College Football - Week of 11/1

[shnsajax]

I've only been to Lawrence, Manhattan, and Columbia. Manhattan is by far the worst of those three. I wasn't a huge fan of Columbia, but I didn't explore it at all. Lawrence is a great college town. Austin is supposed to be the greatest place in the world, according to everyone who's been there. And I hear Boulder is cool.

 

There was an article I read online a few years back that said Lubbock is the worst. The writer described it as "100 miles from Cool," which is geographically accurate, as it's 100 miles from Cool, TX, and, according to him, metaphorically accurate as well. But I also work with a bunch of people from Austin, and they say Waco is worse because of a heavy fundamentalist presence.

 

Austin is one of the greatest cities in the US. You even here the guys on College Game Day mention that too. Lubbock on the other hand is one of the worst. Between Austin and Boulder the Big 12 has some of the best and some of the worst.

 

Waco sucks but at least its in a nice looking area and only about an hour out from Dallas, unlike Lubbock where tumbleweeds still rome and hours away from civilization.

[Mephistopheles]

Waco's alright. Bryan/College Station is a dump...but it's only an hour or so away from Houston, which is equally a dump, but a bigger one at least. Austin's nice. Lubbock is the worst. Never been to Norman or Stillwater. I hear great things about the latter.

[CubInOK]

Waco's alright. Bryan/College Station is a dump...but it's only an hour or so away from Houston, which is equally a dump, but a bigger one at least. Austin's nice. Lubbock is the worst. Never been to Norman or Stillwater. I hear great things about the latter.

Don't believe them. There's only one bar type place unique to Stillwater. Most of the other restaurants are chains (Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.) A few student parties there are in trailer parks.

[Flames24Rulz]

Waco's alright. Bryan/College Station is a dump...but it's only an hour or so away from Houston, which is equally a dump, but a bigger one at least. Austin's nice. Lubbock is the worst. Never been to Norman or Stillwater. I hear great things about the latter.

A few student parties there are in trailer parks.

 

Haha, awesome.

[TruffleShuffle]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

[Derwood]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

 

Without having visited them all I can probably guess that West Lafayette is the worst

 

(i've lived in State College and Columbus, went to school in Evanston, and visited Madison, Bloomington and Iowa City)

[SouthSideRyan]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

 

Without having visited them all I can probably guess that West Lafayette is the worst

 

(i've lived in State College and Columbus, went to school in Evanston, and visited Madison, Bloomington and Iowa City)

 

Depends on how you judge Evanston. I've never been to Minnesota or know anyone who has. Other than those 2 possibilities, yeah it's gotta be West Lafayette.

[UMFan83]

Pretty sad when Michigan is the underdog against a winless (in the conference) Purdue.

 

How bad is Michigan? For the season it has scored the least points and allowed the most points of any team in the Big 10. In conference play, it has scored the least points and allowed the second most.

 

I never should have laughed at the misfortunes of traditional powerhouses Notre Dame, Penn State and even Ohio State when they had down years. Our time has come. I fear the good name of Michigan is tarnished forever. Probably just my usual 'sky is falling' attitude that you all know me for though.

[Derwood]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

 

Without having visited them all I can probably guess that West Lafayette is the worst

 

(i've lived in State College and Columbus, went to school in Evanston, and visited Madison, Bloomington and Iowa City)

 

Depends on how you judge Evanston. I've never been to Minnesota or know anyone who has. Other than those 2 possibilities, yeah it's gotta be West Lafayette.

 

my view of Evanston was that the University area was populated by super rich people who hated that the University was there. They passed every law they could to prevent the students from having anything fun to do.

[SouthSideRyan]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

 

Without having visited them all I can probably guess that West Lafayette is the worst

 

(i've lived in State College and Columbus, went to school in Evanston, and visited Madison, Bloomington and Iowa City)

 

Depends on how you judge Evanston. I've never been to Minnesota or know anyone who has. Other than those 2 possibilities, yeah it's gotta be West Lafayette.

 

my view of Evanston was that the University area was populated by super rich people who hated that the University was there. They passed every law they could to prevent the students from having anything fun to do.

 

Well yeah, that's why it'd be clear 11th if you're not factoring in Chicago(which is a pretty huge factor)

[TruffleShuffle]

Pretty sad when Michigan is the underdog against a winless (in the conference) Purdue.

 

How bad is Michigan? For the season it has scored the least points and allowed the most points of any team in the Big 10. In conference play, it has scored the least points and allowed the second most.

 

I never should have laughed at the misfortunes of traditional powerhouses Notre Dame, Penn State and even Ohio State when they had down years. Our time has come. I fear the good name of Michigan is tarnished forever. Probably just my usual 'sky is falling' attitude that you all know me for though.

 

michigan will get good again, but we'll see how long it takes. my roommate is a michigan grad who has been in serious denial all year - i told him that they wouldn't beat illinois or michigan st, but he kept picking michigan in our confidence pool. as recently as last week, he was still saying that michigan had a chance to win in the horseshoe this year... he cites some year that michigan wasn't that good and went on the road and beat undefeated ohio st. i asked him "what was michigan's record that year" and he said "8-4." apparently he doesn't realize that michigan is much, much worse than an 8-4 team.

[snoodmonger]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

 

Without having visited them all I can probably guess that West Lafayette is the worst

 

(i've lived in State College and Columbus, went to school in Evanston, and visited Madison, Bloomington and Iowa City)

 

Depends on how you judge Evanston. I've never been to Minnesota or know anyone who has. Other than those 2 possibilities, yeah it's gotta be West Lafayette.

 

my view of Evanston was that the University area was populated by super rich people who hated that the University was there. They passed every law they could to prevent the students from having anything fun to do.

 

when were you in Evanston? It's a lot different than it was in the early 90s. Lots more bars/restaurants, and the downtown area is now a destination spot for those not in the mood to go into the city.

 

Fact is, a lot of Evanstonians DO hate NW. The tax-free pass they get, based on a charter from the stone age, makes the locals have to pay obscene taxes. And the self-entitled, rich students are often not the most pleasant folks. Kellogg business students are notorious a-holes. For the record, I grew up in Evanston, and both my parents went to NW.

[shnsajax]

Pretty sad when Michigan is the underdog against a winless (in the conference) Purdue.

 

How bad is Michigan? For the season it has scored the least points and allowed the most points of any team in the Big 10. In conference play, it has scored the least points and allowed the second most.

 

I never should have laughed at the misfortunes of traditional powerhouses Notre Dame, Penn State and even Ohio State when they had down years. Our time has come. I fear the good name of Michigan is tarnished forever. Probably just my usual 'sky is falling' attitude that you all know me for though.

 

michigan will get good again, but we'll see how long it takes. my roommate is a michigan grad who has been in serious denial all year - i told him that they wouldn't beat illinois or michigan st, but he kept picking michigan in our confidence pool. as recently as last week, he was still saying that michigan had a chance to win in the horseshoe this year... he cites some year that michigan wasn't that good and went on the road and beat undefeated ohio st. i asked him "what was michigan's record that year" and he said "8-4." apparently he doesn't realize that michigan is much, much worse than an 8-4 team.

 

OU, USC, Florida State, UT have all had a down year(s). Given the length of time for Michigan not making a bowl game, and the complete restructuring of their offense a year after losing so many seniors I think this is ok this year. Should Michigan has signed Pryor, things would be a lot different right now. Assuming R. Rod can get a decent recruiting class this year it won't take too long.

[Derwood]

can we play the "best/worst town" game for the big ten?

 

Without having visited them all I can probably guess that West Lafayette is the worst

 

(i've lived in State College and Columbus, went to school in Evanston, and visited Madison, Bloomington and Iowa City)

 

Depends on how you judge Evanston. I've never been to Minnesota or know anyone who has. Other than those 2 possibilities, yeah it's gotta be West Lafayette.

 

my view of Evanston was that the University area was populated by super rich people who hated that the University was there. They passed every law they could to prevent the students from having anything fun to do.

 

when were you in Evanston? It's a lot different than it was in the early 90s. Lots more bars/restaurants, and the downtown area is now a destination spot for those not in the mood to go into the city.

 

Fact is, a lot of Evanstonians DO hate NW. The tax-free pass they get, based on a charter from the stone age, makes the locals have to pay obscene taxes. And the self-entitled, rich students are often not the most pleasant folks. Kellogg business students are notorious a-holes. For the record, I grew up in Evanston, and both my parents went to NW.

 

I was in grad school from 1997-2000. They built the movie theatre complex shortly after I left. Otherwise you had a choice of about 8 bars (The Keg, etc.) plus some decent restaurants, but not much else. If you were an undergrad there without a car, you had no access to movies. You could go downtown, but the Purple Line stopped running at midnight, so you'd be stuck with no way home if you stayed out too late

[snoodmonger]

Yeah, the theater/entertainment complex has changed that. And you were lucky there were 8 bars when you were there. Evanston was dry until around 1990 or so. Back then, I imagine it was really rough to be a student w/o a car.

 

I wonder if I ever bounced your narrow ass out of Tommy Nevin's. I worked the door there from 1998-2000.

[Derwood]

Yeah, the theater/entertainment complex has changed that. And you were lucky there were 8 bars when you were there. Evanston was dry until around 1990 or so. Back then, I imagine it was really rough to be a student w/o a car.

 

I wonder if I ever bounced your narrow ass out of Tommy Nevin's. I worked the door there from 1998-2000.

 

I was there a few times. I remember it taking like 30 minutes to get a beer if you sat down and ordered from the wait staff. I never stooped to My Bar.....why would I, I was actually old enough to drink!

[hawkeyecub]

The Big Ten is kind of tricky to judge. Northwestern, Minnesota and Ohio State aren't in "college towns" although Columbus probably felt the most like it for me. I like the Twin Cities but everything I've ever done there really had nothing to do with the school or that area except for the game (which in football is off-campus).

 

Never been to State College or East Lansing.

 

Wisconsin- Probably the best "college town" in the conference but also the biggest number of absolute idiots. It's extremely fun when your team wins there as long as you don't get too cocky. When you lose they get extremely cocky and it takes every bit of restraint in your body to resist a fight when they throw things, get in your face, etc...

 

Iowa- Personal favorite for obvious reasons. Top-notch atmosphere on gameday's, excellent female population, accessible and affordable, lots of good non-chain spots, anyone can have fun downtown and get around easily.

 

Indiana- Pretty cool place. People cared more about Midnight Madness than the actual football game that day. Atmosphere stinks but people are friendly. Females were outstanding. Probably completely different for basketball.

 

Michigan- Not bad, nothing special. People are pretentious but not hostile. Stadium is bland. Had a good time because Iowa gave them a beating ('02).

 

Purdue- People were friendly, atmosphere was pretty good. Not much else positive to say about it.

 

Illinois- Only been to one football game there and didn't really spend much time checking stuff out. In fact it ended up just being an extended tailgate and then back to the hotel bar so we didn't have to worry about transportation. Have heard mixed things.

[Derwood]

that's a good wrap up about the fans, but not the cities

[inari]

I'll go ahead and offer my rankings of the Big Ten cities I've been to.

 

1. Iowa City (that doesn't count since I go here)

2. Ann Arbor

3. Bloomington

4. Madison

5. Chambana

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. West Layfayette. That place sucks so frigging bad.

 

I've been to Minneapolis, but it's not a college town, so I'm not ranking it.

[UK1679666180]

1)Badgers

2)Hawkeyes

3)Illini

 

(Never been to Ann Arbor or Happy Valley)

 

Not a fan of MSU, UM, Purdue, or NU.

 

IU and OSU are ok.

 

I'm biased towards SEC schools in this regard although Madison and Iowa City are right there.

[Mephistopheles]

Predictions!

 

Cincinnati 31, #24 USF 24

#20 Minnesota 24, N'western 21

Wisconsin 21, #22 Michigan State 17

#19 Tulsa 35, Arkansas 14

#2 Alabama 38, Arkansas State 7

#14 Missouri 42, Baylor 28

#5 Florida 49, #8 Georgia 20

#9 Oklahoma State 45, Iowa State 14

#16 Florida State 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)

California 28, #23 Oregon, 21

#17 BYU 45, Colorado State 14

#6 USC 56, Washington 6

#11 Boise State 42, New Mexico State 10

#1 Texas 48, #6 Texas Tech 24

#4 Oklahoma 42, Nebraska 28

#12 TCU 31, UNLV 3

#15 LSU 31, Tulane 17

#10 Utah 38, New Mexico 21

[Warpticon]

Ooh, do the SEC.

 

I've never been to any of the campuses mentioned except OU. THe hotel they put us up in was pretty nice. Beyond that and campus, that's all I saw of Norman.

[TruffleShuffle]

#5 Florida 49, #8 Georgia 20

#1 Texas 48, #6 Texas Tech 24

 

shocking

[SouthSideRyan]

Meph Challenge!

 

USF: 34, Cincy 16

Minnesota: 30, NU: 24

MSU: 27, Wisconsin: 20

Tulsa: 48, Arkansas 34

Alabama: 31, Arkansas St. 3

Missouri: 54, Baylor: 14

Florida: 31, Georgia: 20

OK St.: 61, Iowa St.: 10

GA Tech: 20, FSU: 10

Oregon: 34, Cal 17

BYU: 38, Colorado St.: 17

USC: 52, Washington: 7

Boise St.: 41, NM St.: 14

Texas: 41, Texas Tech: 34

Oklahoma: 45, Nebraska: 24

TCU: 35, UNLV 10

LSU: 21, Tulane 14

Utah: 30, New Mexico: 21

[TruffleShuffle]

as long as we're making homer picks, holy cross 157, bucknell 2.