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Game Thread BCS Championship Game, tOSU vs. Florida - Jan 8th

Oh8ch;677631; said:
DeShawn Wynn is the Ohio running back who would have been a Buckeye if we had not signed one of the premier backs in the country in 2002. Go figure.

Big Dru had a lot to do with that as well.

Tom288;677817; said:
Youre free to bash him, personally Im not gonna hold anything against him, hes a freshman whos wanted to play here all of his life, I like seeing him get fired up after getting the first down, after all this is still a game.

'Nuff said.
 
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DDN

Smith dismisses conference stereotypes

By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 05, 2006
COLUMBUS ? A common perception among college football fans is that the Southeastern Conference is a speed conference, while the Big Ten plays power football.
Myth or reality?
"I think it's a myth," Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith said. "Football is played (the same) everywhere. It's always 11 people on the field. You're gonna get a defense that's flying to the ball. The offense will be aggressive and try to score points. I don't believe in someone playing tougher football here or tougher football there."
The Buckeyes may have thought they cracked that stereotype by displaying unexpected athleticism in upsetting the Miami Hurricanes for the 2002 national title. But some notions die hard. And given Florida's quickness on defense, that theme may resurface this year.
"They've got the type of defensive speed and aggressiveness of the great defenses we've played," OSU coach Jim Tressel said, "whether it would be the most recent ones like Michigan or Texas. Or Iowa and Miami (from previous years). They have as much speed as anyone I've seen."
Tressel defended
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr may not have liked it, but Tressel received support from his players for opting out of the final coaches poll because he didn't want to vote the Wolverines or Gators No. 2.
"I can see where he's coming from," senior center Doug Datish said. "He could be vilified either way. There's no sense in being vilified if you don't have to be.
"Abstaining from voting was within his rights. That's one of the great things about this country. You don't have to incriminate yourself."
Asked on a Rose Bowl teleconference about Tressel's abstention, Carr said, "I thought it was real slick."
Buckeyes ambivalent
One OSU defensive assistant admitted he wanted to face Michigan for the national title to make up for a poor showing on that side of the ball in the Buckeyes' 42-39 regular-season win. But there was no consensus among the players.
"Some guys wanted to play Michigan again," OSU defensive tackle David Patterson said, "and for some guys, it didn't matter. For the most part, everyone was just happy to be going to the national championship again."
OSU favored
At least one Las Vegas betting site has made the Buckeyes an eight-point favorite, but the Gators may have an advantage by having been active the last two weeks.
OSU will have an unprecedented 50-day layoff from its final regular-season game to the Jan. 8 bowl. And when asked if he'll consult with anyone about how to handle all that down time, Tressel said: "When things are unprecedented, there's no one to check with. But we've had 40-some-day layoffs before. We played Jan. 3 last year. And the difference between the 3rd and the 8th is not that long."
 
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Link

Buckeyes Know heir ABC's in BCS

By JON SPENCER
The (Mansfield, Ohio) News Journal



COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Ohio State defensive tackle David Patterson began final exams week on campus Monday with a clear mind, knowing he and the rest of the top-ranked Buckeyes can now study in earnest for their Jan. 8 test against Florida for the BCS Championship in the Arizona desert.

"A lot of teachers give out practice exams or a study guide before a final exam. You can't really study what you need to until you get a review sheet ... this is like getting that review sheet," Patterson said.

"We can start dissecting (the Gators), seeing what we have to learn about," he said. "It's good for our coaches because I know how they love to be breaking down film and drawing up game plans. Now they can do what they do best."

Jim Tressel and his staff have 35 days to figure out how to break the spell the Southeastern Conference holds over the Buckeyes in the postseason. Ohio State has a sub .500 bowl record (18-19), largely because of that 0-7 goose egg against SEC opponents.

The scary thing is, the SEC has never been stronger, top to bottom, than it is now, with five teams ranked in the top 20 of the Associated Press poll and eight playing in bowl games.

"Whenever you turn on an SEC game you're going to see great defense," Tressel said. "I think that's a tribute to a team that wins that conference because week-in and week-out you're going to face devastating defenses with great speed. To bang your way through that you need a lot of toughness."

Florida didn't always look pretty on offense en route to its 12-1 record and SEC title win over Arkansas. If anything, that should send up a red flag for OSU's 16 fifth-year seniors who were redshirts in 2002 when the Buckeyes turned winning ugly into a national championship.

It took two overtimes, but Ohio State defeated the heavily favored Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl to cap a 14-0 season. This time the tables are turned, with the team from Florida adopting the Buckeyes' former scrape-by identity and coming in as an early 8-point underdog.

"I didn't correlate those two (teams) at all," quarterback Troy Smith said about the mirror images. "Obviously anytime a team wins a conference championship, it's a worthy team."

Tressel's first bowl game as Ohio State coach was a 31-28 loss to SEC member South Carolina, then coached by Lou Holtz, in the Outback Bowl at the conclusion of the 2001 season. That was the last time the Buckeyes have been paired with an SEC opponent. Their last win over an SEC team was in 1988 when they knocked off No. 7 LSU 36-33 in Columbus.

"We always like to get off on the right foot against a team we have never played before," center Doug Datish said. "Anytime you get a chance to prove you're the best conference ? on the field ? it's good."

The Buckeyes have already proved they're the best team in their conference, with their 42-39 win over then-No. 2 Michigan three weeks ago, which is why there was no regret over a rematch failing to materialize.

"Fortunately, I don't have to imagine being in Michigan's shoes because I'm at Ohio State," Datish said. "You have to feel bad for them. They lost the game, but in the same sense, we both know what that game was going into it."

Florida coach Urban Meyer's dislike for the BCS system ? especially when it looked like his Gators would get the shaft ? has been drowned out the last couple of days by the spleen-venting of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. Not only does he feel his 11-1 team has been unfairly dissed, but he's also upset with the campaigning Meyer has done for his team since the Wolverines fell in Columbus.

"The First Amendment is alive and well with the BCS," SEC commissioner and BCS coordinator Mike Slive said Monday on ESPN's "Cold Pizza."
 
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Huge Numbers Crunch

i ripped the differentials from Dornstar on BN (or whatever it will be called.) these numbers are with the games against Ohio State and Floida factored OUT:

Dornstar said:
SCORING DEFENSE
?UF's opponents average 26.7 ppg.
?UF's D is giving up 14.6 ppg.
Florida is holding their opponents to 12.1 ppg under their norm.

?OSU's opponents average 25.9 ppg.
?OSU's D is giving up 10.4 ppg.
Ohio State is holding their opponents to 15.4 ppg under their norm.


SCORING OFFENSE
?UF's opponents give up 18.7 ppg.
?UF's O has scored 26.1 ppg
Florida is scoring 7.4 more points than their opponents defensive norm.

?OSU's opponents give up 21.5 ppg.
?OSU's O has scored 36.6 PPG
Ohio State is scoring 15.1 more points than their opponents defensive norm.

okay, crunched some of those numbers.

based on the AVERAGE of what Ohio State scores, and what Florida allows, the prediction is 25.6 points for Ohio State

based on SUBTRACTING the point differential that Florida allows from what Ohio State scores predicts 25.5 points for Ohio State

based on ADDING the average of what Ohio State scores above what their opponents average allowed, versus what Florida allows predicts 29.7 points for Ohio State.

based on ADDING what Ohio State averages over what their opponents allow, MINUS the differential that Florida allows, predicts 17.9 points for Ohio State.

average of those totals: 24.6 points for Ohio State.

based on the AVERAGE of what Florida scores and what Ohio State allows, the prediction is 18.3 points for Florida.

based on SUBTRACTING what the point differential that Ohio State allows from what Florida scores predicts 10.7 points for Florida.

based on ADDING what Florida scores over what their opponents allow versus what Ohio State allows predicts 17.6 points for Florida.

based on ADDING what Florida averages over what their opponents allow, MINUS the differential that Ohio State allows predicts-- get this-- 2.7 points for Florida.

average of those totals: 12.3 points for Florida.

side note: i KNEW it would be the lowest total, but that last one REALLY threw me off... i thought i did it wrong at first, but the math is pretty straightforward... WOW, that puts a damper in the numbers.

if you eliminate that last step from the equation and just use the first three predictors, the totals are Ohio State 26.9 and Florida 15.5.

of course, there is the relative strength of schedule to factor in. the Gators faced 4 top 25 scoring defenses, and the average scoring D they faced was 40.83. the Gators faced 2 top 25 scoring offenses, and the average O they faced ranked 50.3

the Buckeyes faced 3 top 25 scoring defenses, and the average scoring D they faced was 60.5. the Buckeyes faced 2 top 25 scoring offenses, and the average O they faced ranked 55.5.

Florida clearly faced a tougher schedule, though some of those stats of the Buckeyes' opponents could be skewed due to the fact that playing Ohio State ruined their average...

FWIW.
wink.gif


edit: something always strikes me when i step outside for a cig after a marathon hour+ long post. what struck me was this: the formula that predicted the lowest score for the Buckeyes also predicted the lowest score for the Gators... (seemed like a revelation at the time, not so much now.)

as the nicotine starts my synapses firing away, the numbers usually distill into a more managable form. basically, the Buckeyes have been 2 TDs better on O than their opponents allow, and 2 TDs better on D than their opponents score. the Gators are basically 1 TD better on O than their opponents allow, and 2 TDs better on D than their opponents score.

that basic formula predicts a range of 22-28 points for Ohio State and a range of 12-18 points for Florida...
wink.gif


okay, i'm done for now.
 
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lvbuckeye;679067; said:
i ripped the differentials from Dornstar on BN (or whatever it will be called.) these numbers are with the games against Ohio State and Floida factored OUT:



okay, crunched some of those numbers.

based on the AVERAGE of what Ohio State scores, and what Florida allows, the prediction is 25.6 points for Ohio State

based on SUBTRACTING the point differential that Florida allows from what Ohio State scores predicts 25.5 points for Ohio State

based on ADDING the average of what Ohio State scores above what their opponents average allowed, versus what Florida allows predicts 29.7 points for Ohio State.

based on ADDING what Ohio State averages over what their opponents allow, MINUS the differential that Florida allows, predicts 17.9 points for Ohio State.

average of those totals: 24.6 points for Ohio State.

based on the AVERAGE of what Florida scores and what Ohio State allows, the prediction is 18.3 points for Florida.

based on SUBTRACTING what the point differential that Ohio State allows from what Florida scores predicts 10.7 points for Florida.

based on ADDING what Florida scores over what their opponents allow versus what Ohio State allows predicts 17.6 points for Florida.

based on ADDING what Florida averages over what their opponents allow, MINUS the differential that Ohio State allows predicts-- get this-- 2.7 points for Florida.

average of those totals: 12.3 points for Florida.

side note: i KNEW it would be the lowest total, but that last one REALLY threw me off... i thought i did it wrong at first, but the math is pretty straightforward... WOW, that puts a damper in the numbers.

if you eliminate that last step from the equation and just use the first three predictors, the totals are Ohio State 26.9 and Florida 15.5.

of course, there is the relative strength of schedule to factor in. the Gators faced 4 top 25 scoring defenses, and the average scoring D they faced was 40.83. the Gators faced 2 top 25 scoring offenses, and the average O they faced ranked 50.3

the Buckeyes faced 3 top 25 scoring defenses, and the average scoring D they faced was 60.5. the Buckeyes faced 2 top 25 scoring offenses, and the average O they faced ranked 55.5.

Florida clearly faced a tougher schedule, though some of those stats of the Buckeyes' opponents could be skewed due to the fact that playing Ohio State ruined their average...

FWIW.
wink.gif


edit: something always strikes me when i step outside for a cig after a marathon hour+ long post. what struck me was this: the formula that predicted the lowest score for the Buckeyes also predicted the lowest score for the Gators... (seemed like a revelation at the time, not so much now.)

as the nicotine starts my synapses firing away, the numbers usually distill into a more managable form. basically, the Buckeyes have been 2 TDs better on O than their opponents allow, and 2 TDs better on D than their opponents score. the Gators are basically 1 TD better on O than their opponents allow, and 2 TDs better on D than their opponents score.

that basic formula predicts a range of 22-28 points for Ohio State and a range of 12-18 points for Florida...
wink.gif


okay, i'm done for now.

I think all this discussion is leading to the same conclusion. Ohio State is clearly the superior football team. This can be shown statistically (as you have done), or by doing a comparison of the personnel. For example, tOSU has the better quarterback, the better coach, the better WR corps, the better FG kicker, etc. It's still early I suppose, but I have yet to see anyone do a side-to-side comparison of the two teams and come up with Florida as the better team. It is also worth noting that in the opinion of ALL the voters in the polls (except perhaps 1), tOSU is the best team in the country.

Then the question is, will the best team win? I think Tressell's preparation will have a lot to do with it, and I think he will have the team fully prepared and have a solid gameplan. Why do I think this? Because he's already won 5 national championships and has beat Michigan 5 times. In other words, he wins the big games.

I feel confident in saying that if the team goes about their normal way of preparing for big games, if nobody gets injured or arrested two days before the plane leaves for Arizona, if they don't all come down with food poisoning, they are going to win this thing.
 
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i will say one thing. i think the 8 point spread might be just a tad too high... Florida is pretty good, although inconsistant. if we get their A game, it's gonna be a SERIOUS dog fight.

then again, does ANYONE know just how good these kids from Ohio State really are?
 
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lvbuckeye;679569; said:
i guess it should be noted that when i compiled the average defenses that Florida played, i did not factor in UF's 1-AA opponent...

And you should delete Florida's output vs. Western Carolina from Florida's average offense too. Ditto WC's output in that game from Florida's average defense.

And to really get a good picture, you have to take the IAA games out of your opponents' averages too...

This is precisely why the spreadsheets that I use to calculate DSA factor ALL division IAA games out of EVERY team's statistics. It makes for a more apples to apples comparison.

FWIW, my spreadsheets have been updated and they have the following to say about the BCS Championship Game:

Yardage

Ohio State: 323 - 355
Florida: 288 - 328
Points

Ohio State: 21 - 24
Florida: 11 - 14
More to follow after I've had a chance to squeeze more information out of the spreadsheets.
 
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Ok let's talk about speed. Fla's and the SEC's. The Sec is supposed to have the fastest teams,
.
We have already heard about Fla's speed from the talking heads, Even Herbie and Corso. I don't think Herbie was saying that Fla was going to win because of their speed but just that he felt the team overall is faster than the Buck's.
This could or could not be a problem. If the front 7 can contain the running game and Smith that could be a problem. If on the other hand we are able to run right at them then that is good. However their defense is good because of the plan they have worked out over the season , and that includes a front 7. Now if we have 5 wide that changes their defensing strategy because one of their front 7 will be missing. That alone chips at the strentgh of their D. We have seen what happens when teams try to cover wr's with a linebacker.
I think we can negate their speed the longer the game goes on. You can get awful tired having a 300 lber laying on you all the time. Not to mention a 230 plus lb. Rb trying to make you an inkblot, also I think we negate their speed with our wr's. I don't think they have enough experienced and fast corner's to cover us. We have at least 3 receiver's with , or close to world class speed.
All I can say is they better not blink
 
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DaddyBigBucks;679674; said:
And you should delete Florida's output vs. Western Carolina from Florida's average offense too. Ditto WC's output in that game from Florida's average defense.

And to really get a good picture, you have to take the IAA games out of your opponents' averages too...

This is precisely why the spreadsheets that I use to calculate DSA factor ALL division IAA games out of EVERY team's statistics. It makes for a more apples to apples comparison.

FWIW, my spreadsheets have been updated and they have the following to say about the BCS Championship Game:
Yardage
Ohio State: 323 - 355
Florida: 288 - 328
Points
Ohio State: 21 - 24
Florida: 11 - 14
More to follow after I've had a chance to squeeze more information out of the spreadsheets.
want to hear something crazy? i didn't use a spreadsheet. i used a calculator. it took a Loooooooooong time.
 
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