Championship Week 2021

[Mark Vader]

Big 12: Baylor Vs. Oklahoma State

 

ACC: Pitt Vs. Wake Forest

 

Big 10: Iowa Vs. Michigan

 

SEC: Alabama Vs. Georgia

[YoloinOhio]

[BuffaloRebound]

7 chances inside the 2 yard line in the last 5 minutes of game and Oklahoma State can’t score a TD.  It’s not just a Bills problem.  

[Motorin']

I'd love to see Ika in a Bills uniform. 

[SirAndrew]

25 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

7 chances inside the 2 yard line in the last 5 minutes of game and Oklahoma State can’t score a TD.  It’s not just a Bills problem.  

Oklahoma State offense did look eerily similar to ours on a bad day. I couldn’t stop thinking about the similarities the entire time I watched. 

[RaoulDuke79]

Wouldn't surprise me if Bama upsets Georgia.

[The Frankish Reich]

2 hours ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

Wouldn't surprise me if Bama upsets Georgia.

That would give me sufficient reason to give up paying attention to college football this year. I have no interest in seeing a repeat of this in the national championship game. Will NCAAF continue its retreat into an all southern phenomenon?

[RaoulDuke79]

3 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:

That would give me sufficient reason to give up paying attention to college football this year. I have no interest in seeing a repeat of this in the national championship game. Will NCAAF continue its retreat into an all southern phenomenon?

They seem to be the best teams. Cincinnati is a pleasant surprise this year, but I think Georgia or Bama beats the brakes off either of those teams. My team is from the ACC, so I don't have a dog in the fight. Just going by the eye test

[Solomon Grundy]

Derion Kendrick cost himself some money today. He was getting abused the whole game 

[CIrvine]

Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest is an entertaining game.

[Solomon Grundy]

Hutchinson is JJ Watt like

[Mark Vader]

18 minutes ago, CIrvine said:

Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest is an entertaining game.

I believe the over/under in this game is 72

[Talley56]

My thoughts, assuming Michigan hangs on, are below.  While I think Georgia should fall to 4, I'm thinking Bama moves to #1 and the selection committee wants to set it up so that Bama/Georgia meet in the championship, not the semifinals.

 

1. Alabama

2. Michigan

3. Georgia

4. Cincinnati

 

Alabama vs Cincinnati

Michigan vs Georgia 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Michigan is peaking at the right time. Just Played its most complete game. I am really curious to see how they will

matchup with these SEC teams. 

[Mark Vader]

After starting the season unranked, the Wolverines are now one of the top teams in the country.

 

There was no hangover, no letdown from last week, tonight they went out and got it done tonight and they have earned the right to be in the College Football Playoff

 

GO BLUE!!!!!

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

9 hours ago, Talley56 said:

My thoughts, assuming Michigan hangs on, are below.  While I think Georgia should fall to 4, I'm thinking Bama moves to #1 and the selection committee wants to set it up so that Bama/Georgia meet in the championship, not the semifinals.

 

1. Alabama

2. Michigan

3. Georgia

4. Cincinnati

 

Alabama vs Cincinnati

Michigan vs Georgia 

Who plays the Detroit Lions, and when? 🤔😁

[ArdmoreRyno]

On 12/4/2021 at 3:03 PM, SirAndrew said:

Oklahoma State offense did look eerily similar to ours on a bad day. I couldn’t stop thinking about the similarities the entire time I watched. 

 

I was at the game, it was a terrible offensive performance... but we were w/o our 1,100 bruising RB. He got hurt and suited, but never played. 

 

The defense, I'd argue... we have the BEST defense in the country. ONLY defense in college football to not allow more than 3 offensive TDs in a game this year. Then you add in, the 1st team defense didn't allow a 2nd half TD in the past 2 months (6 games straight). 

[SirAndrew]

1 hour ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

 

I was at the game, it was a terrible offensive performance... but we were w/o our 1,100 bruising RB. He got hurt and suited, but never played. 

 

The defense, I'd argue... we have the BEST defense in the country. ONLY defense in college football to not allow more than 3 offensive TDs in a game this year. Then you add in, the 1st team defense didn't allow a 2nd half TD in the past 2 months (6 games straight). 

Good post, I think the defense doesn’t get the credit they deserve because of bias against the stereotypical Big 12 style of play. The running back being out was a huge loss. Jackson just doesn’t appear to have what it takes to be the main back in that offense. 

[Bill from NYC]

On 12/4/2021 at 6:45 PM, The Frankish Reich said:

That would give me sufficient reason to give up paying attention to college football this year. I have no interest in seeing a repeat of this in the national championship game. Will NCAAF continue its retreat into an all southern phenomenon?

No. It will stop when other teams are worthy. 

 

Players (who are mostly poor kids) should not have to play 17 game schedules in college in order to appease fans of not so great teams. In every game they are risking losing out on millions of dollars. How many playoff teams should there be? 8? 16? 32?  

Imo, all football fans possess a certain degree of the gladiator mentality. We watch our favorite teams play a vicious sport and hope for hard his, sacks, etc. I am not above this nor do I pretend to be. 

That said, should college players take even more risk to satisfy the wishes of fans that root for a team that cannot win enough games?

Players will start sitting out playoff games if they have 16 or 17 gme schedules and would you blame them? They are already sitting out the bowls. 

 

And btw, I am an Alabama fan. 99% of sportswriters, sportscasters, and fans expected the Tide to lose to UGA. A larger playoff pool would have appeared to work for Bama this season. Still, the only way I could support expanded playoffs would be if they eliminated games from the schedule, and also did away with conference championship games. This btw will never happen.

 

Of course, the above is jmo.

2 hours ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

 

I was at the game, it was a terrible offensive performance... but we were w/o our 1,100 bruising RB. He got hurt and suited, but never played. 

 

The defense, I'd argue... we have the BEST defense in the country. ONLY defense in college football to not allow more than 3 offensive TDs in a game this year. Then you add in, the 1st team defense didn't allow a 2nd half TD in the past 2 months (6 games straight). 

I am sorry that your team lost, and know how much it sucks to get that close and lose.  I don't however agree that your defense is the best in the NCAA.

Top Ten? Perhaps.

[The Frankish Reich]

31 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Players (who are mostly poor kids) should not have to play 17 game schedules in college in order to appease fans of not so great teams. In every game they are risking losing out on millions of dollars. How many playoff teams should there be? 8? 16? 32?  

Valid points (in relation to my comment about the southern domination of NCAAF). But isn't this on the conferences themselves and not on the NCAA as a whole? The power conferences expanded. They demanded lucrative conference championship games, but heaven forbid that ONLY the conference champion advances to the NCAA playoff. No, we need a do-over. (Maybe if they also met in the regular season the rubber match would satisfy some fans?)

I think the season is too long. I don't need to see more playoff teams. I need to see the conferences do what they're supposed to do - declare a champion and weed out the also-rans. I'll admit it, I'm old (enough) and I kind of like the certainty of the old Bowl structure. You win your conference, you play another game. The expansion of the conferences and their internal dynamics is what warps the recruitment derby. If I know Alabama is winning the SEC from now till kingdom come and I'm a big-time recruit from the Midwest, maybe I'm not going to Georgia. Maybe I'm staying closer to home, and maybe I'm evening out the warped playing field a bit. Letting NCAAF devolve into a regional attraction doesn't strike me as a good idea overall. It's like having the Olympics with multiple U.S. and Russian teams (Gold Medal Game: U.S. Southeast vs. U.S. Pacific!) This is college athletics. Championships should bring the best teams from different regions together.

Edited December 7, 2021 by The Frankish Reich

[Bill from NYC]

10 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Valid points (in relation to my comment about the southern domination of NCAAF). But isn't this on the conferences themselves and not on the NCAA as a whole? The power conferences expanded. They demanded lucrative conference championship games, but heaven forbid that ONLY the conference champion advances to the NCAA playoff. No, we need a do-over. (Maybe if they also met in the regular season the rubber match would satisfy some fans?)

I think the season is too long. I don't need to see more playoff teams. I need to see the conferences do what they're supposed to do - declare a champion and weed out the also-rans. I'll admit it, I'm old (enough) and I kind of like the certainty of the old Bowl structure. You win your conference, you play another game. The expansion of the conferences and their internal dynamics is what warps the recruitment derby. If I know Alabama is winning the SEC from now till kingdom come and I'm a big-time recruit from the Midwest, maybe I'm not going to Georgia. Maybe I'm staying closer to home, and maybe I'm evening out the warped playing field a bit. Letting NCAAF devolve into a regional attraction doesn't strike me as a good idea overall. It's like having the Olympics with multiple U.S. and Russian teams (Gold Medal Game: U.S. Southeast vs. U.S. Pacific!) This is college athletics. Championships should bring the best teams from different regions together.

Thanks for the good and interesting dialogue!  You too make sound, reasonable points.

 

In 2017, Alabama did not win the SEC Championship. In fact, they even lost their division title and didn't appear in the SEC Championship Game at all, yet; they got in the playoffs with the 4th seed and went on to win the title. I guess that my point is that I think that fans deserve to see the best teams.

 

Saban has said time and again that he would prefer an all SEC schedule. He also said that is is hard to get non conference teams to play Alabama. i don't see any clear reason for even a very strong team like Notre Dame (for example) to want to sign on for a home/away series with Clemson, Georgia, or Bama. The risk of loss would be pretty big and could cost them a playoff spot. I can't say I blame them. Btw, kudos to Okla. St. for signing on with Bama for such a series.

 

Many people got their wish wrt Cincy this season. The entire country, as well as virtually every single sportscaster will be rooting for them. Last season, the Alabama team would have been able to pull it's starters by half time against this Cincy team. This year, I give Cincy a much better chance. That said, if I was a fan of one of several other teams, I would probably resent their presence in the 4 team playoff.

 

In summary, I don't have all the answers. I really don't know what would make things fair to all (imo) except for perhaps eliminating a bunch of games, including conference title games. This however would cost the NCAA untold millions, so that ain't happening. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ArdmoreRyno]

15 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

No. It will stop when other teams are worthy. 

 

Players (who are mostly poor kids) should not have to play 17 game schedules in college in order to appease fans of not so great teams. In every game they are risking losing out on millions of dollars. How many playoff teams should there be? 8? 16? 32?  

Imo, all football fans possess a certain degree of the gladiator mentality. We watch our favorite teams play a vicious sport and hope for hard his, sacks, etc. I am not above this nor do I pretend to be. 

That said, should college players take even more risk to satisfy the wishes of fans that root for a team that cannot win enough games?

Players will start sitting out playoff games if they have 16 or 17 gme schedules and would you blame them? They are already sitting out the bowls. 

 

And btw, I am an Alabama fan. 99% of sportswriters, sportscasters, and fans expected the Tide to lose to UGA. A larger playoff pool would have appeared to work for Bama this season. Still, the only way I could support expanded playoffs would be if they eliminated games from the schedule, and also did away with conference championship games. This btw will never happen.

 

Of course, the above is jmo.

I am sorry that your team lost, and know how much it sucks to get that close and lose.  I don't however agree that your defense is the best in the NCAA.

Top Ten? Perhaps.

 

How do you figure it's only top 10?

 

• Only team defense that has allowed 3 TDs or less in any game this year to offenses. 
• Has not allowed a TD after halftime (adjustments) by 1st team defenses the past 6 games - TCU scored 2 TDs on the 2nd team def in the 4Q
• Leads the NCAA in sacks - 55 - 9 better than Alabama and 13 better than UGA
• 1st in tackle for loss 
• 3rd in total yards allowed per game
• 2nd in 3rd down percentage allowed  
• 6th in 4th down percentage allowed
• 9th in 1st downs allowed per game
• 8th in scoring defense
• 12th in passing yards allowed
• 5th in rushing yards allowed

Only UGA and Wisconsin are in the top 10 (like Oklahoma State) in practically ever defensive stat. Perhaps top 10? lol 

[ArdmoreRyno]

16 hours ago, SirAndrew said:

Good post, I think the defense doesn’t get the credit they deserve because of bias against the stereotypical Big 12 style of play. The running back being out was a huge loss. Jackson just doesn’t appear to have what it takes to be the main back in that offense. 

 

Jackson is good, but not good enough against a Baylor run defense. Warren ran for 125 yards and 2 TDs in the first meeting against Baylor... they couldn't stop him. He is a FAST bruising running back. We didn't have that and seriously needed in last Saturday. I have no doubt we would have won if he had played... even as bad as Sanders played. He did as bad in game one against Baylor and we won by 10. 

[Bill from NYC]

57 minutes ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

 

How do you figure it's only top 10?

 

• Only team defense that has allowed 3 TDs or less in any game this year to offenses. 
• Has not allowed a TD after halftime (adjustments) by 1st team defenses the past 6 games - TCU scored 2 TDs on the 2nd team def in the 4Q
• Leads the NCAA in sacks - 55 - 9 better than Alabama and 13 better than UGA
• 1st in tackle for loss 
• 3rd in total yards allowed per game
• 2nd in 3rd down percentage allowed  
• 6th in 4th down percentage allowed
• 9th in 1st downs allowed per game
• 8th in scoring defense
• 12th in passing yards allowed
• 5th in rushing yards allowed

Only UGA and Wisconsin are in the top 10 (like Oklahoma State) in practically ever defensive stat. Perhaps top 10? lol 

Maybe I'm wrong. I was placing lots of emphasis to the quality of opponents. 

[ArdmoreRyno]

25 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Maybe I'm wrong. I was placing lots of emphasis to the quality of opponents. 

 

Let's be honest, we don't really know how the opponents every team stack up to different conferences. Kansas State beat up Stanford, who beat Oregon, who beat tOSU. Oklahoma State pretty much dominated K-State. Etc, etc, etc. 

 

We will see over the next month how it goes... but you can only play who's on your schedule. OSU plays teams like Arkansas and Bama over the next 10 years (home and home). 

 

 

[Bill from NYC]

19 minutes ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

 

OSU plays teams like Arkansas and Bama over the next 10 years (home and home). 

 

Did you miss my post in which I complimented OSU, and said how many other teams (according to Coach Saban) refuse to play Alabama?  I respect OSU for having the nerve to step up. Here it is:

 

>>>>>>Saban has said time and again that he would prefer an all SEC schedule. He also said that is is hard to get non conference teams to play Alabama. i don't see any clear reason for even a very strong team like Notre Dame (for example) to want to sign on for a home/away series with Clemson, Georgia, or Bama. The risk of loss would be pretty big and could cost them a playoff spot. I can't say I blame them. Btw, kudos to Okla. St. for signing on with Bama for such a series.<<<<<<

[Mark Vader]

1 hour ago, Bill from NYC said:

Did you miss my post in which I complimented OSU, and said how many other teams (according to Coach Saban) refuse to play Alabama?  I respect OSU for having the nerve to step up. Here it is:

 

>>>>>>Saban has said time and again that he would prefer an all SEC schedule. He also said that is is hard to get non conference teams to play Alabama. i don't see any clear reason for even a very strong team like Notre Dame (for example) to want to sign on for a home/away series with Clemson, Georgia, or Bama. The risk of loss would be pretty big and could cost them a playoff spot. I can't say I blame them. Btw, kudos to Okla. St. for signing on with Bama for such a series.<<<<<<

That won't be a problem anymore.

 

Alabama's Non-Conference schedule for the next 10-12 years has some very good quality opponents.

 

Good on them, I like to see that from teams.