Comments for Code Orange http://football.calculusman.com The Ultimate College Football Blog. OK, maybe not. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:19:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3-RC1 Comment on Ohio State vs. LSU by The Orange Man http://football.calculusman.com/2007/12/02/ohio-state-vs-lsu/#comment-61 The Orange Man Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:48:45 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/2007/12/02/ohio-state-vs-lsu/#comment-61 I'm not necessarily arguing that LSU isn't the 2nd best team in the nation. My main beef is that pollsters apparently decided this past weekend that they were, when the weekend before they had apparently decided that they weren't that good. If LSU really wasn't the #7 and were really the #4 team in the nation before Missouri and West Virginia lost, then they should have been voted that way. To go "oops! Do over!" is disingenuous. I’m not necessarily arguing that LSU isn’t the 2nd best team in the nation. My main beef is that pollsters apparently decided this past weekend that they were, when the weekend before they had apparently decided that they weren’t that good.

If LSU really wasn’t the #7 and were really the #4 team in the nation before Missouri and West Virginia lost, then they should have been voted that way. To go “oops! Do over!” is disingenuous.

]]> Comment on Ohio State vs. LSU by Mathew Badeaux http://football.calculusman.com/2007/12/02/ohio-state-vs-lsu/#comment-60 Mathew Badeaux Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:33:25 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/2007/12/02/ohio-state-vs-lsu/#comment-60 Georgia Didn't make it to the Championship in the SEC which LSU won and the SEC is the toughest conference in college football by a long shot. Probably every team in the SEC with the exception of Vanderbilt and Ole Miss would be in Hawaii's position in that conference.....Va Tech was beat by 41 By LSU........USC just isnt the USC of the past face it America...All teams that were knocked out of top spots were done so convincingly LSU is undefeated in regulation and has only been defeated in overtime nobody has convincingly BEAT the tigers LSU has the credentials for the game if you ask a lot of people they should be there before OHIO St. who only lost one game and has a Weak Scedule opinions may differ but as far as i can see the only teams that should be considered for the title game are LSU OHio St. and Oklahoma Georgia Didn’t make it to the Championship in the SEC which LSU won and the SEC is the toughest conference in college football by a long shot. Probably every team in the SEC with the exception of Vanderbilt and Ole Miss would be in Hawaii’s position in that conference…..Va Tech was beat by 41 By LSU……..USC just isnt the USC of the past face it America…All teams that were knocked out of top spots were done so convincingly LSU is undefeated in regulation and has only been defeated in overtime nobody has convincingly BEAT the tigers LSU has the credentials for the game if you ask a lot of people they should be there before OHIO St. who only lost one game and has a Weak Scedule opinions may differ but as far as i can see the only teams that should be considered for the title game are LSU OHio St. and Oklahoma

]]> Comment on Ohio State vs. LSU by SpikeT http://football.calculusman.com/2007/12/02/ohio-state-vs-lsu/#comment-45 SpikeT Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:25:50 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/2007/12/02/ohio-state-vs-lsu/#comment-45 Excellent commentary. The 'correction' we saw after Saturday's games is disturbing. Voters have seen clearly now (and last year) that they can will a championship game match up if want it and that is dangerous, especially as the influence of media is considered. Regardless of a voter's background (coach, former coach, former player, etc), most if not all are influenced by the media. If you hear ESPN commentators say week in and week out that a particular team is great, even if you've seen them a bit here and there and weren't impressed, you'll be swayed toward thinking that what you've seen was not the norm. LSU is a enormous example of this this season. They were lauded in the media from the beginning of the season as the team of the year. Their defense was dubbed as immovable. And despite their living on the razor's edge, they were continually praised. Even when LSU's astounding defense got progressively more and more suspect throughout the season, we didn't hear significant criticism. Those who picked them at the beginning of the season (ESPN!!!) as the golden child continued to be impressed. Now to LSU's credit, there is something to be said for finding a way to win, no matter the margin, and that's especially true in the rough and tumble SEC. That being said, we really need to look in the mirror and ask some questions when we find ourselves impressed with a last minute win against a very, very mediocre Alabama team (see losses to Florida State and LA Monroe as proof of mediocrity), 2 overtime losses (yes, losses!), and a defense so 'stingy' that lets an offense like Auburn's drive straight down the field in the final 5 minutes of the game to take the lead...at home...at night...at a place called "Death Valley" where 'nobody' can be expected to win. I never thought the BCS was perfect, but so long as 3 or 4 teams couldn't play against each other at the same time, it was never going to be. It only allowed for 2 teams in its 'playoff' and so there would almost always be controversy. But I've now been won over the side that says it is deeply flawed and broken. When, at the end of the season, the previous week's polls no longer matter, we've got a problem. I don't pretend to know who are the best 2 teams this season, but I am certain of this: beating a #16 ranked team in an evenly matched game wouldn't have launched #7 to #2 in any other week of the season unless 5 out of the 6 teams ahead of #7 were all defeated...and even then a loss might not drop them below #7 team moving up. It only did so this time because voters decided (or let it be dictated to them) long ago that LSU should be there. Many results -- Sooners, Trojans, or Bulldogs -- would've been fairer than LSU. (Even the Mountaineers, Hokies, Jayhawks, and Warriors have arguments that they could win a playoff.) And yet here we are with a broken system where prognosticators have more of a say than the players on the field. I have nothing against LSU except that they shouldn't get to play for the national championship because they were the predetermined team. And just for the record, beating Ohio State will tell us nothing about their ability to beat Georgia, Oklahoma, or USC at this juncture in the season -- they might win the BCS Championship game but that hardly makes them national champions in this season. My enthusiasm for college football just took a hit. It was an amazing season like none other and sadly I'm left, like many, feeling like I got the short end of the stick. From now on I'm forced to understand and accept that this system, so influenced by the media, really is a beauty contest from start to finish designed to help media feel good about their own preseason predictions and biases. Silly me, I thought it was about football. Excellent commentary. The ‘correction’ we saw after Saturday’s games is disturbing. Voters have seen clearly now (and last year) that they can will a championship game match up if want it and that is dangerous, especially as the influence of media is considered. Regardless of a voter’s background (coach, former coach, former player, etc), most if not all are influenced by the media. If you hear ESPN commentators say week in and week out that a particular team is great, even if you’ve seen them a bit here and there and weren’t impressed, you’ll be swayed toward thinking that what you’ve seen was not the norm. LSU is a enormous example of this this season. They were lauded in the media from the beginning of the season as the team of the year. Their defense was dubbed as immovable. And despite their living on the razor’s edge, they were continually praised. Even when LSU’s astounding defense got progressively more and more suspect throughout the season, we didn’t hear significant criticism. Those who picked them at the beginning of the season (ESPN!!!) as the golden child continued to be impressed. Now to LSU’s credit, there is something to be said for finding a way to win, no matter the margin, and that’s especially true in the rough and tumble SEC. That being said, we really need to look in the mirror and ask some questions when we find ourselves impressed with a last minute win against a very, very mediocre Alabama team (see losses to Florida State and LA Monroe as proof of mediocrity), 2 overtime losses (yes, losses!), and a defense so ’stingy’ that lets an offense like Auburn’s drive straight down the field in the final 5 minutes of the game to take the lead…at home…at night…at a place called “Death Valley” where ‘nobody’ can be expected to win.

I never thought the BCS was perfect, but so long as 3 or 4 teams couldn’t play against each other at the same time, it was never going to be. It only allowed for 2 teams in its ‘playoff’ and so there would almost always be controversy. But I’ve now been won over the side that says it is deeply flawed and broken. When, at the end of the season, the previous week’s polls no longer matter, we’ve got a problem. I don’t pretend to know who are the best 2 teams this season, but I am certain of this: beating a #16 ranked team in an evenly matched game wouldn’t have launched #7 to #2 in any other week of the season unless 5 out of the 6 teams ahead of #7 were all defeated…and even then a loss might not drop them below #7 team moving up. It only did so this time because voters decided (or let it be dictated to them) long ago that LSU should be there. Many results — Sooners, Trojans, or Bulldogs — would’ve been fairer than LSU. (Even the Mountaineers, Hokies, Jayhawks, and Warriors have arguments that they could win a playoff.) And yet here we are with a broken system where prognosticators have more of a say than the players on the field. I have nothing against LSU except that they shouldn’t get to play for the national championship because they were the predetermined team. And just for the record, beating Ohio State will tell us nothing about their ability to beat Georgia, Oklahoma, or USC at this juncture in the season — they might win the BCS Championship game but that hardly makes them national champions in this season.

My enthusiasm for college football just took a hit. It was an amazing season like none other and sadly I’m left, like many, feeling like I got the short end of the stick. From now on I’m forced to understand and accept that this system, so influenced by the media, really is a beauty contest from start to finish designed to help media feel good about their own preseason predictions and biases. Silly me, I thought it was about football.

]]> Comment on I-AA Bracket Set by TheVisionary http://football.calculusman.com/2007/11/18/i-aa-bracket-set/#comment-23 TheVisionary Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:53:10 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/2007/11/18/i-aa-bracket-set/#comment-23 That's not how it works, genius. Notice that there are technically only four seeds. Everything else is arranged by geography. Read the manual on ncaa.org. That’s not how it works, genius. Notice that there are technically only four seeds. Everything else is arranged by geography. Read the manual on ncaa.org.

]]> Comment on My Playoff Brackets - Week 1 by Nick http://football.calculusman.com/2007/10/16/my-playoff-brackets-week-1/#comment-15 Nick Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:23:01 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/2007/10/16/my-playoff-brackets-week-1/#comment-15 Not a bad idea and the bracket looks like it'll produce some good games.. but there are some flaws... If we "bracket people" are ever going to convice the old-school "BCS people" to do a playoff, we can't push for 16-teamers... Just too grand, too big, too long. An 8-teamer is just perfect... Like the BCS Bowls pre-2006... You got your 6 BCS conference champs (putting a HUGE emphasis on winning your conference - making every conference championship game of utmost importance; and unlike your current model wher eif kansas met Oklahoma, both would be "in" - rendering that game moot). Also, the first round games should be held on home fields... college students and fans can't be expected to travel to 3 sites in 3 weeks or so... The semis and finals should be your Rose, Sugar, Orange or something... Not a bad idea and the bracket looks like it’ll produce some good games.. but there are some flaws…

If we “bracket people” are ever going to convice the old-school “BCS people” to do a playoff, we can’t push for 16-teamers… Just too grand, too big, too long.

An 8-teamer is just perfect… Like the BCS Bowls pre-2006… You got your 6 BCS conference champs (putting a HUGE emphasis on winning your conference - making every conference championship game of utmost importance; and unlike your current model wher eif kansas met Oklahoma, both would be “in” - rendering that game moot).

Also, the first round games should be held on home fields… college students and fans can’t be expected to travel to 3 sites in 3 weeks or so… The semis and finals should be your Rose, Sugar, Orange or something…

]]> Comment on About by Teresa http://football.calculusman.com/about/#comment-13 Teresa Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:24:07 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/about/#comment-13 I know the feeling. Hope you become more active again when it settles down. I know the feeling. Hope you become more active again when it settles down.

]]> Comment on About by The Orange Man http://football.calculusman.com/about/#comment-12 The Orange Man Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:09:09 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/about/#comment-12 Well, I still post there occasionally if I get in the mood for it, but recently I just feel like I'm in the twilight zone when I'm there much of the time. Well, I still post there occasionally if I get in the mood for it, but recently I just feel like I’m in the twilight zone when I’m there much of the time.

]]> Comment on About by Teresa http://football.calculusman.com/about/#comment-11 Teresa Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:38:36 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/about/#comment-11 Hey there. I was searching DailyKos today because I haven't seen you post in forever. My name is tabbycat in tenn there and we posted in many of the same diaries about politics in the south. I just wanted to let you know that I really miss your political analysis on DK. I always considered you a "practical" Democrat and that site could really use your input right now. Oh well, I love college football and I'm glad I visited your site. I will come back to read your football thoughts since you don't post on politics anymore. If you've discovered a good political site for a realist like me, who realizes that a Harold Ford type is the best we could hope for in Tennessee right now, let me know. Hey there. I was searching DailyKos today because I haven’t seen you post in forever. My name is tabbycat in tenn there and we posted in many of the same diaries about politics in the south. I just wanted to let you know that I really miss your political analysis on DK. I always considered you a “practical” Democrat and that site could really use your input right now.

Oh well, I love college football and I’m glad I visited your site. I will come back to read your football thoughts since you don’t post on politics anymore. If you’ve discovered a good political site for a realist like me, who realizes that a Harold Ford type is the best we could hope for in Tennessee right now, let me know.

]]> Comment on In-Game Updates for Noon Games by Sportzbelle http://football.calculusman.com/2007/09/22/in-game-updates-for-noon-games/#comment-2 Sportzbelle Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:32:54 +0000 http://football.calculusman.com/2007/09/22/in-game-updates-for-noon-games/#comment-2 Taj's spin move was awesome on that TD run - and then the interception by the big man! Weeeee!!!! Taj’s spin move was awesome on that TD run - and then the interception by the big man! Weeeee!!!!

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