Arena The College Football Thread

I can't think of 64 basketball teams worthy of having a crack at the championship, but including those "Cinderellas" are what make March madness so memorable. I think that can be done on a limited scale in football too.

I agree with you that the first round would need to be played on the home field of the higher seeds. The next (i.e. semifinal round) would be played at a neutral site, as would the championship game itself. I think it could work!


Unrelated, but I really really hope South Carolina and Texas A&M play each other next year. Jadeveon Clowney vs. Johnny Manziel. You wouldn't find a more compelling matchup even in the NFL.

I only hope @s65horsey and I wouldn't tear each other to ribbons!

You know who Notre Dame fans should really be pissed off at?

Jim Tressel.

Think about it. Tressel is one of the biggest reasons that game happened last night. If it weren't for Tressel's inability to report violations and his desire to cover things up because he needed to win thought he was doing what was best for his student-athletes, that game last night would have been Notre Dame - Ohio State.

And that's a storied match-up. Just like Alabama-Notre Dame is a storied match-up. It would have been a fun spectacle to see those two historic programs duel for the championship.

And, let's be honest here, Ohio State had a good team this year with an incredibly dynamic quarterback. They were not a great team. There is no way in hell the game turns out 42-14 for either team if that's Ohio State instead of Alabama.

So, Irish fans, while you shouldn't be down at all today - you had a great season, and that score was more indicative of how well Alabama handled the long layoff than the respective levels of either team, Jim Tressel is the man you should be made at.

Don't be mad at T'eo, just because his trips around the interview and award circuits made him forget how to tackle for a day.
Don't be mad at a system that punishes every team that loses - except Alabama.
Don't be mad at the fact that Brian Kelly is no where near the strategic coach that Nick Saban is.

Blame Jim Tressel.

They barely beat Pitt, very overrated team.

I wonder if Ohio State fans were watching that game, and blaming Tressel

Story that got lost in the wash of the last week, Aaron Murray returning to UGA for his senior season, which may dull the hit that they're going to take defensively in the NFL Draft. Richt and Todd Grantham already brought on Mississippi State's d-line coach to bulk up the defensive staff, and their recruiting classes are always solid, so I think they'll be right back in the thick of things with SC and UF next year.

What's a Chanticleer?

No idea. Some sort of rooster, I think.

But thanks for the link! I had thought the schedules might be released already, but I wasn't sure.

It looks like South Carolina gets off pretty easy when it comes to next season's SEC West competition: no Alabama, LSU, or Texas A&M.

But oh ho, how I'm looking forward that UNC game at the beginning of the season!

Except it would have been OSU-ND, not OSU-Alabama.

Damn. If only there were an Ohio State fan around to give his opinion on how Tressel shaped the title game.

That argument against Oregon would hold more weight if that wasn't exactly how Alabama got to the title game last year.

The two best teams in the nation were in Sun Life Stadium that night - Alabama's starters and Alabama's second string. They would have throttled OSU too.

Man, what the hell are they feeding those kids down there in Bama?

That and he bombed epically with the Dolphins when he was in the NFL.

LOL

Just another reason why NFL is a 1,000 times better than college football.

And to think that all it would have taken, many years ago, was a "+1" game to decide the champion. Instead we got the BCS which has done nothing but made things worse and because of that we have universities moving, breaking what were once great rivalry ties, creating ridiculously huge "Super Conferences" and destroying anything left of the great traditions of college football. The "playoff" will wipe out anything left of what made college football distinct from the NFL.

Going to Alabama for work this week, I'll let you know if I see AJ McCarron's girlfriend.

Apparently Jim Delany is open to renaming the Divisions in the B1G. Unfortunately, he won't consider names like "Woody and Bo", "Ohio State and Michigan" or "Lakes and Plains". Because, you know, those would get mocked. Unlike Legends and Leaders.

We want pics if you see her.

I like the suggestion to name them after what's actually driving realignment: Comcast and Time Warner

Heh, that'd be hilarious. But also very sad.