2021 College Football Discussion and Pick'em Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Boise State has withdrawn from the Arizona Bowl.

[Donerail]

It's like there's a new, highly transmissible variant or something. Very weird.

Delta peaked during college football season.

And now there is a variant peaking that is 4x more transmissible than Delta, and more so among vaccinated and previously immunized populations.

I don't see any reason to think schools don't want to play in bowl games. You get a fat check regardless of the outcome — Hawaii, for example, is not a program that can really afford to pass up the $1.2 mil payout they would've gotten. If a school doesn't want to play in a bowl, they can always just decline the placement.

[Dereich]

I don’t know how he does it but somehow convincing his team of things like this is what makes Saban the undisputed best. See also Bryce Young saying he’s been doubted all his life at the Heisman ceremony.

https://twitter.com/dwstraka49/status/1475594188922232835?s=21

[Ancestral Republican]

I don’t know how he does it but somehow convincing his team of things like this is what makes Saban the undisputed best. See also Bryce Young saying he’s been doubted all his life at the Heisman ceremony.

https://twitter.com/dwstraka49/status/1475594188922232835?s=21

Alabama ought to be disrespected since they looked like crap all year until the SEC told Georgia to throw their game to ensure two SEC playoff teams. And Bryce Young has had his whole career handed to him on a silver platter, including his undeserved Heisman.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Central Michigan will now play Washington State in the Sun Bowl after both teams lost their original opponents.  This will not be a pick'em game.

[DINGO Joe]

Central Michigan will now play Washington State in the Sun Bowl after both teams lost their original opponents.  This will not be a pick'em game.

Well, CMU obviously wins going from a bowl with no television and a 350,000 payout to a 4.5 million bowl

[7,052,770]

It's like there's a new, highly transmissible variant or something. Very weird.

Delta peaked during college football season.

And now there is a variant peaking that is 4x more transmissible than Delta, and more so among vaccinated and previously immunized populations.

I don't see any reason to think schools don't want to play in bowl games. You get a fat check regardless of the outcome — Hawaii, for example, is not a program that can really afford to pass up the $1.2 mil payout they would've gotten. If a school doesn't want to play in a bowl, they can always just decline the placement.

Even with the checks, schools usually lose money on bowls unless they can unload the tickets they're forced to buy (which larger and more prestigious schools usually can).

Boise State and Hawaii undoubtedly made the better financial decision, even more if they also got an insurance check to do so.

You're seeing another tonight, where it's being reported that UCLA is basically canceling because its starting DL is out, even though they had enough walk-ons and fill-ins to play. It's just ridiculous.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The Hawaii Bowl routinely gets 20-30k fans. I'm sure Hawaii had no difficulty at all distributing its allotment.

Looking more and more like "The SEC is going to go 4-9 in bowl games" pre-cope that bowl games don't matter just ahead of Alabama winning the national title since that matters.

If bowl games don't matter, especially to teams that have no prayer of ever sniffing the national title, then this sport means absolutely nothing. Even though they certainly mattered when the SEC was the only conference with a winning record (60% win rate!) in the 2010s.

[7,052,770]

The Hawaii Bowl routinely gets 20-30k fans. I'm sure Hawaii had no difficulty at all distributing its allotment.

That was before the stadium was condemned. The bowl was to be played in a stadium with a capacity of 9,000, not that Hawaii ever had that many fans at a game in 2021 anyway.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The Hawaii Bowl routinely gets 20-30k fans. I'm sure Hawaii had no difficulty at all distributing its allotment.

That was before the stadium was condemned. The bowl was to be played in a stadium with a capacity of 9,000, not that Hawaii ever had that many fans at a game in 2021 anyway.

How would they have difficulty meeting an even smaller allotment.

[Dereich]

If this TTU-MSU game ends the way it looks like it will the SEC will be 0-4 to start bowl season. The SEC did seem somewhat down this year and this would support that. Certainly what Michigan/Cincinnati fans would want to see.

[NewYorkExpress]

Oklahoma leads Oregon at halftime in the Alamo Bowl, 30-3.

[7,052,770]

Why in the world was North Carolina a top 10 team in the first place?

I don't think they would be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC if that was their conference...

Man I slayed everyone with this prophetic post. Easily one of the 10 greatest predictions in the history of this forum.

I wonder if anyone will STILL insist that I was somehow wrong,

[GeorgiaModerate]

Why in the world was North Carolina a top 10 team in the first place?

I don't think they would be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC if that was their conference...

Man I slayed everyone with this prophetic post. Easily one of the 10 greatest predictions in the history of this forum.

I wonder if anyone will STILL insist that I was somehow wrong,

What's funny is that everyone in the pick'em chose UNC.

[Donerail]

Why in the world was North Carolina a top 10 team in the first place?

I don't think they would be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC if that was their conference...

Man I slayed everyone with this prophetic post. Easily one of the 10 greatest predictions in the history of this forum.

I wonder if anyone will STILL insist that I was somehow wrong,

Congratulations to the Southeastern Conference on improving to 1-4. With enough luck the SEC might someday rival the Mid-American or maybe even Conference USA.

[Dereich]

Why in the world was North Carolina a top 10 team in the first place?

I don't think they would be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC if that was their conference...

Man I slayed everyone with this prophetic post. Easily one of the 10 greatest predictions in the history of this forum.

I wonder if anyone will STILL insist that I was somehow wrong,

Congratulations to the Southeastern Conference on improving to 1-4. With enough luck the SEC might someday rival the Mid-American or maybe even Conference USA.

Well you see, all SEC teams only care about the playoff. Every other team in every other conference are all playing at their very best so SEC bowl losses don't count.

[7,052,770]

Why in the world was North Carolina a top 10 team in the first place?

I don't think they would be one of the top 10 teams in the SEC if that was their conference...

Man I slayed everyone with this prophetic post. Easily one of the 10 greatest predictions in the history of this forum.

I wonder if anyone will STILL insist that I was somehow wrong,

Congratulations to the Southeastern Conference on improving to 1-4. With enough luck the SEC might someday rival the Mid-American or maybe even Conference USA.

Jeez, how bad must North Carolina be if they can't even crack the top 10 of a conference on the level of the MAC or CUSA?

[GeorgiaModerate]

The Tennessee-Purdue game has been terrifically entertaining.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

"This game is drunk right now - more drunk than a bachelorette party on Broadway"

Do they still teach kids tackling these days?

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I think the golf balls are about to come out. Every call going against Tennessee! Ya hate to see it happen to this fanbase.

Thankfully this one wasn't the Mayo Bowl.

[7,052,770]

"Confirmed"

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Take it easy now. This isn't Indianapolis, it's Nashville. They can't do this to us here in Nashville. Let's show 'em what they are made of. Come on everybody, sing "Rocky Top". Somebody sing "Rocky Top"!

(Make that 1-5! UT still ain't back from the dead XD)

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I'm no UT apologist (as a Vandy fan), but that call was terrible

[GeorgiaModerate]

I think the golf balls are about to come out. Every call going against Tennessee! Ya hate to see it happen to this fanbase.

Thankfully this one wasn't the Mayo Bowl.

I think they got jobbed on the OT not-TD call, but as a Georgia fan I have no love lost for Tennessee.   (My wife leaves the room if they're on TV.  She still has PTSD from the game several years ago where they beat us on a last-second Hail Mary.)

[7,052,770]

I'm no UT apologist (as a Vandy fan), but that call was terrible

Definitely. I'm happy Tennessee lost but that would have been one of the worst calls in college football history if they'd said "stands." Calling it "confirmed" is blatant rigging. None of those refs should ever be allowed to work again.