Game Thread BCS National Championship Game: tOSU 24, LSU 38 (final)

[Tigertracker]

QB - Flynn has been average to good throughout the year and if Perrilloux is so good, why isn't he starting? Push.

RB - come on. Are you serious? Advantage OSU

WR - Slight advantage LSU

O-Line - Advantage Ohio State - they have been dominant (in general) since the Washington game. Joseph Barksdale could be the icing on the cake here.

D-Line - Dorsey is as good as it gets and will be healthy. Jean-Francios is back from grade suspension. Ohio State is good but no one competes with this line. Advantage LSU

LB's - Marcus Freeman, Lil Animal and Larry Grant (a former highly coveted SEC-area recruit) vs Highsmith, Beckwith, etc - I will say Ohio State's depth gives them a slight edge.

DB's - Seriously? Steltz is overrated: he gets sucked in on play action WAY too easy. Great hitter, but I don't see how this guy was an All-American. I think there are other SEC safeties who are better, including Major Wright and Tony Joiner.

Special Teams - I would give LSU the advantage b/c of Holliday.

Coaching - Tressel by a long shot. Leslie can't handle this LSU-michigan debacle properly. He is a wack job.

Intangibles - Advantage LSU b/c of the locale, but Ohio State is dangerous b/c everyone is picking against them.

Final Score prediction: I don't have one.

There are a couple of your items I would like to comment on. My opinion is not any more valid than yours, but it is my opinion.
Flynn is the starting QB because he is a senior with total command of the offense. He is not a great QB, but he seldom makes mistakes and when he does, it does not rattle him. Perrilloux is more physicaly talented, but less experienced. He has spent a considerable amount of time in Mile's dog house, because of off the field problems. He has had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.
I would give a slight edge to OSU at starting RB, although If I had a 3rd and 2, I can't think of anyone that I would rather have than Hester. I do think that LSU has more quality depth at RB than OSU, but you can only use so many during a game.
OL, OSU has had great success with their line, but I don't believe they can be compared. I don't recall any common opponents, and with all due respect, OSU didn't play a very tough schedule this year.
Steltz was used less as a safety and more as a deep linebacker for the second half of the year because of injuries to our defensive line, that is why it may appear that he was out of position at times.
Coaching- You say "Tressel by a long shot" and you are entitled to that opinion, I would submit that it is impossible to compare them. What would the won/loss percentage be if they swapped opponents, we have no way of knowing. One thing is for sure though, by any criteria you wish to use, Miles has faced a tougher schedule at LSU than Tressel has, and has about the same record. As for Mile's handling of the Michigan job, you say he didn't handle it properly, what did he do wrong? He announced that he wouldn't talk to them until after the SEC championship game and that he didn't want to discuss it until then. It wasn't his fault that ESPN came out with their announcement on the morning of the game, and he had to call a press conference to deny it. I don't believe he deserves the "Wack job" comment.

 

[cjmik_75]

Nice post Nutriaitch. BTW, the line is LSU -4 right now so considering it's in NOLA it appears that Vegas views the teams as about equal right now. Line has dropped from -6 to -4 since it came out.

When the line moves like that I think it means there is alot of Buckeye money getting 6 points!!! Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.

If there is a large spread and everyone is taking the points they move the line to entice action for the other team. If you wanted LSU in this game but felt 6 was too many pts to give, now that it is moved to 4, vegas feels they will get some of that LSU $ now.

IDK

Go Bucks!!!

 

[cjmik_75]

There are a couple of your items I would like to comment on. My opinion is not any more valid than yours, but it is my opinion.
Flynn is the starting QB because he is a senior with total command of the offense. He is not a great QB, but he seldom makes mistakes and when he does, it does not rattle him. Perrilloux is more physicaly talented, but less experienced. He has spent a considerable amount of time in Mile's dog house, because of off the field problems. He has had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. How does off the field decisions have anything to do with this game? They don't. Worst case is the QB position is a push.
I would give a slight edge to OSU at starting RB, although If I had a 3rd and 2, I can't think of anyone that I would rather have than Hester. I do think that LSU has more quality depth at RB than OSU, but you can only use so many during a game.slight edge but really this is a question of the running game in general and both teams can run, no doubt about it.
OL, OSU has had great success with their line, but I don't believe they can be compared. I don't recall any common opponents, and with all due respect, OSU didn't play a very tough schedule this year.The schedule we played so far has little or no bearing what so ever on this game either or how well either O-line is our "not very tough schedule" doesn't make LSU's O-line better, sorry it doesn't.
Steltz was used less as a safety and more as a deep linebacker for the second half of the year because of injuries to our defensive line, that is why it may appear that he was out of position at times. Steltz is a hitter no doubt I'd love him in Scarlet and Gray. Russell, Washington and Jenkins in no particular order...Advantage tOSU if for no other reason the deep pass has been defended very well all year and they all play well vs the run.
Coaching- You say "Tressel by a long shot" and you are entitled to that opinion, I would submit that it is impossible to compare them. What would the won/loss percentage be if they swapped opponents, we have no way of knowing. One thing is for sure though, by any criteria you wish to use, Miles has faced a tougher schedule at LSU than Tressel has, and has about the same record. As for Mile's handling of the Michigan job, you say he didn't handle it properly, what did he do wrong? He announced that he wouldn't talk to them until after the SEC championship game and that he didn't want to discuss it until then. It wasn't his fault that ESPN came out with their announcement on the morning of the game, and he had to call a press conference to deny it. I don't believe he deserves the "Wack job" comment.Tressell 3rd Division 1 National Championship appearance in 6 years. Big if not emormous advantage besides he whooped les in the Alamo Bowl in 2004.

notes for your reading pleasure underlined above^^^

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

The Buckeye's kick coverage has been inconsistent... they've allowed 2 kickoff TD's this year:

• OSU smacked Northwestern 58-7 in week 4... NW's 7 were from the opening kickoff of the second half.
• Penn State took a kickoff back for a TD with less than 4 minutes left in the game.

Actually, the coverage on NW's kickoff TD was pretty decent and we had the returner trapped around the 15 yard line or so, IIRC, but a certain blue-chip true freshman safety on our coverage team decided he didn't have to wrap up on a tackle...

 

[sandgk]

I dont know what you mean

Hmmm...really?
Quote:
Users sharing the same IP Address User:
bayouLSUcajun

Owned picture needed somewhere near here. ..

 

[Lockup]

Coaching- You say "Tressel by a long shot" and you are entitled to that opinion, I would submit that it is impossible to compare them. What would the won/loss percentage be if they swapped opponents, we have no way of knowing. One thing is for sure though, by any criteria you wish to use, Miles has faced a tougher schedule at LSU than Tressel has, and has about the same record. As for Mile's handling of the Michigan job, you say he didn't handle it properly, what did he do wrong? He announced that he wouldn't talk to them until after the SEC championship game and that he didn't want to discuss it until then. It wasn't his fault that ESPN came out with their announcement on the morning of the game, and he had to call a press conference to deny it. I don't believe he deserves the "Wack job" comment.

Long shot may be a stretch but I believe the idea is that Miles is shall we say...lucky at times. He makes some gutsy ( or bonehead if they don't pay off) calls. He has been forutante that the talant of team he has most of his strange decisions have payed off. Let's not forget too that Les has only been around for 3 years and came into a better situation than JT did.

JT on the other hand has contiued to put his team at or near the top for 7 years now most of the time. Everything he has now he has built and not working off of others body of work to start. He also typically does not get out coached. It happenes but not often.

Either way I would take Tressel over Miles anyday right now.

 

[OWUBuckeye51]

There are a couple of your items I would like to comment on. My opinion is not any more valid than yours, but it is my opinion. I respect that.
Flynn is the starting QB because he is a senior with total command of the offense. He is not a great QB, but he seldom makes mistakes and when he does, it does not rattle him. Perrilloux is more physicaly talented, but less experienced. He has spent a considerable amount of time in Mile's dog house, because of off the field problems. He has had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. Which lends credence to questionable decision making, right?
I would give a slight edge to OSU at starting RB, although If I had a 3rd and 2, I can't think of anyone that I would rather have than Hester. I do think that LSU has more quality depth at RB than OSU, but you can only use so many during a game. Hester has been solid in short yardage and is a bear to tackle. If Ohio State wraps up on 1/7/08, then I don't think Hester has a significant impact. I will admit Hester catches the ball well outta the backfield and passblocks well, but if I had to pick, I would choose Beanie, Mo, Brandon Saine, et al over tULS's stable of backs.
OL, OSU has had great success with their line, but I don't believe they can be compared. I don't recall any common opponents, and with all due respect, OSU didn't play a very tough schedule this year. There is some truth in there - however, their line has been dominant over the schedule presented them - that is all they can ask.
Steltz was used less as a safety and more as a deep linebacker for the second half of the year because of injuries to our defensive line, that is why it may appear that he was out of position at times. Makes sense, he just seems to take bad angles (banana routes) in pursuit.
Coaching- You say "Tressel by a long shot" and you are entitled to that opinion, I would submit that it is impossible to compare them. What would the won/loss percentage be if they swapped opponents, we have no way of knowing. One thing is for sure though, by any criteria you wish to use, Miles has faced a tougher schedule at LSU than Tressel has, and has about the same record. As for Mile's handling of the Michigan job, you say he didn't handle it properly, what did he do wrong? He announced that he wouldn't talk to them until after the SEC championship game and that he didn't want to discuss it until then. It wasn't his fault that ESPN came out with their announcement on the morning of the game, and he had to call a press conference to deny it. I don't believe he deserves the "Wack job" comment.

See my responses in bold. I will save this for last: Leslie Miles did talk to scUM before the SEC Championship Game. That is a fact. To say he didn't is a complete lie and makes me question his values. From an ethical standpoint, Tressel by a landslide. Furthermore, Tressel doesn't make idiotic, emotion-laden statements in the press the way Leslie does.

From a coaching perspective, Miles inherited a NC caliber program, yet it took him three years to reach the pinnacle. Tressel inherited a program three years removed from national prominence and quickly turned them into a powerhouse.

X's & O's: Tressel has won the big one and is 1-0 against Leslie to date in bowl games. Head to head, he is "undefeated in regulation against Miles".

 

[sluTiger]

See my responses in bold. I will save this for last: Leslie Miles did talk to scUM before the SEC Championship Game. That is a fact. To say he didn't is a complete lie and makes me question his values. From an ethical standpoint, Tressel by a landslide. Furthermore, Tressel doesn't make idiotic, emotion-laden statements in the press the way Leslie does.

LOL, whatever you have to say to yourself...

 

[Nutriaitch]

Leslie Miles did talk to scUM before the SEC Championship Game. That is a fact. To say he didn't is a complete lie and makes me question his values.

Both sides say otherwise. Michigan says they didn't talk, and LSU says they didn't talk.

 

[sandgk]

Both sides say otherwise. Michigan says they didn't talk, and LSU says they didn't talk.

Well TSUN is always tight lipped about injuries ...



















and insults to their market value.

 

[BayBuck]

Coaching- You say "Tressel by a long shot" and you are entitled to that opinion, I would submit that it is impossible to compare them. What would the won/loss percentage be if they swapped opponents, we have no way of knowing. One thing is for sure though, by any criteria you wish to use, Miles has faced a tougher schedule at LSU than Tressel has, and has about the same record.

Keep in mind that OSU and LSU are not the only head coaching jobs Tressel and Miles have had: 28-21 at Oklahoma State isn't quite the same as 135-57-2 with 4 I-AA championships. And Tressel took over a relatively mediocre OSU program, while Miles took over a team 1 year removed from a BCS title.

Tressel by a long, long, long shot.

 

[jlb1705]

QB - Boeckman is solid. Flynn and Perriloux both can run great as well as pass. The combo of passing and speed gives the edge to lsu. Advantage LSU

RB - Beanie Wells has been very good, but LSU has 5 very good running backs. All of them bring a little something different. Advantage LSU

WR - Robiskie is good. Doucet is a future 1st rounder. Byrd is the key here. Ohio St doesnt have a second wr to match him. Tolliver is a great freshman as well. Advantage LSU

O-Line - LSU is great at run blocking but has had trouble protecting the qb in certain spots. Ohio St has been solid but not spectacular. Advantage Push

D-Line - Dorsey is as good as it gets and will be healthy. Jean-Francios is back from grade suspension. Ohio St is good but noone competes with this line. Advantage LSU

LB's - Laurinitas is well decorated. Highsmith and Beckwith are both first rounders as well. Slight advantage OSU

DB's - Steltz is an all american. LSU's corners are 2 of the best in the SEC. ohio St has no one as good as steltz. Advantage LSU

Special Teams - Both teams are bad at coverage. Holiday is the fastest player in the country. Push

Coaching - Tressel is a great coach. Miles is underrated and has a great record. Tressel was outcoached last year. Miles has dominated in bowl games with a long time to prepare. Miles has better coordinators with Pelini and Crowton. Push

Intangibles - NEw Orleans is 45 minutes from Baton Rouge. LSU typically has 30,000 people outside the stadium during the game with another 90,000 in tiger stadium. LSU will outnumber Ohio st about 65/35 inside the dome. LSU knows the dome pretty well. They have played their this year and for the sugar bowl last year. Ohio st played in the big game last year. Advantage LSU

Final Score prediction: LSU 30 Ohio St 17

What does everyone else think? Has scout released a comparison yet?

I'll play:

QB: Neither Flynn or Perriloux has proven themselves to be GREAT runners as you said. Tommie Frazier was great runner. Mike Vick was a great runner. Josh Cribbs was a great runner at QB. LSU's QBs are about average for the college level from what I've seen. Boeckman is probably a little below average as a runner even after marked improvement in that area over the course of the season. I think QBs are pretty even overall in this game, though if you want to say LSU has the edge I won't get up in arms over it. Flynn does have a slight advantage over Boeckman in that he has started and won a bowl game previously in his career.

RB: The very fact that you needed to call upon FIVE (5) RBs to counter Ohio State's Chris Wells says all you need to know about this one. LSU has some good backs that can do good things, but none of them are as complete as Wells. I like the Buckeyes here.

WR: I've been entertaining your method for comparing these two teams so far, but it's faulty. You compared QB to QB, RB to RB and WR to WR as if they're going to be matching up against each other. The reality is that you should be comparing the on-field matchups. In this case, it would be OSU WRs vs. LSU DBs compared to LSU WRs vs. OSU DBs. It doesn't matter if Byrd is better than any WR OSU offers up if he can't get open against the OSU secondary. My assessment is that both teams have good WRs, and both teams have outstanding players in the secondary. Byrd has played better than anyone OSU has behind Robiskie, however I think both teams will cover well and will have a tough time finding open receivers with consistency so it won't matter as much as you think it does.

OL: LSU is great at run blocking, but they give up sacks. Some analysts have started to say that Ohio State has fielded the top OL in the country this season - but they will be facing their toughest test vs. the LSU DL. I think these matchups can go either way, but I hesitate to call it a PUSH because I think it's going to play out definitively one way or the other. If Ohio State can disrupt LSU's run blocking and if Ohio State protects on offense the way they have most of the year, they'll probably win. If LSU's OL does what it's capable of doing and OSU's doesn't, LSU will win. I know that last part is pretty much cliche, but it's probably true.

DL: LSU has better interior linemen. Ohio State has better DEs, especially if Lawrence Wilson makes it back. I think OSU can hold their own in this department, but a healthy Dorsey may be the best player in the country and I won't fault anyone who gives the advantage to LSU here.

DB: Steltz is probably a better safety than anyone OSU has. OSU safeties are good in run support, but not as good in coverage. Malcolm Jenkins is perhaps the best CB in the country though, and your assessment either ignored him or dismissed him. Optimistic Buckeye fans would also say that Donald Washington is better than LSUs CBs. Both teams have very good secondaries though.

LB: You gave props to Laurinaitis, but dismissed the rest of the OSU LB corps. Marcus Freeman is very good - the light finally came on for him this year. LSU's LBs are very good as well.

ST: I actually don't have any problems with your assessment here, though I'd add that both teams have pretty decent kickers. They might be important. I think Holliday give an edge to LSU here though.

Coaching: You pretty much missed the mark on this one. Miles had plenty of time to prepare to face the Buckeyes in a bowl game back in 2004, and he got his ass handed to him, despite the fact that OSU was playing it's injured backup QB, and even had to replace him with a true freshman WR on some plays. Jim Heacock was just named the top assistant coach in the country, and Jim Tressel is the de facto offensive coordinator. I'll take Jim Tressel over Gary Crowton any day of the week. Jim Tressel is playing for a national championship for the NINTH time in his last nineteen seasons as a head coach.

Intangibles: Intangibles are usually a catch-all for people who can't speak intelligently about actual football. I'll just leave this one alone.

 

[Nutriaitch]

28-21 at Oklahoma State isn't quite the same as 135-57-2 with 4 I-AA championships.

It is similar to the 29-25 mark Jimmy Johnson put up at Oklahoma St.

Now, I'm not saying Miles in the same class as Jimmy Johnson, just showing that being above .500 at Oklahoma St. is a better accomplishment than most people give credit for.

 

[Buckeye86]

Intangibles: Intangibles are usually a catch-all for people who can't speak intelligently about actual football. I'll just leave this one alone.

While intangibles are difficult to discuss intelligently since no one actually knows what's going through the team's head or how big of an affect the crowd noise will have ect. you can't discount their affect on the outcome of the game, intangibles are what allows a team like App. State to beat Michigan.

 

[BayBuck]

It is similar to the 29-25 mark Jimmy Johnson put up at Oklahoma St.

Now, I'm not saying Miles in the same class as Jimmy Johnson, just showing that being above .500 at Oklahoma St. is a better accomplishment than most people give credit for.

Jon Heacock, Tressel's successor at YSU, has gone 43-27 in 7 years there. Tressel's Penguins had 103 wins in the 90s.