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I don't think Tebow will be an NFL QB... at least not a good one
I think many project him as a tight end, H-back, or a hybrid
But not a QB

If he is taken as a QB, it won't be early, and he will be a project
His game is not suited for the NFL at all

On the other hand, I think Stafford will be a good NFL QB
But he is NOT ready
He started as a true freshman, and he is just a junior
If he had redshirted... maybe... but he needs another year to mature

But, the NFL rules are changing, and he will likely lose the big contract if he stays
That will probably make his decision for him

I don't think Moreno will be an impact player in the NFL
He should stay too ;)

Woof, Woof – Dawg
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I'll be pulling for the Gators in the National Title game. For one thing, Urban Meyer is an awesome guy, and he did great things for my school's football program. Secondly, I'm a little disgusted that Oklahoma got in ahead of Texas. The one thing that should have mattered in that situation was head to head competition. Texas beat Oklahoma when they played, that's all that should matter. Just another feather in the BCS cap-o-crap IMO, they left the selection of the National Title contender from the Big-12 to the voters, granted it was agreed on at the beginning of the season by both teams, but it's still crap. Texas should be playing in that title game, I'd be pulling for them if it were the case.

I just want to get everyone's feelings about something:

Let's imagine a hypothetical situation where Utah beats Alabama, and TCU beats Boise State. That leaves Utah as the lone unbeaten in the nation, and Utah would have wins against Michigan on the road, and Oregon State, TCU and BYU at home. Then a BCS bowl victory to the team which held the #1 spot for most of the year, and who's only other loss was to the team that's likely to be the national champion this year. What would you folks have to say about a situation like that? Would you feel as though Utah should be the national champion if that were to happen? Far fetched as you may think that scenario is, it's really not. Utah has as good a shot as anyone at beating Alabama. Their Defense is better, and their offense is full of playmakers, plenty of people who can score. I know I must sound crazy to you SEC fan folks, but I think Utah has a great shot at winning this, at least on paper. Nobody can say for sure until the game is underway.

Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on that scenario.


SLC
 
What the hell is that all about? Utah isn't going to bring a Boise State anything to the Sugar Bowl. They're going to bring a Utah type of game to the Sugar Bowl and I think it's insulting to imply that Utah needs to be compared to Boise State to prove their worthiness. When we busted the BCS in 2004, I've no doubt that we could have played with and even beaten any team in the country. It's not our fault that we got paired up with a Cupcake in the Fiesta Bowl that year, we didn't ask for it. We went out and slaughtered Pitt, but because it was Pitt we got no respect.

Fully agree. The Pitt game was a cupcake that didn't help the cause for non-BCS teams. This is your year though. Alabama will be a very tough opponent and a win against them will go a long way in getting Utah and other busters the respect they need to appear in more BCS games.


And did anyone else get a sick feeling watching the celebration at the university of Cincinnati? The Orange Bowl is truly representative of all that's wrong with the BCS this year. Here we have two middle of the pack teams that are going to be placed against each other in one of the most lucrative bowl games based solely on the technicality that their respective conferences have automatic bids. Each team did just enough to avoid the technicality that would have kept them out of the BCS. The fans and players all celebrating like they did something special. Guess what, finishing 11 and 2 in this years Big East, and 9 and 4 in this years ACC is nothing special. And I think it's a sham that these two teams will be getting such a huge payout while Texas Tech and Boise State are left with nothing. Feel free to disagree if you like, but thats how I see it this year.

9-4 in the ACC is bad this year?!

The ACC has TEN teams playing in bowl games this year. No conference in history has ever had ten teams playing in bowl games. Yeah, the ACC had a rough start with some key out of conference losses. For the year, though, they won 37 of their 48 (77%) out of conference games. That's a very solid year.
 
Would you feel as though Utah should be the national champion if that were to happen?

Nope...
The winner of Oklahoma/Florida will be the NC regardless
And that is probably the way it should be
An undefeated Utah team... even beating Alabama... doesn't equal the others
But that is my opinion (and the opinion of a lot of others)

But then again, I don't see Utah beating Alabama

As far as Texas being slighted because of head to head... it was a 3 way tie with Texas Tech that brought this all about. If it were just Texas/Oklahoma... then Texas would have played in the Big 12 Championship. But it wasn't. They didn't finish the deed against Texas Tech. In the 3 way tie... there has to be some way to settle it. I agree, the BCS ranking is probalby not the best... but the rationale was... they wanted to give the highest ranked team with the best shot of playing for a NC the nod.

Woof, Woof – Dawg
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Here are the stats as they stand for Utah and Bama:

Offense Stats:

Average total yards per game:
Utah: 417.3 (#32 nationally)
Bama: 376.8 (#70 nationally)

Average Passing yards per game:
Utah: 248.8 (#42 nationally)
Bama: 180.3 (#96 nationally)

Average rushing yards per game: (Bama's much vaunted "advantage")
Utah: 168.4 (#41 nationally)
Bama: 196.5 (#23 nationally)

Average points Scored per game:
Utah: 37.4 (#15 nationally)
Bama: 31.2 (#30 nationally)

Utah has the #12 defense, Bama has the #6

Utah won against the #2 defense in the nation, Bama lost against the #5 defense in the nation.

I don't know how you can't see Utah getting past Bama. It's not that I'm saying that this is a lock for Utah, but it's not going to be an easy game for Bama either. These are two very evenly matched teams.

I expect it to be a great game. With Utah winning by 7 :D

SLC
 
I'll be pulling for the Gators in the National Title game. For one thing, Urban Meyer is an awesome guy, and he did great things for my school's football program. Secondly, I'm a little disgusted that Oklahoma got in ahead of Texas. The one thing that should have mattered in that situation was head to head competition. Texas beat Oklahoma when they played, that's all that should matter. Just another feather in the BCS cap-o-crap IMO, they left the selection of the National Title contender from the Big-12 to the voters, granted it was agreed on at the beginning of the season by both teams, but it's still crap. Texas should be playing in that title game, I'd be pulling for them if it were the case.

SLC

This argument is getting so old. I wish people would use some logic. The head-to-head argument is useless. Whether Texas likes to admit it or not, they lost to Texas Tech.

Consider this, Tech beat Texas while being ranked #7. What is Tech ranked now? 7th. That means where everyone and thing thought Tech was at then, they are at the same place now ... not off the face of the planet.

Next, let's consider the Tech/UT game in Lubbock.
End of 1st: TT 12-UT 0,
End of 2nd TT 22-UT 6,
End of 3rd TT 29-UT 19,
End of 4th TT39-UT 33.
So last play or not, Texas never led at the end of ANY quarter in that game. In fact, they only led for a measly 1:38 or so. You have to consider the Tech game, it is a three-way tie like it or not and thus head-to-head means nothing.

Now, if we look at the 3:
--Texas Tech is 2-1 versus BCS top 25, both wins at home, loss on road
--Texas is 3-1 versus BCS top 25, 2 wins at home, 1 win at neutral, and a loss on the road.
--Oklahoma is 5-1 versus BCS top 25, 3 wins at home, a win on neutral field, a loss on a neutral field, and a win on the road.
--Neither UT or TT won a big game on the road, OU did.
--Between the 3, OU has the largest point differential amongst common opponents.

Texas lost out to OU based on rules set forth BEFORE the season that EVERYONE agreed to, yes even Texas. It is weak to bitch about them now. If there is any beef, it is Texas over Florida. Florida lost at HOME to a 4 loss team. Texas lost to BCS #7 on the road. Both schools beat a BCS #1 team, so all things considered, Texas should be ahead of Florida.

Additionally, using your head-to-head argument, now that things are settled, Texas Tech should be in the Fiesta over Texas. Both have one-loss, both beat a BCS #1 team, and Tech beat Texas head-to-head, which according to you is the only thing that matters.

The system is flawed and the need for a playoff is evident, but don't act like OU screwed anyone. And by the way, it wasn't left solely to the voters... in fact Texas had a lead in the BCS standings based on voters alone, it was the computers that put OU in.
 
9-4 in the ACC is bad this year?!

The ACC has TEN teams playing in bowl games this year. No conference in history has ever had ten teams playing in bowl games. Yeah, the ACC had a rough start with some key out of conference losses. For the year, though, they won 37 of their 48 (77%) out of conference games. That's a very solid year.

When the highest ranked team in the ACC is at #19 that is a bad year for the ACC. They are supposed to be a dominating conference with teams in the equation for the national title every single year, but this year if the conference champion had lost one more game they may have been out of the top 25 and lost their automatic BCS bid because of poor performance. I think it's an embarrassment to have the ACC playing in the BCS this year. Same goes for the Big East, but at least Cincinnati has only lost two.

The MWC has two teams ranked ahead of anyone in the ACC. And our #3 team is only two spots behind the ACC's top ranked team. Funny thing is that the ACC's top ranked team couldn't even take care of business well enough to get to the BCS. That's right, the ACC champion isn't even the highest ranked ACC team. Something's definitely wrong with this conference this year.

And sure, the ACC has 10 teams playing for a bowl, but you only have to be .500 to get to a bowl. In a league without any top 10 teams, it shouldn't be tough to win 6 games.

SLC
 
Here are the stats as they stand for Utah and Bama:

Offense Stats:

Average total yards per game:
Utah: 417.3 (#32 nationally)
Bama: 376.8 (#70 nationally)

Average Passing yards per game:
Utah: 248.8 (#42 nationally)
Bama: 180.3 (#96 nationally)

Average rushing yards per game: (Bama's much vaunted "advantage")
Utah: 168.4 (#41 nationally)
Bama: 196.5 (#23 nationally)

Average points Scored per game:
Utah: 37.4 (#15 nationally)
Bama: 31.2 (#30 nationally)

Utah has the #12 defense, Bama has the #6

Utah won against the #2 defense in the nation, Bama lost against the #5 defense in the nation.

I don't know how you can't see Utah getting past Bama. It's not that I'm saying that this is a lock for Utah, but it's not going to be an easy game for Bama either. These are two very evenly matched teams.

I expect it to be a great game. With Utah winning by 7 :D

SLC

I respect your position and your support of your team
But I think you are comparing apples and oranges here
The stats are against vastly different competition and schedules

I don't see TCU as the powerhouse you do either

If the Utes beat 'Bama, I will be the first to eat crow and congratulate you
I will be surprised (not shocked), but I will tip my hat
I think it will be a better game than last year
But I don't think you can pull this off
I don't think you will get blown out... but I don't think you will win

I am not saying 'Bama is awesome... they have struggled at times
But I believe they will be too physical for you on both sides of the line
There is no way to prepare in practice for what they will bring

Good luck in the Sugar Bowl, it should be a good game
You would have had a better shot with Cincinnati or Virginia Tech


Woof, Woof – Dawg
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Utah has the #12 defense, Bama has the #6
...
I don't know how you can't see Utah getting past Bama.

Strength of schedule and the conference they play in are the obvious answers, but this is nothing new, and what Conference USA, Mountain West, and WAC teams are cursed or blessed with. The assumption (not unreasonable) is that it's relatively easy to go undefeated in one of these conferences. The curse is that they can't be compared to the leaders of BCS conferences except in the bowl games, and then it's too late (unless your team loses, and then the superior team is more or less obvious).
 
I respect your position and your support of your team
But I think you are comparing apples and oranges here
The stats are against vastly different competition and schedules

I don't see TCU as the powerhouse you do either


Woof, Woof – Dawg
pawprint.gif

Sure, you can't compare Apples to Apples when they are from different conferences. But heres my gripe to yours and jimmy gators arguments. Who besides Florida did Bama play this year? The next best team in the SEC is Georgia, and I mean them no disrespect when I point this out, but the Mountain West's #3 team is ranked one spot behind Georgia and has a better record. TCU held Oklahoma to their lowest score of the season and like it or not they are the number 2 defense in the nation and the number 1 against the run. The MWC's only matchup with the SEC was between two bottom feeders, but the MWC team won. I think that this implied "superiority" the the SEC and Big 12 conference is largely imagined. I don't of course expect you to agree but the fact remains that our conference's average ranking is 11 and yours is 11.75, I'd say that's pretty even. And it's based on the BCS which is the only thing guaranteeing that my team won't even be allowed to play in the National Title game if they scheduled Florida and Bama next year and won.

Luckily we get to settle this on the field this time around, and I'll eat crow if I'm wrong as well. Like you I don't expect a blowout from either side, I expect it to be a long defensive grindout with Utah having a slight advantage based on offense and special teams, you need to read up about Louie Sakoda, if nothing else he can make a 50 yard field goal without much effort, and this game is played inside without a breeze, gonna be a cool opportunity for him!

Don't forget that Utah has the best record of all non BCS schools for beating BCS conference teams.

SLC
 
Where's the thread on FCS football? :p :D

My Richmond Spiders knocked off Appalachian State yesterday to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year. They'll play at Northern Iowa on Saturday.

The other semifinal sees Montana heading to James Madison on Friday night.

congrats on beating the three time champs app st. it looks like it could be a jmu-richmond rematch for the final, the one where jmu won at the last second with the great catch.

Like anyone who doesn't/didn't go to an FCS school cares...although FBS could learn a thing or two from the FCS setup. :rolleyes: :cool:

i like to follow it sometimes, even though i didn't go to a 1-AA school. 1-A can learn from every other division of every other ncaa sport that has a playoff, but they keep spewing the 'finals' excuse that is total junk.

January 8th at 8:00 on FOX
The game will be in Miami at Dolphin Stadium

we may have a problem if the dolphins end up winning the afc east and playing the home game the weekend before.

And did anyone else get a sick feeling watching the celebration at the university of Cincinnati? The Orange Bowl is truly representative of all that's wrong with the BCS this year. Here we have two middle of the pack teams that are going to be placed against each other in one of the most lucrative bowl games based solely on the technicality that their respective conferences have automatic bids. Each team did just enough to avoid the technicality that would have kept them out of the BCS. The fans and players all celebrating like they did something special. Guess what, finishing 11 and 2 in this years Big East, and 9 and 4 in this years ACC is nothing special. And I think it's a sham that these two teams will be getting such a huge payout while Texas Tech and Boise State are left with nothing. Feel free to disagree if you like, but thats how I see it this year.

i would have rather seen texas tech and boise st. in the orange bowl rather than the sorry matchup we're getting. easily the worst of the bcs games on paper. what's next, duke vs. uconn in the orange bowl? not really an appealing football matchup.

When the highest ranked team in the ACC is at #19 that is a bad year for the ACC. They are supposed to be a dominating conference with teams in the equation for the national title every single year, but this year if the conference champion had lost one more game they may have been out of the top 25 and lost their automatic BCS bid because of poor performance. I think it's an embarrassment to have the ACC playing in the BCS this year. Same goes for the Big East, but at least Cincinnati has only lost two.

The MWC has two teams ranked ahead of anyone in the ACC. And our #3 team is only two spots behind the ACC's top ranked team. Funny thing is that the ACC's top ranked team couldn't even take care of business well enough to get to the BCS. That's right, the ACC champion isn't even the highest ranked ACC team. Something's definitely wrong with this conference this year.

And sure, the ACC has 10 teams playing for a bowl, but you only have to be .500 to get to a bowl. In a league without any top 10 teams, it shouldn't be tough to win 6 games.

SLC

the highest ranked acc team is georgia tech at #14, and will be playing in the peach bowl this year. and you're right, the big east, and less so, the acc are basketball conferences, and not really known for football. there was actually talks back when the big east lost their football teams that they could have gotten their bcs bid revoked for having too few teams, but then they expanded their conference to 16 teams, got uconn to play 1-A football and brought in 3 c-usa retreads to get 8 football teams in conference (if you're wondering about the others, 5 don't play football at all, villanova and georgetown play 1-AA football and notre dame is notre dame). i'm actually hearing that the big least could get kicked out of the bcs if they don't shape up soon, but i think the acc is safe if miami and florida state shape up, and georgia tech is looking great for next year.

and btw, there is a rule that a conference can lose their bcs bid if they are unranked? please tell me about it.

does anyone else remember the good old days when there was only about 20 bowl games and 8 wins was pretty much required to get into a bowl, when bowl eligible was just that, and 6 and 7 win teams were left out most of the time from bowl season? now with 500 bowl games, anyone with a 6-6 record or better can go to a bowl game, and it just makes bowl season long and drawn out with few good games in there.
 
Any Rose Bowl predictions?

A defensive battle, I say USC wins 3-2, on a last second field goal. :)
 
Any Rose Bowl predictions?

A defensive battle, I say USC wins 3-2, on a last second field goal. :)

This one is a tough pick for me
I think USC is miffed over the disrespect they perceive they are getting
Do they take it out on Penn State? They didn't against UCLA

Or does Penn State show up and play a lackluster Trojan team?
I heard on the radio today that the players have voiced their displeasure over "only being in the Rose Bowl" and the coach called them out on it

Not a good sign for the Trojans

Penn State could get blown out
Or they could win a close one
I know that would chap Badandy's hide

Woof, Woof – Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
The MWC has two teams ranked ahead of anyone in the ACC. And our #3 team is only two spots behind the ACC's top ranked team. Funny thing is that the ACC's top ranked team couldn't even take care of business well enough to get to the BCS. That's right, the ACC champion isn't even the highest ranked ACC team. Something's definitely wrong with this conference this year.

If being competitive is wrong, then yes, I guess there is something wrong with the ACC this year. My team is ranked #14 and we lost the tiebreaker to get into the conference championship game. There's been tons of times when the conference champion wasn't necessarily the best the conference had to offer. Georgia last year was as hot a team as anybody, but LSU walked away SEC champs. This year my Yellow Jackets were the best in the ACC at the end, but it was too late.

I'd rather play in a league where I knew each game was going to be a challenge. As a fan, you get much more out of your money seeing competitive games instead of seeing your team be up by 30 at halftime.
 
That's just the thing, more than half of your conference wouldn't even present a challenge to Utah this year. Or even TCU or BYU from the MWC.

Maybe it's a challenge for the ACC teams to get through the conference unbeaten. But no more than it is a challenge for a bunch of first graders to have a calculus problem solving competition against each other. Yeah it's going to be competitive (relatively speaking) but we all know that none of them have a clue what they are doing. With the ACC this year it's more of a comparative failure situation than anything else. Whatever team fails in the most beautiful fashion will go to the BCS!

All other BCS conferences save the ACC have a team with either no losses, one loss or two losses at the head. What's the ACC's problem?

SLC
 
This one is a tough pick for me
I think USC is miffed over the disrespect they perceive they are getting
Do they take it out on Penn State? They didn't against UCLA

I don't know what to think about USC. Their offense seems inconsistent, so I'm tempted to say that they did all they could against UCLA, but that's all they could muster. Then again, it's a rivalry game, so anything goes.

One thing that IS consistent is their D, and I don't think PSU will score more than 14, if that. So in all seriousness, I'm thinking this might be a 24-14 kind of win for USC - even if they're mentally in the game. If not, who knows?
 
That's just the thing, more than half of your conference wouldn't even present a challenge to Utah this year. Or even TCU or BYU from the MWC.

I humbly disagree with your assessment :eek:

I realize you are a fan... we all are
But as such, you typically inflate your side and deflate the other... beyond reason

Woof, Woof – Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
I feel the same about your statements too Dawg, claiming the SEC to be vastly superior to the MWC. I don't argue that teams like Georgia and Florida are traditional powerhouses. But they get a benefit of the doubt that non-BCS teams don't enjoy. When a non BCS team gets ranked in the top 10 I think that says a lot.

And what have I inflated about my team? I've called wins for every game so far, we have wins in every game so far. I've called losses for every team we've played so far, every team we've played so far has a loss against us.

That's not inflating my team, and deflating another. That's knowing what the outcome is likely to be. If you look back at my postings over the past few hours, you'll see that I'm not deflating Alabama in any way. I've maintained all along that this will be a tough game for Utah. Likely the best team we've ever played in the history of the school. But Utah is tough, and a great team, and I think we have an excellent chance of winning. If anything you are guilty of what you accuse me of in the case of this match-up.

SLC
 
I feel the same about your statements too Dawg, claiming the SEC to be vastly superior to the MWC. I don't argue that teams like Georgia and Florida are traditional powerhouses. But they get a benefit of the doubt that non-BCS teams don't enjoy. When a non BCS team gets ranked in the top 10 I think that says a lot.

And what have I inflated about my team? I've called wins for every game so far, we have wins in every game so far. I've called losses for every team we've played so far, every team we've played so far has a loss against us.

That's not inflating my team, and deflating another. That's knowing what the outcome is likely to be. If you look back at my postings over the past few hours, you'll see that I'm not deflating Alabama in any way. I've maintained all along that this will be a tough game for Utah. Likely the best team we've ever played in the history of the school. But Utah is tough, and a great team, and I think we have an excellent chance of winning. If anything you are guilty of what you accuse me of in the case of this match-up.

SLC

You have not read any post from me where I have said the SEC is vastly superior, although I do believe they are one of the toughest conferences year in and year out.

My words about inflate/deflate had to do with your statements about the ACC and Utah. I stand by that. The ACC had a down year, as did the SEC for that matter... in that there was a lot of parity in the conference and they beat up on each other. But don't let that parity lull you into thinking the schools are not "good". They are... and Ga. Tech, NCarolina, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Maryland, Florida State, and even Miami would all give you a run for your money... and if you had to play an ACC schedule... I'm thinking you would not be sitting 12-0 either.

And I have not inflated 'Bama and deflated Utah in this matchup at all.
I think the Tide wins, but I said it wouldn't be a blow out.
That's the best I can give you on that one.

But claiming an undefeated Utah team is superior to a one loss Oklahoma or Florida team after the BCS Championship game is a little "out there" in my opinion.

The non-BCS schools carry a chip on their shoulder... maybe rightfully so
But there is a reason they are not considered BCS conferences


Woof, Woof – Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
I humbly disagree with your assessment :eek:

I realize you are a fan... we all are
But as such, you typically inflate your side and deflate the other... beyond reason

Jackpot!

SLC's responses to any criticism are so lopsided and long winded that I feel like he is out defending/justifying Utah all of the time.
 
I don't know what to think about the purse fight between VT and Cincy. Holy crap.

Ha, Ha... I'm with you on that!

Nobody outside their area code will be remotely interested in that dawg of a game! Seems like there is one every year that is either a yawner like this one, or a total mismatch like the Sugar last year.

Maybe if they put is some special rules... like "no punting... you have to go for it on 4th every time" or "field goals are worth 5 points"... you know, something to make it interesting to watch. Oooo, oooo, I know... they only play for a half... so we only suffer half as long!

Woof, Woof – Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Jackpot!

SLC's responses to any criticism are so lopsided and long winded that I feel like he is out defending/justifying Utah all of the time.

Well what do you expect me to do when Utah gets no respect? Of course I'm going to defend them, you would too if you were a fan. What's your point in saying that?

Like I said earlier, lucky for us we get to see this decided on the field. And I stand by my assertion that Utah would be deserving of the National Title if they remain unbeaten after the sugar bowl. Go ahead and prove to me why they shouldn't be. Without claiming that they have a weaker conference, if Utah beats Bama, they will have knocked off a top end Pac 10 team (BCS conference) and a top end SEC team (also BCS conference, arguably the best one). And while doing that, they will have beaten the winningest team in college football history on their home field, and two top 15 teams from their own conference.

The BCS is not about crowning the best team, it's about crowning the team that the reporters and coaches "Think" is best. If we want to see who's really best, a playoff is necessary. Each team would have to put up or shut up, the ACC would be left out entirely this year. That's why I make the claim.

And to respond to MacDawg's statement about Utah not being able to remain unbeaten in the ACC: You may be right, I don't think so, but even if you are, they could lose a game to anyone in the ACC and still have a shot at the title. That's right, if Utah were in the ACC (or any other BCS conference for that matter, they could lose to Duke, Texas A&M, Louisville, Indiana, Washington, Mississippi State, or any other bottom feeder team and still play in the National Title game.

That's why this whole system is utter crap!

SLC
 
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