# 2014 College Football General Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937 "2014-08-30T03:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/342 "2014-10-21T21:17:07Z")
SEC & B1G: Get a room! Signed, the rest of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/343 "2014-10-21T21:23:28Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I should have inserted the :dubious: emoticon. > > From the context of his post, he didn’t count the two neutral field opponents. I think there were 3, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/344 "2014-10-21T21:50:00Z")
Maybe he thought Louisville was still in the Big East and only counted Clemson once. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/345 "2014-10-22T00:56:59Z")
Look, we are not going to solve this here… Since it was already [solved in Vegas](http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/91502/sec-has-top-three-teams-in-vegas-rankings)! I don’t even think **BobLibDem** can work the Vegas bookmakers into his conspiracy theory of corrupt pollsters. These are the folks who make millions being right about which team is better than which and they’ve got three SEC teams in the top three and five out of ten. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/346 "2014-10-22T03:57:26Z")
Not to derail this thread derailing, but let me change the subject somewhat and post my interesting games for this week… maybe it will move us in a different direction. I do find it funny… this sounds like a sports bar argument I’ve had a zillion times. We should do chili with or without beans next! Friday Night Lights! Oregon v. California! Oregon should cruise, but Cal is scoring well… and they played UCLA pretty tough. So can they make this interesting? Texas - Kansas State… not because I think this will be a game, but I just LOVE to watch this Kansas State offense work… If you haven’t watched it yet, do yourself a favor. Their pop passes where Waters is running forward and then throws to a receiver are deadly. It’s so unconventional, it reminds me of watching the Triple Option or the Pistol right after Nevada got it rolling. Just neat to watch for a football fan. Michigan - Michigan State. Bwahahahahaha! Couldn’t even pretend. Ole Miss - LSU. What does Les have in his bag of tricks? SCar v. Auburn. Can SCar revive this year? Bama v. Tennessee. Will Butch finally beat somebody? I put all those SEC previews together so as not to offend Bob. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/347 "2014-10-22T14:31:22Z")
It’s finally Michigan-Michigan State week! Michigan may be having a rough year but I’m sure they’ll give it their best shot. I predict unless Brady Hoke can beat either MSU or OSU then he’s going to be out of a job. Between that and the incredible botching of the concussion event, I just don’t see him returning. MSU can and should run the table, rolling over either Minnesota or Northwestern in the Big Ten title game. If the committee is fair, they should make the final four. Their first rankings come out next week, let’s see just how fair they are. In the SEC, I wish wins for LSU, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Probably won’t get them but you never know. Where is Game Day this week? After 3 weeks in Dixie, hope they go somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/348 "2014-10-22T14:57:09Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Where is Game Day this week? After 3 weeks in Dixie, hope they go somewhere else. Its held at a school who has more NCAA Championship wins in Baseball in the last 30 years (5) than the “competitive” B1G has appearance in the College World Series in last 30 years (1). Hold that Tiger! I guess the could have brought Gameday to Champaign for the Golden Gopher and Fightin’ Illini. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/349 "2014-10-22T15:02:55Z")
Since the SEC has 3 Tigers, I’m guessing LSU. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/350 "2014-10-22T17:16:59Z")
> [@Doctor\_Who](#): > > Friday Night Lights! Oregon v. California! Oregon should cruise, but Cal is scoring well… and they played UCLA pretty tough. So can they make this interesting? I wish it weren’t true, but: No. This will be a blow-out. The Bears haven’t faced a defense as good as Oregon’s, and Oregon’s O will score at will against the Bears awful pass defense – plus they’ll be without their best D lineman. (But a word about my Golden Bears: they are 1000% better than last year, in talent, execution and attitude. This year has been fun, and next year we will be a force in the Pac-12). I would be there, but the marketing geniuses in Cal’s athletic department gave away what little home field advantage they had by moving this game to Levi’s Stadium. So instead of a beautiful Saturday afternoon on the lovely Berkeley campus, we get Friday night Silicon Valley rush hour traffic and double-priced seats (not included in the season ticket package). Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/351 "2014-10-22T17:43:25Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > At the start, this thread was fun. Now, it’s devolved into yet another SEC vs antiSEC pissing thread. > > Oh well, seems to come with the territory… > > Go Colorado School of Mines Gophers! Colorado School of Mines is the Orediggers - number 77 ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/352 "2014-10-22T22:59:07Z")
Just curious — what does the Coaches’ Poll have against Oregon? I can see flipping a coin between, say, Oregon and Auburn, but how do you rank Michigan State ahead of Oregon, when Oregon trounced them? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/353 "2014-10-22T23:42:10Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Just curious — what does the Coaches’ Poll have against Oregon? > > I can see flipping a coin between, say, Oregon and Auburn, but how do you rank Michigan State ahead of Oregon, when Oregon trounced them? I think it may be because the one Oregon loss was to an unranked team at home, while MSU’s was to a highly ranked team on the road after outplaying them for 3 quarters. Take away a brilliant improv play by the Oregon QB on 3rd and long and the game goes the other way. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/354 "2014-10-22T23:55:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I think it may be because the one Oregon loss was to an unranked team at home, while MSU’s was to a highly ranked team on the road after outplaying them for 3 quarters. Take away a brilliant improv play by the Oregon QB on 3rd and long and the game goes the other way. Not clear to me why Arizona was unranked, then or now. They still have a 5-1 record, the only loss being by 2 points to USC, which is no cupcake. That aside, I’ve never heard of a tie-breaking system where head-to-head isn’t the first criterion. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/355 "2014-10-23T00:12:42Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Not clear to me why Arizona was unranked, then or now. They still have a 5-1 record, the only loss being by 2 points to USC, which is no cupcake. > > That aside, I’ve never heard of a tie-breaking system where head-to-head isn’t the first criterion. You make a good point, the trouble is when Oregon lost to Arizona it wasn’t clear that Arizona was a good team. I wouldn’t sweat the polls yet, win out and you’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/356 "2014-10-23T03:15:49Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Not clear to me why Arizona was unranked, then or now. They still have a 5-1 record, the only loss being by 2 points to USC, which is no cupcake. > > That aside, I’ve never heard of a tie-breaking system where head-to-head isn’t the first criterion. I don’t know if we still know anything about Arizona. Who else have they beaten? Head-to-head works fine to break a tie between two teams, but if you have a 3-way tie you need additional criteria (if A beat B, B beat C, and C beat A) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/357 "2014-10-23T04:02:35Z")
Arizona is #15 – they beat the Ducks and the Bears and lost to the Trojans Arizona State is #14 – they lost rather badly to the Bruins but then beat the Trojans and beat the ranked Cardinal rather convincingly Arizona is a fairly good team, but it looks like they might have a leaky defense, which is probably why they are not ranked higher. USC may not be a bite-sized baked confection, but they are also not a fearsome powerhouse, they are a bit meh, just good enough for a mid-to-late December bowl. Or so it looks to me, right now. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/358 "2014-10-23T04:06:30Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Not clear to me why Arizona was unranked, then or now. They still have a 5-1 record, the only loss being by 2 points to USC, which is no cupcake. > > That aside, I’ve never heard of a tie-breaking system where head-to-head isn’t the first criterion. If it weren’t for that missed field goal, they wouldn’t have lost to USC either. Arizona is ranked 15 right now. The Pac-12 has some pretty good parity this year, nearly any team could beat any other. In the AP poll now not only do you have Oregon at #6, you have Arizona State at 14, Arizona at 15, Utah 19, USC 20, UCLA 25, and Stanford just got dropped after a loss to ASU. Oregon needs to be prepared, Cal, Stanford, and Utah aren’t cupcake teams. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/359 "2014-10-23T18:07:52Z")
> [@lel](#): > > If it weren’t for that missed field goal, they wouldn’t have lost to USC either. Then again, if it wasn’t for a Hail Mary, they would have lost at home to Cal. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/360 "2014-10-26T00:09:36Z")
Looks like the weekend of “_defense? what’s that?_” Georgia Southern single-handedly beat the closing o/u on their game by three and a half points. Not to be outdone, Texas Christian beat the o/u on their game by eleven points. I think their 82 may be the highest score so far this season. Under looks like a pretty high-risk play in college, though there have been a few low scoring games this week. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/361 "2014-10-26T02:09:08Z")
Some good ole fashioned defense in the Ole Miss/LSU game. Both teams have incredible speed. They appear to be playing at another level. LSU cannot seem to keep possession of the ball though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=19)