College Football Committee Rankings

Ok, so the committee came out with their penultimate rankings on Tuesday. Everybody is up in arms from Waco to Tallahassee.

There is still a very interesting weekend of football to be played.

But here's where the committee got it wrong. Florida State should not be in the top four. Yep, they're lucky to still be there. And what's funny (or hypocritical) is that the many of the same pundits decrying the Seminoles' rank are the same one's that dismissed past undefeated teams such as Boise State. Their mantra at the time was that Boise would not be undefeated had they played an SEC schedule. So, apparently the same doesn't apply for FSU.

Hey, this is uncharted ground for everyone. Let's see what happens.

If I were a Baylor fan, I'd be pissed. Head to head should matter. But it doesn't and never has. Ask Longhorns fans.

All I'm saying is that the committee got it mostly right. As of today. We'll see what happens after this weekend's games. They only really have to get it right once.

Farewell to the BCS

This is officially the end of the BCS era of college football. In 2014 we go to a four team playoff with the four teams determined by a selection committee. Good luck with that.

We were never fans of the BCS, but not for the obvious reasons. In our view, the BCS got it right more times than not in matching the top two teams in a game. Obviously, not without controversy. Auburn and USC have the best cases. But for the most part, it worked.

Our biggest beef with the BCS (aside the idiotic moniker, which we will explain later) is that it ruined New Year's Day. We realize now that television would have eventually done that, but the BCS accelerated things.

New Year's Day used to mean some parades in the morning while we cooked some sort of hangover curing concoction for breakfast. Then we had the Cotton Bowl along with some bowl games in Florida with good matchups. The Rose Bowl was mid-afternoon can't miss viewing. Then the Sugar and Orange Bowls capped off the night.

That was always a fun day for college football fans.

We were always a fan of abolishing the BCS for the reasons mentioned above, not to get a FOUR team playoff. That's just ludicrous. Four creates more controversy than two. Just look at this year.

Florida State, undefeated, would be in. Then everybody else has at least one loss. OK, a one loss Auburn as SEC champ gets in. Then what? Michigan State and Baylor are one loss champs of the Big 10 and Big 12 respectively. Alabama and Ohio State are one loss teams that are not conference champs. Two loss Stanford is really good. You make the call.

Eight teams is the way to go. In our opinion anyway.

We will leave you with this: BCS. Bowl Championship Series.

What a misnomer. There never was a series. Ever.

We always called the "BCS National Championship Game" the "BCS Trophy Bowl". Because that's what it has always been. A bowl game for the BCS trophy.

Next year, the controversy will not go away. It will just take a different form.

We still love college football.

Johnny Manziel

The saga of Johnny Manziel, Johnny Football if you will, has been well chronicled. From almost being suspended before the 2012 season to winning the Heisman Trophy, from the insipid tweets to "oversleeping" at the Manning's quarterback academy, the Texas A&M quarterback has gone on quite the ride.

Johnny Football's latest transgression to come to light may land him in hot water with the NCAA.  It has been reported that Manziel received -gasp- monetary compensation for signing memorabilia.  Not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

Except.

As opposed to stupid tweeting and "oversleeping", generating income from your own fame is against NCAA rules.  After the weasels at the NCAA get finished probing this situation, it could be bad news for Texas A&M and Johnny Football.  We'll have to wait and see how that all plays out.

We want Manziel to play.  He's fun to watch.  But apparently he's not very bright.  Either that or he has an extreme sense of entitlement.  You can only play the "he's just 20 years old" card so many times before it becomes a problematic behavioral flaw.

Given the NCAA's own investigative incompetence in the past, we wouldn't be surprised if they turn up insufficient evidence to suspend Manziel.  Until Johnny Football pulls another bone-headed stunt.

The Demise of New Year's Day

New Year's Day used to be one of our favorite days of the year.  And it had nothing to do with a new year, but all about the college football bowl games.

Multiple games being played at the same time.  For at least 12 straight hours.  It was nirvana for fans of college football.  Then, it all changed.  Sure, there are still some good games on NYD.  But there is not that sense of accomplishment from switching channels, trying not to miss a scoring play or turnover from any of the two, three or four games being played simultaneously.

Now, we get four or five games on January 1, then the rest of the BCS games spread out over the next week until it all culminates with the BCS trophy game. Meh.

We understand television and television money rule the game now.  So much so that game attendance doesn't even matter.  It's all about household viewership and advertising money.

So far, we have not seen much of the two games played after January 1.  Some by design, some by circumstances.  But we would have been glued to our TV sets had these games been played a few days ago.

Yeah, we're getting older.  Pining for days past.  Doesn't mean we resist change.  Just change that is more of a regression than a progression.  Looking forward to the 2014 season and the end of the BCS and the beginning of a new playoff system for CFB.

In the meantime, get off of my lawn, you kids.

College Football 2012

Now that the 2012 College Football regular season has come to close, we are now subjected to the worst post season in all of sport.  While the regular season brought much excitement, including the emergence of Johnny "Football/Touchdown/Heisman" Manziel, the post/bowl/silly season brings many yawns including a New Year's Day game matching up Northwestern and Mississippi State.  Mark your calendars for that one.

We could go off on a lengthy rant about the entire bowl process (which somehow excludes the second most prolific offensive team in Louisiana Tech) but we will focus here on the BCS Trophy game and the upcoming four team playoff starting in two years.

While we are no fans of the current system, it seems to get it right most years just by sheer luck.  This year, not so much.  We are not convinced that either of the teams (Notre Dame and Alabama) are the best two teams in the country.  There is circumstantial evidence to back this up.  However, there is no concrete evidence to argue otherwise.  Notre Dame is undefeated playing a schedule that did not include any cupcakes.  Alabama won the SEC, which many argue is the best conference in the nation.

We think any among Oregon, Texas A&M, Stanford, Kansas State, Florida and LSU could beat either of those teams on a neutral field at any given time.  Or not.  It's that close.

So, things would be better if we had the four team playoff in effect this season, right?

In the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend."

Sports Illustrated had a mock selection committee pick the four playoff teams here.  Very interesting read.

But are you comfortable with a final four of Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon and Florida? We're not.  While that would provide for three very interesting games, leaving out Stanford (who beat Oregon), Texas A&M (who beat Alabama), Kansas State and LSU just seems wrong to us.

The four team playoff is a step in the right direction.  But it is not that much better than what we have right now.  We say either go all in with an eight team playoff, or keep it as is, or maybe scrap the whole thing and go back to the old way and end everything on January 1.

Oh yeah, and you kids get off of our lawn.

We Love BCS Chaos

Here in the Cheap Seats, we don't have a dog in the BCS hunt.  Sure, we have our likes and dislikes,  but we are D-II.

However, if we do have a rooting interest, it is chaos.  The games on 11/17/2012 did not disappoint.

The BCS has lucked out more times than not in getting the right matchup for the BCS Trophy Bowl.  This year, their luck may have run out.

There are still games to be played.   The college football gods may still smile upon the BCS.  But as things stand right now, it's a no win situation.

If Notre Dame defeats Southern Cal next week, they will finish undefeated and earn a spot in the BCS Trophy Bowl.  But who might they face?  Probably the winner of the SEC Championship game.  Either of which would have at least one loss.  Right or wrong, that's probably how it plays out.

If Notre Dame loses to USC,  then what?  Then the SEC champion is almost assured a spot.  After that, who knows.

Either scenario creates a bunch of angry people.

This year, the new four team format might not be the answer.  But it would be an improvement.  Who in their right mind would want to play Texas A&M right now?  A two loss team with no shot.  But might just be playing better than anyone else in the country right now.

The FBS postseason is broken.  It is the best regular season in all of sports.  Could have the best of both.

Did Postponement of Texas A&M's Season Opener Cost Them Shot at SEC Title?

May or may not have made a difference, but interesting to think about in light of Texas A&M's victory over Alabama today.

How may have the postponement of the Aggies' season opener against Louisiana Tech affected the entire season?

Let's explore that just a bit.

First of all, the Aggies may very well have lost that game had it been played as scheduled. But as A&M has improved throughout the season with Kevin Sumlin and Kliff Kingsbury in their first year at College Station and Johnny Manziel a first year starter at quarterback, one game under their belts before heading into that SEC opener against Florida may have made a difference in the outcome of that close loss.

Now fast forward a few weeks.  The makeup against La Tech was played in what would have been an open week before the LSU game, another close loss.

While we will never have any idea what might have happened, just something that crossed our minds today.  Had the game been played as scheduled, Manziel might have been lost for the season with an injury.  Or that one game of experience may have propelled A&M to victory over Florida.

Who knows.  Pure conjecture, but fun nonetheless.

Notre Dame: Overrated and Overblown

Many claim that college football is better when Notre Dame is good.  We, however, do not subscribe to this.  In fact, we believe college football is worse when Notre Dame is good.

Let's explore this, shall we?

The past few years, while Notre Dame has been irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, CFB has flourished.  CFB has shown, over and over again, it is not dependent on the Fighting Irish and their overblown sense of self worth.

One might contend that CFB has never been more popular across the country as a whole.  And Notre Dame had absolutely zero to do with this. CFB has thrived as ND has floundered.

Now, here's the real rub.  Even as ND has been nowhere near the BCS trophy game conversation in recent years, they still garnered way too much media attention.

"Will Notre Dame ever get back to a place of relevance?"

While we are old enough to remember when ND was in the national title hunt almost every year, there is a whole generation that must wonder what all the fuss is about.  Now that they actually are, help us all.

Texas Rangers, Mike Trout, MVP and Bevo

For the one or two people who read the blog, we apologize for the lack of consistency lately.  We're still trying to figure out where this is going.

However, here are some thoughts going into the weekend:

Texas Rangers Baseball
For all those bandwagon fans who are ripping the team, stop it.  Yes, it is terribly disappointing how this team collapsed its way into the Wild Card game.  Once there, the performance left much to be desired.

But come on, these last three years have been amazing.  Back to back World Series appearances.  While the final results have been far less than stellar, remember where we came from.

The Mike Trout/Miguel Cabrera Debate for MVP
We have made our thoughts know on this subject.  Where would the Angels be without Mike Trout?  Exactly where they are now.  At home.  Watching the playoffs on television.

Where would the Tigers be without Miguel Cabrera?  Probably cozying up on a couch with the Angels.  The triple crown is a bonus for Cabrera.

There have  been some great arguments made as to why leading a team to the playoffs should not factor into the MVP vote.  First and foremost is that Detroit had a worse record than Anaheim/California/Los Angeles. Tough break, Trout.  You play in a really good division.

If the award were for best player, most outstanding player, then I'm all over Trout. But most "valuable"?  Not so much.

EDSBS: Every Day Should Be Saturday
Now we finally get into the meat of the college football schedule. Less Savannah State, more top 25 vs. top 25.

We are curious to see if Geno Smith and West Virginia will be able to make fajitas out of Bevo and thatTexas defense.

Georgia and South Carolina is also on the radar.  Among others.

Don't forget to check out #CFBUniWatch on Twitter every Saturday, where we become fashion police.

Winners and Losers in the College Football Uniform Watch

Here in the Cheap Seats, we sometimes yell at kids to get off our lawn.  Sometimes we get a little cranky.  We are not fans of most of the "alternate" uniforms spotted in the college football landscape these days.  We will try to have a synopsis here every week, but for those that need more real time info, check out Twitter hashtag #CFBUniWatch on Saturdays.  And sometimes Thursdays and Fridays.

Winners
This part of the entry is usually going to be very short - see above.

Oregon - We never now what to expect from the Ducks week-to-week.  This week they went fairly traditional (for Oregon) and it worked.

Rutgers - I don't think their's is an alternate uni, but the sleek silver and scarlet look they now sport on the road (haven't seen them at home yet) is very attractive.

Virginia Tech - The camo look they had going on with the all white unis was a definite upgrade from the atrocious Maroon and Orange combo that is their usual look.  Any combination of that is bad.

Losers
Missouri - If this drab gray and mustard combo is what the SEC move has wrought, they have lost even before they step on the field.

West Virginia - See Missouri above, only substitute Big 12 for SEC.

Arkansas - Now, they have much bigger problems than fashion, but still.  For us mostly it was the white helmets with the faint Razorback outline.  This is Woo Pig Soooie.  Red headgear with the distinctive hog outline, please.

Utah - We thought we were watching Cincinnati.  No disrespect to the Bearcats, but the Utes are supposed to feature red.

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana-Monroe, Auburn and Tyler Wilson

Strange things happen in college football.  We love that.  In our personal lives, we prefer more order, but as far as college football is concerned, the more chaos, the better.

Just consider this scenario.  If Arkansas somehow defeats Alabama Saturday and Louisiana-Monroe beats Auburn, where does that leave the CFB landscape?

OK, we know these are fanciful projections, but stranger things have happened.

In the minds of poll voters, is ULM suddenly a top five team?  Was Alabama vastly overrated?  Did the Razorbacks just have one bad game?

And what if all this happens without Tyler Wilson playing for Arkansas?  The Razorback brass has gone all Fight Club on the Wilson discussions.

Things will probably fall neatly into place with the Crimson Tide handling Arkansas and Auburn bringing ULM back to earth.

But one can dream.  That is what makes CFB so exciting week to week.