'SC fan, here. I was expecting a loss, and am somewhat relieved it wasn’t a complete humiliation. We played them tough, and mostly beat ourselves. See ya, Mr. Helton. You had one job (beat UCLA and ND).
Don’t even want to watch any bowl games this season. I might extract my fat, lazy ass off the couch and get some pre-Christmas skiing in for a change. Even if its crap man-made Ribbon Of Death. Or maybe some serious log-splitting.
The idea of rooting for ND, 'Bama or Urban Meyer make me want to hook a respirator to a two-stroke motorcycle exhaust pipe. And I’ve got both!
Your team stays healthy when you play High-school teams. I think tonight was the first time Tua played in the 4th qtr. (if he even did, I turned it off around then)
At this point, the playoffs really ought to be based on who the committee believes has a chance against Alabama. Clearly Clemson does, but after that, it becomes a lot less clear. Notre Dame is undefeated, but so what? If USC’s receivers were running around the field in the first half, I can only imagine how Alabama’s passing game, with 3 or 4 NFL-ready WRs would do - it would be ugly. Ohio State and Oklahoma actually have offenses that can spread the ball and make Alabama work a little on defense.
College FB still has a major issue - when you lose plays a big role in your ranking.
Lose 1st game win 11 in a row and you finish 11-1
Win 11 in a row and lose your last game and you finish 11-1
almost always the team that loses early will be ranked above the team with the late loss. No other sport cares about when you lose during the regular season.
When you lose probably ought to be a factor to some extent, but the committee also ought to consider whom the loss was to and how a team has performed over the last 5 or 6 games. Teams change over the course of an 11-game season.
If Ohio State’s defense weren’t so suspect I’d be inclined to say they’re a solid #4, but like Oklahoma, the jury is still out on whether their defense is ready for a game against a top-tier team. We knew that Ohio State’s offense was good, but I think they also exposed the truth that Michigan’s defense hadn’t really played any offense that could stretch the field. Look at the gap between Ohio State’s offense and Notre Dame’s and it’s obvious that the Irish are going to get slapped around in the CFP. Any of the likely top 4 teams is going to be a nightmare for the Irish. Syracuse was probably their best win of the year - I’ll give them that. But aside from that win, I don’t see anyone remotely in the same class as Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, or Oklahoma on their schedule. I’d rather UCF get the nod over a team we already know is dead meat when the lights shine the brightest.
Auburn was probably the first team to really match up with Alabama physically. They just lacked the experience and the skill to execute when it mattered, and the longer the game went, they were simply unable to keep up with Alabama’s extreme talent in the passing game. Bama has 3 or 4 receivers who could already go in the first or second round of the NFL draft, and Tua is as good a downfield passer as I’ve seen in the SEC. He’s nothing short of wicked with his accuracy throwing 20 or 30 yards downfield. Auburn was putting pressure on him, and the linebackers were pretty good at not over-pursuing in the first half, but the blocking was timed better in the second half and Tua just went nuts.
Yeah, I think Fedora’s actually a pretty good coach. They’re 2 years removed from playing eventual national champion Clemson in the ACC title game and now he’s out? It’s not like the Heels had Nick Saban or Tom Osborne before he arrived.
Notre Dame plays a cream puff schedule. Anytime they want to step into a major conference in which they have to compete against 1 or 2 other elite teams to actually earn a trip to the playoff, then we can have that conversation. My complaint wasn’t nonsense at all; it’s absolutely true.
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