The Rest of College Football

[iam416]

I know one of those games at 30 was against UCLA, but game was over at halftime and I'd guess most of UCLA's points were a product of Oregon being up by a ton.

They were let down by their defense against Arizona, for sure.

Their defense usually appears to be worse than it is, IMO. When they OoC and bowls, they usually play well. They held Cam's boys to 22, played the mighty Vals twice and gave up a combined 27 points and throttled KSU and then Texas in bowl games.

As for Mississippi State, I'm still not sold on them. Of course, I'm not fully sold on any team in the top 7. I mean, I think the next 3 or 4 -- Ole Miss, Georgia and Michigan State could credibly win the playoff. It's a weird year where, IMO, I see 7-10 pretty good teams and no great teams. I certainly know Ohio State isn't a great team. Good lord.

Speaking of Ohio State, Noah Spence may be back for the Michigan game, B10 CG and Bowl Game. Aside from being OSU's best DL coming into the season (better than Bosa), he'll provide much needed depth to a unit that has been disappointing a bit (depth-wise). Perhaps OSU will have a chance to hold Gordon under 300.

[Hannibal]

I watched Oregon's game against UCLA and their run defense was a sieve. The mistake-prone Bruins kept fucking up and couldn't capitalize. They've got some issues that I think would get exposed against a legit Top 10 team.

[AlabamAlum]

I haven't seen anything I am impressed with on their D.

Yes, they did hold Auburn to 22, but that was 4 years ago. Really just talking about this year's version. Currently, the Oregon D isn't in the top 50 in scoring defense and they're not in the top 100 (!) in total D.

Now, in previous years, their D may have played better in bowls, but I subscribe to that whole 'past years' performances are no guarantee of future success' thingy.


Miss State is solid. But, really, I agree: everyone has serious flaws. Nobody is dominant.

[iam416]

Yeah, I understand last season or four seasons ago don't matter this season, but I have seen this movie before and Oregon's defense has surprised me in the past. I suspect Alabama would mow them down with its running game. I think FSU will have a harder time dealing with the defense and virtually no chance against the offense. If you can't dominate the LoS against Oregon's OL, then you might as well put 42 up on the scoreboard and hope that's all they get. And I've seen enough of FSU to conclude their DL is utterly mediocre this year after being hell-raising fierce last season.

[entropy]

Parity rules CF this year.. IMO, it's more about matchups than the quality of teams..

[entropy]

I think TCU would be a bitch to play. They're aggressive on both sides of the ball

[AlabamAlum]

TCU is a funny team. When they're on, they're outstanding. They have Bama consistency issues, though.

For example...

Baylor dropped 61 on them, they only beat Rock a Chalk by 4, they should have really lost to West Virginia...


But they killed just about everyone else but OU.

[Hannibal]

One of the two huge reasons why the SEC West is dominating college football -- oversigning:

http://mississippistate.247sports.com/Bolt/2015-QB-Chason-Virgil-no-longer-committed-to-MSU-33120946

2015 QB Chason Virgil no longer committed to MSU
On Thursday night 2015 quarterback Chason Virgil of West Mesquite (Texas) High School opened his recruitment back up and is no longer committed to Mississippi State. The 247Sports three-star prospect said he talked with the Bulldog coaches Thursday and opted to open up his recruitment.

"They called my coach today and (Mississippi State) is wanting me to grayshirt," said Virgil. "Just knowing that I am graduating early in a month, it is hard to just sit out a whole year without playing and being in a program. So I have to start over now. I haven't talked to any other schools in awhile so I just have to see what happens."

Virgil committed to Mississippi State in May. The Bulldogs now have 30 commitments for the Class of 2015.

[Hannibal]

Mississippi State currently has 30 commits in their class, with another QB.

With the SEC West, there is no such thing as a risk in recruiting. You don't have to worry about a guy washing out because you can just get rid of him and sign 30 kids in your next class.

[Mike]

It irritates me that this issue is never discussed in the national press. It seems relegated to internet blogs and nerdy CFB types. Oversigning, the way the SEC West skirts the issue, is not technically illegal and so you can't claim that they are cheating. Making an ethical argument relating to major college football in 2014 sounds like a punchline or loser's lament. Different conferences having different rules and ethical standards makes it impossible to have an even playing field.

The SEC West is what the NFL would look like if you took one division and let them have an extra 1st and 3rd round draft pick every year. Then, after all their rosters were stocked, they won the next 7 straight Super Bowls and nobody mentioned the draft advantage. Boy, the AFC North sure does play great football!!

[Mike]

Mississippi State currently has 30 commits in their class, with another QB.

With the SEC West, there is no such thing as a risk in recruiting. You don't have to worry about a guy washing out because you can just get rid of him and sign 30 kids in your next class.

This is also why I'm not in love with Dan Mullen as a coach. He may be the real deal but, to me, it is hard to tell if MSU's success is his doing or the fact that they he enjoys the recruiting advantages of a school like MSU.

[hack]

well he's competing in that division with others who do it, so it's on it even footing. But in the end I agree it is a knock against him for Michigan. Not a huge one.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I want Coach Klein for Nebraska...as long as Bobby Boucher comes along...

[AlabamAlum]

It's been written about.

No school may have more than 28 NLIs in a given year - NCAA rule. The SEC set that at 25. There are some loopholes, though. Grayshirts, or delayed enrollment, for example.

Further, a commitment list is not official or binding and can be inflated by the service that compiles it. A few years back Rivals had two players on Bama's list that weren't even being recruited, simply because the players told the service that they planned to sign with us.

Now, some conferences won't allow grayshirting. Personally, I have no issues with it as long as the student is told and agrees to it. But a conference that decides to not allow it and them complains that others gave an unfair advantage is silly. It would be like me paying my workers a better salary and then complaining that my profits were lower than my competitors. Either mirror the policies of others, or work to make a more stringent NCAA rule, or happily live with the standards that you self imposed.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Whatever you say...cheater.