Friday, November 17, 2006

College Football Live-Comment Tailgate

I'm off to Gainesville for the weekend -- you're a REAL fan if you fly in to watch the games against the 1-AA patsies (ugh) -- so I'm opening up the usual CFB Live-Comment action early, because I likely won't be online Saturday. Have at it throughout the day, and I'll try to check in after the Florida game during the day's REAL game (OSU-Mich). Have at it and have a great weekend.

- D.S.

129 comments:

Anonymous said...

People who read this blog can't really fault you if you have a Florida bias. First it's your blog. Second, we now know you pay money to watch them scrimmage against high school teams.

Trey (formerly TF) said...

Hey, Florida called over 40 teams to schedule them for this weekend, even offered over $1M to come play at the Swamp.

We contacted Army, Navy, Middle Tennessee State, Temple, etc to play 1 game at the Swamp without a return date.

The only D-IA team that bit was UAB and they demanded a return home date.

We could have aimed higher, but looking at our schedule to begin the season would you have wanted to sign a Miami, Louisville, or Oregon after looking at a schedule that contained Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina (Spurrier's emotional return), and FSU?

Oh well should be nice to see the backups play before FSU. All being said and done UF will have played 10 bowl teams this season. VEry few teams can lay a claim to that.

Joe(Dayton)

Travis said...

dan, dan, dan, you dissapoint me.

First for atleast another week or so its I-AA not 1-AA. We will soon be known as Football Championship Subdivison, cause us patsies decide a champion on the field.

Second, when will the media bashing of I-AA stop? What more do we need to do? My New Hampshire Wildcats went into Northwestern and showed them how the games played. Richmond won at Duke (Yea I know...Duke) Montana State beat up on Colorado then proceeded to lose to a Div II opponent, shows how low Colorado has fallen.

Please lets start showing respect for the highest level of College Playoff Football.

Steve said...

Since there is 100% chance that the most annoying announcer ever (Musberger) will be announcing the game, there is 100% chance that I will be utilizing the mute button.

Anonymous said...

Fowler just mentioned it - winner of this game has to wait 50 days to play in the national championship game. 50!

Yet another reason why this sport needs a playoff ...

Imagine the winner of an AFC championship game having to wait a month and a half until the Super Bowl? Yikes.

Steve said...

"Imagine the winner of an AFC championship game having to wait a month and a half until the Super Bowl? Yikes."

You mean they don't? It sure seems like it.

MoonHopper said...

Is there a better reason to go a game, ANY GAME, than Musburger doing the announcing?

Christian Thoma said...

Anyone else find it interesting that ESPN.com voters now think Michigan is going to beat Ohio State, when earlier this week the majority was firmly for tOSU? It's amazing what Bo's death does for perception. Do you think some people feel guilty about picking against UM now?

Anonymous said...

Remember when Tony Dungy's son died last year. Everybody thought the Colts would go on to win the SB for their coach. And we all know how that played out ...

With that said - I still think Michigan pulls it out: 24-21.

The heroin sheik said...

You can defend playing UCf only because of their record last year. Who knew that they would revert to their old ways. However I just wish they would have had a bye week before the FSU game. Id rather be safe than sorry and I pray we don't have any injuries.

My cousin is going to the OSU/UM game. SHe went to law school at Um and her boss went to OSU so fley flew in. She is convinced the blue will win on the basis of henne's arm, but after watching the video for Chad Henne is a fucking joke on the dead schembechler's myspace page has me thinking otherwise. I want OSU to win only because I think that UF/OSU would be a great championship game. Well that and I have money on OSU covering and the gators for the over.

The heroin sheik said...

I think that USC and UF's schedules are about the same. The gators have a much tougher conference schedule but the condoms have a tougher nonconference one. USC's big games were CAL, ND, Arkansas, Nebraska and Maybe UCLA or Oregon. The Gators had LSU, TENN, AUB, UGA, FSU, and possibly USC. MAybe it is a wash but I think the level of play is better in the sec which makes the USC dominance over ARK impressive. Still look at our respective losses. Oregon state? cmon at least we lost to a team that was in the championship talk. OH yeah and we still have to play arkansas. How can we not be ranked ahead of USC.

Travis said...

Doesnt matter Notre Dame is gonna beat USC

Christian Thoma said...

ChrTh's OSU-UM prediction. I will accept ownage if I'm wrong.

I foresee three things:

1) I see OSU having a 30+ yard run in the 1st quarter. Not sure if it'll be Smith, Pittman, or Wells.

2) Chad Henne will get flustered and have at least one bad INT/fumble in the 1st half.

3) Ohio State wins by 17.

Note: Predictions made by ChrTh are guaranteed to come true or your money back!

Christian Thoma said...

Bye-bye, Chuck Amato. UNC 23, NCSU 9.

You know things are bad in the Triangle when the coach with the longest tenure is the one at Duke.

Steve said...

It's good news for Notre Dame's SOS though chrth, so at least that's a plus.

Christian Thoma said...

Well, that's an inauspicious start for the Buckeyes. 7-0 Michigan.

Badass Of The Year said...

Just like on election day, I'm calling a victory for Blue.

Christian Thoma said...

Michigan defense isn't looking all that impressive yet.

Christian Thoma said...

Damn, I was off by 2:31. Screw it, I'm counting that. 1 for 3 on predictions so far.

Christian Thoma said...

...still not impressed. 21-7.

Kevin said...

Every big play for OSU has been up the middle...not a good showing by the Michigan safeties...

TJ said...

Wow Dan, you need to visit for better games than Southern Miss and Western Carolina? And didn't you come down for Wyoming last year? It is possible to find tickets to games like LSU, Bama, and South Carolina. I promise.

Christian Thoma said...

SI.com is drunk:

Legendary rivals Michigan and Ohio State are living up to the hype with a well-played, back-and-forth first half at Ohio Stadium that is worthy of the battle for No. 1

back-and-forth?!?

Christian Thoma said...

WHOA! What the hell was Florida doing throwing the ball when up 55-0?!?

The Football Gods will surely punish the Gators for that!

Ingrid and Jim said...

Wow, glad to see the Big Ten's defense is better than the Big East's.

Steve said...

Speaking of TMQ, Llyod Carr is such a wuss! It's 4th and 1, you're down 11! You can't even make 1 yard? Game over.

Jon said...

Heisman race and they show Smith and Quinn? Quinn? ND has played no one and he sucked earlier in the year.

Steve said...

Jon said...
Heisman race and they show Smith and Quinn? Quinn? ND has played no one and he sucked earlier in the year.


According to the Sagarin ratings Notre Dame has played the 22nd hardest schedule. Ohio St. 49th. So maybe it's Ohio St. who has played no one Jon.

NA said...

Why are the announcers puzzled by not going for 2? There's 14 minutes left, way too early to go for 2, and as a bonus they forced Ohio State to use a time out.

Steve said...

Because Biebs the announcers are Brent Musberger and Bob Davie, the worst announcing crew ever to be assembled. My ears actually start to bleed if I leave the sound on for them.

Steve said...

Troy Smith for Heisman! John Heisman fumbled a lot didn't he?

Jon said...

True Steve, but ND is an independent and can play whoever they want and they still choose to play no one.

Jon said...

I'm no Smith fan either...I just don't want Quinn to win it.

Steve said...

Jon, if they've played no one why do they have one of the top 25 hardest schedules in the nation? Your whole premise is inaccurate.

Anonymous said...

ND is an independent and can play whoever they want and they still choose to play no one.

Umm ... Michigan and USC would like to disagree.

Christian Thoma said...

@Steve:

Both fumbles count against the center, not Smith.

Hopefully that was the icing TD.

Christian Thoma said...

As for the Heisman, yeah, you would've liked a perfect game from Smith to lock it up. But even after that atrocious 3rd quarter, his stats for the game look good.

Quinn could still be a contender if he goes gonzo against USC. But that's a tall order.

Big D said...

Third and freakin' 15...

Game over.

Kevin said...

OSU 42, Mich 39 Final

TJ said...

I'm the only one that thought Rutgers-Louisville was a much better, much more classic game?

Maybe I'm just bitter OSU couldn't put them away. God dammit.

For anyone who said "Big East teams just can't play defense" over the last few weeks and says "Wow those are great offenses" tonite--well, I have no words for you.

TJ said...

WHOA! What the hell was Florida doing throwing the ball when up 55-0?!?

...with the backup QB who hasn't thrown all year. Urban addressed this in his post-game comments.

Christian Thoma said...


...with the backup QB who hasn't thrown all year. Urban addressed this in his post-game comments.


No excuse. The Football Gods will make Florida pay.

TJ said...

No excuse.

Only, it is.

TJ said...

The Football Gods will make Florida pay.

They already have made us pay for being assholes--it was called the Zook years.

Christian Thoma said...

Sorry, Troy ... I bear no ill will against Florida. Just remember this convo when pain is administered.

Steve said...

Knee-jerk analysis after debating with myself during my evening walk:

Who deserves a shot at Oh-How-I-Hate-Ohio-State:

1:Rutgers if they win out. It was a tough decision between them and the rematch but in the end, I hate Michigan and the Manninghams annoy me. It's not a good reason but it's a reason. So there.

2: Michigan. We aren't definitively sure who's better since they lost by the standard 3 point home field advantage. So a rematch. Blah. Why couldn't the terrorists have taken out the horseshoe and Big House instead?

3:USC but only if they whip their last 3 and beat Notre Dame badly like Michigan did. Otherwise give it to Michigan.

Everyone else: No.

Arkansas proved they're not as good as USC so no.

Florida could have 3 losses and the SEC is overrated in my opinion this year.

Notre Dame: Abolutely not! And I'm an Irish fan. We don't need to see them get humiliated by Ohio St. again.

Christian Thoma said...


2: Michigan. We aren't definitively sure who's better since they lost by the standard 3 point home field advantage. So a rematch. Blah. Why couldn't the terrorists have taken out the horseshoe and Big House instead?


I'd say the opposite: it seems to me that OSU had the (much?) better team out there. OSU made several mistakes; UM played mistake-free ball and still lost. I'm not saying UM sucks: they hung close and an extra bounce their way and they win it. But I'd say 4 times out of 5 OSU wins.

I really don't want a rematch. Give me Rutgers, give me Arkansas, give me Florida, hell, give me West Virginia.

Precourt said...

10 bowl teams.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
HA

Christian Thoma said...

There may be two undefeated teams suffering their first loss in Ohio tonight:

Cincinnati 17, Rutgers 0 after an ~80-yd interception return for a TD by the Bearcats.

Jared said...

Do you honestly believe either Big East school has a better D than either Big Ten school?

Anyway, great game that lived up to the hype.

TJ said...

Just remember this convo when pain is administered.

Oh I fear/expect pain in either the FSU or SEC Championship game (hopefully not both), but it won't be because of anything that happened today.

Christian Thoma said...

You measure defense purely by scoring? Ok, how's this then:

OSU total points given up this season: 125 (12 games)
UM total points given up this season: 175 (12 games)
WVA total points given up this season: 184 (10 games)
UL total points given up this season: 150 (9 games)

So OSU in 12 games has given up fewer than WVU in 10 and Louisville in 9. UM in 12 games has given up fewer than WVU in 10 ... has 25 more points than Louisville but the Cardinals still have 3 more games to tally.

What was your point again?

Anonymous said...

what a great game.

Anonymous said...

wonder what the score would have been if Datish hadn't single handedly (pun intended) tried to throw the game away!

Anonymous said...

oh yeah...

Wire. To. Wire.

thx.

Anonymous said...

oh where are the manninghams?! swinging from the rafters in ann arbor?

Christian Thoma said...


Wire. To. Wire.

thx.


Uhh...UM was up 7-0.

Unknown said...

Here the thing..Louisville and WVU let EVERYONE score that much on them

Michigan and Ohio State had let noone else score that much.

Ingrid and Jim said...

It's been a magical run... thanks Rutgers! Still dreaming of the Orange Bowl...

-Jim (Rutgers '02)

Christian Thoma said...

Still dreaming of an Orange Bowl for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as well. Tough game tonight, lost yet another running back.

Thankfully Maryland also lost. Wake victory next week would still give them the Atlantic Division.

Christian Thoma said...

Ole Miss 17, LSU 7 in the 3rd Quarter.

Arkansas will NOT be happy if LSU loses tonight.

Steve said...

1 and 3 on my list aren't doing what they need to, so rematch it is. Fun to look at the state breakdown on the espn poll of whether you want a rematch or not.

Christian Thoma said...

Last I checked, Cali was ok with a rematch. Guess a lot of people there hate USC, huh?

Sheldiz said...

think we've seen the last of Manninghamheisman/Manningham86 for awhile?

Christian Thoma said...

USC has been known to play close the first half then blow it open the second. We'll still have to see what happens.

Christian Thoma said...

I think if USC wins out, they deserve to be in the national title game ahead of UM. That was a quality win for them tonight.

TJ said...

lol, Rutgers and the Big East are legit!

Glad you agree.

TJ said...

My off-the-cuff top... as many as are relevant at this point
1 OSU
2 USC (theyve earned it in the aggregate)
3 Michigan (They're easily the #2 team if the #1 team were anyone other than OSU. That might not be fair, but then the BCS never pretended to be fair...)
4 Florida (If you want to disparage UF for SoS, don't make fun of playing a 1-AA school; instead, talk about how the SEC kinda sucks all of a sudden.)
5 ND
6 Arkansas
7 Louisville
8 WVU

Christian Thoma said...


A Quality win for USC? Against a team who lost last week to Arizona, and was blown out by Tennessee?


Despite that, Cal is still ranked. And still #1 Pac-10 offense, held to only 7 pts (other 2 pts were a safety).

That's a quality win in both human and computer eyes.

As already noted by Troy, SEC is starting to hurt perception-wise. Kentucky barely beat LA-Monroe. Auburn struggled against Alabama. LSU struggled against Ole Miss (OLE MISS?!?). Even the Arkansas-Miss State game was closer than expected.

I'm not saying the SEC isn't worthy, but I think right now conditions favor USC.

Trey (formerly TF) said...

Why do I think we'll see a rematch...

Joe (Dayton)

Christian Thoma said...

The problem is perception.

USC lost by two to OSU in an upset. That has an "Any Given Saturday" feel to it, and voters could rationalize that probably 4 out of 5 times USC wins that game.

The problem for Arkansas is that they got spanked. Now, I'm the first person to argue (and I have) that margin of victory for the first couple of games of the season isn't all that important. However, the voters will penalize Arkansas for that.

And just like it'd be tough to put ND in the National Championship over Michigan, it'd be tough to put Arkansas in over USC.

Florida has a better chance than Arkansas to get in, but they need LSU to roll over next week to Arkansas. And I suspect they won't.

Jen said...

sheldiz~ I have a feeling the manningham "duo" will be back with their $.02 {groan}

That game knocked me out. I was asleep before my almost two year-old! So, here I sit, awake at 2 AM!

Jimmy T isn't going to be too happy about those two bad snaps, even though the Buckeyes prevailed.

It was a great game, considering my boys came out on top. GO BUCKS!

TJ said...

I think maybe I could rank UF above USC if I hadn't gone to most the UF games this year. I swear, this year's team isn't any better than the past 4 versions--more talented maybe, but not better--so it's really hard for me to sit here and say UF deserves the national championship game. If USC loses, then yeah, maybe we deserve a shot at OSU more than Michigan deserves another one, but... I don't know.

If we manage to beat FSU and Arkansas, and ND beats USC, I say the BCS comes down to something like .000001 between Michigan and Florida. Or hell, maybe it could be .0001 between USC, Michigan, and Florida for #2 and the powers that be will say: this means we need a playoff.

jhawkjjm said...

All those people who criticized WV-Louisville for their game and the lack of defense better not be praising the Michigan-OSU for the offensive explosion. Those two games went the same way. If you say WV-Louisville was bad D then you have to say the same about Mich-OSU.

Here's hoping ND knocks off USC because I'm sick of USC in the title game.

And shame on Florida for running up the score in their game. Passing in the 4th quarter when up by 50 points?!?!?! Meyer should know better. As Easterbrook would say, the football gods were displeased. Karma's a bitch and its going to catch up with Florida either next week or in the SEC championship. Hope it was worth it.

Christian Thoma said...

USC hasn't shown me anything yet this season

You do know they crushed Arkansas, right? Granted, first game of the season ... and with a different cast of characters for the Razorbacks. But they won.

As for 'they always beat Cal', well, you could make the same argument for Ohio State. Should yesterday's game not count since the Buckeyes always beat Michigan?

There's a reason the computers have USC so high, guys. Computers don't work on reputation.

I can understand why there's a couple biases against them here. We're sick of them, for one. And they're west coast, for two. And finally, they're not the SEC, for three. But right now they look like the team that's most deserving. And until that changes, you're going to need to get used to that idea.

Trey (formerly TF) said...

There is bias in the computer polls.

Do you really believe Rutgers was the best team in the country last week? The reason they were was the result of one win which the computers weighed over the others.

Joe(Dayton)

Brave Sir Robin said...

I don't know what USC's all-time record against Cal is, but to say Ohio State always beats Michigan (after that traumatizing run in the 90's that ruined my childhood) is just wrong.

Anonymous said...

@crth

wire to wire referring to #1 in the polls pre-season to end of regular season.

so much for your rutgers season eh? have to fall back to pulling for the buckeyes

Trey (formerly TF) said...

Does that rutgers loss bare good or BAD for the Big East?

Joe (Dayton)

TJ said...

And shame on Florida for running up the score in their game.

If this were in August, no one would care. What the hell. I dont get it. You can't start kneeling the ball in the 3rd quarter.

Actually, by dad wondered why we didn't just kick some field goals on 2nd or 3rd down when we got in decent range, to work out some of those kicking problems we've been having. I think something like that shows a lot less respect for a team than actually playing football against them.

Anonymous said...

Regardless of whether or not Michigan is the second best team in the country (and they are by a huge margin), they just lost the right to play in the title game, which is fine by me. The loser of the title game will likely be #3 in my book behind Michigan.

None of what I said has anything to do with my ladder rankings, as those are completely unbiased. This is my bias showing based on what I've seen. Remember, rankings don't necessarily resemble who's really better, merely who is having a better year. I think Michigan demolishes whomever they play in the Rose Bowl.

That said, new ladder rankings will be posted tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I'm sick of this "running up the score" crap. You take the 600,000 to come play at the swamp, you know you are going to get run over. I didn't watch a second of that game, and didn't care about it since they (Gators)were playing the SisOfPoorTechA&M.

They have to put up 50+ in that game or people would have said "lackluster" and "drop them in the polls".

It was Senior Day, so you can't blame FLA for playing their starters at their last home game. Then it was freshman roundup, and sorry to say that FLA's '06 class is better than the team that W.Car or most 1-AA teams can put out there on Saturdays.

Why isn't anyone yelling about ND beating on Army? At least Tebow threw as many passes as Leak; Quinn's backup (again, does he exist?) didn't make an attempt v. Army. 34-3 ND with about 12 to go in the 4th and Quinn is still throwing the ball trying to stat pad.

I think OSU starts the season v. Army next year. Can't wait to be challenged by one of ND's conference foes :P

Anonymous said...

I'd also like to give a big SCREW YOU to mike hart. He qualifies for the just shup up award. Way to lose with dignity you jackass.

Anonymous said...

*roughly* (since I can't find a quote online anywhere as yet)

...he cried for a rematch, neutral site, and said that if they played again Michigan would beat OSU since they would make better use of their opportunities on offense, and OSU's D was nothing special...

1) Lose with class
2) In a rematch I guess only Michigan would stop making mistakes? (funny how he forgets the 2 fumbles from our center)

3) Go Bucks!

Kevin said...

I'd say the opposite: it seems to me that OSU had the (much?) better team out there. OSU made several mistakes; UM played mistake-free ball and still lost.

I think the personal foul penalty on #2 on the failed 3rd and 16 attempt in 4th quarter qualifies as a pretty big mistake. That touchdown gave OSU a 2-possession lead. Wipeout that penalty and we have a fantastic finish to a great game.

Steve said...

The Sagarin ratings used for the BCS line up like this:

1 Ohio St.
2 USC
3 Michigan
4 Notre Dame
5 Arkansas
6 Wisconsin
7 Florida

Doesn't bode well for the SEC unless the humans really love them.

Christian Thoma said...

I think the personal foul penalty on #2 on the failed 3rd and 16 attempt in 4th quarter qualifies as a pretty big mistake.

Yeah, I wrote that poorly. I was thinking more on the offense side of the ball. OSU had a couple bone-headed penalties/mistakes on their defense side as well (also #2, thank God Henne overthrew the open receiver).

I wonder if the SEC is going to be penalized by the human polls for all their whining?

Spurrier to Miami? The mind boggles!

Christian Thoma said...

@geoff-detroit:

I think it was just his attitude, like the only reason OSU won was because it got lucky. He just sounded like a jerk.

@maher:

Still 50 days to go before we can say Wire-to-Wire.

Also, yeah, I guess I'll root for tOSU now. Shame though about Rutgers.

@everybody:

I do want to remind everyone that I was calling Wake Forest-Rutgers back after Week 3. If it happens in the Orange Bowl, that would be awesome (although National Championship would've better :P)

Unknown said...

to JHawkJim

This was not like WVU-UL. Everyone scores and gets yards against WVU and UL. Noone had done either against UM or OSU to this point.
So yes, it is very easy to say that it was due to fantastic offenses...and not poor defenses.

jhawkjjm said...

I still stand by the shame on Florida. If you reread my original post then you'll see that I criticize Florida for running up the score by still THROWING the ball up 50 points. I have no problem if you keep running the ball to keep the clock moving and still happen to score. But to keep throwing the ball and trying to score is bad sportsmanship. But I will back off of it a little bit as looking at the play by play, in the 4th quarter they did run the majority of the time, except for throwing a touchdown pass to make it 62-0. But I won't say its all good because in the third up 41-0 with about 8 mins left they come out passing. (ironically scoring with a rushing TD)

The computers don't factor in the margin of victory. And before you go off, yes I realize that humans do. But in a human's eyes the difference between 48-0 and 61-0 is not that much against a low quality opponent. Michigan rightfully was criticized for only beating Ball St 17-10. Had they won 35-10 there's no talk.

And this is not an anti-florida thing (this particular arguement). I have zero respect for schools that schedule patsies and then run up big scores unnecessarily. That's why I little respect for some schools who do (or did this): Nebraska, Spurrier's gators, Florida St, Miami, Texas. And tf said it up in post #2 (another thing I hate about big football schools): "Hey Florida called over 40 teams to schedule them...we contacted Army, Navy, Middle Tennessee State, Temple, etc to play 1 game at the Swamp WITHOUT A RETURN DATE" That last part is the part I hate. Grow a pair and play a non-conference game on the road and stop bitching about the lost revenue from not having that 7th or 8th home game. There's 12 games on schedule, it should be 6 home and 6 road.

And Notre Dame was criticized by many when they ran a fake punt/field goal when they were up big on Penn St in September. The next week they got stomped by Michigan. "Trifle not with the football gods"

Unknown said...

I'm still waiting for the two Manninghams. I wonder if they are still trying to find excuses for why Manningham dropped 3-4 balls?

Trey (formerly TF) said...

jhawkjim,

You do know the reason Florida isn't number 2 in the country right now is because people have said their offense isn't good enough to hang. Yes, it was a I-AA team, and yes it wasn't going to overwhelm the voters. Right now though Florida needs ANYTHING they can get to ahead.

Further, Were you complaining when Kansas was throwing in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter against NWern State?

Kerry Meier pass complete to Jake Sharp for 4 yards to the Kans 40.

Kerry Meier pass complete to Jake Sharp for 3 yards to the Kans 38.

Those were the last two plays of the game.

Finally ignore the fact that there was 2 passes thrown in the 4th quarter out of 14 plays. The 1st pass was the 1st play of the 4th and the second pass was short, WCU just didn't stop Riley Cooper.

Joe (Dayton)

Christian Thoma said...

Did you guys see that the Pick 4 number in Ohio last night was 4239?

Spooky!

Trey (formerly TF) said...

About Florida's football scheduling. Ya, we didn't give a return date to UAB or Middle Tennessee State. You know why? Not because we're scared, but because it's not worth the financial loss. There were 90,226 people at the game yesterday to see UF take on WCU. There would be 90,000+ there to watch UF play a taco salad if it were lined up.

Florida has schedule some tough opponents over the next few years (you can't neglect that we play FSU every year) We have tougher "BCS Schools" scheduled in the future; Miami in 2008, USF in 2009 and 2010, Miami in 2013.

Florida has a top 10 schedule with WCU on the schedule anyway.

Christian Thoma said...

Coaches' Poll is out.

USC to 2nd, as expected. But Michigan only dropped to 3rd, bumping Florida down a spot to 4th.

Other big news: Arkansas and Notre Dame swapped spots.

Only team that dropped out was Maryland; Hawaii is now ranked.

TJ said...

Big surprise in the coaches' poll, with Arkansas over ND. Someone get over the Charlie Weiss's house quick--he's probably having a stroke.

As for UF at #4--screw Cal. Had Cal beat USC we'd be #2. Oh well. Go ND. And go Arkansas. And go Gators.

Trey (formerly TF) said...

Rutgers got smacked around by a team that was smacked around by Ohio State and beaten handedly by VT.

They were a product of a terrible schedule and one miraculous night in New Jersey when the team found a way to beat a really good Louisville team.

Joe(Dayton)

TJ said...

Spurrier what-now? Honestly, even though it'd get him out of the conference, which would be good, I'd feel really bad for South Carolina fans--especially with the school just approving a major facilities upgrade.

TJ said...

smacked around by Ohio State

Actually I think you mean "gave Ohio State fits and has lost to good teams."

Christian Thoma said...

Rutgers has nothing to worry about. They beat WVU, they move ahead of Louisville. They don't beat WVU, then they don't deserve to move ahead.

Christian Thoma said...

Also, Spurrier has denied the rumors of going to Miami.

Trey (formerly TF) said...

Give OSU fits for a 1/2, Ohio State pulled away Cincy is a decent team that should finish 7-5.

Before last night, however, Cincy had beaten only 1 bowl team, USF.

"#2/3" Teams in the country don't lose to Cincinnati by 19.

Joe (Dayton)

Christian Thoma said...

AP looks the same as the Coaches' for the top 6 except it kept Michigan in the #2 slot (by only a few votes). However, a solid USC win over Notre Dame should push them past UM.

Christian Thoma said...

(not that the AP counts in the BCS)

Trey (formerly TF) said...

I know Michigan and Ohio State played a great game and both are good team. If I was a Michigan fan I'd probably be pushing for a rematch too.

However, Michigan got their shot and they lost.

I hear guys like Herbstreit who are very influental on the voting process saying last night that there is no doubt in his mind that Michigan is the number 2 team and deserve a rematch.(I think Herbie is the BEST analyst out there on most occassions)

How do we know USC isn't better, if they win out they will have played a hard enough schedule. How do we know Florida isn't better, if they win out they will have played a tough schedule.

I can see the arguments for ND (loss to Mich) and Ark (loss to USC).

But to just assume Michigan played OSU close, so they have to be #2 and deserve a rematch is just a little too skewed.

Michigan lost, let someone else have a shot at the team that is clearly the best in the country.

Joe (Dayton)

Jared said...

It would be absurd/indefensible for ND to beat USC and jump UM.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else notice that if the there is a rematch in the BCS championship, the Rose Bowl will get the first pick of eligible teams to replace OSU and will most likely pick Notre Dame. So you'll most likely have to not only see OSU-Michigan again but also ND-USC.

Daniel said...

It looks like what has Michigan still at #2 in the BCS are the close margins with USC in the two polls and the computers keeping UM at #2 in their rankings. My question is whether USC has to beat ND, UM and USC's like opponent, by a greater margin/more convincingly than UM to get a bigger margin in the polls. I say this is going to be tough, and why would a close win over ND, the same team UM dominated, get them any votes from the pollsters?

Secondly, I agree with the philosophy that you can judge a team by its losses. USC's loss to Oregon St. is much more detrimental than Michigan's loss to Ohio St. So, assuming a USC win over ND, you have in order Michigan, USC, Notre Dame, and the SEC Champ.

Christian Thoma said...

The problem is that if ND loses to USC, it'll hurt UM's strength of schedule, which may drop it in enough computers to get USC over them.

Josh said...

Let's say hypothetically that there is a rematch.

Are OSU fans willing to lay it on the line and give Michigan their title if the Wolverines are victorious?

I am imagining a scenario where OSU fans bitch about a Michigan loss, something along the lines of, well now we are 1-1 against them.

To be clear, not saying that Michigan wins. Just IF they do, are OSU fans willing to concede that Mich are the champs?

john (east lansing, mi) said...

If the BCS formula sends Michigan into a rematch and Michigan wins, OSU fans had better give Michigan credit for beating OSU on a field that wasn't falling apart.


Oh, by the way:

One word for you, Ohio Stadium - FieldTurf.

Christian Thoma said...

I think what some people aren't realizing is that Glendale will be Home Field for the Buckeyes. They've been in Arizona now 4 of the last 5 years.

It wouldn't surprise me if some fans have just moved there in advance.

Christian Thoma said...

Here's an idea:

if UM beats OSU in a rematch and it's close, the AP should vote for OSU while the Coaches/BCS should choose UM :D

Travis said...

chrth..

If USC wins against ND and then UCLA there ahead of Michigan theres no way u can justify them not being there even moreso if Arkansas wins the SEC championship against Florida.

Christian Thoma said...

travis:

I agree. USC wins out, they should be in the championship game. If Florida only has one loss, they may have an argument with them.

Russell said...

Huge Michigan Homer Alert.

USC wins out, they are the only team I will give legitimate claim to a shot at the game in Glensdale.

Regardless of how it plays out, there will be some seriously great Bowling this season!!

Travis said...

F;lorida has no argument over USC if they both win out. USC played top 10's ND and Arkansas and a top 25 Nebraska team. Who did Florida play out of conference?

Christian Thoma said...

I'm sure Florida will claim that the SEC is a tougher conference than the Pac-10. Remember, I said they 'may' have an argument.

Trey (formerly TF) said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Trey (formerly TF) said...

Well Travis you cannot ignore the win @ Tennessee (who smoked Cal), the win v. LSU (top 10 at the moment), and the possible (knock on wood) win over Arkansas...

Is it really our fault that FSU is so bad this year?

I agree USC SHOULD get the nod over UF if it comes down to it. To say there is no argument though?

Joe (Dayton)

Anonymous said...

While I agree about us needing field turf this year, it isn't OSU's fault that Ohio had record rainfall for October (you should see my backyard), and in the end both teams had to play on it.

Did you see the BGSU/Toledo game? THEY needed field turf.

as for a rematch, when you play in a double elim tourney in all sports, there is usually a time when the championship game is a -0 v. -1. in that case, the team with one loss has to win twice to win the whole thing...I'm all for a rematch v. UM on 1/9, provided that if UM pulls out the W we would play again on say, 2/18 to decide it all.

Christian Thoma said...

I never understood complaining about field conditions. This is a sport that is played in a downpour or blizzard, and people are up in arms over a few pieces of sod?

Christian Thoma said...

Well, well, well. Look who's whining now. I'll give you once guess which conference made this quote:


[Whiner] said Sunday a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State would be cause for immediate change to the BCS.

"If that does happen, all the [university] presidents need to get together immediately and put together a playoff system," he said. "I mean like now, January or whenever to get that done."

Steve said...

The SEC?

Christian Thoma said...

Steve wins!

You know which team has the biggest complaint about the BCS right now? Ohio State. They have defeated all comers this season--including two #2s--they're the only major undefeated team (sorry, Boise State fans). Heck, in the old system, it's already OSU v USC, with the national championship going to the winner. Who needs the BCS?

Unknown said...

my only problem is exactly what i stated last week

i want the two best teams to play for the championship

that makes it michigan and ohio st.

after seeing that game you would be hard pressed to say michigan isn't the second best team in the country

not that i think they could beat ohio state, those two fumbles were gifts and they still couldn't pull it off

but i have a problem if they play again and michigan wins

how's that fair? now it's a split and 1 team is the national champ and the other is just really good

i also foresee a possible GIGANTIC BCS MELTOWN PROBLEM if notre dame beats USC

i saw this coming before the ohio st./michigan game because if michigan won you would have the possibility of a notre dame/michigan rematch which would be stupid cause michigan beat up notre dame or if ohio state won (which is what happend) you woould have the possibility of the win over USC pushed notre dame past michigan for the 2nd spot which would be bad cause michigan would lose to notre dame on paper after they beat them in an acual game

Christian Thoma said...

@guyinthecorner:

I think a ND win over USC keeps Michigan at #2 in the BCS. The voters seem a little smarter about the top this year, and I don't think many would do something as egregious as putting ND over UM.

jhawkjjm said...

tf,

I guess I should take it as a compliment that you are putting KU in the same category as Florida. Thanks! And there's a difference between playing a I-AA in the 1st game of the year with a freshman quarterback than playing a 1-AA as the #3 team in the country at the end of the year. But yeah, I wasn't overly thrilled when KU did that either. But once again, thanks for putting KU in the same class as Florida!

Florida deserves the criticism for their offense, they're not very good. But showing it off against a 1-AA school doesn't show anybody anything. Hell, play a team like Kansas, a low to mid tier Major conference team. That will leave more of an impression than doing it against a 1-AA school.

joe (livonia, mi) - care to explain how I win that award? Is it simply because I criticized Florida? Kind of low standards to the award.

Anonymous said...

I'd be willing to bet that some no-name local access cable TV channel "journalist" who happens to know a Miami booster was told that they'd like to see a guy like Spurrier run that program and clean it up.

Next thing you know the story has snowballed into Spurrier having already packed his bags and accepting the job yesterday.

OF COURSE Miami would like to have Spurrier. I would imagine any self-respecting school would want a coach the calibur of Spurrier.

Shame on the ESPN journalist that ran with this story and proclaimed it to be fact. Even if the story later ends up being true, the journalism has been shoddy at best.