2014 College Football Season

[USUC]

I think the PAC is #3 behind the SEC and Big 12. Obviously the ACC and B1G are a step down. Note that the SEC East is light years ahead of everyone else.

I think you mean the SEC West.

I would rank the PAC-12 and Big-12 the same. Big-12 is better at the top. PAC-12 is deeper.

[wapiti]

I think you mean the SEC West.

I would rank the PAC-12 and Big-12 the same. Big-12 is better at the top. PAC-12 is deeper.

That's fair.

[USUC]

I think you mean the SEC West.

I would rank the PAC-12 and Big-12 the same. Big-12 is better at the top. PAC-12 is deeper.

I feel I should add that I think Oregon is the best team from either league. It doesn't need to be added but there are some sensitive people on here.

[Paperback Writer]

The writer hinges his argument that OSU compares favorably to Oregon because their losses are "similar". Two major problems with that. 1) Arizona is a lot better than Virginia Tech. 2) The B1G is awful so the rest of OSU's schedule has not tested OSU to the extent that Oregon has been tested.

I think the PAC is overrated but it's still a lot better than the B1G.

Another problem is the Buckeye's cross division schedule: Illinois and Minnesota. While Minnesota is having a decent year, the three strongest programs in the Western division historically have been: Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa. The Big Ten is already weak but the conference did Ohio St. no favors but ensuring that the Buckeyes not play a Western division team capable of beating them although Minnesota was surprisingly competitive (31-24).

The article mentions Arizona's close games but fails to mention Ohio St.'s own double OT win over a crappy Penn St. team. The loss to VT was a bad one, the Hokies did the Buckeyes no favors by losing to E. Carolina the following week and then going 2-4 in the vaunted ACC. However, I'm admittedly now a Big Ten homer and think Ohio St. will have a good claim to a playoff spot if they win out and beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten CCG. I'd enjoy the Big Ten getting a playoff spot at the expense of the Big 12.

[Applejack]

I think the PAC is #3 behind the SEC and Big 12. Obviously the ACC and B1G are a step down. Note that the SEC East is light years ahead of everyone else.

I'm not a Pac homer - I think the Pac-South is really deep this year without any dominant teams, while the North has one dominant team and a bunch of mediocre ones.

But if you are going to knock the Pac for not having quality OOC wins (notwithstanding Mich St, Notre Dame, Texas, etc), who are you pointing to for the Big-12's signature wins? Tennessee? Minnesota?

[The_Douger]

So how would you rank the conferences? I'm interested who, other than the SEC, you really think is better than the Pac-12.

The Big 12 is better than the PAC.

[scottie]

They had a guy on the radio this morning talking about how the committee measures strength of schedule. Basically they take your W/L record and add to it the W/L record of everyone you play. They don't count FCS schools unless you lose. Very scientific, no? They were getting a pretty good laugh out of it.

Ya, that's how SOS is measured. How else would you measure it?

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I'm not a Pac homer - I think the Pac-South is really deep this year without any dominant teams, while the North has one dominant team and a bunch of mediocre ones.

But if you are going to knock the Pac for not having quality OOC wins (notwithstanding Mich St, Notre Dame, Texas, etc), who are you pointing to for the Big-12's signature wins? Tennessee? Minnesota?

West Virginia beat Baylor, that's a good win. Also Baylor beat TCU. Plus the B12 will have one true champion! (Unless it ends in a tie, then at least still they have a true split championship!)

[Coach McGuirk]

I'm not a Pac homer - I think the Pac-South is really deep this year without any dominant teams, while the North has one dominant team and a bunch of mediocre ones.

But if you are going to knock the Pac for not having quality OOC wins (notwithstanding Mich St, Notre Dame, Texas, etc), who are you pointing to for the Big-12's signature wins? Tennessee? Minnesota?

PAC is fine. you are just hearing from the jealous bitches right now.

[MarkGrace]

There comes a point in every disappointing season when scales fall from eyes, wind abandons sails, and even the true believers have to come to grips with reality: This team is not the team it was supposed to be, and it’s not going to get there. For Stanford, the point of no return came last weekend in a mind-numbing, 20-17 loss to Utah, the Cardinal’s fifth defeat on the year, and one made all the more depressing by the thought of the few remaining invested fans having to suffer through two overtimes before getting smacked with the inevitable. The teams combined for 10 consecutive punts after halftime, though given the state of the Stanford offense, that may have been the best possible outcome.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/st...w-kevin-hogan/

[Jeff Lebowski]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/st...w-kevin-hogan/

Your bitterness is showing!

[Applejack]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/st...w-kevin-hogan/

I saw that article earlier. Basically a really long article (like all articles on Grantland) that suggests that Stanford football may have peaked. Or not. We'll find out once they play Cal and UCLA.

Having watched exactly one Stanford game, I think their big issue this year is that they have terrible running backs. It's hard to play smashmouth football when your running backs are crappy. Their defense is nails and their O-line is stout. Their QB is kinda crappy too.

Personally, I don't think we've seen the last of Stanford. They have perfected the pitch of "hey, even if you don't make the NFL, you'll have a Stanford degree, so you'll be a bazillionaire."

[Lost Student]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/st...w-kevin-hogan/

Through the first sentence, I thought it was about BYU.

[RC Vikings]

B29yq9SCYAA7XMM.jpg

Greenburg and Golic made a bet on the ND vs Northwestern game last week, this was the unfortunate result of a lost bet for Golic.

[lambdacoug]

Greenburg and Golic made a bet on the ND vs Northwestern game last week, this was the unfortunate result of a lost bet for Golic.

NSFW...