Bizzaro World BCS Bowl Projections
cbssports.com's Bowl projections project the following non-bcs bowl matchups:
Holiday Bowl - USC v. Oklahoma
Chick Fil-A - Auburn v. Virginia Tech
Capital One - LSU v. Ohio State
Gator - Miami (FL) v. Notre Dame
Sounds like a bunch of decent games. Now look at the 4 non-championship game BCS bowls:
Sugar - Alabama v. Cincinnati
Rose - Iowa v. Oregon
Fiesta - Penn St. v. Boise St.
Orange - Ga. Tech v. TCU
These sound like second week of the season Wednesday night ESPN games.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:19 PM ^
Oregon and Boise both make the BCS I would like to see a rematch between those two.
But I agree with your point, the first slate of games sounds way better than the second slate.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:20 PM ^
The BCS is complete garbage, in my opinion
There should be an 8 team playoff...let 'em duke it out on the field.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:33 PM ^
Ok State can beat Texas this weekend, LSU beats Bama, and Bama Beats UF (or some other equation where those three all have a loss) so that we get Cinci in the championship game.
Not that I want to see them there but it will create controversy, which is a good thing for those who want a playoff. Not to mention, if Texas and either UF or Bama go undefeated, the BCS supporters will all boost about how the system is perfect the way it is because the right two teams would be playing. Ridiculous logic, but we'll certainly hear it.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:39 PM ^
This is only good because we might finally see teams from non BCS conferences getting destroyed to end the talk of them going to the NT game/congressional hearings.
If we had to stick with those 8 teams in the BCS, my idea lineup would be
Rose: Iowa/Oregon
Sugar: Alabama/Penn State
Orange: GT/Cinci
Fiesta: Boise/TCU for supremacy of all the mid majors.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:50 PM ^
If Boise and TCU make the BCS, they need to play major-conference teams. Having them play each other would prove nothing (and would sell very few tickets).
October 29th, 2009 at 5:03 PM ^
Boise vs. TCU would be legit. Of course, if Notre Dame wins out, don't they have a pretty good shot at stealing/wasting a BCS spot? I forget what the qualifications for them to make it are, it seems arbitrary anyway.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:17 PM ^
I'd say at 10-2 they are a lock for a BCS spot.
I'm not sure they win out - they still play Pitt and Stanford who are both capable of beating the Irish.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:54 PM ^
Wasting a BCS spot? Lol
The only Defense to slow down ND's offense this year was USC, and they only could do it for half the game, and that was without our #1 WR in the game. Wasting a spot, hahahhahahahahaa
October 29th, 2009 at 7:59 PM ^
Umm, yeah, you really ran up the score on BC and Purdue. 20 points at home, that has to be the most amazing offensive performance these eyes have ever witnessed. Try winning a game over 1. A ranked opponent, and 2. Try winning it by more than 4 points before the very end of the game. Oh yeah, and try not losing to a team composed primarily of freshman and sophomores.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:42 PM ^
So Purdue really shut us down? Or maybe the offense was a bit less dynamic because Clausen played for just over 1 quarter in the game, not to mention the #1 WR, #1 FB, #1 RB not playing at all in the game. Yeah it must have been that Purdue defense that stopped ND from running up the score, I am guessing it was running the wildcat for more than half the game.
BC, definitely made some defensive plays last week, they played cover 2 nearly they entire game and we still passed for over 246 yards, VT didn't even do that in their 48-14 win over BC. So if your just looking at the final score your missing a lot.
#1 "Try winning a game over a ranked opponent" lol
I believe they did more than try, within 4 yards of the goal line, down one score with 1 sec left in the game. And oh yeah it was the #4 team in the country, with more talent, speed and athleticism on all sides of the ball, and ND gave them all they could handle. Yeah they really need to try harder.
#2 "Try winning it by more than 4 points before the very end of the game", lol, what are you talking about? we won 2 games by more than 4 points, both Nevada and Washington. Don't hate on a team for winning, especially when its making game winning plays in the 4th quarter.
#3ish Again I think ND tried pretty hard to not lose to UM this year. If your view on the game is how ND "lost it" and not how UM "won it" your missing out on both teams this year.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:26 PM ^
1. Ok, congrats, you lost by a few points to #4, but you still LOST. So, point #1 stands.
2. Nevada = joke. Washington, ok, it was 7 whole points, in overtime at home, against a team that was 0-12 last year. After ND almost blew the game late anyway.
3. At two different points in the UM game, you guys trailed 14-3 and 31-20. I think ND was lucky just to be in the game at the end. Also, no 3rd quarter points in that game for the vaunted ND offense. Pretty sure Tate just straight up schooled you guys, the ND defense has been shredded repeatedly this year.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:03 AM ^
So ND would be wasting a BCS game birth because:
1. even though they had a chance to beat the #4 team in the country they lost,
2. beat a team that went 0-12 last year,
and 3. because they rallied back down by double digit deficits twice in the same game.
are you sure your thinking this through?
October 30th, 2009 at 3:58 PM ^
1. USC is overrated and likely won't make it to a BCS bowl themselves if they lose to Oregon. They also start a freshman QB.
2. ND BARELY beat the team that ws 0-12 last year, at home.
3. You generally don't want to have to rally against a team composed mostly of very young players, that will likely lose 4-5 games this year. A team that is rebuilding should not be able to school you and your superstar QB and experienced O-line and defense.
So, yes, I have thought it through. ND vs. Florida, Alabama, Texas, even TCU or Boise...can you imagine what they would do to Tenuta's defense? Tebow and McCoy aren't going to just throw the ball straight to ol' Mr. Dependable like the scrubs at Purdue and BC will. The '05 and '06 ND teams were much better than this one, and they were destroyed by OSU and LSU. Just take a lower bowl and enjoy a postseason win over a team that actually plays in a respectable conference.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:53 PM ^
1. How far do you think a 2 loss USC team is going to drop if they lose? There is no way they go south of the top 15 with only 2 losses and they would still have 4 more games left to play including another ranked opponent in Arizona who won't be dropping anytime soon. Thats a lot of assumptions with many more outcomes but a top 8, 2 loss USC team is very possible if not probable in the majority of those outcomes.
2. I was patronizing you with my last post here, so I will just use the stats this time and hopefully that works better. ND's Pass defense rating 117, Washington's Pass offense 35, Locker carries that whole team on his back, he is the best QB in the country. Problem for UW he doesn't play defense. Not sure if you noticed but because of that 0-12 record last year they fired Willingham (where have I heard that name before.....) and replaced the entire staff, and actually did some recruiting for a change. So your knocking a 3-5 team with currently the toughest schedule in the country, who lost to LSU by 4 points, BEAT USC, then lost to Arizona by 3 and ND in OT. I can think of a few teams I would put behind them.
3. Man your selling UM short again. UM played their best the entire season, thus far, in week 2 and it was on all sides of the ball. Now if you want to contrast how ND played on all sides of the ball, it was their worst game of the year. ST blew coverage resulting in 6 the other way, the Offense nullified 160 yards of offense by committing stupid penalties, and the defense couldn't tackle an old lady with a walker. And the final result was UM winning by 4 points!, yeah that was a real schooling (--some sarcasm in there)
Tenuta's defense held the nations #12 rusher to 51 yards on 22 carries last week. As for these Passing attacks, Florida 80th, Alabama 84th, Texas 21st, TCU 63rd, Boise 38th wow impressive?, wait a second MSU 22nd, Purdue 32nd, UW 35th, USC 40th, guess this is why we have the 17th hardest schedule..... So yeah I think we would do alright. (--little more sarcasm)
October 30th, 2009 at 9:12 PM ^
If you committed stupid penalties, then you didn't rightfully earn those 160 yards in lost offense,so that's a moot point. If you cheat to earn something, it doesn't count, except in Major League Baseball. All we heard about before the season started was how easy ND's schedule was, and how they should be able to dominate with their superstar QB and experienced team. They have in no way dominated anything, except Nevada. This team was not supposed to squeak by week after week; they're only a few plays away from 1-6, or 2-5. Sure, you could say the same about Michigan, but we're in rebuilding mode with two true freshman signal callers, not a pre-season BCS pick. Like I said before, if the old Brady Quinn teams got blasted by the OSU's and LSU, what would happen to this team? Stats and numbers don't really matter that much, if they did the polls would have ND a lot higher than 23. The pollsters don't take them seriously, and they shouldn't.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:05 PM ^
No it would be a moot point if ND had executed to their full potential. The point was that the offense couldn't get out of its own way and did not execute, and despite that were still able to put up 34 points. ND lost because they didn't execute, while UM did.
I could care less about what you heard from everyone in the preseason about ND's schedule strength. What is relevant is how they rank in relation to the rest of the nation this far into the season. And that is 17th. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt09.htm
The 05 and 06 teams were not stronger overall teams. This is becoming the best run defense ND has had with Weis as the HC. The secondary is weaker but there is still plenty of time to correct that. As for the offense the answer is no. The 2 more years in Weis's system compared with those offenses is very apparent, its a bigger play book, and better talent at nearly every position.
ND is the 5th ranked 2 loss team, I don't really have anything to complain about in the polls. ND controls their own destiny, if they win out those BCS sponsors will doing whatever they can to get ND in their game.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:33 PM ^
We're never going to agree here, obviously. I would love for Notre Dame to be relevant (for real) again, it makes everything seem right with the college football universe. I used to cheer for them every game they weren't playing UM, but since Holtz left, the place is just a mess. Weis is a slovenly, class-less piece of garbage, he can't even finish the pre-game stadium walk with his team, and how many Irish coaches have ever said "to hell" with another team? He'll be gone soon because he can't win big games, and maybe then I can actually bring myself to cheer for the Irish on occasion again.
October 31st, 2009 at 12:12 PM ^
Yeah ND is soooo not relevant, I mean no one was talking about anything ND in the preseason, well except on whether Clausen could make the same jump Quinn did in his junior year, and how many games ND could win, plus all that coaching change crap. Now at the middle of the season ND must be even more irrelevant when you take out the weekly game that qualifies as an "instant classic" on espn classic, the 2 heisman candidates, the repeated play of the week on sportscenter, not to mention 2 individual performances to qualify for the ATT player of the year, and all the {insert name] award player of the week awards. If only ND was relevant.....
Based on your next poorly developed thought I am going to guess you don't really have a lot of experience with knee injuries. So when someone has a SHATTERED left knee it is little hard to walk on. I am happy to trade the pregame parade walk, for 4 hours on the sideline and all the post game and halftime work he was hired for.
and in closing the one thing I know ND doesn't need now or ever, is you cheering for them.
October 31st, 2009 at 3:21 PM ^
Last I checked, individual accolades (inflated or not) mean nothing when it comes to team accomplishments. Michigan has only three Heisman winners, and yet owns the highest winning percentage, all-time wins, and natl. titles. Your boy Jimmah won't win a Heisman because he has no signature wins, and no one cares if your stats against weak teams are good (don't even bother bringing up the near-miss against USC, which is now the pride of your season; the fact that it was a signature game loss hurts his Heisman chances, especially when his shitty throws at the end cost them a chance at OT). And I mean relevant in the national title sense, which is the only relevancy that truly matters. You will never see ND in that position again. When Urban Meyer, the fastest rising star in recent college coaching history, spurns ND to go to Florida, you know that your program no longer belongs in the top tier that it used to. Also, yes I have quite a bit of experience with knee injuries, and a tip is that if you don't weigh 400 pounds, it's a little easier to stand/walk on it. Oh well, maybe ND does deserve another BCS beat-down this year to keep them in their proper place. I hope it comes against TCU or Boise, too. Could you imagine how old Ara or Rockne would react to that one?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:13 PM ^
This is old, obviously. I just got home last night and saw that the might irish lost to Navy. I'd like to be civil, but...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, everything you said is moot, you lose the argument, I'm right, and Charlie's fat wahale ass is a goner!!!!
October 29th, 2009 at 5:06 PM ^
both make BCS games. No BCS bowl will take either of them over Notre Dame or Southern Cal or even Miami. The only way both of them were to make it is if the SEC so dominated the top 14 of the BCS standings that there were not enough eligible teams to fill all the slots without taking both. Neither of those teams bring enough TV interest to casual fan, nor do they bring many fans with them to the bowl site.
If the conference winners shake out as projected by that site then Sugar Bowl would have first pick to replace Florida and would choose Alabama. Fiesta would have next choice to replace Texas and would grab Notre Dame if eligible (over USC and Penn State). Then Orange would have the next pick and would take either Penn State or USC, my guess is one-loss PSU over 2-loss USC (scenario assumes USC loses to Oregon). Sugar then takes Cinci (or other Big East winner) and either TCU or Boise falls to Fiesta Bowl. So matchups end up -
NCG - Florida v Texas
Rose - Oregon b Iowa
Orange - Ga Tech v Penn State
Sugar - Alabama v Cincinnati
Fiesta - Notre Dame v TCU or Boise whichever is higher in BCS
October 29th, 2009 at 8:56 PM ^
Plausible, although I'm not sure the Orange would pass up a shot at USC, even if PSU had a better record. SC has become a great TV draw.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:34 PM ^
but my sense is that PSU would bring more fans to South Florida (though not as many celebrities). Paterno always gives TV a good story line. My guess is that it is a moot point and USC goes to Rose Bowl and OB would take one-loss PSU over 2-loss Oregon.
October 30th, 2009 at 4:33 PM ^
Cincy/BE Champ is automatically slotted into the Orange, no?
October 30th, 2009 at 5:41 PM ^
The Big East is the only one of the BCS conferences that automatically gets a BCS bid, but has no affiliation with any of the 4 bowls. Generally, it goes to whichever bowl has the last pick unless there is a non-BCS team with an autobid. In that case, it ends up at the last pick bowl. (Starting next year, that team will automatically go to the Rose Bowl if either Pac 10 or Big 10 is in the NCG.)