Saturday, Briefly
Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 11:49PM The Layup
(12:00 PM) Western Carolina at Florida
---Mmmmkay. Toughest schedule ever, eh?
ACC, You Bore Me
(12:00 PM) Maryland at Boston College
---Where are the fierce contenders? It's like watching crabs fight.
BCS Watchin'
(2:30 PM) Arkansas at Mississippi State
(2:30 PM) Army at Notre Dame
(3:00 PM) Utah State at Boise State
---By default they're spectators instead of the show this Saturday.
The Big One
(3:30 PM) Michigan at Ohio State
---No, it's not this century's game (sorry, Musberger), but it is big. Really big.
Iron Bowl
(3:34 PM) Auburn at Alabama
---Funny start time, no? Stars will fall on one of these two... probably the one with the tiger.
Apple Cup
(6:45 PM) Washington at Washington State
---In one corner they're supporting Granny Smith and in the other they're allied with the Red Delicious.
Sadly Important
(7:00 PM) Virginia Tech at Wake Forest
---Wake's a great story, but this game is so... meh.
Not Exactly Hair of the Dog That Big Ya
(7:45 PM) Rutgers at Cincinnati
---This is their hangover game after the world-beating of Louisville. Eh. Could use something a little more stiff.
War for the Roses
(8:00 PM) California at USC
---Last year was a dud, but both teams are at least halfway functional this year in a tightly fought series between Tedford and Carroll. Cal hasn't forgotten their Rose Bowl snub from 2004. Their memories are a little longer than the general public's, so that may be a quiet theme to this game as they can play their way into the game without interference by simply winning.
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Best schedule EVER. Use it.
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I'll have a roundup sometime later today.
Schedules
Reader Comments (8)
Maryland controls its own destiny in terms of winning the ACC Atlantic. Beating BC and Wake Forest means the Terps are 10-2 and playing Georgia Tech in the title game for a BCS berth.
BC is still in the picture for a BCS berth too. If the Eagles beat Maryland Saturday, and Maryland beats Wake Forest the next weekend, then BC may win the Atlantic Division. If Wake loses to Va. Tech this week, Maryland and BC would be tied at 6-2 in the conference, with BC holding the head-to-head win. If Wake beats VT this weekend, then there'll be a three way tie for first in the Atlantic between Maryland, BC and Wake. I'm then not entirely sure of the ACC's tiebreaker scenario: 1) if they go first to overall record, Maryland would be eliminated by virtue of their non-conference loss to West Virginia, and then Wake would have the h-to-h advantage; 2) if they go to BCS standings, I'd bet BC would end up ahead of both Wake and Maryland by virtue of winning their last 2 games, unlike the others.
So, that game does have conference title and potential BCS (though not the title) implications.
Just because the contenders in the ACC aren't the usual suspects this year doesn't mean that they aren't good, or that the games aren't fun to watch. I personally like the fact that it isn't the same old teams this year in the ACC, and I happen to attend one of the usual contenders' schools (Miami).
The Maryland at Boston College game should be a MUCH better game than anything you have listed in your BCS Watchin' section (those should all be blowouts), and you should be calling that section NC Watch, because otherwise, Maryland fits the description. Wake Forest also fits the description, and their game will also be MUCH better than those NC contention blowout games.
The Bowl Championship Series has warped your mind. Anything that isn't for the National Championship, not only do you not care about, but you actually think won't be a good football game to watch. Pathetic.
The only reason Maryland and BC are at the top of the ACC is because Miami and FSU are way down. The teams that Maryland and BC are fielding this would not normally be good enough to contend. In other words, it's not that Maryland and BC have gotten that much better than years past, it's that Miami and FSU have gone downhill. The ACC is a lower brand of football this year. A lot of people have a tough time getting excited about watching two pretty good teams who are only at the top because their competition is having a down year (or in the case of FSU, a down couple of years). Now on the other hand, if Miami and/or FSU was having a good year, and Maryland and BC were still in contention, then yeah, it would be a great game to watch, regardless of the names of the schools playing.
They're like AAA baseball games. Good, but...
I am very excited to see that it's not the same old teams at the top. However, it's disappointing to know that their replacements aren't playing at an elevated enough level.
I'd love to see Maryland or Wake ripping through their seasons.
I see where you are coming from, but I still think there is some bias involved here. "A lot of people" would STILL be hyped about a Miami team or an FSU team in the SAME position that Maryland, Boston College, or Wake Forest find themselves in this year, and they would be saying things like, "Don't look now, but Miami/FSU still has a chance at BCS bowl redemption."
"Now on the other hand, if Miami and/or FSU was having a good year, and Maryland and BC were still in contention, then yeah, it would be a great game to watch, regardless of the names of the schools playing."
We should not judge the successes of a program based on 1/12 or 2/12 of their schedules.
Also, the reason that two of these teams are having good years is not directly correlated to Miami and FSU having bad years. For example, Wake Forest would still have achieved their best record ever this season, even if they HAD lost to FSU. (albeit against an easy schedule). So if you want to criticize Wake, do it because of their easy schedule so far, not because of FSU or Miami. Their schedule strength will improve drastically after these last two games, so I'll be watching to see if they don't screw up their chances versus better competition.
As for Maryland, people like to make the argument that FSU STILL beat Maryland during those recent years when Maryland posted their 10+ win seasons. My argument continues to be that football is a 12 game season, not just one. In two of those seasons, Maryland clobbered West Virginia and Tennessee in their bowl games.
You might have something though with Boston College. BC is playing to the same slowly climbing level that they have been in the past 10 years, and though they weren't in the ACC with FSU until recently, their record versus Miami is horrible, at 3-22, losing to us the last 14 times. So if they beat Maryland and Miami to close out the regular season, then I will give it to you that the reason that they will have had their best regular season winning percentage since 1954, their first 2 loss regular season since 1984, and only their third 10+ win season ever, will be because Miami AND FSU are having down years.
I think you're right that a simiarly situated Miami or FSU would generate a lot more interest. I guess maybe people are more willing to believe that a Miami or FSU team in that situation is capable of playing at a higher level because they've done it before, whereas people remain skeptical of Maryland and BC, writing their success off (as I do) to a down year for the ACC big guns.
CFR,
Who would win a jello wrestling match between Johnny Graters and Timmy Milton Divers? And who would be the first to throw up while watching it, me or you?
The winner would be Tightlikeraquel
And that would most definitely make me throw up.