College Football: Mid-Season Report

[U2Bama]

lets talk about WSU - Never any respect! The Cougs are a damn good team this year. With one Loss to OSU - in which they played terrible. Jasson Gesser is awesome. If they end up in a rematch against OSU in the Rose Bowl - WSU will win. If one of the other top teams falter down the stretch (i would love to see VT beat / depants Miami - wishfull thinking) I would look for WSU in the Fiesta Bowl. They have 2 games left (at home vs. Washingotn in the apple cup and at UCLA - which ABC asked them to move from this weekend to dec 7 so they could carry it). UW game could be interesting because that is like a season to itself, but they will win. WSU will win their final 2 games. Wazzu will finish with 1 loss to a good OSU team and still no love. end of rant.

Well, DiGi, Wazzu definitely has the inside track to Pasadena, although USC really wants to make that trip from the 'hood up to the beautiful suburb north of town. Fortunately for you, you have beaten the trojans, giving them their only conference loss, and they still face a very good Notre Dame team. A re-match with Ohio State gives you a shot at redemption, about as close as you can come to making your season "perfect" despite a loss.

Wazzu has defintely emerged as the Pac 10 dark horse; everyone put their wagers on Oregon and/or USC, both of whom you have liekly rendered irrelevant. Best of luck to you.

An interesting note on your Dec. 7 UCLA game (it seems that many conferences without "chapionship games" aretrying to schedule big games on Championship Saturday - Big East has Miami/Va. Tech): : since you moved that game to late season , your team opted out of a scheduled trip to Hawaii but had to find a replacement to send to the islands. Well, it couldn't have happened at a better time: my Alabama Crimson Tide is on a post-season ban this year, so your AD called our AD to offer us the trip, giving our players something to look forward to on Thanksgiving weekend. It has gone over so well among Alabama fans (we travel very well) that the school has scheduled another game at the Rainbow Warriors' homefield next year, our final "banned" year.

~U2Alabama

 

[The Wanderer]

Pitt will beat Miami. And I do mean beat them.

 

[U2Bama]

Beat them like a drum?

Or beat them like they LIKE it?

 

[The Wanderer]

beat them, physically take it to them

that's what Pitt is all about, if Miami comes at them with their "let's just hang around and turn it on at the very end" mentality, it's a lock, the only thing that worries me is Pitt doesn't have a great offense and they struggle to put games away so Miami may still be in the game even if they're getting man-handled

 

[DiGi]

wanderer I hope you are right. The only team I hate more than Miami football is Duke basketball.

 

[Blue Room]

lets talk about WSU - Never any respect! The Cougs are a damn good team this year. With one Loss to OSU - in which they played terrible. Jasson Gesser is awesome. If they end up in a rematch against OSU in the Rose Bowl - WSU will win. If one of the other top teams falter down the stretch (i would love to see VT beat / depants Miami - wishfull thinking) I would look for WSU in the Fiesta Bowl. They have 2 games left (at home vs. Washingotn in the apple cup and at UCLA - which ABC asked them to move from this weekend to dec 7 so they could carry it). UW game could be interesting because that is like a season to itself, but they will win. WSU will win their final 2 games. Wazzu will finish with 1 loss to a good OSU team and still no love. end of rant.

Well thats the whole point. The best team they played, waxed them. If they had even been competitive in that game you might have a point. I'am a Michigan fan and that is like me saying if U of M didnt turn the ball over 8 times in the Notre Dame game they would only have one loss and be in BCS contention. They would have won that game if they had even played mediocre but they didnt. Teams that play for the national title find a way to win those games when the are playing poorly. They dont get their butts kicked.

I REALLY wish Iowa and OSU played this year. What a great game that would be. My hats off to the Hawkeyes, great team, they physically kicked Michigans butt at home. Being a die hard Michigan fan I can honestly say Michigan are still overrated right now. They have a "decent" team. But they are not top 10. I'am sure though if the Buckeyes are undefeated when they play Michigan they will be just a tad nervous. Which is good for Michigan. I just want Michigan to actually win whatever bowl game they go to rather than be embarrassed like last year and end the season on a bad note.

Look out for the Wolverines next year though. Most of our starters are back. They SHOULD be good.

 

[U2Bama]

But will you beat the Buckeyes in the Big House this year?

 

[DiGi]

Well thats the whole point. The best team they played, waxed them. If they had even been competitive in that game you might have a point.

I would not call it a waxing. I am also not saying they played well enough that day to beat OSU - they did not - otherwise they would be undefeated. The cougs have wins over good teams. They are playing very well right now and I just think that people in the majority of the country see that.

 

[Blue Room]

But will you beat the Buckeyes in the Big House this year?

No, we wont. Why? Because the game is at Ohio Stadium! LOL

As I said, OSU has the better team than Michigan. But given the history of Michigan knocking them off whenever OSU has a great year I think they will be nervous going into that game. Which bodes well for Michigan. Doesnt mean Michigan wins, but it helps them. I'am a bit concerned about tomorrows game versus the Badgers actually. I can see Michigan looking ahead to OSU. Wisconsin will give them a game, I guarantee it.

And I certainly am not saying WSU doesnt have a good team. I wouldnt want to play them in Pullman. I just dont think they are national title contenders this year.

 

[U2Bama]

No, we wont. Why? Because the game is at Ohio Stadium! LOL

Why do I keep thinking it is in Ann Arbor this year? Wannabe has already corrected me on this once. Either way, that game can always surprise us.

~U2Alabama

 

[Bono's shades]

Well, Iowa beat Minnesota today so they finish unbeaten in the Big 10 and will at least have a share of the conference championship. I never thought I would see that happen again in my lifetime! And Illinois is hanging in there against OSU.

I haven't watched OSU much this year. They didn't look good last week when I checked in on them during commercials during the Iowa-Northwestern game, but early in today's game their defense looked positively terrifying. They are looking a bit more mortal at the moment though...

 

[Blue Room]

OSU is very one dimensional on offense. Their defense is what is winning them games. Thats why I think a team like Miami who can and will score on them could beat them, possibly badly.

Some very questionable calls by the officials in the Illinois game today. Illinois scored twice and the refs didnt give it to them. Very poor, and kind of fishy IMO. Big Ten officials have been complete crap this year. I dont get it.

But we will see, I doubdt my Wolverines will beat OSU next week. But you never know. Michigan looked aweful today so maybe they are due for a decent performance.

 

[U2Bama]

Some very questionable calls by the officials in the Illinois game today. Illinois scored twice and the refs didnt give it to them. Very poor, and kind of fishy IMO. Big Ten officials have been complete crap this year. I dont get it.

No offense to any OSU fans here, but in overtime, Beutjer's pass to Walter Young on third down he was in bounds catching it and should have been awarded a TD, bringing up an extra point and 2nd overtime. I have seen all the replays as well and I think that he did have control of the ball, as opposed to the claim that he was "bobbling" it.

This is yet more evidence that Joe Paterno is right in his assessment of Big 10 officials, and I agree with his front door decoration:

I don't know who's officials are worse: the SEC or Big 10.

It's a shame that OSU & Iowa can't face off on the field, as it is that we (Bama) can't have a re-match with Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, but we must serve our sentence.

~U2Alabama

 

[speedracer]

No offense to any OSU fans here, but in overtime, Beutjer's pass to Walter Young on third down he was in bounds catching it and should have been awarded a TD, bringing up an extra point and 2nd overtime. I have seen all the replays as well and I think that he did have control of the ball, as opposed to the claim that he was "bobbling" it.

So what is the precise NCAA rule on establishing possession?

IIRC, Walter Young had a grasp on the football for about 1/2 second while he had his foot down inbounds, but then he started falling over, lost the ball, and hit the ground.

 

[U2Bama]

So what is the precise NCAA rule on establishing possession?

speedracer:

I am not sure of the exact rule on ball control on and endzone pass, then falling out of bounds. Particularly, there have been inconsistencies on such calls. The SEC refs awarded Vanderbilt a TD last year against Auburn when the ball bounced off of the Vandy receiver's hands in the endzone as he dove out of bounds. Needless to say, I watched last night's play live and saw it replayed and slowed for closer review several times, and each time it looked like a completed pass.

On another note, it looks like the Penn students had trouble tearing down the goal post after beating Harvard yesterday.

~U2Alabama

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

The Big Ten refs for the Illinois/Ohio game ate dinner friday night at the place where I work. None of them wore glasses. One of them had on an XFL jacket. I think maybe they need to have their eyes checked.
Anyway, there is something about Memorial Stadium that causes poor officiating. The Michigan game two years ago, almost every Bears game that has been played there this year and now the Ohio state game. I don't know if Illinios would have beaten Ohio St. if they would have tied it up again but they definately tied them. Possession rules are so arbitray.....

 

[U2Bama]

Possession rules, holding calls, so many of them are judgement when it comes dow to it; you could probably call a hold on every offensive play if you were picky.

Now I hear that the Big 10 officials union want Paterno to be sanctioned or silenced; give me a break! Officials are the ultimate authority in the final outcome of every game that is played; nothing can be done to overturn their calls, so it should at least be acceptable to criticise them (which is a courageous thing to do since JoePa has to face them about 8-10 times a year).

~U2Alabama

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

According to a reporter, Coach Pa has an effigy of a ref hanging by a noose on his office door. I think this is the reason why the Union is upset with him. Moreover, I don't feel that Paterno has the right to touch any ref, no matter how poor the call was. He crossed the line there, if sanctions are to be brought against him, that's a pretty damn good reason why. Like mom always said, "keep your hands to yourself."

 

[Blue Room]

Well, Jo Pa was unhappy with the ref's for the Michigan game because they ruled a completion for the Nitany Lions an incompletion. Yes, it was a bad call. But they did a review of the entire game and there were just as many missed calls that went against Michigan.

The Illinois game though just seemed lopsided to me. Just about every crucial call went for the Buckeyes. Just seemed fishy to me as I said before. The Big Ten as a whole has alot more to gain if OSU makes it to the title game. My guess is that Michigan wont catch any breaks this Saturday either. If they win it will be because they actually beat OSU and not because of the refs.

I guess my point is that usually the bad calls even out if you look at a game as a whole. But there have been a few instances this year where it appears this may have not been the case.

 

[U2ME3]

waaaaa

My guess is that Michigan wont catch any breaks this Saturday either. If they win it will be because they actually beat OSU and not because of the refs.

start making your excuses now.

 

[Blue Room]

What excuses??? You guys are suppose to win for crying out loud and it is at your stadium. Last time I checked you are ranked 2nd and we are 9th. You are undefeated, we have lost twice. So what are the excuses? Looks like you have a better team to me. So if you do somehow lose, it would appear that YOU are the one that would need to make excuses.

I may be wrong but based on the games I have seen the Buckeyes play lately, most of the calls seem to benefit them in crucial situations. All I 'am saying is that I would expect this trend to continue since OSU and the Big 10 has way more riding on this game than Michigan does. Maybe I will be proven wrong. I hope so. I would just like to see it come down to who physically wins it on the field and not due to a call by a referee either way.

 

[U2ME3]

nobody wants to see the refs determine who wins the game. the team who plays better that day should win.

also, do you actually think the refs will make calls in osu favor because a big ten team has a chance to play in the national championship game? i truly believe that getting breaks/calls even out over the course of the season. you win some, you lose some.

whatever happens sat., it's gonna be a hell of a game. imo the best rivalry in college football.

go bucks!


p.s. sorry if a pissed you off blue room

late

 

[Blue Room]

No, I'am not saying that a ref will make a blatant wrong call to favor a team. What I mean is that in a situation where a play or call is not clear the ref's seem to error in favor of the Buckeyes. Could be just a coincidence. But I have noticed a trend. The Illinois game just pointed it out alot more clearly. I havent heard alot of Buckeye fans say that Illinois didnt actually score. I think they know they did. Still, that doesnt mean Illinois wins the game. But there should have been another OT (assuming the extra point would have been made).

I agree though, it is a great rivalry and actually one I enjoy more than Michigan State or Notre Dame. I hate those two programs! LOL I dont like OSU but I can give them some respect (just a little though ) I have a neighbor who is a Buckeye fan and he shows tremendous class when it comes to this game. I like to think I do the same in return. Now my MSU neighbors are a different story! They can be very nasty if they win.

Good luck Buckeyes (But not to much )

PS, U2ME3, no offense taken and I wasnt pissed.

 

[speedracer]

From a Michigan fan...

Congratulations to Ohio State; they played a solid game and deserved to win.

Michigan really should have scored on the one drive in the first half when John Navarre threw the corner fade to Braylon Edwards, who was covered by Chris Gamble. I know Gamble is a good athlete...but Edwards had about a 6 inch height advantage, and the ball was thrown nice and high. Edwards didn't need to push off on Gamble to catch it.

 

[U2Bama]

i truly believe that getting breaks/calls even out over the course of the season. you win some, you lose some.

That's an excellent point, BUT, when you have 3 closes losses as Penn State has had, or when you have 1 close loss to the conference champion/national champion contender as Illinois had, the balancing act is irrelevent. I continue to agree with Joe Paterno and his actions and door deorations (his wife added a JoePa doll to the ensemble last week).

We got upstaged by our in-state rival Auburn Saturday at our own stadium. No one picked them to win. I sat through the game in the stadium with my wife, who is an Auburn fan. The road team has won the past 4 years.

I am disturbed by the increasingly violent post-game celebrations breaking out around the country. The savagery caught on videotape in Morgantown, West Virginia Thursday night and in Columbus, Ohio Saturday night was horrifying, with the cars turned over and storefronts being kicked in. I hope I never live to see that first hand. It's football, it should be fun and you should celebrate in class.

I wish I were going to Hawaii this weekend, as long as they don't start a fight on the field with our team as they did with Cincinnatti.

~U2Alabama

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

in Columbus, Ohio Saturday night was horrifying, with the cars turned over and storefronts being kicked in.


Yeah, the word is that after the game, one Carr was flamed in the Ann Arbor press, while 9 cars were flamed on the streets of Columbus.



LJ for Heisman!