College Football - Bowl Games

[sneakypower]

should be pretty fun watching Taylor Lewan vs. JaDeveon Clowney, and if Lewan does get abused, maybe we'll get to keep him another year!

[Tracer Bullet]

The BCS games kinda suck, outside of the ND/Bama game

 

I actually thought the matchups were about as good as you can get (outside of Florida, who will win by 400 points).

 

OU v KSU is a good style clash with neither team playing defense. If you like seeing teams have 25 possessions a game each and scoring TDs on 90% of those possessions, then this is for you.

 

Stanford has a great defense and Wisco just ran for a billion yards. Should be a good challenge for both (actually, I suspect Stanford will win easily).

 

FSU has played no one. So this is the best matchup NIU could hope for. There's actually a chance they could win. Even more so if Jimbo spends time the next month interviewing instead of coaching.

I never thought of KSU this season as a typical all offense, no defense Big 12 team. They can score, but it never seems that they can keep up with Baylor or WVU without getting turnovers, and their defense can get them the ball.

 

Over 400 yards to Texas, despite 3 TOs, 500 yards to OSU, nearly 600 yards to Baylor. I don't know, but it seems like decent teams can get yards and points. I wouldn't be shocked if this looked like the Oregon/USC game. I'd take over 100 points rather than under 50.

[Andy]

Formality, but Manziel, Te'o and Klein named Heisman finalists today. All projections have the final vote in that order with sizable gaps between each spot.

[Old Style]

A little piece of me will still be worried until they call Manziel's name Saturday night.

[Old Style]

Oops

 

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1741769

Karl Malone be mad.

[OleMissCub]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

 

I mean, I was looking at his stats then compared them to one of our freshman, Denzel Nkemdiche.

 

Te'o: 103 tkls, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 picks, and 0 forced fumbles.

 

Nkemdiche: 78 tckls, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 picks, and 4 forced fumbles.

 

Te'o is 61st in NCAA in tackles, isn't in top 100 in TFL, but he is 4th in INT's.

[SpongeWorthy]

Isn't a good way for a defensive player to rack up counting stats to be on a team that often gives up long sustained drives? If you're forcing lots of 3 and outs and short drives you'll have fewer tackles.

[Guest]

Isn't a good way for a defensive player to rack up counting stats to be on a team that often gives up long sustained drives? If you're forcing lots of 3 and outs and short drives you'll have fewer tackles.

 

Yeah, I've never been a fan of just tackles to quantify a good defender.

 

I think Jadaveon Clowney has definitely had a better season than Te'o.

[shnsajax]

"The Heart of Dallas Bowl"??

 

My wife's school is getting 5,000 free tickets for employees and staff. So yeah, there is a huge demand for this game. Being 11am on New Year's I don't even know if I want to go.

[Tracer Bullet]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

 

I mean, I was looking at his stats then compared them to one of our freshman, Denzel Nkemdiche.

 

Te'o: 103 tkls, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 picks, and 0 forced fumbles.

 

Nkemdiche: 78 tckls, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 picks, and 4 forced fumbles.

 

Te'o is 61st in NCAA in tackles, isn't in top 100 in TFL, but he is 4th in INT's.

 

He's actually the worst player in football but the ND bias is so pervasive that he's going to win even if they have to fix the vote. I mean, you can't allow the streak of ND Heisman winners in the last 25 years end.

 

Do you realize how dumb it is to say playing for ND improves his Heisman candidacy? It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

[Guest]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

 

I mean, I was looking at his stats then compared them to one of our freshman, Denzel Nkemdiche.

 

Te'o: 103 tkls, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 picks, and 0 forced fumbles.

 

Nkemdiche: 78 tckls, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 picks, and 4 forced fumbles.

 

Te'o is 61st in NCAA in tackles, isn't in top 100 in TFL, but he is 4th in INT's.

 

He's actually the worst player in football but the ND bias is so pervasive that he's going to win even if they have to fix the vote. I mean, you can't allow the streak of ND Heisman winners in the last 25 years end.

 

Do you realize how dumb it is to say playing for ND improves his Heisman candidacy? It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

 

Dead serious question - do you think Te'o is the best player on their defense? I've only seen 3-4 games of Notre Dame's but Truitt seems to always stand out a bit more than Te'o.

[OleMissCub]

It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

 

LOL, man you ND games are so damn touchy.

 

When I said "because he plays for the Irish" it was alluding to what you quoted. If a guy from Alabama had the same stats I would have said "because he plays for Bama" i.e. one of the top ranked teams.

 

You gotta remember, I'm a Southerner, so Notre Dame is pretty much irrelevant to my football consciousness. The only thing in my football upbringing that would form any opinion about ND comes from "Rudy" and the fact that Ole Miss beat a #3 ranked Notre Dame back in the 70's at some point. If I was from Illinois or Indiana or Michigan then I'm sure I'd probably have a very strong opinion of them, one way or another. But as it stands, I'm pretty indifferent about the Irish.

[javy knows my name]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

 

I mean, I was looking at his stats then compared them to one of our freshman, Denzel Nkemdiche.

 

Te'o: 103 tkls, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 picks, and 0 forced fumbles.

 

Nkemdiche: 78 tckls, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 picks, and 4 forced fumbles.

 

Te'o is 61st in NCAA in tackles, isn't in top 100 in TFL, but he is 4th in INT's.

 

He's actually the worst player in football but the ND bias is so pervasive that he's going to win even if they have to fix the vote. I mean, you can't allow the streak of ND Heisman winners in the last 25 years end.

 

Do you realize how dumb it is to say playing for ND improves his Heisman candidacy? It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

 

Jesus. Christ.

[Tracer Bullet]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

 

I mean, I was looking at his stats then compared them to one of our freshman, Denzel Nkemdiche.

 

Te'o: 103 tkls, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 picks, and 0 forced fumbles.

 

Nkemdiche: 78 tckls, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 picks, and 4 forced fumbles.

 

Te'o is 61st in NCAA in tackles, isn't in top 100 in TFL, but he is 4th in INT's.

 

He's actually the worst player in football but the ND bias is so pervasive that he's going to win even if they have to fix the vote. I mean, you can't allow the streak of ND Heisman winners in the last 25 years end.

 

Do you realize how dumb it is to say playing for ND improves his Heisman candidacy? It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

 

Dead serious question - do you think Te'o is the best player on their defense? I've only seen 3-4 games of Notre Dame's but Truitt seems to always stand out a bit more than Te'o.

 

Yes. Tuitt is great and next year will he the best player. But Te'o's instincts are incredible. He's effectively removed the screen as a viable play call. And his coverage has improves dramatically. 7 picks for a MLB is unheard of. He doesn't blitz so he's not going to get sacks. I'd love to see some per play numbers bc ND has largely kept opponents off the field which lower his stats as well. He would be an ideal replacement for Urlacher.

[abuck1220]

 

so Notre Dame is pretty much irrelevant

 

oh now you've done it.

[Tracer Bullet]

It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

 

LOL, man you ND games are so damn touchy.

 

When I said "because he plays for the Irish" it was alluding to what you quoted. If a guy from Alabama had the same stats I would have said "because he plays for Bama" i.e. one of the top ranked teams.

 

You gotta remember, I'm a Southerner, so Notre Dame is pretty much irrelevant to my football consciousness. The only thing in my football upbringing that would form any opinion about ND comes from "Rudy" and the fact that Ole Miss beat a #3 ranked Notre Dame back in the 70's at some point. If I was from Illinois or Indiana or Michigan then I'm sure I'd probably have a very strong opinion of them, one way or another. But as it stands, I'm pretty indifferent about the Irish.

 

If you don't feel a defensive player should win or you think some other guy is better, fine. There's no obvious Heisman this year. But you said an Ole Miss freshman compared favorably to Te'o which is pretty stupid. Te'o is widely considered the best or 2nd best LB in the country. Anyone that thought he was second best probably has a different opinion after seeing Bama's gameplan. You aren't the best lb if you're a doormat against the run.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Im excited about watching UL-Monroe play in the Independence Bowl. First ever bowl bid, and everyone around here is pretty excited.

[Tracer Bullet]

Im excited about watching UL-Monroe play in the Independence Bowl. First ever bowl bid, and everyone around here is pretty excited.

Similarly-it's hard to bitch much about a team like NIU getting a bcs bid when you see the video of them seeing the announcement. What a great experience for kids at ULM.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Im excited about watching UL-Monroe play in the Independence Bowl. First ever bowl bid, and everyone around here is pretty excited.

Similarly-it's hard to bitch much about a team like NIU getting a bcs bid when you see the video of them seeing the announcement. What a great experience for kids at ULM.

 

 

One of the funny/tragic/sad/angering situations is also ULM. We used to play each other every year back in the 1-AA days of both schools and Tech got the best of ULM (which was NLU back in those days.) With the universities 30 miles apart, it was a huge rivalry game. The stadiums were packed and everyone got excited. When Tech made the move up to division 1, they stopped playing ULM and when ULM finally moved up, Tech still would not play saying that the game didn't make sense for them, etc. They said to play ULM would be taking a step backwards...etc. Well, apparently the Independence Bowl wanted a ULM-Tech match-up, but Tech wasn't willing to play..or at least not commit until they had played out other options. When the dust had settled, the Independence Bowl had moved in another direction and Tech with a 9-3 record is at home partly because they felt they were too good to play ULM.

[OleMissCub]

But you said an Ole Miss freshman compared favorably to Te'o which is pretty stupid.

 

No. I'm pretty aware that Nkemdiche is nowhere near the player Manti freaking Te'o is right now. I wasn't arguing that they are equally as good. I compared them solely on stats to point out that Te'o's stats obviously aren't the reason why he is a Heisman candidate, thus my questions about why he is a Heisman candidate (intangibles, leadership, good team, etc). And yes, I'm aware defensive stats are very subjective.

 

There's no obvious Heisman this year.

 

really? I'd argue that a guy with an SEC-record 4,600 yards of offense and SEC-record 43 TD's is an obvious Heisman. Dude put up video game numbers as a Freshman.

 

Anyone that thought he was second best probably has a different opinion after seeing Bama's gameplan. You aren't the best lb if you're a doormat against the run.

 

Not sure what any of this means. Who are you talking about?

[Guest]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

 

I mean, I was looking at his stats then compared them to one of our freshman, Denzel Nkemdiche.

 

Te'o: 103 tkls, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 picks, and 0 forced fumbles.

 

Nkemdiche: 78 tckls, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 picks, and 4 forced fumbles.

 

Te'o is 61st in NCAA in tackles, isn't in top 100 in TFL, but he is 4th in INT's.

 

He's actually the worst player in football but the ND bias is so pervasive that he's going to win even if they have to fix the vote. I mean, you can't allow the streak of ND Heisman winners in the last 25 years end.

 

Do you realize how dumb it is to say playing for ND improves his Heisman candidacy? It helps that he's the leader and best player on the best defense on the #1 team in the country though.

 

Dead serious question - do you think Te'o is the best player on their defense? I've only seen 3-4 games of Notre Dame's but Truitt seems to always stand out a bit more than Te'o.

 

Yes. Tuitt is great and next year will he the best player. But Te'o's instincts are incredible. He's effectively removed the screen as a viable play call. And his coverage has improves dramatically. 7 picks for a MLB is unheard of. He doesn't blitz so he's not going to get sacks. I'd love to see some per play numbers bc ND has largely kept opponents off the field which lower his stats as well. He would be an ideal replacement for Urlacher.

 

Yeah, I haven't seen a more similar MLB to Urlacher in the past decade. Too bad he's a top 10 lock and probably a top-5 pick.

[Andy]

Why is T'eo a Heisman finalist? Is it for his leadership? Or just because he plays for the Irish? Because on paper he looks like a very good player but not Heisman worthy.

Part ND, part story, part the best player on the #1 team is always a Heisman contender and Te'o is ND's best player.

 

I don't think he necessarily deserves the award, but he's excellent.

[Andy]

really? I'd argue that a guy with an SEC-record 4,600 yards of offense and SEC-record 43 TD's is an obvious Heisman. Dude put up video game numbers as a Freshman.

Manziel is a great football player and he'll win the Heisman, but he played 3 good defenses and wasn't any good in 2 of the games (yes, Old Style, I know the picks weren't his fault). Apart from those 3 teams, A&M's schedule was pretty crappy, including 2 FCS teams against whom he rang up gigantic numbers. There'd be more of an argument against his candidacy if any other offensive player on a good team had had a big-time season.

[Tracer Bullet]

But you said an Ole Miss freshman compared favorably to Te'o which is pretty stupid.

 

No. I'm pretty aware that Nkemdiche is nowhere near the player Manti freaking Te'o is right now. I wasn't arguing that they are equally as good. I compared them solely on stats to point out that Te'o's stats obviously aren't the reason why he is a Heisman candidate, thus my questions about why he is a Heisman candidate (intangibles, leadership, good team, etc). And yes, I'm aware defensive stats are very subjective.

 

There's no obvious Heisman this year.

 

really? I'd argue that a guy with an SEC-record 4,600 yards of offense and SEC-record 43 TD's is an obvious Heisman. Dude put up video game numbers as a Freshman.

 

Anyone that thought he was second best probably has a different opinion after seeing Bama's gameplan. You aren't the best lb if you're a doormat against the run.

 

Not sure what any of this means. Who are you talking about?

 

He's not a freshman.

[SouthSideRyan]

There's no obvious Heisman this year.

 

really? I'd argue that a guy with an SEC-record 4,600 yards of offense and SEC-record 43 TD's is an obvious Heisman. Dude put up video game numbers as a Freshman.

 

Why does his being a freshman help his Heisman case?