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The Official NCAA Football 2005 thread

Bama will remain unbeaten, save perhaps the SEC championship game, where the dawgs have a shot if shockley's knee heals. The dawgs, given how they play around their new quarterback, are probably going to blow a game they shouldn't to florida. I still expect them to beat Auburn. Bama's schedeul doesn't pose any problems. They'll remain unbeaten in regular play. If they win the conference championship, they'll have earned it, and will go on to rep a strong conference in Bowl play.

USC at #2, man computers are funny. USC will get the bounce they need after they cream both Cal and UCLA. Its funny, the whole strength of scheduel for computer rankings depends on teams' records. The reason texas is number one atm is because your trojans beat up on a team with one win, while texas played an unbeaten opponent. Never fear, things will right themselves by december. The trojans will probably win decisively over the steers, and VT, which everybody I've ever met thinks is a better number two, will be shut out.

Who's yer pick for UCLA vs. USC LD, and whats the spread? ;)
 
My Solution for the BCmesS

Another year and here we are with the same mess. A few years back we had split national champions when LSU defeated Oklahoma and USC defeated Michigan. Last season, college football fans were subject to the whole USC/Auburn controversy. USC won the Orange Bowl over Oklahoma 55-19, while Auburn beat Virginia Tech 16-13 in the Sugar Bowl.

In the latest BCS rankings, Texas pulled ahead of USC by percentage points to snag the #1 ranking. Unfortunately, USC has done everything in their power to be the best team, including a win over Notre Dame. On the other hand, Texas has made a case for #1 with convincing victories over the likes of Ohio State and Texas Tech. USC coach Pete Carroll told ESPN, “I don’t know how you get mad at a computer.” Either way, these two will probably play for the national championship, no problem. Right? Wrong. Enter Virginia Tech who is also undefeated. If they can pull out wins against #13 Boston College, and #6 Miami, the Hokies will make a strong case to play for the national championship.

Every year we have this problem. The solution is actually quite simple in theory, yet almost impossible in reality. The bowl games are all about sponsorship and money, lots of money. Money that neither the athletes, nor the true fans of college football see. It is time to do away with the superstar bowl games and go to a playoff, and the formula is quite simple. My working solution is the Elite 8 of college football. A point value, (20 for #1, 15 for #2 and so on) will be assed to each team using the same formulas used today, (polls and the computers.) The top eight teams will battle it out in an 8-team playoff in the same manner as the Elite 8 in NCAA basketball. The 1st place team will play the 8th place team and so on. This method will give us sports fanatics an undisputed national champion every year, no controversy.

What about the Bowl games and remaining teams you may ask. That is also very simple in theory, but reality might bite us in the behind. The next 12 ranked teams will play in the major Bowl games, and yes, the corporate sponsors will have to lose money, darn. For example, the #9 Notre Dame will play the #10 Florida State in the Rose Bowl. #11 Penn State will play #12 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. #13 Boston College will play #14 Oregon in the Sugar Bowl. #15 Wisconsin will play #16 Florida in the Cotton Bowl. #17 Texas Tech will play #18 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. #19 Auburn will play #20 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. The remaining ranked teams teams may be upset, but they should have won the big games they lost, (for example Michigan.) These teams will receive invites to the lesser Bowl games.

This is the scheme college football fans should want to see. It will give us all a clear champion, and we still get exciting major Bowl games. Yes, some corporations will lose money over this, but it is about damn time to get the money out of college sports anyways. If the athletes cannot legally take a cut of the money, I am not losing any sleep over it. The change needs to happen now. The BCS has been under hard scrutiny for years now. When a team can go an entire season doing everything they need to do by winning every game, and still not have a chance at the title, SOMETHING IS WRONG!
 
jefe you're the last person i'd expect to be giving mid season bcs standings any mention what-so-ever. it means fuck all till the end once most everyone has a loss on their record, further complicating matters:)

as for texas, im certainly not a fan of the program in general. i think they're typically a lot of hype that never delivers. they tank year in year out vs oklahoma yet still pull sick recruiting classes and a high preseason ranking. each year whats the result? preseason top 5, mid season tank job, and strong rest of season ending with some 1/2 way decent ranking *repeat*
these longhorns are different imo. vince young is a fuckin g and he's behind the best o line in the country. im not sure that they're better than SC. im not sure they'll go undefeated. but i am sure that this is a legit football team.

crazy season in the big ten. i picked UM to win the conference this year (obviously i was being sarcastic;)) honestly right now i feel like northwestern or the buckeyes are playing the best ball, but im nowhere near feeling confindent enough to call my shot a second time.
 
well i've always had an itch to point out every single flaw in the BCS since it started. ;)

atlas...I'll wait for that game to be the next one on UCLA's schedule before I start any real dissection of the Battle for the Victory Bell heh.

This Texas team does have more swagger than previous years, and it doesn't hurt to have a nice, comfy league schedule to go with it. I just don't feel that Texas will have faced the level of competition a USC or Virginia Tech will have faced by the end of the season...and seeing how the Big 12 has been anything but Big the last few years with its bowl results, I'm just not sold on the best they have to offer quite yet. Vince Young is an amazing player, but he will make plenty of passing mistakes against a defense that knows how to force such errors. If Tech's average-to-below-average defense can make him struggle early, I expect better defenses to hold him down longer...sort of like how Ohio State did...a game the Buckeyes had plenty of opportunities to win, but didn't. To be honest, that was probably the biggest offensive test Texas faced this year. I don't count Tech because the Longhorns know exactly what to expect from that spread offense and have already shown they can contain it.
 
I expect better defenses to hold him down longer...sort of like how Ohio State did...

note the end result of that game- osu's defense knocked the everloving piss out of young the entire game, and what did he do? nothin much but march them down the field and walk away with a win.

i honestly dont think that a team has to play the toughest schedule in the world in order to show their true colors. i understand that method of thinking, and it surely makes things simpler but i think that texas is for real this year even though they're playing in a conference that isnt quite up to snuff (did i just type 'up to snuff'??)
 
^Just curious...but did you also believe the 2003 Oklahoma Sooners were the real deal? They had me fooled. I don't think it's absolutely necessary for a team to have a stacked schedule to look good and be considered so, but it definitely helps a team's case to have solid quality wins, something Texas will lack with the level of competition currently seen in the Big 12. What I do consider a better indicator of a team's ability is results in key road games. Texas is limited in that regard, and so I'm hesitant to buy into what I've seen as completely legitimate when it comes to comparing them among the nation's elite.

joe...that was a nice, thoughtful theory you've brought up. In fact, it's similar to something I came up with a couple years ago where the schedule should allow a BCS elimination week with the top 16 teams facing off with proper seeding and home field advantage, though the difference being it would be before the bowl season and help select who would go to the major bowls.

Your idea, while promising, is simply flawed by the fact that you cannot force the bowl system into becoming a second-rate postseason with an 8-team playoff above it. To do that would be disgracing the history and tradition of college football. Instead, I would go with the idea that the NCAA strictly limit the season to 11 games w/ no conference championships (have that BCS playoff-style week instead) and a full bowl season featuring traditional matchups outside of BCS-affiliated games, and then conclude the year with a 4-team playoff at one neutral site to please the majority. That way you preserve the tradition of a college football season, and throw in a final twist to try and calm the chants for a playoff. Is it a perfect system? By no means...but it's more realistic.

It is impossible to completely eliminate the controversy out of college football without finding some way to integrate the bowl system into the playoff or throwing it out altogether. Neither will likely ever happen, so the best we can really hope for is a small playoff format after the bowl season. I personally feel labeling playoff games as bowl games would take away from what the bowls have meant to the sport.
 
I like that idea, but I just didnt want to do a 16 game playoff because I felt like it was one to many rounds. Shortening the schedule is interesting, but I dont know how that would fly. ABout the bowl games, I just have alot of issues with the players not getting any of that money.
 
Jefe said:
^Just curious...but did you also believe the 2003 Oklahoma Sooners were the real deal?

i absolutely did, awesome example. i think the entire country (including the sooners) was pretty much fooled.

To do that would be disgracing the history and tradition of college football

the first bowl game to feature ".com" in the name disgraced college football far more than any playoff system ever could. think of the college football institution in terms of the catholic church: slow moving, illogical, and corrupt as a motherfucker;)
 
the NCAA is certainly corrupt, and the squeeze the major conferences have on college football is also part of the problem. To get into the monetary aspect of college football and paying student-athletes is a can of worms we may not want to enter. I agree that student-athletes probably don't earn what they deserve in their financial worth to the school, but a free "college education", room and board along with all the "perks" of campus life, and *cough*alumni support*cough* are supposed to balance that out, along with a professional career if the person has it in them.

There is just too much money to lose by lowering or eliminating the bowls. Any national championship gate/profits should just be evenly split among the teams playing in each game...or perhaps a 60/40 cut for winner/loser.
 
The Bucks game against 'Sota should be a good one. The top rushing offense vs the top rushing D.

And I turn my head and blink a couple times and damn! NW is 5-2, with a chance to win the big ten title. If I was Lloyd Carr I would be shaking in my shoes about now. NW put up 40 something points against MSU, in East Lansing. Now Northwestern gets a team who, at best, is suspect at the pass defense. At night, in Evanston. Can anyone say blowout? It prolly won't be a blowout, but there will be a lot of points put up.

And Texas looks like they're gonna roll through the rest of the season. They are the complete package. USC vs TEXAS would be such a monumental Rose Bowl, wouldn't it?
 
Ive never laughed so hard during a sports play as just now when Vince punked that guy out of his shoes for 80 yards. Thats as good as that crossover in the Wake Forest game 14 years ago where the defender fell down and the dude on Wake just waved at him and shot a 3.
 
^heh yeah how embarrassing would that have been...against the '05 OSU Cowboys. The mere fact they allowed themselves to be punked for a half by such a sad team should hold anyone back from considering this team better than USC. It's unfortunate Vince is probably the frontrunner for the Heisman now with his performance...even if it was against one of the weakest teams in a major conference this season.

Good golly the Bruin heart attacks just keep on coming...and the heart's still ticking. There's just no way you can say UCLA is ever out of a game until the final is official. Granted, I'd rather not see them live life so dangerously, but as long as the W's keep coming up to the trip to the Coliseum I'll have no complaints. :)

One SEC team down, one more to go...and I think we all know it'll happen. ;)

VT vs. Miami...Sorry longhorn fans, but I think VT will jump them in the end pending they go undefeated. VT vs. USC would be a classic...moreso than Texas vs. USC in my opinion.
 
Jefe, so because Texas had one "slip up", you think that makes SC better?

USc has had like 3 "slip ups", they were down early to Arizona, barely got by ND, and had trouble early with Oregon.
Nothing different then what Texas did against OK ST.

Texas still took care of business, as SC did, so really I think they are about dead even.

I can't wait for the Miami-VT game. I sure hope VT loses.

And yes, Vince Young should and will win the Heisman. He is Matt Leinhart + 10.

He could be a starting tailback if he wanted to, Leinhart only wishes he could run like that.
 
Jefe said:
One SEC team down, one more to go...and I think we all know it'll happen.

When exactly will that happen, LD? Against Auburn (nah), LSU (probably not), or in the SEC championship (probably not)

VT isn't going to lose miami, btw. Thats just ridiculous.
 
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