My colleague Jack did a great job earlier this week calling out some of the power programs in regards to their embarrassing non-conference schedules. I didn’t realize that the Gators hadn’t left the state of Florida for a non-conference game since 1991. That’s astonishing.
The second point of his article was that Boise State was getting the shaft because no one was scheduling them. I’m gonna play devil’s advocate here and take the side of the major conference teams.
What good did it do Oregon to play at Boise State this year? If they had won, the pollsters would’ve thought, “well, you’re Oregon. You’re supposed to beat teams like Boise State.” And when they lost, the pollsters dropped them further in the polls than they probably should have (despite the fact that they lost on the road, to ostensibly a top-15 team). So as unfair as it is, it doesn’t benefit major conference teams to play Boise State. It only benefits Boise State who desperately needs to bulk up their schedule.
Is it their fault that they play in the WAC? Well…sort of. They’ve only been a division one football team since 2001. So, it’s nice that they’ve been so successful, and in a perfect world, they would get a shot at a national championship, but the fact remains that until they get invited to the Mountain West (don’t even dream of joining the Pac-10, Boise), then they’ll always fight the perception that they’re just “good…for a WAC team.”
As far as the major programs being “pu$$ies” because they schedule weak non-conference opponents…why should Florida have to schedule another difficult game when they’ve already got games against Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and an annual non-conference game against Florida State? Just because they’re the #1 team in the country doesn’t mean they should have to kill themselves week-in and week-out.
Anyway. I agree with his points, but if you look at it from Texas’ perspective…they can take a home date against Texas State, steamroll them and it won’t affect their national championship hopes. Why on earth would they risk losing a non-conference game to Boise when they’ve still got to play OU, Tech, A&M and Oklahoma State?
Really, the only way to solve this would be to have a playoff system. Then Boise would get a crack at the big boys.
Let’s get to some picks, shall we?
Last week: 16-3
Good calls: the ACC (5-0), the SEC (8-0), Stanford over #7 Oregon (Stanford win 51-42), “USC wins, but not by much” (USC win 14-9)
Bad calls: the Pac-10 (3-2), Oklahoma over Nebraska (Nebraska win 10-3)
ACC
Florida State (4-5) at Wake Forest (4-6)
If you traveled back in time to 1996 and told a Florida State fan that their beloved Seminoles would be absolutely owned by Wake Forest in the latter part of the 00’s, he would’ve choked on his orange juice (that’s what they drink in Florida, right?). Let the domination continue! I’ll take Wake.
#24 Clemson (6-3) at NC State (4-5)
This may be the easiest upset pick I make all year. You can almost guarantee that Clemson + any kind of positive expectations = immediately losing. Congrats for making it into the top 25 Clemson. Please see yourself out.
#7 Georgia Tech (9-1) at Duke (5-4)
Duke has been a nice story this year. And you kinda forget how smug their fans are when you see them in the context of a scrappy, overachieving football team. Still. Don’t forget – Duke fans are the worst. Georgia Tech wins.
Just because they've got a quaint little football team, don't forget that THIS is what a Duke fan looks like.
#20 Virginia Tech (6-3) at Maryland (2-7)
Yup, Maryland is still terrible. Hokies win.
Boston College (6-3) at Virginia (3-6)
Yup, Virginia is still terrible. BC wins.
#12 Miami (7-2) at North Carolina (6-3)
This is a tough one to call. UNC has one of the best defenses in the country, allowing a paltry 250 yards per game (good for fifth in the nation). Their offense, however, is abysmal, scoring only 22.3 points per game (good for 93rd, sandwiched between Maryland and UL-Lafayette). Still, there’s something about this team. Which is why I’m making UNC my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week!
SEC
Tennessee (5-4) at Ole Miss (6-3)
I’m sure you get your sporting news elsewhere, so you’ve probably seen the story about three Tennessee players being arrested for armed robbery. Nice work, guys. You’d make the Miami teams of the 80’s and 90’s incredibly proud. Ole Miss wins.
Kentucky (5-4) at Vanderbilt (2-8)
What’s the opposite of “game of the week?” Whatever it is, this is it. Kentucky wins.
#1 Florida (9-0) at South Carolina (6-4)
It sure seems like this year the SEC is Florida and Alabama and then everyone else. Look at all those 5-4 records. Anyway. Can Spurrier derail his old team’s chances at another national championship? At this stage in his career when he’s got nothing left to prove and he knows he’s not fielding another BCS-caliber team…does he really want to? Florida wins.
#3 Alabama (9-0) at Mississippi State (4-5)
Just like last year, I can’t imagine Alabama making it all the way through this season unscathed. Whether that happens on December 5th against Florida or here…it’s gonna happen. Hmm. Nope. It won’t be here.
Auburn (7-3) at Georgia (5-4)
I still can’t believe Georgia is as bad as their record indicates. I also have a hard time believing Auburn is as good as their record indicates. Georgia needs this one to salvage their season. I’ll take the Bulldogs.
Louisiana Tech (3-6) at #9 LSU (7-2)
Okay, saying the SEC is “Florida and Alabama and then everyone else” probably isn’t fair to LSU, who might just be the least talked about top-ten team in the history of the sport. They’ve once again run into the same problem that’s plagued them over the years – a great defense and a so-so offense. Which is confusing, because they’ve got some of the most talented skill position guys in the nation. Hell, I don’t know. LSU rolls in this one.
Troy (7-2) at Arkansas (5-4)
I’ve been riding the Arkansas bandwagon all season long. There’s still plenty of room! Hogs win.
Pac-10
Washington (3-6) at Oregon State (6-3)
This is the first week since I’ve started doing this that the Pac-10 games actually seem to have a clear winner and loser. No more just closing my eyes and blindly picking a team. Oregon State will win!
#25 Stanford (6-3) at #11 USC (7-2)
Stanford is coming off their huge upset over #7 Oregon, a team that beat the tar out of USC just a week earlier. USC, on the other hand, has been underwhelming, squeaking by a bad Arizona State team last week. However. This seems like a classic big-brother-little-brother game where USC reminds Stanford that “we’re USC and you’re Stanford.” USC wins.
UCLA (4-5) at Washington State (1-8)
UCLA wins!
#18 Arizona (6-2) at Cal (6-3)
Of all the Pac-10 games this week, this is the only one that could go either way. I don’t really trust Arizona because they’re new to this whole “top 25” thing and haven’t really showed me enough. I don’t really trust Cal because they’ve got a bad habit of sliding late in the season. Hmm. Vegas likes Cal (-3), so I like Cal.
Arizona State (4-5) at #14 Oregon (7-2)
Oregon wins!
Big XII South Game of the Week
Texas Tech (6-3) at #17 Oklahoma State (7-2)
Texas Tech, however, has always had the opposite problem of LSU. A consistently high-scoring offense, but a consistently so-so defense. Whatever. I’d feel better about Tech’s chances if they had the quarterback position figured out. For a team that relies so heavily on quarterback play, it’s a small miracle that we’re 6-3 despite using three different guys this year. I’d like to think we can win this game, but it all boils down to the fact that the home team always wins the Tech/Okie State game. Always. Sigh. Cowboys win a high-scoring game. Robert rips out most of his hair.
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Comments
I think my problem with all these big-time teams scheduling patsies to kick the crap out of is that everybody does it, and the BCS for some reason doesn’t factor out of conference strength-of-schedule into its rankings. This baffles me. The basketball selectors do this: Sue, your UNCs, Kansases and Michigan States will play patsies but they also test themselves against one another. (Just look at MSU’s schedule: at Texas, at UNC, hosting Gonzaga, vs. Florida). Maybe we could force the big-time schools to schedule at least ONE challenging non-conference game by mandating that the BCS will consider out of conference strength of schedule?
I mean, the only reason why Florida or Texas or even Michigan don’t schedule hard teams is because virtually no one else will schedule hard teams. If no one else is doing it, why should they?
However, if it were to be a factor in the BCS, and EVERYBODY did it, then they would have to do it. That way: 1) Their SOS would look better and 2) We wouldn’t have as many undefeated teams.
I mean, this could eliminate half of the BCS’ problems right here. We’d never again have three undefeated teams if we forced people to eliminate even one of those pay to play games and schedule to their ability.
Also, you say that “Just because they’re the #1 team in the country doesn’t mean they should have to kill themselves week-in and week-out.” Why the hell not? If they’re truly the best team in the country, they could handle it. Look at USC. They have the balls to schedule those long road trips. They’ve never, in fact, played a D I-AA opponent. They seem to do pretty well for themselves, don’t you think (maybe not this year, but in general).
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[...] other college football expert Steve Knox gave me something of a rebuttal today. He makes a great point in saying that the big-conference teams have no reason to schedule teams [...]