As a huge Michigan State homer, I got some serious lolz out of the 48-24 win over The U they predicted.

/must have forgot to bench the half of the team that is currently under indictment
//no way in hell would that happen

(9) Florida at (1) Alabama
The day's second rematch of conference titleists with runners-up. This dazzler features seven lead changes and a finish even more amazing than the TCU-LSU epic of a week before. Trailing 28-24 with the ball at midfield, Tim Tebow fumbles the snap, falls on it, then converts third-and-18 with a 33-yard bomb to Riley Cooper, and ultimately Tebow carries in a four-yard touchdown himself for the 31-28 lead.

Alabama gets the ball back with three minutes left and all its timeouts. Quarterback Greg McElroy throws three straight incompletions and is sacked on fourth-and-ten from Alabama's 27, apparently sealing Florida's victory. But the Crimson Tide use all of their timeouts, force Florida to kick a field goal, and get the ball back with 1:05 remaining. A miracle 68-yard bomb from McElroy to Julio Jones with 21 seconds left absolutely detonates Bryant-Denny Stadium. Jones has three touchdowns, 175 yards receiving, and never has to pay for a drink in Tuscaloosa the rest of his life.



I don't actually care but why does Kotaku hate Tim Tebow?

That looks about right to me.

PAC-10 FTW!!

See, if it actually happened like this, I would actually begin watching college football.

FTA: But at least Nashville's chamber of commerce gets Kentucky, whose fans regularly go to Tennessee to get their asses kicked without complaint.

Does this guy know that Kentucky has won THREE straight bowl games in Tennessee and beaten Vandy in Nashville FOUR out of five times this decade?

Lots of other dumbass things in this article. He gets a late entry into the douche of the year contest.

Article is invalid from the start.

FTFA
Wyoming (Mountain West, 6-6) vs. Fresno State (WAC, 8-4)
This pairing is one of a few drawn up that reflect real life. Fresno blasts the Cowboys 55-27 behind 151 yards rushing and two touchdowns by Ryan Mathews.

/How did that work out?

Not a Nebraska fan...but he predicts a NU game with both teams scoring in the 30's. Not gonna happen with NU's defense and offense.

Ohio State v Texas game is kinda retarded.

McCoy gets 4 TDs against the #17 passing defense and the #7 passing efficiency defense? The defense that is 5th in points allowed per game?

Pryor is sacked four times against the 23rd ranked passing defense?
Intercepted three times? Doubtful that he's even permitted to throw that many times.

The_Six_Fingered_Man: McCoy gets 4 TDs against the #17 passing defense and the #7 passing efficiency defense? The defense that is 5th in points allowed per game?

To be fair, like 5 of Ohio State's games this year were against schools who couldn't score 30 points against tackling dummies.

For those who didn't read the article thoroughly, these are simulations, not predictions.
FTA:With all that out of the way, here are all the games - 27 bowls and 15 playoff games - simulated on NCAA Football 10 using the roster and depth chart written by RomanCaesar from Operation Sports. The games are presented in the order they were played on the calendar.

jayhawk88: The_Six_Fingered_Man: McCoy gets 4 TDs against the #17 passing defense and the #7 passing efficiency defense? The defense that is 5th in points allowed per game?

To be fair, like 5 of Ohio State's games this year were against schools who couldn't score 30 points against tackling dummies.

Har har

Team Points per game Against Ohio State
Navy 27.2 27
USC 37.5 18
Toledo 22.4 0
Illinois 28.7 0
Indiana 20.5 14
Wisconsin 32.75 13
Purdue 24.7 26
Minnesota 23.2 7
New Mexico State 11.5 0
Penn State 38.9 7
Iowa 30.3 24
Michigan 20.3 10

So there were a grand total of 1 team that exceeded their average PPG against OSU. That team was Purdue. All others were held to less than their yearly average.

/Sorry for shiatty formatting.

WGJ: Article is invalid from the start.

FTFA
Wyoming (Mountain West, 6-6) vs. Fresno State (WAC, 8-4)
This pairing is one of a few drawn up that reflect real life. Fresno blasts the Cowboys 55-27 behind 151 yards rushing and two touchdowns by Ryan Mathews.

/How did that work out?

This could have been true with better play calling. There is no excuse to get stuffed on the goal line with one of the better RB's in the nation.

The_Six_Fingered_Man: McCoy gets 4 TDs against the #17 passing defense and the #7 passing efficiency defense? The defense that is 5th in points allowed per game?

You realize their schedule is made up of Big 10 teams, right?

I admire the idea, and it looks like a manageable setup, but there are some problems. The Wyoming-Fresno State game alone shows how the whole simulated-tournament thing may fall flat on its face.

-Something has to be done about the Big Ten and its lack of resolution some seasons on a conference champion. I cite 2002, where Iowa would've been undefeated along with Ohio State if not for one of the greatest second halves in Iowa State history.

-Would either of the playoff games in Ohio have been able to be played this Dec. 19? Weather could be a big factor.

-Good luck trying to get the away team's fans (or even the home team's) to show up on the day after Christmas. There's only one week advance notice. Potentially big scheduling issue here and every time the calendar falls in roughly this order. Bowl games offer about a month window and pro games are set way ahead of time.

-What happens when Christmas is on a Saturday? Might work for pros, might be a bigger issue with college games especially since families are more likely to go to/pay for a college game.

The_Six_Fingered_Man: So there were a grand total of 1 team that exceeded their average PPG against OSU. That team was Purdue. All others were held to less than their yearly average.

Again, eight of those opponents play Big 10 schedules...one is Navy...and another Toledo.

Whoa boy...Look at for that defense that plays in, at best, the sixth best conference in the contry (and that might be pushing it).

This proves east coast media bias against the Pac 10.

The_Six_Fingered_Man: Ohio State v Texas game is kinda retarded.

McCoy gets 4 TDs against the #17 passing defense and the #7 passing efficiency defense? The defense that is 5th in points allowed per game?

Pryor is sacked four times against the 23rd ranked passing defense?
Intercepted three times? Doubtful that he's even permitted to throw that many times.

You do realize that aggressive passing in the Big Ten would be seen as the odd 11 yard slant pattern mixed in with screen and TE dump routes. Airing it out like Houston and such would probably result in expulsion from the Big Ten conference. Hence those amazing pass defense statistics.

srhp29: The_Six_Fingered_Man: So there were a grand total of 1 team that exceeded their average PPG against OSU. That team was Purdue. All others were held to less than their yearly average.

Again, eight of those opponents play Big 10 schedules...one is Navy...and another Toledo.

Whoa boy...Look at for that defense that plays in, at best, the sixth best conference in the contry (and that might be pushing it).

How do you quantify "best conference?" Is it conferences with more than one entry in the BCS bowls? Is it measured by OOC records? PPG?

There are conferences that are known for high flying scoring (Pac-10, WAC) and then there are conferences known for stingy defenses. (Big Ten, SEC) One lends itself to a lot of scoring, the other, not so much.

So again, how are YOU quantifying "best?" Because it seems to me to be a completely objective and personal outlook and not tied to any measurable stat.

IAmRight: The_Six_Fingered_Man: There are conferences that are known for high flying scoring (Pac-10, WAC) and then there are conferences known for stingy defenses. (Big Ten, SEC) One lends itself to a lot of scoring, the other, not so much.

The Pac-10 hasn't been about that for a few years. It is now a conference full of good RBs in recent years (Jones-Drew, Jerome Harrison, Bush, White, Lynch, Forsett, Best, Stewart, James, Rodgers, etc). We haven't really had any top level QBs since Rodgers and Leinart, probably.

(oh, and probably the whole Pac-10 absolutely dominating the ever-loving hell out of the Big 10 for the past 5 years or so in their matchups might have something to do with the perception of your conference)

-same with your losing records against the Big XII and ACC
-though you do have a winning record over the SEC (which doesn't have anyone capable of actually doing anything on offense, either)

I'll have to tell Mr. Locker, Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Booty, Mr. Dixon, and Mr. Carpenter you said that. I am sure that they appreciate all the hardwork and effort that you put into downplaying their importance.

With the exception of Mr. Locker, who will be a first rounder when he decides to declare, all of those Pac-10 QBs are playing on Sundays. One is already a starter.

downstairs: tl;dr... but I see that they ended the playoff with #1 Alabama against #6 Oregon. That's the whole point of a playoff, so that a good team like Oregon has a shot.

I get it, sarcasm.

Actually Canfield in the Pac-10 has been playing pretty lights out so I expect him to do relatively well in the draft given that he already plays in a Pro set.

CornFedIowan: I admire the idea, and it looks like a manageable setup, but there are some problems. The Wyoming-Fresno State game alone shows how the whole simulated-tournament thing may fall flat on its face.

-Something has to be done about the Big Ten and its lack of resolution some seasons on a conference champion. I cite 2002, where Iowa would've been undefeated along with Ohio State if not for one of the greatest second halves in Iowa State history.

-Would either of the playoff games in Ohio have been able to be played this Dec. 19? Weather could be a big factor.

-Good luck trying to get the away team's fans (or even the home team's) to show up on the day after Christmas. There's only one week advance notice. Potentially big scheduling issue here and every time the calendar falls in roughly this order. Bowl games offer about a month window and pro games are set way ahead of time.

-What happens when Christmas is on a Saturday? Might work for pros, might be a bigger issue with college games especially since families are more likely to go to/pay for a college game.

Actually, the weather on the 19th wasnt bad. A little windy, maybe like 4mph, and about 1/8th of an inch of snow, but other than that I couldnt complain.

IAmRight: And again, if you've watched Canfield throughout his career...well, I'll let puffy999 handle that one if he's around. But there's a reason he was benched and only got to start over Moevao (who, himself, isn't all that good) because Moevao got injured.

And no one has ever improved in their life once you have seen them play a bad game, right?

It is possible he improved, hence the monster year...Or that he is just lucky.

I just can't associate Kotaku with football. Slightly off topic, but I am sick of corporate sponsorship of bowl games, at least to the extent it is being done. It is the Peach Bowl, not the Chick-Fila bowl. Because they insist on us calling it the Chick filet bowl, I am boycotting chickfile as it offends my traditionalist football sensibilities. The farthest they could have gone imo is - The Peach Bowl sponsored by Chick-Fil-A.

SlothB77: (14) Central Michigan
(15) East Carolina
(16) Troy

get in, but

Penn St, Miami, Pitt, WV

don't?

FTA:
For an eloquent argument in favor of a 16-team playoff, and the legitimacy that comes from inviting every Division I conference champion, I encourage you to read Dan Wetzel's recent column for Yahoo! Sports. To it, I'd only add that teams like Troy are either major college football participants or they're not. It's not a self-declared thing. The NCAA admitted these teams to the highest level. But the comments and behavior of BCS conferences and the bowl committees hellbent on dividing the pie for the fattest do more to diminish a football program like East Carolina than the quality of the Pirates' schedule ever does.

All conferences represented... good man.

NCAA Football 10 is a simulation? Please...until it has an option for Texas Longhorn fans to pay off the head of the conference, put its own alumni in charge of the referees, and ultimately kill a conference (same on this last one for SMU and aTm), then it is not a simulation.

If it's in the game...

Michigan State beats Miami in Florida? Sweet!
But then the fan base gets dissed in the write up.
My feelings are hurt. Wait.. no they aren't, we won the fake game! In a thrilling comeback, no less.
I wonder if the Spartans got to use their suspended players.