Official: 2008 NCAA Football Thread

[sike]

Hook 'Em!

[DirkFTW]

Is it really true we've won 3 out of the last 4?? The only other one I remember was with glorious Vince.

[ames7]

Listen, I haven't really kept up with college football since I left UT, but I went to an alumni watching party in Hollywood today & it was amazing. I've completely forgotten what a culture being a Longhorn is. And apparently I've forgotten how the fight song goes. But what a great game, right?

[dude1394]

That Mac Brown...Was that his brother that couldn't win the big ones??? ...

I made 50bucks on a bet with a TexasTech guy that he'd be gone in two years.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

Is it really true we've won 3 out of the last 4?? The only other one I remember was with glorious Vince.

You also won in Colt McCoy's first year.

[DirkFTW]

Hello! 3 of the 4 ranked above UT lost today!

[Murphy3]

Chiles looks scared when he's in the game.. He looks scared to take a hit.

[FINtastic]

So does that mean UT has enough to leapfrog to number 1 considering the strength of the opponent they just beat?

[Murphy3]

Quite possibly... Alabama looked pretty mediocre in a win over Kentucky. Honestly, I believe it'll be pretty close with Texas getting the edge.. Alabama will have a small to decent lead over Penn State. Penn State really doesn't play anyone but Ohio State this season.. and Ohio State obviously showed that they have a big flaming vagina underneath their collective jockstraps when they played USC. If Penn State runs the table.. but Ohio State LOSES another game besides the Penn State game, I believe that it's possible that a 1 loss SEC or Big12 school could get into the title game over an undefeated Penn State game. Of course, if Penn State continues to roll everyone, that'll help their cause. Penn State hasn't played a team that has a winning record as of 10-11-08.

[alby]

UT will be 2.

[LonghornDub]

TEXAS! I'm sunburnt as all hell but what a glorious win. Best game since Jan 4, 2006.

Honestly, I think we will end up #1, but it could easily go either way. My personal preference is for #2--if we win out, everything will fall into place, and I like to fly under the radar as much as possible.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

Is it really true we've won 3 out of the last 4?? The only other one I remember was with glorious Vince.

We won 28-10 in 2006, the year after Vince left. Shipley caught 2 TD passes.

By my count, Shipley now has 5 TD's in 3 games against OU. 2 in 2006, 1 last year (in a loss), and 2 today. I don't think OU fans like him very much.

[alby]

Shipley is OU's kryptonite without a doubt

[nikeball]

SHIPLEY'S doNUTS!!!

[nikeball]

NICE. Texas is #1.

I still rather be #1 at the end of the season. But that number looks pretty.

[mary]

This is a freaking bloodbath.

[nikeball]

GAME ISNT OVER YET! BUT THE WAY WE ARE PLAYING..

GO COLT MYBOY AND SHIPLEY'S doNUTS!

MIZZOU PAPER TIGERS.

edit:
RAK is a freaking beast.

[alby]

^ did you see the college gameday story they had on him?

I watched it while I was taking a break in the clubhouse between the 9th and 10th holes today...

The kid pushes up 500 lbs on the bench.

[antoinewalker]

Originally Posted by alby

^ did you see the college gameday story they had on him?

I watched it while I was taking a break in the clubhouse between the 9th and 10th holes today...

The kid pushes up 500 lbs on the bench.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/...ideoId=3650227

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by alby

^ did you see the college gameday story they had on him?

I watched it while I was taking a break in the clubhouse between the 9th and 10th holes today...

The kid pushes up 500 lbs on the bench.

I know that 500 is alot, but I never thought it was enough to warrant a story. Oh well. I can remember from my brother's class A football team.. they had a guy benching over 400 pounds who then went on to play football at Baylor.. He benched 500 as a Freshman... My brother benched 310 as a Freshman in high school.. so, what's the big deal about 500?

A junior from my old high school benched 290 pounds. And she's not even a he... I think her powerlifting total was 1175 at state. I think she topped 1200 at some point during the season.

So yeah, 500 is nice..but not as big of a deal as it once was.

[nikeball]

^I agree that 500 pounds is not as big of a deal as it once was...but what position did they play? DTackle? Oline? Those positions do not require as much speed/footwork as defensive ends do. To not lose speed while gaining strength is the key. (reference SSJ2 from Dragonball Z)

[Murphy3]

Well, my brother was a running back... no, he never got to 500, but he did reach 400.. didn't really start lifting weights until he was a Sophomore/Junior... too lazy.

[LonghornDub]

Ho hum. Colt McCoy 29/32, 337 yards, 4 TD's (2 rushing), 0 turnovers.

Just another day at the office.

[FINtastic]

That's almost twice the completion percentage of Brad Johnson.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by FINtastic

That's almost twice the completion percentage of Brad Johnson.

Unfortunately, Brad Johnson's completion percentage today wasn't that much higher than mine.

[Murphy3]

So with USC sitting at #5 in the BCS, they are going to need some serious help to make it into the National Championship game...

They have to hope that every team in the Big 12 and the SEC has at least 2 (maybe 3 losses in a couple of cases). A 2 loss UT team might look better than USC if Ohio State goes on to lose a couple more games. Ohio State hasn't looked that great this year.. yeah, I know they had a nice win over Michigan state..but that's it. Michigan State is an overrated team that hasn't beaten anyone. By the end of the season, that win won't mean anything to Ohio State.. So, another loss or two and Ohio State will take a big drop which would mean that USC has exactly zero wins the upper echelon. And, USC has to worry about Penn State losing.

I suppose one thing that will be worth watching is whether or not an undefeated Penn State team would make it in over 1 loss Big 12 or SEC school... Right now, it looks like the answer is yeah, but if your signature win is over a 2 or 3 loss Ohio State team, they might be passable by a 1 loss team. If Texas were to beat OU, Tech, Missouri, OSU, with a loss to Kansas but then beat Missouri again in the big 12 championship, it would make things interesting in comparing them to Penn State...

Anyways, it'll be interesting. I'm sure the BCS will screw it up.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

So with USC sitting at #5 in the BCS, they are going to need some serious help to make it into the National Championship game...

They have to hope that every team in the Big 12 and the SEC has at least 2 (maybe 3 losses in a couple of cases).

Why do you think that? They are currently ahead of 1-loss OU (whose 1 loss was to the #1 team to the country) in 1 of the polls. USC has so much talent on paper that they are consistently ranked much higher in the polls than they should be.

In fact, I'd argue that USC will ultimately have one of the best chances of the 1 loss teams because of the pollsters love fest with their "sick talent." Even though their computer rankings will suck, the human element counts for 2/3 of the BCS.

[BGMaverick9]

Nov 1st...we're coming for you, LonghornDub!

[Murphy3]

Because, DUB, USC doesn't play anyone else the rest of the season.... The strength of opponent is huge.. With OU already 2 slots ahead of USC in the BCS, there's no way that USC leap frogs OU unless they get that second loss. USC would have to pass OU without OU losing another game this year. That's not going to happen. OU's strength of schedule will continue to strengthen their spot if they continue to win. USC doesn't play anyone else the rest of the season....

In case you didn't know, USC is 6th in the BCS.. OU is 4th.

USC doesn't have a game left against anyone that is currently ranked in the top 25.
OU has two games left against teams that are currently in the top 10.

[u2sarajevo]

If you are a Horns fan..... and want to get pissed..... read this blowhard's column:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/column...ark&id=3651458

I almost came unglued.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Because, DUB, USC doesn't play anyone else the rest of the season.... The strength of opponent is huge.. With OU already 2 slots ahead of USC in the BCS, there's no way that USC leap frogs OU unless they get that second loss. USC would have to pass OU without OU losing another game this year. That's not going to happen. OU's strength of schedule will continue to strengthen their spot if they continue to win. USC doesn't play anyone else the rest of the season....

In case you didn't know, USC is 6th in the BCS.. OU is 4th.

USC doesn't have a game left against anyone that is currently ranked in the top 25.
OU has two games left against teams that are currently in the top 10.

I don't think you really addressed my point. You made a comment that "every team in the big 12 would need to lose 2 games, or possibly three" for USC to make it into the title game. That's not true at all. If Texas goes undefeated, OU loses one more, and Tech/OSU both lose 1, USC will very likely end up ahead of all of them, and could very well end up as the BCS #2, depending on how things shake out with PSU/Bama. USC with 1 loss will end up ranked ahead of Ohio State with 1 loss, Bama with 1 loss, LSU with 1 loss, etc. You point to their terrible strength of schedule, but you're not considering the immensely favorable treatment they get from the human voters.

I don't like it, but that's just the way it is. USC's roster is so loaded with 5 star recruits that sometimes what they actually do on the field gets dwarfed by these crazy perceptions of how good they are on paper.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I don't think you really addressed my point. You made a comment that "every team in the big 12 would need to lose 2 games, or possibly three" for USC to make it into the title game. That's not true at all. If Texas goes undefeated, OU loses one more, and Tech/OSU both lose 1, USC will very likely end up ahead of all of them, and could very well end up as the BCS #2, depending on how things shake out with PSU/Bama.

I'm not talking about 2 more games...I'm talking about 2 total games. I think that's where the confusion lies.


I'm not talking about multiple teams getting into the championship game from the big12. I'm talking about 1 team. So yeah, I think a 1 loss Oklahoma, OSU, Tech, or Texas gets into the championship game before USC.

For what I'm saying to work, you'd have to have Tech, OSU, Tech or Texas winning the Big12 unless Tech, Texas or OSU makes it to the Big12 Championship game undefeated and then loses to a representative from the north. Or, you'd have to have Tech, Oklahoma, OSU, or Texas make it to the Big 12 championship and win it.

So, if Tech wins out until the Big12 Championship game, they'll likely be ranked at least #2 in the BCS. If they're not #2, they'd be behind Alabama. But, they'd still be WELL ahead of USC because they would have had wins against Kansas, Texas, OSU, and Oklahoma just to make it to the big12 championship game. If they were to lose at that point, a 1 loss Tech would still have a huge advantage at least in the computers over USC because of the number of wins versus highly ranked opponents. If they were to make it to the Big12 championship with one loss and win the title, I think they'd easily be ahead of USC.

Using the same logic, go to OSU. OSU already has a win over Missouri. Plus, they have 3 games left against top 10 teams. One loss, and they're still ahead of USC.

Go to OU. They're already ahead of USC, so if they win out,..they'll be way ahead of USC.

Go to UT. They have games left against Kansas, Tech, and OSU... They already have big wins versus Missouri and OU.. If they lose one, they're still ahead of OU because of the head to head thing. USC's already behind OU... no way USC leaps over UT.

Just think... Tech and OSU's behind USC for now..but they're schedule is absolutely crazy the rest of the way. USC has already played their one team, so they're going to take a bit of a hit every week regardless of whether or not they win simply because they're beating up teams that would struggle with Baylor. If OSU wins this week, they are way ahead of USC... OSU would leap up to at least the #3 spot. Tech will move up this week with Kansas. And remember, if Penn State beats OSU, that'll also hurt USC.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

So yeah, I think a 1 loss Oklahoma, OSU, Tech, or Texas gets into the championship game before USC.

Oklahoma, yes obviously. OSU/Tech, no way. There is not a chance in hell that a 1 loss Tech or OSU team finishes ahead of a 1 loss USC. First of all, USC's loss would be earlier in the year, which always hurts you much, much less than a later loss. Second, again, USC gets favorable poll treatment compared to a Tech/OSU because of the residual perception of the quality of their program. Did you notice that when #1 USC lost to an UNRAKED Oregon State team, they only dropped to #8 in the human polls? Hypothetically, if Tech or Okla State were #1 in the poll and lost to an unranked team 5 games into the year, how far do you imagine they'd drop? A bit farther than #8, yeah?

Say Texas beats Tech & OSU (and eventually wins out, going to the Big 12 CG), then one of those two beat OU a second time. That puts Tech at 1 loss, OSU at 1 loss, and OU at 2 losses. You honestly believe any of those 3 teams will end up ranked ahead of USC, were that to happen?

USC is higher in the BCS right now than Tech and OSU, despite both of them being undefeated and USC having a loss to an unranked team! How do you figure that either of them actually end up ahead of USC if they drop a game and finish with 1 loss and USC wins out? You're putting way too much stock into the strength of schedule. The computers only account for 1/3 of the polls, and if Tech/OSU lose they will end up no less than 5 or 6 spots lower than USC in the human polls. That differential will be more than enough to counterbalance the strength of schedule shortcomings in the computers for USC, and USC will end up ranked at least 3-4 spots higher than either of them in the BCS.

Really, your whole issue here is that you're assuming the polls are logical and fair. They aren't. A team with USC's reputation will always, always, always be ranked higher than a team with Tech or Oklahoma State's reputation, at least in the human polls, if the two have the same record. It's not fair, but that's just how it works.

[Murphy3]

I don't think a late loss hurts nearly as badly as in years past.

As for USC being higher than Tech and OSU right now..well, that's because both schools still have the meet of their schedule coming up.

I think you're underestimating how much Tech and OSU will rise IF they make it through this schedule with only 1 loss. Remember, if they don't lose a game until the championship game, they will be WAY ahead of USC by then in both the human and computer polls. If they lose a game and then go on to win the Big12, then you'll see voters giving them alot of credit for winning if not the best then easily the second best conference in the country while coming out of the most difficult division in the country.

I suppose you could be right...but, looking at it from what a team would have to go through to make it through the Big12 south.. I think I'm right on this one. I know where they're at currently in the rankings...but, that's just a bit misleading. USC's strength of schedule will only take a hit in both the eyes of the computers AND the eyes of the nation. Anyone that makes it out of the Big12 south will vault up the rankings. I think we've seen similar things in the past...The pollsters have shown that they'll give the nod to the team that goes through hell and survives with only one loss over the team that has a cake walk through the season but still manages a loss. Yeah, right now USC is getting the nod, but they're still riding the Ohio State win... but, OSU and Tech still have the meat of their schedule coming up.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I don't think a late loss hurts nearly as badly as in years past.

As for USC being higher than Tech and OSU right now..well, that's because both schools still have the meet of their schedule coming up.

You're overestimating the force of the strength of schedule. I completely agree with you that USC's schedule is trash and they will take a weekly hit because of that; but, a loss by Tech or OSU more than counterbalances the "weekly hit" USC will take on their schedule. SoS is only one component of the computer polls, and the computers are only 1/3 of the BCS.

Human voters, who account for 2/3 of the BCS, aren't going to move USC down each week because they're beating crappy teams. As long as USC wins at least somewhat comfortably, they will stay exactly where they are or move up. If Tech/OSU lose, they will fall too far behind USC to cover that ground.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I suppose you could be right...but, looking at it from what a team would have to go through to make it through the Big12 south.. I think I'm right on this one. I know where they're at currently in the rankings...but, that's just a bit misleading. USC's strength of schedule will only take a hit in both the eyes of the computers AND the eyes of the nation. Anyone that makes it out of the Big12 south will vault up the rankings. I think we've seen similar things in the past...

I see where you're coming from on this. My counterargument is that, generally, when it's closer to the end of the season, teams that win are not going to lose any spots in the polls. That is to say, if Tech/OSU lose a game now, they would fall, and while they could creep back up if they won out, they would never actually overtake USC unless USC lost.

Now, if Tech/OSU climbed to within 1 spot of USC in the human polls by year's end, THAT would probably be enough to get them above them in the BCS because of USC's terrible computer rankings. But they would need to get that close to them in the human polls--they just count so much more than the computers.

FYI, some of the scenarios you're describing are a bit more tenuous than I am really thinking about here. IMO, there is almost no chance Tech or OSU play for the Big 12 title. It will either be Texas or OU. If either of them did play for the title and won (having 1 loss on the year from earlier), I think you might be right.

[Murphy3]

If Tech or OSU loses this first game, they drop 4-5 spots..but if they win their next 4 after that with perhaps all of them versus ranked opponents, they vault right back ahead of USC.

You're not giving the voters enough credit. The voters understand what's coming up for the likes of Texas, Tech and OSU.. they realize that whoever survives this relatively unscathed deserves to be right up towards the very top of the polls.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I see where you're coming from on this. My counterargument is that, generally, when it's closer to the end of the season, teams that win are not going to lose any spots in the polls. That is to say, if Tech/OSU lose a game now, they would fall, and while they could creep back up if they won out, they would never actually overtake USC unless USC lost.

Now, if Tech/OSU climbed to within 1 spot of USC in the human polls by year's end, THAT would probably be enough to get them above them in the BCS because of USC's terrible computer rankings. But they would need to get that close to them in the human polls--they just count so much more than the computers.

I know what you're saying as well.. I just don't think you're placing enough value on what the two teams have to go through in the final 4-5 weeks. Neither team is high in the rankings yet simply because they haven't beaten anyone yet (other than OSU beating Mizzou).. but let's say that OSU beats Mizzou, Texas, OU, but loses to Tech.... they'd have 3 wins against then top 5 schools versus 1 loss against a top 10 school.... plus a win against Kansas and another win against Mizzou in the championship game. Voters realize how difficult the big12 south is and teams are going to be heavily rewarded for wins going down the stretch.. at the same time, they won't be nearly as heavily hit when they lose a game....

[LonghornDub]

If it was any other team, I'd agree with you. But, I really think you're underestimating how much preferential treatment USC gets. I mean, dude, they are freaking #4 in the Coaches poll despite having lost to an unranked team. Can you believe that? They are ranked ahead of an OU team lost to the #1 team. Talk about a travesty.

They are living off of the names on their roster, and that will continue for as long as Carroll is the coach. It's ridiculous, and it's unfair to teams like Tech and OSU, but right now it seems to be reality.

[nikeball]

The media always has hard-ons for USC, OSU, and the SEC. Nothing new?