The College Football thread

“I hate foosball.”

“Tennessee sure looked like the real deal last night. That was a hell of a finish.

My wife walked in during the 4th quarter and said that if I were going to watch that she was going to watch tv downstairs (the high def flat screen is in our bedroom). I told her to go right ahead.”

“Well I just heard that Georgia is going to Hire EX Congressman Foley to work with the football team...apparently they want him to teach the team how NOT to choke on the big one.”

“Okay, John L Smith has to go... our season is official DOA....
What's football? I'm looking forward to Michigan State's basketball season now...”

“I just love insincere people, nowghostlyslim.

Golly, best wishes to you too.




Dayhiker, I’d almost be forced to take an aw shucks position about that. Basketball and football NC in the same year? Has that ever been done?

I just don’t think Florida is good enough to do it this year. Despite their weak schedule, Ohio St. does look good. And I remember one year when I thought Florida was invincible. That was the year Nebraska dragged us up and down the field in the Fiesta Bowl while slapping us silly.

Michigan is looking good as well. Michigan’s passing game looks sharp. Ohio St. looks very balanced on offense.

I’d love to play either of those teams to see where we stand in Meyer’s second year, but I still don’t think we’ll survive this schedule unscathed.

But, Dayhiker, I’d gladly pound you regardless. I told you that this would turn out bad for you. What I really meant was that this would turn out BADLY for you.




Chili, if we do happen to get lucky, I’ll have to apologize for your insight into Florida’s greatness. I just don’t see it yet.




Yeah, stove, the entire state of Mississippi is in a sorry state this year. Don’t worry, MSU will get good again just in time to rotate onto Florida’s schedule.




Yeah, pink, Michigan St.’s season had great promise after ND. Then they went into the tank. If they can’t cover the spread in a rivalry game, they’re doing something wrong.”

“OSU #1. I welcome a NC Game between us and Florida.

BTW - Michigan is better than Florida, and should be ranked #2. The real national championship games happens in 40 days.”

“Hey hey just because OSU put the hurt to the hawks doesn't mean they are a powder puff team.”

“Hey Buddha, ya wanna go double or nothing on that 12er of Gunniss I'm never gonna see anyhow?”

“Iowa looks like a reasonable team. Kirk Ferentz is a great coach. He’s done a great job building that program on less talent available than that at OSU and Michigan. He’s a good game-day coach as well. And, having met them twice in bowl games, I can say that I like Iowa’s fans quite a bit. I hope they make a strong comeback. You’re right, redeye, Iowa is no powder puff…

… Nope, cupcake would be a better description.




I’ll bet you’d welcome a game against Florida, Buddha. I’ll bet you’d welcome a game against any REAL football team instead of the cupcakes on your schedule. Wake me up when OSU gets to Michigan.

Just when the heck is the tiny ten going to wake up and have a conference championship? What a bunch of cowards. CLUUUUck, cluck, cluck, cluck.




Speaking of schedules, Florida’s took a hit when FSU decided that this would be a rebuilding year in the middle of their season. The last time both FSU and Miami were unranked was 1982. FSU hasn’t been the same since Mark Richt left for Jawja and baby Bowden took over the offense.

The Arkansas win was nice for Arkansas, but it didn’t help us a lick as far as strength of schedule.

And then there’s conference strength. I’ve been teasing some folks about the PAC-10 ever since Tennessee destroyed Cal. But wait… USC destroyed Arkansas, and look who’s leading the SEC west.




Any mention of top teams must include USC. They’ve got a weak schedule, although nowhere near as pathetic as Ohio St., but they’re still a very good team.

And how about West Virigina? They’ve got a weak schedule, although nowhere near as pathetic as Ohio St., but they’re still a very good team.





From the Monday, October 09, 2006 paper:

"Georgia dropped six spots to No. 16 after losing 51-33 to Tennessee. The Volunteers became just the second team to score 50 points at Sanford Stadium."


Oooo… Oooo, guess who the other team was? I'll give y'all a hint: I was there at Sanford Stadium when Jawja suffered its worst home defeat ever.



What Florida has been up against so far:

Alabama had their backs against the wall with one loss in the SEC and looking to go to the title game.

LSU had their backs against the wall with one loss in the SEC and looking to go to the title game.

Auburn has their backs against the wall with one loss in the SEC and looking to go to the title game.


Florida seems to be finding ways to win and Florida was lucky to catch LSU on a bad head day. I’m going to be pessimistic again this week. With the game at Auburn, I’ve got a bad feeling about this one as well. Yo, Mr. & Mrs. Opie, please take it easy on us. Wait… don’t you folks have a mixed marriage? Would you please fight amongst yourselves this week? Hopefully Auburn will be looking ahead to the Iron Bowl.


Because, after Auburn, Jawja will likely have their backs against the wall with one loss in the SEC and looking to go to the title game.”

“I can hear the conversation in the ESPN GameDay offices:

“Well, we could broadcast the Ohio St./Michigan St. game but who cares? Nobody in the country cares about that game.

However, there’s an Ohio St. fan, a Michigan fan, a Jawja fan, all the jealous Notre Dame fans, an Alabama fan, maybe even an Iowa fan, a Texas fan, some fans from California, a couple of Auburn fans, and a whole bunch of Tennessee fans who’d like to watch Florida get an old fashioned butt kickin’… THAT’S national interest!”




Florida and Auburn used to play every year before the conference expanded. I miss the Auburn game. I know that Auburn/Jawja had to take precedence, because those two teams have a longstanding rivalry, but I really miss that game. The Auburn fans were always cool and the game was always a war. It was usually such a clean, hard fought, and exciting game. It often came down to the very end.

I think Auburn isn't as indestructible as their fans once thought. I also believe that, as hard as they tried not to, Auburn was looking ahead. Meyer has been trying to put a lid on what he calls "The Florida Nonsense." It's not unique to Florida, but that's what he's calling it at Florida. It's the fan expectations, the media hype, and all the other distractions that come with being highly ranked.

If you’re Ohio St. you can afford the distraction because you don’t play anyone who challenges you. You don’t have to be at your best every week and you can give your backups lots of playing time.

I think that Auburn is one of the best teams in the nation, they just need to recover their focus. Nobody took Arkansas seriously after they were kicked by USC. Arkansas may be a force in the future, but they aren't going to take folks by surprise after that last game.


Getting Tray Blackmon back really helps Auburn. He may provide an emotional spark. Auburn NEEDS to win to have any chance at the SEC. The fans will be crazy. If Tuberville can get them excited about rebounding, watch out! Anyway, it's Auburn/Florida and it's always been a war!

Getting Marcus Thomas back helped the Gators. Thomas made a huge difference in the push the D-line was able to get on LSU up the middle. It prevented LSU from doubling on the ends. Florida was able to contain Russell, collapse the pocket, and not let him scramble. His absence showed in the Alabama game. Florida's defensive front seven may be the best in the nation. Look what Tennessee did to Jawja's highly ranked defense after Florida held Tennessee to minus 11 yds rushing. Stopping Irons will be key. Unfortunately, our backup Tackle, the guy who started in place of Thomas for two games, is out for the season. We'll need to find someone to spell Thomas. If Florida stops the run again, it's probably all over.

If we get Winn and Harvin back, our offense will improve greatly over the last couple of games. That's unknown as of today. Florida is playing tough. We're tiring other teams out in the fourth quarter. If Auburn isn't ahead by the fourth quarter, I like Florida's chances.

But I'm still calling it a Florida loss. I think Auburn takes this one out because they usually play hard at home, they've got to win this one, and they always give Florida a battle. The mental and physical toll that Florida's schedule is taking may show here. They've pleasantly surprised me so far. They've bought into the whole Meyer philosophy of teamwork, taking care of each other, toughness, and finishing games.




Florida's offense is not great this year, but they are finding a way to win. Can't you just wait until Meyer has a few top 5 recruiting classes (unranked FSU and Miami helps), and gets a chance to run his complete offense under Tebow? I will be interesting to see if what Meyer’s offense looks like against the tough defenses of the SEC. Spurrier changed the conference. I wonder if Meyer can do the same.

I hope to see good things in Florida’s future.




But WTF is this Auburn mascot thing? I mean, is Lee Corso going to stick and eagle on his head, a tiger, or what?


Also:
Kentucky getting 26
Michigan giving 6
Oregon giving 8.5
Cal giving 8”

“Can't believe you didn't comment on what is certain to be a barn burner of a game, Arizona (2-4,0-3) at Stanford (0-6,0-3)....



We have 3 TDs and 3 FGs in the past 4½ games. Total! Woo hoo!!
last edited: 10/13/06 4:12:35 PM”

“I will take Georgia if you will give me a football team to play for them.”

“Bucks 42, MSU 17.

Hey Michigan, try not to get beat by Penn St. today, we want you nice and undefeated when we run you in our house this November. Although if they do lose, and we beat them in November, bye-bye BCS.”

“Bowlder, I'll one up ya:

You've got 3 FGs. Florida and Utah St. are the only two 1A teams to have not made a field goal so far this season.

If Auburn/Florida is close, and it comes down to Florida having to make a field goal, my butt will be puckered tighter than Buddha's as he contemplates losing to Michigan in the only real game they play all year.




Sleeper game of the day- Rutgers/Navy

This should be a good match-up between two teams fighting for respectability. This game is HUGE for the Rutgers program. I'll be at a local sports bar watching that one.
last edited: 10/14/06 11:10:04 AM”

“Go Commodores. Amazing.

arc - Don't assume I'm pulling for yall to lose. I'm torn actually. We recruit really well in NW FL. What would a UF NC do to our recruiting? From that standpoint I'd like you to lose. OTOH, if Auburn loses I can almost see where the wheels might come off for those guys. I wouldn't lose too much sleep if that were to happen.

Bama continues to look dysfunctional. Rebuilding sucks.”

“Rutugers is one hell of a team.”

“We suck. We're going into OT against Ole Siss. We're 2-6 lifetime in OT.”

“I really feel badly about Navy's quarterback but pretty great about Rutgers' prospects for the rest of the season.

I was reading something about Navy having the top rushing attack in the country. It doesn't really take your best quarterback for that, does it? Our quarterback finally broke out and showed what he is capable of. Woot!

Does everyone know who Ray Rice is yet?

Wonder which bowl we're going to this year.”

“Yee-haw!! We set a school record today!!


The previous one was something like 110 yards. Today was 52.

The category? Total offensive yardage in a game....


Our interception return for a TD amounted to 50% more yardage than the entire offense for the entire game.

The best part? With 1:40 to go and down by less than 2 TDs, 4th and 5, what did they call?


A punt, of course!!!”

“Yeah, but TWO Nobels. Ya gotta respect that sorta thing.




Opie (Mr. or Ms.) and Cocoa wherever you are, congratulations on another war win.

I hope everyone got their money’s worth out of that game. Auburn and Florida seldom fails to be a great game. I can’t even begin to remember how many of those games came down to the fourth quarter.

When Auburn took the momentum in the third quarter I still thought the Gators would be tougher at the end. But Auburn took that fan energy and played tough the entire game. I should have known it would be like that. It almost always is. A great win for Auburn!


Hopefully we’ll see Auburn or Arkansas in the SEC title game. After what Georgia looked like today, I really like our chances. Although, that sneaky ol’ ball coach could surprise us again this year.
last edited: 10/14/06 9:59:46 PM”

“*shakes arc's hand*

and mrs opie will castrate you in your tent if you confuse her for an AU fan again.

good game, now i hope that Jordan Hare stadium becomes known as a tough field to play at. You could tell it was loud, the crowd never let up. Tuberville also finally yelled at these kids....good..they needed to wake up!


IT"S GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER!!!!....”

“Stop ripping off our chant, you pretenders!!!


Opie, I'm gettin’ old, son. Remember how you almost had to carry me to the top of Clingman's Dome? Chili had to carry me into camp two days before that. Just ask him.

I confuse which of you is AU and which is UT. I'll try to remember...until my next senior moment.


I have a Street and Smith's SEC preseason guide. I remember distinctly that they rated Jordan-Hare as the toughest place to play in the SEC. I remember it because everyone thinks about The Swamp or Death Valley as being the toughest places to play. Who knows which is the toughest? But Florida seldom wins at Jordan-Hare.

That crowd noise was something. I really believe that the Auburn fans fed some intense energy to the team. Florida has been pounding people in the fourth quarter all year. Our defense has been pounding opponent’s offensive lines. It didn’t happen to Auburn.

I’ll bet it’s great to be Auburn fan right now. That was a great game to win.”

“OSU #1
Michigan #2 or #3

If you guys think the Florida - Auburn games was good, mark

NOVEMBER 18th on your calanders.”

“Florida was subjected to a really crappy call on the supposed fumble.

But, I am glad AU won. Now if UGA can beat UF and UT can run the table.....”

“arc - Mrs Opie may castrate you yet if you call her a UT fan. She's a pround graduate of THE University of Alabama....just like her husband OPIE.”

“Rutgers is rated #19 in both the AP and coach's polls.

As I look back at some of the comments directed my way over the years on this thread, I'd like to take the opportunity to shake my #&%!$ at some of y'all.”

“Yall could be top 10 about the time Dunadan returns. That'll be fun.”

“lol DH - Dunadan is going to return?!

BTW - Roll Tide! (they are going to be pretty tough next year dude, prolly top ten)”

“I'll give you props fiddler. Rutgers has a good football team, and I'm not just saying that because they spanked Illinois.

Unfortunately even if Rutgers goes undefeated, they have little chance of playing in the BCS NC game.

I can't necessarily blame the BCS fools for that since the regular national champs usually come from the major football conferences, which the majority normally agrees are the best teams.

I can only hope that, should the situation play out that way, the bowl pundits will get exposed and a playoff system will be proposed. The bowls and a playoff system can both exist. Let's make it happen.
last edited: 10/15/06 10:29:40 PM”

“flop flop That's what Iowa did this weekend. I was at that game great tailgating awesome IU fans and our defense would have let my grandmother score on them.”

“I just found out that we're top 10 in something!! Sagarin has our schedule so far this season at the 4th toughest in the nation!! Unfortunately, having one of the worst teams in the nation is a bad combination....”

“Well golly, Dayhiker. I’d just hate to think I insulted a Bama grad.

They’ve got enough problems. Those poor slobs don’t need anything more insulting than the networks giving them charity by putting their pathetic has-been team on TV.




Heck with that, violin. The BCS has them 16! But this is all before the Pitt game mind you.




“…since the regular national champs usually come from the major football conferences,…”

Weeeeeell maybe not. I think Tommy Tuberville said it very nicely in this article:

Bull Crock of #&%!$e



"Until we get a playoff, the SEC's going to be on the outside looking in," Tuberville said Sunday, the day after his Tigers knocked off Florida to leave the Southeastern Conference with no unbeaten teams. "I don't think it will ever happen."

"I think people are enamored by not losing, rather than voting on who the best teams are," he said. "The national champion to me is the best team at the end of the year, not the team that goes through their schedule (unbeaten)."


Basically I think the big ten and Pac-10 are afraid of a conference title game because it would expose the fact that the same teams would be playing every year.
last edited: 10/16/06 12:04:46 PM”

“Gotta admit that the Georgia game was tough, I mean Vanderbilt does annually field one of the toughest High School teams in the country.”

“We have a champion in the Big Ten every year - it's decided by the best record in the conference.”

“And normally comes out a kissing your sister tie or even a three way. That may pass within your family but not mine. LOL!”

“The big ten champion is a joke and everyone knows it:

How many big 10 teams in the BCS top 20?

How many DIFFERENT teams have won the big ten conference in the past 10 years?


The big ten “champion” doesn’t play everyone in the conference. How do you get around that? You have a playoff.

Why doesn’t the big ten want a playoff? They’ve got a sure tie-in to the Rose Bowl. So what the big ten and Pac-10 are saying is that they have exclusive rights to a major bowl, and the big money it brings them, every year. Meanwhile smaller programs from smaller conferences are shut out of one major bowl.

Didn’t someone say the rich get richer while the poor get screwed? Yeah, some friend of the working-man you are Buddha. You’re some friend to the little guy. You’re nothing but a union laky, licking the bootstraps of big organized labor.




One of these scenarios is likely to happen one year. Ohio St. (Or Michigan for that matter. We can reverse this scenario) remains unbeaten:

1. #1 Ohio St. and a #4 ranked Michigan play. OSU barely beats undefeated Michigan. Michigan drops to six and the big ten has a chance for the big payout of the “national championship game” bowl and the big payout of another major bowl.
2. #1 Ohio St. and a #10 ranked Michigan play. Michigan destroys undefeated OSU. Michigan and OSU both stand a good chance of the big payout of two major bowls.


With a conference playoff, both of these scenarios increase dramatically:

1. #1 Ohio St. and a #4 ranked Michigan play in the regular season. OSU barely beats undefeated Michigan. Michigan drops to six. OSU and Michigan meet again in the conference championship. Again, OSU barely beats undefeated Michigan. Michigan drops to 10 and doesn’t go to a major bowl. This frees up a major bowl for another conference.
2. #1 Ohio St. and a #10 ranked Michigan play. Michigan destroys undefeated OSU. Michigan and OSU meet again in the conference championship. This time OSU barely beats Michigan. Neither team will likely get the big payout from the “national championship game” and both may miss out on major bowls. This possibly frees up two major bowls for other conferences.



The big ten is saying, “We know we only have a two-team conference but screw everyone else. We want all the money we can get at the expense of other conferences. We don’t care if the fans would like a conference championship game or a playoff, we’re nothing but greedy big business people looking to get richer and screw the poor. We are selfish and self-centered boors.”

Buddha is a hypocrite.”

““The big ten champion is a joke and everyone knows it:

How many big 10 teams in the BCS top 20?

How many DIFFERENT teams have won the big ten conference in the past 10 years?”

I have to somewhat agree with you. Look at how many big 10 teams are ranked at the start of the season and then how many are left ranked at the end. I can’t wait until we have a playoff system. OSU is just afraid to play Michigan twice in one year.

Now as for the lock on the Rose Bowl I don’t believe that’s a big ten given any more is it? Even on the off years the big 10 didn’t go there I thought.”

“I guess this will all be settled in the bowl games. The Big Ten is having an off year this year, because some of the mid-range programs go through that cycle. But if you match up our best w/SEC's best, we can hang.

Comparisons:

Ohio State - Auburn
Michigan - Tennessee
Wisconsin - Florida
Iowa - LSU
Penn St. - Georgia
Purdue - Arkansas
Michigan St. - Alabama
Indiana - S. Carolina

The rest are perrenial bottom feeders for the most part. The only edge the SEC has this year is thier top 3 are more solid than our top three, but our top 2 are better than the SEC's top two.

It'll be interesting to see the bowl match-ups.

Last year, there were only two bowl match-ups between SEC and Big Ten Teams, and the games were split with Wisconsin crushing Auburn, and unranked Iowa barely losing to 12th ranked Florida.

SEC record in bowl games last year: 3-3, and the three games they did win were over teams that ranked significantly lower than the SEC teams. On the other hand, Big Ten was 3-4, and we had more teams in bowl games because it was a strong year for the Big Ten.

This year, I'm sure more SEC teams will go to bowl games, and I hope they match-up with Big Ten teams more often, or, maybe SEC teams can sack up and play perrenial ranked teams from other conferences in the pre-conf. season, like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn St., Michigan St., Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin did this year.

Go Bucks, your 2002 and soon to be 2006 National Champions!

Oh, and I shouldn't forget your Cleveland born and raised, Ohio State soon to be Heisman trophy winner - Troy Smith!
last edited: 10/16/06 6:03:27 PM”

“And, to make matters worse, OSU will be tied for most Heisman Trophies. :)”

“uga beat UF?...hahahahaha..they lost to vandy...at home...on homecoming...teehee!

I want to see what kinda team FIU feilds against bama..."and now for the starting defensive line." *out walk 2 waterboys and the mascot*”

“Maaaan, you guys won’t bite will ya!!!

Ohio St. and Michigan look to be two of the best teams in the country this year. I believe that either one of them would probably beat Florida.

I like Iowa and their coach. They’re a good team most years. Wisconsin is also a decent team. But nobody can argue how much better a conference is the SEC this year, and most years. You cannot have an off game in the SEC. The SEC has, by far, the best coaching talent in the country. And look at who are the recruiting leaders. Folks, three of the highest rated quarterback prospects in the country all chose the SEC.

The SEC STILL has a winning record against EVERY other conference.

Face it Buddha, the big ten doesn’t match up. Playing second and third stringers, while pounding overmatched opponents, allows teams like Michigan and Ohio St. to get experience for their backups and avoid injuries to key players. Do you think Georgia had their backups in for the Vanderbilt game? I know Tennessee and Florida had their starters in until the end against S. Carolina last year. Auburn had their starters in against Arkansas and S. Carolina this year. AUBURN for gosh sakes!!! There is NO comparison.


A playoff would be best and the only way to get there is for every conference to have a title game. That’s the first step. The SEC was the first to realize this.

The SEC title game is a fan pleaser, but it increases the chances that the SEC doesn’t go to two major bowls. I believe this is what is holding the big ten and pac 10 back. They realize they have a better chance of getting two teams in major bowls without a title game. And I think that stinks! It decreases the chance that other conferences can share the wealth.

What I would like to see is a conference championship for every conference. Then they could turn the four major bowls into a first round of playoffs for the top 8 teams. This might mean dropping one or two of the patsies most teams schedule as part of a 12 or 13 game season. If beating up on overmatched opponents isn’t important, then who cares?

Florida usually plays two warm-up games before Tennessee. This is a smart move, but I’d gladly do without those games in order to have a playoff.”

“Today I applaud Florida International University for dismissing two and putting the remainder on indefinite suspension.

Miami, on the other hand, gave everyone a sixpack and a pat on the butt.”

“What I would like to see is a conference championship for every conference. Then they could turn the four major bowls into a first round of playoffs for the top 8 teams. This might mean dropping one or two of the patsies most teams schedule as part of a 12 or 13 game season. If beating up on overmatched opponents isn’t important, then who cares?

here here!! I agree 250%!

If every conf had a title game, we'd all be on more equal footing withe bowl payouts and it would be one more step towards a playoff system. Without a playoff its a big fat popularity contest.

Also, I've said for years that the SEC is the toughest conference to play in and I still think thats the case. There may be blips from one year to another, but consistently, year over year, the SEC puts more teams in bowl games and has more teams beating each other up inside the conference for contention in the conference title match.”

“I'm really, really, really happy to see the depths to which Miami has sunk after ditching the Big East.

Karmic justice fer sure.
last edited: 10/17/06 9:39:08 AM”

“Ex Miami player Lamar Thomas was doing the color commentary for a Miami broadcast when the brawl broke out. On air he repeatedly said how you don't come in our house and do that. He also said that he wanted to go down on the field on participate in the brawl. He has now been fired.

In case anyone doesn't remember Mr. Thomas, here's a clip fromt he 1993 Sugar Bowl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AERD9x3yMcI”

“The Bama player that ran down Thomas was George Teague. Here's a clip of Teague greeting fellow Alabamian Terrell Owens to Dallas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq4giZcz5fU”

“Only OSU could be so stupid as to get sued for their very name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhZGlPAmZuw”

“THIS is absolutely PRICELESS!!!


http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/genrel/101406aaa.html




"...This Saturday, the Miami Dade Police Department will bring about 700 children to the Miami vs. FIU football game as part of the program."


Man, THAT'S SWEET!
last edited: 10/17/06 5:51:18 PM”

“Damn antiquated web board. Grrrr!
last edited: 10/17/06 5:58:23 PM”

“WOW arc - what a great find!

Hey Nigal, if someone sues you for being a fat michigan-lovin' moron, does that make you stupid?”