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the official 2008-09 NCAA football thread!

I know there was a 3 way tie, but that's why that have tiebreakers. And sometimes those go 5-7 rules deep (as they needed 5 here, and they needed all of them in the SEC a few years ago....where it goes down to a vote by the AD's of the remaining conference schools). While the BCS lives on a formula, we'll have things go wrong for somebody, but they can't complain because everyone is living under those rules.

Not enough BCS points? Play tougher competition. Better yet, don't lose AND play tougher competition.

That said, it's really hard to take the emotion out of it. Yes, the voting portion of the formula is swayed by emotion, which counts when you lose, and often by how much you win or lose, and takes the 'close calls' down to a feel of who would win on a neutral site.....which brings a lot of people back to TX > OU on a neutral site....proven fact. Personally, if they DID replay TX vs OU on a nuetral, I'm not so sure OU would win. It'd be a great game (better than OU vs MIZZ), and be a better qualifying play-in game than the conference championship (akin to what AL and UF went thru), but again....it's been done. What would TX have done if they got the nod into the Big12 Practice Game with MIZZ....would they have won 62-21? Maybe, but they only beat them 56-31 (at TX) earlier...so maybe not. Eh, I could go for either team in the NC - as a Gator fan, or just a NCAAF fan.

Btw, the significance of saying "Double Digit Win" is not that 10 is not the same as 40....it's for the fact that it was more than one score, meaning not so close. You can sing the song of injuries but that's a part of life - you lose someone, you either fill the hole or you don't....winners do. There is a difference between 10 and 40, but that is the difference between "Double Digit" and "Ass Whoopin' ". Look at UF-AL ending at 31-20....double digit. Ass-Whoopin'? No. Close? Not so much. Ergo, "Double Digit Win".


As a Gator fan, who would I rather see in the NC? OU provides more story, but I can't say I'm really wanting TX or OU more. They are pretty equal in my mind, and I'm not going to hide and want the 'weaker one'. I'd take either one.



- - - - - -- --- -- -

Anyone else pissed to see ND in a bowl game? Hope the 'save the whale' folks are on patrol when Weiss hits the Hawaii beaches 8). :blech:

Other interesting matchups for me....

Maryland vs. Nevada (Roady's Humanitarian) primarily because Boise isn't playing their home bowl game again (I'd have put them ahead of Ohio State, however, as an at large, fwiw). Besides, I always enjoy watching other teams suffer in that arctic neverland. Not much of a matchup this time, but it's usually funner to see someone from the South up there freezing their asses off on the astrosmurf wondering if this was really their big reward for the season. :p

Oklahoma State vs. Oregon (Pacific Life Holiday)
Decent matchup. Couple of could'have'beens.....Eh, fills the day a bit.

LSU vs. Georgia Tech (Chick-fil-A)
First thought is "Home game for GT", but I expect LSU fans will come reasonably well, unless they are so disillusioned after this season. Gut feeling is the Tigers are in for another loss, after watching GT tear UGA a new one. A chance for redemption for the SEC > ACC (after ACC went 3-0 over SEC to close the season), but it ain't gonna happen.

South Carolina vs. Iowa (Outback)
I was at the Outback where Iowa kicked UF's ass. So, I want USC to win - for the SEC, for Spurrier, for my butthurt. But my money is for the Cocks to go limp and lose. Again. :\ My thinking is Big10+1 > SEC on this one.


Georgia vs. Michigan State (Capital One)
As the media has already started hyping - two great running backs. However, Knowshon has become something of a NoShow late in the season - either because the team falls behind and must pass, or the opposing defense is simply limiting him (by limiting, we're talking ~100+ yds and 1 TD, not too shabby). We know UGA has other offensive weapons beyond Knowshon, and the beloved Stafford and his key recievers might be able to keep the game open. The two questions that come to mind - can UGA stop Ringer? Maybe, maybe not...depends upon which UGA defense shows up...and then on if MSU has any other plays it can run. The second question is if MSU can stop a balanced UGA offense. I don't think MSU's offense poses any real technical problems for UGA (like GT did), but it almost all falls down to a performance question. Does UGA have the heart to win. At this point, i don't know. I hope so, but I don't know. Gut feeling, SEC finally wins a matchup over Big10+1.

Penn State vs. USC (Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi)
The Grandaddy of them all, and no, I don't mean Joe Pa ;). Ought to be a good game. I don' tknow if Joe Pa can keep the team focused and ready for all this time off - I am confident USC won't have any focus issues. The only trip up for USC is not taking PSU seriously, and assuming it will be another home (it IS home) cakewalk. If PSU can stay focused and be ready, they might not lose by that much :)

Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech (FedEx Orange)
This is one instance where the BCS bowl tie-in creators ought to be shot. I suppose this is payback to the Orange Bowl for getting the NC, first they have to try out the field with this HS matchup. Seriously, neither of these teams deserve to be in a BCS bowl, IMO. Yeah, yeah - kudos to Cinci for managing multiple QB crushes over the season, and congrats to VT for winning a mediocre ACC by not losing out, here...go play in the Humanitarian Bowl...puh-lease 8)

Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech (AT&T Cotton)
Actually, I think this ought to be a fun one as well, despite my pulling for Ole Miss (more cred for UF's one loss, and SEC homerism in general). I've enjoyed watching Ole Miss get better over the season and exceed expectations. I really hope Nutt does well and kicks Arkansas ass every year, but that's another story. I like the team, what they've done, and wish them the best. That said, I've also fallen in love with the nutty professor that is Mike Leach - love to hear him talk, and have always loved watching his high powered offense. Now, they finally have a defense (sometimes). This go'round, I expect the TT defense is going to be there with a point to prove - and they are more than capable of shutting down Ole Miss. On the flip side, Ole Miss has a good ("SEC") defense ... that will get massacred by TT. Chalk another SEC loss in a bowl game, IMO.

Utah vs. Alabama (Allstate Sugar)
Big question - did AL just run out of gas and is shattered by the loss in the SECCG? Big question - Is UT the Hawaii of the '09 Sugar Bowl? It will either be a fun match, with AL managing a "double digit" win ;) or a blow out by AL trying to prove a point to the world. UT has been in big bowl games before (under Meyer), and whilst I don't expect them to show up all googley eyed, I also don't expect them to handle the AL team that will show up.

Ohio State vs. Texas (Tostitos Fiesta)
It's no secret - I don't like OSU. I can respect them, but I don't think they should have been invited to be in this game. Aaaaannnnnd, when kick off comes around, I don't expect them to be in the game for long. TX is pissed off, and more importantly they are a much, much better team. I see the Big12 offense pouring out another lopsided win. At least Mr. Sweater Vest can sigh a relief for not losing to an SEC team this year (though it is a shame he probably could have beaten one in a NYD bowl like UGA or LSU).

Florida vs. Oklahoma (FedEx BCS National Championship Game)
Um.....I'm just going to sit back an enjoy our SECCG for another week or so before thinking about this one. ;)
 
It's bullshit Ohio State got into the Fiesta Bowl and Boise State got snubbed.

C'mon. We all know that's not fair.
 
*Note - This was driven by the following
We played by the rules and won by the rules..I personally find the PR campaign by Texas way over the top, but I guess it is working . If anything Florida doesn't belong in the NC considering they lost to an unranked opponent at HOME.
Click to expand...
To the point of making me fuck off at work for the last 45 min to pull these numbers together. You, sir, have trolled me well....trolled me well, indeed. ;)


As a Gator fan, who would I rather see in the NC? OU provides more story, but I can't say I'm really wanting TX or OU more. They are pretty equal in my mind, and I'm not going to hide and want the 'weaker one'. I'd take either one. However, am I just giddy for sneaking in after losing to an unranked team, at home? No. I honestly believe we earned our way there. I'll admit (and eat) the loss to Ole Miss, but let's compare a bit, shall we?

Some stats ranked (TX - OU - UF)
Code: 
[i][b]OFFENSE[/b][/i]
[b]Total Offense (yd/game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]9 (476.42)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]3 (562.08)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]18 (442.38)[/COLOR]
[b]Scoring Offense (pt/game)[/b]	[COLOR="DarkOrange"]5 (43.92)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]1 (54.00)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]3 (45.15)[/COLOR]
[b]Passing Eff Off (yd/game)[/b]	[COLOR="DarkOrange"]2 (180.45)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]1 (180.92)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]5 (174.36)[/COLOR]
[b]Rushing Off (yd/game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]34 (176.92)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]19 (205.54)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]11 (229.77)[/COLOR]
[b]Passing Off (yd/game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]11 (299.5)	[/COLOR][COLOR="DarkRed"]3 (356.5)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]61 (212.6)[/COLOR]
[b]Sacks Allowed (per game)[/b]	[COLOR="DarkOrange"]58 (1.83)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]4 (.85)[/COLOR]		[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]19 (1.23)[/COLOR]

[i][b]DEFENSE[/b][/i]
[b]Total Defense (yd/game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]50 (339.92)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]65 (359.08)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]9 (279.31)[/COLOR]
[b]Scoring Defense (pt/game)[/b]	[COLOR="DarkOrange"]20 (18.6)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]57 (24.5)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]5 (12.8)[/COLOR]
[b]Passing Eff Def (yd/game)[/b]	[COLOR="DarkOrange"]59 (124.88)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]41 (117.14)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]2 (94.17)[/COLOR]
[b]Rushing Def (yd/game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]2 (73.60)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]18 (106.0)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]16 (105.3)[/COLOR]
[b]Pass Def (yd/game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]109 (266.33)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]99 (253.08)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]19 (174.00)[/COLOR]
[b]Sacks (per game)[/b]		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]1 (3.67)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]3 (3.23)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]33 (2.46)[/COLOR]


[b]TO Margin (per game)[/b] 		[COLOR="DarkOrange"]46 (.25)[/COLOR]	[COLOR="DarkRed"]1(1.77)[/COLOR] 	[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]2 (1.69)[/COLOR]


What I can't find is easy listings of the average defense or offense that each team has faced, but I'd lean with the pundits that FL's stats are skewed in a way that reflects playing against better defenses. But here's a few other numbers:

Avg score vs ranked teams faced (how many), top 10 teams faced (how many)
TX 41-32 (4/12), 35-33 (3)
OU 51-28 (6/13), 50-33 (2)
FL 46-14 (5/13), 44-17 (3)


**NOTE Cont'd - and now, with all those numbers, wtf was I going to prove? I dunno, maybe that I can throw up a lotta numbers 8(. Maybe that all the teams are relatively equal. Maybe that FL DOES deserve to be there because we played by the rules and won by the rules...but I'm not sure if I even came close to any such statement. Right now, my brain hurts. Go Gators.
 
Okay....while I adjust my eyes to that colored chart 8)


Offensively, we can infer that the teams are relatively even in scoring and pass eff, but I'll admit I was surprised FL was that low for pass yd/game. I wonder what the counts are for # of plays per game for each team?

Defensively what I can take from it is that the Big12 teams got more sacks...because opposing QBs were standing around too long wanting to throw, most likely because they'd already fallen behind and were forced to pass more? I really think UF has been sacked more because our @#$$#@) offensive coordinator calls Tebow up the middle for little to no gain too many times, and those all count as sacks, technically. There is the impulse to say UF played much better defense (total, scoring, passing) but that is skewed because the offenses we faced aren't the high flying Big12 types. And, the Big12 defenses appear to be great against the run, but that's misleading when most of the teams throw first (and second, and third) and quickly can't afford to run since they've fallen behind in the score against TX or OU.



Gah, more gibberish. I've wasted my time. Somebody claim to be enlightened by some of that...any of it, please.
 
Shimmer.Fade said:
If anything Florida doesn't belong in the NC considering they lost to an unranked opponent at HOME.
Click to expand...

this is a great point, Shimmer.Fade. while people are bashing Oklahoma for making it into the NC instead of Texas - at least neither team didn't get humiliated by an inferior SEC cupcake, Ole Miss, at HOME (the dealbreaker, or should be).

Ohio State has a better shot than I think. Texas has yet to play a defense ranked in the Top 60 - while OSU's is in the Top 10. these Big 12 teams have really disregarded defense as of late, perhaps in the recruiting process, and it might show in these BCS games.

for those that want Boise State and Utah ahead of Ohio State - I would bet what little money I have right now that Ohio State would win easily. this isn't the same OSU team as last year. with the LeBron James of college football under center and such a storied and strong following - how could the money-hungry sluts of the BCS keep them out of a high-profile bowl game?
 
and here comes the ridiculous jabbering from axl

this is a great point, Shimmer.Fade. while people are bashing Oklahoma for making it into the NC instead of Texas - at least neither team didn't get humiliated by an inferior SEC cupcake, Ole Miss, at HOME (the dealbreaker, or should be).
Click to expand...

8-4 isnt a cupcake, especially when it should be 10-2 save for two games that could have won against SC and vandy. I'm sure texas tech is going to win that one, but respect to Nutt (the conference coach of the year) for pulling a team wih decent recruiting together. :P
 
Haha, good research, and I agree Florida deserves to be there (as does Texas and OU), the "If anything..." before my sentence is key. The rules that were followed were the same for both Texas and OU, and OU benefitted...this time. Only 2 teams can play for the NC. Maybe instead of all these stupid fucking rules a playoff would be nice.

I also want to mention the reason OUs defense is ranked low is because of the high paced no huddle offense.


"In the average game, OU attempts 36.6 passes and rushes 43.1 times, for a total of 79.7 offensive plays per game.

This also works to increase the number of plays for Oklahoma's opponents as well. Texas Tech had 77 offensive plays (and only 21 points) in their loss to OU. Texas had 70 offensive plays and held OU to only 67 offensive plays in their 45-35 win.

In contrast, Florida attempts only 23 passes and rushes 38.5 times per game, for a total of only 61.5 offensive plays per game.

The difference? More than 18 plays. That is a 30 percent difference.

Florida averages over 45 points per game, good enough for third in the country. Increase that by 30 percent and the result is 58.

So, if the Gators and the Sooners had the same number of offensive plays, Florida's average points per game increases to 58, which is better than OU's 54 points per game. (Could the Gators maintain their success on the extra plays?)

On defense, Florida's points allowed would only go up to 16.5 points per game, which is still well under OU's 24.5 points per game." (What was it about those SEC offenses, and would the Florida defense maintain their defensive level/scoring defense with more plays to counter?)

It is all hypothetical. Yea, the Oklahoma defense numbers don't look good when compared to other Div 1 teams, but when you actually look at how many possessions our opposition has compared to average it makes sense for the good offenses that we played to score some points and rack up some yards. If you want to see dominating defense look to the TT game.

We don't know what would really happen in the SEC if a team averaged 79.7 offensive plays per game.

Here is OU defensive stats compared to Florida when 30% less plays are run (only approximate because I can't actually find an average number of OU defensive plays per game, and it would be a pain to calculate. Also completely hypothetical)


Total Defense (yd/game) OU -> (359.08 ) * .7 = 251.36
Scoring Defense (pt/game) -> (24.5) * .7 = 17.15
Passing Eff Def (yd/game) -> (117.14) * .7 = 81.998
Rushing Def (yd/game) -> (106.0) * .7 = 74.2
Pass Def (yd/game) -> (253.08 ) * .7 = 177.156
Sacks (per game) -> (3.23) * .7 = 2.26

Total Defense (yd/game) FL-> (279.31)
Scoring Defense (pt/game) -> (12.8 )
Passing Eff Def (yd/game) -> (94.17)
Rushing Def (yd/game) -> (105.3)
Pass Def (yd/game) -> (174.00 )
Sacks (per game) -> (2.46)

Your scoring defense is the only significant difference. However, because we have blown out so many teams, many sympathy touchdowns were given in the 4th quarter all season, and we have gone quite easy on most teams scoring-wise in the 4th quarter (except Missouri..stupid BCS..). It is quite hard, and probably not very accurate, to compare two completely different schemes because the whole game changes when 30% more or less plays are run. I think what this shows us though is that maybe OU defense is not quite as bad as people think, and that we will have a hell of a NC to watch :D.
 
Last edited:
We don't know what would really happen in the SEC if a team averaged 79.7 offensive plays per game.
Click to expand...
What we would know is
1. The coach would be hated all around as 'running up the score'
2. There would be at least 9 Def Coord jobs open in the SEC, and probably 5+ head coaching positions
3. This coach came from the Big12 (honestly, other than USC over Punk10 chumps, nobody can do this....and to think if we could get Leach from TT over to Vandy or somewhere in conference, then this might actually have happened :D ).

I know Urban Meyer would be salivating at the chance to have more offensive plays per game, so I think we'll keep up our end of that question. But, can we bring down the number of offensive plays per game for OU? Only if they keep scoring on bombs or can get stymied into a few punts (my money says quick scores is more likely). Somewhere between 80 and 62 offensive plays per team....should be real intersting.

I think the two things I'm really coming down to from all the numbers is ... maybe we've been a little better on defense than OU has seen but I have no idea how OU's defense will match up with our running game. Ultimately we really are in for a great game. Props S.F, and I'll be pulling hard for Boomer Sooner to finish 2nd this season. ;)



You've still got that magic touch when it comes to my buttons, and I'm itching to start dreaming up scores.....must resist :o
 
I find the Yahoo Pick Em to be problematic, as the last couple years I have had problems with rating your "confidence" in your picks - I find that to be absurd.

re: Ole Miss being cupcakes. it's all semantics. point being, it's tough to go to the National Championship game when you got smacked at home, by a team that really isn't all that good (although it is cute Nutt won Coach of the Year). great story. won't help them out at all against Texas Tech, however.
 
^^
I would be surprised if Ole Miss was competitive against TTech, but then again, I was surprised when PSU and OSU squared off like an intramural game in a nursing home between parkinsons patients and people with Alzheimers.
 
tbh, I'd put Ole Miss on the field with the Buckeyes and expect a pretty good game. But that's turning a general discussion into a personal barb - apologies (but still a good game, IMO, better than they will fare with TT).

As for coach of the year, I thought he did a helluva lot with a team that hadn't been much for years. I'd credit that to a good coaching job, but I also thought Saban would have had a strong chance of winning that award as well :\ 2nd yr and going 12-0? Yeah, my vote would have been Saban.
 
>ATTN< we interupt this thread for a flashback to this:
slideshow_233964_Florida_Fan.jpg



Because, when you thought Gator fans couldn't appear any more ridiculous... I find this:

http://www.timtebowsong.com/


For me, I was torn between the fascinating back up man doing a Tebow song but wearing a Wuerfflus Jersey versus missing the Florida fauna....that could have been shot in my old man's backyard. Only thing missing is to have those guys in jorts (which I still own, and Crow still makes fun of me for whenever I wear them).

=====================================================================

TN? Next year?
Code: 
Sept. 5 	Western KY 	Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W[/COLOR]
Sept. 12 	UCLA 		Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W(probably)[/COLOR]
Sept. 19 	Florida* 	Gainesville	[COLOR="Red"]L[/COLOR]
Sept. 26 	Ohio	 	Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W[/COLOR]
Oct. 3	 	Auburn* 	Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W (probably)[/COLOR]
Oct. 10 	Georgia* 	Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]L[/COLOR]
Oct. 24 	Alabama* 	Tuscaloosa	[COLOR="Red"]L[/COLOR]
Oct. 31 	South Carolina* Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W(maybe...)[/COLOR]
Nov. 7	 	Memphis 	Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W[/COLOR]
Nov. 14 	Mississippi* 	Oxford		[COLOR="Red"]L[/COLOR]
Nov. 21 	Vanderbilt* 	Knoxville	[COLOR="Red"]W[/COLOR]
Nov. 28 	Kentucky* 	Lexington	[COLOR="Red"]W (maybe)[/COLOR]
Dec. 5	 	SEC Championship Atlanta	[COLOR="Red"]Holy Shit, is it possible?*[/COLOR]

I expect the new coach will have them fired up for next year to start off strong, and may get a few 'close wins' (the 'maybe' and 'probably' games) to put them at 7-5 or 8-4, which given this year would be looked at as an improvement.....he'd get kudos for starting the rebuilding off right. But it's really a fluke of the schedule that would put them at that record and a bowl game (probably to get spanked by a Big10+1 team in a bowl ;) ).

The question is if they can actually recruit, and relate to kids at that age better than they did to grown men in the NFL. We need to grade them in 3-4 yrs, IMO. Out of the gate, however, the big orange will be feelin' fuzzy.


*No. No f'n way.
 
Shimmer.Fade said:
If anything Florida doesn't belong in the NC considering they lost to an unranked opponent at HOME.
Click to expand...

you were in danger of making sense till you dropped this bomb. kudos. i can see why you dont want florida in the title game, but to say that they dont deserve to be there is laughable.

for the record texas getting screwed has more to do with a flawed system than oklahoma not deserving to be there. just hope your team doesnt choke yet again on the biggest stage. oh and fuck you for making me root for florida
 
cravNbeets said:
you were in danger of making sense till you dropped this bomb. kudos. i can see why you dont want florida in the title game, but to say that they dont deserve to be there is laughable.

for the record texas getting screwed has more to do with a flawed system than oklahoma not deserving to be there. just hope your team doesnt choke yet again on the biggest stage. oh and fuck you for making me root for florida
Click to expand...

Way to consistently spout shit without ever making a legitimate argument 8)
 
Mississippi State hires Florida coordinator as coach

Our offensive Coord (and QB coach), Dan Mullen, will be going to MSU as a head coach. Question - should he coach for UF in the NC? My instinct is yes, but in most jobs when you say you're going to work for a competitor you are generally shown the door immediately to reduce the amount of distraction (for the individual and where he puts his time, for those under him and their faith in his decisions before he goes, etc). I'm torn. Part of me wants the mix of staff that got us here, but I also know I've bitched about the play calling most of the season and really would think he'd need a head start on recruiting and getting his staff together over at MSU. Put yourself in the debate for a second - what do you think he, and UF, should do?
 
I always thought that the classiest move was sticking with your current team until the remainder of the season. it adds a sense of closure to your career and it shows that you truly cared about the players you coached, and it's not all about the money. don't want to pull a Dick-Rod.

who does everybody have for the Heisman? I think that Colt McCoy deserves it the most but I don't see him winning. as much as it pains me to say so, I think that Tim Tebow might win it - crushing Archie Griffin's streak of two Heisman trophies in a row. Sam Bradford also has a shot.
 
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