General Chat / BOWL GAMES!

Props for picking the exact score cork.

I had LSU 31 OSU 10...

I'm at a loss for words right now ...not to mention I'm tired....I could have gone to bed after that blocked punt...but oh well...but I'll post thoughts about some of the bowl games and the finish of the conferences later.

The Big 10 does not suck...however much you want them to Cork
But the ACC...yes...indeed.

wow...can't believe you predicted that score spot on though

Edited by Buckeye Becky, 08 January 2008 - 03:32 PM.

found this on collegehumor...thought it was pretty funny...

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Today, after the Buckeye's second national championship loss in as many years, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith released a schedule the likes of which the Buckeye faithful have never before seen.


Below is the newly released schedule for the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football season. God help us.
8/30 vs. Ohio School for the Deaf (Columbus, OH)

9/6 vs. Ohio Northern University (Columbus, OH)

9/13 @ Cuyahoga Community College (Cleveland, OH)

9/20 vs. Columbus, Ohio Chamber of Commerce Co-recreational Softball Team (Columbus, OH)

9/27 vs. Ohio State School for the Blind (Columbus, OH)

10/4 @ Cincinnati Reds (Cincinnati, OH)

10/11 vs. Boonville, Indiana High School (Boonville, IN)

10/18 @ Autism Academy of Learning (Maumee, OH)

10/25 vs. Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (Columbus, OH)

11/1 - Bye Week (Scrimmage against Women's Volleyball team)

11/8 @ Columbus State Community College (Columbus, OH)

11/15 @ Cleveland School of the Arts High School Chess Team (Cleveland, OH)

11/22 vs. Michigan (Columbus, OH)

haha

no fair, thats a low blow man...

At least in the ACC we admit that we suck.

^well, thats good....because you do

Oh...and spiderman, we would at least beat Michigan

ha ha

But seriously, we do suck, you are correct. This is Ohio State’s fifth BCS bowl, and third BCS Championship game appearance in seven years. National Champion in 2002. 5 out of the 6 years we finish in the top five in the nation.
That is just extremely sub par...

I mean after losing Heisman trophy quarterback Troy Smith, Ted Ginn, and Anthony Gonzalez..three offensive weapons and numerous other defensive players...we had 3 starting seniors to LSU's 11...we weren't even expected to finish top ten this year...

I mean, yeah, you are absolutely right...we suck.

^ haha, awesome.

I mean, yeah, you are absolutely right...we suck.

...against the SEC. And any non-Division I-AA/ACC team.

But that's just the thing... OSU took a team that was supposed to be rebuilding and went 11-1... precisely because they were playing in a woefully overrated conference that actually...well... sucked (well, that and Michigan was quite disappointing). So great... big fish beats everyone else up in its small pond... but match it in the real Spotlight and it falls flat on its face--again!

What OSU really needs to do is start scheduling real out-of-conference opponents. This year and next will be great with the USC/OSU home-and-home, but the past two years have been pretty lame, because the Big 10 hasn't provided the same level of competition as a decade ago.

BTW, next year, Mizzou becomes Kansas. Their schedule is like... weaker than Hawaii's. (no literally; Hawaii plays Florida; Mizzou avoids OU and Texas).

--

And here's how stupid poll voters can be... WVU completely destroyed Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, and yet they're ranked below the Sooners in both final major polls??? And the Sooners are below both Mizzou AND Kansas? So those two teams' bowl wins against much worse opponents somehow negates the fact that OU convincingly beat Mizzou twice, which beat Kansas solidly in their matchup? How's that make sense?
http://sports.espn.g...f/rankingsindex

--

Anyway, here are my rankings, based on a more overall view of the season but also taking Bowl matchups into major concern in determining hierarchy across the conferences:

1. LSU
They're the BCS Champs, and deservedly so. The only argument against them is whether they deserved to be in the game or not, but they thoroughly outplayed OSU and showed why they were so highly regarded at the beginning of the season. Take away injuries, and this LSU team is awfully tough to beat.

2. USC
So this is a little personal bias here, because I'll admit that 2, 3, and 4 in my rankings can interchange (well, mostly 2 and 3). But USC was a favorite coming into the season, and were it not for injuries and that absolutely inexcusable loss to Stanford (injuries certainly played their part, since Booty's interceptions were caused by his broken finger, but that's no excuse still), USC would be in the BCS game this year. They came in and absolutely destroyed Illinois, a better team than Georgia played. Thus, they get the nod by transitive property of opponent competibility. Yes, I just made that up.

3. Georgia
No team was hotter at the end of the season, and no team put on a more dominant BCS performance. But there are some who might still doubt Georgia's true worth, given that the BCS Cinderella this year turned out to be overrated. Still, 41-10 is nothing to scoff at, considering it was more like 41-3, and Georgia's defense was suffocating while its offense was precision-loaded. They could definitely hang with and even defeat either USC or LSU given the right play, but out of these three, Georgia gets the low bid due to their final opponent. Remember these are rankings, not ratings.

4. West Virginia
They went from BCS Championship contenders to afterthoughts following their shocking loss to Pitt--a game eerily similar to USC's loss to UCLA in 2006. But WVU showed the country that their regular season finale was a case of the team beating itself, because when the Mountaineers started playing like themselves, they torched what many considered one of the top three hottest teams going into the Bowls. Oklahoma may have choked in the BCS again, but they're hardly any pushovers, as evidenced by their dominance in the Big 12, which was actually better than I gave it credit. But this was a case of matchups, and WVU's speed absolutely shredded OU's more traditional system. Remember: in their two losses, WVU had nine turnovers. Take that away, and they're this year's media darling powerhouse.

5. Oklahoma
I considered them to be elite contenders going into the BCS, but it's evident that Bob Stoops is going to have to do something about these BCS bombs. You can be fantastic in the regular season, but if you can't get properly motivated to perform at your highest in a post-season game, something's seriously wrong. That said, they did emerge atop the Big 12, which had three absolutely great teams. They dominated Mizzou twice, and Mizzou beat Kansas thoroughly, and you know my opinion of Ohio State and the Big 12, so the Sooners park here.

6. Ohio State
For all of my Big 10 bashing, I'm not going to let personal bias cloud the fact that the Buckeyes were still a very good team this year--just not THAT good. Regardless, they bowled through a Big 10 conference and crafted a pretty good defense, and in my opinion, they could definitely compete with nearby teams below them. I just don't think they could stand a chance against anyone in the top four.

7. Missouri
Well, I said the Tigers deserved to be in the BCS, and they proved it by shredding Arkansas. Only I thought they should have taken Kansas' place; instead, they should have taken Illinois' place. At least that would have been a better game (not that I'm complaining about a Trojan cardinal-wash). Mizzou is clearly the type of team that can compete with the best, and even beat the best if the best are having an off night. The Big 12 definitely wasn't a complete conference top to bottom, but the top three--of which Mizzou is part of, of course--were pretty damn good. However, there's no way I can rank the Tigers higher than this, given how they performed against the Sooners--twice.

8. Kansas
I downright admit it: I was way wrong about KU. I thought they were massively overrated. Turns out, they actually are good! Their defense and special teams really impressed me against Virginia Tech and made up for an offense that never really showed up against the Hokies' vaunted defense. However, it's defense that wins games, and the Jayhawks certainly brought theirs to the Orange Bowl. No way they're beating any of the teams I have above them, but I think they can definitely beat any of the teams below them.

9. Virginia Tech
To me, there's a large dropoff from #8 to #9, just as there is between #4 and #5. VaTech got by a pretty wimpy ACC (no longer anything close to the shell of its former not-suckiness) and still lost twice (granted, one of them was to LSU, but the BC giveaway was just that: a present to Boston College). And heck, it's a good thing BC shocked them a couple of months ago, or else they would have been battling fellow one-loss Ohio State in a BCS Championship game that everyone would calling overrated. I figured they'd walk over Kansas, but I forgot to account for the fact that they apparently HAVE NO OFFENSE. If you take their overall season, maybe they beat the next team. You take into account how the Hokies finished, maybe the next team beats them.

10. Tennessee
It feels weird to put a four-loss team in the top 10, but the Volunteers finished the season strong, battling and battling and competing with LSU in the SEC championship to the end. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and ranking them more off their highs than their lows. An early loss to Cal seemed to be an indication of another disappointing year, but Tennessee survived the brutal SEC and then went on to beat Wisconsin--albeit in much closer than expected fashion.

11. Texas
Life without Vince Young is kind of Purgatory. It's not good... but it's not bad... but it's not good. Texas has just been ho-hum over the past two years. They have the talent to be an elite team, but they simply haven't won the big games to get to the top. This year pretty much followed that routine as well, and the overall consistency and lack of any apparent direction (are they back on the rise for the future? are they crapping out again?) pretty much makes Texas the Big 12 version of Tennessee.

12. Cincinatti
I think this team is underrated. They're in the Big East, which no one really pays attention to but is the most evenly rounded conference of the BCS Six, and they're highly competitive and coached by a great mind in Brian Kelly. All three of their losses were by a touchdown or less, and the Bearcats' overall energy makes them competitive with any top 25 team, at least it would have during this crazy season.

13. Boston College
The ACC's #2 showed that it's a notch below Virginia Tech, which isn't that elite to begin with, but is still a solid, well rounded team that can come back at any given time, due to QB Matt Ryan's guts and game management.

14. Auburn
Remember that they nearly beat LSU, and remember that in a brutal SEC, a four loss season isn't that horrible. It certainly seems like the SEC trains its teams to match up well against other conferences, because in general, non-SEC opponents aren't as tough as SEC opponents. Well, as long as it's not USC going against the SEC team (USC being 4-0 vs the SEC in the past six years).

15. Michigan
Just think: if the Wolverines had been totally healthy this year, they could have been Ohio State--and then it would have been THEY who would get their butts kicked by LSU. Instead, they went out on a high note, willing one for the Carr in upsetting Florida--a Gator team I certainly regarded highly despite their losses. Turns out Michigan isn't bad either--when it's healthy and NOT playing a super mobile quarterback (Tebow can run, but he is most certainly NOT a mobile quarterback).

16. Florida
I would say that if it wasn't for the Wolverines getting fired up to win one for Coach Carr, the Gators would have walked away with this one. However, the Gator Bowl exposed Florida's primary weakness this season: defense. They lost a ton of players on defense from their 2007 BCS Championship team, so much of their defense this year was young and inexperienced. It showed in their losses, but that doesn't detract from the fact that they were still a highly competitive team this year, even if it was often a one-man show. Heck, Vince Young showed a one-man show can win a BCS Championship by himself, given the right atmosphere.

17. Hawaii
They got humiliated in the Sugar Bowl, but then again, it WAS against arguably the best-playing team entering the Bowl Season. Now, it's obvious Hawaii can't hang with the really big boys, but going undefeated in the regular season was no small feat, and against the less elite but still quite reputable BCS teams, the Rainbow Warriors could definitely open some eyes. It was mostly Georgia's defense that completely took UH's offense out of the game. Against a not-as-suffocating D, the Warrior air game can most certainly keep the team in any ballgame.

18. Brigham Young
They're the other non-BCS team that put up a good showing and finished strong. And while the polls have them at #14 to close the season, I can't help but remember that they needed a last second field goal to beat UCLA. Yeah... UCLA. The team that gave Notre Dame it's first win this season.

19. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders were once again all offense, all the time. Well, it got them to a 9-4 record, so good for them!

20. Clemson
The Tigers hung with a very good Auburn team throughout the Peach Bowl and didn't lose till overtime. I suppose that's one way of helping the ACC's image: not getting blown out by a team from the country's best conference.

21. Arizona State
When they go blown out by Texas, I decided they were the Pac 10's version of Kansas. Only Kansas beat Virginia Tech, so that really makes them the Pac 10's version of... Illinois? Or how about just plain overrated. After all, they were undefeated until they started playing some real teams. And each time they played a real team, the Sun Devils lost and/or lost badly. Not a good way to represent the Pac-10.

22. Oregon State
What the Beavers need to figure out is how to start the season well. They've finished very well a few seasons in a row now, climbing to third in the Pac 10, but it's that first half that messes them up.

23. Kentucky
A very promising start got derailed in the very tough SEC, but they did show flashes of brilliance, such as their gritty upset over LSU. Mostly, I guess I'm sticking them here due to SEC bias... and my personal reluctance to stick any team that lost its Bowl Game in this part of my top 25...

24. Appalachian State
Um... I was trying to figure out if I should stick Illinois, Penn State, or Virginia here, then I decided that the three-time Division I-AA champions could probably beat all three. So there. If you'd like to argue this, go talk to a Michigan fan.

25. Oregon
I guess they can do something without Dennis Dixon after all. It just took four games and the complete and utter collapse of their season to figure it out.

--

I guess I won't be able to get to my conference review, but looking at how things went, I still feel pretty confident ranking the BCS conferences as follows:

1. SEC
2. Big 12
3. Pac 10
4. Big East
5. Big 10
6. ACC

If you want to put LSU, USC, WV and Georgia ahead of OSU cause they all finished strong and won their bowl games against tough opponents, thats fine, but there is no way you are gonna convince me that OK is better than OSU after that poor showing against a weaker bowl opponent than OSU played (obviously WV is weaker than LSU, even you have it posted above ). I don't even think OK is the best team in the Big 12 anymore, Mizzou OR Kansas could easily challenge them again and win this time. And everyone is going to notice your bias (now that I'm pointing it out, that is ) sneaking 3 Pac 10 teams into the bottom of your list, and only 2 Big 10 and 2 Big East teams in the whole list, tisk, tisk. Also, the Big 10 is still better than the Big East, and I hope we schedule more games against them, too, so we can prove it.

SEC
Pac 10
Big 12
Big 10
Big East
ACC

and I'll address Cork's ridiculous statements about the Big 10/Buckeyes later...

My bias is more to the SEC, considering the bottom of my list was more to just fill it out than anything.

More Big East teams would have gotten in if they'd won their last games. Likely teams would have been USF and UConn.

But definitely bias AGAINST the Big 10. I've made that much clear. Just makes USC/OSU that much more fun to look forward to next September.

My bias is more to the SEC, considering the bottom of my list was more to just fill it out than anything.

lazy butt

Just makes USC/OSU that much more fun to look forward to next September.

Oh yes indeed....is Pete Carroll really leaving?
But they don't allow crying in pro football

I honestly don't get where you're saying he cries. Hell, Les Miles "cried" more than Pete, at least in regards to the whole BCS thing in past years.

I'm still not getting how USC jumps ahead of UGA by beating a #13 team by 1 more point than UGA beat a #10 team.

I honestly don't get where you're saying he cries. Hell, Les Miles "cried" more than Pete, at least in regards to the whole BCS thing in past years.

Les Miles has reason to cry...LSU has been screwed in the past - Sugar Bowl 2003 ring a bell?
THAT is when I decided your coach is nothing but a big crybaby
And then this....this year and then of course what coach has his own stupid site?? Sorry...I just don't like the guy. No class...all Hollywood.

I'm still not getting how USC jumps ahead of UGA by beating a #13 team by 1 more point than UGA beat a #10 team.

Read what I posted for Cork...and then repeat these letters
E
S
P
N
because there is no logic to it.

OH - Before spiderman can come in and post his 'college humor'....I heard that OSU will NEVER be invited to play an SEC team again....they will get invited to bowl games..but we will have to play nonSEC teams...well, even I thought that was funny

Edited by Buckeye Becky, 16 January 2008 - 06:10 PM.

^^ Because the #10 team was more overrated that the #13 team.

(Nah, I've gotta admit that you definitely have reason to complain there. Nothing can settle this except a playoff.)

--

Becky, I've gotta say you're being pretty short-sighted by citing a web site as a basis for how he's a crybaby.

1. Is it HIS site that HE personally set up, or a fan site?
2. Even if he did support the idea, that's no different from any celebrity--Hollywood or sports or theater or whatever--having their own official web site. Does that mean every person with his or her own website is a selfish, classless crybaby?

As for the article--it makes a great case of painting Carroll as a "crybaby"--in its own language. Just like there are tons of writers and articles who heap hype and love for USC, there are tons of people who rant against everything Trojan. I'd think you'd be able to read through the bias in this article. He takes regular quotes from Carroll--quotes that obviously support his team because he coaches it but don't have significant spin to them by themselves--then adds his own bias to them. And of course the writer is going to do that--it would be a boring article if he stayed perfectly objective. But this is by no means any proof of Carroll being a "crybaby." Lobbying for his team? Sure. But who wouldn't? If your child misbehaves, don't you stick up for him a little bit by apologizing to, say, the other parent but also add something like "he's usually better behaved" or something similar that doesn't totally degrade your child in public? In private, you discipline the child. But any leader is going to stick up for his or her corps.

Carroll has been saying the same thing for five years--even when we destroyed Oklahoma and finished undefeated above Auburn. He's called for a playoff system consistently. But of course, those bashing him wouldn't care to cite that. They just say he's a crybaby. No, a crybaby would be closer Mack Brown a few years ago when he begged voters to put Texas in a BCS game. Carroll has never gone beyond diplomatic bias--which everyone does.

You want an article that touches upon the things Pete Carroll quietly does that don't generally get brought up? Read this:
http://www.lamag.com...DA4EAF13E24562D

And before you say "oh, if he's so humble how come an article was written about it," realize that's not a valid argument, because the point is he doesn't go out of his way to publicize is generosity, but that doesn't mean when someone tags along with him to write an article, that he's going to hide everything. Plus, players love him because he takes care of them, like family. He's high energy, high spirited, very fiery, but by no means shallow or all about Hollywood glam. Anyone who says that comes off as extremely misinformed.

--

You'll say I'm biased, but I say Pete Carroll is all class. He's not a saint, of course. But neither are you and I. When it comes to coaches, however, there are few better than Carroll, and his success does not make him arrogant either. Heck, he openly admitted blowing the Stanford game, saying later that he should have pulled Booty from the game after halftime because he knew JD had a broken finger.

You'll always have writers trying to stir up personal attacks against successful people like Pete Carroll, but I will objectively say that he does not deserve it. I may be a total homer for USC, but I don't root blindly. Carroll, Les Miles, Jim Tressel, Lloyd Carr... these are coaches who are good people, not whiners (I said Les "cried" more than Pete in past years; note the quotes, he's more openly fiery, which I characterized into quote-unquote crying to make a point).

You can argue about the quality of teams, but to go on character rants because of that... that's below you.

--

The whole 2004 Split Championship cracks me up. Everyone realizes that the BCS championship was literally a figurehead trophy created ten years ago, right? Everyone realizes that for the eighty years before that, national championships have always been awarded by various media groups, right? It's called the BOWL Championship Series, not the NCAA Football National Championship Series. We've had split champs before, and the only thing about the BCS was that it was theoretically supposed to prevent that. But if that's the case, it should have bound the AP and the USA Today polls to the results of its championship game, not just the USA Today poll.

Is it really hard to accept that we had two national champs that year? Either both teams got screwed, or neither did. LSU fans will always cite their BCS trophy like it's a godsend when compared to the AP poll, IT HAS NO HISTORY! The national championship is NOT the BCS trophy. It's the #1 ranking given by the major poll voters--which now is the same due to contract binding. Understand that and you'll understand why all this bickering about that--even now--is silly. USC and LSU were both national champs that year and should have played each other in a better system. USC was national champ the following year, but should have played Auburn to really settle it--in a perfect system. But the BCS is not the perfect system, and it's not designed to determine the best team in the country. Sure, it'll get things right now and then, but it's hardly a holy grail of an argument by which all other counterarguments fail.

BTW..

http://www.lesmiles.net/
http://www.coachtressel.com/

Just off a quick search.

I have to say that if you think making a long post makes your argument better...it does not. But anyhoo...I did not just cite a website as the basis for him being a crybaby...that was just an 'extra' post about how full of himself he is. The websites you posted are affiliated with the school, i.e. Jim Tressel, Les Miles did not create the websites or have them created....someone from their athletic departments did...so no comparison there.

I think he is a crybaby..you think he isn't. Don't read more into it than you did. I never said he wasn't a good coach. I said he was a crybaby.

Is it really hard to accept that we had two national champs that year?

Yes...it is....and its because Pete Carroll is a big crybaby and ESPN loves him

We'll I guess I'll just have to agree to disagree with the disillusioned Buckeye. Cya in September. Hope you enjoy getting stomped!

Okily dokily starstruck Trojan....hope you enjoy being disillusioned in September

Can we start talking about college basketball now???