General Chat / BOWL GAMES!

Was that not the best College Football Saturday OR WHAT???
Well, except for CORK....and I won't laugh at you...but I did see it coming...not from Stanford though but anyway...here are my thoughts from yesterday...

USC - well, the cats out of the bag, they aren't as good as ESPN thought they were, awww, no more Pete Carroll face time....they might have future losses at Oregon, Cal, and even Arizona ST...not saying they will lose all three of those, but I'm guessing they will lose one of them and end up with at least 2 losses.

LSU - they still look good. Florida is an awesome team but LSU hung tough...I think they are still the team to beat this year.

CAL - lucky for them, they were sitting out this week...I still have not had the opportunity to see them play...and right now I can only say if they have Arizona St, USC, Washington, and dare I say...Stanford...ahead of them...so we will see.

Ohio State - I have to tell you that no one thought this team would be this good this year, myself included...and even before the game yesterday, I wasn't convinced we were for real. After yesterday's game, I'm starting to believe we are that good. They looked great...Purdue really thought they could beat us and I thought they possibly could too but boy, they proved to Purdue and to me, they are good and deserve to be up there in the rankings. I have to be honest...other than the next two relatively 'easy' games, Kent ST and Mich st (which by the way, I'm going to....) we face Penn ST, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan which I think could all give us trouble...I guess I'm not willing yet to go out on a limb and say we will finish strong...

South Florida - C'mon...why are we still talking about this team? They will get beat by Cincinnati for sure and most likely Rutgers and Louisville...they will be a distant memory by year end.

Boston College - Va Tech and Maryland will both beat this team.

Florida - I wonder if they will have another loss....maybe not, but they do have KY, GA, SC, and Fla St left and they will all be gunning for them.

Oklahoma - They will win out...but the Big 12 is the worst conference..there I said it...now Pyro is going to argue big time with me...but thats how I see it

and wow....Cincinnati is looking mighty fine

did mizzou win the game last night?

yes, they did

Mizzou spanked Nebraska 41-6 and it wasn't even that close.

I agree with Becky that USC has another loss in them somewhere. Doesn't mean they are not a god team, just not as complete as they need to be with the PAC 10 probably being the toughest conference to play in this year (never thought I would type that). Likewise, Cal is not a better team than USC, so they should at least drop a game at some point this year, be it USC Arizona State, or Washington.

Ohio State still has some of the problems that people worried about, and that is what people will start saying when they lose for the first time. Purdue does this every year, so I am not putting too much stock in that win right now. I think the Washington win was a much bigger one, and proved the defense at least is very good. I have a bad feeling about the Penn State game, I Know they are not that good this year, but they always seem to give Ohio State problems.

South Florida and Boston College will work themselves out eventually, but if either of them I think Boston College would be the one to turn out to be a real contender.

Which brings us to whether or not the Big XII is the worst conference. I say no, but it certainly is not a power conference either this year. They did not help themselves with their out of conference play by any means, but they still have a leg up on the Big East and probably the ACC. I think this year the conferences go PAC 10, SEC, tie Big 10 and Big XII, ACC, Big East. You look at the Big East, and do you honestly believe any of those teams are complete legitimate teams? Louisville is on a three game slide, twice to bad teams. West Virginia dropped to a above average South Florida. Rutgers lost to Maryland and Cincinnati. The class of the conference right now is Cincinnati and South Florida. Do you believe that about half the teams in the Big XII could not just destroy those two? Then look at the ACC, Georgia Tech is imploding, Miami is schizophrenic, Virginia Tech has no offense to speak of, Clemson is fading, Wake Forest is back to being irrelevant, and the best looking team in the conference is Boston College. Not buying them either.

I would say the Big XII and Big 10 have a comparable string of problems. You have two elite contenders, Ohio State and Oklahoma. Edge to Big 10 because Ohio State hasn't lost, but OU is the better team. I think Wisconsin and Texas has a lot in common, both being pretty overrated, playing down to the competition, but can get up for the big games. They are both still dangerous, but its not going to be a good season. Then you have a few teams we just can't tell about yet. Michigan and Illinois, and Kansas and Missouri. Michigan flat out embarrassed themselves to start the year, but have bounced back in conference play. Illinois is still undefeated in conference and playing very well, but they lost to Mizzou. This Missouri team has a very dangerous offense that will be enough to win them a lot of games this year. Kansas is also still undefeated, and that was an impressive win over a good Kansas State team. Michigan is better than Kansas, but maybe not Mizzou (couldn't keep up offensively, Mizzou could spread em, big problems), and both are better than Illinois. I think Penn State and Texas Tech are pretty comparable. Both are incomplete teams that do somethings right, but fold against the better teams. Call Colorado the extra team (12 versus 11). Still don't know what to think, they would be undefeated if Hugh Charles had started the year, with wins over Arizona State and Florida State. This is a dangerous team, especially at home, very good defense. Kansas State is also a decent team this year, probably about on par with Michigan State where they can knock off anyone and lose to anyone.

The bottom of the conferences looks about even. Iowa got beat by Big XII bottom feeder Iowa State, the worst team in the league. Minnesota, Northwestern and Indiana as well as Baylor are all pretty much irrelevant. Then from the Big XII, you still can't tell what to expect from Oklahoma State or Texas A&M, there is some talent there but they have played terribly.

So if you look top to bottom, you can make a case for both league's, but I think they are more or less even.

That there is not true anymore...well I cannot comment on the CAL ranking as I have yet to see them play this year...but the PAC10 is starting to look better this year.

USC is not playing LSU today...Florida is

Thats all really for now...

Ok, well, Pac10 still isnt that great...USC flopped, Cal is waiting to flop, neither arizona is any good, ucla lost to nd, stanford sucks just enough to beat usc, oregon is good...state not good, both washingtons are good. It is getting better as a conference though since more teams are rising into mediocrity and a few are pushing into actually being consistently good. But I wouldnt call it the toughest conference this year...that has to go to the SEC.

Oh and it didnt really matter that i put usc playing lsu instead of florida...because i knew both were losing anyway...and i did know who was playing whom...just typed it wrong...but oh well.

But yeah...each week I miss amazing games...I'll have to buy the whole season on dvd or something, haha.

I wont be able to post my predictions for next weeks games because I will be going to Scotland Thursday night until Monday! I might try to get some of my thoughts up before I go though.
Go Bucks!!

I still don't buy the whole SEC supremacy thing. Yes, LSU is the best team in the nation. No argument there. Florida is a very good team as well, but incomplete. Their inexperience and youth will cost them games this year. The next level is pretty solid, South Carolina is dangerous, but their offense is more of less lethargic. They aren't giving any defensive coordinators nightmares and their defense isn't lock down enough to really be an elite team. They are good though. the next best team by rankings is Kentucky. Great QB, but the rest of the team just isn't up to snuff. This ranking will only drop as the season goes, was too inflated because of beating a bad Louisville team. The rest of the conference is so mediocre it isn't even funny. Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas are all going to beat up on each other, not because of "depth" but because none of the teams are that good. Auburn.... ha. They should have lost to Kansas State, then lost to South Florida and Mississippi State. They are getting way too much credit for the Florida win and not enough bad press for losing to Mississippi State or South Florida. The rest of the conference is your usual bottom feeders.

The PAC 10 is just a more complete conference. Say what you will about the Stanford loss, this is still USC. Their is more recruited talent on that team than in the Big East and ACC combined. The athletes they have is unreal. Do I think they are a complete team? No, but they are still one of the best in the nation. Oregon and Cal are both real top caliber teams as well. Both have a scary ability to spread the ball around to some real game breakers. Dixon for Oregon has been playing out of his mind, and DeSean Jackson can turn any game. Don't forget about Arizona State either, this looks like a different club under Erickson. They normally collapse about this time of year, so the jury is still out, but they have been winning in impressive fashion and eventually you have to take note. Washington is also a very good, very solid team. While a year or two off from really hitting stride, Locker has been very successful this year. They played Ohio State very tough for most of the game, and took USC to the 4th. The bottom of the league is nothing to scream about, and admitably is probably worse than the SEC, but I would argue the top is more challenging. Plus, they have two less teams which means everyone plays everyone. It just seems like the SEC has two top level programs to the PAC 10's three. Plus, the PAC 10 has two middle level dangerous programs (Washington and Arizona State) while the SEC can really only claim South Carolina. I think half of the PAC 10 is a real challenge, whereas the SEC only has about 3 dangerous teams this year. Now, the bottom of the SEC provides more of a challenge, but the number of truly good teams is what makes a conference tough.

They are getting way too much credit for the Florida win and not enough bad press for losing to Mississippi State or South Florida. The rest of the conference is your usual bottom feeders.

Why would they get bad press for losing to South Flordia? The #5 team in the nation?

Yes, but do you honestly believe they are the fifth best team in the country? In all honesty they have two losses in them and will not be that high when the year ends. The point is, losing two games and almost losing another means you have struggled in the majority of your games this year, that is a trend of mediocrity rather than the sign of a good team.

btw, I've gotta echo Emergo's sentiments about this thread, although for the slightly different perspective of actually understanding what we're talking about.

It's good to debate stuff like this with people who know what they're talking about (even if Eric is on the other side of the pond and is grossly uninformed about the quality of the Pac-10 ).

Yes, but do you honestly believe they are the fifth best team in the country? In all honesty they have two losses in them and will not be that high when the year ends. The point is, losing two games and almost losing another means you have struggled in the majority of your games this year, that is a trend of mediocrity rather than the sign of a good team.

No.

But I do think they are a top 15/20 team. And for some reason though, I never understood the whole conference supremacy thing, shouldn't everyone be cheering for a particular team? Not exactly debating whos conference is better? I could see supporting your conference teams in bowl games, but during the regular season, I want my conference to beat each other up so USC can take the SEC and etc. I think its among pretty good reason to understand that the Pac-10 and SEC are the top two conferences though.

Auburn is a decent team though. While I wouldn't say they are top 25 material yet, I would not take any game with them lightly. Many people like to complain about Flordia's still being ranked at 13, but lets face it, they would probably beat teams like Cincinatti and Missouri pretty easily, as Flordia is still an excellent team.

#1 and #2 lose, LMAO! South Florida really is in the National Championship picture, I never imagined that could happen, damn...

and everyone laughed at me saying USF would be in the BCS title game a few weeks ago.

first BCS rankings come out this weekend.

any bets USF will be #1 or #2 just shy of #1 ?

um, they'll still be #3 in the human polls, because BC is ahead of them and won. So they'll be #3 in the BCS.

WTF?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!

This is, by far, the weirdest season ever.

1. Ohio State
And there was much celebrating in Buckeye country (at the Kuhn household), as OSU returns to #1 this year... by not losing (interesting concept). And they've got a pretty good chance of running the gauntlet because the Big 10 sucks. Up ahead, they've got #18 Wisconsin and #19 Illinois as their "hardest" teams. And in actuality, unranked Penn State and unranked Michigan will pose stiffer challenges. But this team is definitely talented enough to beat Penn State, and they should run through overrated Illinois and Wisconsin, so assuming they don't lose their trap game against Michigan State, the only thing between them and a very initially unlikely return to the BCS championship game would be Michigan. Man, I really hope Michigan beats them in the Big Game this year. I really, really do.

2. Boston College
What the hell #1. BC has been constantly good over the past few years, but not constantly great. This year, they've got a great QB and a team that... hasn't lost. Of course, I don't think they could beat teams like OSU, LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, or Cal, but I cannot guarantee that. So they're here. Somehow. The October 25 game against Va Tech will be huge (and a precursor to the ACC championship game, I predict). If they beat Va Tech, then they're definitely for real. If not, then... I'm not surprised.

3. South Florida
What the hell #2. Ten years ago, they didn't even HAVE a football team!!! Now they're going to be at least #3 in the country. Who'da thunk that??? This team is plucky, skilled, and hard working. They're more than capable of challenging any team, and while they still have games against Rutgers, Cincinnatti, and Louisville--teams that can definitely upend them--they can also certainly beat these teams. In terms of actual skill, count them with BC. I don't think they could beat LSU, Florida, OU, or several other teams ranked below them. But I can't guarantee that.

4. LSU
Trap game. They lost to a very good Kentucky team in triple overtime. Every team will have a game like this, but I still think LSU is a fantastic team and one of the best in the country. Hence, this fall isn't as much. And as far as why Kentucky isn't above them--well, I kind of feel like LSU gave this game up more than KU earned the win (they definitely earned it, but if LSU was on top of their game, the OT wouldn't have even happened). So yeah... it's definitely subjective.

5. Oklahoma
Well, that loss to Colorado is looking more and more like an aberration. Sorta. They beat Missouri in somewhat ugly fashion, but they won, and that's the important point. This is a great team that should certainly be counted among the nation's elite, and they may very well get into the BCS game if they win out, because that early loss to Colorado may end up being forgotten. But of course, in a season of upsets, you just can't forget the fact that they lost to... Colorado.

6. Oregon
I'm giving them a nice big boost because they are simply a disastrous last second fumble away from basically being undefeated. And they DESTROYED Washington State, so that always impresses voters, right? In any case, the Ducks have shown that they are a high powered, loaded team that can play with anyone, and in a suddenly wide open Pac 10 race, they might very well win it all. Gotta love NCAA football!

7. Cal
Lets put it this way: I'm begrudgingly willing to say that if Longshore had played, they would have won. And even though he didn't, the team was one stupid running decision away from forcing overtime. Although, frankly, the #7 area is closer to where I think the Bears belong anyway.

8. Kentucky
Lets vault them back up. Actually, I can see people arguing they should be even higher, because coming back against LSU is no small task (even if the Tigers pulled a USC and accumulated a million penalties). This team definitely showed they are for real, and suddenly, Kentucky is no longer just a basketball school. But I can see them slipping up due to their relative inexperience in the spotlight, with big pressure games, so who knows where they'll eventually end up...

9. Florida
I just think they're a good team. Honestly. And they shouldn't have lost to Auburn, and they could have beaten LSU. And they impress me more than the next team...

10. South Carolina
It wasn't a pretty win against the Tarheels, but a win's a win. This is a great team, and I was starting to turn the page on them, but when you struggle against the Tarheels, that's kinda sad. I mean, it wasn't basketball. But they've got Spurrier, and they've got a good team, and they're definitely one of those teams that can upset anyone in the nation.

11. Virginia Tech
Suddenly, that loss to LSU is looking pretty understandable (given the early season, Va Tech shooting fallout, and the fact that LSU was on fire). Va Tech hasn't played that many good teams, but they've held their opponents pretty low in scoring, and they're the only other good team in the ACC. A win over BC can catapult them right back into the National Title picture, which has suddenly gotten much cloudier than I ever envisioned.

12. West Virginia
They've only lost once to the "#3 team in the nation," and they have a loaded offense. Sure, their defense sucks, but they're still quite dangerous, and definitely not completely out of the BCS hunt.

13. University of Southern California
Man, this is getting depressing. I know we have a TON of injuries, and racking up more every week, but our offense just looks horrible, we still have penalties and turnovers, and our defense is not as stifling as it should be (though it's really been keeping us in games). USC has suddenly become very ordinary, and though the end of today's game looked promising, as the defense clamped down again and we got some offensive rhythm, the fact remains that we only beat ARIZONA by a touchdown. Have we even covered the spread any game this year? This is definitely the least disciplined Pete Carroll team I've ever seen. I pray they get things back on track, because as it stands, they don't appear to have any chance against Cal or Oregon if they play like they've played the past three weeks.

14. Arizona State
Um... they haven't lost to anyone they weren't supposed to lose to. In this crazy season, that deserves a lot of credit.

15. Missouri
Okay, I guess they're not that overrated, if they can hang with OU. But then again, Mizzou also has a history of great first halves, followed by tanking the rest of the season. So stay tuned.

16. Kansas
I don't follow them much, but they're undefeated and have beaten some decent teams. So I guess they kinda have to go here, right?

17. Hawaii
See Arizona State. That Colt Brennan is hella fun to watch, tho.

18. Auburn
I'd feel a lot better putting them here if their win today wasn't so damn ugly (9-7??? ew!!!). But they can play with anyone, and their upset over Florida shows it. Two losses suck, but they seem to be letdown games where they totally underperformed. But they're still a great team in a great conference.

19. Texas
Um, they killed their opponent. And they *CAN* play well. So I'll put them here for their dangerous...ness...

20. Cincinatti
In a pretty even Big East, the Bearcats finally fell to a still-potent Louisville team that found some sort of defense. That's setback in the road, but this team still has a great coach and great players.

21. Michigan
They've bounced back nicely since that disaster of a first two games. But no one will take them seriously ever again until they beat OSU. No, that wasn't supposed to make complete sense.

22. Kansas State
Good team. At this point in the rankings, you start to not really care. LOL

23. Rutgers
Still not a bad team, just obviously no where near the top 10 like I thought a few weeks ago.

24. Virginia
Hey, did you know they're tied atop their part of the ACC?

25. Texas Tech
Every year they get off to a nice start, then get destroyed by teams like Texas and OU. We'll see if this holds true or not.

and everyone laughed at me saying USF would be in the BCS title game a few weeks ago.

first BCS rankings come out this weekend.

any bets USF will be #1 or #2 just shy of #1 ?

Well lasso me up and call me Sally. USF is #2 in the AP. Although that one isn't used in the BCS formula. Still, impressive!

Jim Tressel and Ohio State are No. 1 in the initial BCS standings released Sunday. South Florida is No. 2.

The Buckeyes (7-0), who sit atop both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls, have a BCS average of .942.

Surprising South Florida (6-0) is second with an average of .920, followed by Boston College (.891), Louisiana State (.840) and Oklahoma (.762).

I said a small margin at #2

.022 diffence

Edited by riven3d, 14 October 2007 - 03:09 PM.

Hello

Wow...another crazy College Football Saturday. Of course, I did not get to see my Buckeyes because it was only on the Big Ten Network which is a whole 'nother topic which I don't want to get into...but it really makes me mad that I have to pay to see them...so I don't. Anyway, I thought I was going to have tickets to Mich ST....but I don't now, which also makes me mad....but ah well, hopefully it will be on TV. We are going to win that one anyway. The one I do worry about more than any is the Penn State game. As Pyro said, they do indeed always give us trouble...and actually, this year, they are good Cork. Their losses were by very slim margins and they were Illinois and Michigan..the two other 'good' teams in the Big 10...so a loss to Penn State is not out of the question. IF the Buckeyes beat Penn State, then we are for real, and I suspect we will be going to the Nat'l Championship game.

As for other teams, of course I was crushed that Cinci didn't pull out a win AT HOME against Louisville, but as some of you probably don't know..that is a big rivalry game, and therefore I still think that Cincy team is red hot..and listen up South Florida...they will give you a game. Of course, Rutgers will as well next week. Honestly cannot believe they are #2. I suspect in a week or two, we won't be talking about them...sorry Riven.

LSU lost to Kentucky! wow...that Kentucky team is better than I thought and LSU looked tired at the end..which it was triple overtime...but hey, it was a great game. Love this stuff!

CAL...hate to say this (especially because I really don't mean it...) but didn't you feel sorry for them? Their redshirt freshman making that horribly bad decision of running the ball with 14 seconds left...and not even NEAR the sideline...when they showed the coach...I felt his pain...

So, I have nothing left to say except lets wait to see what next week brings because I think these upsets are going to continue until the very end..looking at the top ten. Someone is going down every week...

Who knows, maybe it will be OK vs OHIO STATE in the national championship game...I know me and Pyro would like that

Edited by Buckeye Becky, 14 October 2007 - 03:26 PM.

I just looked at the BCS rankings, USF was #1 in the CPU polls, now that one I didnt figure.

Its just funky to say the best team in Florida is not one of the big 3 schools, its a team that has only had a football program for 11 years.

I totally forgot USF beat Auburn earlier this year. Had I remembered, that, I would have put them ahead BC.

Just got back from the OU-Mizzou game a few hours ago. Lot of fun, but my vocal cords still hurt. Was a lot of fun, and the win made coming back to Columbia that much sweeter. None of my friends seem to be taking their medicine very well because those Mizzou fans talked a lot of talk before the game. I don't think this was an ugly win for OU at all. They made some mistakes, but from five minutes in (Mizzou scores on bad OU fumble) to 1 minute remaining (Mizzou scores in trash time), OU outscored them 41-17. I will take that any day against an offense like Mizzou's, they really are good. And how about Bradford continuing to look awesome? I am really impressed with his poise and leadership, and the accuracy doesn't hurt either. He is throwing a touchdown 11% of the time he passes the ball.

So this is the third crazy Saturday in a row with teams at the top falling. I thought Kentucky had an outside shot at LSU, but am surprised they actually pulled it off. OU's stadium went nuts when that game was over. Cal's QB came through with probably the stupidest play I have witnessed, I can't decide whether to feel sorry for him or laugh. Leaning towards laugh.

I would love to see a Ohio State - Oklahoma championship, for one because it includes OU, and for two because I think that is a good match up for us. Would be a very even, exciting game, that I think OU could win. I do not under any circumstances want LSU in the title game. One because I hate them, and two because it is a home game for them which is just not cool.

So here is the way I see the season shaking down. I am just going to go ahead and assume that while Boston College and South Florida are good teams, both are also two loss teams by the end of the year. Boston College is just getting into the real meat of their schedule, and with games at Virginia Tech and Clemson there is just no way they run the table. South Florida has had a fun run, but Rutgers and Cincinnati are no slouches. I think they will lose to Louisville and one of the balanced teams (Rutgers/Cincinnati). South Florida is solid on both sides of the ball, particularly defensively. But they will be outmatched by Louisville's offense and their offense won't be able to keep pace in a shoot out.

I think OU has the best chance to win the rest of their games, and thus make it to the national title game. However, I am in no way ready to start punching their ticket. The defense looks like it has had a few bad games on paper, but they have played very well, they are not the problem. The concerning issues are the slightly underwhelming running game (could be because opponents stack the box, but still) and the terrible special teams play.

Ohio State has the next easiest road, but I honestly believe they will drop one. The offense was the question mark, and they still haven't played a real defense, so who knows how good they actually are. Penn State at Happy Valley is always tough for the Buckeyes, but this year I think Illinois or Michigan are the problem games. Illinois played Ohio State very close in Champaign last year when they were very young and Ohio State was all world, so this will be a confident, improved, athletic Illinois team coming in. However, Michigan is playing with a major chip on their shoulder, and could be the most dangerous of all of them. So the jury is still out on Ohio State, but I don't see anyone making it through this kind of year unbeaten.

LSU still is very much in control, and will play for the championship if they win out. However, I don't think that is happening. They have looked mortal for three straight weeks, starting with a lackluster performance against Tulane before pulling away, then a very close call at home against Florida, before finally dropping the ball to Kentucky. Kentucky is a good team, but this is not a great team. I think that the Auburn and Alabama games could be interesting, but if Florida manages to get through to the SEC Championship (they should) the Gators will win it. LSU obviously has a scary defense and a good but not great offense. The way to beat them is to slow down their offense enough and have enough speed to spread them out and move the ball on offense. Florida has the defense to slow LSU down, the offense to move on LSU, and the drive to prove that they should have won the first time. LSU finishes the season as a two loss team.

Looking at the polls then, I really don't think South Carolina, Kentucky, or West Virginia are competitors. South Carolina is hard to beat and a good team, but the offense is too lackluster and inconsistent to not pick up another loss. Kentucky is also very effective on offense, but can be prone to mistakes against a better defense (see South Carolina game), Florida will take care of them. West Virginia is too easy to beat to not pick up another loss. They can be made one dimensional and then teams like Rutgers or Cincinnati have the defense to stop them.

Arizona State and Oregon both look like they have the best shots from the PAC 10 if either of them can manage to run the table. Oregon already played Cal and lost, but the early timing of the loss and the last second nature could help them late down the stretch if they manage to win out. USC is still very much alive, but you don't lose to Stanford and then struggle against Arizona the next week. That shows that there are real problems on this team. Injuries are piling up, and the Nebraska and Washington wins look worse and worse every week.

Actually, I half give up trying to predict anything this year. It is just way too confusing. Its so hard to rank everyone. In a few more weeks, hopefully the picture will look a little clearer.

I was too busy at Cedar Point with geewhzzz and Panic to pay close attention but it sounds like our offense finally activated this week.

Oh and if Ohio struggles against Penn State they're going to lose to us this year. We really are playing with a chip on our shoulder; the more you people make fun of the team over the first two games the better they seem to get. It doesn't make sense but I'm not complaining. I think the rest of the season looks 'clear' after this coming Saturday; that is, until the final two games. Wisconsin, and Ohio. Those should be a riot.

Ride6