College Football 2015

[Rude]

OMG. Was that one of the best games you have seen. It had it all!!! Ole miss can execute on offense. If you look at results this year, ole miss should be number 1. Best offense in the country. Solid defense. Alabama made a valiant comeback. Their D got mean and swarmed but ole miss just executed and won the game. Craziness.

Hey MC. So who in the country has looked better than Georgia, LSU or Ole miss. I'm not going to base it on pro talent. I'm basing on results. Then as the 4th best, Alabama ain't bad. For the 10th best, Florida is pretty solid. What's tbe PAC 10's 10th best team? The SEC completely outperformed everyone this week and it wasn't close. Only weakly Missouri had a close one of the top 10 teams in the SEC. And really there's no debate. The Coaches and sportswriter rank the SEC higher and the computers go even higher. TCU is plain weak. USC and UCLA(called it too early) go down. Ohio state squeaked through. Oklahoma looked bad. Muchigan state looked bad. Lets talk overrated. It's such a silly discussion. You have such an anti sec bias that it's affecting your thinking. I based it on talent, pro and recruit, results, polls, computers. I'd personally never take on your position as a devils advocate because it's not winnable. The depth in the SEC football is unmatched. Hell South Carolina is the 12th team and they are loaded with talent, and would be the 5-6 best in other conferences.

[bs69]

A lot of the top teams had a rough time this week. I was very impressed with ole miss. Let's see if they can stay healthy this year

[Teacher Matt]

Ohio State:

1. the Defense is very good

2. our WR core is not good

3. JT needs to be the QB

4. Rude still is a Buckeye hater

5. just win baby .. 3-0

6. SEC is overrated ...

[gr8fulpair]

Ohio State:

1. the Defense is very good

2. our WR core is not good

3. JT needs to be the QB

4. Rude still is a Buckeye hater

5. just win baby .. 3-0

6. SEC is overrated ...

Bing, bang, boom....giddy up.

There, fixed that for you buddy.

[Rude]

Ohio State:

1. the Defense is very good

2. our WR core is not good

3. JT needs to be the QB

4. Rude still is a Buckeye hater

5. just win baby .. 3-0

6. SEC is overrated ...

It's not that I hate Ohio state. It's that I don't respect them. Urban Meyer was smart to go somewhere where he'd go undefeated every year. Playing in the SEC is brutal.

[Rude]

Ok so lets assume we give Ohio state 1 bad game. Who is ranked 2nd now??? TCU gave up 500 yards and 37 points to SMU?? What??? TCU has a talentless D. Like literally talentless. I hate polls as they only reward W/L, not quality. LSU shut down Auburn 1st half allowing 70 yards and 0 points. They completely dominated. What about ole miss. They average around 60 a game giving up 20 and won at one of the toughest places in the country. And it you wonder how hard it is to win there, ole miss was amazing the whole game but Bama had the ball with 3 minutes and a TD would win it for them. Georgia...I honestly think they are solid but not as good as LSU, but LSU started ranked lower on the year so...again the BS of polls. If TCU started ranked 25th this year what would they be ranked now?? 16th? Not a person would be calling for them to jump up to top 5.

I think there are several teams at the elite level: Ohio state, LSU, ole miss, ucla, Alabama. I think the rest are tier 2 teams. And if we talk overrated, the convo needs to begin with TCU and Baylor. Obvious Texas sportswriter conspiracy to make those 2 teams relevant as they are on par with being as impressive as Texas A&M--look up the wins, and A&M is just a decent team. Top 20 but that's it. If we look at the 1st 3 weeks of TCU's performance no one in these right kind would rank them number 2. Ohio state at least has a great D. They will be in every game with that D. LSU and bama have that D too. You can run through TCU like butter. They look like high school talent. It's like watching KY football in years past. Can't tackle. No speed. Sorry TCU fans out there but your teams sucks!!!

[Tom Banjo]

SEC looked better this week. Champs get a break like fsu did in close games last year. Sorry. ND looks all right. USC lose hurts pac 12. For another week sec supremacy is safe. Alabama out the race early. Interesting. Ole Miss is legit.

[Rude]

If nothing else at least we agree what band deserves the number 1 ranking

[Tom Banjo]

Ohio St can't lose it already. Ole Miss keeps winning they will leap frog Ohio st until the big showdown the looms. Couple more big wins. Otherwise LSU might be able to jump but I don't see any other team making that move without a buckeyes loss.

[Rude]

I have no prob with Ohio state as the 1. TCU doesn't belong in the top 5.

My top 3

Ohio state

Ole miss

LSU

I don't have a 4th as so many are equally good but unspectacular. I'm pretty shocked Michigan state got 11 1st place votes. U beat Oregon at home but you have looked very average besides that. Likely michigan state and Ohio state will go undefeated until last game. Not much danger for either until they meet.

Lets be honest. Would any team in the country play road games for example at LSU and bama as well as playing 5 other teams in the top 35 and go undefeated. It won't happen. No one is that good this year. Ohio state loses to 5 different SEC schools if they were in the sec yesterday with that performance. And a loss woukdvt mean they aren't even the best in the country. But you just can't play a schedule like Bama and expect to win them all.

FYI Bama has these remaining games lol

AWay

Georgia

A&M

Auburn

Miss state

Home

LSU

Tennessee

Bama never had a chance this year.

[Tom Banjo]

I hate this argument. I got a buddy that hates kobe. He says put LeBron on that team with Shaq and they win 5 straight. LeBron was in high school when Shaq was winning. It's a bs argument. We don't know if Ohio State could run the gauntlet in the SEC. I definitely think the SEC Conference schedule is the toughest. Not many in the SEC scheduling games like Oregon out of conference. Not even many on Virginia Tech level. If I had to play the plug and guess game, I think Ohio st would lose one game in the SEC to Alabama or Ole Miss. Otherwise I think they run the table. I definitely think Ohio State wins the SEC this year if they were in the conference. Add Ohio St everyone else has 2 loses. ND and Michigan St would probably hold their own. Alabama should run the rest of the table. Auburn and A and M don't scare me at all. They should be able to take LSU at home. We will have to see. I definitely think Ohio st in the swap scenario wins the SEC.

[Rude]

My only point was no one goes undefeated with Bamas schedule. No team has ever played more than 8 ranked in 1 year counting bowls. Also Not on that list was their win over Wisconsin. But you are correct, a weak Va tech is likely tougher than the big tens 3rd best in Wisconsin.

I'm guessing you aren't a huge ncaa fan. Those 4 away games on their own will lead to at least 1 loss. Away games at A&M are insanely hard to win. Bama almost came back b/c they were at home. Ole miss outplayed them all night. Look at ucla coming back at home. Ohio state retained at home. Mich state had the huge adv over Oregon at home. But if u play at Purdue and at Indiana and at Maryland there's no danger.

I'm done arguing this. Georgia will be the highest ranked b/c the easiest schedule in the sec. They lose on the conf championship and I predict 0 sec teams get in the playoffs.

[bs69]

A few observations: The MAC is not a bad conference and Northern Illinois may be the best of the bunch, I believe they have won 10-11 games the last five years running.

 

Ohio St. needs to settle on JT as the starting QB and they need to figure out the play calling. It looks to me like they are experimenting with different things knowing they can win with their defense. Another week or two and they will figure it out and start blowing people out. BTW, Ohio State's three opponents so far all have only one loss.

 

LSU looks really dangerous, Fornette is a stud, but I don't think he will be able to do it by himself against a good defense. The same goes for Chubb at Georgia. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

I still have my eye on Oklahoma as a sleeper this year, I think they come out of the Big 12 instead of TCU or Baylor.  

 

This week my top 4 for the playoff would be Ohio State, Ole Miss, Michigan St. and Notre Dame, with LSU waiting in the wings.

[Tom Banjo]

I think it's unfair to a ND, a Georgia, or Ohio St or anyone else that goes undefeated to take away from what,they've done because it wasn't the SEC schedule. You play the schedule you got. Bama plays UL Monroe this week. Easy bounce back game. I won't take a win off their column because of the opponent.

[Tom Banjo]

We all agree the SEC is the best. But games can be won on the road. Just ask Ole Miss. Road games are not unwinnable.

[Rude]

UK is a 2.5 point favorite at home vs ranked missouri, but was a 3 point dog at home vs unranked florida.  Missouri started overrated and are still overrated based on the spread.  Florida is at home facing a resurgent Tennessee team.  This should be a great game as both these programs are on the rebound, but i think UT will prevail even at the swamp.  BYU at Michigan is an intriguing game.  Cant believe Michoigan is almost a 6 point fav in this game.  Yes home field in the big house is a huge advantage but I dont think they are there yet, but then again how good is BYU.  They just lost a heartbreaker to UCLA.  The potential for a letdown game for them is real.  The easiest game of the week to pick vs the spread is LSU at Syracuse.  LSU just had a huge win and they have to travel to new york.  Yes they have amazing D and run game, but I expect a letdown and 24.5 is a ton of points on the road.  Take the points for some easy cash.  UCLA at Arizona is the last really intriguing game imo.  Josh Rosen had a freshman game last week and they were lucky to pull out a win, and Arizona wants to prove that they are a contender for the PAC 12 crown.  This victory will give Arizona the legitimacy they need moving forward.  UCLA goes down this week as they should have last. USC this week will also show that they are a little better than the 19 spot in the rankings.  I expect them to dominate ASU on the road.  They have a lot to prove and are LOADED with talent.  Yes a number 1 recruiting class in the nation is not as big early in their freshmen year, but will begin to bear fruit as the year and years progress.  USC by 17 on the road.

[Rude]

OMG how bad is Virginia. Besides sneaking by William and Mary they could easily be 0-4. Eek. Losing by 40 at home will not please the fans.

[Rude]

Do you think urban is maybe rethinking running tj Barrett out of town? Cardale had a few great games the end of last season but it looks like the Jamarcus Russell syndrome of having big bowl games and assuming it will always be like that. I don't think cardale is the one. Ohio states D is a top 15 D and will likely continue to improve defensively but the offense is seriously sluggish. The decision to not allow Braxton miller to compete for QB along with the Barrett railroading is hurting them offensively and slowly draining money from the Columbus economy as it looks like they will not cover the spread again. This is not last years team that was putting 50 a game on the board.

I think Ohio state is averaging something like 12-13 points a game in the 1st half. Urban obviously wanted to avoid a QB controversy so he committed to cardale as the starter as soon as last year ended instead of making him earn it over Braxton or TJ. Mistake IMO.

[Rude]

Here is espns football power index which is only result based which is based on score vs power of opponents which is only score based. This is more accurate based on actual results b/c anyone can see that Michigan state has not been dominant at all even vs weak opponents. Does not include this weeks games. This is strictly a performance based index. It's how you have played not how you were ranked to start. Obviously ole miss is number 1 as they have dominated more than any team.

adult image host

[bs69]

Lot of crazy games yesterday. I don't know if I should laugh at Tennessee or cry for them. Fourth and fifteen, seconds left, and you let them burn you deep for a touchdown to lose by one. Ouch! How about TCU getting lucky on the tipped pass? How good is Utah, or is Oregon bad? Ramps up even more next week with conference play all around. Should be good.

[Rude]

UK is a 2.5 point favorite at home vs ranked missouri, but was a 3 point dog at home vs unranked florida. Missouri started overrated and are still overrated based on the spread. Florida is at home facing a resurgent Tennessee team. This should be a great game as both these programs are on the rebound, but i think UT will prevail even at the swamp. BYU at Michigan is an intriguing game. Cant believe Michoigan is almost a 6 point fav in this game. Yes home field in the big house is a huge advantage but I dont think they are there yet, but then again how good is BYU. They just lost a heartbreaker to UCLA. The potential for a letdown game for them is real. The easiest game of the week to pick vs the spread is LSU at Syracuse. LSU just had a huge win and they have to travel to new york. Yes they have amazing D and run game, but I expect a letdown and 24.5 is a ton of points on the road. Take the points for some easy cash. UCLA at Arizona is the last really intriguing game imo. Josh Rosen had a freshman game last week and they were lucky to pull out a win, and Arizona wants to prove that they are a contender for the PAC 12 crown. This victory will give Arizona the legitimacy they need moving forward. UCLA goes down this week as they should have last. USC this week will also show that they are a little better than the 19 spot in the rankings. I expect them to dominate ASU on the road. They have a lot to prove and are LOADED with talent. Yes a number 1 recruiting class in the nation is not as big early in their freshmen year, but will begin to bear fruit as the year and years progress. USC by 17 on the road.

Decent analysis. Was dead on about LSU and USC and thought BYU would possibly have a letdown but then again I was concerned 6 was too many for Michigan to give so I'd say I was more off than on about that one. Michigan looked great and that's good for the big 10. Again Tennessee blows a big lead. They are one of the best 1st 3q teams in the nation but THE worst in q4. So far this year only 3 teams have lost when leading in the 4th by 13+. 2 of those are UT. I was way off on Arizona. Ucla completely dominated them. Wow. Scoring 6 TDs in the 1st 7 possessions sealed that game in a hurry. So is Utah for real?? The compleyely destroyed an Oregon team who is reeling. Obviously Mariotta was THAT good. Plus he's been solid as a rookie nfl guy. I didbt give him the props he deserved at Oregon. Again TCU shows that they may have the worst D in division 1. Texas tech decides to just run clock and give the ball back to TCU with 2 minutes left. Horrible coaching. Neither D is worth squat and instead of deciding to just march the ball down like they did all game they decided to run 3 plays right up the middle. Horrible play calling. Then the crazy tip on 4th down for the win. Texas Christian got some divine intervention. But they are a joke at 3rd with that defense. The big 12 is much improved and they will go down. It's like Ohio state vs Oregon. A good D will stop a good O, but a bad D won't stop anything. Defense wins championships. That's why no national champs have ever been a team that gives up 40 a game and it's usually a team with a top 10 D. Baylor on the other hand has a much better D than last year while still scoring in bunches. They are definitely the better of the 2. Ole miss showed the signs of injuries against Bama. Vandy has always been a defensive team but with ole miss' O line injuries, vandy was disrupting play after play. Vandy did the same to Georgia. Unfortunately for Vandy they again have offensive issues. Ole miss had a huge letdown game and was lucky to sneak away with the win. LSU didn't cover as expected on the road but how good is fournette. He had around 100 yards of rushing called bavk b/c penalties and still pulled over 200. He's huge with the moves of a smaller back. He has several highlight runs per game that are legit sportscenter highlights. Unfortunately for LSU their QB sucks and it will cost them 1-2 games this year. And UK pulls out a close one vs "ranked" Missouri. They are rated 42nd in espns FPI only 2 slots above UK hence UK was a 2.5 point favorite at home. Actually Missouri is ranked 11th best in the SEC based on actual play so far and their days ranked came to an end. I still don't see what the pollsters ever saw in them. Good riddance!!

[gr8fulpair]

Rude, why don't you give up that job you barely do and start writing for some SEC rag. If effort equals income you'd double your pay. You need a shtick of some sort, like writing with a hillbilly dialect, or comparing teams to chicks or something.

[Tom Banjo]

Missouri was ranked because the pollsters struggle to rank as many SEC schools as they can. I appreciate your metric but I think voters got 1 and 2 right.

[Rude]

Well that was just a weekly overall analysis. I like all college football. I watch about 5 games in full every week using my dvr.

The other issue is I have less an accent than most around these parts as well as being a dem in a very red state. Don't think any of that will fly in redneck sec country. The only thing many are NOT racist about in the south is their sports. In Alabama even the die hard racists loved Cam Newton, excluding the actual Bama fans. It's actually a tad strange when you think about it. Eastern Ky is full on hillbilly but if anthony Davis came to town the Klan would be there to greet him with cheers.

[Rude]

MC what about the coaches poll? Also that FPI index is pretty cool. It will give u an accurate point spread putting any team against each other and is pretty dead on. Assume 3 points for the home team and it had UK favored by 2. Ohio state favored by 27. That screen doesn't show the point value assigned to teams but the actual site does. It pretty much means that if say Ohio state hosted Bama OSU would be 1 point favorites. You can compare any 2 teams based on how they play vs other teams and those teams are rated upon how they play etc. I looked up tons of spreads and it was within a few of the actual spreads on all the games. It also can let u know which spreads may be too high. It now has Baylor as the number 2 after ole miss. It surprisingly had USC ranked really high and they destroyed. It had Missouri at like 43 and 1 point more than UK. So with home field UK was a 2 point fav vs the 2.5 point final spread. It also has Muchigan state at 15 points more than Air Force and they won by 14.

Here's the link. Look at any 2 teams playing and the far right column has a point number. Subtract 1 team from the other to see an appropriate spread. Since it's based on performance using point differential it reflects the play vs others not coaches writers or just blind talk. And bashing Missouri hurts no more than the bashing of Maryland as they are both bad teams. Missouri is down to around 50th in the FPI reflecting their true strength.

And btw BS69 Indiana is 71st in the FPI. I'm assuming it's b/c they barely sneak by ball state or Ohio etc. UK is 45th which seems pretty accurate to me. So by this if UK played at inndiama UK would be 4 point favorites.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings