GAME Las Vegas Bowl. USC vs Texas A&M 10:30 pm (ET) ESPN

jjc2009 said:
Maiava is just way better IMO. If Moss started against ND the game never would’ve been as close as it was.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Maiava has been inconsistent, much of that is because of not having much playing time in the offense, but he's a better athlete than Moss.

The game against ND was kind of a microcosm of him...played well enough to give us a good shot at winning...but then threw those late pick 6's because he didn't have the experience with the receivers and threw the ball to the wrong spot. It's funny, if Moss was throwing those 2 passes, chances are they don't get picked...but they also may not have been in position for it to matter.

Moss started out fine, but the o-line took a lot of injuries and when protection would break down, Moss couldn't escape, so he'd get sacked or throw a bad pass. Maiava is no Caleb Williams, but he has a solid arm and enough athleticism to buy himself a little time.

The QB battle going into next season is going to be interesting. Maiava will have a full off-season of work and will almost undoubtedly go into Spring workouts as QB1. But the QB coming in (Husan Longstreet) is supposed to be special.
 
stakesarehigh said:
I'd suspect Bama is a 13 pt fav for that reason
Click to expand...
If I were a betting man. I'd be betting the HOUSE on Bama. They have everyone playing. We have no Donovan Edwards, No Kalil Mullins, No Colston Loveland, No Josiah Stewart, No Kenneth Grant, No Mason Graham, No Tyler Morris, No Myles Hinton, No Makari Paige.

Our leading rusher for the Bama game is Alex Orji.
 
NewPhoneWhoDis said:
I wouldn't put much into any bowl game outside the CFP. With the way the NCAA does the transfer portal and guys sitting out to go to the draft -- these games are turning into essentially Spring Games, where you try to give guys experience.

I just looked at the Bama Michigan game. Michigan will be without their top 2 RB's, their All-American TE, 2 offensive linemen, their #1 WR, their top 2 DE's, their All-American DT's Graham and Grant both sitting, and All-American Will Johnson is sitting, as well as Safety Makari Paige.

In retrospect -- Alabama has essentially no one sitting out.

So Bama will likely look like a juggernaut against Michigan playing 2nd and 3rd stringers, when they were a hit or miss team this year.
Click to expand...
Agreed but USC was missing more starters than ATM
 
78Cyclones said:
I am glad to see Alabama show some Crimson Pride and have the major players play. They did that for the K-State Sugar Bowl a few years ago too, but that was under Saban. Beyond the NIL stuff, opt pouts, etc., Bowl Games have always been a major part of Alabama's history.

As a fan, I always enjoy Alabama's Bowl Games and have attended quite a few over the years. Also, if ever on Campus, go the Bryant Museum and check out their Bowl Trophy section which includes all kinds of paraphernalia from Bowls of yesteryear. There are trophies, watches, uniforms, etc. on display.

Not a new thing either. Their first 5 Bowl Games were the Rose Bowl in the 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934 and 1937 seasons before they made a Cotton Bowl appearance after the 1941 season. They have a line in their fight song: "Remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then". The Tide are 5-2-1 in Rose Bowl Games with one of the two losses to Michigan last season.

There is a good book about their Bowl history published in the late 1970s called Bowl Bama Bowl: A Crimson Tide Football Tradition (Including Bama vs. Buckeyes) by Al Browning. Thought you might like the part where even though he had finished the book in 1977, he added an extra chapter for the Jan. 1978 Sugar Bowl 35-6 win over B1G Co-Champion Ohio State and Woody Hayes. :) It's a little too full of Alabama in content, but it is a fun read for a college football fan in general.

Seriously, looking forward to a great game on NYE! Michigan still has serious talent (allbeit young and untested), and Alabama has been up and down all year (so maybe they need some new young untested talent too). Michigan can win this game (like USC beat A&M last night). Hopefully, the two teams bring out the best in each other like they have the other 6 times they have played.

Series is tied 3-3 with previous games in Jan. 1988 (M), Jan. 1997 (A), Jan. 2000 (M), Sept. 2012 (A), Jan. 2020 (A) and Jan. 2024 (M) seasons, so I expect another cracker jack game between the Crimson Tide and Wolverines. Kind of fun that they opened 2024 against each other on NYD and will end the year against each other on NYE. Wish they could play more often!
Click to expand...
I used to be the guy calling out players sitting out the bowl games, then I watched Jake Butt, go from a late 1st round- early 2nd round pick, blow his knee out in a bowl game and drop all the way to the 5th round, which cost him millions.

Then I was more on the players side. Butt had an insurance policy he took out, but it only covered him for like 400k of the money he lost.

With the games meaning absolutely nothing and the NCAA handing out bowl bids to every team who wins 6 games -- the bowl season is pretty pointless now.
 
NewPhoneWhoDis said:
I wouldn't put much into any bowl game outside the CFP. With the way the NCAA does the transfer portal and guys sitting out to go to the draft -- these games are turning into essentially Spring Games, where you try to give guys experience.

I just looked at the Bama Michigan game. Michigan will be without their top 2 RB's, their All-American TE, 2 offensive linemen, their #1 WR, their top 2 DE's, their All-American DT's Graham and Grant both sitting, and All-American Will Johnson is sitting, as well as Safety Makari Paige.

In retrospect -- Alabama has essentially no one sitting out.

So Bama will likely look like a juggernaut against Michigan playing 2nd and 3rd stringers, when they were a hit or miss team this year.
Click to expand...

I bet if the SEC was winning these games you’d be claiming they were “proving their dominance” but because they are losing they “don’t matter” of course.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
I bet if the SEC was winning these games you’d be claiming they were “proving their dominance” but because they are losing they “don’t matter” of course.
Click to expand...
All SEC honks are the same. How can you have 16 favorite teams????

I have a neighbor from Mississippi that states he is a fan of all original SEC teams.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
I bet if the SEC was winning these games you’d be claiming they were “proving their dominance” but because they are losing they “don’t matter” of course.
Click to expand...
Talking to the wrong guy. I've said for a few years now, that bowl games are pointless. I couldn't care less if the B1G lost every bowl game or won every bowl game. The overwhelming majority of teams playing in these bowls are nothing like the teams who played during the year.

Only games that matter are the CFP games.
 
NewPhoneWhoDis said:
Talking to the wrong guy. I've said for a few years now, that bowl games are pointless. I couldn't care less if the B1G lost every bowl game or won every bowl game. The overwhelming majority of teams playing in these bowls are nothing like the teams who played during the year.

Only games that matter are the CFP games.
Click to expand...

Big 10 has the most teams remaining in the CFP
 
osubuckeye89 said:
Big 10 has the most teams remaining in the CFP
Click to expand...
The Ohio win was the most impressive win of the bowl season thus far. That being said -- we should get to see which conference is better, as Oregon/Ohio will likely face Texas and PSU should get to face Georgia.
 
UbetterDUCK said:
Notice how Texas and UGA are on opposite sides of of the bracket, yet tOSU & UO are not. Hmmmmm…..
Click to expand...
Thank the ridiculous byes for conference champs and ohio for that. Ohio beats Michigan -- Texas would be in the bracket with Georgia.
 
UbetterDUCK said:
Notice how Texas and UGA are on opposite sides of of the bracket, yet tOSU & UO are not. Hmmmmm…..
Click to expand...
The CFP Committee did place the two B1G CCG teams (Oregon and Penn State) on opposite sides like they did the two SEC CCG teams (Georgia and Texas). They were consistant with that. The B1G had 4 teams to the SEC 3. They have to play sometime.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
Because they have to play eachother. Go figure the SEC teams got seeded where they’d avoid playing eachother until at least the semi finals.
Click to expand...
The B1G CCG Teams (Oregon and Penn State) and the SEC CCG Teams (Georgia and Texas) were seeded on opposite sides of the bracket. Ohio State, Indiana and Tennessee got what they got. Ohio State hosted a home game, Indiana and Tennessee hit the road in the first round. There was nothing sinister about this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top