BCS National Championship

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Might as well start it. With that being said. Roll Tide! Hope the Domers get absolutely demolished. The only thing I asked for this christmas was a Alabama T-shirt which I am wearing proudly right now.

[Bocephys]

Anyone have any action on the game?  I feel like I should lay something, but I can't decide which side I like. 

[reinko]

Anyone have any action on the game?  I feel like I should lay something, but I can't decide which side I like. 

I would just be the under (43), and if you can find 10, take the points.

[MerrittsMustache]

Bama is the better team and should cover but in a low scoring game with a big number, you never know. Definitely take the under.

Typically teams that get as many breaks as ND has gotten this season have their bubble burst at some point. Let's face it, ND is a 9-3 team that lucked their way to 12-0. It's one thing to play poorly and need a couple breaks to sneak past Pitt or Purdue. It's another to try to do that against the defending national champs.

Bama 24-10

[nyg]

Anyone have any action on the game?  I feel like I should lay something, but I can't decide which side I like. 

I took Bama -10.5.  Reason being they have been there before, tougher schedule.

I also took the under, which was 41.5 at the time.  Reason, both defenses average like 14 per game.

We'll see.  Just a throw of the dice.  

[Bocephys]

Haha, so everyone's on the under which means I should take the over, eh?  I'll probably just pass completely.

It will be interesting to see how each QB plays.  Golson has always done enough to win, but he's no Johnny Football.  And AJ McCarron hasn't exactly set the world on fire against quality competition.

[brewcity77]

Bama is the better team and should cover but in a low scoring game with a big number, you never know. Definitely take the under.

Typically teams that get as many breaks as ND has gotten this season have their bubble burst at some point. Let's face it, ND is a 9-3 team that lucked their way to 12-0. It's one thing to play poorly and need a couple breaks to sneak past Pitt or Purdue. It's another to try to do that against the defending national champs.

Bama 24-10

This Irish team reminds me of the 2002 Ohio State team that needed 4th quarter comebacks to beat unranked teams from Cincy, Wisconsin, and Purdue and barely slipped by Penn State, Illinois, and Michigan. That team felt like a pretender all year long and somehow beat Miami for the national championship. I really hope the ND story ends differently, but they seem like the kind of pretender team that just isn't that good yet somehow pulls a golden turd out of their asses.

[Pakuni]

Haha, so everyone's on the under which means I should take the over, eh?  I'll probably just pass completely.

It will be interesting to see how each QB plays.  Golson has always done enough to win, but he's no Johnny Football.  And AJ McCarron hasn't exactly set the world on fire against quality competition.

In all fairness, he was really, really good in last year's BCS title game.

[ChicosBailBonds]

SEC a bit down this year.  Anything can happen.  My mind says Bama by 10 in a 20 to 10 game, but who knows.

I'm not a ND fan, but for as much crap as they take I want them to win.  People rag on them all the time but they have smart kids, good kids (most of them), and their program compared to most is very clean (yes, there are exceptions).

[tower912]

Tonight will be the first time I have rooted for ND in 30 years, which means they are sure to lose. 

[frozena pizza]

SEC a bit down this year.

Six teams in the top 10 of the BCS standings is a down year?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Six teams in the top 10 of the BCS standings is a down year?

Yes.  I think Saban will tell you flat out last year's Bama team is better than this year's.  Florida, ugly football team that isn't the third best team in the country.  LSU won ugly all year.  It doesn't mean the SEC isn't still the best, they clearly are.  In comparison to years past, however, to my eye they are not quite as strong, thus down. I'm comparing to previous years.

[RJax55]

Six teams in the top 10 of the BCS standings is a down year?

True, but other than Texas A&M, those teams have been fairly unimpressive during the bowl season.

Florida and LSU both lost. While Georgia and South Carolina, played tougher than expected games against the inferior Big Ten.

[Pakuni]

Yes.  I think Saban will tell you flat out last year's Bama team is better than this year's.  Florida, ugly football team that isn't the third best team in the country.  LSU won ugly all year.  It doesn't mean the SEC isn't still the best, they clearly are.  In comparison to years past, however, to my eye they are not quite as strong, thus down. I'm comparing to previous years.

Relative to the SEC of past years, they're down.
Relative to the rest of college football, they're still far and away the best. The gap between the conferences hasn't narrowed. The level of talent in college football as a whole seems "down" this year (hence, a redshirt freshman wins the Heisman and his closest competitor is a linebacker).

[MerrittsMustache]

Relative to the SEC of past years, they're down.
Relative to the rest of college football, they're still far and away the best. The gap between the conferences hasn't narrowed. The level of talent in college football as a whole seems "down" this year (hence, a redshirt freshman wins the Heisman and his closest competitor is a linebacker).

Exactly. Not all top 10s are created equal.

[Pakuni]

True, but other than Texas A&M, those teams have been fairly unimpressive during the bowl season.

Florida and LSU both lost. While Georgia and South Carolina, played tougher than expected games against the inferior Big Ten.

I'm not sure bowl results are the best way to measure a conference's strength. For a school like Georgia or LSU that starts the season with national title aspirations, playing in a second-tier bowl that has no real significance several weeks after their last game that matters has to be a letdown. A better measure probably are the regular season nonconference matchups that have some real bearing on BCS standings.

 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Relative to the SEC of past years, they're down.
Relative to the rest of college football, they're still far and away the best. The gap between the conferences hasn't narrowed. The level of talent in college football as a whole seems "down" this year (hence, a redshirt freshman wins the Heisman and his closest competitor is a linebacker).

Yup, I think that's basically what I said, they're still the best, just not as good as they used to be.  Whether the gap has closed, I don't know, but I definitely believe they are down respective of the SEC of the past.

[frozena pizza]

I don't think any team in the country is as good as Alabama or LSU was last year.  But the top half of the SEC as a whole is as good as it has ever been (granted the addition of Texas A&M this year is a factor).  It gets softer after that, and Auburn and Kentucky were horrible this year but there are always a couple of bad teams at the bottom.  Ole Miss and Vanderbilt were actually fairly respectable this year and both won their bowl games.

I agree that bowl games are a poor indicator of conference strength since the matchups and motivation are skewed.  The WAC and C-USA are a combined 6-1.  However, for those saying that the SEC's performance this year shows that they are down as a conference, if Bama wins tonight the SEC will be 6-3 this bowl season, better than the SEC's .607 winning percentage from 2000-2009.

[mubb34]

Im done with betting football for the year. College ball season! Roll Tide!

[Blue Horseshoe]

Anyone know where I can stream the game online?

[Bocephys]

Anyone know where I can stream the game online?

The same place you can every other game in existence.  WatchESPN if you have access or go the illegal route of firstrowsports.eu

[NavinRJohnson]

People rag on them all the time but they have smart kids, good kids (most of them), and their program compared to most is very clean (yes, there are exceptions).

Spare me. Thats just what people used to say about Joe Paterno and Penn State. That program is no cleaner, and their kids are no better than the ones they will line up against tonight, or any other team they have played this year...well, maybe USC.

This myth of ND Football being somehow different is ridiculous. It isn't 1950 anymore. What have we seen now, two deaths related to Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish? I'm not saying they're any worse, but the suggestion that their players are somehow better people or that they are any cleaner than anyone else is laughable.

[Blue Horseshoe]

or go the illegal route of firstrowsports.eu

Bingo. I don't own a tv and thus don't have a cable subscription. It's ridiculous that I pay for internet but can't watch the game through ESPN's stream.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I don't think any team in the country is as good as Alabama or LSU was last year.  But the top half of the SEC as a whole is as good as it has ever been (granted the addition of Texas A&M this year is a factor).  It gets softer after that, and Auburn and Kentucky were horrible this year but there are always a couple of bad teams at the bottom.  Ole Miss and Vanderbilt were actually fairly respectable this year and both won their bowl games.

Think it depends on what you compare it to. In my view, the top of the SEC this year is not as good as the top of SEC last year....purely a matter of opinion. 

[JD]

Bama should be playing my Oregon Ducks, but unfortunately that didn't happen (this year)

Go ND!  (ouch that hurts to say)

Can't stand the SEC inbreads, hope Saban gets embarrassed tonight.

(hey i can be irish for st. patty's day, i suppose one more day out of the year wont hurt)