College football 2013 running discussion thread

FSU-Clemson on Oct. 19 might be the early season Game of the Year.

 

Pitting a pair of teams that have a bad habit of stepping on their own dicks early every season. I wouldn't feel comfortable betting on both (or either) still being undefeated by then.

 

Steak,

Both of their schedules leading into that game are tissue-soft. Florida State has Nevada, Bethune-Cookman, Boston College and Maryland. Clemson has South Carolina STATE, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Boston College. So, yeah, upsets can happen any week, but on paper the road doesn't look too daunting.

 

FSU lost to NC State last year. Clemson struggled to beat a dogshit Auburn team.

 

Is this a D_B? Am I the only one who missed it? Ronnie Lott falls back and out of his chair on the Pac-12 Network studio show.

 

"Back and to the Left. Back and to the Left"

 

What's bigger in the SEC? South Carolina-Georgia and the East implications or Florida-Miami with the perception of SEC dominance somewhat at stake.

Obviously the Cocks-Dogs game will go much further in determining the east champion than Florida's game will in molding perceptions of the SEC.

But if Florida loses, that will drop the SEC to 4-3 against OOC BCS auto-qualifier leagues. Given the Week 3 schedule -- Kentucky (vs. Louisville), Tennessee (at Oregon) and Ole Miss (at Texas) will all be dogs -- there's a pretty good chance the SEC will fall WAY under .500 against OOC BCS teams.

Sure there will be that Thanksgiving Weekend chance at redemption with the big three ACC rivalry games, but if Florida loses, does that create an "SEC is down" narrative and put a 1-loss SEC team in jeopardy?

By the way, the only SEC upset I see possibly happening in Week 3 is, maybe, Ole Miss over Texas. But I would not pick the Rebs either. I think Tennessee and and Kentucky get housed.

 

Are we going to keep going with this running crap, or is Versatile going to start a Week 2 thread? Did Mark ruin it for the whole season?

 

There will never be a "SEC is down" narrative because ESPN has too much money invested. That being said, UF beats Miami 23-13.

 

I really don't think the SEC teams give a hoot about the non-conference games. Give the Gators a choice between winning this week at Miami or beating South Carolina and Georgia later on and they'll hand you this one .... in a heartbeat. That's pretty much true with any conference game, but even moreso in the SEC.

 

I suggested a Week 2 thread and it was met with ambivalence.

If somebody wants to start a week 2 thread, I'll be glad to continue the discussion there.

Mark, I think ESPN would embrace the "Is the SEC down" talking point because they are huge on talking points. Their conclusion might be "No, it's not." But if the question gets asked week after week, then well, there must be something to it, right?

Of course, if Alabama trucks everybody on the schedule, it won't matter. But if Alabama loses to LSU, which loses to Georgia, which got beat by Clemson, which also (say) beats South Carolina, then what happens if it's Clemson or Alabama jockeying for the No. 2 spot in the BCS behind, say, unbeaten Oregon?

And, to make it more interesting, what if Louisville is unbeaten in that scenario?

 

Yes, Brian, that is why people actually bother to watch during the season. When you have one dominant super team, it makes life far less interesting.

As for Louisville, they are the default option. If they go undefeated and EVERYONE else bombs out, then consider them for the championship game. But you don't take them (even if undefeated) above a one-loss team from a power conference.