Game Thread 2015 Sugar Bowl: (1) Alabama vs. (4) Ohio State, Jan 1st @ 8:30p ET, ESPN (civilized thread)

[Gcashwell]

... the next guy had like 20 yards.

It was 21! Give us our credit!

 

[buckeyeintn]

hmm, Missouri lost to Indiana and "#13 Georgia routs Missouri without suspended RB Todd Gurley." And 'Bama fans were probably extremely happy when MO beak AK. Just like I was kinda rooting for MN over WI. Maybe that MN game had a negative effect on WI.

Indeed, we can play the #s/stats game until the cows come home, but the what have you done for me lately argument isn't always a good argument. Especially when your next game is (4) weeks away. And considering the circumstances, C. Jones was more impressive than Sims imo. And it showed how OSU's team could adapt to a new qb in a short period of time w/out skipping a beat.

btw, even after OSU's pasting of WI they still rank 9th in defense, MO ranks 47th. And of course the SOS argument yada yada yada ie the SEC is soooo much better than the B1G.

Having said all this I still expect 'Bama to win, but I thought OSU had a good chance of losing to WI. As others have mentioned, OSU is playin' w/house $$$. Ohio State has looked very average at times this year, but so has Alabama.

I wonder who LSU fans at the Sugar Bowl will be rooting for?

Let the games er game begin ...

Based on the last time the Bucks played in the Sugar Bowl I would say they will be rooting for the S-E-C. The people I saw dressed in LSU gear were all rooting for the piggies that night. They feel a victory by a team in the same conference gives them some convoluted bragging rights.

 

[beau]

From what I can tell, that was the only balanced offense that challenged them to a shootout and that team does not play defense. WVU tried though they are a far cry from OSU & Auburn on the ground. Jones is a wildcard that could hold back the offense. The lack of a top-10 pick at WR will not.

Jones is a wildcard is a great perspective. Will he make the "rookie" miscues or play solid football and let his playmakers make the plays? His lack of true game experience would have me concerned, if I was an OSU fan. I think Bama's run D is better than PSU or Mich State, so I expect Jones to have to make some big plays to upset the Tide. Will Alabama's up and down secondary give up the deep ball?

 

[beau]

Bama played 3 Top-20 offenses and didn't outgain any of them (or stop them from scoring in Auburn's case).....Ohio State played 2 and completely shut down one of them and seriously hampered the other for long stretches of the game. What I'm trying to say is the best offenses Alabama played this year all moved the ball on Bama's defense. Ohio State is ranked above any of those teams (Miss State was 12th, Ohio State was 4th)....

I am going to look but I'd be willing to bet Ohio State played higher ranked offenses overall than Bama did...and obviously Ohio State did not play any FCS teams.

LSU, AR, Ole Miss, Auburn and Miss State would give tOSU a good game, in my humble opinion. Take tOSU and MSU out of the equation and I'm not that impressed with the Big Ten this season. I think GA and Ala are the two best teams in the SEC at this time.

 

[Mike80]

LSU, AR, Ole Miss, Auburn and Miss State would give tOSU a good game, in my humble opinion. Take tOSU and MSU out of the equation and I'm not that impressed with the Big Ten this season. I think GA and Ala are the two best teams in the SEC at this time.

And all of that is entirely irrelevant to the statistical fact that Bama hasn't stopped any offenses in the top-20 this year.

Your defensive stats are propped up by bad offensive teams and an FCS team on the schedule.

 

[kujirakira]

Arkansas?
LSU couldn't handle Wisconsin until Gordon mysteriously exited the game. So I think we can drop that one as laughable too.

 

[Buckeneye]

LSU, AR, Ole Miss, Auburn and Miss State would give tOSU a good game, in my humble opinion.

Uhhhh. What?

 

[buckeyeintn]

LSU, AR, Ole Miss, Auburn and Miss State would give tOSU a good game, in my humble opinion. Take tOSU and MSU out of the equation and I'm not that impressed with the Big Ten this season. I think GA and Ala are the two best teams in the SEC at this time.

Make several reasonable posts establishing credibility and then make an asinine comment. That's about like me saying Minnesota and Nebraska would give Alabama a good game.

 

[kujirakira]

More like Illinois. Chances are if you need an FCS opponent to get bowl eligible... you're not very good.

 

[Gcashwell]

And all of that is entirely irrelevant to the statistical fact that Bama hasn't stopped any offenses in the top-20 this year.

Your defensive stats are propped up by bad offensive teams and an FCS team on the schedule.

Or OSU could be propped up by their relatively weak SOS. I don't necessarily trust SOS though. Stats are tough to decipher when there isn't commonality of opponents.

 

[Mike80]

Or OSU could be propped up by their relatively weak SOS. I don't necessarily trust SOS though. Stats are tough to decipher when there isn't commonality of opponents.

Stats are pretty easy to discern when you are making a direct correlation between defensive ranks and the teams in the top 20 of overall offense.

He did.

The stats show Alabama was outgained by Miss State, West Virginia and Auburn. Ohio State is comparable to Auburn and better than the other two.

On the other hand, Ohio State has played 2 top-20 defenses and while Sparty got some yards, Wisconsin didn't get shit.

You can deny it if you want too, but the stats say Ohio State will move the ball. The stats also say that Alabama hasn't stopped anyone they've faced with a statistically top-20 overall offense.

 

[scarletngray]

Red Zone D is going to be key here. I see both Offenses moving the ball. The key is going to be FG's vs TD's inside the Red Zone and then which team will have the best big strike ability throughout the course of the game. Cooper is amazing but Grant handled an exceptional WR in Lippet. Can he limit Cooper? Does Bama have other big strike guys in their Offense? I know tOSU does with Marshall, Samuel and Wilson.

 

[Gcashwell]

Stats are pretty easy to discern when you are making a direct correlation between defensive ranks and the teams in the top 20 of overall offense.

He did.

The stats show Alabama was outgained by Miss State, West Virginia and Auburn. Ohio State is comparable to Auburn and better than the other two.

On the other hand, Ohio State has played 2 top-20 defenses and while Sparty got some yards, Wisconsin didn't get [Mark May].

You can deny it if you want too, but the stats say Ohio State will move the ball. The stats also say that Alabama hasn't stopped anyone they've faced with a statistically top-20 overall offense.

I think oSU will move the ball too. But look at who psu played to get their great defensive ranking. That's the type of stuff I'm talking about. I think the eye test is all you can use.

It looks like jones can throw it deep. It looks like bama can't defend deep throws. Osu should be able to throw deep.

The running games are a wild card. I don't think we can know what will happen there for either team. Sometimes we just have to wait.

 

[Gcashwell]

Red Zone D is going to be key here. I see both Offenses moving the ball. The key is going to be FG's vs TD's inside the Red Zone and then which team will have the best big strike ability throughout the course of the game. Cooper is amazing but Grant handled an exceptional WR in Lippet. Can he limit Cooper? Does Bama have other big strike guys in their Offense? I know tOSU does with Marshall, Samuel and Wilson.

Bama has Arderius Stewart who is doing well after injury. White and jones are also very good. If you look at the capabilities of these teams in a person by person basis, it is very difficult to find an advantage for either side.

 

[Mike80]

I think oSU will move the ball too. But look at who psu played to get their great defensive ranking. That's the type of stuff I'm talking about. I think the eye test is all you can use.

It looks like jones can throw it deep. It looks like bama can't defend deep throws. Osu should be able to throw deep.

The running games are a wild card. I don't think we can know what will happen there for either team. Sometimes we just have to wait.

I think both teams will move the ball too.

However, if all you got as a rejoinder is "The B1G is weak/your SOS sucked", you're not bringing much to the table here. And fuck the eye test - the eye test would have Baylor AND TCU in the playoff and not Ohio State or FSU. There's much more to it than an eye test. The eye test would have had UGA playing Cryami in 2002 instead of Ohio State. Instead we were treated to one of the greatest games ever.

Straight statistical analysis shows the trend. That's not an eye-test problem, that's Alabama's defensive problem.