Pros and Cons of Iowa’s Win
November 10, 2008 by Dave C
Filed under Big Ten, NCAA Football, Pac 10
So our esteemed program director here at STB called it. The Paterno State Nittany Lions have a big, ugly loss on their record and for the first time in three years, we will be spared of a National Thrashing in the BCS Championship Game. There will be no Big 10 representation, meaning the title can only now be won by the SEC Champ, the Big 12 Champ or USC. We only have a month left to see how this unfolds, but a matchup between any of these teams will not disappoint fans who are hungry for a game as good as USC-Texas three years ago.
But don’t get too excited just yet. Sure the BCS Championship game will likely be awesome, but the PSU loss all but guaranteed that those money-hungry, BCS kings will use this game as ammunition that this insane system actually works. And that’s not the only con!!
So with that, here is my list of pros and cons of the Hawkeye win.
PROS
1) Favorable Championship Matchup: Match the winner of the Big 12 (Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma) with the winner of the SEC (Alabama, Florida) or USC and you have a winner of a title game.
2) No Endless JoePa Banter: As much as I love the guy, I don’t think I would be able to tolerate an entire month of cheesy announcers yapping about this being Joe Paterno’s last hurrah. Look, he’s a hall-of-fame coach who’s hard not to cheer against, but I can’t take the overkill. Besides, it would be one thing if this story would actually have a happy ending, but if Penn State did finish undefeated and play for the National Title, they’d get annihilated and JoePa’s last shot at glory will be a big, ugly bust.
3) The last month of this season will be nuts: Think about it: Oklahoma and Texas Tech play this week, Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. still have to play, Florida and Alabama are locked in the SEC Championship Game….does it get any better?
CONS
1) The BCS Bums Will Be Able To Say Their System Works: And that’s despite the fact certain one-loss teams will be on the outside looking in. Penn State getting thrashed in the title game would only improve the cause of Barack Obama and friends who are dying for a playoff.
2) The Big 10 Won’t Be Nearly As Embarassed: Isn’t it fun to watch Buckeye fans chirp, whine and moan? They make their annual case of how they deserve to be in the title game and find an excuse when they get their butts kicked. Not this year, unfortunately.
Got any more?
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Meanwhile, I have to update my BCS projections and after this wild weekend, I have a few bombshells that I’m going to throw out
BCS Championship Game: #1 Florida (SEC) vs #2 USC (Pac 10)
I know what you’re thinking - this is a biased prediction and has no merit, but allow me to explain.
I still think Florida’s in this title game because they will win the SEC over Alabama with just their one loss. The Tide looked very vulnerable at Baton Rouge on Saturday and even though they escaped with a win, they really didn’t deserve it. The Gators are a much better team than LSU and will make the Tide pay for every mistake they make.
USC will vault to #2 by season’s end because the Big 12 teams will self-destruct. Here’s how it plays out.
Nov 22: Oklahoma defeats Texas Tech
Nov 29: Oklahoma St. defeats Oklahoma. Texas, by default, wins the Big 12 South.
Big 12 Champiohsip: Missouri pulls off the most timely upset and upsets the Longhorns for the conference championship. By virtue of USC winning the remainder of its games by more impressive scores than 17-3, the Trojans leapfrog all the Big 12 teams and ‘Bama and head to Miami.
Sugar Bowl: Alabama (at-large) vs Texas Tech (at-large)
The battle of what might have beens. The Red Raiders earn a measure of redemption by earning a BCS bid over Texas, who stumbled in the Big 12 Title Game. Alabama, the other one-loss team, is the first selection due to the Sugar Bowl losing SEC Champion Florida.
Rose Bowl: Ohio St (Big 10 Champ) vs Boise St. (at-large)
Penn State blows its chance at a Big 10 Title at home to the Spartans on Nov. 22. OSU, by virtue of its lopsided win over MSU, claims the Big 10 Title. Boise St. remains undefeated and is selected by the Pasadena people who would rather kill themselves than select Oregon State!
Fiesta Bowl: Missouri (Big 12 Champ) vs Utah (at-large)
Pete Carroll pays a visit to Columbia and gives every member of the Tigers a nice Christmas gift. Mizzou, the unlikely Big 12 Champ falters in the Bowl, however, and the Utes complete their perfect season.
Orange Bowl: Florida St (ACC Champ) vs Cincinnati (Big East)
Yuck!
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Last post (s) by Dave C
- Bowl Central - Thoughts And Predictions - December 8th, 2008
- Does Oklahoma Deserve It? - December 1st, 2008
- BCS Campaign Well Underway - November 24th, 2008
- U.S.A. - Union of Stupid Americans - November 18th, 2008
- My November BCS Matchups - November 3rd, 2008
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November 10th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Oklahoma Texas Tech is actually two weeks from now. The Red Raiders have a bye this week.
Good stuff but I completely disagree I think Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Florida are the best teams in college football right now. If Oklahoma State couldn’t stop Tech they won’t be able to stop the Sooners, who have looked incredible of late.
I think we get our “BCS Playoff” with the SEC Title game (Bama/Florida) and Nov 22 Oklahoma/Texas Tech.
And I also called a Penn State choke. It’s the Big Ten its what they do.
Nittany Lions will be crushed by USC in the Rose Bowl. Enjoy Paterno lovers.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Thanks Nich - I had the TTU-OU game correct though (check the date).
Tell me what you think of this statement - there isn’t a team in college football that would be favored over USC in a game in a neutral setting.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I am torn on that. Florida and OU from what I was told at the Nevada Sports Commission, a guy I know there said Florida and OU would be slight favs. These are the guys who oversee the lines, casinos, etc….
USC would be a FG over Texas or -4 I am told max. Texas travels better than most in CFB.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Very interesting Kev on the projected lines. USC has possibly the best defense in the nation but their offense struggles at times. USC has to leapfrog 4 teams I think, and run the Pac-10 table. Running the table should not be a problem. Jumping that many teams will be a much tougher task.
I watched the Arizona/USC in person and USC had no business winning that game and the Cats should have tied at the end of the game if not for 2 terrible calls. USC scored 17 against a very average Arizona defense, but the Cougs just scored 28 this past weekend on this average defense.
Cal gave USC a nice game and with USC having 3 cupcakes left they better run the table. USC favoured by 22 points at Stanford and the line will be about the same I would think when at UCLA. When the Irish come to LA, USC should be a 3 touchdown favourite too. A loss in any of those games would be awful.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Ok dave
Texas beat Oklahoma, Missouri, and Oklahoma St.
Texas Tech beat Texas, Missouri, & Oklahoma St.
Oklahoma is in the bad spot since they have yet to play Texas Tech and Oklahoma St.
question is if Oklahoma runs the table who is the winner of the south division ? since texas beat oklahoma but texas texas tech beat texas and if it happens oklahoma beat texas tech.
fun to figure out eh ?
November 11th, 2008 at 11:55 am
The highest ranked team in the BCS standings heading into championship weekend wins the Big 12 South. Yeah I know - crazy!!
November 11th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Pretty sure you still have the date wrong, its say Oklahoma Texas Tech is this week in the blog… But w/e.
I don’t think USC can play with Oklahoma or Florida to be honest. Florida has crushed the same sort of conference competition that USC has floundered against.
Beating Cal 17-3 at home isn’t impressive at all. Florida has destroyed teams in the top 20, Georgia (#10 in the BCS) on a neutral field.
IF USC wants to take the SEC/Big12’s title game spots they should schedule the elite. Not Arkansas or Ohio State but a legit competitor. Or just win the PAC-10 games, they haven’t so they are not worthy.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
You didn’t just really say that USC doesn’t schedule the games did you…..
2002: vs Auburn, vs Colorado, vs Kansas State, Bowl Game win vs #3 Iowa
2003: vs Auburn, vs Brigham Young, Bowl Game win vs #4 Michigan
2004: vs Va Tech, vs Brigham Young, Bowl Game win vs #3 Oklahoma
2005: vs Arkansas, Bowl Game loss vs #1 Texas (in the greatest game ever)
2006: vs Arkansas, vs Nebraska, Bowl Game win vs #8 Michigan
2007: vs Nebraska, Bowl Game win vs #13 Illinois
2008: vs Virginia, vs OSU
And don’t forget they’ve played tough Notre Dame teams in most of these years. USC is known for scheduling the tough out-of-conference games and winning them almost every single time (this year included). They scheduled the Buckeyes when they were the top team in the country and had an easier time than the SEC schools did in the title games in the past two years.
I think USC can beat any team right now because their defense is impossible to move the ball against. That goes for the Gators too.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
A: Bowl games don’t count.
B: Playing Ohio State at home, and a cross country flight with at the time QB issues, hardly equates to a national championship atmosphere.
C: Virginia is Connecticut’s idea of scheduling the games…
D: BYU? Really?
And lets get something straight, I hate Florida, I would like nothing more than them to lose. You’re a USC fan of course you can make the argument for them.
The SEC is and has been the deepest conference in the country. You have played Arkansas and Auburn, one year before they ran the table. That doesn’t make USC the be all and end all of college football.
Don’t get me wrong I’d love to see USC as the number #4 in a playoff. But thats not the way it works. Just ask Auburn in ‘04.
And Nebraska sucks now too. So not buying the schedule particularly when you can’t beat Oregon State, and can’t put up the style numbers you need in College FB.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Bowl games count because they prove USC is as good, if not better than teams in the other conferences.
OSU is an example of fearless scheduling. It’s not USC’s fault they had qb issues. Besides, they play in Columbus next year.
Virginia is decent and BYU had good years. Nebraska was ranked in the top 15 in both years of their home and home.
I never said USC is the be-all end-all of college football, but the SEC isn’t the be-all end-all of college football either! And for the record, I didn’t say USC would deserve a berth in the title game over one-loss Florida, especially because USC has that bad loss against Oregon St.
But it doesn’t change one absolute fact: USC is playing better right now than anyone in the country. It’s just that they’re doing it with defense and that doesn’t bode well for them in the eyes of those voters, who don’t actually watch them play, but instead, just rank their teams based on the final score.
Unfortunately for USC, their Pac 10 struggles have hurt them in recent years. When we’re talking out of conference, however, they’ve beaten every team they’ve played to a pulp (see Oklahoma Sooners, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Auburn Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish w/ Brady Quinn). Their only ooc loss was to Texas in that epic title game.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I can’t say that I’ve watched enough of USC’s defense to judge whether they are as good as you claim. But I find a 17-3 win against Cal, with 26 rushes yielding just 27-yards is fairly convincing.
But I think USC plays too traditional a brand of football to stop the Florida and TTU’s of the world offensively.
“One absolute fact: USC is playing better right now than anyone in the country.”
I’m sorry if my life depended on it I’d want an offense with my team. Sooners and Gators have to be best team in FB right now.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Plus we all know how USC struggles mightily against mobile QB’s, hence the reason why they probably struggled against Arizona a few weeks ago, but I am sure Zach could tell us more. Tuitama is a very mobile QB.
November 11th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
They did do a decent job against Pryor and also shut down a mobile QB in Juice Williams.
I think it’s more the scheme in how the mobile QB is used that frustrates them not just the QB itself.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Mobile QB’s with a solid arm I should have said. Pryor cant throw effectively but could develop his arm and accuracy over time. Juice Williams was a freshman and only had the legs, no arm man.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:11 am
You just said mobile QB’s you didn’t mention that had to have good arm and be acurate as well. Details, Details, Details.
Juice Williams was also a sophmore in last years rose bowl. At that point he did have an arm just not the solid talent needed at WR.