2018 NCAA Football Thread

[Scuzz]

That SC hit is unquestionably targeting. Not sure how they can defend that, especially on review.

The announcers who called the game wondered the same thing.


As for this week......who ya got......


Ohio State or Penn State?

Is it possible for them both to lose. Maybe a tie would be bad for both of them. I am not sure how to watch a game and root against both teams.

[Pyperkub]

Per Wilner - the NCAA rules on Targeting:

Here are the NCAA’s official rules on the subject:

Targeting and Making Forcible Contact With the Crown of the Helmet

ARTICLE 3. No player shall target and make forcible contact against an opponent with the crown of his helmet. This foul requires that there be at least one indicator of targeting (See Note 1 below). When in question, it is a foul. (Rule 9-6) (A.R. 9-1-3-I)

Targeting and Making Forcible Contact to Head or Neck Area of a Defenseless Player

ARTICLE 4. No player shall target and make forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent (See Note 2 below) with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulder. This foul requires that there be at least one indicator of targeting (See Note 1 below). When in question, it is a foul (Rules 2-27-14 and 9-6). (A.R. 9-1-4-I-VI)

Note 1: “Targeting” means that a player takes aim at an opponent for purposes of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball. Some indicators of targeting include but are not limited to:

• Launch—a player leaving his feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body to make forcible contact in the head or neck area

• A crouch followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area, even though one or both feet are still on the ground

• Leading with helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area

• Lowering the head before attacking by initiating forcible contact with the crown of the helmet

Note 2: Defenseless player (Rule 2-27-14). Examples of defenseless players include but are not limited to:

• A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass.

• A receiver attempting to catch a forward pass or in position to receive a backward pass, or one who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier.

• A kicker in the act of or just after kicking a ball, or during the kick or the return.

• A kick returner attempting to catch or recover a kick, or one who has completed a catch or recovery and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier..

• A player on the ground.

• A player obviously out of the play.

• A player who receives a blind-side block.

• A ball carrier already in the grasp of an opponent and whose forward progress has been stopped.

• A quarterback any time after a change of possession

• A ball carrier who has obviously given himself up and is sliding feet first.

[LawBeefaroni]

• A kicker in the act of or just after kicking a ball, or during the kick or the return.

In other words, a kicker is always defenseless.

[LawBeefaroni]

State Farm "Dropsies" ad right before Michigan had a ridiculous drop. Have to

[msduncan]

Does anyone have a FG kicker we can borrow at Bama?

In other news, I just pulled this from ESPN Stats & Info:

"In the last 15 seasons, no quarterback has had a better QBR through 5 games than Tua Tagovailoa’s 97.9 QBR this season.

The previous high was Russell Wilson, who had a 96.4 QBR through 5 games for Wisconsin in 2011. "

[Skinypupy]

Does anyone have a FG kicker we can borrow at Bama?

We'll trade you ours for just one of your QBs.

We dropped another lackluster game to Wazzu after our inept offense shot itself in the foot over and over again. I think Whittingham's job might actually end up on the line if this keeps going. 9 years, 8 different OC's, and still an absolutely pathetic offense to show for it. As good as he is with defenses, he's equally as bad at doing anything with offense. It's kinda sad, really, as even an adequate offense would get us to 9-10 wins each year. As is, I think we'll likely be lucky to win 6 or 7.

I'm to the point of mostly just checking out of this college football season altogether. Utah was supposed to finally contend for the South, but we're likely destined for another mediocre season with a crappy bowl. Tough to get very excited about anything right now.

[Scuzz]

Does anyone have a FG kicker we can borrow at Bama?

In other news, I just pulled this from ESPN Stats & Info:

"In the last 15 seasons, no quarterback has had a better QBR through 5 games than Tua Tagovailoa’s 97.9 QBR this season.

The previous high was Russell Wilson, who had a 96.4 QBR through 5 games for Wisconsin in 2011. "

You blow out a crappy team you shouldn't even be playing and you whine about your kicker?

By the way, Bama failed to cover the spread. Saban should be fired.

[msduncan]

Does anyone have a FG kicker we can borrow at Bama?

In other news, I just pulled this from ESPN Stats & Info:

"In the last 15 seasons, no quarterback has had a better QBR through 5 games than Tua Tagovailoa’s 97.9 QBR this season.

The previous high was Russell Wilson, who had a 96.4 QBR through 5 games for Wisconsin in 2011. "

You blow out a crappy team you shouldn't even be playing and you whine about your kicker?

By the way, Bama failed to cover the spread. Saban should be fired.

We missed two short field goals. I'm so SICK of missing field goals.

And yeah.. we had the 4th string in there for the entire 4th and they allowed points.

[Unagi]

cry me a river

[Jaymann]

Apparently the way to beat Penn State's defense is to reverse fields.

[Carpet_pissr]

We missed two short field goals. I'm so SICK of missing field goals.

And yeah.. we had the 4th string in there for the entire 4th and they allowed points.

Awww, I am so sorry that happened. Points on the board for the opposing team is no joke. Hope you can make it through this trying time.

[Lassr]

We missed two short field goals. I'm so SICK of missing field goals.

After a beautiful 47 yarder last week, he misses two 20 yarders...

[Skinypupy]

We missed two short field goals. I'm so SICK of missing field goals.

And yeah.. we had the 4th string in there for the entire 4th and they allowed points.

Awww, I am so sorry that happened. Points on the board for the opposing team is no joke. Hope you can make it through this trying time.

Alabama has an absolute embarrassment of riches at literally every position but one. Their 4 and 5-star backups could beat 3/4 of the teams in college football, and you're going to bitch about a kicker?

C'mon, man.

[Apollo]

It is weird how Alabama has so much talent year after year...Except at kicker. On the other hand, their across state rival Auburn has traditionally had great kickers.

[Lassr]

We missed two short field goals. I'm so SICK of missing field goals.

And yeah.. we had the 4th string in there for the entire 4th and they allowed points.

Awww, I am so sorry that happened. Points on the board for the opposing team is no joke. Hope you can make it through this trying time.

Alabama has an absolute embarrassment of riches at literally every position but one. Their 4 and 5-star backups could beat 3/4 of the teams in college football, and you're going to bitch about a kicker?

C'mon, man.

to think we are going to beat everyone by 20 points is probably not going to happen so we need a kicker for those tight games.

[msduncan]

So I need unbiased opinions on Tua. Alabama fans have never had a skilled QB since Namath, and even then I'm not entirely sure he was in the same league as the NFL caliber QBs that are drafted each year.

Is this kid as good as the hype and as good as the numbers?

Here are some things floating around twitter today:

Dennis Dodd:

Tua by the numbers...

Avg incompletions per game: 4.4
Avg TDs responsible for per game: 3.6.

Bruce Feldman:

Tua Tagovailoa's QB rating on 3rd downs is a mind-boggling 352.51--more than 120 points higher than the next QB in the country, Kyler Murray. Tua is 18-of-21 for 392 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INTs.

Michael Cassagrande (beat reporter):

Tua Tagovailoa by the quarter:
1st: 30-42, 596 yards, 8 TDs
2nd: 24-27, 337 yards, 4 TDs
3rd: 12-19, 228 yards, 2 TDs
4th: 0-0, 0 yards, 0 TDs

Is this kid as good as the hype? He has to come down to earth spectacularly at some point, right?

[LawBeefaroni]

Not sure what you're looking for. He's um, a great college quarterback.

He's not top 25 in yards per game. He's not the Heisman favorite at the moment. So what are the hype and numbers you are talking about?

[msduncan]

Not sure what you're looking for. He's um, a great college quarterback.

He's not top 25 in yards per game. He's not the Heisman favorite at the moment. So what are the hype and numbers you are talking about?

Things like Trent Dilfer saying he's the best he's ever seen:

link

And I'm not sure you can judge him on yards per game since he's only attempted 19 passes total in the 2nd half of every game so far this season. He's usually out of the game by middle of the 2nd Q. Stats are going to hurt him in the Heisman though if you look purely from a total yardage perspective against QBs that play every game deep into the 4th.

[Apollo]

Not sure what you're looking for. He's um, a great college quarterback.

He's not top 25 in yards per game. He's not the Heisman favorite at the moment. So what are the hype and numbers you are talking about?

Actually, he IS the Heisman favorite and pretty much has been all season. The reason he doesn't top yardage lists is because he usually has Alabama up 35-7 halfway through the second quarter, when Saban benches him and brings in Hurts.

And yes, MSD, he IS that good. Right now he's actually outperforming the ridiculous expectations of Alabama fans at the start of the season. I've never seen a college QB that was so quick to read the coverage and deliver the ball in any situation, and his long range accuracy is like nothing I can recall seeing before. If he can keep it up for an entire season, it's hard to imagine anyone stopping Alabama.

The Heisman is harder to figure though, even though he is hands down the betting favorite right now. The fact that he never gets to run up the score on anyone may end up hurting him in the long run when QB X has 7,000 passing yards or whatever...

[LawBeefaroni]

It's too early to call him the best ever. The average total defense ranking of opponents has been 90 (and that's not including LA Lafayette, who I couldn't find but is at least out of the top 130). Pass yards allowed average has been 77.

Murray has faced an average of 64 def/74 pyds. Grier 73/75.

At the very least, that tells me that he whole "he doesn't even play in the 4th quarter" argument is mitigated by the fact that it's because they're running it up against poor defenses in the first half. We'll see as they start conference play and face stouter defenses. I'm not saying he isn't the best ever, I'm just saying it's way too early to say that he is.



Ak State is the best defense Tua has faced so far. He was 13/19 with 228 yards and 4TDs. Amazing numbers for parts of 3 quarters. But Hurts was 7/9, 93, 2 TDs in that same game. That extrapolates out to even better numbers (if we play the extrapolation game with Tua, it's only fair to play it with Hurts). It's clear that Alabama has been completely outmatching opponents in every aspect (except maybe unnecessary kicking).

Murray's performance against a better Iowa State defense was 21/29, 348 yards, 3 TD. Tua was better, sure. But best ever, no-one-is-even-close, hands down? No. Not yet.

The Heisman is harder to figure though, even though he is hands down the betting favorite right now. The fact that he never gets to run up the score on anyone may end up hurting him in the long run when QB X has 7,000 passing yards or whatever...

I think we're getting past that. Guys like McDonald and his 2100 yards/24 TDs aren't really in the mix.

Edit:. Aren't really in the mix. Not are.

[msduncan]

It's too early to call him the best ever. The average total defense ranking of opponents has been 90 (and that's not including LA Lafayette, who I couldn't find but is at least out of the top 130). Pass yards allowed average has been 77.

Murray has faced an average of 64 def/74 pyds. Grier 73/75.

At the very least, that tells me that he whole "he doesn't even play in the 4th quarter" argument is mitigated by the fact that it's because they're running it up against poor defenses in the first half. We'll see as they start conference play and face stouter defenses. I'm not saying he isn't the best ever, I'm just saying it's way too early to say that he is.



Ak State is the best defense Tua has faced so far. He was 13/19 with 228 yards and 4TDs. Amazing numbers for parts of 3 quarters. But Hurts was 7/9, 93, 2 TDs in that same game. That extrapolates out to even better numbers (if we play the extrapolation game with Tua, it's only fair to play it with Hurts). It's clear that Alabama has been completely outmatching opponents in every aspect (except maybe unnecessary kicking).

Murray's performance against a better Iowa State defense was 21/29, 348 yards, 3 TD. Tua was better, sure. But best ever, no-one-is-even-close, hands down? No. Not yet.

The Heisman is harder to figure though, even though he is hands down the betting favorite right now. The fact that he never gets to run up the score on anyone may end up hurting him in the long run when QB X has 7,000 passing yards or whatever...

I think we're getting past that. Guys like McDonald and his 2100 yards/24 TDs are really in the mix.

Agreed but wanted to clarify something:

Dilfer was saying he’s the best he’s ever seen come through the 7 on 7 camps. Not that he is the best he’s ever seen play in games. Of course he’s already a legend at Alabama due to that championship game vs Georgia last year. He will always have that.

[ImLawBoy]

Keep in mind that people like Dilfer don't get anyone to pay attention to them by giving careful, measured opinions. You get more attention by making bold statements about players or teams being the best or worst. There's a huge pile of salt to recon with here.

[Isgrimnur]

Keep in mind that people like Dilfer don't get anyone to pay attention to them by giving careful, measured opinions. You get more attention by making bold statements about players or teams being the best or worst. There's a huge pile of salt to recon with here.

*reckon.

Unless you're reconnoitering with seasonings.

[GungHo]

So...it's Texas-OU this week. And we (finally) get GameDay back at the State Fair so that's exciting. Been going to this game every year since I was a senior in HS but haven't really had any expectations since about 2010.
And don't really have any this year either; our #19 ranking is fool's gold. But the atmosphere is undoubtedly one of the best in the sport and I'll be hanging out with buddies I only get to see once a year so that makes it special, regardless of how the game plays out. I think our defense is pretty decent and we'll hold OU under their average but they still win it. Something like 31-14.

[soulbringer]

Gonna be a lot closer than 31-14. OUr defense is still terrible but seem to make a stop or two when needed. I would not be surprised at all if Texas wins but of course am rooting for my Sooners. Im hoping its exciting regardless as Im working Friday night and will be working on about 3 hours sleep before the game comes on TV here in South Carolina. To be honest, I think WVU wins the B12 this year. I think unless they pull a "Holgerson"" they have all the right parts to win the conference, much more than they have had in the past several years.

[Scuzz]

So in Tua's storied collegiate career he has played what, maybe 5 halves and of those maybe two against quality opponents. Being a QB at Bama has to be easier when you have targets, which Saban has been good at getting, and a damn good running game.

As I heard someone on EPSN say today, has anyone won the Heisman when they didn't even take the most snaps on their own team?

[Baroquen]

As a Mountaineer alum, I hope you're right, soulbringer. It's an exciting team. But somebody's got to knock off the Sooners and WVU tends to fall apart at inopportune times over the years. So I'll root for Texas this week, I guess, and hope WVU gets through the weekend without any injuries while dealing with Kansas.

[Skinypupy]

I get that you have to take the good with the bad and it happens to everyone, but this awful refereeing is pretty much destroying my interest in college football. Utah had a 4th quarter punt return for a TD called back for a block in the back that never actually happened...which ended up being the difference in the game (lost by 4).



P12 refs are just SO consistently bad, and it's killing the game.

[soulbringer]

Baroquen, I drank my way through 2.5 years of WVU in the late 80's early 90's and am a native West "By God" Virginian from the northern panhandle so WVU always holds high regard in my house. If my Sooners cant do it, WVU is always my next choice.

[Scuzz]

I only saw a few minutes of the Utah St/BYU game but going by the announcers you would have thought BYU won.

Utah State has always been a Jekyl and Hyde team. I guess BYU got the wrong one tonight.

[Chrisoc13]

I only saw a few minutes of the Utah St/BYU game but going by the announcers you would have thought BYU won.

Utah State has always been a Jekyl and Hyde team. I guess BYU got the wrong one tonight.

BYU suuuucks. USU has actually been really solid this year. Really solid. But BYU suuuucks. Sitake needs to go.

[Skinypupy]

USU looks to be the best team in the state this year. Glad we don’t play them.

[Chrisoc13]

USU looks to be the best team in the state this year. Glad we don’t play them.

I would agree with that. Though Utah's defense might give them some fits. They certainly have the best offense in the state.

[msduncan]

At one point today Tua was 10/11 for 4 touchdowns. He finished:

C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
Tua Tagovailoa 10/13 334 25.7 4 0

[Scuzz]

I know Arkansas is a conference game, but they really suck this year.

[Lassr]

I know Arkansas is a conference game, but they really suck this year.

They have improved from week to week but still not a great team though. They really took advantage of some of Bama's weaknesses on D.

[GungHo]

So...it's Texas-OU this week. And we (finally) get GameDay back at the State Fair so that's exciting. Been going to this game every year since I was a senior in HS but haven't really had any expectations since about 2010.
And don't really have any this year either; our #19 ranking is fool's gold. But the atmosphere is undoubtedly one of the best in the sport and I'll be hanging out with buddies I only get to see once a year so that makes it special, regardless of how the game plays out. I think our defense is pretty decent and we'll hold OU under their average but they still win it. Something like 31-14.

Nailed it.



Basically every single thing I thought about this game was 100% wrong...which is usually how this game goes. You'd think after going to like 20 of them I'd have figured that out by now, but apparently not.

Still not sold on Texas as legit, the Maryland loss stings too badly(though possibly it's my eyes from looking at that flag) and obviously our defense was anything but dominant against OU. I've been a huge critic of our QB, but even I have to admit he is improving week to week and to lead that final drive, in this game and that environment, after the way we collapsed in the 4th qtr, was absolutely nails. There's a lot of season left to play, but at least we've put ourselves in a position to be relevant in the CFB world again and after the decade we've had, I'll definitely take it.

Also, is Scott Frost gonna lose his job? Good grief Nebraska, what is going on???

EDIT: not nearly the die-hard CFB fan I was a decade ago, but having GameDay at your game is still pretty dang cool.

[Skinypupy]

Utah is now 4-1 against Stanford in the P12, and has yet to lose at The Farm. We match up SO much better with them than we did with Wazzu last week. Amazing how much better the QB looks when you feed the RB the ball.

I figured we'd be 3-2 at this point, just got there a little differently than expected. This was a must-win game, and we're right back in the mix in the P12.

[Baroquen]

Basically every single thing I thought about this game was 100% wrong...which is usually how this game goes. You'd think after going to like 20 of them I'd have figured that out by now, but apparently not.

Still not sold on Texas as legit, the Maryland loss stings too badly(though possibly it's my eyes from looking at that flag) and obviously our defense was anything but dominant against OU. I've been a huge critic of our QB, but even I have to admit he is improving week to week and to lead that final drive, in this game and that environment, after the way we collapsed in the 4th qtr, was absolutely nails. There's a lot of season left to play, but at least we've put ourselves in a position to be relevant in the CFB world again and after the decade we've had, I'll definitely take it.

Yeah, hanging that loss on OU makes the Big 12 a lot more interesting, so thanks Texas. Bad news for me is that WVU looked mediocre again and have both teams still on their schedule. Hopefully they have time over the next few weeks to get their act together. When Grier is on, the offense is amazing to watch, but he looked positively pedestrian yesterday. The defense wasn't too bad, stopping the run more than they did last year vs. Kansas. And they bailed out the team grabbing some key turnovers. On the other hand, we wouldn't have needed it if the QB didn't throw at least a couple picks in the red zone to begin with.

Anyway - a win is a win. Congrats Texas & GungHo!

[LawBeefaroni]

At one point today Tua was 10/11 for 4 touchdowns. He finished:

C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
Tua Tagovailoa 10/13 334 25.7 4 0

Part of the problem for him (as far as the Heisman and recognition) is that Alabama is too good as a whole and too good on offense. They also rushed for what, 200 some yards and 2 non-Tua TDs. And their defense makes passing moot by the second half. All that is painful for me to admit, since I'm no fan of Alabama, but it's true. He's going to need something like a 41-38 final in a pitched battle to have that "omfqb!" type of performance.