The College Football thread

“yeah, WY must like coming to Knoxville - UCLA is a popular opponent too - i think Fulmer treats it as an extra recruiting trip coz we allways have one or two west coast dudes on the team.

2009 we have Ohio (not state) and Western KY on the slate. maybe we'll get a BCS game those years! :)”

“The Big 10 has GOT to stop with the scedule padding and show everyone they want to honestly compete on the same level as other conferences.

#1. Get better noncom games.
#2. Get a division championship

OSU, as talented as they are, should have never even gotten into this game. There were teams with a loss or two more , but with a much tougher schedule that deserved it more.”

“You know how you make The Ohio State University cookies?

You put them in a big bowl and beat them for three hours.”

“OSU, as talented as they are, should have never even gotten into this game. There were teams with a loss or two more , but with a much tougher schedule that deserved it more.�

concur - they were a good team, but not THE good team. USC would have been a good choice to me. Lots of people say Georgia, but they didn't win their conference. That just seems like it oughta be a rule of some sort - that you must win your conf to be in the title game.”

“How do you keep a Michigan fan from mastrubating?


Paint his junk scarlet and gray - he won't beat it for at least 6 years.

--note - the 2008 version of this joke will be the same, but replace "6" with "7".


Riiiiiiight, now that we finally get to play Troy (who played almost every SEC team out there last year), now we have the cupcake schedule. Hey, we tried to get Garnder Webb on the schedule, but they were all tied up with Miss St.


OSU - 9-2-2 v. the SEC in non-bowl games. :)

Have a great off-season fella's!”

“That's much better Buddha. I don't like defeated, hopeless Buddha. Asinine Buddha is much more fun.”

“Paint his junk scarlet and gray - he won't beat it for at least 6 years.

--note - the 2008 version of this joke will be the same, but replace "6" with "7".

Not that anyone expects too much from Buckeye fans in the smarts department but that should be 5 years. Michigan beat the Buckeyes like a Sunday morning boner in '03.”

“Well I'm glad I got to see Ray Rice in his final and greatest game for Rutgers.

I hope he continues to amaze in the NFL.”

“Budda, you owe me beer!”

“Magic words.”

“budda owes a few diff tt'ers beer....lol

over several years”

“b-driver - i sent you an email the day after the game - check your email bro!”

“You can pay your gambling debts with e-mails? Wow, I wish my doctors would credit them?”

“Oh sure, the old, "The beer's in the mail." excuse. LOL!”

“If LSU thinks they are the #1 team in the nation, I guess the BCS is gonna back them up on that. However, they lost two games, and I don't see where they get any more right to claim the #1 spot than quite a few other teams in the nation. The BCS, more than ever before, is a scam and sham.”

“I know... I know.

At one point it looked like Kansas actually had a shot at the title.

A shammy scam.”

“Yeahgoodgamegottago.

Bacpac, if you think that�s being �gracious in defeat�, you�ve got low standards.




Dayhiker, you forgot Mark Richt.

He was largely responsible for the success of the high-powered Florida State Seminole program as their offensive coordinator.

He won a Mythical National Championship with FSU before becoming head coach at Georgia.

That means SEVEN SEC coaches have won Mythical National Championships.

How many MNC coaches do the other conferences have? Hmmmmmm�




The dink-ten IS laughable and HAS BEEN laughable for years.

How can you take OSU seriously when they play in such a non-competitive conference? No wonder Michigan-OSU is such a huge rivalry game. It�s the only tough conference game those two teams play year in and year out.

LSU got beat by WHOM this year?


Perennial dink-ten champion OSU is now 0-9 against SEC teams in bowls.

Can you say PATHETIC? I knew you could.”

“I believe Richt won them as both an assistant and player. Croom won as a player as well. Tubberville likely won as an assistant as well at Miami.”

“Great show, applying that old cliche that the best defense is a good attack. Obviously, there is nothing at home for you to rant about these days.

But you did good. It's a shame that your often repeated attempts now fall on deaf ears. Perhaps you should stick to talking about the Univ. of Florida. They did provide some excitement this past season.”

“LSU got beat by WHOM this year?

And Whom got beat by who?

Heehee!”

“Quite a few changes on that list in the past year.”

“Truth, Dayhiker?

NOWSLIMMER CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

“�b-driver - i sent you an email the day after the game - check your email bro!�
Buddha Bear
11:18:51 AM
1/13/08


Budda buy me a brew some day when we get to hike together. Mailing beer seems like a pain. Take care.”

“

"Worst of all, for me, Florida let the SEC down. Last year we were the standard bearers. This year we were the court jesters."
arclite

Ha, now Arclite acts like it never happened!

Note: I believe the teams represent their schools, but not the entire leagues. (If not, then Michigan represented the Big Ten beating the SEC!) A few bad eggs are allowed in each basket. Just as the Big Ten has Ohio State, the SEC has Florida!

And again, instead of telling us great things, Arclite again tries throwing dirt!
last edited: 1/16/08 6:10:18 AM”

“Yeah sucked for Florida....but you know you just can't get the same quality of player for the bribe money as you used to (LOL)....

I got a question, How much does Florida pay to GEICO to use their emblem?”

“OSU and Oklahoma have agreed to a home and home series. Good for them. The OSU/Texas series was a good one. Wait, does that mean in the recent past OSU had tough OOC games? I think it does.”

“Yep, a freshman and sophomore laden team, playing one of its worst games of the year, barely lost to a senior laden team playing, one of its best games of the year, and its last game for a beloved (except for that OSU thing) coach.

Well, if that doesn't prove how bad the GATORS are year after year, what does?




XL, I know you're getting old, but it's time to admit you need glasses.





7 Bowl wins by the SEC IS A NEW RECORD!

..meanwhile we're still listening to now(we suck and we keep proving it every year but I don't have enough balls to be honest)slimmer.
last edited: 1/17/08 4:06:39 AM”

“Which Bowl did Florida win?”

“32 player signings Alabama?! Did you guys have that many seniors? Congrats on being the #1 recruiting class (rivals.com & scout.com) Also, Bama was the only SEC school to actually get some quality players and not just a bunch of watered down 3-star guys (like Florida), with 6 top 100 recruits. Ohio State had 8 top 100 recruits, btw.”

“Tennessee was 9th or 10th in recruiting....



.....in the SEC.

Sooner or later, Phil will blow out the spare tire and we will get some change here.”

“hell, how did Ole Miss beat out UT in recruiting?

Phil seems to have lost his edge.”

“that, or he's a good coach, winning more with less.”

“Yeah, Ole Miss had a better class than UT.

Looks like only Vanderbilt and maybe Mississippi State were any worse. Arguably, Kentucky has a better bunch than we do.

On the other hand, you never know how kids will pan out until they get there. We had almost a complete turnover in the offensive coaches since the Bowl game, so everyone expected recruiting to take a hit.”

“well, that's a good point, i kinda forgot about the coaching lineup changes, so you don't expect to get some of the kids you otherwise would have.

BB - he IS a good coach, he just hasn't been able to get over the "hump" so to speak and back to a championship level while other schools in the SEC have really developed their programs and become contenders - ie. KY and Ark.”

“Arguably, Kentucky has a better bunch than we do.
chili
2:40:00 PM
2/06/08

while other schools in the SEC have really developed their programs and become contenders - ie. KY and Ark.”
Roam Around
2:43:50 PM
2/06/08

02-06-08 Henry Clay football star Aaron Boyd, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who’s rated a four-star prospect, will follow in his brother Shane’s footsteps and play college football at Kentucky.

http://fieldsnotes.wordpress.com/
last edited: 2/06/08 7:22:07 PM”

“Bama had 2 back counters to 07 so that takes it down to 30. There will be a couple that don't get in school which will get us around 28 and we've had 4 willing to greyshirt so that'll let us bring in 25.”

“Doesn't the dink-ten EVER stop being pathetic?




Plus-one momentum builds, but Big Ten, Pac-10 still adamantly opposed


Dennis Dodd Feb. 18, 2008
By Dennis Dodd
CBSSports.com Senior Writer


The philosophy is in place. The participants aren't.

There is a general feeling emerging that several BCS commissioners would like to proceed with a plus-one postseason model. But how, and when? Two (Pac-10's Tom Hansen and Big Ten's Jim Delany) are dead set against a plus-one, which to some seems to be the next logical evolution of the BCS.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has no intention of allowing a plus-one system.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has no intention of allowing a plus-one system.

"Reading the signs -- and it's just my opinion -- that there are four of the (six) BCS commissioners who would like to go to some kind of plus-one and two who don't want to do it all," said Chuck Gerber, ABC/ESPN executive vice president for college sports. "What they're going to decide to do, I don't have a clue."

The gang of four commissioners (ACC, Big 12, SEC, Big East) all have said at one time or another they would be open to discussion of a plus-one -- essentially a seeded four-team progressive "playoff" played in the BCS bowls. Such a model could command higher network rights fees. Almost as important, it could help quell public outcry against the current controversial 10-year-old BCS.

"We'd be open to adjustments with some very strict parameters," Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said. "No players engaged in more than 14 games. No intrusion on finals (in December) or the next semester. No (impact on) the bowl structure or regular season."

The BCS commissioners will meet April 28-30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., seemingly at a crossroads in BCS history. They will begin negotiations later this year on a new contract (presumably with Fox) that ends after the 2010 bowls. The Rose Bowl, Big Ten and Pac-10 have a separate deal with ABC that ends after the 2014 game.

How those negotiations conclude might decide if there is a plus-one or even a BCS in the future of college football.

"I think we're either going to kill it then (a plus-one) or pursue it then," Beebe said of the April meeting.

A plus-one most likely would involve seeding the top four teams in the final BCS standings. The winners of two semifinal games would then meet at some future date.

Less likely is another plus-one possibility: The BCS bowls would stage their normal games with two teams advancing through a rating system and/or a human committee. That setup would make it more likely that the Rose Bowl could keep its Big Ten and Pac-10 arrangement each season without necessarily participating in a bracketed playoff.

The first two years of the double-hosting model have produced varying results. The 2007 Fiesta Bowl produced one of the best postseason games in history with Boise State upsetting Oklahoma. But last month, three of the five BCS bowl games declined in TV ratings. Only the Rose and Orange produced marginal increases. The national championship game between LSU and Ohio State saw a 17 percent decline from the previous year when Florida beat Ohio State.

If a plus-one is somehow pushed through, there is an added issue. The BCS bowl and television contracts don't "sync up" until the 2015 postseason. That might be eventually what evolves from the April meetings: A plus-one is a possibility, but in seven years at the earliest.

"I don't think it's television's role to get into the mix of what they should do or not do," Gerber said. "Having said that, if the Rose Bowl came to us and said that they wanted to be part of this new formatted BCS, we would do everything we can to make our contract available to do that."

Gerber's predecessor did get into that mix. Four years ago, ABC's Loren Matthews proposed a plus-one at the annual meetings in Phoenix. When the commissioners didn't go for it, ABC allowed the deal it had with the Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowls to expire. Fox took over in 2006, the first season of the double-hosting model.

Has the climate for a plus-one changed?

"In the last six months (the discussion) has been open-ended but non-committal," said one person close to the BCS process.

For his part, Beebe plans to put a plus-one on the March agenda of the conference's board of directors meeting. Last year the Big 12 board said it was opposed to an "NFL-style playoff." The question is: Does a four-team, seeded plus-one constitute a playoff?

"I want a definition from them," Beebe said. "In my judgment, it is somewhat of a four-team playoff."

A proposal by Georgia president Michael Adams to study a full-on playoff basically died at last month's NCAA Convention. Last spring, Florida president Bernie Machen was pushing a playoff run by an independent corporation until fellow SEC CEOs persuaded him to back off.

"I do think that we will have a plus-one format, and it will be sooner rather than later," Ole Miss chancellor Robert Khayat told the Memphis Commercial Appeal recently. "I think there is some momentum developing."

But, as mentioned, the p-word is a non-starter for 21 Pac-10 and Big Ten presidents and their commissioners. The Rose Bowl, Big Ten and Pac-10 bought into the BCS in 1998 because the triumvirate thought its game would essentially be "impacted" only once every four year by the national championship game.

Four times in 10 years the Rose Bowl has not gotten its traditional matchup. Only twice has that been caused by the BCS Championship Game. "We would like to see a Big Ten or Pac-10 team in the championship game," Rose Bowl executive director Mitch Dorger said recently. "That enhances the status of the conference and enhances our bowl. (But) it's tough to lose a team every year or every couple of years. We didnt anticipate that coming in." How a plus-one would have worked last season:

Semifinal No. 1, Dec. 31, 2007, noon ET: No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl)

Semifinal No. 2, Dec. 31, 2007, 6 p.m. ET: No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 LSU (Orange Bowl)

BCS Championship Game, Jan. 7, 2008, 8 p.m. ET: 4/1 winner vs. 3/2 winner (Sugar Bowl)

Other BCS bowls:

Rose, Jan. 1: USC vs. Illinois

Cotton, Jan. 2: Kansas vs. West Virginia

Capital One, Jan. 3: Georgia vs. Hawaii

Note: In this model, the Rose Bowl would only participate in the championship rotation, not the semifinal rotation. This makes it more likely that it would be guaranteed its Pac-10-Big Ten matchup in the off years.

This model would also require a five-year rotation. Excluding the Rose, the five remaining bowls would ideally be guaranteed a semifinal or championship game three times in a five-year span. Also, there is a feeling by some that a plus-one cannot go forward without inclusion of the Cotton Bowl, which is moving to the new, state-of-the-art stadium being built by Jerry Jones.

A plus-one would probably require the addition of at least one new site to accommodate the six automatic qualifiers, up to four at-large teams and a non-BCS qualifier. For these purposes, we have added two new bowls, the other being the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.”

““Yeah, Ole Miss had a better class than UT.

Looks like only Vanderbilt and maybe Mississippi State were any worse. Arguably, Kentucky has a better bunch than we do.

On the other hand, you never know how kids will pan out until they get there.
chili

UT's recruiting class not near as bad the rankings show due to fact that they only could offer to sign 18. Old Miss and Bamer signed 30+. Can't say I place a whole lot of value in a single year's recruiting class.

However, the rumor around is that Fulmer will announce his retirement in 2008. Although I believe its more due to pressure from Hamilton not happy with the very recent lack of discipline, some are claiming Fulmer will conditionally step aside quietly if someone of his approval is hired. Obviously, the number of years he has been at UT this is more than a job.

A couple of sports radio shows in bamerland claim to have the inside scoop and say UT will announce their new coach late in the 2008 season as Steve Spurrier. I will say thus far Mike Hamilton has done exceptionally well and remained on the cutting edge with his hiring and firing. Just don't know about Steve.
last edited: 2/21/08 3:21:14 PM”

“Kansas, with only one loss, is the current National Champions!
All the pretenders have two losses or more.”

“Right on, Dunadan. And they deserve more credit!

Actually, the football season, which includes all games, should be over by the end of the Thanksgiving Day Weekend.

Cut out all Bowl Games. Heck, cut out all football, let's get the students back to school!”

“I will say thus far Mike Hamilton has done exceptionally well and remained on the cutting edge with his hiring and firing. Just don't know about Steve.
last edited: 2/21/08 6:21:14 PM�
trailhound57
6:19:35 PM
2/21/08

Hamilton has done a good job of hiring...but he would have a hell of a job to sell Steve to the Vol nation.

Of course, if it can be done, this is the time to do it.”

“Things have to be frustating for Spurrier at USC. He's done about all that can be done there.”

“WELCOME TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2008!!!


This year will be no different from past years. We’ll be subjected to the same bloviating arrogance by those egomaniacs with an inferiority complex from Ohio State. We also know from past experience that they’ll run away and hide under their collective rock after their team gets embarrassed by having to play a real team from a real conference…. maybe. Hey, even a blind pig roots an acorn now and again. When your team plays a pansy schedule in a pansy conference, they’re bound to come through with less injuries and more practice for the backups. Eventually they’ll muster up enough fortitude not to choke against the good teams that are battle scarred. But not before they subject everyone to their childish pontificating. Past experience leads us to believe this behavior won’t change.

We’ll be subjected to some “controversy” because the media feeds off controversy like a tick feeds on blood. The arguments will be stupid, they’ll lack logical basis, but some fans will take the opportunity to go on an emotional jag and feed the darker natures of their psyche. The “controversy” will turn into an unimportant or fallacious distraction but the fans who got all emotionally charged, making outrageously unfounded accusations, will go into righteous denial and refuse to apologize for their destructive behavior. Past experience leads us to believe this behavior won’t change.

…And we all know that I’m going to act like a complete butthead. Past experience leads us to believe this behavior won’t change.


On the bright side, good golly miss molly there should be some great games this year.

Non-Conference Games-
Arizona State/Georgia
Missouri/Illinois
Florida/Miami
Clemson/Alabama
Auburn/West Virginia
UCLA/Tennessee
Kansas/South Florida
Michigan State/California
Nebraska/Virginia Tech
Arkansas/Texas
South Carolina/Clemson
Michigan/Notre Dame

Ohio State/USC- Does it get any better? Talk about talented coaches and players. Even though they’ll not get any competition from the other teams in their respective conferences, both teams are loaded. This should be a great one. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn out to be over-hyped nonsense like that 2006 “game-of-the-century” between Ohio State and Michigan. Only the end of the bowl season should show us. That won’t stop me from making no other early season plans but to plant my butt right in front of the tube for what could be one of the greatest games in a long, long time. I’m already juiced!

Conference Games-
USC/Oregon St.
Florida/Tennessee
Clemson/Wake Forest
Florida/LSU
Oklahoma/Texas
Kansas/Oklahoma
West Virginia/Pittsburgh
Missouri/Kansas
NC State/Boston College
Virginia Tech/Miami
NC/NC State
West Virginia/South Florida
Wisconsin/Iowa
LSU/Auburn

Florida/Georgia- Like Florida/FSU games of old, this one could have major national ramifications. It’s already one of college footballs greatest rivalries. This year the intensity gets turned up a notch.



The teams in the SEC will once again beat the snot out of themselves. Georgia, LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida are all out to prove they belong in the national title picture. The other teams are playing for respect, rivalry, and the chance to shine in the national spotlight. Most teams can’t bring their “A” game every week. Some teams will suffer injuries to crucial players, in crucial games. There will be game-changing calls in close games. The SEC will probably have the lowest margin of victory…once again. It’s gonna get ugly.




Here are some excerpts from some respected College Football publications:


Sporting News College Football 2008

ON THE SEC-

“…Until further notice, you better believe poll voters will again side with the SEC – far and away the nations most talented, difficult conference – in any ranking controversy…

…This season will be no different. The SEC has three legitimate nation title contenders (Georgia, Florida, LSU) and three other teams that have the talent to win double-digit games (Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama). There are four Heisman Trophy candidates (Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin of Florida, Matthew Stafford and
Knowshon Moreno of Georgia), and with the addition of Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, eight league coaches that make at least $2 million a year.

Yeah, it’s serious stuff in this league…

… In the SEC, winning the league championship, it seems, is tougher than getting to the national title game.”


Interview with Georgia coach Mark Richt:
SN Q: “Is it unfair that a great SEC team might get itself two or three conference losses, whereas a team like Ohio State can take an easier path to the championship game?”


RANKING THE CONFERENCES-

“#1 SEC- For its next trick, the SEC will get a team with three losses into the BCS national title game. Laugh all you want, but the reality is this: It’s the SEC’s world and we’re all just living in it. The conference is so talented and plays so well in big games- 7-2 in it’s last nine BCS games- that it gets the benefit of the doubt (see: swayed human votes) when it comes to BCS number-crunching….”

“#2 Big 12- Not so long ago it was Oklahoma, Texas and the 10 dwarves….”

“#3 Big Ten- Wine and complain all you want about the boring, plodding league. Ohio State, meanwhile, will be in South Beach in January playing for it all again...”

“#4 Pac 10- No one in the nation has more talent than USC…”

#5 Big East

#6 ACC


ON PAST SCHEDULES-

“…Florida had the nation’s toughest schedule in 2006, and were a few botched plays from going unbeaten.”

(Or you might say a particularly bad call away. I’ll mention them, but I’m not one to continually whine about past bad calls like certain Tennessee fans. Speaking of whiny little poosee Tennessee fans, I can’t wait for the new season to start so that we can hear longlosthiker whine and moan about how tough a schedule his pansy little team plays this year.)


OTHER QUOTES-

“The big ten quickly is becoming Ohio State and the little ten…”

What? This is different from Michigan, Ohio State, and the nine little dwarves as it’s been forever? But this is quick change in a “boring, plodding league.”


“… against the nation’s most physically gifted defenses in the SEC…”

That’s been self-evident in the past two BCS title games. The Florida and LSU defenses manhandled Ohio State’s supposedly “explosive” offenses. Stopping Ohio State as it tried to gain 1 yard on two consecutive plays? One offensive touchdown? 82 total yards? It would have been even uglier had Florida not been without its best defensive tackle for the 2006 game.




Pro Football Weekly 2008 College Football

RANKING THE CONFERENCES-

“#1 SEC
“#2 Big 12
“#3 Big Ten
“#4 Pac 10
#5 ACC
#6 Big East


PREDICTION-

“Jan 8- (Insert SEC champion here… I have to leave some reason for you to watch the season) will beat Ohio State for the national title. The BCS creates a new bylaw stating that the Buckeyes can’t play in another national championship game against an SEC team.”




As I review these publications, and feel smugly vindicated in my superior reasoning capacities to most college football fans (especially those idiots inhabiting the capital of denial that is the big-ten), a warm glow suffuses me.

Then I see that Sporting News and Pro Football Weekly both pick Florida and Ohio State to play in the national title game, while Athlon has Florida #1 and Ohio State #2 in their preseason rankings?

THESE FOLKS ARE ON CRACK!!! THESE PUBLICATIONS ARE WORTHLESS!!!

I think the winner of the Ohio State/USC game stands the best chance of reaching the title game, but Florida? Not only does Florida have to get past Miami, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State, but also the winner of the SEC west division, if it’s lucky enough to survive that gauntlet. Add to the fact that Florida’s still-young secondary has yet to prove it won’t be destroyed by teams like Michigan and I feel comfortable saying, "I DON’T THINK SO!”

Then again, I was wrong once….back in ’82 I think it was.




WELCOME TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2008!!!
last edited: 8/03/08 1:13:28 PM”

“arclite doesn't post for 6 months, but when he meanders back in, he sure has a lot to say.”

“Well golly, ya big lug. Ya missed me didn't ya?

NOT!”

“Hi arc! Good to see ya.”