T1B

Sudden Sam wrote: Two offenses averaging over 39 PPG thru 8 games were denutted by two of the second and third best defenses to ever play college football.

Sudden Sam wrote:If it was played in the Big Ten, a 9-6 score would more likely be the result of two inept offenses, rather than due to two defenses crammed full of kids headed to the NFL.

Sudden Sam wrote:

M2 wrote:Alabama and LSU wouldn't score a point on Cal... if Maynard wasn't playing QB...

We'll never know, will we? I doubt LSU or Alabama will be playing in the Poinsetta Bowl or whatever POS bowl Cal makes.

Sudden Sam wrote:

Killian wrote:

Sudden Sam wrote:If it was played in the Big Ten, a 9-6 score would more likely be the result of two inept offenses, rather than due to two defenses crammed full of kids headed to the NFL.

Of course. Because the Big10 is slow, and doesn't put players into the NFL.

Not what I'm saying. The big Ten produces shitloads of good NFL players. But defenses haven't been what they used to be in that conference.

See: Alabama - 49, MSU - 7

Sudden Sam wrote: We won't get into a comparison of the SEC and the PAC58.

Goobs wrote:MSU currently ranks ahead of LSU in total defense.

Van wrote:

Goobs wrote:MSU currently ranks ahead of LSU in total defense.

Which is all the proof anyone should ever need in order to know that such rankings are asburd. Is there a person in their right mind who thinks for one minute that MSU's defense is remotely as powerful as LSU's?

Pretty sure even Mgo would agree that that one's a farce.

M2 wrote:

Van wrote:

Goobs wrote:MSU currently ranks ahead of LSU in total defense.

Which is all the proof anyone should ever need in order to know that such rankings are asburd. Is there a person in their right mind who thinks for one minute that MSU's defense is remotely as powerful as LSU's?

Pretty sure even Mgo would agree that that one's a farce.

Shit for brains... Harvard would be in the top 5 in defense if they got to play SE Mississippi State 4 times a year at HOME... then play 8 homes games you fucking dipshit !!!

Sudden Sam wrote:

M2 wrote: Shit for brains... Harvard would be in the top 5 in defense if they got to play SE Mississippi State 4 times a year at HOME... then play 8 homes games you fucking dipshit !!!

SEC schools don't play Presbyterian.

Goober McTuber wrote:LSU has 7 home games this year, not 8.

Sudden Sam wrote: Desperation and envy are apparently permanent facets of the life of a Cal fan.

M2 wrote:

Sudden Sam wrote: We won't get into a comparison of the SEC and the PAC58.

Good idea... since Cal puts more players in the NFL than Alabama.

Not to mention... the BEST players...

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. DeSean Jackson

3. Tony Gonzales

4. Nnamdi Asomugha

5. etc.,

M2 wrote:

Goober McTuber wrote:LSU has 7 home games this year, not 8.

Cal doesn't have a single home game this year.

Gene Wojciechowski wrote:TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- If that was The Game of the Century, then I want my 100 years back.

Top-ranked LSU's 9-6 overtime win against No. 2 Alabama Saturday evening wasn't the game of the century, decade or season. I'm not even sure it was the game of the day.

So let's get this out of the way right now: These two teams deserve a BCS championship rematch like Kim Kardashian deserves to keep her wedding gifts.

I'm not saying LSU's victory suffered from drama deprivation. It didn't. It was the leading cause of gnawed-off fingernails at an electric Bryant-Denny Stadium. The edge of my press box seat was worn down by the time Drew Alleman's 25-yard game-winning field goal somersaulted through the uprights.

But was it a football classic? Close, very close, but no.

Classics don't have four interceptions, four missed field goals, 13 penalties, one fumble, one botched punt return and zero touchdowns. A punter shouldn't be the best player on the field in a classic.

Bottom line: Only a classic is worthy of a Jan. 9 rematch in New Orleans. And this wasn't one of them.

"I think the world wants a rematch, honestly," said LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery. "It would be lovely to play such a great, competitive team out there again. I think everybody wants a rematch: the media, the people, the fans."

Not me. Not when Oklahoma State, which played, hands down, the most entertaining game of the day against Kansas State, is still undefeated.

Not when Stanford, even with its recent run of injuries, hasn't lost a game.

Not when Boise State, which continues to roll along, remains unbeaten.

Not when 9-0 Houston -- OK, maybe not Houston. Yet.

Alabama had its chance. Actually, it had lots of chances to beat LSU in front of 101,821 hyper-geeked fans … at home … against a team that completed a grand total of nine passes.

Instead, the Crimson Tide did a belly flop when it mattered most. Five different times they grinded their way to the LSU 35-yard line, or closer, and five times they jogged back to the Bama sideline with zilch points.

"We still can go to the national championship," said Bama wide receiver Marquis Maze. "We're still a
national championship team. I feel like we're still the best team in the country. Anything can happen."

And Maze wasn't done. When I asked him if he thought Bama was the better of the two teams, he didn't hesitate.

"Yes, I think we're the best team in the country," he said. "I think if we played them again we wouldn't lose."

Unless Oklahoma State, Stanford and probably Boise State lose between now and the beginning of bowl season, it doesn't matter if Bama would win a rematch. Because there won't be a rematch.

You can make a case, a semi-decent one, that the Crimson Tide shouldn't be dismissed from the BCS championship equation. After all, they lost by only three points in overtime to the No. 1 team in the country.

"I think we definitely have a chance of seeing those guys again if we finish strong," said Bama wide receiver Darius Hanks, who added that the Crimson Tide were "definitely" superior to LSU.

And this from Bama linebacker Nico Johnson: "Oh, no, it's never over."

He's sort of right. TCU could beat Boise on the blue carpet Saturday. Oregon could do the same against the Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Oklahoma could defeat Oklahoma State come Bedlam on Saturday in December. Things happen.

But it's going to take a lot of BCS gymnastics for Bama to jump back into the championship mix. I don't think it has enough room on the mat to nail the landing.

Hanks and Maze wouldn't admit it, but LSU's magnificent defense had a lot to do with making the Crimson Tide look ordinary. The Tigers do that.

But you can't miss four field goals, as Bama did Saturday evening, and expect anyone to want LSU-Bama -- The Sequel. You can't make costly penalties. You can't throw two interceptions (including one in the fourth quarter, when the Tide were already in field-goal range).

"To me, we didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had," said Alabama coach Nick Saban.

And then he recited the grocery list of missed chances. He knew.

If Saban is thinking about another crack at LSU, he wouldn't say so publicly.

"Whoever the folks are who make those decisions will make those decisions based on a full body of work of every team in the country and choose which teams are the best," he said. "I really can't speculate on a hypothetical situation. And it's really not our focus right now anyway."

Not now. But as he watches the film of this one, Saban is going to realize his team could have and probably should have beaten LSU. Bama's defense intercepted a pair of Jarrett Lee passes. It neutered the Tigers' passing attack. It held LSU to three field goals.

But it lost. And however you want to spell it, a capital L is going to be next to Bama's name.
"We can't let this loss affect us," said Hanks. "It hurts. At the same time, we've got to come out there on Monday and act like this loss never happened."

If only it were that easy. Bama's players might have short memories, but the BCS computers and voters remember everything. And they'll remember this as the night when the Crimson Tide lost their argument for a rematch.

Sudden Sam wrote:Interesting piece, but I can find 20 columns that suggest a rematch would pair the best two teams in the country.

I'm sorry, but it's gonna happen. Y'all might as well get ready for Round 2. Stanford is going to lose to either Oregon or ND. Okie State will lose to OU. And that, my friends, is that.

The two best teams will play in New Orleans.

Sudden Sam wrote: Stanford is going to lose to either Oregon or ND.

Sudden Sam wrote: I'll be a Cal fan that week.

Sudden Sam wrote:
I'm sorry, but it's gonna happen. Y'all might as well get ready for Round 2. Stanford is going to lose to either Oregon or ND. Okie State will lose to OU. And that, my friends, is that.

The two best teams will play in New Orleans.

Of course, Bama sure as hell better beat Miss State and Auburn.

Sudden Sam wrote:Interesting piece, but I can find 20 columns that suggest a rematch would pair the best two teams in the country.

I'm sorry, but it's gonna happen. Y'all might as well get ready for Round 2. Stanford is going to lose to either Oregon or ND. Okie State will lose to OU. And that, my friends, is that.

The two best teams will play in New Orleans.

Of course, Bama sure as hell better beat Miss State and Auburn.

Sudden Sam wrote:If you weren't enjoing that, you shoulda flipped over to watch the Okie State-KSU circus.

Sudden Sam wrote:
Shit, Truman, we just had a Texas QB (McElroy) and everyone in here belittled him. All he did was win a MNC for us.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:I enjoyed the game. It was Big Ten football on steroids. I would say it was 70% suffocating defense and 30% poor offense. Neither team came into the game with a poor offense, but they also didn't step up and make plays, and take advantage of the few opportunities they did have. The opposing defenses got into their heads. One of the reasons I predicted a 14-10 type game was because I didn't feel either team had a qb capable of moving them down the field vs the other's defense. McCarron, Lee and Jefferson are good, not great quarterbacks.

Jsc810 wrote:If Arkansas beats LSU (which certainly can happen), then I believe that Alabama wins the tie breaker and would go to the SEC championship game.