FOOTBALL TONIGHT

[iceman]

Tonite is gonna be fun for every male Rutgers student.

I'm not really sure what to make of that.

[pappag]

I'm not really sure what to make of that.

Katy: Hey, Droz, how 'bout this: Tonight, at the Pit, "Everyone Gets Laid."
Droz: It's tasteless, disgusting, and offensive......I love it.

[montanaskier]

HOly Shit! WYO got the shit kicked out of them.

Rutgers? WTF?

Ok, so Florida still has Florida St. and the SEC title game-
TExas still has A&M and the Big 12 title game(fucking hate A&M)-
Auburn still has Georgia this weekend and then my Bama team-
Arkansas still has UT and LSU and has to lose both and Auburn win both for Auburn to even play in the SEC title game-
USC still has Cal, Oregon, and ND-
ND still has USC

How in the hell is all of this gonna work out?

[72Twenty]

Man, I feel like a kicked dog.

[PaSucks]

Assuming Rutgers wins out, which is looking very possible, do they play for a national title?

Unfortunately, I doubt it. College Football needs a playoff.

[mrryde]

WOW!!!!

Just got back from watching Rutgers pull that shit off. DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!

[schueb82414]

Ouch, maybe we'll get byu in basketball, then again we still have mcclain, so nevermind

[road trip]

Living in New Brunswick, NJ (i.e. Rutgers land)... last night was utter pandemonium.... the town was going ape shit all night. Unbelievable.

I think, going in, nobody really expected them to pull it off... which just made it that much better.

To quote Ito (the kicker): "I was a little spooked on the penalty. I saw the guy jump offsides, and that distracted me."

Do you buy it?

[CUBUCK]

Assuming Rutgers wins out, which is looking very possible, do they play for a national title?

Unfortunately, I doubt it. College Football needs a playoff.

You are delusional if you think Rutgers belongs in the national title game. They are a mediocre team in a mediocre conference. This was the first ranked team they played all season. That doesn't come close to the schedules Cal, USC, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas or Texas has played. Even if they can beat WVU in Morgantown, Congrats on winning the Big Least but that only puts you somewhere around #20 in my book sure as hell not #2.

[pappag]

You are delusional if you think Rutgers belongs in the national title game. They are a mediocre team in a mediocre conference. This was the first ranked team they played all season. That doesn't come close to the schedules Cal, USC, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas or Texas has played. Even if they can beat WVU in Morgantown, Congrats on winning the Big Least but that only puts you somewhere around #20 in my book sure as hell not #2.

+1

Going further though, to receive the respect they need to be considered what they are trying to achieve, they are going to need to win outright and win whatever BCS bowl they play in. Anything less, and they'll be known as a great team in a weak conference. Right now their SoS is 69. Winning outright might punched that into the top 40. But that is still 3 games away from happening.

IMO, USC/Cal winner faces OSU/MI winner for the title.

[mrryde]

Living in New Brunswick, NJ (i.e. Rutgers land)... last night was utter pandemonium.... the town was going ape shit all night. Unbelievable.

I think, going in, nobody really expected them to pull it off... which just made it that much better.

To quote Ito (the kicker): "I was a little spooked on the penalty. I saw the guy jump offsides, and that distracted me."

Do you buy it?

not at all

[road trip]

I'm certainly not going to claim that Rutgers deserves to be in the championship game if they win-out, but I did like this article on the subject of the "Big Least."

The guy basically wrote about how your typical, "good" college teams gain nothing by playing against up-and-coming teams so avoid scheduling them, and then when they have a great season (i.e. Rutgers), they can stand there and say "oh yeah, but look who they played!" He then went on to compare similar opponents shared between top ranked teams...

We Have A Laundry Problem
Ever since Louisville (2) beat West Virginia (3) 44-34 Thursday, critics have been bashing the two teams and their conference like the most vicious political attack ads. You'd have thought the Big East had come out in favor of flag burning and flag football.

Never, to The Dash's best recollection, has an entertaining game between top-10 teams provoked such a backlash.

The Dash suspects this all comes down to laundry and logos. The trappings of tradition have a funny way of altering perspective. If the arriviste Cardinals had an orange steer on the side of their helmets and the nouveau riche Mountaineers wore cardinal and gold, reviews would have been more favorable.

When Texas and USC racked up 1,130 yards and 79 points in the Rose Bowl, it was considered one of the greatest games ever played. When Louisville and West Virginia combine for 1,018 yards and 78 points, it's the result of atrocious defense better suited to the Western Athletic Conference than the BCS Championship Game.


Vince Young, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart can make good defenses look bad. So can Brian Brohm (4), Steve Slaton (5) and Pat White (6), especially with game plans conceived by Bobby Petrino (7) and Rich Rodriguez (8). Ask SEC blueblood Georgia, which had the No. 8 scoring defense and No. 18 total defense nationally in 2005 but was blown up for 502 yards and 38 points in the Sugar Bowl by West Virginia.

The establishment critics don't want to hear that. They want to decide the championship game on laundry.

"We're new," Petrino said Monday. "We're a new player. There's a lot of tradition at other schools, a lot of tradition in other conferences. We have to go through all this and be able to understand why people say those things."

It's not hard to understand the motivation for knocking the unbeaten Big East teams as national title contenders, but The Dash says that a 12-0 team from that league deserves to play for it all. Just for fun, compare scores of the Big East's best against common opponents for other top 10 teams.

Louisville beat Kentucky by 31 at home. Florida beat the Wildcats by 19 at home. (The Gators, one of the teams Big East bashers were promoting as superior after Thursday night, strutted their stuff Saturday against Vanderbilt. Beat the Commodores by six. Florida hasn't scored more than 28 in a game since Sept. 9 and has outscored its last seven opponents by 7.2 points per game.)

West Virginia beat Mississippi State on the road by 28. Auburn beat the Bulldogs on the road by 34. (Auburn has scored more than 27 points in a game only twice in the last two months -- against Buffalo and Tulane.)

Rutgers beat Illinois by 33, while Ohio State beat the Illini by seven. The Scarlet Knights beat Navy by 34, while Notre Dame beat the Midshipmen by 24.

Louisville won by 18 earlier this season at Kansas State without Brohm. Texas plays in Manhattan Saturday. Think the Longhorns would care to leave Colt McCoy (9) at home and then compare scores?

The one result that doesn't flatter the Big East is against Cincinnati. The Cards wheezed by 23-17 while Ohio State rolled the Bearcats 37-7. But the Buckeyes led against Cincinnati for only 35 minutes and 10 seconds, while Louisville led for a comparable 30:54.

The loudest Big East bashing seems to be coming from Southeastern Conference advocates. Here's the funny thing about that: Ask how many SEC teams are willing to schedule Louisville.

The number is two. According to the Louisville administration, everyone else in the league has ducked, dodged and squirmed away from games with the Cardinals.

Kentucky does it more out of rote obligation, satisfying the state's mandate to have its two I-A teams play on an annual basis. The Wildcats are so thrilled about the series that they've cravenly demanded moving the games in Lexington off their traditional season-opening date to a spot later in the calendar, when the matchup will draw less attention.

The other SEC school to step up is Georgia, which has agreed to a two-year home-and-home with Louisville starting in 2010.

Vanderbilt backed out of a contract with the Cards that was to start next year. Everyone else in the SEC has passed at least once on home-and-home overtures from Louisville this century, according to senior associate athletic director Kevin Miller.

It's gotten to the point that Louisville is now offering neutral-site games with SEC teams. Miller said he's met with officials in Nashville about scheduling Louisville against Alabama, Arkansas or Tennessee. Athletic director Tom Jurich (10) said he's open to playing an SEC team in the Georgia Dome. They've asked ESPN for help in lining up games, too.

The takers are few -- and not just in the SEC. Among the others who have broken contracts with the Cardinals in recent years, according to Miller: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Duke and Texas Tech.

"[Football scheduling] has become the hardest part of my job," Jurich said.

SEC schools are busy filling out their schedules with home games, largely against chumps. So far in 2006 the league has produced exactly one road win against a nonconference opponent from a Big Six league: Vanderbilt over Duke. The Big East owns six road wins over Big Six opponents in 2006.

This is how you preserve the status quo: refuse to play up-and-coming programs, then howl about their allegedly weak schedules.

But the status quo is four Louisville victories away from taking a thumping. If the Cardinals win out -- beating undefeated Rutgers Thursday, bowl-eligible South Florida Nov. 18, bowl-eligible Pittsburgh Nov. 25, then closing it out Dec. 2 against Connecticut -- and they're not sabotaged in the human polls, they'll likely be headed to Glendale, Ariz.

And no amount of negative campaigning from the establishment schools should stop it.

[CUBUCK]

Interesting article but.....

How many first round draft picks can we expect out of louisville/WVU vs. USC/Texas last season?

The level of talent is just not there in the big east. I mean does anyone really think that Rutgers can hang with Ohio State or either Texas and USC from last season?

[pappag]

Interesting article but.....

How many first round draft picks can we expect out of louisville/WVU vs. USC/Texas last season?

The level of talent is just not there in the big east. I mean does anyone really think that Rutgers can hang with Ohio State or either Texas and USC from last season?

Although I agree with your statement, what Rutgers is doing now should keep more players in New Jersey, which is a top 5 recruiting state in the country. Problem in the past is that because Rutgers was so bad, any half decent high school player flocked elsewhere - look no further than Ron Dayne and Dwayne Jarrett (among many more, but have no time to check out all the other stars). But now with the recognition, committments from NJ blue chips to Rutgers is sending a clear message around the state and hopefully a more credible program will develop, one that will soon rival any Big 10 or SEC powerhouse.

[CUBUCK]

Although I agree with your statement, what Rutgers is doing now should keep more players in New Jersey, which is a top 5 recruiting state in the country. Problem in the past is that because Rutgers was so bad, any half decent high school player flocked elsewhere - look no further than Ron Dayne and Dwayne Jarrett (among many more, but have no time to check out all the other stars). But now with the recognition, committments from NJ blue chips to Rutgers is sending a clear message around the state and hopefully a more credible program will develop, one that will soon rival any Big 10 or SEC powerhouse.

I don't know, there are going to be some pretty high profile job openings for Greg Schiano to jump to at the end of the season. I also think it will take a few more years before top talant stays in Jersey. If they can go 8-3 or so for the next few seasons then you may see some people sticking around.

[PaSucks]

I'm sorry. Undefeated teams from major conferences belong in the NC game over one loss teams. While I really don't think Rutgers could beat the loser of OSU/Mich, the team that wins out should get the shot.

But whatever, it won't happen. This is why we need a PLAYOFF, do you not agree?

[Viva]

Louisville is the best team in the Big East but, while they're certainly capable of beating any team currently ranked in the top ten, would more likely lose (loose!) to all of those teams. The Cardinals were clearly the more talented and better coached team last night, but Rutgers out-played them badly in the second half and deserved that win. The Louisville OC also could have called more play action so to protect the QB.

What a fun game! I woulkd have loved to have attended.

[pappag]

I don't know, there are going to be some pretty high profile job openings for Greg Schiano to jump to at the end of the season. I also think it will take a few more years before top talant stays in Jersey. If they can go 8-3 or so for the next few seasons then you may see some people sticking around.

It pains me to say it, but I truly believe Schiano is going to be Miami's next head coach.

[pappag]

Louisville is the best team in the Big East but, while they're certainly capable of beating any team currently ranked in the top ten, would more likely lose (loose!) to all of those teams. The Cardinals were clearly the more talented and better coached team last night, but Rutgers out-played them badly in the second half and deserved that win. The Louisville OC also could have called more play action so to protect the QB.

What a fun game! I woulkd have loved to have attended.

Outcoached?!?

Look at the halftime adjustments. 53 yards and all of 3 or 4 first downs in the 2nd half for your "better coached" Cardinals. How about that defense with 5 sacks? How about HALF your normal 494 yards per game. Rutgers gave you more passing than they should have and your team still couldn't stop them, nor could you put up a single point in the 2nd half.


Outcoached.


BWAHAHA!!

[CUBUCK]

I'm sorry. Undefeated teams from major conferences belong in the NC game over one loss teams. While I really don't think Rutgers could beat the loser of OSU/Mich, the team that wins out should get the shot.

I think this is where we disagree, I don't consider the big east a major conference.

I also don't buy into a playoff. A two or three loss team should never be in contention for a national championship,

[road trip]

Outcoached?!?

...nor could you put up a single point in the 2nd half.

Outcoached.

BWAHAHA!!

Agree wholeheartedly...

(although Viva should not be lumped with Louisville as part of "you"... he is trying to be an impartial 3rd party.... although still needs to put down Rutgers because his Trojans have one loss! )

[pappag]

Agree wholeheartedly...

(although Viva should not be lumped with Louisville as part of "you"... he is trying to be an impartial 3rd party.... although still needs to put down Rutgers because his Trojans have one loss! )

I see, well tell him if his Trojans don't lose the next 4 games, they will play for the national champsionship.

[Viva]

I really didn't see much in half time adjustments, Rutgers continued to run the same base D and appeared to stunt a little more. WVU already showed that Louisville can't stop the run, so no surprise when Rice started busting 6-7 YPC. The sacks? I already said that the Louisville OC should have called more play-action

Rutgers may very well finish the season undefeated, but they're still not a very good team. I saw a lot of poor execution last night, even in the second half.

Rutgers wanted this game and that's why they won. Period.

[bagtagley]

Rutgers wanted this game and that's why they won. Period.

Viva = John Madden?

[MarsB]

I think this is where we disagree, I don't consider the big east a major conference.

Neither did Georgia.