2013 NCAA Football Thread

[ummmm........]

Would you think they have "played anybody" if they had played Vanderbilt or Tennessee or Mississippi?

No, none of those would count either. When comparing top tier teams, you look at the best wins and losses and throw the rest out. Oklahoma will count

AP poll out - 4 legacy SEC schools ranked, 7 legacy Big 12 teams ranked. Looks like Colorado got relegated to the wrong conference.

Or the Big XII held on to the wrong school . . .

New rankings are out. Really mind blown at how much Mizzou and Auburn jumped, but i'm truly mystified as to how little SCAR actually dropped. If I was a voter, I wouldn't even have them in the Top 30.

Auburn is still behind A&M in the SID's poll, and UCF is still behind Louisville in the AP, which makes even less sense . . .

Alabama fun fact! We punted nine times in the season opener vs. VaTech, and have punted sixteen times since . . .

 

[downtown]

Louisville really shouldn't even be in the Top 25 at all, let alone above of UCF. SIDs don't watch football.

 

[madviking]

The SEC East All-Injured Team

QB - James Franklin, Mizzou
RB - Todd Gurley, UGA
RB - Matt Jones, UF
WR - Malcolm Mitchell, UGA
WR - Justin Scott-Wesley, UGA
OL - Chaz Green, UF
TE - Colin Thompson, UF
DT - Dominique Easley, UF
DT - Kelcy Quarles, USC
NG - Damien Jacobs, UF
DE - Ronald Powell, UF
MLB - Chase Garnham, Vandy
OLB - Matt Rolin, UF
OLB - Darrin Kitchens, UF
LB - Jeremi Powell, UF
CB - EJ Gaines, Mizzou
CB - Nick Washington, UF
S - Tray Matthews, UGA
S - Josh Harvey-Clemons, UGA
KR - Andre Debose, UF
Bench:
QB - Jeff Driskel, UF; Connor Shaw, USC; Austyn Carta-Samuels, Vandy
WR - Michael Bennett, UGA; Chris Conley, UGA
RB - Keith Marshall, UGA
TE - Kent Taylor, UF

 

[dgfred]

I'll admit, I stopped watching at 28-7. I used up all my faith on UNC last night. Glad to see UCF pull it out at the end though . . .

EDIT: I've been fixated on FSU/Clemson and then the weeknight games this week, but there's a lot of good football tomorrow before FSU/Clemson kicks off. I did mention Missouri/Florida in the early slot. It may not be exciting football but it will put one team in sole possession of their own destiny in the division. Then in the second slot we've got A&M/Auburn and UCLA/Stanford playing simultaneously . . .

Florida St... dang .

Big Game Boyd

What a horrible start for Clemson... and it didn't get much better.

UNC did OK... it was probably only a matter of time anyway.

Go WAKE!

 

[MacAttack]

The SEC East All-Injured Team

You can add Johnny Manziel to that roster too...

 

[madviking]

You can add Johnny Manziel to that roster too...

SEC East

---

Did anyone see Jameis' comments after the game? I love him

 

[Wrymouth3]

What a horrible start for Clemson... and it didn't get much better.

Have a weird feeling that it's going to continue for them the rest of the season, and Dabo is going to fire another fall man. Also, did anybody see UVA giving up 35 unanswered points after leading 22-0? I understand that Mike London has hired a new OC and DC this year, but it doesn't look like that is the answer.

 

[MacAttack]

Besides the awful defense and untimely turnovers by A&M, but this looks like a horsecollar to me. This was the second to last play of the game. I was there and I saw the ref look right at it. Nothing. If you look at his legs, Johnny Manziel could have been seriously injured. What kind of message is this sending?

Had this been called, it would have been half the distance to the goal, 1st down and a shot at saving national title hopes.

Players, coaches, athletic directors, general managers, even team owners have to answer for the short comings of their teams. Whether it is on or off the field issues. My question is, why do referees get exempt? As an A&M fan, I would be satisfied if a referee went to the microphone and addressed it and showed remorse for the no call. But noooo, we don't even get a statement from the league! And league execs wonder why some passionate fans try to seek out these guys....

 

[ummmm........]

Yeah, it was a bad no-call, but bad calls and no-calls are part of the game, just like bad plays by players and bad decisions by coaches. And refs are held accountable. They're graded out every week and it affects their future assignments . . .

 

[Wrymouth3]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9863793/clemson-tigers-florida-state-seminoles-even

Over/under on Clemson accepting a bid to the 2013 Olive Garden Never Ending Pasta Bowl? Also it appears a bunch of stuff is coming out about Tajh Boyd owing an insane amount of gambling debts which he accumulated with embezzled money. Stay tuned for the NCAA hammer college football fans!

 

[downtown]

I don't have a huge problem with that statement. Vegas had the game within 4 points for a reason. Florida State probably isn't 40 something points better than Clemson 10 times out of 10....a lot of things just went really right for one squad, and really wrong for the other.

Any thoughts on Miami's sanctions? A lot of dumber OSU fans were complaining, but given the problems with the investigation, a defacto 2 year bowl ban (including forgoing one chance for an ACC title) and a loss of 9 scholarships feels fair.

 

[ummmm........]

I guess when I think about what actually happened it seems like Miami should have been punished more severely, but like you said, with what the NCAA had it was probably the best they could do . . .

 

[Azale]

Had this been called, it would have been half the distance to the goal, 1st down and a shot at saving national title hopes.

This team will be lucky to make another Cotton Bowl. Our defense is godawful, it is truly ridiculous. It reminds me of Michigan defense under Greg Robinson.

 

[ummmm........]

I thought you were a Texas fan . . .

 

[Azale]

I thought you were a Texas fan . . .

Yea, but then A&M accepted me to their grad program. It's the least I can do to cheer for their football team

 

[ummmm........]

Yeah, I knew you were at A&M, but I didn't know your allegiance was so easily purchased

 

[JollyRoger]

I could never imagine rooting for Texas or A&M, grad school or not. If there was a way to hit them both with a Craig James connection, I would.

 

[Wrymouth3]

Greg Robinson.

Hey! That complete dumbass of a head coach is now the DC for Mack Brown! Talk about a disaster.

 

[Azale]

Yeah, I knew you were at A&M, but I didn't know your allegiance was so easily purchased

The only thing I'm buying is trouble. The program wants to be big time, it is going to have to withstand a disappointing season and open season on their HC (Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, USC, and the NFL). Maybe Manziel stays and everything is fixed, but its not likely. Sumlin's krew better learn how to coach defense as well as he recruits it.

Now I feel like the guy in that one episode of Seinfeld who converts to Judaism so he can get away with saying Jewish jokes.

 

[ummmm........]

Well, you've linked to the 2013 & 2014 recruiting classes. A&M's DC said before the season started that he knew he didn't have a defense that was built to compete in the SEC this year. Those classes hope to remedy that. They'll never be an elite defense with Sumlin's offensive philosophy, but as long as he can keep that offense clicking, they won't have to be. How he will do post-Manziel is up for debate, but I imagine it will be at least as well as he did pre-Manziel at Houston, or as well as Malzahn is doing at Auburn without Cam Newton.

Whether Sumlin will stay at A&M seems like the greater concern to me. I don't think Oklahoma or Georgia would come calling, but the others you mentioned may be possibilities. But then think who A&M could get as a replacement. They're playing with the big boys now, and raking in record cash as a result. They're in prime recruiting ground and they've got an edge over Texas at the moment, so they could leverage that. I think A&M is in a position to become a real power in the SEC and therefore the country.

The only potential stumbling block I see is if the playoff committee proves unwilling to allow more than one team from a single conference to join the playoff party. That would result in talent -- both player and coach -- migrating from the many great programs in the SEC to the best team in each conference. If only the best team from each conference can advance it's better to be the best team in a second tier conference than the second best team in a first tier conference.

That would result in a much worse regular season, as most teams with a shot at the national title would mow down all their conference 'rivals' without too much trouble. Because that would be the result, I don't think it's what the playoff committee will do. But it is a risk.

I'm still hoping all this leads to Saban and Formaldehyde's solution of a smaller top division that only plays among itself. But then, I'm a dreamer. Me and Kermit. And Lennon. But mostly Kermit . . .