The second round of my hypothetical playoffs would have taken place last weekend. Thanks to the magic of whatifsports.com, these are the results of the simulations I ran.
Arizona 20, Oregon 16
Arizona scores the biggest upset possible, as the #9 seed Arizona beat #1 seed Oregon. While Darron Thomas was able to throw for a respectable 252 yds, he did not record any touchdown passes compared to Nick Foles, who threw for 341 yds and 2 touchdowns. Arizona goes home next week to play in the Insight Bowl against Nebraska.
Nebraska 30, Nevada 14
Nebraska scored two touchdowns in the first two minutes of the second quarter to take control of the game. While Vai Taua rushed for over 100 yds. and a touchdown, it wasn't enough to overcome the Nebraska defense.
Stanford 42, Utah 19
Utah committed four turnovers and Nate Whitaker kicked 5 field goals for Stanford that lead to Stanford's win over Utah. The score was 21-15 Stanford at the end of the 3rd quarter, but Stanford scored three touchdowns in the 4th quarter to put the game away. Andrew Luck finished with 263 yds, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
Hawaii 35, Boise St. 21
Hawaii's upset victory over Boise St. means that the two top seeds in the West have been eliminated. Bryant Moniz passed for 386 yds and 2 touchdowns. Boise St. started the game with two touchdowns, before Moniz hit Kealoha Pilares for a 64 yd. score at the end of the first quarter. Alex Green scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and another in the third as Hawaii took control of the game.
TCU 37, Texas Tech 13
TCU's unbeaten streak continued behind the rushing of Ed Wesley. He accumulated 182 yards and two touchdowns, including one for 69 yards. Texas Tech's Taylor Potts was intercepted three times while throwing for only one touchdown.
Missouri 30, LSU 12
Henry Josey had a breakout game for Missouri, running for 91 yards and two touchdowns in their Texas Bowl victory over LSU. LSU was held to only 116 yards rushing with half of that coming on a Michael Ford third quarter run. LSU was kept out of the end zone all day, with all their points coming from Josh Jasper field goals.
Arkansas 38, Oklahoma St. 34
Ryan Mallet threw two touchdowns in the final seven minutes to lead Arkansas over Oklahoma St. Arkansas led 24-17 at halftime, but Oklahoma St. scored two unanswered touchdowns and a field goal to stake a 34-24 lead. The pass to Arkansas's Jarius Wright brought them within 3 and the pass to Austin Tucker gave the Razorbacks the victory.
Oklahoma 27, Texas A&M 26
Cameron Kenney caught a 22 yd. pass from Landry Jones with 11 seconds left to come back and beat Texas A&M. That was one of three touchdown passes by Landry Jones, who threw for 338 yards and no interceptions.
Auburn 45, Notre Dame 23
Notre Dame started the game by posting 10 points in the first 10 minutes, but couldn't contain Auburn as the Tigers followed up with five unanswered touchdowns. Notre Dame was hindered by their quarterback play, with Tommy Rees throwing 4 interceptions and Nate Montana adding one as well.
Michigan St. 24, Ohio St. 23
Due to the Big 10's schedule, these two top ranked teams did not get a chance to meet during the regular season. So they met in the post-season, in a game that wasn't decided until the final few minutes. That's when Dan Conroy kicked a 48 yd field goal to give Michigan St. the victory. Ohio St. had started strong, scoring the first two touchdowns of the game. But Le'Veon Bell was able to score two touchdowns in the second half to get Michigan St. back in the game.
Alabama 48, Miami (OH) 9
Greg McElroy led Alabama in their route of MAC champion Miami by throwing for 286 yards and 4 touchdowns, 3 of them in the first quarter. Mark Ingram contributed 158 yards and a touchdown.
Wisconsin 22, Mississippi St. 7
John Clay led the Badgers with 100 yards and two touchdowns, as Wisconsin ground a win against Mississippi St. Wisconsin only had three plays over 20 yards, but they controlled the ball for 36:47, not giving the Bulldogs any chance to get started. Mississippi St. finished with only 240 yards of total offense.
Florida International 20, Virginia Tech 9
Florida International came out swinging, posting a 17-0 halftime lead. The Panther defense was able to stifle Virginia Tech's attack, not allowing any of Virginia Tech's rushers to get over 50 yards and holding Tyrod Taylor to 176 yards throwing. The Sun Belt champions will stay in Florida for their next game in Tampa against West Virginia.
West Virginia 30, South Carolina 13
West Virginia took advantage of a big second quarter, scoring 17 points to stake a 24-7 halftime lead. Noel Devine led the Mountaineer rushing attack with 215 yards and a touchdown.
Florida St. 24, Connecticut 10
While Connecticut may be more accustomed to the snow than Florida St., it was the Seminoles who took the win on Saturday. Beau Reliford exploded for 116 yards, most of which came on a 87 yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Jordan Todman ran for 152 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies.
Maryland 50, Central Florida 7
Maryland completely dominated the UCF Knights on Saturday scoring 41 of their points in the first half. Danny O'Brien threw for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Da'Rel Scott added 125 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Overall, a pretty exciting weekend of football. There were two big upsets in the west with Arizona beating Oregon and Hawaii beating Boise St. Florida International had the most likely upset with their win over Virginia Tech. Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Michigan St. advanced on game winning plays in the final minutes. Check out the updated bracket here. 2011 kicks off in a great way with the 16 remaining teams looking to advance. What do you think of last week's results, and who do you think will win next week?
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Playoff results, round 1
Arizona 52, Tulsa 17
Arizona lit up the scoreboard in their first round win over Tulsa. QB Nick Foles was the player of the game with over 400 yds passing and 6 touchdowns.
Texas Tech 38, Baylor 24
Texas Tech jumped out to a 14 point lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Taylor Potts threw for over 300 yds and Detron Lewis ran for over 100 in the Red Raiders' win over Big 12 rival Baylor.
Notre Dame 25, Northern Illinois 14
David Ruffer kicked 4 field goals as Notre Dame beat Northern Illinois to advance to the next round.
Florida International 29, Navy 13
The Sun Belt champions proved they belonged in the playoffs by winning their first round game against Navy. While Navy's defense didn't give up many big plays, Jack Griffin was able to lead the Golden Panthers to victory with 5 field goals.
The updated bracket can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/chadscollegefootballplayoffs/
Comment below and let everyone know who you think would be the winners in the next round. To be honest, I'm more excited about these imaginary playoffs then I am about the real bowl games.
Arizona lit up the scoreboard in their first round win over Tulsa. QB Nick Foles was the player of the game with over 400 yds passing and 6 touchdowns.
Texas Tech 38, Baylor 24
Texas Tech jumped out to a 14 point lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Taylor Potts threw for over 300 yds and Detron Lewis ran for over 100 in the Red Raiders' win over Big 12 rival Baylor.
Notre Dame 25, Northern Illinois 14
David Ruffer kicked 4 field goals as Notre Dame beat Northern Illinois to advance to the next round.
Florida International 29, Navy 13
The Sun Belt champions proved they belonged in the playoffs by winning their first round game against Navy. While Navy's defense didn't give up many big plays, Jack Griffin was able to lead the Golden Panthers to victory with 5 field goals.
The updated bracket can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/chadscollegefootballplayoffs/
Comment below and let everyone know who you think would be the winners in the next round. To be honest, I'm more excited about these imaginary playoffs then I am about the real bowl games.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
College Football Playoffs, Round 1
If I was in charge of College Football, this weekend would be the first weekend of the playoffs. You can check out the entire bracket I've created in this spreadsheet. This weekend is really just a play-in round, with the 8th and 9th seeds of each region trying to qualify for the real action which would start next weekend. The games for this weekend would include:
Hawaii Bowl
Tulsa vs. Arizona
Armed Forces Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Baylor
BBVA Compass Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois
Military Bowl
Navy vs. Florida International
The winners of these games would have a difficult road ahead, with upcoming match ups with the #1 seeds. But at least they'd get to play another week.
Hawaii Bowl
Tulsa vs. Arizona
Armed Forces Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Baylor
BBVA Compass Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois
Military Bowl
Navy vs. Florida International
The winners of these games would have a difficult road ahead, with upcoming match ups with the #1 seeds. But at least they'd get to play another week.
Monday, November 29, 2010
TCU to join the Big East
ESPN story link
It's really not that big of surprise. There had been some rumors recently. TCU needs to be in a BCS conference in order to avoid all the discussions at the end of the year about whether or not they're worthy for a BCS bid. I don't think they want to join the Big 12 because they would have to compete with the other Texas schools for recruits. By joining the Big East, they differentiate themselves from other Texas schools and also gain exposure to the eastern markets. The SEC already has 12 teams, and it's competitive enough already. The Big East needs TCU to be a football marque. With the poor showing their football programs have put on the field this year, they need someone who's going to bring some credibility to the conference, and if Notre Dame won't join as a football member then TCU is a good choice.
I think it's just a matter of time before BYU and Boise St. find BCS conferences to offer them. BYU didn't do well this year, but they're generally a very competitive team. Boise St.'s move to the MWC is an improvement in the competition level, but it still doesn't solve the problem of not being in a BCS conference. I wouldn't be surprised if the Big 12 offered either of those schools or Notre Dame to join to fill the gap left by Nebraska and Colorado. The North and South divisions could be recreated and I bet the Big 12 would find a way to let Notre Dame and/or BYU keep their special TV contracts.
It's really not that big of surprise. There had been some rumors recently. TCU needs to be in a BCS conference in order to avoid all the discussions at the end of the year about whether or not they're worthy for a BCS bid. I don't think they want to join the Big 12 because they would have to compete with the other Texas schools for recruits. By joining the Big East, they differentiate themselves from other Texas schools and also gain exposure to the eastern markets. The SEC already has 12 teams, and it's competitive enough already. The Big East needs TCU to be a football marque. With the poor showing their football programs have put on the field this year, they need someone who's going to bring some credibility to the conference, and if Notre Dame won't join as a football member then TCU is a good choice.
I think it's just a matter of time before BYU and Boise St. find BCS conferences to offer them. BYU didn't do well this year, but they're generally a very competitive team. Boise St.'s move to the MWC is an improvement in the competition level, but it still doesn't solve the problem of not being in a BCS conference. I wouldn't be surprised if the Big 12 offered either of those schools or Notre Dame to join to fill the gap left by Nebraska and Colorado. The North and South divisions could be recreated and I bet the Big 12 would find a way to let Notre Dame and/or BYU keep their special TV contracts.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Breaking down the conference races
Here are the different scenarios for who could win or play for each conference championship.
ACC
For the Coastal Division, Virginia Tech is in the championship.
For the Atlantic Division, NC State is in if they beat Maryland, otherwise, it's Florida St.
Big 12
For the North Division, Nebraska is in the championship if they beat Colorado, or if Missouri loses to Kansas. If Nebraska loses and Missouri wins, then Missouri will represent the North.
For the South Division, Oklahoma St. is in if they beat Oklahoma. If Oklahoma wins, then it's a three way tie between OU, OSU, and Texas A&M, assuming A&M beats Texas. Since OU would have beaten OSU, and OSU beat A&M, and A&M beat OU, the tie-breaker goes to the BCS standings, unless two teams are adjacent to each other in the BCS standings. The most likely result is that OU would be the highest ranked, unless A&M gathers a huge number of votes after beating Texas. If A&M is immediately after or higher than OU, then A&M would represent the South.
Big East
Most Big East teams still have two conference games remaining, and because the race is so tight there are lots of different scenarios. Pittsburgh is in the driver's seat, so if they win out, they win the championship. If Pitt loses, then UConn takes over the driver's seat since they have beaten Pitt and West Virginia. West Virginia would need to win out and have Connecticut lose one of their last two games.
Big 10
Three teams are tied for first, and since they did not all play each other, it goes to the BCS standings. Barring radical changes in the voting, and assuming they all win out, Wisconsin goes to the Rose Bowl. If Wisconsin loses then it's Ohio State. If Wisconsin and Ohio St. lose, then it's Michigan State.
Conference USA
For the Eastern division, Central Florida will play in the championship if they beat Memphis. If they lose and Southern Miss. and ECU win, it becomes a three way tie in the East. Central Florida beat ECU, ECU beat Southern Miss., and Southern Miss. beat Central Florida, so the tie breaker goes to the record within the division. Since ECU has the better record within the division (4-1), that means ECU goes to the championship if UCF loses and ECU wins. If UCF and ECU lose, then S. Miss. goes if they win. If all three lose, then it's still UCF.
The Western division is slightly less confusing. If S. Methodist beats ECU, then they will go to the championship game. If S. Methodist loses and Tulsa beats S. Mississippi, then Tulsa goes to the championship. If they both lose, it's S. Methodist.
MAC
In the East, if Ohio beats Kent St., then Ohio plays for the MAC championship. If Ohio loses, Miami will represent the East.
In the West, Northern Illinois has secured their spot in the championship game.
Mountain West
TCU has won the Mountain West Conference. Even if the lose to New Mexico, they're still the champions based on their earlier victory over Utah.
Pac-10
Oregon is in the driver's seat, and can even afford to lose one game. Stanford's only hope of claiming the championship is if Oregon loses their last two games and Stanford beats Oregon St.
SEC
The SEC championship has been set, and it will be South Carolina vs. Auburn. That doesn't mean this week's games are meaningless though, with South Carolina playing in-state rival Clemson and Auburn playing arch-rival Alabama.
Sun Belt
Florida International is in the lead for the Sun Belt championship, and can even afford to lose one of their two remaining games. If they lose two and Troy wins two however, then Troy will be the champion. If Troy loses either of their last two games, then Florida International will be the champion.
WAC
Boise St. will take the WAC championship if they win their remaining two games. However if they stumble, that opens the possibility for Hawaii or Nevada to win the championship. If Boise St. loses their last two games and Hawaii beats New Mexico St., then Hawaii is the champion. If Boise St. loses to Nevada and Hawaii loses to New Mexico St., then Nevada will be the champion if they go on to beat La. Tech.
ACC
For the Coastal Division, Virginia Tech is in the championship.
For the Atlantic Division, NC State is in if they beat Maryland, otherwise, it's Florida St.
Big 12
For the North Division, Nebraska is in the championship if they beat Colorado, or if Missouri loses to Kansas. If Nebraska loses and Missouri wins, then Missouri will represent the North.
For the South Division, Oklahoma St. is in if they beat Oklahoma. If Oklahoma wins, then it's a three way tie between OU, OSU, and Texas A&M, assuming A&M beats Texas. Since OU would have beaten OSU, and OSU beat A&M, and A&M beat OU, the tie-breaker goes to the BCS standings, unless two teams are adjacent to each other in the BCS standings. The most likely result is that OU would be the highest ranked, unless A&M gathers a huge number of votes after beating Texas. If A&M is immediately after or higher than OU, then A&M would represent the South.
Big East
Most Big East teams still have two conference games remaining, and because the race is so tight there are lots of different scenarios. Pittsburgh is in the driver's seat, so if they win out, they win the championship. If Pitt loses, then UConn takes over the driver's seat since they have beaten Pitt and West Virginia. West Virginia would need to win out and have Connecticut lose one of their last two games.
Big 10
Three teams are tied for first, and since they did not all play each other, it goes to the BCS standings. Barring radical changes in the voting, and assuming they all win out, Wisconsin goes to the Rose Bowl. If Wisconsin loses then it's Ohio State. If Wisconsin and Ohio St. lose, then it's Michigan State.
Conference USA
For the Eastern division, Central Florida will play in the championship if they beat Memphis. If they lose and Southern Miss. and ECU win, it becomes a three way tie in the East. Central Florida beat ECU, ECU beat Southern Miss., and Southern Miss. beat Central Florida, so the tie breaker goes to the record within the division. Since ECU has the better record within the division (4-1), that means ECU goes to the championship if UCF loses and ECU wins. If UCF and ECU lose, then S. Miss. goes if they win. If all three lose, then it's still UCF.
The Western division is slightly less confusing. If S. Methodist beats ECU, then they will go to the championship game. If S. Methodist loses and Tulsa beats S. Mississippi, then Tulsa goes to the championship. If they both lose, it's S. Methodist.
MAC
In the East, if Ohio beats Kent St., then Ohio plays for the MAC championship. If Ohio loses, Miami will represent the East.
In the West, Northern Illinois has secured their spot in the championship game.
Mountain West
TCU has won the Mountain West Conference. Even if the lose to New Mexico, they're still the champions based on their earlier victory over Utah.
Pac-10
Oregon is in the driver's seat, and can even afford to lose one game. Stanford's only hope of claiming the championship is if Oregon loses their last two games and Stanford beats Oregon St.
SEC
The SEC championship has been set, and it will be South Carolina vs. Auburn. That doesn't mean this week's games are meaningless though, with South Carolina playing in-state rival Clemson and Auburn playing arch-rival Alabama.
Sun Belt
Florida International is in the lead for the Sun Belt championship, and can even afford to lose one of their two remaining games. If they lose two and Troy wins two however, then Troy will be the champion. If Troy loses either of their last two games, then Florida International will be the champion.
WAC
Boise St. will take the WAC championship if they win their remaining two games. However if they stumble, that opens the possibility for Hawaii or Nevada to win the championship. If Boise St. loses their last two games and Hawaii beats New Mexico St., then Hawaii is the champion. If Boise St. loses to Nevada and Hawaii loses to New Mexico St., then Nevada will be the champion if they go on to beat La. Tech.
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