The Official 2017-2018 Football Thread

[haunted]

I don't think it's Miami's year yet(next year?), But it's time to start paying attention to them. They're just barely squeaking by in close games, yeah, but it's against the likes of Georgia tech and FSU who are no slouches. They rallied in the final minutes and pulled it off in each game. There's a difference in what they've done opposed to Oklahoma or Ohio state squeaking by against x random opponent repeatedly. If Miami beats notre dame and va Tech, which I doubt they will BOTH, then they're going to be top 5.

I think NC State will win the ACC Atlantic division. It'll all come down to nc state vs Clemson. I think either will beat va Tech or Miami. At the rate of everyone else losing and dropping rank I think nc state is one of my picks for the playoffs.

[haunted]

https://car.247sports.com/Bolt/Carolina-Panthers-sign-linebacker-Andrew-Gachkar-109063626

Panthers ditch brad kaaya to add back up for kuechly.

[haunted]

Do y'all know how good tennesee's secondary is? I'm thinking about putting a lot down on Alabama covering the spread and that we would be the deciding factor for me.

Tennessee I'm sure has big guys on the line, Alabama's D seems good both on the line and secondary. Alabama runs the ball well with their backs including quarterback. But can Tennessee shut down an average passer in jalen hurts? Unfortunately I haven't watched Tennessee much. I've always considered them a tad overrated and I don't want that to cloud my judgement. So any knowledge y'all may have about the successs or lack thereof of passing against tennesee's secondary would be appreciated.

[Sgt. Dick]

Tenn has not played anyone who has much of a passing game and ALA does not pass much either (they don't have to).
Usually when ALA passes, it is on play-action and receivers are open because of the run threat.
Tenn's secondary has not given up many big plays this year, but like I said, they have not played passing teams.
34.5 points is a big number.
College football is so much more about emotion.  If Tenn starts good and stays close in the first quarter or even half, ALA won't cover the spread.
If things go bad for Tenn early, the blowout is on.

[haunted]

Possibly. It depends on why Tennessee is staying close initially. They could also keep it close in the 1st and get blown out in the 2nd. Hmmmmm  I'll probably go for it

[haunted]

Expect notre dame to get beat by nc state. Screw the analysts and commentators. Notre dame beat overrated USC, whoopdee frickin do. Ive been saying USC, Washington, Oklahoma, etc were overrated all year. The wolf pack is going to whip ass @ notre dame. NC State will make the playoffs.

[Sgt. Dick]

I agree about USC not being near what people said they were.

As much as I hate ND, I'm on the fence about their skill level.  Georgia barely beat ND and Georgia has looked really good, but they have not played the toughest teams either.  The game with NC St. will go a long way in showing how good or average ND really is.
I hope NC St. dominates ND 

[haunted]

Well, Georgia may be be overrated too. I think they are, but to a far smaller degree than the teams we're discussing. Maybe they're the 6th best team instead of the 3rd? I don't know. The rankings are a sham anyway.

 NC State is going to destroy notre dame. 14-0 in the first quarter. If I'm wrong I'll admit vae victis and kyuss are both way cooler people than myself.

[Sgt. Dick]

If I'm wrong I'll admit vae victis and kyuss are both way cooler people than myself.

Let's not go to extremes 

[|iR|Focalor]

Well, Georgia may be be overrated too. I think they are, but to a far smaller degree than the teams we're discussing. Maybe they're the 6th best team instead of the 3rd? I don't know. The rankings are a sham anyway.

 NC State is going to destroy notre dame. 14-0 in the first quarter. If I'm wrong I'll admit vae victis and kyuss are both way cooler people than myself.

I dunno, I don't "disagree" with the current rankings, especially at this point in the season. Expecially at dis point. Eckspecially. Word? Sorry, I turned black for a second there.

Anyway, what was I saying? Yeah, at this point, the teams with NO or fewest losses are the only ones in the top 10. Clearly the top 3 deserve to be there, they're the only undefeated teams left at this point I think, right? Not sure, I think thats right, just 3. And I gotta admit, I'm utterly jawdropped and shocked that UGA is undefeated right now. I would've never thought it possible. But I guess the problem isn't that the top teams right now aren't that impressive. The problem is... everyone else is LESS impressive. Georgia's defense has certainly been impressive this year... AT TIMES. Not always. In their first game, they looked entirely "meh"-worthy. But once the tougher games came, the defense squad turned it the fuck on in a big way. If you ask me, the top 3 are right where they belong. I might make the argument that Penn State should be 1 and Alabama should be 2, but there isn't much on EITHER side of that argument to warrant the switch, otherwise it would've happened. (just my opinion) (Cuz you know the voters are rooting for Penn State, they want tearjerker speeches about how far Penn States come since the Sandusky thing)

What's crazy is that Alabama and Georgia could BOTH lose the 12th game of the regular season, and if they both go to the SEC Championship, the winner is still virtually guaranteed to go to the playoffs. Am I right? I probably am. And that sounds to me like that shouldn't be allowed to be a possibility. Or say Alabama goes 12-0, but UGA goes 11-1 and loses that last game of the season to Georgia Tech. It basically WON'T MATTER. Because like I said, whoever wins the SEC Championship is virtually guaranteed a playoff spot no matter what their record is compared to anyone else. Like... wut?

I dunno lady, I only work here.

[haunted]

I said may be with that Georgia tech game in mind. I think Georgia is on 'upset alert' big time for that one. Georgia Tech's 2 losses were both by 1 point. And yes, if Georgia bounces back and beats Alabama in the sec championship game they're automatically in.

The nightmare scenario for the ACC is if NC State loses to notre dame yet beats Clemson, and you could possibly have two 2 loss teams in the ACC championship game.

[Sgt. Dick]

I'm not talking about 1 loss teams getting in the playoffs, but that is definitely possible if not likely.

These are the remaining undefeated teams in the top 25 rankings.
Alabama
Penn St.
Georgia
TCU
Wisconsin
Miami
South Florida
UCF

Alabama and Georgia (if they stay undefeated) will play each other in the SEC championship, so one of them will have a loss.

Penn St. and Wisconsin (if they stay undefeated) will play each other in the Big 10 championship, so one of them will have a loss.

South Florida and UCF will play in their last regular season game, so one of them will have a loss.

TCU could finish the season undefeated but they still have to play on the road in Oklahoma.

Miami still has VA Tech and Notre Dame in the regular season and probably Clemson or NC St. in the ACC championship game.

Right now we have 8 undefeated teams, but at least 3 (and probably more) are going to lose a game.  we could have only 1 or 2 undefeated teams when the playoffs start.

[|iR|Focalor]

God damn. UGA laid down the law on them Gators. Had the backups not come in on defense in the 4th, it would've been 40-something to nothing. I figured it would be a close-ish game and somewhat of a coin flip as to who would win it, with maybe UGA having a 60% chance of winning it. But... God damn. I keep doubting them. But I'm believing it now.

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y4rtOIGbPRU/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y4rtOIGbPRU"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Y4rtOIGbPRU" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Y4rtOIGbPRU</a>

And then Ohio State bumped off Penn State by 1 point. Georgia's #2 now. Fuck me running.

[Sgt. Dick]

These are the remaining undefeated teams in the top 25 rankings.
Alabama
Penn St.           (Lost today)
Georgia
TCU                 (Lost today)
Wisconsin
Miami
South Florida   (Lost today)
UCF

And then there was 5.
Alabama and UGA will play in the SEC championship, so there is another team with a loss.
I can see Ohio St. beating Wisconsin in there conference championship game, so there goes another undefeated team.
I can see Clemson beating Miami in the ACC championship game, so there goes another undefeated team.
UCF won't matter, they are not getting in even if they are undefeated.

I can easily see only 1 undefeated team in the playoffs - The Alabama/UGA winner.

My way to early prediction on the 4 playoff teams is
Alabama/UGA winner
Ohio St.
Clemson
Notre Dame

I hate both Ohio St & Notre Dame - but the voters love both of them.

[haunted]

So I was wrong about nc state and notre dame. Vae and kyuss are the coolest, I suck

I agree sarge, except Miami won't be in the equation. I finally watched them play and....... they suck. A 1-8 UNC that is the worst team in the nation outplayed them in most aspects(NC threw 5 picks, maybe more). VA Tech should handle Miami with ease I think. Then they'll both have 1 loss with a Tech facing clemson for a rematch in the championship game.