This Week in College Football 11/14 - 11/18

[2GOLD 0]

Damn, thats a real shame but the man fought off this for a long time. 77 is a damn good life when you look at his history of heart problems.

[MFer 0]

I attended a couple UM football camps in H.S. and had the opportunity to hear Bo speak and I was a better man for it. I have no idea how this will affect the game. I imagine Michigan will come out with as much emotion as any past Wolverine team I can remember. This is quite the time for something like this to happen. Well I guess now Bo and Woody will be able to sit side by side in heaven with the sweet sounds of Bob Ufer calling the game.

 

RIP Bo and thanks for everything.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Maryland/BC is a big game for me tomorrow.

 

Screw the game of the millenium or whatever the hell they're calling it.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Here's a great article on why an 11-1 USC team would belong in the national championship game:

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=Aj...o&type=lgns

[CanadianChris 0]

I don't think anyone would argue that a one-loss USC would deserve a shot at the national title, except maybe some diehard Florida fans. Has that ever been the point?

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Not from me. I just liked the article (naturally).

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

It ended with "USC won't be rewarded but they should" line. That's a bummer.

[snuffbox 0]

The Football Gods will grant Michigan the big win tomorrow.

 

Edit - Sentence works better with all the letters.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

If Arkansas beats Florida in a SEC title game, does that give them enough to springboard them over USC?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

If Arkansas beats Florida in a SEC title game, does that give them enough to springboard them over USC?

 

Why? USC beat Arkansas.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Bill Fralic taking a shot at Joe Paterno was my favorite part of the broadcast.

 

what'd he say? I heard them mention Paterno, but I was playing a computer game at the time, thus my focus wasn't all there.

 

That Penn St. was afraid to play Pittsburgh.

[therealworldschampion 0]

Bill Fralic taking a shot at Joe Paterno was my favorite part of the broadcast.

 

what'd he say? I heard them mention Paterno, but I was playing a computer game at the time, thus my focus wasn't all there.

 

That Penn St. was afraid to play Pittsburgh.

 

The decomposing corpse of Joe Paterno still has more coaching ability than Dave Wannstedt.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Which makes the decision even more baffling.

[iggymcfly 0]

That's a terrible article. The whole point is that we should reward SC for their scheduling, even though that was done five years in advance, and they had no idea that teams like Arkansas would even be good. How about we reward Florida for you know... playing a tougher schedule, taking on Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Auburn, and Arkansas regardless of whether those were conference games or not. The national title's not for who has the most courageous athletic director; it's for whose players accomplished the most.

 

The worst part's the line at the end. "USC won't be rewarded for that attitude, but they should." Uh, are you kidding? If the Trojans win out the rest of the way there's about a 95% chance that they'll go to the national championship game, and about 4.5% of the other part is the small chance that Rutgers goes undefeated and jumps them. Acting like USC's in danger of getting jobbed here is just silly.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Because playing Western Carolina is such a great matchup, right?

[yankovic fan 0]

Because playing Western Carolina is such a great matchup, right?

 

 

Hey hey hey, you underestimate the Catamounts.

 

 

I skipped a 3 hour road trip to see my alma mater play just so I can see all the 'big games' of the day.

 

Does this make me a bad booster?

[2GOLD 0]

I decided to examine the Rutgers/USC/Florida/Arkansas/Michigan non-conference schedules and see what hurts them and what shouldn't hurt them. Additionally, Big East is still a major conference as long as they are BCS eligible. Accept it and deal with it Pac-10, SEC and Big 10 fans. Plus if a team is from a major conference, they count as a plus. If you want to say, "We play in the (insert conference here), that's gotta count for something" then you open the door to teams who play your conference teams in non conference play.

 

Non conference Rutgers:

at North Carolina- ACC team, I count that as a plus even though UNC choked out. A coach away from great

Illinois- Big 10 team, has struggled but has shown life this year. Biggest loss of the season handed to them by Rutgers (33 points). Rutgers only team this season to shut them out. That's a plus (especially when Ohio St only beat them by 7).

Navy- 7-3 on the season, should receive a bowl bid, lost 34-0 to Rutgers. Plus at the moment. Notre Dame and Tulsa their only other losses. If they win out and get a bowl bid, plus for Rutgers.

Ohio- 7-3, currently leads the MAC with a 6-1 conference record. MAC was a media darling just few years ago so a winning record in the conference is a plus.

Howard- hurts, hurts them bad. Might have given them more if Howard was a GOOD Div IAA school, but they are 4-6.

 

Rutgers has a very strong case if (big IF) they can win their final three games of the season and capture the Big East crown. Howard game hurts them with the voters though, and will end up killing them much like The Citadel killed Auburn in 2004 the year they went undefeated. I'm expecting a 2004 deal with them as well.

 

Non conference USC:

at Arkansas- Big plus. SEC leader of the West and USC has handed them their only loss so far. USC is currently the road block holding back Arkansas from having any shot at the National Title game.

Nebraska- Another big plus. Currently ranked on the season, Big 12 stronghorse leading the North.

Notre Dame- another big plus, ranked sixth in the country at the moment.

 

That's it for USC, three non-conference games. Very tough schedule ahead for them but they have the stigma of one loss. Will it affect the opinion of the voters? Of course not. Cause a one loss PAC 10 team is more important than an undefeated team. Just like a one loss BIG 12 team is more important than a undefeated SEC team. Speaking of SEC...

 

 

Non conference Florida:

Southern Miss- Conference USA team. 6-4 overall and 4-2 in conference. A plus with a win out for Southern Miss. We'll treat Conference USA like the MAC.

UCF- Again, Conference USA team. 3-7 overall, 2-4 in the conference. Florida was the only team to shut them out. Push because of the record sadly.

Western Carolina- Ok, well this one is a HUGE negative. Div IAA school, 0-7 in Southern conference play, 2-8 overall. This will end up being Florida's "Citadel".

at Florida St- Still ACC team and one of the big name programs in football. Rival game and road game. Plus despite FSU struggles.

 

And putting Western Carolina on as one of the four wasn't bright. Add in the one loss and Florida is NOT going to get ahead of USC, Michigan, Notre Dame or even Ohio St at the end of the season. They might get by Rutgers but who knows? They are the definition of a team needing help. If UCF can get respectable and Southern Miss can hang on, it'll help. But yeah, they need help with the addition of Western Carolina.

 

Non conference Arkansas:

USC- Helps them and hurts them. If USC drops another game, it gets them out of their way. But the loss to USC means USC will remain ahead of them. Bad news for the Hogs

Utah St- WAC team, 1-9 on the season. Been shut out four times this season. Need I say more? Negative.

SE Miss St- Did the SEC not learn from Auburn at ALL? Div1-AA, 4-6 Overall, 2-5 in the Ohio Valley. Negative

UL-Monroe- Sunbelt conference team. 2-7 on the season. Negative.

 

Ok, this is a miserable, MISERABLE non conference schedule. Even if they finish with one loss, there is no way I can see anyone making a case for this team. USC is a big plus yes, but the rest is horrible. Just horrible. When you look at the other resumes. Will need big help.

 

Non conference Michigan:

Vanderbilt- SEC team, already a plus for that fact alone. 4-7 on the season, doesn't make them any less of a plus

Central Michigan- MAC team. 7-4 overall, leading the MAC West. Plus.

at Notre Dame- Big plus. Currently the only loss on the ND resume.

Ball St- 4-7 MAC team, not a plus or a negative. We'll call this one a push.

 

Wow, the Michigan resume is stacked. USC and Michigan might end up being decided on points difference in the Notre Dame games. Michigan won by 26 when the Fighting Irish were #2 in the nation. Holy crap, this is probably the best of the ones. Since I did Michigan, I might as well do...

 

Non conference Ohio St.

Northern Illinois- 6-5 MAC school, at the moment a plus

at Texas- Big 12 school, currently leads the South. Big plus

Cincy- Big East school, which is a plus. 5-5 overall, biggest loss of the season to Ohio State (37-7)

Bowling Green- 4-7 MAC school, give them the same push I gave the Wolverines and Florida.

 

If Ohio St loses, I can now see why the talk will be rematch. Although Nebraska defeating Texas would allow USC to jump them since the Bowling Green game isn't a plus or a minus.

 

Final breakdown

-Rutgers will need to win out and hammer West VA to even get a whisper, don't bet on it.

-USC is in good shape, but they will need Nebraska to knock off Texas if OSU loses to Michigan

-Arkansas has horrible non conference schedules and can't say a thing towards an undefeated Rutgers. Will need a Rutgers loss, a USC loss, a win over Florida in the title game and somehow for Michigan/OSU or Notre Dame to forfeit their seasons. Next time, book some major conference opponents SEC.

-Florida is a dark horse. The loss and Western Carolina hurt. UCF bombing out makes them look bad.

-Michigan is set but they might need Notre Dame to beat USC just to be safe

-Ohio State will need the same thing, although a Texas win over Nebraska might have the same effect.

 

Best chances

Michigan and Ohio State

 

Good chances

USC and Notre Dame

 

Need some help here

Florida and Rutgers

 

Might as well be dead

Arkansas.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I just never thought I'd see a day when USC marks thought they were being discriminated against.

[naiwf 0]

BC's Jolonn Dunbarr has 2 fumble returns for TD's already, and there's only about 12 minutes left in the FIRST. BC's up 14-0 and haven't had an offensive touch yet.

[Art Sandusky 0]

If Maryland can't come back and Wake Forest wins tonight, we've got Wake/GT for the ACC Championship. Incredible.

 

Meanwhile, Tennessee's beating Vanderbilt pretty well, but Vandy's keeping it interesting.

[iggymcfly 0]

Why should the whole thing be decided on non-conference schedules. Do conference games just not count now or something? The Pac-Ten's been pretty miserable this year, and USC lost to Oregon State who's not even a Top 30 team right now.

 

Rutgers had a slightly worse schedule than USC, but if they get by West Virginia, they'll be undefeated. As in no losses. As in who cares if Nebraska's better than Navy if they won all their games. Also, the WVU and Louisville wins would be just as good as the two best wins on USC's schedule. You don't look down to the 7th toughest game of the schedule to differentiate a 12-0 team from an 11-1 team.

 

As for Florida, look at the whole schedule. The important games are Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida State and Arkansas. USC's important games are Arkansas, Nebraska, Oregon State, Oregon, Cal, and Notre Dame. I don't care if Stanford's better than West Carolina. Looking at the important, difficult games, I think Florida's got the tougher all-around schedule.

 

Assuming the OSU/Michigan winner's in, I think the teams with the best claim to the title game if they win out go in this order:

 

1. Rutgers

2. Florida

3. USC

4. Arkansas

 

Those are the only teams that should really be in the race right now. Notre Dame shouldn't get in over the OSU/Michigan loser unless Michigan beats OSU by at least 3 TDs.

[2GOLD 0]

I'm not saying it should but that is what it usually DOES come down too. Can your non-conference schedule hurt you badly. By showing who they played non-conference, it makes the discussion about conference and that never really decides anything. The SEC was very good in 2004, Auburn still got hung out to dry by their non-conference schedule. What happens out of conference is usually the life or death nail.

 

That's all. If you go by the non conference, there are your argument pieces.

[Bored 0]

Miami loses again. Damn and I so wanted to see them in MPC Computers Bowl.

[CanadianChris 0]

Your team is down 10 with about 4:30 left in the game. You're facing 4th and 3 on the opposing team's 26. Do you go for it or kick the field goal?

 

Iowa went for it and failed, and that's why they're going to lose to Minnesota. I don't see how you can do anything but kick the FG unless your kicker is absolutely horrible, or you have no confidence whatsoever in your defence.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

ABC's pregame montage for The Game was pretty awesome.

[iggymcfly 0]

Agreed. I am pumped up for this game now.

 

GO BLUE!

[Art Sandusky 0]

Tennnessee decided the game wasn't going to be interesting anymore. Ainge looked like he hadn't even missed the last two games.

 

I'm ready for this game to go ahead and start already. They used the dramatic YTMND music for the opening video package. Let's go.

 

I don't know who I'm rooting for. I want to root for Michigan because I haven't seen a single talking head pick them, but I've never liked 'em. Then again, I always hate rooting for a #1 team unless it's my boys. Umm... go Alabama.

[Urban Warfare 0]

Wow, absolutely flawless opening drive by Michigan, 7-0.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

GO BLUE!!!!

 

7-0

[CanadianChris 0]

I had thought the Ohio State secondary was better than that.