College Football Discussion

[Hilltopper39]

I guess we can start a 2012 thread with the recent news about the 4 team playoff to likely be instituted in 2014. Personally I like the idea, it won't be perfect and a lot of teams will still feel like they are left out but it's a nice step in the right direction. I'd rather see 4 teams with a chance to win the title than 2, and hopefully it will eventually evolve into 8 or 16 teams. There are still quite a few issues to iron out (locations, selection committee, how will the money be divided, etc) but but Major College Football will finally have a playoff (for the SEC to win every year)!

Edited July 16, 2013 by Jew

[ernierocker]

but but Major College Football will finally have a playoff (for the SEC to win every year)!

 

 

Poor other conferences.

Edited June 22, 2012 by ernierocker

[Jew]

Despite the NCAA's best efforts, USC will have something to say about that!

[Hilltopper39]

^They will, I'm picking USC and Bama/LSU as my early early early pre season pre summer camp National Title Game matchup. I think the The Pac12 will be down (even though it's a much better conference than most people on the East coast like to think) and USC should be able to go undefeated or have only 1 loss. In the future, depending on the selection format they finally decide on, I'd bet 2 of the 4 spots will normally reserved be for the Big 10 and Pac 12 champions barring some kind of fluke upset in the Conference Championship game.

 

Your head coach is still Lane Kiffin, so there is a certain level of uncertainty that will accompany each season......

[Jew]

Here's the thing about Lane Kiffin: he definitely comes off as a douche, but he can also definitely coach at the college level. He's smart enough to surround himself with good assistants, has a good offensive mind (save for his love of the bubble screen), and can definitely recruit. Oh, his wife is ridiculously hot too.

 

Besides, who wouldn't leave Tennessee for USC? There's only a handful of coaching jobs with as much prestige in college as USC. Tennessee just likes to think they are in that tier.

[Hilltopper39]

Here's the thing about Lane Kiffin: he definitely comes off as a douche, but he can also definitely coach at the college level. He's smart enough to surround himself with good assistants, has a good offensive mind (save for his love of the bubble screen), and can definitely recruit. Oh, his wife is ridiculously hot too.

 

Besides, who wouldn't leave Tennessee for USC? There's only a handful of coaching jobs with as much prestige in college as USC. Tennessee just likes to think they are in that tier.

 

Yeah I got nothing against Kiffin, he does come off as a Douche but whatever most coaches at the level are some sort or an ass/douche/prick, it's just the nature of the business. From all of the reports I've read he actually handled leaving Tennessee the right way and told the AD he was interested in the job, and that he was interviewing for the job, he wasn't doing it behind everyone's back Bobby Petrino Style.

 

And yeah, it's USC, Tennessee is still a great job but it't not USC. If I were good enough that I had offers from everyone in the country and could pick anywhere to play, USC would have definitely been at the top of my list. It was the perfect fit for Kiffin, and as long as they don't go on probation or lose he will be there for a long time.

[ernierocker]

Tennessee just likes to think they are in that tier.

 

Actually, that number of people who actually think that now is probably few and far between. And the ones that do are highly delusional and need to take their orange glasses off! Did we think that before we hired Kiffin and fired Fulmer? Sure, why not. We still were pulling in top recruiting classes every year while woefully under-performing on the field. According to recruiting experts, we still had plenty of talent but not getting the same results as the late 90's/early 00's teams.

 

The major thing that doesn't make Tennessee a prestigious school to coach at, as opposed to a USC, Florida or Alabama, is the recruiting ground in the area. It doesn't exist. Fulmer was an outstanding recruiter and could bring in top talent from around the country which turned UT into a upper tier team for most the 90's and early 2000's. I think a lot of UT fans assumed that history of winning (remember in 2001-2002 Tennessee had more wins than any other school over a five year period)could pull in any coach in the country. The recruiting never dropped off after the 2001 team, just the performance severely dropped off. It just took us a few years to realize that the talent was dropping off as well, and we weren't a championship-caliber team. You will have to forgive us, denial is a bitch.

 

Now, I am still extremely confused why everyone is jumping on the USC bandwagon. You guys aren't exactly an upper tier team either right now. What has it been, 3 years without a BCS bowl now? Sure you went 10-2 last year, and Kiffin does finally seem to be settling down as a coach. (This will now be is longest tenured head coaching job) Your recruiting hasn't lost a lick besides the sanctions, but remember UT's didn't drop off until Dooley became the coach. Recruiting championships doesn't equal national championships unfortunately, I know. So, what is it that makes USC a favorite for the championship game? Favorable schedule? Lot's of returning starters?

[BeemerBoy]

According to recruiting experts,

These don't exist.

 

I'm pretty sure Notre Dame's had a "Top 10" recruiting class for the last 25 years....or so I've been led to believe. More proof? Kyle Wright and Jacory Harris at the U. Sigh.

[Hilltopper39]

 

Now, I am still extremely confused why everyone is jumping on the USC bandwagon. You guys aren't exactly an upper tier team either right now. What has it been, 3 years without a BCS bowl now? Sure you went 10-2 last year, and Kiffin does finally seem to be settling down as a coach. (This will now be is longest tenured head coaching job) Your recruiting hasn't lost a lick besides the sanctions, but remember UT's didn't drop off until Dooley became the coach. Recruiting championships doesn't equal national championships unfortunately, I know. So, what is it that makes USC a favorite for the championship game? Favorable schedule? Lot's of returning starters?

 

They haven't been to a BCS bowl in 3 years because they've been on probation for the past two (I think). I like USC this year because they have an elite QB in Matt Barkley, and elite receiver in Robert Woods, and NFL talent all over the field at every position. The Pac 12 will be down a little bit with Stanford losing Luck and Oregon losing James (and everyone starting to figure out their "gimmick") and USC has their two toughest games in Oregon and Notre Dame both at home. That's why I like USC, Matt Barkley will keep them in every game they play, even against LSU or Bama in the BCS championship.

[ernierocker]

According to recruiting experts,

These don't exist.

 

I'm pretty sure Notre Dame's had a "Top 10" recruiting class for the last 25 years....or so I've been led to believe. More proof? Kyle Wright and Jacory Harris at the U. Sigh.

 

Yeah, I actually meant to put the word expert under quotes there but forgot.

 

 

They haven't been to a BCS bowl in 3 years because they've been on probation for the past two (I think). I like USC this year because they have an elite QB in Matt Barkley, and elite receiver in Robert Woods, and NFL talent all over the field at every position. The Pac 12 will be down a little bit with Stanford losing Luck and Oregon losing James (and everyone starting to figure out their "gimmick") and USC has their two toughest games in Oregon and Notre Dame both at home. That's why I like USC, Matt Barkley will keep them in every game they play, even against LSU or Bama in the BCS championship.

 

Yeah, that's big "duh" moment for me right there. They would of probably made one last year, but two years ago they wouldn't of. What is USC's depth like though? The hit in scholarship has to have had an impact on depth, unless that still hasn't been felt yet? Sorry, when UT sucks at football, I don't follow as much so I am honestly curious, not just trying to get under Joey's skin.

Edited June 26, 2012 by ernierocker

[Hilltopper39]

I am a recruiting expert. If you give me $2,500 dollars I will make your son a highlight tape, then post it on a web site, and send it to college coaches across the country, and have your son's combine numbers posted in several different databases that college coaches use to evaluate talent. You also may want to spend another couple thousand dollars this summer taking your son to various camps so he can showcase his talent for college coaches in person. So just write me a check and I'll get to work on that video...

 

^That is what is wrong with recruiting, someone figured out how to make money off of high school kids and the "rating" they are given skew people's perspectives and inflate a fans base's expectations. I've seen 3 and 4 star rated players that after a year in college couldn't compete with kids who weren't even rated coming out of high school. It's a screwed up process these days.

[ParkTrips]

Remember that USC is really good at losing stupid games they had no business losing...

 

I'm pretty pumped this year - another fairly soft schedule like last year, so we should look better than we really are

[Hilltopper39]

Remember that USC is really good at losing stupid games they had no business losing...

 

Don't you mean Oklahoma?

 

If anyone likes to bet (and I can't fathom anyone here would take part in such uncouth activities) and wants a preseason lock, take Western Kentucky to cover the spread against Kentucky in week 3. I'll guarantee that game opens with UK at about a 17 point favorite and I like Western to win it outright (as long as we don't get too beat up by Alabama in week 2 ).

[BeemerBoy]

I'm pretty pumped this year - another fairly soft schedule like last year, so we should look better than we really are

With the exception coming on 9/22, of course.

[Jew]

Wait, Georgia Tech has a football team?

 

Yeah, that's big "duh" moment for me right there. They would of probably made one last year, but two years ago they wouldn't of. What is USC's depth like though? The hit in scholarship has to have had an impact on depth, unless that still hasn't been felt yet? Sorry, when UT sucks at football, I don't follow as much so I am honestly curious, not just trying to get under Joey's skin.

 

D-line and RB are talented, but light...USC is pretty stacked everywhere else with mostly underclassmen.

 

And for the record: the 2010-2011 season was the only season out of the last 10 USC wasn't in the top 25. Pete Carroll's final season was the only time they weren't in the top 10 for that matter. Did Tennessee even make it into the "others receiving votes" category during that time?

Edited June 27, 2012 by Jew

[Skycoastin Steve]

I just want UF to do me a huge favor and win more than 8 games this year. There's a chance I might make it out to their game against TAMU, so that would be awesome. But if the Gators only win 3 games this year, just let them be against UT, UGA, and FSU.

[Hilltopper39]

if the Gators only win 3 games this year, just let them be against UT, UGA, and FSU.

 

I'd be good with Florida only winning 3 games this year

[shivtim]

I'm excited that there are TWO Chick-Fil-A kick-off games here in Atlanta this year. The match-ups aren't quite as good as they've been in past years (Clemson/Auburn and TN/NC State), but the city will still be buzzing on labor day weekend. I wish ESPN game day would be here, but I have no doubt they'll be at the Michigan/Bama game. Really kick-off weekend is going to be great, with the above games plus Boise/MSU, GA Tech/VA Tech, and Notre Dame / Navy in Dublin.

[Hilltopper39]

Clemson and Auburn played a great game a few years ago, one of the most physical games I've seen in a long time. While neither team is that highly ranked (Clemson somewhere around 15), I expect this to still be a good match up.

 

The Michigan Bama game could be interesting, I think Michigan can compete for a little while but expect Bama to dominate them. It will be interesting to see how Michigan handles Denard Robinson that game cause you ain't winning the Big 10 in week one against Alabama but you could lose it. As good as Robinson is he's still only 195 pounds, and Bama's defense is full of pro's that could very easily end his season. Could get interesting.

[Jew]

I'm excited for USC/Syracuse in NYC...gives me an excuse to visit NYC for the first time!

[Josh Linn]

I just want UF to do me a huge favor and win more than 8 games this year. There's a chance I might make it out to their game against TAMU, so that would be awesome. But if the Gators only win 3 games this year, just let them be against UT, UGA, and FSU.

 

If Driskel lives up to expectations I could see us being alright, but sadly I think it'll take a few years before they can contend in the SEC again.

[Jew]

So...uhh...Penn State Happened...

[Hilltopper39]

^Yeah, I don't even feel like talking about that story anymore, It's just gonna keep getting worse. Will be interesting to see what kind of sanctions they NCAA implements on the football program.

 

I'm excited for USC/Syracuse in NYC...gives me an excuse to visit NYC for the first time!

I'm a fan of the exotic neutral site games teams are starting to play. There are only a handful of programs in the country that can pull off one of those games, but they are fun to watch. I wish they could have made the proposed match up between Tennessee and Va. Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway work, but they never did and probably never will. That could have been really cool.

[I305KD]

Penn State is in trouble. Being a Penn State fan for years now, I shut off ESPN if something about it comes on. I can't see us winning any more than 8 games this year if aren't suspended. It's a bad situatuion right now.

 

I am also a fan of neutral site games. I went to the Rutgers/Army game at Metlife Stadium. The game where Eric Legrand was paralyzed. It was a decent game. Rutgers should've won easily but that didn't happen.

[shivtim]

Just 45 days until the season begins!

I've got my tix to NC State vs. Tennessee on August 31st, which will be the 11th game of the season. There are 10 games on Thursday night!