<p>Jesus christ. Florida vs. Penn State. 35-14 in the most boring national championship since, oh yeah, the last two. Poor guy from Texas though, he's just a kid! A lot of people don't realize how hard it is actually being out there, and as a former all-state athlete, it sucks when people are pressuring you and expecting you to deliver. But I digress. Let's just hope Mizzou takes the Big 12 and Penn State loses.</p>
<p>AP Poll has Texas Tech leap-frogging Penn State.</p>
<p>1 Alabama (46) 9-0
2 Texas Tech (12) 9-0
3 Penn State (6) 9-0
4 Florida (1) 7-1
5 Texas 8-1
6 Oklahoma 8-1
7 USC 7-1
8 Oklahoma State 8-1
9 Boise State 8-0
10 Utah 9-0</p>
<p>Last night was probably the best game to date this season. I've been following TTU because of Mike Leach the Pirate King for a couple of years and it was great to see them get country wide primetime attention and win too. I'll be rooting for them against Okie St. and the Sooners and whatever bowl game they end up in. </p>
<p>USC fans hoping for a miracle can be happy that Georgia was knocked out of the NC title game race and that Texas took a hit, and that California will be ranked #21 when they play on Saturday. I think that would make the third (?) ranked team that USC will face this season (counting Ohio State and Oregon) which helps their strength of schedule. Can anyone see Notre Dame being ranked when they play them in a couple of weeks?</p>
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Jesus christ. Florida vs. Penn State. 35-14 in the most boring national championship since, oh yeah, the last two. Poor guy from Texas though, he's just a kid! A lot of people don't realize how hard it is actually being out there, and as a former all-state athlete, it sucks when people are pressuring you and expecting you to deliver. But I digress. Let's just hope Mizzou takes the Big 12 and Penn State loses.
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<p>Yeah, now that UT is out of the running (unless Bama, TTU, and maybe Florida lose, and UT beats OU in the Big XII championship), I'd like to see a combination of Florida, OU, or USC play, but I doubt it happens. Stupid Penn State and their cupcake schedule.</p>
<p>And, that guy is gonna remember that drop forever, hopefully he uses it as motivation not to suck so much at clutch moments.</p>
<p>I really can't see Florida losing from here on out...</p>
<p>Citadel is a guaranteed win..</p>
<p>And really can't see them lose to South Carolina/FSU/Vandy...</p>
<p>It's looking pretty good for us, if we just didn't fluke on Ole Miss...</p>
<p>How are the strength of schedules going to affect the final standings?</p>
<p>I think TTU will drop at least one to OU or OSU, and Florida will beat Bama. This leaves Penn State with one top spot. Who would get the other one?</p>
<p>I think its either gonna be Big 12 champ (if that champ is from south division) or SEC champ most likely. I don't think USC controls their own destiny right now, they need other top teams to keep losing.</p>
<p>All you Big 12 and Pac 10 fans are hilarious. Like it really matters what you think about Penn State playing in the title game. Penn State WILL be in the national championship. It will be the Big Ten vs. the SEC, which will have a very different result since it is not Ohio State. Honestly, Texas Tech football is one big yawn. Great offense, blah, blah, blah...Texas and Oklahoma are the only teams worth watching in the Big 12 if you aren't a fan of the Big 12, and they both have one loss.</p>
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All you Big 12 and Pac 10 fans are hilarious. Like it really matters what you think about Penn State playing in the title game. Penn State WILL be in the national championship. It will be the Big Ten vs. the SEC, which will have a very different result since it is not Ohio State. Honestly, Texas Tech football is one big yawn. Great offense, blah, blah, blah...Texas and Oklahoma are the only teams worth watching in the Big 12 if you aren't a fan of the Big 12, and they both have one loss.
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<p>Wow, what a downer of a post. You sure told us! </p>
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Honestly, Texas Tech football is one big yawn. Great offense, blah, blah, blah...
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<p>This wouldn't have anything at all to do with Texas Tech jumping Penn State in the rankings, would it? </p>
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which will have a very different result since it is not Ohio State.
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<p>Oh, of course, if you say so.</p>
<p>"Penn State WILL be in the national championship. It will be the Big Ten vs. the SEC, which will have a very different result since it is not Ohio State."</p>
<p>This is hilarious.
Everybody knows that teams like Florida, Alabama is so much better than Penn State, and if Penn State goes to the BCS championship game and lose, expect to see no Big 10 team in the BCS championship game for the next few year. Nobody likes Big 10 outside of Big 10 and for a good reason too.</p>
<p>Honestly? Do you think it's going to make a difference who represents the Big 10? Penn State will lose just as badly as Ohio State did. You can even make an argument that the past two Ohio State teams are better than this year's Penn State team. If Florida is in the championship game, which I believe they will, it's all but over for everyone else, with USC and maybe Oklahoma as the exception; those two teams can play with Florida. Anyone else and I don't think it would be a good game-Penn State isn't battle tested, Tech isn't going to win out, and Bama is average at best at quarterback. Oklahoma has the size, speed, and playmakers to hang with Florida, as does USC. Besides those teams, I don't think anyone else is going to stop the SEC from another championship.</p>
<p>Rachel_Dawes, as much as I want to, I don't think ND is going to be ranked. Jimmy Clausen is a good player, I've watched him since his high school days here in Oaks Christian-but the team as a whole isn't that great. They've been benefitting from an extremely soft schedule so far. I wrote the post above not knowing that Texas is still ahead of USC-but I still don't believe they can beat Florida. McCoy is an average quarterback when pressured, and if the Florida defense can get to him, it'll be all over. So I'll stay with my OU and USC picks; although at this point it seems very unlikely that either will be in.</p>
<p>Penn State doesn't have a chance to win the championship. They needed a costly fumble and last-second interception by a true freshman quarterback to beat Ohio State. Even if they end up #1 or 2 they would be thrashed by USC or the SEC champ.</p>
<p>The only possibility it would even be close is if they play the big 12 champ - it's obvious big-12 pass-defense is dreadful.</p>
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Penn State doesn't have a chance to win the championship. They needed a costly fumble and last-second interception by a true freshman quarterback to beat Ohio State. Even if they end up #1 or 2 they would be thrashed by USC or the SEC champ.
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<p>Umm.. USC only beat Arizona by 7 last week. That isn't exactly a dominant win..</p>
<p>I know, but you can't overlook the fact that when you see USC's big game performances and that you are giving Pete Carroll about two weeks to prepare. The results are impressive-the only exception being Texas in 2005. Even then, it took a last minute drive on 4th down by one of college football's best quarterbacks, as well as a questionable decision to run with LenDale White instead of Reggie Bush on 4th down.</p>
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Umm.. USC only beat Arizona by 7 last week. That isn't exactly a dominant win..
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<p>I feel like a broken record. Arizona is bowl-eligible (well, will be bowl-eligible next week). Was averaging 40 points per game. Previously 63% QB limited to 46% and an INT. Pretty dominant defensively, I would say...</p>
<p>"Penn State doesn't have a chance to win the championship. They needed a costly fumble and last-second interception by a true freshman quarterback to beat Ohio State. Even if they end up #1 or 2 they would be thrashed by USC or the SEC champ."</p>
<p>If we are pointing out specific performances in games, maybe you should try to take a look at the thrashing that Penn State gave to Oregon State. You know, that team that beat the powerful USC.</p>
<p>Penn State's schedule is just as strong as Texas Tech. I would like to see someone present a reasonable argument to the contrary. </p>
<p>Penn State's Key Wins
No 9 Ohio State
No 22 Illinois
Oregon State</p>
<p>Texas Tech's Key Wins
No 1 Texas
No 23 Kansas
Nebraska?</p>
<p>The win over Texas should NOT have been enough for them to jump Penn State. Once TT loses to Ok State, which they will, Penn State will take over the number 2 spot permanently. We still have a game against a soon to be top 15 Michigan State team that will secure the ranking until the title game. </p>
<p>Rachel_Dawes, it's easy to criticize. Who is your team? If it's not Alabama or TT, don't run your mouth. Penn State is better than whatever team you like.</p>
<p>"This is hilarious.
Everybody knows that teams like Florida, Alabama is so much better than Penn State, and if Penn State goes to the BCS championship game and lose, expect to see no Big 10 team in the BCS championship game for the next few year. Nobody likes Big 10 outside of Big 10 and for a good reason too."</p>
<p>Thanks Soggy_Daisy. Maybe you should try to think before you lump "everybody" in with your level of football knowledge. There is a reason that Penn State is ranked top 3 in the AP, Coaches, AND THE ESPN FAN POLL. Who do you think votes in those polls? That's right, the fans. Honestly, let the people that know what they're talking about make the comments.</p>
<p>Um jec are you for real? </p>
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Rachel_Dawes, it's easy to criticize. Who is your team? If it's not Alabama or TT, don't run your mouth. Penn State is better than whatever team you like.
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<p>Dude, just because you take college football too personally doesn't mean everyone else does. People can "run their mouth" about this kind of thing if they want, because it's football. Trash talking is a part of fandom, and in the end it doesn't really matter, unless you take your team's success as a personal extension of yourself. There are no "since my team is higher ranked than yours, you can't criticize or mock them on an internet messageboard at all wahhhhh wahhhh" cardinal rules.</p>
<p>You're being really defensive. Oh wait. You don't happen to be a Penn State player, are you?</p>
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There is a reason that Penn State is ranked top 3 in the AP, Coaches, AND THE ESPN FAN POLL
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<p>And the reason they're #3 and not # 2 is because the coaches and sportswriters think even though both Tech and Penn State are undefeated, the former has the better strength of schedule. Why? Because they're not playing in the Big 10.</p>
<p>Do you think if #2 was Florida or Georgia or LSU or USC, Texas Tech would have jumped them? No way. It's because few outside of the Big 10 want to see another Big 10 team in the NC Title game. And that includes AP voters and coaches. If that wasn't the case, Penn State would be #2 right now. Sorry, it's just the truth.</p>
<p>If they do end up in the title game, and they win, then good for them and you. Until then, you'll just have to deal with people not thinking your team is good enough or too "boring" and hope the Nittany Lions will prove them wrong. </p>
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Penn State's Key Wins
No 9 Ohio State [USC also beat Ohio State, and by a greater margin]
No 22 Illinois [which Minnesota and Wisconsin have also beaten]
Oregon State [which Stanford has also beaten]
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<p>I agree with the above poster that Texas Tech shouldn't have jumped Penn State, as well as the prediction in next week's game versus Oklahoma State. But I do not agree with how they brought up Oregon State. It could be said that while Penn State struggled to beat Ohio State, USC dominated Oregon State. Personally I don't think it mattered whether Chris Wells was playing or not; that game was a blow out from the beginning. I am one of those who are against Penn State in the championship game-not because they necessarily aren't good enough, which is an argument in itself; but rather because another Big 10 vs. SEC championship game is going to be a borefest. And if Penn State happens to lose that game, I don't expect any Big 10 teams to be voted into the championship game in years to come.</p>
<p>Looks like I got beat to the post. When I said above poster I meant jec7483.</p>
<p>It entirely depends on whether you're talking about a team's record or a team's capability. If Penn State goes 12-0 and USC finishes 11-1, those Oregon State games will certainly set USC's fate to be below Penn State, based on overall record and common opponents. Who gets to play who in the title & other BCS games is determined by this record, as it should be.</p>
<p>But speaking purely about who would win - who here honestly believes that if USC and Oregon State played again tomorrow, that Oregon State would win again? USC outscored Oregon State 21-6 in the second half. If USC played like that for another two halves, it would be awful comparable to Penn State.</p>
<p>Same with any number of other games. Anyone think Florida wouldn't totally crush Ole Miss tomorrow, if they had the chance?</p>
<p>That kind of thinking doesn't influence rankings (as it shouldn't), but that doesn't stop us from surmising these kind of things.</p>