College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

[linus]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

caja-dglh wrote: Best possible outcome to validate (potentially broader) playoffs.

And Saban being upset is always great.

The system worked perfectly this year. If the BCS were still around, we would have had Alabama vs FSU for the national title, and another year of SEC worship.

What's really outrageous here is that if Ohio State and Oregon had the same fraudulent approach to scheduling that the SEC has, they would have probably both gone undefeated. Oregon lost to Arizona, had they played only 8 conference game this is the opponent that would have been most likely to be dropped from their schedule.

Also, you really don't need to widen the playoffs beyond the final four. Look at the candidates:

5. Baylor
6. TCU
7. Mississippi State
8. Michigan State
9. Ole Miss
10. Arizona

TCU destroyed an overrated Mississippi St team, but they don't have the complete team (trenches, D) to beat two top teams in succession. Both the Ducks and Buckeyes would have done a much better job of containing their offense.

Baylor's resume is at least as good as TCU's but they also don't belong in the final four as reflected by their loss to the Spartans.

Mississippi State...lol. Same with Mississippi. Arizona doesn't belong either, the conference championship game is a perfect gatekeeper there.

So there's really no compelling reason to widen the field. There are at least two good reasons this would be a bad idea. First it devalues and undermines the bowls.

TCU is going to finish in the top 2 or 3, the bowl system helped them cap a great season. They might not have cracked the top 3 if they were matched against Oregon, OSU or even Bama in the first round of an 8-team playoff.

Michigan State is also going to finish in the top 5, and Wisconsin which got demolished in the B1G CCG is going to end the season on a high note, with a Gatorade-soaked Alvarez. So many excellent, exciting bowl games this season pitting cross-conference matchups. That's how it should be.

Another important argument against going to a final 8 is, 13 games is already too many. Imagine if say, Cardele Jones got knocked out in the quarterfinal or semifinal, Ohio State would have had to play its 4th string QB. There is already too much wear and tear as it is, and not much marginal benefit to going to 8.

[ursus arctos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

linus, as you note yourself in your penultimate post TCU destroyed Mississippi, not Mississippi State. Even SEC sycophants though Ole Miss was overrated all year long.

But yes, a good day overall.

My take is that the month long break allows superior coaching and preparation to overcome the pure talent advantage of the SEC (and Southern schools in general). It may also be the case that they don't travel out of the region as well as their Northern opponents.

Florida State's self-immolation in the third quarter last night was something to behold.

[Amor de Cosmos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

It's hard to believe they were so badly prepared. Their defence looked well out of gas before the half. I know the Ducks' system is hard to defend but it's not as if they did anything unexpected. Hubris on FSU's part do you think?

[linus]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Yes Mississippi St lost to #12 Georgia Tech, by 15 pts. Given that they were actually ranked #1 as late as mid-november, they were just as overrated as Mississippi, which actually beat them in their last regular season game...

MSU played Southern Miss, Southern Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham and Tennessee-Martin (in November). That's how you game the system, year in year out.

ursus arctos wrote:
My take is that the month long break allows superior coaching and preparation to overcome the pure talent advantage of the SEC (and Southern schools in general). It may also be the case that they don't travel out of the region as well as their Northern opponents.

Ursus the travel excuse doesn't stand, because most of the bowl venues are in the South, the SEC opponents have had to travel longer distances while most SEC teams end up playing their bowls in their region.

Yes coaching is one of the reasons. You look at Lane Kiffin as OC at Alabama, he's drawn raves most of the season because Alabama beat up on its conference foes and because ESPN and other media outlets worship everything SEC. Kiffin had a mediocre career in the Pac10/12, he managed to finish 4-7 at USC in his last 11 games there with stellar talent.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/106410/lane-kififn-has-energized-the-offense-at-alabama

The talent is there, but there is no "pure talent advantage" for the SEC against other top conferences, that's just another myth. Alabama's senior QB Sims would have had a very hard time starting on any P12 offense.

The regions with most talent depth, Texas, Florida and California are also mined by other top conferences. The SEC does get its share, but that share is far from being disproportionate relative to most other top conferences.

[ursus arctos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

linus, I could have been clearer.

It isn't necessarily the travel per se, as much as the "neutral" (i.e., non SEC refs), relatively unfamiliar surroundings, and (most importantly to me) the way teams use the extra time to prepare for the games.

Though it is of course true that SEC teams have done very well in bowls in the past, and that Texas 2005 was the last non-SEC team to win before Florida State last year. At the same time, this year's results provide at least some evidence (with an admittedly tiny sample size) that past practice may have over-estimated the quality of SEC teams in a non-playoff world.

Your Kiffin point is a good one. He was a supposed genius at Tennessee, too.

I disagree on talent and don't think that QB is a particularly apt comparison for talent across the board, but reasonable people can (and will) differ on that point.

[linus]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

ursus arctos wrote: linus, I could have been clearer.

It isn't necessarily the travel per se, as much as the "neutral" (i.e., non SEC refs), relatively unfamiliar surroundings, and (most importantly to me) the way teams use the extra time to prepare for the games.

Though it is of course true that SEC teams have done very well in bowls in the past, and that Texas 2005 was the last non-SEC team to win before Florida State last year. At the same time, this year's results provide at least some evidence (with an admittedly tiny sample size) that past practice may have over-estimated the quality of SEC teams in a non-playoff world.

Your Kiffin point is a good one. He was a supposed genius at Tennessee, too.

I disagree on talent and don't think that QB is a particularly apt comparison for talent across the board, but reasonable people can (and will) differ on that point.

The SEC refs are actually not bad, certainly better than the P12 crews. In any case the crews picked in bowl games are usually from neutral conferences, so it's not an issue.

My point about traveling is that teams like Alabama have always traveled to places like Baton Rouge, Athens and Gainesville, so they're not going to be uncomfortable in N. Orleans, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas or Miami. It's a shorter trip for their fans, they'll still have relatives in the stands and grits for breakfast.

As to the SEC streak of national championships, you have to look at the process which allowed them to win it, the BCS formula has consistently favored the SEC and its approach to scheduling.

This year under that formula, Alabama and FSU would have been the top two teams at the end of the seaosn. Bama would have played FSU for the national title, even though neither team really is one of the best two in the NCAA, a fact that the semifinals yesterday have clearly established. They would have in all likelihood beaten FSU to extend the SEC "domination" streak and SEC mystique in the media and among the casual college football fan community...

Chip Kelly's last team at Oregon was actually better than this year's Ducks team (which looks like the best team in college football), but at 11-1, it was held out of the BCS title game because they lost to Harbaugh's Stanford team. Playing 9 conference games and a decent slate of non-conference foes puts them at a significant disadvantage in the race for the top two spots. But in a 4-team, independently-ranked system they would have stood a decent chance of winning the NC. Better roster and better coach than this year's Oregon team.

The perceptions of SEC dominance also skews the perception of talent. The SEC is indeed up there, I'm not debating that, just the notion that it is head and shoulders above the other top conferences. Few people for example realize that over the past 10-15 years, Cal (a team I follow closely) has had better talent at running back than any SEC team.

Areas that the SEC dominates like AL, MS, LA while having diehard football culture, are relatively small. The main centers for football talent in the region are Florida, Texas, followed by metro Atlanta, and those areas are also mined extensively by other conferences.

The one conference that has a geographical advantage in terms of recruiting demographic is the P12, Southern California being a very deep talent pool that's two to three time zones away from national programs. In terms of NFL roster depth and representation in the all-pros, the P12 has had about the same number of alumni per team as the SEC.

[Amor de Cosmos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Chip Kelly's last team at Oregon was actually better than this year's Ducks team (which looks like the best team in college football)... Better roster and better coach than this year's Oregon team.

I'm probably telling my grandmother how to suck (duck) eggs here, but I'd question that a bit. I watch very little NCAA football but the few games I do see are Oregon games. I'd agree that Kelly was a better coach, or a more creative one than Helfrich at any rate. And that the talent was deeper on his squads. But (and it's a significant one) he never had a mature Mariota at QB. It was clear in the BCS final loss to Clemson that, as exciting and talented as they were, Kelly's Ducks couldn't win against a good team with a first rate QB possessing all round skills. They have that now, for one more game.

[ursus arctos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

It's like talking to him about the Italian national team.

[Incandenza]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

A perfect encapsulation of UCLA's season--from the sublime to the ridiculous, with plenty of unnecessary penalties thrown into the mix. In this case, though, they actually pulled it out.

UCLA has so much talent, but they kill themselves with penalties.

[Amor de Cosmos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

The Huskies are doing their best to make FSU's effort yesterday look like a masterpiece of commitment and discipline.

Sadly, it's been a too long since there was a Washington team worth getting excited about.

[Cal Alamein]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

For what it's worth, here's the overall conference standings.

POWER 5 CONFERENCES
Pac-12: 6-1 (wins by Utah, Arizona State, USC, Stanford, Oregon, UCLA)
SEC: 6-5 (wins by South Carolina, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee)
Big Ten: 5-5 (wins by Rutgers, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State)
ACC: 4-7 (wins by NC State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia Tech)"
Big 12: 1-5 (win by TCU)

OSU whipping UW at half, but by no means a Husky loss yet. (Amor, I've seen the Cowboys blow some big leads)

[Amor de Cosmos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

OK. I'll give them another quarter and if they don't manage at least a field goal I'm off to bed.

[ursus arctos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Final was 30-22 Okla State, helping the Big 12 save its blushes to some extent.

To expand on Cal's table, SEC West 2-5 (only teams to win were Texas A&M and Arkansas, who finished 6th and 7th in the division); SEC in last five BCS/New Year's Six Bowls: 0-5.

There's something screwy about the ACC having 11 bowl teams, but then I'm old.

[Incandenza]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Before the game tonight, the WSJ reminds us of Oregon's thankfully short-lived alternate mascot, Mandrake, who was nicknamed Roboduck:

“Donald Duck running through a block ‘O’ wasn’t going to get that key kid from Southern California to commit,” said former Oregon athletic director Bill Moos.

So the school concocted an elaborate origin story for Mandrake. It said he was found underneath Autzen Stadium in Eugene. His egg was rolled out at an Oregon game. He punched his way out, flexed, pointed at Puddles, hugged him like linebackers tackle and then flipped across the field. The crowd didn’t go wild.

“It was like trying to replace FDR during The Great Depression,” said Mal Williams, a student at the time, who was the Duck the day Mandrake made its debut.

There were early signs that Mandrake wasn’t long for this world. Most mascots are comedic relief. Mandrake, however, acted like a superhero. “No one thinks of Batman as being funny,” said Jon Cudo, one of the early Mandrakes.

Roboduck soon steered clear of Oregon’s football games. But he wasn’t dead yet. He started showing up—to boos—at Oregon’s basketball games. His final appearance is believed to be a night in 2003 when Mandrake attempted a slam dunk off a trampoline but crashed into the rim. Sadiki Fuller, a standup comedian who performed inside the Mandrake costume, said that may have been his toughest audience ever. “They hated me,” he said.

[Janik]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

*whimper* I'm scared.

[ursus arctos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Say what you will about the Pac 12, but "Mandrake" would not have fit in with its mascot ethos.



Note how Puddles is hangin' with Oski. Duck knows mascots.

[jason voorhees]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

I can't bet against this Ohio State team. Not with Randall Cunningham Jr as QB.

My cousin Stevie from Yonkers is now in Antarctica. He put a Buckeye flag down Soufa, as far down Soufa as it goes (which is why they won, they went more SEC than the SEC ever could go.) I'll stand with Cousin Stevie tonight.

My friend Brian Fish, who was slow as a fish flopping on grass, who played forward for our club teams all my youth...who was so slow, but could shoot any shot into the lower far post as I'd have 20 saves and he'd score the game-winner time and time again...who was the Peter Lorre part as I was the Boris Karloff part in our high school production of Arsenic and Old Lace...was a Buckeye who I'll stand with tonight.

As one of my greatest defenders of the club team I coached who beat Jackson, NJ...who was the National Kelloggs Cup Champion...was a Buckeye...

I will stand with them tonight. (But you know, won't cry too hard when they lose.)

[Incandenza]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Halfway through the 3rd quarter, and this game could be over and out of reach of Oregon if tOSU could stop turning over the ball. On the other hand, Oregon could be in a much better position if they could convert on a 3rd down. Still have no idea which way this is going to go.

[Amor de Cosmos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

The Ducks can't stop the OS run at all. Barring more Ohio mistakes I don't see how they can pull this out. I blame the Camo-knickers.

[Cal Alamein]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Camo knickers and a goofy non-green, non-yellow, non-Oregon uniform. That'll bring in the recruits.

Hard to think of a team w/ 4 turnovers so totally dominating a game, but that is the case tonight. OSU battered Oregon, plain and simple.

Cardale Jones is a stud. I thought he might be overdoing it w/ all those early runs, but the OSU offense completely wore out the Duck defense.

My lukewarm support for Oregon went away after Marshall did his best Desean Jackson impersonation dropping the ball a millisecond after breaking the plane for a touchdown. FFS, you are getting your asses kicked in a championship game and you seriously risk losing a TD by pulling that cute shit? Replays for that showed that he was damned lucky to keep that TD.

Hail the Big 10. Shoulda listened to Linus earlier - Bravo.

[Amor de Cosmos]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

A whimper. Not even a pop, let alone a bang.

I'm guessing this'll be the last we hear of the Ducks for awhile. With Mariota going there doesn't seem to be much left in the locker. Pity, it was fun to watch while it lasted.

[linus]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

Cheers Cal... Another masterful coaching job by Meyer, he faced a completely different (and just as daunting) type of challenge from last week, and he nails it once more. He's kept it simple enough for Jones to run the offense within his comfort zone, stretching the duck D just enough and exploiting their weaknesses at CB and lack of depth up front. He totally disrupted their offense, sealing the edges, and not just because buckeye defenders often won their challenges one on one but they were always in position to make plays.

The game was won in the 2nd quarter, because Oregon failed to establish enough offensive rhythm to tire out OSU's D and set up their trademark 3rd quarter run. Helf has done a very good job keeping the system in place and running a tight ship, but he lacks Kelly's spark. AdC I think Oregon will bounce back but I can't see them (or any other P12 team) winning the conference with less than 2 losses, so unless the playoff format is expanded the conference will probably get shut out next year.

This year though, the format worked amazingly well. Had the format stayed the same, we would have been subjected to a BCS championship featuring a coronation of Saban against FSU, and more sickening SEC worship.

I don't think TCU would have won two games in a row, they would have been beaten in the trenches and left with little latitude to run their passing offense. Instead, TCU is going to finish on a high note in the top 3, possibly 2nd, above Alabama, whereas had they lost in the semis they would have ended up outside the top 5.

Ohio State is easily the least appealing B1G program, with a fairly obnoxious fan base, but Oregon hasn't endeared itself either shamelessly selling its soul to uncle Phil. #LoseTheDay...

[Incandenza]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

late 2000s/early 2010s Oregon football = mid 2000s Phoenix Suns

[linus]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four



Quality schadenfreunde all around. Their fans are upset about Meyer running up the score, but they also have a history of that.

Apparently Meyer has spent quite a bit of time studying Oregon's offense in prior offseasons. No wonder his defense was so well prepared... Like Kelly, he has a bit of that brash American persona but you have to admire their coaching skills, they clearly are the best coaches in college football. OSU is going to be a perennial national championship contender, especially with the new playoff structure, which mitigates early losses against decent OOC opponents and conference foes.

[Flynnie]

College Football 2014 - Bring on the Final Four

UO's shitty uniform combinations deserve mockery. Just wear green and fucking gold.