f13.net

Training camp is here. Preseason top 25 by the coaches:

1. Georgia (22)
2. USC (14)
3. Ohio State (14)
4. Oklahoma (3)
5. Florida (5)
6. LSU (3)
7. Missouri
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Texas
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. Texas Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Arizona State
17. Brigham Young
18. Tennessee
19. Illinois
20. Oregon
21. South Florida
22. Penn State
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan  :awesome_for_real:
25. Fresno State

 

Speaking as a Georgia fan this scares the hell out of me.

Our schedule is bend-over hard this year, and I'm not at all sure we can go undefeated. We just don't dominate teams like other programs. Still, the Dawgs are good at winning close matchups.

One loss in the SEC should get you in to the title game. At least you have a reasonable chance of a successful season.

Unless Ohio State goes undefeated and then roflstomps an SEC team to win the national championship they'll be vilified and second-guessed, which is a shame but its the nature of the beast.

Hm, Cal not in the top 25 to start with, but I think we have a shot to creep into the lower middle by the end of the year. Depends how this whole quarterback "controversy" gets resolved I guess.

I second the  :awesome_for_real: as to Michigan.  They'll be lucky, VERY lucky to be 7-5.  Of course, with nothing to lose this year, John Cooper's ....I mean Lloyd Carr's....replacement will probably shake the jinx. 

Didn't you hear? Michigan has BARWIS! They didn't start lifting weights till this year!

Yes, Michigan fans are basing their hopes on a strength and conditioning coach.

I have very high hopes for my Missouri Tigers this year.   they just need to keep their shit together vs. Oklahoma. 

The Big 12 is still the Big 2 until proven otherwise. Kansas State was 5 years ago.

All the major conferences are like that now except for the SEC. The only reason the ACC is balanced is because Miami and Florida State have gone in the tank.

Pretty true, and kinda sad when you think about it. I'd like to see someone else out of the PAC-10 besides USC, and someone out of the Big 10 besides Ohio State. However, both of those conferences are blocking a playoff format, so they get no credit beyond being pussies to me. Also, the SEC is only balanced because we steal everyone's talent out of Georgia and Florida and spread it around, then we kick the shit out of each other weekly. Georgia's #1, but there's no way we finish there. I'm praying to sneak in after a 2 loss season when everyone else tanks.

USF is 21?!?!

 :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill:

Oh man. I'm either too drunk or too happy. Either way, FUCK YEAH!

We'll know pretty early how good USF is this year with that Sept 12th game against #13 Kansas.

I think they're in trouble this year without the big MLB and shutdown corners. We'll see though. RBs and WR core are both really good.

I think USF will be solid through the first four games. After that, their schedule gets really rough, and it's all in a row.

NC State, Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville, and Cincy. If they make it 4-1 through all that, it's big-time in my book. I don't think they can go undefeated, and even if they do you always have good ole WVU waiting at the end in their house.

They rode the defense hard last year, which made people forget their offense was close to shit. They ran up the score on some middling opponents, and Grothe looked like a champ when he ran up the score on lesser opponents. However, during crunch time, against good teams, our offense sucked.

I think USF might be 9-3 or 10-2 this year, but I'm leaning toward 9-3. WVU and another random loss. Kansas could be the third.

I think Utah has a legit shot to beat Michigan next Saturday.  Our QB Johnson is finally healthy and our D is very good.  I actually wish they hadn't lost to Appalachian State last year because now they will be playing uber hard not to drop their first game this year.

Utah should be favored in that game. Michigan is a total mess offensively - their starting right guard was an undersized defensive tackle as of 2 weeks ago. They are literally down to walk-ons and true freshmen on the OL.

That's good to hear. Don't follow Michigan football enough to know much about how they are doing this year.

Georgia Tech fans in Atlanta are starting to get uppity. Apparently Paul Johnson and the triple option has given them hope. Not to mention that they have lost to Georgia 7 years in a row. It's slightly more lopsided lately than the Iron Bowl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtnjlrJc8-o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtnjlrJc8-o)

WE'RE COMING TO YOUR CITY, BITCHES!

I'm so amped up. Let the countdown to kickoff commence! T-minus 72 hours to N. Carolina v. S. Carolina!

They just took Chris Wells off the field in a cart. Likely torn tendons in foot, likely done for the year.

I'm off to drink heavily.  :why_so_serious:

And on the other hand, Terrelle Pryor looks like he's gonna be special.

Edit #2 - Now they say he's "fine". Dunno, looked like a serious injury to me but he was walking around in an air cast. Huge break for OSU if true.

This Utah quarterback is a monster. I'd take him in a heartbeat.

Ya, Johnson is really good.  His last two years have been ruined by injuries or he would seriously be in the Heisman discussion (4th in total offense in the country in 2005, the first year he played the whole season).

I wish Utah would stop gifting points to Michigan though.

The Wannstache takes his awesome recruiting class and leads them to a loss against Bowling Green.  Ahahaha!  :why_so_serious:

Richrod gifted them 7 right back. Big 10 refs are really homering Utah and they still lead by 12.

I actually don't think they are getting homered. Utah is terrible in committing penalties, especially early in the season. Always has been.

Here comes Utah's fucking collapse. Unreal.

15 yards unsportsmanlike conduct
15 yards on a 5 yard facemask
15 yard pass interference

137 penalty yards. To put that in perspective, that's more penalty yards than Ohio State opponents got in the first four games last year.

Granted, Utah is imploding but if its anywhere near a penalty its getting called. Sickening.

Heh, looked pretty standard for Utah.  They have no discipline or killer instinct under Wittingham and Ludwig. Under Urban Meyer the score of this game would have been 45-7.

And Utah gets the win. Johnson reminds me a lot of Chris Leak - give him time to throw and he'll perform. 2nd half Michigan put a lot of pressure on him and he didnt do much.

Michigan could be halfway decent if they junk the spread stuff and run Minor and McGuffie out of the I with Threet at QB. Dickrod is too stubborn to do that though, so the implosion should be fun to watch. Be interesting to see how long the defense plays hard this year.

That's because Ludwig is fundamentally incapable of making adjustments.

This Mizzou/Illinois game is turning into a great game.

Good defensive finish for the Mizzou in that game. I hate Ron Zook since he's a former Florida coach and a Big Ten coach.

Also, the Alabama-Clemson game was a rout. My lord, a top 10 ranking for an ACC team? That conference is pitiful this year, and they might get completely knocked out of the top 25 in a couple weeks. The VA Tech loss to East Carolina is embarrassing also. Wake Forest will stay top 25 this week, but they have to get past a decent Ole Miss team next week.

The PAC-10 looks better this year than it has in the past, and I think they will cause some problems for teams like Georgia and Tennessee who still have games left against them this season. Oregon, AZ State, and USC are all good programs.

The Big 10 is questionable again this year. I'm really hoping Ohio State takes a beating from USC, because it will shut the door on any chance that conference has at competing for a title shot loss again this year. Michigan and Michigan State both lost early, and Ohio State may be down a Heisman contender. For some reason, Illinois got voted into the top 25 after they got clobbered by USC in a bowl and the fact that they have no defense to speak of. Wisconsin could be a legit ranked team, but we'll have to wait for 3 more weeks to see when they play a weak Michigan squad. Penn State is also ranked, but they don't face any tests for another month. We'll see if they can play decently against the Beavers and withhold judgement there.

The Big 12 is the second best conference this year in my book. They are dangerous from a lot of different places, and there has been a revival in the previously pathetic north. It's not just Texas-OU anymore. Missouri is an offensive juggernaught that will give defensive coordinators fits. Texas Tech could easily play spoiler this year and ruin both Texas and OU's seasons in November. Even Kansas is in the hunt for the Big 12 championship. The big shocker this week was the A&M loss to AK State, so they just became bigger dogs than Baylor until they beat them.

Lastly, my SEC boys have done well so far. Only Mississippi State has lost, with the big surprise win being Alabama over Clemson. South Carolina started off extremely slow against NCST but they turned it on late and shut them out with good defense. Vandy won as an underdog on the road against Miami(OH), which is nice for them even though they really suck. Four teams in the conference are top 10. Half the conference is ranked in the top 25. I think there is a very solid chance that the SEC could three-peat as NCAA champions this year.

I thought Oregon's offense would be down after losing Dixon and Stewart. They were nigh unstoppable Saturday night. Of course, I am not sure the UW defense could stop a Murderball team, so grain of salt and all that. Ty Willingham is gonna get fired at the end of the season, if not before. His team is really young, but they looked like they had never played organized football before. What a clusterfuck. Sure glad to watch Locker's eligibility get burned on this shit.

Is Michigan State supposed to be any good this year? I want to know if I should be cautiously optimistic that we beat them, or filled with despair that they almost beat us.

From the game on Saturday.   :drill:

(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/819/img0017id1.jpg)

If USF can tame the beast that is WVU, they've got a good shot for a BCS bid this year.   :why_so_serious:

Can UW, please, please, please, please, please beat BYU tomorrow?

Ohio 14, Ohio St. 6 in the 3rd quarter. Some puckered sphincters going on in Columbus right now I suspect.

Ohio State just fumbled in their end zone and trail Ohio U 14-6.

I'll have a rant later on how Tressel sabotages his own team but I'm pressed for time right now.   :awesome_for_real:

Heh Ab beat me to it.

This shit is getting serious.  WTF is up here?

Alright I have some time so here goes my rant.

Jim Tressel, while a great motivator and teacher, sabotages his teams by taking away their aggressiveness. Against cupcake teams he will put in the backups IN THE FIRST QUARTER. Instead of attacking these lesser teams and drilling them into the ground and instilling a killer instinct in his team, he actually calls plays THAT HAVEN'T WORKED IN PRACTICE in order to "get better execution". He calls the same plays over and over so he doesn't "show" too much to the other more difficult teams on the schedule. The result is you have a team that executes very well but is utterly lacking in aggressiveness and killer instinct. The difference between Ohio State and the SEC isn't team speed, it's attitude.

Ohio punt returner just gives OSU a huge gift.

Touchdown, 19-14. They're finally playing to win now. Boeckman is still Boeckman though so its not over yet.

I think what I'm worried about the most is Ohio State's passing.  Boeckman could throw the showy bomb against the scrubs last year, but he never could throw consistently in big games.  We're going to need some playmaking receivers to stay in the USC game, even if Wells is near 100% (which I'm fairly certain he won't be). 

We don't have them. Robiskie can't get separation against MAC DB's. Hartline is a slower Wayne Chrebet. And Tressel doesn't trust Boeckman enough to throw anything deeper than 10 yards unless its a fly pattern or skinny post. The only chance Ohio State has is if:

A: The defense totally dominates SC. Doubtful.

B: Terrelle Pryor starts and does a senior year Vince Young.

OSU returned all those guys but the weaknesses are still there. The receivers have good hands but aren't very fast. The linebackers are all world but the defensive line is mediocre. Boeckman is an extremely limited quarterback. Penn State looks to be the best team in the Big 10 this year.

Seattle football fans get fucked in the ass by the officials. AGAIN.

That kind of shit makes me not want to watch football again. Why bother when the teams aren't allowed to decide the game on the field?

What happened?

28-21 BYU with 8 seconds left. Jake Locker scrambles into the end zone for a touchdown. He jumps up to celebrate with his teammates and dumps the ball over his shoulder. Ref calls a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Locker, enforced on the XP try. Try is from 35 instead 18, and BYU blocks it, of course. To add irony, BYU bench emptied to celebrate just to show the refs what excessive celebration is.

Believe me whe I tell you that I am not coloring it in UW's favor just because I am a fan. You will see the replays on every sports show tonight, I guarantee it. It was literally one of the worst calls I have ever seen.

Don't you know that BYU is God's team?

I saw that.  UW got royally screwed.   

Anyone watch the SDSU / ND game?  Talk about getting fucked.  The refs gave ND that game. 

Alabama barely beats Tulane, after throttling Clemson last week.  They came out flat, uninspired, played like shit.  Some hard hitting going on in that game though.

Can I borrow that?

USF barely beats Central Florida, after throttling (the admittedly AA) Tennessee-Martin last week.  They came out flat, uninspired, played like shit.  Some hard hitting going on in that game though.  And if I may add, the play calling by the offensive coordinator in the 4th quarter was horrible.

Vandy beating South Carolina might be the highlight of my week. That was just too funny to watch Spurrier fume as his team continues to suck. Also, Florida didn't look good against Miami at all.

Cal 66, Washington State 3.  :drill:

Beanie Wells out for the USC game on Saturday. That game will be over by halftime.

I will say though there's a good chance that there'll be a QB controversy in Columbus after this weekend. Pryor is damn prettay running the ball and he can't throw the ball worse than Boeckman.

USC was a 10 point favorite. It's already climbing to 11.5 now in my sportsbooks with the news about Wells. I fully expect it to be at least 14.5 by late Friday when all the gamblers get the last minute bets in.

What was supposed to be the game of the week will be little more than an asswhomping now, barring major injuries to the USC side.

Bitches don't know 'bout my USF.


Get ready. The Big East isn't dead yet.

I'm going to say with near 100% certainty that Wells will play on Saturday and Pryor will not. Tressel is using this to try and fuck with USC and get them to create too many game plans in a hope to confuse the players. Unfortunately it's not going to work and OSU loses 35-24. I hate saying it as an OSU fan but I don't like their chances.

Yeah JT is backpedaling and saying that Wells wouldnt play "If the game was today" (that was yesterday). He'll probably play but I doubt he'll be effective.

/cruisecontrol BITCHES DON'T KNOW 'BOUT MY USF!


Suck it, Big-12.  :drill: :drill: :drill: <---drilling of drunkenness.

I hope everyone stuck around to watch the whole game.  What a fucking game!  :hulk_rock:

Nice win for USF, sounded like a hell of a game.

Beanie is now declared out for the USC game. Here's hoping Boeckman learns how to read defenses in the next few hours.

USC is abusing the OSU defensive line. Same weakness as last year.

Interesting twist with Pryor and Boeckman alternating every play, got them a field goal. Of course Tressel then stops doing it.

Losing to Maryland =  :crying_panda:

Here's my College Football roundup for Week 3:

That was embarrassing for Ohio State. That shuts the door on them as a national title contender again for good, which is fine in my book as many people are very tired of seeing them there. Wisconsin narrowly avoided the upset, and they will be top 10 now. I'm still not sold that they can stay there. Penn State is still untested. I think one of them can very easily win the Big 10, and my money is on Wisconsin.

No ACC team that played this weekend was ranked, but Maryland did manage to upset a #23 ranked Cal team, which really isn't good for the PAC-10.

The PAC-10 had their one glorious beatdown in the USC-OSU game, but that masked the other pretty vicious shots that the conference took to their street cred this week. AZ State lost to an unranked UNLV team in OT, which will drop them at least out of the top 20. BYU shut out UCLA 59-0 in one of the biggest beatdowns I've ever seen them lay on anybody in a major conference. Cal lost to Maryland, Stanford lost to TCU, Washington State lost to Baylor, Washington was destroyed by Oklahoma, and Arizona lost to New Mexico. Overall, the conference went 3-7 this week, which is pretty ugly.

The Big 12 had 3 ranked teams play this week, and while Oklahoma and Missouri took care of business in typical fashion, Kansas lost to USF. They will fall slightly due to that loss given the close rankings of the two squads. Also, what can you say about USF that wasn't said last year? They are doing again as the giant killers and moving up the ranks. While I didn't think so before, I can actually see this team going undefeated into the WVU game.

The SEC had a mediocre week that ended in a lot of wins. The 6 teams that weren't playing conference games all won their games, 6-0. The 2 conference games were Georgia-SC and Auburn-Miss. State. BOTH were absolutely awful offensive games. Auburn won 3-2, a score you'll almost never see in football. Nobody could do anything but turn the ball over to the other side for the entire game. I went on the road to watch my Bulldogs play in South Carolina, and the expectation of fans on both sides was that it would be a route. It was anything but. If Georgia's defense hadn't taken the team on their shoulders, this game would have been a crushing loss. SC on the 2 yard line, late in the 4th quarter and looking to score the tying TD down 14-7, and Georgia caused a fumble that they recovered in the endzone. That was the play of the game.

Overall though, the team played badly. Georgia had 112 yards in penalties, only had 146 total passing yards, and they went 5/13 on 3rd downs. The worst part is that Georgia had more penalty yards than rushing yards, and they had more yards punting than they did on total offense. You shouldn't win games that way, and they won't win if they play AZ State that way next week. They have a lot to work on, and it starts with less drops by our receivers, and more aggressive playcalling earlier in the game.

Was definitely a good weekend for the Mountain West Conference.

I actually rewatched part of the USC - Ohio State game. OSU sucks, has no heart, no killer instinct and is totally predictable. But damn USC is a good looking team, and I dont see anybody beating them in the Pac-10.

Talk radio in Ohio is clamoring for Terrelle Pryor. Sucks being right all the time.  :why_so_serious:

So my early prediction is USC-Oklahoma in the NC-game. Righteous outrage from the SEC as its one-loss champion gets left out.

Speaking as the SEC rep, I actually agree with you. I think the USC-OU game is the only possible future.

As a rational observer, I think that's the undefeated teams meeting each other in combat.

As an SEC fan, I think it's another notch in why the BCS sucks.

USC will drop some inexplicable game to Stanford or Cal or UCLA along the way.  It's in their DNA.

Just some food for thought here:

USF's remaining schedule:

9/20      Florida International       
9/27      North Carolina State    
10/02    Pittsburgh        
10/18    Syracuse                      
10/25    @ Louisville                
10/30    @ Cincinnati    
11/15    Rutgers       
11/23    Connecticut    
12/06    @ No. 21 West Virginia       

If USF can win the last two difficult games, you could see an undefeated team out of the Big East this year, especially if WVU falls flat in the season finale.

How's that sound for BCS complication?

How is that complicated?  The Big East isn't any different than the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10 or ACC with regard to conference champs getting BCS bowl invitations.

Don't overlook that away game at Louisville.  USF has never won in Louisville and they (finally) looked good last night.

West Virginia sucks this year.

Case in point, today.

Karma for all the toothless histrionics they threw when Rodriguez left.

That LSU-Auburn game was pretty entertaining. That Lee kid was nails after that ridiculous screen/gift-touchdown he gave up.

I like watching Auburn cry. They can't win the SEC now.

Athens bound next weekend.  Ought to be one helluva a game.  True litmus test to see if Bama is for real.  Came out with a couple nicks and bruises against Arkansas, but nothing serious, though hearing Rolando McClain slightly sprained his foot is kinda bad news. 

I'm optimistically terrified. I think my Dawgs have been living on the edge all season, and they can't keep taking over 100 yards in penalties a game. Bama OTOH has been nothing short of a frieght train in every game they've played.

Heh. 'Optimistically terrified' is a great way of putting it for me as well. 

I can't get a read on UGA from the two games I've seen them play.  They seem to be playing close to the vest, not showing much.  I'm scared some offensive juggarnaught is going to come out.

What Bama team shows up?  The one that mauled Clemson and Arkansas?  Or the team that sleptwalk through Tulane?  I don't really count the Western Kentucky game as a real opponent - they SHOULD have won that game the way they did. 

ESPN Gameday is going to be on site at Sanford Stadium.  It's going to be completely INSANE. 

What is the must see/eat/place to go in Athens?  Somewhere for dinner Friday night, then a bar afterwards.  We're heading up Friday afternoon/night in an RV. 

Best place to eat in Athens downtown is probably Porterhouse, the downtown steakhouse. Other options are Harry Bisset's for Cajun, Depalma's for Italian, and Casa Mi for Spanish Tapas, and East/West is also popular. As for bars, they are impossible to keep track of. I prefer drinking in Bisset's, Winery, and Gameday Pub because they are older crowds. Flanigans, Boarshead, and Firehouse were always the 18 year old cram em to the wall places.

As for things to see, if you're going to Athens on gameday, you've seen the best the town has to offer.

EDIT: If you are looking for more classic Athens college grub, there's always The Grill and Little Italy for lunch.

Pac-10 officials once again embarrass themselves, the conference, and the game of football itself. The play itself didn't end up being decisive (and it was a game between a horrible team and a I-AA school), but they still absolutely butchered a call.

WSU DB tips the ball in the air. As he is falling to the ground, he sticks his hand out and keeps the ball from hitting the ground. He then corrals the ball with both hands. The ball never comes close to the ground, and is rightly called an interception on the field. It is then reviewed, which everyone watching assumed was a formality (review request came from the booth, not from a coach). After seeing the same replays I saw, in which there was no doubt that the ball never hit the ground (while watching the replays, one of the moronic color guys doing the game even said it would be "dumb" if they overturned it), the ref comes out, reverses the decision on the field, and gives the ball back to PSU.

Like I said earlier- it wasn't an important call in a big game, but it showed yet AGAIN that the Pac-10 has the worst officials (and refs in basketball) in organized sports. It isn't even that they are biased one way or another- they are just incompetent.

I wish I could find a video of it. It was just another godawful call.

That's perfect, many thanks.

We have 4 seats in the 105 section, and 2 seats in the 112 section, which is supposed to be the 'visitors' side.  I fully expect to be surrounded by a sea of black jersies, however.

105 is just inside Gate 2, and you'll be in front of Georgia fans. The Visitors get the seats below the fans on that side, and so they must constantly walk past them up and down the aisles. I've seen several fights break out in that section over the years when I had tickets above that section, so I would recommend coming into your seats at the field level gates, rather than come in up top on the bridge at Gate 2. It's just less of a PITA.

In the past few years def has been Mizzou's biggest problem.  I fucking scream in rage everytime we go into 1/2 time leading by like 20+ points only to have lose the lead second half.  Thanfully it didn't happen much last year (year before last was hard to watch, almost like they said "fuck it, we're so far ahead they can't do shit").  I have high hopes for Mizzou this year, assuming we can handle Oklahoma state. 

shouldn't have a problem vs KU or NE, they both suck donkey dick anway. :grin:

CMR and CNS paying some lipservice to each other. (http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&brand=foxsports&vid=23178bed-f514-4bf7-9ca6-716d85fbe5a1&playlist=&editor=&from=FOXSPORTS&fg=/cfb/team&rf=http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/team?categoryId=86100)

This week is going by too slow.

Bah, it's RTR all the way to the weekend, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm hoping for a repeat of the Bama-Georgia game when I was an undergrad from 94-98. You guess which year.

The Zier (sp?) / Barker matchup in '94 (I think)?  That was a helluva game. 

This game scares me to death.  If Bama jumps out big (14+ points) early, I think they cruise to nice win - we need confidence early as it will settle the young players down.  If they get behind early (7+), I think they lose.  If it stays relatively even, I think it comes down to who has the ball last.  That sounds like a Captain Obvious statement, I know.  But Bama has thrived on early knockout blows, and hasn't had to press to come from behind to win.  It's a young team, and generally that means the players hit a panic button when things aren't 'normal'. 

UGA is going to exploit the hell out of the right side OL with the blitz; to punch JPW in the mouth a few times to get him rattled.  They'll also exploit Bama's speed and aggressiveness on defense with screen plays.
Bama is going to HAVE to run the ball consistently, with some decent play out of JPW.  They HAVE to protect him on the right side.  And the special teams are going to have to learn to cover on kick offs.  Giving UGA a short field won't work.

For some reason, I think the new clock rules are going to be pivotal in this game.

Midweek prediction?  Both teams scoring in the mid 20's.  And since I'm a Bama homer through and through, I figure 24-23 Bama. 

 

Yep, definitely the '94 game.

JPW needs to be a good scrambler, because I don't think the OL has ever done a solid job of protecting him. When he DOES get some protection and gets time to throw, he's still on it. But I really can't figure out why the OL hasn't done that great of a job for him the last few seasons.

The left side, with top 5 pick Andre Smith is fine.  The right side is where he gets blasted.  Bama hasn't had a solid right tackle for a while now.  Look for UGA to bring three (DE, and two blitzers) on the right early and often, regardless if there's a RB back there to help out.  IngramCoffeeUpchurchGrant are going to have to step up, and step up big to offer some protection.  Hopefully McElwain will call some roll outs to the left to help mitigate this.

Or Oregon State. 21-0 at half

Heh. Knew it (it ain't over yet though)

That would be sweet if it happens, then the Utes can beat up on Oregon State in the inevitable away-game let down next week and up their SoS.

I smell Ohio State-Oklahoma!  The story begins anew. 

Oh god please no. I just wanna smoke somebody in a BCS bowl game and be the team "playing the best football right now"   :awesome_for_real:

Ohio State still has no chance.

Put that out of your mind.

Football critics have the memory of a goldfish.  Four or five weeks from now, when OSU stomped the rest of the Big Ten and Pryor is Vince Younging it up, they will be ranked 4th or 5th again (rationalized by saying "Pryor and Wells together=awesome!).  Then, a couple last minute losses put them in the championship game, where the gods want them to be (and lose). 

I think the voters are tired of OSU's shtick. Plus, I don't think they can win out. There's no guarantee that they beat Wisconsin, Penn State, or Michigan. The defense is just awful.

(http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/fail-owned-dingleberry-name-fail.jpg?w=450&h=315)

Looks like Alabama is back.

The 4th quarter was a bit rough, but yeah, RTR folks, RTfuckingR.

My team forgot to get off the bus. By the time the Dawgs figured out what the hell was going on, 30 points in a half wasn't enough.

Ah well, I have ridiculous hopes of a rematch in the SEC championship. That would be epic.

That was a perfect win for the Tide.  A complete dick stomping, followed by a let up that will let Saban ride their asses into the ground to never :ever: let up.

Really looking forward to that LSU game now.

RTR

Just got back.  Hole eee sheep shit.  What a game.  I will hand it to UGA though.  After getting curbstomped in the first half, then to come back in the 3rd to make it interesting showed alot of character.  The garbage points in the 4th I really wasn't too worried about, since it was mostly Alabama scrubs, though I admit my ass was taking bites out of the seat in the 3rd.  I don't think anyone could have predicted that score.

Have got some great pics from the game, which I'll host somewhere and link up as soon as I can find my cable.   


That's probably going to happen.  I'm looking for tickets now  :rock_hard:

That's ok, they couldn't have bought gas for it anyway.  :awesome_for_real:

All in all, if UGA had to lose, they couldn't have picked a better week to do when half the top 25 was having issues.

Wow, Bama is now ranked #2 in the AP poll.

I think we started the season in the 30s.

Ohio State stayed 14th.  Wow, maybe the pollsters HAVE learned.  I honestly expected a bunch of "OMG WELLS AND PRYOR TOGETHER AT LAST" articles and a ranking around 7th.  :awesome_for_real:

Sorry, but now they are doomed. It's just the way it is.

No kidding.  How many #2s did we have last year?

Doubt anyone watched it, but that was a hell of a finish to the Utes game. Down 8 with 2 minutes to go and an offense that did NOTHING in the second half. Utes drive 80 yards to score in 42 seconds, convert the 2 point conversion, hold OSU to 3 and out, drive 30 yards and kick a field goal with 2 seconds left. First time I've ever been spontaneously bear-hugged by the guy sitting next to me in a football game.  :awesome_for_real:

That sounds a lot better than how my team performed last night.  Apparently the Bulls decided it would be fun to completely embarrass themselves on national TV last night.

My Dawgs are off this weekend, thank goodness. My upset picks for the weekend:

Purdue over Penn State
Vandy over Auburn
Virginia over Maryland

Yeah, the ending to that game was complete craziness.  Utah's Offense was shit on a plate for most of the game.  OSU totally fucked the dog on the 3 and out + the shitastic punt.  I've never seen my dad so pissed about a game. 

Side note: the VS channel eats a dick, better than FSN, but only just.

Vanderbilt?  Really?


Anyways, that OU-Texas game next week should be good. 

My Badgers  :heartbreak:

Every year we blow at least one huge game in the final quarter/two minutes... I was hoping we were done doing that after Michigan.

2 out of 3. Damn Purdue didn't even show up in that Penn State game. The lions looked like shit, too. Vandy was arguably one of the better games that day.

Meh, the Tide won, but it felt like a Cubs win and not a decisive Tide win.

Nick Saban needs to ride those kids harder or something....deciding you've won the game after the first quarter or half is just fucking stupid.

JPW was nowhere near as dominant, they woked Coffee to death, and even Cody was so over-played that he lost some of his speed and (relative) agility by the second half.

Our next game ain't gonna be pretty if we're playing like we did last night. yesterday (I watched it on the DVR.)

I think they're just tired and beat up - mentally and physically, to be honest.  After the *huge* win over UGA, the UK game was a trap game anyway.  The bye weak came at just the right time.

Went to the Arizona - Washington game.   That was a creaming.  We didn't even play that well. Take away that 60 yard bomb our DBs shit the bed on and we hold them under 200 yards total offense. Locker being out will probably hand them a 1 win season just because Washington State is pretty terrible also.

Somewhat of a bad time to be a sports fan up there in Washington. 

Arizona is looking like a bowl team this year, but we've got a stretch that could easily take us back to even. We're running well, Tuitama's accuracy this year has been really good, and we've likely got the best tight end in the nation.  Gronkowski is 3" taller version of Todd Heap that's faster, harder to bring down and with better hands.  Guy caught a middle screen where he out ran the entire Washington defense.  We haven't played anyone yet, but at least we're beating the teams we're supposed to (except for New Mexico.. gah).

If Vandy wins against Miss St., which they should, they will come out guns blazing against UGA and will probably beat us. Last year, Georgia BARELY won with a FG as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The year before they beat Georgia. Georgia has to beat Tennessee, which we haven't done in two years, coming off a horrible horrible loss.

If the Dawgs drop one to Tennessee, our season is probably done before it's halfway over. A win means you basically get to live another week. At this point, I just don't see how they can pull it off unless a totally different team shows up for the Tennessee game.

Ya think? Sonics left, Mariners were historically bad, UW hasn't won yet, WSU beat a I-AA team for their only win, and the Seahawks have only managed to beat the pathetic Rams. Oh, and our junior hockey team has started 1-5.

If the election goes south I will be trying to fit my big toe into the trigger guard of a 12 gauge.

Become a Cubs fan, that plus the craptacular fall/winter weather will seal the deal for you.  :grin:

I have a few more upset picks this week, so let's see how these go:

Minnesota over Illinois
Colorado over Kansas
LSU over Florida (Florida is favored for some reason; I'll chalk it up to dumbasses liking Tebow)
OK State over Missou

Feel free to call me crazy now.

2/4 on the weekend. The Florida game was embarrassing for LSU. The dominos continue to fall at the top with 1, 2, and 3 going down in a row.

Does this remind anybody of last season?

1, 3, and 4.  Vandy lost, too.

The polls aren't weren't in agreement there. AP had 1, 3, 4 and USA Today had 1, 2, 3.

Either way, the new AP is out, and I'm already pissed off. Florida goes from 11th to 5th. USC goes from 9th to 6th. Georgia DOESN'T move. What? Florida lost to an unranked Ole Miss team as their one loss. USC lost to an unranked Oregon State team. Georgia lost to what is now the #2 team in the nation, but somehow we are 10th. Sure, Florida was more impressive in their win, but you can't take one game and slingshot them past teams with the same or even better records. That's just batshit crazy in my book.

You should be even more upset at #17 Oklahoma State jumping past Georgia all the way to #8 in the AP, good win over Mizzou notwithstanding.

Why? They beat a #3 squad and have a better record. Look, if you have an undefeated record, unless you play in one of the second tier conferences then nobody should be ranked in front of you. Oklahoma State has a solid undefeated program in probably the 2nd toughest conference, plus they knocked off a top 5 team. To rank Georgia ahead of them wouldn't be fair, because Georgia lost.

Good evidence this week that BYU has basically reached its limit in the polls. They have played absolutely no one and should not be that high period, but at least they won't sneak their way up into the top 5. Things still on track for undefeated Utah and BYU to meet on the 22nd for a BSC bid.

Well, I'm glad that the polls didn't bump Alabama up from 2nd during a bye week. A buddy and I were discussing it at work today, and he was convinced it was entirely possible. I'd rather we stay in 2nd until our next conference game (I'm looking at you, Vols.) Maybe Saban is tearing the team a new asshole for letting up on GA at the half and squeaking one out against Kentucky.

They need to be hungry and tough as we head into the harder part of our schedule.

@ Paelos - Not sure what to make of UGA not getting some loving in the polls.  They looked good (though not great) against Tennessee, but it's still a win in the SEC.

@ Aba - BYU is going to be this years Boise State; the fly in the BCS ointment.

@ CmdrSlack - I actually thought they would drop to 3 in the AP and stay 4 in the USA poll given the losses of the top couple of teams and the showing that UT and Penn State put up.  This weekends game against Ole Miss scares the absolute poo out of me.  The Nutt always pulls a couple games out of his ass (see: Florida) for 'signature' wins.  I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, but man - our schedule is looking better and better.  LSU looked like the overrated team I thought they were, Tennessee can't do anything on offense, and el oh el at Auburn.  IF Alabama stays healthy (the biggest key since they are so thin), and IF Saban keeps them focused.......Man, oh man...We've GOT to learn to keep the throttle down, though.  All that said, I STILL don't want to play UGA (again) in the SEC championship.  They scare me more than Florida.

I'm a closet Penn State fan - well, more of a Joe Pa fan - so it's good to see them doing well. 

Shit. I coulda sworn this weekend was Tennessee. I guess it's not the third Saturday this weekend. Feels like it.

I'm not s sure on BYU as they haven't been tested much.  They needed a BS penalty call not to go into OT against what is turning out to be a horrible WSU team.  This Thurs against TCU on the road will be a big indicator.

Tommy Bowden is out of Clemson. "He was not fired."

Right. The ACC is in bad shape this year, and this may be the first of many firings in that conference. Not one team in that entire conference is undefeated, and it's only been 7 weeks. Also, they have 10 out of conference losses. In contrast the SEC only has 5. However, they are still better off than the Pac-10 who has amassed a WHOPPING 15 out of conference losses. Yet, somehow USC is still ranked in the top 10 as a one loss team, while all the ACC one loss teams are in the 20s.

Go figure, the pollsters are idiots. I'll say it right now, I think Utah could beat USC. I think they deserve a top 10 slot. I also think Georgia, LSU, Michigan State, and Missouri could take them.

Remember the previous two teams to beat Ohio State by +20 points became NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!  :awesome_for_real:

I dont think Michigan State is that good. I think OSU's defense puts the clamps on Ringer and the rest of the team falls unconscious by being forced to watch the OSU offense.

USC can sleepwalk through the rest of their schedule. Only Cal is ranked at 25. The rest of the PAC-10 is absolute shit. They don't deserve a title shot, but they will probably get one against...

Penn State is probably the top possibility. The media loves them, and they only have to play 2 ranked opponents, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Texas is second. They haven't lost yet, but they will most likely drop one game to one of the four ranked teams they have to play.
Alabama is third. Due to the fact the SEC West is very weak, they only have to play one ranked opponent in the regular season. If they lose at all, they are out.
Florida/Georgia are tied at fourth. Whichever one wins the Georgia-Florida game has the only shot.
Texas Tech is 5th. They, like Texas, have to play four ranked opponents, and it's almost impossible that they will go undefeated. If they did though, they are a lock for the title shot. The games against Texas and OU will be the tests.

OU has no shot. They are highly ranked, but baring 2 Texas losses and them running the table, they can't win the Big 12 South, which means no title shot.

And the indicator is that they suck!  Yes!

Good call Ab. The truth is that the media has ZERO idea what's going on this year, so they are ranking people with what I can only assume are darts.

I was impressed by TCU. They have a good team. That game here in SLC on the 6th with be quite a game that I am unfortunately going to miss because I will be out of town.  :x

Upset picks for this week:

Miss. State over Tennessee - Fulmer's on the ropes, and this will be the knockout blow.
Kansas over OU - OU has no defense. Kansas is all offense. In a shootout, I like Kansas.
Navy over Pitt - Navy is better this year than the record indicates. Coming off a bye, I think they come out strong.

I think your Pitt pick is out of control.  Did you see Pitt play USF?

That's not necessarily an indication that Pitt is all that good.  USF is guaranteed to play like complete ass at least once or twice a year no matter how much talent they have.

USF is streaky and the played poorly. Navy is on a 3 game winning streak against Rutgers, Wake Forest, and Air Force, all in games which they were largely underdogged. Pitt is averaging around 25 points a game, while Navy is averaging over 29. Navy is also #2 in rushing offense, and a stout rushing defense. In a battle of the running games, I give the edge to Navy.

Ya'll should do a little more reading about the Big East. Just because they lost to Fresno State doesn't make them less of a football team.  People still think USC is good...

I'm very well aware of the Big East.  What does that have to do with the fact that USF is a very emotional team, even more so than most college teams?  When they're up, they can be world beaters.  When they're down they can barely beat or lose to scrubs.  I'm not saying Pittsburgh is necessarily bad, I'm saying you can't use the USF game as a measuring stick.  USF looked *awful* that game.  As bad or worse than the second half of the Sun Bowl or first half of the Cincinnati game last year.

Well done, Paelos.  :awesome_for_real:

Edit: A little less snarky. I don't have to be ass :P

Costly win for Alabama.  The Big Man, Terrance Cody went down in the early 3rd with what looks like a bad knee injury.  Tailback fell into it from the side, then he got pushed back with his foot still planted.  Wouldn't be surprised if every ligament in it popped.  Hope he's ok, regardless of how important he is to the defense.  He's a good kid.

I didn't see the game, so I have no idea how it went down, but I make upset picks to be lit up.  :grin: Navy rushed for almost 200 yards, but they couldn't play D. Such is life on the edge. BTW, I still think the Big East is a better conference than the PAC-10 or the ACC, and that's why I focused on their games for my picks.

It also makes it tougher when there aren't any upsets. The favorites won every game except for Maryland over Wake, which I wouldn't pick because the ACC is useless. Also, Miss State is only down 3-6 against Tennessee, so that one may come to pass.

EDIT: I guess the short answer is, if I win one upset pick in the week, I'm ahead  :drill:

Serious ass-whooping going on in Austin tonight.

35-3. Missou is getting owned in the dazzling spotlight that is national TV. I'm loving every second of Kirk trying to defend Chase Daniel as a Heisman candidate. Missouri runs into 2 teams that are actually worth a damn, and they can't hang.

Mizzou is demonstrating why I thought Oklahoma State jumping 9 spots for beating them was a bit of a stretch.

I'll still say it doesn't matter. They were 6-0 in the Big 12. Where do you put that? Behind Georgia, LSU, and Ohio State? That's where the craziness of the system comes into play. They are already behind two very questionable one loss teams.

Today's dismantling of Michigan State was good.  Who are the real Buckeyes- the team that scored 16 against Purdue (bottom ten or fifteen in football in defense?) or today's team?

Nonetheless, I am just as confident that OSU will demolish Penn State as I was that they'd be demolished by USC.  Penn State hasn't played anyone at the level of Michigan State or even Minnesota.  Happy Valley is pure death, but Penn State does not win at OSU.  They'll be exposed for the Big Ten pretenders they are by the best Big Ten pretender- us  :awesome_for_real:

I'm going to agree with you on that one. Ohio State made a statement against Michigan State today. Penn State is the Missouri of the Big 10 atm. They are completely untested and will most likely meet a similar fate on the road.

Yeah, but come on!  A motherfucking fleaflicker!  That ruled!

Flea Flicker is like cruise control for win.

Cody being hurt reminds me of an injury vs. the Vols a few years back...at least that one was more obviously bad.

Are you talking about the leg snap one of the Britt's had?  Yeah.  That was nasty.  Shaud Williams ran off to the sideline and puked.  They've had a couple bad leg injuries there; Tyone Prothro coming immediately to mind.  Complete snap of the tibia and fibia.  I about hurled when I saw that one.  I still can't watch it.

Anyhoot, word is (amazingly enough) is that it's a sprain similar to what Andre Smith suffered earlier in the year and was out a game.  Hope so, anyway.  You gotta love a 6-5 360 lb monster of a kid that sleeps on Batman bedsheets, loves Pokemon and Tom and Jerry.  And can do a 360 slam dunk of a basketball.  The play he lined up as a blocking fullback at the goal line was just all kinds of win.  Between him and Smith alone, there was 700+ lbs of mass moving in one direction.

I was talking about Prothro. I was with our alumn group watching that game. At least two people did actually go to the restroom to hurl after seeing the nth slo-mo replay.

I think the Nits win by a touchdown. Daryll Clark is not Anthony Morelli, and Penn State has the line to take advantage of OSU's weak defensive line, unlike MSU. The question to me is whether they'll pee down their leg in a big game at a hostile environment.   

Wazzu got 69'ed by the Trojans. At least that was amusing.

LSU vs SC.  Ref bodychecks the running back.  The fuck? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqfOCB21qwA)

Time for more upset picks for the week:

Wisconsin over Illinois
VA Tech over Florida State
Louisville over South Florida

and the big one - Tennessee over Alabama

I wouldn't really call Virginia Tech over FSU an upset even though the 'Nole are 4.5 point favorites.  They're two of the better teams in an unpredictable conference this year.

I'm thinking 0-3 on the rest of those picks.  Tennessee and Wisconsin are just terrible this year.  The most likely upset out of those 3 is the Louisville/USF game.  Louisville is a good running team this year and USF has a lot of trouble against tough inside running.  Plus South Florida has never won in Louisville.  I still think the Bulls will win, but I wouldn't be surprised if they lose.

You DIE!!  YOU DIE NOW!!! STAY AWAY FROM MY PRECIOUS!!!!!!!

FSU is ranked. VA Tech is not. FSU is favored. I disagree with your version of what would constitute an upset in that regard.

As for the rest: Wisconsin is a gut pick. It seems so unlikely that they could drop 5 in a row including a 3rd straight loss at home. There's nothing to back it up beyond feeling that at some point they have to look around and get pissed off. As for USF, you made my point for me with their record in Louisville.

The Tennessee pick is just to piss off the Alabama fans here!  :awesome_for_real: Still, Alabama hasn't proved it can finish worth a damn yet. How many points did Alabama score in the 2nd half against Ole Miss and Kentucky? THREE. Combined. All Tennessee has to do is not completely fuck up in the first half, keep it close, and it's game over for Alabama.

The 'lack of finishing' a game doesn't concern me too much in that all that matters to me is getting another mark in the win column.  It DOES give me some angsty heartburn at times however.  But I look at it in a positive light in two ways.  First, they're still winning despite taking an entire half of football off.  And second, woe is the team(s) that get hit by the Bama train when they DO put a full game together.

I swear they're only running about 5 or 6 different offensive plays over and over every game:  Coffee/Ingram run left, Upchurch run right, pass to Upchurch out of the backfield/screen, pass to the tight end in the flats, Maze/McCoy/Alexander on a fade route when Jones is double covered, and pass to Jones when he's in single coverage.

The loss of TC for the Tennessee is worriesome, though.  Chapman is going to have to step up big.

Looks like Penn State will be this year's sacrificial Big-10 patsy to be shellacked by an SEC or Big-12 team in the title game.

 :grin:

Very niiiiice.

Bama has some major issues in that Tennessee game, but Tennessee shot themselves in the foot so often that they couldn't put any points on the board at all. Bama still looks good for the SEC West title now that my DAWGS cleaned LSU's clock in a major shootout. If Georgia beats Florida, it's rematch time! I want it so bad I can taste it.

The Ohio State - Penn State game was painful to watch. Penn State's going to get a national title shot because they play in that fruity-ass conference and can't possibly lose. I'm guessing probably against Texas. I'd put Big 12 Champ vs. the SEC champ and call it a day, and that MAY happen, but I'm not sure Alabama can beat Georgia twice or Florida once, depending on the game next week.

2/4 on the Upset Picks. Not a bad week.

Of course, Bama had nothing to do with that.   :grin:

Bama still looks good for the SEC West title now that my DAWGS cleaned LSU's clock in a major shootout. If Georgia beats Florida, it's rematch time! I want it so bad I can taste it.[/quote]

Do you REALLY want to see the Dawgs get drilled again?


I know it's tough for you, but give Bama some credit.  You don't get to a number 2 ranking, undefeated, and not tested by ANYBODY on your schedule (besides Ole Miss, yanno, that team that beat Florida) thus far without being pretty damn good. 

It will be a sad day for College Football if Penn State gets picked for the Title game over the SEC Champion.  After watching the Ohio State game I just can't see Penn State putting up a fight against a Big 12 Team.  I can only hope that we see something similar to what happened in 2004 where an undefeated Auburn got left out of the Title game due to a perceived weakness in scedule.  This year should Penn State finish undefeated I still think they should be left out of the Title game for the same reason.  The Big 12 Champ vs the SEC Champ would be a highly entertaining game.  Penn State in the Title game would be a snooze fest.

For the Georgia and Bama fans in here...Go Gators! :awesome_for_real:

I think we've seen the best Alabama has to offer when they played Georgia. I don't think they can play better than that, and they consistently haven't in any of their other SEC games. I give them credit for stepping up and winning the big game that they had to win (Georgia). That's pretty much it though in terms of their opponents on a "national" scale. The SEC West is unquestionably weak this year with the exception of Alabama. LSU is slowly getting exposed as an overrated team. An inevitable loss to Alabama will probably knock them out of the top 20. Their young QB can't hang, and their defense crumbles against any decent offense. The rest of the West is unranked. Auburn is as bad as I've ever seen.

Anyway, Georgia/Florida will determine who wins the East. I'm a big DAWG fan, but we're going to have to do a lot to win that game. Florida is much faster and better defensively than Georgia, and they have a functioning offensive line. Winning that game would be a steal for the Dawgs. However, if Florida wins, I think they would beat Alabama. Outside of the total brain fart they had against Ole Miss, they have crushed everyone they've played. You can say that Bama beat Ole Miss, but you can also say Florida put 63 on a Kentucky team Alabama barely edged out. Florida is still obviously streaky and has to decide when they want to turn it on. When they have turned it on though, it's impressive.

I think Bama has done enough to win their games, but I'm not going to give Bama any credit unless they win the SEC. I'm not going to give Georgia any credit either. Hell, I'm not going give Florida any credit either because they lost to Ole Miss. Nobody is worth a damn in my eyes until they hoist the SEC championship trophy. The national title should always be a side-product of that.

In essence, win the SEC and I'll admit Bama is and awesome program this year. Win it undefeated and I'll admit they are the best program I've seen in 4 years. Do all that and win the national title game, and I'll admit that Bama is the best program I've ever seen.

Fair enough.

Even if they win out, I don't agree with the 'best program I've ever seen', and that's coming from an obvious Bama homer.  I *do* believe that IF it does happen, it will be a testament to just how good Saban and the rest of the coaching staff is.  They've got an awfully young team (only 9 seniors on the whole team, about half that on the starting lineup) performing about as well as anybody in the country.  They play/start something like 16 freshmen that don't play like freshmen.  Blowing out Clemson at a neutral site, then going into Sanford Stadium and manhandling a really good UGA team, AND playing in equally hostile environments has matured those freshmen beyond their years.  Whatever Saban and Co. are putting in the water, whether it's the motivational speakers or other assorted head games, it's working.

As far as the UK / UF game, UK was without 4 or 5 of their starters.  Beyond that, I would seriously wonder if UF didn't peak in that game, also that UK did everything possible to give the game to UF.  I don't want to seem like I'm discounting what UF did - far from it - they took advantages of the (many) opportunities UK gave them, and good teams do that.  As far as LSU is concerned, all of Saban's talent has graduated and their defense hasn't been the same since their DC left for Nebraska.  To be honest, I'd rather face UF than UGA again - but I don't really think either one will be that tough of a game - or rather to say, they won't be any tougher than any other team Bama will have played at that point.

A desperate Tommy Tuberville scares me more than UF or UGA, as does a complete mental collapse against MSU.

I've only been watching college football since I got to college in 1999. So my "best ever seen" is more limited than others. 1998 Tennessee would be a close comparison, but I never paid attention that year. Since the BCS started, discounting Tenn, I have never been really impressed by the national championship game because it's alway included someone from a completely worthless conference that year. I will say this though; of the 4 times the SEC champion was allowed to compete in the national championship game, they've won all 4.

Where's this week's upset specials?

Heh. "Stomp" on that one Georgia.

Florida is a halfway-decent looking football team.  :why_so_serious:

I was on the road at GA/FL, and as you can expect it was very ugly. I was gone by the 4th quarter. It's Florida's SEC championship to lose now in my book. Florida has Vandy and SC left, which are both going to be curbstompings. Bama still has LSU, Miss St., and Auburn left, with the defining game of the their SEC championship hopes resting on the LSU game. If Bama wins next week, it'll be Alabama v. Florida in the conference title game. Out of the two, I think Florida is playing better football right now, but we'll see how it plays out.

Georgia will most likely go to the Outback bowl now, but we don't deserve anything better. Our team has absolutely nothing going on in the trenches on either side of the ball. We don't blitz, and we can't block with the 4th starters in there. So, I'm basically done worrying about Georgia's chances anymore. As for the rest of the league, Texas getting hit hard sucks. Now it's almost assured that Penn State will get in the title game, and they are worthless.

Texas Tech leapfrogged Penn State in the polls   :uhrr:   What the hell?  Texas only dropping 3 spots to 4, and Texas Tech jumping 6 spots?  I'd put Florida over Texas and Texas Tech even with a loss.  Maybe that's the SEC homer in me coming out, but UF has really turned it on. 

My anxiety level for the next 4 weeks is going to be through the ROOF.

Oddly enough, Bama can lose against LSU, but win out against MSU and AU and still go to the SEC championship.  Win against LSU and they go regardless of what they do against MSU and AU.  I don't want that to be a situation that happens, of course.  I am hoping that UF is peaking at the wrong time.  I'm also hoping that they really aren't that damn good and UGA and LSU are just having a bad time of it, which happens.  But man, oh man, they looked stout against UGA.  They basically followed Bama's blueprint of 'How to beat UGA':  smack Moreno in the mouth early, make Stafford and a weak offensive line beat you.  Then run, run, run, and then run the ball some more.  Moreno is talented, but one good pop to him and he's just not the same.  He gets SO amped up, and all it takes is one shot to cause him to come back down and he never recovers.

If the top three win out...Alabama versus Texas Tech just doesn't sound very sexy.  They've played each other in recent years (2006, an Alabama 13-10 victory against the same coach and the same system).  Alabama versus Penn State sounds better, but would be a thrashing.  I was really hoping for an Crimson Tide / Longhorn (or USC) championship game.  Which, I suppose could happen, especially given the media love for USC.

USC's chances just became extremely remote if very few losses happen at the top. Here's how it breaks down in my book, starting top-down.

Alabama:

-Wins out, including SEC championship, and they get a guaranteed spot. This is not going to be easy at all. If I'm betting on them, I think they take one loss before the title game. LSU hates Saban and wants him to die, Auburn is ALWAYS a rumble with Alabama down in the last 6 games, and Miss St. might be the biggest mental trap game on the whole schedule. Get through all that, and you win a chance to play Florida. Not easy.
-Loses one game, not the SEC championship, and things get dicey. The Big 12 South leader would have to lose in the championship game.
-Loses the SEC Championship. They have no shot.

Texas Tech:

-Also controls their own destiny. Win out and the championship, and it's a guaranteed shot. I also think this is EXTREMELY unlikely. OU and OSU are both strong teams.
-Loses any game, and it's over. Texas Tech losing to Oklahoma creates a 3-way circle jerk for the Big 12 South title with Texas beating OU who beat TT who beat Texas. I'll explain why this shoots TT in the foot in the Texas lineup.

Penn State:

-Win or go home. Even if they do that, there are no guarantees. They have to have either a TT loss or a Bama loss. Their conference does zero to help them this year. Michigan isn't even going to a bowl game. However, their road to winning out is actually harder than Texas or USC due to the #18 ranked Mich St. opponent.

Texas:

-They play no one else of consequence, so they should win out easily. Still, to have a remote shot, OU has to beat TT. There's no other way. IF that happens, then if TT loses to OSU, or if OU loses to OSU, Texas is the Big 12 South champion. If TT wins the rest, it's the circle jerk again. At that point, the Big 12 has a laundry list of criteria, but with all of them losing to each other in the same division with the exact same records, it would actually come down to which team was ranked higher by the USA Today Coaches poll as of season completion. That actually favors OU because they are ahead in the coaches poll 4th to Texas 7th. A win against TT means they move up, which I think shuts the door on Texas.

Florida:

-Must win out. Must win the SEC title CONVINCINGLY. Any tight game would shoot their chances in the foot. They also have a trap game in FSU as their last rivalry game. However, that's the only really big test left. Also, the Big 12 South champion would have to have at least one loss, and either lose the Big 12 championship to the North and/or look very shitty in a win.

OU:

-Must beat TT and OSU. At that point, the circle jerk occurs, which favors OU due to their placement in the Coaches poll. Any loss kills them. Also, they obviously have to win the Championship game. If that all happens, they need Penn State to lose and Alabama to beat Florida, or they need Alabama to lose to Florida in a shitty game while they destroy their Big 12 opponent and emerge as the polling powerhouse.

USC:

-Obviously, they need to win out. Cal is the only ranked opponent on that list. If they win out, they need Alabama to take a loss, and then have the SEC championship be a grinding, underwhelming, defense-fest. They also need the Big 12 circle-jerk, and then an underwhelming game, or a Big 12 North win.

Holy crap, Utah! 10-0 and a definite BCS buster if they go the distance. Did I get to see that awesome game? No, because ESPN picked a useless VA Tech v. Maryland snoozer. Seriously ESPN, the ACC is as bad as it's ever been this year. Nobody wants to see them in primetime.

May as well start getting ready for tomorrow:

I did not get to see the game either, despite having season tickets, because I was 2000 miles away stuck in FEMA training.  :crying_panda:

I think we can get there. SDSU is a walkover and BYU doesn't have the defense to stop us while we have the defense to stop them. That game is always a bit hinkey but I think the Utes have the inside track this year. The scuttlebutt is the Orange Bowl.

Yay! No undeserving Big 10 team in the title game.

I am AMAZED Bama keeps winning games. It's just unreal how many screwups they seem to overcome by great play or sheer luck. I mean that game against LSU was complete shit on both sides. Every week it seems they are using up another one of their nine lives. LSU had 10 penalties, 4 INTs, and they still took that game to OT. I just don't see any foreseeable way Bama can beat Florida playing the way they do. LSU may not punish them for 3 turnovers and an insane amount of botched kicks, but Florida would run it up and never look back.

Penn State losing is just icing on the shitcake that is the Big 10 this year. Until Michigan and Wisconsin return to prominence, that conference should just be taken as seriously as Conference USA when deciding on polls.

Florida-Texas Tech would be a pretty entertaining title game.

What will be funny is when USC ends up in the title game without even winning the PAC-10.  :grin:

It's simply a team that does what it has to do when it comes time to win the game.  The fact that they went into probably THE most hostile atmosphere in any college football game ever, faultered at times, didn't play well, but still made the plays necessary to win says more about what kind of team they are; nevermind how good they can be when they have to be.


Hated to see Penn lose.  Was really wanting a Alabama v Penn State BCS game if it came down to it.

I'm hoping because it would be an absolute slaughter in favor of Alabama against "Cupcake Big 10 Champ." Personally, Penn State was the LAST team I'd ever want to see in a national title game. Any combination of Alabama, Texas, TT, OU, and Florida would all be better matchups and a more competative game. The only sleeper crap team in there now is USC. I'll actually be rooting for Notre Dame when they play the Trojans in 2 weeks.

Hmmm, conventional wisdom seems to be shaping up that Utah (if it wins out its next 2 games) will play the loser of the SEC championship game in the Sugar Bowl.  A Utah/Florida match-up would certainly be intriguing with the Urban Meyer connection although I think the Utes would take a royal beating.  Utah/Bama would be fun too.

Weak WEAK games this week, but I'll still toss out some games that will be worth watching. I don't think there are any real upsets, but there are some potentials because of rivalry.

South Carolina v. Florida: Spurrier wants to win this game badly, and Florida needs to win this game to get a national title shot. I think SC gives them a run for their money early, but they tire late and come up short. Still, Florida doesn't cover the spread.

Cal v. Oregon State: I think Cal has the best chance of anybody to pull off an upset this week, but it depends heavily on how their D can handle the Beavers high power offense, or if they can survive in a shootout.

Maryland v. UNC: Maryland could easily smash UNC's dreams of an ACC title shot with this game, but UNC probably has the edge playing at home.

Miss. State v. Alabama: This is the very definition of the trap game for Alabama, right between the LSU game and the Iron Bowl. If they can keep their heads on straight, they should be fine. If they lose focus, MissSt. could cause them a lot of problems.

Georgia is taking years off my life with these games. Last second wins against Kentucky and Auburn? My heart can't take this week to week against teams that aren't even playing .500 ball.

Heh. 28-0 4 minutes into the 2nd quarter. Florida is scary good.

So here's the thing.

I'm just not that impressed with Alabama anymore.  To be fair, MSU is playing some damn fine defense, in particular the secondary (which we knew was good coming into the game).

I don't know if they're just playing tight and too close to the vest. 
I don't know if they are ranked #1 just because they are the sole undefeated team in the SEC and the sole undefeated major big time college program - because wins against Clemson and Georgia just don't look so shiny anymore and the rest of the schedule is rather unremarkable.

Granted, everybody gets up for #1; the whole they have everything to lose and we have nothing lose mentality.  And let's face it - beating 'Bama even when they were down a bit was still a big thing to put on your college football resume.  But truly great teams don't play down to their competition like this. 

I'm just not sure what to make of it.

They went from a team that could do no wrong, just barely eeking by.  My only guess is that they're playing tight now that the spot light is shining on them.  It's not the praise that's being heaped on them, per se, in that it's pretty much just a local thing - most of the national media seems to think (and I'm beginning to agree with them) that they won't make it to the BCS game because UF is going to obliterate them (looking quite likely the way UF is playing).

All I can figure is that they play better with their backs against the wall (the whole no respect thing), and they do just enough to win.  But that will carry them only so far.

Just rambling.  Don't mind me.

Edit: 
This.  They are playing on a completely different level than everyone else.  They've got so many weapons on offense; their defense doesn't make mistakes.  Their special teams are without a doubt the best in the country.  Maybe better than any pro team.  They play clean ball, don't get stupid penalties.  Short of an injury to Teebow and the entire defense, I don't see how anyone can stop them -or- score on them.

Scary good is an understatement.

Florida v. Texas would be epic for a national title game. Unfortunately we aren't going to get it.

Florida and Texas are the best teams in the country right now. Florida decides to turn it on, and it's over. They are clean as Snake said. It's not a contest anymore. If Alabama wins the SEC, it's a miracle. Yeah, I said it. A fucking miracle. It's actually shocking that they lost to Ole Miss right now. I can't fathom how it happened.

Also, I hate Georgia and all we stand for right now. We're a fucking defensive joke. We're terrible in the red zone. We are god-awful on special teams. We take more penalties than anyone in the SEC. I don't care if we win that way, it's not football. It's not the SEC. It's driving me crazy.

I'm going to be a wreck at the U/BYU game next week. It will be bad enough just to lose to those BYU motherfuckers but if they knock us out of a BCS game I may go completely mental.

I think our fanboism may finally clash this year, Ab.  Do you have what it takes to take down the Buckeyes? 

You think they will end up in the same bowl? Everything I am reading suggests that we will end up in the Sugar against the loser of the SEC title game if we win next week.  What scenario do you envision where OSU gets into the same BSC bowl as the Yoots?

As to the question, I don't know. I haven't watched much of OSU this year since they seem to be out of the championship running. The Utes have an exceptionally good defense that I think could deal with both Wells and Pryor (their run defense is particularly good although I don't think they have really faced a back of that caliber). Our offense has weapons but tends to have shitty play calling and gets tightened up to the point where it doesn't perform. How is OSU's secondary? It seems like Brian Johnson can shred secondaries that play a lot of zone which then opens up our power running game.  Would be an interesting game to say the least.

I didn't think about that.  I guess in most likely scenarios, they wouldn't play each other. 

I think the game would really be a defensive slog.  Our passing game is pathetic, absent the ocassional Pryor "running around for 15 seconds and throwing a 44 yard bomb" that we can only pull off against terrible teams.  But our defense is still (at least before Illinois) a top10 affair.  The secondary is moderately good, but not great.  The Utes could manage 21 or so points, and it would really come down to how good Wells decided to be that day. 

Sound like it could end up like the TCU game where the defenses just clamped down on everything until the last minute miracle drive by one of the teams. It would depend on whether Andy Ludwig (our OC) got his head out of his ass and called some plays to get our speedy guys on the edge. I imagine if the OSU linebackers and ends have speed (which is what TCU killed us with) it would cause our offense lots of problems. This unfortunately isn't the 2004 team which I am of the opinion could have competed with any team in the country that year, but it is still pretty decent and has a lot of heart.

Oregon State could spoil the show for the BCS in a lot of ways. They have two more games to go against unranked conference opponents, and if they win them both they become PAC-10 Champions. That fucks USC (huzzah!  :drill:), and forces them into an akward place. Here's the shakeout.

National Championship:
SEC Champion (Likely Florida)
Big 12 South Champion (Likely Texas Tech)

Rose Bowl:
PAC 10 Champ: Oregon State, automatically in the Rose Bowl
Big 12 Champ: Penn State, plays OSU in the Rose - (However, if they lose to Michigan State, Ohio State wins...again  :oh_i_see:)

Sugar Bowl:
SEC runner-up (likely Alabama)
At large bid (Utah?)

Fiesta:
Big 12 runner up, or best South team (most likely Texas)
At large bid (USC?)

Orange:
ACC Champ (This is such a clusterfuck conference this year, I have no idea who it will be)
At large bid (Boise State?)

Those 3 at large bids would go to teams at the top that aren't already involved in bowl games. Those top 3 would be USC, Utah, and Boise. Here's the weird part, those are ALL teams the fiesta bowl will want due to the travel proximity. I think, as Abagadro was saying, Utah would go Sugar, USC would go Fiesta, and Boise goes orange because it's going to be the least interesting of the bowls.

You left out the Big East champ which would likely face the ACC champ in the Orange. I don't see both Utah and Boise State making it in. Everything else (except your typo in the Rose bowl (Big 10 not Big 12) is pretty much correct if things play out like that. I could see Oklahoma beating Texas Tech though a messing things up real good.

I always forget the Big East. Then again so does the rest of the football world usually.  :awesome_for_real:

In any case, you're right about Boise and Utah being mutually exclusive. You are certainly right about the OU problem. The funny thing is, in the event of the 3 way tie in the same division, it would come down to their ranking in the Coaches poll. Who do you pick in that scenario? Texas or OU?

Texas has cooler uniforms...and that nifty thing they do with their fingers.

I'm very nervous about the MIchigan game today.  The Wolverines have nothing to lose at this point, we've been then four times in a row and the Bucks are bound to be a bit lazy, etc.

Nonetheless, Michigan lost their QB and McGuffie.  I think OSU will limp to something like a 17-7 win, Penn State will win, and we'll miss the BCS. 

I think you'll both lose, honestly, and the whole world will laugh at the Big Ten and PAC-10 as Oregon State and Michigan State emerge as the champions and go to the Rose Bowl.

Or was that just my dream...  :awesome_for_real:

The goofy bible citations on the eye-black has got to go.

If Michigan had played a team like Florida or USC that actually exploits physical mismatches they'd have given up 70-80 points easy. That team is that bad.

Wow at the prison raping Texas Tech is receiving in Norman.   :uhrr:

BCS BABY!

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Abagadro/utah.gif)

Yeah, congrats.  They really toughed it out this season...hope you can prevail and show the "major" conferences what's what.

I am 90% certain that my poor Bucks are going to be the first runner up for getting into a BCS game  :x

Grats! Burn down the BCS by winning big.  :grin:

OSU probably headed to the Cap One bowl, so another SEC team for them.

Still lots of football to be played. Texas Tech just got knocked out of the BCS altogether. Could happen to others as well.


EDIT: In fact, I could easily see Oregon beating Oregon State putting USC in the Rose and opening up a spot for Ohio State.

It's about to get really really weird. I may get my wish of a Texas v. Florida final.

I'm really going to laugh when USC goes to the championship game without even winning the Pac-10.

If that happens it only furthers my Disney conspiracy related to college football.

Disney conspiracy?

This I have to hear.

Disney owns ABC and ESPN. Disney is headquartered in Burbank, CA. They control a large chunk of the media for broadcasting college football, EXCEPT for the SEC who went to CBS. The SEC gave the middle finger to Disney a long time ago, and it hasn't forgiven us. In the polls, Disney uses it's media influence to try and push USC (aka the home team) to the top of the rankings, while also dropping down SEC teams. This happened earlier in the year when USC leapfrogged UGA even when the dawgs won.

ESPN and ABC will always try to push USC to the top in the rankings because of the Disney connection.

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot. Several of the Disney execs are USC graduates and trustees. A good example is Richard Cook, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

Man, what BS that Penn State jumped the Utes in the coaches poll. BYU is a better team that Michigan State and was ranked higher. I guess the Utes have hit the glass ceiling of the polls.

EDIT: Oh and Texas is getting royally screwed but Mack Brown is such a whiny loser I don't really care.

USC (like ND) is a media darling regardless, but it's awfully hard not to agree with your theory.

I am really surprised 'Bama didn't drop to 3 in the coaches poll.  Sure, they shouldn't drop since they didn't play, I suppose, but man...Even I can't argue that UF and OU aren't at the top of their game and probably deserve to be 1 and 2 (or even just tied for 1) with the way they're playing.

Texas didn't buy into the hype when USC was being touted as the best college football team ever.

If Bama can focus on playing clean football and solid defense, they will absolutely win against Florida. Florida's main push comes off the other team making mistakes. Their offense is not that impressive if you play them in toe-to-toe football with few turnovers. Mississippi can attest to this. The ONLY team to beat Florida had absolutely no turnovers.

I'm not getting all doom and gloom, because if there's a team that is a perfect design to beat the UF's and OU's of the world, it's Alabama:  strong defense and clock eating offense.  And that's really how Bama beats everyone.  Even if they don't score alot of points in the first half, their commitment to the run and slow pounding pays off in the second half. 

Those high powered offenses can't do anything sitting on the bench while Alabama churns out 8 minute drives like they love to do. 

Still have to get by Auburn, though...

Tubberville coaches his best when his back is against the wall.

I don't want to hear any bitching about your college teams. I had to watch the fucking Apple Cup this weekend, and it was easily the worst played football game I have seen outside of high school. God how embarrassing.

I think you are headed to a BCS game Ohio State honks.  Told ya goofy shit happens at the end of the season.

Georgia having no semblence of a defense bit us in the ass again. What a horrible team we are this year despite all the talent at the beginning. I fully expect that both our defensive coordinator and special teams coach will be fired/moved.

I only watched about 4 games this year for UGA.  What happened?  Injuries?  Or honestly, just a bit overrated?

Anyway...
12 up.
12 down.
2 to go.

Heading to Hotlanta next weekend and staying with friends from college.  Got tickets to the show.  Can't wait...

Bring on the Florida Gators.

You got a break with Harvin being injured. Will be a good game for sure.

They're scary good even without him.  But yeah, that does play a bit in our favor. 

Does it make me a bad person to have been wishing for Tebow to go down with a compound fracture of the femur sprained ankle or something?  Nothing too serious, just enough to keep him out of the game?  I can't imagine our linebackers are too enthused at the prospect of tackling a defensive end masquerading as a quarterback.

Maybe.  But UCLA, as terrible as they always are, seem to win one game a year like next week's game.  We'll see...

and please, please let OSU play a Big12 team, not an SEC team....

It will be interesting to see who the Fiesta takes. They've been bloviating about taking a "top 6" team when it was USC they were eying. When the choice comes down to Ohio State and Utah as their at-large possibilities with the Utes at 6 and Ohio State at 10, we'll see what really matters. We filled that place up in 2004, but Ohio State probably gets better TV ratings.

It was a combination of things. For starters, UGA had 18 Season-ending injuries this season. Just counting starters alone, they missed a total of 49 potential combined games. That's essentially an average 4 starters who missed the entire season. This affected our special teams probably the worst, which leads me to my next point. We're also very very young due to those injuries, and it showed.

Our special teams couldn't cover anything. The other team started on at least the 30 after every kickoff. We couldn't get a touchback, and we often kicked the ball out of bounds. Also, the team continued to make stupid penalties all year long. Georgia had 105 penalties in 12 games for 885 yards. That's 74 yards per game average. Guess who the least penalized team is in the SEC? Alabama. It's a good reason for why Alabama can go undefeated. Florida is heavily penalized as well, coming in 2nd worst in the SEC, but they cover it with amazing offensive production.

The defense played scared every game. They wouldn't blitz. Our defensive coordinator had 2 weeks to prepare for the triple option, and they still hung 45 on us. Willy Martinez can't get the job done. He's playing too conservatively, and it's killing us. Teams have all day to pass against UGA. They don't fear any rushes, and they know we'll take interference penalties.

The truth is, the injuries just magnified coaching problems. Richt is going to have to do some hard thinking about what he wants from his supporting staff, because right now they are not getting the job done. I put this season's losses to Tech and Alabama squarely on the coaching staff not having our team prepared to play. Florida, they just rolled over us after turnovers in the second half.

Careful, if Tebow reads that it's game over for 'Bama.  When the FSU fans cheered Harvin's injury (and continued to cheer as he was helped off the field) Tebow got "irritated" and demanded the ball on the next play.  He subsequently lit up FSU's entire fucking defensive line and carried them all into the end zone on his back for the touchdown.  :grin:

I can't wait for next week and I think we're in for one hell of a game.  I'm going to need a bottle of Tums to make it through the game as I'm betting this one is going to come down to the wire.

GO GATORS!

I read that about Tebow when Harvin got injured.  Tebow is a freak of nature - there's no way somebody that big should be that quick and have a decent arm to go with it.

I will be glad when he graduates.

I said it before, but it's worth repeating:  If there's a team out the that is suited to beat UF, it's Bama.  Physical and fast defense, ball control offense, and solid special teams.  Most importantly, Bama doesn't beat themselves with penalties, blown coverages, and other mental errors. 

It will be interesting to see how Bama reacts to being behind against UF, which will happen.  Even I don't think we can hold UF like we have everyone else this season.  Our defense is damn good, but not otherworldly good, which is what it would take.  They'll have to play lights out every single play on defense.  Everything starts with UF's offensive line versus Bama's defensive line; that's where the game is going to be won or lost for either team.  I'm not worried about Bama's offense against UF's defense, to be honest.

The real BCS championship is next week.  Every other school is playing for 'best of the rest'.

Go Gators!

Fucking Gator fans always come out of the closet come bowl time.

Hey WayAbvPar, looks like your Huskies hired Steve Sarkisian (http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=885566). I automatically hate him because he is a BYU fuckwad, but I think he may be a pretty good coach.

The vacancies are dwindling without Kyle Whittingham leaving Utah for one of them so he may actually stick around.  Has he been mentioned at all in the Auburn discussion for those of you in that region? I can't see him being in the mix there but that seems to be the only position worth leaving Utah for at this point.

I don't know that much about him, but I like the fact that he is young and has some clue about how to run a fucking offense. He is going to need a damned good D coordinator too, but there is a shitload of young talent on the offensive side with which to tinker. Hopefully he is more interesting to listen to than 'Paint Dry' Ty. God that guy is dull. No wonder his teams suck- he has dick for passion (not to be confused with a passion for dick  :drill: ).

About to head to Atlanta.  Prediction time:

Alabama is able to control the line of scrimmage with their d line, allowing linebackers to make the plays.  Also, blitzes from every angle keep Tebow off balance.  UA's defense plays extremely disciplined, smart football making tackles in space.  UA's offense grinds the clock and ball on the ground due to UF's weak defensive line and inexperienced linebackers.  Ground game opens up play action.

Florida will get their points, but comes mostly in special teams.  They have some moderate success moving the ball, but once the field shortens up and compresses, they find the going a bit tougher.


Really crazy ass prediction: John Parker Wilson goes 15-22, 1 passing TD, 1 rushing TD, 1INT.  Gets player of the game.

Tebow is going to go apeshit in this game. Florida 44 Alabama 30.

Florida 37 Alabama 24 with one of Bama's scores being a meaningless late TD.

Florida 43 Bama 14 - Turnovers shoot Bama in the foot.

17-17. Good game so far. Florida not having Harvin is hurting them badly I believe.

How the hell do you call a sideline flag in that situation? Lame.

Didn't matter, but lame call.

Good game, and Florida is a hell of a team, but Gary Danielson's constant fellatiating of Tebow was tiresome.

What, are you saying you don't think Tebow is the best player in the history of the game?  :awesome_for_real:

Now I want Missouri to win just to throw a gigantic grenade into the BCS shitpile.

Well so much for that: This 12 championship is a slaughter and it isn't even halftime.

Missouri couldn't beat Kansas. The fact that they had to even play the Big 12 Championship was a joke.

Alabama failed to do what they had to do in the Florida game. They held it close despite the awful passing game which was under 50%. If the game was only 3 quarters long they would have won. Too bad they completely fell apart in the 4th quarter. It was awful to watch.

Even worse to be there and watch it...

Nearly had the score picked, it just needed to be reversed!  :awesome_for_real:  :heartbreak:

Gah.  Call me a homer, but Bama gave that game away.  Boneheaded decision to call a fake FG in the 2nd (which resulted in a UF score).  Boneheaded decision to come out throwing it in the first series of the 4th after force UF 3 down and out and after running a 15 play 90+ yard drive that took up 7 minutes or so and scored.  Then Bama did something twice in the game they haven't done all year:  untimely penalties by the defense.  Horsecollar by Johnson after a stop on 3rd down which would have resulted in a UF punt (after what SHOULD have been 3 down and out), and a facemask penalty on Hightower on 3rd, AGAIN after what would have been ANOTHER 3 down and out by UF.  BOTH of those UF drives resulted in points when they should have been stopped after a 3 down and out.

Gave it away....

It's one thing to play well and get beat, but to play well and give the game away is another thing alltogether.

However, their receivers made some unbelievable catches when they had to, which Tebow is going to get all the credit for.

I don't know...If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, I'd be booking tickets to Miami for Christmas right now.

http://www.rolltide.com/genrel/121508aab.html

Genius. 

Orange Bowl tickets are going for $1 on Stubhub.

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/33541?eref=fromSI

Watching the UofA/BYU game.  The refs are fucking us (Arizona).  This is terrible. How many turnovers are they going to reverse on replay?

Horribly officiated game, but that was a nice wide-open TD just now.

Yes.  It was.   :drill:

I should be rooting for the Y as a representative of the Mountain West Conference but I just hate them way too much.

Nice 13 yard punt.


EDIT: GREAT interception.

That was nifty.  :awesome_for_real:  I hate Arizona, we're trying to choke this away.

Edit: HAHAHAHA. DOINK.

DOINK!

I'm glad Arizona won. I'm so sick of the refs absolutely screwing things up even on replay. The call on the field is a fumble, then you have to have convincing evidence to change it. In no way, shape, or form was watching the play where the BYU ran into the back of his own guy and dropped the ball convincing. It was a 50/50 call, and you ALWAYS defer to the field call when that happens. Horrid.

The DOINK was awesome.

Not that anyone besides me and Sigil cares, but GODDAMNIT. (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls08/news/story?id=3798417)

If you don't feel like putting up with ESPN, the tl;dr version:

All American left tackle Andre Smith is suspended from the Sugar Bowl due to improper contact with a sports agent.

Said agent had best not step foot in Alabama ever again if the Tide lose.

I care.  YIPPEE!!!

I forgot you were a Ute fan.  Whoever is/was supposed to be lining up opposite Smith just had his prayers answered.

That would be our stud DE Paul Kruger who is being talked about as a possible draft pick this year even though he is still a Sophomore.  :drill:

Great.

 :uhrr:

I don't think you have much to worry about. I still think Bama wins by 14.

I don't know anything about Utah, to be honest.  What I do worry about is Alabama playing down to their competition, the distractions, etc.   Not that Utah is bad, in that you don't run the table without being pretty good.  It's not like they're playing high school teams or a bunch of Div II schools.

I think it's going to be closer than 14.  Wouldn't surprise me to see it around 3 or 4.

There's a few other Tide fans here. Besides I'm a weird hybrid. My sports highlight of the weekend was watching Clint Dempsey score  two goals against fucking Chelsea.

I am not surprised by this. I'm also thinking that Saban won't last too long at Tuscaloosa The rot and corruption will be too great. Too many egos

You'd be surprised how the egos involved with the program have been squashed a bit.  In conversation with a couple of the local Mobile 'power players' with 'Bama I know and trust, and you'd be quite surprised how much things have cleaned up.  Or they're just getting better at hiding it. 

Anyhoot, Vandy wins!  LSU is throttling GT!  Go SEC!

Oh, Since I'm no longer working with them,  My  contacts were ESPN Ivan's Brother and Preston's Dad. Got so much inside info from them. Skybox seats with Dreamland and the full catering too. That part of the job will be missed. :)

Nice.  Dreamland BBQ is definately win. [edit] I managed to finagle an invite from the Coopers a couple years ago.  It's nice, but not quite the same as being in the regular seats.

BTW, if you're interested in GMAC tickets, let me know.  I'll probably have a few left over that I can drop at the will calll if you want.  I don't think I'm going to make it this year.

Dear Big 10,

You suck.

Signed,
Everyone.

Iowa had the Ol' Ball Coach in a pretty good fit.

So far, good showing by the SEC with:
Unranked Vandy over no. 24 Boston College 16 to 14
Unranked LSU (who seem to have found a QB) over no. 14 Ga Tech in a 38-14 whipping
No. 15 UGA beat no. 18 Mich State 24 to 12.

Iowa has already beat South Carolina...

Figure Bama beats Utah...
UK should beat ECU...
The Ole Miss / Texas Tech should be interesting.  Didn't TT's QB undergo hand surgery not too long ago with something like 9 pins put into his hand?  Anyway, either way, The Right Reverend Houston Nutt has his team believing.  Look for Ole Miss to beat them, and beat them pretty solidly.  I have always thought that TRR Nutt is one of the most underrated coaches out there.  Fantastic motivator, great gameplanner.  The media will call it a shocker.  For Nutt, it's just another day at the office.  He's made a career of beating teams they say he shouldn't.

I don't think UF beats OU.  I'm still not that impressed with Florida.  Maybe it's the Bama homer in me, but having watched that game a couple more times (nearly overdosing on Alka Seltzer in the process), I still think Bama handed them that game on a silver platter.

So, 6-2 for the SEC in bowl games this year?  Am I missing anything?

The USC / Penn State game went about like I thought it would.  Though the slobbing of USC's knob by the media is waaay past tiresome.  Can't remember the announcer that was paired up with Herbstreet today, but zomg, I kept waiting on him to go down to the field and fellate the entire team.

Paelos, what's the status on Matt Stafford?  Is he going pro or staying for his senior year? 

Pretty much every Dawg fan is preparing to get behind Joe Cox for the next year. It's widely considered that Stafford would be unlikely to pass up a top 5 pro draft pick signing bonus in the $10M+ range. Moreno hasn't had a big enough season to go extremely high, but he'll probably head out as well due to the "young poor black kid" syndrome of having millions tossed at him. IMO, he should hang around to possibly win a Heisman award with all the offensive line back next year thus gaining a higher draft pick and more big money, but the prospects are dim.

Also, Big 10, you should be ashamed of the kind of season you've had. You are all now officially worse than the SEC, Pac-10, Big 12, ACC, Big East, Conference USA, and Mountain West. Hell, if Troy hadn't fallen apart in OT, the Sun Belt would have come out better off. If Ohio State falls hard to Texas, prepare for everyone in the nation to toss you under the bus, if they haven't already.

PS - Iowa, you are the only team I respect in the Big 10. You played the "best team" in the conference when they were undefeated and you showed them the door. You went up against the Old Ball Coach and handed him the 3rd worst bowl loss in his history. Kudos to yall, you are the bright point the Big 10 should rally around for playing with heart.

Isn't Moreno a sophomore?

Yes, but so is Bradford.

EDIT: BWHAHAHAHAHA Texas Tech lost to Ole Miss. Kentucky looks like shit.

Juuuuust about ready to go kick the neighbors dog.....

'Bama, feel free to show up any time now...

21-0 in the first 11 minutes...

I've seen this before, when Alabama did it to UGA.

Heh. Pretty good start to the game.  :drill:

Utah is playing lights out.  Bama looks like they expected to just show up and win.  Our DBs are just getting owned.  And the Bama offensive line can't match the speed of Utah's DL.  Losing Smith shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but losing Johnson (the guy who shifted over to take his spot) to injury is just adding insult to it.

Oh hey.  A FG.  POINTS!

[edit]Fuck it.  Going to go finish painting doors and trim.   :ye_gods:  :uhrr:  :awesome_for_real:  :uhrr:

That smug son of a bitch Barry Switzer was laughing at the Utes in the pre-game. I'd like to take a football and shove it up his ass sideways. Even if they fall on their face the rest of the game and lose, this first half has shown that they are a legit team.

That was unfortunate, especially the non-call on the block in the back on our gunner.

EDIT: Nice one officials jobbing us on the 4th and 1 play too.

 :awesome_for_real: I fully expect   Dubose  to light a fire under Kitchens.

Aaaaaand here comes the collapse.

HOOK AND LADDER!

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTES!!!!!!!!


God damn I wish I would have gone to that game.

Congrats man, hell of a job by them. Be Proud :)

Utah is once again proving they belong on the National stage. Many, many upsets so far in later bowls. I mean, sonuvabitch Kentucky, way to pull it out when you needed to.

It's well known that I didn't like Bama beating us the way they did, but I hate it even more that after their coach gets declared "Coach of the Year" they pull this shit. You know what Saban, you are akin to Tony Romo in my book if you keep that up. You lost the games that mattered most.

Gratz to the Utes!  They are here to stay.  Also, as to the Big 10- I agree with Ab.  We can salvage SOME dignity with a victory over Texas, but I give that about a 3% chance.

Man oh man.  Utes came to play, they were prepared, and executed properly.  Bama came in looking to just show up, looked sloppy from the get go / lost, and couldn't do a thing right.  I'm really not even sure if having Andre Smith and Mike Johnson in their proper spots would have mattered the way Utah took us to the woodshed.

Too much hype?  Too many accolades?  Too many people telling them how awesome for real they were?  Is Utah really that good, did Bama just play that badly?  Combination of both?

Lots of distractions for Bama (Smith, Kevin Steele getting hired away by Clemson, too many pats on the back, etc), but it really shouldn't mattered. 

Ah well.  Nice job Utes, and gratz Abrabadro. 

Helluva job on an undefeated season.

Only 245 more days 'till 2009/10 season  :uhrr:

I would say a bit of a combo of both. I think Alabama exceeded expectations this year and were pumped up a bit beyond what they really were. This Utah team is also really, really good in a lot of subtle ways. Their D is fast and smart, they have unbelievable lock-down man-coverage corners that allow the front 7 and safeties a lot of freedom (something ignored by the commentators last night, but that's why Sylvester had such a great game) and Brian Johnson is one of the coolest cucumbers you will ever see.  They are also a great bowl team.

I will go to my grave still thinking the 2004 team was better and could have legitimately beat any single team in the country that year, but this team had more grit and heart than that team did (only because that team basically massacred everyone).  They obviously had a huge chip on their shoulders and even with both the offensive and defensive coordinators leaving to go to other schools were able to be incredibly focused.  Sorry it came at your expense, but that game was freaking awesome for a Utah team that deserved some respect and wasn't getting it.

Finally, that is one of the worst butcherings of my board name ever.  :awesome_for_real:

Ha!  Sorry about that.  Oops.

I was really impressed with that 6'5" something corner on the Utes. 

And the end of the year, I'd agree with your assessment of 'Bama.  It really, honestly, came down to being a group of overachievers.  I don't want that to sound like I'm taking anything away from what Utah did, because as I said in an earlier post 'you don't go undefeated without being pretty darn good' (or something to that affect).

I imagine that Utes everywhere are screaming for a +1 playoff about right now.

That's Sean Smith. I think he will be playing on Sundays because of his size and technique. He's a ridiculous trash-talker and meglomaniac though.


Knowing how things work, they'd probably put in USC over us anyways.  :oh_i_see:

First blood for the Bucks!  I'm shifting my prediction from Texas 38-3 to Texas 38-6!

OSU at the half, 6-3, courtesy of a terrible INT by McCoy in the closing seconds.

Morbidly obese film critic Jay Sherman takes the lead!  Ladies and gentlemen, DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES??


...Seriously though, OSU is boned.  They had red zone opportunities and squandered them.  At some point, the sky is going to fall and UT is going to start pouring on points.  OSU needed to go into the half 13-3 at least to have a shot. 

Neither of these teams looks particularly sharp.

This is OSU's normal offensive showing. Against slower teams they can execute enough to get 30ish some points. Against teams with equal or better speed they struggle, because the teams invariably know what's coming other than a few "trick plays"; i.e. middle screens and wheel routes that virtually any other 21st century team runs on a regular basis. The worst thing that happened to OSU in the long run was winning the 2002 NC, because Tressel is now convinced his way is the right way.

That was a rather lousy 2 point conversion attempt, but this shit just got real.

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Abagadro/bad-boys-4.jpg)

A big stop on Texas.  OSU has a chance...just get in FG range...

Ok, I don't like either of these teams for various reasons, but I've decided I want to see Ohio State win just because of Mack Brown's incessant whining and bitching about not being in the title game.

What the hell is with the bands striking up after every single play? Did I just not notice this in every other damn bowl game I watched?

Both of these teams look terrible.  USC or Utah would pound these guys.

Offsetting pass interference?  Does that even really exist?

EDIT:  TOUCHDOWN!!!  Two minute drill time for McCoy.  I have a very bad feeling about this...it has to be a TD though, so maybe there is a shot. 

EDIT:  DONT FUCK THIS UP

Doh!

You've gotta be kidding me. Anderson Russell costs them the bowl.

NO FUCKING WAY

I'd say it was the D coordinator who decided to put 7 guys in the box for some inexplicable reason.


EDIT: Heh, and then Beckman does the one thing you can't do there, get sacked.

I'd have to see the play again, but seriously one of the linebackers or D backs had to blow a coverage, the safety shouldnt be one on one with a wideout - but you CANT miss that tackle.

And allowing a sack on a 3 man rush is an OSU specialty on the o-line.

It will  now be fun to watch the national media talk about how a 1-loss team that squeaked past the #10 team is better than an undefeated team that kicked the crap out of the #4 team.

Bottom line, that was a shitty game. Both teams played badly. Both teams would have been slaughtered by any other top 5 team. Texas has ZERO right to say it belongs in a championship game. Ohio State needs to play in the Mountain West so they can earn some respect.

Article on Utah makes a point. (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-utah010509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)

It's not particularly well written, but it does make a good point on one of the many ways the BCS is flawed.

And now Utah is thinking about suing the BCS. (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-bcs-utahlawsuit&prov=ap&type=lgns)

Perhaps legal options are the only way to force these fuckers into a playoff. I doubt it, but I'm willing to take a no holds barred stance to get a change made.

God I hope they do it. I seriously can't bring myself to watch any of the bowl games any more. I used to love them, but the BCS murdered any meaning the non-championship game bowls have. They are glorified exhibition games now.

Put a playoff together and I will watch rabidly.

Feel free to correct me on this list, but this is the root of the problem... especially the "New" bowl games.

Bowl Name 2008-09
   
Alamo Bowl   
Armed Forces Bowl (Formerly Fort Worth Bowl)   
Capital One Bowl (Citrus Bowl)   
Champs Sports (Previously Tangerine Bowl)   
Chick-fli-A Bowl (Previous Peach)   
Cotton Bowl   
EagleBank Bowl (New 2008) 
Emerald (Previously San Francisco Bowl)   
Fiesta Bowl   
Gator Bowl   
GMAC Bowl (Previously Mobile)   
Hawaii Bowl (new 2002)
Holiday Bowl   
Independence Bowl   
International Bowl   
Insight Bowl (Previous Copper)   
Liberty Bowl   
Las Vegas Bowl 
Meineke Car Care Bowl ( Previous Continental Tire Bowl)   
Motor City Bowl   
Music City Bowl   
New Mexico Bowl 
New Orleans Bowl 
Outback Bowl   
Orange Bowl   
PapaJohns.com Bowl   
Poinsettia Bowl 
Roady's Humanitarian Bowl (Previously MPC Computers Bowl, and Humanitarian Bowl)   
Rose Bowl   
St. Petersburg Bowl (New 2008) 
Sugar Bowl   
Sun Bowl   
Texas Bowl (Houston Bowl)

It's all about the $$$.  A playoff system could never generate the same payout that the bowl system does.  This being the case, changing the current system seems unlikely. 

If you structured all those bowls into a playoff, then they all become relevant, and the TV revenues/interest would shoot through the roof. As it is now, the only people who care who wins 90% of those bowls are the kids playing, their parents, some of the student body, and the alumni. The general public doesn't give a shit.

My point is that you can't possibly have a playoff involving this many teams.  It would take too much time.  I can see a 16 team playoff, but not 64.  By my count, the list includes 33 bowl games.  That means 66 Universities are getting extra revenue from ticket sales and possible tv contracts.  If you cut the playoff to a 16 team system, then 50 schools get less $$.

Why the bowl system won't be changing anytime soon. (http://www.al.com/sports/press-register/rkennedy.ssf?/base/sports/1231323334134680.xml&coll=3)

But if Hell freezes over and there is a playoff system of some kind, you don't have to eliminate the non-playoff linked bowls.  Those are the bowls that the non-playoff teams can get invited to. 

Compare NIT revenue to that of the NCAA tournament.  Still a big revenue loss to those minor teams making a lesser bowl. 

I'm 100% in favor of a playoff system, but you have to consider a) $$$ and b) the time required of student athletes and staff.

Don't put too much stock in anything our AG Mark Shurtleff says about suing the BCS for anti-trust violations.  He is a huge attention whore and is just starting his 2012 run for Governor with this stuff.

I-AA doesn't seem to have a problem with B.  Not only do they currently have a 16 team playoff, it's apparently expanding to a 20 team playoff in 2010.  As I posted in the previous link, it's 100% about A.  If they really put their noses to the grindstone though, I'm sure an equitable solution could be found for the $$$ problem.

Call me old-fashioned, but I liked it better when bowls were just their more traditional conference matchups.

I don't see why we have to have a "real" championship anyway. People like to have something to argue about, why settle it for them.  :oh_i_see:

I honestly don't see why there can't be a +1 game between the winners of the 1-2 and 3-4 games.  Keep the current bowls as they are.

If the issue is money (500 million dollars worth of revenue this year from the bowls), which it always is, a +1 doesnt hurt that. 

But I suppose they look at it that if they did institute a +1 game between the 1-2 and 3-4, sooner or later people would start complaining that the 5-8 should be given a shot as well.  Therefore it would become a never ending circular argument.  Which is precisely what we have now.

Also, UF 27, OU 17

Man, I really wish I had bet the under on this thing.


EDIT: Wow, what an ubercheap yank on Harvin's ankle after the play. Way to stay classy Oklahoma.

Grats to the Gators.

Looks like the Big-12 wasn't exactly all that considering their performance in the bowls this year.

They ended up with a very middle of the road showing in the bowls. The Texas Tech loss to Ole Miss, and the OU loss to Florida were the most telling in the debates b/w the SEC and the Big 12 in terms of dominance. The Oklahoma State loss to Oregon was embarrassing. The Texas slight win over Ohio State was boring until the last quarter.

If Alabama didn't screw things up, the SEC would have essentially walked away with the "best performing conference" award in my book. I think they still have it by a slight margin. The PAC-10 had the better bowl % record, but were in fewer bowls, had a lower percentage of their conference in bowls, had less overall wins, and lost more out of conference games in the regular season.

Better bowl percentage as in hmmm... 100%  :drill:  SEC was likely stronger top to bottom, but we won't know because they didn't get matched up at all and the one marquee match for the Pac 10 drew a Big 10 opponent.  :oh_i_see: 

Arizona (yay), USC and Oregon had good wins.  Oregon was putting up those kind of numbers against everyone, including an Arizona team that held USC to 17 points (although it felt like USC was toying with us).  Arizona finally won a game where we weren't playing an obviously worse team (Cal game being just about the lone exception during year).  And USC has freakish team speed and a pro quality D.  Seeing them in person was scary, their linebackers are just everywhere.  Oregon State and Cal games didn't prove anything.

Would have been nice to see a LSU/Oregon or Arizona/Ole Miss.

Gators looked tough tonight and I think they could have played better.  I'd have a hard time putting Utah or USC definitely above them, although I don't think one team stands above the rest purely upon what I've seen.  Texas looked like they'd get pasted.   

What a great game. 

National sports pundits were blasting Stoops early this morning, saying how he manages to choke in the big games.  Just wouldn't do to admit the Big 12 is, and always has been, overrated.  And when the time comes to put up or shut up, the later usually happens.

If there's a better college football player ever than Tim Teebow, I'd love to see them.  That said, the difference maker in that game was Percy Harvin.  And wowwee that takeaway by Black was awesome.

Nice job, Gators.

Only 8 more months to go for kickoff of the '09-'10 season  :awesome_for_real:

Check out film on Barry Sanders, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Charles Woodson, Dick Butkus, Dave Rimington, and my personal favorite, Bronco Nagurski (if available). 

While they may be better athletes, especially Jim Brown (that man was a god), but in as far as a leader, player, and the ability to just flat out will his team to victory - no one is tops.

Teebow is a wonderful and talented athlete.  The best at willing his team to victory?  I disagree.  Take a look at guys like Roger Staubach that could take a weaker group of players to victory.  Those are the guys that demonstrate the kind of skills you're looking for.  Being able to win nearly every game with some of the best athletes in the NCAA isn't that impressive a feat.  Getting a team of average players to overachieve takes the kind of greatness you're after. 

Hell, by your criteria Herschel Walker is the best player of all time.  The man singlehandedly turned around the Georgia program.  In 1979, the Georgia Bulldogs went 6-5 and were not invited to a post-season bowl game. In 1980, the Georgia Bulldogs were the only undefeated team in Division I-A, NCAA College Football. They went 12-0, beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to win College Football's NCAA Division I National Championship.

EDIT: That hurt to type... I never liked the SEC.

Man, Utah comes up just 87 points short of winning the AP national championship vote.   #2 is pretty damn impressive for an outsider to the BCS though.

And college football collectively says Crap (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28606378/).

Well, we're fucked. I think I'll put the order in for more booze this year at the GA/FL tailgate.

Two straight top rated recruiting classes (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=880&CID=908952)!  Roll Tide!

Georgia came out pretty well, and they picked up a lot of the weak points we have problems with last year. We got a 5 star DB, and a 4 star DT, and LB. Those three guys should help round out some of the crappy defensive problems we've had. Also, we got some high profile Offensive Lineman, which we desperately needed with all the injuries and seniors we have going this year.

I don't put a lot of stock in the "ratings" as if you look across the different raters you get wild variation among them on specific players. There will of course be the consensus guys but you get past the first 25 or so players and its rather meaningless.

True, but Georgia is recruiting in the right direction. They are mostly ignoring the skill players, because we have a lot of talent already in those positions, and they are focusing on the Offensive line and the Defensive secondary, two places we were extremely weak in 2008.

Two big 10 teams in the top 10.  Makes me proud of my old conference.  

Not sure what I make of that ranking system though.  I'd really be interested in pension players in the NFL to see where the high quality players with longevity tend to originate.  

Alabama to forfeit 10 wins (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-alabama-ncaa&prov=ap&type=lgns)

Now I like to hit on the Surely Everyone Cheats conference as much as anyone, but forfeiting 10 wins and 5 years of probation for a bunch of textbooks seems a bit harsh, even for a "repeat offender":

"The university has said none of the textbooks or materials were used for profit or to get items not related to academics, and that the athletes involved who still have eligibility remaining have had to pay restitution"

Stupid decision. The SEC cheats just like everyone else, because the rules are absolutely moronic in today's marketplace of athletics.

At least this will clue in the nation that they do actually have textbooks at Alabama.

Shush you. 

At least we get to keep the UGA win  :grin:

Actually, the punishment is better than most expected considering that we fell into the repeat violator window.  The saving grace for the football team was the rapid investigation, suspension, and reporting of the violations.  However, the NCAA has had a major hard on for Alabama for about 20 someodd years now, violating their own rules and bylaws (secret witnesses, etc) in order to nail our 'nads to the wall. 

Also: 86 days 'till kick off.

Wow.  Talk about a mountain out of a molehill.

Of the ~200 student athletes involved:
~180 of them received books they shouldn't have.  Apparently, they were given books that are 'recommended' by the class's syllabus, however, only books that are listed as 'required' are covered by their scholarship.
~20 of the athletes involved either gave their books to a friend or sold them after the class was over rather than returning them to the book store.
17 programs involved, covering mens and womens sports

There's no way Alabama is the only school that's 'guilty' of this...

Yep. Meanwhile USC is stonewalling the Reggie Bush investigation about hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal benefits, and nothing happens. Makes you wonder if cooperating with the NCAA is actually worth it.

It's really not. Working with any govermental body when you are guillty doesn't benefit you.

/eyetwitch

Is that the total number of days anyone from the Alabama football team attended class last year?

Aaaaha.  Haaahahahahaahaha.  

Shut it.

Too early for a new thread?  If not, just lock this one and I'll start anew.

Probably time for a new thread. Go right ahead.