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Saturday College Football Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 10:32:51 AM EST
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I did good last week, hitting my 2 big plays and many others. Let's keep it going! the picks:

Michigan State @ Iowa +4 (5 units), North Carolina +5 (5 units) @ Clemson, USC +4 (4 units) @ Stanford, Air Force +7 (3 units) @ San Diego State, West Virginia -6 (3 units) @ Kansas State, Florida +18 (3 units) @ Alabama, Southern Mississippi +8 (4 units) @ Western Kentucky, Texas @ Baylor -21 (4 units).

Go Gators!

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    Saturday College Football Open Thread | 30 comments (30 topical)

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    I'm wondering (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by CST on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 11:06:27 AM EST
    If what we really need in this country is a cultural exchange program.  Say, after High School, everyone has to spend a year doing civil service in another part of the country.  So if you live in rural Mississippi you would have to do your work in urban California.  And vice-versa.  I think it could go a long way, not just for the people who are doing the work, but also for the people who com into contact with the people doing the work.  Like the peace corps, which doesn't really accomplish much besides bringing people of different cultures into close proximity - only for America.

    Like the Amish do - only for everyone.

    You Volunteering to Go to... (none / 0) (#18)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 11:41:54 AM EST
    ...rural Mississippi for a year ?

    The idea that I would be forced to go live among Cajuns in the swamplands of Louisiana does not in any way appeal to me.  I grew up on a farm and I know what the work is about, I got out as soon as I could and to say I would be upset about being pushed back into small town republican/christain-ville to work, is something I would spend a lot of energy getting out of.

    Forcing people to integrate with their opposites may look good on paper, but it could actually create more animosity.  I can say this, I never disliked evangelics/baptists, never even knew much about them until I moved to Texas.  In nearly 20 years, being at ground zero has opened my eyes, and in no way made me more tolerant, just the opposite.  

    People who visit those states generally don't come back thinking those people are not as bad as the rumors, especially people who are not white.  I still get chills every time I drive through Vidor, TX, which is the KKK base.  There is a billboard(warning sign) up about a woman that was killed by the Sheriff.  It's on the way to New Orleans and I make sure my tank is full and my speed is legal because I don't want to find out in the rumors are true first hand.

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    mandatory (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by CST on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 11:55:38 AM EST
    civil service is not a particularly new idea.  I'm just suggesting that you should also have to leave your hometown to do it.  And I don't expect everyone to change their views, most Amish come home again.

    And yea, if it had been something that existed when I was graduating high school I wouldn't have had a problem with it.  Especially as it's temporary.  Also, fair point, there should be some choice as to where you go and what you do, but at least you'd have to leave your region of the country.

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    I'm sure we could work something out (none / 0) (#24)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 07:41:24 PM EST
    As long as there was loopholes for the rich and powerful.

    Otherwise yer dreamin.   Laudably. But dreamin.

    Parent

    It has (none / 0) (#27)
    by TrevorBolder on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 08:28:46 PM EST
    been brought up before, a 1 or 2 year mandatory public service, a reinstatement of the draft, but you could opt out of the military for public service instead. Actually not a bad idra on principle

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    Your Final Four (none / 0) (#1)
    by CoralGables on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 11:05:18 AM EST
    Oklahoma.
    The winner of Spartie and Iowa.
    Alabama if they win.
    Clemson if they win.

    For bedlam to ensue, North Carolina beats Clemson and Florida beats Alabama, which may make the last 2 spots North Carolina and Ohio State and cause fans in some towns to go nuts on sports talk radio.

    Did I say Florida beats Alabama? I do love daydreaming.

    Go Gators!

    Shock the World!! (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 11:12:45 AM EST
    Defene has to score twice and create 7 short fields for offense to produce 2 more TDs.

    Gators 28-Bama 20!

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    Um (none / 0) (#3)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 11:17:29 AM EST
    Go gators?

    Parent
    I do love our corners (none / 0) (#4)
    by CoralGables on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 11:20:30 AM EST
    And look forward to them scoring twice.

    I see you predict no Gator Field Goals lol

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    I realize that Ohio State is ... (none / 0) (#5)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 02:20:34 PM EST
    ... the defending champion, and that pundits are more than willing to vault the Buckeyes into the Final Four should Clemson and / or Alabama somehow lose today.

    But personally, I'd have a hard time rationalizing such a decision if it comes to that, given that Ohio State didn't even win its own Big Ten division, never mind the conference crown. Choose the Big Ten's third-place team over a bona fide conference champion like North Carolina, should the Tar Heels upset Clemson, or Stanford, should the Cardinal beat USC today for the second time this season? I don't think so. (Stanford also played a more difficult schedule than did Ohio State.)

    And should Iowa prevail over Michigan State tonight, I'd still place the Spartans ahead of Ohio State by virtue of their victory over the Buckeyes a couple weeks ago on the road in Columbus. To do otherwise would be to effectively punish Michigan State for having won the division and making the Big Ten championship game only to lose to an unbeaten Hawkeyes team. Further, the Spartans' one loss thus far this season came as the direct result of a very dubious officiating call in the final seconds at Nebraska.

    The CFP selection committee should not unduly reward the Buckeyes with a berth in the four-team playoff, for first having lost the division title on their home field, and then getting to sit in their dorm rooms today as the division runners-up, while the team that actually beat them for the division crown two weeks ago has to play and win an extra game to even get there.

    We really need to stop devaluing the achievement of a first-place finish.

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    What were the Gators spiking the gatorade (none / 0) (#6)
    by jondee on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 02:34:50 PM EST
    with to produce Tebow, Harvin, and Hernandez?

    Some lethal brew of holy water, prozac, and LSD?

    Just askin'..

    Parent

    Final: Alabama 29, Florida 15. (none / 0) (#7)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 07:41:09 PM EST
    Whatever that brew was, it's been in short supply for the Gators during this entire past month.

    We're now watching the Hawaii-Texas A&M second round match in the NCAA women's volleyball tournament. (Rainbow Wahine are up, 2-0, with the third set to begin shortly.) Biggest upsets in the tourney thus far have been No. 6 Stanford getting wiped out last night in three sets by Loyola Marymount, and (a perennially overrated) Kentucky getting skunked by American University.

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    you build up a tolerance after awhile (none / 0) (#8)
    by jondee on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 07:50:15 PM EST


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    The Gators are a young team. (none / 0) (#11)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 11:18:42 PM EST
    I think they'll be back up there within the next two years. They peaked at mid-season and during these last four weeks, it just looked as though they ran out of gas.

    Parent
    Final: Hawaii 25-25-25, Texas A&M 22-19-20. (none / 0) (#9)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 08:27:18 PM EST
    RPI rankings, my a$$. Having feasted on TCU and A&M this weekend, the 'Bows depart the Lone Star State for Des Moines, IA, where they will play two-time defending NCAA champion Penn State in the Sweet Sixteen.

    The NCAA would do well to ditch the RPI poll it uses for purposes of tournament seeding, which seems curiously tilted toward the so-called Power 5 conferences at the expense of the other 26 conferences. Their computer's notion that the 24-7 Lady Aggies somehow deserved to be seeded 16 places higher than 28-1 Hawaii was at best fanciful if not outright far-fetched, and tonight's fairly perfunctory three-set sweep by the 'Bows in College Station proved it.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Unless NC wakes up from the dead (none / 0) (#10)
    by CoralGables on Sat Dec 05, 2015 at 09:51:42 PM EST
    Clemson is going to walk into the final four and the only question left is will it be Iowa or Sparty to join Oklahoma, Alabama, and Clemson.

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    Clemson had to hang on at the end, but ... (none / 0) (#12)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Dec 06, 2015 at 12:15:19 AM EST
    ... all in all, it was a good and solid win for the Tigers.

    Michigan State finally pounded Iowa into submission with a remarkable 22-play, 81-yard drive over the final 9 minutes, scoring a TD with 20 seconds to go to final prevail, 16-13. That was the best defensive game I've seen this entire season.

    And in the Pac-12 championship game, Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey delivered a statement-making performance tonight for Heisman voters in the Cardinal's 41-22 victory over USC, with 461 all-purpose yards -- 207 rushing, 105 receiving, 120 on kickoff returns and 29 on punt returns. He also threw an 11-yard scoring pass.

    Only a sophomore, McCaffrey has set an NCAA single-season record with 3,496 all-purpose yards this season, which surpasses Barry Sanders former record of 3,250 yards at Oklahoma State in 1988. (To be fair, though, Sanders set that record during an 11-game season, while McCaffrey needed 13 games to break it.)

    Back to the 2015 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship, the Sweet 16 is set for next Friday:

    At San Diego, CA:

    • USC v. Creighton
    • Kansas v. Loyola Marymount

    At Austin, TX:
    • Texas v. UCLA
    • Florida v. Wisconsin

    At Des Moines, IA:
    • Penn State v. Hawaii
    • Illinois v. Minnesota

    At Lexington, KY:
    • Washington v. Ohio State
    • Brigham Young v. Nebraska

    Aloha.

    Parent
    Terrible soccer news: Rapinoe out (none / 0) (#13)
    by caseyOR on Sun Dec 06, 2015 at 02:12:02 PM EST
    with torn ACL. US Women's National Team standout Megan Rapinoe torn her right ACL in practice the other day. Surgery and recovery may keep her out of next year's Olympics. Tough break for Pino.

    Pino has had surgery twice on her left ACL. She cam back strong from those surgeries. Hopefully, she will do the same here.

    Megan is such a presence on the pitch for the US women. She is fast and accurate. The team is going to feel this loss.

    oculus (none / 0) (#14)
    by CoralGables on Sun Dec 06, 2015 at 05:56:31 PM EST
    Michigan vs Florida January 1

    That should be a good game. (none / 0) (#23)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 07:38:28 PM EST
    Given the following both schools have, we'll see how many eyeballs it draws away from an interesting Florida State-Houston matchup in the Peach Bowl, which airs at about the same time.

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    Citrus Bowl has announced that (none / 0) (#26)
    by CoralGables on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 08:13:11 PM EST
    It is a near sell out in less than 24 hours. Only single seat tickets remain. Can't get any side by side. The Citrus Bowl only seats 65,000. They could have easily sold 90,000 for this one.

    Parent
    Bad News For Jim... (none / 0) (#15)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 10:13:49 AM EST
    The Tea Party is coming to their senses in regards to clean energy and are ready to re brand themselves, the Green Party.

    They won't come clean about Global Warming, insisting it's about the free market, personal energy independence, and security.

    Fine with me, the end result is the same, reduced carbon emissions.  They have already changed Georgia's power companies monopoly on power and are aiming at the Sunshine State.

    Football (none / 0) (#17)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 11:11:56 AM EST
    Holly smokes, I almost shut off my TV on Thursday.

    Packer down by two, last play was a series of backward tosses in hopes of scoring, it worked it's way back to Aaron Rogers, who was tackled around the Packers 25.  Game over, wait, unsportsmanlike penalty, grabbing Rogers face mask, against Detroit.  Ball on the Packers 39 with 00:00 on the clock.

    GB has one shot, Aaron Rogers throws a hail Mary about 70 yards, Richard Rogers catches it the endzone.  Packers win.

    The Vikings got walloped by Seattle so GB is on top the NFC North.  I prefer they play better and not have to worry about defensive penalties and hail marys, but a win, is a win, is a win.
    -----------------------

    Poor Tom Brady doesn't have anyone to throw to and gets taken down by a 4-7 team, the Eagles.  Still calling Houston for the W next Sunday.  Pats have not lost two in-a-row since September 2012, three in a row since 2002, Brady's first full season.  

    -----------------------
    I hate that the season is so quick, it's almost over, it just started.  I wish they would extend it by having the normal bye weeks staggered, so that only half the teams play for half the season, which would extend the season about 7 weeks and give teams a bye week every other week for a while.

    There are always too many games to watch, it would be nice to have half the games each week, extend the season, and give injured players more time to recoup/rehab between games, which would result in less injuries overall.

    I was just glad Rodgers saved the heroics (none / 0) (#20)
    by ruffian on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 05:53:07 PM EST
    for the week AFTER he played the Bears.

    Parent
    That was just an unbelievable throw and catch. (none / 0) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 07:32:36 PM EST
    Aaron Rodgers has an 88mm cannon for an arm. If the ball didn't travel 70 yards in the air, it was awfully damned close.

    And speaking of spectacular final plays, check out La Habra HS QB Eric Barriere's (#3) own Hail Mary on the last play of the CIF Southern Section semifinal game against San Clemente last Friday night in Cerritos, CA. (Actually, the whole clip is highlights from the entire game, which was a real thriller that had two lead changes in the final 30 seconds.)

    Barriere's a senior, and I can't believe he's gotten no offers thus far from D-1 college teams, only FCS schools. Let's hope that changes this weekend, after his Highlanders play Camarillo HS for the championship. I sent this clip via email to new Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich, who replied, "Wow! This kid's for real."

    As far as extending the NFL season is concerned, I remember attending Super Bowl XI when I was 15 years old. It was between the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the date of that game was January 9, 1977. Nowadays, that's when the first round of NFL playoff games start. Personally, I'd say that the season's been stretched out long enough.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Incredibly ticky tacky (none / 0) (#22)
    by jondee on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 07:36:38 PM EST
    Face masking penalty just before that Rogers throw, though..

    The refs have been terrible in general this season.

    Parent

    Did you see the bad call ... (none / 0) (#25)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 07:53:55 PM EST
    ... on that onside kick in the last 90 seconds of the Clemson-North Carolina game on Saturday, which the Tar Heels had recovered but was nullified because they got flagged for supposedly being offside?

    The TV replays clearly showed that none of the UNC players were anywhere near offside on that kickoff, and in fact all 10 players other than the kicker were at least one yard behind the kicker and the line of scrimmage when the ball was pooched short. But the NCAA doesn't allow for video review of penalties, so the phantom offside call stood. Clemson recovered the ball on UNC's second kick and then ran out the clock.

    Officiating in the ACC this season has oftentimes been, well, interesting. An entire crew was suspended a few weeks ago following the Duke-Miami game after they blew a series of obvious calls on the final play, including two blocks in the back and the runner's being knee down, which gave the Hurricanes the winning touchdown.

    Aloha.

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    Agreed... (none / 0) (#30)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Dec 08, 2015 at 09:34:48 AM EST
    ...a thumb to the the face-mask does not a penalty make, but when it happened it clearly looked like he grabbed it IMO.

    The Pack has had so many bad calls go against them, including the one that forced out the replacement refs, that I am not sweating one that actually worked out in out favor.

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    FARGO! (none / 0) (#28)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 10:57:21 PM EST
    It's just a flyin saucer Ed.  We gotta go!

    The music (none / 0) (#29)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Dec 07, 2015 at 11:04:45 PM EST
    Has been awsum

    Parent
    Saturday College Football Open Thread | 30 comments (30 topical)

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