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Join the debate club
By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com
The final quartiles have been divided, the last derivatives extracted, and according to the results, Miami and Washington still are not invited to last year's Orange Bowl.
Now these arguments get be stored away in college football's annals of debate, surely to be replaced by a few new ones for 2001. Despite recent changes to the enigmatic formula used by the men who run the Bowl Championship Series, college football's chances of staging an undisputed title matchup are as slim as the Emmy hopes of the show Fear Factor.
But then, that's one of the reasons we love the darn sport.
After all, you're not really a college football fan unless you're arguing about something. And these days, like those of most any season past, there's plenty of possible fodder. Such as ...
Texas -- legitimately loaded or licensed to choke?
Joe Paterno -- still got it?
Friday night games -- workings of the devil, or just something new to whine about?
And finally, Joe Tiller's incessant bald jokes -- good times, or time for new material?
If all else fails, there's still one argument for which we can all make a good case. Join along now: "My team can kick the snot out of yours."
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It's anyone's ballgame
Oregon topped the Pac-10's recent preseason poll for the first time since its 1961 inception. Northwestern is the consensus Big Ten favorite for quite possibly the first time since Otto Graham resided in Evanston. It's parity aplenty these days, and virtually everyone but Baylor has gotten the message.
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All spread out
Oklahoma won the title with it. Northwestern and South Carolina resuscitated their programs with it. A year later, everyone from Wisconsin to Troy State is adding the spread offense to its repertoire. With things exploding at this rate, Behind the Music can't be far behind.
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King JoePa prepares to ascend to highest throne
The good news is, Penn State's Joe Paterno stands on the brink of breaking Bear Bryant's all-time coaching wins record (323). The bad news is, we ran this same storyline before last season.
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HOT: Jim Tressel
As unpopular as John Cooper was, that's how popular the new Ohio State coach is.
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NOT: R.C. Slocum
The nation's sixth-winningest active coach. And possibly this year's Cooper.
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HOT: Stadium expansions
Penn State's tops out at 106,537 this year.
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NOT: Conference contraction
Big East is in for some serious crow if Temple goes 7-4.
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What will be the biggest game of the year?
Florida State-Florida (Nov. 17) is always a safe bet. Gators-Vols (Sept. 15) should be a highly anticipated struggle, as will FSU-Miami (Oct. 13). Oregon State-Oregon and Miami-Virginia Tech (Dec. 1) are both picking up steam.
But our pick is the Oklahoma-Texas Red River Shootout on Oct. 6 in Dallas. If neither stumbles beforehand, it will almost definitely be the series' first battle of Top 5 teams since 1984. And quite possibly the first such showdown in history where one team is coming off a 49-point shellacking by the other.
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First, there must be something to revise.
| Rose: Florida vs. Texas | Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Oregon |
| Sugar: Florida State vs. Virginia Tech | Orange: Miami vs. Northwestern |
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Each week during the season, this space will be devoted to your comments on a particular hot-button issue. But for now, just drop a note about whatever's on your mind, college football-wise.
Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com. To send him a comment or question, click here.
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