2025-26 College Football Thread

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

UAB player stabs 2 teammates

Suddenly, Trent Dilfer doesn't feel so bad about having been let go earlier in the season. (Albeit he probably recruited all the players involved.)

Best wishes to the victims.

*******************************
That aside, this is a REALLY boring slate today. Missouri-Oklahoma, USC-Oregon and Pitt-Georgia Tech is about all of interest on offer.

Once upon a time, this was Hate Week (watered down to "Rivalry Saturday" by the netwoks) where you had all the classic confrontations, bar the Egg Bowl and the Iron Bowl, which would be played over the Thanksgiving Weekend, and Army-Navy, which was the next week.

Nowadays, everything has been shoved down to next week (other than the Apple Cup and the Civil War which were played in September, since Washington and Oregon abandoned their in-state rivals for B1Ger paychecks). All we get today is The Game (Harvard-Yale) and The Big Game (Cal-Stanford)

Feels weak. JMO.

[Cobra Mgr]

1. No team with a loss will be ranked ahead of an unbeaten team. No matter the schedule or conference.

2. Once there are less than 5 unbeatens, the rankings will reflect the 12 I think should be in the playoff.

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Texas A&M
4. Georgia
5. Texas Tech
6. Bama
7. Oregon
8. Ole Miss
9. Oklahoma
10. Miami
11. James Madison
12. Virginia

[Cobra Mgr]

So I dropped Notre Dame in my poll for Miami. Reasoning: Head to head should always be the 1st tie breaker. It shouldn't weigh above opinion. You can't be absolute with that "rule" every time because you will only wind up in circles. But when things are even, I think head-to-head should trump anything else. I think the Irish are better than the Canes.I think if they were to play now Notre Dame would win by more than 2 scores. But when they did play, the Irish lost. I can't pretend that didn't happen. And if I feel that way w/my "no consequences whatsoever" poll, the selection committee shouldn't discount it either.

This is why I like automatic bids & why people in power hate them. Because when you allow vague criteria to be your guide, you allow people in power to select their preferences instead of giving people who earn their spots their due. The Irish are a prime example of this. Many of the automatic bids & slotting the bowls started to do was largely because the Fiesta Bowl selected 6-5-1 Notre Dame instead of 10-2 Utah or 9-3 Virginia. And we know that trend will continue even in this system.

You & I can spout off number after statistic after metric. The fact still remains.....Miami beat Notre Dame. That has to stand for something. If their records remain even, Miami should not be sitting watching the playoff while the Irish gain entry. If this happens, this will be the 2nd time the selection committee burned an ACC team out of what was rightfully earned...........

........Looks like the American title will be decided between the Green Wave & the Mean Green. That could very well decide the Group of 5 entry into the playoff as well.............

.......Ga Tech losing to Pitt isn't embarrassing. Falling behind 28-0 @ home w/the ACC title spot on the line is inexcusable.

WELCOME TO THE ACC..............

........My frustration as a fan of a UNC team that hasn't won an ACC title since the Carter administration is that the Heels have often been on the precipice of doing something really big. Huge for the program. A chance to get national acclaim. Only to crash & burn in the worst way.....

.....1980...reach #6 w/a road game into national power Oklahoma. & get a mudhole stomped in the 41-7............

....1981.....Ranked #8 hosting eventual champion #2 Clemson for the ACC title. Lose 10-8........

....1996.....Ranked 6th. Showed they were legit by holding eventual national runner up FSU to 13 points in Talahassee. UNC's 1st major NYD bowl bid is just about in their grasp. They are beating UVa 17-3 & have the ball @ the Cavs 2. They fumble the ball & it is returned for a TD. Which starts a 17-0 4th quarter run that loses the game & sends UNC to another Gator Bowl.....

....1997.....Unbeaten. #5. Everyone has been pointing to this one vs FSU since the end of last season. Heels own probably the best defense in the land. NFL scouts are salivating @ the every game. ESPN's Gameday makes its 1st trip to Chapel Hill. This is when the Seminoles are finally dethroned. Score: FSU 20, UNC 3. Hello, Gator Bowl.........

....2015....Whatyaknow? Carolina has actually made the ACC title game for the 1st time. Vs the mighty Tigers. Won 11 in a row. Ranked #8. No one, including me, expects for them to win. But UNC makes a comeback. Down 8 & going for the onside kick. They recover!!!.....Flag....Some referee saw a Heel offsides. No camera sees an offsides. No human in the stadium saw offsides. No announcer calling the game saw offsides. No viewer on their couch saw offsides. But one fool gives the ball to Clemson & creates a "what if?......" for the rest of my life.......

....2020.....COVID....UNC is having a surprising year. Sam Powell looks like a Heisman candidate. Heels have 2 1000 yd runners. Offense is one of the best in the country. They have #2 Notre Dame coming. Gameday returns to Chapel Hill. And the offense line can't do anything. Under 300 yds. Howell is sacked for at least half a dozen times. Penalties galore. Irish win 31-17 in a game that really wasn't that close...........

......2021......Opening night. Pre ranked #10....Again, Howell is a Heisman frontrunner. UNC is the favorite to unseat Clemson. Opener @ VaT has everyone looking. Lose 17-10........

...2022......Now no expectations....But look!...FR Drake Maye is looking like a seasoned vet. The offense is scary good. They run roughshod thru the ACC schedule. Only loss is, again, to Notre Dame (another over the hump moment lost). The Heels clinch their half of the ACC w/2 games to spare. Good thing. They proceed to lose the last 4 of the year. First @ home to GaT & their back up QB. Then at home again to their arch rival NCSt. An embarrassing 4 score loss to CLemson in the ACC title game. And finally the Bowl game.......

.....That is what I've gone through for what is getting close to half a century of football in Chapel Hill. And I used to think this is what it is to be a Carolina football fan. But I'm wrong. This is what it is to be an ACC football fan. Sure FSU & Clemson had their runs. But remember Bowden had a significant period when he couldn't win "the big one". He was known for wide right and much as he was for top 5 finishes. And before Dabo broke thru, they used to call the what I described above as "clemsoning". Always managing to have one game to screw it up. Even GT surprised everyone & tied for national title (should have been outright) their lone non win was a 13-13 tie vs mediocre (whattayaknow?) UNC.

This is what you've seen in the conference over the years. School after school having a chance to solidify themselves for the conference title game & the playoff and then choking it away w/an inexcusable loss or performance. It's not like an opponent rises to the occasion. It is usually a bumbling tragedy of errors that leave you 2nd guessing SAT qualifying scores.

Frustrating.......

......Big 12ish looks like it will be down to TxT & BYU. If the Cougars manage to win it, it might knock out the Irish & the Hurricanes........Oh who am I kidding. No way that ESPN is not getting Notre Dame in there for the sake of Texas Tech........

.......Does anyone know who makes the SEC title game if the Horns upset the Aggies & Bama, UGa & O Miss TCB?.........

......Could an all-MAC team beat a top 10 team 4 games out of 7? You look at the standings through the years & with the exception of UMass, they all look pretty much the same. Kent St & E.Mich are the only 2 long time members that hasn't won the conference in the last 20 years. And EMU is the only one of those 2 who hasn't at least made the MAC title game. But most OOC schedules usually have all "L's"..........

......This is now my favorite week in college football. Used to be NYD, but now who cares? This week is the last one where the entire country is playing & cares about the results. And we get it spread over 2 days. Egg Bowl. Clean, Old-fashioned Hate. Iron Bowl. Duel in the Dessert. Victory Bell. And others that aren't given colorful names. I will have a big pan of nachos & a huge dent in my couch cushions this weekend.......

[Cobra Mgr]

SEC Shorts - Lane Kiffin does it again

[Cobra Mgr]

Most colleges go to high schools to recruit. I think Georgia goes to traffic court.

[Cobra Mgr]

SEC Thanksgiving - Roll Call Week 13

[Cobra Mgr]

We should really normalize firing officials & umps.

And they should be scrutinized more for gambling connections.

[monkeyman576]

LSU officially fires Kelly without cause.

Why anyone would want to work for LSU anymore I don't know.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

LSU officially fires Kelly without cause.

Why anyone would want to work for LSU anymore I don't know.

8 figures.

Question that I think is more pertinent is "why would any head coach in a relatively comfortable stable position take the LSU job?" The fact Lane Kiffin didn't laugh at any purple and gold suit that knocked on his door has to indicate either 1) he is upping the price from Florida & Ole Miss, 2) he loves the attention or 3) he wanted to retire before 2030 anyway.

[monkeyman576]

I would put Texas in the playoffs over Miami.

[Cobra Mgr]

So far, I think Vegas put $ on THE Luckeyes & Atlantic City on Missagain. Hallf of these refs are fighting against the other half.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

I would put Texas in the playoffs over Miami.

Don't worry, so will ESPN

[monkeyman576]

I don't have a rooting interest i just think they're the better team.

[Cobra Mgr]

I've looked at this play over and over and still can't figure out what defense LSU's secondary thought they were in.

[Cobra Mgr]

dook is in the ACC title game. Unfrikkin' real.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

dook is in the ACC title game. Unfrikkin' real.

Can you explain the tie-breaker, please? I'm at sea.

SMU beat Miami
Miami beat Duke
Miami beat Pitt
Pitt beat GaTech
GaTech beat Duke

None of the other head-to-heads were played, because the conference is a bloated mess

So SMU is 1-0 in heads-up play, Miami is 2-1, Pitt and Tech are 1-1 and Duke is…0-2

How does the team with the WORST head-to-head result win the tie-break??

*head spins and explodes*

[Amazin69]

Alabama hangs on to win the Iron Bowl and will face Georgia in the SEC title game.

Has Lane Kiffin ditched Ol' Piss yet?

Is Shane Beamer fired yet? (Monday, I think)

[monkeyman576]

Duke made it due to no head to head because of more than two teams in the tiebreaker, therefore the next tiebreaker was winning percentage of conference opponents.

Another reason why Texas should make it over any of the non champion ACC teams.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Can you explain the tie-breaker, please? I'm at sea.

SMU beat Miami
Miami beat Duke
Miami beat Pitt
Pitt beat GaTech
GaTech beat Duke

None of the other head-to-heads were played, because the conference is a bloated mess

So SMU is 1-0 in heads-up play, Miami is 2-1, Pitt and Tech are 1-1 and Duke is…0-2

How does the team with the WORST head-to-head result win the tie-break??

*head spins and explodes*

I can't explain it. It wasn't until last night that I learned they were still in it. Far as I know, a witch, shaman & voodoo priestess gathered around a cauldron under a blood moon, added some of eye of newt & lizard tail and then ,Voila!

[monkeyman576]

Funny the Lane Kiffin articles dont say how much is garaunteed with LSU.