2012 College Football Thread

[MacDawg]

Should be a fun game, and one the Dawgs can't underestimate

Missouri player says Dawgs play "Old Man Football"

Also says nobody in the SEC can touch them

 

[MacDawg]

How is Oregon not at least a decent defense?

Last year's stats (all we have to go on right now)

Oregon's rankings

Scoring Defense = 52
Rushing Defense = 54
Passing Defense = 88
Total Defense = 67

4 of the top 5 defenses last year came from the SEC

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. SCarolina
5. Georgia


Sample of teams with better Total Defense than Oregon

12. Rutgers
13. Temple
21. Kent State
22. Louisiana-Monroe
63. Buffalo
66. Hawaii

USC Schedule and defense rankings

Hawaii - 66
Syracuse - 64
Stanford - 28
California -25
Utah - 40
Washington - 106
Colorado - 102
Arizona - 110
Oregon - 67
Arizona State - 91
UCLA - 89
Notre Dame - 30

 

[eric/]

That could also be indicative that the offenses out there are so good that it makes the defenses, which are otherwise good, look bad.

 

[MacDawg]

That could also be indicative that the offenses out there are so good that it makes the defenses, which are otherwise good, look bad.

Same argument the Big 12 used
But it doesn't fly
There is a reason the SEC has won 6 straight BCS titles... defense

 

[eric/]

Same argument the Big 12 used
But it doesn't fly
There is a reason the SEC has won 6 straight BCS titles... defense

Well they won the last one because the BCS is stupid and pitted two teams from the same conference against each other.

Who actually was better that year? Alabama beat LSU at home. LSU beat Alabama at home.

Also, it's not the SEC that has been winning these titles, it's the coaches. Urban, Les, Nick.

Has anybody outside of those three won a title?

Also, fun fact: each one of them are associated with either the state of Ohio or the Ohio State University.

 

[MacDawg]

Well they won the last one because the BCS is stupid and pitted two teams from the same conference against each other.

BCS is designed to put the 2 best teams together
IMO Bama and LSU were clearly the 2 best teams

Who actually was better that year? Alabama beat LSU at home. LSU beat Alabama at home.

I thought Bama was the best team even in their loss to LSU
But they were very close

Also, it's not the SEC that has been winning these titles, it's the coaches. Urban, Les, Nick.

Has anybody outside of those three won a title?

Ummmm, Chizik at Auburn

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Could have an impact next week with the Gators having a game under their belt and week to work out the kinks

Of course A&M has film on the Gators now and the Gators got nuttin' on them

Should be an interesting game

I was really unimpressed with Florida. Their running game was average (piled up some yards but got stuffed multiple times on 3rd/4th & short) and they can't pass the ball at all. A&M's defense has a lot to prove but from the looks of things, this offense won't challenge them enough to do it.

As for A&M's offense, I am a little worried about not having a tuneup since we've got the new system and a new QB, but Florida's defense didn't look very good against a very average spread team with below-average talent, so the hope here is that the kinks get worked out pretty quickly.

Just for chuckles, I thought I'd post new A&M QB (redshirt freshman) Johnny Manziel's numbers from his senior year in high school...

Passing

• 228-347 (65.7%)
• 3,609 yards
• 45 TDs
• 5 INTs

Rushing

• 170 carries
• 1,674 yards
• 30 TDs

He also had a TD catch and a kickoff return for a TD. And yes, I know it's only high school, I'm still just flabbergasted by those numbers.

Yep, College Game day headed to Kyle Field for A&M's SEC debut with the Gators

Link

Should be great. A&M hasn't fared too well the last two times Gameday came to town, losing to OU twice: 35-30 in 2000 (OU's MNC year) and 17-16 in 2006. Here's hoping we can get a better outcome this time in front of what's sure to be a crazed environment.

That's going to really impact A&M later in the season. That schedule is brutal, and now there is no bye week. OUCH!

Yep. We haven't had a midseason bye week since before the Big 12 started, so I was really looking forward to it this year. Cockingsucking LaTech...

 

[MacDawg]

I was really unimpressed with Florida. <snip>

I think many of the SEC teams had a lackluster first game: Dawgs, Gators, Cocks, Razorbacks, and even LSU
Everybody seems to want to jump on the Vol bandwagon early in the East now
But they have a lot to prove first

Bama was clearly the cream of the crop and in midseason form

I expect everyone to be much improved in week 2
For the Dawgs, we need to get our 5 defensive players back from suspension
And an injured Malcolm Mitchell (playing both ways)

I think the A&M / Gator game and the Dawgs / Mizzou game both can go either way
Gonna be a lot of emotion for the home teams and their first SEC games
The will want to prove they belong

The A&M fan base and 12th man should help
But I really think you would have benefited from playing that first game
Gators don't have much identity right now, and they are struggling
You are getting them at the best time possible over the past 15 years or so

 

[Roller]

BCS is designed to put the 2 best teams together
IMO Bama and LSU were clearly the 2 best teams

I thought Bama was the best team even in their loss to LSU
But they were very close

Agreed. Still, I think there'll always be a debate as to whether Bama deserved a re-match. I did, but can understand the other point of view. The two teams were very closely matched for the regular season game, and Bama lost because of some bad breaks and maybe some questionable coaching calls near the end. But nobody can argue that Bama wasn't dominant in the title game in a way that even surprised some ardent supporters.

 

[eric/]

BCS is designed to put the 2 best teams together
IMO Bama and LSU were clearly the 2 best teams

If that was the case though, we had already seen them play and that should have been that.

Following that logic, Michigan should have replayed OSU in the national championship in 2006, since they were the #1-2 teams. They didn't because OSU beat them.

Idk. I just don't think it makes any sense to have two teams from the same conference play for the championship unless they go through a playoff. Especially since they played each other already.

The count is 1-1.

I thought Bama was the best team even in their loss to LSU
But they were very close

Ya they played well definitely and it was a close game, but LSU won.

Ummmm, Chizik at Auburn

One, and they barely beat Oregon.

Personally I don't think it's just "oh man SEC so good so fast" It's that they had the best coaches in the nation, and you can see clearly that those coaches went on to win national championships. The rest of the SEC is good for sure, but there is a stark difference between LSU/Alabama and the rest. Especially now that Urban is out of Florida.

 

[MacDawg]

If that was the case though, we had already seen them play and that should have been that.

Following that logic, Michigan should have replayed OSU in the national championship in 2006, since they were the #1-2 teams. They didn't because OSU beat them.

Apparently neither of them was the best team since the Gators spanked them

Personally I don't think it's just "oh man SEC so good so fast" It's that they had the best coaches in the nation, and you can see clearly that those coaches went on to win national championships. The rest of the SEC is good for sure, but there is a stark difference between LSU/Alabama and the rest. Especially now that Urban is out of Florida.

Current SEC coaches with titles...
Saban 2 at Bama, 1 at LSU
Miles 1 at LSU
Chizik 1 at Auburn
Spurrier 1 at Florida

Throw in Meyer's 2 with Florida and you have 5 coaches with titles at SEC schools
And in the BCS era, you can add Phil Fulmer with Tennessee as well to make 6

The SEC has won 8 out of the 14 BCS championships
And arguably could have had another when an undefeated Auburn team was shut out of the BCS Title game, something that probably wouldn't happen today
And that would have been yet another coach - Tubberville

And as much as I dislike him, Petrino was on the verge himself

Yes, the SEC attracts great coaches (not just 2)
But great coaches can't win without great talent
The best coaches want to be in the SEC because they have great talent, great facilities, great fans, etc

Listen to what A&M said coming into the SEC... it would improve their recruiting, cause kids want to play in the SEC

 

[eric/]

Apparently neither of them was the best team since the Gators spanked them

Meh. They didn't play Michigan. I think the next year Michigan beat them didn't they?

Current SEC coaches with titles...
Saban 2 at Bama, 1 at LSU
Miles 1 at LSU
Chizik 1 at Auburn
Spurrier 1 at Florida

Throw in Meyer and you have 5 coaches with titles at SEC schools
And in the BCS era, you can add Phil Fulmer with Tennessee as well to make 6

And outside of Alabama and LSU those teams are no longer competing at a high level. The way I see it over the past decade:

Saba 3
Miles 1
Urban 2

That's the vast majority. Each other team was 1 and done.

The SEC has won 8 out of the 14 BCS championships
And arguably could have had another when an undefeated Auburn team was shut out of the BCS Title game, something that probably wouldn't happen today
And that would have been yet another coach - Tubberville

Not saying the SEC isn't the best. I'm saying the have the best coaches and that's the key factor.

And as much as I dislike him, Petrino was on the verge himself

On the verge doesn't count.

Yes, the SEC attracts great coaches (not just 2)
But great coaches can't win without great talent
The best coaches want to be in the SEC because they have great talent, great facilities, great fans, etc

Well the fans thing is debatable considering the Big Ten and Pac 12 both have larger revenues, bigger/better TV deals, etc...

The talent is there, definitely, but the top 5 football recruiting states are:

Cal
Florida
Texas
Pennsylvania
Ohio

How many are in the SEC?

Listen to what A&M said coming into the SEC... it would improve their recruiting, cause kids want to play in the SEC

YA because they have to compete with UT, TT, etc...

 

[MacDawg]

Meh. They didn't play Michigan. I think the next year Michigan beat them didn't they?

Different teams

And outside of Alabama and LSU those teams are no longer competing at a high level. The way I see it over the past decade:

Saba 3
Miles 1
Urban 2

That's the vast majority. Each other team was 1 and done.

How many teams would like to have 1 BCS Championship?

Well the fans thing is debatable considering the Big Ten and Pac 12 both have larger revenues, bigger/better TV deals, etc...

I didn't say they had the best fans... there are great fans everywhere
But the rivalries and fans of the SEC match up with any of the best

The talent is there, definitely, but the top 5 football recruiting states are:

Cal
Florida
Texas
Pennsylvania
Ohio

How many are in the SEC?

Much of that talent leaves to go to the SEC

YA because they have to compete with UT, TT, etc...

Neither of which has won anything... oh yeah, "one and done Texas" LOL

The SEC may not stay king forever, but right now... yeah, they are on top
6 straight BCS championships
5 of the current top 10 schools are SEC (For the record 3 are not coached by Saban/Miles)
I'd say that is pretty dominate

OK, I'm done tooting the SEC horn
Their record speaks for itself

 

[eric/]

Different teams

SEC still, lot of the same players. You just said "they whipped em", yet Florida got beat by one of them the next year.

How many teams would like to have 1 BCS Championship?

Oh it's great no doubt. But we're talking about the elite level, 1 isn't enough.

I didn't say they had the best fans... there are great fans everywhere
But the rivalries and fans of the SEC match up with any of the best

Can't say I disagree. It's just that you tried to make a point about the fans as if they are something special when they aren't particularly good, as in there are more/better fans in other conferences.

Much of that talent leaves to go to the SEC

Depends, a lot of it goes back to the BIG or stays in Texas. Some of the Florida recruits make their way up to Ohio or Michigan.

Neither of which has won anything... oh yeah, "one and done Texas" LOL

That's not the point. Regardless of how good or bad they are, people from Texas have the whole Texas pride thing going on, so in turn, TT has to try and out-recruit UT and A&M, among a **** load of other universities (Rice, Houston, TCU, etc....)

The SEC may not stay king forever, but right now... yeah, they are on top
6 straight BCS championships

Where have I said anything to the contrary?

5 of the current top 10 schools are SEC (For the record 3 are not coached by Saban/Miles)
I'd say that is pretty dominate

Yeah definitely it is. Nobody is denying that. I'm saying it's because of the coaches that they have been so dominate in the past decade, particularly because of Les, Urban, and Nick who share 6 of those championships.

OK, I'm done tooting the SEC horn
Their record speaks for itself

Good. I'm trying to discuss things objectively and look at why the SEC is winning. I think you're being pretty biased.

 

[spencers]

Woo pig

 

[MacDawg]

Good. I'm trying to discuss things objectively and look at why the SEC is winning. I think you're being pretty biased.

You are saying it is 3 coaches (2 now)
I am saying there is more to it than that

----------

Winners in bold
Should be some good games

#9 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
Lot of talk coming out of Nashville, but SC is too good for them

#24 Boise State at #13 Michigan State
Sparty at home and Boise without Kellen Moore

#14 Clemson v. Auburn
This is a toss up IMO

#8 Michigan v. #2 Alabama
I don't see the upset here, Bama will play 4 quarters

Georgia Tech at #16 Virginia Tech
eff the Bees

Buffalo at #6 Georgia
Confidence builder for this team

5 out of 6 with a chance to go 6 for 6 tonight

 

[eric/]

You are saying it is 3 coaches (2 now)
I am saying there is more to it than that

And I disagree.
Take a look:

Link

Florida
Won 1999 Orange Bowl
Lost 2001 Sugar Bowl
Won 2002 Orange Bowl
Won 2007 BCS National Championship Game
Won 2009 BCS National Championship Game
Won 2010 Sugar Bowl

Urban Meyer

LSU
Won 2002 Sugar Bowl
Won 2004 Sugar Bowl*
Won 2007 Sugar Bowl
Won 2008 BCS National Championship Game
Lost 2012 BCS National Championship Game

Les Miles

Alabama
Lost 2000 Orange Bowl
Lost 2009 Sugar Bowl
Won 2010 BCS National Championship Game
Won 2012 BCS National Championship Game

Nick Saban

So:

2007 - Urban Meyer
2008 - Les Miles
2009 - Urban Meyer
2010 - Nick Saban
2011 - Auburn
2012 - Nick Saban


I think that defining factor is the quality of the coaching staff. Simply put. People aren't just better at football in the SEC. There are players that are just as fast and strong all across the nation. The quality of those three teams (Ala, FL, LSU) was top tier, but the coaching just made them unstoppable.

Let's look at the rest of the SEC though:

Georgia hasn't won a championship.
Tennessee won in 1999
South Carolina hasn't even been to a BCS game
Auburn won in 2011, and has been to one other BCS game in 2005.

Is there anybody else worth mentioning?

It's Les, Nick, and (was) Urban, that have kept the SEC in top of everybody in the NCAA. There isn't some great spread of SEC teams all over the place whipping everybody. It's concentrated at the top.

To further my point, take a look at this:

Ohio State 5-3 (1 ntl championship)
Oklahoma 3-4 (not great, but almost .500 w/ 1 ntl champ)
USC 5-1 (1 ntl championship)
Michigan 2-2
Wisconsin 2-2
Oregon 2-2
Miami 3-1 (1 ntl championship)
Texas 3-1 (1 ntl championship)
West Virginia 3-0

In BCS games.

So yeah the SEC is dominant. But the love is spread all around the country.

 

[blazerdude20]

Last year's stats (all we have to go on right now)

Oregon's rankings

Scoring Defense = 52
Rushing Defense = 54
Passing Defense = 88
Total Defense = 67

4 of the top 5 defenses last year came from the SEC

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. SCarolina
5. Georgia


Sample of teams with better Total Defense than Oregon

12. Rutgers
13. Temple
21. Kent State
22. Louisiana-Monroe
63. Buffalo
66. Hawaii

USC Schedule and defense rankings

Hawaii - 66
Syracuse - 64
Stanford - 28
California -25
Utah - 40
Washington - 106
Colorado - 102
Arizona - 110
Oregon - 67
Arizona State - 91
UCLA - 89
Notre Dame - 30

Oregon defense also spends more time on the field than any other team in fbs. I'll compare to Bama and LSU since those were considered two of the best d's last season.

Oregon played 1,005 Defensive snaps - LSU 897, Alabama 720.

Oregon allowed 4.9 yd/play - LSU 4.08 yd/play, Alabama 3.32 yd/play


Oregon was 4th in sacks last season - LSU 11th, Alabama 30th
#1 in passes defended - LSU 9th, Alabama 24th
#16 in interceptions - LSU 11th, Alabama 41st

I'm not saying Oregon had/has the best defense in the country but it is damn good. Much better than anyone gives credit for. They played 100 more snaps then LSU and almost 300 more then Alabama. That is why they allowed more points per/game.

 

[Abyssgh0st]

I'm really hoping the OU v. UTEP game wasn't a clear preview for the season. If so, I'm in for a long couple months. I'm somewhat optimistic about the season, but I also have to be realistic.

1. We lost a lot of talent.
2. We have a lot of young talent (ex. Troy Metoyer)
3. The pressure is on.

I'm excited about our schedule, though. With both Notre Dame and OSU home games, it's sure to be an exciting season. Hopefully we can beat OSU into shape after the pathetic showing last year (seeing as though 90% of OSU's talent is now gone). Also looking forward to playing TCU (team of my hometown).

Anyone want to make a preemptive NC game pick?

 

[Mr Kram]

hate on haters.

didn't get to watch a lot of football this weekend. usc is as advertised. the defense needs to come together since they lost a starting DE and CB. bama looks strong again. hopefully there will be a collision course. talk is cheap.

ps. sorry for the huge image.

 

[HE15MAN]

Go Gators

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Go Gators

You coming to the game on Saturday?

 

[HE15MAN]

You coming to the game on Saturday?

Unfortunately no. We have had a three week vacation planned for two years and we are leaving the 14th, so its to close

 

[MacDawg]

6 for 6 in Week 1 in picks
Not a big week for Top 25 match ups or huge games

These three are intriguing to me (winners in bold)
All 3 are pretty much tossups to me and could be argued either way

Auburn at Mississippi State
The Tigers find a way to win a close one
The "other" bulldogs are 3-12 against the SEC West
They haven't beaten a West team not named Ole Miss

Florida at Texas A&M
College Game Day, Kyle Field, 12th Man, Aggies win at home for first SEC win
Gators are in disarray and struggling
They named a starting QB, but they will have to come together quick
One game under their belt will help, but Aggies will be high

Georgia at Missouri
May depend on Dawgs defensive suspensions returning
Home field for Tigers and first SEC game
Dawgs usually wet the bed in these games
Here's hoping they show their maturity and Todd Gurley runs wild
Murray needs to be more consistent and the OL needs to grow up in a hurry

 

[eric/]

6 for 6 in Week 1 in picks
Not a big week for Top 25 match ups or huge games

These three are intriguing to me (winners in bold)
All 3 are pretty much tossups to me and could be argued either way

Auburn at Mississippi State
The Tigers find a way to win a close one
The "other" bulldogs are 3-12 against the SEC West
They haven't beaten a West team not named Ole Miss

Florida at Texas A&M
College Game Day, Kyle Field, 12th Man, Aggies win at home for first SEC win
Gators are in disarray and struggling
They named a starting QB, but they will have to come together quick
One game under their belt will help, but Aggies will be high

Georgia at Missouri
May depend on Dawgs defensive suspensions returning
Home field for Tigers and first SEC game
Dawgs usually wet the bed in these games
Here's hoping they show their maturity and Todd Gurley runs wild
Murray needs to be more consistent and the OL needs to grow up in a hurry

Agreed but Florida over A&M.

Missouri is gonna be close.