TheWiz asked for me for my "official" prediction of the big game (I'm feeling generous):
Florida 45
Oklahoma 27 (including garbage TD)
Florida is gonna play its game and score at will against the # 58 ranked scoring defense. We've all seen what the Big XII South is really comprised of...
[TheWizOfOdds Composite Prediction Post]
Once again, the BCS blows. There, I said it. Oh, and crazy I know...but the state of Ohio goes 0-2. Cincinnati got beat by the best the ACC had to offer (8-4) Virginia Tech, in the lowest TV rated BCS game ever. People didn't even show up for the game...It wasn't close to a sell out.
Then tonight we get this flaming turd between the clearly overrated Flag Football Fluffers of Texas and the extremely boring, extremely ineffective honkies from tOSU. Thanks Bowl Championship Series!
Hey, it may have looked like like two Gumps humping a door knob for three quarters, but at least it was a close one, right? "The Big Twelve South and its amazing offenses of doom" is the biggest World Wide Leader fraud ever passed on the college football public.
I'm calling it right here: Florida is going to straight up murder Oklahoma's ass. I'm talking a 52-17 homicide. (it's gonna be like that old SNL skit with garden hose-style projective vomit everywhere on the OU sideline) It's gonna be yet another embarrassingly bad championship game match up that further fuels my playoff fire/hate for all things BCS.
- Leagues that should not get an automatic bid to the BCS:
Big 10 - 0-2 this season. Penn State got destroyed. The top two programs, OSU and Michigan, haven't won their last 3 appearance. Overall: 8-11 (.421)
Big 12 - How do you think Chokelahoma earned its nick name? 2 wins and 4 losses, not counting this weeks impending championship game embarrassment. Texas is the only team pulling the wagon with a 3-0 BCS record. Overall: 7-8 (.467)
ACC - Wow. This league is nothing but a punchline. Karma's a bitch after the ACC raided the Big East and C-USA to compete with the "big boys." Too bad they suck worse than ever. Make that "parody's a bitch." It's not just Florida State and a bunch of nobodies anymore. It's strictly nobodies. When your "champion" lost 4 games, you should withdraw from the BCS on moral grounds you selfish assholes. Overall: 2-9 (.182) Damn.
Meanwhile, Utah's got the Mountain West 2-0 in BCS games (that's 1.000 for those BCS apologists out there). Even the Wiggity-WAC has a better BCS record than the above conferences (1-1, .500). If you're wondering, the SEC is 11-5 (.688).
The NCAA needs to step in and do what's best for College Football. Put this pathetic excuse for a post season out of its misery.
[BCS Stats]
A metaphor
- Don't you love it when you wake up at 6 and feel like you just passed out at 5:30 after a night of debauchery and Irish car bombs? I went to bed at 11 and I didn't drink a drop, however I feel like God's thumping my brain and I can barely string sentences together. Is this what it's like to get old?
- The genius, Ole Miss AD, Pete Boone, came out a couple months ago and said Ole Miss is gonna get the biggest High Def video board in the SEC (what a tease - He even had the nerve to say "We're gonna do this thing right."). Then instead of bidding it out to a proven company like Daktronics, who did Auburn's kick ass HD video board and upgrade for $3 million (among countless other Pro video boards) he attempted to hand the bid over to a digital billboard company out of Laurel Mississippi who has never even attempted anything like this (HD) that specializes in Kentucky Fried Chicken signage (I sh*t you not). Then, before the bid could be officially awarded, luckily the younger more tech savvy fanbase got wind of it and raised holy hell. Now Telesouth, Ole Miss' advertising and marketing pimp is rebidding the deal in mid-May...but don't you worry Ole Miss fans!!!!!!1 This monster project will surely be ready for the Memphis game in September. Typical Old South bulls**t. Some Son of a prominent football player on the board of trustees: "Sorry we can get anything done right and in a timely manner cause... but hey! My cousin's got this great little KFC sign bidness down Laurel way...Yeah, he useta do dry-wall but he's tryin' his hand at outdoor signs an s**t. He says he can hook you boys up with a Jumbo-tron for cheap." Read more about "the progress" on a great new Ole Miss blog, The Red Solo Cup.
- My thoughts on the whole BCS "no plus-one" thing as posted in response to some Pac-10 fan douche on a California Golden Bears Football blog...
HydroTech said...
May 1, 2008 5:44 AM
Mike Wilbon may think blogs is the devil, but he's ok in my book. Why? Cause he's "a Big 10 guy" with some clout and perspective who actually believes in an 8 team college football playoff. Here's the truthiness...
[HT: GeorgiaSportsBlog]
It's amazing how many folks come to your defense when you demoralize the Big Ten for the second season in a row.
You still won't hear too much pro-SEC talk from the mainstream ESPN types (sportscenter, gameday), but at least Rome doesn't swallow the ABC/Disney, contractually obligated, Big-10 load which the rest of his network thrives on. It's great to see a few talking heads out there who can speak their mind without constantly worrying about who's in bed with who (ABC hearts the Big-10 for 100 Mil).
[ht: georgiasportsblog]
I just figured every southern college football fan should read this. It seems our pro-playoff sentiment is making waves, even in wacky California. To San Diego's credit, this largely military based settlement has always been (how do I say this) a little more grounded in reality than the rest of the west side. Note: [the additions are mine, not the author's]
By Brent Schrotenboer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Link
January 9, 2008
Back in the bad old days, a small group of U.S. senators from the South often used a delay tactic called the filibuster to obstruct progress for racial equality.
It didn't matter to them that it was morally wrong to do so, or that most everybody else demanded progress. They did it anyway because they had the power to do it and because it suited them [Very Nick Saban-esque, but we get your point].
Today, we have a similar political dynamic at play in college football – albeit with far less moral significance.
Two specific interest groups are standing against the wave of demand that rises every year for a major-college football playoff – the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences [Why? Because they are scared, no-talent pussies. Afraid of being exposed, embarrassed nationally for what they really are.]
Those conferences are filibustering the call for change – any change – to the college bowl system.
Yesterday, the president of the University of Georgia, Michael Adams, was the latest to make a public proposal for a playoff, this one involving eight teams. He said he wants change because of “widespread public lack of confidence in the current system.”
Which is sort of like saying the Democrats want change in Washington.
Of course they do.
Wake us up when there's an election, or when the Big Ten or Pac-10 commissioner is making such a playoff proposal [They never will. It's akin to a welfare recipient voting for legislation which forces them to get a job].
Only then will significant change happen. Just don't hold your breath in the meantime. It probably won't happen until at least 2014. If it does happen – and it probably will eventually – it probably only will be because the Big Ten and Pac-10 have been leveraged out of their filibustering power.
“The issue is, could there be an NCAA championship without the Big Ten and the Pac-10?” said John Sandbrook, a longtime UCLA administrator who conducted a report on the bowl system in 2004. “I think that would be a very interesting question to watch in terms of who stares the other one down.”
For example, Sandbrook said, let's say the Big Ten and Pac-10 stick with their beloved matchup tradition in the Rose Bowl [Why is it beloved? The Big Ten hasn't won the game in 8 years!] while the other conferences decided to stage a playoff without them. What happens when USC's football coach pursues a blue-chip recruit. Wouldn't the recruit ask the coach, “You guys can't compete for a national championship. Why should I go to USC?”
Doing so may be the only way to leverage the Big Ten and Pac-10 to participate in any playoff format, whether it involves eight teams or four.
Yesterday, Adams, who also serves as chairman of the NCAA executive committee, hinted at such leverage.
“If they chose not to participate, then I suspect the Cotton (Bowl) or Chick-fil-A (Bowl) here in Atlanta would be willing to pick up that fourth game” in an eight-team playoff, Adams said.
Adams also said his “fervent hope” was that “we could come up with a plan that they might decide is in their best interest as well. I think we would be poorer if there were not full participation by Pac-10 and Big Ten.”
Yesterday, as Adams' proposal hit the news, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany was ready. He had a statement for those reporters who called to ask. He noted the Big Ten and Pac-10 have a contract with the Rose Bowl until 2014 [to put that in perspective, at the going rate for a Rose Bowl broadcast, that's $240 Million guaranteed over the next 6 years..."Delany, your strings are showing"].
“We continue to support the current system and are strongly opposed to any form of a college football playoff, [We know that we are a clearly a 2nd tier conference and cannot compete on a level playing field, but we've got this sweet-assed deal with ABC, what a bunch of Idiots!]” he said.
The Pac-10 expressed similar sentiment yesterday.
They say it's about Rose Bowl tradition [their red herring, crutch of a bastardized bowl game], but those two conferences have at least two big reasons to oppose a change in the current system: money and power. The Rose Bowl deal with ABC is worth $30 million a year [wtf? Don't forget ABC is the parent company to "The World Wide Leader," ESPN], compared with Fox's $80 million deal for the other four major bowls, including the national championship, until 2010.
Changing the current system also might mean Big Ten teams actually would have to do some work to get into the national championship game.
This season, Ohio State proved it could get into the national title game by beating up on the likes of Youngstown, Akron and Kent State. Then the Buckeyes didn't have to play in a conference title game, unlike other conference champs. After that – presto! – they've “earned” a berth in the national championship game against Louisiana State, which beat them on Monday, 38-24 [With 7 of Ohio State's point scored in "garbage time"].
Six days earlier, USC beat Illinois in the Rose Bowl, 49-17 [it's a "great tradition" though]. The Rose didn't have to pick Illinois, a Big Ten team, to play in the game. It could have tried to pick better teams such as Georgia or West Virginia. But it went for tradition and picked Illinois.
“I don't believe they did themselves any favors this year with the kind of matchup they had,” Adams said. “And it may be after a few years of those kinds of matchups that they might think some of us in the South might be a pretty good draw.”
[signonsandiego.com with a hat tip to thewizardofodds]
And for those of you who might wonder why ESPN, and more specifically College Gameday, constantly uses their monopolistic platform to bash even the possibility of a playoff (I've heard Kirk and Lee on more than one occasion say "For those out there hoping for a playoff, It's Just Not Going to Happen. Forget about it.")...For those wondering "Why would the Nation largest sports network take such a negative, cut-and-dry view on a subject that the vast majority of fans want?"
Well, I found an equally cut-and-dry answer, in a great a year old Yahoo Sports article by Josh Peter about the supposed biggest power broker in College Sports... Big Ten commissioner, Jim Delany:
From Big Ten headquarters in Chicago, Delany presides over a college sports monarchy. The Big Ten is the nation's biggest conference, a collection of 11 universities that covers an area with almost 25 percent of the nation's TV households and prompts television networks to genuflect. When Delany arrived at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn., this year, employees wore buttons that proclaimed "Bristol is Big Ten Country."Your dead to me "World Wide Leader."
LSU Owns OSU
Congrats to The Bengal Tigers - Same Song, Different Verse - Another Boring BCS Game
Ohio State Still Can't Measure Up to The SEC
I Say Screw 'Em
With apologies to The Lloyd Carr Retirement Party, what a turdtastic New Years Day of College football. Wow, Bowl Gods/BCS Gurus... thanks for putting together such titillating match ups of top tier talent and teams. Behold the once meaningful Sugar Bowl (UGA 41, Hawaii 10) or the has-been respected Cotton Bowl (Mizzou 38, Arkanas 7) or the "Grandaddy" (of poop?), Rose Bowl (Southern Cal 49, Illinois 17). Yes, BCS, directly or indirectly thank you for another huge, steaming pile of crappy dung this holiday season. I needed that.
Maybe we blogging types should spearhead a nation-wide, post season Bowl boycott. Hmmm... Don't watch and don't attend the bowl games for a year?!? Interesting.
Hit those effers in the wallet! Screw them for thinking they can force feed us this processed, punchless excuse for a post-season. College football is the people's game, and these scrote sacks are trying to tell us how it's gonna be. Nonsense! But who is this proverbial "they?"
Contrary to popular belief, the NCAA is nothing more than an organization governed by the combined university presidents. Those same university presidents who constantly beg us alumni and fans for donations, support and attendance.
I don't think I've ever met a fan who can say with a straight face, "No, I think the BCS is the right way to go. It just works. Can't you see?" No. That's total balls and ass, and it was hard to even type.
Why can't the presidents see this as clearly as we fans? I'll tell you why...Those jackholes are thinking "What is better than guaranteed money in hand?" Basically, "Why change...We gettin' paid, son!" Yeah, you'll see this kind of backwards, short sighted, ignant behavior in all aspects of life.
That why so many dumbass are out there buying Certificates of Deposit at their local bank... "Well, I may only be earning 3% interest but it's guaranteed, bitch!" Who cares that the stock market is averaging 12% returns over say the last...forever. Who wants to put their dick out there like that?..."Mutual funds ain't guaranteed and they kinda confusing, right?"
In The SEC, the biggest opponent of a playoff system (proposed by The Florida President at the SEC meeting last spring) was Vanderbilt President (And Founding Tri-Lam), Gordon Gee. Obviously, Vanderbilt (a school that hasn't been bowling since The War of Northern Aggression) potentially has the most to lose from a change. Vandy's struggling pseudo-athletic department gets a much needed kick in the pants after every bowl season when the (oft unearned) pooled bowl payouts are spread evenly among the 12 SEC member institutions. The prospect of no more SEC welfare must be a chilling possibility to these "have nots."
However, if we can somehow guarantee that the Vanderbilts of the world will continue to get their government check on the first and the fifteenth, the sky seems to be the limit (example: guarantee each conference at least one spot in the playoff and spread the money around like normal - What's the difference between that and the BCS?). The NCAA would be printing money.
Just imagine, right now, January 2...after a few rounds of the intensely exciting and lucrative college football playoff, we'd be looking at the most amazing final four in sports...
LSU vs USC and Ohio State vs. Georgia
or
USC vs Georgia and Mizzou vs West Virginia
or who the hell knows...That the beauty of a playoff.
My question is this: Why do we support this crapass system, only to complain about it for the other 11 months of the year?
LSU is taking care of business...in the front
The Link Dump
- Garnet And Black Attack puts together The Week 2 SEC Power Poll. It's unanimous...LSU is the ass handing, chest thumping, wife stealing Bill Brasky of College Football. At least until next Saturday (who wants to bet LSU doesn't allow MTSU 45 points this weekend?)
- The LA Times kicks off the BCS drama extra early this season with mention of a USC, LSU and Oklahoma hate triangle.
- Some elderly A-hole crashed his mini-van into the goalpost during a high school football game in Wisconsin over the weekend. This just reinforces my belief that driving tests should be given to seniors starting with their 80th birthday. How many football games have to ruined?
- Kentucky Fans Rejoice! The Round Mound Of Touchdown, The Battle Ship Lorenzen, J-Load, The Pillsbury Throwboy, The Hefty Lefty (AKA Jared Lorenzen) should...if not for some unforeseen disaster (like complications from Gastric Bypass) be starting his first NFL game next week for the New York Giants.
- On the flip side, Ole Miss alum Eli Manning is going to miss the first start(s) of his career. Eli's out for at least a month with a "slightly separated shoulder." He is seeking a second opinion from Uber-Ortho, James Andrews here in The Ham. This really blows, cause Eli looked great in the opener. I was looking forward to Eli shutting up all those critical yankee a-holes. I guess that's an impossible feat though (they hate freakin' A-Rod).
- More Kige, anyone? Reader, Blake sends me a link to what is undoubtedly Kige's best non-sports related take to date. (wish he would delve into pop culture more often) As you can tell from Kige's lifestyle, he is so over the Hollywood scene and people like Nichole Richie.
I personally think the BCS is a good idea that makes college football unique and more exciting than any other sport. Unfortunately, it's only "good" and not "great." The BCS could be great without the influence of money. Having conference champions get automatic bids, is in my opinion, the worst part of the BCS and the reason why it's not quite living up to it's potential. Year after year, teams ranked higher in the BCS than a lower ranked conference champion get snubbed for the lower ranked conference champion because the BCS requires that the conference champion play in the BCS. Conferences have each paid large amounts of money to insure that their champions are insured a BCS bowl. This, in my opinion, is the mistake. It causes these "BCS Bowl Game whippings" you're talking about. Back in 2004 when Utah beat Pitt, I think Pitt was ranked like #20 in the nation and had 3 losses. The didn't deserve to be in the BCS. I think the teams that play in the BCS bowls should be the highest ranked teams to fill those slots regardless of whether they are conference champs or whether a conference has like 3 teams that would go to BCS bowls. Of course, that'd never happen because conferences are too afraid of not getting any teams into the BCS bowls, but I think if we want to see the highest quality games played in the BCS bowls, then just take the top ranked 8 or 10 teams in the BCS and stick 'em in the BCS bowls. With this type of system, Cal would have made a BCS bowl in 2004.
"I personally think the BCS is a good idea that makes college football unique and more exciting than any other sport."
Yeah, well your opinion is wrong. How does the BCS make College Football better than March Madness? The BCS Is Worthless. All it did is bring everybody together under one money making organization. It does nothing for the fans or players. If you want to claim that college football is unique (read: confusing and contrived) then say you want us to go back to the traditional Bowl arrangement. Right now, we've got a sh*t sandwich. But at least it's a unique sh*t sandwich, right?
College football is the greatest game in the world, and it would be even greater and more exciting if it had a legitimate ending. Right now, college football is the equivalent of "No Country for Old Men." It starts off badass then you end up thinking, this can't end well and you always end up with a "WTF?" feeling.