*Official* 2007 College Football Thread

[Paelos]

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

[Triforcer]

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

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

[Paelos]

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

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

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

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

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

[Montague]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Daeven]

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

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

The Ducks.

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

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

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

[Paelos]

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

HOWEVER:

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

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

[SnakeCharmer]

Alabama vs LSU.

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

[Paelos]

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

[Abagadro]

LSU's last big test is next week in Alabama in a huge rivalry game with their old coach. Past that, it's unranked to the house.

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

[Paelos]

LSU's last big test is next week in Alabama in a huge rivalry game with their old coach. Past that, it's unranked to the house.

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

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

[Daeven]

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

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

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

465 rushing yards and 661 total yards.

No really.

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

[Abagadro]

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

[Nevermore]

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

[cmlancas]

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


I suppose they did win though.

[Triforcer]

I stopped watching after 3 quarters :(  Bleh. 

[Paelos]

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

[Triforcer]

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

[Montague]

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

[Triforcer]

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

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

[Triforcer]

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

[caladein]

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

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

[SnakeCharmer]

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

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

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

[Murgos]

That was a rugby match, right?

[Abagadro]

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

[cmlancas]

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


I apologize for us.


 

[Triforcer]

New BCS rankings are out.  A couple thoughts-

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

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

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

[Nevermore]

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


I apologize for us.


 

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

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

[cmlancas]

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

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


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

[Nevermore]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Paelos]

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

[Murgos]

When the entire Georgia team stormed the endzone after the first touchdown...

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

[Hoax]

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

[Stephen Zepp]

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

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

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

465 rushing yards and 661 total yards.

No really.

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

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

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

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

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

--The second thing that's worrisome is injured players--we're four down right now (all starters originally iirc), and while the replacements are certainly picking up the slack, they are still a bit unseasoned.

I think it's going to be a hell of a game, but I'm worried as well...even with Dixon on his money like he's been, they could still flub some badly timed situations to wind up losing if they don't keep their eyes off the cameras and in the game.

[Paelos]

When the entire Georgia team stormed the endzone after the first touchdown...

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

Are you a Florida fan? If so, eat shit.

If not, and this is just some random comment coming from another fan, you obviously have ZERO idea about the history of this matchup or the kind of emotional intensity that surrounds this game. It was a previously planned, brilliantly executed manuver to kick Florida in the teeth and grab all of the emotional momentum for the Georgia fans in a game NOBODY expects us to win. The place never stopped rocking everytime Florida touched the ball, and Georgia fans only had half the stadium. I would go as far to say that it set the tone of the game and the victory.

[Abagadro]

If you get that geeked up about a single touchdown that doesn't win you a ballgame, you are losers regardless of the situation.

"Act like you've been there before"

EDIT: And I root for a team that during one stretch went 2-19 against our bitter rival. Even during that stretch if my team did that I would be embarrassed.