2008 sj.com college football poll -- (1/9) Final Poll, Page 118

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

the best thing that could happen is oklahoma winning the bcs title and then texas or usc, which ap voters love, curbstomping each other and the ap splitting the title. that would infuriate everyone and this site would probably crash.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

JoePa has no idea what the BCS even is, remember? For all he knows, there IS a playoff.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

That would suck.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

Would it?

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

The site crashing? Yes.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

It could get even worse if OK State beats OK this weekend, giving the South title to Texas Tech because it has the tie-breaker over Texas. Imagine the shit storm if Texas were allowed to go to the National Championship game even though it didn't even play in its conference championship, or even worse the shit storm created if TT got to play in the national championship game a month after being stomped by OK.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

TT wouldn't be high enough in the BCS rankings to play for the title.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

At this point in the season: Florida. And that's how the poll is supposed to work. Who do you think is actually the best team in the country, without qualifications? You don't reward an undefeated team by voting it No. 1 if you think it can't beat every team below it. Since the Ole Miss loss (a clear wake-up call for the Gators) they've outscored their opponents by an average of 52-3. There are maybe three or four teams that will give the Gators any competition.

Everybody else on the Gators' schedule probably wishes Ole Miss had lost that game.

Alabama? No. 1? No. Their "big" wins have come against teams that have since been shown to be completely overrated, and Alabama wasn't the one showing that those teams aren't that good (and in a couple of cases, looked putrid and got lucky). In my opinion, there's eight teams that are verifiably better than the Tide and that could beat them handily. That's how I voted. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... Alabama's from the SEC. So? As I noted on the Week 14 thread (fifth post? could be. don't remember), if you look at the big conferences' divisions as conferences unto themselves and then rate those divisions with the rest of the I-A conferences, the SEC West isn't in the top five.

(I should point out that although I'm from Florida, I was raised on Florida State rather than UF. Hate the Gators. Hatehatehate the Gators. Directions from Tallahassee to Gainesville: East till you smell it, south till you step in it. But I can't argue with the premise that they're the best team in the country at this point in the season.)

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

Agree. But then you don't have the Big 12 conference champ, unless you include Texas, who TT beat and didn't even squeak into its championship game.

USC fans should be rooting hard for an OK State victory and a Oregon State victory.

And Coffeman: I disagree with you. Alabama has done something so far that Florida, USC and Penn State could not - it has gone undefeated in a major conference. (You could add Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma in that statement, but their losses came against ranked teams.)

You can assail Bama's conference foes all you want, but the Floridas, USCs and Penn States show that even an unranked rival can be a tricky speedbump on the way to the big show.

If Florida wants to be ranked higher they can beat Bama. Until then, Alabama is my No. 1.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

OSU also didn't have Wells. But even if Pryor started against USC, it would've been his first, maybe second, start. I can't imagine he would've done all that great against USC's defense. We can only speculate.

Virginia was a 10-3 team last year. The game at Charlottesville was an opener, so it was impossible to judge how bad the Cavs were going to be to start the season. But a 40-point win on the road is impressive.

USC's offense isn't close to the stratopheric beast of the last 5 years, but the Trojans are still the only team out of 119 who have allowed fewer than 100 points this season. Someone's argument will be, "Well, they ain't played shit." Well, Ohio State is pretty damn good, even without Wells. Ohio State's next 5 starting backs are probably the No. 1 guy at most schools, and Boeckman was a 3-year starter and senior captain, and Ohio State's receivers are pretty damn solid. Oregon, Cal, Arizona State all have good offenses, yet USC snuffed them all. Oregon State blitzkrieged USC for 21 in the first half but managed only 6 after halftime once USC picked its collective set of balls off the floor.

For the most part, USC has played 30 bad minutes of football this season, and it cost the Trojans.

Alabama is in the same boat as USC. So they don't beat teams by 58. So what? They've beaten every team this season. Style points (read: this crazy notion that you must humiliate teams to be regarded as legit) don't register with me. Oklahoma's 65-whatever win over Texas Tech was a legit win. Boggles my mind how Okie did that. Oklahoma might be the best damn team in America right now.

Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida and USC ... maybe Penn State ... are the cream of the crop this season. Let's face it, one really isn't better than the next. I'm just as content watching Alabama and USC win 24-7 than seeing Oklahoma and Florida swamp someone 49-3.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

I think Bama will beat the Gators and every team below it, so if you were wondering whether I filled out my ballot incorrectly according to your standards, no dice. I hear the argument for the Gators and all I think about is the 1992 Sugar Bowl, when the Canes were allegedly the superior team -- too much speed, they said -- and were supposed to blow Alabama away. I like how Alabama plays, I like them to win that game.

Funny how you ripped the SEC West when the only team that beat your No. 1 Gators came from ... the SEC West. As I said before, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah all have three wins against currently ranked top-25 teams while Alabama, Penn State, USC and Texas Tech have two. The Gators have only one. You can't bash Bama's schedule without taking a closer look at Florida's, too.

 

Re: 2008 SportsJournalists.com college football poll -- Week 13 (11/24) Page 96

Florida may win but I agree that Bama's defense is going to give them fits. I don't see the blowout everyone else sees.