Posted on 10/22/2009 1:09:15 PM PDT by C19fan
On Sept. 5, while Florida feasted on Charleston Southern and Texas opened with Louisiana-Monroe, the Oklahoma Sooners played a strong BYU team on a neutral field.
That’s when Sam Bradford sprained his shoulder while being sacked, an injury that derailed OU’s title hopes.
A week later, while Florida annihilated Troy and Texas blew out Wyoming, Southern California played at Ohio State.
(Excerpt) Read more at rivals.yahoo.com ...
What is a Solf Schedule?
ping
Two words: Appalachian State.
Mention that to a Michigan fan.
Agree 100%. See you at the Rose Bowl. Roll Tide.
Stupid mistake on my part. Ugh!!!
Aw, give him a break ... it's a typo.
He meant to type "Ssolf," which as we all know is the reverse of "floss," and refers to the practice of stuffing bits of meat between the teeth.
LOL, I thought maybe is was a special conference description or some new ranking model they had concocted.
No worries.
>> What is a Solf Schedule?
That’s just the way they teach ‘em to spell at the University of Spoiled Children (aka USC).
HOOK ‘EM HORNS!
Umm, I’m not a Florida fan but the SEC in-conference schedule is as tough as it gets.
Truly I thought maybe it was some new weird ranking algorithm the BCS had concocted.
The formula should be based only on wins over top-50 teams. Losses should not factor into the mix. Therefore, if you schedule a bunch of patsies then you get ZERO formula points — no better than a loss.
Florida will probably play Alabama in the SEC championship game.
Hawkeyes visit East Lansing this weekend. We’ll find out if #6 rating is for real.
You gotta git past my Vols first! :D
~SC
>> Florida will probably play Alabama in the SEC championship game.
And then Texas will beat the winner of the SEC title game for the national championship.
I love it when a plan comes together.
OH- I will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend screaming for my Tide to obliterate your Vols.
Just make sure and leave those Puke Orange jerseys at home, OK? :)
-bh
They absolutely need to, and can go to, a tournament or playoffs. There is no other reason they still have this BS BCS system other than money. It’s a crock and a rip off to the players and fans to continue to do it the BCS way.
They’re for real, count on it! Next up in November is OSU. Bring it acorns!
A Hawkeye fan in Alaska ?
I’ll tell you what BH, if the Vols loose to Bama, I will root for the Tide all the way to the BCS ‘ship.
But for now, GO VOLS! Beat Bama!
~SC
But I can see his point when the Gators schedule creampuffs like FSU.
The WORST in this year’s BCS is Boise State, who will play only ONE top twenty team this year...they BARELY beat Tulsa this past weekend.
But your USC gets a BREAK from the pollsters as well. USC loses to a team that did not win a single game last year, and drops three places in the polls.
Ole Miss loses a close game to a team that played in a major bowl last year (South Carolina) and drops from 4th to 21st. Granted, Ole Miss was ranked too high to begin with, but gee whizz..USC only drops three places...
And although I am a Bama fan, I am not convinced that they won’t lose a game..a TERRIBLE offensive coordinator has them ranked 5oth in red zone scoring and 62nd in total offense...so a couple of missteps and they could lose a game.
Well considering that we have a two-game lead in the East, I would say that's a guarantee.
Nobody should ever promote a Solf Schedule. The Roman Empire tried to promote Solf Schedules at the height of its power and influence, and we all know how that turned out.
I’m not really sure that the author proves his point that teams have to play soft-schedules in order to go undefeated to make the BCS championship game. Most of the evidence he cites is anectodotal examples of mid-season BCS standings.
In the BCS era (1998-2008), there has been a team make the BCS championship with at least one loss 7 out of 11 years. Furthermore, in 3 years including the last two years, both teams in the BCS championship had at least one loss.
Furthermore, the teams he cites as examples of aggressively scheduling, have done very well. USC has won two of the 11 BCS championships. Oklahoma has won 1 BCS title and made the BCS championship game for times (including twice with a loss). It’s true that major undefeated teams get first dibs on spots in the championship games, but when their aren’t two major undefeated teams (which is usually), the teams that play tough schedules go to the front of the line.
Also, I can’t really agree with the author that Florida is a poster child for weak scheduling. Their SEC schedule by itself is brutal (I’m a Big10 fan so it pains me to say that), and they play Florida State every year. They can’t really be blamed for the fact that Florida State has temporarily gone from top 10 to merely good.
I’m not sure that the BCS system is the main factor for the lack of good non-conference matchups. The financial necessity of 7 home games for the top programs is a big factor. There is a good case to be made for changing the current BCS system, but I don’t really think this author makes it.
Not according the Dennis and Judy ( a New Jersey Radio duo) - flossing was their euphemism for, uh, “self love”....it was kind of funny when an unsuspecting caller would be asked by them if they flossed daily..... but I digress....back to the BCS bashing
“The article explains why I am a big USC fan and hate Texas and Florida. I hope both lose a game so USC gets to play Bama in the BCS championship game. At least Bama played Va Tech.”
First of all, Texas did the same home-and-home with Ohio State that USC is doing, which is apparently your big argument. Did you forget that? (Dare I note that OSU doesn’t look like the strongest opponent now anyways?) Second, Texas had a MUCH stronger schedule last year than USC, ranked as high as third in a few of the computers. And Florida’s was also MUCH harder than USC’s. Heck, they both might even be harder this year. Third, even if they do lose a game, USC’s loss blows and is likely to be worse than either UT or Florida’s.
So basically, your argument completely sucks and doesn’t do anything for your team.
Last I checked Big12 and SEC conference teams were tough enough. There's great ball with in-conference games, so it's not a cake walk the entire season.
The computer components of the BCS have been watered down over time. This means that the humans voting for their favorites have more influence now. This was done first as a response to USC being the coach favorite in a year where USC had a horribly soft schedule so that the computer rankings overrode the polls and placed LSU and Oklahoma in the championship game.
If the computer rankings were used in the old percentages, many of the non-BCS conference teams would also not have a chance at the top 10. Boise State, having a good strength of schedule, would actually be an exception to this last rule.
If you rank solely on strength of wins/losses, Alabama and Florida are 1 and 2, while USC is number 12. (+8 points for winning vs. top 10 team or -1 for losing to top 10. +4/-2 for 11-25, +2/-4 for 26-40, +1/-8 for 41-120).
AL 18
FL 16
IOWA 14
Boise St 12
Cincinnati 11
Oregon 10
Miami 9
Texas 9
LSU 8
Arizona 7
Va Tech 7
USC 6
Ga Tech 6
TCU 6
OK St 5
... Wisconsin -5, Oklahoma -14
That was last year. This year that exact same team (they returned 22 starters) is 3-3 with an OT loss to Notre Dame.
I hope all of the SEC does!
Better us than them durn Crocodiles!
Roll Tide!
I went to college at UF btw. They are having a great season so far!
Well traditional they’ve lost that game against SEC West opponents.
But I’m a bit concerned about giving up those six sacks, if MSU gets a bunch of sacks Saturday, then I am going to be very worried that UF’s Achilles Heel has been exposed.
I agree. I am also worried that MSU is a much better team than their record indicates. Their losses have been close games against good teams.
You answer still doesn’t address the fact that USC lost to a team that did not win a game LAST year, and only dropped 3 places in the poll...Ole Miss lost to a team with a winning record LAST year and THIS year, but fell from 4th to 21st..USC does get HELP in the polls..PERIOD.
Most teams with a proven record of success over the years get the benefit of the doubt starting any season, be it Texas, USC, Alabama, and others. It also takes more then one game to convince everyone that the loss was not a fluke to a team playing over it's head.
Teams with a consistent losing records or weak wining records, like Ole Miss, have to prove themselves, not in just one game or two, but over the course of a season, before they start getting the benefit of the doubt.
USC also has a proven record of winning, or playing very tough, in the post season as well.
If you want an example of a team being over rated you should be looking at Notre Dame, not USC.
Before you point fingers at the SEC and Big 12 for playing “weak” opponents outside their conference, you need to examine the “competition” WITIN the Pac-10..
Last year Washington and Washington State were in a battle to determine the LOWEST ranked team in all of Div 1 football..one win between the two of them.
This year it isn’t much better...Washington State is ranked 119th out of 120 in total offense. UCLA is ranked 104th. In fact there are 5 Pac-10 teams ranked 74th and lower in team defense...So USC doesn’t have to go outside the conference and find a push over, they just have to play inside the PAC-10 to cruise to easy victories...facing 5 teams ranked 74th or lower in defense...and 6 teams in the bottom 50 in team offense.
Alabama and Florida are ranked 1 and 2 in total defense...So Cal is ranked 9th, and I believe they do in fact have a pretty good defense, but then they are playing against all those PAC-10 teams with such lowly rankings in defense and offense.
It is a good idea to check the stats BEFORE throwing stones at other conferences.
I think that maybe 1 in 4 people living here are actually from here. The rest of us come for work or found a woman and stayed. I am originally from Iowa.
IMHO, the gators should have one loss.
After the SEC suspended that officiating crew for three weeks, the SEC would seem to agree with you.
USC also did not have their QB in that game, and the Huskies are much improved.
Bama will in all likelihood get its chance to prove it belongs in the BCS championship when it plays Florida in the SEC title game.
“USC also did not have their QB in that game, and the Huskies are much improved.”
And they beat ND by only 7 and almost LOST.
They play 5 teams in the PAC-10 that are ranked 74th and lower in total defense...I am NOT saying that USC does not have a good team, but this nonesense about USC playing a tough schedule compared to Florida and Alabama is just silly.
USC SHOULD have beaten Ohio State by three touchdowns...should have beaten ND by three touchdowns...USC is good, but not as good as the USC blind zombies think, or the pollsters think.
Florida is NO where near as good as last year. Bama is more talented than any team in the country, but alas, has an idiot for an offensive coordinator that may cost them the run for the title...but BOTH teams play tougher schedules than USC or any Big-10 or Big-12 team.
“If you want an example of a team being over rated you should be looking at Notre Dame, not USC.”
We agree 100% on Notre Dame getting unfair advantage from the pollsters...however, there are three in that mix:
Notre Dame
USC
Ohio State
As a TCU alum, I have nothing good to say about the BCS. To show how grossly unfair and inequitable it is, I’ll put the MWC up against the Big East (and possibly the ACC) any day of the week.
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