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

[SloopyHangOn]

Actually it took 4 years before the SEC started winning regularly more games than the B1G. For the most part it was the B1G winning more games or both conferences tying. But all people cared about was the championship.

Yes it was the beginning of the downslide, but why can't Ohio State winning be the beginning of the downslide (or maybe even FSU/Oklahoma last year) for the SEC

I don't think I need to explain how perception often differs from reality. I'm talking about perception.

It may well be the beginning of a similar chain of events, this season would have to be the season to solidify that. Had Ohio State won vs. LSU after getting thumped by Florida it would've put a serious halt on the conversation. I think the cannibalization in the SEC West this season was a pretty good indicator of overall toughness in the conference (hint: it's just above average outside of the elite).

If Ohio State beats Alabama, I honestly think the rest of the SEC teams could win their bowls and the conference would still take a hit, in general. There was no truly elite team in the SEC this year and Bama was clearly the most consistent.

 

[cmstophe]

Beating Bama won't send a message for the conference, but for Ohio State.

The B1G is still the weaker of the two leagues (although not by as much as the pundits might suggest, imo).

That message IS very important, however. I mentioned it before. As much as we know we have the talent to compete with anyone in the country, until we win on the big stage we will not get the benefit of the doubt. We have the opportunity to beat the perceived kings of college football, move on and then get the chance to either confirm Oregon's bridesmaid status or derail the nations longest win-streak and defending champs. If that happens, with this staff and these players and the bright, bright future ahead this could be the beginning of an unrivaled run. It all starts Jan 1st, though.

Agreed, but that's all I really care about...a message from Ohio State. I like the Big Ten and wish it was up but we can't help the other teams, they have to help themselves. As long as we are perceived as belonging in CFB elite, I'm fine.

 

[BamaInHoustonRTR]

A few of you mentioned the ND game back in 2012 so I wanted to share my write up I did after watching their film. This was well before the game and the view of the media was that ND would give Bama competition...

Titled: We will Skull Fuck This Irish Team...

Body:
and dont let anyone tell you differently.

Offensively they are very average running the ball, and below average throwing it. Golson is a smart QB that knows his limitations and does pretty well rolling out and throwing on the run but his delivery is slow and lacks the ability to consistantly get the ball down the field. Golson is good on his feet, like i mentioned rolling out, but hes not anywhere as dangerous as Johnny Manziel in either speed or deception, plus they dont run a spread so there isnt as much a wide field to run into so dont expect him to get much on the ground either. To sum it up they aren't a very good offensive team, lack any explosive plays, and are very predictable.

Defensively they are slightly above average. Their Dline is good but not any better than any other SEC team we have successfully ran on. They do have a good run stuffing lineman in #9 Nix, but he can be easily game planned for by the best Oline in the country. Teo is good but very overrated, and will not even be the best LB we have faced all year. Ogletree and Minter are both more talented, Jarvis Jones is a stronger pass rusher, and we go against Mosley every day in practive.

Prob the worst part about their team is their secondary, its atrocious. Expect McCarron to have a big game and all our WRs will contribute not just Cooper, Norwood and Christion Jones as well. None of their guys posses the ability cover 1 on 1 and leave big gaps in zone coverage.

The irish's best bet is to pray for rain, a sloppy muddy game is their only chance. If this game was in a dome on turf where our team speed could really take over we would win by 20 easily.

This of course has nothing to do with you guys, just thought you might enjoy my pregame prediction for that game. I will end up writing one for you after I finish watching film.

 

[tidefan1]

Below was stolen from another board. It's probabl the biggest reason most of us down here don't hold OSU in high regard.


One thing to consider when analyzing stats from OSU and Bama-

Strength of schedule http://www.teamrankings.com/college-...hedule-by-team

Alabama- 5th
OSU- 38th

Also, Alabama played 6 of the top 10 teams in strength of schedule.
OSU played Minnesota with a 22nd ranking in SOS, the only team they faced in the top 25 in SOS rankings.

May not mean anything on game day, because anything can happen in a big game like this.
But you have to wonder what Alabama's offensive and defensive stats would be if they played OSU's schedule, and what OSU's would look like if they played Alabama's schedule.

 

[UpNorth_Buckeye]

Below was stolen from another board. It's probabl the biggest reason most of us down here don't hold OSU in high regard.


One thing to consider when analyzing stats from OSU and Bama-

Strength of schedule http://www.teamrankings.com/college-...hedule-by-team

Alabama- 5th
OSU- 38th

Also, Alabama played 6 of the top 10 teams in strength of schedule.
OSU played Minnesota with a 22nd ranking in SOS, the only team they faced in the top 25 in SOS rankings.

May not mean anything on game day, because anything can happen in a big game like this.
But you have to wonder what Alabama's offensive and defensive stats would be if they played OSU's schedule, and what OSU's would look like if they played Alabama's schedule.

One must factor in several teams being severely overrated in the SEC though. The SEC has been fantastic the past few years, but this year there are some teams that got higher ratings than deserved by beating bad SEC teams early before they were revealed to be bad. For example, do you truly, deep down inside, believe Mississippi State and Ole Miss are top 10 teams? Really? Missouri is not a very good football team and Auburn is only ok. They are only so highly rated because they are in the SEC. If they were anywhere else they would be out of the top 25 in the case of Mizzou and Auburn and maybe around the 20 mark for Mississippi St and Ole Miss.

Long story short, the SEC was not nearly as good this year as it has been in the past (with the SEC West being strongly overrated since Mississippi State and Ole Miss are two of the main reasons why it's being called so strong). Now, I would not be making any argument that OSU's schedule was more difficult than Bama's. And that 38th may be fairly accurate. I just don't see the schedule you played being 5th. Or at the very least there is not a large gap between 5th and 38th.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

Below was stolen from another board. It's probabl the biggest reason most of us down here don't hold OSU in high regard.


One thing to consider when analyzing stats from OSU and Bama-

Strength of schedule http://www.teamrankings.com/college-...hedule-by-team

Alabama- 5th
OSU- 38th

I feel like SOS is a pretty silly way to measure a team's merit. That being said, the difference between 5th and 38th doesn't seem like such a drastic leap, especially when that site's other 2 SOS metrics have our schedule at 17th and 26th. Give me statistical, on field, metrics any day of the week. Using the one from that site Alabama has the slightest of edges in defensive statistics while Ohio State has the slightest of edges in offensive statistics.

The only real wide gap is points/play. We score a lot faster, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/matchup/2015-semifinal-sugar-bowl-ohio-state-alabama

 

[tidefan1]

Well, a lot of those teams did pla Alabama. That helps their schedule strength. ;

 

[JCOSU86]

Ah, I was wondering when one of you would start on the schedule bullshit. Took longer than I thought.

First - The SEC INVENTED scheduling patsies. So don't run any of that shit by me, it won't hold water. What week was it, 10? 9? Your whole conference played the biggest joke of a slate of games I've ever seen. Auburn played Presbyterian. JFC Alabama didn't play a powerhouse either that week. Alabama St or some such shit. For Christ's sake - all of the "tough" games you played were in your conference.

I find a lot of circular reasoning going on here - why is the SEC so tough? Because it has great teams! Why are these teams so great? They're in the SEC! Travel outside your damned area and win with regularity and I'll be more impressed.

But then again, your stats may hold water. Maybe OSU is soft due to a "weak" schedule. We'll find out on Jan 1.

 

[UpNorth_Buckeye]

Well, a lot of those teams did pla Alabama. That helps their schedule strength. ;

True, but Mississippi State is the poster boy for a team being overrated due to who they played early. They played LSU, TAMU, and Auburn in a stretch early-mid season. While a difficult stretch, it was made to be the most unpossible thing known to mandkind. Looking back at it now, LSU is so-so, TAMU sucks, and Auburn is so-so. That's the point I'm making. The high rankings at the beginning of the season drives the train for the SEC having teams being overrated. The only phenomenal team from the SEC this year is you guys. The next best two are Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Think about that.

 

[Telekinesis]

Well, a lot of those teams did pla Alabama. That helps their schedule strength. ;

Even though Bama was much less ferocious this year themselves. If I had told you Ole Miss would walk away from that game with a W at the beginning of the year, you would have laughed in my face, then paused, then laughed again.

Nobody expected that.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Indiana and Wisconsin were not physically outmatched by Mizzou or LSU this year and went 1-1. The talent difference/SOS angle is being vastly over stated imo.

Also, look objectively at what Bama has done away from home this year WVU (Georgia Dome), @Ole Miss, @Ark, @LSU, @ UT and then Mizzou in the Georgia Dome again. No powerhouses on that list, several close games and a loss.

None of this is predictive, just saying if the roles were switched I don't think I'd be as cocky as some (not all) of our visitors.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

I think y'all missed an attempt at a "wink" at the end of that statement.

Anywho. The difference in SOS from Bama to Ohio State according to that rank is the same as the difference from Ohio State to Indiana.

Extrapolate from that what you will.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

True, but Mississippi State is the poster boy for a team being overrated due to who they played early. They played LSU, TAMU, and Auburn in a stretch early-mid season. While a difficult stretch, it was made to be the most unpossible thing known to mandkind. Looking back at it now, LSU is so-so, TAMU sucks, and Auburn is so-so. That's the point I'm making. The high rankings at the beginning of the season drives the train for the SEC having teams being overrated. The only phenomenal team from the SEC this year is you guys. The next best two are Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Think about that.

Not that it matters to this conversation, but I think Georgia is better than both of those teams.

 

[AlabamaPaul]

Ah, I was wondering when one of you would start on the schedule bull[Mark May]. Took longer than I thought.

First - The SEC INVENTED scheduling patsies. So don't run any of that [Mark May] by me, it won't hold water. What week was it, 10? 9? Your whole conference played the biggest joke of a slate of games I've ever seen. Auburn played Presbyterian. JFC Alabama didn't play a powerhouse either that week. Alabama St or some such [Mark May]. For Christ's sake - all of the "tough" games you played were in your conference.

I find a lot of circular reasoning going on here - why is the SEC so tough? Because it has great teams! Why are these teams so great? They're in the SEC! Travel outside your damned area and win with regularity and I'll be more impressed.

But then again, your stats may hold water. Maybe OSU is soft due to a "weak" schedule. We'll find out on Jan 1.

It was week 13, and I wouldn't call Navy, Kent St, Cincinnati, and Va Tech an overwhelming OOC schedule...

 

[Bill Lucas]

I've felt for some time that Alabama isn't Alabama this year and has come back to the pack. Add in that LSU is weak and Auburn can't play defense and you get two Mississippi teams propped up. The East being abominable makes them look even better.

I'm not saying Alabama isn't very good, they are but they are also more beatable than in past years.