Penn State should be #1

[Tartanblue]

Penn State should be number 1 tomarrow when the rankings come out, but with them being a BIG 10 team they will more than likely get jumped by someone like Florida.

[noreply66]

Bama #1

[theassassin]

isnt bama ranked 2 and psu 3 this week? why should psu jump bama?

[Peake]

Sorry but PSU is not going to be #1. Bama will go to #1 and I wouldn't be surprised to see TT or Florida jump PSU.

[Mad-Dogg]

as much as i'd like to see them go to number one and maybe play for the national title that way osu can play in the rose bowl. IMHO i don't see them jumpin to number one. the sec is to strong of a conference

[abuck76]

Bama should be until they're beat.........TT should jump Penn St. .............Penn St. has beat no one of caliber except the Bucks..................

[Orestes]

Some people are anticipating Big10 backlash a bit too much. PSU was not jumped by Florida, nor should they be. We can all claim to "know" who is better but the nation has been wrong many times before. Florida people should know this as well as any. Also, all the games count. You can't just lose to average football teams and then expect to jump a team from a BCS conference that takes care of business every week.

Also, look at the polls, whether they should be or not, OSU is the highest ranked 2-loss team over 2-loss SEC teams. So much for poll backlash.

[fuzzhead]

Penn State should definitely be considered the frontrunner to play for the National Championship when you look at everyone else's schedule.

If Florida and Alabama win out, they'll have to play each other in the SEC Championship - one of them won't be playing in the National Title Game - probably Alabama.
Yay! Now that Texas Tech won last night, the sportscasters have a feel-good story - finally one of the upstart Big 12 teams comes through and beats a year-in-year out conference powerhouse. All this did for me was make me think less of Texas - maybe they were overrated. Florida would beat Texas Tech by 30 - Harrell would be whining the whole way - complaining about getting hit too hard. Tech still has OK State and Oklahoma on their schedule, as well as a Big 12 Championship game if they get through those two. Texas Tech in the NC =
Then you have USC - who plays the softest schedule of any BCS team in the Top 10 every year in the P(athetic)AC 10.
The National Championship could easily be Penn State/USC.

[Peake]

If you want to make the argument for strenght of schd, than you can't make one for PSU. The best team they beat was OSU and that was a struggle to the bitter end. Everyone will point to Oregon State, but it has been well documented that west coast teams play poorly (Cal should have never lost to Maryland). If you go that route than you have to look at how bad USC beat down OSU, and the difference in the way both teams beat OSU.

Texas Tech, based on the amount of work they have done should be #2. Sorry PSU fans, but you beat #10 OSU, Texas Tech beat #1 Texas. If they get through Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, you better believe they will be in the NC. If Florida wins out they are in over PSU. It all comes down to not playing as well. PSU will be idle if Florida were to win the SEC.

[Just_A_Fan]

I dont see PSU winng out anyways I think Michigan St. will beat PSU. Texas Tech will lose eitehr to Ok. St or OK. I see Ok and FL in the title game and PSU and USC in the rose

[Orestes]

An unbeaten PSU gets in unless there are two other unbeaten teams. Florida will not jump PSU. One, there has been no backlash toward the Big Ten (ie. OSU over Georgia and LSU) two, the Joe Paterno factor. He will get a Tom Osborne-like gift from the other coaches and three, the Big 10 is still the most influential and powerful conference in college football. An unbeaten Big10 team will not be passed by a 1-loss team.

Nevadabuck was already willing to take $10,000 bets that no 2-loss SEC team would pass a 1-loss OSU team, and the argument about 0-loss PSU and 1-loss SEC is very similar. See if he will take this one if you believe it. $10,000 is a lot of cash for one bet.

[fuzzhead]

If you want to make the argument for strenght of schd, than you can't make one for PSU. The best team they beat was OSU and that was a struggle to the bitter end. Everyone will point to Oregon State, but it has been well documented that west coast teams play poorly (Cal should have never lost to Maryland). If you go that route than you have to look at how bad USC beat down OSU, and the difference in the way both teams beat OSU.

Texas Tech, based on the amount of work they have done should be #2. Sorry PSU fans, but you beat #10 OSU, Texas Tech beat #1 Texas. If they get through Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, you better believe they will be in the NC. If Florida wins out they are in over PSU. It all comes down to not playing as well. PSU will be idle if Florida were to win the SEC.

I'm not saying that Penn State should get in because of their strength of schedule. Florida is playing the best football in the country right now - yes, better than Texas Tech. They are a more complete team, more physical, more athletic. If they go undefeated the rest of the way, they should be the #1 team - easily. I won't point to Oregon State - I know how bad the PAC 10 is. As far as comparing Penn State's win against OSU to USC's: it's like comparing apples to oranges - different circumstances, different styles of play. OSU has made a living off of winning ugly in the regular season, especially (and believe me, I hate to have to bring this up) the '02 season.
I'm trying to be realistic: There's a good chance Florida will lose again and there's an even better chance that Tech will lose. You know as well as I do that if USC wins out, people will start whinning that "USC is the best team NOW". Penn State and USC have the best shot to be in the big one.

[Peake]

I see what you are saying.

[OZZIEOHIO]

Even if the teams in front of Penn State loses the Lions wont get in. The 1 loss sec reams will jump them.

[Orestes]

No.

The only way PSU is left out is if there are 3 unbeaten BCS teams. You are forgetting that 1) Joe Pa gains sympathy ala Tom Osborne in 1997 2) OSU is rated as the highest 2-loss team over two 2-loss SEC teams and 3) The media is riding PSU's jocks.

[whompascat]

1 loss florida gets in before penn st. penn st would get killed by florida.

[Orestes]

1 loss florida gets in before penn st. penn st would get killed by florida.

Well, that is subjective. The whole world has been wrong about college football matchups before. People have been just as adamant about one team destroying another and have been shown to be very wrong. It is too difficult to predict. Consequently, the pollster typically have to go with the actual win-loss results among the BCS conference teams.

I will admit that if I were a betting man, I would bet on Florida. Simply because OSU would have handled PSU handily had Pryor been experienced enough to hit the open WR. He made the wrong reads on easy TDs two or three times. An experienced QB with adequate protection will light PSU's secondary up like a Christmas tree IMO.

However, that does not mean 1-loss UF will get in above a 0-loss PSU. They won't.

[Bleacher Creature]

An experienced QB with adequate protection will light PSU's secondary up like a Christmas tree IMO.

Penn State knew comming in that Pryor was not experienced enough to consistently throw the ball downfield and they put 8 or 9 guys in the box all night. If Boekman had been in the game they would have had to back off and respect the passing game so I don't think this secondary is as weak as you might think.

[fuzzhead]

I think PSU getting snubbed is a possibility.

People have been wanting to pair USC with an SEC team since Florida beat OSU in 06 and USC beat UM in the Rose Bowl. You can't underestimate the "sexiness" factor that people seem bent on. It has taken root deeply now that SEC teams have won the past two National Championships and both years everyone said the USC was good enough to be #2 at the end of the year.
Florida is really good this year - aside from the Mississippi debacle they've laid everyone else to rest. I can buy Florida, MAYBE-MAYBE-MAYBE Alabama, but the rest of the SEC just isn't as good as it has been. Georgia has been a disappointment, as have Auburn and LSU in the west.

[abuck76]

To help get the BCS changed to a playoff system, we need Bama , and TT and Penn St to stay undefeated. With that Bama and TT would deserve to be in the NC game over Penn St. , but Lion country would jump stiff legged.......Maybe if that would happen a couple of years , having three or four undefeated teams at the end, then a playoff system MAY come bout.......