Methinks they needed to win by more than 11 points in order have a shot at the title game.

Shot at the title game? Hell, they need to win by more than 11 to get a shot at Appalachian St.

I will say this, though, for having such a down year, the Big Ten seems to have managed well enough having 10 teams with at least 6 wins.

Class Act
 

I thought it was a class act by Tressel by not running the score up at the very end of the game.

MTD, Sr.

If it's a class act to not want to be laughed at by every coach in America, then I guess you have a class act. http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/la...smiley-016.gif

Even though the blood runs pretty orange in my veins, I have to agree with you - no one wanted to see Dixon go out with a season ending injury. I don't feel too sorry for the Ducks as a team for a couple of reasons:
1. Belotti, the coaching staff and team docs knew the ACL was completely torn (MRI after the Nov. 3 game against ASU showed it), but they played him anyway.
2. In spite of this knowledge the coaching staff made no adjustments whatever to their offensive strategy. Their entire offense is built around Dixon. They had 13 days to make some adjustments to take advantage Leaf's strengths as insurance in the very likely event Dixon couldn't stay the course, yet made no effort to do so. Had they done so, they very well could have beaten Arizona.

I'll most likely see Jeff sometime over the holidays - want me to say "hi" for you?

I agree about them not working on some sort of offensive adjustments. What were they thinking?!? (She said from the safety and comfort of her couch!)

Yes, do say hi to Jeff. Er, wait, who's Jeff? PM or e-mail me

Gianola....:D (sorry I forgot the smiley before) Barb was the L&D nurse for all 3 of his kids. His oldest two & mine are the same ages & went to the same school K-8 - we carpooled for 6+ years. One of his best friends also lives a block from us - we run across each other maybe half a dozen times a year......

LOL! Oh, well, yea, sure say hi. He'll say, "Thanks, Tim. Now who's that again?"

Well, I was cheering for LSU to lose, oh well; for OSU to lose, oh well; just wanting the total number of losses in the top 10 teams. Hoping it might make Oregon look a little better.

But I really can't cheer for Texas Tech to win over Okla. That coach comment abou tthe official is really appalling.

If what you say is true and can be confirmed, then I truly feel sorry for the kid. It is irresponsible for the adult coaches and team doctors involved to put this kid out there with that injury. They certainly weren't thinking about his health and future. I would consider a lawsuit.

Texas Tech leads 27-10 at the half and OU's starting QB seems to be out with a concussion.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I feel like a jinx.

Item 2 (see above): Late 3rd quarter: Texas Tech-34, Oklahoma-13. Things are looking good for the BUCKEYES.

MTD, Sr.

34-27 Texas Tech wins.

i'm with Juulie, I was hoping Tech would get thrashed. Their coach is clueless.

Oh it's true, but there won't be any lawsuit - all the gory details broke in a news conference yesterday the paper today, and they came directly from those involved. The results of the MRI were kept confidential at the request of Dixon & his family. It was Dixon that lobbied the coaches to let him play, knowing full well the risk he was taking. I still think the coaching staff was doubly stupid - both for agreeing to let him take the risk and for not having a backup plan.

WOW! Any coaching/training staff that would allow a young athlete to jeopardize his physical well-being for the sake of a game/championship season is not doing its duty. There are times when adults and experts have to make the proper decisions for young people who may be too emotional.

No wonder the sideline reporter stated that the father was heard telling the young man, "Don't even think about going back in," as he was taken to the lockerroom.
Plus this means that the kid lied on national TV to the reporter at the end of the game when he said that he didn't know the extent of the injury.

This is a very sad story.

KU/MU breakdown:

Offenses are a wash. KU makes defensive plays when it counts; MU doesn't have it on that side of the football.

KU 42, MU 31. Write it down.

More evidence that the BCS is messed up
 

Hey MTD, you may have yet another thing for which to be thankful before the end of the day.

USC 37, Arizona State 17 in the middle of the 3rd quarter.

Christmas may come early for OSU this year.

Yep, ASU is now out of contention for the BCS title game.

USC 44, ASU 24 Final

:D

Still have a lot of chips to fall. :)

And, if it happens, not too many teams can say they beat the nat'l champion... ;)

Anyway, an NFL question: Has anyone noticed the neon green/yellow dots on the back of NFL quarterback helmets? I first saw it on the back of Grossman's helmet earlier this season, and thought it was something he might've put on himself, but I noticed it on all the quarterbacks' helmets. Anyone know the purpose of the dots?

Just my guess, but maybe it indicates which helmet is wired to hear the coach from the sidelines.

3rd qtr score with 8:00 minutes left

Arkansas 14, LSU 6

but LSU has the ball near the 10.

It's early. Nebraska showed today that early leads are meaningless.

Arkansas responds with another long TD run to regain the lead.
5:46 left in the 3rd
21-14

21 up, 12min left

28-21 Ark, 4min, LSU @ their 37

28 up, 1 min left

OT

and it's not going well for anyone but LSU....

Cool. I like under-dogs.

It's over!

50-48 ARKANSAS in 3OT as LSU failed to make the mandatory 2-pt conversion.

How Sweet It Is!!
 

Final Score: Arkansas-50, LSU-48


GOBUCKEYES!!


MTD, Sr.

The Hawaii/Boise State game now has new importance. :D

PS Texas A&M is leading #13 Texas by two touchdowns with four minutes remaining. A loss by the ranked team would probably allow the winner of the HI/BSU game to move into the top 12, which is necessary for a guaranteed BCS bid.


Edit:
A&M holds on for a 38-30 win.
BCS bids are starting to shape up.

Me, too. Especially when they rise to the challenge and win against the number one team in the country!! Wa-hoo!!

Me too.

http://www.fetefatale.com/underdog/images/underdog.jpg

Ohio State still has to pray for a West Virginia loss and that Oklahoma wins the Big 12 Championship game. Still a lot of dominoes to fall.......

Rock Chalk!

My BCS Rant
 

I'm not sure that's true. It is not clear that a one-loss Missouri team or a one-loss West Virginia team would finish with a higher BCS rating than Ohio State. Most of that is up to the voters and that is very subjective.

Right now the only thing that we know is that if Kansas wins the Big 12 title game, they will play for the National Championship. Everything else is totally crazy.

#1 Hawaii could finish 12-0 and still not even get a shot just as happened to Boise State last season, when in fact the Broncos ended the season as the nation's only undefeated team. Oh and BTW they defeated the Big 12 champion Oklahoma in a BCS game, so please don't say that an undefeated WAC champion doesn't deserve a shot at the Big 12 winner.
This is the main reason why the BCS is joke. They don't learn from their past mistakes. No team should ever finish it's season with perfect record and not get a chance to play for the title. Auburn a couple of years ago should have been the case that caused this situation to be fixed, but they didn't take care of it. :(

#2 If Kansas loses, then it really turns into a free-for-all. :cool:

#3 How does one pick amongst the possible one-loss teams: Ohio State, Missouri, and West Virginia? In Nevada we'd simply have the teams draw for high card. :D Seriously how do you take 2 of the 3 and leave one out in the cold? Do you perhaps take the top one and pit them against Hawaii, if that school beats Washington next week and has a perfect 12-0 record?

#4 If UConn or Pitt beats West Virginia and Oklahoma wins the Big 12, what the heck happens? :eek:
Kansas would still only have one loss whether it was to Missouri or Oklahoma and Ohio State is already in the clubhouse with only one loss. But people might remember what an embarrassment it was a few seasons ago when Nebraska lost in the Big 12 final but still got to go the National Championship game. Anyone also recall how poorly that selection turned out? :p

#5 If the season were to end with Hawaii as the only undefeated team and Ohio State and Kansas as the only teams with one loss, would a two-loss team enter the picture? Would a 12-0 Hawaii get the nod before a twice defeated USC or LSU? Plus each of those teams still have a game to play.

#6 What would be the TV ratings for a BCS title game between Hawaii and either Missouri or West Virginia? (Probably not possible though because if Ohio State would likely get the nod over Hawaii.)

#7 Honestly, does anyone believe that the BCS people don't actually pray that a WAC team won't finishing the season undefeated? I'm sure that they are all going to church this weekend.

#8 How does one truly say that any one conference is better than any other? There aren't enough crossover games to get a good idea and certainly the intensity of the the rivalries can't be replicated.

#9 There is only one solution--a playoff. And here's how to do it. Only conference champions are eligible. If a team doesn't win its conference title, then it can't play.
Structure:
A.
The six current BCS conferences all get their champions in. The other places go to the winners of the WAC, Mtn West, MAC, Sun Belt, and USA conferences. Finally add the top independent if there is one ranked in the top 10.

Take these twelve teams and award four byes to the four highest ranked schools (five if there is no qualifying independent). The other eight play and then the winners meet those with the byes and play down from there.

Sheez, Nevada, I thought I had no life! You really need to get out more...

Well, the Ducks are done. Too bad. It was fun while it lasted.

Wow, Kansas just missed a FG from under 30 yards. Could it be that there is a curse at #2?

Mizz leads KU 14-0 at this point.

Note especially for rainmaker: I'm going out now to meet a couple of friends for a meal and some beers! ;)

... and I needed to know that because.....:eek:

wow, nasty sack/fumble. Kansas is in serious trouble.

.... AND missed another FG, on the other side. Oh, my gosh!

Kansas finally gets off a good play. Let's see if they can capitalize.

Wow. Half way through the third quarter before they can score.

Kansas has picked a hell of a night to play by far their worst game of the year. 28-7 Mizzou.

*sigh*

West Virginia is looking like the team to beat right now. Ohio State has to pray Oklahoma wins the Big 12.

Yea, I sympathize.

Oregon, 0. UCLA, 16.

UGH!!

At least Oregon has the excuse that they were playing their #3 QB. Shoot, when your backup is a Leaf you know you have problems, but the guy below HIM on the depth chart? Brutal.

I am having mixed emotions about the KU-Missouri game. I want KU to win, but OSU needs a KU loss. :confused:

MTD, Sr.

#4. The guy who was supposed to be red-shirting this year. #3 was injured a couple or three weeks ago.

And at least Kansas is showing some backbone at the end of the game. Oregon just died two weeks ago.

6 point loss. How big were those 2 field goals missed and that pick in the red zone?

I hope Mizzou wins the Big 12. West Virginia/Mizzou would make for one entertaining football game. And Kansas should get a BCS invite. I saw that the game drew the 2nd largest crowd in Arrowhead history; that's really saying something.

Steven:

The reason I have mixed emotions about the KU-Missouri game is because I was born in Lawrence, KS, and my mother is a graduate of KU. She taught both of my sons how to say Rock Chock Jay Hawk as soon as they learned to talk.

I think you need to be reminded that ten, that ten, of the eleven schools in the Big 10 are bowl eligible, no other conference can make that statement. So please don't tell me about who Ohio State has played. Applacian State was the two-time defending Div. I-AA National Champions and Youngstown State lost to Applaciain State in Div. I-AA Semi-finals last year.

MTD, Sr.

Also Wisconsin that was not seen by many to be that good last year, beat Arkansas that was in the SEC Championship game last year with one of the best running backs in the country in a bowl game. I personally would not like to see OSU in the National Championship game, but if that comes about they are as deserving as anyone else in the country. They beat who was on their schedule except one time.

Peace

The new BCS rankings are out.
The big news is that Hawaii (11-0) has moved up to the #12 slot, which would guarantee them a BCS game. That's $10M for the WAC.

Otherwise the top three are:
1. Missouri (11-1)
2. West Virginia (10-1)
3. Ohio State (11-1)

I said earlier that I don't know how one selects two of these three one loss teams and doesn't take the other. Kansas also only has a single loss, but there is a head-to-head result to justify putting Missouri into the championship game instead of them. So Kansas gets a BCS game if Missouri beats OU, otherwise OU gets to be the second team from the Big 12 and KU gets squat after losing only its final game. (This is because there is a BCS rule that at most two teams from a conference may qualify, and one of them is guaranteed to be the conference champion.) This is despite the fact that KU will almost certainly be ranked ahead of OU in the final poll. That's another serious flaw with the BCS system.

If we look at who defeated these four one-loss teams we see:
#9 Oklahoma beat Missouri
#21 South Florida beat WV
#15 Illinois beat OSU
#1 Missouri beat Kansas

According to that Kansas actually has the best loss. :eek:

If we look at the best wins by these four teams we get:
Missouri defeated #4 Kansas
West Virginia defeated #23 Cinci
Ohio State defeated #18 Wisconsin
Kansas did not defeat a current top 25 team

So Kansas doesn't have a quality win.

Therefore, I've have to conclude the following:
A. If Hawaii beats Washington next week, then Hawaii has every right to claim a chance to face the #1 ranked BCS team for the title. But silly BCS people will likely keep an undefeated team out of that game two years in a row. That's clear sign of a broken system.

B. If Hawaii is denied an opportunity and both Missouri and West Virginia win next week, then two of this week's top three teams need to be selected.
Of these three teams, Missouri would have both the beat win and best loss, so they are in, but who is their opponent?
OSU has both a better top win and a better loss than WV, but WV's strength of schedule is 29 whihle OSU played the 43rd toughest. Of course, WV still has to play Pitt (4-7) and ranked 78th, so after that contest WV's SOS will drop. So should Ohio State be the choice or WV? Most folks seem to think that WV has it for sure with a win next week. I say that is definitely questionable. Upon what is their current #2 ranking based? Why shouldn't OSU be #2 and WV #3? I don't believe that it is clear either way. Can someone make a serious argument as to why one of these teams should be selected over the other? If not, I still say give Hawaii a shot. ;)

Yet another totally bogus post by the ignorant one. Where do you get your information? You are consistently factually incorrect. Quite clearly most people did think that Wisconsin was a good team last year since they were ranked #7 in the final BCS poll. Arkansas was #12. The only reason that Wisconsin did not get a BCS berth is that two Big Ten teams qualified ahead of them (#1 Ohio State and #3 Michigan) and the BCS has rule which says that the maximum from any one conference is two teams.
Here a is copy of the final poll so that everyone can see just how wrong you are:
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/6234594_37_1.pdf

BTW the sportsbooks out here all had Wisconsin favored to beat Arkansas in that bowl game. Just a few more people who knew what they were talking about, unlike you.

DA BEARS!

37-34 in OT over Denver. Incredible. Devin Hester is unreal.

http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_p...ster-large.jpg

Mark - I would've been more impressed if you would've posted a picture from today's game.

Question: What do you get Devin Hester for Christmas?

NevadaRef:

I have read your last four posts, and for a moment I thought I was reading something that I had written. They were logical, well thought out, insightful, etc. :D

But really, Juulie is right. You need to get out more. :D

MTD, Sr.


P.S. To everyone else: I think that WV is overrated and Mizzu has already lost to OU (at OU) once this year and Mizzu will lose to them putting OSU in the championship game against whomever.

An offense. :D

Actually, it doesn't matter.

He'll just return it anyway.

Steven:

Me thinks you doth protest too much. Something tells me you are a closet fan of that team up north and are tired of the beat down that the BUCKEYES give it every November. :D

MTD, Sr.

Head Coach position at 'that team up north.'
 

I am so happy. Even if The Ohio State University Buckeyes do not play for the national championship this year it appears that the A.D. of 'that team up north' is going to make it possible for the BUCKEYES to dominate the Big 10 for years to come.

The Associated Press reported this morning in an article in this morning's The (Toledo) Blade that 'that team up north' is interviewing Lloyd Carr's top two assistants (the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator) for the head coach's position.

How sweet it is.

MTD, Sr.

MTD,
Good news for the Buckeyes.

Oklahoma is listed as a three point favorite over Missouri in the Big 12 championship game. ;)

On a more philosophical note, how can the #1 team in the country be an underdog in a game? Perhaps the pollsters don't have the right team sitting at the top?

As Padgett has pointed out on numerous occasions, the line isn't a prediction of who will win. It's a prediction of how many people will bet on either side, to maximize the casinos' profits (or bookies - if gambling were legal in this country).

Indeed. Tons of people will be Oklahoma nationally for the pure fact of the name recognition and that OU beat Mizzou earlier this year.

Mizzou's D really showed up against Kansas. Let's hope they've got something left in the tank for Oklahoma.

Known nationally for jumping the gun. :)

This just in NV has scheduled Missouri for next season. The game will be in Reno. NV also plays @ Texas Tech. That should bump up their SOS number.:eek:

HOW SWEET IT IS!! Part II
 

Pitt-13 WV-9 Final Score.

OU-38 Mizzu-17 Final Score.



It don't get any better than this.


GO BUCKEYES!!!


MTD, Sr.

So who you hoping to play against?

Amen Brither!!! I gott get some subs, looks like my wife and I are going to New Awlins!!!!!!!

Allegator Etouffe!
Turtle Soup!!!!!!!

Ticket prices start at $1160 :D

Wow! Double Wow!!

Right now in the 4th Q Washington holds the lead over Hawaii by a touchdown.

Clearly the BCS folks are praying that UW holds on.

So would it be Ohio State and LSU or Ohio State and USC? Both would be good, but I'd like to see the second pairing. Of course, in that case it would be even better if they would move the NC to the Rose Bowl.

Hawaii is looking good with a tying TD midway through the 4th quarter.

Ok, Hawaii has just scored a TD with 44 seconds remaining to lead 35-28, but Washington has immediately responded with two big passes to get the ball to the Hawaii four yard line.

This is going to be an exciting finish.

Oh my! Open receiver in the endzone is hit in the hands with the ball. The pass is a bit high and he can't grab it. As the ball falls down his body a defender bats it into the air and another defender intercepts it!

Hawaii goes 12-0 and will definitely play in a BCS game. Will they get a chance at the National Championship?

Kansas will get a shot at the title before Hawaii does, and there's no chance of that. It's going to be whichever 2 loss team gobbles enough........

........to get their shot.

Just leads you to wonder whether Ohio State remembers how to play football when they get to the title game.

Not gonna happen. It will be ohio state getting their privates handed to them on a plate by LSU. Hate to see the buckys playing for the NC but it will be worth it when they get drilled.

Juulie:

I want to play Hawaii. The Rainbows are undefeated and deserve to be in the Championship Game.

MTD, Sr.

Hawaii will not go to the NC game because they have the weakest schedule, and very few "big" wins. Bosie State was their biggest win. Ohio State and Georgia in the N C Game

Then whyinthehell is Ohio State supposedly going then? They played one of the weakest schedules that you could possibly play.....Youngstown State. Akron, Washington, Kent State and teams from weakest major conference going-the Big 10.

Well, I started this thread because Oregon was doing so well, and it was so much fun to brag a little. They were at second place for a week or two and then fell so fast that the sucking sound has pretty much drowned out everything else here in the state. Fell completely off the rankings this week. Oh, well. Congrats to MTD's buckeyes. And enjoy this week at first place, because I doubt it will last.

It's official. The BCS just announced that it will be Ohio State and LSU.

Other BCS bowl games:

Sugar: #10 Hawaii vs. #5 Georgia
Fiesta: #4 Oklahoma vs. #9 West Virginia
Rose: #7 USC vs. #13 Illinois
Orange: #3 Virginia Tech vs. #8 Kansas

Last week's #1 team, Missouri, is the big loser by falling completely out of the BCS even though they are #6 in the final poll and beat Kansas head-to-head. :eek: I guess having only one loss is more important. :confused:

It's a shame that we can't see Georgia vs. USC.

If anyone is interested in how the BCS bowl pairings were made, it went this way.

NCG #1 Ohio State vs. #2 LSU by rule
The Rose bowl gets the first replacement pick and the Sugar Bowl gets the second.

Contractual Champions are:
#7 USC in the Rose, #3 Virginia Tech in the Orange, and #4 Oklahoma in the Fiesta. They are written in.

At this point the following teams are eligible for selection: #5 Georgia, #6 Missouri, #8 Kansas, #9 West Virginia, #10 Hawaii, #11 Arizona State, #12 Florida, #13 Illinois, #14 Boston College. *Note WV and Hawaii must be taken with the final two selections if they are not chosen earlier due to their automatic qualifications by winning their respective conference championships and Hawaii meeting the additional requirement of being in the BCS top 12.

Rose selects at-large qualifier Illinois to match with contractual champion USC. Rose bowl is set. It is possible that they attempted to select Georgia, but the Sugar bowl had the right to block that as Georgia is from the same conference as the contractual champion that the Sugar lost to the NCG. It is also possible that the Rose was determined to get a Big Ten/Pac-10 match up and thus Illinois was their first choice. Either way Illinois was chosen over at least six higher ranked teams. That doesn't seem right to me. Conference affiliation shouldn't deprive a better team from a current year from selection due to some traditional matchup. The best possible teams should get into this.

Sugar selects #5 Georgia. Georgia is the highest ranked team available and is from the SEC which is the conference champ that the Sugar bowl lost. This eliminates #12 Florida from a BCS game due to two SEC schools already being picked.

The bowls now selected teams to fill their remaining slots in this order: Orange, Fiesta, Sugar.

At this point, the following schools qualify for selection: #6 Missouri, #8 Kansas, #9 West Virginia, #10 Hawaii, #11 Arizona State, #14 Boston College.

The Orange decided upon #8 Kansas. That choice meant that the final two slots must go to West Virginia and Hawaii. All other schools including #6 Missouri are out of contention for a BCS game. Even if Hawaii had not been an automatic qualifier #6 Missouri could not play in a BCS bowl at this point as now two Big 12 teams have slots. So all but two teams came off the board with this first selection.

The Fiesta now picked #9 West Virginia over #10 Hawaii. That left #10 Hawaii as the opponent for Georgia in the Sugar bowl.

So the pairings and team choice really came down to two big choices. The first by the Rose bowl and the second by the Orange bowl. In both selections higher ranked teams were passed over. This analysis gives good insight as to why it is that the best matchups don't take place in the BCS games and why many deserving teams don't get to participate.

I guess Missouri should have avoided having their butts handed to them by Oklahoma twice then, hmmmm? At least the KU/MU game wasn't over in the 3rd quarter.

An interesting quirk that I just noticed. Had the Rose selected Georgia and the Sugar exercised their right to block that the Rose could then have picked #12 Florida and the Sugar would have had to block that selection as well, which they would have had the right to do, if they wanted Georgia. For had they not done so, then they would have lost the ability to pick #5 Georgia as two SEC teams would occupy BCS slots before they even picked a team! :eek:

So if the Sugar had decided that they wanted Georgia they had the power to definitely get them and Florida really wasn't even eligible for a BCS selection.

So the Rose Bowl's selection thought process could have been:
#5 Georgia -- blocked by Sugar,
#6 Missouri -- unattractive for whatever reason, perhaps a Big 12 school from Midwest may not bring big fan following to CA (although that wasn't true when OU played a few years ago) and we're not convinced that this team is very good anyway after playing in a rather down Big 12
#8 Kansas -- same as Missouri
#9 West Virginia -- Big East champ may not bring fans across country and we don't trust the quality of this conference yet
#10 Hawaii -- small fan base may not fill Rose bowl stadium and perhaps not a good enough team to face USC as they play in a nonmajor conference
#11 Arizona State -- not wanted due to also being in the PAC-10 with already committed USC and didn't give USC a competitive game in conference play a few weeks ago
#12 Florida -- blocked by Sugar
#13 Illinois -- even though may not be a really quality team, let's go for the Big Ten/Pac10 thing, that will bring in the fans and uphold our tradition and that's more important to us than taking a higher rated and possibly better team. The contest probably won't be that much worse than either Big 12 team or the Big East champ could provide.

How many times did Kansas play Oklahoma this year?

Oh, so that's how they "avoided having their butts handed to them by Oklahoma." :D

I guess you think that head-to-head competition isn't the best way to determine who the better team is. :rolleyes:

An interesting detail is the final top 12 according to the six combined computer polls.

1. Virginia Tech
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Missouri
5. Kansas
T6. Oklahoma
T6. Georgia
8. Arizona State
9. USC
10. West Virginia
11. Florida
12. Hawaii

The BCS bowls don't give two shakes about things that make sense. My theory is that Kansas is a more attractive draw than Mizzou when it comes down to it. They are more prominent nationally (albeit for basketball) and will put more butts in the seats than Missouri.

I won't argue those comments. I just posted about how silly traditions and conference affiliations prevent the best teams in college football from playing each other when it counts. I'll just add name recognition to the list. :(

This is why I prefer the NCAA basketball tournament. A school can earn their way in by winning a small conference and then can settle any arguments on the court. In other words, if a team can play, they can't be kept out of the championship game such as was done to Hawaii this year and Boise State last year in football.

You're saying Hawaii should be in the championship game?

Why not? Neither team in there right now is more deserving than they are. It's not Hawaii's fault no one wants to play them out of conference.

I believe that they deserve an opportunity. BYU won the title in 1984 (83 season) when they were the only team with a perfect record.
It is true that Hawaii won some close games and played a weaker schedule than the other top 10 teams, but is that their fault? They have to play their conference games. Non-conference they played Washington from the Pac-10 and UNLV and two very weak teams. One of those was a replacement for Michigan State who pulled out of a scheduled contest with them. It's not easy for the better midmajors to schedule games with the big boys because they don't want to risk the loss. See Michigan/App St.
It is true that Hawaii won some very close games, but so did LSU. LSU could very easily have lost to Auburn, Florida, and Alabama. I don't see people penalizing them for squeaking out those conference victories.
With schedules being set years in advance it is tough to control this aspect.

My final point is that offensively Hawaii is very similar to a Kentucky team that beat LSU.
In the end, they get Georgia which is an excellent team. They were an eyelash away from the SEC title game. If either Vandy or Kentucky had been able to convert in very winnable situations against Tennessee, Georgia may be in the NCG.
If Hawaii beats them, then they ought to get at least a share of the title.

Baltimore should have called a timeout at the end of the 1st quarter to force 3rd and long and the 4th down punt into the wind.