[QUOTE=BobLibDem]
I don’t think the SEC’s excuse for soft non-conference games is any more valid than the Big Ten’s.
[/QUOTE]
Heck, Auburn had the audacity to schedule #2 USF for one of their non-conference games. See how that turned out for them. Compare that to Michigan scheduling Appalaichan State. See how that turned out for them?
When you schedule a non conference game, sometimes its spur of the moment to replace someone who backed out, sometimes its 5-10 years in advance. In these cases, its usually a crapshoot whether that team is going to be good or bad in a given year. Also, from year to year indivdual conferences top to bottom are weaker or stronger, depending on the year. This year, OSU has the misfortune of playing non conference teams that were pushovers and a conference schedule that is not as good as it should have been.
LSU has played three teams in the BCS top 25 and may play two more. OSU has played none, and has a chance at not playing any all year. Boston College will play one, Va. Tech, max.
I got these off a nother message board so take them with a grain of salt:
Georgia has not scheduled a game outside of the south since 1965
Auburn has not won a road game OOC this century
Florida hasnt played an OOC game outside of Florida in more than 15 years
The SEC has played 384 out of conference games in the last 10 years. 54 of them have been on the road.
All I gotta say is USC should be no lower than 6th. F the BCS!
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus]
Florida hasnt played an OOC game outside of Florida in more than 15 years
[/QUOTE]
I know for an absolute fact that Florida played an out-of-conference game in Arizona last January. I think they beat the snot out of some team from Ohio.
Also, FWIW, Florida’s biggest OOC every year is FSU. This is obviously played in the state of Florida, but every other year it is definitely not a home game.
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth]
I know for an absolute fact that Florida played an out-of-conference game in Arizona last January. I think they beat the snot out of some team from Ohio.
Also, FWIW, Florida’s biggest OOC every year is FSU. This is obviously played in the state of Florida, but every other year it is definitely not a home game.
[/QUOTE]
Obviously they meant regular season non conference games.
This, IMO, is the season that really crushes any hope of defending the BCS. It’s been on life-support for a while, and I’m not foolish enough to believe the big-money interests in college football will abandon it anytime soon, but the shills in the national press who defend this system are getting more and more ridiculous. To wit:
There are currently six unbeaten teams in the BCS-eligible conferences: OSU, USF, Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas and–choke–Hawaii. None of these teams looks like a legitimate #1 (sorry OSU; the Big Ten has been down for some time now, and you have exactly 0 wins against quality opponents).
Among the 1-loss teams, the best of these (USC, Cal) lost to unranked teams at home. However there are five or six others (WV, Va. Tech, Oregon, LSU, Oklahoma) that look as legit as any of the unbeatens; LSU lost in triple overtime to a ranked team on the road, fer chrissakes! Within the SEC, LSU has beaten SC, SC beat Kentucky, and now Kentucky has beaten LSU; how in the world do you pick one of those teams for the national championship and not the others? By having a playoff, of course, which is what the SEC title game effectively is.
So IMO there’s no way to sanely pick only two of these 13-14 teams for the championship game; somebody (probably more than one) is going to get screwed yet again. There’s also the built-in idiosyncracies of using the media poll as part of the BCS equation. LSU and Cal lose? Fine, just knock them off and move everyone else up. OSU benefits from inertia in the human poll, when in reality they would be lucky to win 2 out of 3 against the SEC trifecta of LSU, SC, and Kentucky. I’m not necessarily saying OSU is a bad team, but they are clearly benefitting from a nutso system that will allow them to coast into another title game; how is this “good” for college football? I don’t need to waste my time with another title-game blowout between questionable teams.
You may argue otherwise, but unless these teams play each othere we’ll never really know, right? Which is the entire point of having a playoff. If I were the SEC comissioner, I’d be demanding a change; as it stands now, the loaded SEC could spin off as its own football entity separate from the NCAA and legitimately challenge the current system.
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]
Also, LSU played a top 5 Va Tech, and So. Carolina will be playing a bowl team in Clemson.
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And Georgia’s non-conference schedule includes Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech.
The two best teams I’ve seen this year are LSU and Florida. However, after that I don’t see any reason to put any other team above OSU. Their defense is phenomenal this year, and while their offense lacks a bit of fire power they control the ball and are efficient. It’s classic Tressel ball. Not pretty but extremely effective. I don’t see why OSU should be the villain here either. They aren’t the ones that have blown games against weak opponents.
What? For their title they played WaSu OOC. They were 5th at the time and ended up ranked 10th to finish the year. They beat Penn State, 10 at the time, and 16th to end, and Michigan 11 at the time, 9 to end.
Last year they beat Texas, at Texas, when they were ranked 2, and then beat Michigan when they were ranked number 2.
OSU’s shedule in previous years is not being questioned, its their schedule this year- part their fault, part not their fault, they still can conceivably get into the championship game without beating a Top 25 BCS opponent. LSU losing in OT on the road to the current number 8 team is much more impressive than OSU beating Akron at home 20-2, a team that just lost to Temple. And I don’t even like LSU.
It’s not OSU’s fault in the least bit. In a normal Big 10 year at Penn State and at Michigan are two road games against top 20 teams. Then they were at Purdue and at Minnesota. Usually that accounts for one top 20 team. They also host Wisconsin and Michigan State, and usually at least one of those teams are ranked.
[QUOTE=treis]
It’s not OSU’s fault in the least bit. In a normal Big 10 year at Penn State and at Michigan are two road games against top 20 teams. Then they were at Purdue and at Minnesota. Usually that accounts for one top 20 team. They also host Wisconsin and Michigan State, and usually at least one of those teams are ranked.
[/QUOTE]
Youngstown St., Kent St., Akron and Washington are their fault 
. That’s why it’s a crapshoot with the non-conf schedule. If you’re conference is up, you’d be dumb to play tough OOC opponents. If you’re conference is down, you have to have them to look good for the BCS. Since the schedule maker isn’t psychic, it’s just luck what happens each year.
Here’s the thing we fail to take into account – it’s hard for good teams to schedule other good teams. Why is that? Because no one wants to lose. So let’s say that Ohio State wants to play a really tough schedule. They have to get USC and LSU and whoever is toughest out of the Big 12 to play them. Possibly on the road. And at least one or more of those is going to say, “No thanks, we’ll take Cupcake U at home, where we can make a huge gate, guarantee a win, and not lose a shot at the National Championship”. It takes two to tango. Notre Dame plays USC and OSU and Michigan every year, but they have a real cupcake schedule, and besides, they suck.
It’s all mythical, including my Gators’ National Championship last year, until there is a playoff including at least 8 or 16 teams. The lower, more academically minded divisions do this, it’s silly to pretend that the highest division cannot. It’s only the old boy bowl system that is standing in the way. Maybe a BCS Championship between USF and Hawaii would clear that last hurdle.
I know it’s next week already, but I thought I’d chime in with… Rutgers beating So FL.
That was a fun game to watch!
Wow… #2 down again. Here’s the big question, is LSU going to get beat this weekend?
The USF loss preserves the caste system in college football and makes it almost a certainty that a member of The Chosen will be in the title game. What a joke that if you’re in the SEC and lose a game you only drop a few spots which you easily make up by playing your next nobody, but if you’re a Big Ten school one loss removes you from title consideration. What do Arizona State, Kansas, and Hawaii have to do to crack the top 10? Pollsters’ Pet Florida with two losses is ahead of Kansas and Hawaii with none. It’s all a joke and shows the need for a playoff.
I’ve seen Kansas and Hawaii play and there is no doubt in my mind that Florida would roll over them. I haven’t seen Arizona State play, but if they manage to beat Cal, Oregon, and USC they will be in the title game. The rankings aren’t based on records. They are based on who the individual voters thinks is best. Hawaii beating up on WAC teams only proves that they are better than those WAC teams. I realize that wins and losses play a factor, but they aren’t the deciding one.
LSU is still the best team I’ve seen in college football. Florida, imho, is the second best team I’ve seen. I realize that they’ve lost two games, but the way they lost at LSU is more impressive than anything Boston College or even Ohio State has done. The best 5 teams in college football, imho, are:
If I were voting I’d say:
Why does Florida deserve its lofty ranking? Was it those wins over powerhouses Western Kentucky and Troy? Or that victory over 2-5 Mississippi? They have played exactly three decent teams, Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU and lost to two of the three.
Why? Because they are a damn good team. They have the best quarterback in the country in Tim Tebow, good players at the skill positions and on the line, and a very fast and stout defense. I don’t need to wait for Boston College to lose (this weekend at VaTech) to rank Florida ahead of them. The bottom line is that on a neutral field I would take Florida against any team but Ohio State and LSU.
The loss to Auburn is a blemish on their resume, but a 3 point loss to a good team doesn’t really change that much in my opinion. Going into LSU and losing by only 4 is a credit to them, not a detriment. LSU, in my opinion, is the best team in the country and their home field advantage is brutal. The expected outcome for the number two team playing the number one team on the road is a close loss.
[QUOTE=treis]
The expected outcome for the number two team playing the number one team on the road is a close loss.
[/QUOTE]
That’s what Michigan said last year.
[QUOTE=treis]
They have the best quarterback in the country in Tim Tebow
[/QUOTE]
You misspelled “running back.”
Seriously, have you seen Harrell’s numbers down at Texas Tech? He’s got 3151 yards, 74.4% completion, 31 TDs and only THREE picks. Don’t give me crap about being a “system quarterback” either. The system might be “Get back there and throw your arm off,” but to complete three out of every four passes, and to have a 10.33 to 1 TD/INT ratio is amazing, IMO.