The Rest of College Football

[JRB]

If voters have really watched the SEC this year, they will have seen a league that, IMO, isn't as good as it has been in recent years, and doesn't deserve to send a one-loss team to the title game ahead of two major unbeaten teams. I wouldn't be sure there will be two major unbeatens just yet-- Michigan State's clearly a better team than Michigan, and it'll be awfully tough for Ohio State, even with control of their BCS destiny now in their hands, to come up with another A+ emotional effort after the war today. They might need that kind of effort next week, because I'm pretty sure Michigan State's going to bring their best. MSU's been knocking on the BCS' door a couple of times recently, and if OSU isn't sharp next week, the Spartans might break the door down.

If Ohio State and Florida State win out, though, I don't see much chance Auburn passes either of them-- it's not entirely impossible, but it looks very unlikely to me. If Jameis Winston is somehow suspended before the BCS game is set, Auburn could pass Florida State-- the Seminoles' wins over Clemson and Miami aren't nearly as impressive now as they were at the time, and Winston's been such a difference maker that I could see voters penalizing FSU(and by extension, the relatively weak ACC). If Auburn blows out 11-1 Missouri while Ohio State struggles to beat Michigan State, Auburn might get such a bump in the computers that they'd pass both teams in those rankings, but I still think the poll voters will defer to both unbeatens.

Bottom line: I think it's considerably more likely Michigan State beats Ohio State than a one-loss Auburn team knocks an undefeated OSU out of the BCS title game.

[Cody_Russell]

We know that Purdue is in the bottom 5 of the of 120+ division 1 college football teams. This is a fact, I've watched every Purdue game this season (and every game of the 0-16 Lions season, sucks to suck).
Illinois is right next to Purdue, so bad!

B10 sucks, top to bottom.

[lineygoblue]

1. OlieO beats MSU. (sorry Spartan fans, but everything is going their way now)

2. FSU grabs the other spot vs OlieO in the MNC championship.

3. Winston picks up felony charges

4. Florida State suspends Winston.

5. OlieO wins the MNC in a walk-over.

[Ghengis Jon]

Auburn vs FSU in the MNC game. Auburn wins it on a miracle last play of the game. Media feeds on the luckiest team in history theme.

osu pisses, moans, whines, and cries about being jumped by a one loss team. The entire world outside of Northern Kentucky shrugs its collective shoulders and tells osu go talk to Boise State about being undefeated, over rated, and legends in their own minds.

The facts are Auburn will have defeated the top ranked team and a top 10 team in back to back games ending the season. They played in a much stronger conference. They are lucky beyond belief. The media has kneepads on when it comes to the SEC.

osu will have beaten 1 top ten team (I'm assuming against MSU) and won a game against its pathetic rival, which it should have lost. (Think of Notre Dame's perfect record and its game against Pittsburgh.) osu plays in a much weaker conference. The media recognizes that osu is simply a two note tune (Miller and Hyde); its only osu fans that have their faces buried deep into Urban Meyer's lap.

My opinion? I wish that osu would go to the MNC game and win as the Big Ten representative. Michigan could truthfully state that it lost to the National Champion on a failed 2 pt conversion as a minor salve for yesterday's loss. But as much of the season has gone for me, things won't happen as I wish.

I'm going to sit back with popcorn and watch osu's hissy fit. UFM will wail like Scott Frost about 'fairness'. osu will threaten to take its ball and go home and then realize it doesn't have a ball to take home and will be unceremoniously shoved out of the playground. The nation will look at osu's tantrum with all the interest of someone else's squalling baby in the grocery store.

And next year, when BcS version 2.0 takes effect, osu will be on the outside looking in, still crying about "last year".

[Dr. Strangelove]

For those expecting Auburn to make a big jump, prepare to be disappointed. Sagarin's computer poll is already out and if his is any indication, FSU and OSU will be #1 and #2. Note: The column used for the BCS is the PURE-ELO on the far right

1. Florida State
2. Northern Illinois (hahaha)
3. Ohio State
4. South Carolina
5. Oklahoma State
6. Auburn
7. Alabama
8. Missouri
9. Arizona State
10. Stanford
11. Michigan State
12. Baylor
13. Wisconsin
14. Central Florida
15. Oregon

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sagarin/

[Cody_Russell]

South Carolina #4? Wisconsin #13? What?!

[Tony G]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10060544&startTime=00:03

[Dr. Strangelove]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=esp...tartTime=00:03

Yeah does this clueless goober on ESPN actually know what he's talking about? He claimed that Auburn will jump Ohio State and probably Florida State in the computers. I think the exact opposite of what he said is probably true. It's more likely that we could get overtaken in a human poll thanks to relentlessly having it beaten into our brains that the SEC is vastly superior to everyone else and that even a 2-loss team champ from that conf deserves a shot at the title over anyone else.

I just posted a new computer poll and Auburn is #6. I guess it remains to be seen if Sagarin is wildly different from other 5 computer polls, but I don't think it is. Being undefeated means a lot to the computers. That's why NIU is ahead of even us.

[Rocky Bleier]

The drums are already beating for Auburn to leapfrog, though most say the decision won't be made until next week. Finebaum this morning echoing many who are saying that Auburn has played much tougher schedule. No one outide of ohio is impressed with 42-41 win versus Michigan or a two-year winning streak versus no one really good. The SEC argument is a strong one. Remember 2006 when Urban argued himself into the championship game when Florida beat the crap out of osu 41-14? Don't underestimate the influence of the SEC.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The drums are already beating for Auburn to leapfrog, though most say the decision won't be made until next week. Finebaum this morning echoing many who are saying that Auburn has played much tougher schedule. No one outide of ohio is impressed with 42-41 win versus Michigan or a two-year winning streak versus no one really good. The SEC argument is a strong one. Remember 2006 when Urban argued himself into the championship game when Florida beat the crap out of osu 41-14? Don't underestimate the influence of the SEC.

Human pollsters not living in the Southeast are not going to be impressed with the argument that the SEC merits preferential treatment, even in a down year for the SEC. Putting Florida ahead of Michigan was elevating a 12-1 team over an 11-1 one. That's different from saying 12-1 deserves a chance more than a 13-0 team.

And Paul Finebaum can go suck an egg. He's a shill homer for the SEC and admits to be being such. Not a remotely objective source.He's one of the clowns who I'd predict will begin trumpeting the title game as illegitimate should this media campaign not successfully get Auburn into the game.

[JRB]

The drums are beating, sure, and Auburn might well win a head-to-head matchup with anybody in America right now, but the 2006 Florida analogy only goes so far-- Florida went 12-1(the final win coming over a top five team at the time) and won a conference title. Michigan went 11-1, finished second in the Big Ten, and had already lost to Ohio State. The situations are comparable, but not equivalent. I think most voters will understand that. Auburn's reliance on unbelievable luck isn't going to help them with some voters, either. The Auburn defense is suspect(as is Ohio State's, to be sure, but that's a wash at best for the Tigers), and it bears keeping in mind that a three-loss LSU team trucked Auburn-- LSU was up two scores five minutes into that game, and Auburn was never really in it. Voters would have to set a new standard of deference to supposed conference strength to send Auburn over either an undefeated FSU or OSU team, and in the final year of the BCS, I just don't think enough of them are going to be willing to do that.

[hodgkal]

I have trouble visualizing anyone in the NC game except Ohio and FSU.

[Rocky Bleier]

The Big Ten is the 3rd or 4th best conference in the nation. No one outside of that footprint is impressed with a B1G title. Maybe if osu had schedule some decent teams outside of the conference they'd get more respect. Their best win of the year was against Wisconsin, which just lost at home to Penn State. The drums will get louder if they don't crush Sparty.

[hack]

I wouldn't count out MSU. God it's going to be painful to watch MSU/OSU, but it's probably going to be a great, great game. D'antonio wanted the OSU job, so he's got his quiet burn going on inside, and all this talk puts Sparty in the corner. Sparty might play harder in this game than they did against UM.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I wouldn't count out Missouri either, for that matter

BTW, AP POll is out and OSU is #2.

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Coaches poll has OSU #2.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/polls/

Coaches is actually the more important since it's a factor in the BCS. Our margin ahead of Auburn is about the same in both polls, about 25 point. But we actually have a few first place votes in the Coaches.

Who are the two morons who voted Auburn #1 in the AP?