Could the Best College Football Team Beat the Worst NFL Team?

[bearrock]

5 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

I think the 2001 Miami Hurricanes would have competed.

 

Portis, Davenport, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy McDougle, Bryant McKinnie, Vince Wilfork, William Joseph, Jonathan Vilma, Philip Buchannon, Ed Reed, Michael Rumph, Antrel Rolle, etc...

 

No.  No way.  Those Hurricanes would never beat a local pop warner team without cheating, much less an NFL team.  They all suck.  Except Portis.  He was redeemed by his stint with the Skins.

 

- Signed Va Tech Alum

[The Evil Genius]

Just now, bearrock said:

 

No.  No way.  Those Hurricanes would never beat a local pop warner team without cheating, much less an NFL team.  They all suck.  Except Portis.  He was redeemed by his stint with the Skins.

 

- Signed Va Tech Alum

 

The previous year team had Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss on it.

 

Un****ingbelievable roster.

[Going Commando]

1 hour ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

In fact that is the entire issue with your premise. Julio Jones of 2011 at Alabama is a worse player than Julio Jones of 2013 with the Falcons. 

 

Definitely true.  Saban has professionalized the level of coaching at Alabama as much as possible but the fact is that these players are still way behind NFL players from technical and strength and conditioning standpoints.  The level of coaching that NFL players receive is just so much better, even than the kids coming from the best football programs in CFB.

 

You really notice the massive difference in level of technique in line play and defensive back play.  You get like maybe one college DB who is pretty good at press coverage per good team per season.  If that.  College receivers wouldn't even be able to get off the line of scrimmage against an NFL secondary, much less separate downfield.  A college QB would just be stuck holding the ball and getting lit up.  It would take a transcendent guy like DeShaun Watson to hope to string together a drive.  And NFL rushers would be taking college offensive linemen to school like every other play.  They would bully them.

 

No part time player who isn't even fully matured can hope to compete against a fully grown man who spends all day every day during the season working on his body and developing his skills with the best teachers and fighting against the toughest competition in the sport.

[bearrock]

But it's about having a puncher's chance though.  And how bad the Browns were too

[Bozo the kKklown]

9 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

Definitely true.  Saban has professionalized the level of coaching at Alabama as much as possible but the fact is that these players are still way behind NFL players from technical and strength and conditioning standpoints.  The level of coaching that NFL players receive is just so much better, even than the kids coming from the best football programs in CFB.

 

You really notice the massive difference in level of technique in line play and defensive back play.  You get like maybe one college DB who is pretty good at press coverage per good team per season.  If that.  College receivers wouldn't even be able to get off the line of scrimmage against an NFL secondary, much less separate downfield.  A college QB would just be stuck holding the ball and getting lit up.  It would take a transcendent guy like DeShaun Watson to hope to string together a drive.  And NFL rushers would be taking college offensive linemen to school like every other play.  They would bully them.

 

No part time player who isn't even fully matured can hope to compete against a fully grown man who spends all day every day during the season working on his body and developing his skills with the best teachers and fighting against the toughest competition in the sport.

The line play is where you will see the biggest mismatches. Marcell Dareus gained 30 lbs from his time at Alabama to his time in the NFL. 

[PleaseBlitz]

2 minutes ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

The line play is where you will see the biggest mismatches. Marcell Dareus gained 30 lbs from his time at Alabama to his time in the NFL. 

 

But do you believe that those 30 lbs are the difference between him being arguably the best d lineman in the league who dominates games versus him being someone that would get manhandled by the Browns?  I think he'd still eat their lunch, just less so.  

[Renegade7]

@stevemcqueen1 and @BenningRoadSkin Julio Jones last year at Alabama was 2010, not 2011.

 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/julio-jones-1.html

[PleaseBlitz]

1 minute ago, Renegade7 said:

@stevemcqueen1 and @BenningRoadSkin Julio Jones last year at Alabama was 2010, not 2011.

 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/julio-jones-1.html

 

This is my fault, but I believe that we are all talking about the 2010 college season / 2011 NFL draft.

[Going Commando]

2 minutes ago, bearrock said:

But it's about having a puncher's chance though.  And how bad the Browns were too 

 

They wouldn't have a puncher's chance though because they wouldn't be able to move the ball.  Let's set aside the fact that even the best college offense is still paint by numbers compared to the complexity of NFL scheming.  The college players would lose their individual match ups over and over again and they wouldn't be able to execute it.

 

And even the 2017 Browns are stocked with pro talent.  Look at their defensive front alone, Myles Garrett, Carl Nassib, Nate Orchard, Danny Shelton, Emmanuel Ogbah, etc. these guys were stars and award winners at the college level.  Hell, Kevin Hogan lit up CFB and he was Cleveland's fourth string QB.  The worst NFL team is still going to be stocked with many of the best players from each CFB crop plus they're going to have some guys who are among the best to ever put on pads, like Joe Thomas. There are 120 FBS programs and only 32 NFL teams, the winnowing process is extreme and produces an extreme talent gap.  And these guys are going to be way bigger and stronger and better than they were in college.

 

It's just not a real competition.  It wouldn't even be if there were no talent gap because the coaching and the level of technical development in NFL guys is so superior.

 

[CrypticVillain]

Last year, that Browns team might have went 0-16, but they could have won a good amount of those games and probably would have won with a better coach (Unnecessary, but true, shot.)

 

I remember someone asked this question when the Lions was trash and USC was killing.

The answer is, and always will be no. I think the only two sports where a college team could hang with, and maybe beat, a pro team is Baseball and Basketball... But even that is a reach.

 

Who on Alabma from last year could realistically check 2017 Josh Gordon? We're not even talking Prime Gordon, just the one from last season? I don't think it can happen.

[Going Commando]

4 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

@stevemcqueen1 and @BenningRoadSkin Julio Jones last year at Alabama was 2010, not 2011. 

 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/julio-jones-1.html

 

I think Benning was comparing Julio Jones to where he was when he came out of CFB in that 2011 draft to where he would have been two seasons later.

[bearrock]

Just now, CrypticVillain said:

Last year, that Browns team might have went 0-16, but they could have won a good amount of those games and probably would have won with a better coach (Unnecessary, but true, shot.)

 

I remember someone asked this question when the Lions was trash and USC was killing.

The answer is, and always will be no. I think the only two sports where a college team could hang with, and maybe beat, a pro team is Baseball and Basketball... But even that is a reach.

 

Who on Alabma from last year could realistically check 2017 Josh Gordon? We're not even talking Prime Gordon, just the one from last season? I don't think it can happen.

 

It's not fair.  Your avatar is Saint Joe.  I can't argue football with you.  There's a mental block

[justice98]

College all stars have beaten pros in MLB and the NBA. I dont see why the same couldnt happen in a one game scenario in the NFL.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't think the Browns were as bad as that record last year indicates (laugh it up).  Their defense, IIRC, was middle of the pack.  The winless Lions team seemed to be more inept.  

 

Anyway, a better debate might be not Alabama vs. Browns/Lions but a hypothetical selected roster of college all-stars from the past 10-15 years.  It'd be more fun to pick a roster of super talented players and debate whether or not they could take on a ****ty pro team.

[TheDoyler23]

I don't think it would be must of a contest. Even an awful NFL team plays a handful of highly competitive games against good NFL teams. They just don't have the talent to beat better teams that have drafted better, made better choices in free agency, better coaching, etc. 

[PleaseBlitz]

1 minute ago, CrypticVillain said:

 

 

Who on Alabma from last year could realistically check 2017 Josh Gordon? We're not even talking Prime Gordon, just the one from last season? I don't think it can happen.

 

Any of them with DeShone Kizer throwing ducks in his general direction. 

[Kilmer17]

College teams beat mlb teams every year in spring training games.  

[CrypticVillain]

4 minutes ago, justice98 said:

College all stars have beaten pros in MLB and the NBA. I dont see why the same couldnt happen in a one game scenario in the NFL.

 

3 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

I don't think the Browns were as bad as that record last year indicates (laugh it up).  Their defense, IIRC, was middle of the pack.  The winless Lions team seemed to be more inept.  

 

Anyway, a better debate might be not Alabama vs. Browns/Lions but a hypothetical selected roster of college all-stars from the past 10-15 years.  It'd be more fun to pick a roster of super talented players and debate whether or not they could take on a ****ty pro team.

That's a different question and something more believable.

A team of college football all-starts from last year with the likes of a Barkley, Quinton Nelson, Derwin James, TJ Watt (names off the top of my head), and etc... That team would not only hang with the Browns, but a couple of other teams if given time to prepare.

 

[Hersh]

The worst NFL team would have 400 yards rushing against the best college football team. 

[Renegade7]

8 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

I think Benning was comparing Julio Jones to where he was when he came out of CFB in that 2011 draft to where he would have been two seasons later.

 

Ya, saw him mention Julio of Alabama 2011 while transitioning to everyone getting on same page about it, so added that as it was part of PB's argument for the 2011 team (but later apologized for). Think were all good here, cool seeing this discussion, even if its as one sided as i imagined it's be.

7 minutes ago, Kilmer17 said:

College teams beat mlb teams every year in spring training games.  

K, do they beat them in October?  I assumed this discussion was about a game they mattered, in exhibition, not a preseason game.

[CrypticVillain]

10 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

Any of them with DeShone Kizer throwing ducks in his general direction. 

Sure... Kizer was roasting those same college defenses throughout his career... Right? (I'm honestly asking. I didn't follow him, but since he was drafted. I'm legit assuming. lol)

[Kilmer17]

2 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

Ya, saw him mention Julio of Alabama 2011 while transitioning to everyone getting on same page about it, so added that as it was part of PB's argument for the 2011 team (but later apologized for). Think were all good here, cool seeing this discussion, even if its as one sided as i imagined it's be.

K, do they beat them in October?  I assumed this discussion was about a game they mattered, in exhibition, not a preseason game.

I would doubt it.  But I dont think a college team beats an NFL team in Jan either.  But in just a game?  I can see it as possible.

[PleaseBlitz]

7 minutes ago, CrypticVillain said:

Sure... Kizer was roasting those same college defenses throughout his career... Right? (I'm honestly asking. I didn't follow him, but since he was drafted. I'm legit assuming. lol)

 

Er, not really.  His final season, ND went 4-8 and never beat a ranked team.  They lost to Duke and Navy.  He did, however, light up Syracuse, so there's that.  The team was much better in 2015, but Kizer was about the same.  

[justice98]

Alabama woulda picked off Deshone Kizer at least 3 times last year.  If they played last year's Browns 10 times, they could get a couple.  If it was the 2017 Bama squad, they had 8 players that wound up going in the first round in '17 and '18.  They couldnt get a game against a Browns team that had 14 starters that were either rookies or 2nd year players?  

 

Not to mention, in genera, I would take young, athletic, and hungry over a team of pros probably a quarter of the time.  And not a team of all-star pros. A team of pros with scrubs sprinkled around.

[Renegade7]

5 minutes ago, Kilmer17 said:

I would doubt it.  But I dont think a college team beats an NFL team in Jan either.  But in just a game?  I can see it as possible.

Ya, id say that's central to this debate (one I've been curious about, but comes back to that point). 

 

If we really did this, it's be an exhibition game where the college team had more to prove then the NFL team.  If the Browns were so adamant about not getting embarrassed they wouldn't of gone 0-16, especially in a game that doesn't matter.

 

A game that does and both teams have equal time to prepare, like Alabama is on Clevelands schedule instead of say the Bengals, Alabama gets swept, home and away.

2 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

Er, not really.  His final season, ND went 4-8 and never beat a ranked team.  They lost to Duke and Navy.  He did, however, light up Syracuse, so there's that.  The team was much better in 2015, but Kizer was about the same.  

Hmm...they team was losing but his stats looked decent that year.  I don't follow college enough to say how much a blame could be put on him for that last year, but didn't he take them to the fiesta bowl the year prior?