# NCAA Play off



## tshadowchaser (Dec 26, 2014)

Ok make your pick for the final game and pick the championship team for the first real play off in college football in this country.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 26, 2014)

Not quite real enough for me.  I want a 16 team playoff with higher seeded teams getting home field advantage, bye, etc.  Okay wait, I guess I have that with the pro's. 

Okay so with the College Playoff I think Alabama wins it this year.  Not sold on Oregon after they have lost their best cornerback to a season ending injury.  Florida State is really weak this year.  It is not last years team.  Ohio State will give Alabama a run for the money but in the end we probably have Alabama vs. Oregon and Alabama rolling to another Championship that is not quite as mythical as it used to b!.


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## tshadowchaser (Dec 27, 2014)

strange I agree completely with Brain on this


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## ballen0351 (Dec 27, 2014)

I got a feeling the Ducks are going to win it all


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

American college football.? Brilliant game. Really enjoy watching


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## Buka (Dec 27, 2014)

I'm too crazed about the NFL to look for the extra time needed to really enjoy college football. But it's nice to see a playoff format finally get here.

I can't ever root for Bama, always been an Auburn guy. But, to me, Oregon is the most fun to watch. So I'm picking them.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 27, 2014)

ballen0351 said:


> I got a feeling the Ducks are going to win it all



I thought the Ducks would win until the injury to their cornerback.  Now I simply cannot bet against Nick Saban.


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## ballen0351 (Dec 27, 2014)

Alabama looks flat this year like they just expect to show up and win without trying.


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

If I have got this right. State against State, but the best college/university being the club. Would that be tradition or based on a performance. Sorry Oft, but really curious here


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

ballen0351 said:


> I got a feeling the Ducks are going to win it all



The Ducks?


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## tshadowchaser (Dec 27, 2014)

after a season of play the top college teams based on a win/lose record are going to a play off for the first time to determine the championship this year.
The Ducks are Oregon.
Some of the teams have state names some are named for the city they play out of or the region of the states they play in or for some famous person.  Confusing if you do not live here or follow the game.


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

tshadowchaser said:


> after a season of play the top college teams based on a win/lose record are going to a play off for the first time to determine the championship this year.
> The Ducks are Oregon.
> Some of the teams have state names some are named for the city they play out of or the region of the states they play in or for some famous person.  Confusing if you do not live here or follow the game.



Nah that is understandable. In some respects, we have the same with our Soccer structure. You states, we have counties. At the amateur level, I guess the college structure for you is comparable, we have local leagues upto the county leagues. These are like the lower to mid like teams, with the what we call the conference, rebranded to Blue Square Premier League, and two lower North and South. The cream of the amateur footballer, or in modern parlance, Part Time. Well forgive any ignorance here, I would put college as top amateur


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 27, 2014)

Plus they all have nicknames or mascots.  My team Michigan State University hails from the state of Michigan.  It's nickname is the Spartans and we have a mascot called Sparty.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 27, 2014)

Transk53 said:


> Nah that is understandable. In some respects, we have the same with our Soccer structure. You states, we have counties. At the amateur level, I guess the college structure for you is comparable, we have local leagues upto the county leagues. These are like the lower to mid like teams, with the what we call the conference, rebranded to Blue Square Premier League, and two lower North and South. The cream of the amateur footballer, or in modern parlance, Part Time. Well forgive any ignorance here, I would put college as top amateur



Yes that would be very similar.  College athletes here are amature but.... they also get a free college or university education based on what level of college they play at and also what sport they are in. (some get none, some get partial and some get full tuition and room and board depending on the divisional level)


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Plus they all have nicknames or mascots.  My team Michigan State University hails from the state of Michigan.  It's nickname is the Spartans and we have a mascot called Sparty.



Yeah my club is Everton, which is in Liverpool, remember the choon "Across the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers I think. Anyway we nicknamed "The Toffees" after the famous Everton Mint. The other is simply "The Blues" our Latin Moto Is "Nothing but the best is good enough - Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. Our common chant or abbreviation to COYB is "Come on you Blues. Ground - Goodison Park, Liverpool.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 27, 2014)

Doesn't the US Soccer Team goalie play for Everton?


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

Yep. Tim Howard, the Goalie with the chin nest  Yeah our biggest GK legend is Neville Southall. Tim Howard though, he is a legend like no other. The concentration he has to apply is enormous. Yes I would say he is Everton's greatest Goalie!


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 27, 2014)

I have seen a few of your teams games when my son watches them.  Great talent on the pitch!


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## Transk53 (Dec 27, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> I have seen a few of your teams games when my son watches them.  Great talent on the pitch!



Yeah, but we are languishing mid table at the moment. A few injuries to key players. We missed our wizard winger Kevin Mirallas for a while. Plus the English future midfield general in Ross Barkley. But we have been misfiring big time. In terms of goals, and overall tempo. And of course, the biggest Goodison enigma that is Leon Osman. I'm trying to remember the name of a Bills QB in the 90's, inconsistent. Those superbowls and all that. I had a short lived fascination with Buffalo.

Anyway, Leon is a massive player for us on his day, buy we are talking a week inbetween. We rely to much on Kevin for that flair, so we have been a bit pedestrian, slow and frustrating  Last season top five, and we have qualified for the next round of the Europa League ad group winners. But still, to have peace of mind, we still need top five. Here's hoping


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## ballen0351 (Dec 30, 2014)

Listening to the radio today they have pretty much given next years national title Michigan after the Harbaugh hire


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## tshadowchaser (Dec 30, 2014)

Not going to happen in one year for Michigan, may in about 4 year's after he has had time to rebuild and recruit


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 30, 2014)

Michigan will be better in three years.  It took Harbaugh three years to turn around Stanford.  The cupboard at Michigan is pretty bare but it is a huge hire and they will be competitive in three years.


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## ballen0351 (Dec 30, 2014)

I agree 2 to 3 years but the sports talk radio today was crazy annoying.  Sucks for my Terps that's one more good Big 10 team to beat up on them


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## Jaeimseu (Dec 31, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Michigan will be better in three years.  It took Harbaugh three years to turn around Stanford.  The cupboard at Michigan is pretty bare but it is a huge hire and they will be competitive in three years.


Michigan recruited pretty well under Hoke, just didn't develop that talent. Harbaugh ought to be able to compete in the Big 10 next year. Outside of Ohio State and Michigan State, there aren't really any scary teams. And Michigan State lost to the only two really good teams they played this year. But of course, both of those teams are in their division.


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## Jaeimseu (Dec 31, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Not quite real enough for me.  I want a 16 team playoff with higher seeded teams getting home field advantage, bye, etc.  Okay wait, I guess I have that with the pro's.
> 
> Okay so with the College Playoff I think Alabama wins it this year.  Not sold on Oregon after they have lost their best cornerback to a season ending injury.  Florida State is really weak this year.  It is not last years team.  Ohio State will give Alabama a run for the money but in the end we probably have Alabama vs. Oregon and Alabama rolling to another Championship that is not quite as mythical as it used to b!.


I think 16 teams is probably too many, simply because I think there's not that many teams worthy of playing for the title.  This year 6 teams probably deserve a shot, but I think 4 teams will work out most years. 

Then again, it won't surprise me at all if we end up with 8 teams before long. I just hope if they go to 8 it will be the "best" 8 and that conference champs don't get automatic bids. 

As for who will win this year, I think Alabama has a good shot, but I'm biased. I'm curious to see how Oregon does against a big physical defense like FSU. Although they've underperformed this season, it'll still probably be the best defense Oregon has seen, certainly from a talent standpoint.


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## Jaeimseu (Dec 31, 2014)

ballen0351 said:


> Alabama looks flat this year like they just expect to show up and win without trying.


I don't know what games you've been watching lately. Alabama has improved a ton since the beginning of the year. They've played a tougher schedule than probably any other team in the playoff. Outside of their secondary, they've been pretty dominant this year. And even when the defense gave up 600 plus yards and 44 points to Auburn, Alabama won by double digits. 

I don't think they've played a truly complete game this year (though the aTm game was pretty close) and that's scary. That, of course, doesn't mean they'll win the championship or even beat OSU. I expect Alabama to make the final, and then who knows.


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## Tez3 (Dec 31, 2014)

Transk53 said:


> American college football.? Brilliant game. Really enjoy watching




If you have BT sport which includes ESPN you can watch the college American football games. There's also the basketball equivalent.
.


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## Transk53 (Dec 31, 2014)

Tez3 said:


> If you have BT sport which includes ESPN you can watch the college American football games. There's also the basketball equivalent.
> .



Don't have that, BT sports too posh for me


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## Tez3 (Dec 31, 2014)

Transk53 said:


> Don't have that, BT sports too posh for me




I get it free because my internet is done by BT , has an app for my tablet so I can watch TUF and the UFC (BT shows them) on it too. It's a lot cheaper than AOL who I used to have.


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## Transk53 (Dec 31, 2014)

Tez3 said:


> I get it free because my internet is done by BT , has an app for my tablet so I can watch TUF and the UFC (BT shows them) on it too. It's a lot cheaper than AOL who I used to have.



AOL, think they were around when Gerbils used to run messages back and forth  Tbh, most of what I have seen, was at the Rose Bowl.  Can't remember what teams though. Trying to remember the name of a certain Running Back that went on to play Pro at a very good level, but his name just escapes at the moment. Used to run like a Whippet.


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## ballen0351 (Dec 31, 2014)

Jaeimseu said:


> I don't know what games you've been watching lately. Alabama has improved a ton since the beginning of the year. They've played a tougher schedule than probably any other team in the playoff. Outside of their secondary, they've been pretty dominant this year. And even when the defense gave up 600 plus yards and 44 points to Auburn, Alabama won by double digits.
> 
> I don't think they've played a truly complete game this year (though the aTm game was pretty close) and that's scary. That, of course, doesn't mean they'll win the championship or even beat OSU. I expect Alabama to make the final, and then who knows.


I watched almost all of them.  I watched unranked Wva, Tenn, and Arkansas give them a game. I watched Old MIss, LSU, Auburn, and MIss St give them a hard games.  
The best thing they got going for them is Ohio is on their 3rd or 4th string Qb.  
In my opinion the best team in College FB this year was TCU and they are not even in the hunt


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## Brian R. VanCise (Dec 31, 2014)

TCU just showed up and over powered an over matched sec team.


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## Transk53 (Dec 31, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> TCU just showed up and over powered an over matched sec team.



Secondary?


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## tshadowchaser (Dec 31, 2014)

there will be plenty of arguments for the next year about if TCU should have been ranked 4th.




Transk53 said:


> Secondary?


  we have many extra games at the end of the regular season. This make some money for the universities  and college through television coverage.


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## tshadowchaser (Dec 31, 2014)

More Bosie Magic

the number 20 team in the nation wins over the number 10 team in an exciting game.  What an ending if you missed it you missed seeing two teams battle until the last second of the game


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## ballen0351 (Dec 31, 2014)

Transk53 said:


> Secondary?


S.E.C
Southeast Conference
Southeastern Conference

College teams basically are broken up in divisions.  Usually by region of the country.  ACC Atlantic Coast Conference, PAC12 PAcific 12 Conference ETC ETC ETC there are several different ones.  Its kinda complicated since they no longer really go by regions anymore as teams move around to get better TV deals for more money.


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## ballen0351 (Dec 31, 2014)

tshadowchaser said:


> there will be plenty of arguments for the next year about if TCU should have been ranked 4th.
> .


I think they made there case today big time


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## Jaeimseu (Jan 1, 2015)

ballen0351 said:


> I think they made there case today big time


They certainly looked good out there today. Ole Miss didn't show up to play and TCU looked like they wanted to prove something. It's too bad they collapsed against Baylor. They'd have been the #1 seed. Neither Mississippi school looked ready to play today on defense, and Ole Miss just looked terrible. 

I doubt TCU is really 40 points better (just like Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship), but they didn't leave any doubt they can compete with anyone.


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## Jaeimseu (Jan 1, 2015)

tshadowchaser said:


> there will be plenty of arguments for the next year about if TCU should have been ranked 4th.


They can argue all they want, but the fact is that TCU wouldn't have made the top four even if Ohio State had lost to Wisconsin. Baylor would have been in at #4 due to their head to head result. TCU needed Arizona, Missouri, or Georgia Tech to beat the other top teams to get in.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 1, 2015)

This is why a 4 team playoff is silly.  I watched TCU yesterday and thought they could beat anyone.  Not to mention a team like Boise should have a shot at the title as well.  4 teams is not really a playoff!


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## Jaeimseu (Jan 1, 2015)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> This is why a 4 team playoff is silly.  I watched TCU yesterday and thought they could beat anyone.  Not to mention a team like Boise should have a shot at the title as well.  4 teams is not really a playoff!


I don't know. I personally think 4-6 teams is about right. This year 6 might have been perfect, but some years there may not be that many truly deserving teams. 

Who was ranked at 7 and 8? Miss State and Mich State? Both of them had an opportunity to make a run. Mich State lost to the two best teams it played. Miss State got pretty well handled by Alabama (game wasn't as close as the score indicated) and they didn't show up ready to play Ole Miss or Georgia Tech in their bowl game. And Boise State lost by around 3 touchdowns to Ole Miss, who got curb-stomped by TCU.  

Anyway, I can't wait to see how today's games play out!


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## tshadowchaser (Jan 1, 2015)

I will not any predictions on today's games. I will just enjoy watching to see how Baylor dose


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 1, 2015)

Well Divisiion II and Division III figured it out and have 16 team playoffs.  I don't think we have ever had a real champion in College Football because who knows who would have won.  Maybe a team that lost early on got their game rolling towards the end.  My team MSU would clearly have beaten Florida State last year but we did not get a chance.


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## ballen0351 (Jan 1, 2015)

Damn good ending to the baylor/ mich game


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## ballen0351 (Jan 1, 2015)

I think 16 teams is perfect.  If 12 out of 32 NFL is a good fit the  16 out of 300+ div 1 college schools


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## Transk53 (Jan 1, 2015)

ballen0351 said:


> Damn good ending to the baylor/ mich game



Who won?


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## hussaf (Jan 1, 2015)

B1G baby!  what a couple bowl games!  I'm sure Mark May is pissed.


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## ballen0351 (Jan 1, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Who won?


Michigan State Spartans came back to take the lead in the final 15 seconds


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 1, 2015)

Yes Tansk53 my team pulled it out after being down 20 points in the 4th quarter!


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## ballen0351 (Jan 1, 2015)

Not such a good ending in the Oregon / Florida state game.  But I'm happy with it I hate the Noles


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## ballen0351 (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm going call a Ducks vs Buckeyes championship game.  Ducks win it all


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## tshadowchaser (Jan 1, 2015)

Alabama  vs Ohio game is not over yet but from what I'm seeing I am not sure if either team can compete with Oregon's fast paced game.  Both of these teams need to change personal to much.
now I'm back to watching this game to see which will face Oregon in the championship


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## Transk53 (Jan 2, 2015)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Yes Tansk53 my team pulled it out after being down 20 points in the 4th quarter!



Frenetic finish then. Yeah, sounds like it was a cracking quarter!


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## Tez3 (Jan 2, 2015)

tshadowchaser said:


> *Alabama  vs Ohio game* is not over yet but from what I'm seeing I am not sure if either team can compete with Oregon's fast paced game.  Both of these teams need to change personal to much.
> now I'm back to watching this game to see which will face Oregon in the championship



My husband has this on the television now, he keeps flipping between this and the live test match cricket, South Africa v W Indies
the American game has only been on half an hour and the cricket lasts all day so this should be fun


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## ballen0351 (Jan 2, 2015)

Cricket lasts all day?  damn I thought baseball was a long game


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## Tez3 (Jan 2, 2015)

ballen0351 said:


> Cricket lasts all day?  damn I thought baseball was a long game



Oh it's worse than that, Test matches last for four or five days! the usually start on a Thursday and finish on a Monday, sometimes they can finish on the Sunday though depends on the score. Limited over cricket will be just for the day or evening depending on country and how many overs.


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## ballen0351 (Jan 2, 2015)

Tez3 said:


> Oh it's worse than that, Test matches last for four or five days! the usually start on a Thursday and finish on a Monday, sometimes they can finish on the Sunday though depends on the score. Limited over cricket will be just for the day or evening depending on country and how many overs.


Wow that sounds horrible.  I dont have the attention span for that.


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## Tez3 (Jan 2, 2015)

ballen0351 said:


> Wow that sounds horrible.  I dont have the attention span for that.



It's great fun, they do stop for lunch and tea, there's always bars and it's frightfully civilised, the oiks have their own stand where they can dress up and be noisy. The atmosphere is always good and the game itself is actually more interesting than you'd imagine.


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## Transk53 (Jan 2, 2015)

Yeah Cricket is a brilliant sport. Limited over 50 and 20/20 are the slug fests. Test is more tactical. Youtube the IPL, many of the legends play in India. Out of season at the mo.


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## tshadowchaser (Jan 3, 2015)

ok folks it is down to Oregon vs Ohio State   whats your pick??????

I"ll go with Oregon their fast paced game should wear Ohio State's defense out


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 3, 2015)

Wow this is a tough call.  My team MSU has two losses all year and both were to these teams.  OSU has speed and athleticism that can match up with anybody.  However, they have their third string quarterback starting and while he has played well so far he is not as good as the other two.  Oregon has speed but the real reason they are special is their quarterback Mariotta.  Hard to bet against Mariotta based on what he has done so far.


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## Transk53 (Jan 3, 2015)

Sorry @tshadowchaser, I have taken the thread Oft. One thing if possible guys, could have some linkage regarding the structure of the college league, or you guys call it? Really curious to learn more of the teams. Also, are college teams affiliated with the franchise aspect of the NFL. I figure that the Bills for example, would cherry pick NY State, and first round drafts go to the native state teams?


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## tshadowchaser (Jan 3, 2015)

@Transk53, College teams are not supported by pro teams and are under the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Most Pro teams have scouts  all over the country to watch for great college players.
here are a couple of links:     
* NCAA.com – The Official Website of NCAA Championships*
www.*ncaa*.com Cached
Official website for *NCAA* sports news. News, articles, scores, brackets, venues, history, photos, team capsules.
* National Collegiate Athletic Association - Wikipedia,...*
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/*Ncaa* Cached
*NCAA Public Home Page - NCAA.org*
www.*ncaa*.org Cached

There is a big debate going on now as to whether college athletes should be paid.  I personally believe that because most of them are getting there education free because they play sports they should not be paid. I also do not like those players that opt out of college sports for the pros after the schools have given them free education but that is for another thread


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## Jaeimseu (Jan 3, 2015)

I'll be very surprised if Oregon doesn't win, although I suspect OSU is much better than FSU.


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## Transk53 (Jan 4, 2015)

tshadowchaser said:


> @Transk53, College teams are not supported by pro teams and are under the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Most Pro teams have scouts  all over the country to watch for great college players.
> here are a couple of links:
> * NCAA.com – The Official Website of NCAA Championships*
> www.*ncaa*.com Cached
> ...



Thanks for that


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