BCS: Week 2

[Condem]

Auburn. Wow.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/bcs

[HuckleB]

1. Good. Now maybe Oregon will get by USC.

[joeybee12]

2. Not a surprise...the BSC is SEC rigged...

let's just hope all the SEC teams have 3 losses..and even then the "impartial" rankings might get them into the Championship Game.

[Condem]

3. How does everyone feel about Boise and TCU at #3 and #4??

Once again, the majors CANNOT suffer a letdown any given week. Take the Sooners. Meanwhile, these two feed on chump change. How would Boise fare in the Pac-12? TCU in the Big Eight?

[JonLP24]

4. I don't have a problem with it

If Boise St can end up undefeated they deserve a shot. It would be only fair because in that case that means Boise State had 2 consecutive undefeated season. If a mid-major goes undefeated two seasons in a row and doesn't appear in a title game than the rankings aren't fair to them and their needs to be a system where mid-majors have a shot on the field.

[Condem]

5. But how would Boise do in the PAC-12, Jon?

Week in, week out against primo competition? Sorry, man. I certainly don't have a problem with their out of conference slate. But I do with the rest. Win two early season games and their in? That's about what it amounts to.

[JonLP24]

7. Better than most teams

But it would depend on recruiting mostly. It just depends how good they are and the year. Also not every team in any conference is primo competition. The Pac-10 has California who Nevada killed (Boise State opponent also in the top 25). Fresno State defeated Cincinnati by two touchdowns who Oklahoma only beat by 3. Hawaii is having a good year as well who just defeated Nevada at home. They do have some quality opponents within the conferece(only 3 this year) and they defeated Virginia Tech (who is in the top 25) and Oregon St who could finish the season in the top 25. Anyways like I said going undefeated two straight seasons should be enough for them to be in a title game. Either way it is not their fault they're locked into conference opponents.

[Condem]

12. You can't bring up comparitive scores. Doesn't work. So you think Oregon would beat Texas 100-7?

Again. My point. EVERY week the majors have to get up. Or risk getting beat. The mid-majors just don't face that type of competion.

[JonLP24]

20. I noticed you capitalized EVERY

Oregon just got done playing the bottom half of the conference which is sad to say because it includes my team (who gave Oregon the toughest game of the season) and Portland State as well as New Mexico. UCLA, Washington State, and Arizona State are not exactly teams you get up for. Though I'm very impressed with their win against Stanford. If you compare scores you can get idea how good a team is. UCLA has been blown out in 3 games. They are not "primo competition". Though I understand how comparing scores can be problematic. Arizona State lost to Wisconsin by 1, Oregon State by 3, and Oregon by 10 but they lost to California (who Nevada killed) by 43 points. Does that mean California would beat Wisconsin, Oregon State, or Oregon? Does that mean California would beat those teams? Probably not but they are very hot and cold team.

[HuckleB]

37. POST OF THE DAY! -eom-

[Upton]

14. That's Boise's formula Condem..

schedule one or two decent teams at the beginning, then spend the rest of the season playing patsies, while at the same time sniveling about how you have been disrespected if you're not rewarded for beating up on schools like NMS, SJS, Idaho, Louisiana Tech etc..

[JonLP24]

21. It is all they can do

Are willing to acknowledge that? That Boise State are locked into conference opponents. They could schedule non-conference patsies like the big schools but they choose not too. They are doing what they can to give them the toughest schedule possible.

[happyiowan]

22. On this we totally agree!

There are great teams locked into less than stellar conferences. And it's a problem. A solution for which I don't have.

[happyiowan]

6. There is a substantive difference...

in terms of the toll a major conference schedule takes. It requires remaining focused mentally and emotionally not to mention the injuries a team sustains playing tough opponents week after week. I don't have a solution for the whole BCS conundrum, but I do think that the mid-majors have it easier.

[JonLP24]

9. I really don't think mid-majors have it easy

They can go undefeated all they want and even in years with only 1-loss teams they still get shut out of the National Championship. I agree that the major conferences overall are tougher but a lot of those teams *cough* Florida *cough* schedule very weak non-conference games and they also have weak opponents within major conferences. Anyways I've wondered how a team like Boise State can make it and figured it would take them to schedule tough non-conference opponents (which they have) and go undefeated multiple seasons(which they might). It is only fair if there is only 1-loss teams and they happen to be undefeated. Playoffs!

[happyiowan]

16. I suppose I think that it's the year in and out part

that is totally different. I just happen to think that is easier to do in a mid-major. The SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-10 schedules are hard to survive undefeated year after year.

[El Supremo]

8. Don't forget about Utah

They will play TCU. And only one of them can remain undefeated. Boise State will join the MWC and Utah will join the PAC12. Both will be contenders again next year.

As far as the Big12 - those schools must be very glad that they didn't invite TCU to join in 1996.

[Condem]

13. El. You missed your calling.

Stand-up comedy is all you.

[El Supremo]

15. At least my back yard doesn't look like a carnival freak show!

[happyiowan]

18. It's just a carnival...

Won't be a freak show 'til you get me that blue horse!

[El Supremo]

19. LOL!

[depakid]

11. I think everyone knows that neither of these teans goes undefeated in a strong conference

A good season would have them with at least two losses and in a scrub bowl.

[Upton]

10. I was under the impression that the Ducks would be #1

Well, no matter, 2 is good enough. And clubs like Auburn serve a purpose, for they keep Boise, and any other team that is big on talk and short on a decent resume, from attaining a position they don't deserve..

[depakid]

17. The ducks have historically been dissed by the bogus computer system

The NY Times recently had an excellent piece of just how bogus it's "numbers" are and there's also a new book on the system that pulls a lot of previously disparate information together.

Numbers Are a Weak Spot in the B.C.S. Standings


Since the inception of the B.C.S. in 1998, it has used the computers as a shield against cries of partisanship in the polls that make up the other two-thirds of the formula. One of the computer rankers for the B.C.S. is Richard Billingsley, a stress-management expert from Hugo, Okla.

His knowledge of college football history is encyclopedic. His knowledge of mathematics, the foundation of any accurate computer-ranking system, is not.

“I’m not a mathematician,” Billingsley said. “I’m not even a highly educated man, to tell you the truth. I don’t even have a degree. I have a high school education. I never had calculus. I don’t even remember much about algebra. I think everyone questions everything I do. Why is he doing that? Does he know what he’s doing, a crazy kook in Oklahoma?”

The short answer is no. Billingsley’s ranking system is vilified by professional mathematicians and a subculture of amateur computer rankers. His is not the only one. The stringent rules placed by the B.C.S. on the computers — they must, for example, exclude margin of victory from their formulas, making 10-7 equivalent to 70-7 — turned them into the laughingstock of the numbers community. Two of the computer analysts, Jeff Sagarin and Kenneth Massey, acknowledge that their rankings for the B.C.S. are not the most accurate they can produce.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/sports/ncaafootball/17score.html

[JonLP24]

23. They should include margin of victory

but cap it off at 21 points for the maximum points scored in margin of victory to prevent teams from running up the score just to score more BCS points. Of course there will be teams kicking unnecessary field goals up by 18 or so but 21 is a good limit I think.

[depakid]

26. Not only that but consider:

How the Ducks rank in the NCAA: LaMichael James (161.8 yards per game) still leads the nation in rushing, ahead of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson (156.6) and Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter (147.3).

Darron Thomas has climbed to 18th in passing efficiency, and his 9.50 touchdown percentage (17 of his 179 passes have been for scores) equals that of Stanford's Andrew Luck and trails only Boise State's Kellen Moore.

As a team, Oregon leads the nation by a wide margin in total offense (569.1 yards per game) and scoring offense (55.1 points per game).

The Ducks (308.4 yards per game) rank third in rushing offense, behind the grounded attacks of Air Force (326.5) and Georgia Tech (317.4) and just ahead of Auburn (303.3).

The Ducks rank 30th in total defense (331.6 yards per game), with 12 teams stingier on yards per play than Oregon's 4.50. And they are 12th in scoring defense (15.9 points per game).

Oregon also leads the nation in turnover margin (25 takeaways and 13 giveaways), and its punt return defense (7 returns, 8 yards) has been spectacular but not as good as Notre Dame's (7 returns, 3 yards).

More: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/10/oregon_football_ducks_preparin.html">Oregon football: Ducks, preparing for USC, are still No. 2 by BCS logic

[Upton]

24. Remember Belotti's famous remark?

“I liken the BCS to a bad disease, like cancer" The Ducks were outright robbed that year.

[Condem]

25. TCU vs Boise for the NC,

Could very well happen.

[Upton]

29. If that happens..

I think they'll be a major outcry. Many think the BCS buster stories are cute and all that, but the vast majority of knowledgeable football fans know these two teams couldn't compete in a major conference week in and week out and still retain those impressive records.

IMO, these two teams don't even deserve to be in the top ten, let alone the top two..

[Condem]

32. Long way to go, Upton.

But at this point, peering into the crystal ball, the SEC, Big Twelve and the Big Ten will have one loss teams. Which leaves Oregon.

[depakid]

27. No Duck fan forgets that

That Ducks team could easily have beaten either of the teams that played in the Rose Bowl for the national title but had to settle for the Tostitos bowl and #2 ranking to end the season.

[Condem]

28. USC, depa.

Please. By all means. Run up the score.

[Upton]

30. Yep..

and the Nebraska team that was picked by the BCS formula over the Ducks was ranked below them in the polls, had given up over 60 points to Colorado in their final regular season game and didn't even win their conference. Of course, they were routed by Miami in the title game. It was one of the most outrageous injustices I have ever seen in college sports.

[depakid]

31. And the Ducks, #2 in both major polls at the time- got bounced down to #4 by the bogus computers

then turned around and creamed Colorado in the Tostito bowl 38-16 (and it wasn't even that close).

[fishwax]

34. well, I think it's a stretch to say the Ducks could easily have beaten the Hurricanes

"That Ducks team could easily have beaten either of the teams that played in the Rose Bowl for the national title ..."

The Miami Hurricanes were undefeated that year, unlike the Ducks. Yes, I think the Ducks could have handled Nebraska, and I totally agree that the Ducks should have gone to the Rose Bowl that year to see if maybe they could knock off the Hurricanes--but nothing about that game would have likely been easy for Oregon. (That might not be what you meant, though. :))

[depakid]

35. Let's just say it wouldn't have been as easy as thrashing Colorado

but still one I'd have put money on (especially if the spread were to favor the canes).

And I'm not much of a gambler.

[HuckleB]

36. +1

[thewiseguy]

33. If Michigan State wins this week then they are in the driver seat

That is a big if though.