Arena 2024-25 NCAA Football Discussion

I'll just reiterate what I said in an earlier post: The conferences are competitive, and that's all that matters. Cal can beat Tennessee. Tennessee can beat Lousiville. Louisville can beat Oklahoma. Oklahoma can beat Florida. Florida can beat Ohio State. Ohio State can beat USC. And then, to bring it full circle, USC can beat Cal. The best teams in each conference can compete with the other bests. There's no reason for anybody to look down on anybody else.

 

Then why is it that people do anyways?

 

Too bad the voters on ESPN and SI (who both had preseason polls asking who was the best conference), all the sports writers, and pretty much anyone who knows anything about college football disagrees with you. The SEC is the indisputable King.

What conference sends the most teams to bowl games? what conference wins a majority of their bowl games? What conference owns the most National Championships?

The PAC-10 is the most overrated overhyped conference, with the possible exception of the Big 10(+1). ("USC MAY BE THE GREATEST TEAM EVA !111!11")

Why else would they be so anti-playoffs? Ohh thats right because they don't wanna be spanked by clearly better SEC and Big XII teams year in and out. Don't give me that "tradition" theres more tradition in BDS than in the whole state of Kalifornia, unless you count tree-dwelling hippies as a tradition (LOL@Cal), then you clearly are tops.

Look at the Top 25: 6 SEC teams.

IF LSU finishes the season undefeated (which I think is unlikely) they will absolutely destroy USC or whoever else the PAC-10 digs up.
BTW Idaho? 38-10 USC ha. ha. ha. Who in the heck is Idaho? do they even normally have a football team? (what a first outing for the "Greatest EVA 11111!11") Meanwhile LSU decimated Mississippi St. 45-0.

I would take Mississippi St. any day of the week over Idaho.

I seriously am looking forward to Bowl Season, it (as always) will prove that once again the SEC is still the King.

(On another note irrelevant Alabama got ANOTHER 4 star commit (the #2 Dual-Threat QB in this recruiting class) Star Jackson. C'mon down Julio Jones))

Its gonna be funny when LSU lays the smackdown on V.tech this week.

 

I don't think most SEC "snobs" (I guess I'm one of these people) think that their best team is the best team in the country. However, the top five in the SEC this year and last are better than the top five in any other conference. I think arguing against that would be difficult.

LSU
Florida
Georgia
Auburn
Your pick of Tennessee / Arkansas / Alabama, in any given year
Even bottom feeders like Kentucky and South Carolina are stepping up to the plate.
The only dogs are Vandy (getting better though), Ole Miss, and MSU (both are pitiful).

Cal's win over Tennessee proves that they are a better team. One game on opening weekend really means very little in the overall D1A picture.

The ACC is the only conference that I could make an argument for being weaker than all the others. And in even then, VT, GT, and Miami may all be good this year. I'm just happy that FSU is awful again. Hurts Florida's SOS, but it'll help with recruiting.

I think we should all just come together and agree that Notre Dame is awful, and that we like that.

 

I'll see your Notre Dame, and raise you a LOL@Michigan.

EDIT:

I would place Tennessee over Auburn at this point, they played horribly against a BAD Big XII and barely squeaked by... I'll reserve final judgment on this year for Alabama post Arkansas game (which I believe we should win)

 

I honestly don't know. As an Oklahoma fan, I'm often around people wearing hats with an upside down Longhorn or people who shout "Texas sucks!" at Baylor games. Sometimes people prefer tearing others down to building themselves up. I personally think the SEC is the probably the best conference, but I don't think that it's so strong as to warrant taunting and put-downs directed towards fans of other conferences. We can all get our points across without being rude. Some examples of what I mean:

Opinion - The SEC is tougher than the Pac-10
Good Phrasing - The SEC has several good bowl teams and some of the nation's top perennial powers, so winning there means more than it does in the Pac-10, which doesn't seem to be nearly as consistent.
Bad Phrasing - The Pac-10 is so weak! The SEC owns you tree-huggers! All you guys can do is score, and that's because you can't play real football!

Opinion - The ACC is the worst BCS conference
Good Phrasing - The traditional powers (Miami, FSU) are really not at the top of their game, and it's entirely possible that only one team will have their regular season wins column reach double-digits (that being a VT team with some question marks).
Bad Phrasing - Wake Forest is the ACC champion! We have them for homecoming!

I make these points for two reasons: 1) It's much more polite, and that can't be bad, and 2) It makes for a far more intelligent and interesting discussion. Those examples I listed say the same thing. It's just that one is more polite and more thoughtful, so not only is it more pleasant to read, you're more likely to be taken seriously.


And I'll join in with a LOL@Michigan. That's an awfully long ways to drop.

 

Saw 'em off!

 

What a bore Colorado St will be for Cal this Saturday after a game like last week's.

lol @ ESPN's generosity by making Cal #6 on their poll.

Inty edit: No. Uncalled for. And, I just gave an in-thread warning about this.

 

Your post is very uncalled for.

 

You do realize I intentionally misspelled California right?

Kalifornia is a part of term of derision as in: "the Democratic People's Republic of Kalifornia".

As for your argument, resorting to ad homium attacks is typically saying "I cant say anything in defense to the argument so I'll attack the person making it"

Once again: "Why if the Pac-10 is the best, are they so anti-playoffs system?"

EDIT:

BTW, ESPN/ABC has a vested interest in hyping the PAC-10/Big-10 due to the fact that they have coverage of the Rose Bowl, and PAC-10 regular season games, therefore if they are honest and say "yeah, well theres only two good teams in the PAC-10 (which is questionable)" their ratings will drop, decreasing profits.

 

I agree with your above statement.
Self whoring in it's worst capacity.
Just like how they couldn't give a snot about Arena Football until they started airing games.
Then all of a sudden highlights and even scores on the ticker.
Same thing with MLS.

 

You mean the same bias voters that put Texas ahead of CAL in a BCS game against Mich, because Texas whined and cried to the media? The same voters who picked MICH to be the number 5 team in the country? The same voters who voiced no outcry when Oregon got screwed when a 2 loss Nebraska team got to go to the national title game?

The SEC is good, but so is the PAC-10. LSU's coach was out of line in his comments about USC.

as of today:

PAC-10 : 1 SEC: 0

 

For the same reason the Big 10 is anti-playoff: the Rose Bowl. Both conferences care more about that game than the BCS National Championship Game and aren't about to see the Rose Bowl go away to (possibly) improve how we determine the national champion. It has nothing to do with the Pac-10's conference strength.

 

Yeah, the voters do get it wrong from time to time, but they equally screw the SEC... *cough Auburn *cough* a couple years ago, they went undefeated and a inferior Oklahoma team made it in (who did in all fairness stay #2 throughout the season).

Now I'm not saying USC and Cal are worse than say Alabama or Georgia (Not this year at least) but they could be competitive in the SEC, but not run the tables every single year (IMO and lose to say Florida or LSU).

I think a point not open for debate is the fact that the SEC has more fan support (including crazies such as myself).

 

I could tell you more about Idaho if I knew which one it was. Idaho State University has sucked for years. University of Idaho has been excellent had some bad years and seems to be doing better recently.

 

I think it was Idaho State, looking at it in context.

Am I the only Hawaii fan here? I know we play in the worst BCS conference against the worst BCS teams, but this year's looking really bright for us. It's a shame that people on the east coast are in bed by the time most of our games are, because Colt Brennan's a beast out there. *waits for people to tear apart the Warriors*

 

Generally I would agree, for the simple fact that there are a lot more Pro and college sports teams on the West Coast. Loyalties are divided. Look at California alone:

Raiders, Niners, A's, Giants, Sharks, Kings (L.A.), Kings (sac), Warriors, Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Lakers, Clippers....I think you get the point. That is not even counting all the college teams.

But, I think you have to experience the atmosphere of some of the PAC-10 stadiums. Washington, Oregon, USC, Oregon St. are all places most teams including those in the SEC do not want to travel to. They are just as rowdy and loud. Just look at that all green stadium in Oregon, that place is crazy on saturdays.

I would have no problem if people would agree that the PAC-10 is just as dangerous as any other major conference. But, like stated before, BIAS plays a big part in the voting and shaping of opinions. Lets take out the SEC for a moment....The Big 10 is not better, Big East...please, Big twelve...not this year, ACC...yawn. The rest aren't even worth mentioning. Just because the PAC-10 is known for an offensive style of play, people think soft, which is wrong.

 

That's an interesting point. I'm way out west, farther than california, but from what I've seen of the pac-10, i'm impressed. Hawaii plays that conference quite a bit (ie: hawaii bowl last year), and although we've beaten most of them, we haven't played much against the better teams like USC and Cal. From what I can tell, they're just as good as the eastern teams, maybe better.

I've also heard how Hawaii football is not even a sport. True, we pass A LOT (that's an understatement), but besides that and the time differences, we're no different than most other teams. Okay, we're different, but not that much.

 

The Autzen Zoo is one of the best atmosphere's in college football. So is Death Valley at Clemson, The Sec isn't the only conference with good atmospheres as many people say.

 

Atmosphere? We have humidity and 90 degree nights.

I've heard many colleges have the "zoo" atmosphere. Hope I can visit one to see for myself one day.

 

I ment as in fan participation and loudness, all that.

BTW Idaho? 38-10 USC ha. ha. ha. Who in the heck is Idaho? do they even normally have a football team? (what a first outing for the "Greatest EVA 11111!11") Meanwhile LSU decimated Mississippi St. 45-0.

How bad you beat a weak team is not a good barimeter of how good a team is.

 

BTW Idaho? 38-10 USC ha. ha. ha. Who in the heck is Idaho? do they even normally have a football team? (what a first outing for the "Greatest EVA 11111!11") Meanwhile LSU decimated Mississippi St. 45-0.


What an example of self-irony! Just switch USC and LSU and it's exactly the same. Looks unintentional though.

You could say that for pretty much the entire top 10. look at what happened to texas.


oh, and i guess you could say Michigan as well, but that's an entirely different story.

 

Idaho is better than Miss, State

 

I've also heard how Hawaii football is not even a sport.

I spend a lot of time in the Islands, a lot of my family is from Hawaii.

Hawaii's problem is that most of their really great players leave and go to west coast schools. The PAC-10 recruits heavily from Hawaii. If Hawaii kept a lot of their players home, they could be really good, if not better that Fresno and Boise...Maybe compete with some of the more elite teams out west.

 

no school is a more hostile atmosphere than either 1) a Night Game at Baton Rouge (AKA Death Valley, IE 80something thousand Drunk Cajuns), or 2) Knoxville's Neyland Stadium. Neyland would be louder if we aren't talking night games. Night in Baton Rouge is bad... bad... bad... they have set off the seismograph in the Geology building with crowd noise.

Secondly, not very impressed with Hawaii, though its not questionable that massive numbers (offensive) are put up (likely impressing Heisman voters enough to get them that piece of hardware). Alabama beat them last year (the year we went 6-7), their players I dunno look "thuggish" (hair, tattoos, yes tradition, culture blah blah blah.) They didn't seem to actually field a defense, though managing to make a comeback in the fourth quarter (which is more due to the previous administration's incompetence). Its bad when a guy in the stands that only played middle school ball can tell you what play is coming next (another dig at the previous administration, Hint: It probably sounds like Ken Darby up the middle for no gain).

laugh What an example of self-irony! Just switch USC and LSU and it's exactly the same. Looks unintentional though.

You could say that for pretty much the entire top 10. look at what happened to texas.


oh, and i guess you could say Michigan as well, but that's an entirely different story. laugh

No, Mississippi State would beat Idaho, beyond that USC allowed 10 points to a crappy team, while still only scoring 38, thats with the "high powered offense". Forgive me if I'm less than impressed. Hening isnt that bad of a Quarterback, LSU's defense just made him look like a clown.

Once again, LSU will decimate VTech this week (upwards of 20 points)

And I dont think anyone will disagree with me when I say Michigan was probably the overrated team of the century. (with the possible exception of Notre Dame's decade long bowl-getting-the-crap-kicked-outta-them-streak). Which is why Charlie Weiss is thanking whatever god he holds dear that Michigan went down the same weekend he received his beat down at the hands of GT.

EDIT:

ON divided loyalties:

There is no such thing in the State of Alabama, you are an Alabama or Auburn fan, first and only. Thats why there arent any successful pro-teams here. I would rather pay money (and I pay a lot of it) to go see Alabama play Western Kentucky, then take free tickets to whatever super-NFL matchup of the week there is. And most people down here would do the same.