College Football

Washington Post staff writers Mark Schlabach and Dan Steinberg were online Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest news in college football.

The Post's Coverage: Colleges

The transcript follows.

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washingtonpost.com: Today's discussion will begin shortly. Thanks for staying tuned.

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Mark Schlabach: O.K., folks, sorry I'm a little late. Big game in Blacksburg on Saturday night and, if the Hokies win, it's going to get very interesting over the next month. Here we go ....

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Dan, Oak Hill, Va.: What are your thoughts on the big game this weekend between Virginia Tech and Miami?

Mark Schlabach: I think the Hokies take care of business and probably win by less than a touchdown. The Hurricanes are going to have trouble protecting Kyle Wright and it's going to be tough for Tyrone Moss to run against that Va. Tech defense. Same thing for the Hokies. They've got to give Marcus Vick time to thrown and he has to play well. Humes and Imoh aren't going to run for a lot of yards. It's going to be low scoring, so I'll give the edge to Va. Tech because of Schmidt and Pace, two of the best specialists in the country. Playing at Lane Stadium at night will be a tremendous advantage for Tech.

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Durango, Colo.: Hi, guys,

When VA Tech beats Miami, will that be enough of a boost to get them into the Rose Bowl? How much does strength of schedule influence the BCS? How many ranked teams has Texas beaten? USC football alums tell me that the Hokies scare USC a lot more than Texas does.

Mark Schlabach: I talked with Jerry Palm, one of the BCS gurus on Monday, and he seems to think that Va. Tech will move ahead of the 'Horns if both teams finish undefeated. Va. Tech will have to finish two spots ahead of Texas in all six computer polls, though, so the Hokies would have to be No. 1 and the 'Horns No. 3. With Va. Tech's strength of schedule the rest of the way, that is a realistic possibility. Va. Tech could sway a lot of voters Saturday night with an impressive win over Miami, which might be the best one-loss team in the country. Texas has beaten two ranked teams -- at Ohio State and over over-ranked Texas Tech. They've got Baylor, Kansas, reeling Texas A&M and probably Colorado in the Big XII championship game remaining.

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Reston, Va.: Miami has looked downright horrendous on offense this year. Tech's offense, while not without its shortcomings (turnovers vs MD and redzone vs BC), has been able to consistently move the football in every game since NC State. With defenses ranked 1 and 2 in the nation, I don't see how Miami's anemic offense can match the hokies firepower for 48 minutes. I see Tech weathering the initial excitement of an upset minded Miami and cruising to victory, thoughts?

Mark Schlabach: Like I said earlier, I think it will be a close game. The thing that has impressed me about Tech's offense is they can put together a long scoring drive when they have to. Yeah, they left a lot of points on the field against BC, and they can't do that against Miami. I'm still anxious to see how Vick reacts when he has to win a game for the Hokies. He kind of did it against N.C. State, but that was N.C. State. Wondering if he can do it against Miami, FSU, etc.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Guys,

Now that we've see the Volunteers collapse from Preseason #3 contender to less-than-pretender out-of-the-Top 25, and Fulmer is on the hot seat, is the coaching staff shift (Sanders out, likely Cutcliffe in as OC) going to satisfy the Orange Nation and right the ship?

Saturday at Notre Dame is going to be brutal - tell me when it's over!

GO VOLS!

Mark Schlabach: Hearing Cutcliffe could be a done deal. Look for a couple of other offensive assistants to be let go as well (WRs coach Pat Washington, OL coach Jimmy Ray Stephens?). Fulmer might be able to get Doug Marrone back from the New York Jets if Edwards stays on the hot seat, but might take coordinator's job to lure Marrone back to K-Ville. Fulmer needs to get that offense fixed. He might have five or six years left at UT if he does, not that many if he doesn't.

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Dan Steinberg: Hey all, sorry to be late, and I might have to disappear suddenly. But in the meantime, here's my question of the day. (It's a BCS question, of course, which is sure to irritate Schlabach, who gets bored with the BCS and would prefer to analyze the merits of Alabama's fourth-string tight end. But me, I can't get enough of the BCS).

Anyhow, I read a suggestion that went something like this: forget a playoff (lost cause), keep the bowls ($ talks), but let a 25-person selection committee be in charge instead of polls and computers and all that. So my question, I guess, is whether that would work, and if four teams wind up undefeated and you were on the selection committee, what would you do?

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McLean, Va.: Hey guys, Thanks for the chat. A couple of questions regarding my alumni. Was SC's victory over UTenn due to a new tradition in Columbia or a horrible year in Knoxville? Who is the front runner in the Kid Clausen Lottery? And was it me or was Spurrier's nose about to explode after the victory on Saturday night?

Now a question regarding our rival. When will Clemson figure out Tommy Bowden is an underachiever and can him? Don't get me wrong, I love to see them lose to Duke and Wake Forest every year, but it seems he strings together 2 or 3 wins late in the year to barely hold on to his job. Isn't he suppose to be contending for a national title right now? Once agian thanks a lot guys.

Mark Schlabach: Tennessee is probably the most underachieving team in the country. I didn't think they were as good as everyone was predicting because the schedule was so difficult and because I didn't think Ainge was all that great as a freshman. But with that many offensive linemen, Gerald Riggs Jr., the big defensive front, Jason Allen at corner, etc., you definitely expected more than a 3-4 record. Spurrier beat the Vols with virtually no talent. He has turned Blake Mitchell into a pretty good quarterback, Mike Davis is a nice tailback but he's a freshman, and the Rice kid might be the best receiver in the SEC. But they've don't have a lot of talent on either line and they've been ravaged by injuries. If Spurrier takes the Gamecocks to a bowl game, he should definitely be SEC coach of the year. It might be a bigger accomplishment than what he did at Duke in 1990. That Duke team was loaded with seniors; this Carolina team is young and not very talented. ... Hearing Bowden is probably safe for another year, but losing to Ga. Tech and failing to score a touchdown in that game turned up the heat a little bit. Losing to South Carolina and missing a bowl game might get him canned, but I doubt it. His buyout drops to $3 or $4 million after the season, and both of his new coordinators have two-year contracts so they'd be owed another $350,000. It would cost a lot to get rid of him.

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re: hot seats: Aside from Fulmer, what other college coaches are on the hot seat right now? Who will be at the end of the season?

Mark Schlabach: Fulmer is fine. Isn't going to be fired. I'm actually hearing Rich Brooks at Kentucky might be O.K. because of the inordinate number of injuries the 'Cats have had this season, as well as the fact that nobody at Kentucky really gives a darn about football. Chuck Amato at N.C. State and Tommy Bowden at Clemson could possibly be in trouble if they don't finish well, but both have big contracts and big buyouts. Gary Pinkel at Missouri is probably gone. Tom Craft at San Diego State could be in trouble (Jim Harbaugh might be a candidate there if he's fired). There won't be a lot of big-time coaching changes, I suspect. Although I am hearing Dennis Franchione is already catching flak at Texas A&M.

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Dulles: It's already starting. Dan Patrick this morning stated "Should the Hokies destroy Miami in Blacksburg this weekend, we'll have to ask ourselves how good this Miami team is." First GT was gonna be a test. Then Maryland. Then BC. Afterwards, everyone said "oh, guess they weren't that good" instead of "Damn, those Hokies are good." Will people REALLY consider Miami to be overrated if they get blown out in one of the toughest places to play against one of the best VT teams ever?

Dan Steinberg: Are you writing directly from one of those mobile transport units that takes you to the terminal? That would rule.

Did Dan Patrick really say it like that? Do you think BC is good? Here's what they've done: lost to FSU at home, barely survived against Wake at home, won at Clemson in OT, beaten a Virginia team that is utterly unable to win on the road, and gotten just dominated at Virginia Tech. No offense, BC fans.

Still, I'm with you on the Hokies. I don't know why people still seem to be saying Texas and USC have clearly been the most impressive teams this year. Doesn't seem that clear to me.

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Charlie vs Ty: In examining both coaches FIRST YEAR, I don't understand what ND is doing. Ty started 8-0, Charlie started 5-2. Both coaches had NFL recruiters looking at them and their ND success. Why is Charlie getting a 10-yr extension when Ty wasn't offered one? Ty finished his first year 9-3 (Lost to BC, USC, Bowl to NC State.) Charlie could potentially finish 9-3 (Lost to Mich St., USC, potential Bowl loss) Also, lets confine the case to both coaches FIRST YEAR. We can all agree on how Ty after that but Charlie hasn't finished this year yet. I just don't get the reasoning from a W's and L's, X's and O's standpoint. Does Charlie being an alum count that much? If that's not the case, where's Urban Meyer's 10 year extension. Your thoughts...

Mark Schlabach: The fact Weis is a N.D. alumn and the fact that he ressurected one of the worst offenses in college football, and the fact he's headed for a top-10 recruiting class probably factored into it. Those three Super Bowl rings he wears earns him a lot of kudos and trust from the administration. With all due respect to Willingham, he really hadn't done anything before he got to Notre Dame.

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Frederick, Md.: Why is everone so worried about the BCS so early? Va Tech still needs to beat Miami (which they won't). And why no love for my Bruins, who are, HELLO, 8-0.

Mark Schlabach: Because your Bruins play in the Pac-10 and nearly lost to Stanford, which lost to -- HELLO!!!!!--- UC-Davis. Karl Dorrell has done a heck of a job at UCLA, though.

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Lancaster, Pa.: Dan, the problem I see with your proposal of a 25 person committee deciding who should play is that it creates an argument as to who is the best one-loss team. Say 3 teams go undefeated and a fourth is needed for the two games. Everyone will be in an uproar over who is the best one-loss team.

Dan Steinberg: Whoa, not my proposal. Wojciechowski from ESPN.com, not to plug our competition.

I agree with you....no proposal can really get past a three-undefeated-team scenario, or even a one-and-only-one undefeated-team scenario. And if there are no undefeated teams, well, that's armageddon, right? Personally I love the current system more and more every day. It gives you something college football to think about virtually every day: Saturday are games, Sunday the polls come out, Monday the BCS comes out, Tuesday you can watch The Office, Wednesday you can read our chat, and then Thursday and Friday and Saturday are games. I think fall should last all year.

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Leesburg, Va.: Chris Fowler was on Mike and Mike in the Morning today and said that if Miami loses to Virginia Tech, then people are going to question the strenght of Miami. Is the media trying to downplay Virginia Tech, so that they can crown an undisputed champion between USC and Tex?

Dan Steinberg: So Chris Fowler and Dan Patrick are both on this train, according to our loyal readers.

As a member of the media, I'll say that undisputed champions don't help our cause any. Well, maybe they make travel decisions a little easier, but if theoretically we were trying to rig the bowls to help coverage, I would think disputes would be better than undisputes. You know, controversy being good for discussion and all that.

Miami's first half against UNC wasn't particularly impressive, though, was it? Nor Texas's against OSU, for that matter.

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Woodbridge, Va.: As an avid college football fan, I've been a regular reader of these chats for a couple years. There are only two things that bug me in what I read here:

People constantly writing to complain about The Post's coverage of this or that team. We're here to talk about football, not how the media covers football (griping about polls is okay); and

Schlabach's rabid obsession with the SEC. Note - the SEC is not significantly better than any other major conference. ESPN helpfully posts conference bowl records for the last four years on each conference page, and all five major conferences have had .500 or worse bowl records in at least two of those four years. The ACC actually has the best overall record over four years, followed by the SEC, Big Ten (11), Pac 10, and Big 12. Bottom line, all are competitive, and any can be better than the rest in any given year. So give up the one-dimensional boosterism, please.

Big game of the week - Wisconsin at Penn State. If either team wins out, they get the conference championship, and PSU looks to have the better chance, on paper at least. PSU's defense against UW's offense - who gets the better of this matchup?

Mark Schlabach: I've said for the last month that the SEC was down. Was probably down last year when Auburn finished 13-0. That said, you can't put too much into bowl records because the SEC is aligned with the Capital One, Outback, Cotton, Peach, etc. It's a lot harder beating a second- or third-place team from the Big 10, rather than going to Boise to play Tulsa or somebody like that. Glad you didn't gripe about the Va. Tech or Va. coverage, though.

Back to your question, I like Penn State big because the Badgers still can't play defense. Calhoun is great, Stocco is playing very well, but they rank 97th in the nation in defense and have injuries up front.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Simple question, is MD going to a bowl game this year? Side note: Boy were we close to winning that game on Saturday, without that grabage PI call on 4th down....

Dan Steinberg: This was surely inevitable: Maryland loss to FSU because of a garbage pass interference call. Yes, the Terps were close to winning that game, but scoring a touchdown in quarters one, three or four might have helped. Heck, completing a forward pass in quarters one or three might also have helped. Pretty strong showing on the road, but if Maryland wants to be considered a perennial ACC contender strong showings don't mean very much.

I think Maryland should definitely beat that N.C. State team that is in total disarray on the last weekend of the season. The other two games (BC at home and UNC on the road) I can see going either way. So I'm gonna say they win one and lose one and finish 6-5, and yes, go to a bowl (Boise or Memphis, to take an early November stab at it.)

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Go Goats!: It looks like Navy will be bowl-eligible, albeit with victories over the sorriest group of teams you can imagine. The Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego has an at-large opening. I would think Navy would be a good draw there, but will Navy be ignored because of the quality of its schedule this year?

Mark Schlabach: No. Navy draws too well and sales to many tickets to be ignored. Don't short change what Paul Johnson has done in Annapolis this year. He had to replace virtually his entire team, including his quarterback, fullback and both slotbacks in his offense. One of the best coaches in college football, in my opinion, and schools that might be looking for a head coach, such as Missouri, could do a lot worse than him.

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Fairfax, Va.: So who's the lucky guy that gets to go to Blacksburg this weekend to cover the VT-Miami tilt? One suggestion: Cover "the walk" at 540, where the Hokies get off the bus and walk down Spring Street through a throng of fans. It's gonna be awesome.

Any predictions on the game?

Mark Schlabach: I'll be there. Was there yesterday. I've seen the Hokie Walk, very impressive, very useful for recruiting, too, I'm guessing. I like the Hokies, 21-17.

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F.O. in Penn Quarter: I'm going to side-step Dan's question with my own proposal:

After the conference championship games, top 4 teams in the BCS who won their conference championships (or ND) play a two week playoff. The first round is held on Jan. 1, and the finals are a week or so later (Monday night, since NFL is in playoffs?). The three games are rotated every year between the 4 BCS bowl sites.

Other than that, everything remains same (BCS, other bowls, etc.)

Thoughts?

Mark Schlabach: Agree completely. That's the way it should be done. Solves a lot of problems.

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada: My question is how for real is Notre Dame. I thought they were impressive against USC and would like to know what you think about Brady Quinn's potential as an NFL Quarterback.

Mark Schlabach: I think they're definitely for real and proved it against Michigan and Southern Cal. Still have a lot of holes on defense, but the offense is incredibly efficient under Weis. I'll get to see them in person against Navy next week. Quinn is probably a late first or early second draft choice, if I was guessing. The only QBs I'd take ahead of him right now are Matt Leinart and Vince Young.

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Coral Gables, Fla.: What chances do my Canes have of stopping Vick and Hokies this weekend? As good as our defense has been, our trumpeted athleticism always makes us vulnerable to overpursuit and thus, running QBs. Thoughts?

Mark Schlabach: Containing Vick will be a key. Hokies defense hasn't faced an offense as fast as Miami's, either, but Kyle Wright isn't the most mobile guy in the world so the offensive line will have to play well.

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Silver Spring, Md.: What do you think of the Terps chances of winning out, going to a decent bowl and finishing the season with 8 wins? They played both VT and FSU much closer than BC did, I think this team may be one of the better 4-4 teams in the country ...

Dan Steinberg: Well, I'm not sure they played VT or FSU much closer than BC did. Remember, the Eagles were beating FSU 17-14 going into the fourth quarter. Granted, they were at home.

And as wretched as they played against the Hokies, that was a 10-point game going into the fourth quarter, while Maryland's was 11. And the truth is, Virginia Tech looked much better than both teams and should have won by more if the offense hadn't had so many red zone problems.

Maryland certainly could win out though; none of those wins would be at all shocking. I also wouldn't be shocked if they finished 5-6.

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Annandale, Va.: Steinberg - from whom did you crib the selection committee idea? You read a column from somebody else, because even the number 25 rings a bell. I say, even with a selection committee, there will never be a true national champion worthy of the term until there is a playoff of at least eight teams, for which a selection committee would be ideal.

Dan Steinberg: Yeah, like I said, Wojciechowski on ESPN.com, I'm definitely not trying to take credit for that idea. Just wondering what people think.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Last year when Oklahoma had a couple of close calls against lesser teams Auburn started gaining on them in the polls. This year both Texas and USC have had close calls while VT has been steamrolling everyone(after the NCState game MD played them the closest) yet they have gained very little ground in the human polls. Why is this? They play a tougher schedule than both USC and Texas, I really just don't get the human polls sometimes, its like a reverse east Coast Bias...

Mark Schlabach: Blame it on ESPN. The gurus tell me Va. Tech is making up a lot of ground in the computer polls. Think a big win over Miami Saturday night could sway a few human voters, too. Texas deserves to slip after trailing Oklahoma State by 19 points. The Cowboys haven't won a Big 12 game all year. And the Big 12 North is downright awful.

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Philadelphia, Pa.: It seems the national media has yet to catch on to the new and improved version of Virginia Tech football. For example, this week I have seen references to VT's "small" defense "that likes to blitz a lot". One "expert" on TV even went so far as to say Miami would run the ball all over VT's small defense. These days, VT is not small at all and rarely blitzes because they get so much pressure from their front four. Why is everyone, particularly those claim to be experts, so slow to recognize that VT is not the same team as it was in the late 90s/early 2000s?

Mark Schlabach: Guess people aren't watching that closely. You're right, Tech doesn't have to blitz at all because they're getting such a good push from Tapp, Sandidge, Powell, Lewis, Ellis, etc. The linebackers can wait to react and the defensive backs can cover. Tapp is a little bit smallish, but there might not be a better defensive end in the country right now.

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Vienna, Va.: Do we really need all these bowls? Seeing a 6-6 team play another 6-6 team in El Paso just doesn't do it. Wouldn't the money generated from television with a playoff system outweigh all the bowl revenue? College hoops gets huge sums from CBS, I'd have to imagine football would blow those rights fees away.

Mark Schlabach: Yeah, but everybody should feel like they're a winner playing in a bowl game.

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Alexandria, Va.: As a UGA alum, we always get our hopes high and then dashed by losing a game where one half of the team fails to show up. The games I'm thinking (first LSU game in '03, Tennessee last year, and then our awful loss to UF this past weekend). In your opinion, what does Georgia need to do to get the W, when in all other ways we are superior (yards thrown, running yards, interceptions, etc)?

Mark Schlabach: Have its starting quarterback at the game. Seriously, Florida doesn't win that game if Shockley plays. The Gators looked good for two drives and then had 49 yards in the second half. Joe Tereshinski III played pretty well, but he doesn't have the experience and confidence to play in a game of that magnitude. Richt's offense has left a lot to be desired at times, but the guy is 49-11 and still in the driver's seat in the SEC East.

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Washington, D.C. Badger Fan: Hi Guys,

I am a huge Wisconsin Badger fan who is biting her nails about our game with Penn State this weekend. This game will probably decide who wins the Big Ten championship. Do you guys think that we have even the slimmest chance? I know our defensive line is pretty weak and it usually performs terribly against a running quarterback like Penn State's Robinson. But, we do lead the Big Ten in scoring after all. I am keeping my fingers crossed because (I know this comment will get me publicly flogged by all the Penn State fans in town) I would hate to see them win the championship because (I'm sorry) but there fans are just plain mean! I've seen better behavior out of the bullies out of my grade school!

Dan Steinberg: Wow, so many asides and then we come to the clincher: Penn State fans are mean. Yee haw, this should be fun.

Anyone a message board reader? Seems to be a lot of meanness around. People take their college football seriously. And lest anyone accuse me of being equally mean, I'm usually shooting for snide rather than mean. Maybe that's a mean-ingless distinction.

Sure you have chances, far from the slimmest. Should be a very watchable game, with two of the 20 highest scoring teams in the country. Penn State is 12th in the country in rushing defense, will be very curious to see how they do stopping Calhoun, he of the 35 carries and 5 TDs last week. His own team is gonna drive him into the ground with the workload he's had this year.

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Dan, Oak Hill, Va.: I like to see the BCS replaced by a selection committee of 25 and plus-1 playoff format. The 25 member selection committee would select the best 4 teams in the country (undefeated or not), then let them play in two of the current BCS Bowls. Then add a fifth BCS bowl which would rotate the national championship with the other four BCS bowls to play out the national championship with the winners of the two other bowls. This way, a team that is not in the top 4 in the country will probably have at least a reason for not being given a chance to play for the national title. Do you believe this is a feasible format?

Mark Schlabach: I think it's the best solution out there. There usually aren't more than three or four teams -- probably three this year -- worty of being national champion. For it to happen, though, you probably need three or four teams to finish undefeated this year to create a lot more controversy. The TV networks have to step up and demand a change, or the college presidents won't care. Adding the 12th game to the schedule again also hinders the process from moving forward.

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Arlington, Va.: Good morning! Assuming WVU wins out and is in the Sugar Bowl as the Big East representative, how do you see them faring against the SEC winner, whether it be Georgia, Alabama or LSU (Go Tigers!). I have a lot of deluded Mountaineer friends who predict a victory.

Mark Schlabach: I've got to be careful with my comments about W. Virginia. Seems I offended some fans of the Mountaineers. So let's put it this way ... W. Va. has about as much business playing in the BCS as Rutgers or South Florida. They nearly lost to Syracuse in the opener and then got whipped by Va. Tech in their own stadium. They played Wofford ... the Terriers. The Big East doesn't deserve a BCS bid, give it to the SEC runnerup, ACC runnerup, Notre Dame, UCLA or some other team more deserving. It's a joke.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Well actually Maryland lost because Statham is terrible (the int he threw and the last play were vomit inducing). He was a blind squirrel finding a nut for one quarter. That said our defense played better than FSU(boy is there secondary ripe for the picking) and we were shoving the ball down their throat in the second half. Did DQwell Jackson shore up the Butkus award on Saturday? There really is no comparison between him and the two FSU candidates, they did nothing aside form the gimme int(which Jackson would've taken for 6)...

Dan Steinberg: Did you actually vomit?

Maryland's defense did as it has so often this year: played very, very well for three+ quarters but couldn't come up with a stop at the time it needed it most. The secondary has had an especially rough time of it: personal fouls in the fourth quarter, being beat late in the game (Clemson stands out here, as well as FSU).

But the Maryland running game looked very, very strong, and Lance Ball is obviously becoming the man there. Will be interesting how they divide carries next year, when Josh Allen returns from injury and Keon Lattimore should still be in the mix.

Ernie Sims made a bunch of plays on Saturday. But it was sort of bizarre that he fell down on that INT. Didn't look like Goode made contact with him, although I haven't seen the replay. From where I was, it looked like he just sort of fell down.

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Silver Spring, Md.: I have a new wrinkle for the BCS. Add a new stat much like the old margin of victory that calculates the time with a lead of 7+ points(that isn't given up). This would do exactly what we want it to do, tell us if the game was ever in question. USC close call at notre dame, gets :01 VT killing BC get's 45 or whatever it was....

Dan Steinberg: If there's one thing this whole process is sorely lacking, it's obscure numbers. Really, it's the transparency that makes people so upset with the BCS. So I'm all for this. Shouldn't there be some sliding scale, where you have more points for holding a lead of +14 and slightly less for +10 and less still for +6? And 30 minutes at +30 wins you like a stuffed animal or something?

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Tulsa, Okla.: If Fresno State runs the table and beats USC, will the Bulldogs get a BCS at-large berth? Please provide a detailed answer and tell the truth!

Mark Schlabach: Oh, where's Prisbell when you need him? The Bulldogs are 24th in the current BCS standings, and they've got Nevada and Louisiana Tech after playing the Trojans, so it would probably be tough for them to get into the BCS top 12 or to finish in the top 16 and above the lowest-ranked champion in a league with an automatic berth, which are the requirements for non-BCS teams.

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Washington, D.C.: Charlie Weis' presser would indicate that he's genuinely worried about Tennessee...do you think that they have a decent chance of knocking off the Irish in South Bend?

Mark Schlabach: No. The Vols are fragile mentally after Randy Sanders' resignation. The QBs are awful. Riggs is out; Arian Foster has a bum shoulder and might not play. OL Rob Smith is out. Forget it.

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Columbia, Md.: Who do you think will get to the Elite Eight? My picks: USC, Penn State, Notre Dame, TCU, Ohio State, Texas, Virginia Tech, UCLA.

No S-E-C team.

Dan Steinberg: Elite Eight, that's not gonna do. We already have an Elite Eight. We need another name. My suggestion: Oleaginous Octet. Somebody slap a copyright on that puppy before Wojciechowski catches wind. And let me know if I've stolen that from anyone else.

TCU.....don't really think so. And something tells me that the rules will not be completely rewritten in the next month to allow for the SEC exclusion that you apparently crave (also the Big East exclusion). Unless we actually are talking basketball at this point.

Sub in Georgia and West Virginia for TCU and UCLA, and it seems pretty solid.

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Bowls and Playoffs: Why not use the bowls in a playoff format on a rotating basis like the BCS? Each year, a different bowl gets the final, while 2 others get the semifinals the previous week and four more get the quarterfinals a week before that. Sure, it may extend the season, but that just means more TV time and more $$.

Oh sorry, the "students" have to study for mid-terms, I forgot.

Dan Steinberg: Finals, right?

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Chicago, Ill.: How can you say Notre Dame is for real because of beating a mediocre Michigan team that was missing its most important player, and still should have won the game? The only impressive showing that Notre Dame has had this year was the loss against USC, it is far from certain as to whether or not Notre Dame is for real, and we may not know until their bowl game.

Mark Schlabach: They won on the road at Michigan, which is hard to do whether Mike Hart plays or not. The Irish can score points against anyone, stopping the opponent from scoring is another matter. I'm saying they're probably as good as all but three teams in college football -- USC (which they should have beat), Texas and Va. Tech. I think the next 20 teams are all the same -- all pretty good but all have issues.

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Silver Spring, Md.: I don't think the WVU getting a BCS bid is any worse than USC being penciled into the national championship game at the beginning of the year as long as they don't lose a game against their cupcake schedule. I'm not saying the Pac 10 is as bad as the big east, but it certainly top to bottom is pretty darn close. At least WVU is screwing a team with 1 or 2 losses, USC is going to be screwing and undefeated team...

Mark Schlabach: USC has won 30 games in a row. Teams have had plenty of opportunities to beat them, so I don't think they were penciled in as the national champions. Who has West Virginia beaten? Louisville. That's it.

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Washington, D.C.: What happens if there is only 1 unbeaten left standing? THEN WHAT?! How will the BCS sort through all of those 1 loss teams? As a playoff advocate, would that scenario play out better to blow the system up than having 3 or 4 undefeated teams?

Dan Steinberg: So many questions.

What happens? Mass chaos and rioting. If the 1 unbeaten is USC, I'm guessing Va. Tech gets in because of SOS, but then again if their one loss is to FSU in the ACC final, we'd again have a team that didn't win its conference playing for the title.

How will the BCS sort through the teams? Flipping baseball cards.

Would that scenario be better for a playoff advocate? I don't see why. I don't see why any scenario really helps you. The past few years have demonstrated pretty conclusively that this system doesn't really work, or resemble any other sporting event in the world, so what more needs to be proved? If people stopped going to games or stopped watching, that might work. But we need us our Poinsettia Bowls.

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S. Rockville, Md.: Virginia should get past Temple this week (but I only say should because the game is in Charlottesville). Does UVa. get the other Boise/Memphis bowl slot that the Terps don't get? Does Boise get to pick before Memphis because of the ACC tie-in?

Mark Schlabach: I assume Boise gets the first pick because of the ACC contract, but Memphis might have a higher payout, I'll have to check. It's so jumbled after the top four teams, I'm not sure who's going to qualify for a bowl game. Would think Cavs would be O.K. against Temple, but they'll have to beat Georgia Tech next week. Don't think Cavs can beat either Va. Tech or Miami.

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Arlington, Va.: With Penn State having its best season in more than a decade -- will Joe Paterno be able to maintain a top 25 squad in the coming years, or is this a 'fluke' year?

Mark Schlabach: Keeps recruiting players like Derrick Williams and Justin King, etc., and lets them play as freshmen, yeah, he'll have the Nittany Lions back for the next few years. How bout a Notre Dame-Penn State matchup in the Fiesta Bowl?

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Silver Spring, Md.: I don't see what is so obscure about giving a team credit for putting the game away early. Everyone is so excited that USC beat Notre Dame, it was the greatest game ever blah blah blah blah blah. In reality they were lucky, plain and simple. It takes out the emotion of wins like that, which really are not impressive at all..

Dan Steinberg: Not to get into a one-on-one, and I was just joking. All these suggestions certainly have validity, but if there's a real problem it's not really in choosing two between three or four undefeated teams, it's in choosing just two teams. That problem will never go away no matter what solution people come up with, and no matter what two teams are chosen there will be strong arguments for different teams. Maybe not every year, but in some year. And if we were really using your idea, you'd have to weigh whether being up by 7 points for 10 minutes against the No. 15 team is worth more than being up by 14 points for 20 minutes against an unranked team, or being up by 100 points for 59 minutes against Temple.

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Chicago, Ill.: How can you mention Notre Dame's offensive prowess in the same sentence as their game against a Michigan? They only scored 17 points against them, and they are not a great defensive team by any stretch of the imagination.

Mark Schlabach: I'd say Notre Dame has gotten a lot better on offense as the season has gone on. I didn't say they were great offensively against Michigan, but that was probably the bes their defense has played against a quality opponent. Michigan isn't that bad, the Wolverines can still win the Big 10.

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Mark Schlabach: See everybody next week. Enjoy the weekend. Not many left.

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Re: 25 person selection committee: I guess the argument is that is would be similar to the basketball selection committee with rotating members, closed door sessions, etc? Even the basketball committee gets questions about the last few teams in/out and they get to name roughly 30 teams (after the auto bids). It still won't handle the cases of 1, 3, or 5 undefeated teams. Also, weren't the computer polls put in place to add some objectiveness. Will someone just answer the question of why the lower divisions of college football have a system that works but D-1 doesn't?!?!?!

Dan Steinberg: $

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Re: BE in BCS: Were other bids a joke when conferences were sending 8-3 teams? It's more than just record but these schedules are made out years in advance. Your hindsight is ridiculous! If MD had a better team then WVU would be looked at with more respect so maybe it's the Terps fault? (and I am not a WVU fan)

Dan Steinberg: Yeah, now that Schlabach has signed up, let's rip him. Schlabach, you're ridiculous!

The Big East is maybe not what it once was. Of the four bowl-eligible teams in the ACC thus far, three are the Big East newcomers. But hey, a deal is a deal, and if Cincinnati makes the BCS, so be it. Maybe Huggins can give some motivational speeches.

See everyone next week. I'm running out of ways to try to incite riots on here. Publishing a Badger comment calling Penn State fans mean didn't do it. I'll have to work on a sub-BCS proposal involving the bottom 50 teams or something like that.

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