College Football

[gerntz]

I don't mind watching games on TV in the snow but I have never been in person to a snow game and I don't think I would like it.

Do players get hurt more in the snow slipping and sliding?

Just seeing this. I've been to two in the snow that I recall, one college, one NFL.

The NFL one was quite memorable. It was in Cincinnati vs. the Steelers back when the Steelers were in the midst of their string of great teams & CBs were pretty good.

Started snowing about 2Q & by 4Q, there were a couple of inches. PSs were ahead by less than a TD & CB's were driving for a go-ahead TD. All the players were having traction issues. Mean Joe Green was playing DL & as the CB's got to around the PS's 25, MJG stood up, took his cleats off, & threw them to the sideline & played the rest of the game in his socks. Funniest thing. Oh yea, PS stopped CB & won.

 

[ziggy29]

Army with a 9-2 record was left out of a bowl but teams with losing records got in due to conference tie ins. Something not right about the system.

What I was hearing was that Army was expected to face Boise State, but Boise decided to opt out after losing the MW championship to San Jose State. That left Army without any opponent. Hopefully they can find a home somewhere.

What my alma mater, San Jose State, did this year is one of the most 2020 things ever.

 

[ziggy29]

Looks like Tennessee just pulled out of the Liberty Bowl. That could open a place for Army to squeeze in somewhere. I hope so.

 

[harllee]

Looks like Tennessee just pulled out of the Liberty Bowl. That could open a place for Army to squeeze in somewhere. I hope so.

Bingo! Just read that Army will replace Tennessee (Tenn has Covid issues) in the Liberty Bowl.

 

[Montecfo]

Clemson Tigers once again in the CFP, after soundly beating ND with our full complement of defensive players (not to mention Trevor Lawrence). Goes to show how beneficail he is, and in my mind is the most valuable player in college football this year, Heisman win or not. Playing tOSU first, in effort to make it 5-0 against tOSU, then on to Bama who will beat ND handily.

Congrats Tiger. I was impressed. The game was not as close as the score suggests. I felt Clemson could have scored as much as they wanted.

Bama can be hurt through the air. I like Clemson's chances.

Ohio State did not have a large enough body of work to make it to the playoff in my opinion, and they looked pretty bad against a rather average Northwestern team. Clemson should take care of business.

 

[Montecfo]

UNC will probably be in tough against Texas A&M who feels like they should be in one of the semi-finals in place of OSU or ND.

NC has some key players opting out already.

 

[harllee]

NC has some key players opting out already.

Yes, 3 UNC starters opting out of the bowl game. The fans are upset about this but I guess these guys figure to go pretty high in the NFL draft and they don't want to get hurt or catch Covid in a bowl game. I wish they would all play but I understand their thinking. I bet most teams not in the big 4 have players to opt out this year.

 

[JoeWras]

Sports at all levels continues to change. I can't really blame some of these guys for opting out. Remember a decade back or so some very highly rated player blew out an ACL? Also blew out $20M.

It is a bummer for some college fans. However, I'll take the bright side. My team (Illinois) usually blows, so maybe they'll do better in bowl games -- if they get to bowl games. My logic behind this is it will create a more even playing field.

 

[eytonxav]

Congrats Tiger. I was impressed. The game was not as close as the score suggests. I felt Clemson could have scored as much as they wanted.

Bama can be hurt through the air. I like Clemson's chances.

Ohio State did not have a large enough body of work to make it to the playoff in my opinion, and they looked pretty bad against a rather average Northwestern team. Clemson should take care of business.

Buckeyes did not appreciate where Dabo placed them in the Coaches Poll, they will use that for motivation.

 

[GTFan]

Damn shame that the Power5 want to keep all the money in the CFP, as Herbstreit pointed out we're stuck with the same half-dozen or so teams every year because they won't expand to eight. Good teams like Cincy this year, UCF prior get shafted and then they end up beating good Power5 teams in bowls.

 

[ziggy29]

Damn shame that the Power5 want to keep all the money in the CFP, as Herbstreit pointed out we're stuck with the same half-dozen or so teams every year because they won't expand to eight. Good teams like Cincy this year, UCF prior get shafted and then they end up beating good Power5 teams in bowls.

I support an 8 team playoff with six guaranteed bids -- for each of the P5 conference champs and the top rated G5 champ, and then two at large bids for the two highest ranked teams not included in the first six slots.

The whole thing smells bad. The CFP wanted Notre Dame. The Big 10 moved the goalposts so tOSU would be eligible for their conference championship game. Teams like Cincy and Texas A&M are on the outside because of it. The CFP has a list of maybe 5-6 schools it wants, and does what it can to make it so. Even the BCS felt less corrupt than this.

 

[Montecfo]

Damn shame that the Power5 want to keep all the money in the CFP, as Herbstreit pointed out we're stuck with the same half-dozen or so teams every year because they won't expand to eight. Good teams like Cincy this year, UCF prior get shafted and then they end up beating good Power5 teams in bowls.

Well, agree it should not be the same few teams. I did not feel Ohio State had done enough and not $ure how ND getting embarrassed the day before result$ in them getting in.

But it will be rare indeed when a Group of Five team can hang with the bigs. They have perhaps been seduced into thinking that is realistic.

 

[jollystomper]

I don't mind watching games on TV in the snow but I have never been in person to a snow game and I don't think I would like it.

Do players get hurt more in the snow slipping and sliding?

It depends on how the weather is around the snow. If the wind is calm and it is not too cold, being at at the game can be a delight. In high winds and/or very cold (say < 20 degrees Fahrenheit) it can be miserable.

In high school I played in snow games, It actually felt a little safer. As was mentioned you cannot get up the same speed, and falls are a little more cushioned. It feels better to be playing and moving around than standing on the sidelines.

Once we played in a snow game where several of us had to take public transportation to the field. By the 4th quarter we were playing in snow and mud. It was great. Afterwards, rather than change back to clothes, we figured we would just get our clean clothes messy (changing rooms but no shower facilities), so we took public transportation back home n our dirty uniforms. We wore them proudly and had no problem getting a section of the bus to ourselves .

 

[Montecfo]

I support an 8 team playoff with six guaranteed bids -- for each of the P5 conference champs and the top rated G5 champ, and then two at large bids for the two highest ranked teams not included in the first six slots.

The whole thing smells bad. The CFP wanted Notre Dame. The Big 10 moved the goalposts so tOSU would be eligible for their conference championship game. Teams like Cincy and Texas A&M are on the outside because of it. The CFP has a list of maybe 5-6 schools it wants, and does what it can to make it so. Even the BCS felt less corrupt than this.

In a projected BCS lineup, A&M nudged out the Irish as the 4th team.

 

[ziggy29]

But it will be rare indeed when a Group of Five team can hang with the bigs. They have perhaps been seduced into thinking that is realistic.

It's not like we have to wonder if it's realistic, even if not the norm. We know it is realistic from the BCS days. We saw Boise State do it to Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl; we saw Utah (before they became Power 5) do it to Alabama(!!!) in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. It doesn't *usually* happen, but it does happen, and that's why so many of us tend to love it when it *does* happen.

 

[LRDave]

Yes, 3 UNC starters opting out of the bowl game. The fans are upset about this but I guess these guys figure to go pretty high in the NFL draft and they don't want to get hurt or catch Covid in a bowl game. I wish they would all play but I understand their thinking. I bet most teams not in the big 4 have players to opt out this year.

The betting community will be watching these opt-outs closely. I would not blame any player with a good chance to make good $ in the NFL for opting out - big 4 or not (especially this year, which to my mind deserves an * by it....).

 

[pb4uski]

I support an 8 team playoff with six guaranteed bids -- for each of the P5 conference champs and the top rated G5 champ, and then two at large bids for the two highest ranked teams not included in the first six slots.

.... The Big 10 moved the goalposts so tOSU would be eligible for their conference championship game. ...

+1 because of the low likelihood that #9 could ever win the whole shooting match, but #5... perhaps.

I don't mind what happened with tOSU... true that they didn't play many games but IMO no other Big 10 team had a chance to get in so it was a pragmatic decision.

 

[6miths]

Yes I wondered why with all the pro leagues going to an expanded playoff why the BCS didn't go to 6 teams with the 1 and 2 getting a bye to the semi-finals. Maybe venues?

 

[Montecfo]

+1 because of the low likelihood that #9 could ever win the whole shooting match, but #5... perhaps.

I don't mind what happened with tOSU... true that they didn't play many games but IMO no other Big 10 team had a chance to get in so it was a pragmatic decision.

And who says the Big 10 should get a rep every year?

Signed,

The Big 12 and the Pac 12

 

[ziggy29]

I would not blame any player with a good chance to make good $ in the NFL for opting out - big 4 or not (especially this year, which to my mind deserves an * by it....).

Unless there was a way I could be given a massive insurance policy to pay out if seriously injured in a bowl game in my senior year, yeah, if I were a likely high first round pick I'd worry about losing $50 million because of a shredded knee, too.

 

[Montecfo]

Unless there was a way I could be given a massive insurance policy to pay out if seriously injured in a bowl game in my senior year, yeah, if I were a likely high first round pick I'd worry about losing $50 million because of a shredded knee, too.

Those policies are actually out there, and are taken out fairly regularly.

 

[GTFan]

But it will be rare indeed when a Group of Five team can hang with the bigs. They have perhaps been seduced into thinking that is realistic.

As I said, good G5 teams have beaten good P5 teams in bowls. But we'll never know in the CFP if a #7 or 8 could win because the P5 won't let it happen.

 

[pb4uski]

And who says the Big 10 should get a rep every year?

Signed,

The Big 12 and the Pac 12

Where did I say that Big 10 should get a rep every year?

My point was the tOSU was probably the only Big 10 team with a legit chance to make it to the big dance so IMO it made sense in this crazy year to relax the number of games played rules to allow them to play in the Big 10 Championship.

 

[RunningBum]

And who says the Big 10 should get a rep every year?

Signed,

The Big 12 and the Pac 12

Nobody says that, because they don't. No Big Ten team in for the 2017 and 2018 season playoffs. Over the last 4 year, the Big 12 has been in more times than the Big Ten. Try to keep ignorant biases out of here.

Signed,
The Big Ten

 

[Montecfo]

Nobody says that, because they don't. No Big Ten team in for the 2017 and 2018 season playoffs. Over the last 4 year, the Big 12 has been in more times than the Big Ten. Try to keep ignorant biases out of here.

Signed,
The Big Ten

Wow, relax. There was nothing biased about what I said. And certainly nothing ignorant.

But have a good day, and Merry Christmas!