Random College Football Discussion Thread

[psusnoop]

it could be as simple as an honest mistake, that the student manager, thought the balls felt over-inflated, and decided to deflate them slightly, thereby doing his job. he might not have known that they were already approved for game use. according to ncaa rules, the footballs have to be between 12.5 and 13.5 psi. if the balls he deflated were at 12.3 or 12.2 (just missing the mark) it could very easily have been an honest mistake on his part. you may think its unlikely, but its very possible. additionally, the student manager was apparently seen deflating the balls in front of the oregon sideline before the game. oregon asked the refs to check it and the balls were deemed to be bad. honestly, if the intention to cheat was there, why would he do it in front of the oregon sideline? why not hide it?

i, for one, think its retarded to think that LK had anything to do with this, especially when you factor in that a deflated ball would hurt the kicking and punting game. the deflated balls wouldnt travel as far on the kickoffs or punts, and when oregon has de'anthony thomas back there, i dont think LK would have sacrificed a more catchable ball for his receivers at the expense of thomas running one back on him. USC's passing game has been great all year long.....why would LK suddenly order the balls to be under-inflated for the oregon game, when we havent needed to use deflated footballs at any point this year?

look at things with some common sense snoop. all the stories match there. the student manager said he acted alone, LK said no one on staff or any of his players knew about it. with pat haden being on the committee that just approved the new coaching penalties, if he found out that LK had a part in this, haden would have no problem firing LK and getting a head coach in there of his choosing. the kid was fired, not to cover USC's ass, but his actions resulted in the school being fined and reprimanded by the pac12.

So the questions I'm asking is the same ones that many people are asking yet I need to check my common sense? MVP, you seem to be a little sensitive today.

[JeffHCross]

So the questions I'm asking is the same ones that many people are asking yet I need to check my common sense? MVP, you seem to be a little sensitive today.

He's a little sensitive anytime someone talking about USC breaking rules.

It's understandable, honestly. If it was Penn State or Ohio State I'm sure you and I would have the same reactions

[baseballplyrmvp]

So the questions I'm asking is the same ones that many people are asking yet I need to check my common sense? MVP, you seem to be a little sensitive today.

yes, use common sense and you'll see that there's practically nothing here to suggest other people's involvement. why does everyone want to always believe the rumors instead of actual facts?

[psusnoop]

He's a little sensitive anytime someone talking about USC breaking rules.

It's understandable, honestly. If it was Penn State or Ohio State I'm sure you and I would have the same reactions

Oh I know Jeff, been through it a ton with the PSU thread for a long time.

[psusnoop]

yes, use common sense and you'll see that there's practically nothing here to suggest other people's involvement. why does everyone want to always believe the rumors instead of actual facts?

I actually haven't heard any rumors just questioning sole responsibility of said incident.

[JeffHCross]

MVP, if your hypothetical is accurate that the balls were just every so slightly under inflation, you're right that there's no necessarily anything to suggest other involvement. That could be a manager just being poor at his job (or horrible at reading the PSI).

But it does seem ... unlikely ... that if the balls were obviously under-inflated that a student manager would do that on his own volition. Because if they were obviously under-inflated, then that suggests a conscious decision to cheat.

[baseballplyrmvp]

jeff, 2 of the under inflated balls were still used in the game, as they were refilled to regulation at halftime. that makes me think that they were just barely under the legal limit, and that it was an honest mistake on the student manager's part. not really a fireable offense, imo, however, his actions did lead to the university being fined and reprimanded by the conference. that alone got him canned.

if the 2 in play balls were obviously under-inflated, like say around 10-11 psi, more than a pound less than the acceptable limit, then that also falls on the refs as well, for failing to notice the difference. however, if you were matt barkley, would you want to practice all week with a football feeling a specific way, and then, during the biggest game of the season, you get a football that feels way different to you? in my mind, in the midst of the biggest game of the season, encountering a different feeling ball could be an unneccessary distraction....might also lead to some bad throws as well?

[JeffHCross]

Well, if they were consciously cheating, Matt probably practiced with under-inflated balls all week And under-inflated balls are generally thought to be easier to throw and catch, so maybe it offsets.

The devil is in the details in this one. I think how under-inflated they were is key to whether or not I believe this was the manager acting alone and/or an intentional attempt to cheat on his part.

[baseballplyrmvp]

under inflated balls also dont travel as far on kicks and punts, and the first kickoff of the game bounced like 9 yards deep in the endzone.

agreed on how under-inflated they were.....but those are details we probably wont know. i'm still gonna believe that they were only slightly below acceptable limit.

[JBHuskers]

Yeah. That bus didn't just run him over. It did a burnout on his face.

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[souljahbill]

You heard it here first. A LOT of people will be using Texas A&M next year online in NCAA '14. Manziel is ridiculous!

[JeffHCross]

Now, if Maizel shows up Bama this weekend, that would be a different story. That would be "really special", as MVP said.

With 7:59 left in the 1st quarter ... give it to him.

My opinion may not be the same at the end of the game. But right now ... give it to him.

You heard it here first. A LOT of people will be using Texas A&M next year online in NCAA '14. Manziel is ridiculous!

Manziel: 75 SPD in NCAA '13. A true fresh on A&M's roster (Matt Davis) is 90 SPD.

Oops.

[gigemaggs99]

With 7:59 left in the 1st quarter ... give it to him.

My opinion may not be the same at the end of the game. But right now ... give it to him.

Gig 'EM!

[gschwendt]

Mike Leach in hot water again? WSU star WR leaves team due to abuse
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/art...-football-team

[gigemaggs99]

Manziel: 75 SPD in NCAA '13. A true fresh on A&M's roster (Matt Davis) is 90 SPD.

Oops.

I'm not real big on changing rosters, the guys that do that put a lot of work into and I appreciate it. It's hard when no one had seen Manziel to know how to rank his stats. That being said, I've heard the def coor and off coor talk and shake their heads, they say he's one of the top 1-2 fastest guys on our team. So 75 spd probably doesn't do him justice.

[gigemaggs99]

Mike Leach in hot water again? WSU star WR leaves team due to abuse
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/art...-football-team

I must say, I'm really liking the air raid and what Leach brings to it. I've always enjoyed watching him coach games, even when he was at ttu beating my AGGIES. That being said, I've seen and heard some rough things (i.e. USMC boot camp MCRD to name one) and this is not how I would give a post game VICTORY speech.



I like Mike Leach on the field and how he calls a game, but this is over the top. Who knows if this is an isolated event but it's just over the top if you ask me. Keep in mind, they did WIN the game.

[gigemaggs99]

This is really funny, to hear all of this post game talk. It's funny to hear that bama had an "off week".

I can hear it now, A&M won BUT, this is their first year in the SEC, let's see how they do next year, and the year after that...blah blah blah...all I can say is let 'em talk.

We are supposed to have a HARD SEC road schedule, we won and it's not b/c we won, we won b/c bama had an off week. OK sure.

As far as Manziel goes, I think the Heisman is a joke, it's production. It's SUPPOSED to be about the best player on the field. Not who has the best pre/post game comments. Think of Tebow, he had that I'm not going to quit, you'll never see anyone play harder, etc.. etc.. the media ate that up and played it for all it was worth. It's a perfect campaign for the Heisman.

AJ. McCarren last week cries on national t.v. after the win vs lsu. Then this week they have an interview with him, he explains his actions, the announcers say something to the effect of, "oh there's a true candid answer, it takes a real man to do that"....he gets his time in the spotlight, he gets his time b/c the camera, the media eats that shit up, forces it down our throat, plays it over and over and makes a feel good story out of it. This doesn't explain to me how he is the best player on the field.

Kevin Sumlin doesn't allow Fresh and Soph to speak to the media period. Manziel doesn't have those interviews, those pre/post game speeches. The media has no hype, so they can't build him up, make him eat crow or prove his predictions correct by proving it with on the field play ala Tebow. I agree with Sumlin, let the players on the field PLAY do the talking. Manziel is talking with his play. The problem is the media can put a spin on it so there is no hype. Look at Case Keenum, again under Sumlin, Keenum didn't have a big production in the media, his numbers were amazing yet he was never really in the thick of it for the Heisman. Was his on the field play really that important or was it b/c he didn't have the media hype? What is the Heisman a real trophy or a media hype storm? RG III is a good Heisman winner if you ask me, he wasn't at a powerhouse school, he didn't play for the national championship, he didn't talk up a storm in the media, his on the field play did the talking. This is how it should be.

If you ask me, Manziel's body of work is much more impressive, he doesn't have all the interviews to back it up, he just plays on the field. If the trophy is supposed to go to the best college football player for the year, then Manziel's play should atleast have him in the talk if not near the top. Look at his stats, look at how he keeps us in the game, don't look for his pre/post game crying sessions, look at his play on the field.

And for once I can say we won a good game. I'm sure the bama fans will have their complaints about the refs or calls or whatever. My side of the story, I'm sure is maroon, but:

I thought the Offensive PI that was called prior to the ball being thrown and within the first 5 yards of the LOS was complete B.S. How can their be PI when the pass hasn't been thrown and you within 5 yards of the LOS? If the DB can bump you at the line, why can't the WR bump him back?

There was the TD when Michael was laying in the endzone, his upper body was in the endzone, they mark the ball on the 1 yardline, his knees and feet were at the 1, how can you mark that short? They review it and it's a clear TD. Strange....

If you throw a pass to the WR and he drags his toes then goes out of bounds it's a catch, when we picked off the pass and he put his toes down first then his heel it was ruled out of bounds...strange.....

When we run hurry-up and sub players in, bama gets a chance to bring in defensive players, the problem I had was they would line up on D stand there and the ref was STILL standing over the ball. Normally on a normal play when there is no hurry-up being ran the ref does NOT stand over the ball while the play clock is running. strange......


All that being said we came out on top. Some will say it's b/c bama had an off week, a let down game from when they played a real sec team (lsu)...let 'em talk...I think it's nice to go INTO Tuscaloosa with a conf USA rinky dink offense, an undersized big 12 def (holding bama's monster rushing attack to 122 yards on 31 attempts), had some questionable calls and come out top.

Amazing!

[steelerfan]

Gig 'em, Aggs!

Go Irish!

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[JeffHCross]

they say he's one of the top 1-2 fastest guys on our team. So 75 spd probably doesn't do him justice.

Well, based on his 40 time coming out of high school (4.55, I believe), he should have been around the mid-80s, if you use the 40 times that recruits claim to have. Of course, we know those ratings don't match up to the rosters. I'd say mid to high 80s for his SPD. Matt Davis's 90 isn't that far off, he was clocked at a 4.4 in HS.


Gus, you'll give yourself an aneurysm if you try to make logical sense out of the pundits and fans. Don't bother. FWIW, yes, Bama did have an off week. But that's not why they lost -- they lost because A&M took advantage of their mistakes and raced out to an early lead that they were able to hold onto. Not everyone is able to capitalize like that.

[SmoothPancakes]

This is really funny, to hear all of this post game talk. It's funny to hear that bama had an "off week".

Yep, they gotta get that spin cycle going full speed, gotta try and do whatever it takes to keep Alabama firmly entrenched in the middle of the national title picture.