2014 NCAA Football Thread

[DS729]

Wow, kinda surprised that Mariota is leaving.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2015/story/_/id/12167622/marcus-mariota-oregon-ducks-declare-nfl-draft

Really? I think there's about as much surprise there as Jameis.

I think he was being sarcastic with that comment, I'm not sure anyone was surprised.

[PSUcelticsWON95]

Wow, kinda surprised that Mariota is leaving.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2015/story/_/id/12167622/marcus-mariota-oregon-ducks-declare-nfl-draft

Really? I think there's about as much surprise there as Jameis.

I think he was being sarcastic with that comment, I'm not sure anyone was surprised.

I wasn't really surprised, I just kinda wanted him to stay. Not too sure how good of an NFL QB he will be though.

[IceCap]

I suggest you reread the thread in the Sports Logos and Uniforms forum. No one is seriously arguing that Oregon lost because of their uniforms.

Of course the comment I made was satirical, but I'm kinda glad Oregon lost while wearing uniforms devoid of their school's main two colors.

I agree entirely. That Oregon tried to play Nike dress-up and lost was great to see. And people said as much in the College Football 2014 uniform thread. There were some, however, who thought we were saying that the uniforms were the reason Oregon lost. Which was just silly.

[Jimmy!]

Wow, kinda surprised that Mariota is leaving.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2015/story/_/id/12167622/marcus-mariota-oregon-ducks-declare-nfl-draft

Really? I think there's about as much surprise there as Jameis.

I think he was being sarcastic with that comment, I'm not sure anyone was surprised.

I wasn't really surprised, I just kinda wanted him to stay. Not too sure how good of an NFL QB he will be though.

Can't be much worse than other Duck alumni QBs.

[Hat Boy]

There were some, however, who thought we were saying that the uniforms were the reason Oregon lost. Which was just silly.

Exactly--the only uniform that causes losses in championship games is the Broncos' orange jersey.

[CubsFanBudMan]

At first, I was against only four playoff teams and wanted either 6 or 8, but after seeing it in action I don't want to see it expanded. I thought it was fantastic. It keeps the special feeling that these are the nation's elite teams and it squeezes importance out of two bowl games rather than 0, but it expands it just enough to eliminate errors that may be caused by biased voters and an imperfect system. The 3rd place team usually had an argument for being in the NCG, but the 5th place team not as much.

I really like this system and the first one delivered big time. I mean, at least as an OSU fan.

Agreed. I'd rather have one team too few than three too many.

Same here. Maybe in a few years some scenarios will play out that change my mind, but I thought this year was perfect, especially because the two teams that would have been in the BCS lost.

And I used to think the CCG winners could feed a 6- or even 8-team playoff, but not now. Too many games.

It even throws me to see Ohio State at 14-1. 2 extras for only the best teams seem just right.

[waltere]

For the record... that sensitivity was when I first started in this forum, back as a young lad 3 or 4 years ago. I had a naive view point on sports and sports culture outside of my wheelhouse. The last 2-3 years have been much more balanced and opened minded.

"3 to 4 years ago".

Join date August 2014.

Hmmm.

[IceCap]

For the record... that sensitivity was when I first started in this forum, back as a young lad 3 or 4 years ago. I had a naive view point on sports and sports culture outside of my wheelhouse. The last 2-3 years have been much more balanced and opened minded.

"3 to 4 years ago".

Join date August 2014.

Hmmm.

CLEstones is a second account created by a member here. It's all kosher due to his decision to use the new account in place of his old one, which was never suspended or banned.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Nothing to see here. Ice_Cap beat me to it.

[waltere]

Yeah after I posted that I went and checked because for some reason I thought the original Estones had been banned. My bad, move on.

[dbadefense1990]

There were some, however, who thought we were saying that the uniforms were the reason Oregon lost. Which was just silly.

Exactly--the only uniform that causes losses in championship games is the Broncos' orange jersey.

Don't forget the Cowboys and their "Navy Blue Uni Jinx."

[pianoknight]

There were some, however, who thought we were saying that the uniforms were the reason Oregon lost. Which was just silly.

Exactly--the only uniform that causes losses in championship games is the Broncos' orange jersey.

Also, one minor exception for the Buffalo Bills. But they have to be wearing either their home OR away jerseys.

[j'villejags]

At first, I was against only four playoff teams and wanted either 6 or 8, but after seeing it in action I don't want to see it expanded. I thought it was fantastic. It keeps the special feeling that these are the nation's elite teams and it squeezes importance out of two bowl games rather than 0, but it expands it just enough to eliminate errors that may be caused by biased voters and an imperfect system. The 3rd place team usually had an argument for being in the NCG, but the 5th place team not as much.

I really like this system and the first one delivered big time. I mean, at least as an OSU fan.

Agreed. I'd rather have one team too few than three too many.

Hypothetically, if TCU holds on to their 21 point 4th quarter lead on the road against Baylor, then an undefeated conference champ TCU is in the playoff and Ohio State is left out. Would you feel the same way if the Buckeyes were the team left out? Especially now that we know they proved to be the best team of the 4?

Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama, and TCU were the best 4 teams in the country this year. It just took each team playing one more game to prove it. We'd have gotten that with an 8 team playoff. The whole point of a playoff from my perspective is to settle it on the field and end the arbitrary selections. Not to mention, 4 more playoff games generates a whole lot of money. For that reason alone ($), I think we see the field expanded at some point in the coming years. However, it will likely take a deserving team with a national following like this year's Ohio State to be left out in order to create enough controversy to justify making such a change.

[alxy8s]

At first, I was against only four playoff teams and wanted either 6 or 8, but after seeing it in action I don't want to see it expanded. I thought it was fantastic. It keeps the special feeling that these are the nation's elite teams and it squeezes importance out of two bowl games rather than 0, but it expands it just enough to eliminate errors that may be caused by biased voters and an imperfect system. The 3rd place team usually had an argument for being in the NCG, but the 5th place team not as much.

I really like this system and the first one delivered big time. I mean, at least as an OSU fan.

Agreed. I'd rather have one team too few than three too many.

Too many would be the certain result of 8 teams. FiveThirtyEight posted this today to apply the rules of the BCS, current playoff, and proposed 8-team playoff systems to the last 17 seasons.

What we have now is great. The games themselves kind of sucked, but they're to determine who's #1. Past #4, I don't know how much of a claim to #1 a team could legitimately have.

[CLEstones]

Ohio State "3rd String" QB schedule for a big announcement at 4:00PM EST.

@CJ12_

Life changing decision at 4pm

[HedleyLamarr]

His stance on attending classes gonna change?

[TheRicSlick]

His stance on attending classes gonna change?

He's not there to play school.

[Sport]

At first, I was against only four playoff teams and wanted either 6 or 8, but after seeing it in action I don't want to see it expanded. I thought it was fantastic. It keeps the special feeling that these are the nation's elite teams and it squeezes importance out of two bowl games rather than 0, but it expands it just enough to eliminate errors that may be caused by biased voters and an imperfect system. The 3rd place team usually had an argument for being in the NCG, but the 5th place team not as much.

I really like this system and the first one delivered big time. I mean, at least as an OSU fan.

Agreed. I'd rather have one team too few than three too many.

Hypothetically, if TCU holds on to their 21 point 4th quarter lead on the road against Baylor, then an undefeated conference champ TCU is in the playoff and Ohio State is left out. Would you feel the same way if the Buckeyes were the team left out? Especially now that we know they proved to be the best team of the 4?

Yes I'd feel the same way. I wouldn't be as excited about the playoff, but OSU losing at home to Virginia Tech would've been reason enough to leave them out if TCU were unbeaten and there'd be no argument for putting them in above the 1 game losers Oregon and Alabama. I'd have no problem with it. Fact is, OSU got very very lucky to be in the playoff.

If the tables were turned and they put 1 loss TCU in the playoff instead of OSU I still wouldn't have a problem with that. I'd be upset at missing out, but I wouldn't have much of an argument for putting OSU in. If you finish fifth you blew it at some point and can only blame yourself, whereas if you finish third you usually have a better case and many times haven't done anything wrong and only got left out of the NCG because of conference politics*.

I agree very much with Infrared. One team too few is better than three too many.

*it is pretty amazing for this reason that an undefeated Auburn team got left out of the NCG in 2004. An unbeaten SEC school wasn't ranked 1 or 2. Times have changed.

[FiddySicks]

I've always wondered about that 204 season. I think it's ridiculous that USC was force to vacate that win, because no matter how the NCAA wants to revise it, they still won that game. But let's say that things did get really stupid and Oklahoma or Auburn wanted to try and stake a claim to the title that season. Who has a more legitimate case? I'd have to say Auburn, but would it be Oklahoma because they were actually in the title game?

Either way, taking that win from USC is so stupid.

[j'villejags]

At first, I was against only four playoff teams and wanted either 6 or 8, but after seeing it in action I don't want to see it expanded. I thought it was fantastic. It keeps the special feeling that these are the nation's elite teams and it squeezes importance out of two bowl games rather than 0, but it expands it just enough to eliminate errors that may be caused by biased voters and an imperfect system. The 3rd place team usually had an argument for being in the NCG, but the 5th place team not as much.

I really like this system and the first one delivered big time. I mean, at least as an OSU fan.

Agreed. I'd rather have one team too few than three too many.

Hypothetically, if TCU holds on to their 21 point 4th quarter lead on the road against Baylor, then an undefeated conference champ TCU is in the playoff and Ohio State is left out. Would you feel the same way if the Buckeyes were the team left out? Especially now that we know they proved to be the best team of the 4?

Yes I'd feel the same way. I wouldn't be as excited about the playoff, but OSU losing at home to Virginia Tech would've been reason enough to leave them out if TCU were unbeaten and there'd be no argument for putting them in above the 1 game losers Oregon and Alabama. I'd have no problem with it. Fact is, OSU got very very lucky to be in the playoff.

If the tables were turned and they put 1 loss TCU in the playoff instead of OSU I still wouldn't have a problem with that. I'd be upset at missing out, but I wouldn't have much of an argument for putting OSU in. If you finish fifth you blew it at some point and can only blame yourself, whereas if you finish third you usually have a better case and many times haven't done anything wrong and only got left out of the NCG because of conference politics*.

I agree very much with Infrared. One team too few is better than three too many.

*it is pretty amazing for this reason that an undefeated Auburn team got left out of the NCG in 2004. An unbeaten SEC school wasn't ranked 1 or 2. Times have changed.

Well said, McCarthy. I respect that.

I live in Big XII country so I got to see a lot of TCU this year and to me they were as good as anyone. I was just a little disappointed to see them left out, even though I understood why. With 5 power conferences vying for 4 spots, there will almost always be someone feeling left out. (Square peg in a round hole.) I do think it expands to 8 teams at some point. If I'm not mistaken, the 3 playoff games this year are the top 3 rated cable programs of all time. It'll come down to it being an opportunity cost in their eyes and they'll find a way to make it happen.

Unfortunately with the way things are right now for the Big XII teams, they are at a disadvantage compared to the other conferences. I'm guessing you've seen the "One True Champion" slogan and commercials the Big XII has been pushing all season. With 10 teams, they are unable to have a conference championship game to declare a true conference champion (which would also go down as one more solid win for a team's resume). Having co-champions represent your conference will not work in this 4 team playoff format, but they've been desperately trying to spin this difference to their advantage. There have been "co-champions" in 2 of the 4 years since the Big 12 has had it's 10-team format. And yet they want to boast about "One True Champion"? Embarrassing and incredibly short-sighted.