NCAA Football 2011 Season Catch-All

i38warhawk wrote:

I'd say that the defenses are just that good. Their offenses are scoring just as many points as exciting teams like Oregon and OSU in almost every other game this season.

I think both teams shut down OSU's one dimensional offense just like they shut down Arkansas.

I know comparing games isn't always the most accurate, but if you look at what Arkansas put up in the Cotton Bowl and what Oklahoma State put up against KSU, I don't know that Arkansas' offense is in the same category as OSU. Of course, their defense would appear to be a wee bit better against the run.

I would think that an OSU game against either of the SEC teams would likely be a high scoring affair, well at least relative to what we saw last night. And I would love to see those vaunted secondaries line up against OSU's version of the Air Raid which would force them out of their base defensive sets more. That and Joseph Randle's 1200 yards and 24 TD's rushing would argue against the Cowboys being one dimensional.

Oh, and LSU should put some focus on recruiting and developing a QB, maybe an OC who will call a throw down the field would be good too. Did they attempt any downfield throws at all?

gizmo wrote:

Oh, and LSU should put some focus on recruiting and developing a QB, maybe an OC who will call a throw down the field would be good too. Did they attempt any downfield throws at all?

Not many, but a few - all incomplete. I suspect there were probably a few more attempted, but due to heavy pressure and/or receivers being unable to get open, they either turned into short passes, runs, or sacks. It seemed like the worst problem for LSU yesterday was their offensive line being unable to present any consistent resistence to the Alabama front 4. If a QB always has some monster about to knock their head off 2-3 seconds after getting a snap, there won't be many long passes, and he's not going to get into much of a rhythm other than regularly picking yourself up off the ground.

I'm clearly in the minority, but I loves me a great defensive matchup and tough running (not so much of that yesterday). I just wish the LSU offense had put up more of a fight.

Grumpicus wrote:

First game: http://espn.go.com/ncf/drivechart?ga...
IMAGE(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2999/game1z.png)
When you get right down to it, both games were pretty similar (which certainly doesn't help counter the "we already saw this game" crowd) except this time, Alabama made their field goals. I know it’s a sports cliché to say “we didn’t lose, we beat ourselves,” but that’s more true than usual in the first meeting.

That first drive chart is missing LSU's 2nd quarter field goal. The two main differences between the games were that, like you said, Alabama made their field goals, but secondly, that the LSU offense was significantly worse (compare the duration of LSU's drives between the two games) - only making it into the other team's territory ONCE in an entire game, and that was in the 4th quarter after getting good field position to start with...that's rough.

Coolbeans wrote:

That was simply the worst I have ever seen a football team play over the period of 60 minutes. Jefferson should have been benched after the 1st quarter. But I don't blame him, he can't help that he is totally inept, that's just an accident of genes. This was totally on the shoulders of Les Miles. I have quite simply lost all coaching respect for Miles. One of my best friends is a college coach over on the west coast and he called me after the third quarter saying "what the hell is wrong with your coach? Was he in a horrible car accident today and lose all reasoning ability?"

LSU played so terrible that not only did they deserve to lose, but they should have to give back the SEC championship and give it to Alabama.

The backup had some hideous career stats against AL. Why is it automatic that he would have magically moved the ball against them in the biggest game of the year.

The bigger question is why it's so hard to developer a QB? You're literally grey-shirting kids left and right. You don't have a couple scholarships and a little recruiting time leftover for offensive players?

BCS championship game draws lowest ratings ever

Overnight ratings for Alabama's 21-0 victory over Louisiana State in the Bowl Championship Series title game were the lowest for a national championship in the 14-year history of the BCS. The All-SEC affair, the first championship pairing of teams from the same conference, drew a 13.8 overnight rating on ESPN. The previous record low was a 14.3 for Miami-Nebraska at the 2002 Rose Bowl.

The figure is down 14.3% from a 16.1 overnight for last year's Auburn-Oregon matchup, ESPN's highest-rated telecast ever. Last year's game came down to Auburn kicking a field goal on the last play to win.

The game was also down 24% from Alabama's last national championship when the Crimson Tide defeated Texas in 2010.

CBS' Tim Brando said on his radio show today: "When you're doing a championship game, you've got to get those people outside the inner sanctum of college football to watch. It's those people that look at this and say, 'Wait a minute. Didn't we see these two teams play before? Why are we watching this boring game?' "
Jayhawker wrote:
CBS' Tim Brando said on his radio show today: "When you're doing a championship game, you've got to get those people outside the inner sanctum of college football to watch. It's those people that look at this and say, 'Wait a minute. Didn't we see these two teams play before? Why are we watching this boring game?' "

Thanks for that, Jayhawker. That's quite observant on his part. I wonder what percentage of those viewers were from the SEC.

Well hopefully that's a big enough kick in the pocket book to shake things up.

AUs_TBirD wrote:

That first drive chart is missing LSU's 2nd quarter field goal.

True. It should be on the line that says "End of Half."

Stele wrote:

Well hopefully that's a big enough kick in the pocket book to shake things up.

I doubt it. Remember that article from a few months back about how much money the people who run the bowls make? I think they got their money, so they're fine. Are the ratings enough to push ESPN to push for changes? I don't know.

I sometimes wonder with these things if the move to cable hurt as well. I'm not in love with sports championships, bowls, tourneys, etc. being on cable TV.

AUs_TBirD wrote:
gizmo wrote:

Oh, and LSU should put some focus on recruiting and developing a QB, maybe an OC who will call a throw down the field would be good too. Did they attempt any downfield throws at all?

Not many, but a few - all incomplete. I suspect there were probably a few more attempted, but due to heavy pressure and/or receivers being unable to get open, they either turned into short passes, runs, or sacks. It seemed like the worst problem for LSU yesterday was their offensive line being unable to present any consistent resistence to the Alabama front 4. If a QB always has some monster about to knock their head off 2-3 seconds after getting a snap, there won't be many long passes, and he's not going to get into much of a rhythm other than regularly picking yourself up off the ground.

I'm clearly in the minority, but I loves me a great defensive matchup and tough running (not so much of that yesterday). I just wish the LSU offense had put up more of a fight.

The reason I bring that up, to my mind, with receivers like Randle on the outside, it only makes sense to go vertical when the defense is focused on the box to stop your power game. Of course, I also would have thrown some more wide receivers screens and quick tosses to get some positive yards instead of staying married to that power rushing game that wasn't working. I am all for good defense, just not all for giving up on trying to beat one because it is good.

On the other side,I really loved Alabama's adjustments from the first game to the second, moving their QB early and getting the ball to Smelley for one. That forced the linebackers for LSU to pay attention to him rather than just covering run gaps and blitzing. It was a nice wrinkle that looked to me to really get them going early.

Jayhawker wrote:

BCS championship game draws lowest ratings ever

Overnight ratings for Alabama's 21-0 victory over Louisiana State in the Bowl Championship Series title game were the lowest for a national championship in the 14-year history of the BCS. The All-SEC affair, the first championship pairing of teams from the same conference, drew a 13.8 overnight rating on ESPN. The previous record low was a 14.3 for Miami-Nebraska at the 2002 Rose Bowl.

The figure is down 14.3% from a 16.1 overnight for last year's Auburn-Oregon matchup, ESPN's highest-rated telecast ever. Last year's game came down to Auburn kicking a field goal on the last play to win.

The game was also down 24% from Alabama's last national championship when the Crimson Tide defeated Texas in 2010.

CBS' Tim Brando said on his radio show today: "When you're doing a championship game, you've got to get those people outside the inner sanctum of college football to watch. It's those people that look at this and say, 'Wait a minute. Didn't we see these two teams play before? Why are we watching this boring game?' "

This was the first championship game I've missed since the BCS started. I'm not sure why I didn't watch. I guess it was due to a combination of a) rematch, b) two teams from the same conference, and c) general college football fatigue. The season goes on for so long and a game is on almost every night. Conferences don't stay intact long enough for any tradition to take root.
Look, I don't have a dog in this race; I'm not sure my alma mater even plays football any more and even if they did, they are probably wallowing in the dregs of Div. 3. I like football, period. But, I think all the hands out to gather in all the dollars that are flowing around are slowly killing the golden goose. And it's too bad because college football is special. Or should be.

gizmo wrote:

I know comparing games isn't always the most accurate, but if you look at what Arkansas put up in the Cotton Bowl and what Oklahoma State put up against KSU, I don't know that Arkansas' offense is in the same category as OSU. Of course, their defense would appear to be a wee bit better against the run.

I would think that an OSU game against either of the SEC teams would likely be a high scoring affair, well at least relative to what we saw last night. And I would love to see those vaunted secondaries line up against OSU's version of the Air Raid which would force them out of their base defensive sets more. That and Joseph Randle's 1200 yards and 24 TD's rushing would argue against the Cowboys being one dimensional.

There was not a single team on OSU's schedule this season that is comparable to LSU or Alabama. I feel like LSU's big defensive line stops OSU's running game and some of the most physical DB's in college football slow down the passing game enough for LSU to win. I don't see OSU scoring more than 21.

I think the Arkansas comparison is pretty solid. Both teams run a spread variation that favors the pass. If you look at how they played K-State the most apparent statistic is the number of rushing attempts. Arkansas has double the rush attempts since they held a lead the entire game and didn't need to constantly outscore K-State. They also have a better defense so the offense wasn't always on the field.

The thing is, K-State's not the only common opponent that OSU and Arkansas shared. Both teams played Texas A&M this season. Arkansas' offense was more productive against that common opponent.

The better comparison to OSU would be West Virginia. WV runs the same Air Raid spread very well. They played LSU this season and put up 21 points. The same as Bama. They didn't win the game because they allowed LSU's offense to score 47 points. Here's the interesting part, West Virginia statistically has a better defense then OSU.

Texas was the best pass defense that OSU faced this season (discounting perennial powerhouse Iowa State ;)). Texas is currently ranked 47th in pass defense. There is no way OSU puts up they same statistics playing an SEC schedule.

I hope we get at least a plus one next season so we don't have make comparisons. The SEC can go back to beating the other conferences on the field.

i38warhawk wrote:

I hope we get at least a plus one next season so we don't have make comparisons. The SEC can go back to beating the other conferences on the field.

This we can agree on.

I thought the heart attack Hogs were going to kill me last season. Seriously, f*ck college football it's taking years off my life.

WTF. I thought it was crazy enough that a 50 year old coach was out riding a motorcycle. Now it turns out he was with a 25 year old employee, former volleyball player at the school.

The girl is also about to be married to a guy who works in the athletic department. Classy!

Former Arkansas volleyball player Jessica Dorrell was announced as student-athlete development coordinator on March 29, four days before she was the passenger on the back of coach Bobby Petrino 's motorcycle in his Sunday crash... “She has an enthusiasm for the Razorbacks and is familiar with what Arkansas can offer,” Petrino said when she was hired.

Stele wrote:

WTF. I thought it was crazy enough that a 50 year old coach was out riding a motorcycle. Now it turns out he was with a 25 year old employee, former volleyball player at the school. :shock:

You call that crazy? That's AWESOME!

(except the part where she's engaged)

Crazy like the Big Ben thing a couple years back... when you're paying someone $3+ million a year, they shouldn't be doing dangerous things, especially without a helmet.

I cannot believe they fired him.

i38warhawk wrote:

I cannot believe they fired him.

It's probably more to do with the "relationship with a subordinate" than anything else. Too many sticky legal issues that could arise... and the fact that she probably got the job because of their prior relationship. And being a public university that accepts state money... lots of big problems there, even if athletics is a separate entity. Not sure how things are there.

Arkansas Altheltics is not state funded, but it is part of the University so all employees are state employees. Lots or rumors right now, but I can't shake the feeling that Petrino will be coaching somewhere by the end of the 2012 season. It's just the worst time to be looking for a coach. Pretty depressed about the whole fiasco. We just fired one of the best coaches in college football.

Stele wrote:
i38warhawk wrote:

I cannot believe they fired him.

It's probably more to do with the "relationship with a subordinate" than anything else. Too many sticky legal issues that could arise... and the fact that she probably got the job because of their prior relationship. And being a public university that accepts state money... lots of big problems there, even if athletics is a separate entity. Not sure how things are there. :?

Yeah I kept hearing that if the sh*t hit the fan the AD would lose his job too, so he was probably just covering his own ass.

i38warhawk wrote:

Arkansas Altheltics is not state funded, but it is part of the University so all employees are state employees. Lots or rumors right now, but I can't shake the feeling that Petrino will be coaching somewhere by the end of the 2012 season. It's just the worst time to be looking for a coach. Pretty depressed about the whole fiasco. We just fired one of the best coaches in college football.

He is a great coach, but he sat on the review board when she was hired and didn't disclose the prior relationship. And giving her 20 grand of what is reported to be AD funds as a gift/gifts. Between the ethical issues there and the 127 potential lawsuits by the people who didn't get her job, there was just no way he was keeping the job.

The guy has a history of dishonesty and disloyalty. I will be really surprised if he is a head coach before Jim Tressel is. But if someone has an opening for an OC, here's their guy.

I heard on the radio this morning at their press conference the school blasted him and explained a laundry list of dishonest items for reasons.

karmajay wrote:

I heard on the radio this morning at their press conference the school blasted him and explained a laundry list of dishonest items for reasons.

Yep, that happened at the press conference. The big news today is that Petrino was texting like a 14 year old girl. There might even be some nude pics. Bleh...

Kansas is becoming Notre Dame West, as they just officially added their their third 5th year senior from Notre Dame, TE Mike Ragone. He joins Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist and Notre Dame linebacker Anthony McDonald at Kansas. Weiss also has some former Notre Dame coaches, and OL coach Tim Grunhard played at Notre Dame before a long career with the Chiefs.

All of these transfers are going to have an interesting impact on Jayhawk football. I'm hoping it will be positive. If Justin McCay from Oklahoma gets his hardship approved, he is going to be an instant #1 receiver. It's foolish to think they are even going to manage a bowl game after last season, but there are so many new pieces, it's hard to predict anything.

While I don't know what kind of results to expect, I'm more than happy with all of the players and coaches he has brought in. He has made a difference that Turner Gill would not have been able to make. It makes swallowing that huge contract a little easier, because season ticket sales are on the rise. After last season, if Gill remained, it would have been a full scale collapse of season ticket sales.

I planning on heading to Lawrence for the spring game this year, just to get a look at the new guys.

Jayhawker wrote:
iaintgotnopants wrote:

So, the Big East is supposedly going to add Boise State, San Diego State, SMU, Houston and UCF.

I repeat. The Big East is adding San Diego State.

The Big East just went full {ableist slur}.

That was in December. Now Big East commissioner John Marinatto is gone.

To manage the two, it takes diplomacy and delicacy. The Big East went for desperation. Following the lead of Marinatto, a man who previously was in charge of the league's administrative operations and never charged with formulating a vision, the conference went 11th-hour prom date hunting, taking whoever would say yes instead of who might make the league attractive.

Consequently, the Big East is left with this mishmashed mess, an Ellis Island of football expats, their basketball carry-ons, and signs it could get worse before it gets better. There are rumors that San Diego State and Boise State want to make like Texas State and UT-San Antonio and bag their new league before even playing a game in it; and that Connecticut still has eyes for the ACC and Louisville for the Big 12.

I have to thank Marinatto for making the Big 12 look stable. The Big 12 got rid of Beebe before sending out invites, and bought in a solid interim guy that found two teams that raised the Big 12's profile, and avoided the expansion frenzy. I think Louisville will eventually come aboard, but there are rumors of raiding the ACC and picking up Clemson and Florida State.

I think that is still unlikely, but the slow pace allows for things to develop, and better opportunities to come appear. I definitely prefer the Big 12 to look east instead of west. With a new TV contract in hand, the Big 12 can afford to be choosy and patient in getting to 16.

And to think, when the Big 12 looked like it was on the verge of collapse, I was hoping Kansas would jump into the Big East. I had no idea the big East was going to commit suicide.

Until you get back to 12 I think it's called rebuilding. It's going to be a fun season I think WVU and TCU will be good additions. Both teams seems like they'll be competitive from the start. TCU actually plays defense which will be a welcome change for the Big 12.

A&M fans arereally pulling for that rivalry with LSU. If you guys hadn't been beat by my Razorbacks the last three years I say you deserve it. As it stands the Hogs our 3-0 in the SWC and you guys want to steal LSU on our big weekend. Is the ink dried on you're moving to the SEC? I vote to send you back. Seems like LSU just wants an easier game to end the season. Messing up the series with USC-e was bad enough. Should have never let that Texas arrogance into the conference.