about that Trent Edwards?

It was a good game--I'm not all that in to watching college football, but even I enjoyed it overall. I thought it as surprising as the announcers that the first two quarters were mostly defense showing off (not something either team was really known for), and that the third quarter Cal started really shining but Oregon didn't.

What killed us in the 4th were turnovers, and not using the rapid offense to it's fullest potential. It was so obvious that the Oregon offense was in better shape than the Cal defense that the announcers mentioned it almost every other play, yet we seemed pretty lazy regarding getting plays off to leverage their fatigue.

I think someone else mentioned it in this thread already as well, but it was weird not seeing more run plays 3rd/4th quarter from Oregon--we should have kept pushing them out with pass plays, then capitalizing on the defense being so spread out, but hey, what do I know.

Yeah, underusing Jonathan Stewart is almost always a mistake.

LSU v. Florida

I want predictions, and I want them to have scores attached. This could very well decide the SEC and the National Title Shot lineup.

My pick.......Florida gets embarrassed in Death Valley 34-3. Teebow tosses up two long passes but isn't saved by the fact that LSU stuffs the run all day long. 2 Picks thrown by Florida in the game, and both are on their own side of the field. LSU tosses up none, but fumbles the ball once to keep things even. In the end, the night game in LSU doesn't work out for anyone on the road.

I think it will be a close game until the fourth, where a turnover will decide the end of the game.

I will give two predictions with percentages attached:

35% likely: 24-20 UF. A lucky fumble/interception/blocked punt et al with seven minutes left seals the game for the Gators.

65% likely: 28-20 LSU. Florida gets off to a quick start, but the offense of LSU is just too much for the Gators. Add in a crucial turnover in the fourth by UF, and the game is over.

Shows what I know.


EDIT: I am however vindicated in my view of Wisconsin.

EDIT2:  Heh. Stanford. Go figure.

USC Down.

Heh, there is a chance Ohio State will be number 1 at the end of this weekend.

Wtf is it with this season?

You know, I was pretty disappointed with USF's performance against FAU (4 turnovers) but this year just escaping with a win when you play poorly could be enough to win a title.  See: USC, Wisconsin and Georgia this week.

Crazy season indeed. I have an inkling that me may actually have no undefeated teams this year heading to the championship game.

BTW, anyone that doesn't think Tebow is an amazing QB isn't watching the same game I am.

EDIT: Florida is really trying to give this game away.

:rofl: Go Cards!

Not going to happen. Cal beat Tennessee and Oregon but Purdue is the first ranked team Ohio State has played so far.

Well, LSU won, so it isn't an issue, but voters often will leap a team over an idle one whether they deserve it or not.

Man what a game.  UF should stay in the top 10 even though they've lost 2.  If they can beat Spurrier there is a good chance they can still win the SEC.

I doubt they drop at all. Close road losses to a clear #1 team usually don't hurt a team's rankings too much.

OSU - shades of 2002 all over again. Awesome defense, so-so offense with a stud running back that can't stay healthy. The Florida game last year really put a chip on these guys shoulders and they're playing with attitude. I still think Carr pulls an Earle Bruce, announces his retirement before the OSU game and UM plays over their heads at home to win.

Chalk one up for Paelos - definitely not the same USC team as years past. I think Petey is starting to feel the loss of Norm Chow because Booty looks horrible.

Booty's no Leinart or Palmer, despite the pre-season Heisman talk, but he also injured his middle finger on his throwing hand during the game. Not sure why Carroll kept him in.

Yeah, but this certainly wasn't the loss I saw coming for them at all. I was expecting Oregon to actually give them what-for, and they still might. Still, it's hard for me to revel in the craziness that went on Saturday when my Dawgs didn't even show up against Tennessee. Seriously, did anybody else watch that game? Did they suit up a bunch of hobos and put them on the field for Georgia? I've never seen such a sorry display of football by my team in a decade! 69 yards rushing??? WHAT?!?!

We've played shitty offense before, but our defense lost us that game. It was so horrid on both sides of the ball that I just started watching the Texas-OU game. Oh, and what the hell is up with them calling it the Red River Rivalry instead of the Red River Shootout? How pussy have we gotten in sports that you can't call something a shootout IN TEXAS? I hate announcers.

EDIT: Oh and the polls are out. The AP poll is completely insane. 7 Teams from the SEC are in the top 25 on that poll. More than half a conference is ranked on the AP poll. Has this ever happened before? This is a year of crazy crazy college football. Nothing is safe, and nothing is sacred. Look out LSU, Ohio State, and Cal. You're all due for an upset this season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Y7yjxJVlc

Now that's awesome. And sadly true.

In the spirit of crazy football picks that may never happen, but possibly could in this environment of upsets and fear, I bring you... MY BOLD PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK, brought to you by Bud Light.

Purdue beats Michigan 27-24 on a last second FG. Michigan puts the sad face back on.
Kent State shocks Ohio State 30-21. Why? Because upsets are rampant this season, and Ohio State won't be paying attention.
Oregon State grinds down Cal 24-17 with the heavy does the running game.


Anybody else want to go out on an upset limb this week?

-Penn State over WISC as the wheels fall off.
-Iowa almost beats Illinois. (I think they might win but I want Ill to continue to do well).
-Ark over Auburn (how are they ranked again, also McFadden 4tw!)

I'll say next week that I think FSU has a good shot at upsetting BC, but this week, I want to see the Bulls in the top three!

Washington will at least cover, and could pull of an upset in the desert if things go right (and they used their bye week effectively).

San Jose State over HI tonight! Woohoo!  Go Spartans!   :-D

Kent State's already put up the white flag - their coach said he'll be putting reserves in to save the starters for MAC play.

I agree that Purdue wins, but it's not that close. The wheels are starting to come off internally for the wolves.

My other guesses are Louisville over Cincinnati, and Washington over Arizona State.

I refuse to take the Cincy one even though its a solid choice because I love seeing the Bearcats do well...

FUCK!  So close.

Well Michigan finally woke up. I still say they lose another one before the OSU game.

Oklahoma State 45 Nebraska 14. The hilarious thing was when Steve Pederson fired Solich he said "I refuse to let the program drift into mediocrity". Well how about just plain suckage there, Steve-O?

Buckeyes probably would have got a better game out of Cincy St. Xavier than Kent State...

Right now I'm rooting lustily for Boston College to hang 50 on Fat Bastard.

What an asswhipping USF put on UCF. I wonder if USF will move up this week over OSU.

If OSU and UCF both go undefeated and the pollsters put USF in the title game over the Buckeyes, we will do a Sherman's March from Columbus to whatever city USF is in.

Both the Big Ten and the Big East are total dogshit this season so neither one of them should really sniff the top 4.  But if I had to pick, USF at least beat Auburn and West Virginia.

Big East is dogshit? Cincinatti, Syracuse, West Virginia and USF are dogshit....

Hrm. Try again.

There goes LSU.  Maybe dogshit USF can play dogshit OSU for the championship the way things are going.

Wow.

GO BUCKS!!!  The humble, cornfed midwestern team will prevail on the strength of hard work and grit while westerners and southerners sniff their effete criticisms over sushi and arugula.   :-D   

Pretty much.

There is no dominant team this year, every team has weaknesses. I'm wondering what's going to happen if there's no undefeated teams this year. Hopefully it spells the end of the BCS.

 :roflcopter:  :rofl:

Touchdown Beavers. 27-21 8 minutes left.

Colin Cowherd will have a field day on Monday with OSU 1, BC 2, and USF 3 in the rankings if the Beavs pull it out.

They got the 2 pt conversion and also just got a field goal: 31-21 Beavers.

Based on Strength of Schedule (http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/polls/119), USF should be #1 over both OSU and BC*.  That won't happen though and they'll likely be #3.

*Assuming Cal of the mighty Pac 10 goes on to lose.  They'd really deserve #1 if they win with that 79th SoS, too.

:(

Cal goes down on an epic, epic mistake by the new QB.  When you have a sure FG, no timeouts, and 14 sec left on the opponent's 15, you don't try to run the ball in.  Game ended as the FG team scrambling on field.

OMG... Cal's quarterback has a brain fart for the ages and runs the clock out on the 7 yard line. Unbelievable.

Did you really just use Syracuse (1-5) as a reason why that conference is good?

Cinci is going to lose to a lousy Louisville team. West Virginnia has beaten absolutely no one. South Florida has beaten absolutely no on... except West Virginia. (EDIT: I take that back, they beat Auburn, so they are at least a top 15 team, number 3 no way).  It's a crap conference overall.


I think you're right, Oklahoma definitely has the inside track.

Oklahoma is not in the midwest.  The midwest consists of: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and western Pennsylvania.  Everyone else around us is Great Lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin) or Plains (everyone to the west of Illinois) or Appalachia.

Everything between Utah and Virginia is the midwest to me. Plus, it was a joke.

Ohio State has beaten...  #24 Purdue.
Boston College has beaten...  #15 Georgia Tech.
South Florida has beaten #17 Auburn and #5 West Virginia.

Rename those those teams to Team A, Team B and Team C and Team C would be #1.  Instead Team A will get it.  I'm really interested to see what the BCS says, since it'll take SoS into account.

That win over Purdue doesn't look that impressive after today either. Although Michigan has been looking much better lately.

By all rights LSU should still be #1 tomorrow. They have beaten very good competition and their loss was on the road to another very good team in triple overtime. If you just asked "which team is most likely to win a game against anyone else" they would be it.  It's not the way the world works unfortunately.

I'd be hard pressed to argue against LSU remaining #1 but you're right, that's not how it works.

Another thing to note about those three teams I listed: both of the top 20 teams USF beat are still in the top 25 (and Auburn could move back up into the top 20).  Purdue and Georgia Tech aren't even ranked anymore.  Oh, and USF now has the longest winning streak in college football with LSU and Cincinnati both losing.

From Sagarin's SOS rankings, OSU is 38th, USF 32. Not sure how Kent State vs UCF will change that, probably not much. BC is 78th, Oklahoma is 85 (which will increase with the Missouri game though).

It's a total tossup with the BCS right now. USF gets points for a top 10 win, OSU gets points for being 2 spots ahead, assuming the rankings hold, while USF has a slightly higher ranked schedule. Depending on how the computer rankings shake out its probably OSU #1 by a hair, followed by USF, then BC.

Re paragraph 2: You are smoking crack.  As to OSU in particular, I would seriously like to know what you/Nevermore/etc. have actually SEEN in regards to the Bucks that makes you think it is a weak team (beyond just reciting the record of Big 10 teams).  I'd understand (and even agree on some level) that OSU's ranking was undeserved if they were pulling a Wisconsin, and floating through their season beating teams like the Citadel by 7.  Hell, I'd even understand if their wins were showing huge gaping flaws, like they were winning every game 55-50 (ie: no defense) or were totally one-dimensional (always run or always pass).  But trying to imply that the Bucks are a slightly more lucky version of Wisconsin is delusional.

Because beating the powerhouses of Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State really shows their mettle.  :roll:  (oh, and I was on record a long time ago that Wisconsin is a horrible team, something that has been born out in spades)

They just aren't that impressive. They have a good defense (although not tested by anyone particularly good), but their offense is average at best. Against a real defense, they would have serious problems.

The other problem is they don't play anyone of note the rest of the season.  The only two currently ranked teams left on the OSU schedule both lost today and could drop off the polls completely.

Triforcer, OSU will lose to Michigan, thus making your conference completely worthless. Shut up. They have ZERO chance at a national title shot. Even if they get there, they'll fuck it up. Remember Florida?

Heard the same thing in 2002. Since 2002 OSU has the second highest total win percentage, with the 6th toughest SOS. WWW.tellshowbcs.com if you want to take a look.

For everyone that doesn't like OSU being number one, win your games and it's not an issue. Any other so-called good team would be ahead of them if they would have taken care of business.

And it was true then too. They needed a fluke play/bullshit penalty to win that championship against a Miami team that shouldn't have really been there either.

As for winning "my" games, I don't have a horse in this race, unlike the obvious homers.

I think a bunch of people are just red-assing that the dominant teams are blowing dick and losing should-win games this year resulting in a level playing field. Most of the conferences are pretty well-matched, with the SEC probably having a stronger conference than the others (par for the course). However, if you lose to a team that Ranked_Opponent_01 is supposed to beat, don't whine and bitch that "X team should be #1 even if we lost to (insert team here)." There are plenty of other teams that are proving themselves day in and day out. You might think LSU is better than USF, but what if Auburn beats LSU next week? What then? What if Kentucky keeps winning?


Maybe it is only that I live in Tampa where there are a shitload of OSU/UF fans that I have to hear garbage about USF sucks this, USF sucks that and plays an easy schedule, but hearing it here from what I considered for a little bit to be a more educated college football crowd makes me want to shoot myself.

You want to be #1? Don't be Boise State and fucking win some football games. Don't complain when a team loses and another pretty good team is undefeated and is ranked higher than you.

For fuck's sake. I'd take USF's defense over anyone in the nation. Grothe is starting to look better game in and game out. We went into Auburn AT HOME and won. We beat WVU. What else do you want before we're not dogshit?!

Play someone really good and win. Those two teams don't really qualify (although Auburn is marginally good).

USF is a good story, but they are simply not an elite team.

I also like how everyone is trying to hang some agenda on me. I'm a football fan that roots for a team that is usually crappy and wholly irrelevant to the national scene. I just call them like I see them.

Fuck rookies.

That is all.

I suppose I did lump you into a category, but you're clearly overlooking the fact that Auburn and WVU are GOOD FOOTBALL TEAMS.

Oh yeah. USF might not have the #1 offense, but they certainly aren't bad. I'd even say that it is pretty good. A talented runner in Mike Ford, a pretty competent O-Line, and a good runner/passer in Grothe. USF's defense is #1 in the nation. Do you just look at highlight reels and say, "Oh, USF -- they are a fluke." Perhaps you don't know that there are at least three people on USF's defense who will be playing on Sundays. There is a chance that two of them will go in the first round next year.

Sorry. I can't help if you are seeing it wrong.


P.S.: I know I'm fanboying it up a little bit here, but USF deserves someone to take up the slack.  Also, OSU is pretty decent too. They deserve to be where they are right now.

Edit: I noticed earlier I fucked up and said Syracuse when I meant to say Rutgers. I wasn't paying attention to what I was posting. Sorry.

Tough game for the Bears. He's a hero if he gets outside though.

On what basis are you asserting that WVU is a "good football team?" I'll grant you Auburn (sorta), but what has WVU shown to put them in the category of "good" other than being ranked highly at the beginning of the season (rankings which are basically meaningless)?

Here's a fun comparison. Tell me how Ohio State's record is any different than Kansas's based upon the teams they have played/beaten and explain why there is going to be 18 spots between them in the rankings.

Here's why.  Rankings are meant to order teams according to ability to beat the other 1-A teams (and not, as you seem to think, as some sort of vague affirmation of "inner talent" regardless of how many game's they've lost).  You seem to think that the ONLY possible variable that can determine this is who a team has played this season.

But, you see, other factors can play in.  Such as, talent of the coach and his staff.  Also, how the team did last year (of course, this factor is considered in conjunction with how many players are returning).

OSU was in the championship game last year.  They have the same defense, basically.  There were questions on offense (which is why they started at 11).  The fact that they got to the championship game shows that it is reasonable to rank them number 1.  With Kansas, we only have their record.  Therefore, more variables are in favor of OSU. 

In short, expand your view of the factors considered when ranking teams.

Well, I've seen WVU play a game or two this season, and let's do a schedule breakdown:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/teamsched?teamId=277
1) Western Michigan -- Garbage team. I won't say anything about this other than they ran up the score.
2) FIU -- Another shit team. Not a big win here either.
3) Maryland -- Decent Good team. Wins against (10)Rutgers and (X)Georgia Tech. Losses to Wake and WVU (Recall Wake beat FSU).
4) East Caronlina -- Not as bad as WMU and FIU, but nothing special here. 3-3 going into the UTEP game.
5) USF -- Loss. To the #1-5 team through week six.

Remaining games: Rutgers, Cincinatti, and Louisville. Louisville's defense looked decent against Cincinatti, and that is all that it needs to win.

Should I do a UF breakdown? Because it really doesn't look any better so far this year. Or how about USC?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/teamsched?teamId=57
1) Western Kentucky -- Need I even put this down?
2) Troy -- Again, same.
3) (22)Tennessee -- Tennessee is alright, I guess. They beat UGA, but that's not saying much this year. I'd rank Tennessee about the same as Louisville.
4) Ole Miss -- Conference game that UF almost loses but still pulls out, 30-24.
5) (X)Auburn -- Last minute loss. Auburn completely dominates UF in the first half and Tebow doesn't have enough in the tank to finish it.
6) (1)LSU -- Loss. UF can't hang on to a lead in the second half playing horrible BucBall and not sticking to an offensive gameplan.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/teamsched?teamId=30
1) Idaho -- Not someone to write home about.
2) (14)Nebraska -- I can't believe the Huskers were ranked so high at the beginning of the season. 49-31 is a pretty big win.
3) Washington State -- Uh. Yeah. Washington State. Not much to see here.
4) (X)Washington -- This was a pretty decent game, and Washington had a few opportunities to win, but ultimately couldn't hang on. Washington is a pretty decent team despite being 2-3.
5) Stanford -- Loss? Laugh. C'mon, it's Stanford here people. They aren't as good as they have been in the past.
6) Arizona -- 20-13 sloppy win. I suppose a win is a win, and when comparing USC to USF, this would be comparable to USFvFAU.

Now which of these "good football teams" have had a tougher schedule than USF this year?

Since I took so long to write this post and you're talking about Kansas v OSU, just look at who Kansas has played this year. If you think OSU has a weak schedule (which you've already stated), KU's is even worse (so far).

Maryland isn't a good team. They beat a lousy Rutgers team. That's it. Georgia Tech is a basement ACC team.


Uh, that was my point. They have played a cupcake schedule with 1 or 1 1/2 marginally good teams on it. KU has beat K-State (ranked 24 at the time) and OSU has beaten Purdue (ranked 23 at the time) & Washington (which is a half considering they lost to a horid UCLA team but do show signs of playing well ocaisionally). Those schedules/wins are functionally equivalent. So why is there such a disparity in ranking?

I call bullshit. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/teamsched?teamId=59

They beat Clemson and one of their losses is to unbeaten BC. Sorry.
Rutgers isn't lousy either. Where are you coming up with this stuff?

I'll definitely submit to you that OSU gets a little bit of a reputation vote. I don't have a viable argument for that. Well played.

Sigh.  Maybe you'll understand it this way.

Both me and Evander Holyfield box a six year old boy.  Both of us KO him in one punch.  Therefore, there is no way to distinguish between the boxing ability of Evander Holyfield and me.

Think about why you'd disagree with that, and then answer your Kansas/OSU question.

I watch these teams play football. Most of my judgments aren't this actuarial table on who beat who. I watch the games and evaluate the talent level of the football team.

That is begging the question. You have anointed OSU as Holyfield and Kansas as you without any basis in fact for doing so other than your incredibly biased subjective labeling.

EDIT: To run with your analogy, you have watched someone with a bag over their head beat up a 6 year old and another person with a bag over their head beat up a different 6 year old. You have determined that the first person is far superior to the second person based upon the fact that you like color of their trunks and people who wear that color trunks have won a lot in the past.

I watch the teams play too, you know. I don't have a good argument for OSU because I don't watch Big-10 or Pac-10 religiously, but I watch a shitton of ACC/SEC/Big East. You've got me on the OSU argument, but I don't believe the "USF is dogshit" from a few posts back, and that's why I'm posting what I'm posting. Also, the Boston baseball game is going really, really slow and I need something to do.

Wrong.  You are deliberately misunderstanding what I've been saying.  Obviously "general" reputation shouldn't factor into ranking teams.  But OSU was in the championship game LAST YEAR.  They beat two #2 ranked teams..  OSU players aren't wearing the same color trunks as last year's players, they ARE last year's players.

That isn't institutional reputation (which I agree would be a BS factor in ranking teams).  When a team has proven itself IN PAST YEARS, and those same players ARE STILL AROUND, then it is reasonable to use that data in evaluating them now.   

Are you seriously suggesting that past performance, when the same players are still around, means absolutely nothing in evaluating a team?  I agree it shouldn't be the paramount factor, but as a tiebreaker or a means of differentiating teams with identical records it is quite valuable. 

Precisely.

You see, if you're a major powerhouse (Ohio State) and win all your games but you don't have any top 10 teams played, you suck and you're a fraud.

If on the other hand you're a newcomer and win all your games, including a top 10 team and a top 20 team from the conference du jour, you suck and you're a fraud.

But losing games is ok as long as you're a trendy team.

Past performance isn't irrelevant, but these are not dependent events. They are independent events using non-identical variables (i.e. a different roster).  In fact, you are basing a ranking upon exogenous events altogether as the only reason they have risen from 11 to 1 is because of things that have absolutely nothing to do with them. Have they beaten teams that justify moving up? No, they just haven't lost to really weak teams. Wow, what an accomplishment.

Plus, the Big Ten wasn't any great shakes last year either (2-5 in the bowls) Going through that isn't something to base anything on. 

Well, I didn't say that. I said the Big East is a dogshit conference, and it is. USF is a nice team but has no business in the top 3.

USC, Cal, Michigan, Louisville, and numerous others would disagree with you.  Part of being a championship caliber team is having the mental focus to not sleepwalk through games you are "obviously" going to win.

Abogadro's Top 5:

1. LSU
2. Florida
3. South Carolina
4. Kentucky
5. Auburn.

That about right?

Way to pick teams I wouldn't put up at the top either. Selection bias anyone? 

So part of being a championship team is to schedule cupcakes, beat the shit out of them and hope people in front of you lose?  I mean, come on. Youngstown State? Akron? Kent State?

What was Duke not available?

Nope. Why have you identified me as an SEC honk? Because it fits your preconception and you can dismiss my opinion without any substantive argument in return? 

I'd say the top four teams right now are LSU, Oregon, Oklahoma and South Carolina. I wouldn't put them in any particular order as they could all compete for the top spot on any given day.  After that is a group of about 5 or 6 teams that are second tier: USF, Florida, Kentucky, USC, Cal (with their starting QB), Missouri, Az. State, Ohio State.

I frankly think rankings are ridiculous in the first place, so I'd go with groupings like that.

Edited, since you weren't referring to me

Like I said, I root for a sucky team that is irrelevant: The University of Utah.

Heh. Oregon's only substantive win was over Michigan, since being in the Big 10 automagically sucks and is worth nothing.

Oklahoma is up there, but their defense is iffy.

South Carolina is pretty much OSU SEC. Average offense, great defense.

LSU is extremely talented but Les Miles has let us say a very tight collar.

Like I said, it's based upon watching teams play, not arbitrary rankings.

EDIT: I also think it is funny that you said this earlier in the thread about WVU: "A decent program with an explosive offense that runs up the score on lesser teams and thus gets more hype and exposure than it deserves. When the Mountaineers beat a team with a defense of the caliber of USC, Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma, etc I'll be impressed. Otherwise, they're overhyped and overrated imo."

This is basically what I am saying about OSU, but because you are a homer, you are blind to it.

Anyway here's my top 5 FWIW purely subjective based on my opinion on a neutral field:

1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. USF
5. Florida

Basically LSU and Florida have the most talent, but they make too many mistakes. Oklahoma has a great offense, iffy defense. USF is solid and balanced but at this level I don't think they have the personnel to win an NC. OSU has a killer defense and questions on offense.

What I think the final rankings will be:

1. LSU
2. Oklahoma
3. USC
4. Ohio State
5. USF

I think OSU loses at Michigan thanks to the LLoyd Carr retirement schtick. Oklahoma and LSU win out, USF stumbles along the way, USC wins out if Booty gets healthy.

I think if USF ultimately loses, they will get punished way more than that. A team like that elevated to that level gets absolutely killed in the polls if they drop a game.

West Virginia is overrated. Name the last time they beat a top 5 team. I'll wait.

Ohio State has a defense. #1 defense in the NCAA in points allowed, in fact. I'll take my chances with Tressel and that defense against any team in the NCAA, Tebow and Florida included.

Ehh yeah you're right. Probably stick Florida or somebody in there instead if USF loses. Now watch after all this forum warrioring OSU will lay an egg against Michigan State next week  :tantrum:

My lord people quit beating Ab to death for basically being right about the rankings and the bullshit way the media views things.

OSU has played nobody. Find me an opponent that actually is important so far. You can't. However, they are about to run the gauntlet of tougher opponents where they will probably go 4-2 and end up at #20.

USF, I love them. I love them so much they are my proxy-team to root for as a Georgia fan. I'm an SEC guy, and everyone knows it. HOWEVER, they are not elite. They are not a national contender. More things have to be done in their conference where they play the majority of their games before you can start to consider such a team as worthy of greatness. More expansion must take place in out of conference play as well. One win does not make a championship. Be that as it may, I'd love to see a USF v. Ohio State final, because Ohio State would take 40 days off while being hyped before they fucked it up.

Boston Colllege. Seriously, would we even be talking about these guys if they weren't undefeated in a time of supreme weirdness? Hell no. The ranked opponent they played was Georgia Tech. Yeah, look it up. It's pathetic. The ACC is a shithole right now. Even the Big 10 is more relevent and competitive, and that's not saying much.

Oklahoma has the best chance to win the whole thing. They don't play anybody worth a damn, they stand up to teams that they have to play against who might be worth a damn, and Bob Stoops can win a big game. The loss to Colorado is an anomoly in a road game. I think of all the teams, this is one of the national contenders.

LSU, what a shitty shitty way to lose in Kentucky. Dropped passes and bad defense slaughtered LSU. Will they make the mistake again? Yeah, on the road probably. Les Miles looks like he has no idea where he is, which might be the only thing holding such a great team back. They won't make it to the national title now that they dropped a game. The SEC will eat them alive.

USC...Guess what, one loss won't matter. This will be the team playing OU in the championship, and nobody will give a shit. I honestly don't care who wins in that battle because we all lose as college football fans. The media will put them into the title fight as fast as they possibly can.

Oh, he's right that the media and pollsters have a screwed up view of things.  My only argument with Ab is his assertion that USF doesn't belong in the top 5.

4 of the 6 computer polls have rankings out for Oct 7.  LSU is obviously #1 in all of them, but here's how the other teams you mention stack up:

Billingsley (http://www.cfrc.com/Ratings_2007/WK_7.htm), Colley (http://www.colleyrankings.com/), Massey (http://www.mratings.com/rate.php?lg=cf), Sagarin* (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt07.htm)

OSU: #2, #4, #5, #6
USF: #3, #3, #2, #2
BC: #5, #8, #4, #8
Oklahoma: #18, #20, #30, #27
USC: #8, #25, #24, #26

Come Monday the computers will be very kind to USF on the BSC rankings, but the human polls won't be.  It'll probably be something dumb like OSU, Oklahoma, LSU, BC, USF.

*Sagarin only uses the ELO_CHESS portion for the BCS.

Edit: That's how I think the Coaches Poll will end up.  USF will be higher in the AP.  Harris is a toss-up.

Do I like the fact that a Big East team like USF has no shot at the national title? No. I think they deserve their shot. HOWEVER, they don't deserve it in the title game. I want them to play somebody to prove their worth outside of a conference that is (at best) mediocre. Auburn wasn't good. Let's all face facts on that one. Every team that's been given a chance to be great has been shattered, outside of South Florida. And the funny thing is that they have holes that are glaringly obvious if they played a stronger set of teams week to week.

For one, their kicker sucks. I know it's not cool to beat down on someone's special teams, but how many times has that made the difference in other games this year? 50% won't get the job done in a close matchup. Look it up.

Second, they suffer from "Tebow Syndrome" to a degree. Grothe provides 2/3 of their yards and basically IS their offense. That's out of balance for college football. Eventually good teams start keying on him in bigger games and shut him down. This happened with Florida. It will happen to South Florida in a huge game if they make it that far. Compare them to a team like OSU, or Boston College, or LSU, who has a 50/50 split almost exactly between QB total yardages and rushing.

Third and finally, there's zero name recognition before this season. Regular fans are thinking "flash in the pan" for this team, and long term testing is the only thing that will prove otherwise. Nobody wants to see a Big East team in the national championship because it's an 8-man, blown apart conference this year. But what other conference is standing strong these days? Your best hope is to slide by on an undefeated "Utah-esque" ride.

The Computer polls are useful, but much of their input comes from the very same flawed human rankings.

Duke beat FSU a few years back.

Since you've been dodgy answering some questions in this thread, who are your top 5?

Yes, Duke is certainly a powerhouse.  :roll:

I answered that, as well as every other question asked of me.

What will be amusing is when one of your teams lose and you are all in here crying about the ranking system punishing teams that lose late over teams that lose early.

Heh, the computer component of the BSC has OSU tied for 5th.

Heh, the component that matters has OSU 1st.

(http://www.ttoshi.net/tomo/tomo-crying.jpg)

I find your responses really odd. You keep talking about me crying. I'm simply making statements. I'm not upset about it. I don't root for any teams that are even in the top 25. I have two college football passions: Rooting for the Utes and hating the BYU Cougars with the burning passion of a thousand suns (In fact, my disdain for the ridiculous ranking systems stems in large part from that joke of a National Championship in 1984). Everything beyond that is just observation and comment. The only one seemingly completely devoid of objectivity is you. It will be funny to watch either: 1) the usual whine when a late loss dooms title hopes or 2) OSU's bitchslapping at the hands of a real team either in regular play or in the championship game since their ranking is undeserved (see Exhibit A 2007 Tostitos Bowl).

LSU is still #5, and got a first place vote?  What bullshit.  Like Montague said: if you are the trendy team, then everyone makes excuses for your losses.

News flash: I never claimed OSU was going to win a NC. I fully expect them to lose to at least Michigan and have said so several times in this thread.

All you've done is cry about the polls.
Cried about the BCS.
Cried about the Big 10 being weak.
Cried about OSU's schedule.
Cried about OSU's national title. Hell you cried about Miami being in the title game, which is total rofflesauce.
Cried about USF.

You see, when OSU loses (not if), I'm not going to cry nearly as much as you've already done in this thread. Carry on with your passive-aggressive douchebaggery though, if it makes you feel better.

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Abagadro/montoya2.jpg)

I do not think that word means what you think it means.




Or people who aren't raging homers can evaluate various talent levels of teams and judge who they have played.

Cut it out Mr. "Wolverine Killer".

I have pictures...  :-D 

Alright, standing down. 

Interesting comparison of conferences I saw posted over on Fark:


By the way, every single computer ranking used by the BCS has USF #1.  :thumbs_up:

I agree with that list as far as which conferences are having the most successful year. PAC-10 and the SEC are putting on a show this year from teams that you normally don't get to hear anything about.

Juicy rumor:

One of the intarweb boards I frequent had someone posted that Nebraska AD Steve Pederson and the entire Husker coaching staff except for Callahan are fired effective immediately. Supposedly a 10AM news conference tomorrow morning to announce this.

As always, take it fwiw but after Nebraska was fucking humiliated in front of Tom Osborne and the 1997 team on Saturday I could believe this.

There's  a lot of repressed anger to six year olds in  this thread.

And what coaches will they use for the rest of the season?  Not exactly the best time of year to be looking for assistants.  I wonder if they long for the days of 10-2 "mediocrity" under Solich.

That's kinda what I was wondering. I reread what the guy posted and I guess I read it wrong, it just said assistants, not ALL the assistants.

From reading the Nebraska boards this morning it seems the rumor is all over the place but nothing official has happened yet. They've possibly made a decision that was going to happen at the end of the season but it got leaked. The one question is will Big Red pay Callahan 6 million to hit the bricks.

Offensive PI on a 30 yard pass on 4th and 22. Ouch.

USF goes down.

Well, there's a lot I could say about this game but rather than indulge in sour grapes, I'll just say Rutgers played a great game.  A National Champion should find a way to win a game like that, even when things go against them.  It's still going to be an outstanding season for the Bulls, so there's no shame in losing one in a season like this.  An Orange Bowl berth against the ACC Champ will still be a great cap to a great season, if they can regroup and get back on track.

I'll refrain from posting a Nelson pic.

I'm not sure I've seen a game that had more impact plays in the special teams. That Rice kid is a stud.

Rice is an outstanding back.  I knew this would probably be the toughest game of the season for the Bulls after Auburn, no offense to any West Virginia fans.  The Bulls play a speed defense that matches up extremely well with WVU style spread offenses but the way you kill a speed defense is keep hitting them up the middle with a power runner.  I'm not going to get into the officiating because in the end, bitching and moaning about stuff like that is taking the easy way out.

Hats off to Rutgers for excellent execution on the two fakes and for their defense making great adjustments at halftime and sticking to their rushing lanes to not let Grothe get outside of containment.  Rutgers won that game because their defensive coordinator made some great adjustments and the Bull's offensive coordinator never made any adjustments to take the pressure off of Grothe.  Apparently there are no screens or rollouts in the Bull's playbook, which honestly surprises me given how banged up the offensive line has been all season.  I hope when the coaches go back and review the game film they recognize that and work some of those types of plays into the gameplan.  You'd think Grothe would be tailor made for a rolling pocket type play the way he can throw the ball on the run like he can.  This is the first game all season that I can say South Florida was outcoached.

If there's one silver lining, at least now the team can forget about rankings and just concentrate on winning the Big East.  The Bulls control their own destiny this season so now we'll see if they can suck it up and finish off the season the way they started it.

Edit: I'll say this much, too.  This was nothing if not an exciting game!  Sucks to be on the losing end of it but it was still a great game to watch.  And you gotta love Jim Leavitt with all his intensity and obvious love of the game.  He might not have the number one team this year but he definitely has the number one scowl!    Y'all haven't heard the last of the Bulls!

I wanted to see the Bulls do well this year, and they will. They honestly didn't need to be in the national title game just to get slaughtered by a more established program. Perhaps in the coming years they will jump up as a contender, or perhaps not. The Big East is definitely in the public eye now after WVU and USF. I think they are on the rise as a conference, while teams in the ACC are on the decline.

Tough game. Was good all the way down to the wire, and I definitely agree that there should have been more bootlegs/waggle type plays to get Grothe out of the pocket. How many times was he pressured/hit/sacked inside the pocket as compared to outside? Really disappointed that USF couldn't make the adjustment in the fourth quarter.

Anyway, still a good chance to win out if we can stick it out with Cincy.


This is as close as I will get to eating my words. Rutgers looked pretty damn good last night.

And Vandy upsets South Carolina, so another Top 10 is gone. The SEC is now completely up for grabs. Alabama beats Tennessee to maintain a top spot in the West with LSU, and should Kentucky lose, almost the entire SEC East will have 2 losses.

Goofy football season.

Very much so, that we can agree on.

We could have a team with two losses in the title game.

EDIT: Removed overly aggressive SEC v. Big 10 trolling.  I don't know why I'm so prickly this season.  Perhaps its compensation for a subconscious fear that Ohio State IS overrated  :-o

EDIT: Then I retract my snarky reply.

BTW, the Fla/Kentucky game is pretty entertaining if you want to switch over. I had no idea that freshman for Kentucky was such a stud tailback.

Back to back defensive touchdowns for Michigan State. 24-14 late 3rd. Ugh.

If that yutz hadn't tried to flip that one, the D would have had another possession.


EDIT: Heh, they are lucky that Mich St.'s offense is so woeful.

EDIT: Wells has some moves for a guy his size.

Wells (Beanie) has good speed, he could be a Heisman contender next year if he can stay healthy. Mo Wells is terrible.

Here's Ohio State's weaknesses on offense being shown. The line gives up pressure to fast, undersized pass rushers, and it's all or nothing. Long bombs or short tosses, no reliable intermediate routes like last year. That and 2 straight turnovers means Tressel buttons it up.

Tressel went ultra-conservative after those two disastrous fumbles...not a good idea, now 3 min left and OSU has the ball up 7.

Well, it worked out. They rode Beanie to run out the clock. I'll take a sloppy win over a loss

The Penn State/OSU game should be a good one. Penn State didn't look super impressive against Indiana today but they will be at home.

Yeah, Penn State can shut down Wells. I expect Morelli to struggle and it's going to be a low scoring game.

UCLA takes out California. The hits just keep on coming.

Cal isn't the same team without Longshore.

Michigan's QB goes down in the first quarter.

So who is #1/#2 if everyone loses?

I keep thinking USF might not be in such bad shape if they win out (granted there are other teams who will be ranked higher due to the loss at RU)....

Well OSU is #1 until the drop a game as I don't see BC taking it away.  BC will drop a game, they aren't that good. I could see OSU winning out. As for #2, Oklahoma was a good shot of winning out although they didn't look good today. This season is so nuts though that I'm done predicting much of anything.

As you said a page or two ago, USF will be punished for this MUCH more harshly than an "established" program.  Winning out maybe should put them back in the picture, but it won't.

Heh, we used to run that huddle up and hide the ball play that Auburn used back in the sand lot.

EDIT: That was the stupidest attempt at a reception I have ever seen. Wide open and not only do you not catch it, you fling it over your head into the arms of a defender.

EDIT2: Unbelievably dirty block on Dorsey by Auburn.

Ohio State had some trouble with Michigan State, but nothing serious. They passed the first of increasingly harder tests at the end of the year. Penn State won't be easy, but I think they'll win. Wisconsin is where I think they will screw up. I think the Badgers' rushing game will control too much of the clock for the game to turn into a shootout.

Also, Auburn isn't going to win this game in Death Valley at night. It's simply not doable.

Only a true dope like Gary Crowton would keep throwing Perilleux in when LSU is marching the ball down the field so he can run up the middle for no gain.

EDIT: In fact, in all my puffing of LSU I forgot that Crowton is their O coordinator which dooms them to mediocrity regardless of talent level.

Wow.  Auburn's squib kick to LSU when they were up by 1 with 3:30 left had to be the most retarded play I've seen in college football this year.  Why start them 35 yards from FG range?

Wow, ballsy call that worked out.

Christ, this will have the football critics that temporarily semi-closeted their absolute belief in LSU's superiority back out in the open.  We'll be lucky if they aren't #1 tommorow.

That being said, really gutsy call, although I'm betting Les Miles MEANT to leave time for a timeout and a FG in the case of an incompletion.

For all the hyperventilating the commentary guys did on the clock, there was 3 seconds on the clock when that play ended. The clock operator was a bit slow on the stoppage.

I'd say the majority of the time, on an incomplete pass, the clock doesn't stop the very instant it slips an inch from their fingers.  If he had bobbled that at all and then dropped it, they wouldn't have got a timeout off.

Doesn't the clock stop on an incomplete pass?  :headscratch:

Exactly, it was close but I don't think the ball hangs in the air for a three full seconds. Worst case scenario it gets reviewed and 1 or 2 seconds gets put on the clock.

I stand by my earlier statement. No road team wins in Death Valley in a night game. Not possible.

New BCS rankings out.  Boston College is ahead of LSU to enough of a degree where if they win out (which would necessitate beating Virginia Tech) LSU won't catch them.

That being said, even if OSU wins out, the OSU/BC "nightmare" that horrifies SEC fans so much won't come to pass.  No way does BC win in Blacksburg, and even if they manage that, they have two more "traditional" programs in Miami and Florida State (even though both are down).  If they get through all that unscathed, they deserve to be in the big game.

You know why it's a nightmare? Because nobody would watch it. It doesn't really matter though because Ohio State will probably lose to Penn State, Wisconsin, or Michigan, and they'll get raped in the polls. If they don't, they probably deserve a shot as the one undefeated team in a conference, shitty as it's been this year.

The two best conferences this year in terms of great games, great upsets, and great football are the PAC-10 and the SEC. A matchup between the top opponents in each conference would have a coast-to-coast national appeal, AND it would settle a lot of debates. Nobody except Ohio State fans wants to see Ohio State back in the title game AGAIN. People are tired of seeing teams skate by playing unranked or barely ranked opponents and getting to go to the national championship.

Boston College beat Georgia Tech as their "ranked" opponent, who is now unranked. The only test they have left is Virginia Tech. I hope they lose because their schedule is not deserving of a title shot, and I don't think they've proven a damn thing nationally to anybody. If they make it to play Ohio State in the title game, I won't watch a single snap.

Agree with the part about nobody wants OSU in the title game. Part of that is the media latching on to them last year and making them out to be robot Jesus and hyping the OSU-Michigan game so much that even I got sick of all the coverage, just to watch them lay an egg of biblical proportions in the title game.

The Ducks.

Barring them failing to show up for a game. Their Offense is just that good.

Note: Oregon's one loss was to Cal in one of those last second 'wtf?' kind of games. ASU is ranked higher because they are undefeated, but I simply can't see them beating Oregon this year.

Honestly, I expect to see Oregon v LSU or Ohio State in the National.

If Ohio State loses, they are out. Same with Boston college and Arizona State. Nobody would vote their 1 loss in a season against teams that are mostly unranked to be the same as Oregon (3 in the top 15) or LSU (6 in the top 25). It would be Oregon and LSU in the final.

HOWEVER:

Arizona State, USC, and Oregon all play each other, so they all have the potential to easily screw the PAC-10 out of a title shot.
Oklahoma has the best shot as a 1 loss team with no ranked opponents left on the schedule.
LSU's last big test is next week in Alabama in a huge rivalry game with their old coach. Past that, it's unranked to the house.

And on the outside chance that all those teams start taking losses, you'd have a tough call to make between teams like South Florida with 1 loss, or Kansas and Hawaii if they win out undefeated.

Alabama vs LSU.

I will be there, and it will be awesome glorious splendid.

I get to go town to Florida for Georgia's annual dose of humility, otherwise known as the Georgia-Florida game. If we get run out of the stadium, I'm going to leave at halftime and just continue drinking in the parking lot.

Wouldn't they have to play someone (presumably ranked)  in the SEC title game?

Honestly, who the hell knows at the this point. The entire SEC East is a 2 loss division. If Florida loses to Georgia or South Carolina, they are out. Georgia has to beat Florida, Auburn, and Kentucky, and that will never happen speaking as a Georgia fan. South Carolina still has to play Tennessee as well. Tennessee also has to play Kentucky. It's possible that any of those teams could win the SEC East, and it's possible that Tennessee could do it barely ranked.

Oregon could suffer another wacky Cal loss. But watching their offense last week up here in Washington...

465 rushing yards and 661 total yards.

No really.

That being said Jake Locker for the Huskies looked damn good at times. That score could have been much, much worse.

That game was nuts. Don't remember a game with such a radical difference in the last 5 minutes of a game compared to the rest of it.

Apparently Matt Ryan was replaced with Folgers Crystals for the first 55 minutes of the game.  Someone must have noticed and snuck Doug Flutie into the game for the last 5.  BC's offense was playing like complete ass for most of that game but hey, they pulled it out at the end which is more than the previous three #2 teams can say.

Blech. BC played like ass. I felt like I was watching a rerun of the Dallas/Buffalo game from a few nights back.


I suppose they did win though.

I stopped watching after 3 quarters :(  Bleh. 

I watched the Sportscenter hilights thinking, "There's no way BC can win this game." Then I saw how. That's just sickening to watch as a college football fan. This year's national title game is guaranteed to be a joke now.

Great Georgia/Florida game going on right now.  Nebraska is also beating Texas, USF is down to Connecticut in the 3rd quarter, and Kentucky got whupped- another lively weekend.

And that's ballgame, Oregon downs USC. Ducks are a pretty good team.

Tennessee-South Carolina going to overtime on a freshman's 49 yard FG.  Also, is the fact that Cal is beating Az. State surprising anyone at all?

Big story of the day- Oregon.  In the national consciousness at last.

I don't think its on Youtube yet, but check out the final play of the Trinity College-Millsaps Div. III game...trust me, its worth it. 

http://broadband.espn.go.com/ivp/splash2?id=3083220 (http://broadband.espn.go.com/ivp/splash2?id=3083220) (pop-up).

That was, without a doubt, the coolest thing I've seen in sports in a l o o o o n g time.

That was a rugby match, right?

There were several blocks in the back in that play that should have been called.

I'm sorry for wasting everyone's time trying to play-up USF. They have played the shittiest shit shit football the last two games.


I apologize for us.


 :pedobear:

New BCS rankings are out.  A couple thoughts-

1.  I thought the gap between BC and LSU would be much smaller than it is.  Why are the computers ranking BC at .9900?  LSU has played a lot better competition (I think the Kentucky loss to SC hurt here).

2.  Michigan has vaulted to 12th in the latest BCS rankings, only 15th in the human polls.  If they win out (including over OSU) they will be in a BCS bowl.  Who would've thought that after App. State? 

Overall, if BC doesn't lose again, it'll be interesting to see if LSU can go around them.  MAY be possible if BC just barely ekes out wins against someone like Miami or Florida State.

Don't be melodramatic.  Yeah it's a huge disappointment that they've dropped two, but as horribly as they've played in those games they still win if just a couple of plays go the other way.  USF is a good team, they just let the lofty ranking get into their heads.  Live and learn.  It just goes to show there's really not that much separating most of the good teams.  A play here, a play there and the whole top 25 looks different.  They've still done better this year than any other year to date, and for the first time have been ranked and received national attention. 

The biggest disappointment is now they likely can't win the Big East and so won't get into a BCS bowl game.  Still, the program overall is headed in the right direction.  If they can get some consistency then maybe next year it won't be 'the surprising' Bulls in the top 20.

Yes, but it is just like every other team that "should be good." Ask Auburn why they aren't undefeated.

USF hasn't played the same quality football that they previously played earlier in the season. INTs in the end zone, lackluster defensive performances, TONS of dropped passes -- all keys to the game that have hurt USF in crunch time this year.


I'm a pretty big USF fan but I also want to analyze our losses as unbiased as I can, and I stand by this: USF has played quite poorly the last two games.

Of course.  They've played like crap the last two games, especially the first half of that Connecticut game.  There's a number of reasons why, including getting bitten by the injury bug the last two games (USF severely lacks depth), atrocious special teams play (that's been evident the entire season), inconsistent receivers (this has been a problem for years, not just the last two games) but ultimately it's because they let all the hype get to them.

That's one thing I'll give to the traditional powers: a team that's used to the spotlight doesn't let it affect them as much as one that isn't*.  You could see that not only in the players starting out very flat in the first half of both of the last two games, but also in the coaches.  Leavitt has a marvelous eye for talent and has done an amazing job building a program from literally nothing, but he doesn't handle the spotlight very well.  It's as much a learning process for him as it is for the kids on the field.

But don't lose sight of the fact that this has still been an amazing year for the Bulls.  There's no need to apologize for anything.  Plenty of traditional powers have laid even bigger eggs this year, and there'll probably be a few more eye-opening results before the year is over.  As bad as USF has been the last couple of weeks, they've still been competitive games that weren't decided until the very end.  Can Nebraska say that?  Texas?  Michigan?  Miami?  FSU?

Believe me, I'm as disappointed as anyone else but you can't say it hasn't been a fun ride.  Losing out on the Big East title is what's most disappointing for me, but what's done is done.  No apologies necessary.

*Rankings shouldn't be based how 'traditional' a school is, only by what that team has accomplished that year.  But a traditional program won't let let those rankings affect them as much as it would a team that's not used to the spotlight.

GO DAWGS! I'm still on cloud nine after sitting in the stadium watching that game! My lord what a performance by our defensive line against Tebow. All the crying about his shoulder being bruised made it even better later. When the entire Georgia team stormed the endzone after the first touchdown, TV didn't do justice to how loud it was. Florida was in shock all game.

Was seriously uncalled for and was possibly the most juvenile crap I've seen a team pull all year.  The entire team rushing the field for the winning touchdown is one thing, but for the first touchdown?  If I'd been a ref there I would have randomly grabbed three guys and the head coach and told them to go hit the showers, their day was done.

I thought it was a pretty cool thing that the couch told them to go do it.  Props to Mark Ricks (sp?), also fuck the entire state of Florida, on multiple levels.  Watching FSU and Miami fall apart this year has been quite enjoyable, having UF and USF go down this week as well?  Fucking  :heart:

The talk around town is that we're worried about two big things:

--no one is really sure exactly what happened, but we choked as a team against USC, and many think it was due to ESPN being there-- it was fully expected to be a "track meet" (if you watched the ESPN into, they even video'd up dudes running on a track as the intro), yet BOTH offenses were completely lack-luster compared to previous games.

Our fourth quarter simply sucked as well--hell, while I wish the guy making the last play of the game would have had his head totally in the game and realized it was better to go out of bounds than risk what happened, I can't blame him either--would have probably tried it myself.

The rest of the quarter though was just sloppy football. From memory, 3 turnovers, in a team that just hasn't had that many issues with ball control.

--The second thing that's worrisome is injured players--we're four down right now (all starters originally iirc), and while the replacements are certainly picking up the slack, they are still a bit unseasoned.

I think it's going to be a hell of a game, but I'm worried as well...even with Dixon on his money like he's been, they could still flub some badly timed situations to wind up losing if they don't keep their eyes off the cameras and in the game.

Are you a Florida fan? If so, eat shit.

If not, and this is just some random comment coming from another fan, you obviously have ZERO idea about the history of this matchup or the kind of emotional intensity that surrounds this game. It was a previously planned, brilliantly executed manuver to kick Florida in the teeth and grab all of the emotional momentum for the Georgia fans in a game NOBODY expects us to win. The place never stopped rocking everytime Florida touched the ball, and Georgia fans only had half the stadium. I would go as far to say that it set the tone of the game and the victory.

If you get that geeked up about a single touchdown that doesn't win you a ballgame, you are losers regardless of the situation.

"Act like you've been there before"

EDIT: And I root for a team that during one stretch went 2-19 against our bitter rival. Even during that stretch if my team did that I would be embarrassed.

Seems like I heard that the reason for the mob scene end zone celebration was for UGA's antics on the Vandy 50 yard line logo.  Richt challenged them in such that if they are going to act like that towards a team like Vandy, they better have the balls to do it against a team like Florida.  I don't agree with it, as it was a classless move either way.  Odd move from Richt, he's been one of the classiest coaches around since he took the head job at UGA.  Very unlike him.

Call it unclassy if you like. That "act like you've been there" is from a white-dominated bygone era before huge drafts, huge NFL contracts, and end-zone dancing. You either embrace/ignore/tolerate it in football or continue to be the old dude in the back raging against the machine. The truth is that fans love the emotion of college sports. That's why they watch. You may disagree with how much emotion is appropriate and the way it can manifest itself, but we took our penalties, kicked off from the 7 yard line, and played a great game all the way through.

I was embarrassed by trying to bunnyhop on the Vandy logo because that's taunting a team who is last in the league in a game you were favored in after the game is over. I'll never be embarrassed by anything we do against Florida, ever. Sacrifice goats, talk smack, dance after every sack, I don't give a shit. Play a clean/classy season the rest of the way, but win that damn game no matter what. Florida fans don't deserve any respect from us, nor would i EVER expect or have seen any from them.

Paelos is right. UF football fans are possibly more obnoxious than any other sports fan ever.

It doesn't matter if UF is obnoxious. 

And yes, have some freakin' class.  And yes, 'act like you've been there'.  I played a div I baseball.  I started for 3 years.  I've hit home runs.  I've hit game winning hits.  I've made the game winning play.

I've been there.

Chad Johnson needs a bullet between the eyes, along with anyone else that brings singluar attention to themselves.  People celebrate making a goddamn tackle.  For doing their goddamn JOB.  I've got no problem with team wide game winning play celebration.  Or the offensive team as whole celebrating together, or whatever unit was on the field at the time.  But the first touchdown?  Gimme a break.  That wasn't emotion in college sports, Paelos.  It was an instruction by Richt for his team acting like jackasses at Vandy, and he admitted as such.  It was planned.  It may as well have been Terrell Owens pulling out the Sharpie.

It was without a doubt, completely lacking in class.

Be better than them.

There's no point in being classier than Florida fans on the football field. By simply breathing air you've already won that battle. These people pick fights after WINS, wear jean shorts and gold chains to football games, yell obsenities at families with small children, throw beers on people, and wait in the parking lots to get in the face of fans coming out of the actual game even if they didn't get in. If you think I'm going to worry about our team effecting their delicate sensibilites of fair play, you've got another thing coming. You've also got another thing coming if you believe Saban wouldn't do the same thing against Auburn if they had lost 15 out of the last 17 and he knew it would give them the edge.

Second, I'm not sure where you are pulling this "reaction to Vandy" stuff, but it's out of your ass. Vandy had nothing to do with what was planned. Why would it? Richt tossed their asses off the Star after the win, and that was it. He said he planned the penalty, but he never connected those events publically, and I don't think he told them how to get said penalty. Honestly, do you think Richt believes that having all the players run out there is THAT big a deal? Come on, take a look at what happened. It was simply a ploy to get fans into a game that was supposed to be horribly lopsided. If you love the team-wide winning celebration, would you have condoned the Vandy stomp? I personally think that's 10x worse.

Third, you played baseball. That's so very apples and oranges it's not even worth noting, but you're still not right about celebrations there either. I've seen plenty of college baseball games in my life from the cold seats in early February all the way through the season. I've seen Georgia Tech players vault over their own railings after home runs. I've seen the entire Oregon team walk out of the dugout to celebrate every single home run. I've seen players pose on home runs. I've seen the coach argue calls chasing the umpire into left field just to defend his players. I've seen buckets of balls thrown on the field for bad calls to get the crowd pumped up. Explain to me how this is any different than strategically sending your players onto the field to take a minor penalty? People get thrown out of baseball games to make a point, and it never looks classy.

It's not the sport that matters.  What I'm saying is that as a competitor, I've been there and competed at the highest level of college athletics.  There's no room for it, regardless of sport.  I'm not saying it's justified in baseball.  It's not.  How you went from A to Z in that regard, I'll never know.

The Vandy stomp had no class.
The time wide end zone celebration on the first touchdown had no class.
Any overt celebration that brings singular attention to a player regardless of sport (unless it's solo such as golf, tennis, etc) has no class.

Act like you've been there.  Expect to score.  Expect to win.  Expect greatness.

Anything else is amateur hour.

It's your own insecurities at play if you can't handle that.

You're living in the past then. Football isn't like that anymore. Blame it on the a lot of factors including the money, the TV, the culture, or whatever. You're never going to go back to the days of handing the football to the official after a TD because these are kids and that's boring. Personally, I think it's the media frenzy and the ESPN highlights, but I've learned to embrace certain parts of the game. I enjoy a little flash in football. I don't enjoy taunting another team. There's a difference there.

Oh and as a side-note. 68% of fans polled on ESPN thought it was a good call. Kirk also agreed that it was a great call to get after Florida early knowing the consequences and draw a line in the sand.

I am glad every time I see Ohio State players find the ref and toss him the ball after a TD.  I like that the players always say "the ohio state university" as well.

I also thought the UGA move was a smart one and if it got his players into the game and fired up more power to the coach.  I also thought it was a pretty cool thing to tell his players to do.

As for the Chad Johnson comment, god what a fucking tard.  Seriously just shut the fuck up, he deserves a bullet between the eyes?  That's exactly what I expect from a poster with your history of spouting stupid bullshit that doesn't need to be brought up again.  Fuck off and die in a fire, stupid clown of a bama fan...   :roll:

When I played in college, my coach always told us "When you score a TD, act like you've been in the endzone before."  I always felt that a sense of humility was good for the game... and I always had a deep respect for my coach.  Well, at least until the bastard took a job at Notre Dame.  :grin:

Then again... maybe that was Tom Landry that said that.  Damn, I'm old.

LMAO!  Good God, you seriously need to take your lithium.  I'm not the one making it about race, though I can see you are.   When Keyshawn Johnson says its too much and is a detriment to your team, you know you've gone over the top.

I :heart: YOU!  Come snuggle with me.


Lots of people bought Britney Spears albums, also.

General public /= intelligence.  See this guy (http://forums.f13.net/index.php?action=profile;u=840) for a perfect example.


Agreed.


Agreed.  It's made home run hits unbearable.


You don't think the TEAM wide end zone celebration was taunting?

Damn. You just Bruced a football thread.


 :uhrr:

Wow, yeah that SirBrucing killed the mood. Anyway, I liked it and that's all that matters to me, so I'll move on to this week in College football. Time for more of my BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEK!

Wisconsin @ Ohio State - Wisconsin sucks sucks SUCK on the road. I used to think there was an upset chance here at the beginning of the season, but it's passed.
Florida State @ BC - This is the one where BC falls down. They had ZERO on offense until the last 2 minutes against Va Tech, but Bowden finally kills the dream here.
LSU @ Bama - Wow, this is the SEC game of the week, and the last ranked team LSU has to play. I'm picking Bama in this one due to the asskicking they handed Tennessee.
Arizona St. @ Oregon - Arizona State beat Cal, and Oregon didn't. They get the edge in this one even though it's a home game for the Ducks.

It's a slight, slight chance, but I really want ASU to end up undefeated before the UofA game.  I would just absolutely love to be there when UofA spoils theirs season.  It would be tasty.  ASU fans are so fucking annoying; it'd be great to see their hopes smashed.  :grin:

While it would be nice, UofA has no real running threat at all. I can coach a defense against any team that doesn't have a running game. Not to mention that they give up 4 TDs a game on average.

I don't see it at all. Even if ASU beats Oregon, they'll still be on the outside looking in.

Oregon is going to wipe the floor with ASU. ASU is a paper tiger.

Wow, stop  watching the boards  for a week or two and  they go to shit.

Where's the love?

I'd love for Bama to win against LSU, but I'm not planning on it.

Ohh yah, we have a terrible defense this year (which makes no sense) and no run blocking at all. Kind of a bizarro UofA team, complete with a potentially high scoring passing attack (WTF). It's a rivalry game though, anything can and has happened in that game.

I do expect ASU to lose once if not twice before they get to us though.  They are never as good as their record.   One can hope.

I just can't see USC dropping too many games in a single year, so I expect them to beat ASU & Cal though Cal has so thoroughly collapsed it would be just like them to FINALLY beat USC after totally fucking up their season.

I'll feeling uneasy about the OSU/Wisconsin game- this week just screams "letdown from Penn State+ looking forward to Michigan."  Nonetheless, it is in Columbus- I predict something like a 16-9 victory.

I do want to see Bama beat LSU (and I think they'll pull it off).  I have zero connection to them, but I've always like Bama the  best of all southern teams, for some reason.

Probably nostalgia for Paul Bryant's hat.

I think USC is due for a fall. McKnight is good, but Chow isn't there anymore and some of Petey's "number one guys" aren't panning out. Carroll always won by overwhelming the opposition with mismatches, and those mismatches are becoming fewer and far between. We'll see what Carroll has when he actually starts having to gameplan to win a game.

That would be cool, but Oregon is going to eat ASU this weekend. But regardless, go 'cats.

Longshore is back. Cal beats USC.

I'm kind of shocked that nobody has posted the big HA-HA at Matt Ryan and his BC team. The fact that he is even considered for the Heisman is a freaking joke. You can't throw 11 interceptions in 9 games and be a contender for that award.

Well let's see how these held up.
In the win column, Ohio State did crush a shitty Wisconsin team.
Florida State did beat up on a BC team that couldn't get diddly shit done on offense, and FSU should have blown them out by even more according to their time of possession.

In the loss column, Bama. Dammit Bama you freaking had them. It was right there. You blew it.
Arizona State looked like shit. I should have gone with my original pick of the Ducks, but I dared to dream.

I found this interesting

Stength of Schedule to date (http://teamrankings.com/ncf/27powerratings.php3)

Ohio State 116
Kansas 117

Thats out of 119 teams total.

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/current_congrove_rankings.html

These are the figures all the analysts are using, I don't know what that is that you are citing...a preseason projection maybe?

Anyway, that sort of thing is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  When a good SEC team blasts another SEC team for their third loss, its proof of how brilliant the conference is and the three loss team is ranked 15th or 20th (and possibly given a very slightly smaller parade and statue by the critics than the victor).  When OSU blasts someone like Penn State or Wisconsin (and possibly Illinois and Michigan) all of these teams dive completely out of all the rankings because they suck and have three losses. 

Stanford is #2 in SoS? :-o I also like how the top 11 in SoS has 9 PAC-10 teams.

"For this reason, when comparing schedule strength, it's best to only look at teams of comparable ranking. There's an inevitable bias toward the top teams having a seemingly "weak" schedule, and the bottom teams having a "strong"schedule. However, this bias is not in any way included in the rankings - the strength of schedule measures are computed only after the rankings are computed."

Greenfield's Rankings:

1. Ohio State
2. Kansas
3. Oregon
4. LSU
5. Missouri

Greenfield's SOS rankings are always messed up. You can only really compare teams with similar losses. If OSU loses to Illinois, their SOS shoots up 30-40 spots. Every other predictor has OSU's schedule as middle of the road, 60ish.

Uh, yeah. It's called parity. Conferences shouldn't have a team running away with the thing every year, or that conference is playing like shit. The best conferences in the eyes of the media, fans, and general public are those that are the MOST in doubt at the beginning of the season. Why? Because the teams in that conference are strong from top to bottom and they will all compete to win it.

Also, raters have eyes. They can see who is beating who and how they are beating them. When the #1 team in your conference takes the biggest upset asswhooping of the last 50 years at the hands of a Division II squad, your conference is going to pay dearly in the rankings. It's even worse when that same team starts beating some of the stronger teams in your conference. A lot of it has to do with big out of conference games like that as well.

LMAO @ BC. And I told you Oregon was good. I think half of their strength is that their uniforms are so fucking ugly that the defense can't keep an eye on them long enough to properly defend. Those pants they wore on Saturday could be seen from orbit I think.

Hehe yeah and the raters should see that the Big 10 was 2-1 vs the SEC last year, Wisconsin and Penn State both beating SEC teams and tOSU losing. Over the past 5 years the Big 10 is 8-6 vs the SEC and over the past decade the the two conferences are tied at 13 wins a piece when going head to head.

Now why is it that when playing head to head the Big 10 has a slight, more recent advantage but is the weaker conference? Why is it that people think the SEC is beating each other up but the Big 10 is instead showing its' weakness? My answer... SEC fans are ignorant or in some cases are willfully blind to the truth.

Edit: And after a quick check it looks like the 4 (Illinois, Penn St, Purdue, Wis)  3 loss Big 10 teams this year (none of which are ranked) were 15-1 outside of the conference. How many 3 loss SEC teams are ranked top 25 now?

Your numbers are woefully misleading. The teams you played outside of your conference this year in the Big 10 were absolutely nobody. Let's break it down.

Illinois: Lost to Missouri (who was unranked at the time), Beat W. Illinois (6-4 in the Gateway Conference), Syracuse (dead last in the Big East and 2-7 overall), and Ball State (.500 in the MAC).

Penn State: Beat Florida International, Notre Dame, and Buffalo. COMBINED those teams are 5-23.

Purdue: Beat Toledo, E. Illinois, Central Michigan. 2 of those are .500 MAC teams, E. Illinois is tied for 2nd in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Wisconsin: Beat Washington St. (dead last in the Pac-10), UNLV (tied for dead last in the Mountain West), The Citadel (middle of the Southern Conference), and N. Illinois (dead last in the MAC).



I'm not seeing anything impressive here. In fact the one matchup you had against a currently ranked opponent (Missouri) you lost. Beating up on the MAC doesn't earn you points in the rankings.

So all of the 3 loss SEC teams (the ranked ones) played nothing but top 25 teams?

Most teams in any of the big conferences usually have cake-walk out of conference schedules. Notre Dame is usually that "tough" team that the mid schools are able to schedule but they suck this year.

My point was those mid-level Big 10 teams played the same exact cake-walk non-conference schedule as the 3 loss SEC teams and they did what should be expected by going 15-1 against them.

So now you are saying that by beating the teams they should beat and losing in-conference the Big 10 is showing it's weakness. It's the same old ignorant argument from SEC fans around the country. Do you see my point?"

The SEC beats the weak teams they are supposed to and then beats each other up so they are strong.

The Big 10 beats the weak teams they are supposed to and then beats each other up so they are weak.

I'm not saying that the Big 10 is some vastly superior conference to the SEC. I'm just saying I'm sick of SEC fans talking out of both sides of their mouths. Its like there is some sort of SEC inferiority complex that makes them ignore rational thought. I've already shown the conferences are ridiculously close in the past 10 years in strength when compared heads up. It's just irritating that this irrational SEC bias is starting to bleed into the polls.


Edit: It's because the Big 10 played the Pac 10 in the Rose Bowl for so many years isn't it? Is this pay back because the SEC felt picked on when it was growing up?

I suppose I'll try to fill you in on why you're not getting the respect you want. Let's go over it line by line.

1 - For starters, in your own conference matchups for the Big Ten, you still have two undefeated teams: Michigan and Ohio State. Those two are the only teams who have a chance in hell of winning, and it's been that way since mid-October. Your conference may be beating the hell out of each other in the middle, but it does NOT at the top. That's the main point I'm trying to make about the SEC. Until the deciding games this last weekend LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina all had a shot at winning the SEC. Four of those teams still have legitimate shots at the title game now with 2 conference games to go. In essence, people only care about the teams that can win the conference, and the more that have a shot the better.

2 - There are 12 teams in the SEC, 6 of which have won the championship in the last decade with no single team winning more than twice. That's half the conference competing every damn year for the title consistently. On top of that, the SEC plays an actual championship game. The SEC doesn't share titles anymore, and that's good because sharing pisses off the fans. Frankly, you're never sure who is going to win the SEC at the start of the season. Compare this to the past in the Big Ten where Michigan or Ohio State won or shared the title 8 out of 10 years. This year is no different. Going in, you're basically assured one of them will win it. It's predictable and that doesn't bode well for the conference as a whole.

3 - Michigan was beaten by App St. and Oregon right at the beginning of the season. They were #5 when they started, and plummeted out of the rankings. The conference got embarrassed and a similar fate would have befallen the SEC if LSU lost to Middle Tennessee or Tulane. Yet, here is Michigan, still one game away from winning the Big Ten. If they actually pull that off, you can forget about any respect coming from other fans for a while. Non-conference is only important if you lose badly, because nobody wants to play hard opponents when you are fighting for your championship life every other week. Is that the way the fans want it? Hell no, but that's the way you win national titles. You don't get rewarded for taking chances in the BCS.

You've made this argument twice, and it doesn't logically follow.  Everyone having a chance to beat each other up, from top to bottom, doesn't NECESSARILY mean all those teams are strong.  As a hypo on a 1-10 scale, ten being the best- Conference A could have two teams at 10 and eight at 6, while Conference B could have ten at 5.  So everyone top to bottom being a tough game means nothing in and of itself.

I say directly what I said indirectly earlier- if teams like Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, and Georgia can be ranked with three losses, so should Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin, etc.

The fact is you guys are having this argument in the wrong year.  UMich really really really fucked up.  Also last year Ohio State and UM got FUCKING TRASHED in their bowl games both of which were BCS games that fucking tons of people watched.

The Big10 is not that much worse this year compared to any other year.  But it looks very bad.  Because its top2 teams are still the top2 teams.  Teams like Wisc, Penn State, Purdue and Mich St still seem to fall apart down the stretch and MICHIGAN LOST TO A DIV2 TEAM.  The big2 need to win their bowl games this year, and win big ones.

This is the wrong year to bring up what is otherwise a good point, the SEC teams beat eachother but because half of them are ranked to start they are always beating ranked teams or ex-ranked teams which means their losses rarely count as super damaging and their wins are OMG amazing!  Which is crap.  The SEC does play a very fast, very physical style of play and I really do respect SEC defenses top to bottom more then any other conference hands down.  They play a style of football that is closer to the pro's.  But they are hardly the God Kings of CFB that fucking dipshits at ESPN make them out to be.

The PAC-10 is as competative if not more then the SEC this year but that is mostly because Cal and USC are fucking up hard.

The only good thing for the Big10 so far this year is that Ohio State has a shot (that nobody thought they would have) at the reclaiming the title after the humiliation of last year and Illinois may actually be a solid-great program soon.  Sadly Iowa has fallen off badly after years of people waiting for it finally to fall into place for them and Michigan State has their best team in years but they still fucking fail at closing out the season in good form.

The reality is that there are only three ways you can judge conferences.

1 - Bowl Games - This is usually where you are going to see the best of the best of each conference play another.

2 - Conference Parity - Say what you want, but in Division I football, having 12 teams that can win against another any given Saturday plays well with the fans and the raters. Having different teams win the conference rather than having 1-2 teams dominate also helps. It just makes for better football, but you seem to want to argue with me on that point. It's also freaking RARE. That's why the SEC gets so much press. Do you find that anywhere else? Perhaps the PAC-10 this year in terms of overall question marks. Now that the USC stranglehold is over it's actually fun to watch again. The same will be true in the Big Ten or the Big Twelve when more than 2 teams compete every year.

3 - Non-conference regular season games - They are starting to become more popular at the beginning of the season, and I'm hoping the trend will continue.

Now, out of those three things, how did the conferences do in a comparison? I've made my point about #2 already, and #3 is basically a wash, so let's look at bowl results from 2006.

Direct Matchups between the Big Ten and SEC:

1 - Florida beats Ohio State 41-14 for the National Title. That's a whooping. That's also why the SEC is getting a lot of credit this year, and the Big Ten isn't.
2 - Wisconsin beats Arkansas 17-14 in the Capital One Bowl. This one hurt, especially because I expected the Arkansas running game to play better.
3 - Penn State beats Tennessee 20-10 in the Outback Bowl. I don't remember this game, but Fulmer sucks in bowls.

So in heads up matches, the Big Ten went 2-1.

Matchups for just the SEC:

1 - LSU beats Notre Dame 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl. It was a popular score that year.
2 - Auburn beats Nebraska 17-14 in the Cotton Bowl. It shouldn't have been that close, but it was in Big 12 territory.
3 - Georgia beats VA Tech 31-24 in the Peach Bowl. It was practically a home game.
4 - South Carolina beats Houston 44-36 in the Liberty Bowl. I picked against SC because I thought Spurrier would blow it, and they screwed me.
5 - Kentucky beats Clemson 28-20 in the Music City Bowl. It was a big big win for a Kentucky program nobody really thought about, Clemson was favored by 17.
6 - Oklahoma State beats Alabama 34-31 in the Independence Bowl. This was another one that pissed me off because Bama totally blew it.

In SEC only matches, the SEC went 5-1

Matchups for just the Big 10:

1 - USC beats Michigan 32-18 in the Rose Bowl. It wasn't pretty either.
2 - Texas beats Iowa 26-24 in the Alamo Bowl. This was embarrassing because it's also practically a home game, but Texas was shitty.
3 - Maryland beats Purdue 24-7 in the Champ Sports Bowl. Purdue hardly showed up.
4 - Texas Tech beats Minnesota 44-41(OT) in the Insight Bowl. For a nothing bowl it was one of the best games of the bowl season.

In Big Ten only matches, the Big Ten went 0-4.

So, in conclusion while the Big Ten did better against the SEC in the heads-up matches, they still lost the title game and went 2-5 overall in the bowls.
The SEC won the title game and went 6-3 in the bowls.

Those factors played into the rankings for the next year, and they also colored the perceptions of the pollsters for the conferences.

Pretty much agree with Hoax. The Big 10 is not as bad as it appears and the SEC is not as good as it's being made out to be by ESPN. That's the nature of the beast though in this Cable TV age in College Football. Don't forget that a mere nine-ten months ago the hype machine was all over OSU-Mich as the "Game of the Century". Last year the press was all over the fact that OSU was the only #1 team to ever play 3 #2 ranked teams. The worm turns and all that.

Shhhh! Quiet! Or they'll wear the Yellow Horrors again!

I don't think Tressel will ever make that mistake again. That was just a coaching cluster-fuck last year. The extra 2 weeks of downtime (compared to Fla), only a dozen or so team practices over about 6 weeks, Troy Smith getting fat and lazy on the Heisman circuit, etc... Everyone wants to point to Ginn going down on the opening kick which was only one of a number of factors that cost them the game.

I strongly believe that was a totally different tOSU team that played Florida vs. the one that played Michigan a few weeks earlier. I give Meyer a lot of credit as that was one of only a few games I can say Tressel got seriously out-coached.

I also really, really hate how late the freaking championship game is, that's a long time to keep amateur players who are about to make some serious bank focused.

You're not kidding.  We've got something like 200+ different combinations of uniforms and all but maybe two are ugly as hell.  However... GO BIG GREEN!

Fuck balls.  If we win out going into the Civil War game Oregon State gets another chance to play spoiler queen.  They've done it before and those mother bitches seem to learn how to play come December.  I haven't been this excited about our season since the early 90's and the Rose Bowl game against Penn State (where we got bitch slapped).

That's pretty much been the Beavers goal in life since the 1968 'Giant Killers' season.

My big concern is that we're seeing a repeat of 2001-2002. The Ducks will wind up #3 to OSU and LSU (because they aren't USC), and end up beating the merry hell out of whomever they end up facing - alla Colorado - out of sheer frustration.

<insert Yet Another Argument for an NCAA football playoff here>

Decent by ESPN standards article can be found here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3096758&sportCat=ncf&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

Highlight:


The way I see it only the top 6 are worth noting, because only 6'ish make a bowl game.  You've got 4 toss-ups where the spread is under a FG and them underestimating UCLA and overestimating UK, I also could see the Beavers doing something crazy versus Bama / Bama being incompetent as fuck, they seem to be good at that.

I would love to see that breakdown for some other conference matchups as well.



Also fun:

I can honestly say as a Georgia fan that a Georgia-Cal matchup would rock my socks off. Why can't we see it? WHY?!?!

ON WISCONSIN!

 :awesome_for_real: :awesome_for_real: :awesome_for_real:

Beating Michigan is far more important to most Wisconsin fans than beating Ohio.  Although we did play well against them (OSU) for three quarters last week.   

OSU in serious trouble at home vs. Illinois. Undersized but fast DL giving the OSU line fits again. Sigh.

3rd interception of the day. OSU's nose tackle is hurt and Laurinaitis has a guy on him every play. Cue the ha ha.

Bleh.  Well, it turns out that I was wrong and everyone else on the board was right.  Who saw that coming?

Beautiful.

I can understand losing to Illinois. They're a good young team with some talent. What's embarrassing is Illinois running the ball down our throats on the last drive. At home. That's pathetic. Denlinger was hurt yeah, but you still have to enforce your will at that time of the game and at least get a stop. 3rd and 10 and Illinois is getting 13 yards up the middle? Championship teams don't do that.

They still have a chance to beat Michigan and go to the Rose Bowl, but I'm not too optimistic if the DL continues to suck it up.

Can't help myself this time.

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Abagadro/nelson-haha.gif)

Yes, I'm going to have to second that ha-ha. Big Ten needs to just quietly go into the BCS and win with some dignity if they can. If not, you'll have a long long road to walk before you get national credibility again. Also, go DAWGS! I love beating Auburn, but I love beating Auburn even more when we do it in a full blackout with a 25 point margin.

BACK IN BLACK!

God that was an irritating game. OSU shooting themselves in the foot and the officials giving Illinois 14 points.

I couldn't hear the TV that well at the bar I was watching the game but why didn't the officials review that fumble on Illinois first TD? It looked pretty clear he fumbled into the end zone and OSU recovered. Did the official blow the whistle?

And what's up with not calling the pick play when the receiver crosses the field and blows up the defender covering the other receiver in a crossing route?

To further piss you off, I'll let you know the officiating crew is the very same one that is being suspended/fired after the Purdue-Penn State fiasco. That being said the referees didn't lose the game for OSU.

Mgoblog (which any college football fan should read no matter their persuasion, Brian is entertaining as all hell) is reporting that 3 separate sources have confirmed Lloyd Carr's retirement.

I'll go on record as saying that the OSU-Michigan game is a mortal lock. Bet the house on Michigan. Carr basically phoned in the season after the Appy state loss but for this one game to beat Tressel. The OSU D-line is hurting and got exposed to the run against Illinois. Michigan players will be fired up to the gills to win one more for the old man. It's like the LSU at Death Valley at night game situation for you SEC folks.

If OSU somehow manages to win this game Jim Tressel is the robot raptor jesus of coaching.

I was having fun watching college games over the weekend until this-

(http://media.komotv.com/images/071110_locker_hurt.jpg)

What a sickening feeling. I was so happy to see him WALK back into the stadium to be with his teammates that I teared up. He is too good a kid (not to mention a player) to lose.

Saw that on the highlights, that was some scary stuff. They said it was just a stinger, no real damage done right?

Yeah, he is stiff and sore, but doesn't look like any longterm damage. He might even get cleared to play this weekend!

Time for more...

PAELOS BOLD PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK!

#23 Michigan beats #7 Ohio State to claim victory in the Big Ten - 34-23
Vanderbilt upsets an overconfident Tennessee team: 19-17 in a nailbiter.

and finally, the big one of the week, after riding a two game winning streak...

IOWA STATE upsets #3 Kansas in the game nobody saw coming: 31-17

I who's #2 these days?  I've lost track.  Whoever it is, I think that team loses.  :grin:

And now for something completely different. (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gaming/the-cal-marching-bands-amazing-16%20bit-video-game-halftime-show-322662.php?autoplay=true)

#2 is Oregon. And yes, I saw that Cal band video a few days ago and it's quite awesome. Nerds unite!

I'm going to watch the #2 play tonight and likely kick the crap out of my team (UofA).  Weather looks to be somewhat nasty for the game. 

Bold indeed.  I think that the first is the most likely to happen, though I think Ohio State has too many ways to beat Michigan.   

I'm betting that Vandy and ISU will cover the spread (11.5 and 26.5 respectively), but don't quite have the confidence you have to call the upset. 

I've been wrong before though... about a lot of things.

Oregon's down after a quarter. I'll chalk this one up to pregame #2 syndrome.

EDIT: Whoops, 24-11 now Arizona on top. Dixon sitting on the sidelines. Oregon may have some problems in this one. Could we see the 6th #2 fall apart?

31-11 now.

Nobody wants to be natty champs this year.

College is becoming as QB centric as the NFL. You lose your good QB you are in trouble.

This game is over. Oregon fails.

Winner.

Edit: I don't know if I'm going to be able to even speak tomorrow.  Should make meetings interesting.

See? You don't even have to know who the #2 team is ahead of time to know they'll lose this season.  Kansas, do you really want to be #2?  :pedobear:

As disloyal as it sounds, I turned the game off after they announced Dixon was out for the game (and rumors exist that he's out for at least 1 more).

I think the one possible offensive coaching mistake made this season was putting all the bets on Dixon, and not giving Lief (sp?) more game time to stay in tune with the offense. Practice doesn't cut it, and he tried to stay as flexible as Dixon (actually had some nice runs in Q2 I saw before I turned it off), but he didn't have a chance with his lack of experience this season.

Personally, I'm more upset for Dixon than for the team as a whole. It's possible he'll stay in the running for his trophy (yes, I said "his" trophy), but I doubt it.

Don't get me started on how much of a joke the Heisman is. It's a PR trophy now, nothing more nothing less.

If the trophy was actually valid as the best college football player in the country it'd be a tossup between Glenn Dorsey and Jake Long.

The whole game was a mess.  I watched it through and now I bleed. 

You can't give partial time to one QB or another, it just doesn't work.  You need a starter and a back-up.  Where the problem is that Oregon's offence is geared toward Dixon's talents and play style.  Not Leaf's.  You can tell that Leaf is a pocket passer, he needs solid (normal) protection, with a stable pocket and a more standard style of offence.  Dixon is able to run and open things up with his movement and force other teams to play his ground game as much as his arm. 

Leaf also got injured sometime in the third.  After that his mobility was even worse.  Gimped doesn't really even cut it.  Johnathen came off limping as well.  Rock on!

But, all of this isn't really the biggest factor in the loss. 

The entire team, except for Dixon and maybe Leaf, just fell into a serious despair after Dixon went out.  Just look at the highlights (or any of the game) after he goes out.  Every single player is looking down after every play.  It wasn't until after halftime that the defence decided that they needed to try and stop Arizona. 

Yep. Portrait of an implosion. Wow.

Of course, I don't know of any football team on any level that can survive the loss of their starting QB and HB. So. There you have it.

Let's not forget UofA got every goddamn break in the book and that is the younger brother of RYAN FUCKING LEAF at QB.  If I played on the Ducks offense I would have thrown in the towel too.

Too bad though, the Pac-10 now has no horse in the championship barrring some truly crazy shit.  I think they could easily give the SEC a run top to bottom this year.

SEC v Big12?  I don't think I could possibly care less.  Usually you can wake me up to shittalk the overrated SEC but fuck the Big12.  When TexasTech which is just a not as good BCS conference version of Hawaii manages to become ranked every year you know your shit stinks.  Also am I the only one who thinks Texas has to be one of the worst teams in the top25 if not THE worst?

I'll watch these last 3 rounds of games in the Big12 with interest and if the teams are any good I'll eat my words.  We actually get decent Big12 coverage on the west coast via Fox Sports for god knows what reason but knowing ABC they are going to cockblock the fuck out of me watching the top games for the next 3 weeks.

Geez, what a brutal game. Chad Henne can barely lift his arm. Hart can barely move. Now Beanie Wells leg finally gives out after 170 yards.

Start of the 4th, and Tressel is turtling up.  With Henne out and Hart hobbled, probably the best decision.  But if Michigan scores again they'll have to do something other than run it into the middle of the line.

14-3 final.

Henne and Hart were obviously not 100%, so I withdraw the robot jesus title for Tressel. Still any win against UM is a good one.

Gholston is soooo gone though. Top 10-15 pick.

Woohoo! 6-1 in the Tressel era, and four straight spankings for Michigan's true seniors.  Classy move by Tressel to not try to shove it in at the end. 

That was a boring ass game.

Don't be the Schild of college football, Ab. 

Sorry, but it was. The weather factored into that a lot and Beansie was a stud, but it was a real snoozer of a ball game.  Michigan was simply gutted and really have no business in the top 25 to begin with. 


EDIT: First downs: 23. Punts: 23.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Classic Tresselball. Boeckman fumbled twice and threw a pick. When Beanie scored the second TD there was no way in hell Tressel was going to let TB throw the ball in those conditiions unless Michigan scored.

Now that was funny.
But yeah, boring game.  I switched over to my homestate team of Missouri in the 3rd.  Annoyed that I'm going to be out of country for the Missouri vs. Kansas game :-P

Well my bold predictions were all wrong. Very very wrong. Damn you Michigan.

I want to cry.

Texas Tech 20 Oklahoma 7  2nd quarter.

Bradford's been knocked out of the game.

Oklahoma is getting crushed late in the 3rd. This season is nutty as all hell.  Since they are done playing, OSU could theoretically back their way into the championship game.

Seriously, Fuck Bama, Fuck Saban, Fuck their whiny ass boosters and donors who just fucked up the one decent sports show I listened to, because  the one fucking guy I listened to on that fucking show didn't mind telling people just how much Bama fucking sucks, just fuck them all.

Seriously I'm beginning to hope that Bama gets waxed for the sixth straight time at Auburn, somehow makes a bowl game and then loses that too. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fucking Fuckity Fuck.


Warhawk Pride man. Respect.

 :awesome_for_real:

The rest of the college football world feasts on the Bama fans' pain. Why? Because we all explained to you early on not to get your hopes up in the first damn year. You've got a great coach who will do great things, but at least let the man recruit for two years.

There's more there than the story line.

This anger  isn't as much about Alabama as the boosters. Bama will be ok in a few years, especially after seeing the car the Julio Jones is riding in now (I swear some people will never learn)

But personally, I'd love for Alabama to just take the gaspipe for the rest of the year to piss off the Supporters and boosters who are now starting to fuck with my day to day existence with this "real Bama fan" shit.

This is why I'm glad to be a Bama fan in the north. I don't have to deal with the booster bullshit anymore.

Hell, from what I understand, boosters + the university killed the Strip, and that in and of itself is enough reason for white hot hate. I used to make TONS of money bartending on the Strip....knowing that the university took over the whole thing and killed it, I have stopped making my alumni contributions.

Explain what this is, and how they killed it. I've never been to Tuscaloosa before.