NCAA College Football - 2018 Thread

Realt Dearg Sec

Las Vegas agrees with you, but I think people might be underestimating ND, the defense is solid, really solid, and I think book has risen to every challenge put in front of him. The running game is unlikely to go far against Clemson but I just think that in the air we'll be solid enough, and defensively we're strong. I expect a close game either way, and am predicting a narrow ND win. The occasion and all that doesn't factor into it for me, when you play with ND you're on national TV every single week nearly, with a giant fan base and history behind the program. no excuses, they'll either be good enough or not. My suspicion is they are good enough

brinty

Well Michigan and harbaugh did Michigan and harbaugh things

Onto Jerry world and the cotton bowl,this should be very good.

cosatron

brinty wrote: »

Well Michigan and harbaugh did Michigan and harbaugh things

Onto Jerry world and the cotton bowl,this should be very good.

And Jerry was front and centre at coin toss

brinty

cosatron wrote:

And Jerry was front and centre at coin toss

You expected any less of jerrah

Mr_Man2121

God Damnit!

eagle eye

That was an interesting call, I thought the whistle went before there was a clear recovery of the ball.

eagle eye

Ok, held them to a field goal. Time for the Irish to get the offense clicking now.

eagle eye

That was a better drive from Notre Dame. 3-3, gonna be a tight one.
Irish have been hurrying Lawrence a lot and he hasn't handled it well to this point. Hopefully they can keep it up.

eagle eye

You give Lawrence a bit of time and he will kill you.

Knex*

eagle eye wrote: »

You give Lawrence a bit of time and he will kill you.

Scary to think of where he may be in two years time. The hype is massive anyway.

Could be an Andrew Luck type situation? Although he seems to have been the most sought after since Manning, nearly.

brinty

Clemson ripping them assunder now

eagle eye

You can't keep up with that offense when a number of your best defensive players get hurt.

Knex*

That's as blatant a late hit on the QB as you'll ever see :pac:

brinty

eagle eye wrote:

You can't keep up with that offense when a number of your best defensive players get hurt.

That's fair sir and Clemson are picking their match ups

brinty

That's a touchdown
If Clemson scores on first drive in the third it's lights out and Clemson could rest up some guys

Realt Dearg Sec

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Las Vegas agrees with you, but I think people might be underestimating ND, the defense is solid, really solid, and I think book has risen to every challenge put in front of him. The running game is unlikely to go far against Clemson but I just think that in the air we'll be solid enough, and defensively we're strong. I expect a close game either way, and am predicting a narrow ND win. The occasion and all that doesn't factor into it for me, when you play with ND you're on national TV every single week nearly, with a giant fan base and history behind the program. no excuses, they'll either be good enough or not. My suspicion is they are good enough

I'd like to withdraw this comment ... Hard to see the offense doing anything in the second half given they look out of ideas since the first quarter. Defense are being asked to do too much.

Marley and Marley

If it continues like this it will finish Notre Dames chances of getting into the playoff again for a long time regardless of what happens in future seasons, they look completely out of their dept tonight and I imagaine that'll stick in committee members heads if they ever come up in the playoff consideration.

eagle eye

Yeah the Clemson secondary deserve a lit of credit. I seen Book checking down and going backing looking a second time and not finding anybody open.
Notre Dame OL has done a very good pass blocking job but to no avail.
I can't see anything now except a good beating sadly.
The injuries on the D really hurt.

eagle eye

Marley and Marley wrote:

If it continues like this it will finish Notre Dames chances of getting into the playoff again for a long time regardless of what happens in future seasons, they look completely out of their dept tonight and I imagaine that'll stick in committee members heads if they ever come up in the playoff consideration.

That's a load of crap. Any team can have a bad day especially when your best defenders get hurt.
Next season the Irish play Georgia, USC, Michigan State, Miami and Stanford. If they beat all of them and go unbeaten then they'll get in the playoffs again.

Marley and Marley

eagle eye wrote: »

That's a load of crap. Any team can have a bad day especially when your best defenders get hurt.
Next season the Irish play Georgia, USC, Michigan State, Miami and Stanford. If they beat all of them and go unbeaten then they'll get in the playoffs again.

They're not in a conference though and that always counts against them, they basically have to go unbeaten each year to be even in the conversation for the playoffs and need to get some help from other conferences to get in so this type of unconvincing performance doesn't exactly hep their cause going forward.

eagle eye

Marley and Marley wrote:

They're not in a conference though and that always counts against them, they basically have to go unbeaten each year to be even in the conversation for the playoffs and need to get some help from other conferences to get in so this type of unconvincing performance doesn't exactly hep their cause going forward.

It doesn't matter unless you have a weak schedule which Note Dame don't.
They play big teams every year.

Marley and Marley

eagle eye wrote: »

It doesn't matter unless you have a weak schedule which Note Dame don't.
They play big teams every year.

They do but they have so little margin for error compared to teams in a conference and as the committee members are only human I'm sure a big defeat in a national semi-final game would count against them down the line .I imagine some committee members would think why should we give them the opportunity to compete for a championship when they proved they weren't up to standard the last 2 times they were given a chance.

Realt Dearg Sec

The thing is this game doesn't change anything. It was true before now that they needed to be undefeated to be in, and it remains true. ND will never get in with an L in their record absent a really unusual year.

But this is a very disheartening loss. Lawrence looks the real deal, a freshman up against a seriously strong D (though the injuries cannot be overstated).

eagle eye

Marley and Marley wrote:

They do but they have so little margin for error compared to teams in a conference and as the committee members are only human I'm sure a big defeat in a national semi-final game would count against them down the line .I imagine some committee members would think why should we give them the opportunity to compete for a championship when they proved they weren't up to standard the last 2 times they were given a chance.

It's not about history, it's about the season. The rankings at the beginning will have some form of that in it but when it comes to weekly rankings time it's about who are the best teams right then.
I am not expecting Notre Dame to be in the top four at the start of next season. I think they'll be ranked sixth starting off and if they are unbeaten and other teams ahead of the have been beaten then they'll be back in the top four by right as they were this year.

Marley and Marley

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

The thing is this game doesn't change anything. It was true before now that they needed to be undefeated to be in, and it remains true. ND will never get in with an L in their record absent a really unusual year.

But this is a very disheartening loss. Lawrence looks the real deal, a freshman up against a seriously strong D (though the injuries cannot be overstated).

Does it not change things slightly from the perspective that even if ND go unbeaten again the committee could think that the last 2 times this program went unbeaten and think it didn't mean much in terms of being good enough to win the championship so why would it mean anything this time.If Ohio state had not had such a big defeat to Purdue there could have been a chance ND wouldn't have got into the playoff this year.

No shame in getting beaten but a heavy defeat is not a good look for the program.

Marley and Marley

eagle eye wrote: »

It's not about history, it's about the season. The rankings at the beginning will have some form of that in it but when it comes to weekly rankings time it's about who are the best teams right then.
I am not expecting Notre Dame to be in the top four at the start of next season. I think they'll be ranked sixth starting off and if they are unbeaten and other teams ahead of the have been beaten then they'll be back in the top four by right as they were this year.

The committee members are only human though, even if they are supposed to not count it we all know stuff like this can stick in peoples heads and put doubt in their mind.

eagle eye

Well if there was any chance that right there ended it.

eagle eye

Marley and Marley wrote:

The committee members are only human though, even if they are supposed to not count it we all know stuff like this can stick in peoples heads and put doubt in their mind.

No we don't. You think you do but it's highly unlikely.

Realt Dearg Sec

Marley and Marley wrote: »

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

The thing is this game doesn't change anything. It was true before now that they needed to be undefeated to be in, and it remains true. ND will never get in with an L in their record absent a really unusual year.

But this is a very disheartening loss. Lawrence looks the real deal, a freshman up against a seriously strong D (though the injuries cannot be overstated).

Does it not change things slightly from the perspective that even if ND go unbeaten again the committee could think that the last 2 times this program went unbeaten and think it didn't mean much in terms of being good enough to win the championship so why would it mean anything this time.If Ohio state had not had such a big defeat to Purdue there could have been a chance ND wouldn't have got into the playoff this year.

No shame in getting beaten but a heavy defeat is not a good look for the program.

Heavy defeats are never good but as long as they still have a strong schedule and are winning, the biggest problem they have will remain not being in a conference. I wish they would join the acc. They already play basically that schedule anyway. I understand the money and recruiting power behind their determination to stay independent but in terms of the long term prospects, they should be in.

But yeah I think it is a terrible loss here that won't be easily forgotten, but not the end of the world for them either.

rebelyell99

Theres no shame in notre dames loss tonight , clemson and bama are the two best teams in the country everyone knows that .Theres no doubt however that georgia or ohio state would have made it more of a contest.

coco0981

Hard to tell but he looked to be down before the ball came out there? Big call for the Sooners if it stands

brinty

Bama handing out the mother and father of a beating
Tua over 150 yards already
No offensive yards on two possession for the Sooners

eagle eye

At least I'm right about this one.
This is the best Sooners team I've ever seen and that's saying something.

eagle eye

It might be a normal day for Tua with no second half play.

brinty

eagle eye wrote:

At least I'm right about this one. This is the best Sooners team I've ever seen and that's saying something.

Not being funny EE did you mean Bama

eagle eye

brinty wrote:

Not being funny EE did you mean Bama

Yes I meant the Tide.

coco0981

Hmmm, still over probably but getting a bit closer

Realt Dearg Sec

Fair play to Oklahoma for keeping their heads up when it looked like they were going to get a hiding. Wish ND had shown as much pride. Hopefully Clemson win out now to quieten the "would Alabama beat NFL teams?" nonsense.

titan18

rebelyell99 wrote:

Theres no shame in notre dames loss tonight , clemson and bama are the two best teams in the country everyone knows that .Theres no doubt however that georgia or ohio state would have made it more of a contest.

Ohio State were blown out by Purdue and needed OT to beat Maryland. Theyre not a good team and did not deserve to be there. ND had a similar strength of schedule too, and since people like to bring up past ND performances, Ohio State were beat by 31 against Clemson 2 years ago (and that was a better Ohio State imo)

Georgia were blown out by LSU and have already shown they can't beat Bama so why give them another shot. You'd have a repeat of SEC title game last night and the same result.

eagle eye

Washington have to recover an onside kick and score a TD for the most improbable comeback in Rose bowl history. They were down 28-3 at the start of the 4th quarter.

It didn't work out, Buckeyes win.

I've said it before, if I was a college football coach I'd want to win a Rose bowl over a national championship. It's the best and most special bowl to me. Pasadena is just a special place too.

brinty

Guess Georgia we're shown up again and why they shouldn't have been in the final four.
Dominated by a solid but unspectacular Texas Longhorns team from the Big 12. Longhorns led 28-7 early in the 4th before Georgia let rip and from started connecting with his receivers. Their last TD drive was added by two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Texas fir 30 yards.
I'm hesitant to say we're back but we're getting a lot better. Another big 12 championship game and New year's six bowl game in 2019 would make me very happy

eagle eye

I'm watching the FCS final and just now a fake field goal attempt was successful.
Thing is the holder for the field goal had his knee on the ground when he caught the ball from the snapper. Apparently that's allowed for a fake field goal.
For anybody reading this that doesn't follow college football if your knee goes down in normal circumstances the play is over at that stage, you do not need to be touched by an opposing player.

brinty

Funny thing eagle eye,saw Georgia got pulled up on the first punt v Texas.punter had his knee on the ground as he received the ball,punted to inside the Texas 5,but on review it was called dead and brought back to the Georgia 35 I think.Texas ended up with a field goal out of it. Punters next attempt he shanked for an 11 yard pick up only.

spud06

Come on BAMA

Foxtrol

Getting in early with this but expect the field to be a complete mess tomorrow night. It has been a disaster all season and has been raining quite a bit which could impact it further even though they have it covered. Hope a slip doesn't change the game.

eagle eye

I'm sill deciding if I'm going to watch it. I haven't missed one for well over a decade. I have to organise things like going to bed early and getting up for it or taking Tuesday off and the fact that it's Clemson vs Alabama puts me off a bit. This is the third time in four years that these two teams have met in the final and it's just not as interesting for me because of that.

spud06

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm sill deciding if I'm going to watch it. I haven't missed one for well over a decade. I have to organise things like going to bed early and getting up for it or taking Tuesday off and the fact that it's Clemson vs Alabama puts me off a bit. This is the third time in four years that these two teams have met in the final and it's just not as interesting for me because of that.

100% agree hence why i wont be staying/getting up for it

Foxtrol

Will watch it due to being on the East Coast but have no excitement about it. The game usually really drags on as well

Frankie Cortese

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm sill deciding if I'm going to watch it. I haven't missed one for well over a decade. I have to organise things like going to bed early and getting up for it or taking Tuesday off and the fact that it's Clemson vs Alabama puts me off a bit. This is the third time in four years that these two teams have met in the final and it's just not as interesting for me because of that.

They’re a combined 106-4 for the last 4 years. They’re the 2 best teams not just of the last 4 years but for the last 25!

Have a feeling the Tigers will pull off an upset!

eagle eye

Frankie Cortese wrote:

They’re a combined 106-4 for the last 4 years. They’re the 2 best teams not just of the last 4 years but for the last 25!

What are you on about? Clemson only got good a couple of years. They were never serious contenders for national honours for years.