[QUOTE=Soapbox Monkey]
Until there is some major retooling, college football exists for one sole purpose in my mind; to supply players to the NFL.
[/QUOTE]
Don’t forget supplying games for people to bet on- that seems to be running a very close second. It is astonishing to me how much money is bet on college ball every week (but I have never bet on football, so I guess that makes sense!).
[QUOTE=YWalker]
Note to sports broadcasters: It’s “Ap-uh-LATCH-un”, not “App-uh-LAY-chun” or “App State.”
[/QUOTE]
Why not the latter? I went to Furman and everybody in the Southern Conference called them App State.
All the better for the “Kick App” banners in the dining hall.
[QUOTE=Soapbox Monkey]
Until there is some major retooling, college football exists for one sole purpose in my mind; to supply players to the NFL.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not going to disparage the relationship between college football and the NFL. But there’s at least one other serious purpose to college football - college sports, especially big sports like basketball and football, serve to keep alumni interested in the school, and are percieved at the school as being vital to keeping alumni giving high.
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever]
People hate us, darling. At least we’re not Notre Dame or USC fans. Them’s the worst.
shudder
[/QUOTE]
Well, maybe the hatred of others can keep you warm.
As for me, I’m an equal-opportunity college sports hater. I hate the way it’s set up and basically all schools. The professional leagues may be more isolated and all about the money, but at least they’re honest in being isolated and all about the money.
The best part may be that Michigan paid App St. $400,000 for the privilege of getting beat.
To be fair App St. is easily better then half the teams in Div 1 if not more. Still…
My condolences to the Michigan fans - but it was a great finish. Not because I have any antipathy towards Michigan. I don’t feel strongly either way. But a good upset (when it isn’t your team being upset) is a lot of fun.
[QUOTE=Fugazi]
While they have absolutely no chance at the National Championship game, this loss was out of conference. They could still run the table in the Big 10 and be the Big 10 champs. Then they’d get the Big 10’s automatic BCS bid. So they still have a lot to play for, but they better play a lot better if they expect to win the Big 10 title.
[/QUOTE]
If anything, that could be worse. The Big 10 champ losing to D-IAA Appalachian State. However, since ESPN loves the Big 10 and Michigan so much, I don’t think they’ll drop too far.
It depends on how Michigan finishes the season- if they end up 4-8 and App. State is 13-1, no. If Michigan ends up 8-4 or better, yes. App. State is in a lesser division primarily due to their home attendance, not their skill level- they would be a top 50 1-A team, skillwise.
[QUOTE=Team of Scientists]
Went scrolling through my iPod earlier today and I found a few songs that might be appropriate for the soundtrack to this college football season.
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere
Spoon - The Underdog
Camera Obscura - Hey, Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken
[/QUOTE]
A few more:
“Loser” – Beck
“Bury Me Deep” – Poi Dog Pondering
“Everybody Hurts” – R.E.M.
“The Long and Winding Road” – The Beatles
[QUOTE=dnooman]
At the risk of possibly being a pariah in my own town, I’d like to extend an olive branch of sorts to you.
Granted, we did have a laugh or seventy at the expense of your team today, but all is not lost. We do share a common enemy, the greedy, conniving network known as the “Fuck Them Netwo..” Sorry, “The Big Ten Network”
It seems that the measly audience that BCS championship level teams brings, are not making nearly enough money for the people that see a potential profit here, and would also like some money. For God’s sake, they’re re-using the twist-ties on the hot dog bun bags! People are starving here! (by starving, I mean having less than a full mouthful of Beluga caviar)
So, maybe we could join forces during the mid-season, possibly via non violent protest. Is it against the law to bury an entire building in pig manure? I mean, it’s biodegradable right?
We need to work together! Once the week before our game comes around, the usual protocols will be observed. Should any of you happen to catch fire, expect me to direct my stream of urine away from you, in order to let the flames further engulf your clothing.
'Til then, high five! Let’s get those jerks! The BTN can suck several, wet farts out of my ass. Teach that to your kids, the children are our future.
[/QUOTE]
takes the olive branch
Thank you, kind sir. [del]Let’s remember this conversation when Ann Arbor flows with the crimson blood of the Columbus swine.[/del] It’s much appreciated, and dammit, you’re right!
[QUOTE=BobLibDem]
Thoughts from the Spartan Nation (Spartan alum who nonetheless had two sons in Michigan Stadium yesterday):
Michigan didn’t set out to find a cupcake for this game. They had a hole in the schedule and Appalachian State was the best team they could find that was free that week. It wasn’t until this year that the game was set, unlike most nonconference games that are set several years in advance.
I can’t fault Lloyd Carr yet. You can’t always motivate kids to get up for a game. Over the past several seasons there aren’t many coaches with more wins. On the whole he’s a class act just as Red Berensen is a classy hockey coach for them.
Sure they’ll drop in the polls. They’ll rise back up a bit. A loss like this is fatal to a Big Ten team’s national title. If it was Florida, the pollsters would say “Aw, you lost a game. But that’s okay, you’re Florida!”
I always hope for the Big Ten to go 44-0 in nonconference play. Drat, now we can’t do that. Even if it’s hated Michigan, I always pull for the Big Ten.
At the risk of sounding like a homer, look out for Michigan State. They beat the living snot out of Alabama-Birmingham and were substituting very liberally early in the second quarter with a 42-3 lead. First six possessions, six touchdowns. In over 30 years of watching Spartan football, that was easily the most dominating they have ever been.
[/QUOTE]
I don’t know how I manage to do it, but I’m also a State fan. They’ve got this gift…the gift to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
They looked damned good.
For the record, it goes:
Michigan
Michigan State
Bunch of others
Ohio State
then waaaaaay at the bottom
USC
Notre Dame
[QUOTE=HubZilla]
If anything, that could be worse. The Big 10 champ losing to D-IAA Appalachian State. However, since ESPN loves the Big 10 and Michigan so much, I don’t think they’ll drop too far.
[/QUOTE]
I’ll dispute that. I think that the SEC and ACC are “favored” by ESPN. I would go so far as to say that the Big XII are also favored, although depending on the year, they’re usually behind the Big Ten.
I say we bury our sorrows at Joe’s Crab Shack for a Dopefest. They’ve got all you can eat shrimp for a little bit.
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow]
Why not the latter? I went to Furman and everybody in the Southern Conference called them App State.
All the better for the “Kick App” banners in the dining hall.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard “App” quite a bit, but not “App State”. YMMV.
I went to NC State, so they were a non-conference game for us. They were frequently referred to as “Crappalachian” in the banners, as I remember.
I’m all for letting the little guys continue to play the BSC teams. The TV appearance money is a pretty common occurrence for the Division I teams, but it’s a big windfall for the smaller ones that don’t get to appear on TV as often.
And, to give Michigan their due, when they did pick a smaller division team to play, at least they picked the cream of the crop to compete against.
[QUOTE=HubZilla]
If anything, that could be worse. The Big 10 champ losing to D-IAA Appalachian State. However, since ESPN loves the Big 10 and Michigan so much, I don’t think they’ll drop too far.
[/QUOTE]
ESPN pulled their sponsorship of the Coaches Poll a couple years ago amid BCS controversy.
What indication is there that the network favors the Big Ten more than other major conferences? As far as I can tell, the media’s consensus is that the SEC has been the dominant conference in NCAA football in recent years.
I can’t decide whether to gloat or be embarrassed for the entire Big Ten. Right now, the schadenfreude is winning out.
We have DirecTV, so we got the Big Ten Network. Right after Ohio State finished, it switched to the Michigan game, so I got to see the last five minutes or so–it picked it up on the Appy possession right before Mike Hart scored his last TD, I think–the one where Armanti Edwards got sacked two times in a row. I thought “Oh well, it’s like every 16 seed that hangs with the 1 seed in March…they always end up breaking my heart.” And then they somehow pulled it off.
My favorite moment was when the cute female sideline reporter said to Armanti Edwards, “Armanti, give me one word to describe what just happened here,” and his response was “We just beat Michigan.” Ha!
That, and “I got a fuck lion” are my quotes for the season, so far.
[QUOTE=Drain Bead]
I thought “Oh well, it’s like every 16 seed that hangs with the 1 seed in March…they always end up breaking my heart.” And then they somehow pulled it off
[/QUOTE]
That was my thought too. I’ve learned better than to get excited about big upsets. The number of times I’ve seen some underdog stick with Goliath for 58 minutes only to have Goliath pull something ridiculous out of their ass to win in the final minutes is sickening. I’ve learned better.
Sure enough Michigan throws the bomb to Manningham with 25 seconds left. :smack: “Yeah, here we go again. Just like usual, they pull it out of their ass in the final seconds”…BLOCKED! :eek:
[QUOTE=Darth Sensitive]
No… Next year, Michigan is going to schedule: West Texas Cripple College, The Alfred Q. Murray School for the Blind, and West Plattsville Middle School for their nonconference play.
[/QUOTE]
This just in:
[satire]
[/satire]
Cartooniverse
[QUOTE=Drain Bead]
I can’t decide whether to gloat or be embarrassed for the entire Big Ten. Right now, the schadenfreude is winning out.
We have DirecTV, so we got the Big Ten Network. Right after Ohio State finished, it switched to the Michigan game, so I got to see the last five minutes or so–it picked it up on the Appy possession right before Mike Hart scored his last TD, I think–the one where Armanti Edwards got sacked two times in a row. I thought “Oh well, it’s like every 16 seed that hangs with the 1 seed in March…they always end up breaking my heart.” And then they somehow pulled it off.
My favorite moment was when the cute female sideline reporter said to Armanti Edwards, “Armanti, give me one word to describe what just happened here,” and his response was “We just beat Michigan.” Ha!
That, and “I got a fuck lion” are my quotes for the season, so far.
[/QUOTE]
Well…damn. I want a fuck lion too!
They were just jawboning over this game on ESPN2’s “First Take,” with Michigan alum Jay Feeley phoning in his two cents. Among the ideas tossed out and endorsed were: that App. St. was underrated and overlooked by everyone at Michigan; that Michigan’s PK was had “no chance” at that final FG attempt [Feeley], what with that guy breaking through; the players should share the blame, but Carr is chiefly responsible; that Carr should’ve been fired yesterday, or after last year’s bowl loss; that he can’t win big games; that Carr can forget about hand-picking his successor; and that this was indeed the BIGGEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPSET EVER.
Oh, and I forgot this one: that Carr is a lazy and sub-par recruiter who’s been relying on the Michigan mystique to attract talent, and that the program is suffering now because of that recent decline in recruiting. To my mind, that’s as damning a criticism as anything, since recruiting is the foundation of any program.
[QUOTE=asterion]
I wouldn’t be surprised if it eventually gets broadcast on ESPN Classic. Maybe the NFL Network will show it this week—there’s not much going on until Thursday and they do show other football besides just the NFL.
[/QUOTE]
Dream on. That game was broadcast by the Big Ten Network, an abomination dreamed up by the Big Ten to jack up our cable bills. They’re locked in a battle of wills with midwestern cable operators, trying to get the cable operators to pay $1.10 per subscriber which will of course be passed on to cable customers, whether they watch the Big Ten Network or not.
Before last Saturday, commentators were mocking the BTN for its extortionate pricing, saying that of the 35 or so games the BTN was scheduled to broadcast, “most of them are clunkers like Michigan versus Appalachian State”. It didn’t turn out to be a clunker, and the BTN will milk it for all its worth. You won’t see it anyplace else any time soon.
Regarding the game, I didn’t see it (since my cable operator is resisting BTN), but I read the play by play, and I was struck by the insanity of App State kicking the game-winning field goal on first down with 30 seconds left, rather than taking a knee, spiking the ball, and running time off the clock. This bit of cluelessness gave Michigan time in which to come back, which they very nearly accomplished except that their field goal was blocked. It would have been a shame to lose a monumental upset because of coaching stupidity, but App State almost did.