College Football

[Arakasi]

Well it looks like UT's chance of either being in the BCS or getting the AP have vanished. Florida handily took over number 1 in the AP today, and OU has 9 first place votes to Texas' 6.

Here is the likely lineup of bowl games (taken from Mandel), I'll change this later to the official list.

BCS Bowls
Date Predicted Matchup
Jan. 1 Orange: Virginia Tech (ACC champ) vs. Cincinnati (Big East champ)
Jan. 1 Rose: Penn State (Big Ten champ) vs. USC (Pac-10 champ)
Jan. 2 Sugar: Alabama (BCS at-large) vs. Utah (BCS at-large)
Jan. 5 Fiesta: Texas (BCS at-large) vs. Ohio State (BCS at-large)
Jan. 8 BCS Championship (Miami): Oklahoma (BCS No. 1) vs. Florida (BCS No. 2)

Non-BCS Bowls
Date Predicted Matchup
Dec. 20 New Mexico: Colorado State (MWC) vs. Fresno State (WAC)
Dec. 20 EagleBank: Wake Forest (ACC No. 9) vs. Navy (Navy/at-large)
Dec. 20 St. Petersburg: USF (Big East) vs. Memphis (C-USA)
Dec. 20 Las Vegas: Arizona (Pac-10 No. 4) vs. BYU (MWC No. 1)
Dec. 21 New Orleans: Troy (Sun Belt) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Dec. 23 Poinsettia: TCU (MWC) vs. Boise State* (Pac-10 No. 7)
Dec. 24 Hawaii: Hawaii (WAC) vs. Western Michigan* (Pac-10 No. 6)
Dec. 26 Motor City: Central Michigan (MAC) vs. Arkansas State* (Big Ten No. 7)
Dec. 27 Meineke Car Care: North Carolina (ACC) vs. West Virginia (Big East No. 3)
Dec. 27 Champs Sports: Florida State (ACC No. 4) vs. Wisconsin (Big Ten No. 5)
Dec. 27 Emerald: Cal (Pac-10 No. 5) vs. Miami (ACC)
Dec. 28 Independence: La.-Lafayette* (Big 12 No. 7) vs. Louisiana Tech* (SEC)
Dec. 29 PapaJohns.com: Rutgers (Big East) vs. N.C. State* (SEC)
Dec. 29 Alamo: Northwestern (Big Ten No. 4) vs. Missouri (Big 12 No. 5)
Dec. 30 Humanitarian: Nevada (WAC) vs. Maryland (ACC No. 8)
Dec. 30 Holiday: Oregon (Pac-10 No. 2) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12 No. 3)
Dec. 30 Texas: Notre Dame* (Big 12 No. 8) vs. Rice (C-USA)
Dec. 31 Armed Forces: Air Force (MWC) vs. Houston (C-USA)
Dec. 31 Sun: Oregon State (Pac-10 No. 3) vs. Pittsburgh (Big East)
Dec. 31 Music City: Boston College (ACC) vs. Vanderbilt (SEC)
Dec. 31 Insight: Minnesota (Big Ten No. 6) vs. Kansas (Big 12 No. 6)
Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A: Georgia Tech (ACC No. 2) vs. LSU (SEC)
Jan. 1 Outback: Iowa (Big Ten No. 3) vs. South Carolina (SEC)
Jan. 1 Gator: Nebraska (Big 12 No. 4) vs. Clemson (ACC No. 3)
Jan. 1 Capital One: Georgia (SEC) vs. Michigan State (Big Ten No. 2)
Jan. 2 Cotton: Texas Tech (Big 12 No. 2) vs. Ole Miss (SEC)
Jan. 2 Liberty: Kentucky (SEC) vs. East Carolina (C-USA No. 1)
Jan. 3 International: Connecticut (Big East) vs. Buffalo (MAC)
Jan. 6 GMAC: Tulsa (C-USA No. 2) vs. Ball State (MAC)

Real Lineup:

EagleBank
Dec. 20, 11 a.m. (ESPN) Washington, D.C. Navy vs. Wake Forest
New Mexico
Dec. 20, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Albuquerque, N.M. Fresno State vs. Colorado St.
St. Petersburg
Dec. 20, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2) St. Petersburg, Fla. USF vs. Memphis
Las Vegas
Dec. 20, 8 p.m. (ESPN) Las Vegas BYU vs. Arizona
New Orleans
Dec. 21, 8 p.m. (ESPN2) New Orleans Southern Miss vs. Troy
Poinsettia
Dec. 23, 8 p.m. (ESPN) San Diego Boise St. vs. TCU
Hawaii
Dec. 24, 8 p.m. (ESPN) Honolulu, Hawaii Notre Dame vs. Hawaii
Motor City
Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Detroit Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
Meineke
Dec. 27, 1 p.m. (ESPN) Charlotte, N.C. North Carolina vs. West Virginia
Champs Sports Bowl
Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Orlando, Fla. Wisconsin vs. Florida St.
Emerald
Dec. 27, 8 p.m. (ESPN) San Francisco Cal vs. Miami
Independence
Dec. 28, 8 p.m. (ESPN) Shreveport, La. Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
Papajohns.com
Dec. 29, 3 p.m. (ESPN) Birmingham, Ala. North Carolina St. vs. Rutgers
Alamo
Dec. 29, 8 p.m. (ESPN) San Antonio, Texas Northwestern vs. Missouri
Humanitarian
Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Boise, Idaho Nevada vs. Maryland
Holiday
Dec. 30, 8 p.m. (ESPN) San Diego Oklahoma St. vs. Oregon
Texas
Dec. 30, 8 p.m. (NFL) Houston Rice vs. Western Michigan
Armed Forces
Dec. 31, Noon (ESPN) Fort Worth, Texas Houston vs. Air Force
Sun
Dec. 31, 2 p.m. (CBS) El Paso, Texas Oregon St. vs. Pittsburgh
Music City
Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt vs. Boston College
Insight
Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m. (NFL) Tempe, Ariz. Kansas vs. Minnesota
Chick-fil-A
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Atlanta Georgia Tech vs. LSU
Outback
Jan. 1, 11 a.m. (ESPN) Tampa, Fla. South Carolina vs. Iowa
Capital One
Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (ABC) Orlando, Fla. Michigan St. vs. Georgia
Gator
Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (CBS) Jacksonville, Fla. Clemson vs. Nebraska
Rose
Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m. (ABC) Pasadena, Calif. USC vs. Penn St.
Orange
Jan. 1, 8 p.m. (FOX) Miami Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Cotton
Jan. 2, 2 p.m. (FOX) Dallas Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss
Liberty
Jan. 2, 5 p.m. (ESPN) Memphis, Tenn. Kentucky vs. East Carolina
Sugar
Jan. 2, 8 p.m. (FOX) New Orleans Utah vs. Alabama
International
Jan. 3 Noon (ESPN2) Toronto Connecticut vs. Buffalo
Fiesta
Jan. 5, 8:30 p.m. (FOX) Glendale, Ariz. Texas vs. Ohio St.
GMAC
Jan. 6, 8 p.m. (ESPN) Mobile, Ala. Tulsa vs. Ball St.
BCS National Championship Game
Jan. 8, 8 p.m. (FOX) Miami Oklahoma vs. Florida

[Fez]

I'll leave it to others to discuss the [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankingsindex"]latest[/url] rankings, and instead concentrate on this little gem from the US Today Poll:

[quote]Others Receiving Votes
Boston College 96, Iowa 40, Florida State 22, East Carolina 15, California 12, Kansas 10, North Carolina 6, Nebraska 5, Rice 3, [b]Buffalo 3[/b], Rutgers 2.[/quote]

Hell yeah, first time anyone's ever voted for us. I also see that Ball State has dropped like a rock, that's how we roll. Can't wait for Jan. 3rd, and I agree with the Conn. prediction as our opponent.

[Gold Storm]

[quote]Dec. 30 Texas: Notre Dame* (Big 12 No. 8) vs. Rice (C-USA)[/quote]

Well Noter Dame might actually win a bowl game this year.

[dornish prince]

if any of you are watching espn right now, i'd like to officially declare my love of the mark may, rece davis, lou holtz team. they sometimes get on my nerves, and by they, i mean, lou mostly but that whole court case thing they did was fucking awesome.

rece had to be going out of his mind during the SEC championship last night. :lol:

[TheHoundRules]

Fez - Auburn has asked for permission to interview Gill.

[dornish prince]

[quote name='TheHoundRules' post='1611824' date='Dec 7 2008, 15.24']Fez - Auburn has asked for permission to interview Gill.[/quote]

he's already been interviewed over the phone and should be in town in the next couple of days. that's what i've heard.

hold up a sec and i'll check rivals.com.

ETA: good game, THR, if i haven't already said it. i've been ghosting for most of the season.

[Arakasi]

Are you talking about Hotlz' case for Tebow winning the Heisman? I think he missed the strongest argument.

Lou Holtz: I put forward evidence for Tebow the following numbers.

1. 302 442 4464 68.3 10.1 48 6 9 186.29
3. 291 375 3445 77.6 9.2 32 7 20 179.20
4. 177 264 2735 67.0 10.4 24 8 13 178.01
7. 358 484 4135 74.0 8.5 37 15 13 164.76
9. 406 568 4747 71.5 8.4 41 7 11 163.03

What are these numbers? They are the QB stats for Bradford, McCoy, Robinson, Daniel and Harrell. Either we accept that the Big 12 has 5 QBs in the top 9 (as well as 5 more in the top 35) or that the Big 12 just might be a bit weak on defense. Those numbers above are great, superb, even outlandish. But they are as indicative of weakness in opposition as it is in strength of the players.

[dornish prince]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1611832' date='Dec 7 2008, 15.30']Are you talking about Hotlz' case for Tebow winning the Heisman? I think he missed the strongest argument.

Lou Holtz: I put forward evidence for Tebow the following numbers.

1. 302 442 4464 68.3 10.1 48 6 9 186.29
3. 291 375 3445 77.6 9.2 32 7 20 179.20
4. 177 264 2735 67.0 10.4 24 8 13 178.01
7. 358 484 4135 74.0 8.5 37 15 13 164.76
9. 406 568 4747 71.5 8.4 41 7 11 163.03

What are these numbers? They are the QB stats for Bradford, McCoy, Robinson, Daniel and Harrell. Either we accept that the Big 12 has 5 QBs in the top 9 (as well as 5 more in the top 35) or that the Big 12 just might be a bit weak on defense. Those numbers above are great, superb, even outlandish. But they are as indicative of weakness in opposition as it is in strength of the players.[/quote]

i was just telling my bro in law about the exact same thing. those guys are all top notch college athletes, to be sure, but defensive play in the big 12 is pretty sad. that's precisely why i pick florida in another OU/BCS blowout in the championship game. harvin will be chomping at the bit to improve his draft stock. with the advent of the "wild whatever" offense in the nfl, he'll be a first round pick.


[quote]Assuming it's Florida-Oklahoma, I'm pretty excited about that matchup for BCS Championship. Regarding the earlier proverb, it was a poor attempt at humor regarding the potential choice Will Muschamp could face between waiting on the Texas HC job or possibly taking one that's available right now. We'll see how things develop in the coming days. I do think he's still in play for Auburn.

I have reason to believe today's phone interview between Auburn and Turner Gill went well and I expect them to meet face-to-face in the next couple of days. Not entirely sure where AU stands with Jimbo Fisher and Paul Johnson right now but I definitely still consider both in the mix. We'll be right back on top of things tomorrow.[/quote]

this the newest news from rivals concerning gill.

oops. i added the muschamp bit unconciously...:lol: i'd really like to have him as our coach.

[Arakasi]

I am very curious to see how OSU, OU and Penn State perform this year. Everyone has been ripping on the Big 10, and everyone also has been hating on the Sooners. I somehow doubt all 3 will fulfill expectations and get creamed. One of them I think should pull out a win. I'm just not sure who. Although maybe all 3 will be as overrated as advertised.

[dornish prince]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1611843' date='Dec 7 2008, 15.41']I am very curious to see how OSU, OU and Penn State perform this year. Everyone has been ripping on the Big 10, and everyone also has been hating on the Sooners. I somehow doubt all 3 will fulfill expectations and get creamed. One of them I think should pull out a win. I'm just not sure who. Although maybe all 3 will be as overrated as advertised.[/quote]

such is college football :cheers:

i like OSU to win, PSU to lose and OU better pack a lunch. even though i'm not a fan of these teams, i'm still psyched for the rest of the season.

if the florida defense doesn't come as advertised, the sooners can most definitely roll on them.

[SergioCQH]

Rice playing in Houston will demolish Notre Dame.

Oh yeah, Texas will fuckstomp OSU back to the Stone Age, or Ohio, same thing.

[TheHoundRules]

It's official. UGA vs. Michigan State in the Capital One. I was hoping for Ohio State. Not sure this really excites me.

LSU vs. GT in Chik fil a bowl.

[lokisnow]

I'm also going to take Rice over Notre Dame they came in third behind East Carolina and Tulsa in their conference, right?

I'm worried about the Penn State game, there's a danger the nonchalant USC will show up, but I'm counting on Carroll to make sure that doesn't happen.

[Lukkake]

Edit: Never mind.

[Anatole Kuragin]

Hmm, according to the bowl special on ESPN and CBSSPORTS, ND is playing Hawaii and Rice is playing Western Michigan.

[url="http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions"]http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions[/url]

[HokieStone]

A word about the so-called lousy ACC here. Do we have a national champion caliber team? Obviously not. However, this conference from [i]top to bottom[/i] is as good as any in the nation.

- 10 teams in bowls
- A winning record against other BCS teams (including 4-0 against the Big 12, and 6-4 against the SEC)
- #1 conference in Massey's rankings, #2 in the Colley rankings


Again...I realize there's no marquee team. And I won't call us the "best" conference, because I think you need at least one, preferably two teams in the top 10 for that. But I don't think the ACC is nearly as bad as has been made out.

[SergioCQH]

Hokie, with all due respect, the reason you have ten teams in bowls is because everyone was mediocre. That allowed everyone to get enough wins to qualify. If there are two or three absolutely dominant teams, then the bottom feeders will have too many losses to qualify. The number of bowl qualifying teams isn't a good indicator of conference quality. Only OOC records and bowl records can do that.

Let's look at the ACC's wins over the Big 12:

1.) Virginia Tech, the ACC conference champion, barely beat Nebraska, the second best team in the miserable Big 12 North division, the 6th place team in the Big 12 overall, 35-30.

2.) Florida State, the 3rd or 4th best ACC team, beat Colorado, the 9th place team in the Big 12, at home 39-21.

3.) Wake Forest, who could be anywhere from the 5th to the 10th place ACC team, beat the 8th place Big 12 team, Baylor 41-13.

4.) Miami, who could be anywhere from the 5th to the 10th place ACC team, beat the 11th place Texas A&M Aggies, 41-21.

As you can see, while the ACC is 4-0 against the Big 12, that record means little considering the level of competition.

[lokisnow]

I disagree, it doesn't mean everyone is mediocre, it means everyone is pretty much as good as everyone else. Perhaps everyone in the ACC would be competitive with Texas, Tech, Ok State, OU, and Mizzou, but no one knows that for sure without head to heads. since Texas didn't play any major conference team outside of Arkansas and Missouri didn't play anyone outside of Illinois it's hard to say. OU did beat Cincinatti which is fairly impressive. I think dominant teams are more of a problem than a sign of conference quality, and I say that as a USC guy. And to turn your argument on its head, if there are two or three absolutely miserable teams then the top feeders will have an overinflated record in their qualifications, and are likely to get embarassed in bowls because they're used to being bullies rather than having to fight for their lives every week. What people truly hate about parity, especially supporters of traditionally dominant teams, is that parity means you're at serious risk every week, look at the derision with with the ACC was treated mid and late season when it wasn't yet clear who would go to the championship game, much less win it. the talking heads and pollsters hate uncertainty, and since high level of competition results in lots of uncertainty they've bad mouthed the ACC almost non-stop. It makes sense, the ACC is most likely to make them look bad at their jobs week to week, so of course they naturally resent the conference more than others. For the same reason, pollsters love teams like USC and Oklahoma that are dominant almost every year. they can almost always count on those teams to win, so when they pick them, or lavish attention and time discussing their games it will always make them look good for playing the sure things. and even when these teams are down, because the pollsters refuse to learn about other teams that might be up instead (like say Connecticutt or Kansas or even Mizzou for most of last year) they instead turn that level of attention to crying the sad lament of the team and wondering endlessly what can be done for the poor dominant team that really doesn't deserve to have to suffer losses (it's SOOOO unfair for those 'good' teams to lose). See for example the nonstop yammering about Notre Dame all of last year and all of this year.

[S John]

Well there are going to be at least 3 Big East ACC head to head match ups during bowl season, which I am of course very much looking forward to. West Virginia will play North Carolina, Rutgers will play NC State, and Cincy will play Virginia Tech. I can see all three of these going either way.

I will be down in the Charlotte area on the day that we play our bowl, but I don't think I'm going to drop the $145 and $8 beers at the stadium this time... probably gonna opt for the old man's HDTV and lazy boy. I'd really like to go, but thats just a little too steep for me for the freakin Meineke Car Care Bowl. I could handle that much for a BCS or the Sun or Peach or Gator, but not for the Meineke Car Care bowl. Also, I'm just gonna go ahead and throw out there that if we lose to North Carolina I'm going to be furious. To think that just one year after smoking Oklahoma I'm worrying about getting beat by North Carolina... damnit.

[Arakasi]

I would also disagree with Sergio in his analysis. The ACC is a good conference. They do lack a top end really strong team, but basically what they are is like 8-10 9-3 to 7-5 teams. Its got good strength and has done well hth against the other big conferences.