2013 NCAA College Football

[RPMPIRE]

Also, if Stanford DBs have softer hands they win that game.  They had 2 INTs that were dropped right in their hands with nobody else around that were dropped, as well as at least one other where it was in a guys hands (but with a receiver playing defense on him) that could have been caught.

But to MSUs credit ... I love seeing a team win a game with a defensive stop like that.  I mean, it wasn't at the goal line or anything, but it was still a great play.

Agreed. Also, those 2 dropped INTs ended up in MSU scoring.

Stanford really made it easy on MSU in that final drive - no adjustments made (pretty much ran all the time), didn't even go uptempo, and failed to read the defense where MSU pretty much crowded the box with 8 players.

[Golfingdad]

Agreed. Also, those 2 dropped INTs ended up in MSU scoring.

Stanford really made it easy on MSU in that final drive - no adjustments made (pretty much ran all the time), didn't even go uptempo, and failed to read the defense where MSU pretty much crowded the box with 8 players.

Oh, and after Stanford tried the Wildcat near their own goal line in the first half, which got stuffed because the right CB completely abandoned his man, knowing it was going to be a run ... how come Stanford coaches didn't just say "Hmm, lets try that again later on a third and short later in the game and let the RB know to peek and see if the CB does that again, and if he does, throw it to that WR!!"

Regardless ... a lot of entertaining football yesterday.  Amd more to come tonight, tomorrow and Monday!!

[saevel25]

It was a pretty good Rose Bowl overall, but I really don't understand what Stanford kept doing in the second half. Michigan State proved that they won't be able to run against their D-Line, yet they still kept going at it. It reminded of me when Oregon and Auburn played in the title game and Oregon just kept trying to run up the gut with no luck at all. It's either Shaw was thinking that his Stanford team was going to do what they did best to get them where they were, which was running the ball, or he really didn't have much confidence in his QB. I don't have the stats in but I think Kevin Hogan becomes a mediocre passer away from home, especially in the red zone.

Well look what happen to OSU in the Big Ten Champ.. game. Hyde and Miller were averaging over 6 yards a carry, gashing up the middle. They try to run that QB keeper to the side, with Hyde being the lead blocker, and MSU stopped them there. I think OSU would have had a better chance letting Hyde use his 230 lb frame to bash his way through a small gap in the middle than trying to use him as a lead blocker. They really didn't run that play successfully all night.

Honestly, I have no problem with Stanford's call. They have one of the best running backs in the nation. They hang their hat on running the ball and pushing people around. It isn't about not having faith in their QB. It was all about sticking to what got them there. What if the QB threw an incomplete pass. They would get ripped for not running the ball which they are one of the better teams in the nation at doing. So. I don't mind the call at all, just execute the play.

[MS256]

UCF from the start looked like the bigger stronger team and I doubted if any speed advantage Baylor had would be enough to win.

Michigan State at this point is definitely a team that can play with anybody. Shame there's not a playoff this year.

Stanford (like Alabama hopefully) learned that you can't get away with being predictable in short yardage unless you can clearly manhandle the other team.

Once again disappointed in many of the bowl game pairings. Raises my eyebrows when Pac 12 teams and SEC teams are rarely matched up as many teams as each conference has in bowl games.

Once again never really know what to expect in bowl games. Many times one team plays like they are happy to be there and have everything to play for, and the other team is just going through the motions, especially when they are playing an underdog.

[RPMPIRE]

Honestly, I have no problem with Stanford's call. They have one of the best running backs in the nation. They hang their hat on running the ball and pushing people around. It isn't about not having faith in their QB. It was all about sticking to what got them there. What if the QB threw an incomplete pass. They would get ripped for not running the ball which they are one of the better teams in the nation at doing. So. I don't mind the call at all, just execute the play.

I can definitely understand the choice to run the ball and do lean towards the reasoning of doing what got them there in the first place. I'll take back what I said about Stanford making it easy on MSU's defense, which is where credit is due in the first place. Agree that Stanford didn't execute, but really started to also get one-dimensional in the second half where it looked like they were choosing plays 3:1 in favor of running the ball. They did get some good running plays in, but it started to become very predictable. On 4th and 1, running seemed to be the smarter decision, but previous plays before going into that, they could have at least tried one pass play to spread it out a little bit.

[MS256]

Oh well. Oklahoma was the better team tonight. At least freshman running back Travis Henry really looked good but that's about it.

Try again next year.

At least now maybe these idiots around here won't think we have a game won before it's even played. I tried to tell them.

(Hate it when I'm right).

[teamroper60]

I think the outcome of the games so far is a GREAT thing for college football.   Let's face it, prior to the game tonight, Alabama was still considered by most to be (at worst) the second best team in the country.   After tonight, maybe not so much..    Even if Auburn were to win the NC, I think the concept that all the other conferences are drastically inferior to the SEC has been debunked by that Oklahoma win..  The 'Bama loss tonight, the Michigan State and Nebraska wins and the American Athletic conference winning all three of their games so far (which means at worst, they go 3-1) shows a greater parity in college football than previously believed.  I see that as a HUGE thing going into the playoff era where teams are likely to be picked based on the perceived strength of their conference and their schedule.

[boogielicious]

Oh well. Oklahoma was the better team tonight. At least freshman running back Travis Henry really looked good but that's about it.

Try again next year.

At least now maybe these idiots around here won't think we have a game won before it's even played. I tried to tell them.

(Hate it when I'm right).

Bama's D was not up to there usual standards this year.  They would make a great play, then a head scratcher on the next play.  Their games are still fun to watch though.

[saevel25]

Glad to see the all mighty Alabama No Roll Tide get stomped on by a Sooner team who didn't even deserve to be in the Sugar Bowl over a team like Oregon Baylor. Though the result was a great game, just saying. The mighty SEC doesn't look so mighty this year, not as dominant.

I hope Auburn shows up, or they might get run out of the arena by FSU.

[David in FL]

Glad to see the all mighty Alabama No Roll Tide get stomped on by a Sooner team who didn't even deserve to be in the Sugar Bowl over a team like Oregon Baylor. Though the result was a great game, just saying. The mighty SEC doesn't look so mighty this year, not as dominant.

I hope Auburn shows up, or they might get run out of the arena by FSU.

The same Baylor that got stomped by UCF of all teams?!

The smart money says that even if they "show up", Auburn gets pretty much run out of the arena.  FSU is the real deal this year.  Anything can happen in a game like that though!

[saevel25]

I am not basing the selection on the fact they lost their bowl game. That is not relevant. What is relevant is the fact that a 3 loss sooner team gets to go ahead of a 2 loss team from the same division, and a 2 loss PAC-12 team who has been better than them all year. We can easily sit here and say, "Well it turned out good, we got one heck of a game". That is like going for 4th and 3 and making it. We all praise the selection, yet the result has no baring on the actual selection process to begin with. We like to use hindsight to justify it, but the selection of the Sooners ahead of some other teams was not justified. The only reason they got to go was because of the all mighty $$$$$$$.

[MS256]

Bama's D was not up to there usual standards this year.  They would make a great play, then a head scratcher on the next play.  Their games are still fun to watch though.

Alabama was never as good this year as they were given credit for. They lost too many pieces from last year's team including the offensive line coach and defensive backs coach (who ironically is now FSU's defensive coordinator). I actually thought we would be lucky to win 9 games this year, but it turned out the rest of the conference wasn't very good either.

Oklahoma's quarterback turned into Johnny Unitas and played a heck of a game. Reminded me of the game that Steven Garcia had against Alabama 3 years ago (it happens).

There were two huge favorites in bowl games this year (Baylor and Alabama) and both of them lost (not all coincidence).

[Golfingdad]

Glad to see the all mighty Alabama No Roll Tide get stomped on by a Sooner team who didn't even deserve to be in the Sugar Bowl over a team like Oregon Baylor. Though the result was a great game, just saying. The mighty SEC doesn't look so mighty this year, not as dominant.

I hope Auburn shows up, or they might get run out of the arena by FSU.

I just think these bowl games are evidence that the AQ conferences are a lot closer than we all liked to believe.  Granted, they are a slightly different animal than the rest of the season due to the month layoff, and the fact that it's only one game for each team, but still.  The consensus was that the Big 10 was weak, the Big 12 was a little better, and the AAC was a big joke.  Heck, until Fresno State lost, we were ranked AHEAD of UCF.  That turned out to be the big joke.

UCF looked mighty impressive in their win over Baylor.  That same Baylor team who obliterated Oklahoma 41-12 earlier this year.  And we saw how impressive Oklahoma looked last night against Alabama.  Michigan State showed that the Big 10 is no loke against Stanford.

I'm pretty excited to see how both games tonight play out.  And, obviously, Monday as well.  ...................  Not Saturdays or Sundays game though, I don't even know why those exist.  There should be a requirement that all non-BCS games have to be played prior to New Years.  (The Cotton Bowl is fine ... that's like the Player's Championship of bowl games)  Capital 1, Outback, and Gator are usually good too, so I'm OK with them being on New Years too.

[MS256]

I just think these bowl games are evidence that the AQ conferences are a lot closer than we all liked to believe.  Granted, they are a slightly different animal than the rest of the season due to the month layoff, and the fact that it's only one game for each team, but still.  The consensus was that the Big 10 was weak, the Big 12 was a little better, and the AAC was a big joke.  Heck, until Fresno State lost, we were ranked AHEAD of UCF.  That turned out to be the big joke.

UCF looked mighty impressive in their win over Baylor.  That same Baylor team who obliterated Oklahoma 41-12 earlier this year.  And we saw how impressive Oklahoma looked last night against Alabama.  Michigan State showed that the Big 10 is no loke against Stanford.

I'm pretty excited to see how both games tonight play out.  And, obviously, Monday as well.  ...................  Not Saturdays or Sundays game though, I don't even know why those exist.  There should be a requirement that all non-BCS games have to be played prior to New Years.  (The Cotton Bowl is fine ... that's like the Player's Championship of bowl games)  Capital 1, Outback, and Gator are usually good too, so I'm OK with them being on New Years too.

The problem with rating conferences is that they change from year to year and the football "experts" don't have very good eyeballs on current years. The "experts" were at the height of their stupidity in the pre-game show last night (I was pissed). I knew Oklahoma would come to play and their sideline looked like they were playing for a NC while Alabama looked like they were just playing another football game.

What made Coach Bryant such a good coach for so long was that he was always willing to change the way he did things based on how the game was changing. So far Nick Saban has shown no such tendencies. Really good success but if he doesn't change, his run of success at that level is probably done.

There have been years when the SEC was the best conference. This obviously (for anybody with eyeballs) wasn't one of those years. All they are this year is a conference with 7 or 8 decent teams that could win or lose against other decent teams on any given day (just like the other conferences).

They suffer from prosperity and are constantly losing underclassmen to the NFL at higher than average rates, and just as importantly constantly losing assistant coaches. This year both factors showed up big time.

The question among people with an ounce of common sense (which is not common at all) was never whether a good team from a weak conference could beat a good team from a better conference. It was always whether that good team from a weaker conference would be in that position if they were in the stronger conference.

The SEC does have the luckiest team in the country this year but that's about it.

[phan52]

Shedding no tears for Alabama and their arrogant coach. Saban should have been penalized for being 20 yards onto the field and whining about the very correct PI call late in the game.

[MS256]

Shedding no tears for Alabama and their arrogant coach. Saban should have been penalized for being 20 yards onto the field and whining about the very correct PI call late in the game.

Well I assure you no Alabama fan expects anybody to shed any tears because they lost. We more expect a National celebration.

BTW. I'm not a Nick Saban fan but I don't know many coaches that don't argue all sorts of correct calls. Stoops did his share of arguing last night also. That's what coaches do.

[Golfingdad]

There have been years when the SEC was the best conference. This obviously (for anybody with eyeballs) wasn't one of those years. All they are this year is a conference with 7 or 8 decent teams that could win or lose against other decent teams on any given day (just like the other conferences).

Right, that's really all I was saying.  All of the top teams appear to be pretty even this year.  Granted, the SEC (and to a slightly lesser extent perhaps, the Pac-12, and then Big-12) have a few more decent teams than does the Big 10, ACC, and AAC, but it still appears to me that they could all compete with each other.

Shedding no tears for Alabama and their arrogant coach. Saban should have been penalized for being 20 yards onto the field and whining about the very correct PI call late in the game.

A lot of the times that Saban is out there yelling, I think he's screaming at his own players.  But, yeah, that was the right call, and they just flat-out got beat, nothing to complain about to the refs at all.  (And I also don't like Saban;))

[saevel25]

Right, that's really all I was saying.  All of the top teams appear to be pretty even this year.  Granted, the SEC (and to a slightly lesser extent perhaps, the Pac-12, and then Big-12) have a few more decent teams than does the Big 10, ACC, and AAC, but it still appears to me that they could all compete with each other.

A lot of the times that Saban is out there yelling, I think he's screaming at his own players.  But, yeah, that was the right call, and they just flat-out got beat, nothing to complain about to the refs at all.  (And I also don't like Saban;))

Yep, I would put it as maybe 1 or 2 higher end team in the SEC. Though Pac-12 looks really legit. Yet I was glad to see the Big Ten be competitive and in the games against some very good teams. If you look at the games, I think they were the underdog in each game, and pulled up a few upsets. I know a lot of people will see only wins and losses, but when your conference has hit rock bottom, just showing up is a big step forward. Things don't just don't go 180 over night.