The College Football thread

“Poor bongofreek. That “education” the priests gave you has twisted your mind. Hopefully you’ll just learn to accept the fact that you got “educated” and that you’ll be walking funny for the rest of your life.

I think we all know now why you’re in Europe.






Ahh, that’s a classy fan trailhound. Florida didn’t beat Tennessee, Tennessee beat themselves. I’ll bet you can go for years that way without ever having your team actually lose a game to a better team.

Just like you won last year’s game.”

“I'm not a big Chavis fan. Never have been. In fact, I think UT's defense plays soft at times.
They don't strike me as a consistently physical defense.

As for the Florida coach, I think he's as good as Spurrier, but that's just a hunch. I've just got a gut feel about how he'll do.”

“Tennessee blew the Florida game, all that matters is the final score, but IMO, Florida did not look at all very impressive. Not sure Urban's system is going to work while Leak is the QB. He'll probably go pro after this year anyway.”

“Dayhiker do you have a fever? You sound like you were rooting for the big pumpkin!

I would like to go to Auburn this year too. I hate I missed out on an alumni email that I received. I could have bought a package for $60.00 which included transportation from B'ham, a pre-game meal, and a ticket to the game.”

“I'm not at all sure that Leak will go pro. It may be that his numbers are not great this year or it may be that he’s a real student of the game and feels he needs another year. Then again, he may chose to go because he doesn’t want the pounding that Meyer’s quarterbacks take. You're right, alumcave, Leak isn’t the prototypical Meyer quarterback. Meyer keeps talking about fitting his offense to the players he has, but it seems apparent that he still wants his quarterbacks to run. Leak has been a pure drop back quarterback.

Josh Portis, who was the #1 HS rushing quarterback (from California), followed Meyer to Florida. He has moments of brilliance, but he doesn’t hold on to the football well. He’s the future of Meyer’s offense. Meyer stresses not turning over the ball. That’s why Portis hasn’t got more reps. Hopefully, he’ll come along.

To say Tennessee blew the game misses the point. Both Florida and Tennessee looked very mediocre. But Florida played better than Tennessee when they had to. You could really see the Gator’s conditioning in the fourth quarter. Tennessee ran out of steam and the Gators played tough the entire game. Tennessee hasn’t looked good all year. They looked horrible in the first half of the LSU game. But Florida hasn’t looked good either. They’ve had the advantage of playing some weaker teams.

Bama could well beat Florida. Florida’s offensive line has been a disappointment. We have three seniors and the line is big, but Meyer’s blocking schemes are more complicated that most. They’ve gone back to the fundamentals of footwork and hand placement.

Florida’s schedule is actually quite smart in the beginning of the year. The Gators have two tune-up games before Tennessee. I think that works better than Tennessee’s taking a week off. Especially with a new system, you need a couple of game situations to work out the kinks. There’s only so much you can practice against your own defense.

Kentucky was just what the offense needed to improve without being too challenged. But Bama’s defense will give them a real test. We’ll see this weekend whether the offense is getting the hang of this new system.

Meyer’s offense may not work in the SEC, but we haven’t had a chance to really see how it works yet. Meyer’s teams have shown great production in their second year but, as Meyer says, he’s trying to get second year production out of a first year offense.”

“Mrs Opie - I was pulling for LSU. I can't pull for any team wearing orange. You know that, it's a graduation requirement from UA.”

“To say Tennessee blew the game misses the point. Both Florida and Tennessee looked very mediocre. But Florida played better than Tennessee when they had to. You could really see the Gator’s conditioning in the fourth quarter. Tennessee ran out of steam and the Gators played tough the entire game. Tennessee hasn’t looked good all year. They looked horrible in the first half of the LSU game. But Florida hasn’t looked good either. They’ve had the advantage of playing some weaker teams.
arclite
6:18:45 AM

Uhh, Florida got three second-half field goals. Each FG followed a special teams blunder by Tennessee. Even with UT’s pathetic display on offense, that was the entire difference in the game score.

You mentioned conditioning, when its 3 and out for your offense almost the entire game and your defense has 3 major missed assignments on 3rd and forever which leads to a 15 play drive, I don't think any amount of conditioning matters.

Tennessee blew the game. IMHO the SEC is still the toughest conference in the nation but lacks a consistent top 5 team at this point in the season.”

“Trailhound, to say Tennessee blew the game not only sounds whiny, it is whiny. It smacks of a lack of personal responsibility that seems so pervasive in today’s society.

Florida outplayed Tennessee. Even without the fumbled punt, Florida outplayed Tennessee. To say that a team beat themselves, is as classless a response to getting beat as there ever was.

Getting beat by turning over the ball usually shows greater preparation and a more confident game demeanor on the part of the winning team.

Getting beat by a team that is better conditioned says just that: the winning team was in better physical condition.

Getting beat by a team that stops your running game almost always shows better preparation. I don’t know what you saw, but I saw Florida swarm to the ball on defense in order to stop Tennessee’s running game.

Getting beat by a team that stops your passing game almost always shows better preparation. I don’t know what you saw, but I saw Florida’s defensive backs play such tight man coverage that throws often either couldn’t be completed or were broken up.

That was the analysis I read in the paper and heard on TV, and it fits what I saw during the game. I even watched the replay on Sunday morning to get a better look at things I missed Saturday night.

Sports are all about making plays in the clutch. Florida made clutch third down conversions, Tennessee didn’t.

Play the poor sport. Feel righteous about how Tennessee played great to “win” the game last year (with two admittedly wrong, game changing calls), and whine about this year’s loss. The fact is that on Saturday Sept. 17, 2005, Florida outplayed Tennessee on offense, defense, and special teams. They were in better physical and mental condition, and they toughed out a win between two struggling teams.




Feel confident in your conviction that Tennessee played great to “win” the game last year (with two admittedly wrong, game changing calls), and feel positive in your conviction about why they lost this year. That doesn’t change the facts:

FLORIDA OUTPLAYED TENNESSEE AND WON YOU WIENIE!!!!”

“You black helicopter Bammers crack me up. Don't you realize UT beating LSU has helped your team's cause in the West?

BTW, Go Bama! Beat Florida!!”

“Ahh, that’s a classy fan trailhound. Florida didn’t beat Tennessee, Tennessee beat themselves. I’ll bet you can go for years that way without ever having your team actually lose a game to a better team.

Just like you won last year’s game.”
arclite
4:41:32 PM


I certainly never said that nor ever meant it to be interpreted that way! Who's whining, and when did I ever say that UF didn't deserve to win? Never did I even say that UT beat themselves. You’ve misconstrued my post. I believe there is a huge difference in whining about a call or a loss and saying that your favorite team played one of the most pathetic performances in the history of the program. Yes, they blew the game and made it a non contest with really bad play and several mistakes. So congrats to UF but they didn't exactly take this team with a dysfunctional offense to the woodshed. However, they fulfilled two very important Neyland’s Maxims, the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win and press the kicking game, here is where the breaks are made.

Tennessee’s run game was stuffed because UT ran the ball a total of 3 times in the final half. UT got behind because their O sucks and was forced to pass. We both do agree on UF technically stopping UT's offense but is there a middle school in the nation that couldn't? Honestly, I'm not too thrilled with how UT played last year either and felt they should have lost. However, questionable calls did help which are all too common in this rivalry and have traditionally been heavily in UFs favor. Usually, UT vs UF shows us what each team has. For UF we’ll find out this weekend. For UT, LSU looked really terrible especially on D. Maybe UGA and UA will show us what their made of.
last edited: 9/28/05 5:53:59 PM”

“dayhiker- this was the comment that confused me. I thought you were pulling for that awful orange team

I went to sleep when UT scored their 3rd TD and was only mildly suprised that they won. The 1st half was embarrassing, but what a comeback.”

“Woo Hoo!!!!! Hooray football! Woo Hoo! Fight On!”

“Arc, too be fair, the UF-UT game has a history of bad calls, such as the Jabar Gaffney no catch in the end zone that cost UT the game in 2000.”

“I apologize, towndog. I must have misinterpreted your comments.

Tennessee may have looked horrible in the first half against LSU, but they did what they needed to do with their season on the line. It was a great effort.



Alumcave, to be fair, let’s get our facts straight.

The nano-second possession reception that allowed Florida to get a touchdown was a “controversial” call. As soon as a player crosses the goal line with possession it’s a touchdown. It doesn’t matter if he fumbles the ball one nano-second after breaking the plane. Some refs would have called the catch possession (as was the case) and some would have ruled it an incompletion. To this day it was a “controversial” call.

There was nothing controversial about the two bad calls last year.

1. The ref admitted that he should have thrown opposing penalty flags instead of giving Florida a 15-yard penalty that then allowed Tennessee to kick a 50-yard field goal with 6 seconds left.

2. The refs also admitted that they made the wrong call when they stopped the clock and gave Tennessee those six seconds to make that kick.

3. The SEC office suspended the refs because the calls were so obviously wrong and changed the game.

4. CBS made a point of running that story at the beginning of this year’s game and said that the calls were admittedly wrong and changed the game.

There was no controversy about those calls. They were wrong and changed the outcome of the game. Speaking up against something that is wrong is the right thing to do. Keeping quiet is sheepish.

But still, I didn’t make a big deal out of it; I made a point of congratulating Tennessee fans (read my comments) on a well-fought game.”

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You will need the sound turned on for this one. This won't get you in trouble at work, but it may cause your coworkers to have uncontrollable fits of laughter.

I present to you the new Bama fight song!

Back on Top”

“I agree with that wise sage.

I thought it was going to be Susie Q.'s version.

Mrs Opie - I was just giving credit where credit was due.”

“

On the banks of the Red Cedar
Is a school that's known to all;
It's specialty is winning
And those Spartans play good ball!

Spartan Teams are Never Beaten
All through the game they figh;
Fight for the only colors,
Green and White.

Go right through for MSU,
Watch the points keep growing.
Spartan Teams are bound to win,
They're fighting with a vim.
Rah! Rah! Rah!

See their team is weakening,
We're going to win this game.
Fight! Fight! Rah! team, fight!
Victory for MSU.”

“argh. Darned typos.
Waited too long to make the change...

That's supposed to say,
"Its specialty is winning"... \”

“I like to shout "Vim! Vim! Vim!" instead of "Rah! Rah! Rah!" Then BowlderGal whacks me on the head....”

“LOL....”

“VIM!!”

“Longlost, that is the LAMEST song ever written...

...Except maybe for Hail to the Victims.




Wouldn't surprise me if BAMA wins this weekend. It's a four point spread and I ain't touchin' it.

That would make Bama's season. They'd probably tear down the goal posts. Of course beating a team like FLORIDA would make anyone's season.

That's what you get when you are at the top instead of some loser has-been team with ugly crimson uniforms.




Wildest factoid I heard this week:

Bama has NEVER defeated a top 5 team at home? The Crimson Tide? Tradition rich Alabama?


Dayhiker, you may make history this year.”

“We Army fans have a special cheer: "Try not to lose; try not to lose!"”

“We're so bad, we've even given up on that one, geo....”

“arc, Bama has never defeated a top 5 team at Bryant Denny. Big difference. Up until the last 5-8 years all the big games were at Legion Field. We've beaten plenty of top5 teams there.

Also, Bama has never torn down their own goal post, ever.”

“We interupt this SEC love fest obsession with an important message....


LETS GO HOKIES!!!!!!!”

“I don't think anyone in the SEC wants a part of the Hokies. Yall are tough this year.”

“arc - Bryant once said something to the effect that if Florida ever got a decent coach then we'd all be playing for 2nd.”

“That's right. The HOKIES ARE HOT! We could beat all y'all any day! The Hokies are going to beat the pants off West Virginia this weekend - if they are wearing any. I hope I make it back from West Virginia alive! Wish me luck.

The Morgantown sheriff has ordered everyone in the city to remove their sofas from their front porches so that they don't get stolen and set on fire in the middle of the street. No joke.”

“The Hokies (or is that Gobblers?) look very good this year. A friend here, who’s a Hokie fan, thought they’d beat Auburn last year. I think they were a year away.




Dayhiker, a friend of mine in NJ called to tell me that he had heard that statement again recently. I don’t know who brought it back up, but I’ve always found that to be an interesting quote.

Florida HS players fill the bulk of our three state teams that are usually ranked in the top twenty and have all been ranked in the top ten before. There’s a lot of talent in Florida High Schools as evidenced by all of the players from Florida that you see on team rosters.

When Bryant made that statement, Miami and Florida State hadn’t quite reached the level of prominence they enjoy today. It’s tough to out-recruit those two schools let alone compete with all of the big time programs that recruit in Florida.

But Florida has athletic facilities that are second to none. Even competing with fewer varsity sports than other schools, Florida ranks near the top of the all-sports rankings every year.

As I’ve posted before, the University of Florida athletic program has ranked among the 10 most successful in the nation in each of the last 22 years. Florida and UCLA are the only two athletic departments to be ranked among the nation’s top 10 every year during that time.


Still, none of that helps this year. Florida hasn’t got the hang of Meyer’s offense yet. The defense is good, but Bama presents a nicely balanced attack. Bama’s defense is typically tough again this year. After finishing as the #1 defense in the SEC last year, they return most of their starters. Their secondary is very talented. They match up well with Florida, and they have home field advantage. You’ll be happy to know that our local sportswriter picked Bama to win.

There were a couple of foolish young Florida players who trashed talked about this game, but the majority figure that Bama will be every bit as tough, if not tougher, than Tennessee.

Meyer says he doesn’t like it when his players trash talk. I’ll bet he held some “sensitivity training” sessions for his players after a couple of them mouthed-off. Every week I become more and more impressed with Meyer. He’s all about family, integrity on and off the field, school spirit, true student-athletes, and clean living.

I watched his call-in TV show last night. We’re all excited about him being a winner. We’re all excited that we may be playing for mythical National Championships in a few years. Yeah that stuff is great, but what every caller talked about, what every caller really admired about him, is Meyer’s integrity, priorities, and moral values. The guy’s a Boy Scout on steroids. He’s a throwback to the days of honor, integrity, discipline, mom, and apple pie.

Meyer may become one of the great ones. Who knows?



Anyway, (I don’t think luck has much to do with it so…) I hope Bama plays well, and I hope you have a great Saturday, Dayhiker, but not TOO great a day.
last edited: 9/30/05 4:42:10 PM”

“Same too ya.

When Bryant made that statement no one had even heard of FSU or Miami. Bowden was probably still coaching in Howard College in B'ham. The amazing thing about those schools is that they were perenial homecoming teams. Bama used to regularly play Miami for homecoming.”

“We used to play Miami the first game of every year.

Miami first, Florida State last, the SEC east in between, and a possible SEC championship game if we're good enough? Until there's a playoff system, that kind of scheduling is suicide.


High rankings and big bowl payoffs sustain your sports programs. Many programs are non-revenue producing. We couldn’t afford to have women’s soccer, basketball, swimming, softball, golf, gymnastics, and volleyball without the big football payoffs.

Ignoring the fact that not all conferences are equal strength, not all conferences have playoff games. The playoff games provide some revenue, and are great for the fans, but if you lose a playoff and drop out of a BCS bowl, it’s a huge monetary loss.

Conference playoffs usually don’t help your chances of getting a top bowl, they only give you another chance to drop in the rankings.

So until the conferences without playoff games decide to join the 21st Century, and until there is a playoff system instead of this BCS joke, we can’t afford to schedule a great rivalry game like Miami every year.
last edited: 9/30/05 5:12:26 PM”

“arc - check out Geo's thread about poly something polygons.”

““I don't think anyone in the SEC wants a part of the Hokies. Yall are tough this year.”
dayhiker
8:03:51 AM
9/30/05
ignore this user

Speak for yourself. Bruton Smith is not pondering a $20M offer for your team to play them at Bristol Motor Speedway.”

“Ahh, forgot about that. What a deal.

Good Shula article: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=2176707”

“Speak for yourself. Bruton Smith is not pondering a $20M offer for your team to play them at Bristol Motor Speedway.”
chili36
7:04:49 PM
9/30/05
ignore this user

Just think of all the players Bama could buy with that!!”

“Or all the bail UT could post.”

“Poor arclite.


Some history:
Last game FL didn't score a single touchdown was against MS State.

Too bad this game today had to be against BAMA. Right now FLA 3 ALA 31 with 3:10 to go.

I think MS State will have a good chance against the Gators next weekend.”

“Heck of a game going on between USC and Arizona St. AZ could pull a huge upset.”

“And they take the lead 28-24, but USC has plenty of time.”

“Sigh.....I turned down a ticket to the NotreDame/Purdue game. I could be there right now after a whole day of tailgating.

(What was I thinking?) Oh that's right. I have housework to do.”

“wow. am i watching notre dame at purdue or the 2004 colts playing the texas houstons?”

““Florida's D is not as good as TN made them look. I suppose UAB's D is almost on par with Florida. Florida's defense is good but the TN OC's inability to make adjustments hurt more than anything. No slants or crossing routes to let the WRs gain some space against press coverage....just baffling to me. TN offensive production has gone steadily downhill since the '98 season.”
longlosthiker
5:15:10 PM
9/21/05
ignore this user

Told ya. Congrats Bama!
last edited: 10/01/05 8:17:30 PM”

“I'm still naucious from watching Prothro break his ankle. Why were the starters still in the game?

arc - I think this is the best proof we've had yet about why not to run the score up. Your players get hurt.”

“Yeah, that made me squirm. Didn't Croyle get hurt under similar circumstances and Shula took some heat over it?”

“OH YEAH!!!!!!

What a night! A bottle of wine, a vacuum and dust spray, and Notre Dame absolutely kicking some major a$$! WOO HOO!!!!”

“I see that Spurrier has abandoned the visor altogether. Best just to leave it at home rather than strain an arm tossing it over and over.”

“Wow!! Little Middle just pasted a big L on Vandy's dream season. I can hear the sound of all those 'Dore bandwagon fans jumping back off.”

“longlost - yep, Croyle tore his ACL in a noncontact play against Western Carolina last year. We were up by a big margin.”