Today's College Football Thread (Conference Championship Edition)

[fishwax]

On Thursday the Oregon Ducks clinched the Pac 10 title by beating Oregon State, and last night Central Michigan beat Ohio for the MAC crown. The Mountain West (TCU) and WAC (Boise State) titles were clinched last week. The Big 10 (Ohio State) was settled a few weeks ago. Today there are four conference championship games plus another that will determine the Big East championship.

Early Games
Conference USA Championship Game
Houston vs. East Carolina

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (winner wins the Big East)

Afternoon Game
SEC Championship Game
Florida vs. Alabama

Night Games
Big 12 Championship Game
Nebraska vs. Texas

ACC Championship Game
Georgia Tech vs. Clemson

There are a few other games too—some Pac 10 and Big East teams have one less conference game, and a couple of Big 10 teams have non-conference games. But the five above are the ones with the most at stake. So what games are you looking forward to today?

[EvolveOrConvolve]

1. Go Texas!

I'm not a Longhorn fan, but if they lose, my beloved Boise State Broncos are probably out of a BCS game. If Texas wins, at least we have a shot.

[gratuitous]

2. Go Cats!

Two weeks ago it was the Lutherans, last week the Baptists. This week we get the Catholics. Knock them off and, I don't know, maybe Methodists next week, and Linfield is in the champeenship game. Settled where it ought to be, on the field of play and not in the bowels of some computer.

[fishwax]

6. I was going to mention the playoff divisions, but

I didn't want to spoil your thunder :) There are some good playoff games in other divisions today as well.

Good luck to Linfield. :toast:

[gratuitous]

82. Linfield 31 St. Thomas 20

Fine performance by the Wildcats, and it's on to the National Semifinals against Wisconsin Whitewater.

[Lady President]

88. Another DIII Fan

My poor Washington & Jefferson Presidents were soundly beaten by Mt. Union in the first round of the play-offs. :(

I completely agree that when you're used to playoffs, computer rankings seem ridiculous.

[gratuitous]

98. Mt. Union looks like the class of the Division

They whomped hell out of whoever they played today, too. We'll see if my Wildcats can meet them for a date at the Stagg Bowl in two weeks. It's hard to compare teams from different areas, because of the lack of common opponents who go intersectional.

[NightWatcher]

3. Roll Tide

I hate St. Tebow and his Gaturds oh so much

[Fleshdancer]

4. Hook 'Em Horns!!!!!

and thank you to my husband who is now on standby for an earlier flight home so that I won't miss the game tonight. :D

[JVS]

5. Heinz Field almost looks like there is a Steeler game going on.

[fishwax]

7. great atmosphere -- and now the snow is getting more serious

:woohoo:

[susanr516]

8. I'm pulling for Texas and Alabama to win

The SEC Championship should be a good one.

[CatholicEdHead]

9. I am looking forward to the Wisconsin-Hawai'i game

Yes it means almost nothing (except for UH to make the Hawaii bowl), but it will be fun to watch.

[fishwax]

10. Illinois and Fresno State have had a good first half

Illinois leads 28-21. Both teams scored touchdowns in the last 30 seconds of the half. :wow:

[JVS]

11. Cincy just botchced an extra point and trails by 8!

[tigereye]

15. oh this sucks!

hey JVS! What's up?

[JVS]

16. 1st down

[tigereye]

12. ohh, I had to dial away fron the Pitt game for a bit - too tense!

:hi: fishwax! Go Pitt! (doing better than i expected given the Cinci surge.

[tigereye]

14. oh crap, dammit, how could you let em get so close!

:grr:

[JVS]

17. That non-call on the facemask pissed me off!

[ironflange]

13. I'm enjoying this new Olive Garden commercial

Grandma is visiting so Mom and Daughter take her to OG.

I get it now, they don't want the old bat to come a-visitin' any more.

[JVS]

18. TD PITT!

[JVS]

19. ack! No EP!

[fishwax]

20. And Cincy's driving -- boy that blocked extra point

[JVS]

21. FUCK!

[tigereye]

22. oh fer christs sake...

aaarrrgh! Damnit.

[Ptah]

23. Montana Grizzlies are all over Stephen F. Austin

Montana 31
S. F. A. 0

2:00 left in the first half.

SFA has thrown 3 interceptions, and lost four fumbles.

Go Griz!

[fishwax]

24. Yeah, that's a blowout

I just saw that score and was hoping you'd post it. Pretty impressive first half :wow:

[Ptah]

26. 38 - 0 at halftime

:woohoo:

[ironflange]

32. Hmmm, "S. F. A." is looking like an apt name today

I guess I have to root for the Griz, since my sister teaches at Montana Tech. I have a Griz shirt too.

[av8rdave]

115. When you consider that SFA was 0 - 10 only two seasons ago....

They have come a long way!

AXE 'EM JACKS!

[fishwax]

25. Illinois and Fresno State look to be headed to overtime tied at 52 (!)

Fresno State had a 4th and 10 from the 19 yard line with 10 seconds left, and got a touchdown pass. It's under review, but the TD is going to be upheld and unless they miss the extra point (which, um, does happen, apparently ... sorry Pitt fans :() the game will go to overtime.

[fishwax]

27. Now it looks like Pat Hill will go for a two-point conversion

Rather than kicking the XP for the tie ...

[fishwax]

28. that was WILD -- A Lineman scored the two-point conversion on a deflected pass

Illinois got good pressure on the QB and he just flung it up towards the end zone. There was a receiver in the end zone, and he got a hand on it, but an Illinois defender knocked the ball out of his hands and a lineman was there to catch the deflection at the two-yard line and rumble in. Fresno State has a 53-52 lead with two seconds left. :wow:

[madinmaryland]

36. UnFUCKINGbelievable!

That lineman just plowed his way into the endzone!

:wow:

[fishwax]

46. wasn't it?

Linemen scoring game-winning points--that just doesn't happen all that often :rofl:

I've never seen a play quite like that, and the context for it just made it all the crazier.

[Ptah]

29. Touchdown Arizona!

:woohoo:

[fishwax]

30. and they've got the ball back again

Good start for Arizona. :woohoo:

[Ptah]

38. Halftime - Uof A 14 USC 7

Bear Down, Arizona!

[fishwax]

40. I hope they keep it up

USC always seems to play well in the second half of such games.

If Arizona wins, what kind of bowl game are they expecting? The Sun Bowl? (Maybe even the Holiday?)

[Ptah]

41. The Holiday Bowl if we win today

I think against a Big 12, maybe Nebraska.

1998 Holiday Bowl:

Arizona 23
Nebraska 20

[fishwax]

48. That would be sweet. Thedefense is playing solid right now

Keep it up, Wildcats!

[Ptah]

52. Touchdown Arizona!

AZ 21
USC 17
3:14 left in the game.

[fishwax]

54. One defensive stop

They can do it!

[fishwax]

55. 3rd and 15 coming up

:bounce:

[Ptah]

56. 4th and 15

[fishwax]

57. ARIZONA BALL!

:woohoo:

:bounce:

[Ptah]

58. USC 6th in the PAC-10

[fishwax]

59. way to go, Mike Stoops!

And congrats, Arizona!

:woohoo:

And a great day of football for your teams, Ptah :toast:

[pokerfan]

60. and USC goes 5-4 in conference!

:wow:

I've always liked the fact that when the NCAA expanded the schedule to 12 games, the Pac-10 decided to implement a true Round Robin schedule.

[fishwax]

62. I agree about the schedule

Is nice seeing everybody play everybody. It's been a while since USC has finished in the bottom half of the conference ...

[pokerfan]

69. Other conferences decided to use the 12 game schedule

to add another OOC game which too many teams use to schedule a fourth cupcake. The Pac-10 is doing it the right way from a competition standpoint even if it means that they beat up on each other more than the other conferences. In basketball, the conference is even more balanced. Everyone plays everyone twice, once at home and once away. Of course, with a thirty game schedule, this is easier to do.

I would hate to see the Pac-10 expand to twelve schools and split into divisions but I guess it's all about $$$ these days.

[KamaAina]

63. Trojan EPIC FAIL.

Seriesly, some of them passed up the draft to go to the "San Diego County Federal Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl"?! :wtf:

[fishwax]

53. TOUCHDOWN!

Arizona 21 -- USC 17

:woohoo:

[Scurrilous]

31. Florida/Alabama kicking off.

Could be a good one. :thumbsup:

[Scurrilous]

33. Bama 3 Florida 0 n/t

[susanr516]

34. Roll Tide! nt

[Fleshdancer]

35. Touchdown Alabama!

Is FL just getting off to a slow start today, or can we expect Alabama to dominate for the entire game?

[Scurrilous]

37. FG Florida

Bama 9 Gators 3

I say slow start.

[sasquatch]

39. I hope 'bama beat Jesus H. Tebow

[Scurrilous]

42. FG Bama

Tide 12 Gators 3


Edited for stupidity. :)

[Scurrilous]

43. TD Gators

Tide 12 Gators 10

[fishwax]

44. Bama strikes back quickly

19-10

[Scurrilous]

45. I'm getting whiplash.

LOL

[fishwax]

47. And I thought Florida was going to score again on that pass play

Fun game so far, that's for sure ...

[Scurrilous]

50. Yep.

So far it's a pretty intense game.

My daughter at UF is watching in her dorm and keeps texting me, alternately elated or enraged. :)

[Scurrilous]

49. FG Florida

Bama 19 Gators 13

[Scurrilous]

51. Bama TD.

Tide 26 Florida 13

Gators getting dominated.

[JonLP24]

61. Go Huskers!!!!

Alabama(if they hold on but prefer Florida) vs TCU/Cincinnati/Boise St!!! :woohoo:

[Scurrilous]

66. Alabama wins 32 -13. n/t

[RoyGBiv]

64. The obsession with Tebow is revolting ...

Is that how you spell is name? Tebow? I don't care. I'm not looking it up.

Thinking I noticed a trend earlier, I actively paid attention about fifteen minutes ago. (Yeah, I'm bored. This game's a foregone conclusion, and I'm waiting on Texas v. Nebraska.)

As Florida's position becomes more grim, Tebow's name is coming up even more often ... and *not* negatively. Whose fault was the interception? God's?

During one five minute period, when Alabama had the ball, I heard Tebow's name twelve times. I heard McElroy's name once. Alabama had the ball!

Alabama has always been my second favorite team, so I'm glad the game is going the way it is just because of that and that McElroy is coming out of this looking like a rockstar. But it is *sweet* that it's against Flordia.

***

OMG, now they're showing Tebow's family! It's a good thing I don't have access to the network's feed to put subtitles into it.

[Fleshdancer]

65. wha? Is he crying now?

:wtf:


Congrats to Alabama tonight. They played a great game.

[NightWatcher]

67. so much that he could hardly be interviewed

what a baby

[Scurrilous]

70. LOL

I can hear my 90 year old mother in another part of the house yelling "Damn big baby" at the TV set.

[RoyGBiv]

72. That's awesome ...

:rofl:

:thumbsup:

[RoyGBiv]

71. I'm normally not this petty ...

It's just football, but, I can't resist.

WHERE'S YOUR GOD NOW, TIMMY!?

[Stardust]

97. That's EXACTLY what I yelled at the screen! (And I'm a Gator1) nt

[Scurrilous]

68. @#$% Tim Tebow.

:thumbsdown:

[fishwax]

77. but spending five minutes with that young man will change your life forever

Or, at least, that's what the announcer said during last year's BCS Championship game :eyes:

[RoyGBiv]

80. I can see that ...

I'd probably end up in jail, so, yeah, that would change my life forever. :)

[Fleshdancer]

86. rofl!

:rofl:

[Texasgal]

73. HOOK EM!!!

GO HORNS!

[littlebit]

74. Anyone know

where I could watch the TX game online?

[Scurrilous]

75. You can follow the game online here:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/boxscore?gid=200912050023

[fishwax]

78. try poking around here

http://www.justin.tv/directory/sports -- I'm sure somebody is hosting it :)

[littlebit]

79. Thank you

I found a great feed there. I really appreciate it.

[fishwax]

76. Nebraska makes the first big play of the Big 12 CCG

Intercepting a McCoy pass on Texas's first drive ...

[Scurrilous]

81. Nebraska 3 Texas 0 n/t

[Scurrilous]

83. Nebraska 6 Texas 0 n/t

[huskerlaw]

84. GO HUSKERS!!!

Our defense is scary good. Now if the offense can step it up a bit...

GO BIG RED!!!

[Brickbat]

85. GO BIG RED!

What a half!

[gratuitous]

94. Ruh roh Ronghorns

Oh, what I wouldn't give to see Texas fall flat on its burnt orange ass. And to Nebraska, of all teams!

Maybe if Texas and Florida played real schedules, instead of a steady diet of cupcakes, they could stand the pressure of a big game.

[SoxFan]

87. BREAKING NEWS

ESPN and CBS studios have been put on a 24-hour suicide watch. More details as they become available.

[fishwax]

89. Georgia Tech and Clemson has been a pretty close game thus far

Clemson scored first, but Georgia Tech is now up 16-13 with about ten minutes left in the third ...

[Zomby Woof]

90. I have predicted all season the Tide would beat FLA

Given a chance to play, that is.

And damn did they EVER.

Got to love that Tebow CRIED. :cry: What a fuckstick. :D

Love the SEC though - how often does a conference championship pit the #1 and #2 teams against each other? Best conference in college football, year after year. Once again, they will give us the national championship when Alabama rolls into Pasadena next month.

[MadBadger]

91. Having to wait until 11:30 ET to watch your team play sucks

Wish I could be in Hawaii with my Badgers.

[fishwax]

92. Nebraska is in scoring range

After a big punt return they've got first and goal, so even though they haven't scored a first down since the first quarter, they could take the lead without picking up another one here ...

[Writer]

93. So I kinda sorta think Nebraska will win 12-10. n/t

[fishwax]

95. don't give up just yet, Writer -- Colt moved the ball well on the last drive

And Nebraska just kicked the ball out of bounds ...

[gratuitous]

96. That's looking about right

For now. 104 seconds to go . . .

And dumbass kicks it out of bounds.

[gratuitous]

100. And the officials give Texas one more play

Holy smokes, that would have been an ignominious end. The clock often runs for another second at the end of a play, and there was no evidence to overturn the call from what I saw. But otherwise the Big 12 would have been relieved of another championship game embarrassment, and we can't have that.

Texas is NOT the second best team in the country. At least three Pac 10 teams could drink their milkshake.

[JonLP24]

102. The ball clearly hit the ground out of bounds with 1 second left

It was a good call and I would've done the same thing and I was rooting for Nebraska.

[jobycom]

105. There ain't no PAC 10 teams that could beat Rice, much less Texas.

I don't know if Texas is the second or tenth best team--no one does because none of these teams play enough common opponents to make a National Championship or even a "playoff" anything more than a fanboy wet dream--but the PAC 10 is the Sarah Palin of the NCAA. The media gives them a pass on bd play and overhypes them as legitimate just to keep from pissing off the large west coast markets. The winner of the PAC 10 every year would rank somewhere beneath the fifth best team in the SEC and the third best in the Big Twelve.

[JonLP24]

108. I disagree

Right now it appears Georgia is the #5 team in the SEC. Well it took Georgia a last second field goal to beat Arizona State 20-17 at ATHENS where Arizona State is the #9 team in the Pac 10 and lost to the Pac 10 champ Oregon 44-21. Also UCLA the #8 Pac 10 team BEAT the #4 team Tennessee in KNOXVILLE 19-15 . Also Washington the #7 team played #3 LSU only losing 31-23.

So if these Pac 10 bottom feeders are playing the 5-3 teams in the SEC surely the top teams in the Pac 10 would finish higher then 5th.

[gratuitous]

109. Yeah, "bd play"

That's why the Pac 10 went 5-0 last year in bowl games, and is 9-2 in the last 11 Rose Bowls (soon be to 10-2 when Oregon takes the measure of THE Ohio State University). And as for the media? If it ain't USC, you don't hear about any teams west of Nebraska in the national coverage. If Florida had to play USC, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona, and Oregon in consecutive weeks, Tim Tebow would be writing "HELP ME" on his mascara instead of Bible verses.

[jobycom]

113. Hogwash. They match the top PAC 10 against minor SEC teams

If USC had to play in the SEC, you wouldn't even know their mascot.

[Zomby Woof]

111. While the PAC-10 has fallen on hard times

The Sarah Palin comparison is too harsh - although I may let it stand when it comes to USC, who should never have been ranked at all this year. They're like Notre Dame - relying on nostalgia and media/alumni jointly-created "tradition" to get even their most mediocre teams ranked. As a fan of the conference, I have to defend Oregon - they possibly would have finished third in the SEC behind Alabama and Florida, and second in the Big 12 behind Texas. But in general, the PAC-10 has declined quite a bit in the past decade or so.

[jobycom]

114. Yeah, okay, I apologize for that.

They aren't Sarah Palin. :rofl:

[Twillig]

117. Oooh, you repeated the Sarah Palin gag. Are you gonna repeat the Texas high school teams could beat

the teams USC played gag? ( Sarah Palin jab )

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=8124372#8126870

Very amusing.

I don't know how good Texas is either. But they looked like five pounds of shit in a one pound bag against Nebraska.


(yes I kept this 'on file' it's too hilarious.)

[jobycom]

106. SHould have put two seconds back on, but didn't matter.

The clock is supposed to stop when the ball goes out of play, which is when the ball crosses the sideline. If the officials were trying to help Texas win, they wouldn't have made the bogus call on the muffed kickoff on the one on the previous drive.

[Fleshdancer]

99. HOLYSHIT!!!! HOOK 'EM HORNS

:woohoo:

[Brickbat]

101. Helluva game.

Some of those calls didn't hurt...would have liked that last FG to go wide...

[Writer]

103. YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHOOOOOO!

:bounce:

:headbang:

HOOK 'EM HORNS!

[jobycom]

107. Ahh. You aren't here anymore!

We can't listen to the whole complex erupt like last time. :)

[Fleshdancer]

110. I know! It's so lonely screaming here all alone

No firecrackers, no cheering from neighboring buildings. Very strange. :D

[huskerlaw]

104. Great game, Texas!

Now do us all proud and WIN IT ALL!!!

[Ptah]

112. Never mind that tired old Texas talk. Don't mess with Montana.

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/article_fa39800e-e239-11de-83e5-001cc4c002e0.html

Missoula in December is hard on a body

Never mind that tired old Texas talk.

Don't mess with Montana. Not in Missoula in December when the hometown football Grizzlies are using
bone-jarring hits in bone-chilling cold to break an opponent's spirit.

"The elements are something you have to deal with here as well as the crowd, and Montana seems to
thrive off that more than anybody else," said Stephen F. Austin coach J.C. Harper after his team
suffered a 51-0 whupin' on Saturday.

A source close to the Lumberjacks came up with the best rhetorical question of the afternoon:

Does cold weather make you color blind?

Too bad it doesn't because it would've made a handy excuse for Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses.
Three times the junior, who has never played in 20-degree weather, threw the ball directly to Montana defenders.

[av8rdave]

116. I was out of town over the weekend. Now, I just need to post this quick PSA:

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to this year's SEC champs.