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strange situation for them. two points either way to the fourth ranked team could mean the difference between a BCS game and the Lampshade Bowl. A similar thing happened to Tennessee in 2004. We made it to the SEC championship with two losses (I still have a little hate for ND for knocking Ainge out for the year in our loss to them) and outplayed Auburn but still lost and dropped from a BCS bowl to the Cotton Bowl. We went on to demolish TAMU in the bowl.

That was some good news in that article. Jimmy Hyams is an extremely reliable source, plus the quotes from the bowl officials were very reassuring. I've got a better feeling about our bowl situation now.

Arkansas is too high I think. If they lose, they'll have three losses to Auburn's two. The Tigers will likely be the bigger draw to the casual fan and thus will go to a higher bowl. Also, if the Razorbacks lose, it wouldn't surprise me to see them drop all the way to the Cotton Bowl and UT fit into the Outback Bowl for the same reasons. Tennessee may be the bigger draw, both ratings and attendance-wise, despite the Ainge-less shellacking we took from Ark. I think you're right. Cap One-Aub. Outback-UT Cotton-Ark I'm really not sure about the UT/Ark bowl situation, it could go either way. I just figure Tennessee is a more established power, thus we would get the benefit of the doubt. If Ark does lose, I think it becomes a battle between UT and Auburn for the Capital One Bowl, I think Auburn pulls it off and UT ends up in the Outback Bowl. One of the Members of the Outback Bowl commit. could not see a way for UT to fall past the Outback Bowl (assuming an Ark. loss). The more I talk about it, the more I realize I may have to root for Florida Saturday. :x If Florida wins Saturday, I could see a Florida/ND Sugar Bowl very easily-now that would be a very interesting game. You could count me in as a huge Irish fan that day. :D

Arkansas is too high I think. If they lose, they'll have three losses to Auburn's two. The Tigers will likely be the bigger draw to the casual fan and thus will go to a higher bowl. Also, if the Razorbacks lose, it wouldn't surprise me to see them drop all the way to the Cotton Bowl and UT fit into the Outback Bowl for the same reasons. Tennessee may be the bigger draw, both ratings and attendance-wise, despite the Ainge-less shellacking we took from Ark. I think you're right. Cap One-Aub. Outback-UT Cotton-Ark I'm really not sure about the UT/Ark bowl situation, it could go either way. I just figure Tennessee is a more established power, thus we would get the benefit of the doubt. If Ark does lose, I think it becomes a battle between UT and Auburn for the Capital One Bowl, I think Auburn pulls it off and UT ends up in the Outback Bowl. One of the Members of the Outback Bowl commit. could not see a way for UT to fall past the Outback Bowl (assuming an Ark. loss). The more I talk about it, the more I realize I may have to root for Florida Saturday. :x

Arkansas is too high I think. If they lose, they'll have three losses to Auburn's two. The Tigers will likely be the bigger draw to the casual fan and thus will go to a higher bowl. Also, if the Razorbacks lose, it wouldn't surprise me to see them drop all the way to the Cotton Bowl and UT fit into the Outback Bowl for the same reasons. Tennessee may be the bigger draw, both ratings and attendance-wise, despite the Ainge-less shellacking we took from Ark. I think you're right. Cap One-Aub. Outback-UT Cotton-Ark I'm really not sure about the UT/Ark bowl situation, it could go either way. I just figure Tennessee is a more established power, thus we would get the benefit of the doubt. If Ark does lose, I think it becomes a battle between UT and Auburn for the Capital One Bowl, I think Auburn pulls it off and UT ends up in the Outback Bowl. One of the Members of the Outback Bowl commit. could not see a way for UT to fall past the Outback Bowl (assuming an Ark. loss). I do know that Capital One officials were present at the UT/UK game Saturday. Not sure about this, but it would seem odd for them to be there if we weren't in the running for it. You're right, though, it's gonna be tough with three losses for us to overtake Auburn for it. Probably depends on how that two of our losses came without Erik Ainge and we probably win the LSU game with him.

Arkansas is too high I think. If they lose, they'll have three losses to Auburn's two. The Tigers will likely be the bigger draw to the casual fan and thus will go to a higher bowl. Also, if the Razorbacks lose, it wouldn't surprise me to see them drop all the way to the Cotton Bowl and UT fit into the Outback Bowl for the same reasons. Tennessee may be the bigger draw, both ratings and attendance-wise, despite the Ainge-less shellacking we took from Ark. I think you're right. Cap One-Aub. Outback-UT Cotton-Ark I'm really not sure about the UT/Ark bowl situation, it could go either way. I just figure Tennessee is a more established power, thus we would get the benefit of the doubt.

Arkansas is too high I think. If they lose, they'll have three losses to Auburn's two. The Tigers will likely be the bigger draw to the casual fan and thus will go to a higher bowl. Also, if the Razorbacks lose, it wouldn't surprise me to see them drop all the way to the Cotton Bowl and UT fit into the Outback Bowl for the same reasons. Tennessee may be the bigger draw, both ratings and attendance-wise, despite the Ainge-less shellacking we took from Ark.

Florida better watch out for Arkansas. I haven't been that impressed by the Gators all year and that dual RB system for Arkansas is deadly. Houston Nutt just needs to get smart again and start Mustain instead of Casey Dick.

I have to eat some crow UK. We had a debate earlier in the year about who was better between Ole Miss, Vandy and Kentucky and quite obviously you were right. Ya'll played a great game against us this week and I was worried the first game I watched from the press box would be a loss. I was even more impressed by Jacob Tamme than ever, he's got better speed than I thought. Also, I wouldn't be surprised with higher than an Independence Bowl or Music City bid, if they like you more than UGA or South Carolina and two SEC teams go to the BCS.

That game was awesome. Vince played terrific. No picks, around 200 passing yards and he ran very well. Gotta give the Giants credit, though, without them quitting the Titans would have never come back. Burress quitting on Pacman's interception was inexcusable. My only regret is Travis Henry did nothing, further dooming my already slim chances of winning my fantasy game this week.

I wasn't necessarily talking about what should happen, but rather what will happen-and there is almost no way that LSU is chosen over ND this year. This is one of many reasons why I despise the current system. It rewards teams that make the NCAA and the bowls the most money, not the teams that earn things on the field of play. I don't have that much of a problem with Notre Dame and I certainly disagree with some of the opinions they have a very weak schedule. But, LSU is more deserving of a BCS appearance this year because of their realtive wins. I do think an LSU/ND BCS match-up would be a lot of fun to watch though. I really hope this doesn't happen as I graduated from LSU and am a big Notre Dame fan. I had this happen back in '97 or '98 and hated the situation. Haha. That is a bad situation, but I would enjoy watching the game. :D The two compare very well. Actually, I don't think they compare very well at all. LSU's offensive strength is passing, a weak point for ND's D. ND's offensive strong point is passing, but LSU is equally strong against the pass and the run. From what I've seen of ND, I think LSU's D would wear them out (ND would likely have to pass all day and LSU's DB's are among the best in the nation. Jamarcus Russell along with LSU's receivers, IMO, would eat ND's DB up. ND might be able to contain LSU's running game, but the passing game would eventually open that up. That all depends on the day JaMarcus Russell had. He's terribly inconsistent which is the reason, I believe, they have two losses. Also, ND struggles with deep passing games. Chad Henne to Mario Manningham toasted them, Booty deep to Jarrett, etc. Their secondary doesn't have the speed to keep up with deep threats. LSU's strength is working the ball down the field through the air. I haven't seen them do well consistently going deep down the field. Russell's got the arm strength without question (probably the strongest arm in the nation) but his inconsistent accuracy often gets him in trouble throwing deep. The LSU offense excels by being physical and dominating through strength, wearing down opponents. I think ND could defend that well for a while, but eventually would lose the game. All this is moot, though, if the bad JaMarcus Russell shows up like he did against Florida.

I do agree with that.

I wasn't necessarily talking about what should happen, but rather what will happen-and there is almost no way that LSU is chosen over ND this year. This is one of many reasons why I despise the current system. It rewards teams that make the NCAA and the bowls the most money, not the teams that earn things on the field of play. I don't have that much of a problem with Notre Dame and I certainly disagree with some of the opinions they have a very weak schedule. But, LSU is more deserving of a BCS appearance this year because of their realtive wins. I do think an LSU/ND BCS match-up would be a lot of fun to watch though. No we want a LSU/UM Rose Bowl. :) The Rose isnt going to take the loser of Florida/Arkansas, they will take LSU. Id be shocked if they take ND. Your probably right, I'm thinking in terms of simply a game that would be fun to watch. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Rose take Florida if they lose. It'd be interesting to see the vaunted Michigan D face the overrated Tim Tebow. :)

I wasn't necessarily talking about what should happen, but rather what will happen-and there is almost no way that LSU is chosen over ND this year. This is one of many reasons why I despise the current system. It rewards teams that make the NCAA and the bowls the most money, not the teams that earn things on the field of play. I don't have that much of a problem with Notre Dame and I certainly disagree with some of the opinions they have a very weak schedule. But, LSU is more deserving of a BCS appearance this year because of their realtive wins. I do think an LSU/ND BCS match-up would be a lot of fun to watch though. I really hope this doesn't happen as I graduated from LSU and am a big Notre Dame fan. I had this happen back in '97 or '98 and hated the situation. Haha. That is a bad situation, but I would enjoy watching the game. :D The two compare very well.

How? With a Florida win, there's a good chance they and LSU both get BCS berths and Auburn would likely go to the Capital One Bowl. That leaves UT and Ark for either Outback or Gator. But if Ark wins, Florida gets a BCS and LSU goes to Cap One and Auburn remains in the mix for one of the lesser bowls. Probably not a significant difference but I'm hoping for an Outback appearance for the Vols. A match-up with Penn State would be great to watch.

With Tennessee's regular season over, I'm going to be a huge Arkansas fan this week. Anything to keep Florida from winning the SEC title. Plus I think Houston Nutt's gotten a raw deal with the clamoring for his firing and I'm glad to see them do well. Course, a Florida win might help UT get a better bowl so I am a little torn.

I tend to agree with soccer that the Raiders will take Quinn. They will likely have an earlier pick and would be dumb to take anything but a QB. Also, Quinn is closer to what Al Davis likes than is Troy Smith.

I wasn't necessarily talking about what should happen, but rather what will happen-and there is almost no way that LSU is chosen over ND this year. This is one of many reasons why I despise the current system. It rewards teams that make the NCAA and the bowls the most money, not the teams that earn things on the field of play. I don't have that much of a problem with Notre Dame and I certainly disagree with some of the opinions they have a very weak schedule. But, LSU is more deserving of a BCS appearance this year because of their realtive wins. I do think an LSU/ND BCS match-up would be a lot of fun to watch though.

Really? I see the exact opposite with Quinn. He's very smart and makes good decisions, but I'm not sure he has the pure talent to be a great NFL QB whereas Leaf was very talented but lacked any level of maturity whatsoever.

There's no way a 3-loss Arkansas team makes the BCS. LSU I could see but not Arkansas. They lost their chance by blowing the game to LSU. Othewise, you make some good picks, though Rutgers could very well beat WV Saturday to win the Big East.

I see the Rose Bowl picking an SEC team for TV purposes. Florida (if they lose) or LSU. SEC vs Big Ten works well for TV purposes when it comes to the bowls. The sugar will take Louisville. That leaves the Orange Bowl. If Georgia Tech wins would they jump at a ND-GT rematch or go in another direction? That's the problem for ND is that two of the bowls could present possible rematches with ND. Obviously if Wake Forest wins then this problem is averted. I may be missing something but where does the Big East winner fit in? Either Rutgers or Louisville will have an automatic bid that I didn't see listed. If I'm not mistaken, I think the BE winner will go to the Sugar Bowl (someone correct me if I'm wrong). That would mean: Nat Title: OSU v USC Rose Bowl: Michigan v Fiesta Bowl: Boise St. v Oklahoma/Nebraska Orange Bowl: Wake Forest/Georgia Tech v Sugar Bowl: Florida/Arkansas v Rutgers/Louisville leaving loser of BE and loser of SEC championship plus LSU and Notre Dame to fill two spots. Arkansas and Rutgers are out if they lose, which would solve the problem. If they don't both lose, ND could miss a BCS berth. A couple of things that are a little off with this. One, the Big East winner has no specific bowl tie in-that's why nobody knows exactly for sure where they will go. The Rose Bowl will have first and second pick (as the 2 teams in the title game) and they will select Michigan and ?. The Sugar Bowl picks next, then Orange, then Fiesta-that's why Boise State is penciled into the Fiesta because they pick last. Second, there is no way ND misses a BCS berth. 4 BCS at-large spots are available. 2 of them will go to Michigan and Boise State. The other 2? One of ND, one SEC team (either LSU or Florida if Florida loses-Arkansas would have no chance with 3 losses if they lose) and 1 Big East team (either Louisville if Rutgers wins, or Rutgers/WV if WV beats Rutgers). The bowls are not going to select both a 2 loss SEC team and a Big East team, with a chance of them having 2 losses over ND. There is simply no way-fair or not, ND is getting picked. Here's how it plays out: Nat Champ: OSU vs USC Rose: Michigan vs ? Sugar: Arkansas/Florida vs. ? Orange-GT/Wake vs ? Fiesta-Oklahoma/Nebraksa vs Boise State The Rose will pick first. While the announcers think they will pick Notre Dame, I see them going with Louisville, with a small chance that it is LSU. Second is the Sugar-they are going to pick ND if the Rose does not. If the Rose picks ND, look for the Sugar to go with the Big East winner because they certainly won't pick an SEC team here. Finally is the Orange-if it gets down to them, and LSU has not been taken, they are going to take them. For them, it will come down to who they think will travel better-LSU or West Virginia, and they will pick LSU to face GT. If LSU got taken by the Rose, they will go with the Big East winner here. If Rutgers wins next week, then LSU loses out on the BCS. I also could see Louisville getting picked for a bowl before Rutgers (Rutgers of course would still get picked later on), even if Rutgers is the conference champ and Louisville is not. I'm a little confused right now. You're saying if Rutgers loses to WV and Louisville wins the BE then both BE teams will go and LSU will be left out? I disagree. If it comes down to 2-loss Rutgers and LSU, you have to figure the Tigers will pull better ratings and interest than Rutgers. Also, LSU travels well, nobody knows if Rutgers will or not. I could see Louisville getting an at-large bid before LSU, but not Rutgers.

First off, I agree the early season hype was overblown but your other criticisms are inaccurate, I believe. Second, I am not a Notre Dame fan. Now, the best game of Weis' career was not the USC loss. It could have been the win over Michigan last year, or Tennessee the same year (granted we were 5-6 but our defense was great and ND put up 41, which is impressive). It could also be his win over potential ACC champs (in a weak year, granted) Georgia Tech. Which brings me to my next point, by legit do you mean National Championship contenders? If so, there aren't many teams who have done well against two NC contenders this year, I would wager. Otherwise, they've gone 1-2 against legitiamately good teams this year (W over Ga Tech, Ls to USC and Michigan). So yes, the hype from early this year was a little silly, but to say they have proven nothing is also out of line.

I see the Rose Bowl picking an SEC team for TV purposes. Florida (if they lose) or LSU. SEC vs Big Ten works well for TV purposes when it comes to the bowls. The sugar will take Louisville. That leaves the Orange Bowl. If Georgia Tech wins would they jump at a ND-GT rematch or go in another direction? That's the problem for ND is that two of the bowls could present possible rematches with ND. Obviously if Wake Forest wins then this problem is averted. I may be missing something but where does the Big East winner fit in? Either Rutgers or Louisville will have an automatic bid that I didn't see listed. If I'm not mistaken, I think the BE winner will go to the Sugar Bowl (someone correct me if I'm wrong). That would mean: Nat Title: OSU v USC Rose Bowl: Michigan v Fiesta Bowl: Boise St. v Oklahoma/Nebraska Orange Bowl: Wake Forest/Georgia Tech v Sugar Bowl: Florida/Arkansas v Rutgers/Louisville leaving loser of BE and loser of SEC championship plus LSU and Notre Dame to fill two spots. Arkansas and Rutgers are out if they lose, which would solve the problem. If they don't both lose, ND could miss a BCS berth.

One of these interesting triangles in college football-Georgia Tech handled Va Tech easily, Clemson destroyed Ga Tech, now Va Tech is beating Clemson easily. This would be nice to get one of the 1 loss teams out of the way tonight. You see during halftime where Touchdown Charlie was whining about Tennessee jumping ahead of ND in the polls? I like how he was waving around his Super Bowl ring in the process. No, I wasn't watching during halftime. Was that a new interview, or just a repeat of the interview he gave early this week? No clue. I didn't even know he gave an interview earlier. He was complaining about how two teams jumped ND and that one of them was sitting home eating cheeseburgers (Florida) and the other won the same way ND did (UT). I didn't really completely disagree with him, but it's hard to argue ND above UT or vice versa. Yeah, that was from earlier in the week. If you look at the ND thread, there was a link to an ESPN writer on Page 2 who wrote a satire of those comments. Pretty funny, although I did make a post of the lack of facts in it (which doesn't make it that much less funny). That will also give you a link to the original story with Weis's comments. My quick opinion: ND shouldn't necessarily be ahead of Tennessee to begin with, but there was no reason to switch them after Saturday. D'oh, I try to avoid the ND thread since all other football threads turn into one anyway :wink: . Can't disagree with what you said, though. I'm just not sure a coach ought to be complaining about it.

One of these interesting triangles in college football-Georgia Tech handled Va Tech easily, Clemson destroyed Ga Tech, now Va Tech is beating Clemson easily. This would be nice to get one of the 1 loss teams out of the way tonight. You see during halftime where Touchdown Charlie was whining about Tennessee jumping ahead of ND in the polls? I like how he was waving around his Super Bowl ring in the process. No, I wasn't watching during halftime. Was that a new interview, or just a repeat of the interview he gave early this week? No clue. I didn't even know he gave an interview earlier. He was complaining about how two teams jumped ND and that one of them was sitting home eating cheeseburgers (Florida) and the other won the same way ND did (UT). I didn't really completely disagree with him, but it's hard to argue ND above UT or vice versa.