iggymcfly

Oops, I knew that. That was actually the whole reason I moved NC State up so far this week; just wasn't paying attention to what I was typing. Who would you put ahead of them that's actually deserving? In the AP poll, Michigan State gets the other Top Ten spot, but I don't think they've really redeemed themselves for that Hawaii loss, as they've only played one other road game all year. Also, their Gonzaga loss can't be all that easily dismissed, as the Bulldogs are looking to be far from Final Four material. Ohio State may not end the year as one of the Top Ten teams, but for now, they've earned a spot more than anyone else, picking up solid wins at home and on the road. Also, I think you're selling them a little short saying they'll be battling for a tourney spot. I think the Buckeyes have Sweet 16 written all over them. They could even be that team that comes out of nowhere every year to make the Final Four as a 7 seed. They just have a lot more talent than people give them credit for. Finally, on to Memphis. They really surprised me today. I thought they were a legitimate future 1 seed with enough talent to at least get to the Elite 8, kind of like St. Joseph's a couple years ago. Instead, it turns out their just one of the many upper-middle teams that can play with anyone on the right day, but isn't consistent enough to be a true powerhouse. Luckily for them, they play in C-USA, so their risk of being exposed during conference play is pretty damn low.

I'm glad I didn't have to be the first to post this. It was raw to hear that. I picked Georgia, but to see West Virginia lose after having such a huge lead would be sad. I feel sorry for the Big East. Fuck that. Georgia's tight. This is the best game of the entire bowl season thus far.

Wow, I'm actually enjoying the Sugar Bowl a lot more than the Fiesta Bowl. I bet on Ohio State, and the whole time, it was just nervous apprehension that ND might come back. Meanwhile, I gave up on my bet on Georgia by about the end of the first quarter. Now, that it's looking like they actually have a shot to win, I feel like I'm on a freeroll. Any chance I have of winning is a pure gift.

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Georgia Tech players danced around the field, pausing for hugs, posing for photographs and praising their victory. "I'm just really happy for the kids and what they've accomplished this year" coach Iggy McFly said. "This isn't about me, this is about the kids finishing the season as a winner, and taking the Bronze Vagina back to Atlanta." Coach McFly was a winner at the Pussy Bowl for the second year in a row, as last year, he led his Bowling Green Falcons to the title in what was then known as the Massengil Country Flower Douche Bowl. "You know I love Reno, and I love everyone involved in the Pussy Bowl. It's just been a fantastic weekend for all of us." When asked if his plans included a three-peat however, Coach McFly was a little hesitant. "No, next year we're setting our sights a little higher. The good folks of Tuscaloosa better watch out, because we're coming for that Bored Bowl trophy."

Actually, I'd say the #2 team in the Big XII beat the #2 team in the Pac-Ten. (Oklahoma's more talented than Texas Tech.) And I knew it would happen too. The reason is that Oregon's biggest weakness is their run defense. Therefore, when they play the most one-dimensional running team in the Top 40, of course they'll have problems. Remember, that same #2 team lost badly to the #3 team in the Pac-Ten earlier in the year because they didn't match up as well. As for Texas, I've never doubted their talent. I think that they're one of the five best teams of the last ten years, they're just not quite as good as this USC team. If they do win the Rose Bowl, I would give th conference more credit however, as I think you have to weight the talent of the top teams more highly than that of the cellar dwellers.

Where exactly was the Big XII "predicted to be blown out"? Oklahoma and Iowa State were both 3 1/2 point underdogs. Missouri and Colorado were 7 point dogs, which still isn't all that huge of a spread. The only double digit underdog was Nebraska, and they would have lost to Michigan if not for the worst refereeing performance this side of the 1972 Olympics. Oklahoma won because they matched up perfectly. Kansas was supposed to win. Nebraska won because of terrible officiating. Colorado lost like they were supposed to. Iowa State lost like they were supposed to. Missouri pulled a big upset; I have no idea how they did it; congratulations. For the record, the good matchups continue today, as Texas Tech gets their dream opponent in Alabama whose secondary is surprisingly vulnerable against a shotgun passing game. The odds reflect this as the Red Raiders are favored by 3 1/2. Now I'm not trying to run down the Big XII here; they've had a very good bowl season. After the way things have transpired, I might even say that the Big XII is better than the ACC. However, as far as power conferences go, they're still below average, and they still don't really measure up to the Pac Ten, Big Ten, or SEC.

Ohio State's played a solid non-conference schedule this year. In addition to the wins over LSU and St. Joes, they also beat Virginia Tech and a very good Iowa State team on the road. If everyone keeps losing around them, I'm going to keep moving them up. I mean, do I really want a solid undefeated in Ohio State behind a 3-loss Gonzaga team? The Bulldogs have lost to some tough teams, but their wins aren't all that much better than OSU's. Pittsburgh had looked impressive early in the year, (albeit against weak competition), so all the pieces were there if they could get a couple good wins. Then, this week, they actually got their two best wins of the year, not only beating Wisconsin, but beating South Carolina on the road as well. At this point, they just seem like more of a threat to win the Big East than Louisville, even if they don't have a Taquan Dean-type big name to carry them. UCLA this week was the victim of a double whammy, as not only did they lose to Cal at home, but what looked like their best win of the year, (over Nevada), got downgraded as the Wolfpack lost to Santa Clara. I'd say losing to Cal is definitely worse than losing to Kentucky, so for now I put them down below Louisville. And George Washington's previous high ranking was based solely on their win over Maryland, as that's pretty much all they had done this year. Well, now they lose to BC by 20+, and it becomes apparent that they're not quite on the same level as the ACC big boys after all. It's not worth dropping them out of the Top 25, but it's definitely enough to make me reconsider their position as one of the nation's elites. The thing is that this early in the year, we're still working with limited information. So if a team takes a bad loss, it's not that we're punishing them for that one game, it's that that one game might be 1/3 of the relevant information we have to work with. Once conference play gets going in earnest, one loss will never drop a team 14 spots, but at this point of the season, it's important to be flexible.

I still say the Big XII's a bad conference. The fact that they got some good bowl matchups doesn't change that. I can say that credibly since I also predicted that Oklahoma would beat Oregon. Now, the one revelation that I have gotten out of the bowl season thus far is that the ACC's overrated as shit. Miami got the ever-loving shit kicked out of them, and Georgia Tech got picked apart by Utah. I think Florida State's in for an epic ass-kicking, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Louisville beat Va. Tech.

I don't know about that. I actually picked Bama as well, but I do think their secondary's vulnerable. If you remember, last year, they had one of the top three defenses in the country, but then in their bowl game, they got absolutely picked apart by a dink and dunk passing attack. I really think Texas Tech is about as bad of a matchup as they could get. In fact, I'm kind of rethinking the pick altogether. It's kind of like Oklahoma/Oregon where one team was clearly better over the balance of the season, but the other team's better in the head-to-head situation.

All right, with this thread supposedly going for more of a national focus, and with certain people thinking my rankings don't deserve their own thread, I decided to just post them here. NCAA Rankings for 01/02/06 (previous week's ranking in parenthesis) Duke 12-0 (1) Connecticut 11-0 (2) Villanova 9-0 (3) Florida 12-0 (4) Memphis 11-1 (6) Illinois 14-0 (5) Washington 11-1 (7) Ohio State 10-0 (12) Gonzaga 10-3 (9) Michigan State 12-2 (11) Boston College 10-2 (15) NC State 11-1 (25) Maryland 10-2 (13) Pittsburgh 11-0 (NR) Louisville 11-1 (17) UCLA 11-2 (8) Indiana 8-2 (16) Tennessee 8-1 (18) Texas 10-2 (19) Oklahoma 8-2 (20) Kentucky 9-3 (22) Michigan 10-1 (24) Arizona 9-3 (NR) George Washington 8-1 (10) Wichita State 11-2 (NR) Just off the list, but not under the radar: North Carolina, Arkansas, Air Force, Cincinnatti, Nevada

I actually kind of like the Skins against Tampa. They had a good run to finish the year, and you just know Simms will throw two or three picks in his first career playoff game.

Let me just lead off by saying that I'm pissed that there are no games on New Year's Day this year. Who really gives a fuck about Week 17 of the NFL anyway. 90% of the teams have nothing to play for and at least 4 teams would be significantly better off losing than winning. Give me the Fiesta Bowl, god damn it!

The Skins are looking like they might dick away their playoff spot right now. They're down 17-7 to the Eagles right now. Speaking of the Eagles, here's a perfect example of why I can't get into early season NFL games. You never know which matchups are good. The one early season matchup that seemed to be significant was the Falcons/Eagles game, as it matched up the two teams that played in the NFC championship last year. Well, now it's the end of the year, and neither the Falcons nor the Eagles qualified for the playoffs. The NFL's such a crapshoot that until the playoff picture starts to take shape, you hardly even know what you're watching.

That's kind of a flawed comparison. The 1997 Michigan team didn't have any really close games that could have gone either way, while Nebraska almost lost to a really mediocre Missouri team. Texas and USC each played one elite team this year. If Matt Leinart hadn't got a boost into the end zone, USC might have lost to ND, but if Josh Huston had made that 50 yard field goal for Ohio State, then Texas would have picked up a loss as well. USC played a tougher schedule throughout the balance of the year, so I think it's fair to have them at #1 going into the bowl games, regardless of past history. I actually had them ranked #2 the week after the Fresno State game, but after they beat a 10-2 UCLA team 66-19, I figured they deserved the top spot.

Well, thanks to the NW special teams unit, I got totally jewed out of my cover on the halftime line. Northwestern just needed to stay within 11, but they had to let UCLA return both onside kicks for TDs. You'd think they'd at least learn from the first one, and kick the second one toward the sideline a little bit.

Fuck, I came into this thread for the same reason. I was going to say it differently though. I was going to say that when Torrie's dog, Todd Grisham dissing a fan, and Randy Orton yelling at a fan all have their own thread, the thread for "comments which don't deserve a thread" has become obsolete. Apparently, now the only comments which don't deserve a thread are the comments on whether other comments are thread-worthy.

Yay, a Miami win will put me up where I belong. In sole possession of first place! I can't wait to get my song girl. Do they do housework too, or are they just good for sex?

There's a grand total of 8 topics active in the entire last month. Can we just write the food folder off as a failure and move on? I say we delete it now.

Oregon was favored by like 10 and it's come all the way down to 3. I can't remember who said it I think it was either Herbstreit or Holtz that pointed out that yeah Cal got mad and got beat but the reasone he doesn't think that will happen to Oregon is because of who they're playing. I mean Texas Tech's name doesn't inspire fear in anyone. But off of pure name value alone Oregon should be thinking "oh shit we're playing Oklahoma. this is big." What you're missing is that Oregon's nowhere near as good as Cal was. That Cal team was one incomplete pass from beating USC and playing for the national title. Oregon hasn't beaten a Top 25 team all year long. The talent disparity between Oregon and Oklahoma is so slim that it can easily be overcome by matchups, regardless of motivation.

Actually, I think that would be disrespecting a hotel by destroying property, which is a little different than "living your gimmick" which Vince loves. I think that if Vince could get a convicted rapist and murderer to wrestle as a heel on Raw, he'd be in heaven.

I disagree with the prevailing sentiment here; I'd go with Dungy. The problem with the coach of the year award, is that it's almost impossible for coaches on consistently good teams, (i.e. coaches that are doing their jobs right) to get it. That's why I think that when a team accomplishes something special, (like the Colts getting to 13-0), then that coach should be rewarded. I mean honestly, what more could Tony Dungy have accomplished this regular season? If the criterion for winning coach of the year on a good team is going undefeated, then that award's bullshit as far as I'm concerned.

I've got a way better parallel for you. Nebraska is a Big XII team that looked like an embarrassment at one point, but finished the season strong (destroying Colorado), and then beat a heavy favorite in their bowl game. Oklahoma is a Big XII team that looked like an embarrassment at one point, but finished the season strong (would have won their last 6 if not for a bad call vs. Texas Tech), and will likely beat a heavily favored Oregon team int heir bowl game. Seriously, I think the Sooners take this one.

Texas isn't as bad as they looked against Tennessee, but they're definitely not as good as Memphis. Memphis is a legitimate national title contender, and could easily go through the rest of the year undefeated. They get up big for big games, and I don't see them coming out weak against Texas. The Longhorns aren't going to collapse or anything (especially with how bad the Big XII is this year), but they're going to pick up their fair share of losses, and will probably end up somewhere around a 4 seed.

I say GTA: San Andreas just to shatter the idea that movies based on video games have to be plotless crappy shoot-em-ups.

I love the word infer, but this is completely improprer usage of it. Inferring means drawing a conclusion from the evidence available, it is not a synonym for imply.