College Football ‘23 (pointy end style)

The title is a tribute to HD’s annual one post on this thread when describing the sport’s apparatus. Have been reluctant to start this due to the demise of my beloved Pac 12, and of course ironies of ironies the Pac is a force this year (Hell even Arizona is vastly improved). There is so much blame to go around, but if the conference was this good in football 2 years ago, zero chance it would be breaking apart.

Games of the Week:

#19 Colorado at #10 Oregon. @dtowndough Im hoping that all the years you and your friends had season tix for the Buffs when they were terrible, that you have them for the renaissance of Coach Prime and the story of the season. I’ll take the Ducks, but think the Buffs cover the 21. Colorado will have a huge chance next year moving to a weak Big 12 and a big IF Shadeur Sanders stays.

#4 Florida State at Clemson. @MicahMan Looky looky who is back. The Noles looked great against LSU and now travel to the other Death Valley against a wounded Clemson team. I’ll take FSU to be poised enough to get it done, but it won’t be easy.

#22 Washington St at #14 Oregon State: The Pac 2 both have fantastic teams. Oregon State’s coach Jonathan Smith will get a big job soon. Wazzu has been tremendous as well, but will take the Beavs in a shootout.

#21 UCLA at #11 Utah; Will QB Cam Rising finally get back on the field for the Utes? Make no mistake, if he recovers they have a legit shot to make the playoffs. Ucla has a true freshman QB Donte Moore that will play on Sundays someday, but will learn a few lessons in Salt Lake City the hard way.

#6 Ohio State at #9 Notre Dame; Have no clue about the Buckeyes, except Marvin Harrison Jr the wide receiver is a special player. Sam Hartman’s transfer from Wake Forest to South Bend has given the Irish its best QB in a very long time. Got a feeling ND might bust out the green unis, I’ll take the leprechaun.

 

I have this theory that had FSU better managed Bobby Bowden's exit that Clemson's recent success would have been FSU's. I never thought Bowden was a particularly great play-caller but he was a fantastic recruiter - and that was what made his teams great. When things turned sour with him they lost that recruiting edge that they had with him that could have continued even after he was no longer head coach.

So I look at what Clemson has accomplished and thought, that could have been FSU. And that's why I'll appreciate a win against Clemson almost as much as a win against Florida. Still, I feel like this season might be a bit of a mirage after recent struggles so I have a hard time feeling confident about getting a win.

 

A mild buzz about town regarding Mizzou this year. I expect the Tigers to quickly put an end to the excitement with a loss against Vanderbilt.

 

Well, I was in Mississippi last weekend, and put down all forms of technology! I was missing the pointy-style football thread!

It has been a fun first month in the Boulder area for football. I get annoyed with some of the hypocrisy around the publicity, but it's great to finally have a team worth going to watch. Jumping ahead to the weekend, I don't see them giving USC a fight, but at least the stadium will be full and have some energy!

 

Not a great slate of games;

#8 USC at Colorado; @dtowndough have fun today in Boulder. SC has been transformed by Lincoln Riley, but the same issue has followed him from OU, the D is just meh. Will take Trojans in a shootout.

#1 Georgia at Auburn: Always like to see a new QB travel to a hostile environment. Carson Beck needs to game manage to beat an improved Auburn team, but it could get tricky.

#23 Missouri at Vanderbilt; @stlouisbrad No worries today in Nashville Brad, Tigers roll.

#13 LSU at #20 Ole Miss; 2 teams going opposite directions as they Bajou Bengals seem to be on an upwards trajectory, so have to take them here.

#11 Notre Dame at #17 Duke; This one is very tricky, the Irish are off the last play heartbreaking loss to Ohio State, how will they react? A Duke win would not surprise in the least but will go w/Hartman bouncing back for ND.

 

You picked some good ones! CU/USC turned into a good one, clearly defense was optional. That's gonna be a problem for USC when it comes time for the tough games.

 

Solid games;

#3 Texas vs #12 Oklahoma. The Red River Rivalry with huge implications as both teams undefeated. Will take Longhorns, but barely.

#10 Notre Dame at #25 Louisville; @jumpkutz The rebuilding at UL is progressing and here’s hoping they catching the Irish looking ahead to USC next week.

#23 LSU at #21 Missouri. @stlouisbrad it’s going to be rocking in this all Tiger matchup. LSU’s schedule is redonkulous and it should serve them well, but pulling for Mizzou Brad.

#13 Alabama at Texas A&M; Hoping AggieMatt is doing well and he must be looking forward to this one. Not sure what kind of team A&M has, but while I’ll take Bama, Kyle Field is a huge boost for the Aggies.

#20 Kentucky at #1 Georgia; Give me the Dawgs, it’s hard to know still what Georgia is ,but will wear UK down.

 

We had my kids birthday party going the same time as the Mizzou game so I didn't see it but those who watched seemed pretty darn frustrated. I don't consider myself too much of a Mizzou fan. Although I cheer for them I've gotten too accustomed to false hope over the years. Here's wishing one day they make me look stupid for my waffling fandom.

 

Contrarian as I am, I sure love underdog effort/success. Enjoyed Wisconsin's pluck going against Buckeyes.
Enjoyed Texas winning with an unheralded lat minute sub QB.
OTOH... Do the Seminoles have ANY competion?

 

UPDATE: I pick Michigan, Texas, Washington, Florida State as the final four. According to precedent it has to be.
Yeah SEC fans it might suck but thats why they play the games. Besides you'll prolly have 3 teams seeded next year.
......
Original post
For some reason, I am finding this year's events really exciting. Drama galore.
The PAC 12 final championship being a showcase example. What a game!
- Can FSU advance with a Third string qb? Talking head on ESPN reminded us of Cardale Jones doing it for th Buckeyes.
Thanks to their Defense they did. And they will have a competent QB ready for their next game.

 

Almost every week I keep expecting the magic to run out for FSU and I thought for sure with a third-string quarterback against Louisville that they were finished. FSU's QB did play horribly, but the defense made a couple of huge plays and the running game did just enough to keep them in title contention. I'm still pretty certain they are going out in the first round of the playoffs.

 

It's really hard to go wrong with any of the top eight teams. What I don't get is the emphasis on head to head. Everybody says Texas should be picked over Alabama because they beat Alabama. That's a quality win for Texas, but the bottom line is, the only reason that this is a topic of conversation is because Texas lost to an inferior (but not bad) 2-loss Oklahoma team.

I would think the emphasis for the selection of 1-loss teams would be less about who they beat and more about who they lost to. Alabama's loss to Texas, Ohio State's loss to Michigan, and Georgia's loss to Alabama should all be looked as more favorable than Texas' loss to Oklahoma. So in my mind, all three of those teams would be above Texas.

 

Wow, I'm shocked that FSU didn't get into the playoffs. The magic finally ran out! Just not when I expected. I'm shocked, but I get it. I said myself that I was pretty sure they'd lose their opening playoff game and the selection committee didn't want that either.

 

No doubt the Noles got hosed (any time you start a sentence with ‘They are the first unbeaten…you know it’s bad). The committee used the same criteria they use for March Madness. When seeding they take into account injuries. If Travis (their best player and star QB) didn’t get hurt, FSU would be either the 2 or 3 seed at worst. The 12 team playoff doesn’t start till next year and the worst case scenario is playing out in the final year.

Speaking of which, the final year of the Pac 12’s existence is equally unfathomable.

 

I’m surprised @SoCalJoe has been so quiet over here with the Wildcats fielding their best team in a decade. The Arizona v Oklahoma bowl game tonight should be a good one. How are you feeling about it, Joe?

 

Well, the rright two teams are in it to win it.
Sorry I picked FSU... kharma from trying to ditch their conference bit back , in my opinion.
There's two stories here... I believe that PAC 12 TEAM winning has just the right level of irony to it.

 

Felt happy for my Michigan alum buddy who made his way to Houston to see it. Strange game, once UDub stopped the run game mid 2nd quarter they had plenty of chances to tie it, but the normally accurate Penix was off.

Will Harbaugh ride off into the sunset aka the Chargers or another NFL job?