2007 College Football Season Talk

[betterREDthandead 58]

Come on, I've seen MSU fans called plenty of things, but there's no way we're the worst fans in the country, or even the Big 10. Wisconsin fans are the worst in the Big 10. As far as the country, come out to the Big 12. Texas Tech and Colorado fans are major assholes.

I have heard some pretty bad things about Texas Tech fans.

I suppose I at least owe an explanation as to why I think MSU fans as a group are pretty awful. You know how you say the less affiliation a Michigan fan has with the school, the more likely they are to be obnoxious? Same goes for MSU fans. You who went to the school are being given a bad name by those who only root for MSU for the sake of hating Michigan. The type that doesn't care if MSU loses, because they expect it, just as long as UM does too. Instead of flying an S flag and a Go State bumper sticker, they sport t-shirts that say, "The REAL University of Michigan", "U Call It Maize We Call It Corn," etc. I've never really had the pleasure of interacting with Wisconsin fans, although I always did think it was pretty stupid how the ESPN types made a big deal of what an awesome tradition Wisconsin had about jumping up and down to that stupid song. Despite the fact that the tradition can't have been five years old when we first heard about it.

But I stand by what I say about Maryland fans. Went to the Purdue/Maryland bowl game last year and every single one of those people, no matter where we were, airport, hotel, parking lot, stands, street, you name it, they wanted to start something.

[Sting 11 0]

Now that my alma mater (Purdue) has been exposed and is done, I now have to pin my hopes on anyone who can take down Ohio State...Penn State and Michigan, I'm looking your way.

Otherwise, ultimate BCS chaos seems to be a good bet. If South Florida gets past Rutgers next week, I think they win out. BC has Va Tech, Florida State, Maryland, and Clemson the next four weeks, so I strongly doubt they'll win out.

It's going to be fun to watch, and completely stress free for me since I'll be pulling against OSU instead of for any one particular team.

[Sting 11 0]

Texas Tech fans, Texas A&M fans, and LSU fans are the most annoying fans and biggest jackasses overall, hands down.

I'd lump Tulane fans in there as well since almost every sporting event I've been to with Tulane involved, there has been an idiot doing stupid stuff, but Tulane is rarely good at any sport other than baseball, it's hard to get fan support.

We all have our bad experiences with other teams' fans that shape our opinions of who has the "worst fans". Because of my experiences, my vote goes to Ohio State. The Ohio State fans I work with never went to school there, but are all, "like, the biggest OSU fans ever". Whenever they make fun of my Boilers (and they always do), I always have to explain that I'm a Purdue fan because I went there for four years and have a bachelor's degree from there, and then I ask "and why are you an Ohio State fan again?" It's so easy to latch onto the local team that wins all the time...it's hard to be a fan of a team that is average and gets little attention.

Worst instance of all: I was washing my Liberty, which has a Boilermakers spare tire cover, in my driveway one evening. A guy who lives in my additon was walking by and saw my tire cover, and told me he was a 1998 or so graduate from Purdue. Well, I start talking about how I'm a 2002 AvTech major and we talked about the residence halls and campus stuff. We started to talk about the football team and I asked him if he followed the team much. He said he used to but now that he lives in Ohio, he's now an Ohio State fan. I shot him the dirtiest "WTF?" look and he seemed to get the message. :nonono: Support your alma mater, dammit, not the local flavor of the month.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I suppose I at least owe an explanation as to why I think MSU fans as a group are pretty awful. You know how you say the less affiliation a Michigan fan has with the school, the more likely they are to be obnoxious? Same goes for MSU fans. You who went to the school are being given a bad name by those who only root for MSU for the sake of hating Michigan. The type that doesn't care if MSU loses, because they expect it, just as long as UM does too. Instead of flying an S flag and a Go State bumper sticker, they sport t-shirts that say, "The REAL University of Michigan", "U Call It Maize We Call It Corn," etc. I've never really had the pleasure of interacting with Wisconsin fans, although I always did think it was pretty stupid how the ESPN types made a big deal of what an awesome tradition Wisconsin had about jumping up and down to that stupid song. Despite the fact that the tradition can't have been five years old when we first heard about it.

I have to agree on the MSU fans. Every one I know is like that. I'm not saying all are because every college has a group of a-holes, but all my experiences, many with friends are like that. I've never been to a home MSU football game, but I've been to Breslin once, Munn several times, and watched MSU at the Big House in 2004.

I'm suprised at the Wisconson comments. I always heard they were the Big 10's best fans, but guess not. My best friend has been to Iowa twice, and he said they are brutal. The best fans I've dealt with at U-M games have been PSU fans. I sat in their section during the 05 game (heart breaker!), and even after the last second TD they all shook my hand, and congradulated me.

Edited October 15, 2007 by mannysBETTER3434

[BlakChamber 8]

I suppose I at least owe an explanation as to why I think MSU fans as a group are pretty awful. You know how you say the less affiliation a Michigan fan has with the school, the more likely they are to be obnoxious? Same goes for MSU fans. You who went to the school are being given a bad name by those who only root for MSU for the sake of hating Michigan. The type that doesn't care if MSU loses, because they expect it, just as long as UM does too. Instead of flying an S flag and a Go State bumper sticker, they sport t-shirts that say, "The REAL University of Michigan", "U Call It Maize We Call It Corn," etc. I've never really had the pleasure of interacting with Wisconsin fans, although I always did think it was pretty stupid how the ESPN types made a big deal of what an awesome tradition Wisconsin had about jumping up and down to that stupid song. Despite the fact that the tradition can't have been five years old when we first heard about it.

Yeah, I don't like those type of fans either. There's a MSU message board I'm on that has far too many people like that.

Of course, I do have my "have you kicked a wolverine today?" bumper sticker here on the cork board in computer room. There's no point in putting it on my car, not enough people down here would get it.

[betterREDthandead 58]

It's so easy to latch onto the local team that wins all the time...it's hard to be a fan of a team that is average and gets little attention.

I kind of get the best of both worlds as a Michigan fan and UVA fan

In a way it's harder to be a fan of a run-of-the-mill average big-conference team like Purdue and UVA than a mid-major, non-BCS type team. You're expected to beat all those small-time schools like rag dolls the same way a Michigan or a Florida State would, but it doesn't work that way.

Case in point 1: My first year at UVA we made the basketball tournament for the first time in ages, drew the cursed #5 seed and Gonzaga, and the whole school went "oh f#ck." Cause you knew what would happen. Gonzaga had already made the Sweet Sixteen twice and the Elite Eight once and knocked off two #2 seeds. Sure enough, they beat us on a last-second play and everyone talked about what a great upset, those plucky Zags did it again, knocked off an ACC powerhouse, blah blah blah. And meanwhile we're all going, it took us like five or six years just to get back here, those guys made the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in a row, who exactly upset who here?

Case in point 2: A little bit later, I'm watching Illinois at Southern Miss in football, and Illinois had just gone to the Sugar Bowl the year before, but it's freaking Illinois for chrissakes. And they lost at Southern Miss, well on the road back to being the Illinois we all know. And the announcers in this game are talking about what a great thing for this little program to knock off a Big Ten power, and all I can think is, do you even watch Big Ten football?

To be a UVA fan is to tell half the fans in the conference, "Just you wait til basketball season" and the other half, "Just you wait til football season."

[eva unit zero 271]

Eleven teams in the top 25, including five of the top ten of the initial BCS rankings are ranked higher by people than computers (overrated). Those teams are:

(1) Ohio State, (3) Boston College, (5) Oklahoma, (9) West Virginia, (10) Oregon, (12) California, (14) USC, (15) Florida, (18) Hawaii, (22) Texas, and (24) Texas Tech.

By contrast, the teams with a higher computer ranking than people ranking (underrated):

(2) South Florida, (4) LSU, (6) South Carolina, (7) Kentucky, (8) Arizona St., (11) Virginia Tech, (13) Kansas, (16) Missouri, (17) Auburn, (19) Virginia, (20) Georgia, (21) Tennessee, (23) Cincinatti, and (25) Michigan.

[timothy1997 0]

Eleven teams in the top 25, including five of the top ten of the initial BCS rankings are ranked higher by people than computers (overrated). Those teams are:

(1) Ohio State, (3) Boston College, (5) Oklahoma, (9) West Virginia, (10) Oregon, (12) California, (14) USC, (15) Florida, (18) Hawaii, (22) Texas, and (24) Texas Tech.

By contrast, the teams with a higher computer ranking than people ranking (underrated):

(2) South Florida, (4) LSU, (6) South Carolina, (7) Kentucky, (8) Arizona St., (11) Virginia Tech, (13) Kansas, (16) Missouri, (17) Auburn, (19) Virginia, (20) Georgia, (21) Tennessee, (23) Cincinatti, and (25) Michigan.

More reason why South Florida should be #1.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

South Florida shouldn't be No. 1. I think the top 4 Big Ten, Pac 10, SEC, and Big 12 teams would roll them.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Eleven teams in the top 25, including five of the top ten of the initial BCS rankings are ranked higher by people than computers (overrated). Those teams are:

(1) Ohio State, (3) Boston College, (5) Oklahoma, (9) West Virginia, (10) Oregon, (12) California, (14) USC, (15) Florida, (18) Hawaii, (22) Texas, and (24) Texas Tech.

By contrast, the teams with a higher computer ranking than people ranking (underrated):

(2) South Florida, (4) LSU, (6) South Carolina, (7) Kentucky, (8) Arizona St., (11) Virginia Tech, (13) Kansas, (16) Missouri, (17) Auburn, (19) Virginia, (20) Georgia, (21) Tennessee, (23) Cincinatti, and (25) Michigan.

I disagree that computer rankings higher than human polls automatically equals underrated. I'll be the first to tell you that Virginia is NOT the 14th best team in the country, even though the computers say we are. Take a look at our schedule and how we've performed - blowout loss to Wyoming, unimpressive win over Duke, barely squeaking past UNC, GT, UConn, and worst of all, Middle Tennessee. Only one truly impressive win, the 44-14 shellacking of Pitt. Frankly I think the human polls that put UVA 24th are just about right on. We're 6-1 and you can't really make a strong case for the teams below us, but we've still got to show it on the field that we belong.

[timothy1997 0]

South Florida shouldn't be No. 1. I think the top 4 Big Ten, Pac 10, SEC, and Big 12 teams would roll them.

South Florida deserves to be #1 right now. But I would take the pac 10 and sec champ over them in a bowl game.

Also, USF would take out Indiana not to mention USF did beat Auburn.

Edited October 15, 2007 by timothy1997

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

South Florida deserves to be #1 right now. But I would take the pac 10 and sec champ over them in a bowl game.

Also, USF would take out Indiana not to mention USF did beat Auburn.

Top four is a little extreme on my part (sorry I'm not a fan of the little schools ranked so high). I would take the conference champ in the 4 conferences I listed though over USF.

[timothy1997 0]

Top four is a little extreme on my part (sorry I'm not a fan of the little schools ranked so high). I would take the conference champ in the 4 conferences I listed though over USF.

oh come on. whatz wrong with a South Florida-Hawaii National Championship game. Maybe then would we finally get a college football playoff system.

[betterREDthandead 58]

oh come on. whatz wrong with a South Florida-Hawaii National Championship game. Maybe then would we finally get a college football playoff system.

Sorry. Don't take the following rant personally. That said..... I've said it before and I'll say it til I'm blue in the face: f*** a playoff.

I find the idea of a playoff system in college football to be easily one of the most the most abhorrent things that could happen to the sport. I despise Terry Bowden and other writers of his ilk who arrogantly presuppose that every fan is just bawling for a playoff and a couple greedy haters who run the show are the only thing in the way. I would rather find out that USC was paying each of its players a million bucks than find out a playoff system was being instituted. I would rather have South Florida or Middle Tennessee State rise up and win the next twelve national championships than institute a playoff.

Anything beyond the "plus-one" idea absolutely sickens me.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I don't want a playoff either...never will. What happens with the tradition of the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, ect? All this ranking drama is what makes college football great. If there was a playoff it would be okay if Michigan lost to App. State, and it should never be that way.

A playoff would not solve anything. Lets say they make a 8 team playoff. There is still going to be drama because you could have a mid major conference team that is 12-0 ranked 8th, and a one or two lose powerhouse sitting at 9th. What is going to happen? It's just like it is now....

Edited October 16, 2007 by mannysBETTER3434

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

Why is Tim so up in arms for South Florida? Maybe this weekend the Buckeyes will show him why they're the number one team in the nation. Or maybe not.

Edited October 16, 2007 by Hockeytown Red Wings

[timothy1997 0]

Why is Tim so up in arms for South Florida? Maybe this weekend the Buckeyes will show him why they're the number one team in the nation. Or maybe not.

do you really want #1 right now. Every team that has worn the #1 target has lost.

I just like when the small schools that you never heard of do well.

Also MSU is gonna score and score often on the Buckeyes. Problem is that the Spartans can't stop anyone.

Edited October 16, 2007 by timothy1997

[eva unit zero 271]

Sorry. Don't take the following rant personally. That said..... I've said it before and I'll say it til I'm blue in the face: f*** a playoff.

I find the idea of a playoff system in college football to be easily one of the most the most abhorrent things that could happen to the sport. I despise Terry Bowden and other writers of his ilk who arrogantly presuppose that every fan is just bawling for a playoff and a couple greedy haters who run the show are the only thing in the way. I would rather find out that USC was paying each of its players a million bucks than find out a playoff system was being instituted. I would rather have South Florida or Middle Tennessee State rise up and win the next twelve national championships than institute a playoff.

Anything beyond the "plus-one" idea absolutely sickens me.

How about turning the 'plus one' system into a four team playoff? Each year, two of the four bowls would be 'playoff' bowls, with the winners advancing to the championship game. This alteration would have provided the solution to a couple of the dilemmas the past few years; 2004 being the notable year...In the bowls, #1 USC beat #4 Michigan, and #2 LSU beat #3 Oklahoma. A USC/LSU final would have settled all the controversy.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

do you really want #1 right now. Every team that has worn the #1 target has lost.

I just like when the small schools that you never heard of do well.

Also MSU is gonna score and score often on the Buckeyes. Problem is that the Spartans can't stop anyone.

I'm not disagreeing with what you said, but were you really surprised that South Florida got shafted?

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

How about turning the 'plus one' system into a four team playoff? Each year, two of the four bowls would be 'playoff' bowls, with the winners advancing to the championship game. This alteration would have provided the solution to a couple of the dilemmas the past few years; 2004 being the notable year...In the bowls, #1 USC beat #4 Michigan, and #2 LSU beat #3 Oklahoma. A USC/LSU final would have settled all the controversy.

It wouldn't settle any conterversy because at least 2 teams would be bitching that finished 5th and 6th.

[betterREDthandead 58]

How about turning the 'plus one' system into a four team playoff? Each year, two of the four bowls would be 'playoff' bowls, with the winners advancing to the championship game. This alteration would have provided the solution to a couple of the dilemmas the past few years; 2004 being the notable year...In the bowls, #1 USC beat #4 Michigan, and #2 LSU beat #3 Oklahoma. A USC/LSU final would have settled all the controversy.

Sorry, the notion that a playoff would settle any controversy is 100% misguided. As mannysbetter said, no matter how big the playoff, the last couple teams left out would feel shafted. In fact, a playoff would only expand the controversy and make it worse. If sometimes there are a couple teams that could lay a claim to #2, there will always be several teams that can lay claim to #4, and many more that could lay claim to #8. Even the 65-team field of the basketball tournament always has teams bitching about being left out.

I think the idea that a playoff would settle controversy is the single weakest argument in favor, frankly.

The problem with a four-team playoff is that it would still diminish the value of the regular season, and I'm not in favor of anything that does that. I could maybe stomach it, at least much better than an eight-team deal. But if people get the silly notion in their heads that it would settle controversy - well, take this year. Right now, who would go? OSU, USF and then? BC, LSU, USC, OU? UK? ASU? Oregon? Obviously the regular season still needs to be played out, but I don't think we'd get four clearcut candidates out of it.

[timothy1997 0]

I'm not disagreeing with what you said, but were you really surprised that South Florida got shafted?

No I just think that South Florida has beaten better opponents than the Buckeyes. Hell Boston College has beaten better teams that the Buckeyes...but because they are the Buckeyes & #3 with #2 and #1 both lost, they are #1.

[BlakChamber 8]

Anyone watching Rutgers/South Florida? Been a pretty good game so far, I'm just hoping that Rutgers can hang on.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

And another undefeated bites the dust....you Spartans aren't planning on ruining my Saturday are you?

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I wouldn't be shocked if MSU won, but I'm still taking the Buckeyes.....