College Football

[Wayne SW/MO]

Can't overlook the fact that while the sportswriters may not evolve their criteria, the computer will. We're starting to see a gap in the polls because the computer is reevaluating it's criteria.

I watched OK real close and they have the personel to be #1 and the early season rankings were legitimate, but time is revealing they have some people prone to mistakes and when you play good teams they will jump on thoses mistakes. I suspect there are others, AL, OR and TAMU for instance. When these teams have to prove themselves several times a season it shows, while teams that play the creampuffs can hide their mistakes because they don't play anyone who can take advantage of it.

[ozark trout fisher]

I know this isn't popular but I like the bowl games. I'd be fine with an 8 team playoff, but that's about it. Any more would add too many games and take too much away from the current bowl structure.

I mean, if we have 32 teams we're going to have games like NC State vs. Minnesota in a tournament intended to decide a national champion. I'm fine with that type of thing in college basketball, where the regular season has long since been devalued.....but in college football, if you go 8-4, I feel like you should be in Shreveport playing the #7 team in the ACC instead of getting a chance to contend for a national title.

The whole thing with college football as we know it is that you have to be great to contend for a title (unlike most other sports, where simply being above average is enough to crack the playoff/tournament bracket) but decent-good teams still get a tangible reward in terms of a bowl game. It's not a bad system as it currently stands, IMO.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Yeah the pros don't play all that many games so there is no reason for the colleges to. 8 might settle some debates, but 4 will end most of them.

[ozark trout fisher]

The thing is, you can't really remove the debate by adding teams. You can only move it down.

There are passionate arguments over team #68 vs. team #69 in college basketball. You can be sure there will be passionate arguments over #4/#5, but that's just human nature. Nothing anyone can do to change that.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I simply meant that if a 5 and 6 play, one of them will obviously not be a true champion candidate. In fact half of all that would play for the title won't be, wheter it's 4 or 20.

[Feathers and Fins]

And in other news Gurly has been suspended

[ozark trout fisher]

And in other news Gurly has been suspended

Incredible. Missouri misses him two years in a row. Hope we can capitalize on it. Saturday is still going to be a very tough game, but I definitely feel better about it now.

(I know you're not supposed to be happy about opposing players being suspended, especially in a college game. And for violating some NCAA rule that I'm sure is beyond stupid. But are you really going to judge Mizzou fans who are excited about this? We still have at best a 50/50 shot in this game.)

[ness]

Incredible. Missouri misses him two years in a row. Hope we can capitalize on it. Saturday is still going to be a very tough game, but I definitely feel better about it now.

(I know you're not supposed to be happy about opposing players being suspended, especially in a college game. And for violating some NCAA rule that I'm sure is beyond stupid. But are you really going to judge Mizzou fans who are excited about this? We still have at best a 50/50 shot in this game.)

Hell, I'd the first guy to judge Mizzou fans, but being happy about Georgia losing Gurley -- that's just natural. I hate them too.

As for the bowls and championship--the foundation is there with the bowls. The NCAA needs to take charge and align bowls with conferences and get the mid majors in the mix. Teams playing teams is the best and only way to settle things. The more judgement that goes in the less happy folks will be.

[Flysmallie]

Yeah, why not be happy about it. It might be a stupid reason to get suspended, and if it is what they are saying it is then I really think it is stupid. But he knew the rule, broke it, and now has to live with that. Even though the rule is ignorant and the punishment for that is even worse. Seems he's made somebody mad.

School officials did not reveal the nature of their investigation, but SI.com, citing an anonymous source, reported that Gurley allegedly received $400 to sign 80 pieces of memorabilia on the Georgia campus this past spring — a familiar issue in college athletics.

[ozark trout fisher]

$400 bucks......and he's sitting out a game that will bring Georgia, Mizzou, CBS, and the NCAA who knows how many bucketloads of cash. That's how much some of us spend on a decent fly rod, for someone who is the best player in college football and is the only reason anyone pays attention to the SEC east. You know without a shadow of a doubt there are many players making enough from boosters that this amount is mere pocket change. The NCAA wanted to make a statement here by going after the Heisman fav, but IMO they're just harming the product on the field by taking a great player off it for no good reason.

Even as a Mizzou fan, that's incredibly stupid.