College Football 2007

[Celtigo]

I really wish poll voters (and the computers) paid more attention to winning on the road. Coaches will tell you how much better every team gets in their own stadium. Especially in a stadium where there is a genuine home crowd (unlike say LSU at Tulane or Cal at SJSU).

Indeed. As I said the SEC is probably the best conference out there, but this random bullshit about BC not even having a chance in the SEC East just pisses me off.

I don't have time to crunch the numbers, but I think the SEC played a grand total of like 8 away OOC games this year including the LSU-Tulanes of the world. Look what happened. Tennessee and Alabama got dispatched, and neither game was a buzzer beater. Start putting emphasis on away games and the SEC's house of cards might collapse. CAse in point, they are 2-1 against the Big 12 this year and 3-1 against the PAC 10 last year. All of those games were played in Dixie. Don't tell me that doesn't help.

[Robert's Last Bastard]

The weather had a huge effect on last night's game. I won't pretend that I actually saw the final 2.5 mins, but BC should have lost. The WR's are slow, and will get smothered by the majority of the teams vying for a NC, the running game was pretty weak as well. The biggest problem I saw was the coaching. Why... WHY didn't they help their RT out? They never made any adjustments- no TE help, no chip from the RB, the blocking schemes didn't create favorable matchups... I just about had a coronary watching the poor guy get taken to school on every play. He is talented, but at 265 he is going to get tossed against an LSU or OSU type defensive line (much like last night against Ellis). Granted, this wasn't BC's only issue in this game, but it was the most glaring. I don't see BC going undefeated over the next 4 weeks playing like they did last night (the first time I have seen them play this year).

[Bronn Stone]

CAse in point, they are 2-1 against the Big 12 this year and 3-1 against the PAC 10 last year. All of those games were played in Dixie. Don't tell me that doesn't help.

Actually, to their credit, the Vols came to Berkeley this year. Prettiest stadium they'll see all year. And they lost.

[Kalbear]

Bronn, he was saying that they played the Pac-10 last year at home and did well. They played the Big-12 this year at home and did well.

[Celtigo]

Bronn, he was saying that they played the Pac-10 last year at home and did well. They played the Big-12 this year at home and did well.

To be fair to the SEC, 3 of the 4 games against the PAC 10 where home legs of a home and home series. Only Washington State-Auburn appeared to be a one off. Although LSU scheduling Arizona as a home and home doesn't exactly strike me as brave. I give them about as much credit as Oregon for scheduling Miss St. Only difference is I don't hear Oregon fans touting those wins as evidence of PAC 10 dominance.

[Bronn Stone]

Ooops. My bad.

[Kalbear]

I give them about as much credit as Oregon for scheduling Miss St. Only difference is I don't hear Oregon fans touting those wins as evidence of PAC 10 dominance.

Nah, we'll tout the Cal-Ten result.

Oregon tries to get as many teams from good conferences to play as it can and as it can afford. It's tough with scheduling, but Oregon's view on it is that the more BCS teams it plays, the more likely it'll be in a BCS bowl and the more likely it'll be televised. Even if it loses.

LSU has been very brave by comparison to the Floridas of the world, and it's been rewarded for this with higher poll rankings. Auburn has as well and has gained the same thing. The rest of the conference needs to follow suit. It does look like Oregon/Georgia and Oregon/Tenn is going to get going here soon.

Ideally, I'd like to see something like this: a rotating schedule of games where all teams play at least 2 non-conf BCS teams and 1 midmajor each year, rotating like they do in the NFL. The rotation would be on a half & half split, so at any time half of the conference were playing teams from the exact same three conferences as each other but a different set than the other group. For ease of scheduling, make them all home and home so that the next year, you play the opposite of what you did this year for one of the conferences. And make them staggered, so you only play one of the same conferences in two years. This should give us more of an ability to make comparisons between conferences, give better parity within the conference, and force people to stop playing as many cupcakes.

The only problem here is when a conference is smaller or bigger. How does that work? Maybe make it up with service schools or independents, or other regional teams. I'm not sure. Or, expand the conferences as needed.

[Celtigo]

Nah, we'll tout the Cal-Ten result.

Oregon tries to get as many teams from good conferences to play as it can and as it can afford. It's tough with scheduling, but Oregon's view on it is that the more BCS teams it plays, the more likely it'll be in a BCS bowl and the more likely it'll be televised. Even if it loses.

LSU has been very brave by comparison to the Floridas of the world, and it's been rewarded for this with higher poll rankings. Auburn has as well and has gained the same thing. The rest of the conference needs to follow suit. It does look like Oregon/Georgia and Oregon/Tenn is going to get going here soon.

Ideally, I'd like to see something like this: a rotating schedule of games where all teams play at least 2 non-conf BCS teams and 1 midmajor each year, rotating like they do in the NFL. The rotation would be on a half & half split, so at any time half of the conference were playing teams from the exact same three conferences as each other but a different set than the other group. For ease of scheduling, make them all home and home so that the next year, you play the opposite of what you did this year for one of the conferences. And make them staggered, so you only play one of the same conferences in two years. This should give us more of an ability to make comparisons between conferences, give better parity within the conference, and force people to stop playing as many cupcakes.

The only problem here is when a conference is smaller or bigger. How does that work? Maybe make it up with service schools or independents, or other regional teams. I'm not sure. Or, expand the conferences as needed.

They do have the Big Ten-ACC and brand new Pac 10-Big 12 challenge in bball where they simply cut some teams out of the schedule. I know in football with so few OOC games it might create more problems, but it would certainly help. The fact that that outside of the ACC-Big East and ACC-SEC, no BCS conferences play each other nearly enough ( or in the case of the PAC 10-ACC or Big 10-SEC, at all) to determine a pecking order of any sort. I hate relying so much on bowl match ups from a year ago for projections or ordering for too many reasons to list.

[Bronn Stone]

Actually, were I a conference commissioner, I'd propose a conference challenge. Say in 2011 and 2012, all Pac 10 teams and SEC teams will keep the 4th Saturday in September free. BYU and Utah will also participate - facing SEC opponents - of pre-agreed numbers. Matchups would be determined by the conference record the prior year (all conference games in the case of the SEC - divisions would be ignored). In 2011, all the games are played at SEC sites. In 2012, all at Pac 10/other sites.

It would work. Every team would know it is getting a home game one year and a road game the next. The television networks would wet themselves over the matchup. You'd hear about nothing else for three weeks leading in.

All it would take is enough lead time for the teams to keep that week free. And of course, a gonad transplant for the SEC.

[Celtigo]

Actually, were I a conference commissioner, I'd propose a conference challenge. Say in 2011 and 2012, all Pac 10 teams and SEC teams will keep the 4th Saturday in September free. BYU and Utah will also participate - facing SEC opponents - of pre-agreed numbers. Matchups would be determined by the conference record the prior year (all conference games in the case of the SEC - divisions would be ignored). In 2011, all the games are played at SEC sites. In 2012, all at Pac 10/other sites.

It would work. Every team would know it is getting a home game one year and a road game the next. The television networks would wet themselves over the matchup. You'd hear about nothing else for three weeks leading in.

All it would take is enough lead time for the teams to keep that week free. And of course, a gonad transplant for the SEC.

Like most things in College Football its an idea thats too good to actually become reality.

[HokieStone]

To quote Michael Corleone - "I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart! "

Well, shit. As expected, today on my drive back from Blacksburg, while listening to ESPN radio, I had to listen to countless opinions comparing Matt Ryan to Doug Flutie, and how last night he proved that he was a top Heisman contender.

Bullshit.

I know I will sound like a sore loser, but Matt Ryan and BC didn't win that game - we gave it them. On a nice big silver platter. For 56 minutes Ryan looked completely inept, and we were pressuring him big time without even blitzing. He had an insane case of "happy feet".

And then we go the prevent defense. Or at least a pseudo-prevent. Never in my life would I have thought Bud Foster would fall back on the prevent defense. You know that old cliche about the only thing a prevent defense does - prevents you from winning. Proved again last night. All of a sudden, we just rush 3 people, and Ryan has more time to pick apart the secondary. He's a good QB, I will give him credit, and he stepped up in the last 4 minutes, but if we had stuck to the defense we'd played the first 56 minutes, BC doesn't sniff the scoreboard. That being said, it's hard to complain too much about our defense, because...

...or offense is horrendous. We wouldn't have been put in that position if the offense could just control the ball for a little while. With 6 minutes left Ryan gift wraps the game for us with an interception at the 35 or 40. Best we could do is end up with a pooch punt. All night, every time we would make a good play, we would follow it up with a holding call or something similar. And our big plays were just a little off. Big throw to Eddie Royal is just a little under thrown, so he has to slow up to catch it, and gets tackled. Breakout run by Ore, he can't quite make it all the way because the receiver doesn't stay on his block.

Gaaahhhh!!!!!!

In the end, I have to tell myself that the only thing that happened last night is that we were unequivocally eliminated from the MNC hunt. And deep down, we all knew that we weren't MNC material this year anyway. We win out, we still go to the ACC Championship Game. Where we may have a chance for revenge and ruining Fredo's season. Rankings don't matter anymore. Just win, baby.

[Bronn Stone]

I think the prevent defense is a great idea. If you blitz one of the eight fallback guys. A different one each time. You use 3 DL and eight DBs. But send one of the DBs. Never seen a team do it that way.

[TheHoundRules]

You know what is just as annoying of all the homer SEC fans saying how great the SEC is? Everyone else complaining about how not great the SEC is. We have this conversation every few months. The SEC is the best conference. It has the most passionate fans. It has the most homers as fans. It has traditionally scheduled the weakest OOC schedule. It has traditionally not traveled out of the South. It is changing. UGA goes to ASU next year. UT went to Cal. Auburn has gone to USC. UGA is also going to OkST and Louisville coming up. Practically everything everyone has said is true. Can we agree and move on and bring this back up during bowl season.

[Rhom]

Want one reason why major BCS schools don't schedule tough out of conference games? Because its hard enough to go undefeated in the conference. That's not just SEC, but its true for Pac 10, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12. It is even more difficult in conferences with a championship game... SEC, ACC, and Big 12.

Florida showed last year that you can get to a championship game with one conference loss. If they were to have scheduled an early test against someone like Michigan and lost early in the season... there goes that nice piece of hardware in the athletic center.

The reason you get nice set ups in college basketball like the ACC/Big Ten challenge is because you aren't ending your season in December by playing in it. Lets face it, Virginia Tech's football season ended on the first week of the year as far as national aspirations go.

The bottom line is that as long as there is no playoff system, there will be no widespread scheduling of difficult games. Hell, the difficult schedule is often cited as one of the reasons Notre Dame will be unable to win any more national titles.

Call me a homer all you like... I stand firm that BC couldn't hang for 8 weeks in a stronger conference. That said, all you can do is play the games that are on your schedule. Boston College has done that, and done it well... if the computers like them enough at the end, they'll get a shot at a title and in a one game scenario, anyone can win (witness Florida 06-07).

[Kalbear]

Want one reason why major BCS schools don't schedule tough out of conference games? Because its hard enough to go undefeated in the conference. That's not just SEC, but its true for Pac 10, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12. It is even more difficult in conferences with a championship game... SEC, ACC, and Big 12.

That's true. Then why does USC schedule good teams (in theory; Nebraska and Notre Dame both suck, but they should be normally good teams) every year? Why does Oregon? Why does Ohio State play Texas?

It might be hard to go undefeated in your conference, but that's not an excuse for scheduling cupcakes outside it, and here's the thing: if everyone schedules hard teams, everyone has that disadvantage. When one group schedules easy teams, other teams have to in order to compete.

Florida showed last year that you can get to a championship game with one conference loss. If they were to have scheduled an early test against someone like Michigan and lost early in the season... there goes that nice piece of hardware in the athletic center.

Yes, and if they had lost to Michigan they probably were not good enough to play against OSU anyway.

Look, if you're good enough to play for a conference championship you shouldn't be afraid of good teams. If you're afraid of good teams, you're going to get killed in your bowl game.

The bottom line is that as long as there is no playoff system, there will be no widespread scheduling of difficult games. Hell, the difficult schedule is often cited as one of the reasons Notre Dame will be unable to win any more national titles.

That, and they kind of suck and have a shitty head coach that's going to be there for a while, hosing all the recruiting.

USC has no problem with difficult scheduling of games.

LSU has no problem.

OSU has no problem (at least some of the time)

Michigan has no problem.

Oklahoma has no problem.

Texas has no problem.

Heck, the Big East doesn't have a problem.

The only conference that hasn't regularly done so is the SEC. If the SEC is so great, why not show it? The main reason is money (they make a ton more money for cupcake home games), but the secondary reason is also maximizing their bowl chances. It's a good gimmick, but it makes SEC teams pussies.

[Bronn Stone]

On the topic of actual football, the most important game to me this weekend after Cal-ASU is Ore-USC.

Never get tired of seeing USC lose. Hope I get the chance.

[Guest]

On the topic of actual football, the most important game to me this weekend after Cal-ASU is Ore-USC.

Never get tired of seeing USC lose. Hope I get the chance.

As a fan of the state of Oregon, I'm with you. I'm worried about tomorrow. Our offense will score, make no mistake. But we sure won't put up the double nickle we did on UW. What scares me is that the Trojans are underdogs for the first time since '01 and I think they'll parlay that into some good motivation.

Where did all this conference v. conference argument come from? I'm not talking about all of us on this board, I'm just talking in general. It may be that it's mostly a medie perpetuated thing, but it's like everyone talks up their team and rips on their conference foes, until it's a conference vs. conference discussion, and then they come to the defense of all their foes they were just ripping on.

[lokisnow]

yeah the good games are in the Pac 10 this week, I'm also looking forward to next week as USC will get off this stupid series of games that start at noon (yuck! I hate that, I work nights, and I haven't hung out with my buds on gameday for going on four weeks now becuase of all the stupid early games).

The Oregon game will probably be the most important in USC's schedule this year, it'll set the tone for all of November and what sort of bowl bid we get (it'd take a miracle to get in the NC game, but I'd love to see USC scheduled against the).

I'd think more highly of the SEC if they played real OOC games instead of paying poor schools to come be a whipping boy so the precious babies don't risk getting a booboo.

[WarGalley]

My picks

Oregon over USC

Florida over Georgia

S Carolina over Tennessee

Cal over Arizona St.

WV over Rutgers

Oregon over USC

And... Ohio St over Penn St. This was a tough one for me but I don't like Penn State's offense enough for them to pull out a win. Oregon over USC was also tough given the injuries and having not watched a lot of Pac-10 games.

I guess with my picks I'm saying there will be no major upsets this weekend.

[Celtigo]

Ugh ESPN and ESPN 2 have really cut out the college football this weekend. Is it really necessary to show the breeders cup on anything but the Oucho?

My prediction is for two of the unbeatens to lose, and 'll go with Cal righting the ship and bating ASU and Texas A&M continuing to win games, and beats Kansas.

I think OSU will squeak by Penn State. Call me crazy but I think UGA might be due this year. I'll pick the Dawgs 24-20 over Florida.