* Oregon got more than a scare on Saturday. The Cal D put a chink in the armour of the vaunted Oregon offense a cut their average yardage total by more than half and the 15 points surrendered bested Oregon's previous season low of 42. Had Cal had any production from their offense this game would have been over by early 3rd Quarter. Speaking of the offensive play I cannot recall a more pathetic performance by a QB then Cal's Brock Mansion. Now in defense of Mansion he is the backup who was thrown into duty when Kevin Riley was injured last week. Mansion also was the victim by a poor WR corp who dropped at least 6 passes and many seemed to come on crucial third downs. Mansion finished the game 10 for 28 for 69 yards. He did manage to not turn the ball over however of those 18 incompletions 10 of them at least weren't within 7 yards of the attneded reciever and these werent the miscumminacation type these were simply bad passes that didn't even give the WR's a chance to make a play. I don't know Cal's QB situation however I have to think someone on their roster would have given them a better chance to win on Saturday Night.
* After last weeks dominate performance over Top 5 Utah, TCU was penciled in as the first in line should 1 or 2 should fall. If you wrote a script for how Boise could overtake the Horned Frogs this weekend followeed it. Friday Boise once again dominated a team they should dominate. On Saturday the Utes went into South Bend to play a 4-5 Irish team who last lost to Tulsa. The Utes fell 28-3 to the Irish and to make matters worse TCU's other bargaining chip Baylor fell to Texas A&M so now TCU has 0 wins over current Top 25 schools. On the field TCU narrowly escaped San Diego State 40-35. In the midst of all of this action Virginia Tech beat North Carolina on the road and later on Saturday Nevada beat Fresno State in a thriller. As the dust settled this week Boise jumped TCU in the AP and the gap has closed in the most important poll of all the BCS.
* Though who will be playing in the National Title game is still in doubt the list of teams who will not is nearly finalized. Outside of Auburn, Oregon, TCU and Boise State it would take a complete collapse for anyone else to jump into the mix. Auburn has already clinched a spot in the SEC Championship so that eliminates every other SEC school so should the Tigers fall to Alabama in two weeks they could still be in the title game should two of the other 3 unbeatens fall. If Oregon can just split the final two they will also clinch the Pac 10 which would eliminate Stanford. With all of these scenarios in mind it will take three of these four teams to lose and outside of the Big 10 winner and Nebraska from the Big 12 everyone else at this point is playing for pride and a bowl other than the National Title Game.
* The Big 10 will likely come down to the final week. Currently Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin are tied for the Championship. In the event all three teams are tied at seasons end, since Michigan State did not play Ohio State, the BCS final Standings will determine the Conference winner. At this point Wisconsin is the leader and judging by the 83-20 win this week they don't appear to be letting up. Should Ohio State lose then Michigan State would be the winner since they have the head-to head advantage over Wisconsin. If everything remains as is I could see Wisconsin as a canidate in the National Title conversation as well as Ohio State should Wisconsin fall again, however should Michigan State win the title given their ugly loss to Iowa I can't see a scenario were they would jump into the conversation.
* Congrats to Washington State. Big win over Oregon State on the road this week. The win gives the Cougars their first Conference win in nearly two years and their first win over a conference foe other than Washington since 2007.
* Given his 2-Point Conversion tactics earlier this season Brett Bielema will no doubt take some heat for the 63 point besting of the Hoosiers however the majority of the scoring was by second and third sting players as well as Defensive scoring. 21 of the points came in a three minute stretch at the end of the first half. Besides if it takes "style points" to impress voters which ultimately aids in the BCS standings which could decide the Conference then so be it. Ask yourself this would you rather your team play in the Rose Bowl or the Outback?
* After Oregon's 15-13 win at Berkley and LaMichael James's 90yds on 21 carries the Heisman race is a two man show at this point between Newton and Moore. Newton certainly has more WOW moments however there may be some off the field issues that could damage his appeal to some voters. Moore is the steady performer who just goes out and time and time again post a 250 yardage line with 3 TD's.
* So now father Newton has admitted asking for money however he has stated that Cam had no idea it was going on. There is just two much smoke surrounding this for there to be no fire. Now in my opinion there is no way Auburn should bench Newton. At this point your all in with him. I mean if he is found ineligible at some point then this is a lost season anyway. Sure it may add some additional punishment later but if you run the table and win a title though it may not be in your trophy case people won't forget. Besides if you put the right people in the right places no one will ever find out.
* Another week another uninspired performance by the Vikings. The offense sputtered all game long and once again to my astonishment there were long stretches in the game when Peterson remained on the sideline. As bad as this season has been I still believe this team has the makings of a playoff team. At 3-6 they woulld have to go at least 6-1 down the stretch to have a legitimate chance. If Childress remains in the fold, which given his contract status is likely, the Vikings may as well begin offseason prep now but if teh Zig man gets some intestinal fortitude and throws out good business in favor of fandom then Childress would be fired on Monday and this team would rally around Leslie Frazier and make the playoffs.
* The Dolphins may not have the best personnel in the NFL this is pretty obvious given their record however I can't think of another NFL team who could lose two QB's and ride their 3rd team QB to a easy win over one of the better teams in the AFC in the Titans.
* Jets and the Browns was a hard hitting classic. Last week I was nostalgic about the AFC West this week I was reminded of how entertaining Clevland Browns football can be when they are relevant. Browns fandom is second to none and no other city then perhaps Green Bay feels like football more than Clevland. I don't know what it is but it would seem every Sunday after the calender turns November Clevland is void of sunshine.
* The Texans and Jaguars have swaped places. When the season started the Texans appeared to have made the transition to a playoff caliber squad while the Jags appeared to have accepted their place amongst the worst the NFL had to offer and players most pressing issue was finding a real estate agent around LA. The Jaguars still have the agents working tirelessly however they have positioned themselves as a possible playoff team. This team relies on it's offense to carry them and for the most part they succed in this. I don't see the Jaguars being consitent enough to make that final playoff push but this mathcup certainly put a large dent in the Texans hopes of shedding the "playoff sleeper" label. Of course this entire story could have had a different ending if the Jags don't complete a 50 yard Hail Mary as time expired in regulation.
* The NFL's version of the Bearded Lady was at it again on Sunday. The novelty act that is Tim Tebow appeared in the Broncos 49-29 thrashing of the Chiefs. Near the end of the second quarter Touchdown Timmy was given the ball near the goaline and scampered in untouched as only he could do it for the score. The list of players who score a TD everytime they touch the ball is a short one and first round draft pick Tim Tebow is one of them. To bad this circus only appears every couple of weeks in mop up duty.
* Let's not annoit Jason Garrett Redheaded Jesus just yet. Sure they pasted the team many had appointed best in the NFC but two things happened this week that will be tough to duplicate. First off this was the classic case of a entire team circling the wagons if you will. This second wind could carry you for a game or two but at the end of the day you are still a team that in Week 10 still has nothing to play for seven more weeks. And judging by the results of the previous regime pride isn't something they are concerned about. Secondly for some odd reason this Giants team under Coughlin just isn't good coming out of the bye. Given Coughlin's clout as a coach that is suprising but for whatever reason they always seem to come out flat.
* Four teams in the NFC West, only the Seahawks have a winning record at this point at 5-4. Not one team in the division has a positive Net Point total the divisions best is St. Louis at -4. The 49ers have won two in a row and are now only two games back after starting the season 1-6. Outside of the Cardinals I can see any of these teams winning the division but I don't see any scenario that leads me to believe this division can win a playoff game even if a 10 win playoff team has the injustice of traveling to one of these places in the first round of the playoffs.
* You are foolish to ever doubt the Patriots. After last weeks awful performance at Cleveland the Patriots appeared to be a team lost without Moss on offense. A week later they are in Heinz Field smacking around the team many believe to be the NFL's best. Bellicheck's record after a loss is something like 23-2. As for the Steelers I am going to claim something that may very well get me laughed out of the 64/60 Corporate Office but the Steelers are a better football team without Ben Roethlisberger. Now I'm not claiming that Batch or Dixon are better players than Roethlisberger but when Roethlisberger is under center the team turns into a passing team rather than a grind it out running team. I just feel the Steelers are better off throwing about 25 times per game than then the 30-40 times that is the norm for Roethlisberger.
27 comments:
"Ask yourself this would you rather your team play in the Rose Bowl or the Outback?"
According to SI, neither would be profitable for the schools. The coaches and athletic director may reap some monetary benefit though.
Why did you photoshop that photo of you on the couch?
WTH?
Chris had photoshopped this picture some time ago and I don't have a picture of myself on the couch at this point so we had to go with what was available. In regards to the bowl process. I know schools are awarded money with their bowl bid. I haven't ever audited where the money goes but I do know that the money is shared with other conference schools. My point wasn't about the University itself my arguement is that in three years if Wisconsin is 5-6 then the Rose Bowl appearence carries more weight then another trip to a bowl along the lines of the Outback. Also most coaches have incentitives in their contract and Conference Championships are usually a part of that. I'm gonna have to check out this article you are reffering to. You know me I'm a fan of the current system sure it has it's faults and needs some minor tweaking but to me it's better than a mass playoff. I had a post about this last year sometime I'll try to find it and run it again. This is one of those topics that has a clear line drawn in the sand. You are either for it or against it. Regardless it always makes for good conversation.
i like the photoshopped one.
i agree the steelers should concentrate on steeler football a little more. if they run and play
DEF the whole team is involved and they seem to have better success doing this ('06 super bowl, the first 6 games this year).
No need to re-hash your post...But I think that now, a 16 team playoff is in order...and you give all 11 BCS Bowl Subdivision(D1) conference champions a bid...and then you give 5 at large bids... or if you are worried that Notre Dame will constantly be overlooked in the event they have a playoff-quality year for an SEC school(which would happen), then you can add more teams to the playoff...but not too many, you do not want to have teams playing as much or 1 more at the most games than the NFL.
The article was excellent and provided a fresh and informative take on the BCS. It did mildly argue for a 16 team playoff; entering the playoffs would be similar to how Cain described. It concluded with several points, one of which was that the BCS will likely not change any time soon because the people who stand to benefit from the BCS have the overwhelming majority of the authority and power to make the decisions whether or not to absolve it. Until it becomes unprofitable for these select, no imminent change is forecasted.
I think 16 is about 12 too many.
all you would have to do is add one game and you would not have to do that every season. This year would be one of them tho.
Why would you add one game when you could add 4?
Doesn't make sense.
Jess
Why would you add 4 to dilute the importance of hundreds of games.
ditto coleman.
i feel like i explain a bunch of things to jesse.
I'm not sure what you mean.
You can have all the shitty bowls for the lower teams and have the 8+4+2+1 = 15 games in the 16 team tourny vs. the 8 you would otherwise have under the current system.
More games = more money, ask any baseball team owner
Also, adding playoff games to determine an outright winner doesn't devalue any of the regular season games. You would still need a stellar record to make the playoffs.
Your argument is terrible.
Todd, what exactly is it that you want to explain. I know how to eat a cheeseburger.
Thanks,
Jesse
stellar record?
the 16th ranked team this season will prolly have 3 or 4 losses come end of the year. hardly stellar.
if you have a 16 team playoff your tarnishing the "every week matters" idea in college football. the Bcs works except the years when there are 3 or more undefeated teams.
1 game could be added and end the whole argument. oregon v tcu. boise v. auburn. winners play one another. there is your undisputed national champion.
Todd,
Your argument is ridiculous. The BCS doesn't always award the best team the national championship. Just because a team has a loss doesn't mean they are the best team in the country even if another team doesn't have a loss.
Only a playoff, like almost every other sport in the world, would determine who is truly the best. Every week would still matter because the goal is to make the playoffs.
Probably, probably, probably..... the 16th ranked team could "prolly" only have 1 or 2 losses. Pretty stellar if you ask me.
sorry sentence correction...
Just because a team has a loss doesn't mean they aren't the best team in the country even if another team doesn't have a loss.
Please the BCS website for their response to the SI article I referenced. Pretty weak if you ask me..... they are saying that a bowl game experience is different and better than a playoff game experience.
My question.... how the fuck do they know that?
the 16th ranked team this year will have 3 or 4 losses.
The bcs gets it right about 85% of the time tho.
If they adopted a 16 team playoff the regular season would only be 7 or 8 weeks long.
i dont see how this fixes the problem
the 16th ranked team this year will have 3 or 4 losses. -- Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't mean they aren't better than a team with two, one or no losses. It depends on who they play. The loss carries too much weight in the BCS mathematical equation.
The bcs gets it right about 85% of the time tho. -- Really? Prove it.
If they adopted a 16 team playoff the regular season would only be 7 or 8 weeks long. -- No it wouldn't. There would be more games. See earlier argument.
i dont see how this fixes the problem -- I'm sorry you are failing to understand reason. Try harder.
V tech is curretly ranked 16. they have 2 losses.
so your saying that a team with 2 or more losses should have a chance to play for the national title?
Yes.
Just like every other sport.
OK, I see some misconceptions with this..first, adding one game, while i get your theory, would do more harm than good. You don't shorten the amount of the regular season, it stays the same, the potential National Champion would only add 3 more games to it's season by getting the championship. so, it extends the season by 3 weeks, which means the playoffs occur through december and culminate on January 1st. and 16 teams is the perfect number for the playoffs, first it rewards all D1 champions and allows 5 others who have 1 or 2 loses that are without a doubt serious contenders in as well. No more what if's...It does not devalue the regular season, I really don't see the argument for that, win as planned and you'll be fine. I am not so sure the BCS gets it right 85% of the time, it;s like rooting for mediocrity, why settle for 85% when 100% is an option?
Gilberto,
Typically me and you share the same opinions but in the playoff debate we are at opposite ends. As I stated to Jess we can argue about this for days and not move a inch. I found the following statement interesting: " I am not so sure the BCS gets it right 85% of the time, it's like rooting for mediocrity, why settle for 85% when 100% is an option?". It seems to me that inviting all conference champions which would include the likes of the Big East, Conference USA, MAC, ACC the Sun Belt and others into a Playoff for the National Title is inviting Mediocrity into the equation and not eliminating it.
Point taken.
the fix? a play-in round scenario for the less than stellar conferences for the season. Easy enough.
So, I fixed the issue with my playoff plan, fix the issues with your BCS.
If you truly think that all the regular season games become meaningless, than you are sadly mistaken... They are still playing for positioning for the national championship in a playoff system. Same as it is under the BCS system, only they would have a clear cut winner after the playoffs, instead of the '85%' rate of the BCS being successful.
And, a playoff would make Notre Dame even less significant than they have already made themselves.
If you are going to allow a true National Championship decider make up your mind as to if your going to watch college footballs regular season and if it means something to you, then you are fickle and do not really like college football to begin with. And if you search enough, look at the facts, you will see that a playoff will not disrupt anything, it would actually make the regular season worth more.
This has gotten out of hand....
Coleman with all due respect Josh was arguing that choosing the national champion 85% of the time is mediocre. You response was that letting a MAC team into a 16 man tournament is permitting mediocrity. Surely, even you can see that you didn't address his point. If the MAC team beats everyone, then they are hardly mediocre.
This whole thing is ridiculous and I quit.
Agreed. The regular season would be worth more. Teams on the cusp of the playoffs would be playing live or die football vs. settling for the Outback bowl.
Now I quit.
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