**THE FR COLLEGE FOOTBALL LIVE THREAD Week 8: Statistical Dead Heats**

This most recent Sunday afternoon is when we approached the second half of the season and with that came the first BCS rankings. That dreaded three letter acronym we love so much does give rise to several talking points, chief among them are which teams deserve to be where they are. And let's face it, when it comes down to brass tacks with the BCS standings, most only look at the top 5, and maybe the top 10 in the very least. Take Boise State for example at #4. After two very underwhelming games in the past few weeks against UC-Davis and Tulsa, would you put them at #4? What about Iowa who at this point may not do well against the current Top 3, but are simply coming up with ways to win games? As usual, there's USC who could position themselves for a run at one of the coveted top two spots. Where does one realistically put the Trojans at this stage?

With the change of season also comes the talking point I've heard for nearly my entire life and that is the burning desire for the top subdivision in the game to have a playoff format. The artist formerly known as Division I-AA has had one and they seem perfectly happy with it, but there's some history here that I thought I'd make you all aware of. That particular subdivision has only been around since 1978, and in the first few years of I-AA there was only a four team playoff format. So I thought to myself, "self, if I were in a position of power, here's what I would do. If the top four teams at the end of the season were within a certain point value of each other, say, .01 or .001 or something like that, then it would be statistically a "dead heat" (by BCS definition) and the four teams would be seeded 1-4. You would have two semifinal games taking place the week before the title game and the semifinal winners would then play for the title." You would have th---

---"Yeah, but when are you going to play the semifinal games? And who will fill up the spots for the bowl games vacated by the teams going to the semifinals? Hey, who said that? I hate it when somebody has to inject something realistic into my master plan for world domination. Anyway, if the rest of you want to pile on, feel free. We have a bunch of games to get to this weekend. And if you Bama and Vol fans are going to fight this week, I'll turn this thread right around and we won't be going anywhere this weekend!

(for Bat_Chemist) Florida State vs. North Carolina (Tonight, 8:00 pm) Pick a team, any team, that could have used a bye week last week. If you said "Florida State", you can pass "Go" and collect $200. One could also make the case for the Noles opponent this week, but I think a lot of armchair analysts thought the Tar Heels would make much more noise in the ACC than this. One historical footnote on this game is that this will be the first ever Thursday night game at Kenan Stadium, which may be one of the more underrated home field advantages in all of college football. Not a lot of folks talk about it, given the notoriety of the Tar Heel hoops program, but a lot of teams have come into Chapel Hill in football and end up tucking tail and running.

Georgia Tech vs. Virginia (High Noon) Most of you who have followed this thread know how much I love a good option offense. One reason for this is the fact that most defenses (emphasis on most) don't really have an effective way to stop the option. Consider last week's win against a then top 5 team in Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets ran the ball 63 times for 309 yards and all four of Georgia Tech's touchdowns were on the ground. Maybe the good thing this year for the Cavaliers is that this may be the last we hear of Al Groh. Which got me to thinking: maybe Groh has been trying to get fired for the past 3 years and he simply does, as Peter Gibbons said in the movie "Office Space", "works just hard enough not to get fired."

Minnesota vs. Ohio State (High Noon) When the Buckeyes lost to USC earlier in the season, my primary comment to the Buckeye Nation was that all wasn't lost. So what do I say after last week's loss to Purdue? Well, I know the offense has struggled mightily throughout much of the season, but if the Buckeyes win out, they'll have a pretty good shot at going to the Rose Bowl. (I believe the Big 10 tiebreaker goes to the team that has the longer drought in going to the Rose Bowl, one of you may need to correct me on that). And with as much as the FR College Football Ping List has a soft spot for Gopher QB Adam Weber and WR Eric Decker, this is an opponent the Buckeyes have had complete mastery over. Consider this: in my lifetime, Minnesota has beaten the Bucks only twice: once in 1981 in the Twin Cities and in 2000 at the Horseshoe.

(For Biggirl and Man50D) UConn vs. West Virginia (High Noon) If you all don't mind me making a bit of a confession here, I have to admit I'm not a very empathetic person. I just never have been. So in that sense, I can't really imagine what the Husky football program is going through with the very abrupt end to the life of UConn CB Jasper Howard. I have about 15 cliches here bouncing in my head on this, so I won't waste your precious time by typing them here. But I do think deep down, most people do believe that human life is something worth preserving--your outlying basketcases notwithstanding. That whole "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was written by a Founding Father for a reason.

Anyway, last week the Huskies got it done on the ground thanks to a 153 yard performance by RB Andre Dixon. They were also able to take advantage of a few Louisville turnovers and QB Cody Endres had a pretty respectable day calling the signals. It's now on to beautiful Morgantown where the Mountaineers have their muskets set on shooting down the remainder of the conference schedule. They'll likely have to do this without starting QB Jarrett Brown who suffered a concussion last week against Marshall.

(for kevkrom) Illinois vs. Purdue (High Noon) Remember at the beginning of the year when I said something to the effect of "Juice Williams may lead the Illini to 10 wins this year"? Keep in mind this is also the same guy who once thought that Jack Daniel's and vanilla ice cream mixed together was a good idea. (Don't ask). Often a program needs a signature win that they can point to and say "ooohhh, child, things are gonna get easier!" Or failing that, "hey, we don't suck after all!" The Boilermakers got that win last week against Ohio State, and while it may be a case of too little too late for any bowl appearance this season, but one never can tell if a game like that is going to be where the program takes off. And for the Illini faithful out there, www.fireronzook.com is still available.

Oklahoma State vs. Baylor (12:30 pm) Is being 5-1 at this point of the season really a disappointment for the Cowboys? Perhaps after things started off with such promise I suppose it is. But the Pokes are actually in pretty good shape given that the rest of the conference doesn't seem to have quite the same luster it had last year. Baylor's own glimmer of hope this season may have disappeared after a brutal loss against Iowa State. Sure, it may have gone downhill after Robert Griffin III went down with a knee injury anyway, but I am disappointed to see Baylor still struggle like this. I've always heard it was a good school, even though they somehow let Ann "Ma" Richards walk through their hallowed halls, so I guess nobody's perfect.

Louisville vs. Cincinnati (3:30 pm) The Bearcats currently sit at 5th in the BCS Standings, and why shouldn't they? I do think this is a team that is a little better than a lot of those professional commentators are giving them credit for, but look at the four teams in front of them. Are they as good as Florida or Alabama? Probably not. Are they as good as Texas? Or even Boise State at this point? (I say that given the fact that Boise State has had two very mediocre performances the past few weeks, as I mentioned above). With or without the services of Bearcat QB Tony Pike, they'll get a Cardinal squad that is looking like a shadow of their former selves. When "The 'Ville" joined the Big East, no one thought they would get to the point where they would be 2-4 at the halfway point of a season looking to increase America's rising unemployment rate.

(for Palmetto) Clemson vs. Miami (3:30 pm) Maybe "all is well!!!!" in Clemson, as a young Kevin Bacon would have put it. But I was doing my research for this week's thread and I noticed that the Tigers now sit at 2-2 in ACC play, a mere 1/2 game behind Boston College, a team that the Tigers beat. As it turns out, Clemson does indeed control its own destiny in the Atlantic Division. But in the Coastal Division are the Canes, who now looked poised to take control of that division now that all hell has officially broken loose yet again in the ACC. While it has to be a good feeling to dominate a game the way the Tigers did against Wake Forest, (and no offense intended to the Skinner family) Riley Skinner isn't exactly Jacory Harris.

Oregon vs. Washington (3:30 pm) The Ducks and the Huskies don't like each and they like the fact they don't like each other, which is funny to me because it's sort of like Starbuck's and Tully's arguing about which company has the better overpriced coffee. Stepping in nicely for the much maligned LeGarrette Blount is Duck RB LaMichael James, who had run for over 100 yards three times already this season. Couple that with TE Ed Dickson and his 4 TD catches and that ought to be cause for some concern for the Dawgs. Especially when you have defensive performances like this one (a special thanks goes out to BookmantheJanitor for bringing this attempt at a prevent defense to my attention).

Penn State vs. Michigan (3:30 pm) Both the Wolverines and Nittany Lions are coming off of less than strenuous victories, but at least PSU's win was in conference play. The Maize and Blue are perhaps in more of a spoiler role now that they have two conference losses. But with Rose Bowl hopes for Penn State still presently intact, but is the Lion offense finally finding a rhythm? Maybe, if 464 yards of total offense and 20 points is what you would call "finding a rhythm". And even though Michigan is still a work in progress, it's still the Wolverines in the Big House, and the rest of the conference will be circling that game on their schedule until the end of time---or December 21, 2012, whichever comes first.

Oklahoma vs. Kansas (3:30 pm) I thought this would be the game where the Jayhawks would come back down to earth. I just didn't think that a lame duck Colorado squad with ostensibly a lame duck head coach would be the team that blemished them. Here is the thing though with the Sooners: would they have beaten Texas last Saturday with a healthy Sam Bradford? Would Bradford have ever gotten hurt in Week 1 if it weren't for the lackluster play of the OU offensive line? There's also that general rule of thumb that most of the time in the game of football if you commit five turnovers, more than likely that team can add one more to their loss column. That many turnovers against anybody won't cut it, and certainly not against a high powered offense in KU.

Iowa vs. Michigan State (7:00 pm) We can all be honest with each other, and you can tell me anything and I won't sit back and judge you. Aren't most of us expecting the Hawkeyes to hit the wall at some point? Does it seem just too good to be true? A team that plays very well defensively, an offense that won't give you 40 or 50 points a game (and really doesn't need to in order to navigate its way through the Big 10), yet a lot of us aren't ready to believe the Hawkeyes are for real yet. Maybe we are all still in love with the Big XII and the SEC, or we're all mad at some of you folks in Iowa for getting the Obama cult of personality going. (But not you FReepers in Iowa, you all should know better than that). Or could it be that the Spartans and QB Kirk Cousins have it in them to knock them off? Michigan might be the best team to tell the Hawkeyes not to take this game in East Lansing lightly.

(for our FR TTU Contingent) Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech (7:00 pm) Here are two schools that don't care much for one another. I always have a ton of apprehension whenever I post certain things, but I didn't get much of an argument to the contrary when I posted this video in last week's thread. Sometimes YouTube causes one to ponder deeply about the flaws in the human condition, but at any rate, who knew Tech would win a game with a stellar defensive performance? The man they call "Sticks" in West Texas, Steven Sheffield, continues to fill in nicely for Taylor Potts, and even though the offense and the "system" wasn't the "system" we've all come to know and love, it got the job done last week at Nebraska. And whatever system Mike Sherman is running for the Texas Aggies didn't really work against Kansas State, especially when the Wildcats jumped out to a 59-0 lead on the Aggies last week.

Florida vs. Mississippi State (7:30 pm) You may not know this, and I didn't know this either until I looked it up. But the Gators haven't won in Starkville since 1985. And it's not as though only the more lackluster Florida teams have lost there either. The 1992 edition of the Gators lost there and they made it to the SEC title game that year. The '04 Gators lost in Starkville in a defeat that cost Ron Zook his job (which is why www.fireronzook.com is currently available today). Maybe it's playing on the road in the SEC that causes this kind of phenomenon. Even though Tyson Lee is mistake prone and the Bulldog defense has looked flat out bad at times this year, there's no way that the defending national champions could possibly lose a game against a team like this one, right? Oh sure, Tim Tebow has his issues and the Gators now have Brandon Spikes banged up too, but MSU isn't as good as Arkansas, right?

Auburn vs. LSU (7:30 pm) There's just something about night games at Tiger Stadium/Death Valley that just brings out the best in cajuns. Consider 21 years ago against this week's LSU opponent that the Bayou Bengal faithful went so berserk that it registered on a seismograph. Since I guess we have to live in the present day, both species of Tigers here aren't without some noticeable weaknesses this season. Auburn had an inexplicable loss last week at home to Kentucky, where QB Chris Todd threw for a grand total of 80 yards and 1 INT. I thought LSU would finally have their QB issues from last season figured out with Jordan Jefferson and with Brandon Lafell running the ball, they would be fine offensively. Based on their offensive offense two weeks ago against Florida, I was wrong. Such is life, I surmise.

TCU vs. byU (7:30 pm) Earlier this week I asked the question on Twitter "why would ESPN College Gameday go to a game that ESPN isn't airing?" As it turns out, ESPN does this sort of thing all of the time, but hey, it never hurts to ask. Last year it was the Cougars that rolled into Fort Worth with an unblemished record only to have the Frogs showcase a defense that was too overwhelming for the Cougs to handle. Cougar QB Max Hall still has that penchant for throwing interceptions (Hall has 10 on the year already). With the Frogs and their All-American DE Jerry Hughes and what might be the best CB tandem in the conference in Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders, it might prove to be too much for the Blue and White once more. If that isn't enough, check out this punt return for a TD by Frog punt returner Jeremy Kerley.

Texas vs. Missouri (8:00 pm) Cliches like "defense wins championships" may indeed be overused and irritate many an English teacher, but I think in the course of this season, it's going to be necessary for the teams in the Top 10. Florida needs their defense to get through the remainder of their schedule. Same thing goes for Alabama, Boise State, Cincinnati, and more importantly in terms of this paragraph, Texas. While Mizzou isn't what they once were on offense, they might pose a reasonable threat to UT this week. Or maybe not, as the Tigers have had two horrible collapses in their last two contests against Nebraska and Oklahoma State. One other question that I'll also throw out there is this: Has Colt McCoy seen his Heisman hopes slip away?

Oregon State vs. USC (8:00 pm) ...and then, there are the Trojans. Did we see a Pac-10 facsimile of Tate Forcier in Matt Barkley make another appearance on the national stage against the Irish last week? (I know, Forcier is probably the better runner, but now is not the time to split hairs). One aspect of SC that annoys a lot of fans out there is the fact that the Trojans still have more than enough talent on hand to beat everyone else in the country. So in comes the blemish on the Men of Troy's stellar 2008 season, and if there's one team out there that's dependent upon one guy for its offensive production, it would be the Beavers and Jacquizz Rodgers. Last year in Corvallis, the Beavs were able to dominate the line of scrimmage for much of the game and beat SC for just the 10th time in human history. With a Trojan squad that looks like has hit their stride on offense, OSU's chances for beating SC in the Coliseum for the first time since 1960 don't look promising.

(for sean327) UNLV vs New Mexico (8:00 pm) UNM will be without their first year head coach Mike Locksley, who was suspended without pay for a week and a half for doing his best Tom Cable impression (allegedly). Perhaps it's just as well, since the Rebels come into University Stadium with a sparkling 2-5 record of their own. If there's a team on the remaining schedule for the Lobos to finally get that first victory, this should be it. It's homecoming, UNLV has a coach in Mike Sanford that is more than likely on his way out, and the Rebel faithful are looking for an excuse of any kind to look forward to basketball season. Then again, I would have to think the Lobo fan base might be, too.

Boise State vs. Hawaii (11:05 pm) Hey, who wants to stay up late with me and watch some football on the islands? Oh, come on, it'll be fun! You never know what to expect when you play on the islands. Just ask the Broncos, who two years ago lost to the eventual WAC Champion Warriors and one month later would lose the Hawaii Bowl to East Carolina. The thing is, it's not an easy place to play, regardless of how good or bad Hawaii may be. I was also listening to one of our local talk stations here in town and they were interviewing a former BSU player, can't remember who it was off thge top of my head. He lives in Honolulu and he said that Hawaii doesn't really have a rival, because they basically hate everybody. You know, for a group of people that live in paradise, they sure are kind of angry.

Tennessee vs. Alabama (3:30 pm) I was reading somewhere that if you have to explain why the Third Saturday in October is a rivalry then you don't understand college football. Look, no one has to give me an explanation on a rivalry, especially if it's in the SEC. While it seems like I'm making Week 8 mea cupla week here on the FR College Football Live Thread, I'll go ahead and issue another one. Early in the year I said that Cal RB Jahvid Best was the best RB in the country. I said that thinking I would get an argument or two for Tide RB Mark Ingram. Maybe you were all being nice to me, but you could have said I was a doofus or had been drinking Franzia or something. The Bama defense just might be the best defensive unit in the entire country, which is just wonderful news for Vol fans who have seen their offense stammer through just about every game except their big win against Georgia. And then there's this thread I read recently and maybe the paranoia is starting to take hold, who knows? Then again, there's no time like the present to make the worry warts in any fan base quit worrying and have a good time quite like the present.

Two comments.

1. The FSU/UNC game was one of the best games I’ve ever seen live, any sport. Kenan stadium doesn’t have a bad upper-deck seat in the house (...but why don’t they sell beer???).

2. U Miami has the gayest radio announcers I’ve ever heard...and working most Saturdays I listen to a LOT of college football on XM. (Note to you ‘Canes: I’m rooting for you, but your announcers...ARGH!)

1) You aren’t the only one. I think the only schools out west that do sell beer here are the Nevada schools. (My Utes used to before I was born, and that was sort of a necessity if you remember our track record back then in football).

2) I have XM, but only in my car. Anyone that has a link to the U of M’s radio guys, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I wonder how well Paterno would do if he ran for governor in PA. I live in ID, and I’d consider campaigning for him.

The close games so far

Clemson 24
Miami 24
13:08 left

Alabama 9
Tennessee 3
6:55 left

The Falcons get 3, which is kind of a victory against an offense like theirs
UTAH 16
Air Force 16
6:29 left

Hey, while my Utes are trying to win this game, let’s update a few scores

Penn State 35
Michigan 10
5:25 left

Oregon 43
Washington 19
6:52 left

Alabama 12
Tennessee 3
3 58 left

Oklahoma 35
Kansas 13
4:27 left

Why is it the big 12 is turned upside down, AGAIN???

Alabama will hang on to win since Lane Kiffin couldn’t get his offense to score a TD to save his life. And just as I type this Tennessee recovers a fumble.....

If Joe Pa were still a young pup, he might consider a career in politics. Now, probably not!!!!

BTW, tonight’s Game 6 in NYC has been rained out and will be played at 8:20 tomorrow night. Not a bad sports night in the big city. Does Joe Giradi roll the dice and start CC on normal playoff rest???

Right now, my Utes are tied with The Air Force Academy at 16 with 1 minute left. Yet another game where we have a tight game with the Academy...stay tuned.

Final:

PSU 35

Michigan 10

Tennessee scores to cut the lead to 12-10

ONSIDE KICK RECOVERED BY THE VOLS!!! Hang on boys and girls, this ain’t over yet!!

1:05 left, no TO’s

No, I’m not, but I will be at next week’s UTAH game.

We’re in overtime

UTAH 16
Air Force 16

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