NCAA Football 2022

[Pilgrim]

I got my PhD at A&M but was happy to leave. Texas is an acquired taste and although I really enjoy visiting San Antonio and other places in TX, we are much more in place outside that state. I don't follow A&M very much. I'm all Coug! I retired from Colorado State and we live in Fort Collins so we have season tickets for the Rams and follow them as well.

WSU is doing enough to surprise some people, and they're bowl eligible. They have two games left: Arizona and the dawgz. I think we can take AZ, although the lack of offense in the second half last week (after we went up 28-0 the first half) concerns me. The WA game is not looking good. We actually have a better record against Oregon over the last decade than we do the dawgz.

And all the national championship stuff? Don't care. The SEC and B1G can send the usual suspects to their games and it really doesn't matter to most of the country. Yawn.

 

[MonetBass]

I am not looking forward to Oklahoma and Texas coming in next year, especially since the latter since I live in Austin now.

Oklahoma and Texas aren't that good. Texas isn't back, and the Venables version of the Sooners lacks the discipline that the Riley version did. There is a "leaving the Big XII" curse that's real. Just ask Nebraska, Missouri, and Colorado (and now A&M).

 

[GregC]

There was no college football last weekend. I don't know what you're talking about.

.....

Okay, all joking aside, this is an A&M squad that was over-ranked (again) and overhyped by the recruiting class. Am I surprised this batch of freshmen weren't immediately plug and play and breaking down barns from day one? Absolutely not, and anyone who thought we'd compete for the SEC west was kidding themselves and drunk on Aggie koolaid (again). Now, am I surprised that we've only won 3 games? THAT is a shocker. I at least expected us to go 6-6 and make it to the "Mattress Mack who-gives-a-crap Bowl, presented by Topo Chico," so the fact that we couldn't beat some of the usual suspects in conference play was shocking. I am not looking forward to Oklahoma and Texas coming in next year, especially since the latter since I live in Austin now.

At least my wife's Noles won....

I was going to like your post, but that last sentence... But I am surprised at the extent to which FSU has bounced back this year. Gonna be tough for my Gators to go in there and get a win.
What's the mood regarding Jimbo? Are the boosters actually ready to fork over the cash for that enormous buyout, or are people ready to ride things out for a while?

 

[MJ5150]

I can't help but laugh at Jimbo. Talking all that trash about Saban, now look at the team he bought.
As for FSU, UF will blow their doors off in a couple weeks.

-Mike

 

[GregC]

And all the national championship stuff? Don't care. The SEC and B1G can send the usual suspects to their games and it really doesn't matter to most of the country. Yawn.

Baloney. The CFP games get the highest ratings, significantly more than any of the other bowl games. And the other conferences make it into the playoffs when they have teams that are good enough.

The Pac 12 got in twice. Oregon won, then lost the title game. (I'm glad they don't appear to be getting in this year, they lost to Georgia by a million.) Washington lost their first game. The Big 12? Oklahoma's been in 3 times. Guess what? 0-3. Only Clemson has made it from the ACC, but they've done pretty well. Notre Dame? 0-2.

"Usual suspects"? 13 different teams have made the college football playoffs in the first 8 years. And the two teams with the most appearances, Bama and Clemson, are very likely out this year.

 

[gln1955]

Baloney. The CFP games get the highest ratings, significantly more than any of the other bowl games. And the other conferences make it into the playoffs when they have teams that are good enough.

The Pac 12 got in twice. Oregon won, then lost the title game. (I'm glad they don't appear to be getting in this year, they lost to Georgia by a million.) Washington lost their first game. The Big 12? Oklahoma's been in 3 times. Guess what? 0-3. Only Clemson has made it from the ACC, but they've done pretty well. Notre Dame? 0-2.

"Usual suspects"? 13 different teams have made the college football playoffs in the first 8 years. And the two teams with the most appearances, Bama and Clemson, are very likely out this year.

And so much for the BIG10. They were included 6 years and managed to win the championship in 2015. Since then, their performance has included two embarrassing shutouts. They might well get both OSU and UM in this year if the stars align and yes, people would still watch a rematch between them.

 

[GregC]

Taking a moment to post a thread about two of the three young men from the UVA football team who were killed by a shooter last night. Heartbreaking.

 

[FilterFunk]

Taking a moment to post a thread about two of the three young men from the UVA football team who were killed by a shooter last night. Heartbreaking.

I'm responding to acknowledge the sad news. Can't give a "Like" for obvious reasons, but thank you for posting.

 

[FilterFunk]

Alabama is playing Austin Peay Saturday.

I know it will never be a real, enforceable rule, but IMO there should be NO cupcake vs. national power matchups beyond the second game of the season!

 

[Pilgrim]

Baloney. The CFP games get the highest ratings, significantly more than any of the other bowl games. And the other conferences make it into the playoffs when they have teams that are good enough.

The Pac 12 got in twice. Oregon won, then lost the title game. (I'm glad they don't appear to be getting in this year, they lost to Georgia by a million.) Washington lost their first game. The Big 12? Oklahoma's been in 3 times. Guess what? 0-3. Only Clemson has made it from the ACC, but they've done pretty well. Notre Dame? 0-2.

"Usual suspects"? 13 different teams have made the college football playoffs in the first 8 years. And the two teams with the most appearances, Bama and Clemson, are very likely out this year.

Maybe others care; I don't. The natty champ games are meaningless to most of the country. But Americans will watch any "championship." .

Out of 130 FBS teams, as you note, only 13 have made it to the playoffs in 8 years!! That's only 10 percent of the entire FBS system that has made it into that playoff in nearly a decade. I STRONGLY suggest that this makes most of those teams "the usual suspects."

That's also because 23 of 36 team appearances have been made by ONLY 5 TEAMS. Alabama 7 times; Clemson 6; Oklahoma 4; Ohio State 4; Georgia 2. That's 5 out of 130 teams, or 3.8 percent of all teams. Counting every team that has appeared, only 18 percent of all FBS teams have had a shot at the playoffs. That's the reason I think the field should be at least 16 teams, and perhaps more.

Most appearances in the College Football Playoff:
SCHOOL APPEARANCES YEARS
Alabama 7 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Clemson 6 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Oklahoma 4 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Ohio State 4 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020
Georgia 2 2017, 2021
Notre Dame 2 2018, 2020
Cincinnati 1 2021
Florida State 1 2014
LSU 1 2019
Michigan 1 2021
Michigan State 1 2015
Oregon 1 2014
Washington 1 2016

Only three teams west of the Mississippi have appeared: Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington. I could also drag this out by looking into which conferences they have come from, but we all know which conferences take up the seats.

The usual suspects? This is like Groundhog Day, other than when Cincinnati got in.

 

[gln1955]

Maybe others care; I don't. The natty champ games are meaningless to most of the country. But Americans will watch any "championship." .

Out of 130 FBS teams, as you note, only 13 have made it to the playoffs in 8 years!! That's only 10 percent of the entire FBS system that has made it into that playoff in nearly a decade. I STRONGLY suggest that this makes most of those teams "the usual suspects."

That's also because 23 of 36 team appearances have been made by ONLY 5 TEAMS. Alabama 7 times; Clemson 6; Oklahoma 4; Ohio State 4; Georgia 2. That's 5 out of 130 teams, or 3.8 percent of all teams. Counting every team that has appeared, only 18 percent of all FBS teams have had a shot at the playoffs. That's the reason I think the field should be at least 16 teams, and perhaps more.

Most appearances in the College Football Playoff:
SCHOOL APPEARANCES YEARS
Alabama 7 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Clemson 6 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Oklahoma 4 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Ohio State 4 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020
Georgia 2 2017, 2021
Notre Dame 2 2018, 2020
Cincinnati 1 2021
Florida State 1 2014
LSU 1 2019
Michigan 1 2021
Michigan State 1 2015
Oregon 1 2014
Washington 1 2016

Only three teams west of the Mississippi have appeared: Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington. I could also drag this out by looking into which conferences they have come from, but we all know which conferences take up the seats.

The usual suspects? This is like Groundhog Day, other than when Cincinnati got in.

Those numbers are so lopsided because you have 130 FBS teams and over half of those teams have zero chance of a sniff of a national championship. Everyone knows it and it will never change, so there is no reason for whole conferences to be in the FBS pool.

In my universe, there would be a super-conference of no more than 40 top notch teams who would only play each other for spots in a 8-12 team playoff. There would also be promotion and relegation between the super-conference and the 2nd tier group. The prize for finishing first or second in the 2nd tier is being promoted to play with the big boys, while the dregs of the super-conference would fall back.

The only way to keep Alabama and the other usual suspects from being in the playoff every year is to enforce parity in player recruitment by somehow limiting how many 4-5 star recruits a team can bring in. There's probably too many unintended consequences there so I don't endorse that idea.

 

[BioDriver]

What's the mood regarding Jimbo? Are the boosters actually ready to fork over the cash for that enormous buyout, or are people ready to ride things out for a while?

Stuck with him and want to see what happens once this "best EVAR!!1!" draft class has some more experience under his belt. But if the university did decide to give him the boot we have enough red-ass old oil money boosters that would gladly donate the salary and call it a tax write off.

 

[GregC]

Stuck with him and want to see what happens once this "best EVAR!!1!" draft class has some more experience under his belt. But if the university did decide to give him the boot we have enough red-ass old oil money boosters that would gladly donate the salary and call it a tax write off.

Ha, I was looking at the price of oil after A&M lost and thinking it's still not a bad time for the boosters to sell.

 

[MonetBass]

Maybe others care; I don't. The natty champ games are meaningless to most of the country. But Americans will watch any "championship." .

Out of 130 FBS teams, as you note, only 13 have made it to the playoffs in 8 years!! That's only 10 percent of the entire FBS system that has made it into that playoff in nearly a decade. I STRONGLY suggest that this makes most of those teams "the usual suspects."

That's also because 23 of 36 team appearances have been made by ONLY 5 TEAMS. Alabama 7 times; Clemson 6; Oklahoma 4; Ohio State 4; Georgia 2. That's 5 out of 130 teams, or 3.8 percent of all teams. Counting every team that has appeared, only 18 percent of all FBS teams have had a shot at the playoffs. That's the reason I think the field should be at least 16 teams, and perhaps more.

Most appearances in the College Football Playoff:
SCHOOL APPEARANCES YEARS
Alabama 7 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Clemson 6 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Oklahoma 4 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Ohio State 4 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020
Georgia 2 2017, 2021
Notre Dame 2 2018, 2020
Cincinnati 1 2021
Florida State 1 2014
LSU 1 2019
Michigan 1 2021
Michigan State 1 2015
Oregon 1 2014
Washington 1 2016

Only three teams west of the Mississippi have appeared: Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington. I could also drag this out by looking into which conferences they have come from, but we all know which conferences take up the seats.

The usual suspects? This is like Groundhog Day, other than when Cincinnati got in.

My proposal for CFP would be this (kind of similar to the NCAA Basketball Tourney): The Power 5 conference champions would get in automatically, and the three highest ranked non-Power 5 teams would get the remaining slots, giving an 8-team single-elimination playoff. Easy, and much more objective than the current system.

 

[Pilgrim]

My proposal for CFP would be this (kind of similar to the NCAA Basketball Tourney): The Power 5 conference champions would get in automatically, and the three highest ranked non-Power 5 teams would get the remaining slots, giving an 8-team single-elimination playoff. Easy, and much more objective than the current system.

If eight teams is a good number, that would be a fair, logical and interesting way to structure playoffs!

 

[Gaolee]

Yep, Coach Lanning made a few pretty bad choices that didn't pan out. No biggie, the Huskies will get eaten by at least one more PAC team this year too. It's what the PAC does.

Usually I'm pretty indifferent to Team Nike's uniforms but the ones the last two weeks have been exceptionally bogus.

Washington already lost twice in the Pac 12. I doubt they will lose again, but as you point out, it's the Pac 12. Wazzu always is sky high for the Huskies, and if the Huskies don't pay attention, they will get bit. The other game is Colorado. I don't see them blowing that game even if they try. But, it could happen.

The Huskies lost in the desert. The desert has been the shop of horrors for them over the years. Their other loss was at the hands of UCLA, in the Coliseum in LA.

They were in both games all the way, just not there yet. They should be better in 2023 since this is the first year of a new coaching staff. Continuity usually does good things.

 

[Passinwind]

Washington already lost twice in the Pac 12. I doubt they will lose again, but as you point out, it's the Pac 12. Wazzu always is sky high for the Huskies, and if the Huskies don't pay attention, they will get bit. The other game is Colorado. I don't see them blowing that game even if they try. But, it could happen.

The Huskies lost in the desert. The desert has been the shop of horrors for them over the years. Their other loss was at the hands of UCLA, in the Coliseum in LA.

They were in both games all the way, just not there yet. They should be better in 2023 since this is the first year of a new coaching staff. Continuity usually does good things.

They've looked good this year, I wish a few more of their games had been on OTA TV here. Those desert games have wrecked plenty of Oregon's season too, for sure.

 

[Pilgrim]

Washington already lost twice in the Pac 12. I doubt they will lose again, but as you point out, it's the Pac 12. Wazzu always is sky high for the Huskies, and if the Huskies don't pay attention, they will get bit. The other game is Colorado. I don't see them blowing that game even if they try. But, it could happen.

The Huskies lost in the desert. The desert has been the shop of horrors for them over the years. Their other loss was at the hands of UCLA, in the Coliseum in LA.

They were in both games all the way, just not there yet. They should be better in 2023 since this is the first year of a new coaching staff. Continuity usually does good things.

One thing for sure: the husky game is THE GAME for the Cougs. If there's one game to win that can save a season, it's the Apple Cup. Last year was the first since 2012 that the Cougs won, and they're going to be laser-focused on it this year. Will that be enough? The game is in Pullman, and that's not an easy place for opponents.

I salute my cyber-friend @Gaolee and look forward to what should be an exciting Apple Cup!! And I hope to be eating Cougar Gold and celebrating the outcome.

 

[SoonerBill]

Oklahoma and Texas aren't that good. Texas isn't back, and the Venables version of the Sooners lacks the discipline that the Riley version did. There is a "leaving the Big XII" curse that's real. Just ask Nebraska, Missouri, and Colorado (and now A&M).

It's been often reported by guys that do almost nothing but cover OU sports plus a couple former players that stuck close to the program that Riley had very little discipline. Practices and weight room sessions were easy to be excused from on a regular basis.
The main problem here is that around half of the starters wouldn't be starting or even on the team is there hadn't been so many guys bail to the portal when Riley did his disappearing act and the players didn't know what was coming next. As far as lack of discipline on the field these same reporters and former players say that a lot of the lack of ability with all these fill-ins isn't physical but between the ears. Venables has to be given a whole off season with recruits that were recruited by OU before any verdict can be discussed about his ability as a HC.

 

[MJ5150]

I don't like college football playoffs one bit. Not one.
I miss the New Years day bowl-a-thons, then the debate after all the games finished about who woulda, coulda, shoulda been national champion. That was actually kind of fun debating what would have happened if Oregon really did get a chance to play Alabama or Ohio State had to face off against LSU. Proponents for the playoffs said it would put to rest who was the national champion by having it decided on the field, but here we are several years into it and now we're debating why there aren't more teams in the playoffs, should we add more teams to the playoffs, why this team got in and that team didn't.
Nothing really changed except the sponsors, sports books, and TV deals found more ways to squeeze more money from NCAA football. Which, I believe, was their goal the whole time. Not to decide anything on the field, but to get more money.
I still remember back in the 90's taking a few TV's to one buddies house, grabbing some coax splitters from Radio Shack, and setting them all up so we could watch all of the games at once while having some great food and drink. It was what we called a tradition. That tradition was always capped off with the granddaddy of them all, The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Aww man, those were the days. Now this is better? A game here, a game there, a week or two between games, then another game on a weeknight? Hogwash, it's all hogwash. The NCAA ruined college football for me.

-Mike