2014 NCAA Football Thread

[PSUcelticsWON95]

Like previously stated, it's not Florida State's fault the ACC is one of the weakest Power 5 Conferences. If you're the defending national champion, you haven't lost since 2012, and you've clearly shown that you can beat teams, why not be selected to be in the Playoff? Last year, they were stronger, yes. They could blowout the team in the first half and could cruise through the final two quarters. This year, they have to do some work. Yes, they get themselves into what seem to be insurmountable deficits, but they're able to overcome them. With all the crazy upsets this year, any win is a good win.

[Harmening]

I don't think Florida State deserves to be in the playoff at all. I've seen at least 4 games were they were losing 70% of the time and had to come back, and these were all against sub-par teams (discluding Notre Dame). I also resent the fact that their best player has been a rule exception countless times, and got away with frickin rape.

Yeah... But have they lost though? Not since 2012. They are the defending national champions, but you're discounting them for not losing, and not losing to the likes of Louisville and Clemson, two of the top defenses in the country. So until they lose, they have every right to be in the playoff.

I'm not sure you can use the "Top Defenses" argument, though. If the ACC is considered weak, very weak, meaning its Florida State and everyone else considered even decent, then you can't use 2 teams in their conference to hold them up.

I'm not familiar at all with Clemson or Louisville, but if the conference is considered the weakest of the Big 5, I'm not sure saying they beat 2 top defenses in Conference is a good argument to justify Florida State.

DISCLAIMER: I do believe FSU is a Top 4 team in the country.

But they shouldn't be in a four team playoff?

Didn't say that. I said that I'm not sure one can use the argument that they best 2 of the nation's best defenses, when those defenses play in the nation's 5th best conference.

As for the B1G/ACC comparison, I would say FSU is the best team out of the 2 conferences, but if I'm picking teams, I would take Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and possibly Minnesota, Iowa, or even Maryland before I take Duke, Clemson, or Louisville.

Oops. I thought you were somebody else that said they didn't think FSU shouls be in the playoffs. Sorry.

[Germanshepherd]

A two-loss team (Ole Miss) hops ahead of my Huskers @#11 because apparently 1 5pt loss against a top 10 team Is worse than losing to a top 5 team and a mid ranked team.

Anyways Marshall is still unranked and A 3 loss team (WestVa) is ahead of them. Oh Playoff Commitee, why can't you make the poll exactly how I want it.

[PSUcelticsWON95]

A two-loss team (Ole Miss) hops ahead of my Huskers @#11 because apparently 1 5pt loss against a top 10 team Is worse than losing to a top 5 team and a mid ranked team.

Anyways Marshall is still unranked and A 3 loss team (WestVa) is ahead of them. Oh Playoff Commitee, why can't you agree with me lol.

I'll agree with the committee on the Ole Miss ordeal, but I agree with you about Marshall. Like what Danny Kanell said, anyone can lose to anyone on any given week this year. The fact that they're still undefeated should be at least SOME kind of testament to how good of a team they are.

[Still MIGHTY]

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No. 9 Arizona State.... CAN I GET A " YEAH!"? FORK 'EM! BEAT ND!

And germanshepard, Ole Miss stays ahead of Nebraska because Nebraska has beaten absolutely no one of consequence. Nebraska's signature win is a five-point loss. They're lucky to be where they are. They're getting a gift with Wisconsin jumping up into the rankings, because outside of the Badgers, Nebraska's only other ranked opponent might be a second game against Michigan State in the B1G title game.

I was definitely interested to see how they'd handle the Ole Miss fall. I thought they'd drop maybe a bit more, like behind Baylor, but that's probably about right.

Utah didn't move at all in an OT road loss to a now top-ten team, and West Virginia dropped three spots in a one-point home loss to a top-ten team. I find that a little odd, but whatever.

Everything else is just about right.

[rams80]

So the fallout from the Maryland and Penn State handshake debacle, see's Maryland get a $10,000 fine and it's star wide receiver suspended.

What a joke. Its not like they walked to center field, flipped them the bird, then did a Michael Jackson crotch grab. Its one thing to NOT shake hands after the game, but it was before the game... I don't think they should be required to shake hands. Its competition!

To be honest, I think there needs to be more of this in athletics. There is too much happy go lucky feeling in athletics. I don't think the handshake was disrespectful. I think it would have been had they NOT shaken hands AFTER the game.

Diggs was not suspended for not shaking hands. He was suspended for shoving an official during the earlier skirmish, which seems to have been instigated entirely by Maryland. The fine also seems to be about that. Officially, at least from my interpretation, the conference did not offer any punishment for the handshake part of this. I think the Big Ten handled it well enough. The 15 yard penalty is punishment enough for that. And they had to make a statement that teams can't just try to start rivalries by starting pre-game fights. The only thing they missed is that Diggs should have been ejected from the game for putting his hands on the ref.

I'm against the 15 yard penalty too. The point of sportsmanship is even if you lose, you congratulate the victor and carry one. I don't think they should penalized for a pregame handshake. I think its especially true in the B1G TEN who wants to constantly make everyone buddy buddy.

Coaches had an unwritten rule that they wont recruit players who verbally commit (or something similar) to another school. When Meyer was hired at tOSU, he threw that out the window and brought cut-throat recruiting to the B1G. I think you see tense rivalries in every conference, multiple teams... bad blood. The B1G needs more of that. I think it will help to rebuild the conference.

Or it will burn the entire conference to the ground in a race to the bottom because you're fighting over the same diminishing pool of recruits Sockpuppet-kun.

[Germanshepherd]

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No. 9 Arizona State.... CAN I GET A " YEAH!"? FORK 'EM! BEAT ND!

And germanshepard, Ole Miss stays ahead of Nebraska because Nebraska has beaten absolutely no one of consequence. Nebraska's signature win is a five-point loss. They're lucky to be where they are. They're getting a gift with Wisconsin jumping up into the rankings, because outside of the Badgers, Nebraska's only other ranked opponent might be a second game against Michigan State in the B1G title game.

I was definitely interested to see how they'd handle the Ole Miss fall. I thought they'd drop maybe a bit more, like behind Baylor, but that's probably about right.

Utah didn't move at all in an OT road loss to a now top-ten team, and West Virginia dropped three spots in a one-point home loss to a top-ten team. I find that a little odd, but whatever.

Everything else is just about right.

Yeah I get what you mean. They seem to be going more of the "who did you beat" route vs "who you lost to"

Anyways according to Coach Bo Pelini Ameer Abdullah should be 100% for Wisconsin game after bye week.

Kinda glad they have a bye week, so many good games on.

[DCarp1231]

Watching the E:60 report on the Air Force Academy Scandal involving the football team angers me... Eric Thomas should not have been disenrolled for doing the right thing... He got 3 players dismissed for rape and stopped many rapes from potentially happening... The sole reason for his disenrollment? Leaving the campus without permission on multiple occasions.

[TheRicSlick]

Watching the E:60 report on the Air Force Academy Scandal involving the football team angers me... Eric Thomas should not have been disenrolled for doing the right thing... He got 3 players dismissed for rape and stopped many rapes from potentially happening... The sole reason for his disenrollment? Leaving the campus without permission on multiple occasions.

Watched the same thing, it amazed me how protective schools like Air Force are of their football programs.

[tj4eck]

My Bowl Projections (Based of my rankings)

I know you think I'm playing favorites to Oregon, but it's the same formula I've been using all year and they just so happen to be #1

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Championship Bowl - Semifinal winners -

Sugar Bowl - Semifinal 1 vs. Semifinal 4.......Oregon vs. Auburn

Rose Bowl - Semifinal 2 vs. Semifinal 3.......Florida St. vs. Alabama

SELECTION COMMITTEE BOWL GAMES (One from Minor 5)

Cotton Bowl - At-Large vs. At-Large..........Ole Miss vs. Baylor

Orange Bowl - ACC #2 vs. SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame..Clemson vs. Michigan St.

Fiesta Bowl - At-Large vs. At-Large..........Ohio St. vs. Marshall

Peach Bowl - At-Large vs. At-Large..........Georgia vs. Kansas St.

OTHER BOWL GAMES

GoDaddy.com Bowl - MAC #1 vs. Sun Belt #1.......Northern Illinois vs. UL-Lafayette

Birmingham Bowl - American #4 vs. SEC #11...........Houston vs. Arkansas

Cactus Bowl - Big 12 #6 vs. Pac-12 #5.........Oklahoma St. vs. Stanford

Alamo Bowl - Big 12 #5 vs. Pac-12 #4.........West Virginia vs. Arizona St.

TaxSlayer Bowl - ACC/Big Ten #5 vs. SEC #4............Iowa vs. LSU

Armed Forces Bowl - American #3 vs. Army/AtLarge......Cincinnati vs. Utah

Outback Bowl - Big Ten #9 vs. SEC #7............Minnesota vs. Missouri

Capital One Bowl - ACC/Big Ten #7 vs. SEC #5............Penn St. vs. Mississippi St.

San Francisco Bowl - Big Ten #6 vs. Pac-12 #3.........Maryland vs. USC

Belk Bowl - ACC #10 vs. SEC #9............Virginia vs. South Carolina

Music City Bowl - ACC #5/Big Ten vs. SEC #6............Louisville vs. Texas A&M

Texas Bowl - Big 12 #2 vs. SEC #8............Oklahoma vs. Florida

Russell Athletic Bowl - ACC #3 vs. Big 12 #3.........Miami (FL) vs. TCU

Liberty Bowl - Big 12 #4 vs. SEC #10...........Texas vs. Tennessee

Holiday Bowl - Big Ten #3 vs. Pac-12 #2.........Nebraska vs. UCLA

Pinstripe Bowl - ACC #4 vs. Big Ten #4........Duke vs. Wisconsin

Independence Bowl - SEC/AtLarge vs. ACC #9............Notre Dame vs. Boston College

Sun Bowl - ACC #6 vs. Pac-12 #6.........Georgia Tech vs. Washington

Military Bowl - ACC #7 vs. American #2.......Virginia Tech vs. ECU

Bitcoin Bowl - ACC #11 vs. American #5.......Pitt vs. Memphis

Quick Lane Bowl - ACC #8 vs. Big Ten #10.......North Carolina vs. Northwestern

Heart of Dallas Bowl - Big Ten #8/Big 12 vs. C-USA #2..........Michigan vs. Louisiana Tech

Hawaii Bowl - Mountain West #3 vs. C-USA #5..........Utah St. vs. UAB

Bahamas Bowl - C-USA #4 vs. MAC #4............UTSA vs. Central Michigan

Poinsettia Bowl - Mountain West #1 vs. Navy..............Boise St. vs. Navy

Boca Raton Bowl - C-USA #1 vs. MAC #5............Rice vs. Ball St.

Miami Beach Bowl - American #1 vs. BYU...............UCF vs. BYU

Camellia Bowl - MAC #2 vs. Sun Belt #3.......Bowling Green vs. South Alabama

Idaho Potato Bowl - MAC #3 vs. Mountain West #5..Toledo vs. San Diego St.

Royal Purple Bowl - Mountain West #2 vs. Pac-12 #7.........Colorado St. vs. Arizona

New Mexico Bowl - Mountain West #4 vs. C-USA #3..........Nevada vs. Middle Tennessee

New Orleans Bowl - Sun Belt #2 vs. Mountain West #6..Arkansas St. vs. Fresno St.

[Seadragon76]

So, I guess it's fair to do a prediction for the New Year Six games for this week based on these rankings.

Semifinals:

-Sugar Bowl: #4 Oregon vs. #1 Mississippi State

-Rose Bowl: #3 Auburn vs. #2 Florida State

Orange Bowl: #21 Clemson (highest ranked ACC team) vs. #5 Alabama

Cotton Bowl: #6 TCU vs. #8 Michigan State

Fiesta Bowl: #7 Kansas State vs. #9 Arizona State

Peach Bowl: #10 Notre Dame vs. Group of 5 (Current contenders: Colorado State, East Carolina, Marshall)

[TheRicSlick]

My Bowl Projections (Based of my rankings)

I know you think I'm playing favorites to Oregon, but it's the same formula I've been using all year and they just so happen to be #1

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Championship Bowl - Semifinal winners -

Sugar Bowl - Semifinal 1 vs. Semifinal 4.......Oregon vs. Auburn

Rose Bowl - Semifinal 2 vs. Semifinal 3.......Florida St. vs. Alabama

SELECTION COMMITTEE BOWL GAMES (One from Minor 5)

Cotton Bowl - At-Large vs. At-Large..........Ole Miss vs. Baylor

Orange Bowl - ACC #2 vs. SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame..Clemson vs. Michigan St.

Fiesta Bowl - At-Large vs. At-Large..........Ohio St. vs. Marshall

Peach Bowl - At-Large vs. At-Large..........Georgia vs. Kansas St.

OTHER BOWL GAMES

GoDaddy.com Bowl - MAC #1 vs. Sun Belt #1.......Northern Illinois vs. UL-Lafayette

Birmingham Bowl - American #4 vs. SEC #11...........Houston vs. Arkansas

Cactus Bowl - Big 12 #6 vs. Pac-12 #5.........Oklahoma St. vs. Stanford

Alamo Bowl - Big 12 #5 vs. Pac-12 #4.........West Virginia vs. Arizona St.

TaxSlayer Bowl - ACC/Big Ten #5 vs. SEC #4............Iowa vs. LSU

Armed Forces Bowl - American #3 vs. Army/AtLarge......Cincinnati vs. Utah

Outback Bowl - Big Ten #9 vs. SEC #7............Minnesota vs. Missouri

Capital One Bowl - ACC/Big Ten #7 vs. SEC #5............Penn St. vs. Mississippi St.

San Francisco Bowl - Big Ten #6 vs. Pac-12 #3.........Maryland vs. USC

Belk Bowl - ACC #10 vs. SEC #9............Virginia vs. South Carolina

Music City Bowl - ACC #5/Big Ten vs. SEC #6............Louisville vs. Texas A&M

Texas Bowl - Big 12 #2 vs. SEC #8............Oklahoma vs. Florida

Russell Athletic Bowl - ACC #3 vs. Big 12 #3.........Miami (FL) vs. TCU

Liberty Bowl - Big 12 #4 vs. SEC #10...........Texas vs. Tennessee

Holiday Bowl - Big Ten #3 vs. Pac-12 #2.........Nebraska vs. UCLA

Pinstripe Bowl - ACC #4 vs. Big Ten #4........Duke vs. Wisconsin

Independence Bowl - SEC/AtLarge vs. ACC #9............Notre Dame vs. Boston College

Sun Bowl - ACC #6 vs. Pac-12 #6.........Georgia Tech vs. Washington

Military Bowl - ACC #7 vs. American #2.......Virginia Tech vs. ECU

Bitcoin Bowl - ACC #11 vs. American #5.......Pitt vs. Memphis

Quick Lane Bowl - ACC #8 vs. Big Ten #10.......North Carolina vs. Northwestern

Heart of Dallas Bowl - Big Ten #8/Big 12 vs. C-USA #2..........Michigan vs. Louisiana Tech

Hawaii Bowl - Mountain West #3 vs. C-USA #5..........Utah St. vs. UAB

Bahamas Bowl - C-USA #4 vs. MAC #4............UTSA vs. Central Michigan

Poinsettia Bowl - Mountain West #1 vs. Navy..............Boise St. vs. Navy

Boca Raton Bowl - C-USA #1 vs. MAC #5............Rice vs. Ball St.

Miami Beach Bowl - American #1 vs. BYU...............UCF vs. BYU

Camellia Bowl - MAC #2 vs. Sun Belt #3.......Bowling Green vs. South Alabama

Idaho Potato Bowl - MAC #3 vs. Mountain West #5..Toledo vs. San Diego St.

Royal Purple Bowl - Mountain West #2 vs. Pac-12 #7.........Colorado St. vs. Arizona

New Mexico Bowl - Mountain West #4 vs. C-USA #3..........Nevada vs. Middle Tennessee

New Orleans Bowl - Sun Belt #2 vs. Mountain West #6..Arkansas St. vs. Fresno St.

Too many damn bowls.

[jaker52]

I like the committee so far. Anyone else think Utah could get in or at least to the Rose Bowl? I think beating oregon and winning the PAC 12 would do them to the rose bowl but TCU and Bama are obviously next in line.

[Burmy]

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No. 9 Arizona State.... CAN I GET A " YEAH!"? FORK 'EM! BEAT ND!

And germanshepard, Ole Miss stays ahead of Nebraska because Nebraska has beaten absolutely no one of consequence. Nebraska's signature win is a five-point loss. They're lucky to be where they are. They're getting a gift with Wisconsin jumping up into the rankings, because outside of the Badgers, Nebraska's only other ranked opponent might be a second game against Michigan State in the B1G title game.

I was definitely interested to see how they'd handle the Ole Miss fall. I thought they'd drop maybe a bit more, like behind Baylor, but that's probably about right.

Utah didn't move at all in an OT road loss to a now top-ten team, and West Virginia dropped three spots in a one-point home loss to a top-ten team. I find that a little odd, but whatever.

Everything else is just about right.

How is Marshall, which is still UNDEFEATED, not in the Top 25?

Proof that the system will always need reforming...

[rams80]

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No. 9 Arizona State.... CAN I GET A " YEAH!"? FORK 'EM! BEAT ND!

And germanshepard, Ole Miss stays ahead of Nebraska because Nebraska has beaten absolutely no one of consequence. Nebraska's signature win is a five-point loss. They're lucky to be where they are. They're getting a gift with Wisconsin jumping up into the rankings, because outside of the Badgers, Nebraska's only other ranked opponent might be a second game against Michigan State in the B1G title game.

I was definitely interested to see how they'd handle the Ole Miss fall. I thought they'd drop maybe a bit more, like behind Baylor, but that's probably about right.

Utah didn't move at all in an OT road loss to a now top-ten team, and West Virginia dropped three spots in a one-point home loss to a top-ten team. I find that a little odd, but whatever.

Everything else is just about right.

How is Marshall, which is still UNDEFEATED, not in the Top 25?

Proof that the system will always need reforming...

Burmeister, Marshall's only played one team that currently has a winning record-the 5-4 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

[Burmy]

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No. 9 Arizona State.... CAN I GET A " YEAH!"? FORK 'EM! BEAT ND!

And germanshepard, Ole Miss stays ahead of Nebraska because Nebraska has beaten absolutely no one of consequence. Nebraska's signature win is a five-point loss. They're lucky to be where they are. They're getting a gift with Wisconsin jumping up into the rankings, because outside of the Badgers, Nebraska's only other ranked opponent might be a second game against Michigan State in the B1G title game.

I was definitely interested to see how they'd handle the Ole Miss fall. I thought they'd drop maybe a bit more, like behind Baylor, but that's probably about right.

Utah didn't move at all in an OT road loss to a now top-ten team, and West Virginia dropped three spots in a one-point home loss to a top-ten team. I find that a little odd, but whatever.

Everything else is just about right.

How is Marshall, which is still UNDEFEATED, not in the Top 25?

Proof that the system will always need reforming...

Burmeister, Marshall's only played one team that currently has a winning record-the 5-4 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

So? Even their schedule would give most teams ONE loss...if you're undefeated, you deserve to be in contention. Period.

[rams80]

Ummm....when your schedule consists of a horribad FCS team, 3 second-division MAC teams, and a bunch of second-division C-USA teams (in a down year for that conference), you don't. At least half of the Power 5 would go undefeated against that schedule.

[DS729]

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No. 9 Arizona State.... CAN I GET A " YEAH!"? FORK 'EM! BEAT ND!

And germanshepard, Ole Miss stays ahead of Nebraska because Nebraska has beaten absolutely no one of consequence. Nebraska's signature win is a five-point loss. They're lucky to be where they are. They're getting a gift with Wisconsin jumping up into the rankings, because outside of the Badgers, Nebraska's only other ranked opponent might be a second game against Michigan State in the B1G title game.

I was definitely interested to see how they'd handle the Ole Miss fall. I thought they'd drop maybe a bit more, like behind Baylor, but that's probably about right.

Utah didn't move at all in an OT road loss to a now top-ten team, and West Virginia dropped three spots in a one-point home loss to a top-ten team. I find that a little odd, but whatever.

Everything else is just about right.

How is Marshall, which is still UNDEFEATED, not in the Top 25?

Proof that the system will always need reforming...

Burmeister, Marshall's only played one team that currently has a winning record-the 5-4 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

So? Even their schedule would give most teams ONE loss...if you're undefeated, you deserve to be in contention. Period.

I'm pretty sure Virginia :censored:ing Tech could "breeze" through that schedule. Marshall will be rewarded with a New Year's Day Bowl if they win out the rest of their games, so it doesn't really matter if they're ranked in the committee's poll because they aren't in playoff contention either way.

[Saint Zephyr III]

You know I have to say that the current Top 8 seems to show that eight teams is going to end up being the sweet spot down the road. You'd have your Power Five conference champs represented (Mississippi State, Florida State, Oregon, TCU, Michigan State) and three runner-ups (Auburn, Alabama, Kansas State). And the matchups would be pretty great (Oregon vs. Alabama being the highlight).

[rams80]

So at least some UAB boosters are objecting to the current status quo regarding football in the University of Alabama system.

Particularly the part where they suspect the trustees are planning to strangle UAB football in the cradle.