2013 NCAA College Football

[phan52]

OSU could have lost to Wisconsin, they should have lost to Michigan, and may very well still lose to Michigan State.

They're a good team, but not in the same league as FSU. They could easily be out of the top 10.....

Why is that? They made a great defensive play to ice the win. Ohio State has won 24 straight games. I don't care who you're playing, That's awesome (and I hate Ohio State; I'm a Penn State fan).

So glad to see Nick Saban go down. He should have kicked the chip shot FG instead of going for it on 4th down, then he fought really hard for that last second on the clock. Well, he got what he wanted. What a finish!

[iacas]

[MS256]

Why is that? They made a great defensive play to ice the win. Ohio State has won 24 straight games. I don't care who you're playing, That's awesome (and I hate Ohio State; I'm a Penn State fan).

So glad to see Nick Saban go down. He should have kicked the chip shot FG instead of going for it on 4th down, then he fought really hard for that last second on the clock. Well, he got what he wanted. What a finish!

In the words of Bear Bryant: "If I had known it wasn't going to work, and if I had a week to think about it, I wouldn't have called that play either."

There were two mistakes on Saban's part. Not caring about recruiting a top level kicker (been ages since we had one) and thinking we still have last year's offensive line and running a fourth and one with our highest running (and worst short yardage) running back without a lead blocker with 10 men in the box (and the other one barely outside the box).

A play action delay to the tight end and he walks into the end zone.

Of course if we make it nobody has anything to say. Lot easier sitting on the couch than it is on the field.

Nobody wins EVERY game. We were overdue to lose one. Maybe next year.

[boogielicious]

Do you think Saban made his field goal kickers walk home to Tuscaloosa?  They should have won that game by 9 points (2 misses and a non-try).

[teamroper60]

I think osu looked good. The defense played good for half a game. Gardner played one hell of a game. Michigan has shown to be good on offense, they suddenly decided to show up for a rivalry. Any body who knows anything about rivalries is, anything can happen, and win loss doesn't matter. The still put up over 40 points, looked unstoppable on offense again.

Which half do you think they looked good? They gave up 21 points in the first half and 20 in the second. I get the rivalry thing and the throw out the records thing. But that works both ways. OSU was in that same rivalry game and needed to put a whoopin on their rival for style points and not only didnt, they were one play from losing. Michigan State has looked good against some of the same teams OSU has played and they actually have a run defense. OSU will not run at will on them.

[MS256]

Do you think Saban made his field goal kickers walk home to Tuscaloosa?  They should have won that game by 9 points (2 misses and a non-try).

How could anybody blame the kicker? That would be like recruiting me to hit golf balls for you and then complaining because I have terrible mechanics and can't break par.

Saban has never cared about kickers and doesn't care much more about offense. Luckily for us we've had good enough athletes to be able to win a lot of games in spite of it.

If Gus Malzahn was our offensive coordinator we would be fairly close to unbeatable.

The kicker is not the one that always runs zone blocking with a single back set and 10 men in the box.

I heard a boss tell an employee one time, "It's not your fault. It's my fault for being dumb enough to hire you."

[boogielicious]

I don't know @MS256 .  You recruit a kicker to make kicks.  When he fails (not the last kicker, but the first guy), he has got to take some responsibility.  The two misses were horrible.  The block was the line, not the kicker.

[k-troop]

Yea osu has beaten their opponents by an average of 27 points is barely getting by. We won't talk that FSU SOS is going to be only a few games better than OSU's that it can be called negligible. I admit, FSU has looked better, that's why they are number 1.

Also what it tells me, that a team that finds a will to win is a WINNING football team. You can go about what ifs, what nots. When it comes to the 5 major conferences, winning is all that matters.

Cal scored 34 points against OSU, their highest point total so far in a 1-11 season.

OSU beat Wisconsin by a touchdown in a very close game.

NWestern also scored well above their season average against OSU.  That game was really close, and NWestern is 5-7.  Ditto for Iowa.

4-8 Illinois bested their season scoring average by a TD against OSU.

And then there's Michigan.  They're 4-5 against major conference teams.  They bested their season scoring average by 9 points against OSU.

Agree with the winning--that's all that matters at the end.  But we're talking about the CHAMPION TEAM OF THE YEAR.  OSU does not look like a champion team.

MichSt will be OSU's third ranked opponent.  One of those was NWestern, who lost the next six games.  They've faced no teams who've spent any time in the top 10.

Auburn will be Mizzy's sixth ranked opponent (though one was Fla).  5 of those teams have been in the top 10 this season (though one was Fla).  Two will probably finish the season in the top 10.

Mizz will be Auburn's sixth ranked opponent.  5 of those teams have been in the top 10.  Two will probably finish the season in the top 10.

BTW I previously said that the ACC might be better than the SEC this year, but now I don't think so.  Clemson got exposed against SoCar.  FSU's only decent wins were Miami (sucks), Clemson (not as good as we thought), and Fla (who started their worst season in 30 years ranked in the top-10).  At the end FSU is going into the NC having played 1 real quality opponent.

[MS256]

I don't know @MS256 .  You recruit a kicker to make kicks.  When he fails (not the last kicker, but the first guy), he has got to take some responsibility.  The two misses were horrible.  The block was the line, not the kicker.

That's the point. Watch his mechanics and it takes about one kick to see the flaws (much like my golf swing).

I could see those mechanics one time and know they won't hold up at a high level (exactly like my golf swing).

So the moral of the story is that if you pick either of us to be on your team don't be surprised when we aren't very good.

[k-troop]

I don't know @MS256 .  You recruit a kicker to make kicks.  When he fails (not the last kicker, but the first guy), he has got to take some responsibility.  The two misses were horrible.  The block was the line, not the kicker.

Disagree.  He kicked it into the line.  That's like saying when I top a ball into the lip of a bunker it was the bunker's fault.

That's the point. Watch his mechanics and it takes about one kick to see the flaws (much like my golf swing).

I could see those mechanics one time and know they won't hold up at a high level (exactly like my golf swing).

So the moral of the story is that if you pick either of us to be on your team don't be surprised when we aren't very good.

Inexcusable for a dynastic team like Bama to have such a terrible kicker.  I'll bet there are 10 students currently attending the U of A that could make 8/10 35 yard FGs.  It's not rocket science.  The kicker didn't just cost Bama the game on those kicks--there were two 4th down situations that would never have been attempted if Bama had even an average FBS level kicker.  Bama lost those 4th down attempts at the line, but they never should have been attempted.

[MS256]

Disagree.  He kicked it into the line.  That's like saying when I top a ball into the lip of a bunker it was the bunker's fault.

Inexcusable for a dynastic team like Bama to have such a terrible kicker.  I'll bet there are 10 students currently attending the U of A that could make 8/10 35 yard FGs.  It's not rocket science.  The kicker didn't just cost Bama the game on those kicks--there were two 4th down situations that would never have been attempted if Bama had even an average FBS level kicker.  Bama lost those 4th down attempts at the line, but they never should have been attempted.

Yep!

For the record: I'm not second guessing a kicker based on the fact that he had a bad night. Anybody can have a bad night. I've said from the first game that the mechanics were terrible (even when he made the kicks).

Our last kicker had decent mechanics but couldn't break an egg, which is why we had the one we've got now as our supposed "long kicker". Then we bring in a new "long kicker" last night and he can't get it there from 57 yards. If you have a short kicker and a long kicker you really don't have a kicker at all.

I can go to any 6A high school game on any Friday night and find better kickers than we've got.

[phan52]

In the words of Bear Bryant: "If I had known it wasn't going to work, and if I had a week to think about it, I wouldn't have called that play either."

There were two mistakes on Saban's part. Not caring about recruiting a top level kicker (been ages since we had one) and thinking we still have last year's offensive line and running a fourth and one with our highest running (and worst short yardage) running back without a lead blocker with 10 men in the box (and the other one barely outside the box).

A play action delay to the tight end and he walks into the end zone.

Of course if we make it nobody has anything to say. Lot easier sitting on the couch than it is on the field.

Nobody wins EVERY game. We were overdue to lose one. Maybe next year.

With no dog in the hunt, every single person in the room where I was watching the game said he was nuts for not kicking the FG and making it a two score game. It was a chip shot. If he kicks that FG there, we're not talking about one of the wildest finishes of a football game I have ever seen and Alabama probably coasts to another BCS title.

[MS256]

Funny thing is that it was very unlike Saban to go for it there. Even though we were having a crappy night kicking the ball we hadn't been terrible up to this point in the season. Chances are he would have made it. That said, I have more problem with the play call and our personel against the defense that lined up. Been driving me crazy for years but we usually got away with it...So it's hard to argue with success. Oh well. **It happens.

[saevel25]

The kid was something like 11 for 12 going into that game kicking field goals. I don't get how people can slam him. He had a bad game. What is worst is, the kid is getting death threats by Alabama Fans. I have to agree with the guy on College Football Sunday on XM radio, that those type of people are not real fans.

What I question is Saban bringing in the kicker with the stronger leg for a 57 yard field goal. I don't care if he's hit 60 yards in practice. Then too not see the guy standing in the endzone, and rethink the kick. This either was a huge brain fart on Saban's part, or he didn't trust his defense in over time.

Either way it was a crazy game.

I was kinda hopping that Missouri lost last night as well. Then have South Carolina go in an beat Auburn. That way it would crush all the SEC down, but that didn't happen.

[MS256]

Either way it was a crazy game.

I was kinda hopping that Missouri lost last night as well. Then have South Carolina go in an beat Auburn. That way it would crush all the SEC down, but that didn't happen.

Yeah the death threat thing is ridiculous...And some not necessarily from Alabama fans either. There are a lot of crazies that have nothing to do with Alabama that do those things posing as fans to make us look bad. I see them all the time with their obviously fake Facebook pages. Most aren't smart enough to not let their cover slip in their comments. Most of them have never been anywhere near ANY college campus.

[phan52]

The kid was something like 11 for 12 going into that game kicking field goals. I don't get how people can slam him. He had a bad game. What is worst is, the kid is getting death threats by Alabama Fans. I have to agree with the guy on College Football Sunday on XM radio, that those type of people are not real fans.

What I question is Saban bringing in the kicker with the stronger leg for a 57 yard field goal. I don't care if he's hit 60 yards in practice. Then too not see the guy standing in the endzone, and rethink the kick. This either was a huge brain fart on Saban's part, or he didn't trust his defense in over time.

Either way it was a crazy game.

I was kinda hopping that Missouri lost last night as well. Then have South Carolina go in an beat Auburn. That way it would crush all the SEC down, but that didn't happen.

Saban had to know the returner was there. Which makes it all even more surprising. The Auburn coach does not believe the return was a fluke because the FG unit is not geared to stop a return. Big slowfooted linemen against a more athletic group setting up the return. They were easy to block in the open field.

[saevel25]

Saban had to know the returner was there. Which makes it all even more surprising. The Auburn coach does not believe the return was a fluke because the FG unit is not geared to stop a return. Big slowfooted linemen against a more athletic group setting up the return. They were easy to block in the open field.

I was listening to XM radio, they have a college sport station. Today was a great day to listen to some call ins, and to some of the conference journalist.

It was pointed out that before the time out by Auburn they had a different return guy back there. So during the time out the coach thought, why not put our punt return guy back there. They also made the point that the ball was on the left hash, kicked to the right side of the goal post. This forced the big lineman to break gap integrity and try to get over to the sideline. They instead went to straight down the field to much, when the punt returner got the edge, he was gone.

[Wisguy]

Umm I think what you mean is sarcasm. Irony is completely different.

Yep, OSU should not have won that game. The ball was tipped at the line, but why dwell on it, it doesn't change anything. There is no instant replay for games completed, that would diminish all football games.

Yay he's upset and attacking me, point to me.

Any topic is fine, just be ready for the consequences of any response. It is a you problem if you take my comments seriously. So I really don't give a damn.

I clearly counted some chickens before they hatched.  What a poor showing.  Regardless of the coach, Wisconsin traditionally has at least one bad game a season.  Yesterday's home loss was that game.  No BCS bowl game for the Badgers.  Probably still a New Years bowl, though.