Time to smell the roses!

Canes will steamroll over Nebraska.

That's right Neb. I think LSU takes out Fat Phil.

Neb cannot matchup athlete vs. athlete with Miami.

Also, Miami's OL will absolutely steamroll the Nebraska DL, much like CU did last week.

The Husker option attack hasn't faced a defense the speed of Miami's. OU's is close, but Miami just swarms to the ball.

Miami wins 38-14.

 

I don't see how Nebraska could get in over Oregon or even Colorado.

I think there will be a lot of pissed off people if Nebraska gets back in.

 

Tennessee defeated Florida in the Swamp for the first time in 30 years, running all over a tough Gator run defense and limiting the Florida offense. LSU stands no chance.

 

I'd say the chances of LSU beating Tenn on a neutral field, is higher than the chance of Tenn beating Fla @ the Swamp.

If Tenn can beat Fla, LSU can beat Tenn.

Josh Reed is the best WR in the nation.

Tenn was able to pressure Grossman. Davey is one of the more mobile QB's in the nation, this should help him tremendously against a suspect Tenn secondary.

LSU wins by 6.

 

I'm rooting for the Huskers to be National Champions.

I want blood.

11/2/02 Memorial Stadium, Lincoln NE

 

kidrock8- Why do you think the Big Red will go to the Rose Bowl? I see them going to the Sugar Bowl.

 

NU goes in if Tennessee loses. I predict a Tenn loss to LSU.

 

Personally, I would take Tenn or NU against Miami with the under. Miami looked mighty <i> unimpressive </i> with a little pass pressure. Either Tenn or NU can bring it far better than the Hokies can, and have QBs better than the middel school JV-caliber Noel.

LSU has a chance because Davey is tough and they will play with fire, but it is about time people realize Tenn is damn good. Tenn along with Texas has the best offensive skill people in football, Tenn has a defense too.

Now if Miami gets Oregon they will have a cake walk because Oregon's defense will have no chance, it is a <i> completely different </i> story with the Vols or Huskiers.

 

You are wrong if you think NU and Tenn is much better at applying pressure on VT. That's what the VT defense is all about. I would also say that overall VT has a better defense than NU, and possibly Tenn.

VT has a much better defense than you think.

The only real way you can get pressure on Dorsey is by sending in LB's. Miami has the best OL in the NCAA.

If I'm NU or Tenn, I blitz like there's no tommorow. The WR's were HORRIBLE in the VT game. Dorsey played pretty decent, his WR's just didn't bother to catch the ball.

I still don't think Tenn will be able to score on Miami. Miami has so much depth at DL and LB, that Travis Stephens will wear out before Miami will.

 

Sorry, I missed this thread until now.

It should be interesting to see who Miami plays in the Rose Bowl. I feel that Tennessee is a lock if they beat LSU. If Tennessee loses, then it will probably be Nebraska squeaking in over Oregon. If that happens, it will prove what most of us already know in that the BCS system is a joke.

Having lived in Tennessee all my life, I can tell you that Tennessee is well-known for winning games that they shouldn't and blowing ones that they should win easily. Plus, I really think and most of the writers for The Tennessean think this as well, that Tennessee is somewhat overrated. There's no question that they have the talent because they always rank in the top 10 in recruiting but Fulmer has made some questionable coaching decisions over his career at UT.

Personally, I feel Nebraska has the better chance of beating my Canes than Tennessee, but I never would have thought that Tennessee could beat Florida in the Swamp and I also never thought that Tennessee would beat Miami in the '86 Sugar Bowl, and Florida State in the '99 Fiesta Bowl, etc. It is going to be unbearable for me if Tennessee beats Miami.

LSU should be a tough challenge for them since Tennessee is coming off such an emotional victory, but I think for some reason that the Vols will win a close one.

The key to the game, whoever Miami plays, will be the line of scrimmage. Miami's O-Line and D-Line have pretty much controlled the lines of scrimmage in all of their games. Their 2 close games happened because Dorsey had a bad game and was confused by the defensive scheme of BC, and Va Tech had 2 or 3 big plays on offense plus a special teams touchdown, and Miami got way too conservative with their play-calling in the second half.

I would think that Tennessee would have no choice but to blitz Dorsey like they did Grossman. If they don't, Dorsey will carve up their biggest weakness, defensive secondary, all game long.

I am obviously looking forward to it and I'm hoping that Miami can play an even better game than they did against Syracuse and Washington.

 

Dorsey and the WR's are the only weakness I see in Miami.

The Tenn DL is among the tops in the nation, so the Mia OL vs. Ten DL will be a hell of a war.

 

VTech has a fine scheme and some good defensive players, but don't mistake their defensive talent level with that on NU or Tenn.
Either teams offense is lightyears ahead of the Gobblers as well.

I think Miami versus Tenn or NU will make a very good match-up.

Why people keep on saying Tenn is overrated I don't know. Their skill players are among the top 3 (Texas and Miami would be the others to consider) and they have great defensive talent. They have a chance to beat anyone, anywhere, just like they did last week. They also went through among the toughest schedules in the toughest top-to-bottom conference with only 1-loss (they easily could have won that game also). If they get through another good fire-ed up team with a force at QB this week, that is just one more thing to their resume.

Like I said, I would be taking whoever plays Miami with the points. To say Miami's defense is the best (e.g., better than the Sooners) is crazy. They haven't faced on offense with 1/3 the potency of NU or UT--both of which OU pretty much controlled sans 1 trick play and which no other team has held either below 21. As far as the Tech game, I wasn't so impressed with the Miami secondary or pressure but by Noel's inability to hit guys 10 yards in the clear. I also say Dorsey look pretty bad under pressure. I am not saying Miami can't win, but I would take the far more battle tested Tenn or NU--especially with some points.

Finally, why shouldn't NU get in if Tenn loses? CO has 2 loses, putting them out of consideration (1 lose can be excused) and Oregon has 1 loss and multiple near escapes (winning solely because the other teams' kicker missed field goal) against mediocre teams. NU is the solid choice if Tenn loses, either way the Rose Bowl will be an intriguing game.

 

Really, how good is NU's defense? Is CU the best offense they've faced all year? Is OU the 2nd best offense NU faced?

The Blackshirts aren't really that great, and they don't deserve to have a nickname.

 

Tennessee is overrated because of these reasons:

1) They lost at home to an unranked (at the time) Georgia team that hadn't won in Knoxville since 1980
2) They had to come from behind on the road to beat a 2 win team in Kentucky

Those are the main ones, but they also struggled against Arkansas (13-3), South Carolina (17-10), and ugh, Notre Dame (28-18). Really, other than Syracuse, Memphis and Vandy, they didn't really blow anyone out. Blowing out 1 good team out of 11 doesn't give me a lot of faith in them being "dominant".

Yes, beating Florida in the swamp is impressive, and it is something that I thought that they never could do. However, Tennessee has shown to me that they are a tease. They are the type of team that can blow away someone, but for the most part they f*** around with the other team and keep the game close.

Tennessee is also the type of team that has no business winning games like against FSU in the '99 Fiesta Bowl, the Florida game in the swamp last Saturday, and the '86 Sugar Bowl against Miami. However, they'll lose to Memphis (did that a couple of years ago) or to Arkansas or to Georgia at home. So, I won't be surprised if they lose to LSU Saturday.

However, as stated earlier, I think that they will find a way to win and it will be close. Assuming that they win, I really think that their only hope of beating Miami is to blitz on almost every down like they did against Florida and hope that Miami does not make any adjustments.

 

Believe it or not, CU is very much in the hunt for the Rose Bowl. They are only 1.49 points behind NU as of right now, and if Tennessee loses CU might go ahead of Florida in one or two computer polls. The computer polls, with a Tennessee loss, would probably give CU a 0.6 boost compared to that of NU next week. Still not enough, but here's where it gets interesting. There is a growing sentiment that I agree with that NU shouldn't be in the Rose Bowl after losing the way they did against CU in their last game. It's entirely possible for the coaches to swap CU and NU in the coaches poll for that very reason, and speculation is mounting that they might do it. If they do that, it would probably be Miami vs. Colorado in the Rose Bowl. Wouldn't it be something to have a national champion with two losses?

 

I don't really know the history, but I think "Blackshirts" has been used at least throughout the 90's. Considering their record, championships, etc, I think they very much deserve the title.

As far as this year, I said I don't think NU's D is as good as OU's, I don't think any other teams is either. I still think they are top 10, maybe top 5 defensively though. Let's see what they do against a top 10 team in a BCS bowl.

 

Georgia is certainly better than anyone in the Big East outside of Miami. If you can play Georgia, Syracuse, at Florida, at LSU, South Carolina, at ND, at Ark, at Alabama, and again LUS (nuetral field) and only end up with 1-loss, that is an impressive record.
No doubt at worst the 2nd best resume for this year. Also, Miami had 2 near escapes against less capable teams than Georgia, as did Oregon. Tenn may not have blown out many people because too often their offenses was not going on all cylinders, but they won the games because of defense. Plus they do have offensive talent, so if they are on, they are a load of trouble for anyone.

Tennessee flat out shut down FSU's offense in 1999 like OU did last year. They also ran all over Florida last week. Those are earned victories. Don't remember the 86' Sugar. But Tennessee has had great athletes and great defenses for years, that produces a lot of Ws.

Finally, Tenn may lose to LSU, even if they don't collapase. But that is because LSU is a darn good football team. Florida did get on a roll against them, but Davey is a load to deal with and they have some playmakers around him too. If Tenn only brings their B game (say they are a little nervous at the beggining) and LSU brings thier A game, the game will be close.

 

Desert Scar,
Living in Tennessee all my life, I can tell you that I follow all the teams in the SEC pretty closely. Ever since Vince Dooley left Georgia after, I believe, the '88 season, the Dawgs have been mediocre at best. Ray Goff and Jim Donnan were both fired because they consistently failed to win the "rival" games. I do think that Mark Richt will turn out to be a great choice for them, but to think that they are better than any team in the Big East outside of Miami is a statement that I have to disagree with.

Georgia lost 3 games this season. They lost to Florida..nothing wrong with that, but they lost to Sout Carolina and Auburn at home. BTW - Auburn was clocked by Syracuse, but you can't really look at that, I guess. However that does prove that Syracuse is not as bad as you would think they are. To me, the Dawgs are still in that tier of being a solid 8 win team, but not NC contender material. I do think that Richt can lead them to that next level, but no...Georgia is not better than Syracuse or Virginia Tech and it's close between them and Boston College.

The difference in Miami and Tennessee is that Miami had 2 escapes against bowl-bound teams on the road, while Tennessee lost to a bowl-bound team at home. I'm sorry but I don't think that great teams lose at home to unranked opponents. Also, you got to remember, that when you are #1 in the nation, everyone tries their hardest to beat you. I'm not saying that Georgia didn't try their hardest in beating Tennessee, but UT did not face the challenge of their opponent trying to give them their first loss of the season.

What were the lines to those games? I know that the Florida game had UT as a 18 point underdog and UT was a huge underdog against Miami in the '86 Sugar Bowl. And it seems like they were a 12 point underdog against FSU. I'm not denying that they did what you said or they wouldn't have won, but at least according to the "experts", the Vols weren't expected to win those 3 games.

Also, I agree with you on the last part of your post about Tennessee bringing their B game and LSU bringing their A game.

 

Personally, I think Donnan was a good coach and had some fine teams, it just the Geogia bluehairs still think like Hershel Walker is still running back there and they happen to play in the best conference in the land with 2 other top 6 programs in their same division. Georgia record against everyone else has been pretty good over perhaps the last decade. Likewise, I think you precisely pinned in it for why Georgia would be so fired up to play Tennessee (rivalry team who has owned them of late and now they smell their chance to actually beat them), just like the Aggies tried with all their might against with the already beaten but still superior Horns.

In sum, I still think Georgia is better than the Hokies or Orangemen, though I recognize the debate is open. They were 4-3 against bowl bound teams and played better in the swamp (24-10 loss) than anyone outside of Tennessee. I don't think either Syracuse or VTech can match that, further, both of those teams got totally blown out while Georgia never did even playing Florida and Tenn on the road.

IMO, I don't think the road means as much as you think. Usually it is only "worth" about 3.5 points versus a nuetral field. It could mean more (playing in extremes climates), as typically Blacksburgh in December is, but it just wasn't last weekend. What matters far more IMO is the quality of opponents, not where you played your bad loses, or got your quality wins.

They aren't really "experts" so much as Tom, Dick and Harrys like you and I laying down cash on who we think will win, whereever the collection of money goes, so goes the line. It is clear after the fact in all your cases FSU was overated (versus Tenn in 99, OU last year) and Tenn was underrated (versus FSU and last week). My friends and I who are neither big UF or Tenn fans knew the 18 point spread last week for Florida was way, way bloated (at least 8-10 too high), sure wish I put money on it.

If Tenn beats LSU and I can get 14 points versus Miami, I would jump all over that. I am guessing betters learned a temporary lesson though, and the spread for Miami versus NU or Tenn will be somewhere between 7-10 for the Canes. I would still take either team with points though, just not for very much unless it got close to 2 touchdowns.