College Football 2021

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Notre Dame is #5 in the AP ranking but their one loss was to Cincinnati so that's going to be tough to overcome although I don't know what the strength of schedule is for both teams.

They'll do it in a heartbeat. Like almost everything else in major sports in this country, it's about money. The additional pile of cash for everyone involved, sponsors on down, would be a mountain vs a mole hill if they swap out Cincy for ND. Ditto OSU and the other programs currentl y on the outside looking in. I'd be shocked if Cincy is left in the top four in the final CFB poll, even though they probably will in both the AP and Coaches poll.

sm

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Big Ten East is solid at the top. Penn state is down a little and then you have Maryland and Rutgers at .500 and Indiana is down right awful. The worst team in the SEC West is LSU who is still one of the most talented teams in the nation. They just have a lame duck fired coach and have quit. Really you just have to look at the recruiting profiles of the teams and it’s not even close.

Ohio State is the only B10 school that recruits at a similar level of the top sec programs like Bama, UGA and LSU. Michigan, Mich State and PSU are solid programs and good recruiters but a level below those schools. There is a complete difference in physicality and speed.

Talent matters, but ‘Bama is not worthy of their ranking.
I would love to see any SEC team come up north and play any one of our better teams in late November in their stadiums.
I don’t think any SEC team could beat the Buckeyes in our house in November. That’s another argument for another thread.

[Dru Edwards]

Michigan State coach Mel Tucker just agreed to a 10-year, $95 million fully guaranteed contract. Wow! Is he considered a State employee if he works for a State university?

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ct-sources-say

[TRose]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Talent matters, but ‘Bama is not worthy of their ranking.
I would love to see any SEC team come up north and play any one of our better teams in late November in their stadiums.
I don’t think any SEC team could beat the Buckeyes in our house in November. That’s another argument for another thread.

Rok,
I agree. Alabama isn’t that good this year.
Massive struggle to beat Auburn. Georgia should expose them next week in the SEC championship game and bama’s playoff run will end.

With OSU out with a loss today and Alabama out after next week the top four could be Ga, Cincinnati, Michigan, Ok St or Notre Dame.

I’m pretty certain Ga will beat any of those teams. But then ya never really know until it happens. Should be an entertaining end to the season.

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

They'll do it in a heartbeat. Like almost everything else in major sports in this country, it's about money. The additional pile of cash for everyone involved, sponsors on down, would be a mountain vs a mole hill if they swap out Cincy for ND. Ditto OSU and the other programs currentl y on the outside looking in. I'd be shocked if Cincy is left in the top four in the final CFB poll, even though they probably will in both the AP and Coaches poll.

sm

If Cincy wins out, they are in the conversation for the National Championship Game. Personally, their conference is not a tough one, but the win on the road vs. the Fighting Irish is a big one, as Notre Dame is a very good team. Would love to see Cincy play Georgia for the National Championship.

[RussL30]

As a fan of offensive line play and old school physical football I thoroughly enjoyed watching Michigan’s OL and backs do work today. I was neutral in watching the game, but just appreciated watching that style of play.

[Boozehound]

Originally Posted by RussL30

As a fan of offensive line play and old school physical football I thoroughly enjoyed watching Michigan’s OL and backs do work today. I was neutral in watching the game, but just appreciated watching that style of play.

As a fan of the Michigan Wolverines I really enjoyed that game! I never would have predicted that Michigan could dominate the line of scrimmage like that against a team with Ohio State’s talent level. The last scoring drive was Michigan running the ball for 65 yards and a touchdown without throwing a pass. With the game on the line, no less. It was crazy. Everyone knew Michigan was going to run the ball, and their O-line just flat out out-executed OSU.

[RussL30]

Originally Posted by Boozehound

As a fan of the Michigan Wolverines I really enjoyed that game! I never would have predicted that Michigan could dominate the line of scrimmage like that against a team with Ohio State’s talent level. The last scoring drive was Michigan running the ball for 65 yards and a touchdown without throwing a pass. With the game on the line, no less. It was crazy. Everyone knew Michigan was going to run the ball, and their O-line just flat out out-executed OSU.

Yeah it was very impressive performance. I always liked Harbaugh’s physical and tough philosophy so that had to be huge personally for him to finally beat OSU. I’m a high school OL coach so I love seeing an OL dominate like that. The backs ran great too.

[Charmed Life Picks]

We cut the chord years ago, so I wasn't able to watch the the MI-OSU game, but I just finished watching the highlights on YT. Wow, such great drama stock-full of multiple storylines. I'm a born and bred buckeye, and I despise Harbough, but I'm still glad they won the game. Great for the fans, and great for the Big Ten.

My thoughts on the playoffs....

1) Michigan is entering a danger zone. The Big Ten Championship match is a trap game for them. They expended a ton of emotion and physical energy in overcoming OSU. The tendency in college is to go flat in the next game. They need to find a way to marshal all their forces and hold serve, then advance into the playoffs. Here's hoping they do.

2) After their amazing victory in the fourth overtime, IMHO Alabama deserves to be in the playoff even if they lose to Georgia next week. They've earned it.

3) Georgia is going to the playoffs regardless, even if they lose to the Tide, and they're the bettor's favorite with the best odds to take it all.

4) If they win out, Cincy should be the fourth playoff team. I don't think they're at the level of the other three, but they've earned their ticket.

I welcome your comments AND disagreements.

Scott Memmer

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

We cut the chord years ago, so I wasn't able to watch the the MI-OSU game, but I just finished watching the highlights on YT. Wow, such great drama stock-full of multiple storylines. I'm a born and bred buckeye, and I despise Harbough, but I'm still glad they won the game. Great for the fans, and great for the Big Ten.

My thoughts on the playoffs....

1) Michigan is entering a danger zone. The Big Ten Championship match is a trap game for them. They expended a ton of emotion and physical energy in overcoming OSU. The tendency in college is to go flat in the next game. They need to find a way to marshal all their forces and hold serve, then advance into the playoffs. Here's hoping they do.

2) After their amazing victory in the fourth overtime, IMHO Alabama deserves to be in the playoff even if they lose to Georgia next week. They've earned it.

3) Georgia is going to the playoffs regardless, even if they lose to the Tide, and they're the bettor's favorite with the best odds to take it all.

4) If they win out, Cincy should be the fourth playoff team. I don't think they're at the level of the other three, but they've earned their ticket.

I welcome your comments AND disagreements.

Scott Memmer

Hey Scott, I gotta agree with you. Michigan should be able to beat

I think the four teams above will be in the final four. I wonder if Notre Dame can slip in if Alabama loses big?

[Tahitijack]

Alabama must fall out of the top after that awful performance against Auburn. Even the refs blown calls didn't help them. I hope Georgia runs up the score on Old Nick. I love watching him blow a gasket on the sidelines. Ohio State musf fall as well. Aside from the obvious I see the Irish in the final four.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hey Scott, I gotta agree with you. Michigan should be able to beat

I think the four teams above will be in the final four. I wonder if Notre Dame can slip in if Alabama loses big?

Dru, I was just reading an article including that thought about Notre Dame possibly making the playoff. I think you'd have to consider them strongly if Georgia beats Bama, which seems very likely with that defense of theirs. One of the bummers of Georgia beating the Tide, as I see it, is it's unlikely to be a blowout win but more of a low-scoring/grind-it-out kind of game.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/college...044100993.html

The other off-the-field consideration that may come into play is about money and promotion and tv ratings. If Bama is out, Michigan is the only team left that you could consider a "legacy" program (others being Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State, the Florida schools, etc.). That might allow Notre Dame to slip into the fourth spot. That ends up looking like a pretty cool foursome, IMHO.

scott memmer

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Dru, I was just reading an article including that thought about Notre Dame possibly making the playoff. I think you'd have to consider them strongly if Georgia beats Bama

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/college...044100993.html

The other off-the-field consideration that may come into play is about money and promotion. If Bama is out, Michigan is the only team left that you could consider a "legacy" program.

Scott, looks like Notre Dame just dropped one position in the latest Coaches Poll to #6. Would be great to see them in the final four but they don't play in a championship game which hurts them. Oklahoma State plays Baylor next week so a Baylor win goes a long way.

Georgia; Alabama; Michigan; Cincinnati; Oklahoma State; Notre Dame; Ohio State.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Scott, looks like Notre Dame just dropped one position in the latest Coaches Poll to #6. Would be great to see them in the final four but they don't play in a championship game which hurts them. Oklahoma State plays Baylor next week so a Baylor win goes a long way.

Georgia; Alabama; Michigan; Cincinnati; Oklahoma State; Notre Dame; Ohio State.

Dru, I agree with your top four, assuming everyone holds serve.

However, if Georgia beats Alabama, which seems likely, does that knock the Tide out of the top four? In my view, if the score is close, I think Bama deserves to stay in the top four. I understand if others disagree, and I realize they stunk it up pretty bad against Auburn. But they did WIN that game, however ugly. The great teams always find a way to win. Bama won.

I love the added element of conference championship games, which only became a thing about a decade or so ago. It makes the "champs" prove their mettle and forces them to rise to the occasion if they really want one of those four playoff spots.

I'd like to someday see the playoff pool expand to eight, but I'm just glad we finally have a playoff. For more than a century, college football was the only major sport in America without a playoff system. Seems silly, looking back.

sm

[Dru Edwards]

Oregon got hammered last night by Utah in the PAC-12 championship game.

Georgia/Alabama for the SEC Championship today. Georgia will be in the Playoffs regardless if they win or lose. Alabama may be out if they lose.