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Yeah, West Virginia put up 70 on Clemson in the Orange Bowl. And they get pwned every year by South Carolina, which is a solid program, but not a real title contender over the past few seasons. Crushing Clemson at home, while impressive, was not unprecedented. That's a defense that hasn't shown it can stop a quality offense at all.
So yeah, I agree that the advantage SEC teams have is that they face tougher competition week-in, week-out. Fast defenses are not as bothersome because they've seen fast defenses before. Physicality is not as bothersome because they've played physical teams before. Football is not like basketball where talent and pretty plays can overwhelm the competition more often than not. Unless you have two teams that are not athletically matched at all (which has been the case in prior years and would have been the case had OSU won), then anything is a given. There's something to be said for a team that's hard and can, in Greg Popovich's words, give a "little dose of the nasty."
Good points, all. I don't want to lend that impression that life in the SEC makes a team markedly superior by default. And I will also state that I think FSU should be a slight favorite. But I just think Auburn has been more battled tested than FSU in a host of different ways. Mental toughness matters.
Well I will say that Auburn finished the year a lot better than they started it. They beat 3 ranked opponents to end the season and their final game was pretty impressive. Although the 2 games before that they won on fluke plays at the end of the game, so they could very easily be 9-3. They also came pretty close to losing to TA&M.
So yes, Auburn played 5 teams that ended up in the top 25 (going 4-1, barely winning 3) and FSU played only 3 (winning and crushing them all).
I suppose you could say Auburn is more battle tested. Maybe that will be enough to keep them in the game against FSU. I think it will come down to game plan and execution. If Jimbo can dial up a run defense and stop the runaway freight train named Mason, then it could be a blowout. But if Auburn can press the run with success like they did against Mizzou, then they could win.
Well I will say that Auburn finished the year a lot better than they started it. They beat 3 ranked opponents to end the season and their final game was pretty impressive. Although the 2 games before that they won on fluke plays at the end of the game, so they could very easily be 9-3. They also came pretty close to losing to TA&M.
So yes, Auburn played 5 teams that ended up in the top 25 (going 4-1, barely winning 3) and FSU played only 3 (winning and crushing them all).
Well, you're kinda short-changing Auburn, no? There's no realistic chance that any of the ranked teams FSU played could have beaten Auburn. Miami? No. Clemson? No. Duke? Hell no. Alabama, Texas A&M, Mizzou, Georgia and LSU, on the other hand, are all teams that could have given FSU problems on any given day.
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Originally Posted by Zathras
I suppose you could say Auburn is more battle tested. Maybe that will be enough to keep them in the game against FSU. I think it will come down to game plan and execution. If Jimbo can dial up a run defense and stop the runaway freight train named Mason, then it could be a blowout. But if Auburn can press the run with success like they did against Mizzou, then they could win.
There's no "supposing." That's like saying you "suppose" the student taking advanced courses in a Blue Ribbon high school is better prepared for college than the student taking Mickey Mouse classes in an underperforming high school. It's always possible that the student at the underperforming school is more "gifted," but that student's less rigorous curriculum would certainly place him at a disadvantage compared to the student taking the harder classes.
In this situation, Auburn is like the bright student that's loaded up on AP Cal, Bio, English, History, etc. FSU is the smarter student that's been busting out 100s and 95s in the regular classes. Who knows how that will play out...
Well, you're kinda short-changing Auburn, no? There's no realistic chance that any of the ranked teams FSU played could have beaten Auburn. Miami? No. Clemson? No. Duke? Hell no. Alabama, Texas A&M, Mizzou, Georgia and LSU, on the other hand, are all teams that could have given FSU problems on any given day.
I'd say the above is unclear and speculative at best. We can think what we want, but the SEC hasn't really established much dominance over the ACC since the Georgia and Georgia Tech game at the end of the 2012 season. Since then, Clemson defeated LSU in the Chick-Fil-A bowl and then defeated Georgia in the season opener. FSU defeated Florida, though that's obviously a suspect win. South Carolina defeated Clemson, but they proved to be one of the better teams in the SEC this year, and it didn't really get out of reach for Clemson until the final quarter (IIRC). So while the SEC has managed some success against the ACC, I don't think they've established that they're the dominant league by any means.
On that note, Auburn hasn't established that it's a dominant team. It has definitely established that it has one hell of a great offense that overpowers teams on the run and at the line of scrimmage and then has the ability to stretch the field once teams become overly concerned with Auburn's running attack. But it hasn't established the ability to control both sides of the ball. FSU, on the other hand, has simply dominated every team they've played. Clemson also has had the tendency to put the ball on the ground just a little bit more than FSU, so that could be a factor as well.
Well, there's no doubt the SEC is better than the ACC, and definitely there's a difference in schedule. I guess we'll find out for sure in a few weeks how much that element comes into play!
This should be a good final BCS bowl. FSU is somewhat unproven as they have played no good teams, but it seems to me that they are evenly matched, with perhaps FSU being even better. Some years it just so one sided it isnt funny.
I just hope the SEC loses the last BCS. No offense to the SEC, I dont mind them, but we need to root for the underdog. The playoff system is far from perfect but it is a step in the right direction.
But that "one-trick pony show" took down the best CFB in America.
I know a lot of people who are saying that FSU is a clear favorite in the NC, but I don't see a clear favorite in this game at all. Both teams have good athletes. FSU has a superior QB, but he's still young, and any QB (even the great Tom Brady) can be made to look normal if you ring his bell enough. I think this game is too close to call because Auburn is not only talented, but also battle-tested. FSU has never faced a defense as good as Auburn's. FSU has put up some impressive numbers on some not so impressive teams. I don't see FSU being able to do what they've done to Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest, NC State, etc.
So I'm calling this one "too close to call." This is the first NC game in a few years I've felt there wasn't a clear favorite.
Pittsburgh has the best defensive player in the country. FSU faced him. UF is a top 10 defense. FSU faced them. Auburn has one of the weakest pass defenses in the country. FSU is about to face that. Auburn just gave up 500+ yards to Mizzou. FSU is about to face that.
Routing the ACC while people might not think is impressive... You just got to ask why didn't Baylor do the same in a weak Big 12... Why didn't Louisville do the same in a weak Atlantic... Why didn't Ohio St do the same in a weak Big 10... Why didn't Northern Illinois do the same in a weak MAC... When any of those teams faced a decent opponent they either barely won or got beat. FSU on the other hand kept all games (but BC) out of contention by mid 2nd quarter, no matter who the opponent. A top loaded Georgia team couldn't take down Clemson in Death Valley... FSU ended the game with 3 minutes in the first in Death Valley.
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Yeah, West Virginia put up 70 on Clemson in the Orange Bowl. And they get pwned every year by South Carolina, which is a solid program, but not a real title contender over the past few seasons. Crushing Clemson at home, while impressive, was not unprecedented. That's a defense that hasn't shown it can stop a quality offense at all.
The West Virginia game was 3 bowl seasons ago. Get with the times. Clemson knocked off a strong LSU in last years Chick-Fil-A bowl. This year they took down a fully loaded Georgia offense i.e. Aaron Murray, Malcolm Mitchell, Todd Gurley Jr, etc. South Carolina is a Rivalry game; there is too much familiarity to call it. Boyd practically handed them the game. Also, note the game was in Columbia. Is Clemson bad? No. Their two losses are against #1 FSU and #9 South Carolina.
Pittsburgh has the best defensive player in the country. FSU faced him. UF is a top 20 defense. FSU faced them. Auburn has one of the weakest pass defenses in the country. FSU is about to face that. Auburn just gave up 500+ yards to Mizzou. FSU is about to face that.
Routing the ACC while people might not think is impressive... You just got to ask why didn't Baylor do the same in a weak Big 12... Why didn't Louisville do the same in a weak Atlantic... Why didn't Ohio St do the same in a weak Big 10... Why didn't Northern Illinois do the same in a weak MAC... When any of those teams faced a decent opponent they either barely won or got beat. FSU on the other hand kept all games (but BC) out of contention by mid 2nd quarter, no matter who the opponent. A top loaded Georgia team couldn't take down Clemson in Death Valley... FSU ended the game with 3 minutes in the first in Death Valley.
The West Virginia game was 3 bowl seasons ago. Get with the times. Clemson knocked off a strong LSU in last years Chick-Fil-A bowl. This year they took down a fully loaded Georgia offense i.e. Aaron Murray, Malcolm Mitchell, Todd Gurley Jr, etc. South Carolina is a Rivalry game; there is too much familiarity to call it. Boyd practically handed them the game. Also, note the game was in Columbia. Is Clemson bad? No. Their two losses are against #1 FSU and #9 South Carolina.
Look FSU looks good this year, and I think they may live up to the hype. However, boasting about beating Pittsburgh isnt going to help though. Normally a victory over UF would be noteworthy but not this year.
FSU will have its chance. Nobody doubts that Auburn is a good. Some argue that there are better teams, but Auburn is at the worst a very good team, and one of the best in the nation.
Look FSU looks good this year, and I think they may live up to the hype. However, boasting about beating Pittsburgh isnt going to help though. Normally a victory over UF would be noteworthy but not this year.
FSU will have its chance. Nobody doubts that Auburn is a good. Some argue that there are better teams, but Auburn is at the worst a very good team, and one of the best in the nation.
I didn't boost the win against UF. I just stated the fact... their defense is legit. #9 in Total Defense. #16 in Scoring Defense. The fact they are this high with how bad their offense is (i.e. being on the field most of the game)... is a true testament that they are a really good defense.
This should be a good final BCS bowl. FSU is somewhat unproven as they have played no good teams, but it seems to me that they are evenly matched, with perhaps FSU being even better. Some years it just so one sided it isnt funny.
I just hope the SEC loses the last BCS. No offense to the SEC, I dont mind them, but we need to root for the underdog. The playoff system is far from perfect but it is a step in the right direction.
So what would you consider Duke and Clemson? Both are pretty solid teams, one of which is playing in a BCS bowl game.
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