BCS predictions/discussion/Knock Em' Off

[BuffaloBuck]

Its come to the point where i just don't care... i don't care if we're in a "weak conference" or "we didn't play anyone"

Because at the end of the day...if Mizzou loses, we're in.

Does the opinion of a bunch of hillbillys and west coasters mean that much to everyone when discussing other topics?

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

My "no win" situation was in response to Herbie's, among others, saying that going to the Rose Bowl and beating espins team of the century would give us more national respect. I agree I don't care what the Country thinks of us. B10 titles and National Championship Crystals, doing it the right way (and having Buckeyes to cheer for on Sundays) is what matters to me.

Just saying for those who want more "national respect" I don't think we can win this year, and although most (myself included) say they don't care about how we're percieved, we sure seem to talk/write/type about it a lot

 

[nwbuckeye]

All you guys are so off the mark here it is rediculous. While it IS vital that we return to the NC game and come out victorius in order to silence the talking head critics and Big Ten hating SEC fan, the main reason for making it to the title game is obvious. My 2002 NC hats and t-shirts are looking pretty ragged, and I MUST have a fresh supply of newly made 2007 (will say 2008 champs right?) Buckeye National Champions hats, shirts, sweaters, ash trays, toilet seat covers, weiner dog sweaters, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Buckeyedynasty]

All you guys are so off the mark here it is rediculous. While it IS vital that we return to the NC game and come out victorius in order to silence the talking head critics and Big Ten hating SEC fan, the main reason for making it to the title game is obvious. My 2002 NC hats and t-shirts are looking pretty ragged, and I MUST have a fresh supply of newly made 2007 (will say 2008 champs right?) Buckeye National Champions hats, shirts, sweaters, ash trays, toilet seat covers, weiner dog sweaters, etc. etc. etc.

I'd rather have a Michigan toilet seat cover, either that or Tebow's face.

 

[muffler dragon]

either that or Tebow's face.

You want to sit on Tebow's face? :tongue2:

Anyone else have Monty Python going through their minds?

 

[Gatorubet]

WVU is a really good team until OSU beats them. Then they are an overrated team that had no business in the NCG. now if OSU played in the SEC well that would be a different story then. If we beat WVU then we would be world beaters.

Here is the thing: no matter how "unfair" you think the disrespect is, you have to step back and look at it the way some others do. After the hype of The Game last year, and the insistence of many that we witnessed a Game of the Century between two great powers, both teams - the elite of the Big 10 - got hammered in their respective bowl games. Not beaten, not just coming up short, but downright punked. And while there are a number of good explanations for it, it was a HUGE hit perception wise.

Fast forward to this year. The highly ranked Michigan team was beaten by Appy State, and then punked again by Oregon. That same team then is good enough to play for the Big 10 Championship later in the year. You can complain and complain, but that is a perception that has as much validity as the many other ways to view it. Yes, you may be unfairly disrespected, but there is a basis for it. You can just as easily point out UT and how they are playing in Atlanta after being punked early in the year, and you would be right. But that is more of a reason why UT should not be given respect too, instead of why Michigan and the Big 10 should be immune from the outcomes of the last eleven months.

Do they leave out the two Big 10 wins in the 2006 bowl games over SEC teams in that analysis? Uh-huh. But the BCS Championship game and the USC beatdown of Michigan were higher profile bowls with more pub. The Appy State game was HUGE negative pub. Oregon as well. And had Michigan not beaten most of the Big 10 foes, you might have had less flack about the strength of the Big 10 this year - but they were playing for the title despite a perceived down year.

Everything is cyclical, and the perception is that you are down. Kick ass in your bowls and it becomes a non-point. Simple really. And I'm not telling you that the negative rep is right, but I am saying it has a rational basis that has its genesis in several highly publicized games that did not show the Big 10 at its best.

Kick ass in your bowls, and you guys get to N'Awlins. I want to play Meatchicken and not the Zooker (a no-win scenario for us) and we need the Bucks in the BCSCG to seal the deal.

 

[muffler dragon]

I want to play Meatchicken and not the Zooker (a no-win scenario for us) and we need the Bucks in the BCSCG to seal the deal.

I liked everything else you wrote, but I wanted to ask a question for you on this one: how is playing the Illini a no-win? If you beat them; then you just proved that it was right to let him go.

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

You guys are missing the boat on the whole Herbstreit/Rose Bowl thing. It's as simple as this: ESPN/ABC has broadcast rights to the Rose Bowl. Fox has rights to the rest of the BCS. ESPN doesn't give a hoot what the ratings are for the BCS Championship game, while an Ohio State-Southern Cal matchup in the Rose Bowl would likely be a ratings goldmine for ESPN & ABC.

I'm not upset with Herbstreit for his comments because I think they're anti-OSU. I'm upset because I think he's built his career and his credibility on being the most solid, even-keeled analyst out there. The whole puppet thing is getting in the way of that though, and it's getting worse. For me, it's harming his credibility. I think there is a balanced to be striked between the two, and right now that's not happening.

There are several reasons for Herbstreit to be in favor of a Missouri-WVU matchup. One, he rooted for one big ten to leap into the NC game last season in Michigan, and undoubtedly took a lot of heat for that. So I don't think he's going to root for another big ten team to leap frog into the NC game. Two, Herbstreit is for the stability of the establishment. Nothing will shake the foundation of the establishment more than one BCS team leaping another BCS team against popular sentiments. Herbstreit's career relies on the well being of this current establishment, and he is going to do nothing to jeoperdize its long term well-being.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I think that tOSU is in a no win situation no matter how it plays out. Barring something completely unforseen and probably impossible, like Mizz and WVU losing and somehow UGA or LSU sliding into the BCS champ game, we can't win.

Go to the Rose Bowl and play USC with a home field advantage; win and we'll hear "yeah but USC was overrated, they lost to Stanford (who lost to ND) for gods sake" Lose and we were overated again.

Go to the BCS champ game and it will be the same thing, win, "well your opponent sucked (i.e. wasn't from the SEC)" Lose and "you suck so bad, you could not even back into a National Title against a non-SEC patsy"

The only way to get any national respect is to keep sending players to the NFL (and hyping it like USC does and Miami did) Or beat an SEC team in a meaningful bowl.

I just hope we get the chance to bring home the Crystal, fill the WHAC up with a few more of those and the national pukes (pundits) can just cry in their beer.

I don't mean to single you out here, Grizz: I'm just using your post as an example of focusing a little too much on the near term, which there is a lot of around here.

Back in October, when we were first made #1, many of us were wringing our hands over all of the crying the media were doing about how we didn't deserve to be #1. It was then that I suggested a dream scenario where we end up doing exactly what many of us are now afraid of: winning the NC against a "lesser conference" team.

In that post, I identified USF and BC as potential opponents; but you could substitute WVU without losing the basic premise.

This can still happen:

OSU [strike]wins out and[/strike] loses to Illinois then plays [strike]South Florida or BC[/strike] WVU for the championship and wins a close one. The Buckeyes hoist the crystal football, and then ESPN goes on to do a 40-night retrospective on the most undeserving national champions in college football history. They end the series by unanimously deciding that the 2007 Buckeyes edge out the 1985 BYU Cougars for the title of Most Undeserving Champs Ever.​

The collective disrespect keeps the ridiculously loaded 2008 Buckeyes hungry and they tear through their schedule with a vengeance and return to the NC game in Miami in January 2009. Facing them will be an SEC team; and the entire world will say "watch what happens when the Buckeyes face real competition for the first time in two years".​

Then the Buckeyes go out and destroy them.​

That would be sweet: revenge and redemption. But it can't happen without a little delayed gratification. And it will only be worth it if we don't spend the whole interim period grousing about the very thing (disrespect) that will make it so sweet.

 

[Gatorubet]

I liked everything else you wrote, but I wanted to ask a question for you on this one: how is playing the Illini a no-win? If you beat them; then you just proved that it was right to let him go.

That is just it. It will detract from the game itself - and more importantly from the players - and become a referendum on the Zook firing. That is in the past, and I wish him well. I wish him a bowl win, but I cannot do that if we play him. And as the favored team, if we lose, it is a black mark. If we win, well we were supposed to. I want to play a higher ranked team than us if possible, or at least not Illinois.

 

[Buckeyedynasty]

That is just it. It will detract from the game itself - and more importantly from the players - and become a referendum on the Zook firing. That is in the past, and I wish him well. I wish him a bowl win, but I cannot do that if we play him. And as the favored team, if we lose, it is a black mark. If we win, well we were supposed to. I want to play a higher ranked team than us if possible, or at least not Illinois.

Your absolutely right it would take away from the game. But on the plus side.....the more they talk about Zook, the less we have to hear about Tebow being superman, curing cancer in Batswana, and saving orphans with Angelina Jolie.

 

[Lockup]

Here is the thing: no matter how "unfair" you think the disrespect is, you have to step back and look at it the way some others do. After the hype of The Game last year, and the insistence of many that we witnessed a Game of the Century between two great powers, both teams - the elite of the Big 10 - got hammered in their respective bowl games. Not beaten, not just coming up short, but downright punked. And while there are a number of good explanations for it, it was a HUGE hit perception wise.

Fast forward to this year. The highly ranked Michigan team was beaten by Appy State, and then punked again by Oregon. That same team then is good enough to play for the Big 10 Championship later in the year. You can complain and complain, but that is a perception that has as much validity as the many other ways to view it. Yes, you may be unfairly disrespected, but there is a basis for it. You can just as easily point out UT and how they are playing in Atlanta after being punked early in the year, and you would be right. But that is more of a reason why UT should not be given respect too, instead of why Michigan and the Big 10 should be immune from the outcomes of the last eleven months.

Do they leave out the two Big 10 wins in the 2006 bowl games over SEC teams in that analysis? Uh-huh. But the BCS Championship game and the USC beatdown of Michigan were higher profile bowls with more pub. The Appy State game was HUGE negative pub. Oregon as well. And had Michigan not beaten most of the Big 10 foes, you might have had less flack about the strength of the Big 10 this year - but they were playing for the title despite a perceived down year.

Everything is cyclical, and the perception is that you are down. Kick ass in your bowls and it becomes a non-point. Simple really. And I'm not telling you that the negative rep is right, but I am saying it has a rational basis that has its genesis in several highly publicized games that did not show the Big 10 at its best.

Kick ass in your bowls, and you guys get to N'Awlins. I want to play Meatchicken and not the Zooker (a no-win scenario for us) and we need the Bucks in the BCSCG to seal the deal.

Oh I completely understand where it is coming from but you see here is my problem.

For fans to say that stuff, basing it all on perception is perfectly fine. Call me delusional but I expect so-called experts to be able to see past that dribble and do their damn jobs and make an educated analysis of games. Problem is, they don't, they spew the same crap I can see on any ESPN board.

Do you know yesterday I heard Jim Rome (who I think has a lot of good points many times) say that OSU would get crushed by WVU because they could not handle their speed.

Funny isn't it? This is the same thing we heard for a month when we were getting set to play Miami for the NC.

OSU was suppose to be slow. OSU was suppose to get run over by the southern Florida speed freaks. I guess none of them watched the game because they sure don't seem to remember how OSU handled all that speed back then.

How many times this year have we heard that OSU was exposed in the NC game? Exposed? Does anybody who has any real football knowledge honestly believe that the OSU team that played that night was the same team that went 12-0? Does anybody really believe that Florida was a better team? They sure could have been but I don't think they were 41-14 better.

OSU had a bad day, it happens and could happen to any team. To listen to the so-called experts though OSU should have never been there.

That is not real sports reporting that is garbage. I guess I would like to expect more but I know that will never happen.

 

[Tlangs]

Oh I completely understand where it is coming from but you see here is my problem.

For fans to say that stuff, basing it all on perception is perfectly fine. Call me delusional but I expect so-called experts to be able to see past that dribble and do their damn jobs and make an educated analysis of games. Problem is, they don't, they spew the same crap I can see on any ESPN board.

Do you know yesterday I heard Jim Rome (who I think has a lot of good points many times) say that OSU would get crushed by WVU because they could not handle their speed.

Funny isn't it? This is the same thing we heard for a month when we were getting set to play Miami for the NC.

OSU was suppose to be slow. OSU was suppose to get run over by the southern Florida speed freaks. I guess none of them watched the game because they sure don't seem to remember how OSU handled all that speed back then.

How many times this year have we heard that OSU was exposed in the NC game? Exposed? Does anybody who has any real football knowledge honestly believe that the OSU team that played that night was the same team that went 12-0? Does anybody really believe that Florida was a better team? They sure could have been but I don't think they were 41-14 better.

OSU had a bad day, it happens and could happen to any team. To listen to the so-called experts though OSU should have never been there.

That is not real sports reporting that is garbage. I guess I would like to expect more but I know that will never happen.

Rome and Cowterd say that stuff to incite people to call. Their show is boring if they don't have any callers. What is the best way to get people to call in .....

 

[Lockup]

Rome and Cowterd say that stuff to incite people to call. Their show is boring if they don't have any callers. What is the best way to get people to call in .....

Cowterd is an idiot all I have to do is look at his Power 16 ranking.

While that is true about Rome I find he usually is pretty accurate and he is not saying anything I have not already heard others say.

 

[cincibuck]

Apologies to Grizz for this rewrite:

I think that tOSU is in a no win situation no matter how it plays out.

Quite right. As stated earlier, ESPN, Fox, CBS and others have economic reasons to put teams where THEY want them, reasons that have next to nothing with being fair or how things have worked out on the playing field. Add to that the illogical reasoning of the talking heads on ESPN as exhibit B, like last night when the clown opposite Tony Cornheiser spouted, "Ohio State? They lost a game just about a day and a half ago. To ILLINOIS! (as if that were something more significant than loosing to Kentucky or Texas Tech!) In this case, OSU will be the whipping boy for ESPN until they're in their Rose Bowl at which time OSU will be the next thing to Genghis Kahn's army to Pete Carroll's Vestal Virgins.

Go to the Rose Bowl and play USC with a home field advantage; win and we'll hear "yeah but USC was overrated, they lost to Stanford (who lost to ND) for gods sake" Lose and we were overated again.

They gotta be ready for the polls that will start coming out half way through spring practice and you gotta have USC and Notre Dame up there to keep the two coastal markets tuned in. Fuck the midwest. Nothing but cornfields, tornadoes, lost little girls and tiny dogs named Toto.

Go to the BCS champ game and it will be the same thing, win, "well your opponent sucked (i.e. wasn't from the SEC)" Lose and "you suck so bad, you could not even back into a National Title against a non-SEC patsy".

Well, til OSU beats an SEC team you're going to hear that no matter what happens, or which bowl they're in.

The only way to get any national respect is to keep sending players to the NFL (and hyping it like USC does and Miami did) Or beat an SEC team in a meaningful bowl.

See? We agree.

I just hope we get the chance to bring home the Crystal, fill the WHAC up with a few more of those and the national pukes (pundits) can just cry in their beer.

AMEN.