College Football 2012

[Caligula]

The SEC title game was a heartstopper, for sure. Anyone who still thinks Georgia isn't the real deal is just kidding themselves. I wish they could get better than the Cotton Bowl. They're clearly better than the Florida Gators (and proved as much on the field)! The Big Ten championship game just about had my eyes bugging out of my head. I would have been surprised enough by a Wisconsin victory, but I never thought I would see the Cornhuskers as thoroughly humiliated. 70-31?!

As far as dramatics go, I've gotta give a shoutout to a local high school game. The finish to the Class 6A Tennessee HS State Final between Maryville and Whitehaven actually outdid the ending to the Alabama/Georgia game, in my opinion. With about a minute left, Maryville had scored a touchdown to bring the game to within a one-point margin, 28-27. In what I thought was an uncharacteristically risky move on their part, the Rebels went for two and seemed to have converted and won the game.... but they were flagged for an ineligible receiver in the end zone. So they kick the PAT instead and it's off OT. Or is it? Whitehaven powers their way downfield and seem positioned to steal it in regulation. But, without any timeouts, the Tigers' QB forgets to spike the ball and the clock keeps moving. They try a running play instead, Maryville holds, and the clock runs out. Seems like the kind of thing LSU would do, doesn't it? In OT, Maryville goes first and scores with ease. A PAT after and it's 35-28, Maryville. Whitehaven also has little trouble making it into the end zone. But the Tigers decide they're gonna go for the win. The Tigers either really fake the Rebels defense out or simply performed one of the best examples of goal line blocking I've ever seen, because their RB walks into the end zone for the winning two-point conversion. FINAL SCORE: Whitehaven 36, Maryville 35.

Maryville HS has been an insanely good football team for as long as I can remember, and have piled up State title after State title, not to mention assembling incredible winning streaks along the way. They went on a 74-game winning streak in the 2000's. Friday night's loss broke a 43-game winning streak for the Rebels. Definitely one of the crazier finishes I've seen to any football game on any level. I must say I'm pleased with the outcome. As an alumnus of Knoxville Central HS, Maryville might as well be Notre Dame in terms of how much I loathe them. Incidentally, their band plays the same fight song as the Fighting Irish....

[Starbreaker]

Jacksonville State University just told their coach for the last 13 years, Jack Crowe to get out of town and also fired all of his assistants. Three conference championships (two shared) and no playoff wins in three tries - including an embarrassing loss to Furman in 2004. It's not a secret he is a raging alcoholic and regularly threw his players under the bus after poor coaching decisions.

I remember in 2010 when he could have easily won a game at the end of regulation by kicking a field goal, but forgot to call a time out. He still won the game in OT, but I realized how horrible of a coach he was then. And run it up the middle, run it up the middle, two yard shovel pass, punt! got old quickly.

The only good win on his resume was that fluke victory again Ole Miss. He was so close with Florida State that one year, and has held his own against Arkansas, GA Tech, and Florida. But when it comes to obviously inferior FCS opponents, he could either barely win the game or get clobbered by a horrible team.

I'm not saying that we should be going undefeated every year, but with the talent and the facilities that we have we should be making some deep playoff runs most of the time. The administration wants to make a move to the FBS level soon, so this is a step in the right direction.

[Kronos]

Caligula wrote:

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The SEC title game was a heartstopper, for sure. Anyone who still thinks Georgia isn't the real deal is just kidding themselves. I wish they could get better than the Cotton Bowl. They're clearly better than the Florida Gators (and proved as much on the field)!

South Carolina is clearly better then Georgia and deserves a better bowl game, and Texas A&M is better then Alabama so they should be in the title game.

The pups knew they had no BCS shot if they lost, it's on them.

[tighr]

The BCS is an absolute joke.

Easy way to fix the problems: In order to accept your conference auto-bid, you also have to rank in the top 16. That would fix the Louisville and Wisconsin BS. I'm not so upset with NIU (they did what they were supposed to do), but getting into a big game when you barely finish the season over .500 is a joke.

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Not too different than last year in the NFL, when the AFC West champ was 8-8 (out of three 8-8 teams).

[tighr]

Ar-Festivus wrote:

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^ Not too different than last year in the NFL, when the AFC West champ was 8-8 (out of three 8-8 teams).

That has more to do with a 16 team conference sending 6 teams to the postseason, actually. And, there's no restriction on how many wildcard teams a division can send. With two spots, one division could (and has) fill both spots. I remember a season where the Colts won their division, and the Titans and Jaguars were the wildcard teams.

There are 120 FBS schools, and only 10 spots in BCS games. Plus, once your conference has sent two teams, the rest of the teams in your conference are all excluded, even if there are available "at-large" spots still unfilled.

[Kronos]

It will only get worse when they go to the playoff, no rankings or polls, just a committee, likely corrupt, picking who goes where.

Sounds like a blast.

[Neroon]

Well, at least then they'll have an answer to the Northern Illinois problem.

[tighr]

The problem I have is with any conference getting auto-bids. They should all be at-large. The so called "Big 6" conferences (really, its only 4 anyway) would all typically get at least one team in anyway, so the fact that they have guaranteed spots is what makes these matchups terrible.

Louisville? WISCONSIN?!? At least Florida State looks good on paper...

[Ar-Pharazon]

tighr wrote:

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That has more to do with a 16 team conference sending 6 teams to the postseason, actually. And, there's no restriction on how many wildcard teams a division can send. With two spots, one division could (and has) fill both spots. I remember a season where the Colts won their division, and the Titans and Jaguars were the wildcard teams.

There are 120 FBS schools, and only 10 spots in BCS games. Plus, once your conference has sent two teams, the rest of the teams in your conference are all excluded, even if there are available "at-large" spots still unfilled.

There was also that year the NFC North sent 3 teams to the playoffs.

I was responding more to the shitty team making it in when other, much better teams are not.

This whole BCS thing really confuses me, but then, so did the old way.

[SmoothieX]

tighr wrote:

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The problem I have is with any conference getting auto-bids. They should all be at-large. The so called "Big 6" conferences (really, its only 4 anyway) would all typically get at least one team in anyway,

I'll watch the occasional game on a Saturday afternoon if it's a couple of evenly matched teams, but I'm no big college football fan.

I'll take the Big East and ACC in hoops any day of the week, pigskin not so much. Hell, my alma mater is one of the plucky bracket buster mid-majors, yet haven't fielded a football team since before I was born.

[1001001]

USC gets to play Georgia Tech (6-7).

Yippee.

[tighr]

1001001 wrote:

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USC gets to play Georgia Tech (6-7).

Yippee.

The NCAA should have stepped in, told GT to take a hike, and taken LaTech instead. It's a travesty that 9-3 LaTech stays home just because of what conference they are in. No team lower than them (8-4, 7-5, 6-6, or God-forbid 6-7) deserves in over a higher pctg team.

This one's on the NCAA for granting a waiver.

[Kronos]

Louisiana Tech is staying home because their AD screwed up royally.

[tighr]

Kronos wrote:

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Louisiana Tech is staying home because their AD screwed up royally.

While I agree that the AD should have taken the Indy Bowl, the Bowl system itself is at fault as well for relegating that shitty bowl to LaTech in the first place. They should have had better options.

The entire bowl system needs to be fixed. Going to a playoff is not going to solve the problem for those teams that don't make the playoffs... they deserve to have exhibition games against evenly matched quality opponents, games people want to see.