College Football

[TheHoundRules]

The LSU - Bama game is coming down to the wire. Maybe OT.

UGA made me very nervous today. Just like last week, we gave UK a short field in the second half. Our 1 yard line, Our 4 yard line, and around our 20 yard line to start drives. Stafford threw for almost 400 yards. The defense scares me, but we can not give short fields to the other team. We should still be better on the defensive side.

That UK QB is a heck of a player. He sure can move.

[WarGalley]

Holy fucking shit.. I was just thinking LSU might block that kick.

ETA: The 4th quarter gods love Les Miles.

[dornish prince]

today has shown me that even if alabama loses in the regular season then they are golden for the nat'l championship game.

texas vs. alabama FTW.


i almost want to say that USC could get in but if texas and alabama win their conference championship games then USC could win a million to nothing for the rest of the season and still be looking in.

justice at last.

round robin <<<<<<<<< playing a conference championship game; OOC be damned.

[Arakasi]

1) Florida will beat Bama I'm pretty sure.
2) I don't see your point about round robin losing to a champ game always works. Example Ohio State the last 2 years. The pac 10 is just down this year, and the Big 12 is quite up. SEC is about normal, but then again that is the SEC. A 1 loss SEC team in most cases will beat a 1 loss team from anywhere else.

[TheHoundRules]

I think Florida may put up 100 tonight. I am sure that fucking asshole Urban Meyer will try.

I hate to say it, but I am not sure anyone is better then Florida at this time.

[dornish prince]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1582727' date='Nov 8 2008, 20.25']1) Florida will beat Bama I'm pretty sure.
2) I don't see your point about round robin losing to a champ game always works. Example Ohio State the last 2 years. The pac 10 is just down this year, and the Big 12 is quite up. SEC is about normal, but then again that is the SEC. A 1 loss SEC team in most cases will beat a 1 loss team from anywhere else.[/quote]


florida is playing some of the best ball in the country right now. of course, so is a lot of other teams. the florida v. bama game will be the most hotly contested game in a season of hotly contested games. i think that bama will win but, honestly, that's a coin flip at this stage.

my point about championship game v. round robin is this...if a team can make it to a championship game and then beat a team that is, most probably top ten material, then they should obviously get the nod over someone who gets through a round robin. there is no onus in round robin other than to win as many as you can. in a championship conference, you have to do that plus win, maybe again, against a team that could arguably beat anyone.

i reference tOSU as a prime example. LSU lost two other games, for pete's sake. despite that, they beat tOSU like they stole something. florida, losing to auburn, did the exact same thing. make no mistake, i'm an SEC homer so, like any homer in a championship conference, my opinion could certainly be classified as biased. however, until a round robin team takes it all, i'll be advocating championship game division teams.

USC is a noted exception. they reach out and challenge big time OOC teams to make up for the fact that their conference is middle of the road at best. thats not to say that the pac 10 doesn't field good teams...however, a team that makes it through doesn't have to prove it again in a championship game.

ETA: as a disclaimer, i'd like to add that the big 12 is a stronger conference than the SEC this year.

a prediction. OSU takes it to Ttech tonight.

[dornish prince]

[quote name='TheHoundRules' post='1582735' date='Nov 8 2008, 20.36']I think Florida may put up 100 tonight. I am sure that fucking asshole Urban Meyer will try.

I hate to say it, but I am not sure anyone is better then Florida at this time.[/quote]

once they developed a run game on offense, THR, i began to fear for other teams. congrats on the win at kentucky today. i was worried for a second there. :cheers:


ETA: oops. the tTech game is already going on and mr. i'll never make it in the nfl is passing like crazy. :blush:

[Celtigo]

[quote name='dornish prince' post='1582697' date='Nov 8 2008, 19.47']today has shown me that even if alabama loses in the regular season then they are golden for the nat'l championship game.

texas vs. alabama FTW.


i almost want to say that USC could get in but if texas and alabama win their conference championship games then USC could win a million to nothing for the rest of the season and still be looking in.

justice at last.

round robin <<<<<<<<< playing a conference championship game; OOC be damned.[/quote]
First things First, If its Florida-Bama, the winner plays for the title. In this case USC would likely be rooting for the undefeated or one loss Big 12 South Champ to blow it against a Missouri side that looks more and more mediocre everytime they play a South team. Penn State goes to the back of the line and would need chaos. The Big East and ACC have already played themselves out of contention.

If you're arguing the CCG is more helpful to getting a shot at the BCS title, I'll agree. If you're arguing its a better system to decide your conference champ, thats laughable. Division winners and overall records can be inflated depending on who you play (see Kansas last year skipping Texas and Oklahoma in the regular season). If a team in the SEC West this year played UGA, UF, and South Carolina while its rival played Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina one side clearly has an advantage going into the season. Theres no hiding in a round robin, you don't get the schedule to bail you out. The best you can hope for a favorable home/road balance in the schedule.

In summary, the Big East and Pac 10 got it right.

[HokieStone]

If there's anything more entertaining than watching WVU lose, it's watching them get beat, having their fans leave the stadium early...only to pull a miraculous comeback to tie the game, have the fans come streaming back into the stadium...only to see them get beat in OT. It's like two losses in one!

[AndyP]

Well Damn, Texas Tech just beat the snot out of Oklahoma State. I figured the Cowboys would win it but damn TT offense is awesome.

[lokisnow]

ugh, USC looked anemic against a cal team that shouldn't have been ranked.

the texas tech/oklahoma game should be awesome. I'll take Tech to win it and go to the NC to face Florida.

The only scenario I can see where USC makes the NC (to face Florida, in all probability) is if Texas Tech loses to Oklahoma and oklahoma loses to Missouri in the Big12 title game. Mizzou has two losses and even dropping the mighty Oklahoma won't get them to a title game, just to a BCS game. In this scenario I suppose it is possible for Texas to ascend above USC, but I'm not sure if the rulebook says you have to win your conference to make it to the NC game or not.

And if you do have to win your conference to go to the NC, if Oregon State wins the Pac10 in the above scenario, then USC can't go to the NC game and the BCS will have to choose between Penn State, Mizzou and the Big East/ACC champ to face off against Florida.

When does the Oklahoma/Texas rematch for NC game talk start up? if we can get that sort of nonsense for Michigan and Ohio state, two much stronger teams should garner the same chatter. :P

That said there will also be chatter about an Alabama/Florida rematch for the NC game, but not much, thankfully. :/

Mizzou won tonight, which is good for me. Kansas dropped to Nebraska, which surprised me.

I'm a bit pissed at myself. normally I don't change my picks after I first make them, switching maybe one. This week I switched five or six on thursday night and switched them all the wrong way. I'd have had my best week in the pickem ever if I hadn't done that. :(

[H von T]

[quote name='TheHoundRules' post='1582735' date='Nov 8 2008, 20.36']I think Florida may put up 100 tonight. I am sure that fucking asshole Urban Meyer will try.[/quote]
I call him an efficient utiliser of time outs. Richt should try it sometime so Knowshon "I'm so fucking tired I need to rest after 3 carries" Moreno doesn't have to take himself out of a game.

USC was very unimpressive tonight. I used to think they should be in the MNC game, but no longer. My money's on the winner of the SEC and Texas Tech.

[TheHoundRules]

[quote name='H von T' post='1582866' date='Nov 9 2008, 00.48']I call him an efficient utiliser of time outs. Richt should try it sometime so Knowshon "I'm so fucking tired I need to rest after 3 carries" Moreno doesn't have to take himself out of a game.[/quote]

There was a lot of talk about that this week. Richt must have said something b/c he did not take himself out as much this week. And our back up is now Samuels and not King.

[lokisnow]

hmm, reading some of Pete Carroll's comments after the game, it sounds like they have a more run oriented game plan for teams, like Cal (and probably Oregon State and Arizona) that are tops at creating turnovers, so the low scoring, light on passes play calling is intended to blunt that weapon while relying on your defense to keep the other team from scoring on their possessions. This worked with Cal and Arizona, but due to the tinyness of Jaquizz Rogers it didn't work so well against Oregon State. Interesting, thinking back on the game, Cal's secondary did have our receivers beautifully covered on almost every passing play we ran, it appears Coach knows a hell of a lot more and is running the games exactly like he wants to. No more armchair bellyaching from me. :P


I'm less annoyed that he didn't go for the TD pass on USC's last possession. Carroll's snap-back to reporters suggesting he should have used that garbage time possession to run up the score is quite classic:

[quote]"We don't do that crap around here. We don't think that way. That's not ever the way we think. I don't think about style points. I never have."
"That ain't a winner's attitude," he said. "That ain't what a championship program thinks like. You don't think like that. I don't care about impressing anybody. We're going to try to play good football, do good stuff and win. And if they don't like it, I don't care. I could care less."[/quote]

[Commodore]

A Florida/Texas Tech championship game would be fantastic. That beastly Tech o-line vs. the super fast Florida defense.

[dornish prince]

[quote name='Celtigo' post='1582786' date='Nov 8 2008, 21.27']First things First, If its Florida-Bama, the winner plays for the title. In this case USC would likely be rooting for the undefeated or one loss Big 12 South Champ to blow it against a Missouri side that looks more and more mediocre everytime they play a South team. Penn State goes to the back of the line and would need chaos. The Big East and ACC have already played themselves out of contention.

If you're arguing the CCG is more helpful to getting a shot at the BCS title, I'll agree. If you're arguing its a better system to decide your conference champ, thats laughable. Division winners and overall records can be inflated depending on who you play (see Kansas last year skipping Texas and Oklahoma in the regular season). If a team in the SEC West this year played UGA, UF, and South Carolina while its rival played Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina one side clearly has an advantage going into the season. Theres no hiding in a round robin, you don't get the schedule to bail you out. The best you can hope for a favorable home/road balance in the schedule.

In summary, the Big East and Pac 10 got it right.[/quote]

i see your point. the reason it isn't a better system, IMO, is the fact that a CCG conference has the extra hurdle of being guaranteed another game against a team that could beat them, and every other team in the nation, on any given saturday. it's a double edged sword.

TBH, i prefer the round robin schedule because regardless of what anyone says, there is always the team that dodges the conferences top teams and they end up being placed in a bowl game that is miles above their heads. see the USC/illinois game last year.

i guess what i'm trying to say is that a battle tested team in a CCG conference generally trumps the round robin survivor. tOSU anyone? USC has been a noted exception, of course.

ETA2: another exception i thought of after reading my post is SJ's mountaineers. IDK, celt. both systems produce good teams, you know? i guess it all comes down to the bias you have based on the team that you root for. :cheers:

[L'Sana]

[quote name='Celtigo' post='1582786' date='Nov 8 2008, 19.27']If you're arguing its a better system to decide your conference champ, thats laughable. Division winners and overall records can be inflated depending on who you play (see Kansas last year skipping Texas and Oklahoma in the regular season). If a team in the SEC West this year played UGA, UF, and South Carolina while its rival played Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina one side clearly has an advantage going into the season. Theres no hiding in a round robin, you don't get the schedule to bail you out. The best you can hope for a favorable home/road balance in the schedule.

In summary, the Big East and Pac 10 got it right.[/quote]

I'd agree that Pac 10 and Big East have the best system: you play every other team from your conference, whoever wins the most games is the winner.

However, Big 12, SEC, and even the inaccurately named Big 10 are really too big to do that. And given that it's neither possible nor desirable for teams to play 11 conference games, I think that the the championship game is the way to go. Yes, last year Kansas got away without playing either Oklahoma or Texas, but they could not have won the championship without playing one of them. On the other hand, it is perfectly possible for a team to win the Big 10 without playing the toughest teams in the conference.

In an ideal world, I would kick those interlopers from Texas out and go back to the Big 8, where we could all play each other. But in the world we have, the championship is the best compromise.

[Celtigo]

[quote name='L'Sana' post='1583152' date='Nov 9 2008, 14.15']I'd agree that Pac 10 and Big East have the best system: you play every other team from your conference, whoever wins the most games is the winner.

However, Big 12, SEC, and even the inaccurately named Big 10 are really too big to do that. And given that it's neither possible nor desirable for teams to play 11 conference games, I think that the the championship game is the way to go. Yes, last year Kansas got away without playing either Oklahoma or Texas, but they could not have won the championship without playing one of them. On the other hand, it is perfectly possible for a team to win the Big 10 without playing the toughest teams in the conference.

In an ideal world, I would kick those interlopers from Texas out and go back to the Big 8, where we could all play each other. But in the world we have, the championship is the best compromise.[/quote]

Oh I agree. I'll acknowledge DP's point that the CCG adds an additional layer of difficulty, unless the division strengths are totally out of wack (Big 12 anyone?). I'll also agree that the 12 team conferences have simply can't play a round robin.

I was dissapointed that when the 12th game was added, the three super conferences went with an additional OOC cupcake as opposed to an additional conference game, but I get the financial reasons behind that decision.

The Big 10 on the other hand really needs to get its act together. I live in fear of the dual undefeated teams/co-conference debacle. They need to add somebody or kick someone out.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='lockesnow' post='1582864' date='Nov 9 2008, 00.33']Mizzou won tonight, which is good for me. Kansas dropped to Nebraska, which surprised me.[/quote]

Didn't surprise me. Aside from the Mizzou game, and the first 5 minutes of the OK game, Nebraska has been playing very well this year. Nebraska took TTech into overtime, at TTech.

[lokisnow]

my argument for all conferences going to an eight or ten team round robin conference is right there in the Big 12 South. It's the most exciting thing in college football because all those teams have to play each other. No respite for those teams in the way that missouri gets away with not playing Tech or Oklahoma this year.