2021 College Football Discussion and Pick'em Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Given Stanford is getting destroyed by Utah right now, and they only games they've looked good in were against USC and Oregon (and Vanderbilt, but even a school full of nuns can beat Vanderbilt), is there any possibility of David Shaw getting fired either before the season ends, or after the season? It's worth noting that the Cardinal haven't participated in a bowl game since the 2018 Sun Bowl....

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Air Force
North Carolina
Ole Miss
SMU
Miami
East Carolina
UL-Monroe
Cincinnati
Michigan State
Oklahoma State
Texas A&M
Baylor
Penn State
Troy
Mississippi State
Florida Atlantic
Tennessee
Boise State
Old Dominion
Oregon
Clemson
Iowa State
Nevada
UTSA
Arizona State

[GeorgiaModerate]

Georgia is a 39.5-point favorite over Missouri today, which is the most I can recall ever seeing us favored in a conference game.

[Donerail]

Given Stanford is getting destroyed by Utah right now, and they only games they've looked good in were against USC and Oregon (and Vanderbilt, but even a school full of nuns can beat Vanderbilt), is there any possibility of David Shaw getting fired either before the season ends, or after the season?

No. He is the winningest coach in school history, there's no faction that dislikes him, and he understands how to recruit decent enough to a place that is very hard to recruit (of particular note, he cannot rely on early enrollees or transfers, which is at least part of most schools' plans these days). He has accumulated enough goodwill that at this point he effectively has the job for as long as he wants it — it would probably take a winless season, or at least being this bad next year, for that to be a serious conversation barring some sort of legal scandal. Maybe it's time to talk about an OC change, but they're not gonna fire Shaw.

Also, Stanford is of course private, so we can only guess at the financial situation, but Shaw makes $9 mil a year. No one outside the administration knows how long the contract runs or what the buyout would be. Maybe silly to talk about money as a concern here, given the size of the endowment, but the school did just attempt to cut a third of its varsity sports citing budgetary reasons. There's a ton of money here, just in the air, but this is not a place (referring to both Palo Alto and the Bay in general) with the same booster culture as the hardcore cfb parts of the country — Bill Neukom is not going to write a $20 mil check to pay Shaw not to coach in the way that, say, Wexner at OSU or T. Boone at the other OSU.

[DINGO Joe]

Georgia is a 39.5-point favorite over Missouri today, which is the most I can recall ever seeing us favored in a conference game.

Georgia never plays Vandy?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Georgia is a 39.5-point favorite over Missouri today, which is the most I can recall ever seeing us favored in a conference game.

Georgia never plays Vandy?

Yes, and IIRC we were 36-point favorites against them earlier this year (in Nashville).  We won 62-0.

[Dereich]

Wake-NC seems fun so far. Looks very much like whoever scores last wins. I pity whoever took the under.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Wake-NC seems fun so far. Looks very much like whoever scores last wins. I pity whoever took the under.

The over/under was 78, and it's already over that with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Illinois upsets Minnesota, 14-6.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Memphis staves off a furious SMU comeback for the upset.  The Mustangs had trailed 28-10 in the fourth quarter, but cut it to 28-25 and were driving for a tying or winning score until a late interception sealed the outcome.

[Dereich]

Down goes Wake. The committee must be delighted.

[Donerail]

Down goes Wake. The committee must be delighted.

Well I can't imagine the committee could penalize them too badly for a non-conference loss. They're still undefeated in ACC play

[Reaganfan Democrat]

Got here just in time.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Cincinnati leads Tulsa only 14-12 at the half.

[Dereich]

Down goes Wake. The committee must be delighted.

Well I can't imagine the committee could penalize them too badly for a non-conference loss. They're still undefeated in ACC play

Of course they will; they'll put them in a place where a one loss Wake could not possibly reach the playoff. In the end, the Playoff exists to make money and Wake has no viewership footprint. Same reason they won't allow Cincinnati in if they can possibly avoid it.

[Ancestral Republican]

Down goes Wake. The committee must be delighted.

Well I can't imagine the committee could penalize them too badly for a non-conference loss. They're still undefeated in ACC play

Of course they will; they'll put them in a place where a one loss Wake could not possibly reach the playoff. In the end, the Playoff exists to make money and Wake has no viewership footprint. Same reason they won't allow Cincinnati in if they can possibly avoid it.

Wake is really not a very good team. Even before today they would have been a pretty questionable pick.

[Dereich]

Down goes Wake. The committee must be delighted.

Well I can't imagine the committee could penalize them too badly for a non-conference loss. They're still undefeated in ACC play

Of course they will; they'll put them in a place where a one loss Wake could not possibly reach the playoff. In the end, the Playoff exists to make money and Wake has no viewership footprint. Same reason they won't allow Cincinnati in if they can possibly avoid it.

Wake is really not a very good team. Even before today they would have been a pretty questionable pick.

What does that matter? No team (outside of Alabama and only for Saban and recruiting reasons) can viably compete with Georgia on a neutral field this year. Better to see a new team lose by 20 than Ohio State back again to lose by 17.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Arizona snaps the nation's longest losing streak by beating Cal 10-3.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

TCU!! Yes!

Now I can safely cheer for Baylor over OU next week without worrying about the hateful green team making the playoff

[Ancestral Republican]

Down goes Wake. The committee must be delighted.

Well I can't imagine the committee could penalize them too badly for a non-conference loss. They're still undefeated in ACC play

Of course they will; they'll put them in a place where a one loss Wake could not possibly reach the playoff. In the end, the Playoff exists to make money and Wake has no viewership footprint. Same reason they won't allow Cincinnati in if they can possibly avoid it.

Wake is really not a very good team. Even before today they would have been a pretty questionable pick.

What does that matter? No team (outside of Alabama and only for Saban and recruiting reasons) can viably compete with Georgia on a neutral field this year. Better to see a new team lose by 20 than Ohio State back again to lose by 17.

But they aren't really charged with creating a competition with underrepresented fanbases to make it interesting. It's supposed to be the four best teams in football. Fwiw, I don't think Georgia is indestructible, but they're certainly favored. You will want to keep teams like tOSU, Oregon, Bama, and throws up TTUN around because they can make it competitive. I do agree Cincy should be on that list of teams, though.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Florida losing to South Carolina 30-10

[Dereich]

Every team I root for is either losing or has lost yet again. Another bad week.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Arizona snaps the nation's longest losing streak by beating Cal 10-3.

After Arizona's win, UNLV became the FBS team with the longest losing streak (14 games -- Arizona's streak was 20).  However, the Rebels currently lead New Mexico 31-17 early in the 4th quarter.  If they hang on and win, I'm not sure who will own the longest losing streak.  I don't think there will be any remaining winless FBS teams.

[NewYorkExpress]

My best guess as to what the committee will do in next week's rankings:

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Oregon

Just missed: Oklahoma, Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

My best guess as to what the committee will do in next week's rankings:

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Oregon

Just missed: Oklahoma, Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State.

JW: What is your logic for having Ohio State jump Oregon?