College Football 2006-2007

[Hewson]

Great game last night. RU still has to beat WVU in Morgantown on 12-2...not an easy task.

One of my best friends played offensive tackle at Rutgers many moons ago, he's quite stoked these days.

But for Rutgers to play in the Fiesta Bowl, they need a miracle. They have to win out (Possible), and Fla has to lose to FSU, Auburn has to lose to 'Bama, Texas has to lose to A&M (or the Big 12 title game), USC has to beat Cal and Notre Dame but lose to Oregon, Arkanasa has to lost to LSU and Ohio State would need to thump Michigan by 20+ points.

A lot has to happen.
I'm rooting for it all.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Great game last night. RU still has to beat WVU in Morgantown on 12-2...not an easy task.

One of my best friends played offensive tackle at Rutgers many moons ago, he's quite stoked these days.

But for Rutgers to play in the Fiesta Bowl, they need a miracle. They have to win out (Possible), and Fla has to lose to FSU, Auburn has to lose to 'Bama, Texas has to lose to A&M (or the Big 12 title game), USC has to beat Cal and Notre Dame but lose to Oregon, Arkanasa has to lost to LSU and Ohio State would need to thump Michigan by 20+ points.

A lot has to happen.
I'm rooting for it all.

Not all of that needs to happen. Rutgers needs to win out (obviously), but they are already #3 in the Sagarin computer poll's ELO_CHESS format, which is what the BCS formula looks at. ELO_CHESS factors in only schedule strength and W/Ls- no credence is given to margin of victory) If they can hold their spot in this poll (and the other computers), they should rise up in the human polls enough by seasons end to have a shot. You have to figure that at least a few of those other teams will lose along the way in Conference title games and big rivalry match ups. Even if they don't it will be close.

These TV experts only look at the here and now when it comes to BCS standings and don't crunch any numbers based on the potential future results.
Remember two weeks ago when the ESPN boys thought that WVU couldn't get to #3 even after a few key losses by teams ahead of them?

I'm very interested in seeing the standings after this weekend's games.

BTW, when did your friend play?

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

if rutgers goes undefeated and ends up as the only undefeated team in the nation and still have a snowballs chance in hell of even playing for a national championship, let alone winning one, is exactly why i can't take college football serious... other than for gambling reasons, of course.

If they are the ONLY undefeated team, they get in, IMO. THe trouble is, the B10 champ probably runs the table as well.

That said, if Schiano has any long range plans to stay in Piscataway, it would be in his best interest to upgrade the schedule. He can't do anything about the league he's in, but he does have 4-5 OOC games to schedule each year.

Yes, they need a playoff. If only a 4 or 8 team one. Until then, it's just like boxing- you might be able to decide it in the ring, but more often you are at the mercy of the judges.

 

[Hewson]

BTW, when did your friend play?

83 to 86

 

[Hewson]

He can't do anything about the league he's in, but he does have 4-5 OOC games to schedule each year.

Well Schiano has been upgrading the OOC schedule a bit already.
This year they played North Carolina and Illinois, who though not great teams are from 2 power conferences. Navy (who RU thumped 34-0) is also decent this year (or was till their QB got hurt) at 6-3 with the 3 losses to RU, Notre Dame and a 1 pointer to Tulsa. And Ohio at 7-3 is one of the better MAC teams.
Howard, well that is the one cupcake that should definitely be replaced.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

the only question that matters of course is wether or not the state of new jersey will be willing to pony up the cash to keep him from bouncing to miami after this season

 

[Mr. BAW]

USC has to beat Cal and Notre Dame but lose to Oregon...I'm rooting for it all.

 

[Hewson]

other than for gambling reasons, of course.

Over 54.5 ND/AFA

 

[Blue Room]

didn't think rutgers had a chance after that kickoff was run back for a TD... great comeback, great win.

but alas... the fact that if rutgers goes undefeated and ends up as the only undefeated team in the nation and still have a snowballs chance in hell of even playing for a national championship, let alone winning one, is exactly why i can't take college football serious... other than for gambling reasons, of course.

get a damned playoff already... the system is a joke.

Rutgers wont be the only undefeated team though. Michigan or Ohio State is most likely going to be undefeated. The winner of that game is going to the title game. So its a battle for the #2 slot basically. Then there is Boise State who is also undefeated. There is no way they get to the title game. They will be lucky to get a BCS bid. But why dont they deserve it if Rutgers does?

I dont think they will get to the title game unless something similiar to what Hewson posted happens. If someone like Florida wins out, they should be there. I know this keeps getting thrown out there. But honestly, do you think if Rutgers played in the SEC they would be undefeated for the whole season? I would say the odds are strongly against it. The Big East is improved I will admit. But its basically three teams (Sorry, Pittsburgh, S. Florida, etc are not great teams even though their records are decent) and only one of the 3 good teams played a "decent" non conference opponent from a good conference and that was Louisville who played Miami. Miami is a decent opponent but lets face it, they are not great this year either. If Rutgers wins out they deserve the BCS bid they will get. But I'm not sure about going to the title game.

Here is a scenario that could happen though. If the team that wins the title game has one loss AND Rutgers goes undefeated and wins their BCS bowl game against a good opponent. They MAY get the AP poll number 1. So you would have a split national champion. Sort of like what happened a few years ago with LSU won the BCS game but USC was voted AP number 1.

I agree, there needs to be some type of playoff. None of this would be an issue then. Except you would still have issues over what teams get to make the playoff. Unforetunately its not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

the only question that matters of course is wether or not the state of new jersey will be willing to pony up the cash to keep him from bouncing to miami after this season

After the events of the last season and a half at "Da U" I would be surprised if Schiano would take that job. Even though he was on the staff there previously.

He has built a nice little program that is still on the rise. He gets to work with smart kids that you'll find on the honor roll, not the police blotter.

 

[zonelistener]

That's pretty sweet.

I find this whole Rutgers run quite miraculous! I remember having a friend drag me to a Rutgers game un college at Giants Stafium. What a painful experience.

Ha! go SUNJ!

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

83 to 86

1986 was my freshman year at PSU. The Rutgers game was the first game I attended as a student, so he probably was on the field that day. I'm sorry if hit him with a marshmellow. Ah the good ole days....

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Rutgers wont be the only undefeated team though. Michigan or Ohio State is most likely going to be undefeated. The winner of that game is going to the title game. So its a battle for the #2 slot basically. Then there is Boise State who is also undefeated. There is no way they get to the title game. They will be lucky to get a BCS bid. But why dont they deserve it if Rutgers does?

I dont think they will get to the title game unless something similiar to what Hewson posted happens. If someone like Florida wins out, they should be there. I know this keeps getting thrown out there. But honestly, do you think if Rutgers played in the SEC they would be undefeated for the whole season? I would say the odds are strongly against it. The Big East is improved I will admit. But its basically three teams (Sorry, Pittsburgh, S. Florida, etc are not great teams even though their records are decent) and only one of the 3 good teams played a "decent" non conference opponent from a good conference and that was Louisville who played Miami. Miami is a decent opponent but lets face it, they are not great this year either. If Rutgers wins out they deserve the BCS bid they will get. But I'm not sure about going to the title game.

Here is a scenario that could happen though. If the team that wins the title game has one loss AND Rutgers goes undefeated and wins their BCS bowl game against a good opponent. They MAY get the AP poll number 1. So you would have a split national champion. Sort of like what happened a few years ago with LSU won the BCS game but USC was voted AP number 1.

I agree, there needs to be some type of playoff. None of this would be an issue then. Except you would still have issues over what teams get to make the playoff. Unforetunately its not going to happen anytime soon.

I'm not doubting the difference in conference strength between the BE and the others. But already this season WVU and Louisville have reached the point in the BCS standings where they were in great shape to play in the championship game before they lost. Despite what the talking heads had to say about it.

The BE is as strong as its ever going to get this year. L'ville, WVU and Rutgers all have as good a team as they've ever had- and its happening all at once, like planets all lining up. That and wins over Miami, Maryland, and other BCS conference members like Ill and UNC have the league positioned well in the computers. Sagarin has the BE as the #2 conf in the nation as of right now. Do I believe that? No way. But it is what it is.

I see Rutgers being no worse than #4-6 in the BCS after this weekend.

 

[impy13]

Hook em, Rutgers!

A National Championship berth is getting less and less far fetched.

I might add I meant for us. I think Clark thinks I meant for Rutgers. Rutgers won't play in the NC game and I don't believe they should.

Michael Wilbon guaransheeded Northwestern beating OSU this week. Skip Bayless chose Michigan/Texas as his NC game, and Woody Paige picked OSU/Florida. The pundits are divided, but no one so far (at least on all the shows I watched today) believes that Rutgers belongs in the NC hunt.

I do think they deserve a BCS bowl if they remain undefeated, though.

 

[Blue Room]

I'm not doubting the difference in conference strength between the BE and the others. But already this season WVU and Louisville have reached the point in the BCS standings where they were in great shape to play in the championship game before they lost. Despite what the talking heads had to say about it.

The BE is as strong as its ever going to get this year. L'ville, WVU and Rutgers all have as good a team as they've ever had- and its happening all at once, like planets all lining up. That and wins over Miami, Maryland, and other BCS conference members like Ill and UNC have the league positioned well in the computers. Sagarin has the BE as the #2 conf in the nation as of right now. Do I believe that? No way. But it is what it is.

I see Rutgers being no worse than #4-6 in the BCS after this weekend.

I would guess they will be ranked 6th. Like you said though previously. A LONG way to go. So many things can happen. The other factor is a team like FL and TX play a conf. championship game, they win, it helps them alot with the computers. Another outside factor is Cal or USC. Either wins out (especially USC) they will be right up there also. USC would have to beat Cal, Oregon, Notre Dame and UCLA. They get all those wins and then factor in their Arkansas win at the beginning of the year. They will be right there. I just dont see Rutgers overcoming that kind of competition. It is feasible, but unlikely IMO. They still have to get by West Virginia anyway. That wont be easy for them.

 

[Blue Room]

Michael Wilbon guaransheeded Northwestern beating OSU this week. Skip Bayless chose Michigan/Texas as his NC game, and Woody Paige picked OSU/Florida. The pundits are divided, but no one so far (at least on all the shows I watched today) believes that Rutgers belongs in the NC hunt.

I do think they deserve a BCS bowl if they remain undefeated, though.

Great! Skip Bayless is on Michigan's side. Thats almost as bad as the Corso kiss of death! I think he is the only one of the national media that even thinks Michigan has a chance to beat OSU. As a Michigan fan though I like that no one gives them a chance. Michigan typically plays well when they are the clear underdog and no one thinks they have a chance. Reminds me of another game they played in South Bend in September. Michigan supposedly had no shot against the "savior" Saint Weis (Mr. Expletive). Although, I think OSU is WAY better than ND.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

The pundits are divided, but no one so far (at least on all the shows I watched today) believes that Rutgers belongs in the NC hunt.

I don't know that they "belong" either, but everybody on the TV is speaking from a historical "Rutgers sucks" point of view. With the computers and how the BCS is formulated, its all about the numbers. They missed that point a few weeks ago when they debated weather WVU could make up all that ground in the standings. They did. It's obvious the "experts" don't crunch any numbers before opening their mouths. Other than "Florida(11-1) > Rutgers(12-0)". Thats the only math they know.

Jerry Palm is the only one I know that does look at the formula in depth. I've yet to hear his take on this.

I do think they deserve a BCS bowl if they remain undefeated, though.

Well, if they do go undefeated they will get the BE's automatic BCS berth.

 

[Screwtape2]

The whole strength of schedule argument is flaud. Look at the one loss teams:
Michigan (if they lose to OSU) beat a #2 Notre Dame team but got Wisconson & Iowa at home. Pretty easy schedule considering how down the Big Ten is this year.
Ohio State (if they lose to Michigan) beat a #2 Texas but the other ranked teams they played are no longer ranked (Iowa & Penn State). Again, a weak Big Ten.
Texas beat Oklahoma but are playing against a terrible Big 12 conference. They were almost beaten by Texas Tech and Nebraska. Nebraska might get them a second time around.
Florida has played a good schedule so that's a tough call.
USC has played all their tough games at home. I think you have to recognize that and give less merit to the record.
Cal has only played and won against one noteworthy team, Oregon. If they beat USC, they still wouldn't be playing the as high of ranked teams as Rutgers or the otehr one loss teams.
Now look at Rutgers if they win out, a win against #3 ranked Louisville and if West Virginia stays in the top ten another win against a top ten team. That's up there with the other BCS hopefuls. It doesn't matter if one of the hopefuls lost to a ranked team, Rutgers played the most important game in the school's history and won. When has a loss ever been more important than a win?

One more thing, for the first four or five weeks, alot of the ranked teams are there or so high because of media predictions, not actual play.

 

[Blue Room]

The whole strength of schedule argument is flaud. Look at the one loss teams:
Michigan (if they lose to OSU) beat a #2 Notre Dame team but got Wisconson & Iowa at home. Pretty easy schedule considering how down the Big Ten is this year.
Ohio State (if they lose to Michigan) beat a #2 Texas but the other ranked teams they played are no longer ranked (Iowa & Penn State). Again, a weak Big Ten.
Texas beat Oklahoma but are playing against a terrible Big 12 conference. They were almost beaten by Texas Tech and Nebraska. Nebraska might get them a second time around.
Florida has played a good schedule so that's a tough call.
USC has played all their tough games at home. I think you have to recognize that and give less merit to the record.
Cal has only played and won against one noteworthy team, Oregon. If they beat USC, they still wouldn't be playing the as high of ranked teams as Rutgers or the otehr one loss teams.
Now look at Rutgers if they win out, a win against #3 ranked Louisville and if West Virginia stays in the top ten another win against a top ten team. That's up there with the other BCS hopefuls. It doesn't matter if one of the hopefuls lost to a ranked team, Rutgers played the most important game in the school's history and won. When has a loss ever been more important than a win?

One more thing, for the first four or five weeks, alot of the ranked teams are there or so high because of media predictions, not actual play.

You just used your own argument about how it is flawed to say that because Rutgers beat the #3 team at the time they should be up there. Its based on who people played, what conference they are in (tradition, Big East has little to none), where most of the top prospects go (not the Big East, they get some, but not like the other majors). Most of the top talent goes to the major conferences. Its not a cut on Rutgers, its just a fact that there are more top notch athletes in the big 4 conferences. They have more tradition, they have more talent, that is why they have more clout and I think they should.

To say Rutgers is even on the same level as Ohio State, please. I'm a Michigan fan that hates OSU and I say that. Are you honestly saying that if Rutgers played USC, Florida, Texas or Michigan you think Rutgers would and should be the favorite to win? You are one of the few that would think that. Rutgers is having a good year and they play in a conference that makes that possible. Its that simple.

Michigan's schedule is easy?. Gee, we will have just had to have faced a #1 and #2 team in this season. Not to mention Wisconsin who is a very good team also. The Big Ten is weak? Penn State would beat most teams in the Big East and they are middle of the pack in the Big Ten. Happy Valley is not an easy environment to play in. Michigan had to play them there. Then lets examine a mid range to upper range Big East team. Pittsburgh, got CRUSHED at home, by Michigan State, 3rd to last team in the Big 10. But you are right, Rutgers just played juggernauts every single week! The big conferences beat up on each other. The middle range teams in the big conferences are all decent teams. The Big East has 3 good teams, thats it.

I'm done arguing about it, it goes round and round. I dont think most people that follow college football would agree with most of your theory though.

 

[U2ME3]

 

[VertigoGal]

^ hahaha

wow, so who else watched UGA kill Auburn?

 

[Mr. BAW]

I relished in their agony.... I also wanted Clemson to go down but no chance...SC and Florida is ugly but good for me..long way to go at this point, 7-7 in the 3rd.

 

[kellyahern]

SC and Florida is ugly but good for me..long way to go at this point, 7-7 in the 3rd.

As a FSU alumni, I have a quandry for this game - who do I root for? My disdain for Spurrier is sort of making me root for Florida, and I think rooting for Florida is grounds for revoking your diploma if you're a FSU grad .

It's just not as fun to hate the Gators since Spurrier left .

 

[Mr. BAW]

I'm on the other side wherein I've always been a Spurrier fan since his playing days...he could coach for Jamaica Jr. College and I'd root for 'em..he's such a gamer...OK, here it goes....

time-out...(switches channels to CA vs. AZ)...I'm pulling for AZ in that one...!

YUCK! that was not good...

 

[kellyahern]

If I went to another school, maybe I'd like him too. But I was at FSU from 1994-1998 and he's broken my heart one to many times .

Anyway, Gators.


No I can go back to rooting against them .

 

[Mr. BAW]

And I'm a happy camper that Arizona just knocked off CAL...now if USC can get passed Oregon tonight, CAL next week, who knows...

 

[phillyfan26]

Spurrier kills his team by settling for a 48 yard field goal. Why run the ball with 3 timeouts, 25 seconds, on the 32 yard line? Why? They needed that down and they lost it.

 

[Mr. BAW]

USC 14 Oregon 0 at half...

Texas bites the dust versus an overenergetic KSU...things are looking good for a spot or two upward...

 

[Blue Room]

And I'm a happy camper that Arizona just knocked off CAL...now if USC can get passed Oregon tonight, CAL next week, who knows...

Just beat Notre Dame. The only Saturday this year I will be rooting for USC.

I guess it shouldnt matter though. Even if ND wins out, at best they will have the same record as Michigan and Michigan obviously beat them head to head, BADLY. So they "shouldnt" jump Michigan regardless of what happens. But I have seen the pollsters pull some crap in the past.

What a shake up Saturday though. Florida should have lost also.

 

[Blue Room]

I seriously doubt anyone on Michigan's team is fearing anything.

Should be a great game. Looks like Michigan will have everyone back for the game. I like our chances. OSU will be favored by just about everyone, they are #1. Typically thats when Michigan plays very well against them. Look at last years game. Michigan was an average team with a pathetic defense. OSU had to do a last minute drive to beat us.