The College Football Thread 9/25 - 9/27

[Bored 0]

We do have three Top 25 match-ups this week but overall this isn't a very compelling week. Obviously the biggest game is once again from the SEC with Alabama taking on Georgia but unfortunately we are again stuck with Mike Patrick instead of Uncle Verne. Also Penn State will play their first opponent with a pulse in Illinois as the Nittany Lions have the chance to solidify themselves as a Top 15 team. Finally Oklahoma hosts TCU, the overlooked "BCS Buster" in the Mountain West but the story of the game will likely just be how long the Horned Frogs can keep it close rather than if they can actually pull off the upset.

 

Network/Basic Cable Schedule

 

THURSDAY

#1 USC at Oregon State, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN

 

FRIDAY

Connecticut at Louisville, 8:00/5:00 PM ESPN2

 

SATURDAY

Michigan State at Indiana, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN

North Carolina at Miami, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2

Army at Texas A&M, 12:30 PM/9:30 AM, Versus

 

Tennessee at #15 Auburn, 3:30/12:30 PM, CBS

Purdue at Notre Dame, 3:30/12:30 PM, NBC

#9 Wisconsin at Michigan, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC/ESPN

Colorado vs. Florida State, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC/ESPN*

Arkansas at #7 Texas, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC*

#25 Fresno State at UCLA/3:30/12:30 PM, ABC*

Florida A&M vs. Tennessee State, 4:00/1:00 PM, Versus

 

#24 TCU at #2 Oklahoma, 7:00/4:00 PM, FSN

Mississippi State at #5 LSU, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2

#8 Alabama at #3 Georgia, 7:45/4:45 PM, ESPN

#22 Illinois at #12 Penn State, 8:00/5:00 PM, ABC*

Virginia Tech at Nebraska, 8:00/5:00 PM, ABC*

 

Digital Cable/Satellite/GamePlan Schedule

 

THURSDAY

SMU at Tulane, 8:00/5:00 PM, CBSCS

Alabama State at Mississippi Valley State, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPNU

 

FRIDAY

Hofstra at Stony Brook, 7:00/4:00 PM, FCS Atlantic

 

SATURDAY

Northwestern at Iowa, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN Classic

Virginia at Duke, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPNU

Minnesota at #14 Ohio State, Noon/9:00 AM, BTN

Maryland at #20 Clemson, Noon/9:00 AM, Raycom*/GP

Pittsburgh at Syracuse, Noon/9:00 AM, GP

Kent State at Ball State, Noon/9:00 AM, GP

Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan, Noon/9:00 AM, GP

Mississippi at #4 Florida, 12:30 PM/9:30 AM, Raycom*/GP

Houston at #23 East Carolina, 3:30/12:30 PM, CBSCS

Marshall at West Virginia, 3:30/12:30 PM, GP

Morgan State at Rutgers, 3:30/12:30 PM, GP

Navy at #16 Wake Forest, 3:45/12:45 PM, ESPNU

Bowling Green at Wyoming, 4:00/1:00 PM, Mtn.

Lehigh at Princeton, 6:00/3:00 PM, FCS Central

Oregon at Washington State, 6:15/3:15 PM, FCS Pacific

UAB at South Carolina, 7:00/4:00 PM, GP

Western Kentucky at Kentucky, 7:00/4:00 PM, GP

#13 South Florida at N.C. State, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPNU

UCF at UTEP, 8:00/5:00 PM, CBSCS

Stanford at Washington, 10:00/7:00 PM, FCS Pacific

Nevada at UNLV, 10:00/7:00 PM, Mtn.

 

All Other Div. I-A Games

 

SATURDAY

Rhode Island at Boston College, ESPN360

VMI at Ohio

Western Michigan at Temple

Arkansas State at Memphis

Cincinnati at Akron

UL Lafayette at Kansas State

Buffalo at Central Michigan

North Texas at Rice

Colorado State at California

Central Arkansas at Tulsa

FIU at Toledo

Troy at Oklahoma State

Weber State at #17 Utah

Idaho at San Diego State

New Mexico at New Mexico State

San Jose State at Hawaii

[Kinetic 0]

Oh, boy. The last time a team from Alabama came to Athens, my cat got hit by a car. Who knows what sort of tragedy will befall me this time around. Maybe I'll die.

 

 

[RepoMan 0]

Weird to see USC playing on a weeknight.

[Damaramu 0]

So, I have a question to pose.

 

Does everyone think we've come far along enough now that if a BYU or Boise State or Utah were to go undefeated this year we'd see them in the national title game? Let's say all the BCS teams finish with one loss (that being the only possible scenario to allow it). Then would one of those teams have a chance given Utah and Boise's strong performances in the past? Or did Hawaii getting smoked ruin that all?

[CanadianChris 0]

Hawaii was a different case -- they clearly weren't as good as their record, as they were having a lot of trouble beating anybody away from home, and seemed to lose a lot of steam in the second half of the season. I don't think anyone will consider Hawaii when ranking those teams.

 

That said, I don't see it happening, because you still have the problem where non-BCS teams are never ranked high enough in the preseason to make it into the top 2 or 3 in the polls by the end. Big name one-loss teams from BCS conferences will always get over on undefeated non-BCS teams.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

James Madison came back and beat App State last week after being down 21-0 so this week is interesting to put it lightly.

 

#1 Richmond (3-1) has a tough first test after getting the top spot as they face #19 Villanova (2-1).

#5 Northern Iowa (2-1) has a chance at being upset by #15 Southern Illinois (1-1).

 

One matchup that intrigues me is Central Washington (4-0) @ #4 Montana (3-0). Central Washington is ranked 8th in Division II football and have scored 171 points (42.75) to 86 points allowed (21.5) so far this season including going 3-0 in their Great Northwest conference.

[cabbageboy 0]

I think if someone like BYU or Utah goes undefeated in the Mountain West then they should be considered for the title game. I took a look on realtimerpi.com and the Mountain West is actually a higher rated conf. than either the Big East or Pac 10. At the very least I think that league should be included in the BCS.

 

As far as Friday goes, U of L absolutely has to beat the crap out of UConn given that garbage that the Huskies pulled last year with the phony fair catch. UConn is easily the worst unbeaten team in the nation.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

BYU stands a good chance of getting to the title game if they are undefeated (and obviously if there are not two undefeated BCS conference teams), especially if Utah is also undefeated when those two meet up, and BYU wins. If Utah wins that game and ends up undefeated, I think they would have a chance, but it wouldn't be as strong as BYU's due to a lower starting position and less historical pedigree. The most likely teams to go undefeated in the BCS (in my opinion) are USC, one of Oklahoma or Missouri, and Penn State, in that order. I don't think anyone comes out of the SEC unbeaten this year, and while I think USC is more susceptible to a dumb loss than either Oklahoma or Missouri (due to the overall wackiness of the Pac-10 in recent seasons), the latter two both have a tough game against Texas on their schedules before any hypothetical unbeaten-vs-unbeaten Big 12 championship game. USC should win all of their remaining games on paper, but nothing is guaranteed out on the west coast, as we have seen.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

So, I have a question to pose.

 

Does everyone think we've come far along enough now that if a BYU or Boise State or Utah were to go undefeated this year we'd see them in the national title game? Let's say all the BCS teams finish with one loss (that being the only possible scenario to allow it). Then would one of those teams have a chance given Utah and Boise's strong performances in the past? Or did Hawaii getting smoked ruin that all?

I think it's still a tough case to make, particularly for BYU and Utah. Playing Northern Iowa and Weber State, respectively, is a black mark. If we get to that point, I imagine "if you're not in a BCS conference and want the title, you have to play the best opponents whenever you can, not FCS cupcakes" emerging as a fairly solid point against either team.

 

ECU was the only team that had the chance this year, because they chose to play all BCS teams. Now, it's looking like VT and especially WVU aren't as good as initially believed, but the idea stands. The best way for a non-BCS team to get there is to play 1-2 ranked powers, and fill the rest of the docket out with more BCS schools.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I think if someone like BYU or Utah goes undefeated in the Mountain West then they should be considered for the title game. I took a look on realtimerpi.com and the Mountain West is actually a higher rated conf. than either the Big East or Pac 10. At the very least I think that league should be included in the BCS.

 

LOL. Ok. Yeah BYU or Utah should definitely go in over USC, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Penn State, etc.

[RepoMan 0]

So, I have a question to pose.

 

Does everyone think we've come far along enough now that if a BYU or Boise State or Utah were to go undefeated this year we'd see them in the national title game? Let's say all the BCS teams finish with one loss (that being the only possible scenario to allow it). Then would one of those teams have a chance given Utah and Boise's strong performances in the past? Or did Hawaii getting smoked ruin that all?

I think it's still a tough case to make, particularly for BYU and Utah. Playing Northern Iowa and Weber State, respectively, is a black mark. If we get to that point, I imagine "if you're not in a BCS conference and want the title, you have to play the best opponents whenever you can, not FCS cupcakes" emerging as a fairly solid point against either team.

 

 

 

With the advent of the 12 game season, almost everybody has a FCS team on the schedule. Ohio St. played Youngstown St, Penn St. played Costal Carolina, ect. ect. If BYU runs the table they definitely should be in over a one loss team from a BCS conference.

 

I’ve always looked at BYU as a major program, due to them winning a national championship in 1984 and the Steve Young factor. The Mountain West in by far the best non-BCS conference and often better than the Big East, which is largely riding on the history of the defectors and being in the East Coast media market.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Yes, most BCS teams also play an FCS team, but most BCS teams also face at least one and often more ranked or highly credible teams during their conference season. Ohio State and Penn State still have to play through their Big Ten schedules; LSU got through Auburn but still has Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The point is not that everyone else plays an FCS team too; it's that teams in the Mountain West or WAC already have their strength of schedule stacked against them to the point that they really shouldn't be playing any super-cupcakes if they're thinking national title.

[iggymcfly 0]

Well, TCU would be a lock to get in over a one-loss team if they go undefeated. They could even get in over an undefeated from the ACC or Big East. After that it's a little murky. I think BYU could do it because of their high preseason ranking, but the close call against Washington will hurt them. They wouldn't be able to beat out a one-loss SEC team, a one-loss USC, or a one-loss Big XII champion, but they could beat out just about anyone else. Obviously, how UCLA and Washington do in conference will play into their chances as well. Utah's going to have the hardest time of all. They could still make it, but in addition to needing the top teams to lose twice, they're also going to need some other kind of break like TCU beating Oklahoma or BYU going into the regular season finale 11-0.

[Damaramu 0]

Wow you gotta love how up on their facts ESPN is. Kirk Herbstreit just mentioned that TCU beat OU in Norman a few years ago, apparently (according to Kirk) that was the year Bomar got kicked off the team.

 

Hmmm.....that's funny. I seem to remember that as the year Rhett Bomar started and the year he got kicked off the team OU opened up against UAB. But who am I to argue. I wasn't at that TCU game or anything! It's not like I was sitting in the stands in 100 degree weather watching Rhett Bomar and Paul Thompson fumble around on offense and do nothing! No, I wouldn't have something like that burned into my memory!

[Bored 0]

ESABCPN Coverage Maps

 

 

[teke184 0]

Oregon State is up 7-0 on USC in the 2nd quarter.

 

It looks like the typical "Trojans can't show up against shitty teams" routine we see every year.

[Bored 0]

This is slowly starting to creep into disaster territory for the Trojans. I really can't believe this is the same Oregon State team that played Stanford and Penn State who looked like one of the worst BCS conference teams.

[teke184 0]

This is slowly starting to creep into disaster territory for the Trojans. I really can't believe this is the same Oregon State team that played Stanford and Penn State who looked like one of the worst BCS conference teams.

 

Considering that they're having the RB run straight up the middle on them for most of his gains, this may say something about their noseguard / DTs and MLBs.

[teke184 0]

Wow. OSU is about to go up 21-0 and USC has NO answer for that RB.

[Bored 0]

Now you know it's not their night. Could have been a pick six.

[Cartman 0]

I'm gonna cry...This is awful.

[teke184 0]

... WOW. 21-0 OSU off of the bobbled INT try by USC.

 

 

Who will be #1 next week, win or lose by USC?

 

Current #2 Oklahoma?

 

#3 Georgia, with a nice win over #8 Alabama?

 

Florida? LSU? Mizzou?

 

 

 

Based on the current matchups, I'd guess Georgia gets the #1 spot if they win this weekend.

[strummer 0]

Mark May already getting on the Oklahoma bandwagon

[Kinetic 0]

USC scores and gets a stop. I have a bad feeling that they're going to come back and win this game.

[teke184 0]

USC scores and gets a stop. I have a bad feeling that they're going to come back and win this game.

Even if they win this game, this should drop them 3-4 spots, IMHO, because this Oregon State team isn't very good and already got smacked around by Penn State this year.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Oregon State needs to score on this drive. The way they're running the ball, they could conceivably kill the clock in the 4th quarter if they've got a 2-score lead.

[Kinetic 0]

But it didn't happen. Fucking USC. I'm gonna cry...this is awful.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

USC scores and gets a stop. I have a bad feeling that they're going to come back and win this game.

Even if they win this game, this should drop them 3-4 spots, IMHO, because this Oregon State team isn't very good and already got smacked around by Penn State this year.

 

Uhh no. They were the runaway #1 heading into the game. They lose some voters but they will still remain #1 or drop to #2/#3, no further, assuming they win.

[Kinetic 0]

With all of the shit we've heard from The Worldwide Leader and others about USC since they debacled OSU and all of the shit we were certain to hear if they continued winning, this will be the most satisfying college football upset since the last time USC got knocked off by some shitty Pac-10 team.

[teke184 0]

USC scores and gets a stop. I have a bad feeling that they're going to come back and win this game.

Even if they win this game, this should drop them 3-4 spots, IMHO, because this Oregon State team isn't very good and already got smacked around by Penn State this year.

 

Uhh no. They were the runaway #1 heading into the game. They lose some voters but they will still remain #1 or drop to #2/#3, no further, assuming they win.

 

They were only the "runaway" #1 because they beat a Virginia team that's been shown to be horrible and an Ohio State team that's been shown to be overrated.

 

 

Win or lose by USC, I think either Oklahoma, with a win over ranked TCU this week, or Georgia, with a win over Top 10 Alabama this week, will be #1 next week.