Week 10 (or Bama-LSU and everyone else)

[TripletDaddy]

I'm not with you on Boise. Struggled against afa, now unlv.

I debated including them, but every time they are counted out, they keep on winning.

I don't think they deserve a spot in the title game because while it isn't their fault that they play a crap schedule, they shouldn't benefit from playing a crap schedule, either. Look at the gauntlet Ok St has had to run through, while Boise is playing junk week in and week out.

This will be a fun final few weeks...Stanford playing Oregon, OK state playing Oklahoma, Boise playing TCU, BYU playing Idaho and New Mexico state, etc.

[BoylenOver]

I debated including them, but every time they are counted out, they keep on winning.

I don't think they deserve a spot in the title game because while it isn't their fault that they play a crap schedule, they shouldn't benefit from playing a crap schedule, either. Look at the gauntlet Ok St has had to run through, while Boise is playing junk week in and week out.

This will be a fun final few weeks...Stanford playing Oregon, OK state playing Oklahoma, Boise playing TCU, BYU playing Idaho and New Mexico state, etc.

You forgot the epic P12 south tilt in Salt Lake next week

[USUC]

I don't know how anyone can argue that LSU isn't the best team in the country right now. They have beaten Bama on the road, Oregon in Dallas and WVU at their place. Add in 5 other wins in the SEC with a couple of them vs. top 20 teams and you have a resume much better than any other team in the country. LSU didn't shy away from playing people this year.

I agree 100%. The one thing that pissed me off about Florida was rarely leaving the state. LSU should be rewarded for that.

[BoylenOver]

I agree 100%. The one thing that pissed me off about Florida was rarely leaving the state. LSU should be rewarded for that.

IIRC it's still been 20 years since they've played an OOC game outside of the Sunshine State.

[woot]

UW seems to be running the ball control offense v OU. 23:45 ToP in the first half. Probably a good idea.

[UtahJazzFan88]

IIRC it's still been 20 years since they've played an OOC game outside of the Sunshine State.

They have to schedule 3 cupcakes to balance out that toughie against Florida State and SEC schedule I guess.

[Moliere]

I still think LSU is the best team in the country but what was once a titanic gap now appears to be a thin margin.

I think OK state, Boise, and Stanford could put up a lot of points on those guys. LSU still wins on defense, though.

Lol! Lot of points! That's funny!

Defense wins championships, just ask Oregon.

[USUC]

Wow, LSU has basically two more games to win and its in the national championship. Arkansas and then Georgia (probably). They basically have two weeks to prepare for these games (Western Kentucky and then Ole Miss).

[UtahJazzFan88]

Wow, LSU has basically two more games to win and its in the national championship. Arkansas and then Georgia (probably). They basically have two weeks to prepare for these games (Western Kentucky and then Ole Miss).

Arkansas is looking like a very underrated team with Tyler Wilson, and quietly sneaking up on everyone. Going to be a tough game for LSU.

[Pheidippides]

I still think LSU is the best team in the country but what was once a titanic gap now appears to be a thin margin.

I think OK state, Boise, and Stanford could put up a lot of points on those guys. LSU still wins on defense, though.

I have no clue what the gap is, and you should define "a lot" when you talk about points. Certainly WVU and Oregon put up points on LSU, but LSU won by double digits in both cases. I don't know how this game changes that.

I watched the second half at a friend's house. We agreed it was a "boring" game, but it was about what we expected. Anybody going into that thinking there would be a shootout was a bit crazy.

As to the game itself, I think LSU got a bit lucky, and Alabama got burned by bad special teams (again, I realize that some of the FGs were long). I was surprised the interception call was confirmed - I expected it to stand, but if it had have been called a catch initially, I would have expected it to stand that way too. I thought Lee played scared like he used to. I thought Jefferson did okay. I thought LSU's defense wasn't very good until Bama got into FG position. I thought Bama's O-line was great at pass blocking until OT. I think Richardson is a beastly, beastly man. I worry about the Arkansas game because LSU has struggled with them historically and because it's not a night game.

I'm going to the game against Western Kentucky next week. I expect that LSU will score a few more points than tonight.

[TripletDaddy]

Lol! Lot of points! That's funny!

Defense wins championships, just ask Oregon.

I forgot. You also are an LSU fan now.

[Pheidippides]

Also, in the category of teams-that-may-be-good-but-we'll-never-know, I wonder how good Houston is this year. They're undefeated and Keenum is lighting things up. But the hardest game they have had all year is UCLA in the opener, and they only won that by four (in Houston, I believe).

[TripletDaddy]

I have no clue what the gap is, and you should define "a lot" when you talk about points. Certainly WVU and Oregon put up points on LSU, but LSU won by double digits in both cases. I don't know how this game changes that.

I watched the second half at a friend's house. We agreed it was a "boring" game, but it was about what we expected. Anybody going into that thinking there would be a shootout was a bit crazy.

As to the game itself, I think LSU got a bit lucky, and Alabama got burned by bad special teams (again, I realize that some of the FGs were long). I was surprised the interception call was confirmed - I expected it to stand, but if it had have been called a catch initially, I would have expected it to stand that way too. I thought Lee played scared like he used to. I thought Jefferson did okay. I thought LSU's defense wasn't very good until Bama got into FG position. I thought Bama's O-line was great at pass blocking until OT. I think Richardson is a beastly, beastly man. I worry about the Arkansas game because LSU has struggled with them historically and because it's not a night game.

I'm going to the game against Western Kentucky next week. I expect that LSU will score a few more points than tonight.

Well, vegas thought there would be more scoring.

Neither team scored a TD. You expected that? I don't think anyone expected a SHOOTouT, but to expect some scoring and ball movement out of potential title contenders isn't asking too much.

I would guess that LSUs opponent puts up maybe 20 points in the title game? Just a guess.

[Moliere]

I forgot. You also are an LSU fan now.

If liking LSU more than Alabama makes me a fan then yeah, I'm a fan. I also like them more than Utah, WVU, Boston College, Colgate, and North Dakota State.

[Pheidippides]

Well, vegas thought there would be more scoring.

Neither team scored a TD. You expected that? I don't think anyone expected a SHOOTouT, but to expect some scoring and ball movement out of potential title contenders isn't asking too much.

I would guess that LSUs opponent puts up maybe 20 points in the title game? Just a guess.

I expected perhaps a little bit more scoring - maybe something like 10-7 or 17-14. Both teams played a very conservative game. I also expected LSU to do a better job on Richardson and blitz a lot more, but apparently they didn't get the memo about covering people out of the backfield.

I think asking anything of a team is silly. If they win, they win.

As to points in a title game, (a) let's not get ahead of ourselves and (b) I have no clue. I've shown several times in this thread why I don't set odds in Vegas. I will say, if memory serves, the title game is in the Superdome this year, which gives LSU a huge homefield advantage (note: I hate the Superdome).