Tag: Texas Tech Red Raiders (Page 4 of 6)

      The college football regular season is not a playoff

      November 7, 2008 /

      Phil Guidry of SI.com is my hero:

      The regular season is a playoff
      Of all the absolute nonsense network sportscasters and BCS apologists spew during the season, this might be the most galling. If the regular season is a playoff, it’s the most asinine, unfulfilling playoff ever devised. If this is a playoff, it’s missing one teeny, tiny, possibly useful ingredient for the big picture: the actual “playing” part.

      Things would be fine if everyone played the same balanced schedule and the best teams got the chance to pick each other off during the season until a true champion emerged. But if there’s one thing college football fans can agree on, it’s that conference schedules are not created equal…

      In reality, this alleged regular season playoff settles virtually nothing on the field, and that means at the end of the year we could have the following situation: Florida could get shut out of the title game even though it’s churning through SEC opponents by 30 points per game. Penn State could get shut out even with an undefeated season. USC could get shut out even though it’s, well, shutting people out (three times this season, and it hasn’t even faced UCLA yet). Texas could get shut out even though its only loss came against an unbeaten team, in the final seconds, thanks to the best play of the season. Oklahoma could get shut out even though Texas is the only team that beat it…

      Imagine a world where the NFL didn’t have playoffs. It just had a 17-Week regular season and at the end, the New York Giants played the Tennessee Titans because each team had the right combination of wins, common opponents and margin of victory points.

      I think I just threw up in my mouth. And that’s how I feel watching college football every Saturday knowing that there’s no true playoff system to tell me if Penn State is better than Texas Tech or Alabama is better than Florida.

      College Football

      A road map to the BCS title game

      November 4, 2008 /

      Graham HarrellHere is who the top six BCS teams currently have left to face:

      1. *ALABAMA: at Louisiana St.; Mississippi St.; Auburn
      2. *TEXAS TECH: Oklahoma State; at Oklahoma; Baylor
      3. PENN STATE: at Iowa; Indiana; Michigan State
      4. *TEXAS: Baylor; at Kansas; Texas A&M
      5. *FLORIDA: at Vanderbilt; South Carolina; The Citadel; at Florida St.
      6. *OKLAHOMA: at Texas A&M; Texas Tech; at Oklahoma State
      *-may also play in league championship

      Just based on the remaining schedule, it looks like the title game will probably come down to the league championship weekend, which only benefits Penn State since the Big Ten doesn’t have a championship game.

      But what’s interesting is that all six of these teams have potential pitfall games that could sink them before championship weekend. ‘Bama has the toughest road to travel with LSU and Auburn still left on its schedule, while Texas Tech has two dangerous games back to back in OK State and Oklahoma, while Florida-Florida State is always interesting. Penn State and Texas have arguably the easiest schedule, although Iowa and Michigan State could catch the Nittany Lions napping.

      Something I don’t want to hear this year his how championship week is essentially a playoff. That is the most exciting week in college football, but it’s not a true playoff system and it’s a joke when BCS supporters try to pedal it as such.

      College Football

      Texas Tech upsets Texas – ‘Bama top team in the nation?

      November 1, 2008 /

      Texas Tech-TexasThe 2008 College Football Season just got a bit more interesting as No. 7 Texas Tech knocked off top-ranked Texas 39-33 in Lubbock on Saturday night.

      Pundits noted all week how the Red Raiders don’t play defense and while they did give up 33 points, the final score wasn’t a true indication of how well they shut down Colt McCoy and the Longhorn offense. Tech did a fantastic job of taking away what Texas does best – moving the ball with underneath routes and racking up the yards after the catch. Of course it didn’t hurt that Longhorn wideouts couldn’t hang onto the ball either. UT just couldn’t match Tech’s intensity the entire night and pressured McCoy with four, five and even three-man rushes.

      Texas didn’t match Tech’s emotion from the start. It’s clichéd to say that one team wanted a game more, but it really seemed like the Raiders went out and grabbed victory by the balls while Texas waited for things to happen. Even when they seized their first lead with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t keep Tech out of the end zone when all they were after was a field goal.

      So Alabama has to move into the top spot, right? Where do the Red Raiders fit into the picture? Penn State was idle so they could move down, but it’s doubtful. Florida absolutely hammered Georgia so they can only move up. The same could be said for Oklahoma, which waxed Nebraska. It’ll be interesting to see how things fall in the BCS when the new polls are released Sunday.

      College Football

      Week 10 College Football Primer

      November 1, 2008 /

      No. 25 vs. No. 25:
      Graham HarrellNo. 1 Texas vs. No. 7 Texas Tech, 8:00 PM ET ABC
      Both of these teams are coming off convincing wins but in completely different fashions. The Red Raiders absolutely routed a Kansas team that many thought could possibly hand Tech its first loss of the season. The Longhorns, meanwhile, got a major challenge from Oklahoma State but managed to hold on to victory despite some second half mistakes by Heisman candidate Colt McCoy. This will be the fourth consecutive ranked team (Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State) that UT faces in as many weeks. Can they keep playing at a high level or are they due for a letdown? The big question surrounding this game is how UT’s defense will stack up against TT’s explosive offense and vice versa. Not that the Longhorns are playing stout defense by any means, but they’ll be Tech’s toughest challenge to date. It’s going to be interesting to watch the dynamics of this game play out between Horns’ McCoy and Red Raider Heisman hopefuls Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. McCoy certainly has an easier challenge this week, but Harrell and Crabtree have helped Tech average over 400 yards of offense in every game this year. Texas is arguably the most complete team in college football, while Tech can light up the scoreboard. The team that plays defense last might be the one that comes out victorious.

      No. 8 Florida at No. 6 Georgia, 3:30 PM ET CBS
      The game formally known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Party” should be quite interesting this year after Mark Richt instructed all of his players to have a team celebration on the field after UGA scored the first touchdown in last season’s contest. The shrewd move didn’t go unnoticed by Urban Meyer and the Gators, who will no doubt seek a measure of revenge this weekend in Jacksonville. Florida has come alive since Ole’ Miss upset them a few weeks ago, pounding Arkansas, LSU and Kentucky with the greatest of ease. The Gators seem to have re-focused and a win over the Bulldogs could make a huge statement. Both of these teams still have national title aspirations and there is absolutely no love lost here. This is one of the fiercest rivalries in college football.

      Georgia TechUpset Watch:No. 15 Florida State at Georgia Tech, 3:30 PM ET
      The Seminoles have ridden strong defensive play all the way to the No. 15 spot in the polls, but does anyone else get the feeling they’re due for a letdown? GA Tech was a major disappointment last week in losing to Virginia, but that might have been more a testament to how great of a coaching job Al Groh has done turning around the Cavs than an indication that the Jackets are overrated. Even though GT isn’t ranked anymore, this is still an even matchup and I think the Jackets are going to try and make a statement to get back into the top 25.

      Other notable games:
      Nebraska at No. 4 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET ESPN
      The Huskers’ defense has improved over the past couple weeks, but will they be any match for Sam Bradford and the explosive Sooners’ offense?

      Northwestern at No. 17 Minnesota, 12:00 PM ET
      It doesn’t have the same luster as Ohio State-Penn State did last week, but this is the best of what the Big Ten has to over this weekend. The transformation of the Golden Gophers has been remarkable after they one just one game last year.

      College Football

      BCS Bowl Forecast

      October 31, 2008 /

      RealClearSports.com lays out its first BCS bowl forecast of the year.

      Texas LonghornsBCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: January 8, Dolphin Stadium, Miami
      Matchup: Texas vs. Penn State (Odds: Texas 70%, Penn State 80%)
      Outlook: The No. 1-ranked Longhorns will have their toughest remaining game this week at Texas Tech. A victory should send Texas smooth sailing into Key Biscayne. Penn State has an even easier slate, but it still needs Alabama to lose one game.

      ROSE BOWL: January 1, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
      Matchup: USC vs. Ohio State (Odds: USC 90%, Ohio State 50%)
      Outlook: The Tournament of Roses red coats don’t want this rematch – it would be the third time these two teams meet in 12 months – but it will have to really think outside of the box to avoid it. If Penn State somehow doesn’t make it to the BCS title game, fine. If USC somehow doesn’t win the Pac-10 outright, fine. But would the Rose Bowl dare to invite an SEC team to finally matchup with the Trojans in a bowl game? That would be nice, but that would also risk ticking off the Big Ten. Just remember, these guys invited Illinois last year. The track record isn’t good.

      FIESTA BOWL: January 5, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
      Matchup: Alabama vs. Utah (Odds: Alabama 20%, Utah 60%)
      Outlook: Say what? You ask. Well, this is going on the assumption that Oklahoma would be the obvious second choice from the Big 12 and the Fiesta Bowl doesn’t want a third consecutive appearance by the Sooners. The quandary here is that although the Fiesta would get the first pick if it loses Texas to the BCS title game, it pretty much has no way of avoid taking a non-BCS automatic qualifier, be it Utah, TCU, Boise State or even Tulsa.

      SUGAR BOWL: January, 2, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
      Matchup: Florida vs. Oklahoma (Odds: Florida 40%, Oklahoma 50%)
      Outlook: If the Fiesta does pass on Oklahoma, then the Sooners land here to play the SEC champion. If Oklahoma is gone, then the Sugar will be forced to take the Big East champion, leaving the second SEC team for the Orange Bowl. If the SEC champion somehow ends up in the BCS title game, then the Sugar will take the Big 12’s second team.

      Florida-Oklahoma would be awesome. And even though the Trojans blew them out earlier this season, I’d be interested in an OSU-USC rematch with Terrelle Pryor playing the entire game under center for the Buckeyes.

      College Football

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑