CFP Championship Game Thread

I always forget it's on ESPN now. That still seems insane to me.

 

Insane is people who consider themselves big sports fans, but won't shell out for even basic cable/satellite.

 

I'll echo everyone else that yesterday was a reminder of days past (one of the biggest upsets I remember was Kosar over the Huskers in the Orange Bowl in '84?)

Showing how little I know about CF, I really thought OSU had no shot with a 3rd string QB, no knowing that Jones was a behemoth ala Culpepper (or even Lorenzon at Kentucky) and that OSU's defense could handle Bama's speed and and size. When OSU held the Tide in the first couple of series I realized OSU had a legit shot.

The Ducks' D is decent, not great. Their LBs don't seem to hold up against the run so OSU may run wild. Oregon's tempo destroyed FSU, I think OSU can keep up better.

 

Yes, and yup.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=fiesta87

 

I was talking about how the networks either don't think it's worth airing or didn't think it was worth whatever it would cost to get the TV rights.

 

Ohio State's winning the thing. It's the Buckeyes' turn to be the man for the next 3 to 5 years.

Meyer's record at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and now Ohio State: 141-26.

 

If the playoff system was in place sooner, how many BCS champions from the SEC would have met the same fate as Alabama last night?
I will forever hold the opinion that 2003 LSU, 2007 LSU and 2008 Florida were all inferior to USC in each of those seasons, but that's just me.

 

At that time, the Fiesta Bowl was a second-tier bowl game that started in the early afternoon. The 1986 season just happened to be a year where the No. 1 and No. 2 team were both independents, and the major bowls of the time (Rose, Sugar and Orange -- some would argue Cotton was still major, but it was fading, along with the Southwest Conference) were locked in to conference champions. When the Fiesta was able to land Nos. 1 and 2, they couldn't move the game to later that night (it was an NBC game, and NBC had the Orange Bowl at night) so they moved it to the next night. That was cool because it allowed me to get to Phoenix the next day and cover that game after covering the Rose Bowl the day before. Truth be known, I wasn't a college football writer, but I happened to be in LA covering the college basketball team I covered at the time. Convinced my boss he should get me a credential for the Rose Bowl, then convinced him it would be smart to have me go to Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl when they changed the date.

Another interesting fact is that the Citrus Bowl also was bidding to get the two teams.

Per Wikipedia:

 

I tend to agree on those three. Obviously, it's just speculation, but there were quite a few years where the two teams playing for the title weren't the two teams that most thought were the most deserving. I think Miami would have beaten Oklahoma after the 2000 season as well.

 

I would love New Years Eve playoff bowl games. Great excuse for not going to stupid parties.

 

I remember when the Orange Bowl was a must watch just to see how nutso their halftime show would be. One year it was a "Pete's Dragon" theme. This year, "Little Big Town" got one minute of ESPN air time (I kept track). The bands at The Rose Bowl Game got two minutes each (by contract).