NCAA College Football 2018-19: Official Thread

After two very depressing road losses, we beat Ole Miss at home. I was there with a bunch of my buddies from my college days. The game was much closer than the score looked, because the fantastic Trayveon Williams broke out for a huge TD on a possession where we just needed to run out the clock.

Von Miller was there, too, but he wasn't sitting in my section. They introduced him at halftime.

Aw Ok St trying to be like WVU and going for 2 and the win. Good play but bad throw.

Stele wrote:

Aw Ok St trying to be like WVU and going for 2 and the win. Good play but bad throw.

If they hadn't just missed a PAT a few minutes prior, they could have kicked one for the win. Very disappointing.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?

YES!!!!

GO BEARS!!!!

Bobby Petrino out at Louisville. Stele: Congrats?

f*ck yeah!

AD press conference at 2pm.

Source from 93.9 Louisville on Friday night after the game was right, said he wouldn't last the weekend.

So TN is starting to look like a team. Kentucky seemed overranked at 11, but I think college football this year has maybe 4-6 teams that are good, then a bunch of mediocre teams that fill out the rest of the top 25, at least compared to some other years.

Yay, Longhorns won last night. They looked bad early, but handled themselves well enough in the end. O line is such a huge problem though. Ehlinger is tough, but the kid can't take that many hits and stay healthy long-term.

As expected, Notre Dame destroyed FSU. What I didn't expect was our defense allowing Wimbush to look like Montana.

At least softball has started up...

In "other" football news, Louisville won the ACC men's soccer championship today.

Nice! The Noles beat UNC for the women's title last week.

Congrats!

Abu5217 wrote:

As expected, Notre Dame destroyed FSU. What I didn't expect was our defense allowing Wimbush to look like Montana.

At least softball has started up...

There's a reason Wimbush is 13-3 as a starter, even if his throws aren't always the most accurate. He got spooked by the pass rush later in the 2nd half. Still, what a kid. Benched even with his record. Yet he comes out and supports his team, then plays like he did last night.

During some post-game interview, he was asked about the experience of getting benched and reemerging. He said it stung to be demoted, but then he went on to say something to the effect of "But the offense has been so much more efficient with Ian [Book]." What kind of kid says that and admits that even when it hurts? A really top-notch one if you ask me!

Abu, I agree with your comment from earlier: mostly FSU didn't show much quit.

Except maybe a WR or two or three. It was depressing watching passes from Francois hit WRs in the stomach and then hit the ground because the WR didn't even try to catch them. Also, does FSU even have tight ends?

Whatever else you say about the team, though, if Cam Akers ever gets an O-line to run behind, he will be spectacular. He ran hard last night, picking up some bruising yards.

Also, the D-line went after it all night, even if they didn't get much help.

Yeah, the discrepancy in the talent groups is probably the most frustrating aspect of the team. The running back, defensive line, and cornerbacks are very good, with some individuals being elite. The o-line, linebackers and safeties are just bad. Injuries have had a lot to do with that, especially on the line, but really poor recruiting over the last few years (at those position groups) has really come back to haunt the team.

There are also rumors of divisions within the team, with some players buying into Taggart's message while some others are in it for themselves at this point. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the offseason.

Best of luck to your Irish (can't believe I am saying that) the rest of the way.

Can someone explain why Mississippi State is still in the top 25 without implying "Quality Loss" or SEC bias? I can probably name 120 other teams that also would have gone 0-4 to Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Kentucky

Hey, UAB made the top 25, so it can happen to anyone!

Spoiler:

Why yes, we do host UAB this weekend.

Carlbear95 wrote:

Can someone explain why Mississippi State is still in the top 25 without implying "Quality Loss" or SEC bias? I can probably name 120 other teams that also would have gone 0-4 to Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Kentucky

Probably because of the teams right behind them in the AP poll: Army (beat a bad I-AA team), UAB (they're in C-USA), Fresno State 61 (lost), Michigan State 31 (lost), and NC State (lost at home to Wake Forest). You'd have to put one of those teams ahead of Mississippi State and none of them except Army is a great option.

Army is only 5 points back in the AP poll, so at least it was close. That's not to say it's defensible, 'cause it's not. Give someone else a shot!

Like I said above, there are a handful of good teams this year, then a big pile of mediocre teams where you don't know what you'll get any given week.

Whole thing is bunk. Cal is 6-4 and has zero votes.

Cal's Wins: / Miss St. Wins:

Idaho State / Stephen A. Austin
Oregon State / LA-Lafayette
North Carolina / Louisiana Tech
BYU* / Kansas State*
USC* / Texas A&M
Washington / Auburn
* - Road Win

I have put these in what I think are in order of relative quality. I would argue that on the whole Cal's wins are at least as good, if not better than Miss State.

Cal's Losses: Miss St. Losses:
Washington State / Alabama
Oregon / Kentucky
Arizona / LSU
UCLA / Florida

Cal's losses to WSU and Oregon are equivalent of two of Miss St. Losses (take your pick).

At that point all that is left is cal's admitedly horrific losses to Arizona and UCLA and two of MIss. State's losses. Basically the voters are declaring that the privilege of losing to SEC teams is the difference of being #25 in the country or not even getting a single vote.

Note, I'm not saying Cal should be top 25... that's ridiculous, but the SEC bias is so egregious in this case its disgusting.

Be careful. Some fans have sold their souls to support moving to the SEC because they assumed it meant we automatically have to respect them. I have to believe they thought their schools were going to send checks out to their biggest fans.

It always cracks me up how upset people get about the SEC. It's like it's personal.

MannishBoy wrote:

It always cracks me up how upset people get about the SEC. It's like it's personal.

I'm not mad about the SEC. Mississippi State other than its OOC doesn't get to make up its schedule, just like UCF doesn't. Alabama is the best team in the nation and I think its safe to say UGA, LSU and Florida are all top teams as well.

I'm mad about the so called experts who just assume that its a good thing to regularly get your asses kicked by the blue blood schools in your conference (provided that conference is the SEC).

LSU and Florida are massively overrated. (Fite me!)

Bama is the best team I have seen in a while, but I am curious to see what happens when they have to go up against a balanced team (such as Clemson or Michigan, a team with a stellar offense and defense).

Clemson may be elite, they certainly look the part, but their best win is probably A&M (after writing the next sentence, maybe it's Syracuse?), and it's tough to judge how well the Aggies were playing in their opener with a new coach.

Notre Dame is solid. Although we live in strange times when Kelly essentially rested his starter against FSU so that he would be good to go for... Syracuse.

(I can't believe I am actually saying this, but) Michigan looks really strong. Their lone loss to Notre Dame looks better each week, will they finally break the Urban curse?

Outside these four teams, I don't really see a legit contender for making the playoff (we all know Bama is going to win, right?), and I see a LOT of good, but not great, teams.

The Big 10 bias is strong in this week's poll, too. The No. 24 team this week is a 6-4 Northwestern team.

The College Poll Tracker shows how goofy this whole exercise is. Look at the number of voters who left Miss State off their ballots.

This guy had Miss State 14th overall ... after moving them down from seventh the week before. (If you click on the "All Voters" tab, you can see how everyone voted. I'm assuming the Poll Tracker numbers come from here.)

MannishBoy wrote:

It always cracks me up how upset people get about the SEC. It's like it's personal.

Time to dig this one back up:

Spoiler:

"That's complicated, I don't think anyone in the SEC is going to understand that except for Vanderbilt" is still the best line from a YouTube video I've ever watched.

I also love the little Iowa fan taking a dig:

Spoiler:

"It's a myth like..."

"Nebraska's relevance?"

MannishBoy wrote:

So TN is starting to look like a team. Kentucky seemed overranked at 11, but I think college football this year has maybe 4-6 teams that are good, then a bunch of mediocre teams that fill out the rest of the top 25, at least compared to some other years.

Yeah, was very happy with the Kentucky game. I heard so many people saying we wouldn't win another game all season after the Charlotte game. Now we just need one more W between Mizzu and Vandy and we'll be bowling. If Pruitt manages that a year after the literal worst season in UT history that would be a hell of an achievement.

Week 12!

Noon slot: Lots of garbage. (Alabama-Citadel?! Every game counts, right?)

2:30: Syracuse-Notre Dame (NBC)

3:30: USC-UCLA (Fox); everything else is unwatchable except maybe West Virginia-Okla State and only then if you hate defense

8 p.m.: Cincinnati-UCF is the ABC national game. Yikes.

This is basically a bye week for most ranked teams. I recommend none of it except maybe USC-UCLA, but only just because of the crosstown LA rivalry thing.

The best game of the week? Honestly it's Richmond-William & Mary. It's the fourth-oldest D1 football rivalry in the country (it dates back to 1898). Not only does W&M lead all time (62-61-5), it's the final game for W&M head coach Jimmye Laycock, who's retiring after 39 years. Laycock's also going for win No. 250. Go Tribe! F**k up some Spider sh!t.

You are missing the most important game. The Big Game. The ending that ALL other amazing football endings and ridiculous plays are measured against. It is after all, the most Amazing, Sensational, Dramating, Heart-Rending, Exciting, Thrilling finish in the History of College Football.

Carlbear95 wrote:

You are missing the most important game. ...

D'oh! You're right. Harvard-Yale is on ESPN2 at noon.