It's Finally Here: The 2010-11 FBS Playoffs in NCAA 11

[darksilver2820]

So it's technically not a dynasty, but hey, it's something most of us surely want to see in FBS football. I've created a 24-team playoff bracket, that may not be completely realistic in the realm of reality (but hey, at this point neither is any playoff, so let's have fun with it), where CPU vs CPU matchups will determine the 2010 champion. Also, a quick thanks to Shakeandbake30 for the rosters and starfleeter for the CPU v CPU sliders. I hope you guys follow it, make suggestions, create brackets, ask questions, whatever. So without further ado, let the 2010-11 FBS playoffs begin.

ESPN SELECTION SUNDAY

Hosted by Rece Davis, along with Kirk Herbstreit, Craig James

Davis: Welcome college football fans to the moment many of you have been waiting for over the last few years, the beginning of the 2010-2011 FBS playoffs. Rece Davis here along with Kirk Herbstreit and Craig James, where over the next hour, we will be unveiling the 24-team bracket for the tournament, analyzing the matchups, and taking a look at the teams that just missed the cut. You’ve all waited long enough, so let’s get right to the bracket, but first, the tournament outline.

Now, this doesn’t work exactly the same as the basketball tournament. There is no selection committee, but instead, a set of guidelines in which determine the 24 teams in the field, mainly based on BCS ranking, which we will go over right now.

First, similar to the basketball tournament, the champion of each conference gets an automatic bid. In the case of co-champions, BCS rankings then head to head matchups determine what team gets the bid.

Herbstreit: 9 of the remaining 13 bids are divided between the top 6 conferences in college football. Gone are the days of AQ-teams, and the “big six”. Similar to the BCS rankings for each team, the conferences also get rated from 1 to 11 based on AP strength and computer ratings. Using these rankings, the top 6 conferences get an extra at large bid, with the top 3 getting an additional bid on top of that. These at large bids are given out based solely on BCS ranking.

James: Four bids then remain. One of these bids automatically goes to any independent team in the top 24 of the BCS rankings. If there is no independent in the top 24, all four remaining spots in the tournament go to at large teams based on BCS rankings, with a couple exceptions. These last at large bids must go to teams from four different conferences. This is to make sure no conference has too many teams in the field. Similarly, any team finishing fourth or worse in a division within their conference is ineligible.

Davis: And now, enough talk, let’s unveil the bracket.



Davis: The bracket is divided into 4 pods of 6 teams each, with the top 4 seeds heading each pod, and the top 8 seeds overall getting a first round bye. All opening round games will be played at the home of the higher seeded team, with the following rounds in each pod played in either Miami, New Orleans, Glendale, or Pasadena. Without further ado, let’s get to the teams, starting with the Orange bracket.

The orange bracket is headed by the number 1 seed, the SEC champion (1) Auburn Tigers who will face the winner of the game between (16) Texas A&M out of the Big 12 and (17) Utah from the Mountain West. The (9) Michigan State Spartans will host the champions of the Sun Belt conference (24) Florida International, who receive the bid over co-champion Troy due to their win over the Trojans on November 13. The winner of that game will face another team from the SEC, the (8) Arkansas Razorbacks. Herbie, Craig, what sticks out to you about this pod?



Herbstreit: I look at the teams in this pod, and I really don’t see a way Auburn doesn’t come out of this bracket. Nothing against the other teams, but Michigan State, A&M, nor Utah have convinced me they are elite teams.

James: I look ahead to a potential SEC rematch with Auburn and Arkansas, in which they combined to score 108 points! If that game materializes, I see another shootout deciding the spot in the final four.

Davis: The winner of the Orange pod will face the winner of the Fiesta pod, with games being played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The top seed going to Glendale are the Cardinal from (4) Stanford and the Pac-10. They’ll face the winner of a rematch from the Atlantic Coast Conference championship just yesterday, the (13) Virginia Tech Hokies and (20) Florida State Seminoles will go at each other again in Blacksburg. The champions of Conference-USA, (21) Central Florida will face an at large team out of the Big 12, (12) Missouri. The winner of that game will face a co-champion of the Big Ten, and highest ranked team out of that conference, the Badgers of (5) Wisconsin. Craig, I know you have an upset pick here.



James: Yes, I do. I know the Hokies have finished the season with 11 straight wins, and just beat the Seminoles just last night, but I’m telling you, the Seminoles now know what to do against Virginia Tech, and will be out for revenge. That being said, Stanford is just playing too well to not come out of this pod.

Herbstreit: I think this is definitely the toughest pod of the four, Stanford and Wisconsin are playing out of their minds right now, and don’t sleep on those Hokies, they’ve won 11 straight and there really aren’t any signs of slowing down.

Davis: I don’t know guys, I kind of like UCF over Missouri in an upset in the Show-Me state. Next, to the Sugar bracket with games played in the Superdome. The third seed (3) TCU will face the winner of a matchup between the Big 12 and the Big East, (14) Oklahoma State hosts (19) West Virginia.

Herbstreit: Oklahoma State is the big sleeper in this tournament, mark my words.

Davis: Also from the Big East, the champion (22) Connecticut Huskies will travel to the Bayou to face (11) LSU. The victor earns a date at the Superdome against (6) Ohio State.



James: I love TCU’s offense, but looking forward to a game against Ohio State, that will be tough. TCU really hasn’t faced an offense with the likes of the Buckeyes with Terrelle Pryor yet. What a tough draw for the Big East too, guys.

Davis: Last, we head to the Rose pod, headed by the Pac-10 champion, and undefeated (2) Oregon Ducks. They await the victor of (18) South Carolina and WAC co-champions (15) Nevada. The Big 12 champion Sooners of (7) Oklahoma await the winner of MAC champions (23) Miami of Ohio and the (10) Boise State Broncos on the blue turf up in Idaho. Herbie, your thoughts?



Herbstreit: Well, the first thing my eyes get drawn to is a potential rematch of that Fiesta Bowl from a couple years back, with Oklahoma versus Boise State. Don’t forget, Boise State is a 26 yard field goal away from being undefeated and real challengers for the title. I like Boise charging on to the finals of this pod, potentially with another rematch from recent memory, Oregon or Nevada.

Davis: And thankfully for Byron Hout, LeGarrette Blount will not be on the field after that game. Craig?

James: Don’t fall asleep on Oklahoma, guys. Bob Stoops knows how to get his guys ready for a big game. But, does anybody have the defense to slow down Oregon’s offense enough? I’m not sure about that.

Davis: Now, let’s take a look at the complete, 24 team tournament bracket, along with the final BCS standings to notice a couple high profiles teams that did not make the field.



Herbstreit: I would have really liked to see what Alabama could have done in the tournament, they are the first ever team affected by the 3 teams per division rule, in that very strong SEC West.

Davis: Nebraska also barely missed the field, the fifth highest team in the Big 12, gets eked out of a spot by two hundredths of a point by the Aggies. The last thing we’ll do is go through the breakdown of teams by conference.



The big winners were the SEC and Big 12, each getting 4 teams into the dance, the Big Ten was the other team ranked in the top 3, getting the 2 automatic at large bids. That’s it for the show today, we’ll see you next Saturday, when 8 games will be on the schedule, in the first round of the 2010-2011 FBS playoffs.

[TexasFan1]

Looks awesome man love the layout u have here will deff. follow since Texas isn't in it and I love what Auburn has done this Season I'm gonna root for Auburn GO TIGERS!

[nusie]

Pretty frikkin cool. I think I will put my predictions for the 1st round.

Utah over A&M
Michigan St over FIU
Virginia Tech over FSU
Missouri over UCF
WVU over OSU
LSU over UConn
Boist St over Miami
S. Carolina over Nevada

[matt314hew]

Great Idea.

Here are my Picks in Round 1:

Utah over A&M
Michigan St over FIU
FSU over Virginia Tech
Missouri over UCF
WVU over OSU
LSU over UConn
Miami over Boist St
S. Carolina over Nevada

[darksilver2820]

ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY from Blacksburg, Virginia:

Hosted by Chris Fowler, along with Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Desmond Howard

Fowler: Welcome college football fans to the first Saturday of the inaugural FBS playoffs. Today on GameDay, the Crew and I analyze and make our predictions for the eight games on the slate today. We’ll start in the morning session with two games.



On ESPN2, at 12:30, Rece Davis and Craig James have the call at Kyle Field for (17) Utah versus (16) Texas A&M.

Howard: This is a story between two teams going in the exact opposite directions. Utah has lost two of their last four, including a loss against Notre Dame, while the Aggies have won six straight, including wins against tournament team Oklahoma, and one that could have been, Nebraska. Texas A&M wins this game.

Corso: I agree with you 150%. Aggies roll.

Herbstreit: There’s a lot of talent on that Utah team, we’ll see whether they can get over their late season woes, I don’t think so, Aggies also.



Fowler: CBS kicks off the afternoon session with one of their two games, (22) Connecticut heads to (11) LSU.

Howard: This may be a 22 versus 11 game, but I think it’s even more of a mismatch than that, the Big East really was the laughingstock of major college football this year, and LSU has been tested all year in close games. This one won’t be close, LSU wins.

Corso: Les Miles has this team ready to go, and I like their chances in the long run, LSU takes care of UConn, 24-3.

Herbstreit: Yeah, LSU has too much talent for UConn to keep up with, especially in the bayou. LSU, and it won’t be close.



Fowler: The second afternoon session game, on ESPN, Sun Belt champs (24) Florida International travels to East Lansing for a date with one of the three Big Ten teams, (9) Michigan State.

Howard: One vote for the Spartans.

Corso: Two.

Herbstreit: Make it three, too much talent in the Big Ten for FIU to keep up.



Fowler: ESPN2 will have the 3:30 eastern battle between Conference-USA champions (21) UCF and (12) Missouri.

Herbstreit: Mizzou is sixth in the nation in points against at 15.2 points a game, UCF is twelfth at 18 points a game, a defensive battle awaits, I think Missouri pulls out the victory at home.

Corso: Not so fast my friend! Central Florida scores almost 34 points a game, and will be able to eke by Missouri in a two point victory, for an early round upset.

Howard: I’ve gotta agree with Kirk, UCF just doesn’t get the tests in Conference-USA that Mizzou does in the Big 12. Tigers win handily.



Fowler: A Big East Big 12 showdown starts the evening session in Stillwater, Gus Johnson has the call on CBS. (19) West Virginia on the road against (14) Oklahoma State.

Corso: I like Justin Blackmon to introduce himself to anybody who doesn’t know the name yet, he’ll get over 150 yards through the air and the Cowboys get the W.

Herbstreit: West Virginia is underrated here, they may not have won the Big East but you can easily make the argument that they are the best team in the conference, and have one of the best defenses in college football, the Mountaineers will play TCU in the second round.

Howard: Too much offense for that defense to contain though wearing orange, Okie State will pull off the win.



Fowler: The night will end with a couple teams from the WAC hosting games, (15) Nevada hosts SEC East champions (18) South Carolina.

Herbstreit: I like the Gamecocks in this one, behind the Ol’ Ball Coach, Garcia will have a good game through the air, and it should be enough to offset the play of Colin Kaepernick.

Corso: Again, not so fast my friend! Nevada hosted a better Boise State team in Reno and pulled out a win, they’ll be able to do the same thing against South Carolina, who may be reeling after a horrible loss in the SEC championship game.

Howard: This is the closest game of the day. South Carolina wins. Flip a coin.



Fowler: The other game on the west coast takes place on the smurf turf in Boise, (10) Boise State hosts the Redhawks from (23) Miami Ohio.

Corso: Kellen Moore will be too much for the MAC champions, and the Bronco defense is one of the best in the country, Broncos roll.

Herbstreit: Yep, Boise State.

Howard: I think this will be closer than you all think, but Boise State never loses at home, and they won’t start now.



Fowler: Now for the game starting off the day here in Blacksburg, at noon eastern the (13) Virginia Tech Hokies host the twenty seed, the (20) Florida State Seminoles. That game will be on ESPN.

Howard: Watch out for Tyrod Taylor, a dual threat quarterback, who will be able to beat Florida State’s suspect defense in the air and on the ground, Hokies for the second week in a row over their ACC foes.

Herbstreit: This game depends on the play of Christian Ponder. He has a good game, the Hokies may not be able to keep up, but he’s just too inconsistent, especially after missing a lot of time recently, same thing as last week, Virginia Tech wins.

Corso: Come on crowd! Get loud! Hokies! Hokies! GIVE ME THOSE FEATHERS! Seminoles win big!

[NoDakHusker]

Just awesome, can't wait to see how this unfolds.

[darksilver2820]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY

In the Studio with John Saunders, Mark May, and Lou Holtz (and his translator)

Saunders: Welcome to the ESPN College Football Saturday studio as the FBS playoffs are underway, and with one game down and two underway, we have highlights from the first game, arguably the biggest game of the day, (20) Florida State at (13) Virginia Tech. Let's go to the highlights.



Saunders: It was a cold, windy afternoon in Blacksburg, with a temperature at 36 degrees at kickoff, and a wind at 23 miles per hour surely made it feel even colder than that. So you figure the team coming in from Florida may have trouble adapting? Wrong. Right off the bat on the first drive of the game, Christian Ponder darted a 24 yard pass to tight end Beau Reliford.

May: It looked like broken coverage, John. Hokie linebacker Lyndell Gibson thought he had help behind him from the safeties, none was there and Reliford basically just strolled into the end zone.

Saunders: That it did, and it became a theme for the day. In the second quarter, after the Seminoles had kicked a field goal to make it 10 to 0, Ponder leads a drive 74 yards and caps it off with a one yard pass to fullback Lonnie Pryor to make it 17 to 0.

Holtz: This was incredible, he just kind of walked in on this one, you could see Frank Beamer on the sideline just beside himself, upset with his defense.

Saunders: The offense seemed to get the message, as Tyrod Taylor engineered a drive in just over two minutes to put the Hokies on the board with a touchdown of their own with a pass to receiver DJ Coles, or was it?

May: Remember, the call on the field was that he got his feet in and had possession and the booth didn't really see much that could overturn it. One of those plays that would have stood no matter what the on field call was.

Saunders: On the ensuing kick off, Greg Reid was able to get through the coverage and return it to the Hokie 48, setting up another touchdown pass from Christian Ponder, this time to Taiwan Easterling, and FSU took a 24-7 lead into halftime, and from there the rout was on. Seminoles now up 31-7, from his own 14 yard line, Tyrod Taylor finds Florida State safety Terrance Parks, and on the next play, Ponder throws his fourth touchdown pass, a 7 yarder to Willie Haulstead.

Holtz: The big theme of the game was quarterback play, Ponder had two interceptions of his own but was able to offset those with his play throughout the game, whereas Taylor couldn't get anything done on the ground or through the air, with three picks.

Saunders: Eddie Whitley of Tech would have a pick six of his own, for 101 yards, but it was too late as the first game of the day, ends up being the first upset of the tournament, as Florida State, the twenty seed, moves on to face Stanford in the next round. With the final thoughts, let's go out to Blacksburg, where Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit had the call.



Musberger: Hey there folks, just like all of you, I think I can speak for both Herbie and I when I say that this result is a surprising one.

Herbstreit: Oh no doubt about it. Not the fact that Florida State pulled off, what I guess technically is an upset, but in the way that they did. The defense just shut down the Hokie offense all day. Only 185 yards on offense, and 67 yards on the ground, including a negative 25 yards by Taylor, one of the premier dual threat quarterbacks in the nation. I mean, they just basically said, you're going to have to beat us through the air, and the secondary was ready for them. You're not going to win any games, no matter who you play, when you're turning the ball over four times, and are playing one-dimensional football.

Musberger: Now let's turn our attention ahead, on to Glendale, where the Seminoles will take on four seed Stanford, at University of Phoenix Stadium. That is a very different team with a very different style than Virginia Tech that Jimbo will have to prepare for.



Herbstreit: You know, Stanford has been one of the most underrated programs all year this season. It's hard to say that about a team that's ranked fourth in the tournament, but with only a loss at second seed Oregon, in a game that really, they should have been able to close out, with a 21-3 lead early in that game. Andrew Luck is more than likely the first pick in the NFL draft next year, and one of my favorite players in the country, two-way starter Owen Marecic will be the players to watch.

Musberger: Well I guess we'll see whether the bye week is helpful or hurtful, next week, in Glendale. John, back to you.

Saunders: Two other games in progress right now, over on CBS, (22) Connecticut and (11) LSU just kicked off in the bayou. And on ESPN2, going into the fourth quarter, (17) Utah is trailing the home team (16) Texas A&M by 11, 21-10, but Utah does have the ball.



Saunders: That's all for now, keep coming back for updates of the inaugural FBS playoffs.

[darksilver2820]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY

In the Studio with John Saunders, Mark May, and Lou Holtz

Saunders: Welcome back to the headquarters of the college football playoffs here on ESPN. Two games are in the books, and one is in progress right now, but let's start out with highlights from the game that just finished down in College Station and Kyle Field in the Orange Pod between (17) Utah and the Aggies of (16) Texas A&M.



Saunders: A beautiful day in College Station saw the Utes win the toss, and start off just like the team we all thought they could be earlier in the year, capping off a 12 play, 79 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown run by Eddie Wide.

Holtz: In all honesty, it's not that Texas A&M's defense looked bad on this drive, Wynn just happened to be finding his receivers, and Wide was able to finish off the job.

Saunders: The Aggies would come back in the second quarter though and tie it up with a 21 yard pass from Ryan Tannehill to Uzoma Nwachukwu. Gesundheit.

May: The quarterbacks looked really good early, and again, going with what Lou said, the defenses weren't playing abnormally bad, these young quarterbacks were just making their throws, putting the ball in the right place over and over.

Saunders: Tannehill wasn't done there, and he'd add on another touchdown with two and a half minutes left in the half to give the Aggies their first lead of the game. After halftime, the Utes would cut it to 14-10, but A&M wasn't done. Cyrus Gray breaks a couple of tackles wide left to give the Aggies a 21-10 lead, their biggest of the game.

Holtz: This young man didn't get too many carries on the day, but made this one count, and I know his coaches will call on him more as his career moves forward.

Saunders: 21-10 going into the fourth quarter. It's over, right? Not yet! After a 33 yarder was true by Joe Phillips, what does Ryan Tannehill do?

May: The one thing that he can't do! Throw a pick. Five minutes left in the game, run, run, run the ball. I don't understand why coach Mike Sherman called that play, but still. Tannehill needs to be aware that if it's not there, throw it away, or even take the sack. Just don't throw the ball into Brandon Burton's hands.

Saunders: And throw it into Burton's hands was just what he did. And you see this happens all of the time after a turnover, on the very first play of the drive, Wynn throws it deep and connects with Jereme Brooks for a 49 yard touchdown pass. The Utes go for two, and don't get it, and trail by two. After a three-and-out, Jordan Wynn has just over two minutes and the ball for the chance to move in to the next round. On the second play in the drive he sees his main target of the day DeVonte Christopher open in the flat, and it's tipped and intercepted! And Terrence Frederick will take it to the house, and with that, Texas A&M is into the second round.



Saunders: Let's go to Rece Davis and Craig James for their thoughts from Kyle Field.

Davis: Thanks John. I think we got what a lot of people expected here, a closely contested battle between two very even teams.

James: Yep, Rece. It came down to the last drive, and you really can't fault Jordan Wynn for that interception late in the game. Christopher was, open, well wide open, actually, and the first thing all coaches tell their defensive lineman is, if you can't get to the quarterback, get your hands up. Block the passing lane, and that's exactly what they did, and Terrence Frederick was in the right place at the right time to pick it off, take it to the endzone, and earn his Aggies plane tickets to Miami.

Davis: But unfortunately for them, it will only get tougher with Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and his top seeded Auburn Tigers in the way.



James: Yeah, it will definitely be a step up. Nothing against Utah, but they simply aren't Auburn, and Jordan Wynn simply isn't Cam Newton. One thing is for sure, there are going to be a lot of point put up on the board, and I see an old-fashioned shootout in the future for those two teams.

Davis: Well, that's it from Kyle Field, where the Texas A&M Aggies are celebrating their win on the field with the students centered around the logo at the fifty. Back to you in the studio.

Saunders: Thanks guys. And one other game is currently underway, down in Death Valley, LSU has jumped out to an early eleven point lead over the underdog, Big East champion Huskies from Connecticut.



May: Connecticut looks really, really overmatched so far.

Saunders: Yeah, they really do. That's it from the studio for now. Back to the games.