College Football Week 6 Thread

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Venue? UCLA plays in the Grand Daddy of them all. Who can match that? Michigan's got the Big House. Notre Dame has Touchdown Jesus. LSU the Sugar Bowl. Miami the Orange Bowl. Tennessee's got one of the biggest pantheons of college stadiums. So there are comparable. But I mean, it's the freakin' Rose Bowl in always sunny Pasadena. It's not even the crappy areas of LA.

I would hazard a guess that weather notwithstaning, just about every singe team in the SEC and most D1 colleges between Texas and Virginia can boast a "better venue" than UCLA. This is southern-fried football, son, it don't get any better than this.

[Mr. Wednesday]

FWIW, the general sense among the ND fanbase is that Dorrell is not an especially good (nor especially bad) coach — his team wins games they should lose, but also loses games they should win. There's certainly room for an upgrade there.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I would hazard a guess that weather notwithstaning, just about every singe team in the SEC and most D1 colleges between Texas and Virginia can boast a "better venue" than UCLA. This is southern-fried football, son, it don't get any better than this.

In stadium I would probably agree, most UCLA fans would also agree. But for overall experience? UCLA has one of the best tailgating atmosphere's around. The biggest problem is obviously campus-stadium distance and the fact that UCLA doesn't sell out a few spots in the stadium

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

In stadium I would probably agree, most UCLA fans would also agree. But for overall experience? UCLA has one of the best tailgating atmosphere's around. The biggest problem is obviously campus-stadium distance and the fact that UCLA doesn't sell out a few spots in the stadium

Tailgating is all fine and dandy for the fans, but how much do recruits give a shit about it? The biggest things regarding venue that impact them are how loud and supportive their crowds are and what condition the field is in. For some, the history and tradition of the stadium is also important, but again, much of the legend of the Rose Bowl has to do with the bowl games rather than being a UCLA home venue.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by knolysis

My apologies to JiMGA. I am not doing a very good job at making my point about expectations and I sidetracked him into defending Pete Carroll. That was not my intent. Yes, Pete is a great coach and I did not intend to make it seem as if he should be fired.

I don't follow USC very much, but my perception is that they have had some difficulty at Offensive Coordinator ever since Norm Chow left. They don't seem to be quite as "dangerous" against the better teams as they were under Norm. Any thoughts on that?

Yeah, I think there is a contingent of fans that are unhappy with Steve Sarkisian and that miss Norm. I do think that is a factor in the offense not being as potent as the past.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Let him have a few 8-3 or 7-4 seasons and see how long he lasts.

Or more to the point, just perpetually frustrate the fan base (with particular emphasis on those who are major program contributors) by being perceived as underachieving and watch how quickly he goes from champ to chump.

This situation sounds oddly familiar.....

Originally Posted by MrBug708

In stadium I would probably agree, most UCLA fans would also agree. But for overall experience? UCLA has one of the best tailgating atmosphere's around. The biggest problem is obviously campus-stadium distance and the fact that UCLA doesn't sell out a few spots in the stadium

Until you've had Gumbo in Baton Rouge, Or a whole Pig slow cooked in Arkansas, Athens, (or Clemson for that matter) on a crisp fall afternoon.

I find it hard for you to make this statement.

I have had the opportunity to tailgate for 2 UCLA games and it was blah at best to be honest. Partying in a cock-a-boos car, or a tallahassee teepee beat it hands down....

Sorry but thats my opinion

[digamma]

I feel like I am in a unique position to weigh in on the tailgating question at UCLA, having been a season ticket holder there, after growing up in the South.

Tailgating at UCLA is great. 95% of the time the weather is gorgeous. The golf course is a great setting and the hills around are beautiful. There's plenty of room to cook out, have a few cold ones and toss the football. It's a great way to spend the afternoon with your friends. But, it's just that...a great way to spend the afternoon with your friends.

Game day in the South is that and so much more. It's an experience.

[MrBug708]

This article would lend some substance to my arguement

http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/col...jim&id=3037293

[dawgfan]

I like Caple, but he is somewhat biased being a West Coast guy (he used to write for the Seattle P.I.), and he does include this important caveat in his article:

"Given the way they tailgate down south, RW probably could have listed just about the entire SEC and been done with it. But what's the fun of that? Better to spread the honors (and that hate mail) around.

(Southern and Western campuses do get an ever so slight edge because the weather is better. Yes, tailgating is great everywhere, but it's more pleasant when fans' flesh is blue from face paint, not sub-freezing temperatures.)"

And I'll just point out that he lists Husky Stadium above the Rose Bowl for tailgating...

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yeah, I think there is a contingent of fans that are unhappy with Steve Sarkisian and that miss Norm. I do think that is a factor in the offense not being as potent as the past.

FWIW, Norm Chow leaving was probably the biggest blow to NC State football as well. It is generally felt that Norm Chow + Phillip Rivers is what brought success to NC State, and it had very little to do with Chuck Amato (aside from getting Norm Chow as an assistant).

[Radii]

http://www.kusports.com/


someone that writes for kusports.com has a sense of humor.

[MrBug708]

That KU clip was awesome

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

FWIW, Norm Chow leaving was probably the biggest blow to NC State football as well. It is generally felt that Norm Chow + Phillip Rivers is what brought success to NC State, and it had very little to do with Chuck Amato (aside from getting Norm Chow as an assistant).

To be fair, the 11-3 Gator Bowl season came a couple of years after Chow left, but yes, a lot of fans really felt that Chow leaving was the first domino in what eventually wound up getting Amato fired. The offense never had the same creativity and excitement after he left, but more importantly, it was the first of a major revolving door problem regarding just about any coordinator or position coach on the team. When Amato was winning, the fans chalked it to the position coaches being unable to keep up with or just didn't like working with Chuck, but when things went south the last few years, the fans shifted the blame for the failed staff retentions to him, making the claim that he was "hard to work with" and so forth.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Radii

http://www.kusports.com/


someone that writes for kusports.com has a sense of humor.

I must be missing something

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Ah, the old reverse jinx.

It's going to be a lot of fun either way. Great test for the Tigers on the road. Could end up being a preview of the B12 championship game.

Maybe, maybe not. If Mizzou wins, that bumps them onto the national stage in a big way. It also drops Oklahoma to two losses in the Big XII south. Texas has 2 as well so if someone all but runs the table down there with just 1 (say, Texas A&M), Mizzou may actually knock OU out of the Big XII title game which would probably be good for them.

SI

[Radii]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I must be missing something

Hah, they changed it. This was the lead image for most of last night:

http://images.sportsbybrooks.com/3/d...nocupcakes.jpg.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Radii

Hah, they changed it. This was the lead image for most of last night:

http://images.sportsbybrooks.com/3/d...nocupcakes.jpg.

That's awesome

SI

[Swaggs]

ESPN has the mock BCS standings up... the computers are, apparently, not as kind to Oklahoma and USC as the human voters:

Mock BCS standings
Team Average
1. LSU 1.000
2. California .912
3. Ohio State .907
4. Boston College .827
5. South Florida .826
6. Missouri .683
7. South Carolina .654
8. Virginia Tech .596
9. West Virginia .5902
10. Oregon .5899
Others of note: (12) Oklahoma, (13) USC, (20) Hawaii


Also, Hawaii is destroyed by their strength of schedule. I think they are going to need quite a bit of help to get into the top 14 because, as I mentioned earlier, I think they will have a tough time getting much higher than their voter rankings from the past three weeks (15th to 17th) because the coaches aren't going to want to put them above teams from their conferences:

Hawaii in BCS computers
Ranking SOS
Colley 30th 130th
Billingsley 34th N/A
Anderson & Hester 35th 119th
Sagarin 54th 170th
Massey 76 218

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

ESPN has the mock BCS standings up... the computers are, apparently, not as kind to Oklahoma and USC as the human voters:

Mock BCS standings
Team Average
1. LSU 1.000
2. California .912
3. Ohio State .907
4. Boston College .827
5. South Florida .826
6. Missouri .683
7. South Carolina .654
8. Virginia Tech .596
9. West Virginia .5902
10. Oregon .5899
Others of note: (12) Oklahoma, (13) USC, (20) Hawaii


Also, Hawaii is destroyed by their strength of schedule. I think they are going to need quite a bit of help to get into the top 14 because, as I mentioned earlier, I think they will have a tough time getting much higher than their voter rankings from the past three weeks (15th to 17th) because the coaches aren't going to want to put them above teams from their conferences:

Hawaii in BCS computers
Ranking SOS
Colley 30th 130th
Billingsley 34th N/A
Anderson & Hester 35th 119th
Sagarin 54th 170th
Massey 76 218

I can confirm those lines of thought somewhat in my computer rankings. Oklahoma is currently 11th, but falls to 18th without scoring margin factored in. USC is 14th, but drops to 24th without the margin factored in.

As for Hawaii, they rate out at 26, but drop to 31 if scoring margin isn't considered and all the way down to 39 if the rating just looks at wins and losses of the opponents. (I treat non D-IA opponents as winless teams in the calculations).

Oddly enough, I can also support the computer rankings' placing of South Florida at or near the top. When margin isn't considered, they actually do get the top spot. They do backslide to 6th when margin-of-victory is put in, though.

[B & B]

Anybody getting pumped up for Pitt/Navy football?

[k0ruptr]

sweet I get to Root for Washington, Boise St., Fresno St. and Nevada to win every game but against Hawaii. I'm assuming those are the top 4 teams Hawaii plays this year on the computers.

[SirFozzie]

4th and 1, 3:30 to play 38-38, at your own 25.. and Pitt goes for it..

and Gregg Easterbrook doesn't get to write game over in his notebook as they THROW (!) for the first down.. wotta game

[sterlingice]

Wow. Missouri checking in a #6. I can only imagine what that would look like if they beat Oklahoma this week.

SI