# 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:** 66
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1302 "2015-01-15T03:11:55Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Well, that was very disappointing. At some point it will be possible to look back on this amazing season – Pac-12 champions, Rose Bowl champions, Heisman Trophy – but today just really sucks. [Butters said it best.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G1lj8MBRpQ) Nothing to do now but wait for the next near-inevitable kick in the balls when Mariota leaves for the NFL. > > Have to give all the credit to Ohio State, they dominated both lines of scrimmage the whole game. Statistically over the course of the season their defense wasn’t any better than some teams we dropped 50 on, but clearly they peaked at the right time. Congratulations to the Buckeyes and their fans. > > 235 days until Eastern Washington at home. OK, so I hopped in my time machine the other day and went to visit my ten year old self. After catching up on some trivia…Black President, collapse of the USSR, that sort of thing…we got down to business. He asked me plaintively if he would ever live to see the Ducks have a winning season or even (hardly daring to breathe the words) get to play in a bowl game? I told him that our Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback had just led us to our fourth league title in the last six years, followed by a blowout Rose Bowl win over a team that hadn’t lost in two years. Then I told him that I was feeling really bummed that the season hadn’t gone any better than that. He slapped the shit out of me. Thanks, kid, I needed that. Go Ducks. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1303 "2015-01-15T03:14:54Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > And then there’s [this](http://www.goodbullhunting.com/2015/1/13/7538117/early-top-25-3015-college-football-alabama-south-bend-lifetime-ohio-penal-qatar-peking-austin). Only #15? More SEC/East Coast/Martian bias! ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1304 "2015-01-15T03:24:06Z")
Well, looks like I changed my attitude just in time. [Mariota declares for NFL draft.](http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/oregon-qb-marcus-mariota-declares-early-for-the-nfl-draft-194820006.html). Aloha, Marcus. Thanks for the wins, the records, and the class. We will never forget you. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1305 "2015-01-15T03:40:04Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Aloha, Marcus. Thanks for the wins, the records, and the class. We will never forget you. Don’t worry. When he reflects back over his football career, his years at Nike U will be his favorite. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1306 "2015-01-31T22:30:51Z")
Thought you guys might appreciate this: > **[Fall Out Boy Has Apologized To America For ESPN Playing Their Song So Much](https://www.chatsports.com/ncaa/a/Fall-Out-Boy-Has-Apologized-To-America-For-ESPN-Playing-Their-Song-So-Much-18471)** > > If you've watched ESPN for more than five or six seconds over the past few months, you've heard it. > "eh eh eh eh, you will reme... ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1307 "2015-01-31T23:12:11Z")
Yes I was quite tired of that song. And Rory McIlroy’s Omega Watch commercial song too. (finally figured what the last line was) Just caught a glimpse of Ga Tech’s 2015 schedule. Clemson, FSU, Miami, Va Tech in conference Notre Dame and UGA out of conference All of them have been top 10 teams at the year end ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1308 "2015-02-01T01:10:52Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Yes I was quite tired of that song. > > And Rory McIlroy’s Omega Watch commercial song too. (finally figured what the last line was) > > Just caught a glimpse of Ga Tech’s 2015 schedule. > > Clemson, FSU, Miami, Va Tech in conference > Notre Dame and UGA out of conference > > All of them have been top 10 teams at the year end BTW, I have a feeling that this is going to be Tiger’s year. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1309 "2015-02-01T01:40:09Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > BTW, I have a feeling that this is going to be Tiger’s year. 🙂 Auburn, Missouri, Clemson, LSU should be highly ranked next year!!😃 Grambling too! ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1310 "2015-02-01T09:57:42Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Just caught a glimpse of Ga Tech’s 2015 schedule. > > Clemson, FSU, Miami, Va Tech in conference > Notre Dame and UGA out of conference > > All of them have been top 10 teams at the year end Which year end? 😉 The only ones I see in the regular season end or post bowl polls in the top 10 are FSU and UGA. Clemson was at least ranked and finished a not too shabby 15 in the AP. Not a bad schedule to make a case for a playoff if they have success but not exactly 6 top ten teams either. It certainly should be exciting for their fans. You did make me have to go check out my Spartans against this year’s final rankings: Top 5 - Oregon (home) and Ohio State (away) No other ranked teams at the end but Air Force, Nebraska and Minnesota as teams getting votes (and Nebraska was ranked in the last regular season poll) Oregon and Air Force with no FCS teams isn’t a bad non-conference schedule. I can deal with it.😃 I still wish Notre Dame hadn’t wussed on the long tradition to play the ACC-Lite schedule. I just have to root for ACC teams to throat punch them which is less gratifying. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1311 "2015-02-01T17:04:02Z")
I believe Notre Dame played in the BCS game a couple of years ago! OK, for the rest of them…You have to go back a decade or two (or three) ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1312 "2015-02-13T21:12:31Z")
So am I happy that Vernon Adams, the QB from Eastern Washington who in the last couple years beat Oregon State and put 52 points on Wash11ngton with a FCS team, has transferred to Oregon to compete for the starting job against two four-star freshmen and last year’s backup? Why, yes, I am!! Dream, little ducklings, dream… ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1313 "2015-02-13T21:19:34Z")
For year-end ranked teams, we have Michigan State, Utah, and USC, with Stanford among the also-rans. The other OOC games are Georgia State (there’s a Georgia State? go figure…) and what now figures to be a huge grudge match against Eastern Washington. Hoping that the schedule works out for me to make it to East Lansing!! ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1314 "2015-02-13T23:01:57Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > BTW, I have a feeling that this is going to be Tiger’s year. 🙂 So far so good. Dead Last and WD. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1315 "2015-02-14T01:32:37Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > What I find ridiculous is the media panting about whether Jones will declare for the NFL. He’s played three games. Big games? Yes. Played great? Yes. Three starts even at the very highest level of college football does not make him ready for the NFL. I kinda thought that he should go for the draft. Strike while the iron is hot. I understand that it seems crazy after 3 games, but consider the other possibilities if he stays: 1.) Go back to being a backup behind one or both of the other 2 guys that were ahead of him in the depth chart 2.) Getting injured (like the 2 guys that were ahead of him in the depth chart) 3.) Starting, but not having as good of a season. (like Jameis Winston) 4.) Starting and having as good a season (i.e. winning another NC) Only possibility 4 would improve his value. So, I think he should have declared for the draft. Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1316 "2015-02-14T02:10:39Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Hoping that the schedule works out for me to make it to East Lansing!! The game is a little early for fall color but if you make it take a detour along the river through campus. It passes right by the stadium so it’s a trip that can be as long or short as you want. There’s no better way to get a feel for it’s giant land grant campus than “on the banks of the Red Cedar.” There’s a reason that’s a quote from the start of the fight song. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1317 "2015-02-14T05:18:50Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > So far so good. Dead Last and WD. Nothing gets past you. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1318 "2015-02-14T13:42:23Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > 1.) Go back to being a backup behind one or both of the other 2 guys that were ahead of him in the depth chart > 2.) Getting injured (like the 2 guys that were ahead of him in the depth chart) > 3.) Starting, but not having as good of a season. (like Jameis Winston) > 4.) Starting and having as good a season (i.e. winning another NC) > > Only possibility 4 would improve his value. > > So, I think he should have declared for the draft. > > Discuss. Since he only started three games it would be possible for him to have a better season and still not win the NC. It’s not like the NFL scouts necessarily care about that stuff. They just want to see what kind of skills he actually has. Three games is too few to demonstrate that on a consistent basis. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1319 "2015-02-14T15:27:09Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I kinda thought that he should go for the draft. Strike while the iron is hot. I understand that it seems crazy after 3 games, but consider the other possibilities if he stays: > > 1.) Go back to being a backup behind one or both of the other 2 guys that were ahead of him in the depth chart > 2.) Getting injured (like the 2 guys that were ahead of him in the depth chart) > 3.) Starting, but not having as good of a season. (like Jameis Winston) > 4.) Starting and having as good a season (i.e. winning another NC) > > Only possibility 4 would improve his value. > > So, I think he should have declared for the draft. > > Discuss. From a “get what you can while you can” point of view, I tend to agree. There are certainly NFL teams that are desperate and stupid enough to take a chance on a guy with only 3 starts. I think the reports that he could have gone in the top 15 picks to be baloney, but when guys like Manziel, Bortles, Gabbert, and Manuel go in the first round, you know there are dumb teams out there. What would actually help him get long term success though? If he’s sitting behind two other QB’s at Ohio State, he’s not going to get enough reps and real game time to truly develop his NFL skills there either. Maybe it would be best for him to sit on an NFL roster as a backup, learning a real NFL offense, instead of sitting at Ohio State as a backup learning the spread/option offense. I think the thing that could flame him out is getting drafted early and being forced to start when he’s not ready (see Manuel, Manziel, Geno Smith, Gabbert, Brandon Weedon, or the slew of other under-developed talents). But being drafted and developing your talents for an NFL team would be, in the long run, much better than sitting for another year on the bench and learning the spread offense that you likely won’t use at the next level. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1320 "2015-02-17T15:39:01Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > For year-end ranked teams, we have Michigan State, Utah, and USC, with Stanford among the also-rans. The other OOC games are Georgia State (there’s a Georgia State? go figure…) and what now figures to be a huge grudge match against Eastern Washington. Hoping that the schedule works out for me to make it to East Lansing!! Hope you can make it and enjoy your stay. But losing your QB may be too much to overcome and Sparty is going to be munching on duck. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1321 "2015-02-17T20:04:42Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Hope you can make it and enjoy your stay. But losing your QB may be too much to overcome and Sparty is going to be munching on duck. I’d rather lose a QB who I’m guaranteed to lose after four years than my defensive coordinator who created a top tier defense for several years. Oregon’s system will still be there. The next guy in will put up pin ball numbers too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=65) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=67)