2008 NCAA Football Thread

[Splurgercloud]

Yay! Life in the NCAA Football thread! I was so disappointed with USC losing that game to OSU, AGAIN! Ugh, we'll need a lot of help to get back into the National Championship game, but I'd be happy with a Rose Bowl berth, no Ohio State please. Yuck.

[Skinny Bastard]

Associated Press Top-25 College Football Poll

No. Team Rec Pts Prev
1 Alabama 10-0 1604 1
2 Texas Tech 10-0 1574 2
3 Florida 8-1 1467 4
4 Texas 9-1 1437 5
5 Oklahoma 9-1 1375 6
6 USC 8-1 1311 7
7 Penn State 9-1 1161 3
8 Utah 10-0 1157 10
9 Boise State 9-0 1110 9
10 Ohio State 8-2 1009 12
11 Oklahoma State 8-2 963 8
12 Missouri 8-2 913 13
13 Georgia 8-2 880 14
14 Ball State 9-0 677 16
15 TCU 9-2 623 11
16 BYU 9-1 602 17
17 North Carolina 7-2 597 19
18 Michigan State 9-2 584 18
19 LSU 6-3 552 15
20 Florida State 7-2 380 24
21 Pittsburgh 7-2 318 25
22 Cincinnati 7-2 269 --
23 Oregon State 6-3 124 --
24 So Carolina 7-3 117 --
25 Tulsa 8-1 84 --

USA Today Top-25 College Football Poll

No. Team Rec Pts Prev
1 Alabama 10-0 1508 1
2 Texas Tech 10-0 1469 3
3 Florida 8-1 1348 5
4 Oklahoma 9-1 1314 4
5 Texas 9-1 1300 7
6 USC 8-1 1268 6
7 Utah 10-0 1104 9
8 Penn State 9-1 1074 2
9 Boise State 9-0 1028 10
10 Ohio State 8-2 936 12
11 Missouri 8-2 883 13
12 Georgia 8-2 842 14
13 Oklahoma State 8-2 808 8
14 BYU 9-1 679 16
15 Michigan State 9-2 660 17
16 Ball State 9-0 590 18
17 North Carolina 7-2 543 19
18 TCU 9-2 475 11
19 Florida State 7-2 426 24
20 LSU 6-3 409 15
21 Pittsburgh 7-2 311 --
22 Cincinnati 7-2 183 --
23 So Carolina 7-3 155 --
24 Tulsa 8-1 144 --
25 Oregon State 6-3 71 --


Bowl Championship Series Rankings

1. Alabama Crimson Tide 10-0 .970 .981 1
2. Texas Tech Red Raiders 10-0 .980 .972 2
3. Texas Longhorns 9-1 .920 .880 4
4. Florida Gators 8-1 .820 .864 5
5. Oklahoma Sooners 9-1 .820 .844 6
6. U-S-C Trojans 8-1 .720 .790 7
7. Utah Utes 10-0 .870 .769 8
8. Penn State Nittany Lions 9-1 .620 .684 3
9. Boise State Broncos 9-0 .680 .678 10
10. Georgia Bulldogs 8-2 .740 .616 13
11. Ohio State Buckeyes 8-2 .540 .591 11
12. Missouri Tigers 8-2 .540 .558 14
13. Oklahoma State Cowboys 8-2 .550 .534 9
14. Ball State Cardinals 9-0 .430 .416 17
15. Michigan State Spartans 9-2 .340 .388 18
16. North Carolina Tar Heels 7-2 .440 .382 19
17. B-Y-U Cougars 9-1 .210 .375 15
18. T-C-U Horned Frogs 9-2 .400 .351 12
19. Florida State Seminoles 7-2 .250 .259 22
20. L-S-U Tigers 6-3 .170 .240 16
21. Pittsburgh Panthers 7-2 .140 .180 NR
22. Cincinnati Bearcats 7-2 .210 .149 NR
23. Tulsa Golden Hurricane 8-1 .000 .072 NR
24. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 6-3 .170 .061 NR
25. South Carolina Gamecocks 7-3 .020 .058 NR

[AYHJA]

I will never understand the national sportswriters love affair with Oklahoma...Never...I would love to ask one of them to explain to me how they rank Texas behind a team that they beat, and another team that lost to an unranked opponent...AT HOME...Texas' only loss was a nail biter to fucking Tech..! Tech had to play perfect, mistake free football to beat Texas...Plus they were at home...I just don't get it man...

The beauty of all this is that come this next Sunday, one of them will have a loss...And Oklahoma still has Oklahoma State to play...If Tech wins out so be it, but if they get a loss, it goes to the BCS...Which would give Texas the nod...

[trashtalkr]

Don't get too worked up A. The only poll that really matters is the BCS, which rightly has Texas ranked #3. Personally, I don't think Alabama will finish the season undefeated. I have a feeling that Auburn might beat them in the last game of the season. That would set up the Texas Tech/Texas championship game which would be epic...

[AYHJA]

Actually...

If Alabama looses, which like you, I think they will, that would leave Tech #1, and Texas #2...If Tech wins out...They go to the ship...But if they loose even just once, Texas will go to the Big 12 Championship, and possibly to the national championship...But there's no chance for a Texas/Tech matchup...I'd love if we could have another shot at those guys...

Also, by the end of the season, Texas will pass Notre Dame on the all time college football wins list, trailing only Michigan...

Hook 'Em Horns..!

[Skinny Bastard]

one more argument for a play-off system... IMHO

[trashtalkr]

Actually...

If Alabama looses, which like you, I think they will, that would leave Tech #1, and Texas #2...If Tech wins out...They go to the ship...But if they loose even just once, Texas will go to the Big 12 Championship, and possibly to the national championship...But there's no chance for a Texas/Tech matchup...I'd love if we could have another shot at those guys...

Also, by the end of the season, Texas will pass Notre Dame on the all time college football wins list, trailing only Michigan...

Hook 'Em Horns..!

Oh yeah....I forgot about the Big 12 championship, but if Bama loses and Tech and Texas both win out, then they should still be 1 and 2 in the polls. Tech will be in the Big 12 championship, beat Mizzou, and head to the National Championship. Even if Texas doesn't play in the Big 12 championship, I don't think any voter in their right mind would put Florida or Oklahoma above Texas

[Skinny Bastard]

Hopeful BCS-busting Utes face lowly Aztecs
By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The last time the Utah Utes were in San Diego, they played Navy in the bottom-tier Poinsettia Bowl that kicked off college football's 2007 postseason.

The potential prize this season is much, much bigger.

The No. 8 Utes (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West Conference) need to remain undefeated to keep alive their chances of becoming BCS Busters for the second time in five seasons. They play their last road game on Saturday night against the lowly San Diego State Aztecs (1-9, 0-6) before their big rivalry game against No. 16 BYU.

Coming off a narrow escape against No. 15 TCU, the Utes know they can ill afford a misstep, especially against an Aztecs team that is having such a miserable season that its only win has been against Idaho.

"We tell them to do the same thing they have been doing week-in and week-out the last 10 weeks," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We can't fall in love with ourselves and be thinking that we've arrived. There is plenty that we need to fix from the TCU game. There is never a point where we've got it all figured out and there is nothing to fix."

Although the Utes remain in contention for a Bowl Championship Series berth, their focus this week will be on clinching at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title.

"We have been able to take a week-to-week approach through 10 games and fully anticipate being able to do the same thing this week and not catch ourselves looking beyond," Whittingham said.

The Utes trailed TCU 10-0 before rallying for a 13-10 win last Saturday. Brian Johnson marched Utah 80 yards in the final minutes and completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left.

Despite being outgained 416 yards to 275, Utah improved to 10-0 for just the second time in school history, matching the start of the original BCS Busters in 2004. Utah finished 12-0 that season, beating Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl after becoming the first team from an outsider conference to crash the BCS.

Whittingham said rallying to beat the Horned Frogs helped establish an identity.

"They are emerging as a hard-nosed blue-collar team that responds well to adversity. That's been their M.O. ever since fall camp."

The coach also said his players noticed when then-No. 3 Penn State was upset by Iowa on a last-second field goal.

"If you're not ready to play each and every week someone's going to get you. That was a wake-up call for our guys," he said.

They Aztecs would love to pull off an upset, but it would be an enormous task for a school that is out of the bowl picture for the 10th straight year.

"It's a great opportunity, one that's very rare," said coach Chuck Long, who is 8-26 in three seasons and hasn't been able to revive the Aztecs' sad-sack reputation.

This will be San Diego State's first home game against a top-10 team since Gino Torretta and the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes won 63-17 on Nov. 28, 1992, while injured Aztecs star Marshall Faulk watched from the sideline.

The Aztecs will be playing a Top 25 team for the second time in a week. They lost 41-12 at BYU last Saturday.

"It's been awhile and apparently we've never beaten a top-10 team before in Division I history," Long said. "We're excited for a challenge. Anytime you're in the top 10 it's an incredible feat. It's very difficult to be there and to stay there. They've done it and maintained it."

The highest-ranked team to lose to the Aztecs was No. 12 Iowa State on Oct. 10, 1981, 52-31 in San Diego.

Athletic director Jeff Schemmel said earlier this year that Long will return in 2009.

[Skinny Bastard]

Longhorns look to stay in chase against Kansas
By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - He's a proud kid, an undersized quarterback who grew up in Texas and loved his home state Longhorns - only to be spurned by them.

Todd Reesing's also a straightforward kid. He won't deny that getting ready to lead Kansas against the fourth-ranked Longhorns on Saturday is causing his competitive heart to beat a bit faster.

"I grew up in Austin, obviously watching the 'Horns," Reesing said. "My dad went to UT. So I would be lying if I told you (the game) wasn't a little bit bigger for me."

Rejected by the school he always dreamed of playing for, Reesing wound up at Kansas, and the Jayhawks couldn't be happier. In less than two full seasons, he already holds 32 school passing records. Through the first 10 games this year for the Jayhawks (6-4, 3-3 Big 12), he ranks in the top 10 nationally in completions, yards and total offense.

Texas coach Mack Brown graciously agreed last year, while Reesing was leading the Jayhawks to a 12-1 record, that "anyone who did not recruit him made a mistake."

It's not that Reesing's making it any sort of vendetta game, or grimly setting out to show Texans everywhere what they missed. But Kansas' first game against Texas since 2004 may be like none other for the junior quarterback.

"You got to try to not make it as big to yourself, but it is going to be fun," he said. "I grew up watching Texas and cheering for them, so now that I am playing against them, it will be a lot of fun."

As proud as Kansas fans are of Reesing, however, it would be hard to mount a credible argument that he would be starting for Texas this season. The Longhorns (9-1, 5-1) have a guy named Colt McCoy who's pretty good, too.

After throwing five touchdown passes last week in a rout of Baylor, McCoy's passer rating in 36 games is 158.2, No. 1 all-time among Texas quarterbacks. He's hit a shade under 70 percent of his passes for 8,752 yards and 79 touchdowns in his career.

"He is a quality player," said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. "He is one of the most improved quarterbacks from last year to this year. Whoever works with him in the offseason has done a magnificent job. He is way ahead of where he was at this time last year. He has a lot more poise, he is throwing the ball better and he is running the ball better."

The Longhorns' lone loss this year was to Big 12 South rival Texas Tech, ranked No. 2 in the country this week right behind No. 1 Alabama. But Texas has a victory over Oklahoma, and if the Sooners should beat Tech in their upcoming game while Texas wins out, the Longhorns could slip out of the crowded South into the Big 12 championship game next month.

A win there, and they might get a chance at another national championship.

"It is what it is," said Texas cornerback Ryan Palmer. "The main thing is winning, and we didn't win against Tech, so we're here now. We can't go back and `what if's' and this and that. We just have to finish strong and win our last two conference games and see where we go after that."

Kansas, a 13-point underdog, needs to win its last two games, against Texas and Missouri, or face an embarrassing drop-off from its historic 12-1 season of 2007.

Texas expects the Jayhawks to be at the top of their game.

"They're going to be really ready to play," said Palmer. "They need to get back on the winning side and we're going down there. The last time we went there they almost beat us so it's going to be hostile. Their fans are going to be loud and ready to go. We've just got to go down there and take care of our business."

[Skinny Bastard]

After so many "Big Game" weekends... this week is almost a let down... Even ESPN's Gameday is scrapin' the bottom of the barrell....

Hampton vs Florida A&M.... are you fuckin' kidding me?