NCAAF 2014

Off Topic
41

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
On a totally separate note: my girlfriend has just been hired as a professor at Central Michigan University. From what I can tell after my first two visits, the town is beautiful and looks like a great place to catch a game on a nice fall day. Really hoping to catch a few games this season (tickets are like $10). If we eventually settle there long term, I will TOTALLY adopt the Chippewas as my new team of interest. FIRE UP CHIPS![/quote]

Congrats to her! That is great. I am right down 127 in Lansing. I have only been to Mt. Pleasant once. On the way to Traverse City my wife and I got off the highway and drove through town and checked CMU. Nice campus. Smaller school than I am used to, but has a “pleasant” feel haha.

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
On the other hand, I have hated nearly every move that’s happened since the 1990s. So part of me might be OK with a Power Five that essentially ONLY plays games against other Power Five schools (this also is being discussed, although I can’t imagine most schools will agree to it because it means playing only 6 home games a year instead of the 7/8 that most have become accustomed to), and a smaller division for the MAC, SunBelt, etc.
[/quote]

We seem pretty much on the same page with all this stuff. Above you make a good point about “Power Five” only playing “Power Five” would mean a 50-50 home-road split and teams would lose home games ($$$), if they do this I am sure they will have a plan to recoup those lost dollars and then some. I would love to see more competitive non-conference games on average. Would be much easier to compare teams and know who to put into the playoff.

42

Season gets going tonight (will technically last night if you count the Georgia State game). A&M and SC could be interesting, but I am not very high on A&M this year. I expect SC to win big, and I don’t get SEC Network so I won’t be watching any. Also a lot of people are taking about Ole Miss so I might turn into their game tonight against Boise. Boise is not quite the non-conference test they have been in years past, but at least it is something to hold me over until Saturday…

Also hopefully my Golden Gophers can get their FCS win for the year tonight since they have Eastern Illinois (and not NDSU lol).

43

Virginia Tech FTW

44

I would love to see Florida State lose this game. Can’t stand Jamies Winston.

45

1.florida state
2. Bama
3. Texas a&m
4. Michigan state

This coming from a huge Michigan fan. GO Blue!

47

[quote]barbedwired wrote:

  1. florida state
  2. Bama
  3. Texas a&m
  4. Michigan state

This coming from a huge Michigan fan. GO Blue![/quote]

I was very low on A&M (and it seems very wrong). Have not seen then play yet, but I definitely want too. That A&M vs. SC was a prefect example of why preseason ranking don’t mean much. Glad the committee is waiting to start ranking the teams.

Big perception week for the B1G.

MSU @ Oregon 6:30 FOX
Michigan @ ND 7:30 NBC
VT @ OSU 8:00 ESPN

These teams need to impress since every has Wisconsin’s sorry excuse for a passing game stuck in their mind after week 1. Really too bad Wisconsin cannot throw the ball enough to keep teams honest, I think that is going to limit a very good football player in Melvin Gordon.

It will be a strange sight with Spartans, Wolverines, and Buckeyes cheering side by side lol.

Also, MaximusB I am looking forward to that USC @ Stanford game. I think your Trojans can win the Pac-12 South. I do not like UCLA.

48

[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
I would love to see Florida State lose this game. Can’t stand Jamies Winston.[/quote]

Fuck you and the tiny little burro you rode in on.[/quote]
They win the national championship, they are going to be one of the most hated teams.

51

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
On a totally separate note: my girlfriend has just been hired as a professor at Central Michigan University. From what I can tell after my first two visits, the town is beautiful and looks like a great place to catch a game on a nice fall day. Really hoping to catch a few games this season (tickets are like $10). If we eventually settle there long term, I will TOTALLY adopt the Chippewas as my new team of interest. FIRE UP CHIPS![/quote]

CMU is a great place. Lived there for two years and wish I could go back. Beautiful little town where I walked to everything that I needed to get to. Great atmosphere and some talented FB players emerge once in a while. During my stay, CMU beat MSU two in a row… Still have a shirt somewhere that says, once was lucky, now its a tradition.

Good luck to your girlfriend. What department?

jnd

52

[quote]JMac31 wrote:

[quote]barbedwired wrote:

  1. florida state
  2. Bama
  3. Texas a&m
  4. Michigan state

This coming from a huge Michigan fan. GO Blue![/quote]

I was very low on A&M (and it seems very wrong). Have not seen then play yet, but I definitely want too. That A&M vs. SC was a prefect example of why preseason ranking don’t mean much. Glad the committee is waiting to start ranking the teams.

Big perception week for the B1G.

MSU @ Oregon 6:30 FOX
Michigan @ ND 7:30 NBC
VT @ OSU 8:00 ESPN

These teams need to impress since every has Wisconsin’s sorry excuse for a passing game stuck in their mind after week 1. Really too bad Wisconsin cannot throw the ball enough to keep teams honest, I think that is going to limit a very good football player in Melvin Gordon.

It will be a strange sight with Spartans, Wolverines, and Buckeyes cheering side by side lol.

Also, MaximusB I am looking forward to that USC @ Stanford game. I think your Trojans can win the Pac-12 South. I do not like UCLA.
[/quote]

I am psyched about playing Stanford this week, especially since we upset them last season.

I am worried about Stanford’s physicality, they beat you up all game long.

I was very happy to see my former teammate and good friend Tony Boselli get honored into the College Football Hall of Fame before last Saturday’s game. Considered among the best left tackles to ever play the game, he deserved every bit of this, and watching him and Willie McGinest go one-on-one nearly every day was breathtaking to witness.

Michigan State vs Oregon is probably the game of the week to watch.

53

Catch of the week.

54

[quote]MaximusB wrote:

[quote]JMac31 wrote:

[quote]barbedwired wrote:

  1. florida state
  2. Bama
  3. Texas a&m
  4. Michigan state

This coming from a huge Michigan fan. GO Blue![/quote]

I was very low on A&M (and it seems very wrong). Have not seen then play yet, but I definitely want too. That A&M vs. SC was a prefect example of why preseason ranking don’t mean much. Glad the committee is waiting to start ranking the teams.

Big perception week for the B1G.

MSU @ Oregon 6:30 FOX
Michigan @ ND 7:30 NBC
VT @ OSU 8:00 ESPN

These teams need to impress since every has Wisconsin’s sorry excuse for a passing game stuck in their mind after week 1. Really too bad Wisconsin cannot throw the ball enough to keep teams honest, I think that is going to limit a very good football player in Melvin Gordon.

It will be a strange sight with Spartans, Wolverines, and Buckeyes cheering side by side lol.

Also, MaximusB I am looking forward to that USC @ Stanford game. I think your Trojans can win the Pac-12 South. I do not like UCLA.
[/quote]

I am psyched about playing Stanford this week, especially since we upset them last season.

I am worried about Stanford’s physicality, they beat you up all game long.

I was very happy to see my former teammate and good friend Tony Boselli get honored into the College Football Hall of Fame before last Saturday’s game. Considered among the best left tackles to ever play the game, he deserved every bit of this, and watching him and Willie McGinest go one-on-one nearly every day was breathtaking to witness.

Michigan State vs Oregon is probably the game of the week to watch.
[/quote]
That must be some of the coolest memories my friend.

UCLA is rumored to be good this year.

55

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]MaximusB wrote:

[quote]JMac31 wrote:

[quote]barbedwired wrote:

  1. florida state
  2. Bama
  3. Texas a&m
  4. Michigan state

This coming from a huge Michigan fan. GO Blue![/quote]

I was very low on A&M (and it seems very wrong). Have not seen then play yet, but I definitely want too. That A&M vs. SC was a prefect example of why preseason ranking don’t mean much. Glad the committee is waiting to start ranking the teams.

Big perception week for the B1G.

MSU @ Oregon 6:30 FOX
Michigan @ ND 7:30 NBC
VT @ OSU 8:00 ESPN

These teams need to impress since every has Wisconsin’s sorry excuse for a passing game stuck in their mind after week 1. Really too bad Wisconsin cannot throw the ball enough to keep teams honest, I think that is going to limit a very good football player in Melvin Gordon.

It will be a strange sight with Spartans, Wolverines, and Buckeyes cheering side by side lol.

Also, MaximusB I am looking forward to that USC @ Stanford game. I think your Trojans can win the Pac-12 South. I do not like UCLA.
[/quote]

I am psyched about playing Stanford this week, especially since we upset them last season.

I am worried about Stanford’s physicality, they beat you up all game long.

I was very happy to see my former teammate and good friend Tony Boselli get honored into the College Football Hall of Fame before last Saturday’s game. Considered among the best left tackles to ever play the game, he deserved every bit of this, and watching him and Willie McGinest go one-on-one nearly every day was breathtaking to witness.

Michigan State vs Oregon is probably the game of the week to watch.
[/quote]
That must be some of the coolest memories my friend.

UCLA is rumored to be good this year. [/quote]

Not all memories were cool. Starting a fight with the starting inside linebacker Jeff Kopp was not bright on my part. But yes it was pretty cool at time. In 1995, we played Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl, and we practiced at Cowboy Stadium and used the visitor locker rooms, pretty fucking cool.

UCLA struggled against Virginia this past Saturday. When I say struggle, I mean the UCLA defense scored 3 TD’s to narrowly keep the win. On paper they look good, but the O-Line stunk to holy hell and didn’t help protect their QB for shit.

56

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
UCLA struggled against Virginia this past Saturday. When I say struggle, I mean the UCLA defense scored 3 TD’s to narrowly keep the win. On paper they look good, but the O-Line stunk to holy hell and didn’t help protect their QB for shit. [/quote]

x2

I can see them losing sooner rather than later even though they were a popular playoff and even champion pick. Maybe the “neutral site” game against Texas and the Pac-12 opener @ ASU.

57

[quote]MaximusB wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]MaximusB wrote:

[quote]JMac31 wrote:

[quote]barbedwired wrote:

  1. florida state
  2. Bama
  3. Texas a&m
  4. Michigan state

This coming from a huge Michigan fan. GO Blue![/quote]

I was very low on A&M (and it seems very wrong). Have not seen then play yet, but I definitely want too. That A&M vs. SC was a prefect example of why preseason ranking don’t mean much. Glad the committee is waiting to start ranking the teams.

Big perception week for the B1G.

MSU @ Oregon 6:30 FOX
Michigan @ ND 7:30 NBC
VT @ OSU 8:00 ESPN

These teams need to impress since every has Wisconsin’s sorry excuse for a passing game stuck in their mind after week 1. Really too bad Wisconsin cannot throw the ball enough to keep teams honest, I think that is going to limit a very good football player in Melvin Gordon.

It will be a strange sight with Spartans, Wolverines, and Buckeyes cheering side by side lol.

Also, MaximusB I am looking forward to that USC @ Stanford game. I think your Trojans can win the Pac-12 South. I do not like UCLA.
[/quote]

I am psyched about playing Stanford this week, especially since we upset them last season.

I am worried about Stanford’s physicality, they beat you up all game long.

I was very happy to see my former teammate and good friend Tony Boselli get honored into the College Football Hall of Fame before last Saturday’s game. Considered among the best left tackles to ever play the game, he deserved every bit of this, and watching him and Willie McGinest go one-on-one nearly every day was breathtaking to witness.

Michigan State vs Oregon is probably the game of the week to watch.
[/quote]
That must be some of the coolest memories my friend.

UCLA is rumored to be good this year. [/quote]

Not all memories were cool. Starting a fight with the starting inside linebacker Jeff Kopp was not bright on my part. But yes it was pretty cool at time. In 1995, we played Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl, and we practiced at Cowboy Stadium and used the visitor locker rooms, pretty fucking cool.

UCLA struggled against Virginia this past Saturday. When I say struggle, I mean the UCLA defense scored 3 TD’s to narrowly keep the win. On paper they look good, but the O-Line stunk to holy hell and didn’t help protect their QB for shit. [/quote]

While UCLA looked awful, keep in mind that they were essentially starting a football game at 8 in the morning. When they get back on their own coast they will probably look a little better. I don’t get why west coast teams would agree to noon games on the east coast.

58

LSU better thank there lucky stars that the D line for Wisconsin got bummed up or that came would have looked really ugly. Alabama and Florida State both looked unimpressive. Georgia looked like one of the best teams in the country to me. Didn’t see all of Louisville-Miami to me but Miami has so many athletes but they just need a QB.

Passing thought: I would like to see Tyreek Hill and Stacy Coley in a foot race.

59

[quote]jnd wrote:

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
On a totally separate note: my girlfriend has just been hired as a professor at Central Michigan University. From what I can tell after my first two visits, the town is beautiful and looks like a great place to catch a game on a nice fall day. Really hoping to catch a few games this season (tickets are like $10). If we eventually settle there long term, I will TOTALLY adopt the Chippewas as my new team of interest. FIRE UP CHIPS![/quote]

CMU is a great place. Lived there for two years and wish I could go back. Beautiful little town where I walked to everything that I needed to get to. Great atmosphere and some talented FB players emerge once in a while. During my stay, CMU beat MSU two in a row… Still have a shirt somewhere that says, once was lucky, now its a tradition.

Good luck to your girlfriend. What department?

jnd[/quote]

Vocal performance (she’s an opera singer).

We went to the season opener on Thursday night vs. UT-Chattanooga. Ugly win for the Chips, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere, and we’re probably going to attend the CMU-Syracuse game in two weeks. I’ve found myself thinking the same thing over and over recently: I hate the NFL and NCAA as business organizations, but I still love the game of football.

You’re absolutely right about the town; I’ve been there three times and have totally fallen in love with the place. Really neat little downtown with a couple of good restaurants, fun shops, a hot yoga studio (a shared passion for me and my GF).

Anyways, back to NCAAF 2014…

60

A few thoughts on week 1:

First, I’ll drop my “former college player” card here for a second and say this: the most deceiving game of the entire season (possibly save for what happens in bowl games) is week 1. The first week of the season ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS has some kinks to be worked out, and some teams, units, and players that looked absolutely DREADFUL in week 1 will mesh as the season goes along, while some teams, units, and players that looked great in week 1 will flop and founder by mid-October.

With that said…my week 1 thoughts:

  • I wouldn’t overreact to FSU or Bama’s week 1 struggles. They played decent opponents. I am surprised that Bama went with one QB all the way after all the chatter about the QB battle.

  • Nor would I overreact to UCLA’s struggle at Virginia. They opened on the road against a major conference opponent, not against some slug FCS team at home. The offensive line is usually one of the slowest units on the team to jell. They’ll get better.

  • Ohio State will be just fine with Barrett playing QB instead of Braxton Miller, and I hate Ohio State. This will only matter in 1-2 games all season.

  • Cannot believe Wisconsin choked that game away in such peculiar fashion with Melvin Gordon virtually on the bench for the second half. Why, with a big lead in the fourth quarter, is your best RB on the bench? Why does he get only three second-half carries? WTF?

  • Penn State was lucky to beat UCF in Ireland, but Hackenberg is the genuine item at QB and has some decent WRs. That line will be a problem all season.

  • Weekly Central Michigan University thought: terribly ugly performance by CMU on both sides of the ball (winning 20-16, but needing a second-half rally against an FCS team), but new RB Thomas Rawls looked good. Not sure why Titus Davis was such a non-factor. The defense played very well in the second half. It will take more than that to compete for the MAC title, though.