One of the biggest games for my #3 Oregon Ducks is this Saturday against the #4 LSU Tigers. This game could either keep them in the run for another chance at the BCS championship or knock us out completely. #5 Boise toughest game is also its opening game against #19 Georgia. They pull this win off and they maybe coasting to the championships. Focus: Talk about College Football and all its glory.
Damnit TCU, I needed you, Boise and Fresno State to all win this weekend, so I could start smack talk on how the Mountain West Conference rules. I guess not this year.
Wisconsin seems to be frightening good. I'll be surprised is they don't end up with a conference title, and wouldn't want to bet against them ending up in a national championship game against the Big 12 or SEC champ.
Ohio State's new coach appears to be hitching his star to Joe Bauserman, which is convenient considering they'll both be gone next year. I've been watching him bumblefuck around in mop-up duty for three years. The guy can't play, no matter how good he looks against a team that went 1-11 in the MAC last year. They pull the kid with actual talent after three plays one of which was a great throw that got dropped, and the last one was the center hitting himself in the ass with the snap.
Anyone know where I could find a stream of Big Ten network? Trying to setup roomies with Nebraska stream while I head to the Stanford-SJSU game.
Maryland looked kind of iffy against Miami tonite. Danny O'Brien is gonna be a stud, but what terrible playcalling in the red zone. You make 7 trips and score 1 touchdown even with a QB who's playing well? Pathetic. However, that pick 6 covered the spread and my shouts of shock and delight woke my roommates up. Man gambling makes college football even more interesting.
I gotta be honest: I'm pretty worried about the Tide. Both QBs fucking suck, which is really nothing new for 'Bama, but I mean, these guys SUCK. 2 INTs each in the gimme tune-up game? Why is it that Alafuckinbama can't recruit a decent QB? Defense? Fantastic. Running backs? Amazing. Receivers? Awesome. Quarterback? "What the hell is that? We don't need one of those, hell, that's just some white kid that hands the ball off." I am always a defeatist and pessimist because in the 22 years I've been following Alabama football, the one thing I can say is this: There is no defeat we cannot snatch from the jaws of victory and no lead we can't squander. Alabama - Penn St. tomorrow at 3:30. I should just start drinking now.
That Notre Dame / Michigan game was awesome to watch. I'm not really a fan of either team, but the atmosphere for the first night game at the big house looked incredible. Lou Holtz probably just died of a heart attack. Crazy finish.
Boise State loses 9 scholarships, practices and placed on 3 year probation. http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/46948/boise-state-gets-ncaa-penalties Obviously this is because what they did was worse than other schools recently involved in scandals and not Boise State's placement within the NCAA FB caste. This article from The Atlantic is a great piece about the history of the NCAA and amateurism in collegiate athletics as well as college athletics' continuing commercialization. Ha.
This honestly makes me want to root for Boise. While I get tired of the constant rhetoric surrounding them, I am impressed and amused by the constant persistence. Beat whoever they can and just keep coming back when people try to beat them down.
Heard about it at work. Got lucky because xbox espn had the game so I watched the one of the best finishes ever!
Wow Mississippi St, 40 seconds left and you're still running the ball and end the game with all three of your time outs? I know you had already lost the game, but you could at least pretend you give a shit. I really don't think I'll be watching as much college football this season. Between the NCAA's unwillingness to implement a playoff system and instituting bat shit crazy rules like not counting touchdowns if the player high steps into the end zone this league just doesn't do it for me the way it used to. The fact that the NCAA is going to not count scores when a player prematurely celebrates, but is willing to turn a blind eye to nearly every major program bribing their players is pretty hilarious hypocrisy. Keep that moral standard NCAA, you're doing a stand up job. Watching Boise St bitch slap Georgia was fun though. Down here on the radio they kept saying Boise St would at best go 4-8 in the SEC. Yeah, you can keep saying it, but it doesn't mean anything until you start playing them. I'm not saying the broncos would win the SEC, but they deserve a chance to compete for the BCS title. Also, is it just me or does the pac 10 look really bad so far this year?
About celebrating. This pissed me off: http://seattle.sbnation.com/2011/9/...s-o-hand-symbol-excessive-celebration-penalty I'd like to see Boise make a run for the BCS title this year. Even thought last years game against Nevada was a complete choke (Stupid kicker) Boise will beat them 99/100 games. Don't count out Stanford I have high hopes for them this year. Unfortunately the only ranked team they play is my Oregon Ducks and if the ducks win, the Pac-12 can kiss any major bowls goodbye. Even though I still think Luck has the Heisman in the bag this year. This kid scared me 2 years ago and he terrifies me now. Can you say number 1 draft pick next year?
On the Boise State situation. Am I the only one who still believes they would be middle of the road at best in a major conference? I know that they are taking down the "big dogs" (see what I did there?) fairly constantly now, but people are forgetting one fact. They play these teams either to start the year or in a bowl game. Its much easier to play a team when you have a month plus to prepare for their scheme and personnel, as well as getting up emotionally for the david vs. goliath game. I'd like to see them play a big name team in the middle of the year when they'd only get a week to prepare else and have to deal with the nagging injuries that all teams do, or maybe have to play two title contenders in consecutive weeks like lots of teams do. I don't think they have the depth to take on these teams at anything less than full strength.
See, I think Boise State is the more scheme driven/gimmicky team that would require extra time to draw up a gameplan against. Plus let's not pretend like their game against Va Tech was really on a "neutral" field in Washington, DC last year. I think BSU would be happy to play bigger teams whenever, but it's well known lots of contenders from the big conferences avoid scheduling potential upset games against lesser teams. I am sure this holds true even moreso for later in the season when a loss would give you no time to work your way back up the rankings. In one way, I respect BSU's victories at the beginning of the season more. To go out and beat a good team without a "tune up" game against the likes of Kent State (Alabama), LA Monroe (Florida State), Akron (Ohio State), Florida Atlantic (Florida) and so on, impresses me. I'm also impressed when a team does all the things you mentioned too (short turnaround to gameplan, overcoming injuries, etc) but let's give some credit where credit is due as well. I think Boise State would be an above average team in most conferences, some a yearly #1 or #2 to win the conference, and I think they're good enough that if they're undefeated they deserve to be in a BCS Championship game over a team with 1 loss. All this being said, I hate the BCS (I think a playoff system that picked conference winners would actually encourage the scheduling of tough non-conference opponents as you'd want your tune up games to be as hard as can be) and pre-season rankings. I wonder who would go to the BCS if the only undefeated teams were Boise State, Louisville and Wake Forest.
These are pretty lame reasons to discount the victories. You realize the other team has just as much time to scheme and prepare too, right? However, I agree that they wouldn't be able to make it through a conference like the SEC or Big Ten unbeaten(they probably would in the Big East though). Still, when they don't lose a game all year I think they deserve to be in an 8 team playoff for a shot at the title. I mean, they beat Georgia very convincingly and looked a lot better doing it than South Carolina, who is supposed to be the third best team in that conference. You know, we could argue too though that those end of season victories are even more impressive considering they don't get to play teams that will test them all year. Either way, it seems like we both just want to see to the same thing-- watching them play strong teams in consecutive weeks. Edit: Come on, you know the answer to this. It would be the SEC winner vs the winner of the BCS conference that looked second strongest that year. It's not like we've never been in similar situations. Sometimes it's right though, like not sending Hawaii in the year they were the only undefeated team.
Kellen Moore is dramatically overrated. In addition to his pick, the TD that he threw to the back corner was a wobbly lame duck. Yet the announcers slobber his knob like no tomorrow.