This Week in College Football 10/18 - 10/22

[Guest]

Who cares whether or not USC or Michigan are #2. The rankings will fix themselves, probably leaving the Big East champ in the cold during the process. Texas would get in the title game before an undefeated West Virginia or Louisville.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Here's one to think about:

 

If Michigan and Ohio State both win out as most expect them to, would their matchup in the final regular season game, #1 vs. #2 for the Big 10 title and a spot in the BCS championship game, be the biggest regular season game in college football history?

If it isn't, we'll certainly be told it is.

 

Maybe my beef with the Michigan at #2 argument is that they sorta came out of nowhere and didn't skyrocket up the rankings until the thrashing of Notre Dame, and Notre Dame isn't great. You can make the "they're winning still, even if it's close" point, but I think they'd be embarassed in a BCS bowl. Say, kinda like last year.

 

ahhhh....so USC should be number 2 because you thought USC was in the top 5 before any actual games were played...gotcha....and "Notre Dame isnt that great"....who are the great teams to you then?

USC should be #2 because they haven't done anything to lose that position. Michigan's up there, I'm just not buying them as the second best team in the country right now. I'd put them at #5, with West Virginia, Texas, USC, and Ohio State above them. Yes, a one-loss Texas team.

 

Slayer, I was talking about Notre Dame. Anyone who thought they had a chance against Ohio State last year in the Fiesta Bowl was deluding themselves. Michigan was sorta middling last year outside of that crazy-ass game against Penn State that people forget about since USC/ND was the same day and happened to be wild also.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Here's one to think about:

 

If Michigan and Ohio State both win out as most expect them to, would their matchup in the final regular season game, #1 vs. #2 for the Big 10 title and a spot in the BCS championship game, be the biggest regular season game in college football history?

If it isn't, we'll certainly be told it is.

 

Maybe my beef with the Michigan at #2 argument is that they sorta came out of nowhere and didn't skyrocket up the rankings until the thrashing of Notre Dame, and Notre Dame isn't great. You can make the "they're winning still, even if it's close" point, but I think they'd be embarassed in a BCS bowl. Say, kinda like last year.

 

ahhhh....so USC should be number 2 because you thought USC was in the top 5 before any actual games were played...gotcha....and "Notre Dame isnt that great"....who are the great teams to you then?

USC should be #2 because they haven't done anything to lose that position.

But...that's exactly what he said. Initial poll positioning is extremely arbitrary. Where a team starts should, in a perfect world, have no bearing on where they are at any given week in the season. I personally put Michigan above USC because I've been much more impressed by Michigan's defense, and because USC's been struggling in the second half, ceding large leads and winning repeatedly in the last seconds of a game. There's nothing wrong with that--a win is a win, and I think USC is clearly a top-5 team based on their superb resume of victories, and really have no problem with someone saying that's why they're #2--but that should be what makes a decision at the very top, not the "starting point."

[naiwf 0]

Here's one to think about:

 

If Michigan and Ohio State both win out as most expect them to, would their matchup in the final regular season game, #1 vs. #2 for the Big 10 title and a spot in the BCS championship game, be the biggest regular season game in college football history?

If it isn't, we'll certainly be told it is.

 

Maybe my beef with the Michigan at #2 argument is that they sorta came out of nowhere and didn't skyrocket up the rankings until the thrashing of Notre Dame, and Notre Dame isn't great. You can make the "they're winning still, even if it's close" point, but I think they'd be embarassed in a BCS bowl. Say, kinda like last year.

 

ahhhh....so USC should be number 2 because you thought USC was in the top 5 before any actual games were played...gotcha....and "Notre Dame isnt that great"....who are the great teams to you then?

USC should be #2 because they haven't done anything to lose that position. Michigan's up there, I'm just not buying them as the second best team in the country right now. I'd put them at #5, with West Virginia, Texas, USC, and Ohio State above them. Yes, a one-loss Texas team.

 

Slayer, I was talking about Notre Dame. Anyone who thought they had a chance against Ohio State last year in the Fiesta Bowl was deluding themselves. Michigan was sorta middling last year outside of that crazy-ass game against Penn State that people forget about since USC/ND was the same day and happened to be wild also.

 

I think you'd still list OSU ahead of Michigan even if Michigan beats OSU at OSU.

[Art Sandusky 0]

That'd be stupid. I don't hate Michigan, but arguing against them being #2 when they're going to face the #1 team before a single bowl seems to have touched a massive nerve here. Even suggesting they might drop a game before then is met with disdain. A lot of college football's appeal comes from crazy-ass upsets anyway. You think teams won't give a #2 team their best shot?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

You're talking to Michigan fans here, that's why. Talk about why OU sucks, Dama is going to get on your back. Talk about why USC sucks, I'd probably get on yours. Talk about why Tennessee sucks... well I dunno what you'd do.

[Art Sandusky 0]

We couldn't get a running game going against Alabama, and Erik Ainge's three interceptions in the first half had me suffering from 2005 flashbacks. And oh yeah, we've lost LaMarcus Coker for the next three weeks, when we're facing South Carolina, LSU, and Arkansas. There are plenty of things to worry about with Tennessee. Any mentions of the national title are a bit of a longshot. I'd be overjoyed to simply beat out Florida for the SEC East.

[iggymcfly 0]

That'd be stupid. I don't hate Michigan, but arguing against them being #2 when they're going to face the #1 team before a single bowl seems to have touched a massive nerve here. Even suggesting they might drop a game before then is met with disdain. A lot of college football's appeal comes from crazy-ass upsets anyway. You think teams won't give a #2 team their best shot?

 

It's because of their schedule. It's obvious to anyone that follows college football closely that they won't lose. The Wolverines opened as a 36.5 point favorite over Northwestern. The biggest favorite to ever lose a college football game was Western Michigan in 2000 and they were only a 34.5 point favorite. Ball State's worse than Northwestern. They're 2-6, play in the MAC, and they lost to a I-AA team at home. The best team that UM plays before OSU is Indiana who lost 44-3 last week and recently broke a 10-game conference losing streak. Saying that Michigan would "probably" lose one of those three games was met with disdain because it was a ridiculous statement, not because of any innate board-wide bias toward Michigan.

 

As far as Texas goes, the only team they played that's as good as Notre Dame was OSU who they lost to by seventeen points at home.

[Guest Princess Leena]

How the heck was WMU a 34 point favorite against CMU.

[iggymcfly 0]

Western Michigan was 8-1 with their only loss of the season in the opener against Wisconsin. They were coming off of 52-22, 42-0, and 42-3 wins in their last three conference games. Central Michigan was 1-8 and coming off of 6 straight losses including a 52-3 loss to Ohio who WMU had beaten earlier in the year. As for how CMU won? I have no idea.

[dh86 0]

I remember when someone laughed at me saying Clemson could play for the national title if everyone else decided to collapse.

 

ouch

[Art Sandusky 0]

You showed me!

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

No worries. Michigan will show dh86 how sucky they are eventually.

[lomasmoney 0]

I am going to go out on a limb and say that Northwestern wins.......

[lomasmoney 0]

the coin toss

[Guest Princess Leena]

Western Michigan was 8-1 with their only loss of the season in the opener against Wisconsin. They were coming off of 52-22, 42-0, and 42-3 wins in their last three conference games. Central Michigan was 1-8 and coming off of 6 straight losses including a 52-3 loss to Ohio who WMU had beaten earlier in the year. As for how CMU won? I have no idea.

Indeed. But, still. It was a road MAC game. And, UB is usually at most 25-29 point dogs to the best teams in the MAC on the road, in the last few years. Oh well. I'm kinda disappointed now. UB can't strive for the biggest upset.