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Here's a re-org plan that I haven't seen before:
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2009/2/9/743213/a-total-college-football-r
Looks like we come out okay. I guess a ten-team playoff works, though I think I prefer 12. Anyway, I'm in. Where do I sign?
And that one win wasn't too impressive. Thank you very little Texas.
I don't think OU fans need a KU blog to pile on, but that was a game the Sooners just couldn't lose. So let me just lay it out there. You've successfully erased any shred of credibility that the Big 12 cultivated this year. After unwrapping the winning golden ticket for the south's slot to the Big 12 title game over Texas, you really owed it to the Horns to go out and clobber whatever opponent you came up against. Instead, you offer up a 24-14 non-effort to a run-based Florida squad that was trying to give you the game in the first half. Two touchdowns? Is this a joke? Mission fail.
Of course, Texas can't say too much as things really started to fall apart when Tech played Lloyd Christmas in a public restroom to Ole Miss (47-34) during the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss of course beat the Gators earlier this year in Gainesville (31-30). That alone took Texas out of the mix for me. Barely surviving Big 10 Champ Ohio State (24-21) did little to impress. The Big 10 was 1-6 for the bowl season. You'd like to laugh, but the Big 12 could have easily ended up at 2-5.
As I often do, I'd like to blame Missouri. They kicked off the bowl season with that miserable effort against Northwestern. They squeaked it out despite themselves, but I think they set a bad tone for the Big 12.
On the upside, who looked good for the Big 12 in the bowl season? Yep, KU and Nebraska. Sure, we weren't matched up against the level of opponent that most of the south teams were, but we took care of business and the Huskers actually overachieved. What does it all mean? Well, I know Nebraska isn't going to be in awe of the south division next year and will be looking to make a statement when they face Tech and OU in Lincoln. I think KU needs to wipe the aura of mystique from their eyes as well when they face the big three in 2009. Respect is good, but clearly these guys aren't the indestructible comic-book style mega-forces that we have been sold on all year. It's time to really step into their world and shake it up.
I don't really read many college football blogs. I keep up with Rock Chalk Talk and KJ-IBT because they also cover my team. Lately, I've been trying to figure out the slick looking "The Shiver" blogsite as well. The only other one is Double Extra Point and sometimes I don't even really feel that my interest in going there has anything to do with football (example -- all of the sudden I have a stronger interest in UK Hockey).
However, lately I've found that I've been reading a lot more Dr. Saturday (aka Matt Hinton and formerly known as SMQ). I don't even really check EDSBS, so why do I keep finding myself at Dr. Saturday's Yahoo/Rivals page? One reason -- he's keeps showing up in my "My Yahoo" featured news module with bizarre headlines like "Girlfriend Tricks Player, Fans."
What's all the hubbub? Evidently, Alabama DT Terrence Cody shares his Facebook password with his girlfriend. Ah, young love. Terrence, I suggest you check out movies such as Double Indemnity, Fatal Attraction, War of the Roses and Intolerable Cruelty. Sharing your life with a partner is a beautiful thing, but there certain things in life a man just can't do -- like let another man ride his Harley or play his Randy Rhoads edition Flying V or share your Facebook password with a woman (under questionable, see also -- admitting you have a Facebook page).
So, why am I so chapped about all of this? Here I am reading "college football news" based on a Facebook page. At some point, I figured Yahoo and Rivals would mature and become more of a legitimate news source. The truth is, this type of gossip and Facebook journalism is what drives internet traffic and the opposite is true. And really, Rivals is based on trading the secrets of high school athletes, so I guess the lack of journalistic growth shouldn't really be a surprise. So, as print/paper media fades (or maybe burns out with this economy), web content has to be updated constantly to even maintain a fraction of what real print revenue generated. So, since real news doesn't actually happen all that often, expect more of a quality digression and the dirty, secondary web stalker feeling that comes with reading stories based on college kids' Facebook pages.
On the upside, if you're ever out of work, a job plan is out there for you. Just start scanning the social media for stories/photos/video and post every hour (the HD plan is actually the same, but only on a daily basis). If you're really good, you may get called up to the bigs.
The Big East
I don't even think it's worth saying that the Big East is brutal, but I really feel like piling on since I rated the Beast ahead of the PAC-10 in last week's Rock Chalk Roundtable. The UConn loss at UNC is not too big of a surprise, but the USF loss to Pitt at home was exactly what the Big East didn't need ... or KU. In fact, I wonder if that result and the implications on KU's loss in Tampa didn't factor into the mentality of the Jayhawk players as they went to battle with ISU. That's absolutely no excuse for the first half of course, but as the USF loss turned from a hard-fought epic to a "how did we lose to those guys" scenario, I know it affected my game preparation. Unlike the last time we lost a road non-con though, at least we bounced back by handling our first road conference game to make sure we stay on target.
The Developmental Division Plan
Yesterday, I mentioned a developmental division plan. First of all, unlike Bob Stoops I'm completely happy with the Big 12 as is with the one minor flaw -- occasional schedule imbalance due to division rotation. To me, it's not that big of a deal and sure makes for good conversation. Plus, I think the Big 12 Championship game is awesome and happens to be the only game that matters -- other than those occasions when the national championship game is legit.
Anyway, just for fun I like to dream up other formats. My alternate "developmental division" format works like this -- you divide the conference into three four-team divisions. Top four teams in one, middle four in a "B" divisioin and the bottom four in the "C." You play all three teams in your division and depending if you are a top one-two or a three-four in your division then you play the one-two or three-fours from the other two divisions. It makes for a seven-game conference season and an 11-game regular season schedule. However, it adds a conference playoff. The first and second place teams in the "A" division take the top two seeds. The "B" division winner is the three seed and the "C" division winner takes the fourth seed. Higher seeds host on Thanksgiving weekend, then you have the neutral site championship as usual on the weekend after.
In January, the divisions are re-aligned with the "B" and "C" winners moving up a division and the last place teams in "A" and "B" move down a division. Note the weaknesses:
Anyway, as I said, I'm not an advocate for changing the system, but it's always fun to dream up new scenarios.
Undefeated
Kentucky dropped out the race to be "this year's Kansas," but Vanderbilt, OSU and Northwestern are still in the mix. Vandy had the most impressive win as they took out Auburn 14-13. OSU clocked A&M 56-28 and Northwestern had a bye. Up next for the crew, at Miss St, at Mizzou and a home game with Michigan State. Give Vandy the best chance at survival.
As for the rest of the undefeated teams, the Big 12 will lose two for sure on Saturday as MU/OSU go head-to-head along with Texas and OU. I like Texas Tech maintaining perfect status as they will host the Huskers in Lubbock.
Full list of perfect teams:
Northwestern 5-0
Oklahoma State 5-0
Vanderbilt 5-0
Penn State 6-0
Mizzou 5-0
Oklahoma 5-0
Oklahoma State 5-0
Texas 5-0
Texas Tech 5-0
Alabama 6-0
LSU 4-0
Ball State 6-0
Utah 6-0
BYU 5-0
Boise State 4-0
Off the List:
Kentucky exits with a 17-14 loss to Alabama
South Florida exits with a 21-26 home loss to Pitt
UConn goes down 38-12 to UNC
Upset Special
Nine teams in the top 25 fell this week, including three of the top five. Mizzou at #6 benefits huge as it looks to me that it should be:
1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Missouri
4. LSU
5. Texas
The rest is too crazy to predict, but Texas Tech could easily move up as well, but I'd say USF and Penn State might jump them. Looks like the Jayhawks will only get to move up one spot.
Rooting For Nebraska
Do you think Mizzou fans were rooting for Nebraska last night? They should have been -- the weak schedule talk is going to really annoy them. Illinois is at 2-2 now and this three game stretch could really take the life out of the Nebraska as Tech and Mizzou can put up those spirit-crushing type scores. Unless OSU proves to be solid, the only challenging games on the 2008 regular season schedule will be @Texas and Kansas.
2009 Non-Con Alert
Looks like Duke might be a nice little challenge by the time they show up in Lawrence next year. The Blue Devils wasted Virginia 31-3 yesterday and are now 3-1. They have a win over Navy (beat #16 Wake Forest) and their lone loss was to a 5-0 Northwestern squad (20-24).
This Year's Kansas?
Boy, that term annoys me. But if you qualify it as a team that has a chance to come from nowhere and chase undefeated ... you may want to throw 5-0 Northwestern (6-6 in 2007) into the mix. They get a solid Michigan State squad after a bye next week, but really the tough part of the schedule happens at the end of the year. Maybe throw Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Vandy into the group as well (all at 4-0). Other undefeated teams:
Penn State 5-0
Mizzou 4-0
Oklahoma 4-0
Oklahoma State 4-0
Texas 4-0
Texas Tech 4-0
South Florida 5-0
UCONN 5-0
Alabama 5-0
LSU 4-0
Ball State 5-0
Utah 5-0
BYU 4-0
Boise State 3-0
Bowl season has been a little rough on the five teams that stretched undefeated into November and beyond. The group is 1-2 thus far with both Hawaii and ASU getting smoked:
Results/Schedule
12/26 -- Holiday Bowl -- Texas 52, Arizona State 34
12/28 -- Champ Sports Bowl -- Boston College 24, Michigan State 21
1/1 -- Sugar Bowl -- Georgia 41, Hawaii 10
1/3 -- Orange Bowl -- Kansas vs Virginia Tech
1/7 -- BCS Championship -- Ohio State vs LSU
DJ Goodwin
I guess the final 2-3 bowl record should be recorded for posterity.
If you caught the Holiday Bowl with Texas and Arizona State, you saw one of the more ridiculous plays of the year. A member of the Texas coaching staff (Mack Brown's stepson) either touched or didn't touch a live ball on the field. Either way it nullified a recovered fumble by the Longhorns.
The play itself demonstrates an issue I have with both football and basketball. Coaches should never be on the field or court until a play is blown dead. Even hanging a toe over the line should result in a "too many men on the field or court" penalty.
The thing is coaches seem to be getting bolder each year. The rules seem pretty clear to me, so enforce them. Then, we won't have to listen Kirk and Brent whine about a late game timeout. Video review wouldn't have been necessary last night, if you just go with the "too many men on the field" call.
Yep, the bowl season truly starts to roll out today. KU fans may be looking for Central Michigan to pull off the upset against Purdue tonight, thereby providing a measure of relief on the "weak schedule" discussion. Don't count on it. It's not really a secret that the Boilermakers hammered the Chippewas 45-22 earlier in the year. Don't let the score fool you. Purdue actually led 38-0 at one point in the third quarter. CMU may be champions of the mighty MAC, but here is what happened when they've gone up against the big boys:
L @ Kansas 52-7
L @ Purdue 45-22
L @ Clemson 70-14
Of course, those games were all on the road, so how about we throw in a 44-14 home loss to North Dakota State. Yes, North Dakota State. Sure the Bison were 11-1 with a road win over Minnesota this year, but that's really no reason for the MAC champion to get toasted by a Great West team. Sorry, Jayhawk fans. There will be no relief from the schedule talk this evening, but that won't stop me from rooting for the upset.
In tandem with Pitt taking out West Virginia, Oklahoma claimed the Big 12 championship and created a BCS nightmare. Perhaps there should be no championship game for 2007. Give the trophy to Hawaii and call it a year.
Deep Thoughts On A Sunday Morning
BCS Selection Show, 7:00 p.m. tonight, FOX
Seven teams are bowl eligible right now in the Big 12 and four teams have five wins. Here's how it breaks down for the five teams under seven wins:
Six wins
Five wins
Looks like the Big 12 is pretty solid for nine eligible teams.
Don't ever lose your sense of humor. Good stuff from Double Extra Point. By the way, with posts like this one, DXP is rising fast on my list of favorite Big 12 blogs.
