2021 College Football Discussion and Pick'em Thread

[Santander]

Harry's "SEC has 13 top teams" argument not looking so good...

Wut

I said that the SEC has 10 teams better than North Carolina, which is up in the air [and probably right]. I intentionally left myself an out for Vanderbilt and even bought myself 3 more, a total scam on the anti-SEC people (!).

I can't imagine that North Carolina would be favored against LSU if they were playing next week, as embarrassing as this performance is for them. They may be one of the 3 additional SEC schools not better than North Carolina.

Well, embarrassing from a SEC perspective (and remember, I'm an ex-resident of both Kentucky and Mississippi, so hardly anti-SEC), but UCLA isn't actually that bad. And of course, I would still rank LSU ahead of UNC. But I would still take UNC over most of the SEC East and the Mississippis and Arkansas in the SEC West.

[7,052,770]

"Is UCLA good finally?" is a fascinating question that I can't wait to learn the answer to. I thought Chip Kelly was an outstanding coach, but after his first 3 years there, I'm not sure anymore.

[Хahar 🤔]

PS: I've never heard "Carolina" refer to UNC before. I hear the team often referring to South Carolina in a college football context. I wonder if that's an SEC peculiarity.

I find this (almost literally) incredible! I do remember that I realized I had spent a lot of time in the South when I found myself using "USC" to refer to South Carolina.

That's really interesting. You live/lived in Georgia, right? Did you discuss football a lot with Georgia fans, especially in, say, 2019, when a 4-8 "Carolina" team came into Athens and beat them?

Or I wonder if "Carolina" is just an SEC West thing?

I mean, I've heard South Carolina referred to as Carolina, but I've heard North Carolina referred to as Carolina a lot more often. "Carolina" is like "USC" where South Carolina disputes the term with a different school, but the overwhelming majority of people unconnected to the University of South Carolina will associate the term with the other school when they hear that term with no context.

When South Carolina played at Georgia in 2019, I didn't see the game because I was at a corn maze in Dawsonville. When I emerged at its conclusion, I saw a kid who looked to be about four years old in a South Carolina jersey running around and pointing at all of the many, many people wearing Bulldogs clothing. That was how I found out that South Carolina had beaten Georgia. It's a pleasant memory.

[GeorgiaModerate]

A friend of mine who is a UNC grad and diehard fan calls it "Carolina".

[GeorgiaModerate]

With two games left in this week's slate, ExtremeRepublican currently leads at 15-8, a game ahead of Dereich and NY Express.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Week 1 rankings will be used as Week 2 Rankings do not come out until Tuesday.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Week 2

Saturday, September 11th

Illinois @ Virginia 11 AM EST ACCN

Western Kentucky @ Army 11:30 AM EST CBSSN

#11 Oregon @ #4 Ohio State Noon EST FOX

Pittsburgh @ Tennessee Noon EST ESPN

Tulsa @ Oklahoma State Noon EST FS1

Rutgers @ Syracuse 2 PM EST ACCN

Toledo @ #9 Notre Dame 2:30 PM EST Peacock Streaming App

#6 Texas A&M @ Colorado 3:30 PM EST FOX

Georgia Southern @ FAU 3:30 PM EST

Buffalo @ Nebraska 3:30 PM EST BTN

California @ TCU 3:30 PM EST ESPNU

Air Force @ Navy 3:30 PM EST CBS

#18 Iowa @ #7 Iowa State 4:30 PM EST ABC

Houston @ Rice 6:30 PM EST CBSSN

Appalachian State @ #14 Miami (FL) 7 PM EST ESPNU

#21 Texas @ Arkansas 7 PM EST ESPN

NC State @ Mississippi State 7 PM EST ESPN2

North Texas @ SMU 7 PM EST ESPN+

Missouri @ Kentucky 7:30 PM EST SECN

#20 Washington @ Michigan 8 PM EST ABC

Vanderbilt @ Colorado State 10 PM EST CBSSN

San Diego State @ Arizona 10 PM EST PAC12

#24 Utah @ BYU 10:15 PM EST ESPN

Stanford @ #15 USC 10:30 PM EST FOX

Hawai'i @ Oregon State 11 PM EST FS1

[NewYorkExpress]

Virginia
Army
Ohio State
Tennessee
Oklahoma State
Syracuse
Notre Dame
Texas A&M
Florida Atlantic
Nebraska
TCU
Navy
Iowa (My upset pick of the day, though I wouldn't be shocked if the betting lines have Iowa favored)
Houston
Miami (FL)
Texas
Mississippi State
SMU
Kentucky
Michigan (The other upset pick. The Wolverines look like they actually have a Quarterback)
Colorado State
Arizona
Utah
USC
Oregon State

[Storr]

#20 Washington lost to FCS Montana 13-7. It's the first FCS win over a ranked FBS team since N. Dakota State beat #13 Iowa 23-21 in 2016. Montana was also the first non-FBS team to hold a Pac-12 opponent under 10 points since Grambling State beat Oregon State 23-6 in 1985. This is Montana's second ever win against UW....the first occurring in 1920!

Note: The PAC-12 North had a putrid Saturday going 1-5. The only win was a 7-point Oregon win over Fresno State. Oregon State lost to Purdue 30-21. Stanford was demolished by Kansas State 24-7. Cal(ifornia) lost to Nevada 22-17. Finally, Washington State lost to Utah State 26-23.

The most important question these results bring to mind is: Will the Pac-12 North be a worthy adversary to the ACC Coastal for the title of worst major college football division?

Georgia Tech losing to Northern Illinois 22-21, supposed division favorite UNC displaying a Swiss cheese offensive line while losing on opening day, and the previously mentioned Duke loss to (UNC?) Charlotte portend a glorious race to the bottom.

[Donerail]

Iowa (My upset pick of the day, though I wouldn't be shocked if the betting lines have Iowa favored)
Michigan (The other upset pick. The Wolverines look like they actually have a Quarterback)

You can grab Iowa +4.5 if you're feeling confident. But the line is Michigan -1, so that's not an upset.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Terrific defensive struggle in Charlotte.  Georgia leads Clemson 7-0 at the half, the only score coming on a pick six (Georgia also had a FG attempt bounce off the upright).  Clemson has exactly one rushing yard so far.

Clemson balanced their one yard rushing in the first half with...another yard rushing in the second half.  Yes, they had a total of two net yards on 23 rushes.  One of the most impressive defensive performances I've seen in a long time.

[Santander]

NMSU is +21 vs UNM. That just seems absurd to me.

[7,052,770]

NMSU is +21 vs UNM. That just seems absurd to me.

Insane in that it should be higher? Earlier this year, Tarleton State (!) kicked the sh**t of out NMSU.

[NewYorkExpress]

I hate to be a nitpicker, but why is Friday's Kansas/Coastal Carolina game not on our schedule?

[GeorgiaModerate]

I hate to be a nitpicker, but why is Friday's Kansas/Coastal Carolina game not on our schedule?

I'm not the schedule maker, but I strongly suspect everyone would pick Coastal.

[Santander]

NMSU is +21 vs UNM. That just seems absurd to me.

Insane in that it should be higher? Earlier this year, Tarleton State (!) kicked the sh**t of out NMSU.

NMSU is a contender for worst FBS team, sure, but they also led going into halftime against San Diego State, a better team than UNM, and the rivalry games have had a habit of being extremely close in recent years.

[NewYorkExpress]

I hate to be a nitpicker, but why is Friday's Kansas/Coastal Carolina game not on our schedule?

I'm not the schedule maker, but I strongly suspect everyone would pick Coastal.

I don't know. It just smells like a trap game for Coastal Carolina for me.

[Santander]

I hate to be a nitpicker, but why is Friday's Kansas/Coastal Carolina game not on our schedule?

I'm not the schedule maker, but I strongly suspect everyone would pick Coastal.

I don't know. It just smells like a trap game for Coastal Carolina for me.

I actually agree with your assessment for once.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

I hate to be a nitpicker, but why is Friday's Kansas/Coastal Carolina game not on our schedule?

I'm not the schedule maker, but I strongly suspect everyone would pick Coastal.

Yeah, Coastal Carolina defeated Kansas handily last year and seems to be better this year than they were last year, so I didn't see much of a point. There will always be a few games that get left off since we do 25, though there also a couple of games on here likely to be uncompetitive.

[NewYorkExpress]

UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall will retire at the end of the season.

Got to wonder who, if anyone, UConn might get to coach next year. Someone like Yale's Tony Reno might be doable for them.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

It pains me to say this, but GO NOLES. I hate Notre Dame more than any other program with the exception of Pedo State.

[Santander]

It pains me to say this, but GO NOLES. I hate Notre Dame more than any other program with the exception of Pedo State.

More than the service academies?

[7,052,770]

It pains me to say this, but GO NOLES. I hate Notre Dame more than any other program with the exception of Pedo State.

More than the service academies?

Air Force is pretty likable.

I think the Big 12 should add the 3 service academies instead of duplicating a state they're already in, a directional school, or a vehement gaybashers who teach the Book of Mormon in archaeology class.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

It pains me to say this, but GO NOLES. I hate Notre Dame more than any other program with the exception of Pedo State.

More than the service academies?

They're all top 10 for sure.

Speaking of the Faux Irish, I see they pulled out a squeaker in OT. I think sudden death should be abolished. Each team should get at least one chance to score.

[7,052,770]

It pains me to say this, but GO NOLES. I hate Notre Dame more than any other program with the exception of Pedo State.

More than the service academies?

They're all top 10 for sure.

Speaking of the Faux Irish, I see they pulled out a squeaker in OT. I think sudden death should be abolished. Each team should get at least one chance to score.

I think you're [correctly] arguing that the NFL should switch to college overtime?