The Official College Football National Championship thread

[capitalcity]

I ASKED -
I want you to acknowledge the Tigers WEAK non-conference schedule.

The Citadel - Division II
Louisiana Monroe - 5-6
Louisiana Tech - 5-6

SEC wins are to be respected - but the others are hardly tough opponents.[/quote]
ENDTRODUCING REPLIED-
are you retarded? who has OU beaten besides Texas? and it wasn't like OU played a great OOC schedule, either. oregon? houston? bowling green (WHO BACKED OUT ON AUBURN)?

LSU - top 5
UGA - top 5
UT - top 10, will be top 15 in the SECC game[/quote]
I'm glad we both agree Auburn's only quality wins came via SEC opponents.
Well except the one against Kentucky.
And then there was the one against Mississippi State. You know the team that lost to Div II Maine.
And the one against (the back to SEC's doormat) Ole Miss.

I am not retarted - but realistic. Even a blowout against the Volunteers may not be enough to propel the Tigers high enough in the polls. Polls which account for strength of schedule & wins vs. quality opponents.

Gee - a win against 8-2 Bowling Green (instead of Div II Citadel) would sure help the Tigers out now.

[endtroducing]

yeah, we beat Miss State. who beat Florida. who beat Florida State. Bowling Green backed out on us, and they scheduled Citadel in place of themselves...no Div 1-A teams were available.

[dirno2000]

I don't think anybody would doubt that when it comes to "big wins", Auburn has a pretty clear lead over the other undefeateds. But you're being naive if you don't think that you're non-conference schedule is killing you in the computer rankings. It may cost you a shot at the MNC because OU and Auburn are almost deadlocked in the human polls, yet OU still has a fairly comfortable lead in the BCS as of last week.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Auburn has slipped back to #3 in the AP poll. Last I had heard, they would need to be ahead by 60 points in both polls to pass OU in the BCS because of OU's computer ranking. Now, that was probably just speculation, but if it's true, Auburn is going to need to absolutely destroy Tennessee at the same time that OU struggles with Iowa State. Anything could happen, but to me it looks like Auburn is going to be on the outside of the Orange Bowl this year.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

The new BCS has just been released, and OU has increased its lead on Auburn, and moved closer to USC. OU is actually closer to USC than Auburn in the new standings. The ESPN article announcing the new BCS standings seems to think that OU and USC have the Orange Bowl locked up.

[endtroducing]

"We can give an argument for why we should be there. If we win this week, we will have beaten four teams that have won nine games. The other two teams combined have not done that." - Tuberville

any arguments?

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Auburn will not have beaten 4 teams with 9 wins. It will have beaten three teams with 9 wins, one of them twice.

Here's some more food for thought:

OU opponents combined record: 63 - 58
Auburn Opponents combined record: 61 - 60
USC opponents combined record: 60 - 60

After the championship games, the win-loss total for OU and Auburn would be even at 70-63. USC would be further behind thanks to UCLA.

Though I may not have stated it clearly in this thread, it has been my belief that OU should play Auburn in the Orange Bowl, and these statistics help bear that out somewhat. Of course, stats can be found for all three potential matchups to be the "right" game.

[endtroducing]

Tennessee will be four...it counts as a nine win team.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Say a team A beats three teams.

Team B, with a record of 9-3.
Team C, with a record of 9-3.
Team D, twice, with a record of 9-3.

Would you say this team has beaten 4 nine win teams? This was the point I was making, and I'm a little disappointed that I have to spell it out like this.

[ocelot_ark]

This is freaking pathetic. I hate the BCS. All three of those teams deserve a shot at the title. It's horrible that any of them should be left out.

[capitalcity]

Originally posted by: ocelot_ark
This is freaking pathetic. I hate the BCS. All three of those teams deserve a shot at the title. It's horrible that any of them should be left out.

Word. The current system is a messy fraudulent failure. A sham of epic scope has been forced upon us.

I hope the Orange Bowl is decided by one point and Auburn destroys VaTech by 5+ touchdowns.

Everyone who hates this system should root for another split national championship. - Anything to undermine the legitimacy of the BCS.

[dirno2000]

Although I'd prefer a playoff, aren't we better off with two of the unbeatens playing instead of USC going to the Rose Bowl, OU going to the Orange and Auburn going to the Sugar? I've been going back and forth on this.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

I believe that OU would go to the Fiesta (I think that's the Big 12 main bowl) but I understand your point, and I think this system is much better.

College football didn't have a playoff long before the BCS. While a playoff would be the best thing, the BCS (in my opinion) is much better than the old system, as dirno already stated.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

It seems to be concluded that USC will play OU in the Orange Bowl this year, but the close race with be for the 4 seed. Given Cal's weak performance tonight, it seems very possible that Texas could leapfrog the Bears and make their first BCS game.

[dirno2000]

I believe that OU would go to the Fiesta (I think that's the Big 12 main bowl) but I understand your point, and I think this system is much better.

I was going back the the Big 8 days.

[GP]

After watching Auburn play I think it is clear that we will have a national champion. Auburn should draw either Cal or Texas in their bowl game. I don't think Auburn can handle either team. The SEC was very weak this year. The reason that we have 3 unbeatens this year is because good teams won't schedule any tough non-conference games anymore. Texas probably had the worst non-conference schedule of anyone. That's why Cal probably has a leg up on them. Do you guys think OU can actually beat USC this year? OU is much improved from last year.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Well, if Cal went, they would go to the Rose Bowl against Michigan, not against Auburn. If UT makes it, I don't know.

I'm the biggest OU homer on the board, but frankly, I don't know if they will beat USC. I'm not saying that they are out-matched, not even close. I'm just not sure. Leinart is an amazing quarterback, and our secondary was pretty weak midseason. We've been much improved since Perkins came back at corner and Stoops decided to put in our freshman DB Walker. I'm not prepared to make a prediction. I do think that it will be an awesome game.

[dirno2000]

All the BCS analysts that I've read have Texas edging Cal for the 4th BCS spot and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

Looks like Auburn will play Va Tech in the Sugar.

[ocelot_ark]

It's too bad Auburn's dominating offensive performance also coincided with a shoddy defensive performance. That's going to sway a lot of voters. Too bad the media doesn't apply those rules to OU. OSU? A&M? Those games weren't blowouts by any stretch of the imagination. SEC is down this year? Ummm...okay, but even in a down year the SEC is the best conference in the universe. Auburn has 4 wins versus top 15 BCS teams. They went undefeated in the SEC and won the SEC championship. And you know what...I'm not even trying to put down OU and USC. They both deserve their shots at the NC, but to say Auburn doesn't is rediculous.

And on another note - Jason Cambell has been the most impressive QB this year in all of college football. Maybe not the best, but I've been really impressed with him this year.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Well, it's official:

Orange Bowl : USC vs. OU
Sugar Bowl: Auburn vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta Bowl: Utah vs. Pittsburgh
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Texas

[ames7]

I don't really follow college sports, except for my obligatory loyalty to my school, but I am really glad we got a break this year. I really pretty much thought we'd get screwed. I have a friend who graduated today who obsesses over this, so I'm glad he'll get to see this before he leaves.

Hook 'em!

[AnMan21]

Originally posted by: AnMan21

only if cal loses to southern miss....

guess i was wrong - i should've wrote: "only if cal plays just poorly enough against southern miss." i love the smell of roses and i'm sure my beloved horns are enjoying the same! signed up for tickets immediately - hopefully i'll get the draw. i was a little disappointed to see Texas Exes are as far down the list on draw priority....HOOK 'EM

[mavs413]

Pac-10 gets boned again.
Cal deserved it more than Texas.
AP Poll - Cal #4, Texas #6
Cal against #1 USC - L 17-23, outgained the Trojans 424-205.
Texas against #2 OU - L 0-12
Both of Texas' last 2 games could've easily have been losses also, as they were losing to both Kansas and A&M at the Half.

[ocelot_ark]

I haven't been impressed with UT all year long, but then again...what do I know. OU beats Texas by 12. Texas beats Arkansas by 2. Auburn beats Arkansas by 18. Not a legitimate method of measuring teams, but still. Arkansas put up 20 points on Auburn and Texas, but Auburn absolutely dominated Arkansas offensively. Texas was outgained by Arkansas, or it might have been very close.

[GP]

This system is rediculous. Why doesn't Auburn get to play a top notch team? They could have proven themselves with a win over Cal or Texas but they get Virginia Tech instead. I think the national championship is definitely going to be mythical this year if Auburn isn't a co-champion. But of course, if you have co-champions then you really have no champion. The bowl system is definitely strange.

[endtroducing]

um, Georgia? we proved ourselves then.

screw the BCS.

[endtroducing]

The SEC has 5 teams in the top 20 (AP/Coaches) more than the Big-12 and Pac-10 combined.

The SEC has 4 teams in the final BCS top 15, the same as the Pac-10 and Big-12 combined.

There are more mid-majors in the top 20 than in the Big-12.

There are more mid-majors in the top 20 than in the Pac-10.

Auburn has won more games against 9 win teams than OU and USC combined.

Auburn has won more games against 9 win teams than the entire Pac-10 conference.

Auburn has won more games against 9 win teams than the entire Big-12 conference.

Auburn has won as many games against 9 win teams as the Pac-10 and Big-12 conferences combined.

The Sugar Bowl pits the SEC Champ against the ACC Champ. There are 5 teams in the top 20 in the SEC, 4 in the top 20 in the ACC. That's 9 schools in the top 20 represented by their conference champions in the Sugar Bowl.

There are more top 20 teams in the ACC and SEC than the Pac-10, Big-12, Big-10, and Big East combined.

There are more top 20 teams in the ACC and SEC than the Pac-10, Big-12, and every mid-major conference combined.

And, one interesting factoid...on our weak schedule...

Should Auburn, UT, UGA, and LSU win out, Auburn will have won 5 games against teams with 10 wins. That would be the toughest schedule in the history of college football.

[dirno2000]

And, one interesting factoid...on our weak schedule...

Should Auburn, UT, UGA, and LSU win out, Auburn will have won 5 games against teams with 10 wins. That would be the toughest schedule in the history of college football

I understand your frustration, and as I Texas fan, I'd have loved to see OU get screwed. That being said, I've checked various strength of schedule rankings and you guys are below OU and USC in every one of them. If you even played a decent non-confernece schedule, you would have been much higher in the computers. That's not even considering the effect on the voters. I heard an AP voter Saturday night talking about how he voted Auburn 3rd to penalize them for their weak non-conference schedule.

[AnMan21]

personally, i think your beef needs to be with the Pac-10 and the preseason polls. usc had 5 close games this year (in a lousy conference) and yet were never removed from their perch because voters felt sorry for them from last year. that's absurd! i don't know how lsu gets in the national title game last year by winning the SEC and auburn gets left out after winning the SEC. it doesn't make sense. seems like all the voters have excuses for usc and never say, "maybe they're not the #1 team." against oregon state it was the fog, against va.tech it was opening day, against ucla and stanford they were rivalry games. they didn't lose votes this week, ou gained them by beating the tar out of CU. when auburn played a close "rivalry" game against alabama everyone said, see they aren't as good as thought, and they lost votes - when if they would've actually WATCHED the game, they would've clearly seen auburn dominated that game. when OU played closer than expected "rivalry" games with OSU and A&M voters said the same thing. When Cal doesn't dismantle Southern Miss they lose votes. when Texas edged Kansas they lost votes. USC plays in arguably the second weakest of the major conferences and stumbled through a ton of games and yet never came close to being bumped down a few notches! as far as i'm concerned, the two teams that proved they should be there are OU and Auburn. put usc and cal in the big 12 or the SEC and see how they finish - i'm willing to bet it wouldn't be 11-0 and 10-1...

[AnMan21]

Originally posted by: dirno2000

I understand your frustration, and as I Texas fan, I'd have loved to see OU get screwed. That being said, I've checked various strength of schedule rankings and you guys are below OU and USC in every one of them. If you even played a decent non-confernece schedule, you would have been much higher in the computers. That's not even considering the effect on the voters. I heard an AP voter Saturday night talking about how he voted Auburn 3rd to penalize them for their weak non-conference schedule.

so in theory they're being penalized TWICE for their soft non-conference schedule and that's certainly not fair. their tough conference schedule should make up for it - and the voters that don't see that don't deserve a voice. why didn't the same AP voter penalize USC for their mediocre performances against mediocre teams in a very mediocre conference - i bet if you looked he had them ranked #1.

as a Texas fan it'd be nice to see OU screwed - but as a BIG 12 fan, I know they probably deserve a spot much more than USC does.

[endtroducing]

dude, Jeff Sagarin's computer factors into the BCS...where he has Harvard ranked ahead of teams that are going to bowl games. those computers are bogus. look at the NCAA's rank of schedule: auburn is ahead by a huge margin of OU and USC. seriously, USC, AU and OU all played OOC patsies...replace BGSU, Houston, or Oregon with La Tech or Citadel on our schedule, we still win. it doesn't matter. that's an extremely weak argument.

the BCS is biased towards the Big 12. every time a controversy has came up, it has benefited the Big 12. see Nebraska and Oklahoma. according to the computers they use, the Big 12 is the best conference every year. it's bogus.

[Murphy3]

Originally posted by: mavs413
Pac-10 gets boned again.
Cal deserved it more than Texas.
AP Poll - Cal #4, Texas #6
Cal against #1 USC - L 17-23, outgained the Trojans 424-205.
Texas against #2 OU - L 0-12
Both of Texas' last 2 games could've easily have been losses also, as they were losing to both Kansas and A&M at the Half.

? Just because you're losing at the half does not mean that you could have easily lost the game. Texas dominated A&M in the second half and the outcome was rarely in doubt the final 30 minutes. On the other hand, Cal struggled against Southern Miss.

You can say that the Pac10 was 'boned', but I would argue that USC should have been the odd team out out of USC, Auburn, and OU.

[AnMan21]

Originally posted by: endtroducing
dude, Jeff Sagarin's computer factors into the BCS...where he has Harvard ranked ahead of teams that are going to bowl games. those computers are bogus. look at the NCAA's rank of schedule: auburn is ahead by a huge margin of OU and USC. seriously, USC, AU and OU all played OOC patsies...replace BGSU, Houston, or Oregon with La Tech or Citadel on our schedule, we still win. it doesn't matter. that's an extremely weak argument.

the BCS is biased towards the Big 12. every time a controversy has came up, it has benefited the Big 12. see Nebraska and Oklahoma. according to the computers they use, the Big 12 is the best conference every year. it's bogus.

i haven't studied the computer formulas enough to comment on whether it's biased towards the big 12, but in my opinion, ou would've walked through the sec the same as auburn did. i don't think usc would've. i definitely agree that auburn is getting screwed - i just think picking ou as the team that's benefiting is quite bold considering the division in which they play.

[endtroducing]

uh, yeah...because OU just walked over OSU and Texas A&M. do you think OSU and Texas A&M are as good as Georgia, Tennessee, LSU or Alabama? or even Arkansas (who was a fumble away from beating Texas, the biggest farce of a top 10 team ever)?

[endtroducing]

and whoever said Citadel is Division II...you're special.

and a Big 12 bias? Oklahoma getting in after losing the title game...Nebraska getting in after not even GOING to the title game...Texas in the bowl game this year...

[AnMan21]

Originally posted by: endtroducing
uh, yeah...because OU just walked over OSU and Texas A&M. do you think OSU and Texas A&M are as good as Georgia, Tennessee, LSU or Alabama? or even Arkansas (who was a fumble away from beating Texas, the biggest farce of a top 10 team ever)?

I absolutely think A&M is better than Alabama and Arkansas. I also believe they would hang with Tenn and Georgia, two teams you've terribly overestimated. Georgia had ONE win over a quality opponent (LSU), and Tenn had ONE quality win over Florida (an early point in the year when they were ranked #9). Furthermore, Tenn minus a fair second half showing in the SEC championship has lost to Notre Dame, and barely slipped by Vandy and Kentucky in the final 3 weeks of the season. Meanwhile A&M beat at the time of the game #25 Clemson, #15 Oklahoma State, and #25 Texas Tech. OSU, though they don't have the quality wins on the card, seem to have played impressively against some of the top ranked opponents in the nation. Their 7-4 season record is better than both Alabama and Arkansas.

The Texas bashing has to stop. Yeah, Arkansas was one fumble away from beating Texas. Who cares?!? Did Arkansas beat Texas? Nope. LSU was a real shotty call away from overtime against Auburn. Have you forgotten that real laughable call? Texas - Arkansas is a hated rivalry dating back to the SWC days - can you blame Texas for winning a tough rivalry game? Do you blame Auburn for winning a closer than expected rivalry game with Alabama? "Kansas almost beat Texas" - again, who cares?!? They showed the guts to pull out a tough win with their backs against the wall - all of the top teams have done it this year, why is Texas taking the heat?!? Texas came out of the game with a W and that's what matters. Everyone wants to say, "Texas doesn't deserve a BCS game, look at the two close calls they had." Never once do they stop and look at the close calls their team had. California nearly lost to Oregon - nobody remembers that game. And when the eyes were on them Saturday night, they barely escaped Mississippi with a win. Anyone who watched that game knows the final score was not indicative of the whole game. Their ONE top 25 victory over Arizona St hardly proves they're worthy of a bcs bid more than Texas. "Texas is one dimensional, they don't deserve a bcs game." Nobody complained when Nebraska was one-dimensional for the last 40 years! In fact they were praised for playing "traditional" football. "Mack Brown whinned his way into the bcs." The only coach near the top of the polls that hasn't said anything is Pete Carrol - gee, I wonder why?

[endtroducing]

I don't think a team that doesn't even win their division...a team with one hard game every year and routinely loses it...deserves a BCS bid. the call in the LSU game wasn't questionable...the DB flipped over the offensive line and landed on the holder. that's a penalty. I was right behind the goal post and I watched it happen. thanks for playing.

your coach whined and begged for votes, and by shady voting (including dropping Cal and Auburn into the lower ranks of the top 10 by some coaches), they got in. and a Texas fan bringing up questionable calls is hilarious...remember the pass interference in the Kansas game? yeah. and that 'come back' win against Kansas...Kansas is HORRIBLE. coming from behind against Kansas is nothing to be proud of. at least Bama is a bowl team with the number 2 defense in college football. and A&M? they lost to Baylor, dude. BAYLOR.

but seriously, if you think Texas is better than Georgia, you have got to be kidding me. the winningest quarterback ever in Division 1-A against Vince Young? and the offense dealing with Odell Thurman, Thomas Davis, David Pollack and Greg Blue?

the point you bring up about Tennessee is ridiculous, too. you realize those last three games against ND, UK and Vandy that they were playing with a patchwork offense? they lost their starting QB before half against ND, and they weren't focused on UK or Vandy- they were focused on Auburn.

as for overestimating....I love the idea that I could be overestimating teams that will almost surely all end with 10 win seasons. funny stuff.

[dirno2000]

Bottom line...Auburn played a good non-conference schedule last season and got handled.......twice! You had Bowling Green on the schedule this year and dropped them. In retrospect you probably would have beat them, but you tried to play it safe. OU beefed up their non-conference schedule, you went the other way and it's coming back to bite you in the ass. Oh well.

As far as the BCS benefiting the Big 12 could you please explain, how the committee set up the rules to do that before the season? Otherwise you just sound like a desperate conspiracy theorist. I know your feelings are hurt, but no reason to lash out at Texas....blame your football coach and your AD and worry about beating Va Tech.

[endtroducing]

Bowling Green dropped us, and so did Georgia Tech. they're the ones who dropped the games, at the last minute, too. so don't blame us.

[ocelot_ark]

And by the way...Texas didn't WIN that game against Arkansas. Matt Jones handed it to them on a silver platter.