Question for Ken, Mgo, Terry and PSU...

[Van]

Let's say Rutgers rolls Louisville this Thursday night. (Seems the insanely fired up home team rolls its opponent in every ESPN Prime Time Thursday night game, so it's not out of the realm of possibility in this one...)

Are you guys going to come in here with a straight face afterwards and attempt to say that yeah, Rutgers really deserves the BCS #3 and a clean path into the BCS title game? I mean, hey, if WVU deserved it then Rutgers would too, right?

Man, I hope it comes to this. I'd LOVE to see a bunch of real one loss teams passed over in favor of a buncha P.C. driven bullshit, with Ohio St then rubbing it in the BCS's face by swamping Rutgers to the tune of 42-0.

I'm just curious about this, since the nation's media apparently had no problem elevating WVU to the point of serious discussion. I just can't see 'em doing the same though for Rutgers, but what if Rutgers backs 'em into a corner by running the table? That same barren table was going to be good enough for WVU so what happens when you replace the media darling Mountaineers with a nondescript little team from Jersey who managed to run that same barren table??

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Where was I seen clamoring for a Big East undefeated to get to the MNC game? Just because I've tried to stress that WVU and Louisville are more talented than you think, doesn't necessarily mean I think any of 'em should get a "clean path" into the BCS title game.

Hell, I haven't had a take on Rutgers, one way or the other, all year. I still want to see them play somebody...and we will this Thursday.

All this time, I've been giving WVU and Louisville the benefit that they can compete with anyone in the country, but have doubted their entitlement in the MNC game because they won't have the resume of wins over quality-enough competition.

We've engaged in discussions where you agreed with me on that very matter.

Had you paid any attention to my top 15 rankings, you'll see I have been putting the one loss Texas team ahead of all of the undefeated Big Easts, and will continue to do so as long as Texas wins because I think they're more talented, all-around. And now that WVU has dropped, I don't even see Louisville or Rutgers in my top 5, because I'd move up Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas respectively.

If either were to go, I'd rather see Louisville than Rutgers. If Louisville makes it, I won't whine, but I'd rather see a one loss Florida, Texas, or Auburn.

[Mikey]

If Rutgers runs the table they deserve a shot.

[Van]

Mikey, why?

What's the difference between Rutgers this year and Boise St and TCU from year's past? A team's mere W-L record isn't supposed to be enough to take them all the way to the BCS title game.

Mgo, my mistake then. I thought you were willing to let WVU into the title game.

As for "wanting to see them play somebody", well you're not going to get that chance, at least not until their bowl game.

We saw Louisville. We saw WVU. Those teams don't have enough athletes to even merit serious discussion. Beating Louisville won't prove a damn thing beyond the fact that Rutgers is the best of a weak and wholly untested conference.

[peter dragon]

if some Big East team gets destroyed in the MNC game, which pac10/ SEC team cry's that they deserved a chance?

Ill go will Auburn/Florida/USC and Notre Dame

http://www.cancharlie.com/

[Ken]

Well, yes. If a team within a BCS conference finishes undefeated, then why the hell not? If it's a SOS 'thing', then why the hell is the BE a BCS member then? A bit hypocritical of the BCS if you ask me.

Seriously, one of YOUR own teams from one of YOUR BCS conferences wins out and you won't give them a shot. Two rabbits, one hat. Waaaaay to go, BCS.

Now, do I think they'd beat a UofM or OSU? 19 of 20 times... NO. But, imo, that's beside the point as descirbed above.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Van,

As I've said in the past, the reality of the system we presently have is that preseason polls do matter. Maybe they shouldn't in a perfect world, but they do.

For that reason, Rutgers doesn't get the "clean shot" at the BCS title game that West Virginia or Louisville do if they run the table. Granted, none of these teams was ranked atop the preseason polls, but at least West Virginia and Louisville both got decent enough poll positions that they were positioned to make a run at the top if things broke right for them this season. That's not the case for Rutgers.

Having said that, I give Rutgers slim to no chance at beating Louisville. Rutgers has had a nice season, but anyone who honestly thinks they can hang with West Virginia or Louisville doesn't know much about any of those teams.

For Rutgers, this will be a 10-2 season with (unfortunately) a bid in the Texas Bowl against the last Big 12 team to qualify for a bowl bid (probably Kansas State). The bowl bid is lower than they deserve, but a 10-2 season is certainly better than they had reason to expect coming into the season.

[Van]

Well, yes. If a team within a BCS conference finishes undefeated, then why the hell not? If it's a SOS 'thing', then why the hell is the BE a BCS member then? A bit hypocritical of the BCS if you ask me.

Seriously, one of YOUR own teams from one of YOUR BCS conferences wins out and you won't give them a shot. Two rabbits, one hat. Waaaaay to go, BCS.

Now, do I think they'd beat a UofM or OSU? 19 of 20 times... NO. But, imo, that's beside the point as descirbed above.

Excellent points.

Bottom line: The Big East winner shouldn't receive an automatic BCS bid, not as the Big East is currently constituted.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

In certain years, I could say the same thing about the ACC, or Big 12, or Pac 10.

Let's say Wake takes the ACC this year. You think they're more deserving than Louisville?

I think Louisville would nut all over Wake on a neutral field.

[Van]

You could never honestly say it about the Pac 10...

What year did the Pac 10 ever send out a conference champion like last year's ACC "champ" or this year's thoroughly untested Big East champ?

The Pac 10 plays too solid of an OOC schedule and there's always at least two or three Top 15-20 teams every year from the Pac 10. There's no comparison between the Pac 10 and this current eight team Big East, of which some teams shouldn't even be playing D-1A football...

As for the Big XII the only way you could ever say it about them would be if their best team goes down in that farcical CCG they're forced to play every year, whether the game needed to be played or not. Yeah, had Colorado beaten Texas in the Big XII CCG last year then I'd agree there's no way the Big XII champ should've received an automatic BCS bid, but that's it.

That's just a function of the ridiculously stupid CCG system. Otherwise, nope, pick a year, any year. The best team from the Big XII always merits a BCS bowl game.

[Shoalzie]

Seeing situations like this make me want to slam my head against the wall until a playoff is in place to take these types of discussion out of the mix. I'm not about to start trumpeting for Boise State right now but they're unbeaten and I'm fairly sure there is no way they get a sniff at anything close to resembling a national title shot. Instead, they can finish unbeaten and go home with some nice parting gifts instead of getting a chance to face the big dogs on the field and prove to the country if they can stack up with the best of the best. Right now, there are 15 teams who are either unbeaten or have just one loss. We can have as many as three unbeatens at the end of the regular season...the Michigan/Ohio State winner, the Louisville/Rutgers winner, and Boise State. Two of these teams will realistically have a shot at the whole ball of wax or maybe just one team and once again, we could see another year where we'll see multiple unbeatens after the season with one of them only getting a sniff at the title. I haven't even gotten into the great one loss teams out there right now. Call me a little sick but I'd love to see it where if the Rutgers/Louisville winner stays unbeaten and somehow a one-loss team like Texas stays ahead of them and plays the Michigan/Ohio State winner in the Shamorama Bowl in Glendale. What in the hell could the BCS honks say to that? What do you tell Boise State, Rutgers and Louisville if something like that happens? I'll say this until I'm blue in the face...don't include the Big West, Sun Belt, MAC and the other little conferences in Division-IA and not allow them to play for the national title if they post an unbeaten record. Can you say Utah from a couple years ago? If we had a playoff and Boise State gets hammered, at least they got a chance to play for the whole thing. Like I said, instead, they'll be playing in some mid-December bowl game on ESPN2 that no one will watch. To screw over an unbeaten Louisville or Rutgers out of a shot and being in a BCS conference, that's just as disgusting. It's sometimes too maddening to be a college football fan. Even if Michigan ends up beating Ohio State, plays in the Shamorama Bowl and wins the glass football...it'll ring hollow more than say any of my teams from other sports win a title when I think that they won under a flawed system. Sure they would deserve their shot at the title but lots of teams would be getting screwed hard in the process and won't get squat. Stuff like that robs fans of true satisfaction...also when I think of 1997 and how Michigan and Nebraska both finish unbeaten share the titles...what kind of closure is that to a season?

[Terry in Crapchester]

Excellent points, Shoalzie, but one point of disagreement.

If we had a playoff and Boise State gets hammered, at least they got a chance to play for the whole thing. Like I said, instead, they'll be playing in some mid-December bowl game on ESPN2 that no one will watch.

That part is wrong. If Boise State wins out, they'll most likely play in the Fiesta Bowl and they're all but assured of a BCS bid. Even if they don't move up in the BCS rankings, at this point it's extremely unlikely that the ACC champ will leapfrog them in the standings if they stay unbeaten.

[Shoalzie]

Excellent points, Shoalzie, but one point of disagreement.

If we had a playoff and Boise State gets hammered, at least they got a chance to play for the whole thing. Like I said, instead, they'll be playing in some mid-December bowl game on ESPN2 that no one will watch.

That part is wrong. If Boise State wins out, they'll most likely play in the Fiesta Bowl and they're all but assured of a BCS bid. Even if they don't move up in the BCS rankings, at this point it's extremely unlikely that the ACC champ will leapfrog them in the standings if they stay unbeaten.

Fiesta Bowl, Heritage Bowl...bottom line is that they won't get anything more than a paycheck given the class system in Division IA football. In hoops, you can get a College of Charleston or a Gonzaga from a small league and post a gaudy regular season record...they at least get to a chance to prove if they are just small time or if they are for real. These small D-IA programs will never grow beyond their present level if they don't get the chance to play against the best of the best.

[MuchoBulls]

For Rutgers, this will be a 10-2 season with (unfortunately) a bid in the Texas Bowl against the last Big 12 team to qualify for a bowl bid (probably Kansas State). The bowl bid is lower than they deserve, but a 10-2 season is certainly better than they had reason to expect coming into the season.

Sounds about right on the record and Bowl Game. They would have an outside shot at the Gator/Sun Bowl if Louisville, WVU and ND all receive BCS bids. That is a long shot, especially with Boise State currently occupying an automatic at large bid.

[PSUFAN]

1. Rutgers has the following games remaining:
-Louisville at home
-At Cincy
-Syracuse
-At WVU

I don't see them going through that stretch unscathed. IF they do, though...I think they will have earned some consideration.

If it happens, there will be a lot of teams that will present arguments that they deserve a better shot. In my humble opinion, an undefeated Rutgers will deserve to play for a MNC over all of those teams. They will have won all of their games, while the other suitors will not have.

The next step will be the most important. How they perform against the team they are matched against will go a long way towards making the case of the Big East, and of other teams like Boise State down the road. If Rutgers wins or competes, then they have made a strong argument for the Outsiders.

Look, Michigan almost lost to Ball State at home on Saturday. You have to suit up and play each and every game. All of the expectations, accolades, and talking head pronouncements are meaningless once the kickoff goes up. We feel certain that Big East teams are nothing but bunches of bristly marshmallows in comparison to the iron Buckeyes or Trojans or (insert annual whining 1-loss SEC team here), but there is nothing seared into the sky that makes this true.

I have been critical of the Big East, but I will give it respect where it is due. I happen to believe that a team that is well-disciplined, that comes to play each Saturday (or Thursday, or Friday, as it were), that steers clear of the endless Bristol Hype Train, that executes a gameplan well, such a team has a chance to win all their games at the highest level. Is Rutgers that team? I think not, but they've done what they've needed to do SO FAR.

You want to look at a team that has believed in its own hype? Look no further than WVU...and I for one am not in the least bit surprised. I fucking KNEW they'd collapse under the weight of the machine - I knew it from about July onward.

[Van]

You have to suit up and play each and every game.

Yeah, and it's a helluva lot easier to go 12-0 when you suit up for every game and look across the field to see Connecticut and Weathervane Tech as your opponent, rather than LSU, Texas, Ohio St or USC.

Buc always wants to make the argument that USC probably wouldn't run the table they way they did if they had to play in the SEC every week. That's USC though, a team who has consistently proven they can take on all comers on a weekly basis.

Substitute Rutgers or Louisville for USC though and then how's it look to you? Would any of the Big East teams have such gaudy records if they were playing in the SEC, Big 10 or Pac 10 and they were paying weekly visits to The Swamp, The Horseshoe and the Coliseum instead of The Ville, The Petunia Garden and That Place Next To Our Basketball Arena?

PSU, also, why offer Rutgers the love if they run the table and not Boise St? Boise St hammered a Pac 10 team, the very Pac 10 team that knocked off USC. That's as good of a win as anything accomplished so far by any Big East team this season.

The Big East's ONLY big win this season is one Big East team playing at home on a Thursday night, beating another Big East team. In that game both teams were exposed as having an extreme lack of size, toughness and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball.

Boise St's right there with 'em. Make WVU have to travel to the blue field right now to play a Thursday Night game in front of a rabid Idaho crowd and I'd have no problem picking Boise St to win that one.

Again though, who's Boise St or WVU gotta then play next? Wyoming? Connecticut?

BFD.

[PSUFAN]

That's USC though, a team who has consistently proven it can take on all comers on a weekly basis.

Except when they lose. Call it my East Coast Bias, but I don't think that Oregon State is a BCS contender any more than is UConn or Syracuse.

The problem you and I have is that the only Big East matchup we have to work with so far has been WVU/Louisville. There are some other big tests coming up for Rutgers, WVU, and Louisville, though. Let's watch those games, and let's see what we have when they are complete.

Pace yourself, my friend, it's November 6. After the season ends, we'll have several weeks to bare fang and rend flesh on this topic, with some better ammo thick about our feet.

I know you're laying the groundwork for the inevitable "Troy is getting SCREWED AGAIN!!!" take that Skip Bayless will end up thieving from you...but please understand that USC has 4 games remaining, and they could very well lose 2 of them when all is said and done.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Outside of Boise St, the WAC is horrible.

No way you can compare the "strength" of the WAC to that of the Big East. From a week-to-week basis, Louisville, WVU, and Rutgers have faced MUCH tougher competition than Boise has.

[PSUFAN]

Why? Because a talking head says so? Because WVU's defense sucks? Why?

WVU was good enough to shred the SEC standard-bearer last year. Look at the scoreboard; that's what still shows until mid-January.

[Van]

Outside of Boise St, the WAC is horrible.

No way you can compare the "strength" of the WAC to that of the Big East. From a week-to-week basis, Louisville, WVU, and Rutgers have faced MUCH tougher competition than Boise has.

Such as??

Miami is the ONLY "barometer" game played by the Big East, and Miami's no longer a barometer game.

I'm not saying Boise St's played much of anybody either but I see no reason why the current Big East should be viewed any more favorably than any mid major out there.

Swear to god, the worst thing that ever happened was WVU beating a flat Georgia in last year's Sugar Bowl. That's ALL the Big East has on which to hang their hats and fuck me in the goat ass if they haven't FAR outkicked their coverage because of that one stupid win...

[Van]

Why? Because a talking head says so? Because WVU's defense sucks? Why?

Because Louisville's defense sucks even worse, which my own eyes witnessed. Those athletes on defense would not hold up to a week in, week out SEC, Big 10, Pac 10 or Big 12 schedule, including at least the occasional REAL OOC game.

Three losses, minimum.

WVU was good enough to shred the SEC standard-bearer last year. Look at the scoreboard; that's what still shows until mid-January.

Like I said...

Gah. Thanks, Georgia, for being the Cal of the SEC.

[PSUFAN]

Yeah, I know, it's still incumbent on the other team to pull their heads out and go out and play hard but it just so often doesn't work out that way. We're talking twenty year old kids here. They're ruled by their emotions. You get a kid hyped up to play Texas or Auburn and then you saddle him with Rutgers or Louisville and yeah, I'm going to expect a flat performance outta the first kid and a sky high performance outta the Rutgers or Louisville kid. Happens ALL THE TIME.

Any CFB player that tanks it in a bowl game because they are unimpressed by their opponent is undeserving of a grant-in-aid. There are at most 12-13 CFB games in a season - i.e., not too many.

These kids train all year to play 12-13 games. Coming out flat for ANY game is virtually inexcusable. Games are what they're there for, why they get a free pass in the lunch line, why the Dance Team girls return their IMs and text-messages and get Pretty in Pink for them.

If a dispirited loss is nonetheless inevitable, though...then it certainly goes down on your record, just the same as a big win does. Louisville, Rutgers, and WVU will all be in bowl games this year, and their opponents will have to play tough to win those games. Myself, I'll regard those matchups as very important in an overall evaluation of the New Big East.

[Van]

Those bowl games will be important...to the Big East.

They won't be nearly as important to their opponents. Nobody's program in the Big 10, SEC or Big 12 is going to be made or broken by either a win or a loss in their bowl game this season and certainly a bowl game win over Rutgers isn't going to be displayed very prominently in anybody's trophy case.

That's the difference here, PSU, and it's the main problem. The game means everything to one side and fuckall to the other.

Those "pretty in pink" coeds who answer their IMs? Yeah, they're still going to be there, in some measure. They'd answer and even C&P For Posterity's Sake those IMs a whole lot more eagerly though if Billy Joe Bob was IM'ing 'em immediately following a beat down he put on Texas...

[Terry in Crapchester]

Also, when was the last time UConn played in and won a BCS bowl game? Oregon St has, recently.

Right around the same time Oregon State did, IIRC. http://www.motorcitybowl.com/history/2004_recap.jsp

What other "big tests" are coming up for any of these teams?? They have nobody. Nothing but Big East games. No "big tests" all year long, for any of 'em. Hell, do any of those teams ever even travel out of their own area codes?? The way they never travel they're all like one big Georgia, only minus anything resembling an SEC conference schedule.

For the record, the Big East was 5-3 vs. the ACC and 2-0 vs. the SEC this season in OOC games. The Big East also managed to hold its own vs. the Big 10 (3-3) and Big 12 (1-1) in OOC matchups. If my math is correct, that's 18 OOC matchups for Big East schools vs. other BCS conferences, or slightly more than two per team.

Those bowl games will be important...to the Big East.

They won't be nearly as important to their opponents. Nobody's program in the Big 10, SEC or Big 12 is going to be made or broken by either a win or a loss in their bowl game this season and certainly a bowl game win over Rutgers isn't going to be displayed very prominently in anybody's trophy case.

That's the difference here, PSU, and it's the main problem. The game means everything to one side and fuckall to the other.

You're only partially correct here, Van. Let's have a little look-see at the Big East's projected bowl schedule, shall we?

Big East #1 to BCS. If Louisville runs the table, they could very well be playing in the BCS championship game. No way you can say that game isn't important to the other side. Even if Louisville doesn't go to the BCS championship game, they probably wind up in the Orange Bowl vs. the ACC champion (likely Georgia Tech or the winner of the Maryland/Wake Forest game). If anything, this game means more to the ACC champ, given the way the season has gone for the entire conference.

Big East #2 to Gator vs. ACC #3, or to Sun Bowl vs. Pac-10 #3. Gator Bowl has the first pick here between the Big East #2, ND (if ND doesn't make the BCS) and the Big 12 #5; the Sun Bowl must choose the other (i.e., Big 12 #5 if Gator Bowl chooses Big East #2 or ND; and vice versa). The hunch here is that ND winds up in the BCS, and the Gator Bowl chooses West Virginia over the #5 Big 12 option (Missouri), both on the basis of a more impressive season, and the fact that West Virginia travels well to bowl games. It's anyone's guess who their opponent will be, but I'd be willing to bet that it'll be either Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Maryland or Clemson. In any event, the ACC rep, given that conference's season, will have just as much to prove, if not moreso, than West Virginia. Like Louisville in the Orange Bowl, West Virginia figures to be favored in this matchup.

Big East #3 to Texas Bowl vs. Big 12 #8. The Big East got screwed on this draw this season. The Big East #3 has a tie-in with the Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. the ACC #6, who would be a better team than the Big 12 #8. However, the Meineke Car Care Bowl has to take Navy instead of the Big East #3 if Navy is bowl eligible, which they certainly will be this year. This means that Rutgers is looking at following up a 10-win season with a postseason matchup vs. one of two "we're just happy to be in a bowl game" teams from the Big 12, either Kansas State or Oklahoma State in all likelihood. This has "blowout" written all over it, and there'll be pressure on Rutgers to live up to the expectations. No pressure at all on the Big 12 rep, however.

Big East #4 to International Bowl vs. MAC #3. Projected matchup here is Pitt vs. Ohio. Again, the Big East favors to be a heavy favorite in this matchup. Then again, Ohio beat Pitt last season. This game will mean at least as much to Ohio (which hasn't gone to many bowl games out of the MAC) as it will to Pitt.

Big East #5 (or MAC #4) to Birmingham Bowl vs. C-USA #3 or #4. The Birmingham Bowl would prefer to take a team from a BCS conference over one from a non-BCS conference, and USF's upset win over Pitt figures to give USF the 7 wins they'll need to justify that selection. Projected matchup: USF vs. East Carolina. This would be USF's first-ever bowl bid, so they'll certainly feel a lot is at stake for their program.

Also, imho, if Cincinnati gets to a 6-6 record, they will get an invite to the Motor City Bowl and face the MAC #1 or #2 team (likely opponent is Central Michigan). The other bowl bid goes to the Big 10 #7 team, but the Big 10 figures not to produce enough bowl-eligible teams this season, and the bid would then go at-large.

If that came to pass, the Big East would have six of eight teams in the postseason. No other conference will have a better percentage of teams in bowl games (although the SEC figures to get nine of twelve teams into bowl games and match that percentage). What's more, at least three of the Big East teams favor to be prohibitive favorites going in, and depending on how things play out, you could see all six Big East teams going bowling, and all six as favorites. Chalk it up to the Big East getting something of a shaft when the bowls switched their conference tie-ins beginning this season.

[Van]

Terry, I must've missed the memo...

Exactly when did The Motor City Bowl become a BCS bowl?? See, Oregon St played in an actual BCS bowl, where they clocked a major tradition laden program.

UConn played in a nothing bowl against the Toledo Mud Hens.

Also, the Big East only has eight teams. Of course they're going to then have to play more OOC games than most other teams. Thing is, when you're doing your run down there, go ahead and list the names of those OOC teams the Big East played...

You won't find any real upper echelon teams there in the "W" column.

[Van]

if they get blown out, it might get us closer to a true playoff system. That's a win-win scenario.

Short of a huge turnaround by USC, yep, that's exactly what I'm rooting for. I WANT to see a Rutgers or a Louisville get in over a bunch of way more deserving teams and then I want to see OSU stomp a mudhole into 'em to prove the idiocy of this current system and thus bring us closer to a BCS meltdown.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Miami is the ONLY "barometer" game played by the Big East, and Miami's no longer a barometer game.

I'm not saying Boise St's played much of anybody either but I see no reason why the current Big East should be viewed any more favorably than any mid major out there.

Any way you slice it, this debate is pointless.

Whine and pout as much as you want, but under the current system, the WAC is not a BCS conference, and the Big East teams are not considered mid-majors. Facts is facts. You might think they are, but facts still be facts.

By the way, I could characterize UCONN as a mid major, just as easily as I could label bottom feeders from any of the powerhouse conferences as mid majors: Duke, Baylor, Stanford, Northwestern or Indiana (in most any year), Vanderbilt.

You might be the only person in the world, outside of those in the "talent-laden hotbeads" of Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, that believes the WAC is on par with the Big East, and that's fine. Go ahead, rationalize that to yourself, if you feel so challenged.

But since none of these teams, under this system ARE deserving of a free trip to a BCS game (by virtue of winning their conference), let's let this one die. It's moot. It's pointless.

[Van]

The current system was created back when the Big East still was the Big East.

It ain't "big" anymore. It's still east though. It's a glorified mid major now.

UConn isn't on a par with Stanford, Northwestern or even Baylor. UConn is only a few years into being D-1A in football and they've never done squat. Stanford has produced Bill Walsh, a Heisman winner, multiple Super Bowl MVPs, NFL HOF-ers and a Rose Bowl champ and they can very often be counted on to play well against and even beat the best the nation has to offer.

Northwestern has recently played in a Rose Bowl and they've produced some big time wins in recent years.

Baylor produced Mike Singletary.

STFU.

:-)

[Terry in Crapchester]

Terry, I must've missed the memo...

Exactly when did The Motor City Bowl become a BCS bowl??

My bad, I missed the BCS part.

See, Oregon St played in an actual BCS bowl, where they clocked a major tradition laden program.

True, but that happened awhile ago. I was going for the last bowl win for both UConn and Oregon State, both of which came around the same time (that win for Oregon State was also against ND. )

Of course, UConn is a fairly new 1-A program. But if you're looking at all-time comparisons, I daresay that they have a better winning percentage at the 1-A level, all-time, than does Oregon State.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

From a win/loss standpoint, UCONN isn't even the conference's worst team.

Syracuse is. And SU versus any of those teams would probably be a pick'em, or very small dog, worst case scenario.

[Van]

Mgo, pit Syracuse against Oregon St right now on a neutral field and Oregon St would be at least a double digits favorite and they'd likely name the final score. They'd win win by at least four TDs.

Oregon St would score all over Syracuse right now.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I was pitting conference worst versus conference worst (see prior post).

I didn't make any mention of Oregon St.

[PSUFAN]

UConn isn't on a par with Stanford

I totally disagree. Does UConn have a loss to a 1-AA team? Stanford does.

Yes, Stanford has a solid football legacy, but right now, they're abysmal. M200l and some of his pear-shaped chainmail bitches could bind their feet and show up with throbbing and empurpled genitals and still make a blood-colored stain on the turf out of Stanford.

UConn would rip through them like bullets through cheesecloth.

[Van]

Okay.

Mike Singletary though. Baylor.

UConn.

Mike Singletary.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Look, the Big East isn't the SEC.

It also isn't the WAC.

This much should be agreed upon by any rational, spectator of the game.

[Van]

M200l and some of his pear-shaped chainmail bitches could bind their feet and show up with throbbing and empurpled genitals and still make a blood-colored stain on the turf out of Stanford.

You're such an asshole, PSU. You fuggen knew you were doing nothing but typing up a whole new sig for somebody when you concocted that little gem.

Whore!

Anyway, UConn hasn't shown anything more than Stanford this year. Doesn't matter though. Stanford has been a legitimate program before and they could easily be playing in another BCS bowl game within three years and there's no way in hell UConn will.

Wait. UConn is in the Big East, which stupidly owns a BCS bowl game contract.

Never mind. Fart bubbles.

[PSUFAN]

rational, spectator of the game

who dat is?

[Terry in Crapchester]

Anyway, UConn hasn't shown anything more than Stanford this year.

Stanford hasn't won a game all season. UConn has won a couple.

And before you fall back on the old (and somewhat fallacious) schedule chestnut, I should point out that Stanford has played San Jose State and Navy this year.

[PSUFAN]

I have definitely been critical of the New Big East. However, I prefer to allow them the opportunity to show what they have. CFB is the richer IF the NBE gets it together and has some credible teams.

In all honesty, I have been impressed by Louisville, WVU, and Rutgers at various times this season (and last). I really think that USF is a team on the rise as well...and we all will probably root for Mucho's team to make a little noise.

The Big East has a lot to prove...and probably a goodly lumpy pantload of ignominy to go through still. Something good might come out of the crucible.

[Van]

Anyway, UConn hasn't shown anything more than Stanford this year.

Stanford hasn't won a game all season. UConn has won a couple.

And before you fall back on the old (and somewhat fallacious) schedule chestnut, I should point out that Stanford has played San Jose State and Navy this year.

Stanford's also beaten ND, recently.

Has UConn? Has UConn beaten anybody with a pulse, ever?

Stanford's simply in a down period. It happens, especially with a major conference team who adheres to Stanford's academic standards. UConn simply cannot and will not field a competitive 1-A team.