15-11-2004 09:06									#241
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Well, the NCAA would only have caught them once. If they do it again in the future, then I say death penalty.

	15-11-2004 10:34									#242
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quote: It was a joke, Imran.

Um... I wasn't refering to the game itself, just the general practice of schedule a crappy 1-AA team by the big boys (like when LSU goes up against the worst of Louisana teams early in the year).

	15-11-2004 10:40									#243
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I feel that any statement I make on the Ohio State situation might be considered biased, for obvious reasons.


But I say, give 'em the chair.

	15-11-2004 10:48									#244
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Interesting, using the Strength of Schedule rating that the BCS used to use before it was canned this year: Oklahoma ranks 4th, USC ranks 22nd and Auburn ranks 41st.

Auburn is well behind... guess they shouldn't have scheduled LA-Lafeyette and LA-Monroe, eh?

	15-11-2004 16:49									#245
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui Interesting, using the Strength of Schedule rating that the BCS used to use before it was canned this year: Oklahoma ranks 4th, USC ranks 22nd and Auburn ranks 41st.

That's about how their schedule strengths traditionally ranked. It's also why Oklahoma gets a boost from the computer polls despite playing losers like Nebraska (only one more year and we can beef up our strength of schedule with someone decent )

	15-11-2004 19:12									#246
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Imran, the killer for Auburn's SOS was when Georgia Tech backed out and we replaced them with The Citadel. Couple that with Mississippi State a) losing to Maine and b) beating Florida, and Ole Miss just mailing in a couple of non-conference games, and our SOS had mno chance.

Guy, those biases are what make the game so much fun.

	15-11-2004 19:26									#247
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But you have to admit, that USC's non-conference schedule is pretty impressive. You have to give them credit for not scheduling the patsies.

	15-11-2004 20:25									#248
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non-conference games are scheduled many years in advance. 3 or 4 years ago when Texas A&M scheduled Utah, no one would have predicted that Utah would be an unbeaten BCS contender. Likewise, there are some poor 1A teams that looked halfway decent 3 or 4 years ago.

	15-11-2004 20:27									#249
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The NCAA is coming to Ohio State. Let's see what happens.

	15-11-2004 20:31									#250
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Yeah, but I think USC would know that Virginia Tech wouldn't be a patsy 3-4 years ago and Auburn would realize that LA-Lafeyette and LA-Monroe wouldn't be powerhouses .

	15-11-2004 20:59									#251
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No - but the fortunes of USC and Notre Dame have gone up and down (in opposite directions) over the years. There was a time when Notre Dame was consistently beating USC, but USC's poor play was hurting their strength of schedule. Recently it has been the other way. Even this year, Notre Dame lost to Pittsburgh.

	15-11-2004 21:20									#252
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But beat Michigan .

Notre Dame, for as bad as it has been lately, has been no where near the level of crappage as the barely 1-A and 1-AA teams Auburn has played this year out of conference.

Now if Auburn played some sucky Big East team (like Rutgers or Syracuse) or some mid level WAC team (like Wyoming), then perhaps you could say ok... but at some point you have to say they brought a lot of it on themselves.

Though Georgia Tech backing out wasn't their fault.

	15-11-2004 21:29									#253
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Gotta go with Imran here. There was absolutely no reason for Auburn to schedule two crappy Louisiana teams.

	15-11-2004 22:42									#254
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I was partially incorrect... Auburn played LA Tech, not LA-Lafeyette. Still a crappy team, however.

One patsy is ok, but 2? I do give them a pass for what GTech did, so I won't count the Citadel against them.

	15-11-2004 22:46									#255
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BCS rankings are out. Computers have OSU #1 and Auburn #3. This gives OU a decisive edge.

	15-11-2004 22:51									#256
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OU has been #1 for a while now. The computers have consistently put the Sooners at #1, while the pollsters have consistently put the Trojans at #1. The Tigers are the ones left out.

	16-11-2004 03:06									#257
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Oh, Imran, I completely agree with you. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among Auburn fans over this year's schedule last year, and none of us were even expecting to be close to this position. Still, I tend to (even before this situation) look more at the schedule's top end, since a crappy Big East team or middle of the road WAC team wouldn't have really added anything to the degree of difficulty going through the season.

What tells the tale is how a team handles the Georgias, Texas and Cals on the schedule, not how respectable their patsies are.

	16-11-2004 05:57									#258
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Yeah, I'm with Imran too. I can see you having sour grapes if you played some patsy teams that USED to be powerhouses, but always patsy teams are your own fault.

	16-11-2004 10:38									#259
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Solomi, that is good to look at too, but I think Cal is better than Texas which is better than Georgia. Being in Atlanta, I've gotten to see Georgia, and quite frankly they've looked less than impressive early this year and I still think that zone defenses are able to pwn the Bulldogs this year.

	17-11-2004 00:33									#260
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That's a reasonable argument to entertain. I just haven't seen much out of Cal that opens one's eyes, and I think Texas is too one-dimensional to be an elite team. If (and it's a huge if) Georgia was clicking, I think they would beat either, but that clicking would necessitate Ware and Brown being able to put enough pressure on the front seven to bring the safeties up. I think they could do that against Cal, but it would be tougher against Texas.

Besides, the point originally was that USC struggled against their top opponent, while Auburn and OU didn't. Not that that means a whole lot in the grand scheme, but IMO it shows a lot more than whether a team pounded on The Citadel, Houston or Colorado State.

Honestly, I'm in line with Nick Saban's point of view that separating these three teams at this point is pretty futile. Ahh, if only OU hadn't topped our offer to Bowling Green.

	17-11-2004 00:38									#261
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quote: the point originally was that USC struggled against their top opponent, while Auburn and OU didn't.

Yeah, but USC's top opponent is #4 in the BCS by a decent margin over #5 Texas . Before last week's game Georgia was #8 in the BCS (the highest they've been this season) and are now #11 (no surprise).

There is an argument to be made that Cal is just as good as USC, Auburn, and OU. They just fell short of beating USC and have looked impressive.

	18-11-2004 03:27									#262
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I think an Auburn - OU matchup would probably be the better game. I expect Auburn or OU will rip USC appart.

	18-11-2004 04:48									#263
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I expect the opposite actually... I think USC will go to town against either Auburn or OU.

	19-11-2004 02:37									#264
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui I expect the opposite actually... I think USC will go to town against either Auburn or OU.

I don't know, last year's Rose Bowl had the worst Michigan I've ever seen, they didn't look like they should have gone to a bowl game.

	19-11-2004 04:15									#265
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What? I thought last year's Michigan was a great team! They finished their regular season 10-2, beating down Ohio State and Purdue.

	19-11-2004 05:44									#266
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10-3, actually. Lost to Oregon, Iowa, and USC.

Michigan wasn't bad in the Rose Bowl, but they weren't at their best. They were simply outplayed in every way, shape, and form by USC. There is no question that the better team won that game. Those sorts of losses don't bother me.

It's when we lose to clearly inferior teams (such as Notre Dame) that I get bothered.


On that note... if not for a couple of incredible comebacks by outplayed teams/outright implosions by superior teams, we could--probably should--have seven or eight undefeated teams right now, instead of five. Michigan should have beaten Notre Dame; Louisville should have beaten Miami. Wisconsin got destroyed in every way by MSU, so that probably shouldn't count.

But imagine that. Things are already ****ed up with five undefeated teams (three BCS); imagine if there were seven or even eight (four or five BCS)!

	19-11-2004 05:46									#267
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quote: 10-3, actually. Lost to Oregon, Iowa, and USC.

That's why I said in the REGULAR SEASON . USC was the bowl game... postseason.

	19-11-2004 05:48									#268
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Ooops. Mea culpa.

	20-11-2004 11:59									#269
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Steve Spurrier to coach South Carolina.

Hope he does as well as Holtz!

	20-11-2004 19:29									#270
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Spurrier will be able to recruit better than Holtz, and that will probably last for at least 2 years. I believe there is a top QB prospect in South Carolina that made a verbal commitment to UGA. Who knows....