Big games, big wins, big losses. Pot thickens for the BCS championship game. 1. Penn State loss at Iowa was the big one, to tell you the truth I never thought Penn State was as good as the other teams in the mix for the championship. I can't put my finger on it, but they just seem like a very good team for sure, but not a great team. I wouldn't be suprised if they lost to Mich State, I think they'll win but I wouldn't be suprised if they loss. 2. SEC it's all about Alabama and Fla, 2 teams that couldn't be further apart in every facet of the game. Alabama is a conservative, pound you on both sides of the ball type of team. Not flashy, just effective. The Gators are the ultimate speed and flash team. So we'll really get a big contrast in styles of play and FWIW in styles of their Head Coaches. Should be a great game. 3. Big 12, it's really all about Texas Tech vs Oklahoma and Big game Bob Stoops. These teams are more similar in many ways, unlike their SEC counterparts. Both teams have big time flash and dash offenses I don't see either having an advantage. Both coaches like to run up big scores and don't take out their top offensive players till there is a big number on the scoreboard. OU however is much more known for it's defense than is Texas Tech, although I have to say the Tech defense is looking pretty good. In the end it will be about the defenses when they meet next weekend in Norman. Which ever defense can hold the other offense to some reasonable amount of scoring, say if under 35 points will be the winner. 4. I'm not really sure about the BCS rules. But I think there is a 2 team limit on the number of schools from any conference who can play in BCS bowls. I think the top 12 teams are BCS bowl eligible, and they have a need for 10 teams. 2 BCS Champ teams and 8 teams for the 4 BCS bowls. So one of Texas, Texas Tech, and OU will not make a BCS bowl. Right now just taking the AP since as I write this the BCS isn't out. It would mean Bama vs Tech for the top 2 spots. Penn State and Oregon State for the Rose Bowl. UNC and WVA in the Orange Bowl. Florida and at Large for the Sugar Bowl and Texas vs At Large for the Fiesta Bowl. USC and either Boise State or Utah will be the other at large schools most likely. A lot depends on draft order as both the Fiesta and the Sugar would lose their associated BCS Conf champion. But the Sugar Bowl got stuck with Hawaii last year so maybe they'd get USC and the Fiesta would get Boise State again. UF vs USC would be very interesting. 5. Interesting that Oregon State with it's win over USC will have to lose or USC can't go to the Rose Bowl, they would finish tied with Oregon State getting the nod as conf champion. You know the Rose Bowl would love to Match up Penn State and USC and just gnash their teeth over USC going to either the Fiesta or Sugar Bowls. They no doubt will be contacting some Hollywood witches to put some spells on Oregon State. 6. I've said it before, but this has been the most exciting season of B12 football I can ever remember. I don't know if we're better, as good as or what than the SEC but we're exciting and people are watching!! 7. Can't forget the Cornhuskers, that was a big win for them as a program this past Sat, they are now bowl eligible. Small step for the boys in Lincoln but one they needed to take badly. 8. Heisman: While Colt McCoy has continued to have a great season and hasn't really done anything to deserve dropping from that #1 slot, I don't see how you can not put Grahmn Harrell in that slot right now. He's performed masterfully in the last 2 weeks. Certainly Tim Tebow is now right there with McCoy, Harrell, and Bradford. Terry
No Clue. 3 1 loss teams, Tech holding tie breaker over Texas, Texas holding tie breaker over OU, and OU holding tie breaker over Tech. I wouldn't be suprised if it was whoever has the highest BCS ranking. Nobody does the vote of Ath Directors anymore, and I hope the nod wouldn't go to the team who hasn't been in the longest time.
BCS rankings: 1.Alabama 2.TT 3. Texas 4. Florida One note.....Texas will have a hard time getting in there unless TT loses. The Horns also may not get in even if TT loses because their computer ranking is the only thing keeping them ahead of Florida...who is ranked third by the human polls. BY UF finishing with FSU and Alabama at the end of the season the Gator's computer ranking will soar. However....Texas beat OU so if OU does not win it's division I think with a TT and Bama loss it could possibly be a Texas-Florida NC game. "1. Penn State loss at Iowa was the big one, to tell you the truth I never thought Penn State was as good as the other teams in the mix for the championship. I can't put my finger on it, but they just seem like a very good team for sure, but not a great team." I can put my finger on it. The Nits light schedule never exhibited much about their supposed greatness and the only good team they played damned near beat em....OSU.
Just a side note here. i remember posting back with you guys in the 90s and the fact that the Pac10 played these crazy 70+combined point games made them dog crap, and if they played 'real football' they would have more defense. Now the defense has picked up and somehow they are given less respect. Not that anyone is watching, but USC's defense is incredibly good.
The old adage....defense wins championships....is almost always right on the money. UF is #5 in the nation in scoring defense with probably half of the points given up by Florida coming late in garbage time after the first string D has hit the bench in a blow-out. THAT is why UF is on the verge of playing for the National Championship.
Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and USC all have legitimate chances at the BCS Championship game. I would say that unless there are several losses for the other 5 that USC probably has the most uphill battle. I would say that right now if one of those three Big 12 teams win the Big 12 either unbeaten or with one loss that they will be there with the most likely opponent being from Florida and Alabama if they both make it to the SEC Championship game without losing any of the rest of the regular season games. There is some chance that Texas Tech and Texas should play each other. My personal opinion is what it has been all along that the one of the champions of one of the other major conferences, SEC, Pac 10 or Big 10 should be ahead of a rematch. But Texas is mighty good, and I don't know the tie breaker if TT, Oklahoma and Texas should tie for their division. Interesting times. Oh, I don't think Florida is any more on the verge of going to the BCS Championship game that Alabama or TT, who are both still unbeaten.
The thing about Florida that makes the Gators more on the "verge" than other one loss teams is that by winning out UF seems to be a lock for the BCS title game. That's because there will have to be wins over three ranked teams to get there including the current #1....Alabama. Otherwise....Florida has been earning style points lately.....big style points with the human polls and that will matter at the end.
MCG, if Alabama and Texas Tech win out they go to the championship game. If Florida wins out we probably go to the game but we would have to improve our standing with the computers. Right now we are 3rd in the both voting polls, but 4th in the BCS because Texas does enough better than us in the computers to overcome a 4th and a 5th by the voters to be 3rd in the BCS poll I like our chances by winning out, but we are not a lock.
Bill....we win out...we go....plain and simple. We either play TexTech.....Okla....or Texas... No way for Texas to jump Florida and then we're not playing them for the title because that would mean that we beat Bama and Okla beat Tex Tech.
You are missing something MCG, it isn't Texas that has to jump us, we need to jump them. They are ahead of us in the computer polls and that's enough to have them ahead of us in the BCS poll. So the question is not can Texas jump the Gators, but if the Gators do win out will we gain enough in the computer polls to jump Texas. I think so but am not positive.
Naturally if we are talking about 1 loss teams there is going to be a lot of disagreement. As a B12 fan, I don't think it's fair that Texas who's only loss is to currently #2 Tech on the road in a nailbiter to be jumped by a team who lost at home to Ole Miss. And if UF beats Alabama then it's a close call but still Texas loss is to a top 10 team and UF to Ole Miss. Shouldn't even be close. But I think the voters will give it to UF fair or not.
Agreed TOK...that would be a hose job of epic proportions. In the face of a home loss to a mediocre team, it would seem that UF would be at the end of the line for 1 loss teams in when compared to the losses of the others. I don't think any of the others lost at home did they and with the arguable exception of Penn State, all the other losses were to teams much superior to Ole Miss.....I think Corey's descriptions of the process are dead on....
Two Terry's, I guess you know that I am going to disagree. I'm of the opinion, and have been for several years, that the two teams should be conference champs or a very highly ranked independent such as Notre Dame. Last year Georgia had their chance to win the SEC East and they did not, in my mind they did not belong in the championship game. Now if Texas Tech losses and either Oklahoma or Texas wins the Big 12 then that's different. Also I remember last year that USC lost to Stanford and there were still quite a few people here who thought they belonged in the championship game. Anyway there is certainly room here to disagree and I will just have to respectively disagree! :wink: :wink: P.S. Oh, one last comment, I do think that if TT, Texas or Oklahoma win the Big 12 they should be a lock to be in the game. Anything less would be a joke. Just not two teams.
Well I would agree that we don't really want or need a rematch of a regular season conference game for the BCS championship. I'm just saying that if Texas wins out in fairness that they have a better resume' than UF and should be ranked ahead of them. That home loss to Ole Miss is the deciding point for me. Of course if Bama and Tech win out it'll be nice and neat, everybody will agree that they should be in the game. Just as if there are 5 or 6 1 loss teams that there will be a lot of partisan bickering as to who really deserves to be in the game. Terry
If a team doesn't win it's conference...it does not go to the BCS title game. I think the human voters will assure us of that no matter what. If Tex Tech wins their next two....Texas cannot win it's conference and with a 13-0 Alabama available or a 12-1 Florida SEC champion available having just dispatched Bama then no way will there be an all Big 12 title game. If Tex Tech loses to Okla then Okla could jump into the Big 12 slot over Texas and still leave Texas out of the Big 12 title game. Again...no all Big 12 BCS title game is going to happen if Bama and Fla both win out untill the SECCG and even if they both lose before then USC would enter the picture. Texas could possibly maintain it's hold over Okla if Tex Tech loses and go to the Big 12 title game over the Sooners since they beat Okla. If that happens then Texas plays the SEC Champion so either way...if the SEC Champion wins out they are in the title game. Also...don't get excited if Florida's computer ranking takes a hit and the Gators slide behind Texas again after playing The Citadel on the 22nd....which I expect will happen. After playing FSU the week after and then a probable #1 ranked Alabama the week after that there will no problem with Florida's computer ranking.
I don't really want to see an all B12 title game. I'm just saying that for pure rankings of the best teams, there is no way a 1 loss Texas team should behind a 1 loss UF team that lost to Ole Miss at home. But I think you are wrong, I don't think the BCS ever made a rule that you have to win your conference to be in the BCS game. I wouldn't object to that rule if it existed, but I don't think it does.
....in addition to that, the Horns have also beaten a team higher rated than any UF has beaten. The system just makes no sense at this point in the season....but the season is not over.