The College Football Thread 10/10 - 10/14

[Guest Vitamin X]

Yeah, even as someone who sympathizes with the Bruins will acknowledge that there's no way in hell they compete with Oregon or Cal.

 

But although losing to Utah and Notre Dame was pretty bad, at least they beat Stanford. 45-17, in fact. And for the record, SC tends to look past the little guys a bit too much- their last three losses have come at the hands of UCLA, Oregon State, and Stanford.

 

The Pac-10 title was already decided last week in Eugene. I don't think Cal or Oregon will lose to either Los Angeles team, although SC will put up more of a fight.

[Bored 0]

ESABCPN 3:30/12:30 Coverage Map

[MFer 0]

You know, I remember 2 years ago when Miami and Florida St. faced off in the opening game and Kyle Wright and Drew Weatherford (sophomores at the time) were supposed to have promising careers. Fast forward to 2 years later, and it's a constant shuffle at QB for both teams (like tonight with FSU). Part of the reason why these teams aren't what they used to be.

[Bored 0]

Another sign that times are a changing is FSU/Miami for years has been a nationally televised game on ABC but right now it'll probably either be a regional mid-day game on ABC or the ESPN2 game opposite the primetime ABC and ESPN games next week. At this rate next year it'll be relegated to southern football t.v. purgatory, aka Lincoln Financial Sports.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Good news for Booty haters- USC announced that they will be starting QB Mark Sanchez this Saturday against Arizona. We'll see if Sanchez is the real deal, and if not, we might as well punt this season and look forward to next season with Mitch Mustain at QB.

[Guest]

IF Sanchez plays the rest of the season, I think this team has a strong chance of winning out. I nearly pissed myself when I read he'd be starting.

[iggymcfly 0]

I was looking at CFN and they had a little fluff piece dividing up the remaining BCS contenders, and they absolutely butchered it, putting Michigan in the same tier as USF and BC, and putting Arizona State two tiers below. It really didn't make any sense at all how they divided it up. I started thinking about how much easier it would be to do it better, so I figured I'd do my own tier division here.

 

Tier I: Masters of their own destiny

LSU, Cal, Arizona State

-The bitter fact of the current system is that if you're not 1 of the top 2 teams and you don't have one of them on your schedule, you don't really control your own destiny. Ohio State and USF are having great seasons and they should go to New Orleans if they win out, but if LSU and Cal win out they're fucked. LSU, Cal, and ASU are the only teams that can't be held out if they win the rest of their games.

 

Tier II: On the right path

Ohio State, Boston College, USF, Missouri, Cincinnatti, Kansas, Connecticut, Oregon, South Carolina, USC, Kentucky

-This group isn't guaranteed to have a shot at the championship, but are still pretty likely to get in if they win out. With the way the field is this year, going 12-0 is probably enough to get in any undefeated team from a BCS conference, and with the Pac-Ten and SEC being powerhouses this season, a one-loss team from either of those conferences is likely to get in too.

 

Tier III: Still in the running

Oklahoma, West Virginia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida

-These teams still have a very real shot at making the championship if they win the rest of the games even though it's probably a stretch to say that it's better than a coinflip. This includes one-loss teams that aren't necessarily from premier conferences, but have forgivable losses, a recognizable brand name, or both. It also includes Florida as their road loss to LSU will be all but wiped out if they beat them at a neutral site on the last week of the season and that win would also give them a big enough boost to pass some one-loss teams.

 

Tier IV: The longshots

Hawaii, Texas Tech, Texas A&M

-None of these teams are realistically thinking national title, but they're not completely out of the race yet. Hawaii won't make it if ahead of any decent one-loss teams, or even ahead of some two-loss teams, but they could get in by default if enough teams fall. Likewise, A&M and Tech both have bad losses, but they do have the schedule to make up for them depending on what happens around the country.

 

Tier V: No chance in hell

Virginia Tech, Virginia, Purdue, Indiana

-All these teams fit the criteria of "one-loss teams from a BCS conference", but either have a crushing loss that knocks them out of contention or a weak remaining schedule that won't allow them to catch up to the teams above them. A lower-tier BCS bowl is the absolute sky for these teams at this point of the season.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

IF Sanchez plays the rest of the season, I think this team has a strong chance of winning out. I nearly pissed myself when I read he'd be starting.

 

I'm hopeful for that. If Sanchez does well against Arizona, I don't see a circumstance where Carroll could go back to Booty. And I don't think Mustain would be eligible this season to play. So the only way Booty gets back in is if Sanchez is doubly worse than him, which I don't really see. I do wonder why Carroll didn't swap the quarterbacks when he noticed that they were only 6 points up on Stanford so late in the game.

[cabbageboy 0]

Iggy, let me gives some thoughts on the various teams you mentioned.

 

Tier 1:

 

LSU: Very likely the best team in the country, but yet they don't seem invincible by any means. If they lose 1 game they could still be in the title game anyway though.

 

Cal: Something tells me USC or Arizona St. or just SOMEONE will beat these guys. If so, Cal will plummet since their SOS is currently 105, and let's face it Cal just doesn't get that much national respect.

 

Arizona State: I dunno, they kinda struggled in their last game so they will likely lose to someone in the Pac 10. Oregon, Cal, or USC will beat them.

 

Tier 2:

 

Ohio State: It disturbs me but they very well could run the table. The Big 10 doesn't really deserve anyone in the title scene this year, so I'll say Michigan beats them. The Wolverines live to ruin an unbeaten OSU season.

 

Boston College: Okay, let's get real here. It's BC, they're in the worst major conference, and they are bound to lose to somebody like Va Tech.

 

South Florida: I'm bewildered at people suggesting these guys might run the table. Their offense is mediocre and inconsistent, the kicking game is horrid as well. They have gotten by on luck and solid defense, but let's face it they struggled just to beat FL Atlantic last week. I think they lose 2 or 3 games, maybe to Rutgers and Cincy.

 

Missouri: I'm not sure how good they really are, but we'll find out tomorrow. Might get to the Big 12 title game, possibly BCS if they can win a rematch with OU.

 

Cincinnati: I've been highly impressed with Cincy but their SOS isn't good enough to go to the title game. They are bound to lose to USF or WVU anyway.

 

Kansas: A nice little story but they have no shot. Mizzou, Colorado, A & M could all beat them.

 

UConn: I would be more tempted to say they are for real if they hadn't barely beaten TEMPLE. Way too hard of a scedule too, with UVA, USF, WVU, and so on upcoming.

 

Oregon: They could be in the BCS running but not national title. Hard to put them over Cal since they lost at home to them.

 

South Carolina: They are pretty good but they just reek of 2nd tier bowl to me. May well win the SEC East though.

 

USC: Even if they somehow win out (which I can't see) they are out of any serious title consideration. You don't lose at home when favored by 40 and play for a title.

 

UK: Yeah right. UK has a couple of certain assbeatings coming up with LSU and FL. Might have a shot at one, but not both. And UGA on the road won't be easy. UK is roughly an 8-4 type team.

 

Tier 3:

 

Oklahoma: Let's be honest, after the Jason White teams tanked in the title games pollsters are looking for reasons not to put OU in the title game. They might choke again to Missouri or someone in the Big 12 title game.

 

WVU: Nobody from the Big East with 1 loss has a hope in hell of going to the title game (believe me, I know how that goes). Still, if they win out they should still win the Big East and go to the BCS, since I think USF loses a couple.

 

Illinois: A nice and improved team, but hardly a title contender. They can play S. Carolina in a 2nd tier bowl.

 

Wisconsin: They were a fraud anyway, and now that they've lost there is no shot of them going anywhere. May lose again to OSU.

 

Florida: I think they are totally screwed. In fact they might not win the East with 2 losses already and some other tough games left.

 

Tier 4:

 

Hawaii: I'm not sure they will make the BCS even if unbeaten. Schedule is horrible. I think Boise or Washington will upend them.

 

Texas Tech: Ha. They have Texas and OU coming up, as well as Mizzou. If they can actually win all those more power to them.

 

Texas A & M: Got waxed by Miami. Nuff said.

 

Tier 5:

 

Virginia Tech: I dunno if they are really no chance in hell. They obviously have no shot at the title game since LSU crushed them badly. But if they can beat BC soon there's no reason why they can't go to the BCS.

 

Virginia: Decent team but getting to a bowl would be an accomplishment.

 

Purdue: They have some losses upcoming to Penn St. and Michigan. And maybe even IU.

 

Indiana: Hoosiers have improved but just get to a bowl before thinking bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadianChris 0]

I finally get to see the vaunted Hawaii offence, and are they ever stinking it up.

[Celtic Guardian 0]

I finally get to see the vaunted Hawaii offence, and are they ever stinking it up.

 

Hawaii now down 21-14 at San Jose State late in the third, not impressive at all. There seems little reason for poll voters to back Hawaii even if it comes back for the win.

[MFer 0]

Well it doesn't look like there's gonna be a Boise St.-like run this year.

[CanadianChris 0]

28-14 now. Hope you enjoyed your stay in the top 25, Hawaii, you won't be back this season.

[CanadianChris 0]

Man, I can't believe Hawaii won that game. They might (should) still drop in the rankings, but not out of the top 25 completely.

[MFer 0]

75 pass attempts?!?! That's video game stuff right there.

[2GOLD 0]

 

ESPN Friday Night Presents:

Monday Night Football Stories

 

Playing the role of the Dallas Cowboys was the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Playing the role of Tony Romo was Colt Brennan. And playing the role of the Buffalo Bills, the team that should easily have the game wrapped up and can only lose if they shoot themselves in the foot was the San Jose State Spartans.

 

Thank you for joining us and hope to see you again next week.

 

[iggymcfly 0]

Cabbageboy, there's two points you're missing on USC:

 

1. This isn't a typical year. In the last 10 seasons, there were probably only one or two that they'd be in position to possibly make the title game after a loss to Stanford. This season's different though. 9 of the preseason Top 10 teams have lost and LSU and Ohio State are the only teams that look remotely likely to run the table. You don't have to be flawless to qualify for the title this year.

 

2. The rest of USC's schedule is really, really tough. They have to play at Oregon, at Cal, and at Arizona State. That's three road games against teams currently ranked in the Top 15. If they win all those games, there's no way you can keep them out for someone like Oklahoma that wouldn't have played one road game all season as tough as any of those three. In fact, the only team I could justify putting in the BCS title game over USC with one loss would be LSU.

 

Also, I'm not sure how clear I was on this, but I was basically just dividing the teams based on how good of a position they are to make the championship game if they win out. Obviously, a team like Kansas or Connecticut is incredibly unlikely to run the table, but at least if they do, they're in position that they could make the title game.

 

FTR, if I were to rank the teams on how likely they are to make the championship, it would be something like this:

1. LSU (Best team in the country by far.)

2. Ohio State (Probably about 40% to run the table which makes them about 36% to make the title game.)

3. Oklahoma (If any of the "Tier II" teams win out they're screwed, but there's a good chance that none of them do.)

4. California (Only because they could get in with one loss if they beat USC)

5. South Florida (Look at their schedule, it's not that bad. I wouldn't be surprised to see them get to 10-0 before blowing the L'ville game at home.)

[Bored 0]

Oklahoma State 31, Nebraska 0 2nd Quarter

 

Safe to say the Bill Callahan Era will end after this season.

[Slayer 0]

Please no... then they might actually become good again

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

Oklahoma State 31, Nebraska 0 2nd Quarter

 

Safe to say the Bill Callahan Era will end after this season.

THAT AIN'T TRUE!

[Black Lushus 0]

"We've got to be the dumbest team in America"

[Bored 0]

You can forget about USC getting themselves back into the BCS title picture. If they were going to do that they would have bounced back this week against a terrible Arizona team and be up 35-0 at halftime, instead it is tied 10-10. At best this is an eight win team on it's way to the Las Vegas Bowl right now.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

40-0 for the Ducks against WSU, almost at the half. Would someone explain to me why all the USC fans have been so confident this week about them walking into Autzen and beating U of O? Sanchez's high school numbers don't scare or impress me.

[teke184 0]

The Dirty Sanchez era isn't getting any prettier... down 13-10 at the start of the 4th.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

That is the best punt I've ever seen in my life.

[devo 0]

Remarkable interception for Kentucky that gives them possession on their own 40 down by three with a little over seven minutes to go. I know I said I don't wanna see OSU anywhere near the number one spot, but it's hard not to pull for the Wildcats here.

 

Edit: Goin' to overtime tied at 27. Great game.

[iggymcfly 0]

Boy, I'm so glad my local CBS feed decided to show the Montana/CS Sacramento game instead of some stupid southern teams like LSU and Kentucky.

 

[Hawk 34 0]

LSU is always fun to watch. 2OT, we go.

[teke184 0]

About to be Double OT in Kentucky... LSU just needs to hit the PAT.

 

 

Hit it... 2OT.

[teke184 0]

FG, LSU.

 

They need to get a turnover here badly...