College football

[billy.pilgrim]

Roll Tide.

Go dawgs

[O Really]

Nevermind that the "live" projection list is outdated, just look how many useless bowls there are with peculiar corporate names...

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/bowl-proje ... 10536.html

Oh boy...we're getting to play in the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl!

[Vrede too]

I would order a Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton bowl for dessert.

[Vrede too]

AP Rankings

GA to #4. Not a surprise, though it could have been Oklahoma or Ohio State based on their bigger wins yesterday. Could be reason to bitch except that next week is certain to either cement GA's slot or drop it out of the playoffs.

Oklahoma to #5. Not a surprise, though it could have been Ohio State based on its bigger win yesterday. Losing to unranked Purdue is much worse than losing to #9 Texas.

UCF to #7!!! Highest ever for a non-Power 5 team? More confirmation that it should get into the playoffs if GA, Oklahoma and Ohio State all lose. This is what I’m hoping for.

If GA loses and Oklahoma and Ohio State both win there will be argument, but I think beating #9 Texas will count for more than beating #21 Northwestern.

If I was betting on a trifecta it would be:
GA lose, out of the playoffs.
Oklahoma lose, it’s past due, out of the playoffs.
Ohio State win, in the playoffs with the #4 (get crushed by AL) seed.

Early spreads:
Alabama -10½ vs Georgia. The over/under is 64½, only 3rd highest.
Clemson -24½ vs Pittsburgh. Go Pitt!
Oklahoma -7½ vs Texas. The over/under is 79½! Their 1st game was 48-45 Texas.
Ohio State -13 vs Northwestern. Yep, Texas is the most likely upset winner of my trifecta.
Central Florida -5½ vs Memphis. Even with the backup QB. The over/under is 71. Their 1st game was 31-30 UCF.
Washington -4½ vs Utah. Go Huskies (and O Really's domestic happiness )!
Boise State -3 vs Fresno State. In Boise? I would be a lot with that small of a spread.
Appalachian State -17½ vs Louisiana-Lafayette

More rankings:
8 Michigan (10-2)
9 Texas (9-3)
10 Washington (9-3)
11 Florida (9-3)
12 Washington State (10-2)
12 LSU (9-3)

No comment on whether the sorting is “correct”, but I like it.

19 Boise State, cool.

21 Northwestern (8-4), a drop from #20, hardly fair after a win.

22 Texas A&M (8-4). I’ve lost track of how many times it’s been in and out of the rankings.

Stanford and Appalachian State got votes! North Carolina State (8-3), too, O Really . It's playing East Carolina (3-8) 12/1, I guess a Florence make-up game that wouldn't have been played if North Carolina State had won the Atlantic Coast Atlantic division. Good on them for bothering with it, it's not like getting into the Bowls is affected for either team.

[O Really]

McKenzie Milton was "walking around some" this weekend. No official word on long-term prognosis yet.

[Vrede too]

McKenzie Milton was "walking around some" this weekend. No official word on long-term prognosis yet.

Sounds like he'll be at the game to inspire the team.

Pool (Yahoo!) spreads, go:

@#10 Washington -5 vs #17 Utah . Fri 11/30 08:00 PM ET. Rose Bowl, last appearance a 1/1/01 win over Purdue.
@#24 Iowa St -42.5 vs Drake. I hate picking these games. When does the dominator back off? Advice?
#9 Texas +7.5 vs @#5 Oklahoma. Go Knights!
@#7 UCF -3.5 vs Memphis. Still favored. Go Knights!
#1 Alabama (ugh) -13 vs @#4 Georgia. How did Georgia get the home game? Go Knights!
@#19 Boise St -2.5 vs #25 Fresno St.
@Pittsburgh +25.5 vs #2 Clemson. How did Pitt get the home game? Is it just that divisions get rotated without regard to record? Time for a miracle.
#21 Northwestern +14 vs @#6 Ohio St. Go Knights!

[O Really]

I'm so tired of Alabama yammer. I'd root for a team made up of pedophile priests and Republicans to beat them.

[Vrede too]

I'm so tired of Alabama yammer. I'd root for a team made up of pedophile priests and Republicans to beat them.

I agree with you except:

I’ll start by assuming that Notre Dame has a playoff slot, and that Clemson will beat Pitt to win the ACC and stay in the playoffs though I hope otherwise. If not, things get complicated.

Not sure what will happen in the rankings this week, but GA is in the playoffs if it beats AL next week, unlikely. Then, who gets the 4th spot - AL (yuck), Oklahoma if it wins the Big 12, or Ohio St if it wins the Big 10? Yep, I’ll root for AL vs GA, 2 SEC teams would really, really suck.

If GA, Oklahoma (vs Texas which already beat OK) AND Ohio St (vs Northwestern which has surprised lots of folks since an ugly start) all lose, unlikely but certainly possible, I think they have to put 12-0 UCF in if it beats Memphis (8-4, 5-3). Go Knights! Pretty amazing that they still have any path at all.

A GA win may not end the Alabammer yammer and it makes it harder for UCF to sneak into the playoffs. So, <holding nose> Roll Tide . . . this week.

Even forgetting about UCF or if it stumbles, I would rather see Oklahoma or Ohio St in the playoffs than GA and AL.

[O Really]

Oh, I'm sure they'll put Alabama in the playoffs no matter what. And that's part of my beef. But I'd just like to see them get beat - twice if possible.

[O Really]

Still a long way to go for Milton...
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mckenzie-m ... 05945.html

[Vrede too]

Still a long way to go for Milton...
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mckenzie-m ... 05945.html

I'll hope otherwise, but sounds like he's done with football forever. That's a catastrophic amount of damage to a knee to cut off blood flow (I never saw it in my career) and impinge a nerve - guaranteed multiple torn tendons and ligaments if not also broken bones.

[O Really]

Sad, but I'd agree likely. He might have had difficulty getting into the NFL anyway at his size, but he's such a good athlete he might have been adaptable to wide receiver - or, hey, he's no smaller than Flutie. At this point, I'd think everybody would be happy if he gets to the point of normal for a non-football player.

[Vrede too]

Oh, I'm sure they'll put Alabama in the playoffs no matter what...

I resisted it for a long time, but this year I'm afraid I might have to agree. Even if it loses by 14 or less to GA, and Oklahoma and Ohio St both win, I'd hate it but I couldn't really argue with Alabama getting the nod instead of one of them.

[O Really]

Can't we count late season or conference tournament losses more harshly that early or mid-season?

Ok, so if they're in, they're in. I can root for them losing to Georgia and again to whoever they play in the playoff, right? End their season with two losses, the more humiliating the better.

[Vrede too]

Can't we count late season or conference tournament losses more harshly that early or mid-season?

We can and the AP and Coaches often do, but the PSC has been less likely to see it that way.

Ok, so if they're in, they're in. I can root for them losing to Georgia and again to whoever they play in the playoff, right?

Absolutely, can't blame you for that.

End their season with two losses, the more humiliating the better.

"better" is where we disagree, since those two losses come at the expense of having both GA and AL in, along with ND and likely Clemson. 2 SEC teams, no Oklahoma, no Ohio St, no Big 12, no Big 10 and definitely no UCF, no first ever non-Power 5.

Of course, if GA wins and AL is not in the playoffs, my fears were baseless and I will retroactively shout, "Go 'Dawgs!" One thing that makes this more likely would be an absolute shellacking of AL on the order of by 25 points or so. We can both root for that come Saturday (not that I'm changing my bet), okay?

[billy.pilgrim]

Can't we count late season or conference tournament losses more harshly that early or mid-season?

Ok, so if they're in, they're in. I can root for them losing to Georgia and again to whoever they play in the playoff, right? End their season with two losses, the more humiliating the better.

It didn't hurt Georgia or Alabama to lose their last big games last year

[Vrede too]

I'm so tired of Alabama yammer. I'd root for a team made up of pedophile priests and Republicans to beat them.

I shared that line with my pool.

PSC and AP Rankings

Unlike the AP, the PSC places UCF at #8 behind humiliated last week #7 Michigan. This looks like GA, OK and OH St could all lose, UCF could win its 25th in a row, and 2 loss sucky Michigan would get the 4th playoff slot. Bastards.

Still seeking advice on Iowa St -42.5 vs Drake.

[billy.pilgrim]

So, I'm seeing the way to the playoffs is by having an easy schedule to keep your players healthy and then brag like hell when you beat a team after their top players are too injured to play.

[Vrede too]

Pool (Yahoo!) spreads, go:

@#10 Washington -5 vs #17 Utah . Fri 11/30 08:00 PM ET. Rose Bowl, last appearance a 1/1/01 win over Purdue.
@#24 Iowa St -42.5 vs Drake. I hate picking these games. When does the dominator back off? Advice?
#9 Texas +7.5 +8 vs @#5 Oklahoma. Go Knights!
@#7 UCF -3.5 -3 vs Memphis. Still favored. Go Knights!
#1 Alabama (ugh) -13 vs @#4 Georgia. How did Georgia get the home game? Go Knights!
Never mind, I guess cities/stadiums bid on the conference champ games. This one will be in Atlanta, not quite "home" for GA.
@#19 Boise St -2.5 vs #25 Fresno St.
@Pittsburgh +25.5 +28! vs #2 Clemson. How did Pitt get the home game? Is it just that divisions get rotated without regard to record? Time for a miracle.
The game is really in Charlotte, far closer to Clemson but Pitt is called the "home" team.
#21 Northwestern +14 vs @#6 Ohio St. Go Knights!

[Vrede too]

@#10 Washington -5 vs #17 Utah.Rose Bowl, last appearance a 1/1/01 win over Purdue.

Half, UTAH 0 - UW 3. Yawn. Only TD was a late 3rd quarter pick-6 by WA cornerback Byron Murphy, who also became the MVP (2 INTs in the game). I'll bet we could count on one hand the number of times that a cornerback was a Conference Championship MVP. No scores in the 1st or 4th quarters. The O Really motor homehold is a relieved and happy place. WA beat the spread by 2, whew. I was positive that Utah was still going to lose, anyhow, but kick a spread-busting FG on that last drive.