• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

2006 BCS, polls, Bowl Predictions and computer ratings

BuckeyeNation27;624364; said:
What is it that doesn't add up from the Sporting News? Sometimes the best team loses.

IMO, if he's predicting that somebody is going to beat OSU, he doesn't really think they are the best team.
 
Upvote 0
BuckeyeNation27;624373; said:
He can't predict upsets?

Sure he can. But he didn't. Well maybe he kinda, sorta did with this bit:
That doesn't mean the Buckeyes win out, but they're the best after they pasted Iowa, 38-17.

I just find it illogical that he leads with this:
There's no more doubt. Ohio St. is the best team in the nation
but ends with this:
10. National Championship: Auburn-West Virginia

How can he say there is "no more doubt" and then predict they will lose to someone? If he thinks they will lose, isn't he saying he doesn't believe they are the best?

Just as an aside, I'm not really upset about this. It just doesn't make sense to me.
 
Upvote 0
If the guys wants to predict an upset, fine. Come out and predict an upset. At least note who is going to upset "The best team in the nation" and explain why that is going to happen.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
DocJohn;624112; said:
Soooo.....that leaves the scenario that BOTH tOSU AND tsun lose to
"somebody else" before Nov 18. Hmmmm... anybody know the last time
Sparty has beaten tOSU AND tsun back-to-back???

Since you asked, Sparty did just that in 1965 and 1966, when they had George Webster and Bubba Smith.

Since then, these are the results in years when they played TSUN and tOSU in consecutive games:

In 1969 and 1970 they played tOSU the week before TSUN. They split in 1969 (beating TSUN), and lost a pair in '70.

Since then they've have 6 years where they played TSUN just before tOSU. They split in '93 (beating TSUN), and lost both games in '94, '97, '03, '04, and '05 (athough they had a bye week in between last year).
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Link

Bucks' eyes don't squint in the glare
Jason Lloyd, Morning Journal Writer
10/03/2006


http://www.morningjournal.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=17275835

ON Oct. 3, 2002, Ohio State was 5-0 and ranked fifth in the country. At that time, the Buckeyes were a nice little team with a great defense and a terrific running back, but hadn't really done a whole lot to catch the nation's eye.


On Oct. 3, 2006, Ohio State is 5-0. The Buckeyes are a nice team with a great defense and a terrific running back.


But they're ranked No. 1.

Big difference.

It's why this team -- until now -- has been even more impressive than the last to win a national championship. The '02 team started the year ranked 13th, just another face in the crowd. By the beginning of October, the rest of the country was still fawning over Miami and how invincible the Hurricanes looked, seeing how they hadn't lost in nearly two years. ''Ohio State'' and ''national championship'' didn't fit in the same sentence until about Oct. 19, when the Buckeyes won at Wisconsin, and Oct. 26, when they beat Penn State.

By the start of November, everyone was beginning to believe. But that 2002 team had the luxury of spending two months learning how to win without the glare of the national spotlight.

This team does everything with the lights on.

Every performance by Troy Smith is dissected and placed on the Heisman scale to detect its weight in worthiness.

Every game by the team as a whole is studied by poll voters across the country, dissected and placed on the No. 1 ranking scale.

The Buckeyes have provided plenty of pounds and plenty of reasons to believe.

They have won on the road at Texas and Iowa. They have forced 13 turnovers with a defense whose best two players, linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, were sophomores in high school four years ago.

Winning when no one is watching is easy. Winning when everyone in the country is watching isn't.

Winning when you're the No. 1 team entails fighting through nights like the ''Gold Bowl'' production Iowa created. It means winning at Texas when LeBron James and Matthew McConaughey are 15 feet away.

All of that certainly doesn't guarantee another national championship this year, or even a berth in the title game. But given how Ohio State has performed over the first month of the season and how the players have responded to the magazine covers and the SportsCenter segments, it's easy to see this team plowing through the next six weeks until the maize and blue descend on the 'Shoe.

Perhaps most importantly, this team believes it's the best in the country. Surviving September was proof enough.

''Anyone in that locker room who doesn't think this is the No. 1 team,'' Troy Smith said Saturday night, ''will have to answer to me.''

Anthony Gonzalez said Saturday the polls don't mean anything. That's the cool thing for players to say, but it's not at all true.

The polls decide GameDay's venue, which teams will play at night and which celebrities will be on hand to watch. The polls determine how your opponent perceives you, how much film study they put in during a given week and how hard they hit in practice -- and then how hard they hit you.

Ask any college football fan in the country who's No. 1 this week and they will tell you it's Ohio State.

So who's No. 5?
 
Upvote 0
SI

Search for No. 2

Vulnerable defense makes USC a suspect contender

Posted: Tuesday October 3, 2006 1:13AM; Updated: Tuesday October 3, 2006 1:34PM



With Ohio State cruising, there seems to be a lot of debate over which is the second-best team in the country. I don't claim to know the answer, but I do know this: It isn't USC.
Yes, the Trojans are still one of the premier teams in the nation. Yes, we've been spoiled the past few years by otherworldly offenses that make comparisons to this year's team unfair. But I don't know how anyone could look at USC's last two performances against the dregs of the Pac-10 (a 20-3 win at Arizona and a 28-22 nail-biter at Washington State) and conclude that this team is playing better than Michigan, which currently trails the Trojans by four spots in the coaches' poll.
QB John David Booty and the offense are actually playing pretty well, despite what the low scores might indicate. The truly alarming development if you're a USC fan is the way Washington State QB Alex Brink picked apart the Trojans' young and still-suspect secondary last Saturday. None of their previous opponents had attacked them like that. The Cougars racked up 418 yards.
I still think USC's offense is going to go from good to lethal by the end of the season, at which point the Trojans may be pretty hard to beat, but they're definitely vulnerable right now. "We're getting challenged," coach Pete Carroll said after the game. "This conference is stout and we're fighting our tails off."
I'm not ready to send USC spiraling down the rankings just yet -- it is still undefeated -- but I did take the step of moving a more-deserving Michigan team ahead of it this week.
NCAA Football Power Rankings Rank LW
Team 1 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
Between now and their Nov. 18 showdown with Michigan, the Buckeyes will face six opponents that currently have a combined record of 13-16. One of them is Bowling Green. Two others, Indiana and Northwestern, have lost to I-AA foes. Their biggest obstacle: complacency.
Next game: Saturday vs. Bowling Green. 2 2 Auburn Tigers (5-0)
Why drop USC but not penalize Auburn for a similarly close road win over a middle-of-the-pack SEC team (South Carolina)? I considered it but ultimately refrained because this was the first such blip for Auburn, and because the Tigers have a top 10 win (LSU) on their r?sum?.
Next game: Saturday vs. Arkansas. 3 4 Michigan (5-0)
It was another solid performance in nearly every area against Minnesota. Mike Hart ran for 195 yards. Chad Henne went 17 of 24 for 284 yards and three TDs. Mario Manningham had a 131-yard night. And the defense held the Gophers to 108 rushing yards. That's a well-rounded effort.
Next game: Saturday vs. Michigan State. 4 3 USC Trojans (4-0)
Is there a more underappreciated receiver out there than Steve Smith? Overshadowed by Leinart/Bush/White his first two seasons and Dwayne Jarrett all three seasons, Smith got his moment to shine against Washington State, catching 11 passes for a career-high 186 yards.
Next game: Saturday vs. Washington. 5 5 West Virginia Mountaineers (4-0)
This is the part of the season where the Mountaineers' schedule will really hurt them. No matter how badly they beat up on Mississippi State this weekend, one's got to think they'll get passed by Florida in next week's polls if the Gators beat LSU, and Michigan can't be far behind.
Next game: Saturday at Mississippi State. 6 6 Florida Gators (5-0)
Can Gators kicker Chris Hetland make a field goal? We have no idea. Florida is one of only three teams in the country (the others: Tulane and Utah State) without a field goal this season. You've got to think they'll need a couple in what will likely be low-scoring games against LSU and Auburn.
Next game: Saturday vs. LSU. 7 7 Texas Longhorns (4-1)
Neither Vince Young nor Chris Simms fared well in his first Red River Shootout start, but Colt McCoy is coming into the game on a roll. The redshirt freshman ranks eighth in the nation in pass efficiency, having completed 71 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns and only two picks.
Next game: Saturday vs. Oklahoma. 8 8 LSU Tigers (4-1)
Saturday's Florida game will be a huge test for QB JaMarcus Russell and his receivers. The Tigers' mediocre running game is unlikely to get much going against the Gators' fourth-ranked rushing defense, which means Russell needs to connect on some big plays.
Next game: Saturday at Florida. 9 9 Oregon Ducks (4-0)
The Ducks are averaging 497 yards per game (fourth nationally), and there's little concern about Dennis Dixon & Co. moving the ball against Cal. The question is, how will Oregon's defense hold up against the most dangerous QB (Nate Longshore) and receiving corps they've faced?
Next game: Saturday at Cal. 10 10 Louisville Cardinals (4-0)
There's some concern in the Derby City about Cardinals QB Hunter Cantwell after Louisville scored only -- gasp! -- 24 points at Kansas State (they still lead the nation at 44 points per game). I've got 65 in the office pool on "how many will an angry Louisville score on Middle Tennessee?"
Next game: Friday at Middle Tennessee.
 
Upvote 0
Week 7 Coaches Poll

The latest Coaches poll is posted.

USA Today
1. Ohio State (62)
2. USC
3. Florida (1)
4. West Virginia
5. Michigan
6. Texas
7. Louisville
8. Notre Dame
9. Tennessee
10. Auburn
11. California
12. Clemson
13. Iowa
14. Georgia
15. Georgia Tech
16. LSU
17. Virginia Tech
18. Oregon
19. Boise State
20. Nebraska
21. Missouri
22. Oklahoma
23. Arkansas
24. Rutgers
25. Boston College
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top