2011NCAA Football Thread

[thespleenenator]

I got no problem with picking all the games. If it's your thing, more power to you. I just have to ask, how many picks are pure guess work? I'm as big a college football fan as anyone but I'd have no idea who to pick in a lot of those games.

Lot's of extra research . Research that lead has lead me to go 52/55 last week, and have finished above 95% every year since my freshman year, for ESPN's pick'em ( I guess that doesn't mean much, but it's the only "evidence" of my work at my disposal right now).

I'd be impressed if 95% of those games that you picked weren't FBS school vs. FCS school. I mean seriously, who would ever pick Youngstown State, Southeast Louisiana or UC Davis to win?

I picked Richmond to beat Duke, and The disparity between FCS and FBS schools have gotten has gotten less and less over the years. I bet we're going to see schools look at the records of the FCS schools they play, instead of just scheduling FCS schools and assuming they are the same.

[ninersdd]

Tonight, Arizona gets OK State in Stillwater. This is a BRUTAL strech for them:

Tonight: @ OK State

9/17: vs Stanford

9/24: vs Oregon

10/1: @USC

Arizona lost to all those teams last year, and were blown out in 3 of 4 of them. Hopefully they can go 2-2 at least. Bear Down!

[thespleenenator]

Tonight, Arizona gets OK State in Stillwater. This is a BRUTAL strech for them:

Tonight: @ OK State

9/17: vs Stanford

9/24: vs Oregon

10/1: @USC

Arizona lost to all those teams last year, and were blown out in 3 of 4 of them. Hopefully they can go 2-2 at least. Bear Down!

I think they'll beat USC, but their running attack has not looked sharp. They need to seriously do some recruiting in the RB category, which they should've addressed years ago. If Mike Stoops doesn't prove that he can bring Arizona up a level, he might be gone soon.

[ninersdd]

Tonight, Arizona gets OK State in Stillwater. This is a BRUTAL strech for them:

Tonight: @ OK State

9/17: vs Stanford

9/24: vs Oregon

10/1: @USC

Arizona lost to all those teams last year, and were blown out in 3 of 4 of them. Hopefully they can go 2-2 at least. Bear Down!

I think they'll beat USC, but their running attack has not looked sharp. They need to seriously do some recruiting in the RB category, which they should've addressed years ago. If Mike Stoops doesn't prove that he can bring Arizona up a level, he might be gone soon.

U$C is very perplexing, I mean they seemingly have a solid amount of talent, but only beat lowly Minnesota by 2 at home last week. Of course there is the additional dynamic of them being ineligible for a bowl this year, but they are definitely a team I've had trouble figuring out.

[Drew22]

Holy cow, nice catch by Blackmon for OSU.

[thespleenenator]

Wow. Arizona is getting whipped.

They have 6 rushing yards at halftime. 6 YARDS!!!! They have to address the RB problem. They can't ride Nick Foles through an entire season.

[Still MIGHTY]

Yikes. Blackmon and Wheeden SHREDDED UofA. What a shame. But seriously, even with UA in a down year, OK State was pretty damn impressive. Definitely deserving of their high ranking, if just for that passing attack. Who knows how long that lasts, because after they roll Tulsa next week, they have a fellow Top-10 team in their trip to College Station to play the Aggies. That'll be some game to watch. Get through that, and they'll still have a bit of tough bumps with trips to Texas and Mizzou, and even the Baylor game (MAN, will that thing be a shootout). But just extrapolating the schedule a little bit, it is very conceivable to have the Cowboys be undefeated when they welcome in current #1 Oklahoma into Stillwater to finish their regular season. I'm definitely intrigued by this OSU this season.

----

Can't wait for the BLACKOUT tomorrow night vs Mizzou. Two ranked teams. New black unis. National TV audience on ESPN. Crowd will be pumped. Players will be pumped. Should be an awesome game in the Valley of the Sun. Give 'Em Hell, Devils.

[DCDuck]

I got no problem with picking all the games. If it's your thing, more power to you. I just have to ask, how many picks are pure guess work? I'm as big a college football fan as anyone but I'd have no idea who to pick in a lot of those games.

Lot's of extra research . Research that lead has lead me to go 52/55 last week, and have finished above 95% every year since my freshman year, for ESPN's pick'em ( I guess that doesn't mean much, but it's the only "evidence" of my work at my disposal right now).

I'd be impressed if 95% of those games that you picked weren't FBS school vs. FCS school. I mean seriously, who would ever pick Youngstown State, Southeast Louisiana or UC Davis to win?

I picked Richmond to beat Duke, and The disparity between FCS and FBS schools have gotten has gotten less and less over the years. I bet we're going to see schools look at the records of the FCS schools they play, instead of just scheduling FCS schools and assuming they are the same.

Or just avoid schools in the CAA entirely. The comparison has been made between the CAA in FCS and the SEC in FBS. There's a CAA school in the FCS Championship just about every year - and that's with the playoff system that's in place. The CAA schools are just that good.

[FiddySicks]

Now before I post this, I have to say that I absolutely HATE the Florida Gators, but even I think this is ridiculous.

NCAA suspends Florida DT Floyd for "Preferential Treatment"

Now, one thing this article doesn't mention is that the money he took came from a non-profit charity in order to help this kid actually get to the schools that were recruiting him for visits. And the "Preferential Treatment" that he got with housing and living expenses came because he was essentially homeless. The NCAA is so amazingly stupid.

[dfwabel]

Now before I post this, I have to say that I absolutely HATE the Florida Gators, but even I think this is ridiculous.

NCAA suspends Florida DT Floyd for "Preferential Treatment"

Now, one thing this article doesn't mention is that the money he took came from a non-profit charity in order to help this kid actually get to the schools that were recruiting him for visits. And the "Preferential Treatment" that he got with housing and living expenses came because he was essentially homeless. The NCAA is so amazingly stupid.

To me the bigger issue is that Florida did what they should have done in February, which was to self-report the violation and they (Florida) suspend him for one game. Then the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff "adds*" one more game 48 hours before kickoff. For Florida, there is little reason to appeal.

*-He could have received a four game suspension, like South Carolina WR Damiere Byrd received yesterday.

The NCAA's statement included the following:

Based on the mitigating circumstances in the case, the withholding condition was reduced from a potential four games to two. In its decision, the reinstatement staff cited the totality of Floyd?s circumstances, including his personal hardship that led to the impermissible benefits being provided to the student-athlete by someone other than a legal guardian or family member.

?We examine each situation carefully and consider all elements related to a student-athlete?s individual circumstances and the violation,? said Kevin Lennon, vice president of academic and membership affairs. ?This gives us the flexibility to tailor the conditions of reinstatement that take into account all details and are in the best interest of the involved student-athlete.?

[Lights Out]

Fresno State is so screwed.

[thespleenenator]

Fresno State is so screwed.

Food stamps? Really? What kind of women could they buy with that, broccoli whores?

On another note, Louisville sucks, and FIU is for real.

[RyanMcD29]

Wooo I knew 8-0 Big Beast weekend would quickly lead to things going back to Big Least mode

[TaylorGangorDie]

And this is why I had no problem moving FIU into the ACC after a couple seasons on NCAA 12 where they actually have been to bowl games each year since.

[thespleenenator]

I've said this before, and I will say it again. This team is the next Boise State.

[vmd9]

Yeah right, the beat Louisville and they're the Next Boise? Just because a small school beats a BCS school, it doesn't automatically make them the future Boise. Akron beat the crap out of Syracuse a few years ago and last year we only won one game. next Boise for us too? cool...

They made only 1 bowl game and tonight was their ONLY win against a BCS team. Not to mention they were only 7-6

[TaylorGangorDie]

They made only 1 bowl game and tonight was their ONLY win against a BCS team. Not to mention they were only 7-6

They've been around for 10 years. Only one other school, USF, has had success that quickly and they're a team that should have won the Big East a few times by now except they fail to meet expectations. They're taking steps in the right direction and gaining the attention of recruits. That's all you can ask. Calling them the next boise is a bit much, but I'd compare them more to UConn or USF

[thespleenenator]

Yes, but they have a bunch of talent, a great coach, a great location, and they've only been around for 10 years. I called that they would beat Louisville tonight. This isn't a reaction, this is something I've believed for a while. Look at their season records since they joined FBS. Notice a pattern?

[ninersdd]

Gotta admit, looking at the Scum Devil-Missouri gamecast on ESPN, it's weird seeing ASU using the new fork and lettering instead of Sparky.

[infrared41]

Gotta admit, looking at the Scum Devil-Missouri gamecast on ESPN, it's weird seeing ASU using the new fork and lettering instead of Sparky.

Yeah, that all black look with the fork takes some getting used to. Can't say I'm a fan of it. Anyway... It's shaping up like it might be a pretty good game. Damn it's great to have college football back.