Mike West

Jon, I think you nailed it on the head. I posted that Fox Sports article I believe two days ago, and I believe it is starting to make more sense. Your suggestion of conferences exclusively scheduling conference opponents is intriguing. I like the Texas versus Ohio State (Bama vs Wisconsin; Miami v. ND etc) games, but those matchups may have more meaning at the end of the season, and possibly more eyeballs on the product. The sport would probably excel more with one Commissioner, but we all know the conferences won't go for that. You also make a solid point when you say college football is close to being the NFL already. Look at how fans are upset that Kiffin went to LSU. We already hate player movement (especially when greed is the factor). But in my mind, nothing compares to the pageantry of college football. Thanks for the post.

Oh, I'm not sure its going to matter. Depending on how we get slotted, that first game might be just as tough. Notre Dame or Alabama would require all OBD have, and mistakes would be deadly. Out of that group of Georgia, Ohio State, Indiana and Texas Tech-I believe the Red Raiders would struggle with OBD in the trenches much more than the other three. And those Red Raiders haven't played a top ten opponent (heck, in terms of talent they haven't played a top 25 team). I have no idea of which OBD team we will see. I was hoping to see that Montana State/Oklahoma State version. That is a very dangerous team. But the more talent OBD have faced, the less that version has shown up. They're young, and it shows. I expected a nuclear bomb to drop on Lake Washington. Instead, we got drone missiles and B2 bunker busters (I'll take the win, but I want to see how close we can get to the damn near perfection we saw in early September). I'm proud of this team. It took care of business-flaws and all. 11-1 is always a major accomplishment. It is so dam hard to go undefeated, and even keep the losses at one.

There's so much meat on the bone in this discussion. But it's frustrating. I really don't want college football to look more like the NFL. The very heated discussions are what makes college football more interesting. But it is so awesome to see early season matchups between the marquee teams. Not to mention, since the B1G doesn't have the depth or the fanaticism the SEC has, it is very difficult to argue that it is a better conference when it comes to talent in the middle of both conferences. The problem with a Wisconsin versus Bama matchup is Bama truly exposes how much further the B1G has to go to get the respect middling Florida, LSU and Auburn are getting. Florida ruined Texas' playoff bid, and the conference uses the result as an argument that is is just better. Meanwhile, Penn State totally collapses, fires their coach, and now they are in a terrible situation. They are the last team considered talented enough to compete for titles to find a quality coach. So the B1G truly needs to see its marquee teams step up in performance. We want those marquee matchups, but since Michigan, Wisconsin and USC "dropped the ball", and Iowa lost to middling Iowa State, the B1G looks silly, and Texas-who has a legit argument because a talented SEC team finally played a real schedule with real consequences-can argue what USC and Michigan can't. BYU, and Utah, who are talented, but lack the depth the B1G and SEC have, are sitting outside looking in. Miami, a marquee team with glory from 1800, is calling out Notre Dame-who refuses to compete in a conference so they can use the college football tactic of arguing its way into playoffs(and is another 1800 blue blood relic). OBD, Ole Miss, A&M and even Bama are riding their conferences' respective reputations. Even Ohio State is relying on its dominance of a pretty weak schedule outside of "marginal" Texas and Michigan. The Playoff Committee is dishing slop about who should get in right now. How are Utah and BYU considered better than Miami, when Miami lost its games by no more than 4 points, but the Big 12 teams got smoked by their best conference foe-the 11-1 Texas Tech "we're still not sure how good they are" Raiders. SMU messes up the ACC title game and somehow, Duke-whom a forgotten Illinois team flattened, is in the ACC Title game instead of Miami (or any of the other ACC teams with a much better overall record). Even if we went to a 24 team playoff, how do you settle the ACC mess of seven teams close to each other in conference record with unbalanced schedules. Missouri, who like Vandy and Ole Miss, played the bottom half of the SEC and each struggled against the more talented group of teams they faced in the conference. The appealing aspect of arguing for your team is making all this frustrating, and the more we settle the issue on the field, the closer college football resembles the NFL because it is clear a lot of playoff teams would end up with 3 or more losses in the effort to prove they are truly playoff caliber.

Whew, That last scenario is huge. I would hope everyone would agree Georgia put to rest any notion Florida State deserved to be in that last four team playoff (and to be frank, Georgia made a case THEY should have been there). Florida State could barely win their Conference, and they were a shadow of who they were before the injury. As far as Texas and Miami: As much as I hate to admit it, Texas has a case. They beat A&M, Oklahoma and Vandy. Two of those three are definitely in. They lost to Bama-also in. And they played horribly against Ohio State, with both teams a shadow of what they would become, and only lost by a TD. Miami lost two games they should have handily won. They beat ND early, and I believe we all can agree they would have a much tougher out against Notre Dame now. BYU is going to have a lot to say about Texas' chances. However, this is a situation where schedule does matter. Texas was all over the map when you look at how they performed all year. But they played FIVE playoff caliber teams. None of them lost more than two games. They defeated A&M, who was undefeated. I believe Indiana, Georgia and Alabama were the only other teams to take down an undefeated playoff bound team. And this isn't in defense of the SEC. A&M proved you can run through your conference unscathed if you face the middle of the pack. Texas proved it is really difficult to go unscathed against a field of playoff caliber teams. Georgia, Ole Miss, OBD and Bama are examples of how tough it is to handle even one playoff bound team when they are playoff bound themselves. And Texas faced two top 3 teams. Miami has no such argument. Much less, the talent they have nullifies any excuse at justifying their two losses. They have an NFL bound QB, and is far more talented than the rest of their conference. Texas is a tier below Bama and Georgia for certain. They defeated Oklahoma, which is at their level, and took down Vandy, who is also at or near Texas' level. Ironically, this goes against my "you are what your record says you are" argument. What changed my mind was when I looked at Texas compared to Michigan, whom I initially thought should go instead of Texas had they defeated Ohio State. But Michigan didn't face five playoff caliber teams. The Wolverines faced two that were potential playoff teams, and went 1-1(and we can we acknowledge Michigan looked shaky as well?). If BYU defeats Texas Tech, they are in. If they lose, that 11 slot should be slated for Texas if and only if Virginia loses. I can't justify rewarding Duke for winning a weak ACC, or giving Miami the nod for "being more talented". That is an insult to the "every week matters" mantra. Because it means you can lose several times and still make the playoffs. And you can get mulligans for losing to twice to teams you have no business losing to in the first place. I despise the SEC mantra that they have a tougher slate than the rest of college football. This year, Texas and A&M proved the SEC is ordinary UNLESS you play a schedule that actually verifies your mantra. Texas is the first team in a very long time that faced 4 playoff bound/caliber teams, three in their own conference. Texas is correct to say scheduling Ohio State was risking a loss they easily could have replaced with an easy victory. Take away the conference shield, and you still see Texas performed well despite looking awfully shaky all year. So as much as I hate to give an SEC team Kudos, Texas is a team I can honestly respect for scheduling and handling a very tough slate. They are the only team this year to play almost half their schedule against teams that lost less than 3 games all year. And they are the only team to face four teams guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Moore tends to be just a little off when you look at his complete body of work. But man, he was far more accurate today when it mattered and the uncharacteristic drops really nullified some very good drives yesterday. I actually like what I have seen from Moore. Sure, he needs to be more accurate, but man, he threw some good balls yesterday, and he was in "control" much more than he had been since the beginning of the year. And this was with the second level ("talentwise") of WRs. I had to go back to last year's Spring Game to remember that Moore would be ok. This year's Spring Game gave me hope concerning the depth of the WRs. That panned out well. I believe the team must work on the mental aspect of the game more than the physical. OBD are about to face teams that characteristically do not beat themselves. We have seen too much self destructive "behavior" from this obviously young group (and boy, have they been productive for being so young). I am very comfortable with Moore however. He is throwing with far more "authority". He isn't "shaky" like he was just a month ago. The guy is starting to "flex". I don't see the hesitation vibe I was getting earlier in the season.

Now if we could just wear our "natural colors" the entire playoffs, maybe we'd go all the way!!! It's time to retire grey and black for the season.

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/rj-youngs-24-team-college-football-playoff-bracket-entering-week-12 This article actually makes sense to me. I don't necessarily like the fact that some teams just don't qualify in my opinion, but settling things on the field would settle a lot of headaches and arguments. I prefer the 16 team 3-3-2-2-1 and 5 at large bids more. It would preserve some of the bowl season. But this presentation makes total sense based on how this season has progressed.

Why not simply expand to 16 teams? Go with a 3-3-2-2-1 format and 5 at large teams with CCG week used as a play in round between the P4 teams qualified to participate? That basically maintains the most important aspect of college football: making every week matter. Making those Play In Games relevant also matters as there must be some objective measurement used as a measuring tool for those contenders. I believe that would be fairly simple, as contending for your conference title should definitely be one of those measurements. Same with defeating teams you were favored against, and defeating teams you were an underdog to. This year is going to be a mess. I believe Texas losing to Florida ruined what is considered facing a gauntlet schedule (all three of their losses are to teams that are playoff bound, and they defeated a fourth while eliminating Vandy as a fifth). Expanding to 16 definitely makes sense. Using Play In games would expand it further, and create the kind of drama fans of the sport love. Not to mention settle matters on the field.

Green, yellow and white... My favorite Duck uniform color combos.

USC fans are in the five stages of grief. They always come up with their heritage when we beat them because we still don't have a title. They're having a difficult time accepting they are a "has been". It all changed in 2007. It was the first time we decisively defeated them. The year we should have won our FIRST NATTY. We are much closer to winning our first title than they realize.

Or they start beating Alabama and Georgia regularly. Would be nice this year in the playoffs. Bama I can see. Georgia is starting to play like the Georgia people fear (though I see OBD handling the playoff field much better now that they took care of USC the way ND did). I guarantee you if OBD start winning titles, there will be calls for sanctions like what they did to USC (while making sure Scam Newton got his title). We will win a title if we make sure the refs have nothing to do with the outcome. Which means damn near perfection. This team is leaving full plates on the table. If we see one clean game out of this group, they can handle EVERY SINGLE PLAYOFF ENTRANT.

I don't believe we will see ten thousand PI calls in the playoffs. Not to mention the pushing off the SC WRs got away with (plenty-it was a push off festival out there today). It is high time we see calls like Jerimiah Smith got in Eugene last year (and boy, he pushes off massively). I hope DL starts lobbying for offensive PI, because I saw some egregious fouls today on the part of USC WRs.

Yeah, I would like some Pulp Fiction this game. USC is playing their best under Lincoln Riley to date. They are formidable throwing the ball. They will reveal just how far OBD secondary has improved. That matchup and the mysterious Dante Moore are the keys to this game. If Moore balls out like he is capable of, OBD will stomp the condoms. If.

Actually, they came from Neilson. And Reddit posted the top 25 numbers, with adjustments for averages. The B1G has some work to do getting to SEC numbers.

That wasn't my concern. For some reason, Dante Moore starts off really slow. Two TD passes missed because of slightly off the mark throws. My concern? OBD are leaving heaps of servings on their plates. I'm talking 42 points from Indiana to Iowa, and almost another TD to start this drive. The defense could have kept Iowa to 3 points-I'm talking a 28-3 score at least -even in poor weather (28-0 or 35-0 counting the penalty for the punt pass against Wisconsin). Complaints yes. But we're talking the difference between very good and elite. We want that Natty!!!

Exactly. This issue is tough to sort out. I am not sure the TV package in 2031 is going to be as lucrative. USC is delusional in my opinion. They aren't garnering any kind of viewership that warrants their outburst. Outside if Ohio State and Michigan, no one in the big is drawing consistently huge numbers. That concerns me. It's why I keep harping on USC, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska and the Fuskies becoming national contenders. The B1G is not even close to the ratings powerhouse the SEC is. I believe that is why this "payday loan" deal is a motivating factor. Heck, Ohio State is the 7th most watched team in the nation. So, the number one team in the country is the 7th most watched team. People watch Tennessee more than they watch Ohio State. Do you think teams like Michigan State get a little nervous about revenue? How about Maryland? I'm not saying his deal is the answer, but I am concerned, and OBD are the ranked 15th in viewership. To be objective, 9 B1G and 10 SEC teams are part of the 25 most watched teams, but the SEC boasts 8 of the top 10. Disney has a great plan, they lock down the mid day and evening slots with pretty damn good matchups. Iowa at USC isn't going to pull as many eyeballs as Oklahoma and Alabama this week. And UCLA is definitely not going to draw fans like the Ohio State contingency. I'll be impressed if 3M people watch that game (against what, 8M for Texas at Georgia?). Will Fox, NBC and CBS pony up another monster TV deal for the B1G in 2031? I'd say the lower tier of the B1G is trying to secure survival amidst the threat of a Super Conference throwing them to the wolves. A 20 year deal helps out their cause, no?

I should delete my recent post since you beat me to the punch.

After reviewing Indiana's tape against OBD, Iowa and Penn State, I'm guessing the f'eyes (my new nickname for them until their fan base stops being ridiculous about Ryan Day, who is a Michigan loss from them going full retard again) handle Indiana quite easily. In my eyes, at least for now, Ohio State will get tested by the likes of A&M, Bama and Georgia, Norte Same(another new nickname for me since the Golden Domes get a lot of unearned street cred), Old Miss. If Dante Morre catches fire, I would include OBD as well. As is, Ohio State has shown few weaknesses against teams that can do some, but not complete damage. Indiana will get theirs, but I'm guessing they don't top 23 on the suckeyes if they can't protect Mendoza.

Here's a crazy star for you. Of the six explosive passes Iowa completed on Saturday, FIVE OF THEM WERE BECAUSE THE GUY THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COVERING THE WR WAS LOOKING AT THE QB. The significance of that very important stat is Iowa would have scored less than 10 points in Saturday. One simple change in coverage rules will yield a very, very dominant defense. Of course, since it is a national epidemic in both college and pro football, we know what that means...

We will learn a whole lot about Ohio State in the playoffs.

Well, it was a DE not a LB. DEs don't really wait for a runner to make a move. I believe it was crazier to leave 4 in the box on that play. Much more difficult to stop a running play.

In my opinion, Stein actually adjusted against Indiana. Dante missed two very execution laden TDs in the third quarter. Stein actually set the WTa up well, then shut it down the rest of the game. If Moore can duplicate that last drive in Iowa the rest of the season, we're talking about a totally different team. Maybe Stein should go the way of Buffalo's Superbowl teams-two minute offense all game. Moore seems to shine in those moments.

The only toughness left to display is in the clutch on third down. Our defense had a shot at keeping Iowa under ten points, and thirty points was begging the offense to score it. Anyone claiming OBD aren't' physical enough to handle elite teams is biased. The difference between OBD and the title contenders is their ability to convert third downs on offense when the chips are down, and stop teams on third down in the same situations on defense. The offense needs to start killing it when passing. Moore has got to be more consistent. It really boils down to him stepping up and taking over the game. He's shown he can win the close ones. We need to see him put teams out of contention. He is just off the mark too often. If he cleans that up, the defense will do it's part.

I only saw bits and pieces of the the game. From what I saw, our offense is leaving full meals on their plate. What a waste of a dominant running game! QB Moore plays way better when the game is on the line. Night and Day difference. I realize OBD are down #s 1 and 2, but guys are open. I love Will Stein, and I want to see more simple routes (like the out route on the last drive) for Moore when he is struggling. Those screens are a waste of time in my opinion ( just run a RB screen instead). Stein can't exploit that dominant running game. I can't wait to see the entire game. I want to know how many TDs were missed. So far, against elite defenses, OBD are not scoring 20 points. If they can solve the passing conundrums, we're looking at an intriguing team.

You're on fire Solar. WRs raising their hands is a great one. They're open too much for Moore to miss. So part of this will be Moore's ability to determine which side of the field to key on based on alignment. When a QB only has two seconds, he needs to read the correct side of the field. Throwing WRs open would help (for those unfamiliar with that term, it means throwing the ball to a specific area BEFORE the WR makes his cut. It also includes making the LBs and Secondary pay for always looking at the damn QB-by looking away from that designated area). I hope Stein uses RPO tactics to figure out how Iowa will attack the running game. Pass first and determine the blocking schemes to counter their strategy. I happen to believe Stein is reacting quicker to what defenses are throwing at him. I also believe Lanning was certain we could have lit up Wisconsin throwing the ball, but decided to show teams we will stuff it down their throats at will. I think Lanning is playing the long game-that he will start introducing this weekend. OBD will have to shred pass defenses in order to win the title. And I mean shred. Stein showed me lots in the Indiana game. He cracked their code, but QB Moore went into a shell. You were spot on Solar about Moore bearing the burden. I think he reads zone defenses fine, but he is gun shy. Moore will need to come out of his shell. He has decided to return next year (a very wise move since he is still learning on the job and the extra 12-16 games will make him NFL ready). My thoughts on him are he needs to pull the trigger like Val Kilmer did in Tombstone. He has to make quicker decisions, with unbridled confidence. That hopefully has started in practice the past two weeks. This team will ride the fortunes of Dante Moore. By the way, I also believe the offensive line starts blocking with fury when the freshman are in the game. They truly start plowing once they're in regularly. To me, that means Whittington should be used for passing situations far more often. I don't even care if opponents figure it out. They still will have to stop them, and I don't believe anybody can. Including Ohio State. Those are my thoughts on the matter. Slowly unfolding an offense that will rip you to sheds because they can is what I hope happens. I even hope the coaches simply tell the players it's on them, and that they have complete faith in their ability to pull it off. It's all about confidence, and let the process develop that confidence. Put the best players in position to kill it, and let em play. Do you think Stein will start pulling out the kinds of plays he did against Montana State?