College Football About to start in earnest

[CMJ]

This Saturday is the first big one of the season. How is your school gonna do? Who do you like to win the conference championships? The Heisman will go to whom?

And who's gonna play in the Sugar Bowl come January? Time to start finding out.

[Mu Satach]

I guess I could pay attention this year... since I'm officially a college student again. :)

Edit - Actually I have a thought already. I don't expect too much from the U this year as it's Meyer's 1st year as head coach. I think he brings potential to the U, I just don't see a massive change happening the 1st year out of the gate.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by CMJ
How is your school gonna do?

Purdue will be the upset favorite to win the Big Ten if Michigan or Ohio State stumble. If the schedule wasn't so harsh, they would be a dark horse contender for a Sugar Bowl berth. It's the most talented team Joe Tiller has had in his time in West Lafayette.


Who do you like to win the conference championships?

ACC: NC State (If they don't win it this year, they don't deserve to for the next 50 years... they have no excuses with FSU still down and Maryland banged up.)
Big East: Virginia Tech (They'll surprise Miami, and Marcus Vick will see playing time.)
Big Ten: Michigan (This pains me so much... but I don't think Ohio State can win in the Big House twice in two trips, and Purdue's schedule is just too tough.)
Big 12: Oklahoma (Kansas St. wins the North division, but the Sooner D wins the day in the conference title game.)
PAC-10: Washington (I'd pick USC, but they still can't decide on a QB.)
SEC: Georgia (I think the hype about Auburn is a bunch of bunk.)

I'm behind on my analysis of the smaller conferences, so I'm not going to pick them yet.



The Heisman will go to whom?

Can you remember a year in which there was so little Heisman hype? It's not going to be someone expected... I think this'll be a year like '97, in which someone unsuspecting rise to the top and takes home the hardware (not necessarily a defensive player, like Charles Woodson in 1997, but just someone whom doesn't get a lot of hype early in the season.






And who's gonna play in the Sugar Bowl come January?

The Obvious Picks: Miami vs. Oklahoma

The Sleeper Picks: Kansas State vs. Michigan

The "What the Hell is Going on Around Here?!" picks: Purdue vs. Alabama (just because it would be an excuse to go to New Orleans and party with Charley.)

What will really happen: There will be no undefeated teams, a whole slew of 1-loss teams, and the BCS formula decides the difference between who gets into the big game and who doesn't is the 1/100th of a point awarded to Team A because of their meaningless end-of-the-game interception to beat St. Mary's School of the Blind, which prevents a drop in their Total Average Yards Against number that is factored into the Home & Garden Magazine Power 16 rating portion of the computer polls. Team B gets really upset, and decides to leave several large bags of burning dog feces on the doorstep of former SEC comissioner, Roy Williams.

[Ryan Pode]

It is a real shame Maryland is gonna do bad this year. The ACC will be run by NC most likely as I don't see FSU doing much good with the players they lost.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
The "What the Hell is Going on Around Here?!" picks: Purdue vs. Alabama (just because it would be an excuse to go to New Orleans and party with Charley.)

That would be fantastic :cool

[CMJ]

My picks for conference Champs

ACC: NC State
Big East: Miami
Big Ten: Michigan
Big 12: Kansas State
PAC-10: USC
SEC: Auburn
Sunbelt: North Texas(of course!)
Mountain West: Colorado State
C-USA: TCU
WAC: Boise State

The game of the week is USC at Auburn. I really think the winner might end up in New Orleans come January.

Which means of course both will have lousy years. ;)

[Wei Wu Wei]

My step-dad will probably be pulling for Georgia Tech, just because he graduated from there. I don't think they'll get too far, though.

[Commander Zemil Vymes]

Both Auburn and Georga Tech can kindly kiss my grits.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Maryland might have some problems now getting beat by Northern Illinois in OT.

[CMJ]

I forgot to pick my MAC winner. After watching the Huskies beat Maryland, I may have found my answer. ;)

[Ryan Pode]

It was luck... really... although I didn't see the game as Ravens v. Giants was on.

[CMJ]

NIU dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. It was not luck...they deserved to beat Maryland.

[Ryan Pode]

Oh. Fair enough. I think CSN (local sports) will show it tomorrow or sunday. I'll try to catch it then.

[Charley]

Go Trojans :cool

[CMJ]

We got hurt by Oklahoma...37-3. I expected more like a 20 point loss, so I'm a bit on the depressed side.

At least it wasn't 40+ though. Stoops can run it up at times.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Clemson got laughed out of Death Valley getting shutout and home even by Georgia is awful.

[CMJ]

Jedieb's squad played Alabama really tough for a half. They surrendered momentum at the end of the first 30 minutes and then the Tide rolled.

That's gonna be quite a tilt next weekend in Bama.

[Charley]

Originally posted by CMJ
Jedieb's squad played Alabama really tough for a half. They surrendered momentum at the end of the first 30 minutes and then the Tide rolled.

That's gonna be quite a tilt next weekend in Bama.

I didn't know Jedieb went to USF. Cool.

And yeah, the Oklahoma game is gonna be CRAZY.

[CMJ]

I think if USF hadn't collapsed at halftime you guys were in trouble. They really were playing toe to toe with you.

After watching Oklahoma tonight let me say they are better than I feared. Their defense is terrific, but I was impressed by their offense. White looks like he is totally back, which I never expected after 2 knee injuries.

They're gonna be tough for anyone to take down.

[Charley]

Originally posted by CMJ
I think if USF hadn't collapsed at halftime you guys were in trouble. They really were playing toe to toe with you.

After watching Oklahoma tonight let me say they are better than I feared. Their defense is terrific, but I was impressed by their offense. White looks like he is totally back, which I never expected after 2 knee injuries.

They're gonna be tough for anyone to take down.

The tide (no pun intended) shifted before halftime, really. It wasn't so much as USF fell apart, as we stopped making some foolish mistakes. Not to mention, we really got REAMED on some crucial calls that would result in points, or the prevention of Bulls points.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think OU is going to be though there defense is a amazing.

[Charley]

I have no illusions about OU. They will be a tough crew to play. But we played them in Norman last year, and damn-near beat them then. I anticipate a wonderfully close ball game.

[Figrin D'an]

I agree. OU has a great squad this year, and their defense looked awesome (although I think USC might have outshined them today... the Trojans just demoralized Auburn). But Bama knows they can play with the Sooners from last year's contest. Even against a better Sooner team, the Tide should put up a good performance against them at home. If it's close in the 4th quarter, anything could happen.

NIU over Maryland was just plain fun to watch. Great game for the Huskies... very good MAC team. They deserved to win that game.

Colorado/Colorado St. was a fun shootout. Watching the Buffs throw the football downfield just seemed wrong, though. :lol

Most other games went as expected. Ohio State rolled, even without Clarrett. Most of the Big Ten looked solid, except for Indiana. They got rolled by... of all schools... UConn, whom is just now a Division 1-A school and won't join the Big East in football until next season. I think the Hoosiers can look forward to an 0-12 season.

USC impressed me the most of all, though. I've felt that Auburn was overrated from the moment the first preseason poll was revealed, but I didn't expect USC to dominate the game like that.

[CMJ]

I think the men of Troy have a great chance to go all the way. I was keeping an eye on that game while watching the Sooners pummel my boys. Since I'm in the middle of USC country I think I'm gonna be hearing about this game for a solid week. ;)

NT has Baylor at home next weekend. I'm expecting a 'W'. If we lose, it might be a really long year.

[Jedi Master Carr]

So far a lot of upsets today, Purdue losing to Bowling Green, Penn St losing to Boston College, NC State losing to Wake Forest, Virginina losing to South Carolina, Auburn losing to Georgia Tech. Also Miami might be added to this list as they are getting trounced by Florida. And USC aren't doing too well either barely beating BYU in the Third Quarter.

[Figrin D'an]

Penn State got run over by Boston College as well.

I'm shocked at how well Florida is playing in the Orange Bowl... they've taken that game over, and they're doing it with multiple quarterbacks, which everyone thought would be a huge mistake going against the 'Canes. I think the rest of the SEC had better watch out... Florida is looking like a serious contender.

I'm not optimistic about Purdue's chances next week. They were out of sync on offense today, and once again, they gave up the big play that the worst possible time. I hate to say it, but I think my Boilermakers are going to be starting 0-2 this season... :(

[Figrin D'an]

And just like that, Miami scores 15 points to get back into it.

[CMJ]

All I gotta say is NT DEMOLISHED Baylor.

NT 52
Baylor 14

I'm now optimistic about our season. We got the Air Force Academy next week.

Scrap'em Eagles!

[Figrin D'an]

Wow... Miami survived... barely.

[CMJ]

I rember last year we had a discussion over insane fans and the like. I mentioned how much of a cult the Aggie fans(of Texas A&M) are. I just found this article that ran in the Utah student newspaper this week(the Utes played down in college Station last weekend).

I'm FROM Texas and the first time NT played down there I knew what to expect and was dtill dumbfounded. Obviously this poor soul had no idea what to expect. :lol :lol

******************************8

Cult! Fear and loathing in College Station

By Chris Bellamy

Media Credit: kevin buehler / The Daily Utah Chronicle
My two colleagues and I were terrified as we stumbled upon the worshipping ground of the Texas A&M football faithful.


I tried to escape. Honest, I did. But believe me when I tell you, I didn't know what the hell was going on. What was happening around me was dumbfounding, disturbing, frightening.

I don't know what it was that compelled me to stay. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was my obscene sense of curiosity. Maybe it was the smell.

Whatever the reason, last Friday night I found myself, along with my co-workers Asad Kudiya and Kevin Buehler, in probably the most peculiar situation of my life.

Cannons were firing. People were chanting. They were gyrating in unison. My God, they were doing synchronized pushups!

This was called "The Yell," and I found myself unwittingly and unintentionally thrown into the middle of it. It was there that I began to discover just what College Station, Texas was all about-and I'm not exaggerating when I say it may have changed my life forever.

More than 30,000 Aggie fans crowded the streets outside the stadium just before midnight last Friday, as they do before every home game, ready to take part in this massive pre-game pep rally.

Now, I had always heard about cults. I had even seen a few documentaries on them on The Learning Channel. Heaven's Gate. Jim Jones and The People's Temple.

But never had I seen a cult up close and personal until we settled into our places in Kyle Field Friday night.

It started with the pushups. Then it was the "Fighting Aggie War Hymn," a tune repeated ad nauseam all night long, one that still rings in my head at this very hour.

Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck. Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck. All hail to dear old Texas A&M...

Then it got weird. A group of young men, wearing matching overalls, took center stage down on the sidelines as the raucous crowd suddenly hushed. The men began leading these Aggie faithful in chants, cheers and the reading of Masonic verses.

And everyone knew exactly what to do-and when to do it. They knew what every hand gesture meant. They knew every word of every chant and every song.

Everyone except us, of course. We, visitors from Utah, did not belong. We did not have the ceremony down by heart. But we did what we were told. What else could we do?

"I was confused...and scared," a genuinely shaken Asad told me afterward. "I felt like if I didn't do what they were doing, they were going to rape me."

We leaned over and bowed our heads with the rest of them. We repeated those infernal chants and sang the praises of the Aggie gods. We leaped up and threw our hands in the air, and praised the Good Laaaaawwwwd, as the four men down in front declared a Jihad on the Utah Ute football team.

Beat the hell out of Utah, they chanted. Beat the hell out of Utah!!

The four Yell leaders wailed on the microphone and told the crowd to Riiiiiise Up! They made a strange, Hitler-looking gesture to the crowd, and all of a sudden the people around us threw their arms around us and we all began to sway from side to side, singing that war hymn...and it was then that I realized that everyone was speaking in tongues.

Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck. Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck. We're gonna beat you all to Chigaroogarem. Chigaroogarem. Rough, tough, real stuff, Texas A&M!

My memory is a little fuzzy, but if I remember correctly, everyone around us was wearing long, white cloaks and burning candles. And If I'm not mistaken, there was a virgin sacrifice as well.

Strange and terrible things began happening inside me. These people had been brainwashed, I was sure of it...but...I kind of liked it. I was oddly titillated by the whole experience, ashamed as I am to admit that.

I was conflicted. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I loved them and loathed them. I was repulsed, yet mysteriously drawn to their sick, twisted game, comforted by this theatre of mass worship, this cornucopia of rabid fan psychosis. It was like a KKK gathering on mushrooms.

Talk about worshipping false idols. This was just for the football team, for Pete's sake. The football team!

The U football team sometimes struggles to get 35,000 fans at the actual game-A&M got that many for the pep rally. On a late Friday night, no less. These kids should have been getting wasted, having sex and walking around town in a drunken stupor stealing stop signs and falling asleep in public fountains.

But no-at half past midnight, they were at the football stadium, worshipping Dennis Franchione while four boys in overalls did their best impression of an Episcopal sermon.

I'd never seen anything like this place. None of us had.

I mean, what can you say about a town that simultaneously symbolizes everything that is right about college football, and everything that's wrong about our nation's educational system?

But it wasn't just the football fans-the whole town of College Station was <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont>-backward.

The place was littered with the scary but aptly named Crickets on Steroids with Wings, which may or may not have been the apocalyptic, flesh-eating bugs prophesied in the Bible.

The night desk clerk at our hotel was named Lucifer. Everyone in town drove a maroon-colored pickup truck. The uniform code at every business establishment was an Aggies T-shirt. The school marching band looked uncannily like the Third Reich. We went to a bar where people actually played darts for hours and hours on end. Who does that?!

Small things, I know. But after our experience Friday night, every little thing made the town seem all the more strange.

When we left "The Yell" Friday night, none of us could speak. What the hell just happened, we all thought to ourselves. That wasn't just school spirit-it was something different altogether. Those people were just...different. If this wasn't a cult, I didn't know what was.

The experience of College Station was an odd one. To tell you the truth, I'm just glad I got out of there alive. Hopefully, the place didn't rub off on me.

Hullabaloo, caneck, caneck. Chigaroogarem. Chigaroogarem.

[Mu Satach]

Yes, we all had fun reading that article here. :)

oh and by the way...

IN YOUR FACE CALI!!! Nyah!

[CMJ]

I have to say...they're easy to make fun of, but the Aggies are the coolest fans I've ever seen.

NT is having major problems with Air Force...because we can't hold on to the frickin ball.

[Figrin D'an]

Purdue won. Not without some tense moments, but they won. At this point, that's about all I can ask for. They fumbled 5 times though (they only lost one, but it could have been a huge mistake if not for the defense.) Same kind of garbage that plagued them all of last season. They better roll up about 40 points on Arizona next week if they're going to have any offensive momentum going into the Notre Dame game.

Double overtime in Columbus... can the Buckeyes survive?

Oh... and a really big "HA HA!" shout out to Mack Brown and Texas for losing another rivalry game. Nice win for Arkansas.

[CMJ]

I loved seeing UT go down(F' the Horns), except that WE have Arkansas next week.

That has the makings of a woodshed game now. :\

I can't believe the Ohio State/NC State game. I thought the Buckeyes had that won.

[Figrin D'an]

Wow... the Ohio State defense pulls it out again.

Good call by the officials on the last play. Despite what some NC State fans will say, McClendon's butt hit the turf short of the goal line, and his forward momentum was stopped. No TD = Right call.

[Figrin D'an]

Another week, another slew of top 25 teams lose.

#5 Texas, lost to Arkansas
#22 NC State, lost to #3 Ohio State
#14 Notre Dame, lost to #7 Michigan (holy bejesus, was that a beating!)
#15 Wisconsin, lost to UNLV
#21 Wake Forest, lost to Purdue


Crazy, crazy...

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah and add 25 South Carolina to that list I knew Georgia would beat the crap out of them :) Also Georgia Tech is giving Florida State fits right now.

[Figrin D'an]

Florida State survived, unfortunately.

Colorado got hammered by Washington State in Boulder, though.

It's been quite a while since the Top 25 has been so volatile in the early weeks of a season.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I know that is very odd.

[Ryan Pode]

Yay! Maryland finally won a game!!!! :D 61-0.

[CMJ]

NT lost 34-21, grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Ohio State continues to impress. They just find new ways to win.

Michigan looks like they might be the real deal. That win over ND was unreal.

USC looks great. The men of Troy will rpobably run through the PAC-10.

I'm still not sure what to make of the season so far. Great start though.

[Figrin D'an]

Purdue 59
Arizona 7

BOO-YA!

That is all. :)

[CMJ]

The MAC is practically a BCS conference...man they keep impressing.

[Figrin D'an]

The problem now is that they'll have trouble getting BCS conference teams to play them in non-conference. ;)

But, yes... the MAC is quite good... Marshall, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Miami (Ohio)... all very solid teams.

[Figrin D'an]

Three top 10 teams have gone down so far today...

Michigan, lost to Oregon
Georgia, lost to LSU
Kansas St., lost to Marshall


Ohio State, once again, just finds a way to win. I really wonder how they'll play when the have to go on the road, though. They don't have a road trip until Oct. 11th when they travel to Madison to play Wisconsin.

[CMJ]

They'll find a way to win probably. :lol

NT played Arkansas good for a quarter and half..then we fell apart before halftime. I'm not sure I can listen to the second half..it's getting ugly.

[CMJ]

Oh well...Arkansas 31-7 final. o_O

Time to clean up in conference. Our nonconference schedule has been tough.

Oh yeah...No. Illinois won again. The MAC *is* a major conference...or prectically one. I'm real impressed.

[Ryla Relvinian]

Michigan, lost to Oregon

*waves a black and orange flag from the back of the room*

:)

[Jedi Master Carr]

What about Oklahoma beating up UCLA 59-24. That was amazing. I think right now they are the best team in the country. They are going to be tough to beat.

[CMJ]

UCLA is in a down cycle. That win didn't impress me much. I expected them to win pretty big, though 35 points was a bit on the high side. :)

[Ryan Pode]

Yay. Maryland got another win, over WVU. I'm happy.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Still 35 points and scoring 59 points against any major program is impressive, IMO. I seriously think they can run the table.

[CMJ]

I'm just happy they beat UCLA by more than they beat us. :p

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Ryla Relvinian
*waves a black and orange flag from the back of the room*

:)


Wrong colors there, blue lady. :p

Oregon is green and yellow

Oregon State is black and orange




Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
Still 35 points and scoring 59 points against any major program is impressive, IMO. I seriously think they can run the table.

UCLA was ranked 117 out of 117 in Division 1-A in total offense entering today's game. Their defense wasn't much better. Beating an opponent from a major conference is all well and dandy, but let's not hand any hardware over to the Sooners yet. There are a lot of solid teams in the Big 12, and with all of the upsets happening thus far, no team is invulnerable.

[Sene Unty]

Miami continues to win and UF loses and the day is complete and I can go to sleep a happy man....ahhhhhhh

[Figrin D'an]

Let's amend the list a little...

Top 25 teams that lost this weekend:

#5 Michigan
#6 Kansas St.
#7 Georgia
#11 Pittsburgh
#16 Arizona St.
#17 Florida
#20 Texas A&M (Thursday)
#23 Notre Dame


yeah... parity run rampant, or teams that were overrated? Probably both.

[Figrin D'an]

Once again, in the coaches poll proves it's ineptitude...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankings


Just like last week, when Arkansas was ranked behind Texas after beating the Longhorns in Austin... Michigan ends up ranked ahead of Oregon after the Ducks beat them and hold Chris Perry to about 30 yards rushing.

For all of the people that complain about the computer component of the BCS formula... the polls are just as large a problem.

[Mu Satach]

Yay! Utah made the fine print with 8 votes! :p

[Figrin D'an]

Purdue 23
Notre Dame 10


I don't care if Notre Dame sucks this year... if feels good to beat those guys. The Irish started Brady Quinn at QB in place of Holiday, and he got knocked around, sacked and intercepted 4 times. Purdue's defense was dominant, and even though the didn't score a lot of points, they were in control the entire game.

Now, on to Big Ten conference play...

[Charley]

I was rootin for you somethin fierce. Go boilermakers!

My team lost in the most crappy of ways :cry I am pissed off at them.

[Figrin D'an]

I saw that, dude. That sucks big time. Bama had that game won. :(

[Jedi Master Carr]

Several upsets today USC went down, and Oregon what happened to the Ducks????

[Figrin D'an]

Top 25 Teams that lost:

#3 USC
#9 Iowa
#15 Oregon
#23 Missouri


Currently losing at time of post:

#17 TCU
#24 Arizona State

[CMJ]

Well, my National Champion pick went down(though I was rooting against the Trojans). North Texas won, which pleased me. :D

[Ryan Pode]

Maryland got its 3rd straight win... so its all cool.

[Figrin D'an]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1626939

Unbelievable...

This guy deserves to be locked away for eternity... talk about overreacting.

[Sanis Prent]

Holy crap, I know them! They live like 3 miles from me.

[CMJ]

I saw that story a few hours ago. Niiiiiice. ;)

Almost as classy as the shooting after the Dodgers/Giants game a few weeks ago. o_O

[Jedi Master Carr]

You seriously know them Charley??? This guy seems to have some sort of problems I mean anybody who overreacts like that has to be unstable in some way.

[Ryla Relvinian]

Hey! Don't mock my flag-waving prowess! I was supporting Oregon State, just... before their game. Yeah. So there. :p

[Sanis Prent]

Yeah I know em.

[Figrin D'an]

Purdue 43
Illinois 10


Pretty good conference opener. Illinois has been struggling to win games, but they had been in each of those contests... until today. The Illini actually were leading the Big Ten in passing offense with over 350 yards/game. They were held to 153 yards passing, and just 191 total yards, while Purdue rolled up 533 total yards of offense. Illinois' only touchdown came on a punt return... no offensive scores for one of the better offenses in the conference.

Penn State visits next week... should be another victory and a chance to tune things up before visting Wisconsin.

[Figrin D'an]

Not as many big upsets today, but a few game of note...

Iowa rallied to beat Michigan... looks the Wolverines are definately out of the national title picture now (points and laughs at Lee Corso).

Texas/Kansas State was really entertaining... lots of big plays despite the lack of scoring between potent offenses. Texas needs to start Vince Young at QB vs. Oklahoma next week.

Ole Miss took out Florida in Gainesville. Fun stat of the day: Florida, in less than two seasons under Ron Zook, has 4 home losses. It took 8 years for the Gators to lose that many at home under Spurrier. Florida also hadn't lost to a non-ranked team at home in close to 60 games.

Navy beat Air Force... a bit of a surprise there, as Air Force has pretty much been the dominant of the military academies in recent years.

Baylor beating Colorado was just funny. The Buffs will never live that one down, even if they were to win out on the season (which the won't).

And, as of 10 seconds ago as I write this, Auburn managed to beat Tennessee.

[CMJ]

Still some great games on TV today...at least the bits and pieces I saw. I was glued to baseball for about 75% of the day.

The UCLA upset of Washington really shocked me. Nobody wants to win the PAC-10. ;) I think Auburn proved they weren't all hype today. Michigan losing to the Hawkeyes surprised me....they're up a creek in the want to with the Big 10. The Baylor win was huge...and it makes us(NT) look better since we POUNDED the Bears. :D

Next weekend is gonna have ALOT of big games.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah that OU-Texas game always stands out though I think OU is too good for them this year.

[CMJ]

Some great early games...

Clemson/Virginia
Northwester/Indiana
Auburn/Arkansas

Miami makes a statement. Man, terrific games all day. I'm gonna be running the battery out on my remote going between the baseball games and all of the football ones today.

[Figrin D'an]

I wonder how many Longhorns fans will be screaming for Mack Brown's head now. To get outcoached by Bob Stoops and lose to Oklahoma for 4 straight years is bad enough... but this one was the worst of those loses by far. 65-13?!? Good grief. On the flip side, if Oklahoma doesn't get every first place vote in both polls next week, said descenting coaches/writers need to be beaten severely. Even with Miami winning at Florida State, there is no way one can claim that the Sooners are not the consensus #1 team.


Anyway, onto my favorite part of the day... listing the Top 25 teams that lost (so far... there's several big games left tonight).

#5 Florida St. (lost to #2 Miami)
#6 LSU (lost to Florida)
#8 Arkansas (lost to Auburn)
#11 Texas (lost to #1 Oklahoma)
#13 Minnesota (lost to #19 Michigan) (Friday night)
#21 Kansas St. (lost to Oklahoma St.)
#24 Virgina (lost to Clemson)


And, of course, the best part of the day (for me anyway):

Purdue 28
Penn St. 14

[CMJ]

With LSU's loss, Auburn - the team everyone buried about a month ago - is now alone atop the SEC West.

[Figrin D'an]

Adding to the list:

#7 Nebraska (lost to Missouri)
#16 Pittsburgh (lost to Notre Dame)


#10 Georgia is pounding #14 Tennessee in Knoxville...
#22 Wisconsin leads #3 Ohio State 7-3 at the half.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well guess Nebraska isn't that good Oklahoma is the best team, no question in my mind now. I think now they might win the rest of the way out, the only game they have to worry about is Oklahoma state who has beaten them the last two years.

[Figrin D'an]

The Sooners can't get complacent after this win, though. They play Missouri next week, who looked pretty good this evening against Nebraska. Mizzou gave them problems last year, so they'd better be ready.

But, yes, barring complacency or a complete team self-destruction, I can't see them not getting to the Sugar Bowl. The big variable remaining is their potential opponent in the Big 12 title game... the Big 12 North is kind of a mess right now.

[CMJ]

Oklahoma still has some tests remaining...though they were mighty impressive today. Wow, what a great day of ball - I don't know where to start!

Oh wait...NT won...I'll just end with that thought. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

True, they have to take one game at a time, Missouri is their next big test. Who else do they play? Do they get Nebraska or Kansas State?

[CMJ]

OU's remaining schedule

Oct 18 Missouri
Oct 25 at Colorado
Nov 1 Oklahoma State
Nov 8 Texas A&M
Nov 15 Baylor
Nov 22 at Texas Tech

Then the Big XII Title game, provided they get there.

[Figrin D'an]

At Colorado could be dangerous... they might be looking ahead to Oklahoma St, having lost to them the last two years, and the Buffs could be a little snake-bitten by then, and ready to pull out all the stops to win a big game.

[CMJ]

Don't forget A&M took them down last season as well.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Colorado would have to play the best game they have played all year, they look horrible this year. Texas A&M is possible but it is in OU they won't lose at home to them, (they lost that game on the road last year) Can't see them losing to Baylor or Texas Tech really. So the next four games will show us what they are made of, the game I be worried about is Oklahmoa State.

[CMJ]

Texas Tech will be tough in Lubbock. I've been there, the place is like a hornets nest. It's a trap waiting to happen - especially with that PS2 offense they have.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I thought they didn't have a very good team this year??

[Figrin D'an]

Wisconsin beat Ohio State. The Buckeyes tied it up at 10 with a big pass play to get into the red zone and a play or two by Jenkins. But, Wisconsin answer right back with a huge long TD pass to Lee Evans, all with their second string QB in the game.

I guess it's an upset, but in so many ways, it really doesn't feel like it. Everyone knew that going into Camp Randall, at night, for their first road game of the season with Krenzel having missed the 2 previous games would be difficult for the Buckeyes.

Purdue at Wisconsin next Saturday. Should be interesting.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I thought they didn't have a very good team this year??

Have you been paying attention? Texas Tech has put up about 300 points and 2500 yards passing in 6 games, taking them to a 5-1 record. It's insane... They throw the ball on something like 85% of their offensive plays.

[Jedieb]

Watch out for VATech. They get Miami in Blacksburg this year. The winner of that game has an excellent shot at finishing the year at #2 and facing off against Oklahoma. :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

I didn't know that the last few years Texas Tech has been down have been paying attention to them. Still OU has one of the best defenses in the country I am sure they will fine away to shut them down.

[CMJ]

They whipped Clemson last year year in your Bowl game - figured you would know who they are. ;)

They beat Texas at home last year - and A&M this year. Lubbock is an underrated homefield advantage.

[Morgan Evanar]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
Wisconsin beat Ohio State. The Buckeyes tied it up at 10 with a big pass play to get into the red zone and a play or two by Jenkins. But, Wisconsin answer right back with a huge long TD pass to Lee Evans, all with their second string QB in the game. Badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger.

Also, Miami proves they're better in the mud than FSU ^_^

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL CMJ I think I purposely forgot about that :p Still think OU has too much defense for them, I think the game they should be worried about is Oklahoma St.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
LOL CMJ I think I purposely forgot about that :p Still think OU has too much defense for them, I think the game they should be worried about is Oklahoma St.


Nah, the Sooners will be up for Ok. State. They've lost to the Cowboys two years in a row. Stoops will be sure to remind his players of that... they'll be ready smack their in-state rivals. If Oklahoma is going to get bitten, it'll be by someone that really doesn't incur their wrath... like Colorado or Texas Tech or Missouri.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well Colorado to me can't do it, they look horrible this year. If you can't beat Baylor you have got problems, IMO. Missouri could be a problem that is the game before Ok state they might get caught looking ahead.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Morgan Evanar
Also, Miami proves they're better in the mud than FSU ^_^

Thats not saying much. In the mud, FSU loses to teams like Louisville :D

[CMJ]

Louisville isn't a bad team at all. They were near the top 25 most of last year(when they beat the Noles).

[Figrin D'an]

Purdue 26
Wisconsin 23

After being sky high last week following the upset of Ohio State, Mad-Town comes back to the ground at the hands of the Boilermaker Express. :)

Pretty entertaining game. Purdue went back to a spread offense and threw the ball all over the Badger secondary. Take away two big plays that Wisconsin had on defense and special teams, and it would have been a Purdue rout. They were definately the dominant team. Purdue should have had a couple of additional touchdowns, rather than field goals, but they couldn't convert inside the 10 yard-line.

At Michigan next week. Much tougher test, but for now, Purdue is on top in the Big Ten with Michigan State.

[CMJ]

Yeah, congrats to your boys Figrin. Michigan will be huge, but as of right now yall are atop the Big Ten. I think yall match up pretty well with the Wolverines too, so we'll see.

Currently I'm listeniing to NT play our Homecoming game. Didn't find the money to fly back this time, maybe next year.

[Figrin D'an]

It's Top 25 review time. Let's see who's lost so far today:


#9 Iowa (Lost to #8 Ohio St.)
#11 Arkansas (Lost to Florida)
#12 Wisconsin (Lost to #15 Purdue)
#19 Minnesota (Lost to #18 Michigan St.)
#21 Oregon St. (Lost to Washington)
#23 Texas Tech (Lost to #24 Oklahoma St.)




Oklahoma is rolling again. Georgia woke up in the 3rd quarter against Vanderbilt to win unimpressively. USC and Washington St. both won again, as did UCLA in overtime. The Pac-10 is suddenly very interesting again, although maybe not with the teams that most expected to be near the top. Huge day in the Big Ten... 7 ranked teams, and 6 of them played one of the other ranked conference foes, with Purdue, Michigan St. and Ohio St. coming out on top. Auburn won again... after the early season swoon, they're the best team in the SEC West right now. Northern Illinois won again, keeping their dream alive of crashing the BCS party.

[Jedi Master Carr]

OU keeps beating up teams.

[Charley]

This season hurts so much :(

When are we ever going to get a break?

[CMJ]

North Texas won setting up a big showdown for the Sunbelt driver's seat next weekend. ;)

The best game of the day was probably Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. No defense was played obviously, but man alive both teams went up and down the field at will.

[Figrin D'an]

I want to see Texas Tech play against a real defense. Quite frankly, save Oklahoma and Nebraska, the defensive units in the Big 12 are pretty bad this year. There have been a lot of high scoring conference games already.

[Figrin D'an]

Although it doesn't really matter at this point, here's the projected top 10 when the first BCS rankings come out on Monday:


1. Oklahoma
2. Miami
3. Virginia Tech
4. Georgia
5. Southern California
6. Ohio State
7. Florida State
8. Purdue
9. Washington State
10. Michigan State

[CMJ]

Just copied and pasted the BCS standings off of espn.com

1 Oklahoma 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1.33 11 0.44 0 2.77 2.77
2 Miami (Fla.) 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1.50 30 1.20 0 4.70 -0.6 4.10
3 Virginia Tech 3 3 3 3 11 4 5 3 16 3 4.83 60 2.40 0 10.23 10.23
4 Georgia 4 5 4.5 8 4 7 7 8 3 8 6.17 33 1.32 1 12.99 12.99
5 Florida State 6.5 7 6.75 5 8 5 4 5 5 4 4.67 18 0.72 1 13.14 13.14
6 Ohio State 8 8 8 7 3 3 3 4 6 5 4.00 5 0.20 1 13.20 13.20
7 USC 5 4 4.5 11 5 8 6 9 4 12 7.17 29 1.16 1 13.83 13.83
8 Purdue 10 10 10 9 7 11 9 6 13 9 8.50 50 2.00 1 21.50 21.50
9 Washington St. 6.5 6 6.25 14 6 16 18 19 11 17 13.67 76 3.04 1 23.96 23.96
10 Northern Illinois 12 14 13 6 19 6 8 27 8 7 9.00 100 4.00 0 26.00 26.00
11 Nebraska 14 11 12.5 10 33 10 12 10 17 11 11.67 32 1.28 1 26.45 26.45
12 LSU 9 9 9 18 12 15 16 13 18 16 15.00 56 2.24 1 27.24 -0.7 26.54
13 Michigan State 11 12 11.5 13 18 13 13 12 14 10 12.50 61 2.44 1 27.44 27.44
14 TCU 15 13 14 4 14 9 14 33 15 6 10.33 96 3.84 0 28.17 28.17
15 Iowa 16 16 16 16 13 17 11 16 12 14 13.67 10 0.40 2 32.07 32.07

[Jedi Master Carr]

No real surprises there. Except for Northern Illinois hopefully they can stay in the top 12 to get a BCS bid that would be cool.

[CMJ]

Northern Illinois has a HUGE game this week versus Bowling Green. How big? I just read ESPN's College Gameday is gonna broadcast live from that one this weekend!

If NIU gets past that, they have a serious shot at crashing the BCS party. TCU is in the running as well.

[Figrin D'an]

Bowling Green will be a big test for Northern Illinois. BG is 6-1, with their only loss being a thriller against Ohio State in Columbus. They're a very good team (as Purdue can attest to). Honestly, with all due respect to the BCS-conference teams they have beaten, this will be NIU's toughest test so far.

I think it's awesome that Gameday is going to be there. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

That will be huge, if they are unbeaten they should get a bid.

[CMJ]

Speaking as a guy that graduated from one of the "Mid-Major" schools, I must say I'm THRILLED at the press Northern Illinois is getting. Gives me hope maybe someday College Gameday would come to Denton for a North Texas game. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Speaking of your school I didn't realize one of your boys plays for my Chiefs. G Brian Walters went to North Texas, saw that on MNF as I was watching player introductions that is pretty cool. Any other players from there playing in the NFL?

[CMJ]

Yep, there are a few out there. I know Brad Kassel plays for Tennessee(he's a LB) and Toby Gowin punts for Dallas. I think there are a few others, but I'm not 100% sure.

I watched the beginning of the game this evening just to see Waters announce his alma mater. :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

Heh you should be proud of him, Madden said he was really impressed with him. And I think he is very underrated on that line.

[Figrin D'an]

And just like that, another unbeaten goes down.

West Virginia 28
#3 Virginia Tech 7

This one wasn't even close. The Mountaineers dominated. They ran the ball right at the Hokies, played solid defense, and it would have been a shutout had it not been for a blown call by the officials on a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.

Imagine now, if Va. Tech comes back next week with a vengence and beats Miami. Suddenly, a whole slew of 1-loss teams will be in the mix for the Sugar Bowl.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah it can happen that would make a mess, can't imagine what would happen if OU lost as well.

[CMJ]

If that happens, I vote for NIU vs TCU in the Sugar Bowl. ;)

[CMJ]

No one posted here yesterday...kind of a surprise. Unfortunately for the little guys everywhere NIU lost. Of course this time last year Bowling Green was the Mid-Major we all pinned our hopes on. :)

I guess nothing HUGE happened on Saturday, but Conference races are definitely taking shape now.

Huge Games this upcoming weekend

The battle for Michigan
The battle for Oklahoma
The world's largest outdoor cocktail party (UF vs UGA)
The thrila in the Colesium (Washington St/USC)

And I'm sure I'm leaving some off as well.

[Figrin D'an]

I would have posted something, but I was still too angry about Purdue's performance against Michigan. Embarassing just about sums it up. It seems like every time Purdue plays in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines decide to play their best game of the season. They can't catch a break in that place at all.

Now, I have to hope the Spartans beat the Wolverines, then Wisconsin and Ohio State beat Michigan St., plus hope Purdue wins out. Possible, sure. Likely, not very.

[Sanis Prent]

Spartans will beat the Wolvies. I'll put money on it.

[Figrin D'an]

I agree, I think Michigan State will beat Michigan, especially since the game is in East Lansing. I'm just not sure that Wisconsin and Ohio State can beat the Spartans.

It's just frustrating, that's all. Michigan is such a damn Jekyl and Hyde team. They always have the most raw talent of any team in the Big Ten, and they almost never play up to it, but there is always one game in the conference season in which they will look like world-beaters. And, more often than not, and especially when the game is in Ann Arbor, they play that one "world-beater" game against Purdue. As good as any Purdue team might be, they'll never be able to match a performance like that. They just don't have the players to do so. Michigan plays so inconsistently, yet they still manage to always be in the middle of the Big Ten title race down to the last couple of weekends. Just once, I would like to see that inconsistent play bite them, and have them lose 4-5 conference games.

[CMJ]

At this point Michigan Sate is probably playing the best ball in the Big 10 - but I'd still bet money that Ohio State wins the conference. Granted Wisconson beat them, but they find ways of winning.

On a happy note for me...NT sits atop the Sunbelt standings...once agin. ;)

[Sanis Prent]

I'm tired of losing heartbreakers. Sick & tired of it.

[Figrin D'an]

Survival Saturday has gone pretty much as predicted so far. One significant upset, Florida upended Georgia (again), but I suppose that really isn't a surprise given the recent history of the series. Oklahoma hammered Oklahoma State, Michigan held on after a late rally by Michigan State, Florida State shut out Notre Dame, and Ohio State got help from a blown call by the officials to grab the lead from Penn State late, then hung on as a desperation 60-yard field goal attempt by the Nittany Lions barely missed.


In terms of my personal interest:

Purdue 34
Northwestern 14

Back on the winning track after getting embarrassed by Michigan.



Here we go... Top 25 Teams that have lost so far today:

#4 Georgia (lost to #21 Florida
#9 Nebraska (lost to #16 Texas)
#10 Michigan St. (lost to #12 Michigan)
#15 Oklahoma St. (lost to #1 Oklahoma)

Washington St./USC and Miami/Virginia Tech still to come.

[JMK]

Man was the FSU / ND game depressing. The Irish looked utterly incompetent. Granted the Seminoles are a fanstastic team, but the Irish gave up big play after big play on defense, especially on 3rd down, and couldn't get any points after getting a 1st down on the 5. They settled for a FG that was blocked. I guess it was just one of those days. Or I guess the Irish just overachieved last year and the real Notre Dame team is shining through. :x

[Figrin D'an]

Notre Dame overachieved last season. Their offense was just as inept last year, the difference is that their defense and special teams won the first 8 games last season. This year, they don't have the playmakers on defense to keep them in games.

Give him a few seasons to recruit, and Willingham will have them back as a Top 25 team.

[JMK]

Do you think he will even last that long? It seems nowadays (moreso in pro sports than college) that if coach doesn't build a winner in the first couple years, he's out the door. Now Willingham's problem is that he did have a successful year last season. Most folks up top don't like to see a regression after one season like the Irish are showing. That being said, I like Willingham and hope he gets to have a long tenure at ND.

You're right though, they certainly don't have the players to even keep it close. Rix was doing whatever he wanted with the ball today.

[Figrin D'an]

Notre Dame has a history of giving coaches the benefit of the doubt, and allowing them to fulfill contracts. Even though Irish fans and alumni aren't very happy, their AD and administration aren't foolish enough to can Willingham so quickly. He'll have, at the very least, until 2005 to demonstrate that he has the program going in the right direction.

[Jedieb]

VA Tech is dominating the Canes right now. That makes last week's loss to West Virginia all the more painful. Damn those rivalries!!! The Hokies had a lot go against them last week; poor play, looking ahead to Miami, and a road game against a bitter rival that plays them hard year after year. If they can finish off the Canes tonight they may get back into the BCS picture, but I don't think they have a prayer at the National Championship game.

And go USF Bulls!!!!:crack

[Jedi Master Carr]

Man Miami getting killed their National title hopes are really hurt. Who in the heck is going to be #2 now?? USC? I guess in the BCS it will be Florida State still right now either one of them would probably just get stomped by Oklahoma who looks like they should be able to run the table the way they are playing.

[Figrin D'an]

USC will jump over FSU in the BCS standings. The Trojans are beating the snot out of the #6 team in the country, while FSU beat up lowly Notre Dame. Strength of schedule points, plus that the pollsters will probably put USC at #2, will be the difference.

I think USC could give Oklahoma a decent game, but I agree that the Sooners would still win.

[Jedi Master Carr]

USC would give them a better game than Florida State. OU really impressed me today I didn't see them beating Oklahoma State that badly.

[Figrin D'an]

It's all about motivation. That's why I said several weeks ago that Oklahoma St. wouldn't upset the Sooners for the third straight year. This became a "big game" for OU this season, and Bob Stoops has proven that in big games, his team is always ready to play. When they are determined to beat someone, especially this season, they throw everything including the kitchen sink at an opponent, and stomp them into the ground.

At the moment, OU looks pretty unbeatable. Their biggest tests are still ahead of them, though, because they can't relax at all. Complacency, as I mentioned before, is the only way OU loses. If they stay focused, they'll be in the Sugar Bowl.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I can actually understand that just thought Oklahoma State would give them a better game. The question now is can the remaining opponets beat them. They have Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech and the Big 12 game. Baylor and Texas A&M are not good teams. Texas Tech has an offense but no defense (giving up 60 to Missouri shows that) I can't see them losing any of those games. There is still the Big 12 championship but right now it looks like either Nebraska or Kansas State neither team has been that good this year really either one would have to play the game of the year to beat them.

[Figrin D'an]

And, in the game that no one cares about but turned out to be strange and fun...

Arkansas 71
Kentucky 63

in 7 OT!

And, strangely enough, Arkansas played a 7 OT game last season against Ole Miss.

[CMJ]

Wow, a ton to cover. I was glued to the tube all freaking day.

The Arkansas/Kentucky game may have been the best I've ever seen.

Virginia Tech...wow...

Oklahoma....wow...

Southern California...wow...

Can I say once again how much I LOVE the way Ohio State plays? They invent ways to win games they have no business winning. I'm not even a fan of theirs(I usually root against them, I sure as hell was today), but every time they pull one of those out of the fire, I just shake my head and smile.

LSU isn't getting much ink, but they're a dangerous floater out there.

Florida just owns Georgia.

Finally...I've seen USC play more than any of yall I'm sure. They are nearly as impressive as OU, and IMHO can beat the Sooners. I'm not saying they will, but to me that game would be a tossup. The Men of Troy, just like the Sooners, have no weaknesses.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Of course now we could have BCS contraversy because USC or Florida State could get #2 in that wacky thing. And the one left out could argue they should be in it. Plus you could still argue about Va Tech and Miami being contenders. Of course if OU wins it will be like the year Tennesse won it will all just be talk.

[Charley]

I really think its gonna come down to the Sooners and the Trojans. They're the most solid of the teams at the lead of the pack thus far.

(go Sooners, if only because Bama played you so close!)

[CMJ]

BCS numbers just released...off of espn.com -

1 Oklahoma 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.00 6 0.24 0 2.24 2.24
2 USC 2 2 2 6 4 2 5 2 3 5 3.50 13 0.52 1 7.02 7.02
3 Florida State 3 3 3 3 5 4 3 7 5 4 4.00 38 1.52 1 9.52 9.52
4 Miami (Fla.) 6 7 6.5 2 3 5 2 5 2 3 2.83 18 0.72 1 11.05 -0.8 10.25
5 Ohio State 7 6 6.5 5 2 3 4 3 6 2 3.17 20 0.80 1 11.47 11.47
6 Virginia Tech 5 5 5 7 6 6 8 4 20 6 6.17 25 1.00 1 13.17 -0.7 12.47
7 LSU 4 4 4 8 8 8 6 8 9 7 7.50 63 2.52 1 15.02 -0.1 14.92
8 Michigan 8 8 8 10 10 9 12 9 10 10 9.67 28 1.12 2 20.79 20.79
9 TCU 13 12 12.5 4 13 7 10 33 8 8 8.33 98 3.92 0 24.75 24.75
10 Georgia 9 9 9 14 11 11 16 17 13 12 12.83 33 1.32 2 25.15 25.15
11 Iowa 10 10 10 15 14 16 9 16 12 9 12.50 35 1.40 2 25.90 -0.3 25.60
12 Texas 11 11 11 19 12 22 17 11 22 14 15.83 44 1.76 2 30.59 30.59
13 Tennessee 18 17 17.5 11 16 10 15 10 19 19 13.50 16 0.64 2 33.64 33.64
14 Purdue 16 14 15 13 15 17 13 19 16 18 15.33 53 2.12 2 34.45 34.45
15 Washington St. 12 13 12.5 20 9 20 22 26 14 23 18.00 62 2.48 2 34.98 34.98
16 Bowling Green 15 20 17.5 24 18 15 7 29 4 13 13.50 85 3.40 1 35.40 35.40
17 Florida 17 19 18 25 7 24 19 6 15 20 15.17 5 0.20 3 36.37 -0.5 35.87
18 Nebraska 19 16 17.5 12 29 12 14 21 18 16 15.50 27 1.08 2 36.08 36.08
19 Oklahoma State 21 22 21.5 21 19 19 11 15 11 11 14.33 45 1.80 2 39.63 39.63
20 Michigan State 14 15 14.5 17 25 21 24 23 24 22 21.83 51 2.04 2 40.37 40.37
21 Miami (Ohio) 26 28 27 9 23 13 18 31 7 17 14.50 71 2.84 1 45.34 45.34
22 Northern Illinois 23 23 23 18 22 18 20 44.5 17 15 18.33 100 4.00 1 46.33 46.33
23 Mississippi 20 24 22 22 21 23 26 13 28 24 21.50 65 2.60 2 48.10 48.10
24 Missouri 22 26 24 26 26 25 21 25 21 21 23.17 59 2.36 2 51.53 51.53
25 Pittsburgh 25 21 23 23 28 26 32 22 30 32 26.83 54 2.16 2 53.99 53.99

[Morgan Evanar]

3 Florida State 3 3 3 3 5 4 3 7 5 4 4.00 38 1.52 1 9.52 9.52
4 Miami (Fla.) 6 7 6.5 2 3 5 2 5 2 3 2.83 18 0.72 1 11.05 -0.8 10.25 Which makes no sense, since Miami beat FSU. What.

Cripes does Brock Berlin suck. He's the worst QB UM has had in a loooong time.

Chuckles, sorry about the Orange a few weeks ago. That was a heartbreaker. :\

[Dan the Man]

Oh well. I hear there's incoming scandal in Knoxville, so as long as something wicked happens to the vols, I'll be ok.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Morgan Evanar
Which makes no sense, since Miami beat FSU. What.



Yeah, but it really doesn't matter unless USC loses another game, which is very unlikely. The loss to Cal a few weeks ago woke them up, and they get both UCLA and Oregon St. at home, following a road trip to haplass Arizona.

I think we can pretty much book a USC/Oklahoma national title game.

[CMJ]

I'm pulling for the Horned Frogs to sneak into one of the Big 4 games. They only need to move up 3 spots.....

Gotta root for the little guy. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

What do you all think about the Big East, big move? They are adding Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida in all sports. And Marquette and Depaul in all sports except football. It looks like they are saying they are going to be more of a basketball conference,IMO. Heck they will probably have the best basketball conference now considering you have UConn, Syracuse, Marquette, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame all national powers in the sport.

[Figrin D'an]

The true question concerning the Big East is whether or not they will be able to retain their automatic BCS bid. They're losing their two biggest football progams, plus one of the most improved programs. In basketball, yes, they'll be excellent.

The trickle-down effect from the the ACC/Big East mess will end up affecting about 3 other conferences, so this is hardly the end of the story.

My guess is that the Big Ten will now put a harder push on Notre Dame to join, and that the PAC-10 will look to expand as well. Things will slowly move toward five 12-teams super-conferences.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't think Notre Dame would join, at least not for a few more years. Now for the Big East they will keep their automatic bid until at least 2005, now they are replacing the teams but only Lousiville I would consider a good football team. Now USF might be down the road and could do some damage in this conference but right now they don't have name value. Have no clue how this will effect the BCS. Still it makes them a heck of a basketball conference and maybe that is what they are going for.

[CMJ]

From what I understand...the Big East will probably keep their BCS spot. It's gonna be a whale of a basketball conference now.

I think the ACC has sold it's soul(basketball) in order to get a football title game. The conference always had the best regualar season, because everybody played everybody twice...and they were ALL solid squads. With 12 teams, that is a thing of the past...and I for one am sorry to see that.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Several big upsets today
first Miami loses again this time to Tennessee there National Title hopes are over. Then Va Tech loses to Pittsburg of all teams 31-28. Then my Clemson Tigers finally beat Florida State 26-10 (they had never beaten them since Florida State has joined the ACC) This really shakes up the top 5 probably with Ohio State and Michigan joining the top 5. Meanwhile #1 Oklahoma won impressively winning 77-0 they look just about unstopable IMO.

[Morgan Evanar]

Yup, Brock Berlin sucked AGAIN.

3 turnovers that could have easily been avoided if he would learn to cover the ball and TAKE A SACK.

asdljfofijds

[Jedi Master Carr]

They need to find a new QB. And what about the big east. It is possible that Pittsburg might take that thing they play West Virgina, Temple and Miami at Pitt. If they beat Miami they win the Big East.

[Morgan Evanar]

The backup QB (who's name escapes me) is better than Berlin, who always throws lame passes when scrambling.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Maybe they should start him then especially before they play Pitt.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
They need to find a new QB. And what about the big east. It is possible that Pittsburg might take that thing they play West Virgina, Temple and Miami at Pitt. If they beat Miami they win the Big East.

Actually if West Virginia wins out, I believe THEY win the Big East. Yesterday was a wonderful day in college football.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I just have one thing to say:

Go Ducks! :) I went to the game against Cal, and it was not only my first football game (the field looks smaller in person) but the Ducks came back in the 4th quarter and scored twice to win the game.

And it rained on us the whole time. I really felt like an Oregonian. >_<

[CMJ]

I watched the end of that game on TV.

In personal interest North Texas won again...and clicnhed at least a share of the conference title. We win outright if we take care of buisness next Saturday.

Oh and we have the longest conference winning streak in the nation right now. :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

Actually if Pitt or WV win out they win, they play each other so they each control their own destiny.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Morgan Evanar
The backup QB (who's name escapes me) is better than Berlin, who always throws lame passes when scrambling.

Derrick Crudup is the name your looking for. And, from what Coker has said, the Hurricanes may end up starting him against Syracuse.


West Virigina gets Pitt at home. If the Mountaineers win out, they win the Big East title (scary, huh?). But both Pitt and West Virigina control their own destinies for the conference title.


There's just no way a team should win a conference game 77-0. That's beyond wrong. I get the feeling that Bob Stoops doesn't just want an undefeated season and a national title. He wants the 2003 Sooners to be entered into the arguement for the "greatest college football team of all-time." Maybe it's a bit egotisical on his part (his mentor was Steve Spurrier after all), but one had to admit that if the Sooners accomplish what everyone expects, and in a dominant manner, such discussion will take place.



Purdue 27
Iowa 14

Should have been 27-0. Oh well. The Boilers dominated a solid Iowa squad, and I got to watch it first hand. I managed to get 50-yard line seats about midway up the stands, so it was a very pleasent experience. :) Next week, they head to Columbus to face the Buckeyes, whom looked pretty good against Michigan State. A tough game, but if they can hold it together mentally (unlike against Michigan), they can win.

I can't believe the season is nearly over already.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Actually it could have been worse at 77-0 they were on the 2 yard line and the RB basically fell down four times to not score again.

[JMK]

I watched that Oregon game yesterday too. What a great comeback by the Ducks. But man, those are THE ugliest team uniforms in the world. :x

[ReaperFett]

Is it green and white like their soccer (Gahhhhhhh) team?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Green and yellow. THE UGLIEST uniforms ever. They're not put together well and make the guys look like they're wearing green tights.

I wore green and yellow as well, but I didn't look as bad in mine. ;)

[ReaperFett]

Photographic evidence! :)

[Charley]

Sooners over the Aggies.
Vols over the Canes (even though I wanted al Qaeda to win)
Pitt over the Hokies
Clemson over the Noles
Rebels over Auburn
Purdue over Iowa
Northwestern over Penn St.
Bama over Miss St.

BEST. FOOTBALL WEEK. EVER.

If only Navy could've beaten the Irish. O well.

[CMJ]

Not all the squads I was rooting for won(unlike Charley apparently), but I agree it was a great weekend. ;) TCU will probably be up to #6 in the BCS rankings this weekend...which means they would have to be invited to one of the Big 4 if the season ended today.

Score one for the little guys. ;)

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by CMJ
TCU will probably be up to #6 in the BCS rankings this weekend...which means they would have to be invited to one of the Big 4 if the season ended today.

Score one for the little guys. ;)


This is usually the time of year at which the wind gets taken out of the sails of potential BCS party crashers, though. TCU has played a LOT of close games this year. I'm inclined to pick Southern Miss to beat them in a couple of weeks.

But... if they do go undefeated, they deserve some props for that accomplishment, and a bid to the Fiesta Bowl would seem appropriate.

[CMJ]

1 Oklahoma 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.00 7 0.28 0 2.28 -0.6 1.68
2 USC 2 2 2 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 2.83 16 0.64 1 6.47 -0.2 6.27
3 Ohio State 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 5 2 2.17 14 0.56 1 7.73 7.73
4 LSU 3 3 3 5 8 6 4 8 9 9 6.67 65 2.60 1 13.27 -0.1 13.17
5 Texas 6 7 6.5 8 13 11 7 5 11 5 7.83 18 0.72 2 17.05 17.05
6 TCU 10 9 9.5 2 9 4 6 25 3 4 4.67 87 3.48 0 17.65 17.65
7 Tennessee 9 13 11 6 4 5 5 4 6 6 5.00 8 0.32 2 18.32 18.32
8 Michigan 5 5 5 11 10 14 13 9 12 12 11.17 28 1.12 2 19.29 19.29
9 Georgia 7 6 6.5 14 11 13 10 15 8 11 11.17 25 1.00 2 20.67 -0.4 20.27
10 Washington St. 8 8 8 9 7 8 11 11 10 13 9.33 29 1.16 2 20.49 20.49
11 Purdue 11 10 10.5 10 14 10 9 12 15 8 10.50 41 1.64 2 24.64 24.64
12 Miami (Fla.) 14 14 14 15 5 12 12 18 14 10 11.33 15 0.60 2 27.93 27.93
13 Florida State 13 11 12 12 16 9 14 17 20 14 13.67 32 1.28 2 28.95 28.95
14 Florida 15 18 16.5 22 6 20 15 6 13 18 13.00 10 0.40 3 32.90 -0.8 32.10
15 Virginia Tech 12 12 12 20 15 19 24 16 27 22 19.33 20 0.80 2 34.13 34.13
16 Miami (Ohio) 23 24 23.5 7 18 7 8 24 4 7 8.50 59 2.36 1 35.36 35.36
17 Nebraska 18 15 16.5 13 25 15 16 20 16 17 16.17 42 1.68 2 36.35 36.35
18 Mississippi 17 19 18 16 17 16 18 7 18 16 15.00 50 2.00 2 37.00 37.00
19 Pittsburgh 16 16 16 17 12 18 27 13 28 27 19.00 33 1.32 2 38.32 38.32
20 Iowa 20 20 20 25 20 26 19 31 19 20 21.50 30 1.20 3 45.70 -0.3 45.40
21 Northern Illinois 21.5 21 21.25 21 22 22 22 48 17 19 20.50 111 4.44 1 47.19 47.19
22 Minnesota 19 17 18 24 21 24 28 22 33 25 24.00 88 3.52 2 47.52 47.52
23 Bowling Green 25 26 25.5 28 23 23 17 38 7 15 18.83 51 2.04 2 48.37 48.37
24 Michigan State 21.5 22 21.75 23 29 27 25 29.5 26 26 26.00 22 0.88 3 51.63 51.63
25 Oklahoma State 27 27.5 27.25 27 28 28 20 21 21 21 23.00 26 1.04 3 54.29 54.29

[Figrin D'an]

Ohio State is, once again, the luckiest team on the planet. Yeah, they have a very good defense, and Krenzel makes plays, but they still get lucky.

This game is going to sting for while... Purdue had so many opportunities to win, yet couldn't take advantage of them.

:cry

[CMJ]

When a team does it that many times...I refuse to call it luck.

In personal interest...North Texas is going back to the New Orleans Bowl baby!

:crack

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by CMJ
When a team does it that many times...I refuse to call it luck.



Did you watch that game?

I know the Buckeyes are good. They deserve the national title that they have.

But they got lucky yesterday. Purdue had 3 unforced errors that cost them the game. Eliminate two of those errors, and Purdue wins. If they Buckeyes had forced those errors, it would be different. But they didn't.

I know it probably sounds like I'm being sour about this, but I'm just calling it as I see it. I think Purdue shot themselves in the foot, rather than Ohio State making the plays to stop them.

[CMJ]

I watched the end of it...since on the West Coast ABC showed the Washington State game. All I know is, for two years people have been saying the Buckeyes are overrated, blah, blah, blah.

They win, period. If they take down Michigan in the Ann Arbor, I'd be hard pressed not to call them the #2 team in the nation so they could play the Sooners.

This is coming from someone who has picked USC to win the title all season long.

[Figrin D'an]

I don't think they're overrated. I think they're a hell of a football team, and I have a huge amount of respect for Jim Tressel. I rooted for them all of last season, and I'll be rooting for them next week, because I'd love to see the Big Ten have back-to-back national title game appearances.

I just think that the Boilermakers were in a great position to win, and they blew it. Like I said, I could accept it easier if Ohio State would have just made the huge plays the take the game. Last year, they made those plays all the time. That's why they went 14-0. This year, they've had more of a "Twilight Zone" aura about them that has seemed to turn very good teams into jelly at the most inopportune times (or opportune for the Buckeyes).

[CMJ]

I agree with you 100% on Tressel. Bob Stoops is the "sexier" coach, but I believe Tressel is the best out there right now.

[Charley]

Mon diu :o

We got spanked so hard by LSU. Yes, I realize they are good, but they aren't as good as that score suggests. Thats the worst I've seen Bama play this season, and on my last home game as a student.

:( Thanks guys :cry

[Jedi Master Carr]

You guys here that Ohio State might be #2 in the BCS on Monday because the Ny Times poll dropped USC. That is insane,IMO. Of course Ohio State will have to beat Michigan which won't be easy. Regardless I dont' see anybody beating Oklahoma this year.

[Figrin D'an]

According to what ESPN is reporting, Ohio State will likely jump over USC to #2 when the new BCS standings come out Monday evening. The strength of schedule factor appears to be the difference. So, it now appears it's the Buckeyes, not the Trojans, that control their own destiny for the Sugar Bowl.

It appears that TCU will also drop at least one spot, again because of strength of schedule. Playing Southern Miss next week should help that factor for the Horned Frogs, but they then close the season against 0-for-the-season SMU. Even if they win out, they might not finish in the Top 6 of the BCS, in which case there is no obligation for the BCS to give them an at-large bid.

[Dan the Man]

wow that sucks...what a jip

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
It appears that TCU will also drop at least one spot, again because of strength of schedule. Playing Southern Miss next week should help that factor for the Horned Frogs, but they then close the season against 0-for-the-season SMU. Even if they win out, they might not finish in the Top 6 of the BCS, in which case there is no obligation for the BCS to give them an at-large bid.

It really depends on who is ahead of them. If Michigan leaps them, they might be okay, because the OSU/Michigan loser should fall behind them. If Tennessee inches in front, they might still be okay if the Vols make the SEC title game. The loser of LSU/Tennessee would probably fall underneath TCU as well.

Then again, who the hell knows who is going where? :lol

[CMJ]

Here we go...

1 Oklahoma 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.00 10 0.40 0 2.40 -0.6 1.80
2 Ohio State 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2.00 13 0.52 1 7.52 7.52
3 USC 2 2 2 4 3 3 4 5 2 4 3.33 37 1.48 1 7.81 -0.1 7.71
4 LSU 3 3 3 5 4 7 3 11 7 9 5.83 72 2.88 1 12.71 -0.5 12.21
5 Texas 7 7 7 8 11 11 5 3 10 3 6.67 17 0.68 2 16.35 16.35
6 Georgia 6 6 6 10 10 12 6 10 6 8 8.33 20 0.80 2 17.13 -0.4 16.73
7 Tennessee 9 11 10 7 5 5 7 6 5 6 5.67 12 0.48 2 18.15 18.15
8 TCU 10 9 9.5 3 9 4 8 25 8 5 6.17 90 3.60 0 19.27 19.27
9 Michigan 5 5 5 13 12 13 14 7 11 12 11.33 35 1.40 2 19.73 19.73
10 Washington St. 8 8 8 12 8 9 11 9 9 14 9.67 34 1.36 2 21.03 21.03
11 Florida State 11 10 10.5 11 13 6 12 12 17 11 10.83 23 0.92 2 24.25 24.25
12 Miami (Fla.) 13.5 13 13.25 9 6 10 10 13 14 7 9.17 7 0.28 2 24.70 24.70
13 Florida 13.5 14 13.75 18 7 17 13 4 12 13 11.00 9 0.36 3 28.11 -1.2 26.91
14 Miami (Ohio) 18 19 18.5 6 16 8 9 22 4 10 8.83 55 2.20 1 30.53 30.53
15 Mississippi 15 15 15 16 15 15 17 8 18 18 14.83 57 2.28 2 34.11 34.11
16 Purdue 16 16 16 14 17 16 15 18 16 15 15.50 15 0.60 3 35.10 35.10
17 Virginia Tech 12 12 12 21 14 19 24 19 26 22 19.83 56 2.24 2 36.07 36.07
18 Iowa 17 17 17 19 18 18 16 20.5 15 16 17.00 18 0.72 3 37.72 -0.2 37.52
19 Kansas State 19 18 18.5 24 27 24 23 16 23 24 22.33 43 1.72 3 45.55 45.55
20 Bowling Green 22 25 23.5 25 22 20 19 35 13 17 19.33 61 2.44 2 47.27 47.27
21 Oklahoma State 24 24 24 22 26 23 18 20.5 20 19 20.42 38 1.52 3 48.94 48.94
22 Nebraska 23 23 23 20 33 21 22 29 24 23 23.17 36 1.44 3 50.61 50.61
23 Boise State 20 20 20 33 21 25 26 44 21 25 25.17 113 4.52 1 50.69 50.69
24 Utah 29 26 27.5 17 30 14 20 37 19 20 20.00 47 1.88 2 51.38 51.38
25 Pittsburgh 21 21.5 21.25 23 20 26 34 26 35 31 26.67 39 1.56 3 52.48 52.48

[Figrin D'an]

TCU's dreams of a BCS bid just went up in smoke. They made a gallant comeback against Southern Miss, but it wasn't quite enough. They turned the ball over 4 times on the road. You don't win games doing that.

Congrats to Southern Miss, though, who will likely be the C-USA champion.

[CMJ]

Yeah, I felt pretty bad for the Horned Frogs. Yet another Mid-Major's hopes dashed. :\

One of these years, one of us will crash the monopoly. Maybe it'll be NT.

[Charley]

Nobody in their right mind would've picked TCU to win against Southern Miss.

[CMJ]

Yeah, because TCU won the previous two meetings. :p NO ONE would have thought they coulda beaten them again huh?

Please...

[Mu Satach]

I am freaking blabbergasted...


From The MWC (http://themwc.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111003aaj.html):
The battle for the MWC title has been reduced to a two-team race. Utah can win the title outright at 6-1 and secure the berth in the AXA Liberty Bowl with a victory this weekend.

All we have to do is trash our rival. Wish I had time to travel south to see this game in person.

[CMJ]

You gotta love rivalry weekend. Though alot of rivalry games are played on other Saturday's, this is the one with the most. Some great, great games today.

As far as the national scene goes...Michigan took down Ohio State and LSU and USC both won. Two quality squads those are...either of them could give OU a game IMHO.

Best game of the day that I watched was Auburn/Alabama. To be honest it's probably my favorite college football rivalry this side of Army/Navy.

Best rivalries for my money

1. Army/Navy
2. Auburn/Alabama
3. Texas/Texas A&M
4. Michigan/Ohio State
5. USC/Notre dame

Of course there are like AT LEAST 25 others that deserve mentions. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

There was Clemson/South Carolina :) Of course Clemson won in a rout 62-17, Clemson has started looking pretty good to end the season, they are 8-3 and should get a good bowl bid, maybe they can finally win one this time.

Also is their any doubt that OU is the best team. They have demolished so many teams its ridiculour. When was the last time they played a close game anyway, Alabama?

[CMJ]

Yeah, the Tide played them close.

I didn't forget about S. Carolina/Clemson. I saw your Tigers won, congrats Layton. :)

To be fair I didn't list NT versus anyone either. :p

[Jedi Master Carr]

I was only teasing :p I wouldn't consider them a top 5 rival myself, lately it has been rather one sided though. With the season about over who do you think is the Heisman frontrunner? I think its White. He has looked great for OU all season.

[CMJ]

Jason White will most likely win, but I'd probably have him as my third choice behind Eli Manning and Larry Fitzgerald.

[Figrin D'an]

Larry Fitzgerald would win the Heisman in a just world. Unfortunately, it's not a fair situation, and Heisman voters are generally clueless. So, Jason White will probably win it.

USC looked good today. LSU hung on for a tough win. USC is going to lose tons of SOS points the last couple of weekends, and the fact that Washington St. lost the Apple Cup game hurts them in the "quality win" category. It's going to be too close to call for BCS #2, unless one of them stumbles.

I'll bet that Ohio State stills gets a BCS at-large bid, even though they lost to Michigan.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think White is deserving, White being on the best team and throwing over 3000 yards for a season shows he deserves to be considered. I would pick White but that is my opinion maybe I am QB biased.

[Figrin D'an]

White is a good QB, but he has a LOT of talent around him to make him look even better. Yes, he deserves consideration, but comparing the three "leading candidates," White is third behind Fitzgerald and Eli Manning.

Manning is leading Ole Miss to one of it's best seasons in nearly 40 years almost by himself. They have to rely on him to score points, because their defense is horrid most of the time. Yet, they were the last undefeated team in SEC play, and the still have a shot at getting to the SEC Championship game if LSU slips up next week.

Larry Fitzgerald is, hands down, the best player in college football. Just watch the guy play. I've watched him make catches in quadruple coverage. His awareness of where the ball is in flight, and what he has to do to adjust and make the catch, is better than any receiver I've seen in years. He's better than most NFL wide receivers RIGHT NOW, even as a sophmore. Take him away, and Pittsburgh is an average team at best. With him, they can win the Big East and get into a BCS bowl game. He completely changes how a team plays defense when he is on the field, and even when defenses scheme to stop him no matter what, he still finds ways to get open. The problem, and quite unfairly, is that he's an underclassmen, and many Heisman voters, in their stupid biases won't vote for him simply because of that fact. It's crap, because the Heisman is supposed to go to the Most Outstanding Player, which when comparing the top candidates, Fitzgerald comes out on top, IMO.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Also he is a WR a position that heisman voters seem to be biased against. WR only win when there isn't a great QB or RB candidate it seems that year. I think Charles Woodson was the last WR to win (though he was a two-way that year).

[CMJ]

It's just easier for QB's and RB's to win because they aren't dependenet upon someone to get them the ball. Fitzgerald is probably my #2 guy, just because Ole Miss hasn't been this good in decades, and he like the sole reason why.

I do love watching Fitzgerald play though.

[Charley]

Alabama

Of the four losing seasons you've had in 50 years, why must two be when I am a student? When will you stop being the posterboys for Murphy's Law and get back to kicking everyones tail like you used to? Please stop getting on probation. Please get a good coach (not sayin Shula isn't, but he's new), please stop getting hurt, please stop smoking weed.

Shaud Williams, thank you for figuring out that you could run the football against Auburn, but it was too little, too late I guess. You never figured out that you can actually do well by running the length of the field, rather than the width.

Brodie Croyle, please stop leading your targets so much. You'd overthrow the damn road runner if he was our receiver.

Shula, please burn your offensive and defensive coordinators alive.

Offense, please add more plays to our repertoire other than "Run up the middle and fall down" and "Run off tackle and fall down". Probably should get rid of the "Run a quick slant and drop the ball" play as well. Also, on 3rd and long, can we try to reach the 1st down marker, instead of running a play that won't get us there?

Defense, can we please not do that zone defense thing anymore. I'm sure there's some reason somewhere that we run it, but for the life of me, it escapes me. This seems to correlate somehow with us taking the lead, and usually preceeds our receivers all getting burned on a quick, deep pass, which costs us the lead and/or ball game. We managed to live down the abortion that was Gerald Dixon and before him, Fernando Bryant. Now that our secondary doesn't suck so much, can we stop shooting them in the foot before they have the chance to do so?

I understand that the referees are controlled by the Illuminati, and therefore I can't complain there too much. Still, I remember when we never got personal fouls and other things like that. Those kinds of penalties are what inmate schools like FSU are supposed to do. Can we not do that, it makes us look like felons.

Is there some way we can conscript a kicker? Maybe send a commando team to Eastern Europe and kidnap somebody? Why have all our kickers been so terrible? It's like watching those crosseyed guys from Spaceballs, except with maybe Parkinsons Disease. How do you shank a 20 yard field goal? How do you punt for nine yards? Is there any way to steal Lane Bearden's DNA, mix it with Sebastian Janakowski's, and make some kind of ubermensch superkicker? PS, there's a reason why every shanked kick I see is called a Pflugner, its because we recruit terrible kickers and they go down in infamy. Where have all the Van Tippen's gone?

I am sure there is a reason for us sucking lately. I understand that we've done well against adversity in quite a few games this season. I'm just a very tired, confused, and saddened Bama fan, hoping his team returns to the legacy that they created for themselves.

[Figrin D'an]

I feel your pain, man. Purdue was a dominant force in college basketball when I first arrived on campus, and over my final couple of years, they had become a sub-.500 bunch. It's like taking away a school's sports identity.

I think Shula can become a good coach... he understands what Alabama football should be, having once been a player there, but it may take a few years to get back to respectibility. This is going to be a cyclic thing in the SEC. Alabama became the NCAA's whipping boy, and once their probation period is over, another SEC program will get nailed and be taken down for a couple of years. It sucks, but one just has to hope that it passes a quickly as possible.



On a completely seperate note, there's a report coming out of Lincoln that the Nebraska AD wants Frank Solich out as the Huskers head coach. Supposedly, it's going to be "suggested" to Solich that he retire or resign, to give him a opportunity to save face.

[CMJ]

My entire time as a student at North Texas we didn't have a winning season in football or mens basketball(our women's squad had 2 20 win seasons though). The University has only had something like 6 FB winning seasons in the last 25 years.

Records when I was in school(yeah it was five years, I was in no hurry):
5-6
4-7
3-8
2-9
3-8

I guess that's why folks in Denton(and the scattered alumni like myself) are so appreciative of success nowadays. I feel for you Charley, but at the same time I don't. When we won our Bowl game last season it was our first Bowl win in like 50 years - since the Optimist Bowl in the early 50's(obviously a game that is no longer played).

[Jedi Master Carr]

When I was at Clemson we only had one really good season, Bowden's first year there so I understand where you are coming from.
About Nebraska maybe they might be thinking Spurrier is going to get the ax and want to go after him?

[CMJ]

Solich was doomed from the beginning. You don't wanna be the guy that replaces the legend...you wanna be the guy that replaces the guy - that replaced the legend.

Speaking of Clemson - keep Bowden. It looks like he may have righted the ship. They sure as hell look good right now.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah they won't fire him now, I think they could be a dangerous team to face in their bowl game.

[CMJ]

No, think dangerous team *next* season. Not sure how much talent yall lose, but the way they're playing right now, the Tigers could challenge in the ACC. Even with the additions of Miami/VA Tech/BC. They look DAMN good right now.

[CMJ]

Latest BCS numbers are out...

1 Oklahoma 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.00 10 0.40 0 2.40 -0.5 1.90
2 USC 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 2.33 39 1.56 1 6.89 6.89
3 LSU 3 3 3 2 3 4 2 9 3 4 3.00 61 2.44 1 9.44 -0.4 9.04
4 Michigan 4 4 4 5 4 5 5 4 5 3 4.33 13 0.52 2 10.85 -0.6 10.25
5 Ohio State 8 7 7.5 6 5 3 4 6 7 5 4.83 6 0.24 2 14.57 14.57
6 Texas 6 6 6 4 10 9 6 2 9 9 6.50 12 0.48 2 14.98 14.98
7 Georgia 5 5 5 8 9 8 7 7.5 6 6 7.08 32 1.28 2 15.36 -0.3 15.06
8 Tennessee 7 8 7.5 7 6 7 8 7.5 8 8 7.25 33 1.32 2 18.07 -0.1 17.97
9 Florida State 9 9 9 10 11 6 9 10 14 14 10.00 19 0.76 2 21.76 21.76
10 Miami (Fla.) 10 10 10 9 7 10 11 11 13 11 9.83 14 0.56 2 22.39 -0.2 22.19
11 Florida 11 11 11 18 8 17 13 5 11 10 10.67 9 0.36 3 25.03 -1.2 23.83
12 Iowa 13 12 12.5 15 14 14 12 16 12 12 13.17 15 0.60 3 29.27 -0.7 28.57
13 Miami (Ohio) 15 16 15.5 11 13 11 10 21 4 7 9.33 72 2.88 1 28.71 28.71
14 Purdue 12 13 12.5 14 15 15 14 17 15 17 15.00 37 1.48 3 31.98 31.98
15 Washington St. 16 14 15 17 17 16 16 20 16 19 16.83 38 1.52 3 36.35 36.35
16 Kansas State 14 15 14.5 20 27 18 18 12 20 20 18.00 36 1.44 3 36.94 36.94
17 TCU 19 17 18 12 12 12 19 38 22 15 15.33 83 3.32 1 37.65 37.65
18 Mississippi 17 19 18 23 20 23 21 19 21 22 21.00 48 1.92 3 43.92 43.92
19 Boise State 18 18 18 28 18 24 24 39 17 16 21.17 108 4.32 1 44.49 44.49
20 Bowling Green 22 25 23.5 25 21 19 22 35 10 13 18.33 73 2.92 2 46.75 46.75
21 Oklahoma State 23 24 23.5 22 29 20 17 18 19 21 19.50 53 2.12 3 48.12 48.12
22 Utah 29 27 28 13 22 13 15 34 18 18 16.50 54 2.16 2 48.66 48.66
23 Nebraska 25 23 24 19 31 21 20 27 23 24 22.33 40 1.60 3 50.93 50.93
24 Arkansas 26 29.5 27.75 16 25 22 23 15 24 23 20.50 30 1.20 3 52.45 -0.5 51.95
25 Pittsburgh 20 21 20.5 26 19 29 34 24 39 32 27.33 64 2.56 3 53.39 53.39

[Mu Satach]

Originally posted by CMJ
Solich was doomed from the beginning. You don't wanna be the guy that replaces the legend...you wanna be the guy that replaces the guy - that replaced the legend.


I kinda feel for Gary Crowton, he's in that boat right now. The past 2 seasons for BYU have been the worst in DECADES (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=1669663). People around here are wondering how stable his job really is.

[CMJ]

North Texas vs NMSU on ESPN2 tonight. We're trying for our 18th straight conference win. :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by CMJ
No, think dangerous team *next* season. Not sure how much talent yall lose, but the way they're playing right now, the Tigers could challenge in the ACC. Even with the additions of Miami/VA Tech/BC. They look DAMN good right now.

Yeah I think you are right, we are getting most of our team back so we will be a good team in the new ACC, heck we could challenge both Miami and Fla State at this point, IMO.

Also I read that it is still possible that LSU could top USC if they win there last two games. I think they might need Kentucky though to beat Tennessee to get Florida in the Championship game to help their BCS numbers or something like that.

[CMJ]

Oh yeah, we won on Tuesday. ;)

Unfortunately UT is destroying Texas A&M right now. All native Texans take sides when these two play - even if you goto, or went to a different school. I can assure you most displaced Texans still have a rooting interest of some sort.

There are very few teams at ANY level that I despise as much as the Longhorns. It's almost on the same level as the New York Yankees.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Go horns. I hate the Aggies with new-found vitriol :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Can LSU still make the BCS title game? I know they need Tennessee to lose to Kentucky today and then play Florida in the SEC title game. Really this is a mess something needs to be fixed about the BCS at least fix the computer stuff to prevent this confusing problem. Really the best way to fix this would be to have somekind of playoff. Maybe have another game(s) after the bowls between what is determined as the best teams.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Cizerack Hunter Forces
Go horns. I hate the Aggies with new-found vitriol :)

Because they stole Coach Fran? Please...

I'm sure you didn't feel sorry for TCU when he left their for Bama. Coaches move...it's a fact of life.

[Figrin D'an]

So... we're late in the 3rd quarter of the Big 12 title game, and Kansas State just scored again to take a 28-7 lead.

Looks like Oklahoma started to buy into the hype about themselves, and got complacent.

The BCS is going to be a mess tomorrow if OU doesn't make a comeback.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think OU will still make the BCS game because they have such a huge lead on the next two teams. This is according to Brad Edwards from ESPN. That to me shows the whole mess that is the BCS.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I think OU will still make the BCS game because they have such a huge lead on the next two teams. This is according to Brad Edwards from ESPN. That to me shows the whole mess that is the BCS.

I'm not so sure. If Kansas State wins convincingly (which they are right now), and if LSU wins convincingly over Georgia (which they are right now), the Sooners might not survive the loss and still make the Sugar Bowl. USC won big today, which despite Notre Dame losing to Syracuse hurting the Trojans SOS, makes them look good.

And... you can't tell me that the pollsters aren't going to look at the results today and be reminded of the 2001 Nebraska mess. I'm willing to bet a fair number will drop OU to #3. Some may even drop them to #4 behind Michigan because of how impressively the Wolverines finished the season. If OU drops to #3 in both polls, it's going to be very, very close.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Edwards said that didn't matter because of Bonus points and stuff like that he said OU would finish two regardless. Also LSU isn't winning very big right now, they could still blow there game which would make it even more of mess. I want to see it happen maybe it will finally make people see what the BCS really stands for.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
Edwards said that didn't matter because of Bonus points and stuff like that he said OU would finish two regardless. Also LSU isn't winning very big right now, they could still blow there game which would make it even more of mess. I want to see it happen maybe it will finally make people see what the BCS really stands for.


It's not just the score of the game... LSU is manhandling Georgia. That will make an impression on the voters.


For all the flack the BCS gets, people sure have sort memories. It's a far better system than the old Bowl Alliance. Yeah, it needs to be tweaked, but would you rather have a split national title, and situations in which #1 and #2 will never meet on the field? (Or just having a team get screwed out of the title, like Penn State in 1994).

[Jedi Master Carr]

I know but the voters don't matter he said if OU fell to three that combined with strength of schedule the computer polls and bonus point it would lift them to the #2 I wish I could find the article it was on ESPN Wed.
Also I think no system is right I think the only way to decide is with a playoff system of at least 4-8 teams that way you will know who is actually the best team every year.

[Figrin D'an]

Edwards is interesting to read, but he's been wrong before. There's no way to completely predict the human element that the polls represent. They do matter. It's 25% of the formula. I read his article earlier in the week. He may be right, but you can't say it with complete certainty because there is an inherent unpredictablity built into part of the system.


My problem with a playoff is that it devalues much of the regular season. Part of what makes college football so exciting is that every week is like an elimination game. It's the same with the controversy. It's part of what makes the sport interesting.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah thats true. Also Georgia is still in that game with LSU they are only down by 11 if they score twice they could actually beat them.

[Figrin D'an]

35-7 now. This is a beating by Kansas State

[Jedi Master Carr]

Here is Edwards take on the situation (this was before OU lost)

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1679892

He basically feels that OU would need to be at #2 in both polls not sure why but that is what he thinks I guess we will find out tomorrow. When do they make the announcement, tomorrow night?

[Figrin D'an]

Human polls are out tomorrow morning, BCS will be final by early afternoon so that the bowl games can make their picks. But, nothing will be announced to the public until tomorrow evening (5PM-ish).

[CMJ]

I've felt all year that it was dangerous for Oklahoma to destroy all their opponents. I've seen this before with "invincible" squads. They don't know what it's like when they get in a dog fight...and they fold their tents. That is exactly what happened.

The Trojans deserve to be in the title game. Who they play I can care less....but USC is THE best team I've seen all year.

(Plus I picked them to win it all) ;)

Here were my preseason conference Championship picks....

ACC: NC State (Uhhh no)
Big East: Miami (Co-champs...not bad)
Big Ten: Michigan (I got one!)
Big 12: Kansas State (Yeah baby)
PAC-10: USC (Rock on)
SEC: Auburn (Do over?)
Sunbelt: North Texas (Glory to the Green and White!)
Mountain West: Colorado State (Uhhh nope)
C-USA: TCU (Looked good for most of the season)
WAC: Boise State (Nice pick)

[Charley]

Originally posted by CMJ
Because they stole Coach Fran? Please...

I'm sure you didn't feel sorry for TCU when he left their for Bama. Coaches move...it's a fact of life.

Shut up.

Fran all but swore on a bible that he was staying true to UA, and then stabbed us in the back, mid-embrace. It's one thing to move between franchises. Its entirely another to do so in such an unscrupulous and deceitful manner.

Fran is a bastard, plain and simple.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well ESPN thinks its a given that OU will be in the Sugar Bowl

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=1680203

If that happens we will have a split national championship, the first one since Washington/ GA Tech. And if that happens I think we will get some talk about doing something about the BCS. At the very least they need to have another game after the bowls made between 1 and 2 to decide who the real #1 team is.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
If that happens we will have a split national championship, the first one since Washington/ GA Tech.

The 1997 National Championship was split between Michigan and Nebraska (the year before the BCS was instituted).


And all of that is just Gene Wojciechokski's opinion. Yes, I've heard what he, and Brad Edwards,, and every other ESPN college football anaylst have said. Bottom line... we won't know squat until the AP and Coaches polls are released in a few hours. Who knows how much they might penalize Oklahoma for getting destroyed the way they did. If enough AP writers believe as I do, that a team that didn't win it's own conference doesn't deserve a berth in the national title game, they may drop OU far enough to give USC and LSU the chance they need in the final BCS standings.

Stranger things have happened.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well the coaches poll came out and USC is first and OU third that doesn't help USC. According to ESPN OU needs to fall to second or lower than third in either poll. I don't see the AP putting OU below Michgan and I have my doubts if they put them at second. Also they might want to see this happen because most sportswriters despise the BCS so they would love to stick it to it.

[Jedieb]

BCS bashers are going to have a wet dream if USC gets shut out of the title game.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Heh you are right there Jedieb.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Also I realized something from Edwards article the reason that OU will remain #1 in the BCS is because margin of victory or margin of defeat is gone from the formula that is what is keeping them at the top.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
Shut up.

Fran all but swore on a bible that he was staying true to UA, and then stabbed us in the back, mid-embrace. It's one thing to move between franchises. Its entirely another to do so in such an unscrupulous and deceitful manner.

Fran is a bastard, plain and simple.

He also swore that he would never leave TCU. Students and alumni at smaller schools get stabbed in the back all the time when our coaches abandon us. Pardon me if I take glee in it happening to "big time" programs.

[Figrin D'an]

The BCS bowl matchups are set:


Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. LSU

Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. USC

Fiesta Bowl: Kansas State vs. Ohio State

Orange Bowl: Miami vs. Florida State


It should be noted though, that since they are ranked #1 in both polls (more importantly the AP), USC could win a share of the national title if they defeat Michigan on January 1st.

[CMJ]

The Rose Bowl will have the traditional feel to it. If Michigan pulls the upset order is restored. All four BCS games are gonna be great.

Heck there are a number of Bowl Games I'm looking forward to period.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Figrin D'an
Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. LSU


And all is good in the universe :cool

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
And all is good in the universe :cool

Only if Michigan comes through. If not, we'll have another split title.

[Sanis Prent]

I hate the BCS. What better way to kill it than for this to happen.

[CMJ]

So then what's the solution? There's alot of tradition to the Bowl games. Say they are gotten rid of(or at least how we know them). We have a playoff.

How many teams are included? What are the criteria? We spoke about this last year, and we couldn't agree on the format.

The only fair way would be a 16 team playoff. Conference Champions of...............

ACC
SEC
Sunbelt
Big Ten
Big 12
PAC 10
MAC
Big East
WAC
CUSA

...Plus 6 at-large teams. Play if down like March Madness. You(and most BCS monopoly schools) argue against any inclusion of the "little guy". In addition you usually argue against going by conference champions period. In essence you would just have the top 4 schools play each other - which would leave out not only the "little guy" but Champions of the ACC, Big 12, and Big East.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by CMJ
ACC
SEC
Sunbelt
Big Ten
Big 12
PAC 10
MAC
Big East
WAC
CUSA

lol

[CMJ]

I forgot to include the Mountain West. And see...you laughed. Let's see though...Kansas Sate...who just beat Oklahoma...was beat by Marshal...who was beat by Troy State...who was beaten by North Texas...etc, etc.

My point...any team can beat any team on a given day. Look at the basketball toruney as your template. If you were around when they started opening up the tourney come March you woulda been against that too. :rolleyes

The bias that BCS schools have makes me ill.

[Sanis Prent]

BCS teams don't make headlines when they throttle the crap out of the "little guys". Why? Because its a regular occurrence.

I really couldn't give a crap that the MAC had a flash in the pan year. Other teams, who cares?

Maybe allow 3 berths for those five little conferences then. I dunno. But to insinuate parity? Not a chance.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I'd say have an 8 team playoff, use the BCS bowls to host the games. You have 5 automatic bids coming from the big conferences.
ACC
Big 12
Big 10
Pac 10
SEC

Then three at-large teams. I know what you are saying about little schools coming from the WAC and such but they can't really win national titles because they can't get the athletes the big boys get because of limits of scholarships. Also I didn't include the Big East the way it is at the moment it doesn't deserve a bid. To me this is the best solution. The Bowls will still exist you just have a playoff to determine who is the best team. It is either that or have a Championship game after the BCS bowls between the best two teams left at least you have a less controversy than what this has become.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
BCS teams don't make headlines when they throttle the crap out of the "little guys". Why? Because its a regular occurrence.

I really couldn't give a crap that the MAC had a flash in the pan year. Other teams, who cares?

Maybe allow 3 berths for those five little conferences then. I dunno. But to insinuate parity? Not a chance.

The reason so called big schools get the better athletes most of the time? Because they CAN win the National Title!! If you're recruiting at Toledo, sure you can get the occasional gem, but overall you can't recruit against Ohio State. Why? Well, you can't sell the fact that you have a chance to win the whole enchilada.

If you weren't around when the Major conferences were formed, or got stuck in some "minor" conference back n the 30's...the deck has *always* been stacked against you.

There have been the occasional second tier school that has forced it's way on the national scene(ala Miami and Florida State 25 years ago) and some power players of yesteryear have been forced down, but it's extremely rare in both instances. The way the BCS is set up(not to mention your dream playoff scenario) the rich will only get richer further relegating the have nots to mediocrity.

EVERY other NCAA sport has a playoff where ALL the conference champions get an invite into the postseason. If college football has a NCAA mandated playoff, then the model is out there.

[Charley]

Yeah, but every other college sport has enough games in its season to mandate a playoff. College Football doesn't.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
Yeah, but every other college sport has enough games in its season to mandate a playoff. College Football doesn't.

Oh really??

Down in Division I-AA they send 16 of 121 teams to a playoff and allow them to play 11 regular season games (12 in the same years as I-A). Of the 121 teams (in an 11 game season) 105 play 11 games, 8 play 12, 4 play 13, 2 play 14 and 2 play 15.

In Division II they send 16 of 151 that play 10 game schedules (they also get the extra game in certain seasons). In a 10 game season 135 play 10, 8 play 11, 4 play 12, 2 play 13, and 2 play 14.

In Division III they send 28 of 229 that play a 10 game schedule. Playing in the title game means 14 or 15 games depending on seed, but 201 schools only play 10 games.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well if you want to do that 16 team deal I think you would have cut regular season games out, IMO. Go down to 10-11 max Some teams play 12, 13 counting conference championships. Now I don't see any of this happening what I expect is my compromise scenerio where they make a Bowl Championship game after the bowls. So in the BCS games they play 1vs 4 and 2vs3 the winners meet in a championship game. I will take that it is better than we got now. In that scenerio there wouldn't be a split national title so it works and we get some kind of playoff which works for me fine.

[Charley]

So you're all cool with a playoff season that accounts for up to 33% of a team's season.

I'm not.

They'd need to add a good deal more games to the regular season to balance that out. Even if they did that, we'd be looking at uber-long football seasons (like the NFL). I'd like to see that happen, but I doubt it's going to.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Agent Charley
So you're all cool with a playoff season that accounts for up to 33% of a team's season.

I'm not.

They'd need to add a good deal more games to the regular season to balance that out. Even if they did that, we'd be looking at uber-long football seasons (like the NFL). I'd like to see that happen, but I doubt it's going to.

All I'm saying is they do it in other sports. Hell they do it in FOOTBALL Charley..I just pointed it out. But if you talk about playoffs accounting for a large percentage of a seaon....look at the NBA and NHL.

The champions of those sports conceivably plays 28 games in the playoffs. Their regular season is 82 games...that's a helluva ratio.

[Charley]

It's a bit different when you end up playing that many games.

[JMK]

Any system that has #2 play #3 for the right to be #1 is ridiculous. I don't have the answer, but something ain't right. And I'm guessing its something big.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I'd say add one more game like the winner of the Rose Bowl play the winner of the Sugar Bowl I think that is a good compromise and I have a feeling that is what we will get.