LOUISVILLE vs RUTGERS - MAKE YOUR PICK

My Take wrote:

I follow Rutgers and have enjoyed their season so far. Their defense and ability to run are fine, but I think a poor passing attack and lack of big-game experience will hurt them against Louisville. Cards 24-17, and I hope I am wrong!

Yea! I was wrong! And glad of it!

I don't understand how a game like this shows the conference is inferior. People say that the SEC and the Big 10 are so great because they beat each other up, well, that is what is happening in the Big East. Top half of the Big East is getting pretty competitive. Rutgers looks a lot better last night then I was expecting.

The Big Least wrote:

The Big Least once again proves its inferiority. I'm hoping that a few more melt downs and some poor performances at bowl games will cost them their automatic BCS birth.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

For clarity:

1) Louisville will beat Rutgers.

2) Ohio State will beat Michigan.

3) Illinois is a better football team now (and when they played Ohio State) than they were when they played Rutgers. Illinois is going to be a very good football team as early as two years from now. Ron Zook has made a difference, and he's getting some top recruits.

4) Ohio State will be in the National Championship game. Louisville still has 4 games to play. Their fate is in their hands, but it will be tough for them to win all those games, though they are very very good.

For clarity: You were wrong. Dead wrong.

Well, Rutgers pulled it off. I'm a little bit surprise, but not terribly surprised.

Since someone mentioned going to a playoff system...I've changed my mind on this. I once thought college football needed to do this, but now I no longer do. Regular season games are in effect playoff games, and it keeps people glued to their sets during the regular season, and it is why ESPN now has games on Thursday night -- TONS of money to be made from the current system. I'm not sure it will ever change, and if it does, then people just won't watch until playoff time -- just like major league baseball and college basketball (though major league baseball is having trouble even getting people to watch the playoffs). Regular season college football games bring in tons of viewers, because tons are riding on each and every game. Works well for them.

ChuckS wrote:

RU Fan,

Thanks man. Class of 00, ran for Mulqueen 96-00.... no reason to lash out superfluously against a fellow alum. Or wait, this is LetsRun...I guess that's what posters do, right?

Get 'em Chuck (superfluously? that's lots of syllables for a letsrun takedown - better dumb it down for the audience)!

Hope all's good.

Now, who called UL? please, bitches. nobody's getting thru that rutgers d we saw in the 2nd half. the adjustments they made at the half show that they have the smart coaches and players with the heart to not let down when they could have. Go RU!!!

I think you could pull off a playoff system with just 4 teams. You still will run into the 5th and 6th teams thinking they deserve to be included, but it could work. It would add just one additional game, and it would still make regular season games important. I think they should add more weight to strength of schedule so that teams don't play cupcake teams trying to stay undefeated.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

Since someone mentioned going to a playoff system...I've changed my mind on this. I once thought college football needed to do this, but now I no longer do.

LongHorns wrote:

Just cause you went to Miss St doesn't mean the SEC is god and UT hasn't done anything.

OU was a top 15 team when we played them

Nebraska was number 17

and we still have A&M who is ranked.

Oh and Colt who had started a whole one game when we played Ohio State last time, who now has a higher QB rating than Troy Smith or Brady Quinn the Heisman hopefuls. Listen to the experts who some of which have Colt as #2 in the heisman voting.

I didn't go to MSU. Texas does not have as good a resume as either Auburn or Florida. If either of those teams wins out they deserve a BCS championship berth before Texas.

Who cares that some people have Colt #2 in the Heisman voting? He doesn't even have the best passing numbers by a QB with the name Colt.

I didn't even know Rutgers had a football team.

More importantly, why should I care?

Rutgers....Boise State....these are patsy teams that any respectable Big Ten, Pac 10, etc team could beat. Just because they play in inferior conferences and have undefeated records does not make them national championship contenders.

The reality of the situation is that OSU and Michigan are the class of college football this year, and their matchup will in all reality be the national championship.

someone wrote:

I think you could pull off a playoff system with just 4 teams. You still will run into the 5th and 6th teams thinking they deserve to be included, but it could work. It would add just one additional game, and it would still make regular season games important.

I think they should add more weight to strength of schedule so that teams don't play cupcake teams trying to stay undefeated.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

Since someone mentioned going to a playoff system...I've changed my mind on this. I once thought college football needed to do this, but now I no longer do.

Well, college basketball has 65 teams and people still argue over who the 65th team is, and people complain that the 66th team got jobbed. I swear they could allow every team but one to participate in the NCAA basketball tournament and people would have arguments about why that one team left out should be in instead of someone else. A football playoff would be exciting. The NCAA basketball tournament is the most exciting tournament in all of sports (mainly because of the pools), but major college football already makes so much money in the current system. Hard to imagine it changing, and I admit that I like seeing #1 Ohio State play #2 Texas in the second game of the season knowing that so much rides on it. In what other sport does the second game (or even the FIRST) of the season mean so much?

How do you all know the Big East is so inferior? Are you some type of college football guru/distance runner hybrid? Until they go up against the other big conferences in the bowl games we won't know. The regular season is a playoff, you lose, you go to the end of the line. That's how it should be. Right now, Ohio State, Michigan, Rutgers, Boise..thats who should be alive in the title chase. Who cares who's better? They don't want a playoff, so this is the way it should be. 3 of those teams lose, then we have the debate with the one loss teams. Crappy title game? Who cares, OSU/Michigan is going to destroy whoever they play anyway, so maybe we shouldn't even have this debate knowing that the champs will be one of 2 teams.

T-man wrote:

[quote]ChuckS wrote:

Get 'em Chuck (superfluously? that's lots of syllables for a letsrun takedown - better dumb it down for the audience)!

Hope all's good.

Now, who called UL? please, bitches. nobody's getting thru that rutgers d we saw in the 2nd half. the adjustments they made at the half show that they have the smart coaches and players with the heart to not let down when they could have. Go RU!!!

T-man: word. All is well; I've made $40 bucks now from this clown Alex who keeps betting against us...ha!

How's W-field and Geiger these days? :) Still running?

Go Rutgers....and the heck with all the naysayers and disbelievers. They're awefully quiet now.... especially "Alex"!!!

But Flagpole...it works for the NFL. The ratings for those games each Sunday and Monday are always way high. And even if college went to a playoff, it would not change the feel for each individual regular season game. And the reason is because the anticipation for each game builds and builds so much because you get a whole week to prepare, think and talk about the next game. Unlike College Basketball and especially MLB where you have multiple games per week. That would never happen in football, and that is why it is such an anticipated sport and why each game is meaningful, even if it may not have national championship implications!

im still waiting for my asswhoopin by callem, he said come back tomorrow, well im here buddy, where are ya?

hrn fan wrote:

And even if college went to a playoff, it would not change the feel for each individual regular season game.

The OSU UM game would not mean as much, because win or lose both of those teams would be invited to a playoff. It would still be an intense game, and bragging rights would still be on the line, but this year the electricity around that game is enormous, that is the NC game.

Still, some interest would be lost in college football. I know with the NFL, I watch more games late in the season when they mean more and during the playoffs. With college football, I'll watch any meaningful game right from week 1, and I know I'm not alone.

Yep...I'm retarded. UofL's defense either got really bad throughout the season, or they were just bad to begin with. Seeing that we graduated a lot of talent last year on defense I'm going with the latter.

So, Rutgers will likely lose to WVU when they travel to Morgantown. That would leave a 3-way tie for first in the BEast. BCS standing would break the tie...I think when UofL beats S. Florida at home and then travels to PITT and beats them that will hopefully give UofL the boost to recieve the BEasts auto-bid.

There is only way we can solve this BCS crap, debating the merits of one conference with another, is through a playoff system. That's not going to happen, so the next best thing are the Bowl results. Either UofL, WVU, or Rutgers will play an SEC team. So we'll see what happens then. Either Florida or Auburn will have to lose another game by season's end. My vote is for Auburn to lose. Michigan or Ohio State also have to lose another game. Texas's game @ Kansas State will be dangerous. USC still has some very losable games against Cal and Notre Dame.

When all is said and done their could be two BEast teams in the top 8, and two SEC teams. I would absolutely LOVE to see a UofL vs Florida bowl game. The best of the SEC vs the best of the Big East. Or even a Michigan vs UofL Bowl.

Of the one loss teams left USC is in the driver's seat. If they win out I see them in the title game. They have a much harder schedule ahead of them than any other 1 loss team. So how about this...

Ohio State vs USC for the national title

Michigan vs Texas

UofL vs Florida

WVU vs Geogia Tech

*Sorry Auburn, stupid BCS rules state the ACC champion gets to go to a BCS bowl...boooooo. We need a playoff.

That's how I see it going down.

PS: UofL over Florida in triple overtime, 50-46, both teams go over 500 yards.

PSS: I pray to the football gods that Michael Bush returns next year.

Alan

they did it. they f'n did it.

When I saw they were down 25-7 I said to myself.."yeah, kinda figured they'd lose, I hope they make it decent".

when they shut down L'villes offense I started thinking they could get close.

When Judge Ito missed the field goal, I thought " sigh, it was too good to be true".

Second chance, make.

Incredible. Worth the 130 year wait.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

Still, some interest would be lost in college football. I know with the NFL, I watch more games late in the season when they mean more and during the playoffs. With college football, I'll watch any meaningful game right from week 1, and I know I'm not alone.

I don't think a playoff is necessary, as it may detract from the suspense all season; however, a one-game championship AFTER the purported BCS championship would probably resolve most of the controversy 80% of the time.

This particular year IF Rutgers and Boise State remain undefeated (which is especially doubtful in the case of Rutgers), they should square off in the second-best BCS bowl, a consolation game of sorts.