Offseason College Football Thread

[Guest Vitamin X]

So, I met Jerry Glanville the other day while on campus here. What a hick. Entertaining and nice guy, though. Seemed to dig that I play rugby for Portland State, but man, I'll tell you- it gets really annoying showing up to tournaments and all these guys from other clubs in the area are like, "Sooooooooo... PSU, huh? How do you think Glanville will do for the team?". Ugh.

 

This probably should've gone into comments that don't warrant a thread, but since Glanville was mentioned earlier here, I thought I'd share that. I think they'll definitely win their division this year, though.

[Secret Agent 0]

Why couldn't they give up their 2006 wins so I could pretend UW didn't lose to them?

 

They had to vacate victories. Meaning the teams they beat don't get to count the games as wins. They still lost. I say Oklahoma should refuse to vacate the Holiday Bowl victory until Oregon vacates their 2006 screw job win over OU.

 

Other than that; having to vacate all the wins of a less than memorable season isn't too bad of a penalty, but it hurts the players who had nothing to do with it more.

[Bored 0]

I seriously doubt the players even care. Taking away victories has always been nothing more than a symbolic gesture by the NCAA that no one but themselves really recognizes.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

So, I met Jerry Glanville the other day while on campus here. What a hick. Entertaining and nice guy, though. Seemed to dig that I play rugby for Portland State, but man, I'll tell you- it gets really annoying showing up to tournaments and all these guys from other clubs in the area are like, "Sooooooooo... PSU, huh? How do you think Glanville will do for the team?". Ugh.

 

This probably should've gone into comments that don't warrant a thread, but since Glanville was mentioned earlier here, I thought I'd share that. I think they'll definitely win their division this year, though.

 

I'm curious to see how Glanville turns the defense around. They went 7-4 last year and 6-5 the year before and this year shouldn't be any easier with Montana State (8-5) and Montana (12-2) still around.

[Bored 0]

Darren McFadden's whip

 

[Vern Gagne 0]

Gophers kicked 4 players off the team.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Darren McFadden's whip

actually that would technically be a donk.

[Bored 0]

Conference media days are going on so here are some conference preseason media polls that have been released.

 

ACC

 

Atlantic

1. Florida State

2. Boston College

3. Clemson

4. Wake Forest

5. Maryland

6. N.C. State

 

Coastal

1. Virginia Tech

2. Georgia Tech

3. Miami

4. Virginia

5. North Carolina

6. Duke

 

Big East

 

1. West Virginia

2. Louisville

3. Rutgers

4. USF

5. Cincinnati

6. Pittsburgh

7. Connecticut

8. Syracuse

 

Big XII

 

North

1. Missouri

2. Nebraska

3. Kansas State

4. Kansas

5. Colorado

6. Iowa State

 

South

1. Texas

2. Oklahoma

3. Texas A&M

4. Oklahoma State

5. Texas Tech

6. Baylor

 

Conference USA

 

East

1. Southern Miss

2. East Carolina

3. UCF

4. Marshall

5. Memphis

6. UAB

 

West

1. Houston

2. Tulsa

3. SMU

4. UTEP

5. Rice

6. Tulane

 

Moutain West

 

1. TCU

2. BYU

3. Utah

4. New Mexico

5. Wyoming

6. Colorado State

7. Air Force

8. San Diego State

9. UNLV

 

Sun Belt

 

1. Troy

2. Middle Tennessee

3. Arkansas State

4t. Louisana-Lafayette

4t. Louisana-Monroe

6. Florida Atlantic

7. North Texas

8. FIU

 

WAC

 

1. Hawaii

2. Boise State

3. Fresno State

4. Nevada

5. San Jose State

6. New Mexico State

7. Louisiana Tech

8. Utah State

9. Idaho

[Art Sandusky 0]

A few of the preseason rags have South Carolina at least 2nd in the SEC East. Florida's 1st on the regular, and of the two remaining contenders, Georgia is 3rd more often than not. This means Tennessee is 4th an absurd number of times. Spurrier marks, I swear.

 

I expect the West to provide a more exciting season, because I can't predict them at all. Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama are all going to scrap and produce a weak (meaning two losses in this conference) division winner. I'll go ahead and pick Auburn, because they lost fewer super key guys going into this season. LSU and Arkansas are a pick'em to me, and it'll take at least one season for Nick Saban's influence in Alabama to show up.

 

As for the East, one of their four contenders is going to just stomp the shit out of everyone and dominate on the way to the conference title game. It feels like time for one of those plodding unstoppable Georgia seasons. Florida will lose to both Georgia and Tennessee. South Carolina remains the Paris Hilton of the SEC by way of doing absolutely nothing but attracting press anyway.

 

As far as the national game, the SEC won't produce a BCS Championship participant, unless another team goes bonkers and undefeated out of nowhere like Alabama in 2005 and Arkansas in 2006 and manages to hold that momentum all season. The country is ready to move on beyond the whole SEC NUMBAH WON argument now that it's been confirmed. We'll get a title game with teams from conferences I can't care about, like the Big Ten and Big XII. I'd mark for a Louisville/West Virginia/Rutgers appearance in the national title game.

[Broward83 0]

Just saw it on the espn bottomline, but apparently Oklahoma and Notre Dame have agreed to a home and home series for 2012 and 2013...

 

Edit: Now when the hell are Notre Dame / Texas going to play each other again?

[Urban Warfare 0]

Big Ten (11) may be expanding to 12 teams..

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Notre Dame will never go for it.

[Bored 0]

So what would they call the conference? Can't call it the Big 12. Maybe just THE Big Conference? Of course they've had 11 teams since 1993 and haven't bothered to change the name so might as well just leave it the Big Ten with 12 teams.

 

Of course Notre Dame would have no interest but I can't really see the Big Ten settling for plucking a team from the MAC though either. Iowa State would make some sense which that move would lead to a major re-shuffling across several conferences like when the ACC raided the Big East just a few years back.

 

Unrelated, here are more conference preseason media polls:

 

Pac-10

1. USC

2. California

3. UCLA

4. Arizona State

5. Oregon State

6. Oregon

7. Arizona

8. Washington State

9. Washington

10. Stanford

 

SEC

 

East

1. Florida

2. Tennessee

3. Georgia

4. South Carolina

5. Kentucky

6. Vanderbilt

 

West

1. LSU

2. Auburn

3. Arkansas

4. Alabama

5. Mississippi

6. Mississippi State

 

MAC

 

West

1. Western Michigan

2. Central Michigan

3. Toledo

4. Ball State

5. Northern Illinois

6. Eastern Michigan

 

East

1. Ohio

2. Kent State

3. Akron

4. Miami of Ohio

5. Bowling Green

6. Temple

7. Buffalo

[Broward83 0]

If the Big Ten takes Iowa State out of the Big 12, I'm thinking either Rice or Houston get "called up" to join the Big 12. If that does happen, then I could see the Big 12 taking out Baylor as well to sneak Rice in along with Houston.

 

I've heard Colorado being thrown about, but geography wise... I don't see how it works.

 

Edit: If they do expand, (the Big Ten that is) then I would hope they look at a few of the other conferences and find a way to balance out the divisions. Using the Big 12 for an example.. the conference isn't aligned that great. I mean, by the middle of October, you've more than likely locked up the Big 12 South winner (winner of OU/UT) while you get teams in the North that tend to back their way into the game and get rolled.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The Big 12 conference alignment would be screwed up if Iowa St or Missouri left.

 

 

[cabbageboy 0]

I don't see anyone in the Big East going undefeated and thus going to the title game. It should have happened last year with U of L, since the schedule was there to do it but the one tough road game turned out to be Rutgers. But with the matchups in place this year I don't see it happening:

 

--U of L has to travel to WVU (probable loss barring injury to White or Slaton), to USF (who seem to own us in Tampa), and to Cincy I think (likely a win but who knows with them).

 

--WVU has to go to Rutgers (who want the payback for costing them the BCS), and has to visit USF (who upset them in Morgantown, costing them a BCS bid).

 

--Rutgers does get WVU at home as well as USF, but U of L gets to assrape them in a big time payback in the season finale.

 

--South Florida...eh they could be a dark horse to go about 9-3 but that's it. I think they will upset one of those 3 though.

 

 

[Broward83 0]

The Big 12 conference alignment would be screwed up if Iowa St or Missouri left.

 

 

Not really, you either take Oklahoma or Oklahoma State and move them up while raiding a Conference USA school or maybe a school from the MWC or WAC.

 

Moving Oklahoma up would still make the Red River Shootout an important game...but you still have a shot at a rematch of the two teams in the conference title game.

[Guest]

The Big XII should take Boise State in the event that Iowa State leaves the conference....

 

/pipe

[Vern Gagne 0]

The Big 12 conference alignment would be screwed up if Iowa St or Missouri left.

 

 

Not really, you either take Oklahoma or Oklahoma State and move them up while raiding a Conference USA school or maybe a school from the MWC or WAC.

 

Moving Oklahoma up would still make the Red River Shootout an important game...but you still have a shot at a rematch of the two teams in the conference title game.

 

I meant more Oklahoma or Oklahoma St. not being in the same division.

 

I think the perfect team to join the Big 12 would be Arkansas.

[Slayer 0]

If it gets Baylor out of the conference (much easier now that fuckin' Ann Richards is dead), I'm down with it

[Bored 0]

Apparently the reason Jim Delany wants to add a 12th team to the Big Ten isn't only to get a conference championship but also to expand the number of cable providers for the Big Ten Network. To do this they are going to look for a school that isn't in a state that the Big Ten has a school in already so that would eliminate Iowa State and Pittsburgh, but would leave open Missouri. The popular speculation though right now is they are looking at Syracuse or Rutgers. Man, everyone always going after the Big East.

[cabbageboy 0]

Syracuse going to the Big 10 is almost sacrilege if you think about it. Is there anyone more Big East than the Cuse? Would this be only football or a basketball move as well?

[Bored 0]

I would assume any football move to the Big Ten would also mean a move in basketball as well. But again this is all rumors at this point and it would be fairly surprising if Syracuse left the Big East. What I wonder is if the Big Ten grabs someone from the Big East, who does the Big East then pick up for football? Marshall? UCF? They sure as hell wouldn't want Temple back.

[Nate 0]

why not raid the ACC, they got quite a few teams and probably could spare to give one up, like maybe NC State or Wake Forest

[iggymcfly 0]

Because no one wants to be in the Big East when they can be in the ACC instead. That's why all those teams left in the first place. UCF would probably be the best fit as the foottball program's on the upswing with George O'Leary coaching and the basketball program did at least win 20 games last year. It would still be a pretty big downgrade from the Cuse hoops-wise though.

[RepoMan 0]

Syracuse going to the Big 10 is almost sacrilege if you think about it. Is there anyone more Big East than the Cuse? Would this be only football or a basketball move as well?

I'd love to see Cuse move the Big 10. I was super pissed when the move to the ACC got screwed up.

 

I don't that leaving the Conference for football would be a bid deal at all. It's only been around since the early 90s and Cuse lost it's top rivals VT and Miami. As far as basketball goes, I guess it would be "sacrilidge," but bastketball has gone through so many realignments and over bloated with 16 teams.

 

If the B10 is looking to the East, Rutgers seems like the mutch better choice at this point in time, and it would fit the profile of the other Big 10 schools a lot better than Cuse.

[cabbageboy 0]

Yeah I meant it is heinous to think of Syracuse leaving the Big East in basketball moreso than football. With Rutgers, I don't see how going to the Big 10 in football would make any sense, since they couldn't possibly finish higher than 4th behind teams like OSU, Michigan, Penn St. With the right schedule in the Big East they could maybe go to the BCS this year, but after Ray Rice goes pro who knows.

[Bored 0]

CFN is counting down their preseason rankings, here's 119 thru 80.

 

119. Army

118. Temple

117. Buffalo

116. Utah State

115. Eastern Michigan

114. FIU

113. North Texas

112. UL Lafayette

111. Idaho

110. Florida Atlantic

109. Middle Tennessee

108. Arkansas State

107. UL Monroe

106. UAB

105. Tulane

104. Louisiana Tech

103. Rice

102. Troy

101. Ball State

100. Kent State

99. Akron

98. Air Force

97. UTEP

96. Miami of Ohio

95. Ohio

94. San Diego State

93. UNLV

92. Navy

91. East Carolina

90. UCF

89. Marshall

88. Toledo

87. Bowling Green

86. Northern Illinois

85. Memphis

84. New Mexico State

83. SMU

82. Tulsa

81. Houston

80. San Jose State

[Vern Gagne 0]

Kragthorpe mean that much to Tulsa, or did they lose alot of starters?

[Bored 0]

Tulsa is going to be fine, CFN just tends to rank non-BCS conference teams low as you'll notice there isn't a single BCS conference in the bottom 40. As much as I'd like to hope that Stanford won't be one of the worst teams in the country, reality is they will be and so will Duke. Going by those rankings they actually have Tulsa as the 3rd best team in C-USA going into the season just behind Houston, with Southern Miss being the only team from the conference not in their bottom 40.