College Football - Championship Week

[CDBears1259]

I overlooked the fact that Georgia is #4 in the BCS. If they hold that spot, they're locked into a BCS. Sorry Timmy.

 

UGA has no business being #4 when they have no chance to win the SECC.

[Mizzou]

Hahaha, are you serious? A two point loss means the same thing as a two point win? How drunk are you right now?

 

When it comes to how good two teams are. Beating a team by 2 points is worth about as much as losing by 2 points. A few points either way in a college game are kinda random. It's not like we're talking about two touchdowns up is the same as two touchdowns down, it's not. We're talking about a field goal either way. There's a lot of volatility in that. There's a reason it works out this way...and it has nothing to do with the SEC, Big XII, Big Ten or Mangino's waist size.

If only things were as simplistic as you'd like them to be.

 

We're not talking about a missed field goal. We're talking about a 60 minute football game. There's nothing random about winning. Calling a two point loss "random" is just ignorant.

[Mephistopheles]

Um, yeah it is random. It's like one third down conversion or one fifteen yard play.

[Guest]

This is going to be a repeat of 19-66 in 2005 or 22-47 in 2003. :( I hope Ben Olson doesn't like being healthy too much...USC's defense vs. this awful, awful offensive line won't be pretty.

[SouthSideRyan]

That's fine Raisin, you need to root against them anyways. UCLA Rose Bowl = Dorrell extension.

[SouthSideRyan]

Tim Tebow was on that nightly College Football show tonight in an interview segment with Desmond Howard.

 

Tebow

 

A.) made Howard sound intelligent

B.) Wears nothing but crocs when he's not playing football.

 

Like I needed more reasons to hate the DB.

[da bears]

Every time I see 1. Missouri I get a huge smile on my face. I could definitely get used to that. Go Tigers!

[dew1679666265]

Tennessee can beat LSU. A few weeks ago I would have laughed at myself for saying that, but now I believe it.

 

If LSU shows up and plays well the entire game (which they've really only done once this season - against VT), they'll kill us. Otherwise, as long as the Vols are focused and play well, it should be a great game.

 

It won't be quite as sweet LSU fans, but here's hoping for a small bit of payback for 2001. :wink:

[Guest]

That's fine Raisin, you need to root against them anyways. UCLA Rose Bowl = Dorrell extension.

 

They gave him an extension when he lost to USC by 5. I think UCLA Rose Bowl = lifetime contract.

[NCCubFan]

Also of note: The MAC is trying to get the NCAA to grant a waiver to Miami (OH) to get into a bowl game in the (likely) event that Central Michigan pounds them on Saturday and they finish 6-7 on the grounds of them being a division champion. This waiver, if granted (and all indications are that it will be), probably would make Ball State the one and only 7-5 or better team to be left out in the bowl cold. That's fun.

That would be pure bullcrap. There's no excuse for allowing a team with a losing record to play in a bowl game, division champion or not. They wouldn't be conference champions under that scenerio. If the logic is that they're bowl eligible because of having 6 wins the rule that a team with 7 or more wins from the same conference has priority should still be in effect.

 

Even if they're considered eligible, though, I don't think that means a bowl game has to give them a bid, if they think Davis and a 7-5 BSU team would be more attractive. I remember reading or hearing a few years ago that, except for the conference champions, bowls don't have to award bids based on order of finish (even though more often than not they do). The second bid from a conference means that the bowl game has second pick from the conference, but it doesn't actually have to be the second-place team if another team would be more attractive.

[Hosak8]

This thread is [expletive]. We have one poster talking about algorithms and stating that wins and losses matter less in football than they do in baseball.

 

See what happens when the guys from Big Bang Theory take an interest in sports? The actual meaning behind games gets lost in algorithms and theoretical statistical probabilities. Winning games is unimportant. It only matters what a computer says should happen.

 

Perhaps they should give the Sears Trophy to the winner of my simulated 2007 NCAA Football Season?

[Mephistopheles]

Hosak, you're missing the entire point...If teams have identical schedules wins and losses matter more in college football than they do in baseball. When one team plays a top ten schedule and the other plays a schedule of say 50th or so. That's like a two loss difference that no one takes into account. That's the reason why wins and losses in college football are poor indicators of success.

 

See: Kansas

[Magnetic Curses]

Hahaha, are you serious? A two point loss means the same thing as a two point win? How drunk are you right now?

 

When it comes to how good two teams are. Beating a team by 2 points is worth about as much as losing by 2 points. A few points either way in a college game are kinda random. It's not like we're talking about two touchdowns up is the same as two touchdowns down, it's not. We're talking about a field goal either way. There's a lot of volatility in that. There's a reason it works out this way...and it has nothing to do with the SEC, Big XII, Big Ten or Mangino's waist size.

If only things were as simplistic as you'd like them to be.

 

We're not talking about a missed field goal. We're talking about a 60 minute football game. There's nothing random about winning. Calling a two point loss "random" is just ignorant.

 

it means the teams were evenly matched and the game could have gone either way. so yes, in that respect it's very random.

[Mephistopheles]

Exactly. It means the teams are evenly matched*. That's all it means. When two teams play to a close game like that what should we take away from the game? The teams are evenly matched. Which team won or lost means little for the future success of the teams (except for in standings).

 

*on that day, but I really don't want to open that bag of cookies right now.

[Derwood]

couldn't one argue that one or more of the games that Florida won failed to prove that the Gators were the better team?

[NewUserName]

Not that argueing why a 3 loss Florida team is one of the Top 5 teams is a lot of fun. But

 

I was watching Mike and Mike this morning and while a commercial was on switched over to Sportscenter. I see it coming and am predicting it now. If Missouri or West Virginia lose, there is going to be a big push to get Ohio St out of the National Championship game. I dont know if it will be successful, but ESPN obviously has their orders. Those orders are to get Ohio St out.

[bukie]

ESPN speculating that if Oklahoma wins the Big 12, Missouri and Kansas fans will really hate Illinois again: BCS Projections Edited November 26, 2007 by bukie

[Jon]

Indiana gave Lynch a new four-year contract. That's a little surprising considering just about everything I heard about that situation was that Indiana would conduct a big search at the end of the season and that the odds of Lynch returning were pretty small.

[NCCubFan]

Also of note: The MAC is trying to get the NCAA to grant a waiver to Miami (OH) to get into a bowl game in the (likely) event that Central Michigan pounds them on Saturday and they finish 6-7 on the grounds of them being a division champion. This waiver, if granted (and all indications are that it will be), probably would make Ball State the one and only 7-5 or better team to be left out in the bowl cold. That's fun.

That would be pure bullcrap. There's no excuse for allowing a team with a losing record to play in a bowl game, division champion or not. They wouldn't be conference champions under that scenerio. If the logic is that they're bowl eligible because of having 6 wins the rule that a team with 7 or more wins from the same conference has priority should still be in effect.

 

Even if they're considered eligible, though, I don't think that means a bowl game has to give them a bid, if they think Davis and a 7-5 BSU team would be more attractive. I remember reading or hearing a few years ago that, except for the conference champions, bowls don't have to award bids based on order of finish (even though more often than not they do). The second bid from a conference means that the bowl game has second pick from the conference, but it doesn't actually have to be the second-place team if another team would be more attractive.

Thinking more about the MAC situation, I don't think that move would keep Ball State out. According to the most recent ESPN bowl projections (last Tuesday), three conferences (Pac 10, WAC, and Big 12) were expected to fall short of having enough bowl-eligible teams to fill their slots. Even with last weekend's upsets possibly giving the Pac 10 enough teams, there's still the WAC and Big 12. So perhaps the MAC believes that Ball State will get a bid anyway and they are trying to get 4 teams in bowls as opposed to leaving BSU out. I can see that logic. Had Miami been 6-6 but not in the championship game they'd be eligible. So if losing the championship game and finishing 6-7 would rule them out, that would in effect mean that they'd be punished for winning the division and playing for the championship, and that makes no sense to me. So I think what they're really looking for is an interpretation that an extra game playing for the championship shouldn't hurt a team with 6 wins in the regular season, and I agree with that logic. If the MAC isn't in line for an extra bid due to other conferences falling short I think BSU would still be protected by the rule that a 7-win team has priority over a 6-win team from the same conference.

[CuseCubFan69]

There is no doubt in my mind that no conference stood out this year. The SEC has beaten how many BCS teams out of conference? Kentucky beat a 5-5 Louisville and Florida beat a 6-5 Florida St and again, all at home. How many were away games? I really fail to see anyone that is better than the next. Cal rips Division winner Tennessee and is horrible in the PAC 10. Oregon St gets beat by Cincy 34-3 and does well in the PAC 10. The ACC more than holds it's own against the SEC and Big East. Mizzou beats Illinois other than that the Big 12 has no wins over any other over 500 BCS team. I'm having a hard time finding any wins out of conference over a good team for the Big 10, maybe I missed one.

[bukie]

There is no doubt in my mind that no conference stood out this year. The SEC has beaten how many BCS teams out of conference? Kentucky beat a 5-5 Louisville and Florida beat a 6-5 Florida St and again, all at home. How many were away games? I really fail to see anyone that is better than the next. Cal rips Division winner Tennessee and is horrible in the PAC 10. Oregon St gets beat by Cincy 34-3 and does well in the PAC 10. The ACC more than holds it's own against the SEC and Big East. Mizzou beats Illinois other than that the Big 12 has no wins over any other over 500 BCS team. I'm having a hard time finding any wins out of conference over a good team for the Big 10, maybe I missed one.

 

Best Big 10 OOC win is a take-your-pick among Washington, WSU, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Ball State, Miami (OH) or a 6-point loss to Missouri.

Edited November 26, 2007 by bukie

[CubColtPacer]

Indiana gave Lynch a new four-year contract. That's a little surprising considering just about everything I heard about that situation was that Indiana would conduct a big search at the end of the season and that the odds of Lynch returning were pretty small.

 

I heard before the bucket game that he was likely to get a new deal. After the bucket game, it was a done deal. Even the fans (who were mostly skeptical of him) won't let IU change him now. He's the guy who lead them to their first bowl bid in 15 years, and he's also an "Indiana guy" through and through which is important to many fans.

 

I worry about his coaching abilities, but at the same time the turmoil might have been too much if somebody else had been hired because so many of the fans would not have agreed with the move. There was really no other move to make besides giving him an extension.

[CuseCubFan69]

There is no doubt in my mind that no conference stood out this year. The SEC has beaten how many BCS teams out of conference? Kentucky beat a 5-5 Louisville and Florida beat a 6-5 Florida St and again, all at home. How many were away games? I really fail to see anyone that is better than the next. Cal rips Division winner Tennessee and is horrible in the PAC 10. Oregon St gets beat by Cincy 34-3 and does well in the PAC 10. The ACC more than holds it's own against the SEC and Big East. Mizzou beats Illinois other than that the Big 12 has no wins over any other over 500 BCS team. I'm having a hard time finding any wins out of conference over a good team for the Big 10, maybe I missed one.

 

Best Big 10 OOC win is a take-your-pick among Washington, WSU, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Ball State, Miami (OH) or a 6-point loss to Missouri.

 

That is ugly. This hurts Ohio State a lot imo.

[Mephistopheles]

Yeah the Big Ten was a pretty weak conference this year. It's unfortunate that they will probably end up with two BCS teams, unless youre an Illini fan. Don't worry, there's a lot of talent in the Big Ten and it will be fine. Just a one (or two see 2006) year thing. A few years ago the SEC was pulling up the rear of the BCS conferences. It has been leading it the last two. It's cyclical between the Big XII, Big Ten, SEC. None of the conferences are better than the others over the long haul.

[bukie]

BTW, I included the 6-pt loss to Missouri as a moral victory, which might be the best thing the Big Ten has going for it this year, schedule-wise.