2021 College Football Discussion and Pick'em Thread

[7,052,770]

Man this sucks

Maybe your conference should stop blocking the 12-team playoff for no reason other than spite.

You could have a Pac-12 team playing for the title every year rather than 25% of the years.

Why would that be a good thing? Expanded playoffs suck, they'd be awful for everyone, four teams is already far too many.

I disagree completely. The bowls are just big time grifts for "executives" to make 6- and 7-figure salaries and bleed the universities (that is, the taxpayers if the university is public) out of their money. And the players often don't care (nowadays they're open about it and "opt out"), so a lot of the games aren't any good.

It won't happen because the corrupt bowl $ystem is entrenched, but the FBS would be much better off adding a 13th regular season game for all and having a ~16-team playoff as the only postseason, with the profits going to the schools and all players.

No other division of college football, nor any state in high school, nor the NFL would ever abandon their current playoff system to go to a bowl or BCS or even a 4-team CFP/NY6 system,  because it's just a bad idea that is only in place because it developed organically over the decades.

[Catholics vs. Convicts]

Week 13

Friday, November 26th

Boise State @ #19 San Diego State Noon EST CBS

Kansas State @ Texas Noon EST FOX

Ohio @ Bowling Green Noon EST TBD

Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan Noon EST ESPNU

#17 Iowa @ Nebraska 1:30 PM EST BTN

UTEP @ UAB 2 PM EST ESPN+

#5 Cincinnati @ East Carolina 3:30 PM EST ABC

Missouri @ Arkansas 3:30 PM EST CBS

TCU @ Iowa State 3:30 PM EST TBD

North Carolina @ #20 NC State 7 PM EST ESPN

Washington State @ Washington 7 PM EST

Saturday, November 21st

#4 Ohio State @ #6 Michigan Noon EST FOX

Florida State @ Florida Noon EST ESPN

Army @ Liberty Noon EST ESPNU

#10 Wake Forest @ Boston College Noon EST ESPN2

Maryland @ Rutgers Noon EST BTN

Arizona @ Arizona State 3 PM EST

Western Kentucky @ Marshall 3:30 PM EST CBSSN

#2 Alabama @ Auburn 3:30 PM EST CBS

Virginia Tech @ Virginia 3:45 PM EST TBD

#13 Oklahoma @ #9 Oklahoma State 7:30 PM EST ABC

Kentucky @ Louisville 7:30 PM EST TBD

Oregon State @ #3 Oregon TBD

Penn State @ #7 Michigan State TBD

#15 Wisconsin @ Minnesota TBD

Eggs Over Easy Bowl: Mississippi State

[Ancestral Republican]

❌ichigan will lose

[Dereich]

Week 13

Friday, November 26th

Boise State @ #19 San Diego State Noon EST CBS

Kansas State @ Texas Noon EST FOX lol texas

Ohio @ Bowling Green Noon EST TBD

Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan Noon EST ESPNU

#17 Iowa @ Nebraska 1:30 PM EST BTN Fun fact: Nebraska is currently 1-7 in the big 10 and has a positive point differential in conference

UTEP @ UAB 2 PM EST ESPN+

#5 Cincinnati @ East Carolina 3:30 PM EST ABC

Missouri @ Arkansas 3:30 PM EST CBS

TCU @ Iowa State 3:30 PM EST TBD

North Carolina @ #20 NC State 7 PM EST ESPN

Washington State @ Washington 7 PM EST

Saturday, November 21st

#4 Ohio State @ #6 Michigan Noon EST FOX I'm rooting for the fightin' harbaughs really hard and they should actually pressure An Ohio State's offense pretty well with their edge rushers but it isn't gonna happen.

Florida State @ Florida Noon EST ESPN Momentum favors FSU, the fundamentals favor Florida. Choosing FSU solely because I'm a homer

Army @ Liberty Noon EST ESPNU

#10 Wake Forest @ Boston College Noon EST ESPN2

Maryland @ Rutgers Noon EST BTN Like Bedlam below, I trust the evil curse on Maryland football for November games more than I do the odds being in their favor.

Arizona @ Arizona State 3 PM EST

Western Kentucky @ Marshall 3:30 PM EST CBSSN

#2 Alabama @ Auburn 3:30 PM EST CBS Auburn will either win by 2 or lose by 22+. No in between

Virginia Tech @ Virginia 3:45 PM EST TBD

#13 Oklahoma @ #9 Oklahoma State 7:30 PM EST ABC Oklahoma State looks like the better team and they're favored...but Bedlam stats are currently at "Oklahoma leads, 90–18–7" I trust the evil curse on Oklahoma State more than I do their abilities on the field.

Kentucky @ Louisville 7:30 PM EST TBD

Oregon State @ #3 Oregon TBD

Penn State @ #7 Michigan State TBD Penn State gets one last ruination in by rubbing salt in the wounds of Sparty.

#15 Wisconsin @ Minnesota TBD

EGG: The most Old of Misses because Lane Kiffin also likes to ruin things for people and will ruin things for Mississippi State before going off to ruin Florida or something

[Donerail]

EGG: The most Old of Misses because Lane Kiffin also likes to ruin things for people and will ruin things for Mississippi State before going off to ruin Florida or something

Not Florida, I don't think, but you'll still see him often. There is another job opening in the state very soon a little more in line with his deal

[Ancestral Republican]

Pedo State just agreed to a ten year, $80M deal to finish fourth in the B1G East every year 😂😂😂😂

[Хahar 🤔]

Man this sucks

Maybe your conference should stop blocking the 12-team playoff for no reason other than spite.

You could have a Pac-12 team playing for the title every year rather than 25% of the years.

Why would that be a good thing? Expanded playoffs suck, they'd be awful for everyone, four teams is already far too many.

I disagree completely. The bowls are just big time grifts for "executives" to make 6- and 7-figure salaries and bleed the universities (that is, the taxpayers if the university is public) out of their money. And the players often don't care (nowadays they're open about it and "opt out"), so a lot of the games aren't any good.

It won't happen because the corrupt bowl $ystem is entrenched, but the FBS would be much better off adding a 13th regular season game for all and having a ~16-team playoff as the only postseason, with the profits going to the schools and all players.

An argument based around money is more interesting than an argument about the urgent necessity to find the best team through a tournament, which is nice. The problem here is that an argument against bilking taxpayers, when taken to its logical conclusion, inevitably arrives at the idea that schools should be taken out of sports entirely. Some people feel this way and only watch pro football, but obviously I like college football a lot. The reason I care about college football more than pro football isn't because I think the quality of play is higher (although it certainly can be visually interesting in a way that pro football isn't); it's because I'm emotionally attached to its culture, which involves a lot of features that wouldn't exist if it were drawn up from scratch by Homo economicus. I'm unconvinced by an argument to rationality.

Beyond that, as I said, the games we've seen just haven't been good (year after year we get blowout semifinals, because there aren't four teams that deserve to be national champions) and adding more teams would certainly not help. I don't want a system where the only thing that matters is who gets hot for a few weeks; let basketball be basketball. Even a decade ago, the forthcoming SEC championship game would be a big deal, but now anything other than a convincing defeat for Alabama would mean that both teams get in, so people won't care in nearly the same way. Last year's ACC championship game was meaningless. I don't understand the impulse you see constantly in college football media today to make the actual results of games irrelevant.

No other division of college football, nor any state in high school, nor the NFL would ever abandon their current playoff system to go to a bowl or BCS or even a 4-team CFP/NY6 system,  because it's just a bad idea that is only in place because it developed organically over the decades.

I played high school football in California. We didn't and still don't have a playoff system to determine a state championship; instead, each sectional champion at each level plays an equivalent team from the other half of the state. It's not as universal as you allege, and there are reasons to prefer something else.

Why would that be a good thing? Expanded playoffs suck, they'd be awful for everyone, four teams is already far too many.

You are not just a clown, you are the whole circus.

Hey asshole, have you ever considered chilling out? It'd be one thing if politics were involved, but I don't appreciate being insulted because you don't agree with my opinions about sports. I don't understand why you want to be such a relentlessly unpleasant presence on every sports-related thread on this forum, but it'd help if you stopped doing that.

[Ancestral Republican]

Hey asshole, have you ever considered chilling out? It'd be one thing if politics were involved, but I don't appreciate being insulted because you don't agree with my opinions about sports. I don't understand why you want to be such a relentlessly unpleasant presence on every sports-related thread on this forum, but it'd help if you stopped doing that.

Tone doesn't come across very well online. I use insulting terms in the sports threads satirically, because I approach it with a very unserious mindset. You'll see I called my friend Donerail an idiot several weeks ago for thinking Clemson was going to upset Pitt. I obviously don't actually think he is an idiot.

In the future you can look out for my posts to occasionally contain satire

[NewYorkExpress]

Playoff Rankings are out.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. Michigan
6. Notre Dame
7. Oklahoma State
8. Baylor
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma

Other Notables

11. Oregon
12. Michigan State
13. BYU
17. Pittsburgh
18. Wake Forest
21. San Diego State
22. UTSA
24. Houston

[Dereich]

EGG: The most Old of Misses because Lane Kiffin also likes to ruin things for people and will ruin things for Mississippi State before going off to ruin Florida or something

Not Florida, I don't think, but you'll still see him often. There is another job opening in the state very soon a little more in line with his deal

I've never gotten the sense that the Miami administration was devoted enough to football to pay Lane Kiffin money. Of course its hard to tell since its a private university and we don't know what Diaz's contract says, but we'll see.

[NewYorkExpress]

EGG: The most Old of Misses because Lane Kiffin also likes to ruin things for people and will ruin things for Mississippi State before going off to ruin Florida or something

Not Florida, I don't think, but you'll still see him often. There is another job opening in the state very soon a little more in line with his deal

I've never gotten the sense that the Miami administration was devoted enough to football to pay Lane Kiffin money. Of course its hard to tell since its a private university and we don't know what Diaz's contract says, but we'll see.

If the Miami job opens up, I think Kiffin has to be one of the top contenders. I think they'd also go after Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, depending on the financial situation at Miami, they might try to poach Jimbo Fisher from Texas A&M.

Miami's a university that thinks they still should, at a minimum be atop the ACC every year, not Clemson or Florida State, and I'd expect their shortlist and eventual hire to reflect that.

[7,052,770]

Playoff Rankings are out.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. Michigan
6. Notre Dame
7. Oklahoma State
8. Baylor
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma

Other Notables

11. Oregon
12. Michigan State
13. BYU
17. Pittsburgh
18. Wake Forest
21. San Diego State
22. UTSA
24. Houston

Mississippi State falls out of the top 25 after winning 55-10. Totally reasonable!

And usually the selection committee likes to put runs of head-to-head wins together, so I expected to maybe see Arkansas-Mississippi State-NC State-Clemson in 4 consecutive spots, but then sometimes the committee either forgets to do that or just doesn't want to. The week to week rankings are a disaster and should not be taken seriously.

[Dereich]

EGG: The most Old of Misses because Lane Kiffin also likes to ruin things for people and will ruin things for Mississippi State before going off to ruin Florida or something

Not Florida, I don't think, but you'll still see him often. There is another job opening in the state very soon a little more in line with his deal

I've never gotten the sense that the Miami administration was devoted enough to football to pay Lane Kiffin money. Of course its hard to tell since its a private university and we don't know what Diaz's contract says, but we'll see.

If the Miami job opens up, I think Kiffin has to be one of the top contenders. I think they'd also go after Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, depending on the financial situation at Miami, they might try to poach Jimbo Fisher from Texas A&M.

Miami's a university that thinks they still should, at a minimum be atop the ACC every year, not Clemson or Florida State, and I'd expect their shortlist and eventual hire to reflect that.

See this is where I think you're dead wrong. The Miami FANBASE thinks that they should be a premier program but there's not much evidence that the university administration feels the same way. The last five coaching hires they have made (two internal coordinator hires, two coaches from G5 school Temple, and a coach just fired by Georgia, admittedly one with Miami ties) don't really reflect an administration willing to spend the massive amounts of cash that would be needed to steal away another P5 coach. If the rumors of Manny Diaz's contract are correct, he's only the 9th highest paid coach in the ACC. Miami is also a much smaller school with a much more international booster/alumni base that doesn't prioritize football the same way bigger public schools do.

Even if that wasn't the case though, the idea that they'd try to poach JIMBO, the former coach of their archrival and a man with the most expensive buyout in college football, one that is almost THREE TIMES HIGHER THAN NICK SABANS is ridiculous.

[Donerail]

Not Florida, I don't think, but you'll still see him often. There is another job opening in the state very soon a little more in line with his deal

I've never gotten the sense that the Miami administration was devoted enough to football to pay Lane Kiffin money. Of course its hard to tell since its a private university and we don't know what Diaz's contract says, but we'll see.

That's been the hit on them for a while, but they just fired their AD and the admin publicly committed this week to pumping an extra $20-30 mil into the football program. Doubt it's enough to pull away Cristobal — even with the extra money, Oregon's still a better job — but Kiffin definitely wants out of Oxford, and it's not a bad landing spot.

[AndyHogan14]

WEEK 12 RESULTS

And 7 games with a single dissenter:

Stanford-Cal (dissenter was right)

Go Bears! I had a great time celebrating on Stanford's field on Saturday...probably caught COVID in the mass of people, but to hell with it, it's worth it when we beat those pompous, holier than thou lobsterbacks.

[Donerail]

WEEK 12 RESULTS

And 7 games with a single dissenter:

Stanford-Cal (dissenter was right)

Go Bears! I had a great time celebrating on Stanford's field on Saturday...probably caught COVID in the mass of people, but to hell with it, it's worth it when we beat those pompous, holier than thou lobsterbacks.

if you caught covid it's because your covid-ridden team and anti-vaxx qb brought it in with you

[AndyHogan14]

WEEK 12 RESULTS

And 7 games with a single dissenter:

Stanford-Cal (dissenter was right)

Go Bears! I had a great time celebrating on Stanford's field on Saturday...probably caught COVID in the mass of people, but to hell with it, it's worth it when we beat those pompous, holier than thou lobsterbacks.

if you caught covid it's because your covid-ridden team and anti-vaxx qb brought it in with you

I can't help it that most of them got the garbage J-J vaccine—I am beyond thrilled that I got Moderna (and have since been boosted). Hell, 99% of the team was vaccinated (including Garbers) and most, from my understanding, got J-J. I guarantee you this though, most teams probably have the exact same problem in their programs but simply are not testing—something the City of Berkeley did not allow to happen.

Also, I just noticed your from Palo Alto. First of all, I'm sorry and second, well, we have the axe.

[Хahar 🤔]

Not Florida, I don't think, but you'll still see him often. There is another job opening in the state very soon a little more in line with his deal

I've never gotten the sense that the Miami administration was devoted enough to football to pay Lane Kiffin money. Of course its hard to tell since its a private university and we don't know what Diaz's contract says, but we'll see.

That's been the hit on them for a while, but they just fired their AD and the admin publicly committed this week to pumping an extra $20-30 mil into the football program. Doubt it's enough to pull away Cristobal — even with the extra money, Oregon's still a better job — but Kiffin definitely wants out of Oxford, and it's not a bad landing spot.

Cristobal's an alum who's spent most of his life in Florida, so there's an obvious reason for him to go to Miami even if Oregon is a better job. The Kiffin rumors sound like a great way for Jimmy Sexton to get his client a raise from Misssissippi. The boosters in Oxford have more money than sense and I don't think they'd like to see their coach get poached.

[JGibson]

Week 13

Friday, November 26th

Boise State @ #19 San Diego State Noon EST CBS

Kansas State @ Texas Noon EST FOX

Ohio @ Bowling Green Noon EST TBD

Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan Noon EST ESPNU

#17 Iowa @ Nebraska 1:30 PM EST BTN

UTEP @ UAB 2 PM EST ESPN+

#5 Cincinnati @ East Carolina 3:30 PM EST ABC

Missouri @ Arkansas 3:30 PM EST CBS

TCU @ Iowa State 3:30 PM EST TBD

North Carolina @ #20 NC State 7 PM EST ESPN

Washington State @ Washington 7 PM EST

Saturday, November 21st

#4 Ohio State @ #6 Michigan Noon EST FOX

Florida State @ Florida Noon EST ESPN

Army @ Liberty Noon EST ESPNU

#10 Wake Forest @ Boston College Noon EST ESPN2

Maryland @ Rutgers Noon EST BTN

Arizona @ Arizona State 3 PM EST

Western Kentucky @ Marshall 3:30 PM EST CBSSN

#2 Alabama @ Auburn 3:30 PM EST CBS

Virginia Tech @ Virginia 3:45 PM EST TBD

#13 Oklahoma @ #9 Oklahoma State 7:30 PM EST ABC

Kentucky @ Louisville 7:30 PM EST TBD

Oregon State @ #3 Oregon TBD

Penn State @ #7 Michigan State TBD

#15 Wisconsin @ Minnesota TBD

Egg Bowl (unofficial): Mississippi State

[GeorgiaModerate]

^ Skipped the last 3 Friday games.

[Del Tachi]

Playoff Rankings are out.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. Michigan
6. Notre Dame
7. Oklahoma State
8. Baylor
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma

Other Notables

11. Oregon
12. Michigan State
13. BYU
17. Pittsburgh
18. Wake Forest
21. San Diego State
22. UTSA
24. Houston

Mississippi State falls out of the top 25 after winning 55-10. Totally reasonable!

And usually the selection committee likes to put runs of head-to-head wins together, so I expected to maybe see Arkansas-Mississippi State-NC State-Clemson in 4 consecutive spots, but then sometimes the committee either forgets to do that or just doesn't want to. The week to week rankings are a disaster and should not be taken seriously.

If the CFP is going to be seeded by a committee, there is no need for weekly rankings.  The committee should just go into a room on the Monday after championship week and pick the Top 4.  The pecking order established by week-to-week rankings quickly becomes too determinative in assessing who the best four really are.  We'd still havet the coaches and the AP for the ESPN talking heads to drone on about

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Throw in your egg bowl picks for fun (but wont be officially part of the contest)

Week 13

Friday, November 26th

Boise State @ #19 San Diego State Noon EST CBS

Kansas State @ Texas Noon EST FOX

Ohio @ Bowling Green Noon EST TBD

Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan Noon EST ESPNU

#17 Iowa @ Nebraska 1:30 PM EST BTN

UTEP @ UAB 2 PM EST ESPN+

#5 Cincinnati @ East Carolina 3:30 PM EST ABC

Missouri @ Arkansas 3:30 PM EST CBS

TCU @ Iowa State 3:30 PM EST TBD

North Carolina @ #20 NC State 7 PM EST ESPN

Washington State @ Washington 7 PM EST

Saturday, November 21st

#4 Ohio State @ #6 Michigan Noon EST FOX

Florida State @ Florida Noon EST ESPN

Army @ Liberty Noon EST ESPNU

#10 Wake Forest @ Boston College Noon EST ESPN2

Maryland @ Rutgers Noon EST BTN

Arizona @ Arizona State 3 PM EST

Western Kentucky @ Marshall 3:30 PM EST CBSSN

#2 Alabama @ Auburn 3:30 PM EST CBS

Virginia Tech @ Virginia 3:45 PM EST TBD

#13 Oklahoma @ #9 Oklahoma State 7:30 PM EST ABC

Kentucky @ Louisville 7:30 PM EST TBD

Oregon State @ #3 Oregon TBD

Penn State @ #7 Michigan State TBD

#15 Wisconsin @ Minnesota TBD

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Picking Ole Miss for the Egg Bowl

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Death, taxes, and Mike Leach winning 8-9 games in a season. Ride with State in the 2H. HAIL LEACH!

Shame two were stolen.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Boise State @ #19 San Diego State Noon EST CBS

Kansas State @ Texas Noon EST FOX

Ohio @ Bowling Green Noon EST TBD

Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan Noon EST ESPNU

#17 Iowa @ Nebraska 1:30 PM EST BTN

UTEP @ UAB 2 PM EST ESPN+

#5 Cincinnati @ East Carolina 3:30 PM EST ABC

Missouri @ Arkansas 3:30 PM EST CBS

TCU @ Iowa State 3:30 PM EST TBD

North Carolina @ #20 NC State 7 PM EST ESPN

Washington State @ Washington 7 PM EST