College Football

[Bastet]

I guess the stench of Saban takes more than a season to wear off; with him gone, I have no reason to root against Alabama (no reason to root for them, but no reason to root against them; they can go back to being a team I don't pay attention to, like the rest of the SEC).  And I'm not a Michigan fan.  But damn if I wasn't giddy when Alabama lost.

[mojoween]

I do have to say that Saban’s Vrbo ads make me laugh.  “No fun.” “Yes coach.”

[roamyn]

2 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

Although Bama's bowl game was a disappointment, I'm happy for the other SEC teams who won theirs.   🙂

Who?  Missouri?

Say it with me now...S E C! S E C!  😆😆

Edited January 1 by roamyn
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[Chit Chat]

13 minutes ago, roamyn said:

Who?  Missouri?

LSU; Florida; Arkansas; Vanderbilt; Texas (first round). 

[roamyn]

10 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

LSU; Florida; Arkansas; Vanderbilt; Texas (first round). 

I forgot abt Vandy.

How many B1G/SEC matches has the SEC won?

[Chit Chat]

27 minutes ago, roamyn said:

How many B1G/SEC matches has the SEC won?

I have no idea!!  🫠

[mojoween]

I have less than zero interest in anything Arizona State does, and I love the Manning family and Chris Simms and I inexplicably rooted against USC in that game that one time, but I cannot root for Texas.

[roamyn]

15 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

I have no idea!!  🫠

4-1 B1G v SEC this bowl season (so far.  Tho I don't see Penn St beating GA if the latter makes the semis)

[mojoween]

I wondered about the logistics of putting on a football game in New Orleans tonight; it has been postponed to tomorrow.

[roamyn]

31 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I wondered about the logistics of putting on a football game in New Orleans tonight; it has been postponed to tomorrow.

What a damn shame for the teams who now have one less day aft the game to prep for the Semis, who will probably be trepidatious before during & after the game, and the focus will be the tragedy rather than a celebration of two good teams.

But nothing compares to the loss the families & friends of the victims are going thru.

[Bastet]

Doink!

Texas/Arizona St. goes to OT.

I don't have much hope of Arizona St. pulling this out, but I didn't think they'd get this close, so we'll see.  (I don't care about them, but I hate Texas, so ...)

[mojoween]

That “targeting haha no it isn’t” call was straight BULLSHIT.  Fuck Texas.

[NUguy514]

I hate Texas, but if Arizona State was dumb enough to blitz and leave a receiver WIDE FUCKING OPEN in the end zone on 4th and 13, then they deserved to lose this game.  What a waste of a great comeback.

[AimingforYoko]

I was rooting for Arizona St, but I'm kinda glad Texas got their kicker off the hook. Poor kid would've had to leave Austin.

[roamyn]

I don't want to hear any pundits complain how AzSt didn't deserve a bye.  That was a great game!

[mojoween]

I know this is not popular, but I am rooting for Ohio State to win the whole shebang because the fury at Ryan Day’s record against Michigan vs. his record against everyone else is hilarious.

[twoods]

I guess Ohio State is avenging its earlier loss to Oregon. Way to show up, Oregon. Blah.

[roamyn]

2 minutes ago, twoods said:

I guess Ohio State is avenging its earlier loss to Oregon. Way to show up, Oregon. Blah.

It's only the first half.

But can Jeremiah Smith never leave college?

[twoods]

It’s already 24-0. I think it’s over. Ohio State looks very good and don’t know who can beat them at this point. 

Edited January 1 by twoods

[Bastet]

For me, all these games are about rooting against teams - Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State - and so far things are not going at all well.  I most wanted Oregon to win, and so far they're not even playing.

[Salacious Kitty]

Way to shit the bed, Oregon. Good god. 

[mojoween]

Chris Fowler - [Oregon has] to come out for the second half, it’s not optional.

[AimingforYoko]

4 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Chris Fowler - [Oregon has] to come out for the second half, it’s not optional.

Nah, they can forfeit.

So, if The OSU ends up winning the NC, Day will get a big extension...with a clause that will void the contract if they lose to Michigan again.

[roamyn]

I started that game aged 60, but that 2nd half left me leaving it 67.

Cam Skatteboo was named Offensive MVP of the Peach Bowl.  That's never happened in 26 years of the Peach Bowl where a losing team's player wins MVP.

Edited January 2 by roamyn

[Calvada]

I'm not surprised Oregon lost.  I doubted their status as the #1 team since they struggled to beat Wisconsin.  I know, any given day, yada yada yada, but a team that could only score 16 points on Wisconsin is not the best team in the country.  I say this as a Wisconsin season ticket holder.

[mojoween]

Question for those in the know - did yesterday’s games determine the semifinals?  I’m just curious why Notre Dame/Georgia was the last scheduled game yesterday if Penn State played Tuesday.

[Carey]

Feels like the bracket and the lack of reseeding may have determined the Playoff Final.  At least one half of it.

Not to sound like one who thinks there's a conspiracy going on (that means here comes yours truly emulating a sour spectator).  The thing is that I think this is Penn State's tournament to lose.  It's easy to say so now, but I've thought of that not only upon the release of the bracket, but over the past couple of years prior to present time.

While it's not their fault that Georgia is down this year big time, probably not cool to treat them like the top seed.  Sure they were close, but man!  It'll help that Ohio State & Texas have to beat each other up like Georgia & Notre Dame.

That is a fair question mojoween.  That is odd that someone is getting an extra day to prepare.  I'd probably flip the semi games around at this point

[AimingforYoko]

So now you're going to have teams intentionally losing their conference championship games (unless they need the auto-bid) to avoid the bye.

[NUguy514]

This final four?

[Carey]

For what it's worth, it probably helped that the teams that actually got the byes weren't the best teams.


Anyway, it'll be Notre Dame, who opens action favored by 1.5, against Penn State at the Orange Bowl one week from today, and Texas against Ohio State, who's favored by 5.5.  That's the Cotton Bowl, scheduled for one week from Friday

[mojoween]

6 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

This final four?

Heh.  I actually like Ohio State and Notre Dame, but I also went to a DIII school that just started a football team this century.  So I have likes and dislikes for all sorts of random reasons.

Also also you can tell me that Texas is in the SEC, but they don’t feel like a SEC team.

Edited January 3 by mojoween

[roamyn]

1 hour ago, Carey said:

The thing is that I think this is Penn State's tournament to lose. 

Just curious why you might think that?  I agree that they're playing ell, but it helps they had the easiest route.

And yes, I know I'm prejudiced, but no one's playing as dominant as tOSU right now.

Texas is sloppy, ND won that game due to defense & special teams.

It would be great (to me) for a B1G Final.

[Carey]

12 minutes ago, roamyn said:

Just curious why you might think that?  I agree that they're playing ell, but it helps they had the easiest route.

Because I cannot ever have nice things

[Bastet]

21 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

So now you're going to have teams intentionally losing their conference championship games (unless they need the auto-bid) to avoid the bye.

Yeah, this new playoff system certainly has something to say about the "rest vs. rust" argument regarding byes. 

I'm out for the semis and the championship; I'd rather watch a sewer line drain for four hours than see any of these four teams win.

Edited Friday at 10:24 PM by Bastet

[Carey]

All due respect, that would make for an interesting halftime show.  Furthermore, there is ample history that a halftime show is more interesting than the game itself.

[Stats Queen]

On 12/28/2024 at 7:26 PM, Chit Chat said:

Are the announcers getting a commission every time they say "pop tarts?"  They sure seem extra excited about it! 

I think that was because it was it was silly fun and highly entertaining- nothing political or divisive these days is so needed.

Edited Sunday at 01:58 AM by Stats Queen

[Chit Chat]

25 minutes ago, Stats Queen said:

I think that was because it was it was silly fun and highly entertaining- nothing political or divisive these days is so needed.

I'm glad people enjoyed it.  I was done with it after about 10 minutes!  😏

[Stats Queen]

My thoughts (I’m a GA Bulldog who had too much wine - I’m not driving, so that’s important to note - had a rough few weeks moving my dad into healthcare)

1. I think that in the first year of the expanded playoffs they should have started with 8 not 12 teams (that ship has sailed)

2. The seedings and who gets the byes needs to be reconsidered.

3. Someone will always complain if their team was left out of playoff consideration.

4. One point of an expanded playoff was to give teams, no matter their conference, a chance to vie for the title. The results showed that some teams (esp. Arizona State) deserved the opportunity to compete.

5. The tragedy in New Orleans was awful and disturbing.

6. Notre Dame played an amazing game and kudos to Marcus Freeman. I can’t stand Notre Dame (my hubby went to Purdue, it’s in our marriage contract), but I like him.

7. This was not a GA championship season, it was a bizarre series of events that actually got us to the SEC championship game.

8. Ohio State is on fire- not sure anyone can beat them. They have the talent (well, they did pay the most for that, but still) Michigan is Ohio State’s Achilles heel which kept them out of contention before the expanded playoffs.

9. I think the transfer portal is so messed up, No one should be able to transfer until the end of the championship season.

10. NIL was great in theory but in execution it is a huge mess. 

11. I don’t like the direction college football is going - it’s supposed to be about cheering for your school - not a greedy money grab by players, schools and rich fans.

12. The Pop Tarts Bowl is the best thing for college football this year and I will die on that statement.

[Carey]

To officially respond to roamyn on why I think Penn State can win 2 more games: "It only takes one"

Well, 2 games.  They have to beat Notre Dame first.  I think I like their chances even though the latter is playing very, very well.  That defense might be enough to conquer PSU.  Might have to be since many can't do anything offensively.  Helps that the Big 10 runners-up have 2 days to prepare, but that's more of an excuse than a reason.

Penn State can win big games.  Their record isn't great, but it's not empty either.  2016 happened (and yeah, the schedule was favorable too).  Ohio State, who has owned them more often than not, would be their only obstacle.  Kind of comes full circle for PSU since they've sorta been snubbed a lot over the past 3 and a half decades.

Finally, it's not automatic that OSU gets to the end.  Otherwise, ITA; they're playing some great football.  If that holds, their final 2 projected games might end around halftime

[Chit Chat]

11 hours ago, Stats Queen said:

3. Someone will always complain if their team was left out of playoff consideration.

Agreed, and Saban said the same thing years ago when it went to a 4-team playoff.  He was responding to people who were left out of it at that time.  Basically, no matter how many teams are in it, the ones just outside of the bracket will be mad.

11 hours ago, Stats Queen said:

8. Ohio State is on fire- not sure anyone can beat them.

A couple of weeks ago, Saban mentioned that he thought Ohio State was a complete team and would be hard to beat.  It's shaping up that way, but we'll see how it all shakes out!  Notre Dame looked good in their last game.  Texas didn't play as well in their last game as I've seen them play in others.  So, I'm not sure about them.

I heartily agree with #9-11!  I worry about the future of college football.  I could easily tune out though if college football craps all over itself and ruins it.  

Stats Queen, I can empathize with what you're going through with your dad.  All the best to you and your family.  Also, I hated to hear that Kirby Smart's dad passed away.  I saw a nice tribute to him on FB.  

[roamyn]

19 hours ago, Stats Queen said:

Ohio State is on fire- not sure anyone can beat them. They have the talent (well, they did pay the most for that, but still) Michigan is Ohio State’s Achilles heel which kept them out of contention before the expanded playoffs.

They actually didn't pay the most.  They're 3rd highest behind OR (23M) and TX (22.2M).

8 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

Stats Queen, I can empathize with what you're going through with your dad. 

Me too, @Stats Queen. We had to go back to Cleveland this summer to move my dad into full care.  And on our way up, he fell and broke his leg, needing surgery.