PETE CARROLL'S ENCHANTED GRIDIRON GROTTO

Ouch.

“Arkansas sucked the deep, cholera-tainted suck of the ancients yesterday”

I redirect you to Arkansas’ bowl history in the last twenty odd years.

Nay, the last seventy odd years.

This is not a new development.

Orson – would love to hear Cuddles’ feelings on Tony Franklin’s offense. I for one am giddy, given that Monday’s hot and cold performance was the product of just eight practices.

Way to go guys! We put on such an awesome performance! Now we’ll get national respect from the greatest of tromboners! Our group has the biggest and best tromboners of all! Wait till the world gets a glimpse of our Bonerama!

I felt badly for Hawaii by the end of the night. On the other hand, welcome to the SEC, bichez.

I was terrified to click on the Bonerama link.
But I did….. and laughhhheeeddd.

You don’t even want to know what the flute group calls themselves.

I was also glad to see the dogs punish the warriors. IMHO mid-majors need to be in their own division with their own national championship.

I wonder how the meeting that came up with Bonerama went…

Cockmania? No. Penispocalypse? Been done. Bonerama? Fuck yeah!

I just woke up with a bonerama….

Yesterday’s highlight: Sean McDonough tossing back to the studio at halftime of the Whatever-the-Fuck Bowl with the line, “And now back to Rece Davis and Robert Smith in the studio for a steady stream of analysis and highlights on the Flomax Halftime Report.”

Rece Davis barely held it together.

The other highlight: Hockey in the snow from Buffalo. New Year’s Day is so glutted with football now that, if your team isn’t playing, none of the games really stand out. As an old-school Midwesterner, I tried watching the Rose Bowl but only lasted fifteen minutes. Probably just as well — we had dinner guests.

Hey Swindle – It’s only against NCAA regs if you are a booster.

I think.

Bonerama kicks major ass

Seriously, y’all should check them out. They do ripping covers of rock songs (Whipping Post, War Pigs) along with other N.O. funk type stuff. They never get replaced when I update tunes on the ipod.

Orson,

Decimation is indeed too mild a description for the Sugar Bowl outcome. Snuff film is perhaps more apt.

It reminded me of the 2005 Alabama Auburn game with Colt Brennan ably reprising the role of Brodie Croyle.

Orson,
What was your first clue about RR helping game plan ?
Maybe Mike Hart lined up at wide out for half the game.

If that screen to Jake Long would have worked, I’m sure the 500 UF fans surrounding me would have do things yet known to this realm to me.

*done things, I mean.

Still hungover.

Hey O. Blatant sucking up here. I just want to say thanks for the EDSBS blog. Best out there, bar none.

Many thousand cocktails to you and your henchmen good sir and please keep up the good writing.

Top shelf, Top shelf! Fresca anyone?

So if this batch of Bowls would have been the first round of some bizarre playoff, who would the next matchups be?
We have Georgia, USC,Mizzou, more than likely Oklahoma, with LSU and tOSU with first round byes…..
Somehow I think both LSU and tOSU get eliminated, and you end up with USC vs Georgia for th MNC….this goes of course with a memory that forgot USC lost to Stanford and Georgia laying an egg vs USCe….
Colt Brennan was General Custer, and the defensive linemens facemask were arrows…….

You know its a sucky Bowl season when, during blowouts, you keep switching to career mode on Guitar Hero 3…..and nearly complete the whole game on easy……..then start over…..

I can haz Eric Berry?

No, sir, you may not. Unless you’re willing to trade straight up for Tebow+Harvin and all your Heismens. K thanx bai!

As an upside to a lackluster bowl day (way to be yourself, Al Groh, way to be) … at least Notre Dame didn’t lose their bowl game this year.

Those Swindl- sibling conversations have got the be the surrealist thing going in Atlanta.

From Wikipedia:

Bonerama is a jokingly named brass band from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
 Official site is http://www.bonerama.net/ often confused with bonerama.com, a gay porn site .
   
I can’t think of a finer way to salute America.

Orson,

Not that it will make you feel any better, but according the Carr this morning, Debord put in this offense after a number of meetings with the Indianapolis Colts’ OC, not RR.

And while I am certainly pleased (and surprised) by yesterday’s result, I can’t help but look at this season and wonder what might have been. There are numerous future NFL players on our team and we can’t beat ASU and we allow Oregon 400+ yards of offense in a half? That same offense that just put up 500+ on the Gators was good for just 91 yards against the Buckeyes? WTF?

What an odd season.

Regarding the Solar Power stuff — don’t hate, its not IF but WHEN solar power in that area (others too) reaches parity with your standard grid power costs. Pete Carroll, though, heats his office with manatee blubber.

Orson – surprised you have not mentioned the godawfulscarybadass hit laid by #29 of Hawaii (Jones) on Mikey Henderson last nite…. cheap shot cocksucker that he is

this could lead to a new player on CFB… the disposable “star killer” who goes out and crushes your star player in an illegal move only to be sent immediately to the lockers… and wall-to-wall naked ladies in a whipped cream jacuzzi… gotta reward those starkillerz yanno

At first, I thought you meant Todd Blackledge was going to do a little deep sea diving on Holly Rowe… Much as I like the chubby short ladies, it was a relief to find out that you were promoting cannibalism.

+1 (again) on Bonerama. One of the many NOLA area bands that kick more ass than a really good ass-kicking thing.

Also, how Georgia felt playing (is playing the right word?) a high school team is exactly how LSU felt last year playing Notre Dame. Neither Notre Dame last year or Hawaii this year had any business being in a BCS game.

#25…you mean like Chaz Ramsey?

Georgia’s punter can’t get enough RAGEAHOL!

His name is Brian Mimbs, and he’s gonna eat your family!

#25
I see you have been reading the Koran.

And if you check out the Brennan blog, be sure to scroll to the top where wispy-eyed middle schoolers are doing some Colt worshipping that would make Tebow blush.

And yet, Great Caesar’s Ghost, the Warriors and the Irish still had more business in a BCS game than Illinois did. Accomplished more to get there, too. And at least ND and Hawaii were competitive for more than two minutes, unlike the Illini.

Let’s make sure we’re holding everyone to the same standard here. If Hawaii’s and all of us non-BCS rabble are getting relegated to our own separate division because the Warriors got beat by 31 in a bowl game, you must then do the same for Big Ten squads that get beat by 32 points in a BCS contest.

You BCS-conference fans can’t have it both ways. If Boise State’s win in the Fiesta Bowl last year was a fluke with no lasting significance, then Hawaii’s pummeling can’t be a lifelong statement, either.

Fitting, I guess, that Bizarro Year ends with Michigan saying “okay, fuck it, let’s run something besides zone left all day” and managing to slow down a spread-option attack for a change.

DevilGrad (#10): Outdoor hockey rules all.

BTW, Orson, did you catch Blackledge’s rejoinder to Patrick’s whining about gaining ten pounds this year? Todd all but blurted out: “well, I’ve been trying to get you on the treadmill when we travel, but you’ve decided to sleep in all season and avail yourself of the hotel’s free cinnamon roll buffet, fatass.”

Bonerama…….that about sums up the game for Hawaii…..well at least for Colt……
Holy Shit…..Roger Schultz, former center from Alabama was on the Biggest Loser…..yes, the SEC speed thing applies to the Buffet , so it seems, at least the linemen are the fastest to it and the last to leave ….good god, if Schultz would have weighed that back in the day, he’d be starting

Papa Lou,

It seems fairly obvious neither Illinois nor Hawaii belonged in the BCS but I would differ quite vehemently with your assesment of the relative performance of Hawaii and Illinois.

While neither had a prayer on defense, Illinois was not nearly so overwhelmed on offense and actually was able to move the ball quite effectively on a supposedly studly USC defense. The game was never in doubt, to be sure, but absent a couple of turnovers the Illini could have put up 10 to 14 more points and showed they belonged on the field with the Trojans who had a superb offensive game.

The overwhelming physical superiority of the Dawgs was fairly self-evident from minute one (to be perfectly honest I cannot say I followed the game with rapt attention and went to be in the middle of the 3rd quarter). Indeed, Georgia did not, imo, play a particularly impressive game, nor did they need to. The Hawaii players simply had no chance to look up before they were blasted into oblivion on practically every play.

BTW, did anyone see the CODE RED Tuberville called the other night on Clemsons DE? By the same O-Linemen? And he says he doesnt coach that
Thats twice…at least Dorsey walked away with a limp, by the looks of it, that guy aint gonna play again…..

Regarding Illinois: no, they didn’t play well (turnovers, plus the whole deer-in-the-headlights thing which is mildly understandable when no one there has been to a bowl game before and suddenly you’re in the Rose Bowl), but that could have at least been a respectable score if not for every possible break going against them. A near-fumble by USC (ruled down, and I think correctly so, but it was damn close) early on would have gone for an easy six the other way if called a fumble. A USC receiver gets steamrolled, jarring the ball loose, only to have it land directly in the hands of another receiver. The USC RB drops a pitch, only to have it bounce right back to him and take it 60 yards through a hole that almost certainly wouldn’t have been there if he caught the pitch cleanly. Then there’s the bullshit PI call that took away an interception (though it looked more reasonable at live speed, based on replay it was obvious that 1) the corner was looking right at the ball, and 2) the receiver ran into him and not the other way around), with USC scoring to make it 28-10 on the next play.

Illinois wasn’t winning that game even if they got lucky, at least the way they were playing. But when you’re playing badly and can’t get a break to save your lives … well, 49-17 happens. You think a BC team that had no rushing attack at all and couldn’t stop the run until they switched to an 11-man front (made possible only by Hoyer’s spectacular incompetence) would have fared much better? Or an Arizona State team that got similarly annihilated by a not-nearly-as-good Texas team? (Don’t whine to me about Missouri or Florida, as neither could have replaced the Illini in the BCS due to the two-per-conference limit. Missouri should have been taken ahead of Kansas, but that’s another argument entirely.)

I think USC could have bent any team over and breachloaded them last night.

1. - He woulda’ made a splendid Marine – first in, last out.

Hey #37,
       Screw off about lucky breaks for Arizona State. You my have room to speak if the penalty commited by angry stepson/closet Arizona State fan Chris Jesse hadnt happened. ASU scored points in trash time, and also off of that ridiculous “illegal touching” penalty, which hasnt been called since 1993 (against some guy named “Jackson,” if I recall correctly). Texas was better prepared, more motivated, and to be honest with you, Rudy Carpenter sucks mah balls, Capisce?

I think it was baconboy who said it during the game, but Urban or Doc were effing idiots because they put Tebow in a bad spot, dropping him straight back each time. They should have done some roll outs to get away from Michigan’s relentless (but not UGA-relentless) pressure. I mean, Tebow is a mobile QB, right? Give him the option to throw or tuck it on the corner. For all the talk about Urban being such a wiz and revolutionizing the game and shaking up the SEC, Carr/Debord/English showed him what good coaching is all about.

Today’s Itinerary:
#1: Pack up my board shorts, hookah shells, and Blink182 CDs
#2: Piss up blood
#3: Go to hospital and get CAT scanned, PET scanned, and MRId
#4: Return to Superdome and pick up teeth left on field
#5: Ask Coach Jones what my name is
#6: Shit blood
#7: Board plane for Hawaii
#8: Start looking for job in the Honolulu insurance sales market

“Decimation is indeed too mild a description for the Sugar Bowl outcome. Snuff film is perhaps more apt.”

+1 During the third quarter I started to feel the same shame I felt watching “Faces of Death” in college.

Pelican@34

Excellent points. However must say that the whole Code Red thing is somewhat inapposite. This is procedure to induce better performance among members of one’s own unit (err…team). You have to remember that Santiago was a substandard marine. Dorsey wasn’t on the Auburn team, and, at least prior to the block that Auburn “doesn’t teach”, anything but substandard.

I wouldn’t be so quick to cast aspersions on Colt Brennan’s NFL prospects based on last night’s game. You could’ve put 1984 Dan Marino back there last night and not done much better.

Marcillac,

I’m sorry, but your argument still boils down to “this team got dominated, too, but they’re a brand-name, so I’ll give them a pass over the team that nobody’s heard of.”

Hawaii did have a few sustained drives, too, that were cut short by turnovers. But apparently, those were all because of Hawaii’s inherent awfulness while Illinois’ were the product of dumb luck?

Illinois had no damn business in a BCS game, not with three losses and a third-place finish in a two-team conference. If you’re going to make the argument that an undefeated team somehow didn’t belong, you must concede that the three-loss team who got beat by an even greater margin shouldn’t have been there, either.

(And while I hate Fox’s coverage of college football — you know Monday’s game is going to be four-and-a-half hours long — I did appreciate the announcers last night pointing out what a low-rent move it was for the Georgia fans to start the “overrated” chant in the third quarter last night. Hawaii were clear underdogs coming in, were ranked lower than UGA, have one-tenth of the football and recruiting budgets of the Dawgs and probably one percent of the TV revenue, have a smaller fan base. They had dozens of pro-big-school media types questioning their fitness for the game, despite an unblemished record in a year where all but one other team competing in the BCS has at least two losses… and yet, that qualifies as “overrated?” On what planet?)

Marcillac,

How can you say, “Indeed, Georgia did not, imo, play a particularly impressive game”?
The defense was incredible. 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles- one recovered for a TD, 3 INTs and a complete shut down of one of the highest scoring offenses. Now if you want to say that Stafford wasn’t that impressive, I can except that, because he was inconsistent. If you say the offense wasn’t impressive, I could maybe buy that even though we busted off pretty long TD runs with 9-10 in the box. But don’t tell me the defense wasn’t impressive because it was.

“and yet, that qualifies as “overrated?” On what planet?)”

On Earth, where being ranked #10 means a team’s supposed to be something north of decent rather than having reason to whine about the poor taste of challenging bad calls in the third quarter. Undefeated is one way to describe Hawaii coming into the Sugar Bowl. Winless against any team worth a crap is another.

I noticed that 30% of participants in ESPN’s bowl picks thingy chose Hawaii to win. I weep for our future…

Hawaii had 100 yards of offense in the first half. They had one “sustained” drive of 42 yards resulting in a FG.

The TO’s were not flukes, and they did no occur after crossing midfield. They were natural byproducts of facing a team bigger, faster, and stronger at every position; one that forced the QB to throw under pressure all night and delivered hits Hawaii’s players were physically unable to withstand.

It was abundantly clear the Warriors had no business being on the field with UGa and that the Dawgs could have hung at least 60 on the board had they so desired. Had Evil Richt coached the game, the final score would have been something like 62-3, but he was evidently content to take the win, let the band play a couple series, and try to escape without accidentally decapitating anyone on the field of play.

Boise State was a great game to watch with a Hollywood ending, but their result would have been pretty much the same as Hawaii’s had they been “rewarded” with a trip to the Sugar and matchup with LSU.

Most probably don’t know that Fox’s Doofus Charles most recently starred on The Golf Channel, serving as the calm voice of reason versus the irreverent ravings of some fat and forgettable arrogant no-name, on a point-counterpoint tragedy called The 19th Hole, mediated by an ultra-vanilla talking golf-head.

He’s lost that gig for ‘08, so thank Arnold Palmer for half of last night’s misery.

‘Cause I’m a creep, I’m a weirdohhhh. What the Hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here….’

- [NAME REDACTED]

Papa Lou BSU @ 46

No argument that Illinois deserved to be in the BCS here. Their relative merit v. Hawaii during the season and on Jan. 1 is another matter entirely.

Hawaii’s 12-0 came via nailbiters vs. the likes of La Tech and UDub, AT HOME. The same UDub which was crushed by tOSU in Seattle. That, of course being the same tOSU which lost in Columbus to Illinois which, in spite of benefiting from some turnovers pretty much controled the game in the 4th qter. The same Ilinois which lost a close game, at a neutral site, to Missouri (whose only losses came to OU, including once in Norman). The Illini other Ls came in notably sloppy efforts vs. Iowa and Michigan, courtesey of some less than optimal game day efforts from the justly celebrated [name redacted]. I’m not saying you wipe the losses away and make Illinois a BCS team, but on balance I would argue that their resume is quite a bit more impressive than Hawaii.

As for yesterday, I watched most of the Rose Bowl, and did so somewhat attentively whereas, as I noted in a previous comment, I did not see the whole of the Sugar and followed the action I did see somewhat haphazardly. Still, I did see Illinois move the ball against USC fairly consistently throughout most of the game. Hawaii’s Oline was obliterated by Georgia on seemingly every play. I did not see the late TD. The turnovers in both cases can, it would seem, be attributed to great play by the USC and Gerogia defenses respectively rather than to dumb luck in the later case. Still, on a play by play basis Georgia’s dominance seemed the more overwhelming.

Your points about the institutional disadvantages of Hawaii are well taken, they deserve a lot of credit for what they have achieved and I hope the $ from the BCS will help them to continued success.

#39
Yeh Schultz would have been a good Marine, but the problem being the shape he’s in, he’d get harpooned while trying to land on the beach……
6 team playoff——#1 and #2 get byes in first round,
they play the winners of 1st round, then go from there….need 6 conference champs to participate and some easy patsys from at large to get killed via Hawaii in the first round…..based on that only USC,Oklahoma,LSU, tOSU,….who would be the other 2 based on this years bowls? WFV? WAC? MAC? Conf USA?Air Force?

Papa Lou-

“And while I hate Fox’s coverage of college football — you know Monday’s game is going to be four-and-a-half hours long — I did appreciate the announcers last night pointing out what a low-rent move it was for the Georgia fans to start the “overrated” chant in the third quarter last night. Hawaii were clear underdogs coming in, were ranked lower than UGA, have one-tenth of the football and recruiting budgets of the Dawgs and probably one percent of the TV revenue, have a smaller fan base. They had dozens of pro-big-school media types questioning their fitness for the game, despite an unblemished record in a year where all but one other team competing in the BCS has at least two losses… and yet, that qualifies as “overrated?” On what planet?”

One would think that the BCS-participating #10 team in the land would put up a better fight than Hawai’i did last night. Had Richt really wanted to, he could have put foot to pedal enough to win by 50. I mean, Georgia put in Blake Barnes for a series, and he’s transferring.

One would think that. And seeing how this was absolutely not the case, Hawai’i seems pretty overrated, no? If you look at Georgia’s schedule, the only team that gave the Dawgs less of a game was Western Carolina…and at least the Catamounts actually led in that one. Troy gave Georgia a better game. Ole Miss gave Georgia a better game. Vandy gave Georgia a better game. Etc.

Illinois got there by beating tOSU…didn’t that officiating crew undergo a felony investigation which I believe is still pending?

fotodog@47

I s’pose. The UGa O was quite pedestrian yesterday, but they certainly did more than was needed to win. They have, as you know, been very impressive at times this year, most spectacularly against Auburn, and if Stafford (who remains an underachiver) approaches his supposed potential they should be quite frightening next year. Even if he remains merely decent your O should be formidable.

Yeh, your D was good, prehaps even excellent, but no more so than against, say Florida. The Hawaii stats have been compiled against far too weak a schedule to make UGa’s dominance yesterday much of a revelation. They may be outstanding, but they showed me nothing new.

#44
Yeh I know what Code Red is, I love that movie…
Orson dubbed it since its a move done with dire consequences….in the movie the guy died from it, and Tubberville being Col. Jessup isnt supposed to condone or acknowledge it exist…the results in this context is to chop the opponent and take out the dominant Defensive player, possibly ending his game and his playing career…..“We dont coach that here” kinda rings hollow since they have done it twice on National TV, and got flagged for it vs Clemson……just sayin…….Fool me once…blah blah….Fool me twice and get flagged for it…..same way, with worse results…….If I was the D-Line coach, or hell, Coach O was D-line coach for Clemson….there would be 2 less Offensive linemen walking today…hell they may even be missing entirely, only to be found in some cow pasture --the remains of 2 somewhat human looking half-eaten carcasses…..

..contnued from #58

…still in football pads

D.N. Nation pretty well summed it up — if it looks like an overrated duck and quacks like an overrated duck, it’s probably an overrated duck. And if you’re the #10 team in the country and you get drawn and quartered by anyone lower than, say, #2, you probably didn’t need to be #10 to begin with.

And yeah, the “o-ver-ra-ted” chant might’ve been a bit assy, but jeez louise, it’s not like CFB fans haven’t been doing that since the height of the Roman Empire. If that’s the kind of thing Brennaman is going to waste five minutes of my life complaining about, I can hardly wait to hear his long-winded rant about why he hates it when they play that Gary Glitter song at sporting events.

1. - There’s a knock at your door. It’s Chaz Ramsey and Mike Pugh, and they’re here for your ACL – partly because your a bammer, but mostly because you can’t tell the right side of the line from the left.

Yes Pelican, I know, have seen the movie more than a dozen times and followed the usage on EDSBS with great interest. Just trying to be difficult.

Speaking of which, a partner walked into my office 5 minutes ago and wants me to review a reps and warranties section. Fuck. I come in on January 2nd and they expect me to do work. I don’t know what kind of a unit they’re running here.

Colt Brennan: “BONERATED.”

I think the point Papa Lou’s trying to make is that if it were Georgia vs. Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, ASU or one of the other major conference teams that were either in the BCS or hoping for a BCS bid, the result would have been the same.

Heck, I don’t think even Virginia Tech could have scored 10 points on Georgia’s defense, or stopped Georgia’s offense but we’ll never know because of these stupid bowl tie-ins.

Does Bonerama have t-shirts? Or a Behind The Music special? I want to know how they resolved the “one or two ’r’s’ question”.

Georgia is playing flat out scary-football of late, they were a stuporous game against teh Cocks away from having a shot at the SEC and national titles. Getting a snack like Hawaii to chew on only exemplified their awesomeness. That game looked like a practice, except everything Georgia executed worked. From a fan who appreciates great exhibitions of defensive prowess I was very impressed with Georgia last night. I only hope we play half as well in our bowl game.

I thought Hawaii played well for a team with a three-man offensive line >.<

I saw Bonerama a few months ago at the Green Parrot in Key West. They do a pretty mean cover of War Pigs.

. I’m not saying you wipe the losses away and make Illinois a BCS team, but on balance I would argue that their resume is quite a bit more impressive than Hawaii.

You can play this game all day. At the risk of violating Orson’s well-held ban on the transitive property, Illinois lost to a 6-6 Iowa team that lost to a four-win Western Michigan team at home. They struggled at home against Western Illinois. Ohio State is 11-1 largely because of a non-conference schedule that is similar to Hawaii’s. In addition to being told to forget about Georgia’s two losses, we’re also to conveniently forget that they were throroughly outplayed by Vanderbilt before Vandy’s coaches brain-cramped and gift-wrapped a win there, too.

(When talking about schedules in this particular context, it’s probably also worth noting that close call against Louisiana Tech was a road game — a 4,200-mile road trip, to be exact. Georgia fans can throw stones at that one the day they travel more than 75 miles for a non-conference road game….)

All I’m saying is that non-BCS teams have a much higher bar to clear to reach a BCS game than any team from a BCS conference ever will. I’m not saying it’s unfair (consider it our built-in strength of schedule penalty if it helps to wrap your mind around it), but I am saying that the BCS-conference fans should quit bellyaching so much when a non-BCS team makes it. The WAC, MAC and Mountain West teams of the world don’t get the luxury of playing for the BCS after a loss. If it’s so easy to go undefeated, go do it. If Georgia wants to swap schedules (and resources) with Hawaii for a season, I’m sure the Warriors would be glad to take UGA up on that offer.

Oh, and if we’re going to ban or relegate every team that gets pantsed in a BCS bowl game from ever appearing on that stage again (as some posters seem to be suggesting), then Ohio State would have had fun in the Outback Bowl yesterday…

Papa Lou @ 69-

“In addition to being told to forget about Georgia’s two losses, we’re also to conveniently forget that they were throroughly outplayed by Vanderbilt before Vandy’s coaches brain-cramped and gift-wrapped a win there, too.”

A few things.

- I haven’t heard anything of this sort. Most everyone realizes that somewhere between the Vandy game and the Florida game Georgia started playing up to its potential, that its O-line finally started to gel, that Knowshon Moreno gave the offense a spark, that Willie Martinez realized that the bell would toll for he if his guys didn’t start getting a credible pass rush. Most everyone has noted that Georgia was a very average football team the first half of the year, and an excellent one the second. Most everyone has noted that Georgia got super awesome at about the same time all the other top teams in the country struggled (for example: your BCS Championship Game-bound LSU Tigers have lost twice since the last Georgia loss).

- Vandy’s coaches brain-cramped? Coaches don’t fumble.

- Look, I see what you’re doing here, but you should sleep well enough knowing that Hawai’i’s stomping won’t put a damper on last year’s Fiesta Bowl and probably won’t put a damper on the BCS-making-abilities of other WAC teams. If the WAC becomes this decade’s version of the MAC (as in going from “OMG THEY SHOULD HAVE AUTOMATIC BIDS!!!” to “Uh, who?”), it will be because the quality of play suffers…not because the ESPN shouting heads keep bringing up the 2008 Sugar Bowl. The fact is, the 2007 Hawai’i Warriors were not a BCS-worthy team. At all. They played a schedule bested by 1-AA teams, and they struggled at times with it. They played one very good team all year and were demonstratively outclassed. That’s all we know. It should be enough.

@ newaztiger.

Let us also not forget the Auburn Right Tackle who upon being beaten by a spin move by Phillip Merling, blatantly kicked his leg out in a vain attempt to kick/trip Merling. I’m sure he wasn’t coached to do that either. Did the OL coach at Auburn spend time with the Broncos O’line?

D.N.,

Just to clarify, the BSU in my moniker does not stand for Boise State. I’m not defending a conference-mate here…

Papa Lou @ 69

What 70 said but further I was not playing the transitive game in the least. I’m saying that the totality of Illinois’ schedule, highlighted by the win a tOSU and the close loss to Missouri was much stronger than that of Hawaii. It also feature wins over Wisconsin and Penn State, the first of which played SEC runner up Tennessee very close and the second defeated Texas A&M (which defeated Texas convincingly the same Texas which just blew out ASU by about the same margin as the latter lost to USC).

The point is that at some juncture you have to concede that the teams beaten by Ilinois were simply much stronger than those defeated by Hawaii. The transitive argument would hold, for example, Stanford and consequently all the teams which defeated it as being better than USC, an utterly absurd conclusion.

I would ad that BCS teams don’t always get much of a break a particularly outrageous example being Missouri which was passed over for two teams which it defeated (on a similar not my Cal Bears which were passed over for an excellent Texas team but one that was, in that year, less deserving).

#69: “When talking about schedules in this particular context, it’s probably also worth noting that close call against Louisiana Tech was a road game — a 4,200-mile road trip, to be exact. Georgia fans can throw stones at that one the day they travel more than 75 miles for a non-conference road game…”

9/20/08 Georgia at Arizona St.

I’ll have my stones ready.

“Long pig never made for such great entertainment, but the food of the gods would certainly double the ratings on our end, Todd.”

Ah, the esoteric “long pig reference”. Well done, Orson.

For those of you youngsters who don’t know what a “long pig” is, the first time I heard the expression was when John Huston, the director of “African Queen” was telling a story about the film production in 1950. When they were making the movie in East Africa they had to hire native hunters to produce meat for the cast and crew. Everyone was commenting on how tasty a particular stew was and were asking about the type of meat in it. The hunters replied that it was “long pig”. Upon further review it was discovered that “long pigs” were men from another tribe and that the hunters were killling them and including their meat in the stews.

I can just picture the look on Katherine Hepburn’s face when she found out……………..