Week 12 game thread

[hermes]

tomorrow (both undefeateds):
1 LSU - 3 Arkansas
11 Houston - Tulsa
also iowa-nebraska

other ranked matchups:
2 Alabama - 24 Auburn
6 Stanford - 22 Notre Dame
12 South Carolina - 17 Clemson
13 Georgia - 23 Georgia Tech
16 Wisconsin - 19 Penn St (big 10 championship game spot on the line)

[craig01]

Tulsa 45 Houston 42
Alabama 42 Auburn 10
Notre Dame 24 Stanford 20
South Carolina 31 Clemson 24
Georgia 28 Georgia Tech 21
Wisconsin 30 Penn State 16

LSU 34 Arkansas 27

[Da Schwab]

I don't think the UGA/GT game won't be that close.

Part of me really hopes Auburn pulls a miracle.

[Da Schwab]

I love how LSU basically just turned it on in the second quarter and said, 'Oh yeah, we're the best team in the country, aren't we?'

[Gek]

I love how terrible Tino Sunseri is.

[craig01]

I love how LSU basically just turned it on in the second quarter and said, 'Oh yeah, we're the best team in the country, aren't we?'

LSU has been slow starters all year......so this wasn't a surprise. What was surprising was that the Hogs went up 14-0. I was temporarily worried......as this series over the years has been so unpredictable.

However, Miles stayed patient, both lines asserted themselves, and play makers made plays. It's been a perfect formula this year.

[Da Schwab]

Oh yeah, Bobby Petrino is an assh*le.

[craig01]

What on earth did Petrino expect Miles to do given the history of this series? And it's not like LSU needs any more brownie points in the BCS rankings....Miles wasn't running up the score, but was just putting the game safely away.

Last week against Ole Miss and leading 52-3, LSU had first and goal at the OM 1-yard line with more than 5 minutes to go......so LSU took a knee 4 straight times. OM was incapable of doing anything, and some fans took offense to the "reverse rub-it-in"

[Icness]

Bobby Petrino is an idiot. Arkansas will never win with him as their coach, God will not allow that chicken-bleep quitter to have big success.

Surprised that Ohio State has kept the game close so far, but Michigan has too much for the young Buckeyes.

[Icness]

Virginia Tech playing great, dominating UVA.

Wisconsin rolling Penn State, good for them.

And the DI team with the most wins in the state of Ohio...My Ohio University Bobcats! Won more games this year (8) than in my first 5 years there (7). One of the bowl projectors has Ohio playing Ohio State in a bowl, lol.

[Da Schwab]

Wisconsin is starting to walk against Penn St.

I can't wait for the Bucky/Sparty rematch next week in Indy.

[Da Schwab]

Also, Ic, I'm curious as to how worthy of Heisman consideration do you think Montee Ball is? I know a lot of Wisconsin's rushing success is the product of an annually amazing offensive line, but Ball has proven he's one of the best workhorses in the nation and hasn't gotten a lick of Heisman hype.

[Icness]

Also, Ic, I'm curious as to how worthy of Heisman consideration do you think Montee Ball is? I know a lot of Wisconsin's rushing success is the product of an annually amazing offensive line, but Ball has proven he's one of the best workhorses in the nation and hasn't gotten a lick of Heisman hype.

I think he will wind up between 4th and 6th. Like you said the line-- which has 4 future NFL starters and a couple of reserves--gets a lot of credit. The crappiness of the Big Ten and their poor nonconference slate hurts too. His ability to grind yards after contact and then explode out of the scrum is great. I can see him getting a lot of 3rd place votes, probably not many 1sts or 2nds.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Where you project Ball to go if/when he turns pro after the season?

[Da Schwab]

Stanford's uniforms are awful and Notre Dame's helmets are really, really shiny.

[Icness]

Where you project Ball to go if/when he turns pro after the season?

Some of it depends on his weight and his times. He's got to be under 220 and have a tight 10-yard split when he works out away from Madison. The numbers the scouting services have from the Wisconsin spring game had him running a 4.58 40 with an average split. He needs to prove he can be explosive and has enough burst to create a little on his own and not just take what the OL gives him and then create.

Honestly the TD numbers really don't mean a lot, just as they don't for Bernard Pierce (Temple) who finished with 25 TDs and is eerily similar to Ball stylistically and in the way they are built. Those TDs hold more sway, or rather should hold more sway with the Heisman voters and All American voters. It's nice that he shows he can finish runs and has a nose for the end zone, but that's really viewed as much of a function of his team and the opponents he faced than anything unique or outstanding on his own. Trent Richardson scoring 20 in the SEC will trump Ball scoring 30 in the Big Ten; that's not right or fair but it is what it is, even though the SEC is a three-team conference this year.

I would put him probably 8th to 12th on the RB list, in the range with Bobby Rainey (WKU), Pierce and Tauren Poole (TEN). Haven't really gone down the chart that far with any sort of certainty yet. Looks like early 3rd if he times under 4.5 (which is very unlikely) to late 5th/early 6th. There is so little demand for running backs in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, that if a guy isn't perceived elite like Richardson he is going to fall further than most fans expect because there is so little differentiation and so much reliance on staying healthy. Look at Jahvid Best and Donald Brown, two recent late 1sts; Best might very well be done already because of injury and Brown will probably not be back in Indy (depends on the new coach if they fire Caldwell, which they absolutely should). With so many runners on the market that wind up blowing up, even if only for a game or two, teams are not going to heavily invest in a RB in those rounds.