Let The BOWL GAMES Begin! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_A]

Some very random thoughts: The Big Ten is (2-1) thus far. BYU once again proved what we all knew - they do not belong! Oregon should be playing on Thursday, not today...etc, etc, etc...
What a great day this will be. Go BIG TEN!!!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I do not have a good feeling regarding the Michigan - Tennessee matchup. UM has not been playing well, but hopefully the Vols will be a little flat after failing to qualify for the Rose Bowl.

Jeff, sorry, but I can never root for Ohio State, so I will refrain from the "Go Big Ten" cry.

 

[Carlo_M]

Oregon, by virtue of the regular season, should be playing on Thursday.
However I'm not sure they'll beat Colorado today (I'm a Pac-10 guy so I want them to win, we're 1-3 this year :frowning: ). Colorady has been playing the best ball in the last 2 months in the country, but that shouldn't excuse tanking 2 games early. Oregon's only loss was a come-from-behind win by a ranked team (Stanford). We all know what happened to Nebraska.
My team didn't even get to a bowl, but at least our RB got to drive a nice SUV and our QB will be doing jailtime and AA soon. :frowning:

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I think the Colorado - Oregon game is the best matchup of all the big bowl games, and is the game I am most looking forward to watching.

As I thought, Michigan was no match for Tennessee. This has not been a good year for Wolverine football. Hopefully the offense can retool in the offseason. They lost so much talent from last season -- their starting RB, best wide receiver and four offensive linemen all started in the NFL this season. Also, their QB would have been the Heisman favorite if he had not decided to run off and play baseball full time in the Yankee organization. Henson's replacement, John Navarre, is the worst Michigan QB since Demetrius Brown.

 

[Jeff_A]

Man, just a few hours later and the Big Ten has dropped to (2-3) overall.

As I thought, Michigan was no match for Tennessee...

You were absolutely right in your assessment of the Wolverines all year, Scott. I remember you said it early in the season and you said it often - they weren't as good as many of us thought they might be.
Also, I don't even know if we can hold out hope for John Navarre's development as a player next year. Some of this you simply can't teach and he appears to have absolutely no feel for the quarterback position. :frowning:
Next up, Oregon and Colorado. This will be a shootout!

 

[Van Patton]

How bout' them Vols???!!? Good game. I was surprised at how well they played. All the main offense stars had a great game especially Clausen. I was at the SEC Championship and watched the Vols play and lose terriblly. Oh well at least we start 2K2 with a bang!

 

[Darren H]

I really wish the Vols had had a chance to play against a BCS team. Obviously I'm biased, but I really think they're one of the best teams in the country right now and deserved the chance to play Miami, Nebraska, Oregon, or Colorado. The Tennessee team that played LSU in the SEC Championship was spent -- emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted after too many weeks without rest and after the biggest regular season win in the school's history. Along with the BCS mess, it's a real shame that some teams are *rewarded* with an extra championship game at the end of the season, one that, in many cases, can only hurt an otherwise great season.

But, all in all, I've been very pleased with the bowls so far. My two teams won (UT and FSU) and the ACC and SEC are proving what many of us have known for years -- that real college football is played in the southeast.

Go Terps!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Oregon certainly made their case for the national championship, should Nebraska upset Miami. The Ducks dominated Colorado in all phases of the game for a very impressive win. At the very least, they showed that they definitely belonged in Pasadena.

Jeff, I wish I was wrong about Michigan, being the UM fan that I am. Hopefully next year will be better. The defense was improved this year, but the offense needs an infusion of talent. Lloyd Carr did a great job in getting the most out of a mediocre offensive unit in the first half of the season, but the lack of talent finally caught up with Michigan. Too bad we couldn't combine the 2001 UM defense with the 2000 UM offense. That would have been a fine team.

 

[McPaul]

GO DUCKS!!! yeahh!!

National champions they should be.

Could someone please explain to this canadian who loves watching NCAA football games, how the bowl process works? thanks, muchly appreciated.

 

[Van Patton]

OK well the BCS committee takes the 8 top teams in the nation and put them in 4 BCS (Bowl Championship Series) Bowls. They figure they statisitcs out by a bunch of computer formulas and also the real top25 picks. Anyways #1 and #2 play in a bowl to decide who the National Champion is. This year there's some controversy because some say Nebraska isn't worthy of being in Pasadena/ National Championship game. There's several other bowls where teams travel to a stadium and play each other. Whoever wins gets a large sum of money in the millions. The bigger the bowl, the more money the team and conference gets. Hope that helped.

 

[GregJ]

The only bowl I cared about was last week and Alabama won! The new coach has started a turn around after last years rotten results. '02 should be a very good year for the Tide.

Greg

 

[Steven K]

it's a real shame that some teams are *rewarded* with an extra championship game at the end of the season

I totally agree with you Darren... The Big 12 and the SEC teams really have a huge disadvantage compared to the other schools.

What if Miami had to play in a Big East Title Game? What if Oregon had to play in a PAC-10 title game? Or Illinois in a Big-10 championship game?

No excuses for Tennessee losing to LSU; I was heartbroken, but they played like crap. However, these championship games give the "big" team nothing to gain and everything to lose.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Most (if not all) conferences pool all the bowl money earned and share it equally among conference members. As to how teams get invited, there can be some behind the scenes dealings. For example, this year Michigan State was lobbying to get invited to the Silicon Valley Bowl, but some members of the bowl selection committee wanted to add a team from another conference. MSU prematurely announced they had accepted a bid to the bowl, thereby forcing the hand of the Silicon Valley Bowl committee to offering the bid. This was detailed in last week's Detroit News.

Other times, a lesser team gets selected because it has a large traveling alumni or an alumni that will drive up the TV ratings. Big Ten schools are always a good selection, because their fans will travel to see their team play -- especially if the game is in a warm weather area. Michigan usually gets a very good bid, because they have the largest living alumni in the country, and they support the team.

 

[John Thomas]

What's the SEC at now, 5-3? As far as the losses (Boston College over Georgia, North Carolina over Auburn, Oklahoma over Arkansas) I'd have to say the last one was poorly matched up. It was a close game but Oklahoma vs Arkansas? That appears on paper to be a slight to the Sooners. BC over Georgia - I have to say that BC impressed me with its tight game vs Miami; NC over Auburn - I'm not sure Auburn was a bowl team but it too was a decent game.
Tennessee over Michigan, 45-17 was enjoyable
I'll bet they were a bit steamed after letting another national title chance slip away. And Scott, on College Gameday, ESPN had listed the best teams to draw to bowls. I only recall Notre Dame and Tennessee being on that list. I'm not sure if there were any Big 10 teams. I'll look on the website to see if I can pull it up.

 

[Carlo_M]

You know, Oregon did make a claim to a split national championship should Nebraska beat Miami.
But even if Miami wins, it doesn't make it all right. Miami, should they beat Nebraska, obviously did not play the second best team in the land. That would be Oregon, who embarassed the team who embarassed Nebraska.
Makes me proud to say that my Bruins took 'em to the final seconds and only lost 20-21.

 

[KyleS]

I totally agree with you Darren... The Big 12 and the SEC teams really have a huge disadvantage compared to the other schools.

I have to disagree with you guys here as to a disadvantage. Heck in the new BCS standings and how you are rated this would be a great thing to have a conference championship. Considering that in the Conf. Championship you are playing the top other team in your Conference which means they must be good. If you win again then it just means you have beaten another top rated team, which will help not hinder your BCS rating.
It would have been great for Oregon to play in a Conf championship that way they could have won that game as well and possibly have been headed to the Rose Bowl instead of Nebraska. Although Nebraska didn’t even play in theirs and they are headed to the RB.
I just don’t understand what the excuse could be for not playing a tournament like in Basketball for Football. They cant say its because they would lose money or that there isn’t enough time. Considering the fact that they would play more games and each team has at least 4-5 weeks off during the season, which could be used to narrow down the teams at 1 game per week. Start with say the top 2 teams from each conference in a bracket and head at it. Until they go to this we really will never know who is the best team each year in the land (Unfortunately)
It was great to see Oregon severely embarrass the hottest team in College football. Go Oregon oh yeah and Go Nebraska (we need them to win)
KyleS

 

[McPaul]

Thanks for the explanation. I still think that the BCS system is strange. I love watching NCAA Hoops, and can't understand why they don't use a format like that.

 

[Ron Eastman]

GO BIG RED!!!
(That's all I have to say)

 

[LarryDavenport]

I wont be watching, but I'll root for Nebraska to win for two reasons.

1) I want Oregon to be #1 (they should have been in the Rose Bowl instead of Nebraska!)

and

2) as a Washington Husky fan, I hate Miami more than I hate Oregon

I hope this is the last time the BCS will be played at the Rose Bowl. For one thing, it's sacriligeous that Miami is even there, and my main bitch is that the Rose Bowl should be played on New Years Day. PERIOD!

 

[Trey Fletcher]

I love watching NCAA Hoops, and can't understand why they don't use a format like that.

Several reasons. First, basketball teams can play 2-3 games per week, as they do in the NCAA tourney. For football teams, the nature of the sport makes this an impossibility (In fact, most players will tell you that even one day short of a full weeks rest makes playing difficult). Because of this, having even an 8 team playoff means extending the season by almost a full month. Second, the established bowl system has too much tradition and brings in too much money to communities and participants to just be junked. There are hosts of other reasons, but these seem to be the most glaring. As a huge college football fan (I disdain hoops), I think there has to be a way to bring a much needed playoff system to football that can include the bowls, and finally end the yearly debate over who's number one. The Athletic Directors, Sponsors, Conferences, etc,. finally need to sack up, quit being greedy, and do what's best for the sport.
As for this year's bowls, I was thrilled to see the second Oregon school (Pac-10) in two years dismantle a crying baby that didn't even belong. Thank you Ducks for smashing Colorado. I hope that Nebraska upsets the Cains and that you at least get a share of the title.