2012 NCAA Football thread

[Island_Style]

If you guys are looking for a snow game, the Pinstripe Bowl tomorrow will more than likely have that for you. I'll be out in the elements as well so woo hoo

Awesome! I love snow games. I always have to watch. No matter who is playing.

[thespleenenator]

So, has Baylor just recovered well from losing Griffin or is UCLA overrated?

Both. Baylor is better than their record indicated, and UCLA played in a REALLY weak conference. Stanford and Oregon were good this season, but the PAC 12 as a whole was pretty much terrible this year. The PAC South in particular was a disaster.

The Pac-12 was terrible? Even after all of the out of conference victories? The Pac-12 was at LEAST the third best conference in the nation this year.

[Island_Style]

So, has Baylor just recovered well from losing Griffin or is UCLA overrated?

Both. Baylor is better than their record indicated, and UCLA played in a REALLY weak conference. Stanford and Oregon were good this season, but the PAC 12 as a whole was pretty much terrible this year. The PAC South in particular was a disaster.

The Pac-12 was terrible? Even after all of the out of conference victories? The Pac-12 was at LEAST the third best conference in the nation this year.

I can buy that. I do think that the SEC and the Big12 is on a different level, though. I think the Pac is closer to the Big10 than the Big12.

[FiddySicks]

So, has Baylor just recovered well from losing Griffin or is UCLA overrated?

Both. Baylor is better than their record indicated, and UCLA played in a REALLY weak conference. Stanford and Oregon were good this season, but the PAC 12 as a whole was pretty much terrible this year. The PAC 12 South in particular was a disaster.

The Pac-12 was terrible? Even after all of the out of conference victories? The Pac-12 was at LEAST the third best conference in the nation this year.

They really weren't as strong of a conference as you think. Like I said Stanford and Oregon were the tops of the conference, and Oregon State was in that second tier with maybe Washington, and the rest of the conference really wasn't good. Cal, Colorado, Washington State? Woof. USC, Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, Utah? Basically the same inconsistent teams who hung around .500 all year. I'm not saying they were any better or worse than any other conference, as I'm not comparing them to other conferences, but the talent level in the PAC 12 after Stanford and Oregon didn't really show me much.

I say this as someone who watched a TON of PAC 12 games, and a lot of them live due to having ASU season tickets. When ASU played Oregon I was truly blown away at how talented that team was. I'd never seen any team play like that before live. They were a machine that just absolutely manhandled the Sun Devils and ran down their throats. But the rest of the conference just didn't have the talent to play at that same level.

[ninersdd]

McCarthy has to be loving this bowl game right now, with Ohio boatracing ULM. Definitely surprising considering Monroe looked tough against Baylor and took down Arkansas.(I know that Ohio won Happy Valley though)

[rams80]

The coaches aren't the only ones showing off for jobs. This is a try out for the NFL. These players are going to play hard for that NFL scout. He is gonna work his butt off. A great time to make a name for yourself. I still say a bowl game got David Garrard and Byron Leftwich a job in the NFL.The GMAC bowl.

One more thing. If Jimbo loses the Orange Bowl to NIU, hot seat nation.

Meaningless exhibition in the stat book. That is it.

Rams, so you think players and coaches lay down for bowl games? Bull crap. Too much money involved.

There's no more money involved for the players that win than the ones that lose. You get the same gift bag from the local chamber of commerce regardless.

Coaches have jobs to keep.

And that's why all the borderline coaches were already sacked this season. Given how recruiting works, after the bowl is too late to make a move. About the biggest post-bowl termination in recent memory is Rich Rodriguez, and he was in a lot of trouble before the Gator Bowl blowout.

Assistant coaches have jobs to win.

Hires have already been made. The bowl game isn't going to help you there.

Seniors on a team knowing that this is it.

Good, so you get pt regardless. Why practice hard and bust your ass? It's over dude.

Other players on the team knowing that this bowl game could be the best reward in their football career.

The players have already gotten their reward. The gift bag full of crap that would be an impermissible benefit were they to receive it in any other circumstance.

Don't tell me coaches are afraid to show their game plan in a bowl game for people to look at next year for opponent studies. Any game film in 2012 will do.

They do pull punches in the Bowl. See also-Nebraska-Washington Holiday Bowl a few years ago.

Something tells me you never played organized sports.No one works hard all year just to lay down in the end.

If there's nothing tangible to gain from doing well in that last game, they do.

[Billy B]

I really think you're underestimating how much most of these teams care about the bowl games. They're not a good measuring stick for how conferences compare to each other, but to think that nobody involved cares about them is just wrong. These players and coaches are competitors. They want to win every time they step on the field even if they don't get anything extra for winning. These guys have pride and they're not going to throw that out because they're getting a cope of NCAA 13 whether they win or lose. And players are absolutely playing for jobs next year. If a guy completely mails it in during the month leading up to the bowl game he's going to be in the coach's dog house during spring practices. Does it ultimately matter what the outcome of the game is? Usually not. But it's just not true that these teams aren't busting their ass for the month leading up to it.

[HedleyLamarr]

Players (aside from those in the top bowl games, and even the magnitude of the bowl doesn't always matter) care more about the week of vacation and toned-down practices than they care about the game itself.

I've seen numerous Georgia teams not put out their best efforts in bowl games. I've seen multiple Peach/Chick-Fil-A Bowls have one or two uninspired football teams playing the game.

No one's doubting that players and coaches want to win the game. That doesn't always mean that they're putting their best efforts into a relatively meaningless game. Coaches are preoccupied with recruiting, and players are preoccupied with getting some tail recovering from the season and academics getting ready for the next season.

[Funky Bunky]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with Rams and Hedley, to an extent. I don't think players are always putting out their best effort for the Papa Johns.com Bowl. Of course the teams want to win the game, but I don't think they're going to put out the same effort for that game, as they would for a rivalry game, game against a ranked opponent, etc. Especially if the Bowl game is in a place like Florida or California.

[thespleenenator]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with Rams and Hedley, to an extent. I don't think players are always putting out their best effort for the Papa Johns.com Bowl. Of course the teams want to win the game, but I don't think they're going to put out the same effort for that game, as they would for a rivalry game, game against a ranked opponent, etc. Especially if the Bowl game is in a place like Florida or California.

An example would be the bowl game that's going on right now. Neither team really looks motivated to play.

[tBBP]

Y'all gotta look at this with a little more perspective.

True, BIG-name programs may not care nearly as much about some shmuck run-of-the-mill Kellogg's Corn Flakes Cereal Bowl game (seriously, Kellogg's needs to buy a bowl sponsorship--the laughter would be out of control), but when you get small-time little-jim programs like pre-Fiesta Bowl cinderella-darlings Boise State, Nevada back before anyone other than Bucfan56 knew who they were, East Carolina and Central Florida from a couple years ago, and Northern Illinois this year, you better believe those players and coaches will get amped up...especially if they're playing against a more well-known program. Those smaller-time programs may not have the notoriety nor the TV time during the regular season, so these "meaningless" bowl games (with the exception of Boise in the Fiesta back in '07 or whenever that was) carry much more incentive--a way for them to make their names known on the national stage, and maybe even garner some new fans in the process. (It also helps in recruiting for those smaller programs--a tangible side-effect that cannot and should not be ignored here.)

And if you go back and look, each of those programs made some kind of mark in their maybe-not-so-meaningful bowl games, even if they didn't win it. I already mentioned Boise. I found about about Nevada back in '07 and '08 from their bowl games (and their somehow-increased appearances on ESPN Thursday night, which is how I found out about their version of the Pistol; been following them ever since). I believe it was Auburn that East Carolina took to the brink before ultimately falling down the stretch (or maybe it was South Carolina--point being, that would have been a huge win for that program had they pulled it off). I'm sure Hedley remembers Central Florida taking down UGA in that one bowl game a few years back (and to his point, I also remember something not looking quite right about UGA during that game, too.) And now this year Northern Illinois has a chance to prove itself on the big stage, against Florida State. (And to Island_Style's point, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if NIU took down the Noles, either--at which point Jimbo will be chased down with burning pitchforks the second he steps off the plane in Tallahassee.)

All this is to say...to some programs, these "lesser" bowl games can and do mean something...beyond the bag of trinkets, even.

[thespleenenator]

Y'all gotta look at this with a little more perspective.

True, BIG-name programs may not care nearly as much about some shmuck run-of-the-mill Kellogg's Corn Flakes Cereal Bowl game (seriously, Kellogg's needs to buy a bowl sponsorship--the laughter would be out of control), but when you get small-time little-jim programs like pre-Fiesta Bowl cinderella-darlings Boise State, Nevada back before anyone other than Bucfan56 knew who they were, East Carolina and Central Florida from a couple years ago, and Northern Illinois this year, you better believe those players and coaches will get amped up...especially if they're playing against a more well-known program. Those smaller-time programs may not have the notoriety nor the TV time during the regular season, so these "meaningless" bowl games (with the exception of Boise in the Fiesta back in '07 or whenever that was) carry much more incentive--a way for them to make their names known on the national stage, and maybe even garner some new fans in the process. (It also helps in recruiting for those smaller programs--a tangible side-effect that cannot and should not be ignored here.)

And if you go back and look, each of those programs made some kind of mark in their maybe-not-so-meaningful bowl games, even if they didn't win it. I already mentioned Boise. I found about about Nevada back in '07 and '08 from their bowl games (and their somehow-increased appearances on ESPN Thursday night, which is how I found out about their version of the Pistol; been following them ever since). I believe it was Auburn that East Carolina took to the brink before ultimately falling down the stretch (or maybe it was South Carolina--point being, that would have been a huge win for that program had they pulled it off). I'm sure Hedley remembers Central Florida taking down UGA in that one bowl game a few years back. And now this year Northern Illinois has a chance to prove itself on the big stage, against Florida State. (And to Island_Style's point, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if NIU took down the Noles, either--at which point Jimbo will be chased down with burning pitchforks the second he steps off the plane in Tallahassee.)

All this is to say...to some programs, these "lesser" bowl games can and do mean something...beyond the bag of trinkets, as well.

Oh I agree that it depends on the program. Watching the Little Cesears Bowl, it was obvious that both teams were very motivated.

[thespleenenator]

Alright, so watching the commercials.... did Subway just use Eric LaGrand to advertise their sandwiches, saying that that's how he's trying to recover? There are so many things wrong with that, I can't even list them all.

[tj4eck]

It may be time for Beamer to step down.

He seems to have lost his team, and VTech just doen't look like it wants to live up to their talent levels.

[FiddySicks]

I think another thing people underestimate is just how much these dudes enjoy playing football. Sure it may have been a long season and you're team is 7-5 in a mid major bowl game, but its another opportunity for these guys to go out for one more week and do something they enjoy doing. Sure a lot of the motivation for playing college football is the scholarship and possibility to go pro, but one motivation these guys have is that they genuinely like what they're doing. College football is a TON of work and commitment, and it can be hard to stick to anything, no matter the benefits, if it just constantly feels like a chore. So yeah, why wouldn't a lot of these guys be motivated for a bowl game? It's another opportunity to go out and do something that they enjoy one more time before the season ends.

[thespleenenator]

I honestly think the MAC is better than the Big East this year. This is pretty sad.

[dbadefense1990]

I'm still waiting for the day Kellogg's get a sponsorship to one of these bowl games....

So if someone wins the Special K Bowl, will a bowl of some flakes be the trophy?

"Ey fatty, you won a football game. Now eat this and see what will you gain when you lose some of that weight."

[dbadefense1990]

Alright, so watching the commercials.... did Subway just use Eric LaGrand to advertise their sandwiches, saying that that's how he's trying to recover? There are so many things wrong with that, I can't even list them all.

I'll start:

- when Subway says they use fresh meats and veggies cut on that day

- when every sub is advertised as healthy

- when their footlongs are a foot long

- when their light mayo is light on the calories

[dfwabel]

Alright, so watching the commercials.... did Subway just use Eric LaGrand to advertise their sandwiches, saying that that's how he's trying to recover? There are so many things wrong with that, I can't even list them all.

He and his family have to pay his bills. The NCAA does some under its catastrophic injury plan, but READ THIS from after the Tulane kid was paralyzed at Tulsa earlier this year.

That's why he is doing it. Take any money which you can get for your long term care. There is a reason why others, like Penn State's Adam Taliaferro had to set up foundations to pay their bills...their family's policy did not cover enough.

[thespleenenator]

Alright, so watching the commercials.... did Subway just use Eric LaGrand to advertise their sandwiches, saying that that's how he's trying to recover? There are so many things wrong with that, I can't even list them all.

He and his family have to pay his bills. The NCAA does some under its catastrophic injury plan, but READ THISfrom after the Tulane kid was paralyzed at Tulsa earlier this year.

That's why he is doing it. Take any money which you can get for your long term care. There is a reason why others, like Penn State's Adam Taliaferro had to set up foundations to pay their bills...their family's policy did not cover enough.

Oh I know why Eric did it, but I just this that it's a terrible commercial to take advantage of that to sell sandwiches.