NCAA FOOTBALL 2024 MEGA THREAD - WELCOME TO THE PLAYOFF ERA
Just 8 days until Florida State plays Georgia Tech!
A lot happened while you were away:
Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC
The Pac-12 went out in a blaze of glory:
Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA are headed to the B1G
Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado are headed to the B12
Cal and Stanford along with SMU are somehow headed to the ACC
Poor old Wazzu and Oregon State are now aligned with the MWC in some sort of in-flux relationship
The conferences are huge now, and the schedules are wildly imbalanced. Florida might have the hardest schedule in the history of the sport, while Missouri's playing a sun-belt slate.
FSU and Clemson play each other, but then play ZERO common ACC opponents
Utah/Baylor and Arizona/Kansas State play non-conference games against conference opponents
LSU and USC play in Vegas!
Boise goes to Oregon, a team they've never lost to!
Texas at Michigan!
Alabama at Wisconsin!
Notre Dame at ATM!
Clemson vs Georgia!
And there are some incredibly juicy new conference matchups:
Texas @ ATM is back!
Texas vs Georgia
Oregon vs Ohio State
USC @ Michigan
USC vs Penn State
And then the bizarre:
UCLA @ Rutgers is now a conference game
Syracuse plays home and away against Cal and Stanford for some reason
Half the teams have new coaches, transferred quarterbacks, or both!
Let's get it on!
NIU gets in if unbeaten so long as ND goes 10-2 or better. MWC might be a stronger conference but needed Boise St to beat Oregon not just play close as none of the other games are against top teams with the possible exception of WSU if they go 11-1.
NIU is #83 right now and Toledo is #66
Boise is #33, UNLV is #58, Fresno is #63, Wazzu is #41
Memphis is something like #37
The committee does care about your power ranking
But, NIU also still gets to play @ NC State so I agree they're in at 13-0. win that one and they probably control their own destiny
That 1934 team won one game and the starting center was Gerald Ford. Born loser.
...BTW, is this where I come to brag about taking USC +8.5 over the summer?
Nah, bad line shopping bro. I got em at +9 😉
And -6.5 vs UCLA lmao they might win that one by a thousand. And -5.5 vs Wisco (and +4.5 at home vs Penn State too, although that one's not preoposterous like the other ones)
Nice. I heard it got up to +13, but probably on some onshore book.
G5; we haven't really heard from them yet, but Sunbelt LaLa *might* have a chance except I think they'd have to beat Texas State twice and...good luck with that. I am higher than the market on them though, and think a sort-by-wins-except-****-Liberty situation could even mean a 12-1 Sunbelt winner goes. Are they going with a sort-by-wins-except-****-Liberty criteria? ¯\_(ツ😉_/¯
Like I just can't see Memphis losing 2 from here and getting any benefit of the doubt (unless the other team loses their quarterback, I guess). OK, Boise could get a pass especially if Oregon is there at the end.
Also, I know it's just week 3, but one thing I haven't seen the media really start talking about is the idea that TWO mid major champs might make the playoffs.
It's the "top 4 highest ranked conference champions"
If we end up with 12-1 NIU or Boise/UNLV/Fresno and 13-0 Memphis, both of them could end up ranked over the ACC or B12 champ
It would have to be either somebody who took some damage in the OOC - Imagine VT losing to Rutgers (they're only -4.5), and then winning the ACC (they're like +2000) at 10-3. They'd have 2 top-25 wins and two pretty bad losses - or somebody with an incredibly light conference schedule. UNC, for example plays zero ranked teams. Why should an 11-2 UNC team who didn't beat anybody CLOSE to the top-25 get in ahead of a 12-1 UNLV or Fresno team with 2 top-25 wins?
It could also just happen due to total chaos within the conference. With 9 conference games, you could definitely see a multi way tie with a bunch of 6-3 teams for second place (and then one of those teams could be somebody who lost OOC for 4 losses), and then the winner of that tiebreak could win the title game
You don't have to worry about UNC going 11-2.
THURSDAY
South Alabama 8 7:30:00 PM
Appalachian State -7.5 7:30:00 PM
FRIDAY
Stanford 10 7:30:00 PM
Syracuse -9.5 7:30:00 PM
Cuse has Holy Cross on deck, so this is a good spot for them to move to 4-0 going into their showdown with UNLV in Las Vegas
Illinois 9.5 8:00:00 PM
Nebraska -9 8:00:00 PM
Come watch Dylan Raiola do his best Pat Mahomes impersonation as the Matt Rhule project looks to move to 4-0. With Purdue and Rutgers on Deck and then a sneaky tough road trip to Indiana, Nebraska's schedule is very light on the front end.
San Jose State 13.5 10:00:00 PM
Washington State -13.5 10:00:00 PM
John Mateer is one of the most fun players to watch in College Football this year. Can a win over the 3-0 Spartans finally get Wazzu into the top-25?
SATURDAY
Rice 5.5 12:00:00 PM
Army -5.5 12:00:00 PM
UNC Charlotte 28.5 12:00:00 PM
Indiana -28 12:00:00 PM
Tulane -3 12:00:00 PM
Louisiana-Lafayette 3.5 12:00:00 PM
Florida -5 12:00:00 PM
Mississippi State 5.5 12:00:00 PM
James Madison 10.5 12:00:00 PM
North Carolina -10 12:00:00 PM
JMU lost almost their entire team and coaching staff from last year, but it looks like the culture is strong! UNC has one of the softest P4 schedules and is a playoff contender because of it, in spite of having no o-line and a backup QB
Marshall 40 12:00:00 PM
Ohio State -39.5 12:00:00 PM
Houston 3.5 12:00:00 PM
Cincinnati -3.5 12:00:00 PM
Kansas 2.5 12:00:00 PM
West Virginia -2.5 12:00:00 PM
North Carolina State 20.5 12:00:00 PM
Clemson -19.5 12:00:00 PM
The pollsters loved NC State as a dark horse title contender, while the computers were much more skeptical. As usual, the computers look to have the edge on that one so far. This game will also provide a useful barometer on whether the Clemson offense that put up 3 points on UGA or the Clemson offense that dropped FIFTY SIX on App State IN THE FIRST HALF is the real one.
Villanova 19.5 12:00:00 PM
Maryland -19.5 12:00:00 PM
Ohio 20 12:45:00 PM
Kentucky -19.5 12:45:00 PM
Ball State 6.5 1:00:00 PM
Central Michigan -6 1:00:00 PM
Utah State -6 2:00:00 PM
Temple 6.5 2:00:00 PM
Virginia -3 2:00:00 PM
Coastal Carolina 3.5 2:00:00 PM
Arkansas State 22 2:00:00 PM
Iowa State -21 2:00:00 PM
St. Francis (PA) 24 2:00:00 PM
Eastern Michigan -24 2:00:00 PM
Eastern Washington 9.5 3:00:00 PM
Nevada -9.5 3:00:00 PM
Southern Miss 6.5 3:00:00 PM
Jacksonville State -6 3:00:00 PM
Memphis -9 3:30:00 PM
Navy 9.5 3:30:00 PM
Houston Christian 35.5 3:30:00 PM
UTSA -35.5 3:30:00 PM
Arkansas 3.5 3:30:00 PM
Auburn -3 3:30:00 PM
UCLA 24.5 3:30:00 PM
LSU -24 3:30:00 PM
Arizona State 3.5 3:30:00 PM
Texas Tech -3 3:30:00 PM
Buffalo 14 3:30:00 PM
Northern Illinois -13.5 3:30:00 PM
Kent 49 3:30:00 PM
Penn State -48.5 3:30:00 PM
Miami (OH) 28.5 3:30:00 PM
Notre Dame -27.5 3:30:00 PM
Georgia Tech 10.5 3:30:00 PM
Louisville -10.5 3:30:00 PM
Louisville's first game against a team with a pulse, we will see if they live up to the hype.
Youngstown State 24 3:30:00 PM
Pittsburgh -24 3:30:00 PM
Rutgers 3.5 3:30:00 PM
Virginia Tech -3.5 3:30:00 PM
VT was supposed to be an ACC contender, then laid a dud at Vanderbilt. They've recovered with two wins over competent SBC foes. Rutgers is 2-0 over cupcakes so far, this is the first real test.
USC -6 3:30:00 PM
Michigan 6 3:30:00 PM
A massive 15 point swing in this one from the preseason lines. How much of that is MICHIGAN BAD and how much is USC GOOD? (It's a mix of both, but more of the former than the latter) This will tell us a lot about whether the first 3 weeks of the season are real, or just variance. Alex Ojiri gets his first start for the Maize and Blue.
Utah -1.5 4:00:00 PM
Oklahoma State 2.5 4:00:00 PM
An early season showdown between ranked B12 teams that will go a long way towards determining the conference champ. As with all games between big-12 ranked teams this year, I can all but guarantee you that the loser is gonna move down a lot more than the winner moves up!
Duke -14.5 4:00:00 PM
Middle Tenn. St 14.5 4:00:00 PM
Vanderbilt 21.5 4:15:00 PM
Missouri -20.5 4:15:00 PM
UTEP 9.5 5:00:00 PM
Colorado State -9.5 5:00:00 PM
TCU -2.5 5:00:00 PM
SMU 2.5 5:00:00 PM
SMU already lost the first leg of it's matchup with B12 teams. TCU tries to recover after losing to UCF's furious rally at home last week.
East Carolina 7.5 6:00:00 PM
Liberty -7 6:00:00 PM
Hope ECU can win and get Liberty the **** outta here
Monmouth 14 6:00:00 PM
Florida International -14 6:00:00 PM
Florida Atlantic 2.5 7:00:00 PM
UConn -2.5 7:00:00 PM
Wyoming 9.5 7:00:00 PM
North Texas -8.5 7:00:00 PM
Miami -16.5 7:00:00 PM
South Florida 17.5 7:00:00 PM
USF acquitted themselves admirably before collapsing in the end against Alabama. Miami beat up on creampuffs 118-9 the last two weeks, although some of the shine has come off of their opening week win at Florida.
Tulsa 3.5 7:00:00 PM
Louisiana Tech -3.5 7:00:00 PM
Florida A&M 23.5 7:00:00 PM
Troy -23.5 7:00:00 PM
Toledo -2.5 7:00:00 PM
Western Kentucky 2.5 7:00:00 PM
WKU is probably the second best team in the woeful CUSA, and Toledo needs to win here to keep their playoff hopes alive
California 2.5 7:00:00 PM
Florida State -2 7:00:00 PM
The WOKE AGENDA travels to Florida to try and put the Noles in an 0-4 hole. FSU bout to get some lessons in DEI and pronouns
New Mexico State 16.5 7:00:00 PM
Sam Houston -15.5 7:00:00 PM
Northwestern 10.5 7:00:00 PM
Washington -10.5 7:00:00 PM
Tennessee -6.5 7:30:00 PM
Oklahoma 7.5 7:30:00 PM
Oklahoma's defense has looked solid so far, but the offense has not kept pace. Tennessee's offense has looked excellent. These sorts of games are awesome in 2024, as there is huge playoff equity riding on it for both sides
Akron 27.5 7:30:00 PM
South Carolina -27.5 7:30:00 PM
Bowling Green 23.5 7:30:00 PM
Texas A&M -22.5 7:30:00 PM
Iowa -2.5 7:30:00 PM
Minnesota 2.5 7:30:00 PM
Georgia Southern 36.5 7:45:00 PM
Mississippi -36 7:45:00 PM
Louisiana-Monroe 44.5 8:00:00 PM
Texas -44.5 8:00:00 PM
Baylor 2.5 8:00:00 PM
Colorado -1.5 8:00:00 PM
You know you're gonna watch. Colorado has @ UCF and v K State on deck, so they better win this one because it's not going to get any easier from here
Michigan State 7.5 8:00:00 PM
Boston College -6.5 8:00:00 PM
Michigan State has started to put it together the last two weeks, and BC looked solid in a hard-fought loss at Mizzou. Winner of this game is feeling pretty good
Fresno State -14.5 8:30:00 PM
New Mexico 15.5 8:30:00 PM
Purdue 5.5 8:30:00 PM
Oregon State -4.5 8:30:00 PM
Portland State 38.5 9:45:00 PM
Boise State -38.5 9:45:00 PM
Kansas State -7 10:30:00 PM
BYU 7.5 10:30:00 PM
3-0 BYU is one of the surprises of the season so far, with wins @ SMU and @ Wyoming. K State dominated Arizona last week after getting lucky to escape Tulane
Was looking at the odds to playoff just now on Caesars and Georgia the college football team had Georgia the country flag next to it.
Oh, I've seen the schedule. Just a reminder of what we looked like against an, at best, mediocre power 4 team. A team that was a missed FG away from beating us. And that was with Max Johnson, who somehow was way better than the other QBs on the roster.
I, for one, cannot believe that a QB who downgraded from the SEC and is in his third program looks like ****.
UNC and Minnesota QBs trying to see who can out suck each other this game. UNC QB at least has some nice scrambles.
UNC had to replace 4 starters on the oline I think, and it shows
Oline looks bad, Johnson looks terrible
I'm legitimately raging right now. This Minnesota QB is such a joke. He's single handedly losing this ****ing game.
North Carolina-Minnesota seems like terrible football ... and yet, the lead keeps changing late and we have drama with just a few minutes left to play ... college football always delivers.
All the **** talking on Colorado, but I feel like NDSU would've mopped the floor with either of these two teams
This is some real bootleg week-1 lookin football
Oh yeah, let's run an option with our dumbass second stringer instead of just giving it to our best ****ing player.
There's nothing Mack loves to do more than saving all 3 TOs so he can use one to ice the kicker about to beat him.
NC Central was within 1 possession in the fourth quarter until we pulled away.
Our QBs are atrocious, the defense sucks, the WRs suck, etc. Basically, our only good player is Omarion Hampton.
I think (hope) Mack will be gone at the end of this season.
Oh man, it could totally be Kansas. They don't play Utah or UCF or OK State. So if they knock off KSU and then lose a random game like @ ASU or something and then win an upset in the B12 title game, strong chance the B12 champ is left out (though the B12 runner up might still make it)
Kansas already lost AT HOME to UNLV and to a very mid Illinois team
I generally don't bet on huge favorites (or at all tbqh) but man, I'd take
Iowa State -21
LSU -24
Penn State -48.5
for various amounts of negotiable currency.
For you and Tarheel fans I hope so. From a Texas fan Mack has appeared to have entered the "Retired but still on the sidelines" phase he did at Texas post 2009. How does Mack feel about the fans that are mad about his lazyness?
He is the most thin skinned person I have ever heard about. I had a UT message board that had "Bevo" in the name. Ran for 7 years without a peep from UT. One day a "F*** Mack Brown" thread appeared. About a week later I started getting emails from attorneys representing UT about trademark infringement. Mack had a full time employee that did nothing but monitor message boards and social media.
The CALGORITHM is taking over twitter
Illinois 9.5 8:00:00 PM
Nebraska -9 8:00:00 PM
Come watch Dylan Raiola do his best Pat Mahomes impersonation as the Matt Rhule project looks to move to 4-0. With Purdue and Rutgers on Deck and then a sneaky tough road trip to Indiana, Nebraska's schedule is very light on the front end.
San Jose State 13.5 10:00:00 PM
Washington State -13.5 10:00:00 PM
John Mateer is one of the most fun players to watch in College Football this year. Can a win over the 3-0 Spartans finally get Wazzu into the top-25?
Raiola is Kobe imitating Michael
Mateer is a swashbuckler Leach would approve
Illinois Nebraska is a pretty fun game. Tennessee at Oklahoma is a full blown party.
the CALGORITHM is absolutely dominating twitter right now
If we beat FSU the internet might implode
My one last rant about the UK Georgia game. If you had asked me before the game UK has a 4th and 8 with 3 minutes left at midfield down 1, do I take this scenario and do go I for it
I can't smash that button as hard as possible
I was dreading @UK before the season, you’ve always played us tough.
Still can’t believe we pulled that out.
I need you to go on a run and win a bunch of games now.
Boiler, you ready for a heavy dose of beaver runs this weekend?
