I guess the Grove Collectives dried up🤣

 

 

On 2/11/2025 at 2:43 PM, GeotechDuck said:

I think it is because their resume is so lopsided.  They have 11 Q1 wins.  The next best team has 7 Q1 wins (Oregon and a few others tied with 7).  Voters probably left them there because they still have the best resume by a lot. 

Yeah I'm not a big basketball fan and really only pay attention come March. I looked at their resume after 30Duck commented on their season and it's impressive. I'm not dialed in enough and definitely not smart enough to understand all the things that go into KenPom or what makes what a Quad one win vs a Quad 3 win. 

 

For example beating a double digit loss team like North Carolina, Ohio State and Kansas State is considered Quad one. While beating a five loss team like Akron or a two loss team like Drake is considered Quad two or three. Probably something to do with competition and conference affiliation.

On 2/10/2025 at 7:12 PM, 30Duck said:

The Ducks are a bubble team. 

I think over half the B1G and SEC are as well. I don't think I'd be shocked to see the Final Four consist of no seed higher than five.

I think Oregon is hitting the wall because it's their first season in a new conference with travel schedules never seen before. Mick Cronin was going off about this last month. It's hitting basketball harder than football but like everything else people will adjust.

 

Is Oregon a top ten team? Not currently but they were playing like one before conference games started. Is Oregon on the right or wrong side of the bubble currently? I don't follow Lunardi but I think they were a 11 seed which means they are squarely on the cut line.

True but I think losing at home by almost double digits and the game was not really close throughout should be a mark. I know they've beaten Iowa State, Memphis, Missouri, Tennessee and Ole Miss which are all currently top 25. But Florida beat the then undefeated Volunteers by thirty and only moved up a spot. 

 

Different sports but if a number one in football got handled in their own stadium by a fellow top ten team they would slide down. It's probably just my bias though and rankings really don't matter much other than for television talking points. I guess it's one of the reasons I don't pay much attention to CBB until March.

 

We think CFB is confusing with the way they pick the "best" teams. CBB has RPI, Net Ratings, Bubble Watch and KenPom. There's also Quad one wins which I guess goes into seeding.

On 2/10/2025 at 3:36 PM, kirklandduck said:

That should be interesting to watch.  Can an NFL position coach be a good DC at the college level with little coordinator experience?  Possibly but I'm guessing there will be some growing pains.

Yeah and he's been a D Line coach. With the rumored heat between Knowles and Larry Johnson playing a part in Knowles leaving it will be interesting to see if Cullen can work there.

Auburn remains number one despite losing quite soundly on their home court Saturday. 

Eagles went from the 29th rated defense to the number one defense in just about every metric in one season. Moving Baun to linebacker and away from rushing the passer and nabbing DeJean in the second round really helped Fangio's system. Fangio deployed a death by a thousand cuts philosophy over the all out rush that hampered the defense last year.

 

It doesn't hurt when you can get pressure with four and allow your safeties and linebackers help in coverage. Much like Ohio State moved to after losing to Oregon in October. Dan Lanning coached the Rose and prepared for Ohio State to do the same as they did in October. Ohio State switched up their defense and looked a lot different. Losing can be a great teacher.

 

Ohio State and Philadelphia showed that 

Seems like Ohio State has been waiting for a certain defensive line coach from the NFL to have his season ended before hiring him..Imagine that, I guess the NFL still has rules and regulations regarding tampering. 

 

MSN

WWW.MSN.COM

Snippet from the article regarding the potential hire :

Cullen’s experience as a defensive coordinator is limited. In his introductory interview after getting the Jaguars job, Cullen gave a good rundown of what to expect out of his defense. 

To start, if he is planning on continuing what he was thinking then, the Ohio State defensive identity would be aggressive and relentless. He believes his players would "lead the NFL in effort" and the physicality would leave a lasting impression. Ohio State fans are often well-versed in how the Ravens and Chiefs defensive fronts play. He could bring that physicality to Columbus.

 

He’s a fiery coach and his players feed off him. Cullen has a "full speed, plus-two mentality" and he would expect the Buckeyes to reflect that. Considering that his specialty is the defensive line, it will be something to watch regarding Larry Johnson. 

With Jim Knowles for two-and-a-half years, Johnson’s defensive line underperformed. Then, Day took on more responsibility on defense. After he held Knowles accountable for the Oregon loss, the team saw an uptick in the dominance up front. Cullen shares that philosophy and believes great defenses start in the middle and the trenches.

 

The Ohio State defense could be in good hands. The Chiefs and Ravens had some of the best defensive lines with Cullen at the helm.

On 2/10/2025 at 1:46 AM, Jon Joseph said:

 

I'm going to fly like an Eagle to the sea. 

 

Hurts so good, come on Baby make it Hurts so good!

 

Relationship status? Taylor: I'm looking for a new squeeze. 😛 $$$ is not an issue.

The line is about -5.5 right now that Taylor is looking for a more "seasoned" gentleman that has more than five rings. Unfortunately she's a little too old for one Mr. Belichick. He's getting proposed to a twenty four year old. Imagine being her father when Bill comes to ask for his permission.

On 2/9/2025 at 8:59 PM, Chas Man said:

The impact of an athletic, high motor, play disrupting defensive line was on full display. I like to think that is where OBD are heading!

In CFB you saw it with a team that got home with four and had two great safeties.

 

In the NFL you saw the Giants do it twice to Brady and what Philly did to Mahomes tonight. Go back four years and Tampa did it to him in that game as well. Nothing rattles a QB like pressure. Even great coverage can be beaten with time.

I like the NFL model but that's going to be tough getting four conferences to accept only two byes. Truth is it's going to be controlled by two conferences and the other two would be smart to consolidate some power before 2026. Notre Dame could help out the ACC and repay them for saving their 2020 season if they were so inclined.

On 2/9/2025 at 7:39 PM, SoGaDawg said:

Well, I’m pulling for Philly, but that would put my Falcons debacle in the back seat.  Damn that Tom Brady! 😁

Yeah I was thinking back to that game. But KC didn't get past midfield until three minutes were left in the third. The score was cleaned up a little but this was domination unseen. That Falcons vs Patriots game was equal parts choke and greatness.

While I'm hoping for a repeat obviously, I wouldn't mind seeing the Lions, Bengals or Bills get one if it isn't Philly. My childhood team was the Jaguars but that franchise is run as poorly as the Browns.

On 2/9/2025 at 7:14 PM, SoGaDawg said:

I stand corrected, you’re right, they haven’t blitzed once

Two years ago they couldn't get to him at all. This is a masterful job by Fangio and the front four led by Sweat.

On 2/9/2025 at 7:29 PM, 30Duck said:

Well, time for the greatest comeback in SB history?

Noooooo!!!!! I disagree as a completely biased fan of the team in green with the mascot having feathers. Time to unite brothers in feathers!!!!!

The Eagles haven't blitzed once. They've been getting to Mahomes with four men. The Chiefs also don't scare the Eagles downfield which is why Baun and DeJean were within five yards of Mahomes on both interceptions. Kelce also has zero receptions and hasn't had one real target so far.

 

For the casual fan a blowout is boring but I'm loving it and hope for two more touchdown drives by Philly and a boring fourth quarter. Sorry but not really sorry 😉.

On 2/7/2025 at 9:24 AM, OregonDucks said:

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. You could say that about every conference champion from this past season. The author is really not going out on a ledge…

 

 

Oregon State can win their second straight PAC WHO Title as well. All they have to do is win one game. Will they hang a banner for this?

Not to be mean to the author but every year there can only be one team that can be a repeat B1G champion. This isn't like the old days where you can have shared titles. But heck yeah Oregon can repeat. I think Penn State is the trendy pick right now but it's far too early and Dan Lanning is a better coach than James Franklin.

Probably silly for me to pick Philly because my green feathered glasses blind me but...

 

Philly wins 27-17

Philly gets one fumble recovery.

Philly sacks Mahomes three times.

KC passes for 268 yards.

 

If it's a one score game I think the Chiefs win. Philly needs to do what they couldn't do two years ago when they had a chance to be up three scores by half and well we know what happened. They have to do what Tampa did to them four years ago and never let up.

If UCF can put up a banner for 2017 I would say abythings possible. Major difference is Oregon can actually go win a legitimate one and doesn't need this fruit roll-up tattoo like rinky dink UCF.

I think there are three tiers in college football as a whole but also in conference. Power Four conferences and more exclusively the P2 first and second tiers can win a title in various ways. Group of five tier one programs are at the level of P4 second tiers. They can win but it's going to take a path like Penn State, Boise or ASU got.

 

The criteria for top tier has changed somewhat because it's not all about geography. The running myth was that northern teams were slow, particularly the B1G. Big 12 and PAC teams were considered soft. ACC was considered FSU, Clemson and Miami thrown into a basketball league.

 

I think the three things that determine your status today are as follows and this is just my opinion.

 

1.) The Brand: To me this is a combination of history, how they draw on television and an automatic inclusion in just about every top prospects recruiting top 10. Also they generally get the benefit of the doubt in polls and playoff consideration. For example a Texas, USC, Miami are always looked at as being back without the evidence needed to really say that. Meanwhile an Indiana is looked at as a fluke despite what they did.

 

2.) The Money 🤑: What can the program offer top prospects. What's the budget for coaching and specialists. What do the facilities look like. How involved and aggressive are top donors.

 

3.) NFL Prep: Most top guys have the ultimate goal of going pro. Making it in the league and to their second contract. To me that kind of ties into number two but occasionally a talented offensive lineman may go to an Iowa over an Ohio State or Oregon because Iowa pumps out develops lineman like a factory.

 

With that said and back to the topic of this thread I'd put top tier teams as such.

 

B1G: Penn State, Oregon, USC, Michigan, Ohio State. 

 

SEC: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn.

 

The programs that just fell below but could be considered are Nebraska, Washington and maybe Ole Miss.

 

Saint Marys kept Oregon out of a Rose Bowl in the 20s? Fun little video except I wouldn't call it a rivalry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've heard rumors of fans from East Coast Oregon aka Maryland (with less success) but they're generally more basketball oriented. For some reason in my experience football fans generally post and try to get more info on other programs. I don't run a website so I could be completely wrong.

 

There's also a raucous group of Nebraska fans that I've had good interactions with personally. Does anybody know a Rutgers fan? I saw a banner once saying Rutgers was the birthplace of college football.

On 1/29/2025 at 10:14 AM, Jon Joseph said:

 

He dropped out of the Senior Bowl but if he's healthy, I think Jordan Burch could put on a show. 

 

*** The East-West Shrine Game is on the NFL Network tomorrow. 

 

Many mock drafts I have seen have Jeanty going to Denver and Michigan TE Loveland going to the Chargers. Loveland was the 2024 Michigan passing attack. Incredible that Michigan defeated an almost all-hands-on-deck Bama team with five first or second-round draft picks sitting out.

 

Must have been the scouting, right? 😁

Pro days on campus have become kind of a way for prospects to have some control and be more confident because it's in their programs training facilities.