2009 College Football Week 4 Discussion

[BishopMVP]

Games I'm looking forward to: (ps - should we start a thread in Cartman's abscence for the top 25 voting?)

Mississippi @ South Carolina 7:30 PM Thursday ESPN - I don't know what to make of South Carolina between their NCAA-opening 7-3 win over NC St. and then last week's shootout with Georgia (or Georgia for that matter). Ole Miss struggled in their season-opening win over a weak Memphis team, and really haven't done anything to be ranked as high as #4 in the polls. So it's nice to see them matched up against a real team. I picked SCar to upset Ole Miss in the preseason thread, so I'm sticking with that.

North Carolina @ Georgia Tech 12:00 Saturday ESPN360 - If I'm around, it's the best of the 12:00 games. UNC hasn't played excitingly or well, but they are one of 2 undefeated ACC teams. Georgia Tech certainly hasn't been boring their first few games.

Arkansas @ Alabama 3:30 PM CBS - Bama rolled VT and I have them #1, now we'll get to see them against a different type of offense. I think Bama's D will get too much pressure on Mallett and roll again.

Cal @ Oregon 3:30 ABC (Regional) - Another team that's in the top 5 without proving anything - smoking Maryland doesn't count after their OT win vs. an FCS and loss to MTSU. Oregon's not a great team, but at Autzen Cal's going to need a big play or 4 from Jahvid Best - and I think they get one more than Oregon in an exciting shootout.

Miami @ Virginia Tech 3:30 ABC (Regional) - The actual ABC game I'll almost assuredly be getting. Even when Miami was dominant they had trouble in Blackburg, winning 26-24 when they were #1 in 2001 and losing 31-7 when they were #2 in '03. My heart wants Miami to keep winning, and I'll pick them, but I won't be wagering any money on it.

TCU @ Clemson 3:30 ESPN360 - The under the radar midday game. If TCU wins they should be top 10 and will be in the BCS-crashing drivers seat ahead of Boise, but we just saw an athletic ACC team crush a hyped MWC team. I'm going Clemson and that DL.

Iowa @ Penn St. 8:00 ABC - The third in the triumvirate of potentially #4 ranked teams playing its first real opponent. I probably won't actually see any of this game, and I think Penn St. will win by 14-17 points.

Notre Dame @ Purdue 8:00 ESPN - Morbid curiousity and eternal hope will have me watching the Floyd-less Irish (presumably fairly inebriated by then) at least until ...

Texas Tech @ Houston 9:15 ESPN2 - comes on. JiMGa (and probably others) didn't like me criticizing Houston's ranking in the polls. Unfortunately for Houston, unless Miss St upsets LSU and GT at home the next 2 weeks, this is their last chance to impress the voters. Texas Tech didn't get the win last week but put in a very credible performance on the road in Austin. At the least, this game should be good for 100+ passes, 1000+ yards and 100+ points. I'm going Houston 56-45 (watch it be 3-3 or 7-0 after the 1st quarter now.)

[SnDvls]

cartman's FOFC College Football Top 25 poll, Week 3 open for voting - Front Office Football Central

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Notre Dame @ Purdue 8:00 ESPN - Morbid curiousity and eternal hope will have me watching the Floyd-less Irish (presumably fairly inebriated by then) at least until ...

No Floyd hurts, he's so good.

I see ND is still favored by 7 on the road so I'm assuming Perdue aren't that great. What do they do well/not so well?

[Lathum]

I hope Washington doesn't have a let down against Stanford

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I hope Washington doesn't have a let down against Stanford

I honestly think you could not have a let down and still lose to Stanford. They're a solid team and home field advantage in the Pac 10 really seems to mean something.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

No Floyd hurts, he's so good.

I see ND is still favored by 7 on the road so I'm assuming Perdue aren't that great. What do they do well/not so well?

Purdue got beat at home by Northern Illinois. They are just not very good. They're more of a run team now but they can't stop anyone. Claussen will still throw for 300 and they'll win easily.

[cthomer5000]

Road trip to Maryland for the Rutgers game for me. We suck hard so far this year, but I think we can win this. I hope I'm not driving down there for nothin'

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I hope Washington doesn't have a let down against Stanford

Yeah, this should be a close game. Sarkisian has his team believing, as does Harbaugh. I think these two teams will both be much better at the end of the season than they are now.

[dawgfan]

Hey Karl, can you shed some light on the rather tepid attendance at Stanford games? I would've figured the improvement under Harbaugh and the fancy rebuilt stadium would generate crowds closer to 50,000 than the 35,000 they seem to be drawing...

I would've come down for the game if I didn't have a family obligation this weekend...

[Butter]

If Miami wins this week, I think they should AT LEAST be #2. I don't think they will, but it should be a really good game and I'm looking forward to it.

TCU/Clemson should be good as well. Clemson should really be 3-0 if they had played any semblance of a first half at Georgia Tech a couple of weeks back. This should be a 10-7 or 13-10 type game.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Iowa @ Penn St. 8:00 ABC - The third in the triumvirate of potentially #4 ranked teams playing its first real opponent. I probably won't actually see any of this game, and I think Penn St. will win by 14-17 points.

I wish I could share your optimism. Penn State has only beaten Iowa once this decade, and could be without Sean Lee and maybe Nararro Bowman.

[Butter]

Penn State wins by at least 2 touchdowns.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Road trip to Maryland for the Rutgers game for me. We suck hard so far this year, but I think we can win this. I hope I'm not driving down there for nothin'

Enjoy the game, was planning on going myself but have my niece's 1st birthday that day. Should still be fun with my brother, sister, and brother-in-law all Maryland alums, too bad the fucking game won't be on TV.

Maryland looks to be in terrible shape after being taken to OT by James Madison and losing to Middle Tennessee State at home in back to back weeks. Savage is reportedly coming off a slight concussion so hopefully he's okay to go.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Anyone know if Nevada tends to get a lot of hometown bets in Vegas for big games? Line against Mizzou has gone down, but there's no real injury news or changes that would seem to push it down.

[Dr. Sak]

Nevada couldn't score on Notre Dame's defense...enough said

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Nevada couldn't score on Notre Dame's defense...enough said

I just can't imagine betting on Nevada with only a 7 point spread. I'm floored that the line is staying in that area. Seems like easy money to me to the point where I'm considering depositing online.

[RomaGoth]

Penn State will beat Iowa, Notre Dame will beat Purdue, and I believe that Houston will beat Texas Tech in a shootout.

[Kodos]

Time for another beatdown in Ann Arbor. Guys on Scout are deluding themselves into believing Indiana has a chance, but I'll have to see it to believe it.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I just can't imagine betting on Nevada with only a 7 point spread. I'm floored that the line is staying in that area. Seems like easy money to me to the point where I'm considering depositing online.

I've seen it +7.5 at some sites, but I'd take that bet in a minute. I gave someone Furman and 24 last week, can't wait to throw some numbers at him this week.

He also gave me the Rams and 7 - lets just say I'm 3-0 against him this year and have been able to eat some really nice lunches lately.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Time for another beatdown in Ann Arbor.

Let's hope so!

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Time for another beatdown in Ann Arbor. Guys on Scout are deluding themselves into believing Indiana has a chance, but I'll have to see it to believe it.

I would be surprised if this game is competitive, especially if Michigan jumps out to a big lead early.

[Kodos]

Apparently, one convincing win against Akron, and you go from projected 3-9 doormats to challenging for the Big Ten crown.

[Dr. Sak]

Some will think it's lame (rightfully so) but I think it is cool. This week's game in Happy Valley is a stadium white out and game day will be there. There is a movement to get everyone to show up at game day with just plain white signs...nothing written on them and hold them up.

I'm not sure how this will look or work out. I know I am bias but I think the Stadium white out is one of the coolest things out there. Hopefully at this year's game I wont be so drunk I'll actually remember some of it.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Apparently, one convincing win against Akron, and you go from projected 3-9 doormats to challenging for the Big Ten crown.

Those Zips are a tough opponent.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Vegas Vic would know for certain, but it's my understanding there is some sort of law in place that Vegas isn't allowed to take bets on Nevada colleges.

That would make sense. What about Atlantic City though? What are the odds there?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

That would make sense. What about Atlantic City though? What are the odds there?

lol, I deleted my original post because I couldn't find anything on google.

There is no sports betting in AC. That I know for certain.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Lathum

lol, I deleted my original post because I couldn't find anything on google.

There is no sports betting in AC. That I know for certain.

Aah....never been there and didn't know that. Well, there is Delaware.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Hey Karl, can you shed some light on the rather tepid attendance at Stanford games? I would've figured the improvement under Harbaugh and the fancy rebuilt stadium would generate crowds closer to 50,000 than the 35,000 they seem to be drawing...

I would've come down for the game if I didn't have a family obligation this weekend...

It's kind of an enigma, but if I had to guess, I'd say:

1) Years of bad press resulting from the Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris disasters. At the end of the Willingham tenure, the old Stanford stadium (which held something over 70,000) was getting nearly full for every game. Of course, the team had a banner year (for Stanford), getting as high as 6th in the BCS rankings. Then, Willingham had a highly publicized departure to Notre Dame, and a new coach plus an uninspiring year usually leaves people tepid. Then Walt Harris came in and it was a complete disaster. I had been going to every game every year for a decade, and even now I was finding other ways to spend a Saturday. It takes some years to repair that kind of damage. Just ask your average college football fan (even around the Bay Area) about Stanford, and the response you'll get it "Ooh, Stanford stinks. They did beat USC a few years ago, though. How embarrassing for the Trojans that was." If Stanford wins 8 games this season, the attendance will recover next year.

2)The alumni base is smaller than 95% of D-1A teams. The alumni are also usually spread all over the world.

3) The number of undergrads is also smaller, and there's probably a higher ratio of kids who really don't care to attend a football game. I know that football games double as a social event for co-eds, but think about who gets into Stanford: People who are focused on academics. I will give the students credit that they came out in better numbers two seasons ago, and were louder than they had ever been. I can't attest to last season, as work prevented me from going to any games.


You could say that the Bay Area is a "Pro Sports" place, but Cal routinely fills up Memorial Stadium. During the Holmoe years, they didn't. Now they do. What's the difference? Winning. This isn't a situation like the SF Giants, where they moved from a shitty, cold, out of the way football stadium into a baseball palace right in downtown San Francisco. This is a situation where there's a lot of people who just don't care enough to use a day out of their weekend to go watch what they believe to be bad football. I suppose we just aren't as die-hard for our college teams as you guys are up there. We have more fairweather fans, and we are more fairweather people.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Some will think it's lame (rightfully so) but I think it is cool. This week's game in Happy Valley is a stadium white out and game day will be there. There is a movement to get everyone to show up at game day with just plain white signs...nothing written on them and hold them up.

I'm not sure how this will look or work out. I know I am bias but I think the Stadium white out is one of the coolest things out there. Hopefully at this year's game I wont be so drunk I'll actually remember some of it.

Love the white outs (especially at Penn State) -- but the blank signs idea is lame.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

It's kind of an enigma, but if I had to guess, I'd say:

1) Years of bad press resulting from the Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris disasters. At the end of the Willingham tenure, the old Stanford stadium (which held something over 70,000) was getting nearly full for every game. Of course, the team had a banner year (for Stanford), getting as high as 6th in the BCS rankings. Then, Willingham had a highly publicized departure to Notre Dame, and a new coach plus an uninspiring year usually leaves people tepid. Then Walt Harris came in and it was a complete disaster. I had been going to every game every year for a decade, and even now I was finding other ways to spend a Saturday. It takes some years to repair that kind of damage. Just ask your average college football fan (even around the Bay Area) about Stanford, and the response you'll get it "Ooh, Stanford stinks. They did beat USC a few years ago, though. How embarrassing for the Trojans that was." If Stanford wins 8 games this season, the attendance will recover next year.

2)The alumni base is smaller than 95% of D-1A teams. The alumni are also usually spread all over the world.

3) The number of undergrads is also smaller, and there's probably a higher ratio of kids who really don't care to attend a football game. I know that football games double as a social event for co-eds, but think about who gets into Stanford: People who are focused on academics. I will give the students credit that they came out in better numbers two seasons ago, and were louder than they had ever been. I can't attest to last season, as work prevented me from going to any games.


You could say that the Bay Area is a "Pro Sports" place, but Cal routinely fills up Memorial Stadium. During the Holmoe years, they didn't. Now they do. What's the difference? Winning. This isn't a situation like the SF Giants, where they moved from a shitty, cold, out of the way football stadium into a baseball palace right in downtown San Francisco. This is a situation where there's a lot of people who just don't care enough to use a day out of their weekend to go watch what they believe to be bad football. I suppose we just aren't as die-hard for our college teams as you guys are up there. We have more fairweather fans, and we are more fairweather people.

I'll likely make a game out there with the Bourbons while Brandon is out there.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Poli

I'll likely make a game out there with the Bourbons while Brandon is out there.

If you can, tailgate. Hanging out among the eucalyptus trees on a nice balmy Saturday afternoon is a pretty one of a kind setting.

[dawgfan]

Thanks Karl. Jon Wilner addressed this to a certain extend recently as well, describing what he considered pathetic marketing by the school. I also hadn't grasped the fact that Stanford alumni tend to be more scattered around the country than a State school like the UW.

Stanford has such a beautiful campus, I would figure that game day would be a lot of fun. I'll make it down there for a game one of these years - I have relatives in Los Altos Hills, so I've got lodging already covered.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

I suppose we just aren't as die-hard for our college teams as you guys are up there. We have more fairweather fans, and we are more fairweather people.

Dola - I wouldn't say Seattle area fans are any less "fair weather" - I think the UW's tradition and history of success gave the program more buffer to weather the Willingham error. Even so, we're still hovering at 40,000 season tickets sold (out of 72,000 seats) with individual and walk up sales bringing things to ~60,000 per game, though sales are spiking after beating USC.

[Eaglesfan27]

USC has been experimenting with Mitch Mustain as their punter. He's had some 60 yard punts, although consistency is still an issue. However, with O'Malley sucking badly, there is a chance that Mustain could actually punt within the next few weeks. Would be interesting to see and would certainly open up the fake punt pass.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by SnDvls

cartman's FOFC College Football Top 25 poll, Week 3 open for voting - Front Office Football Central

You mean you want me to click onto page 2 or actually use the search function?

Originally Posted by Big Fo

No Floyd hurts, he's so good.

I see ND is still favored by 7 on the road so I'm assuming Perdue aren't that great. What do they do well/not so well?

Detox pretty much covered it. Things Purdue does well - run the football ; Things Purdue does not do well - pass the football, avoid interceptions, play defense, beat MAC teams at home.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

USC has been experimenting with Mitch Mustain as their punter. He's had some 60 yard punts, although consistency is still an issue. However, with O'Malley sucking badly, there is a chance that Mustain could actually punt within the next few weeks. Would be interesting to see and would certainly open up the fake punt pass.

So Mustain has gone from consensus national high school player of the year and the future of his home state school to third string QB and backup punter? Wow

[tarcone]

Iowa in another upset, knocks PSU from title contention again.

GO HAWKS!

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Iowa in another upset, knocks PSU from title contention again.

GO HAWKS!

You mean the same team that escaped with a win against Northern Iowa? Sorry, don't see it happening, although anything is possible....

[Swaggs]

Nothing at all on Ole Miss @ South Carolina?

Such a joke that Ole Miss is ranked in the top 5.

[MJ4H]

It takes special effort to make a preseason Heisman candidate look like Casey Dick.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Nothing at all on Ole Miss @ South Carolina?

Such a joke that Ole Miss is ranked in the top 5.

Hehehe...been watching other stuff, but checked the score for this game.

Ole Miss is who we thought they were. Only difference is, we aren't letting them off the hook.

It is a joke that they were ranked 4th. Stupid fucking polls are ridiculous anyway. Should we have another thread on why a playoff in college football makes more sense than this BCS bullshit?

[Swaggs]

I'm just wondering how much more mileage Ole Miss can get out of the Florida loss. I'll be disappointed if they don't drop out of the top 20 if they lose by more than 10 tonight.

[RomaGoth]

Nice. Ole Miss = 43 plays, 118 yards, 3 points. Definitely worth a top 5 ranking.

[Big Fo]

Ole Miss finally gets into the endzone.

Hopefully the Gamecocks don't throw this one away.

[RomaGoth]

Guess I shouldn't have said anything.

[Swaggs]

I don't even care if they come back to win -- I have my doubts that they are in the top 4 SEC teams, regardless of tonight's outcome.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

You mean the same team that escaped with a win against Northern Iowa? Sorry, don't see it happening, although anything is possible....

Iowa has a very inexperienced O Line. And a during the UNI game they had the wrong RB starting.
Iowa owns PSU. and the Hawkeye defense is lights out.
If the offensive line has a good day, Iowa can win.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Iowa has a very inexperienced O Line. And a during the UNI game they had the wrong RB starting.
Iowa owns PSU. and the Hawkeye defense is lights out.
If the offensive line has a good day, Iowa can win.

Remember the game is in Happy Valley this year though.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Remember the game is in Happy Valley this year though.

True, But Iowa has won 6 out of the last 7. Happy Valley doesnt scare me like it used to.

[mauchow]

Good. Ole Miss loses.