# Is there anything to be gained by talking about 2012's College Football this early? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 17, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047 "2012-03-17T13:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/21 "2012-04-30T17:54:30Z")
Oklahoma State went from a 28 year old to an 18 year old true freshman at QB. The new guy has prom next week I think. It’s gonna be a fun adjustment… ---
**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:** [May 1, 2012, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/22 "2012-05-01T11:48:01Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > Oklahoma State went from a 28 year old to an 18 year old true freshman at QB. > > The new guy has prom next week I think. It’s gonna be a fun adjustment… Wow. I’m not familiar with the situation- how could a 28 year old have been eligible? Military service? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/23 "2012-05-01T14:15:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > It ought to be fun to watch how Sagarin and Rivals and others change their opinions after things get organized and spring ball has been evaluated. Sagarin doesn’t have an opinion. It’s a computer ranking wholly based on last year. It won’t change until actual games are played in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/24 "2012-05-01T14:26:52Z")
> [@furt](#): > > > [@Zeldar](#): > > > > It ought to be fun to watch how Sagarin and Rivals and others change their opinions after things get organized and spring ball has been evaluated. > > Sagarin doesn’t have an opinion. It’s a computer ranking wholly based on last year. It won’t change until actual games are played in 2012. Thanks for clarifying. I should have said that Sagarin’s version wouldn’t be changing until games were underway. That still leaves quite a few prognosticators (Rivals for one) who do make preseason adjustments to their first rankings lists, although I don’t remember more than one or two who try to rank all the teams. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/25 "2012-05-01T15:28:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Wow. I’m not familiar with the situation- how could a 28 year old have been eligible? Military service? He was a baseball player for a few years playing minor league ball. He decided to go to school when it was clear his baseball career wasn’t progressing too fast and now he’s a professional football player. There are a few other people like that. John Beck, the former Redskins QB, was pretty old as a rookie (30?) since he spent a few years as a missionary. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/26 "2012-05-01T20:47:26Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Sagarin doesn’t have an opinion. It’s a computer ranking wholly based on last year. It won’t change until actual games are played in 2012. Does this computer ranking system take returning starters into consideration? What about recruiting class ranking? What about recruiting class ranking of the past 4 years? Do any of them?\* I think it would be interesting to see these projections, and also to play around with various weights until you get a number that best matches the subsequent season. (For example, play around with your weights from the end of the 2010 season until you get the closest match to the end of the 2011 season.) - (IIRC, there are some computer rankings that don’t even attempt to rank until a few games into the season. Actually, I think I recall seeing one computer ranking system after the first weekend which had 63 teams tied for #1 and 63 more tied for #64, with those that had a bye week all tied at 127, or something like that.) ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/27 "2012-05-01T21:21:57Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > There are a few other people like that. John Beck, the former Redskins QB, was pretty old as a rookie (30?) since he spent a few years as a missionary. Probably the most noteworthy was Chris Weinke who won the Heisman as a 28 year old. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/28 "2012-05-01T22:27:52Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > Does this computer ranking system take returning starters into consideration? What about recruiting class ranking? What about recruiting class ranking of the past 4 years? Do any of them?\* I think it would be interesting to see these projections, and also to play around with various weights until you get a number that best matches the subsequent season. (For example, play around with your weights from the end of the 2010 season until you get the closest match to the end of the 2011 season.) > > - (IIRC, there are some computer rankings that don’t even attempt to rank until a few games into the season. Actually, I think I recall seeing one computer ranking system after the first weekend which had 63 teams tied for #1 and 63 more tied for #64, with those that had a bye week all tied at 127, or something like that.) No. It’s 2011 ratings. It has nothing to do with 2012, and does not claim to. AFAIK, all of them work that way, and are meaningless until a significant number of games are played. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/29 "2012-06-16T14:43:33Z")
Before today I must not have looked in the right place for it, but the Yahoo! Sports countdown of the 124 FBS teams is underway as of this week. There may be other versions by other analysts of the same concept, but this is the first to address all 124 teams that I have seen yet. If you know of others, please link to them. ========================== > **[New FBS teams are the first teams unveiled in our 1-124 countdown](https://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--new-fbs-teams-are-the-first-teams-unveiled-in-our-1-124-countdown.html)** > > Four teams up from the FCS ranks look to be in for tough first seasons as FBS programs. New FBS teams are the first teams unveiled in our 1-124 countdown By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - Tue, Jun 12, 2012 4:44 PM EDT > **[Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 116-120](https://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-college-football-countdown--nos--116-120.html;_ylt=AuTyAw2xA5qu_ZEFFl8vf8QcvrYF)** > > We continue our countdown of all 124 teams entering the 2012 season with Nos. 116-120. Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 116-120 By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - Wed, Jun 13, 2012 11:00 AM EDT > **[Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 111-115](https://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-countdown--nos--111-115.html;_ylt=AllnYNYAhfcp6_nfPq0vk6YcvrYF)** > > This is the third part of our annual preseason team countdown, which will wrap up Aug. 16, two weeks before the start of the 2012 season. Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 111-115 By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - Thu, Jun 14, 2012 5:54 PM EDT > **[Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 106-110](https://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-countdown--nos--106-110.html;_ylt=Ar.b3D_5yb7stN5fYI5dAE8cvrYF)** > > Norm Chow's first season as a head coach could be a tough one as he tries to rebuild at Hawaii. Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 106-110 By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - 17 hours ago ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/30 "2012-06-16T15:00:01Z")
Do we need a 2012 version of [What are the Must See OOC College Football Games of 2011?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=615977) which was started 07-12-2011, and which got quite involved in the process of trying to determine that issue. I’ll hold off starting the 2012 thread in case others have a way to go about it that saves some time. 🙂 There’s also the “Must See” games by week to identify, whether OOC or not. Just asking… ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/31 "2012-06-16T15:58:15Z")
I’m down for the list of Must See games. Miami vs Notre Dame in Chicago…#1! (Not really, but I’m excited.) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/32 "2012-06-16T16:12:02Z")
Defending SEC/BCS Champion Alabama kicks off yet another year of SEC dominance against Michigan, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX on 9/1/12. My wife should enjoy that one very much, as she’s a Buckeye Girl and despises Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/33 "2012-06-16T16:30:29Z")
Looking around a bit more, I see Auburn plays Clemson in Atlanta on 9/1/12, and Ole Miss is hosting Texas on 9/15/12. Think that may be a long game for the Rebels. Otherwise, the SEC OOC schedule is…not very impressive this year. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/34 "2012-06-16T16:41:21Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Looking around a bit more, I see Auburn plays Clemson in Atlanta on 9/1/12, and Ole Miss is hosting Texas on 9/15/12. Think that may be a long game for the Rebels. Otherwise, the SEC OOC schedule is…not very impressive this year. So true, and so sad. The Auburn-Clemson game is a revenge game: until this past season it had been 1951 since Clemson won a game from Auburn. To top that, the College Football Belt was at stake in the 2011 game! Now that’s in the hands of WVU, with Marshall getting their first crack at it. I _will_ be watching that game – if our local stations carry it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/35 "2012-06-16T18:01:22Z")
Here are some links to other people’s versions of the Must-See situation: > **[The Top 50 Must-See Games of the 2012 College Football Season](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1019617-the-top-50-must-see-games-of-the-2012-college-football-season)** > > If you must choose only 50 college football games to watch during the 2012 regular season, these are your games. So break out your planners and start planning... The Top 50 Must-See Games of the 2012 College Football Season By Carl Stine(Featured Columnist) on January 13, 2012 > **[Ranking the 50 Must-See College Football Games of 2012](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1153524-ranking-the-50-must-see-college-football-games-of-2012)** > > During the 2011 season, college football fans were treated to some outstanding regular-season games. From the opening week game between Oregon and LSU to a comeback by Arkansas over ... Ranking the 50 Must-See College Football Games of 2012 By Joe Penkala(Featured Columnist) on April 22, 2012 > **[2012 College Football Schedule: The Must-Watch Games Of Every Weekend](https://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/4/2/2910842/college-football-schedule-2012)** > > The 2012 college football schedule is complete enough to call it complete, so let's review the best and biggest games, week-by-week. 2012 College Football Schedule: The Must-Watch Games Of Every Weekend By Jason Kirk - College Football Editor Apr 2, 2012 ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/36 "2012-06-16T19:41:35Z")
Oh, and LSU hosts Washington, which could be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/37 "2012-06-16T19:59:59Z")
In addition to the “Must See” games which will be primarily for their entertainment and excitement value, I suspect, there’s another category that I hadn’t seen addressed in a systematic way before > **[1 'Must-Win' Game on Every FBS Football Team's 2012 Schedule](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1090263-college-football-2012-the-one-must-win-game-on-every-teams-schedule)** > > As college football fans continue to wait and wait for the 2012 season, one thing that we all tend to do is take a look at the schedule... 1 ‘Must-Win’ Game on Every FBS Football Team’s 2012 Schedule By Joe Penkala(Featured Columnist) on March 7, 2012 Which game(s) for your favorite team would you rank ahead of these “Must Win” selections? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/38 "2012-06-21T01:51:14Z")
Looks like we are [another step closer to a playoff to determine the National Champion](http://news.yahoo.com/bcs-commissioners-reach-consensus-playoff-plan-230017489--spt.html). Assuming the university presidents play ball (heh), anyway. Not much in the way of detail as to how the teams will be selected, but there is mention of some preference for conference champions. I would not necessarily oppose one slot each for the SEC, PAC-12, Big 10, Big 12 champs, but I suspect the fans of BYU, Notre Dame, and Boise State wouldn’t be happy about it… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/39 "2012-06-27T15:42:43Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > There’s a breakdown of the new conferences for the 124 teams now in the Bowl Subdivision at [2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_season) but I have yet to find any early rankings estimates of all 124. Anybody else know of such? > [@Zeldar](#): > > Before today I must not have looked in the right place for it, but the Yahoo! Sports countdown of the 124 FBS teams is underway as of this week. > > There may be other versions by other analysts of the same concept, but this is the first to address all 124 teams that I have seen yet. > > If you know of others, please link to them. > > ========================== > > [New FBS teams are the first teams unveiled in our 1-124 countdown - Yahoo Sports](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--new-fbs-teams-are-the-first-teams-unveiled-in-our-1-124-countdown.html) > New FBS teams are the first teams unveiled in our 1-124 countdown > By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - Tue, Jun 12, 2012 4:44 PM EDT > > [Page not found](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-college-football-countdown--nos--116-120.html;_ylt=AuTyAw2xA5qu_ZEFFl8vf8QcvrYF) > Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 116-120 > By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - Wed, Jun 13, 2012 11:00 AM EDT > > [Page not found](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-countdown--nos--111-115.html;_ylt=AllnYNYAhfcp6_nfPq0vk6YcvrYF) > Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 111-115 > By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - Thu, Jun 14, 2012 5:54 PM EDT > > [Page not found](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-countdown--nos--106-110.html;_ylt=Ar.b3D_5yb7stN5fYI5dAE8cvrYF) > Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 106-110 > By Mike Huguenin | Yahoo! Sports - 17 hours ago The Huguenin countdown is now to the point of the Top 50 starting tomorrow, Thursday, June 28. For a full survey of the ones below that level check the links at [Preseason 1-124 countdown: Nos. 51-55](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--preseason-1-124-countdown--nos--51-55.html;_ylt=AoalSno6_KJMNvVuz1kuwHYcvrYF) And in case you may have missed it, there’s also [Ranking All 124 College Football Teams, Summer Edition](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1233825-ranking-all-124-college-football-teams-summer-edition) By Dan Vasta(Featured Columnist) on June 24, 2012 ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047/40 "2012-06-27T17:12:31Z")
Do you get paid by Bleacher Report or something? I’m pretty confident that all of us who are interested in “CFB” can find plenty of information on our own. If you have something to say, say it; there are a plethora of college football topics that can be discussed. Bumping old threads just to post links to Yahoo is a waste of people’s time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-to-be-gained-by-talking-about-2012s-college-football-this-early/616047.md?page=3)