College Football 2018-19

[Iuz the Evil]

That went okay. I am satisfied with the Oklahoma performance.

 

And the Texas-Maryland game went well also. A fine game

[Michael Hopcroft]

Is the Pac-12 really a Power Five conference? I have my doubts after Washington was dropped by Auburn, essentially eliminating them from the Playoff unless they run the table from here on out and probably even then).

[Badger]

4 hours ago, novi said:

Come on, now.  We border Illinois.  You want a circus of corrupt politicians and poor governance, look no further.  They almost went bankrupt a while ago, and have a couple governors in jail.   Ventura is just eccentric.

 

You do make a good point.  There are some 3rd world dictatorships that can poke fun at Illinois.

[Badger]

2 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

And take the Wolverines with you!

 

Michigan or Red Dawn?

[Michael Hopcroft]

4 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

And take the Wolverines with you!

 

2 hours ago, Badger said:

 

Michigan or Red Dawn?

Both. The popularity of Red Dawn surprised me at the time (the premise doesn't work unless the US military is impotent to the point of parody, and seemed to reflect nothing more than right-wing paranoia).

[Enforcer84]

12 hours ago, Pariah said:

The first college football game of the day is now on.

 

I'm picking OSU to win!

Nicely done!

 

Our defense blows but we looked ok offensively. OSU gave up TD runs of 80 and 78 yards to the same guy in the same quarter. 

We didn't have any INTs and I'll take the offensive effort. 

[Badger]

7 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

 

Both. The popularity of Red Dawn surprised me at the time (the premise doesn't work unless the US military is impotent to the point of parody, and seemed to reflect nothing more than right-wing paranoia).

 

Well, I was hoping we could get Harbaugh fired, so he go off and start his religion that forbids the eating of fowl.

[Pariah]

And after Week 1, BYU already has more quality wins than they had all of last season.

 

The biggest difference, as far as I can tell: the offensive line. They gave QB Tanner Mangum time to throw, and they opened huge holes for the running backs. Squally Canada (yes, that's really his name) ran for almost 100 yards and 3 TDs.

 

It's a good start. It gives me hope for the season.

[Michael Hopcroft]

8 hours ago, Badger said:

 

Well, I was hoping we could get Harbaugh fired, so he go off and start his religion that forbids the eating of fowl.

I first read that as "start his religion that forbids the eating of food". Which would be a really weird way to run a football program.

[Pariah]

On 9/1/2018 at 5:16 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

Is the Pac-12 really a Power Five conference? I have my doubts after Washington was dropped by Auburn, essentially eliminating them from the Playoff unless they run the table from here on out and probably even then).

 

There’s also the fact that the PAC went 1-8 in last year’s bowl season.

 

Arizona lost on opening weekend to BYU, as previously mentioned. Washington lost to Auburn. Oregon State got blown out in Columbus. UCLA lost to...Cincinnati? Seriously? Most of the rest of the PAC beat nobodies.

 

But at least they didn’t have anyone lose to an FCS team at home. (Looking at you, Kansas...and nearly K-State as well.)

[novi]

On 9/1/2018 at 6:16 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

Is the Pac-12 really a Power Five conference? I have my doubts after Washington was dropped by Auburn, essentially eliminating them from the Playoff unless they run the table from here on out and probably even then).

Meh.  Who, exactly, are you nominating to replace them?  Mountain West?  Conference-USA?  Fundamentally, the Power 5 grouping is more about wealth and size than performance.

 

Though, yes, it is curious that the whole conference seems to be in slump at the same time, at least compared to the other 4 Power conferences.

 

Might as well use that as trigger to bring up the whole expanding the football playoff subject for this year.  We were going to get there eventually.   And it basically comes down to the fact that college football is not structured to build parity the way European soccer teams are, or even the NFL.  Honestly, its kind of built to discourage it.  I mean, in what sane universe would Rutgers and Maryland be grouped with Ohio, Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State?  But with only 4 spots in the playoff, the best case scenario is always going to be one of the Power 5 being left out, and the Group of 5 without any way to get a national title.  Bump it to 8, P5 winners and top G5 team get automatic spots, and 2 committee votes, is probably the way forward.  It won't be perfect (no system will be), but it's probably the best compromise to patch onto the existing system.  Any real fix would require deep structural changes to college conferences that I just can't see them accepting.

[Michael Hopcroft]

11 hours ago, novi said:

Might as well use that as trigger to bring up the whole expanding the football playoff subject for this year.  We were going to get there eventually.   And it basically comes down to the fact that college football is not structured to build parity the way European soccer teams are, or even the NFL.  Honestly, its kind of built to discourage it.  I mean, in what sane universe would Rutgers and Maryland be grouped with Ohio, Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State?  But with only 4 spots in the playoff, the best case scenario is always going to be one of the Power 5 being left out, and the Group of 5 without any way to get a national title.  Bump it to 8, P5 winners and top G5 team get automatic spots, and 2 committee votes, is probably the way forward.  It won't be perfect (no system will be), but it's probably the best compromise to patch onto the existing system.  Any real fix would require deep structural changes to college conferences that I just can't see them accepting.

I'm still kind of concerned about this lengthening the season even more for the top teams. Even though the players would want it (who turns down a shot at the national championship?), I have to wonder about a 16-game season for collegiate athletes. Again, the players would probably love it -- football players love to play football -- but I can't help but think of fatigue, cumulative punishment, and injuries that otherwise wouldn't happen.

[Starlord]

It would be a joke.  Let's remember that many players on college rosters are 20 yrs old and younger.  If safety has really become an issue, we shouldn't be continually increasing the number of games these boys are playing.  The current system does enough and I'm convinced the best team in country is getting the trophy every year.

[Grailknight]

It's one more game for four teams. Balanced against one or (remotely possibly) two teams teams from non-Power 5 having access to the national title game.  Yes, its mostly a money grab,  but it'll give more money to the smaller schools and give kids at those schools a shot at a dream.

[Pariah]

To offset the extra stress and strain for players, the NCAA could go back to 11 games the way they used to do (and the way FCS still does).

 

Of course, that 12th game is almost always a home game against an FCS team, and therefore provides two things the teams really want: wins and income. So that's never going to happen.

 

Alternatively, conferences could go back to having no more than 10 members, so they could play a round robin schedule and still play everyone (or almost everyone) in 11 games. That way there wouldn't need to be a conference championship game. But, of course, the conference championship game is a cash cow, so that's never going to happen, either.

 

The conferences will get really serious about player safety as soon as they can do it profitably. Until then, I don't anticipate seeing a lot of changes.

[massey]

It's okay, Texas.  The Shredder can't defeat turtles either.

[Iuz the Evil]

Damn. 49-21 vs. UCLA. Defense looking better, OU isn't terrible this year.

 

2-0, survive and advance (lol)

 

Next week is Iowa State. Conference play begins

[Pariah]

Pariah's Week 3 WTHDIK Picks for Games Only He Cares About!

 

Utah State vs. Tennessee Tech

The Analysis: After hanging tough with Michigan State and blowing out New Mexico State, the Aggies get I-AA Tennessee Tech. Yawn. If you want to watch the game it's being broadcast on...Facebook?

The Pick: Utah State 52, TTU 14

 

Boise State vs. Oklahoma State

The Analysis: At present, there's no line on this game (at least where I usually look). Personally, I'm setting the Over/Under at 80...and I'm taking the Over.

The Pick: Boise State 48, Oklahoma State 42

 

BYU vs. Wisconsin

The Analysis: After pulling off the upset in Arizona in Week 1, BYU remembered who they really were and lost an eminently winnable game at home to Cal in Week 2. Can they regroup against Wisconsin in Madison this weekend?

The Pick: Not a chance. This game has 'bloodbath' written all over it. Wisconsin 52, BYU 13

 

Colorado State vs. Florida

The Analysis: Colorado State just beat Arkansas. Florida just lost to Kentucky for the firs time since the Reagan Administration.  If the Rams are ever going to win a game like this, now would be the time.

The Pick: Now is not the time. Florida 31, CSU 14

 

Wofford vs. Wyoming

The Analysis: Woof. Things to do in Laramie when you're dead.

The Pick: Wyoming 58, Wofford 10

 

New Hampshire vs. Colorado

The Analysis: Colorado's two wins are against a perpetually underachieving Colorado State team and a Nebraska team playing their first game under a new head coach and a new system. There's no way to tell just yet how good CU really is.

The Pick: Good enough to beat New Hampshire. Colorado 49, New Hampshire 6

 

Washington vs. Utah

The Analysis: Washington hung tough with Auburn and blew out the Boys Named Sioux North Dakota. Utah struggled early against Weber State and all game long against Northern Illinois. Utah does have home field advantage, though.

The Pick: It won't help. Washington 28, Utah 21

 

West Virginia vs. NC State

Never mind.

[Michael Hopcroft]

To say Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald doesn't like the Run-Pass Option play is to understate the case a little. In a recent press conference, he severely criticized the popular strategy (intended to stretch and confuse defenses who can't see what's coming), even calling it "the purest form of Communism".

 

Among his more rational complaints (the Communism crack was probably an arch joke, though college football coaches in general are not known for rapier wit) is that it makes it not just possible but likely that offensive lineman, who don't know specifically where the play is going to go, can block too far out on plays that turn out to be passes. The rules limit how far forward they can go on pass plays before the ball is thrown (the "eligible receiver" rule), and linemen might break the rule frequently and (usually) accidentally on the RPO.

 

Fitzgerald's complaint may fall on deaf ears among his fellow head coaches, because so far the play has proven very effective and coaches are, if nothing else, eager to get on bandwagons like that until they are inevitably solved by defenses. That's why nobody plays at the breakneck pace of Chip Kelly's Oregon teams anymore.

[Badger]

Yeah, the Chip Kelly one is obvious, that type of offense will wreck your own defense as much or more than your opponents'

[Iuz the Evil]

Yeah, OU loves the run-pass option these days. It works, occasional ineligible lineman down field penalty or not, and you can achieve gaudy offensive stats with it and score a lot of points.

 

Been waiting for the cycle of offense and defense strategy to return us to the Wishbone, but nothing so far.

[Pariah]

Georgia Tech and the service academies still run some version of the Triple Option.

[Iuz the Evil]

1 hour ago, Pariah said:

Georgia Tech and the service academies still run some version of the Triple Option.

Yeah, but I wouldn't characterize it as terribly successful. Not really "back".

[Starlord]

Texas A&M the most valuable college football program

 

If you gave me 30 guesses I wouldn't have gotten that.  

[Cancer]

2 hours ago, Pariah said:

Georgia Tech and the service academies still run some version of the Triple Option.

 

1 hour ago, Iuz the Evil said:

Yeah, but I wouldn't characterize it as terribly successful. Not really "back".

 

The service academies in particular have nonstandard constraints on their personnel: their ultimate institutional function and funding has no correlation to NCAA dollars.  No Forrest Gump types there, fantastically gifted athletes who require full-time academic life support in special zero-challenge fake courses; they have to be able to cut it as military officers sooner rather than later.  And at Air Force in particular, they have to fit physically into a warplane cockpit.

 

No 330-pound linemen there, obviously.  But your entire squad is going to be intelligent, and disciplined in a way no f'tbawl coach tyrant can ever develop (or recruit) in young people.  So a complex offense and defense that makes mental requirements of everyone on the squad is not an issue.