College football

[billy.pilgrim]

We already know what's going to happen to Maryland Saturday when they step on the field with the Buckeyes among the capacity crowd of Ohio State fans.
It's just a formality, but like Dabo said "they don't give any trophies after nine games."

No trophies after 9, but we all know who can't even crack the top four and has to depend on other teams to beat a top four to create them a slot.

Yep, completely forgot about Auburn.
A couple of more losses and they'll be in good company with Maryland.
Hey, it's still possible Auburn will be invited to one of those UCF type bowl games.

It's a crying shame that Clemson doesn't have the confidence to play a tough schedule, like Auburn does.

[1 CAT FAN]

My Ohio State family are excited. I told them to enjoy the cooler weather while they watch the Buckeyes annihilate the Terps. Oh yeah, Maryland won't have to be concerned about no one being in attendance.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is often a Clemson critic when it comes to comparisons between the Tigers and top-tier SEC programs. But Wednesday on ESPN’s Get Up!, Finebaum took a stance that last night’s rankings were the best thing that could happen to Clemson.

“Dabo Swinney went out last night and got an RC Cola and a pizza and celebrated, because he can finally be an underdog again,” Finebaum said. “He didn’t like being No. 1. They didn’t play very well. And now, I think, Clemson is the most dangerous team in the country.”

“Who has beat Alabama in SEC? In the past five years? Ain't many,” Swinney said.
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/A ... i7TmbMvvq4

I think I'll have an RC cola and pizza at this year's National Championship parade.
Auburn fans will be welcomed again to join in the festivities, no matter who the opponent was.

[Vrede too]

Gloating over NOT playing any ranked teams? Wow, that's pitiful.

[1 CAT FAN]

how terrible Maryland is this year.

Every year.

that's a decades-old story

Yep, I agree.

[Vrede too]

It's a crying shame that Clemson doesn't have the confidence to play a tough schedule, like Auburn does.

When a team is playing in the powder-puff ACC and annually plays weak "rival" South Carolina, it humiliates itself by scheduling Conference USA Charlotte and FCS Wofford.

[1 CAT FAN]

how terrible Maryland is this year.

Every year.

that's a decades-old story

Yep, I agree.

Clemson wiped it's feet of the ACC's doormat Mary-land years ago. The big10 have something to wipe their feet on now. Go Buckeyes!

[billy.pilgrim]

It's a crying shame that Clemson doesn't have the confidence to play a tough schedule, like Auburn does.

When a team is playing in the powder-puff ACC and annually plays weak "rival" South Carolina, it humiliates itself by scheduling Conference USA Charlotte and FCS Wofford.

The pollsters sure don't think much of them, or their chickenshit schedule.

I would rather watch my team lose by 3 to #1 than win by 45 against a team that never had a chance.

[1 CAT FAN]

The last game that Auburn had a chance against Clemson you watched them lose too.

[Vrede too]

The pollsters sure don't think much of them, or their chickenshit schedule.

I would rather watch my team lose by 3 to #1 than win by 45 against a team that never had a chance.

Sadly, the AP and Coaches are still bending over for Clemson. It’s just the Playoff Selection Committee that barely rejected it down to #5.
http://scores.nbcsports.com/cfb/polls.asp

Given Clemson's weak schedule it could keep dropping unless the other leaders all start losing. It's not quality football if your season depends on other teams doing poorly in games your team is not playing in. It's wishful thinking.

[billy.pilgrim]

The pollsters sure don't think much of them, or their chickenshit schedule.

I would rather watch my team lose by 3 to #1 than win by 45 against a team that never had a chance.

Sadly, the AP and Coaches are still bending over for Clemson. It’s just the Playoff Selection Committee that barely rejected it down to #5.
http://scores.nbcsports.com/cfb/polls.asp

Given Clemson's weak schedule it could keep dropping unless the other leaders all start losing. It's not quality football if your season depends on other teams doing poorly in games your team is not playing in. It's wishful thinking.

I wonder if cat is concerned about playing a team on Saturday that has 4 wins.

[Vrede too]

I wonder if cat is concerned about playing a team on Saturday that has 4 wins.

The average record for a Pussy opponent is 4.2-4.4. The Pussies should feel right @ home playing 4-4 North Carolina St@e, though you're correct that the even record is a bit stronger than normal for the Pussies.

[Vrede too]

Final Vegas spreads.

Final Yahoo! AP spreads.

Go:

@(13)Minnesota (8-0) +6 +7 (5)Penn St (8-0). Respect for MN that the spread is that small .
Maryland +42 +42.5 @(3)Ohio St. Go get 'em, Terps. Now I feel more confident about my bet .
Vanderbilt +25 +26.5 @(10)Florida. Not sure about this one - private, red state, country music vs public, purple state, Don Jr host. A little help?
Thanks . Vegas wiggled a half point. So:
@(10)Florida -26.5 Vanderbilt.
@TCU +1 +2 (11)Baylor (8-0). One of the very rare times I'll root for TCU. Spoil that undefeated record!
@Virginia Tech +3 +2 (22)Wake Forest. It'll be better if WF is unranked when it crushes Clemson on 11/16 .
(1)LSU +6 @(2)Alabama. Wow, 6 points is a gift. I would call it the game of the season, but 'Bama sucks.
@Texas -5.5 -7 (20)Kansas St. My first favorite pick. Knock KSU out of the rankings! Remember when Texas was top 10?
@(16)Wisconsin (6-2) -9.5 (18)Iowa (6-2). Very tough one for me, especially with Warren now leading in Iowa. Thoughts?
Thanks . Vegas wiggled a point. So:
(18)Iowa +9.5 @(16)Wisconsin.
Missouri +17 @(6)Georgia. If one Columbia can beat it in an upset, another one can.
(15)Notre Dame -8 @Duke. @Duke +8 (15)Notre Dame. Apparently, a lot of bettors thought -6 was a bargain. Good chance I'll switch to @Duke by Sat. morning. Opinions?
@N.C. State +30.5 +32 (4)Clemson. Bigger Yawn.
Vegas now puts the spread at 34, but I'll stick with N.C. State.
Iowa St +13 +14 @(9)Oklahoma. Upset! Knock it out of the top 10.

3 games between ranked teams, 7 single digit spreads.

I may change a game or two by Sat am, but at the moment I'm only betting on 5 favorites out of 16 games.

One of the pool admins, an Iowa fan:

Who is the genius behind scheduling this weekend's games? Undefeateds PSU and Minnesota got put in the noontime game, then Alabama-LSU shares the late afternoon with the week's best matchup (Iowa vs Wisconsin, duh.). Instead of putting one or more of these major matchups into primetime, the evening game is gonna be Iowa State vs Oklahoma? WTF?

Actually, the most competitive evening game is Notre Dame-Duke, but still. I'll be doing lots of channel flipping in the late afternoon.

[Vrede too]

8-0 #17 Minnesota also has no wins vs a ranked team, but that will change when it slaughters PSU on Sat . If so, could there be any case for keeping it out of the top 4?

WOW!!! It's a great day whatever else happens. Despite being a 9-0 Big Ten team and beating the #4 (PSC) or #5 (AP) team, I'll bet that Minnesota does not get put in playoff position . . . yet.

Go:

@(13)Minnesota (8-0) +7 (5)Penn St (8-0). Respect for MN that the spread is that small .
Yes , 13 of 19 got it wrong.
Maryland +42.5 @(3)Ohio St. Go get 'em, Terps.
Maryland sucks and new Ohio St Head coach Ryan Day is an asshole.
Vegas wiggled a half point. So:
@(10)Florida -26.5 Vanderbilt.
Thanks Vegas! 56-0 .
@TCU +2 (11)Baylor (8-0). One of the very rare times I'll root for TCU. Spoil that undefeated record!
Weird game. Just 6 FGs in regular time, followed by 5 TDs in OT with TCU coming up empty at the end. Almost. 14 of 19 got it right . Despite being currently undefeated, I don't see Baylor making the playoffs.

I'm 3-2, tied for 5th, 1 point out of the lead.

[GoCubsGo]

Wow, what a game!(unless you like defense )

[Vrede too]

Wow, what a game!(unless you like defense )

Go:

@Virginia Tech +2 (22)Wake Forest. It'll be better if WF is unranked when it crushes Clemson on 11/16 .
Sweet .
(1)LSU +6 @(2)Alabama. Wow, 6 points is a gift. I would call it the game of the season, but 'Bama sucks.
Good game, could have been an LSU rout. What a great day! The team with zero ranked opponents, like Clemson, lost.
@Texas -7 (20)Kansas St. Knock KSU out of the rankings! Remember when Texas was top 10?
Great to see the walk off FG win, too bad it wasn't by enough, 27-24.
Vegas wiggled a point. So:
(18)Iowa +9.5 @(16)Wisconsin.
Thanks Vegas! I'll take the spread win, I don't mind that Wisconsin won the game a bit.

I'm now 6-4, tied for 8th but only 1 point out of the lead with 6 games left.

Appalachian State is playing SC right now. It's a 6.5 point underdog.

[Vrede too]

Not part of our pool:

Appalachian State is playing SC right now. It's a 6.5 point underdog.

20-15. Sun Belt rules, SEC drools.
#6 Georgia > #15 Notre Dame
SC > Georgia
Appalachian State > #6 Georgia & #15 Notre Dame, Q.E.D.

Go:

Missouri +17 @(6)Georgia. If one Columbia can beat it in an upset, another one can.
I accidentally picked Georgia .
@Duke +8 (15)Notre Dame.
Not even close .
@N.C. State +32 (4)Clemson. Yawn.
N.C. State sucks, Dabo is an @sshole.
Iowa St +14 @(9)Oklahoma. Upset! Knock it out of the top 10.
Oh man, I easily beat the spread, but Iowa St came a walk off 2-point conversion away from winning.

I'm 8-6 and out of the money . However, Minnesota, LSU, Texas and Appalachian State make it an excellent day.


Edit: 8-8, in season 13th, 15 out of the lead with just 4 weeks left.

Crowd surfing and field storming: Gophers celebrate victory over Penn State

Cool.

[billy.pilgrim]

Wow, what a game!(unless you like defense )

Which game?

[billy.pilgrim]

Sweet .
(1)LSU +6 @(2)Alabama. Wow, 6 points is a gift. I would call it the game of the season, but 'Bama sucks.
Good game, could have been an LSU rout. What a great day! The team with zero ranked opponents, like Clemson, lost.

I hate it when you make me defend Alabama.
Schedules are made several years in advance.
Unlike Clemson, ucf or the blue fielders, Alabama's schedule includes at least 4 teams that usually make it into the top 20. Their schedule sucks this year but still includes 2 more top 10 teams than Clemson or the other teams that choose a conference for "wins" over competition.

Edit - I looked, it's 6 top 20 type teams (not bammers fault that both Mississippi teams and Tennessee suck this year) and would have been 7 if they gone to the sec championship.

[Vrede too]

Wow, what a game!(unless you like defense )

Which game?

Almost positive LSU - AL. He posted right as the game ended.

I hate it when you make me defend Alabama.

And yet, you jump right to it .

Schedules are made several years in advance.
Unlike Clemson, ucf or the blue fielders, Alabama's schedule includes at least 4 teams that usually make it into the top 20. Their schedule sucks this year but still includes 2 more top 10 teams than Clemson or the other teams that choose a conference for "wins" over competition.

Edit - I looked, it's 6 top 20 type teams (not bammers fault that both Mississippi teams and Tennessee suck this year) and would have been 7 if they gone to the sec championship.

That actually was not a comment on Alabama's scheduling this year. It's just a statement of fact that they've beaten no ranked teams. If anything, I was dissing the pollsters. I actually think higher of Alabama now after it came so close to winning.

[billy.pilgrim]

Wow, what a game!(unless you like defense )

Which game?

Almost positive LSU - AL. He posted right as the game ended.

I hate it when you make me defend Alabama.

And yet, you jump right to it .

Schedules are made several years in advance.
Unlike Clemson, ucf or the blue fielders, Alabama's schedule includes at least 4 teams that usually make it into the top 20. Their schedule sucks this year but still includes 2 more top 10 teams than Clemson or the other teams that choose a conference for "wins" over competition.

Edit - I looked, it's 6 top 20 type teams (not bammers fault that both Mississippi teams and Tennessee suck this year) and would have been 7 if they gone to the sec championship.

That actually was not a comment on Alabama's scheduling this year. It's just a statement of fact that they've beaten no ranked teams. If anything, I was dissing the pollsters. I actually think higher of Alabama now after it came so close to winning.

I misunderstood before and now I agree

Since Auburn came closer, should they be ranked higher than bammer? (I'm comfortable where we are now)