American Sports Thread

[stringbean]

Anyone else think this selection committee is a pile of you know what!!!


Didn't think ND should have been there in 1st place put to essentially drop them 3 places (given the Buckeyes lost) after decent win against bc is shambolic! Also how Michigan state not in is beyond me!

Think the US media has let the selection committee off lightly so far - maybe a honeymoon period but had this sort of thing happened under bcs there would have been an outrage

[Muck Savage]

Anyone else think this selection committee is a pile of you know what!!!


Didn't think ND should have been there in 1st place put to essentially drop them 3 places (given the Buckeyes lost) after decent win against bc is shambolic! Also how Michigan state not in is beyond me!

Think the US media has let the selection committee off lightly so far - maybe a honeymoon period but had this sort of thing happened under bcs there would have been an outrage

ND will be in top 4 if they beat Stanford, even if they got dropped to 6 last week. Some interesting games coming up for all the teams in the hunt for top 4. Auburn/Alabama game is an interesting one as is OK/OK state. Stanford/ND a huge game.

[AZOffaly]

Anyone else think this selection committee is a pile of you know what!!!


Didn't think ND should have been there in 1st place put to essentially drop them 3 places (given the Buckeyes lost) after decent win against bc is shambolic! Also how Michigan state not in is beyond me!

Think the US media has let the selection committee off lightly so far - maybe a honeymoon period but had this sort of thing happened under bcs there would have been an outrage

ND will be in top 4 if they beat Stanford, even if they got dropped to 6 last week. Some interesting games coming up for all the teams in the hunt for top 4. Auburn/Alabama game is an interesting one as is OK/OK state. Stanford/ND a huge game.

A few people saying that, but on what basis MS? You have to assume Alabama and Clemson, so how would ND pass out Iowa or Michigan State, or Oklahoma assuming Oklahoma beat OK state? If they are behind them now, how could they possibly be ahead of them? Oklahoma would have to beat another highly ranked team, on the road, and Iowa or Michigan state will have beaten the other one. I think ND are cooped.

Disclaimer, my 'cooped' summary only applies if Oklahoma beat OK state, Alabama don't shite the nest, and Clemson don't do likewise. If carnage breaks out, then all bets are off and ND might well be back in play.

[gallsman]

Great post AZ but Jesus Zulu, no need to quote something like that!

Kobe is an all time great. The second best shooting guard of all time and a competitor for the title of
#2 overall. However, he's done. Age and injuries have caught up with him but, more pertinently, the game has evolved without him. I saw the highlights of the Lakers-warriors game and think his stat was 1-16. He is making $25m salary this year which is the highest in the league as was his $23.5m last year. Golden State's cap situation is great. They could be a dynasty for years.

[AZOffaly]

Most people in Ireland are vaguely aware of NCAA (college) American Football. Everyone has heard of the marching bands and the cheerleaders; most have seen 'Rudy', 'the Blind Side' or one of the other football movies; many have heard of Notre Dame (the Fighting Irish), and quite a few may even have attended the series of games in Dublin which started in the 90s. Notre Dame, Navy, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Boston College and Army all played games in Croke Park or the old Lansdowne Road, and the fixture has renewed in this century with Notre Dame and Navy again in the new Aviva at Lansdowne Road and Penn State and University of Central Florida in Croke Park.
With BT Sports and ESPN joining forces to add ESPN to the BT Sports package, a lot of sports fans in Ireland have access to a lot of College Football and ,with another memorable occasion sure to take place next year with Boston College and Georgia Tech visiting the Aviva Stadium, let's take a look at, and try to explain, some of the nuances of the phenomenon that is College Football.
..... etc....

Crikey, thanks AZ but I'm kinda sorry I asked now 

Don't think I fully get it after reading it but it's interesting even if it seems to not necessarily produce the most worthy champion.

What bit confuses you?

[Clov]

Good read AZ, thanks.

One bit doesn't add up for me though - if there are 128 competing schools and 80 go to bowl games then at least some years a bowl game must be contested by a team with a losing record?

For anyone interested in the history of American Football (especially the largely forgotten role of Native Americans) this is a good listen http://www.radiolab.org/story/football/

[AZOffaly]

Here you go...

On August 2, 2012, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a significant change to the process to determine bowl eligible teams, going so far as to potentially allow 5-7 teams to go to a bowl, in case there were not enough regular bowl-eligible teams to fill every game. If a bowl has one or more conferences/teams unable to meet their contractual commitments and there are no available bowl-eligible teams, the open spots can be filled – by the particular bowl's sponsoring agencies – as follows:[10]

Teams finishing 6-6 with one win against a team from the lower Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), regardless of whether that FCS school meets NCAA scholarship requirements. Until now, an FCS win counted only if that opponent met the scholarship requirements—specifically, that school had to award at least 90% of the FCS maximum of 63 scholarship equivalents over a two-year period. In the 2012 season, programs in four FCS conferences cannot meet the 90% requirement (56.7 equivalents)—the Ivy League, which prohibits all athletic scholarships; the Patriot League and Pioneer Football League, which do not currently award football scholarships; and the Northeast Conference, which limits football scholarships to 38 equivalents.
6-6 teams with two wins over FCS schools.
Teams that finish 6-7 with loss number seven in their conference championship game (that has been eliminated by the conference championship waiver rule).
6-7 teams that normally play a 13-team schedule, such as Hawaii's home opponents. Although Hawaii normally plays a 13-game schedule, it only played 12 games in the 2012 season.
FCS teams who are in the final year of the two-year FBS transition process, if they have at least a 6-6 record.
Finally, 5-7 teams that have a top-5 Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. This was later adjusted to allow other 5-7 teams to be selected thereafter—in order of their APR. [11]

[Clov]

Thanks.
So before 2012 was it the case bowl games on occasion were uncontested if there were not 2 eligible teams?

[oakleaflad]

Thanks for that post AZ, I follow NFL relatively closely but to be honest was never bothered enough to look into College football other than coming up to the draft and hadn't a notion about the divisions etc.

One question which you have alluded to here that I'm still a bit confused with:

"The following tie-ins exist for bowls in the years they are not hosting the national semi finals, and assuming their tie in teams are not in the semi finals:

Rose Bowl — The oldest bowl of them all, in Pasadena, California. Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1
Sugar Bowl — In New Orleans, Louisiana. SEC #1 vs. Big 12 #1
Orange Bowl — In Miami, Florida.  ACC #1 vs. SEC #2, Big Ten #2, or Notre Dame
Cotton Bowl — In Arlington, Texas.  At-large or "Group of Five" (committee selection)
Fiesta Bowl — In Phoenix, Arizona. At-large or "Group of Five" (committee selection)
Peach Bowl — In Atlanta, Georgia. At-large or "Group of Five" (committee selection)"


What happens if for example the top 4 teams in the nation are the  Big Ten #1, Pac-12 #1, SEC #1 and Big 12 #1 and they are contesting the semi finals. Does the #2 teams in the divisions contest these bowl games or is there a case where the semi finalists play in bowl games?

[AZOffaly]

In the case where the 1 through 4 teams are major conference champions (which it will be quite frequently to be honest), those bowls who are contracted are assigned teams by the College Playoff Committee. They allocate teams to the New Years 6 games, but they try to match up with traditional assignments. Sometimes it's the second place team in the conference, sometimes it's an independent or 'At Large' team like Notre Dame.

This year the semi finals will be the cotton bowl and the Orange Bowl. It's very likely the Big 10 champion will be in one of those games, so the Committee will have to place someone in the Rose Bowl to play against the PAC 12 champions, who are not likely to be in the top 4. It's probable that this team will be the Big 10 runner up, rather than the Big 10 champion, so Iowa most likely. If Michigan State don't make the Top 4, and win the Big 10, they would be in the Rose Bowl. The Sugar Bowl is not in the semi final rotation this year, and would normally have SEC versus Big 12. If, as seems likely, Oklahoma and Alabama are in the semi finals, this game will probably be between someone like Baylor and Florida, i.e. the runners up of the Big 12 and SEC.

[magpie seanie]

Have a bit of that medicine fudge fans! Favre and Cutler outshine poor ould Aaron!

[Crete Boom]

Have a bit of that medicine fudge fans! Favre and Cutler outshine poor ould Aaron!

Wrecked tired all day but it was worth it !!!!! Da Bearz taking it home on the night the retired Farve's number in Lambeau , it doesn't get much sweeter than that!!! Nearly had a heart attack for the last 2 and a half mins of the game though!!!

[magpie seanie]

Should have been more straightforward. Officials played a big part in their first TD with a ridiculous call nullifying an interception and then missing Lacy throwing the ball away before he crossed the line.

The Bears this season are an example of what good coaching can achieve. I hope they can keep going and stay in contention for a wild card berth.

[cadhlancian]

Iowa in at #4, a half point favorite against Nebraska today! Nebraska have a losing record....

[stew]

Have a bit of that medicine fudge fans! Favre and Cutler outshine poor ould Aaron!

Wrecked tired all day but it was worth it !!!!! Da Bearz taking it home on the night the retired Farve's number in Lambeau , it doesn't get much sweeter than that!!! Nearly had a heart attack for the last 2 and a half mins of the game though!!!

Really, that result is fleeting, Farve's destruction of your beloved Bears is immortal, as is his standing in the game and in the Hall Of Fame.

Every squirrel finds an acorn and I would like to congratulate Cutler on his second win in twelve tries against a beat to crap Aaron Rodgers!


The Packers have slow WR's who cannot get open, Rodgers needs to start slinging screens and slants and add in the odd trick play because this crew cannot hold onto the ball at speed, they are killing him and the team as a whole.

I expect them to bounce back and win the Division, Nelson is a huge loss but I think they will be alright.