Let's talk college football! (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

But I don't think it would have mattered. Miami would have shut Oregon down too and I don't see Oregon stopping them. The Miami offensive line was probably one of the all-time best.

 

[Joel Mack]

Maybe, but Michigan was undefeated. Despite their record, Nebraska was caught on tape losing to Mizzou. Not only was the ball kicked, it touched grass before the receiver squeezed it.

Uh huh...suuuuuuure. I've never heard that argument before. Most people try to say the kick was intentional, not that the ball touched the turf. Poor Mizzou, they get shafted all the time. Didn't Colorado win a Championship the year they got five downs?
Of course there's plenty of tape showing Michigan barely squeaking by Ryan Leaf and Washington State in the Rose Bowl, and Nebraska destroying Peyton Manning and Tennessee in the Fiesta. Somebody got lucky the writers voted before watching all the games...

 

[RossTerry]

hook 'em horns
http://www.texassports.com/
Hopefully Texas can beat OU this year.

 

[John Thomas]

And I'm a Raiders fan too. Colorado won with five downs, so did the Patriots. (all in jest, folks - lighten up a little)
What teams do you guys think are going to be the "sleepers" of the season? There's some whispers that Memphis State (I'm sorry, University of Memphis) is going to surprise a lot of people this year. Last year, they finished 5-6 but they really didn't get an identity until late in the season. Their QB Danny Wimprine is supposedly going to be the next phenom.

 

[Jody C Robins]

"SEC sets all kinds of attendance records"

Perhaps, but the Big 10 isn't exactly shabby. Tennesse's stadium has the largest capacity, but Penn State is #2 and Michigan is #3, and they both sell out every game. However, I went to Penn State, and have been to FSU games and LSU games, and the loudest fans were definitely at LSU. FSU fans get bored b/c they beat up on their weak competition too much, and PSU fans are just too nice.

As for sleepers this year, some people think Penn State might make a good run. Those people are wrong. I think we'll be 7-5, losing big to Nebraska and UM (yet again, ugh).

 

[Carlo_M]

Miami would have shut Oregon down too and I don't see Oregon stopping them.

I don't think any of us can really say what would have happened. I remember the talk before the Oregon / Colorado game being in favor of Colorado.

All I'm saying is that I believe that Oregon deserved *the chance* to play in the National Championship game last year against Miami. Would they have beat them? Who knows, but they deserved a shot. As a UCLA fan, I have nothing but respect for last year's Oregon squad and Joey Harrington.

 

[Brook K]

Uh huh...suuuuuuure. I've never heard that argument before. Most people try to say the kick was intentional, not that the ball touched the turf. Poor Mizzou, they get shafted all the time. Didn't Colorado win a Championship the year they got five downs?

Yes, and even worse, he didn't score on the 5th down either. He was spun around, his butt hit the turf well before he broke the plane, and then he leaned back over the goal line. 1990, the year before I attended.

 

[Darren H]

College football is the only sport that I care about. FSU class of '95. Tennessee class of 2003 (I hope). I had two reasons to hate Spurrier and I'm twice as sad to see him go.
Oh yeah, and the SEC is the football conference. End of discussion.

 

[nolesrule]

FSU class of '98. Give us a reason not to be bored and the fans are much more lively. I love a close game as much as the next person, but I enjoy a blowout, too. Keeps the stress levels down. FSU fans also love the games that are supposed to be close, but turn out to be blowouts, like FSU-Clemson 2000, when Clemson came into our house and Tommy got spanked by his daddy.

We have our close home games, they just don't happen too often, but off the top of my head FSU-UF 94 (31-31), FSU-UF 1996 and FSU-NC State last year, which was an unexpected loss. There were a couple others in there, but like I said, close gmaes just increase the stress levels.

 

[Jeremiah]

Man Darren, Spurrier ruined seasons for both your schools. I loved Spurrier and kind of wish he stayed.
Joe, close games are nerve racking and as a Michigan fan I have experienced many more than I should. Blowouts are sweet, especially when it's against a competetive team.

 

[John Thomas]

Watching Spurrier basically whine and cry when he lost was well worth it though. Twisting and throwing his visor...he might be a good coach, but he's a bad sport.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Seemingly
Everyone
Cheats
- Yep. 11 out of the 12 SEC schools cheat (can you guess which one doesn't no matter how hard they probably would try? ), and only two of them didn't get away with it. Hmmmmm who could that be..... :p)
Re: Steve Spurrier
- I'm actually the only non-Gator guy on here who actually likes Steve Spurrier ducks a tomato thrown in his direction, but I'm curious to know how much of the "Fun 'N' Gun" offense was his "genius" and how much of it was the talent of his receivers? Besides Rex Grossman, that offense was mostly receivers (I thought Danny Wuerffel was overrated, but then again my memory is hazy).

the loudest fans were definitely at LSU.

I actually agree with that one.

 

[John Thomas]

All I'm saying is that I believe that Oregon deserved *the chance* to play in the National Championship game last year against Miami.

I agree, Carlo. How could you have someone in that game that didn't even win their own conference?

The pre-season polls are out. Here's how they stack up before play starts:

1. Miami, FL
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. Tennessee
6. Colorado
7. Florida
8. Nebraska
9. Washington
10. Michigan
11. Georgia
12. Ohio State
13. LSU
14. Washington State
15. Oregon
16. Virginia Tech
17. Louisville
18. Michigan State
19. USC
20. Maryland
21. Marshall
22. South Carolina
23. Wisconsin
24. Penn State
25. NC State[/list=1]

 

[Carlo_M]

It always makes me laugh to see "Miami, FL" or "Miami (FL)" on these polls.
I think they should make Miami, OH (or Miami (OH)) change their name to something else.

 

[Joel Mack]

Well, since Miami (OH) was founded first (1809), Miami (FL) (1925) should change theirs...

 

[Matt Stryker]

FWIW: No offense to you Southern Cal fans, but I have no idea why they ranked your team in the Top 25. The talent is definitely there, but based on the performance of the team last year, I am a serious doubter until I see something good on the field. Ditto for Virginia Tech, NC State, and my own Georgia Tech (ranked around 30 I think).

Onto Spurrier: Love him or hate him, he changed the way the SEC recruits, trains for, and plays football forever. He may have seemed overly emotional, but I personally felt he was so caught up in the game (tantrums, reporting the slightest foul play, talking up rivalries) that he loved that he didn't care what others thought.

 

[MichaelG]

da da da DA, GO TIGERS!

I would just like to see LSU keep going in the same direction they have been the last few years

 

[Jeremiah]

Love him or hate him, he changed the way the SEC recruits, trains for, and plays football forever. He may have seemed overly emotional, but I personally felt he was so caught up in the game (tantrums, reporting the slightest foul play, talking up rivalries) that he loved that he didn't care what others thought.

Very true Matt.

Dome, the Fun N Gun was his genious b/c he thought of it and called the plays for it. Also, when he took over as head coach for Duke, he turned that team around and made them an offensive power in setting ACC offensive records. He also lead Duke to their first ACC Title in 20 years. I am not sure but I think when he was head coach in the USFL he made his teams into offensive elite's. I am excited to see what kind of offense Washington will have in the next few years.

This is Spurrier's accomplishment at UF; it's just too impressive not to post.

At Florida, in 90 Spurrier won the SEC Title his first year but UF was under sanctions so it wasn't official. In 1991 he won UF first official SEC Title, in 92 he got beat by NC Alabama in the SEC Title game. Spurrier than led the Gators to SEC Titles in 93, 94, 95, and 96 when he also won a NC, his last SEC Title came in 2000.

The gators have had 9 wins or more in Spurrier's 12 seasons and 10 wins or more in 9 of those 12 and has the record for most wins in a coach's first 10 seasons at 102.

Sorry for my Spurrier love fest but I think he is the greatest coach I have seen in College Football.

 

[KeithH]

Jeff Remer said:

Hopefully Penn State will make a return to their former glory days.

Amen to that. I am glad to see Penn State ranked 24th in the pre-season poll. Of course, pre-season polls mean nothing, but it is nice to see Penn State listed.
It's sad to say, but Penn State's fate could very well rest squarely on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Zack Mills. The Lions have other talent on the field, but last year, as Mills went, so went the Lions. I think it will be more of the same this year. That said, Penn State's players worked very hard during the off-season. Many players bulked up quite a bit by the spring game. Hopefully the hard work will pay off. Regardless, I am ready for the Penn State-Illinois game. I love it when my two alma maters face off.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Another big Wolverine fan here. I agree with the rest of the Michigan fans on HTF that I think they are overrated again this year (I said the same thing last season, too, and was correct). Their defense should be good, and the running game will be improved (how could it not be over last year's horrible rushing attack?). However, the passing game will look more like the Bo eras of Demetrius Brown or Rick Leach if Navarre wins the QB job -- except, of course, that those other two guys could at least run. Navarre has Dan Marino speed.

What impresses me about Woodson is that he's no prima-donna Deion "I Can't Tackle" Sanders type cover corner. Woodson is an excellent cover man but he'll also help on run support, blitzes, etc. and if the receiver he's covering actually does catch the ball, he'll put a lickin' on him.

I wholeheartedly agree, Carlo. Cornerbacks like Charles Woodson (or Rod Woodson before his knee injury forced him to move the safety) are much more impressive than "Neon Deion", who would not hit anybody. Hell, he didn't even bother to go into the defensive huddles, because he was never going to have a play called for him. That makes the offense's job a lot easier when they know he will not be blitzing or coming up for run support, and that any pass thrown underneath his coverage will mean some other player has to come over to make the tackle. Deion should have worn a dress instead of a uniform.

As for the Heisman, Woodson had a spectacular year as a defensive player, and also made a big impact on his relatively few offensive plays. While Manning was certainly a great college player over his career, I too think Woodson earned the Heisman.

Anyway, Manning got even by helping Tennessee tank in the second half against Nebraska in the bowl game, making Michigan share the title with the Huskers. I don't think the Vols ever came out of the locker room after the half.