# College Football November and early December 2009 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183 "2009-11-03T18:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/121 "2009-11-14T23:32:17Z")
Anyone else having problems with the ESPN scoreboard? The updates are about 20-30 minutes behind! ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/122 "2009-11-14T23:42:11Z")
Yes, they’re very slow. I always watch the games on JustinTV, so they’re live. USC - Stanford USC just got its ass completely destroyed in the worst loss in school history, 55-21 Amazing! ETA - thought I’d spoiler it just in case, even though the game is over… ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/123 "2009-11-15T00:01:37Z")
I guess I can take USC off the short list for a BCS spot. Miami has lost too. Jeez, there isn’t going to be anyone left. OK State might get into contention, now. OhSU wins, going to Rose Bowl. TCU and Boise are near locks to both in the BCS games, if they both win out because everyone else will have at least two losses. If Pitt beats ND tonight and Cincy in a couple of weeks, I think both Pitt and Cincy will be BCS teams. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/124 "2009-11-15T01:49:28Z")
> [@leander](#): > > What the hell is going on with USC?? I think the real questions are : 1.) Why were they ranked ~10 with 1 loss to a nobody and a demolishing by Oregon? 2.) Will they still be in the top 25 after this second demolishing? 3.) Would any other team in the country get such favorible rankings with this resume? I don’t think even Notre Dame gets this kind of favoritism. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/125 "2009-11-15T01:53:34Z")
Just to be clear, it’s not USC’s worst loss ever. They were beaten 51-0 in 1966. It’s the most points ever scored on them, though. :eek: Pete Caroll better revamp pretty quickly next year. The Trojan fans have little love for the coaches that don’t produce Rose Bowl appearances. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/126 "2009-11-15T02:07:05Z")
[quote=“DSYoungEsq, post:125, topic:516183”] Just to be clear, it’s not USC’s worst loss ever. They were beaten 51-0 in 1966. It’s the most points ever scored on them, though. :eek: [QUOTE] You’re right, my bad. Pretty incredible though - that last quarter was damn ugly. Stanford just ran, ran, ran all over them. TCU is looking good so far. Surprised Pitt has not made much progress on ND. Anybody watching LSU? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/127 "2009-11-15T03:18:26Z")
Looks like Pitt finally woke up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/128 "2009-11-15T03:20:36Z")
Pitt 20 Nd 3 . That is showing us that ND will be coach hunting this winter. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/129 "2009-11-15T03:23:27Z")
Looks like Pitt finally woke up. 🙂 Oops - sorry for the double-post, hamsters, etc. Nice play by ND on 4th and 1. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/130 "2009-11-15T04:07:37Z")
Roll Tide! Very nice offensive performance, and as always, lights-out on D. Mark Barron and Marquis Johnson for co-presidents of the universe! ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/131 "2009-11-15T04:23:18Z")
Well, that was a weird finish to the Pitt-ND game. Looked like a forward pass to me. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/132 "2009-11-15T04:53:43Z")
Yes, I am big Weis critic, but I think it was a forward pass. although if they had ruled it that way, I am not sure if it would have made a difference. 4th and 16. Might make it, might not. Golden Tate is one heckuva a football player. The ‘chop’ block put ND in a big hole. Seems like I have seen more chop blocks called this year than in past years. Is it just me, or does it look like Jimmy Clausen has an abnormally small head? ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/133 "2009-11-15T05:42:17Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Is it just me, or does it look like Jimmy Clausen has an abnormally small head? I’m not sure about his head size, but he’s an ugly kid, no doubt about it. He looks like he’d play the role of the tough, ugly kid the Bad News Bears add as the last member of their team. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/134 "2009-11-15T05:48:09Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Just to be clear, it’s not USC’s worst loss ever. They were beaten 51-0 in 1966. It’s the most points ever scored on them, though. :eek: > > Pete Caroll better revamp pretty quickly next year. The Trojan fans have little love for the coaches that don’t produce Rose Bowl appearances. Yeah, dammit. The previous record was set by Cal in 1991, in one of our most glorious & memorable victories. People thought this would be the year that somebody takes down USC. Nobody thought it would be Stanford, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Goliath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/135 "2009-11-15T05:49:30Z")
Needed more cowbell. Roll tide. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/136 "2009-11-15T11:40:23Z")
The Bama - Florida game should be a great show…or boring as hell. It may be 10-7 if they play it safe. In any event I’ll be watching! Stanford really looks good and says a lot for Harbaugh’s progress. They ran all over USC in the 4th like they were a high school jnr varsity. ND was pathetic for 3 qtrs so any bad late calls don’t really matter. The better team won. ETA - and Rutgers - yes, Rutgers!! - looked great the other night. They’ve only lost twice this year - to Pitt and Cinci… ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/137 "2009-11-16T04:57:52Z")
I’m confused. According to this story: [http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1016513#full](http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1016513#full) … TCU has a tougher SOS than Texas, but the computers still rank Texas higher than TCU. Furthermore, it says that Cinci has a weaker SOS than both, but ranks them at #3. Am I reading the SOS thing totally wrong? Or is there some other factor to the computers? IIUC, margin of victory is not a factor. So what, other than W-L and SOS is a factor to the computers? ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/138 "2009-11-16T05:05:10Z")
I’d like to see Mississippi State’s SOS. If anybody has a tougher schedule than this, I’d like to see it. Sat, Sep 5 Jackson State W 45-7 – Sat, Sep 12 at Auburn L 24-49 – Sat, Sep 19 at Vanderbilt W 15-3 – Sat, Sep 26 (7) LSU L 26-30 – Sat, Oct 3 (25) Georgia Tech L 31-42 – Sat, Oct 10 Houston L 24-31 – Sat, Oct 17 at Middle Tennessee W 27-6 – Sat, Oct 24 (2) Florida L 19-29 – Sat, Oct 31 at Kentucky W 31-24 – Sat, Nov 14 (3) Alabama L 3-31 – Sat, Nov 21 at Arkansas 12:21 pm – Sat, Nov 28 Mississippi TBA – ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/139 "2009-11-16T06:01:46Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I’m confused. According to this story: [http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1016513#full](http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1016513#full) > > … TCU has a tougher SOS than Texas, but the computers still rank Texas higher than TCU. Furthermore, it says that Cinci has a weaker SOS than both, but ranks them at #3. Am I reading the SOS thing totally wrong? Or is there some other factor to the computers? IIUC, margin of victory is not a factor. So what, other than W-L and SOS is a factor to the computers? IIRC, the computer algorithms take into account not only the primary SOS but secondary SOS and presumably tertiary SOS. There is a trickle effect. Since Oklahoma played (and lost to) Miami, and Texas beat Oklahoma, every time Miami wins, it helps Texas ranking. How the computers “scale” secondary and tertiary SOS is the reason why Sagarin rankings differs from Colley differs from Wolfe etc. Basically every game has an impact (albeit small) on the rankings, even if the game is between two lowly ranked teams. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183/140 "2009-11-16T06:17:39Z")
Actually, three of the computer polls rank TCU (#4) better than Texas (#5) (Massey, Sagarin, and Wolfe) Cincinnati is actually ranked ahead of Texas is every computer poll. And Wolfe and Sagarin rank Cincy ahead of Alabama. [Check this out for more details.](http://espn.go.com/college-football/bcs) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-november-and-early-december-2009/516183.md?page=8)