Official College Football Thread

[ChWRoCk2]

wvu wins the sugar bowl 38-35 over georgia

[ilsox7]

Hey, ND guy here. I don't think we were overrated, but I think OSU played a lot better than I expected them too. Anyways, congrats on a big win.

 

After seeing that game, if I was an OSU fan I'd be very disappointed that my team wasn't playing USC for the title. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of the OSU players are going to the draft this year so I don't know if they'll be in a good position again next season.

 

I think the reason most folks, including myself, think ND was overrated is b/c they simply did not beat anyone good. Their biggest accomplishment this season was arguably taking USC to the wire. That game came after the bye week, giving Charlie plenty of time to plan. By that logic, Fresno would also get a feather or two in their cap for giving USC a game.

 

Outside of the USC game, ND lost to a s***ty MSU team and a very good tOSU team. Their best win came against a mediocre Michigan team. I give credit to both ND and Charlie as they were better than most expected and made great strides in the program. That said, I never viewed them as a top 5 team and I think tonight it was proven they were not a top 5 team.

[whitesoxfan101]

Not sure if anybody was watching it, but that Sugar Bowl was by far the best bowl game of the season. WVU jumps out 28-0, Georgia comes all the way back to get it to 31-28, WVU and Georgia trade td's to get it to 38-35. Then, with 2 min left, around midfiled, WVU with the all time balls call, going for the FAKE PUNT out of some crazy formation, and it works to ice the game.

 

Huge win for West Virginia and the Big East over a really good Georgia team in basically a road game. That freshman duo of QB Pat White and the RB Slanton are going to terrorize their league the next few years.

 

As for Notre Dame.....the luck of the Irish is really the only reason they stayed within 14. I despise tOSU and wanted to see the Irish win, but Weis clearly needs to get better players into South Bend (which he is doing, check recruiting rankings), because they were just out talented today.

[ChWRoCk2]

I think the reason most folks, including myself, think ND was overrated is b/c they simply did not beat anyone good.  Their biggest accomplishment this season was arguably taking USC to the wire.  That game came after the bye week, giving Charlie plenty of time to plan.  By that logic, Fresno would also get a feather or two in their cap for giving USC a game.

 

Outside of the USC game, ND lost to a s***ty MSU team and a very good tOSU team.  Their best win came against a mediocre Michigan team.  I give credit to both ND and Charlie as they were better than most expected and made great strides in the program.  That said, I never viewed them as a top 5 team and I think tonight it was proven they were not a top 5 team.

^ Heres my whole idea

 

The one problem with ND is they really dont have a conference which limits which teams they can play, they will throw any team at them who just happens to need a game that week. If ND was in the big ten or any other conference I could give them consideration for a top 5 bid, to me I think you need to win your division and beat good teams, ND is only able to do on eof those, but I agree with you they are definitely overrated, but look for them to make it back to one of the top bowl games next yr.

[ChWRoCk2]

Not sure if anybody was watching it, but that Sugar Bowl was by far the best bowl game of the season.  WVU jumps out 28-0, Georgia comes all the way back to get it to 31-28, WVU and Georgia trade td's to get it to 38-35.  Then, with 2 min left, around midfiled, WVU with the all time balls call, going for the FAKE PUNT out of some crazy formation, and it works to ice the game.

 

Huge win for West Virginia and the Big East over a really good Georgia team in basically a road game.  That freshman duo of QB Pat White and the RB Slanton are going to terrorize their league the next few years.

 

As for Notre Dame.....the luck of the Irish is really the only reason they stayed within 14.  I despise tOSU and wanted to see the Irish win, but Weis clearly needs to get better players into South Bend (which he is doing, check recruiting rankings), because they were just out talented today.

Great game, although I think I liked Michigan and Nebraska a little better, your right WVU will be a force in the league the next couple years, Im really looking forward to the florida st and penn st game, something tells me that will be the best one yet. I like both so i really dont have a team to root for but I guess ill take florida st.

[ilsox7]

Great game, although I think I liked Michigan and Nebraska a little better, your right WVU will be a force in the league the next couple years, Im really looking forward to the florida st and penn st game, something tells me that will be the best one yet.  I like both so i really dont have a team to root for but I guess ill take florida st.

 

The difference is the UM-Nebraska game involved two teams that suck. That WVU-Georgia game was two good games going at each other. Best game, with ease, thus far. And WVU opened a lot of eyes, including mine.

[ChWRoCk2]

The difference is the UM-Nebraska game involved two teams that suck.  That WVU-Georgia game was two good games going at each other.  Best game, with ease, thus far.  And WVU opened a lot of eyes, including mine.

I knew WVU would win theyve had a good offense all year, and has alot of speed to match up with Georgia, and I really am not a big fan of shockley

[RockRaines]

Hey, ND guy here. I don't think we were overrated, but I think OSU played a lot better than I expected them too. Anyways, congrats on a big win.

 

After seeing that game, if I was an OSU fan I'd be very disappointed that my team wasn't playing USC for the title. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of the OSU players are going to the draft this year so I don't know if they'll be in a good position again next season.

We (OSU) knew that we were one of the top teams in the country, they really SHOULD have beaten Texas and Penn State, but sometimes the ball doesnt bounce your way, and thats how teams end up in our position. I really enjoyed beating up on the Irish though. They are easily my 2nd most hated team.

 

Either way, I think tomorrows game shouldnt dissapoint. Texas, I think, is better than people think.

[whitesoxfan101]

The difference is the UM-Nebraska game involved two teams that suck.  That WVU-Georgia game was two good games going at each other.  Best game, with ease, thus far.  And WVU opened a lot of eyes, including mine.

 

WVU is a building powerhouse that people didn't know about, until now. Rich Rodriguez is a great coach, and they are starting to recruit great players as well. And yeah, the UM/Nebraska game was poorly played and 2 average teams, just had a fun finish. This game tonight with Georgia and West Virginia was a battle between 2 great teams, with a little of everything... fun to watch.

[whitesoxfan101]

tOSU definitely should have beat Texas...but I'm not sure how they should have won against Penn State. It was a very tough road game, Penn State played great, and really I think people just underestimate how good the Nittany Lions are. They are going to send a message tomorrow night against Florida State imo.

[RockRaines]

If by hotter you mean with 8 lbs more eyeliner, and a very masculine jaw, then yes.

Yeah, she has the longest faced this side of Liv Tyler. Her bl;ond friend was a much better piece of ass IMO.

[Wedge]

^ Heres my whole idea

 

The one problem with ND is they really dont have a conference which limits which teams they can play, they will throw any team at them who just happens to need a game that week.  If ND was in the big ten or any other conference I could give them consideration for a top 5 bid, to me I think you need to win your division and beat good teams, ND is only able to do on eof those, but I agree with you they are definitely overrated, but look for them to make it back to one of the top bowl games next yr.

 

ND will play anyone and they usually have a very tough schedule. It so happened that this year it turned out soft, but I think that in general you will find that their schedule would be on the tougher to one faced by most BCS conference teams.

 

For example, here is their 2006 schedule:

 

S 02 @ Georgia Tech

S 09 PENN STATE

S 16 MICHIGAN

S 23 @ Michigan St.

S 30 PURDUE

O 07 STANFORD

O 21 UCLA

O 28 @ Navy (Baltimore)

N 04 NORTH CAROLINA

N 11 @ Air Force

N 18 ARMY

N 25 @ Southern Cal

 

 

This year, "they didn't beat anyone" and this offseason I'm going to hear that "the schedule is too tough to return to a BCS game." If they make it back, then it'll be "they didn't beat anyone" again.

 

I'm not sure why winning a "division" adds value to your team. Does FSU suddenly deserve Top 5 consideration for winning the ACC?

 

I guess I don't understand what overrated means, either. They played pretty well during the season and had a high ranking, which was legit. At present, they're an incomplete team, especially defensively, but they're still pretty good. They lost respectably to a very good team in a game where they didn't get any breaks and where the defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd down and gave out big plays like they were Christmas cards. Disappointing bowl game performance, but this is going to be a good team next year.

[Rex Hudler]

I think the reason most folks, including myself, think ND was overrated is b/c they simply did not beat anyone good.  Their biggest accomplishment this season was arguably taking USC to the wire.  That game came after the bye week, giving Charlie plenty of time to plan.  By that logic, Fresno would also get a feather or two in their cap for giving USC a game.

 

Outside of the USC game, ND lost to a s***ty MSU team and a very good tOSU team.  Their best win came against a mediocre Michigan team.  I give credit to both ND and Charlie as they were better than most expected and made great strides in the program.  That said, I never viewed them as a top 5 team and I think tonight it was proven they were not a top 5 team.

 

We're just not going to agree on anything tonight. MSU was not a s***ty team when Notre Dame lost to them. MSU's season went downhill after they lost to Michigan, but if you know anything about football you would know MSU was playing damned good football early in the season. And calling Michigan mediocre doesn't fly either. While Michigan this year could not put teams away, they played everyone close including Ohio State. Hell they SHOULD have beaten OSU, but once again couldn't put them away.

 

Notre Dame was not overrated (they weren't favored in this game). OSU was just better, period. They couldn't handle OSU's speed today and OSU played them very well defensively. Give OSU credit.

 

Notre Dame had a nice season. It wasn't their fault that MSU tanked their season, that Michigan struggled to put teams away and that Tennessee sucked this year. Before everyone starts screaming that they didn't belong in this game, let's not forget that the two other teams most people felt could have deserved the bid instead both lost their bowl games (as favorites) too!

[whitesoxfan101]

3 things:

 

1. MSU's season IMO really went downhill after the late 1st half debacle at Ohio State that ended up leading to a loss. Boy that was a game they blew, but that was after the Michigan game, so point well taken.

 

2. Winning at Michigan is never easy....so that WAS a great win for Notre Dame (maybe the only one all year though IMO).

 

3. Michigan State was on fire when they played at Notre Dame...but if Notre Dame is actually a really good or great team, they have to win that game, ESPECIALLY at home.

[RockRaines]

We're just not going to agree on anything tonight.  MSU was not a s***ty team when Notre Dame lost to them.  MSU's season went downhill after they lost to Michigan, but if you know anything about football you would know MSU was playing damned good football early in the season.  And calling Michigan mediocre doesn't fly either.  While Michigan this year could not put teams away, they played everyone close including Ohio State.  Hell they SHOULD have beaten OSU, but once again couldn't put them away.

 

Notre Dame was not overrated (they weren't favored in this game).  OSU was just better, period.  They couldn't handle OSU's speed today and OSU played them very well defensively.  Give OSU credit. 

 

Notre Dame had a nice season.  It wasn't their fault that MSU tanked their season, that Michigan struggled to put teams away and that Tennessee sucked this year.  Before everyone starts screaming that they didn't belong in this game, let's not forget that the two other teams most people felt could have deserved the bid instead both lost their bowl games (as favorites) too!

Great post, can you please post the records of these "good" teams MSU and Michigan.

 

Saying the team was good at the time is a cop out. Might as well just post their records on grass compared to turf to talk about how good they are. You cant just take out the second half of the season and say, they are a good team, just played bad at the end. So what, that means that overall, they were NOT GOOD. MSU and Michigan are mediocre, this is one of the worst UM teams in a long time. Seriously, even the commentators were saying that their schedule doesnt look that hard now.

[Milkman delivers]

I, too, hate both ND and OSU. I rooted like hell for OSU, though, because I hate ND more.

 

If Texas can beat USC, I'll be extremely happy with this year's bowl games. Also, I hate Texas a lot.

[ilsox7]

We're just not going to agree on anything tonight.  MSU was not a s***ty team when Notre Dame lost to them.  MSU's season went downhill after they lost to Michigan, but if you know anything about football you would know MSU was playing damned good football early in the season.  And calling Michigan mediocre doesn't fly either.  While Michigan this year could not put teams away, they played everyone close including Ohio State.  Hell they SHOULD have beaten OSU, but once again couldn't put them away.

 

Notre Dame was not overrated (they weren't favored in this game).  OSU was just better, period.  They couldn't handle OSU's speed today and OSU played them very well defensively.  Give OSU credit. 

 

Notre Dame had a nice season.  It wasn't their fault that MSU tanked their season, that Michigan struggled to put teams away and that Tennessee sucked this year.  Before everyone starts screaming that they didn't belong in this game, let's not forget that the two other teams most people felt could have deserved the bid instead both lost their bowl games (as favorites) too!

 

Nope, we won't agree tonight.

 

MSU was putting up big numbers against horrible teams. Before ND, MSU killed Hawaii and Kent. They then beat ND and UIUC and there only other win was against IU. I just don't consider killing Hawaii and Kent to be much of a barometer for a team.

 

And Michigan was mediocre. They struggled (and lost) to bad teams and gave good teams a game. That makes for mediocrity, IMO.

 

I give tOSU plenty of credit. They are one of the 5 best teams in the country. They also should have won tonight by 4 TD's. ND is a good team. But they did nothing to prove they are one of the best 6 or 7 teams in the country. Again, their biggest accomplishment this year was taking USC to the wire on their home field after a bye week. Sure, it's nice they proved they could stay on the same field with USC, but having to hang your hat on a loss is not the best thing in the world. The best ND result outside of that game was beating Michigan.

 

It was very interesting to watch the WVU-Georgia game right after the tOSU-ND game. To me, it was obvious that was a game between two very good teams. I'd take both of those teams in a heartbeat over this edition of ND.

 

And ND most definitely deserved to be in this game b/c by the rules of the BCS, they earned their spot. In the BCS, it's not about who is the best team. It is about who qualifies according to certain rules. Then, if an at-large spot is available, it's about who brings the most fans.

Edited January 3, 2006 by ilsox7

[whitesoxfan101]

For example, here is their 2006 schedule:

 

S 02 @ Georgia Tech

S 09 PENN STATE

S 16 MICHIGAN

S 23 @ Michigan St.

S 30 PURDUE

O 07 STANFORD

O 21 UCLA

O 28 @ Navy (Baltimore)

N 04 NORTH CAROLINA

N 11 @ Air Force

N 18 ARMY

N 25 @ Southern Cal

 

That schedule at face value looks tough, but not too tough IMO. At Georgia Tech is a toss up....they could be really good if they'd stop playing that BUM Reggie Ball at QB, but either way that game is still dangerous. Finishing up at USC is obviously a terror, but w/o Leinart and Bush and others, who knows with them. At Michigan State is another one that is a question mark, and Penn State is at home, but could be very tough, especially if Morelli or whoever else takes over for Robinson at QB is any good.

[Rex Hudler]

Great post, can you please post the records of these "good" teams MSU and Michigan.

 

Saying the team was good at the time is a cop out.  Might as well just post their records on grass compared to turf to talk about how good they are.  You cant just take out the second half of the season and say, they are a good team, just played bad at the end.  So what, that means that overall, they were NOT GOOD.  MSU and Michigan are mediocre, this is one of the worst UM teams in a long time.  Seriously, even the commentators were saying that their schedule doesnt look that hard now.

 

Bulls***.... you can and should say that MSU was a good team when they played ND. How MSU played six weeks later is immaterial to what happened on the field that day. This isn't rocket science. Yes, ND should have won that game, but to lump what MSU did against several teams weeks after playing ND and say that is the same team ND beat is just ignorance.

 

Whether it is injuries or whatever, teams often change. I would say the opposite if MSU lost all of those games early and then won at the end of the season.

 

It's not a cop out, its reality!

[Wedge]

That schedule at face value looks tough, but not too tough IMO.  At Georgia Tech is a toss up....they could be really good if they'd stop playing that BUM Reggie Ball at QB, but either way that game is still dangerous.  Finishing up at USC is obviously a terror, but w/o Leinart and Bush and others, who knows with them.  At Michigan State is another one that is a question mark, and Penn State is at home, but could be very tough, especially if Morelli or whoever else takes over for Robinson at QB is any good.

 

If that schedule isn't "too tough" I would really like to see your idea of too tough.

[Rex Hudler]

Nope, we won't agree tonight. 

 

MSU was putting up big numbers against horrible teams.  Before ND, MSU killed Hawaii and Kent.  They then beat ND and UIUC and there only other win was against IU.  I just don't consider killing Hawaii and Kent to be much of a barometer for a team.

 

And Michigan was mediocre.  They struggled (and lost) to bad teams and gave good teams a game.  That makes for mediocrity, IMO.

 

I give tOSU plenty of credit.  They are one of the 5 best teams in the country.  They also should have won tonight by 4 TD's.  ND is a good team.  But they did nothing to prove they are one of the best 6 or 7 teams in the country.  Again, their biggest accomplishment this year was taking USC to the wire on their home field after a bye week.  Sure, it's nice they proved they could stay on the same field with USC, but having to hang your hat on a loss is not the best thing in the world.  The best ND result outside of that game was beating Michigan. 

 

It was very interesting to watch the WVU-Georgia game right after the tOSU-ND game.  To me, it was obvious that was a game between two very good teams.  I'd take both of those teams in a heartbeat over this edition of ND.

 

And ND most definitely deserved to be in this game b/c by the rules of the BCS, they earned their spot.  In the BCS, it's not about who is the best team.  It is about who qualifies according to certain rules.  Then, if an at-large spot is available, it's about who brings the most fans.

 

So BCS aside, what team should have been in the game instead of Notre Dame? Oregon? They didn't do anything to prove that point. Auburn? They didn't help their cause today either?

[whitesoxfan101]

If that schedule isn't "too tough" I would really like to see your idea of too tough.

S 02 @ Georgia Tech

S 09 PENN STATE

S 16 MICHIGAN

S 23 @ Michigan St.

S 30 PURDUE

O 07 STANFORD

O 21 UCLA

O 28 @ Navy (Baltimore)

N 04 NORTH CAROLINA

N 11 @ Air Force

N 18 ARMY

N 25 @ Southern Cal

 

Well North Carolina isn't any good, that's a sure win at home....ND has beaten Navy 100 times in a row, home vs. Army is an auto win, at Air Force should definitely be a win, Stanford at home should be no problem, Purdue isn't exactly a powerhouse.....

 

That schedule isn't exactly anywhere near the level an SEC team has to face, or even a Big 10 team for that matter.

[ilsox7]

So BCS aside, what team should have been in the game instead of Notre Dame?  Oregon?  They didn't do anything to prove that point.  Auburn?  They didn't help their cause today either?

 

It's tough to say "BCS aside" b/c the BCS changes the picture entirely. However, before ND qualified automatically, I argued that Oregon should get the bid over ND. However, I also argued that if you put the teams on the same field, ND wins. But when you look at the entire season, I felt Oregon did more than ND to garner a bid. My logic was both teams lost to USC. ND gave them a much much better game than Oregon did. However, Oregon had no other blemishes on their record. ND had what I consider a major blemish to MSU.

 

We obviously do not agree on how the MSU loss impacts ND's image. I look at MSU as a team that beat the s*** out of 4 crappy teams this year and beat a good ND team on the road. You view MSU as a quality team who went wrong somewhere (without any major injury) and thus went from a good team to a crappy team. I don't buy that argument and do not see any evidence that supports it. The reason I don't buy it is b/c in all my years of watching college football, I have seen scores of mediore or crappy teams schedule 2 or 3 cream puffs to beat up on before the conference season started. But that didn't mean those teams were good teams. It meant they played well against teams that barely belong in 1-A.

[RockRaines]

Bulls***....  you can and should say that MSU was a good team when they played ND.  How MSU played six weeks later is immaterial to what happened on the field that day.  This isn't rocket science.  Yes, ND should have won that game, but to lump what MSU did against several teams weeks after playing ND and say that is the same team ND beat is just ignorance.

 

Whether it is injuries or whatever, teams often change.  I would say the opposite if MSU lost all of those games early and then won at the end of the season. 

 

It's not a cop out, its reality!

The second half is 50 percent of who the team is, they may have been playing good at the time, but they are not a good team. And their games early count as much as the games late.

[nitetrain8601]

S 02 @ Georgia Tech

S 09 PENN STATE

S 16 MICHIGAN

S 23 @ Michigan St.

S 30 PURDUE

O 07 STANFORD

O 21 UCLA

O 28 @ Navy (Baltimore)

N 04 NORTH CAROLINA

N 11 @ Air Force

N 18 ARMY

N 25 @ Southern Cal

 

Well North Carolina isn't any good, that's a sure win at home....ND has beaten Navy 100 times in a row, home vs. Army is an auto win, at Air Force should definitely be a win, Stanford at home should be no problem, Purdue isn't exactly a powerhouse.....

 

That schedule isn't exactly anywhere near the level an SEC team has to face, or even a Big 10 team for that matter.

 

I agree. They have some potential tough games, but at least half that schedule is guarenteeing a couple of wins.