Still wont make it to championship game.

Question:

i see another potential BCS train wreck.
- i think louisville is all but guaranteed to run the table.
- tennessee and iowa each have a solid shot (so does purdue if they get by the hawks)
- texas could as well if they beat the buckeyes. hell, so could oklahoma if they keep the streak alive.
- boise state could do it again if they get by georgia (gonna be a great game)
and then of course theres usc (who i dont think will go undefeated, but they could in the watered down pac 10), so we could end up with another 2004 scenario with several teams each deserving a shot at the title.
- with auburn gettin bent over last year, i dont think there is anyway tennessee gets left out if theyre perfect (but by the numbers, they could be screwed if they beat an otherwise undefeated lsu team twice).
- if usc runs the table, they will be wire-to-wire #1 meaning that louisville, texas, oklahoma, iowa, purdue, and boise state could all be thinking lawsuit in about 7 months. … anyway, who would you guys leave out under different scenarios? - MR


A: First of all, all these things won’t happen. Boise State won’t beat Georgia. Louisville can blow out everyone by 59 and it won’t get any closer than Utah did last year; it doesn’t play anyone all that great. Iowa isn’t going to go unbeaten having to go on the road to face both Ohio State and Purdue. No one’s going unbeaten in the SEC East. Texas isn’t likely to go unbeaten almost certain to lose either at Ohio State or against Oklahoma. So here are your more likely issues: USC is in no matter what if it goes unbeaten. It’ll start the season number one and won’t move as long as it’s unbeaten. Even with all its flaws this year, Oklahoma only has one really scary game (Texas) until the season finale at Texas Tech. I’m going to keep saying Purdue has a nutty shot to go unbeaten considering its schedule with no Ohio State or Michigan. Of course, someone else will emerge from the shadows, LSU, Miami/Florida State winner and/or Ohio State will be in the hunt until the end, and/or USC will fall throwing the whole think out of whack.
[B]

i don't think UL is anything close to "all but guaranteed to run the table". Yes, I believe they are the conference favorite, but they have some tough games, including against WVU in Morgantown. Not an easy place to win.

I wouldn't worry about what they spew on CFN - their opinion is as valid as the average poster on this board. Anything could happen, college football is very unpredicable as we all know - and we should expect and anticipate bashing from the media.

The NBE just needs to win it's non-league games, including a couple high profile ones, and we'll be fine.

Exactly wvucrazed.

No way Louisville is "guaranteed to run the table". Pitt, WVU, and yes Rutgers will give us all we want. Cuse, UConn and USF won't be easy. My guess is Cincy will be the easiest, with all they have to replace off a team we beat by 63 points last year. But rivalry games are weird. Even that could be a close one.


The Big East isn't getting any respect. But you're right again. We have to earn it -- ON the field in our out-of-conference games.

That means some wins, and respectable showings against "big name" teams. And NO losses to teams we should crush (hear me Rutgers? No more New Hampshires after beating Michigan State!)


We will be fine as a conference. We still have BCS access, which allows us to recruit with the best in the land. String some nice seasons together, and the perception will change.

Pervis_Griffith Wrote:Exactly wvucrazed.

No way Louisville is "guaranteed to run the table". Pitt, WVU, and yes Rutgers will give us all we want. Cuse, UConn and USF won't be easy. My guess is Cincy will be the easiest, with all they have to replace off a team we beat by 63 points last year. But rivalry games are weird. Even that could be a close one.


The Big East isn't getting any respect. But you're right again. We have to earn it  -- ON the field in our out-of-conference games.

That means some wins, and respectable showings against "big name" teams. And NO losses to teams we should crush (hear me Rutgers? No more New Hampshires after beating Michigan State!)


We will be fine as a conference. We still have BCS access, which allows us to recruit with the best in the land. String some nice seasons together, and the perception will change.

The one thing you have to remember about the UC team that Louisville beat be 63 is that we were without our starting QB, which screwed up our offense and threw everything out of whack, so even that game isn't a good barometer. No one knows whether UC will be an easy game or not until we get a look at the new team. It may be a young team but it should be a deep and talented team. By the time UC plays Louisville it'll be later in the year.

Cat's_Claw Wrote:

Pervis_Griffith Wrote:Exactly wvucrazed.

No way Louisville is "guaranteed to run the table". Pitt, WVU, and yes Rutgers will give us all we want. Cuse, UConn and USF won't be easy. My guess is Cincy will be the easiest, with all they have to replace off a team we beat by 63 points last year. But rivalry games are weird. Even that could be a close one.


The Big East isn't getting any respect. But you're right again. We have to earn it  -- ON the field in our out-of-conference games.

That means some wins, and respectable showings against "big name" teams. And NO losses to teams we should crush (hear me Rutgers? No more New Hampshires after beating Michigan State!)


We will be fine as a conference. We still have BCS access, which allows us to recruit with the best in the land. String some nice seasons together, and the perception will change.

The one thing you have to remember about the UC team that Louisville beat be 63 is that we were without our starting QB, which screwed up our offense and threw everything out of whack, so even that game isn't a good barometer. No one knows whether UC will be an easy game or not until we get a look at the new team. It may be a young team but it should be a deep and talented team. By the time UC plays Louisville it'll be later in the year.

When someone hangs 70 on the board that's usually a defensive issue as well. UC has to replace most of their team this season. Good luck to the Bearcats but it appears to me they will be lost in the depths of a rebuilding year this season.

The first month or so will tell how the media will respect us this year. If we win half of our bcs match-ups and don't lose to non-bcs teams, everything will be rosy. That will not be an easy task. Here are the match-ups against OOC bcs teams:

Sat. 3 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (ABC)
Rutgers at Illinois
South Florida at Penn State
Sun. 4 Louisville at Kentucky (ESPN)

Sat. 10
Cincinnati at Penn State

Sat. 17 Connecticut at Georgia Tech
West Virginia at Maryland
Oregon State at Louisville (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2)
Pittsburgh at Nebraska
Virginia at Syracuse

Sat. 1
Virginia Tech at West Virginia
Syracuse at Florida State
South Florida at Miami

Sat. 8
North Carolina at Louisville

That's 14 key bcs games. A 7-7 record makes us look as good as any other bcs conference. Heaven forbid that any of us lose to non-bcs teams or especially a 1aa team.

October 1 looks brutal.

If I had to pick right now, I'd say we might go 6-8. That's not too bad, but it won't be enough to regain our respect.

On the other hand, if we could pull a few supposed upsets on the road, e.g. SYR @ FL ST, CONN @ GT, and RUTG @ IL, we could come out looking very good.

Jim

You hit the nail on the head. It is the OOC games that we are going to be judged by. And we got some tough ones. I believe UL will win all of their OOC games with a couple being close (OSU, UNC) but if we could break even as a conference that would be a tremendous accomplishment. I am glad I get the ESPN Gameplan thru Dish Network. I will be glued to the TV more than ever this football season. Go Big East!!!