ESPN

Pat Forde

  (2:02 PM)

Bring it!

Mike(Philly)

I'm assuming its just pronounced 'Ford' right? Anyways...will Penn State play in its classic on-the-road, ultra conservative, let the defense win the game, type offense this week? Iowa's defense is pretty good, and it's one that penn state like's to clam up against. How do you see their offense, and them in general, do this weekend at Iowa?

Pat Forde

  (2:03 PM)

Mike: It's pronounced 40. I expect Penn State to keep it fairly buttoned down, yeah. But the Nittany Lions have done a good job of getting the ball to the playmakers while also avoiding critical error -- that's not a bad combination. I expect this to be fairly close and low-scoring -- maybe 20-10?

Greg (Champaign, IL)

Did you laugh as hard as I did when you heard Joe Paterno talking about the BCS?

Pat Forde

  (2:04 PM)

Greg: Yes. He is charmingly (I guess) out of touch. Actually, I think he prefers it that way, if not outright playing out-of-touch for effect.

David (STL, MO)

Love the columns and you did an exceptionally fantastic job covering the Olympics. My question: Can a one-loss non-BCS team (Utah if they lose to BYU, TCU, or BYU if they win out) make a BCS bowl at all? What about over an undefeated BSU (either one)?

Pat Forde

  (2:05 PM)

David: Thanks for the kind words. The Olympics were awesome -- and the football season hasn't been half bad, either. I'd say TCU has a chance, and I kinda like TCU to get it done tonight in Salt Lake City. That one should be low-scoring, too -- a pair of top--10 defenses on the field.

Mat- Harvest, AL

What is the over/under on thrown whiskey bottles in Baton Rouge this weekend?

Pat Forde

  (2:07 PM)

Mat: I'm hoping for none, since I'll be there and would prefer not to cover an actual riot. But the atmosphere probably will be as charged as any in recent memory. The only moderate saving grace for Saban is that it's a day game. Tiger Stadium at night truly is a freaky place.

Big Grey,ATL GA

Way to pick UGA last weekend

Pat Forde

  (2:07 PM)

Grey: Yeah, that worked out well.

Jason (Knoxville)

Who do you think will be the next coach at Tennessee?

Pat Forde

  (2:10 PM)

Jason: Great question, trying to find an answer. Just some general thoughts: Will Tennessee go pryotechnic offense, after watching Fulmer struggle without Cutcliffe? If so, get Mike Leach on Line One. Will it look for a high-energy recruiter, since that worked out so well with Bruce Pearl? If so, maybe they take a reach on a guy like Tim Brewster at Minnesota. If you want a rising star who still has to prove himself as a head coach, maybe it's Will Muschamp or Lane Kiffin. I'm betting that if Bobby Petrino hadn't flown to Arkansas last year, he'd be halfway to Knoxville from ATL by now.

kent (n'awlins)

I'm an LSU fan, but the Tigers typically haven't played well at home during day games --- doesn't give the crowd as much time to "tailgate" I suppose. What's your prediction??

Pat Forde

  (2:11 PM)

Kent: Bama has been so good on the road that I think it wins. But it will be a dogfight. I'll say Bama 23, LSU 17.

Samantha (Longview, Texas)

Is it safe to say that if a 1 loss team wins the Big 12 that they are going to the NC title game?

Pat Forde

  (2:13 PM)

Samantha: Not completely safe, but I think there's a good chance. I think it's possible to have one-loss champs of both the Big 12 AND SEC in the title game and undefeated Penn State screaming its head off. But I also believe the voters (esp the coaches poll) will skew heavily to the Nittany Lions because of the JoePa factor. Gonna be REAL interesting to see how all this plays out.

Nick, Austin TX

Hi, as a Longhorn fan I was very uspet at the play on Staurday night versus TTU. Do you think TTU can really beat OSU and OU in Norman? If they lose it seems as if the three way tie should go to the Longhorns to go to the Big 12 champ. Do the longhorns still have hope for a National Championship bid?

Pat Forde

  (2:15 PM)

Nick: Texas definitely still has hope. I think TT will lose one of those two games and we'll have a three-way tie in the South. Then it comes down to highest-ranked BCS team wins the division and goes on to play the North champ. I'm thinking that would be Texas -- but Oklahoma could gain some serious computer value by beating both TT and Oklahoma State.

Trent (SLC)

Pat,Sitting here working near Utah and there is 4 inches of snow on the ground and it is freezing outside. How does the weather affect the boys from Texas tonight against Utah?

Pat Forde

  (2:17 PM)

Trent: Interesting, thanks for the info. I hadn't heard that -- love the weather factor in the Rocky Mountains. Could be a definite factor and might make me revise my pick.

Jackson (IA)

Pat...haven't heard anyone criticize Mack Brown for not using more clock on that last drive. The last three snaps all had over twenty seconds left on the playclock...what's the deal?

Pat Forde

  (2:19 PM)

Jackson: I don't remember exactly where the play clock was on those final snaps, but I do distinctly remember telling the people I was watching the game with, "They're going ot score too fast and give Tech a chance to win it at the end." But honestly, it's counter-instinctual for a college team to throttle down the hurry-up offense -- especially when you've been hurrying from behind all night. Also: If poor Blake Gideon catches a ball that hits him in the stomach, it's a non-issue.

State of Washington

Why are we not just bad, but historically bad this year?

Pat Forde

  (2:20 PM)

State: I don't know, but y'all are absolutely pitiful.

Matt (Philadelphia)

Can I make an APB suggestion? Boston College K David Gordon ruined my childhood in 1993; I'm wondering what he's up to.

Pat Forde

  (2:21 PM)

Matt: Excellent suggestion. Consider it under serious consideration. ND still should have been #1 ahead of Florida State that year.

Tom (River North)

Based on his past performances, who says Petrino isn't already in Knoxville?

Pat Forde

  (2:21 PM)

Tom: Excellent point. However, if you were Tennessee, could you trust him? I wouldn't.

Chad (LA)

What JoePa factor? How about undefeated factor. For the history of time (before the BCS) college football has been about awarding the team with the best season the NC. Just because some "biased" people believe team A is better than team B doesn't mean it actually is. If PSU is uundefeated they deserve to prove they are the best, even if they lose. P.S. if a team wants to win a NC it helps not to lose to Ole Miss....thoughts?

Pat Forde

  (2:22 PM)

Chad: Undoubtedly, it helps not to lose to Ole Miss. It also helps to play Coastal Carolina, Syracuse, Temple and the Big Ten instead of Miami, Florida State and the SEC.

Tom (Auburn, AL)

Surely Tubbs gets another year?

Pat Forde

  (2:23 PM)

Tom: In a just and sane world, yes. In Auburn ... ?

Isaiah (Denver, CO)

Do you think Ron Prince was given enough time at Kansas St. to succeed? Who is on their list of coaches to replace him?

Pat Forde

  (2:26 PM)

Isaiah: No, I don't. Three years is a quick hook, especially for a program that had slid pretty dramatically before he got there. K-State was 9-13 the final two years under Bill Snyder and has been 16-18 under Prince. For whatever reason, African-American coaches have gotten a disproportionate number of three-year pink slips (see: Prince, Willingham at ND, Ron Cooper at Louisville).

John (Jackson)

Which coach that is with a new team would you say has done the best job so far this year.

Pat Forde

  (2:29 PM)

John: David Cutcliffe at Duke ranks high. Houston Nutt has done well at Ole Miss, predictably. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone obvious.

Jade (Dallas)

Dasher- Is there any chance for a realignment of the Big 12 conference? The south has far too many advantages over the north (money, facilities, back-yard recruiting) for there ever to be parody, right?

Pat Forde

  (2:30 PM)

Jade: Not much parody -- or much parity, for that matter. I think it's worth discussion among the Big 12 schools. Not only do the Texas schools have in-state recruiting as an advantage, Oklahoma is virtually in-state and Ok State has T Boone Pickens as the bankroll. The North is at a definite disadvantage.

Nelson (DE)

Regarding your playoff proposal in the Dash: 1) when do you think those games should be played? 2) why not have at least the 1st and maybe 2nd rd games at the home campus of the better team to add more importance to the regular season?

Pat Forde

  (2:34 PM)

Nelson: I could see the first round being played the third week in December, the second round on Jan. 1 and the third round (championship game) a week thereafter. And if you want to play the opening round on campus? Fine with me. Only problem is that the students would be gone under my calendar. But, hey, we could make it 16 teams and hold the first round on campus on the first Saturday in December -- if they'd agree to get rid of the god-awful conference championship games.

Joe White Lake MI

What about Tulane Western Kentucky and Arkansas State?

Pat Forde

  (2:36 PM)

Joe: The comparison was made to Florida's loss to Ole Miss. I used Florida's non-conference schedule as rebuttal.

Sam (Austin)

Mr. Forde, I just wanted to thank you for being the only columnist to wonder why Texas fell so far in the coaches poll. Four straight games on national tv over highly ranked teams, Texas comes out tired and flat in the first half but makes a heroic comeback on the road only to lose to a last-second TD. Shouldn't there have been at least a modicum of goodwill for the previous 3 wks?

Pat Forde

  (2:37 PM)

Sam: You would think. No way Texas should be behind Oklahoma, Florida and USC. That's the stupidest poll move of the season.

Brent (Dallas, TX)

Pat, All I want to say is I am sick a tired of people that keep bringing up mistakes that UT made in that game. I hate to break it to you but Tech made mistakes too. On the UT mistake you mentioned, Gideon doesnt get a chance to catch that ball if Britton doesnt have it go right through his hands and hit his shoulder pad. Please give Tech some credit

Pat Forde

  (2:38 PM)

Brent: Down, Fido. Tech has gotten plenty of credit. Perhaps you haven't seen the polls, read the stories or watched any TV this week.

J.B. (Dunmore, PA)

Mr. Forde: If the conference championship actually pitted the two best teams from the conference against one another, would you be in favor of them?

Pat Forde

  (2:40 PM)

JB: Not if it's a rematch of the regular season. In an ideal world, every league would do what the Pac-10 does: play a full round-robin schedule and declare a real champion. But that would deprive teams of playing eight home games and loading up the schedule with Directional Tech, so it'll never happen. Too bad.

Dave (Antioch, IL)

I'm dissapointed you didn't favor my brilliant Masters Thesis inspired all-inclusive 16 team tourney I e-mailed you, over your overtly non-inclusive 8 team edition, that could leave potential undefeated Utah and Boise Stat out in favor of the ACC and Big East champs?What gives?

Pat Forde

  (2:40 PM)

Dave: Must have missed it among the other 763 playoff proposals I've gotten this week. My bad.

Bruce (CT)

Who do you like to win the ACC?

Pat Forde

  (2:41 PM)

Bruce: I'm sticking with North Carolina. I think the Heels have a good chance to win out. They need some help to win their division but should get it. I was very impressed with the wins over Miami and UConn, and the comeback to beat ND.

Will J (Portland, OR)

Pat, while I agree that Texas shouldn't have fallen that far, that's exactly why those writers who back the BCS have never made a rational argument that made sense.

Pat Forde

  (2:43 PM)

Will: Any writer who defends the BCS deserves to be run over by Bevo. And then Ralphie. In succession.

Chris (Chicago)

Why isn't Ohio Sts dominance over Big 12 teams mentioned as much as the SECs dominance over Ohio St? In the BCS era Ohio St has crushed Big 12 champs Texas AandM and Kansas St in BCS games, Texas in Austin, and destroyed Oklahoma St in the Alamo Bowl. Their only loss is to the NC Texas when Troy Smith had to sit out the first quarter and a half.

Pat Forde

  (2:44 PM)

Chris: The Ohio State bandwagon limped outta town a couple weeks ago. If you hurry, you can still catch it.

Brian (Baltimore, MD)

Who is your all time favorite dashette?

Pat Forde

  (2:44 PM)

Brian: Adriana Lima. Not even close.

Brian (Charlotte, NC)

Who revives first: Michigan or Tennessee?

Pat Forde

  (2:46 PM)

Brian: I'll take Michigan, because Rich Rodriguez is already there and it's easier to come back in the Big Ten than in the SEC. We'll see who Tennessee hires.

Pat Forde

  (2:46 PM)

OK folks, that's it for me. Slightly abbreviated chat this week so I can get back to finishing a big fat Tulsa story. Stay tuned for that later today/tomorrow on the site. Thanks for the questions and enjoy the weekend.