College Football Bragging Rights Thread

[russ_watters]

How did I not venture into this thread before? Perhaps I was too hung up on the Eagles. That's over...

Penn State.
Navy.

 

[russ_watters]

Army 27, Air Force 24.

The Army-Navy game matters this year (sorta).

 

[dduardo]

Looks like VT isn't doing to well

Go Canes!

 

[BobG]

Arrggh!

Kansas beats the Bugeaters for the first time since man has walked on the moon. Army beats Air Force in the Springs for the first time since Ted Koppel brought us Nightline.

I think it's time to give up on this thread and go make fun of the Eagles.

 

[loseyourname]

So much for the USC/UCLA showdown of unbeatens at the end of the year. And so much for Virginia Tech. It looks like the rest of the season is a countdown to USC v. Texas. Let's hope both teams stay healthy and the Longhorns put up more of a fight than the Sooners did last year.

By the way, that was a great decision Nebraska made letting go of Solich. All he did was win 9 or 10 games every year.

 

[loseyourname]

So, the BCS is officially letting out a huge sigh of relief. Alabama's undefeated season is over, leaving only Texas and USC, neither of which is likely to slip up in their final two games (both rolled to easy wins today). The Big-12 is showing its incompetence again this year, with Texas Tech falling to Ok State and north power Colorado down early to Iowa State. Meanwhile, another 80+ point Pac-10 shootout is shaping up early between UCLA and Arizona State.

So, there could be a lot of movement around the bottom of the rankings this week, with Florida State, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and possibly Colorado all losing and falling out of the top 25. Florida and Texas Tech will likely take big falls, and Louisville, Fresno State, South Carolina, and Michigan should all take a nice jump up the rankings.

The national championship picture is all but settled now. Barring a huge upset of Texas, or possibly UCLA seriously stepping up in the last week of the season, the Trojans and Longhorns will be facing each other in the Rose Bowl. It should be a really good matchup. As bad as the Big-12 has been, I do think that Texas will put to rest the memories of Nebraska and Oklahoma failing to show up over the last several years.

Penn State has probably won the Big-10. It's hard to see them losing to Michigan State in their final game. Michigan/Ohio State should be another really good game this year; Michigan stepping up and ensuring that the Buckeyes do not sneak into a BCS bowl is certainly not out of the question.

The Big East is still up in the air and might come down to the final week's matchup between South Florida and West Virginia. The conference has to be praying that the Mountaineers step up so that the Big East is able to put a legitimate team into their BCS bowl.

The SEC is really the only interesting race left. LSU controls its own destiny in the west now, and Georgia has won the east, barring a huge collapse. The championship game matchup should be a dandy.

I can only surmise that Miami will avenge their season-opening loss and take Florida State to the woodshed when the ACC championship game comes around. The 'Noles have not looked good the last couple of weeks.

Anyway, my picks at this point for the conference champs:

ACC: Miami
SEC: LSU
Big-10: Penn State
Big-12: Texas
Pac-10: USC
Big East: West Virginia

BCS at large: Notre Dame, Alabama (Virginia Tech, Oregon, and Ohio State all have a shot here)

Rose Bowl: USC v. Texas
Fiesta Bowl: Penn State v. Notre Dame
Orange Bowl: Miami v. Alabama
Sugar Bowl: LSU v. West Virginia

Capitol One Bowl: Ohio State v. Georgia
Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma v. Florida
Outback Bowl: Michigan v. South Carolina
Peach Bowl: Florida State v. Auburn
Sun Bowl: Minnesota v. UCLA
Holiday Bowl: Oregon v. Texas Tech
Alamo Bowl: Colorado v. Wisconsin

Game of the week: The epic battle of great defenses between Alabama and LSU did not disappoint. JaMarcus Russell stepped up big. An honorable mention has to go to Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks, stepping up and taking care of the Gators. That's two wins against the SEC east's 'big three,' and the 'Cocks were not far from beating Georgia, either.

 

[BobG]

As bad as the Big-12 has been, I do think that Texas will put to rest the memories of Nebraska and Oklahoma failing to show up over the last several years.

In 2001, was there any team that would have looked better against Miami than Nebraska did? If you judge by the NFL draft, that Miami team has to go down as the greatest ever in NCAA history and they nearly pulled off a repeat the next year. Considering how all of the challengers played the final few weekends of the season, either there was no respectable number 2 team in the nation or else they were so intimidated by Miami that they were all trying to get out of the number 2 slot.

 

[tribdog]

Go Mesa Comm College
go weber State U.
go Southern Oregon State
go University of Nevada, Reno
go Boise State U.

 

[loseyourname]

Big-12 Championship:

Colorado - 62
Nebraska - 36

Fiesta Bowl

Oregon - 38
Colorado - 16

Who do you think deserved to go? I'm not saying Oregon would have beat Miami, but given the evidence, it seems they would have made a better showing than Nebraska. USC probably would have beaten LSU two years ago, and there is no way Auburn allows 55 last year. For whatever reason, the BCS just favors the Big-12.* Thankfully, if there are indeed only two unbeatens this year, there won't be any questions regarding who deserves to go to the Rose Bowl.

*Note Colorado's and Texas Tech's high computer rankings this year. Tech plays the easiest schedule in the land, gets destroyed by the one legitimate team they play, and now lose to a terrible Ok State team. Colorado lost once again, and even before, what were they doing ranked 11th in the computers? Just one case in comparison: Colorado v. Notre Dame. Both have two losses. Notre Dame loses one game, by 3 points, in double overtime, and another, by 3 points, on the last play of the game to the #1 team in the country. Granted, Colorado's two losses had come to the #2 and #3 ranked teams out there, but they were by 20 and 25 points each. Clearly, one team belongs on the same field with the top teams and one doesn't. I guess the computers don't have any way of factoring that in.

 

[Gokul43201]

Go Mesa Comm College
go weber State U.
go Southern Oregon State
go University of Nevada, Reno

Yeah, go...them !

go Boise State U.

Bad day for Boise State...your timing's off Tribby.

LYN : Are you calling for an Ohio State win over Michigan, then ?

 

[Gokul43201]

Just one case in comparison: Colorado v. Notre Dame. Both have two losses. Notre Dame loses one game, by 3 points, in double overtime, and another, by 3 points, on the last play of the game to the #1 team in the country. Granted, Colorado's two losses had come to the #2 and #3 ranked teams out there, but they were by 20 and 25 points each. Clearly, one team belongs on the same field with the top teams and one doesn't. I guess the computers don't have any way of factoring that in.

Don't know how it is now, but used to be that the Computer algorithm didn't consider the margin of victory unless it was greater than some cutoff number. Still I doubt that a 30 point margin counts the same as a 3 point margin. Anyway, two weeks ago, when the computters had Colorado at about 10 they had ND at about 4, so I don't see such a big discrepancy there.

 

[ray b]

BIG PROBLEM is NO PLAYOFF
and the limited out of conference play between real top teams

there should be a national body controling who plays who
not the current system of conference play plus weak sisters
that the schools now use with the odd old rivals throwen in
top 25 teams should play against other top 25 teams

why the TV networks who bankroll the system can't see this I do not understand

 

[loseyourname]

BIG PROBLEM is NO PLAYOFF
and the limited out of conference play between real top teams
there should be a national body controling who plays who
not the current system of conference play plus weak sisters
that the schools now use with the odd old rivals throwen in
top 25 teams should play against other top 25 teams
why the TV networks who bankroll the system can't see this I do not understand

I'd really like to see them schedule the games the season before. For example, when USC scheduled their home and home against Arkansas, the Hogs had just come off winning the SEC west, and it looked like it would be a marquee early season matchup. Nobody could have known they would fall like they did and just become another patsy. You've got to give credit for the top schools that are playing each other, though. Arizona State and LSU, Ohio State and Texas, USC and Notre Dame, Oklahoma and UCLA, Auburn and Georgia Tech, Florida and Florida State. I'm pretty sure USC has Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Fresno State scheduled next year, which could prove to be a damn good non-conference schedule if Nebraska and Arkansas can step up to their former glory.

To Gokul, I'm wavering on that Michigan/Ohio State game. It's always a tough one to call. As hard as it is to see a Michigan team with as much talent as they have losing 4 games in the regular season, Ohio State is clearly the better team, and they've really gotten on a roll as of late as their schedule strength has eased up a bit. We'll see. It should be a good game, and I hope it's televised on the west coast.

 

[LeBrad]

Time to bring home that Big 10 title!

 

[Gokul43201]

OSU both outplayed and out-screwed-up Michigan today, but finally pulled off an amazing win in the Big House. That makes the Buckeyes co-Big Ten champs (Penn State is likely to beat the Spartans) and gives them a possible shot at a BCS game.

 

[Pengwuino]

Why don't any of these pansy pac 10 and bcs and other conferences ever play at Fresno State? Chickens...

 

[Gokul43201]

Why don't any of these pansy pac 10 and bcs and other conferences ever play at Fresno State? Chickens...

Fret not. You'll have the opportunity of having your pants handed to you by the Trojans tonight.

 

[loseyourname]

Why don't any of these pansy pac 10 and bcs and other conferences ever play at Fresno State? Chickens...

Personally, I'd like to see the Pac-10 incorporate Fresno State and Boise State and start playing an annual championship game. I don't think they meet the conference standards, though. I remember hearing a while ago that the only schools west of the Rockies that meet all of the requirements, but aren't in the conference, are Utah and Colorado.

 

[Pengwuino]

Fret not. You'll have the opportunity of having your pants handed to you by the Trojans tonight.

Yah after years of demanding a game and they STILL won't come to Fresno. They all know remember what happened to Oregon State...

 

[Gokul43201]

Fret not. You'll have the opportunity of having your pants handed to you by the Trojans tonight.

Sweet mother of...

 

[Gokul43201]

Miami falls to Ga Tech ! Hooray ! Trojans still struggling against Fresno State...

Edit : ...not any longer, it appears.

 

[Pengwuino]

Awww what horse crap!

They should have ran that last play! HE THREW LIKE 6 INTERCEPTIONS AND YOU LET HIM THROW IT WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE!?!?

Fresno state: 42 , SCU - 50.

Game ends on a stupid interception into the end zone with 1:30 left

I hate how everyone acted like fresno state never had a chance even up to the last second. If they weren't idiots and went to the running game, they could have sent this into OT.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Go Texas A&M and UCLA! (and Arkansas, I suppose)

 

[Gokul43201]

Go Texas A&M and UCLA! (and Arkansas, I suppose)

uhhh?

Pengwuino : Despite the 3 INTs, your strength was definitely in the passing game (7 yds per pass against 3.5 yds per rush). But that last play call was just idiotic...it was exactly the same mistake that Miami made a few hours earlier, that lost them their game. Stupid, stupid mistake...at least the Miami QB was a rookie !

What will be sad is if Fresno State drops in rankings after this loss.

 

[SpaceTiger]

uhhh?

They're playing USC, Texas, and LSU, respectively. Our regular season is over, we just have to hope for some upsets.

 

[Pengwuino]

Pengwuino : Despite the 3 INTs, your strength was definitely in the passing game (7 yds per pass against 3.5 yds per rush). But that last play call was just idiotic...it was exactly the same mistake that Miami made a few hours earlier, that lost them their game. Stupid, stupid mistake...at least the Miami QB was a rookie !

What will be sad is if Fresno State drops in rankings after this loss.

4 interceptions to be exact. Still, that last play was soooooooo stupid. They should have ran it! I mean there was 1:30... they had to make sure USC didnt have a chance to score after a touchdown... and pinegar was turning to absolute crap in the 2nd half... but no, they just had to throw it into clear double coverage. I knew hte instant he threw that ball that the game was over and it was goign to be intercepted. Fresno state SHOULD be top 10 after that because we were literally one play away from tieing and possibly eventually beating one of the, if not the, greatest college football teams ever.

Pinegar was throwing like crap in the 2nd half. First half, all his passes were bullets, on target, on the spot. 2nd half was just a bunch of pansy lob tosses (hence, interceptions). There was one lob of a pass that wasnt intercepted only by the grace of god.

 

[russ_watters]

OSU both outplayed and out-screwed-up Michigan today, but finally pulled off an amazing win in the Big House. That makes the Buckeyes co-Big Ten champs (Penn State is likely to beat the Spartans) and gives them a possible shot at a BCS game.

So, I have a question: is that an official thing - that the title really is shared? Because it seems to me that in the only way that matters (the automatic BCS bid that goes to the Big 10 champ) there is only one Big 10 champ: Penn State.

Navy beat Temple ( ), and will likely go to a bowl game even if they lose to Army (which they won't, so why did I even mention it?)...

 

[Moonbear]

Fret not. You'll have the opportunity of having your pants handed to you by the Trojans tonight.

Now I'm starting to understand why some people like football so much...you get to say things like that and it's perfectly acceptable in mixed company!

 

[BobG]

Yah after years of demanding a game and they STILL won't come to Fresno. They all know remember what happened to Oregon State...

Fresno? The Trojans won't even travel to Akron, OH to play the Zips in the Rubber Bowl. (And for those wondering what a zip is, the zipper was invented in Akron)

 

[LeBrad]

Fresno state SHOULD be top 10 after that because we were literally one play away from tieing and possibly eventually beating one of the, if not the, greatest college football teams ever.

Hold your horses there sonny. I think it does show two things: Fresno state is not a top 10 team because they can't get over the hump and win big games, and USC is overrated.