Best Buckeye Team Of The Decade?

[LordJeffBuck]

And in 2002 OSU was not a better team than Miami. Sorry. We caught them flat the same way Florida caught us flat.

I'll take the crystal football, thank you ... and you can keep trying to convince me that that doesn't count for something special.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

So I finally got my Phil Steele mag(yay!!!) and I checked out his 2008 team projected stats. We are a juggernaut on both sides of the ball.

Rush Yards Per Game: 245
Pass Yards Per Game: 275(way too high, IMO)
Points Per Game: 39.3

Rush Yards Allowed Per Game: 65
Pass Yards Allowed Per Game: 145
Points Allowed Per Game: 10.1

We have the 5th highest rushing attack, 6th highest scoring attack, best rushing defense, best passing defense, best scoring defense, 6th best total offense, and best total defense in the entire country.

This is coming from an unbiased source. Phil Steele doesn't have any reason to get caught up in "senseless hyperbole".

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I noticed that too...

520 yards is just WAY too much. IMHO, JT will use the new clock rules to milk the game so badly that he could score on every possession and still not get to 450 yards. Not that I have a problem with that. Just win

 

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

I noticed that too...

520 yards is just WAY too much. IMHO, JT will use the new clock rules to milk the game so badly that he could score on every possession and still not get to 450 yards. Not that I have a problem with that. Just win

Exactly. While i would like tOSU to put 50 on USC with 600 yards of offense, i wouldnt care if we beat them like Stanford where they were outgained by 200 and still won. We got the first crystal football after winning 6 games by less than 7 points. Since then, margin of victory in the Tressel era is irrelevant. We just need to win.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

I noticed that too...

520 yards is just WAY too much. IMHO, JT will use the new clock rules to milk the game so badly that he could score on every possession and still not get to 450 yards. Not that I have a problem with that. Just win

Agreed. If we are as good as we hope/expect to be, no way are we throwing for 275 yards a game. 225 is probably more accurate.

Those stats are quite similar to the '98 team which I believe(going off the top of my head) averaged around 35 ppg, 200 yards rushing, 250 yards passing, 12 points allowed per game, 80 yards rushing allowed per game, and 170 yards passing allowed per game. But Cooper didn't have a Beanie Wells and didn't stop passing when we were up by a comfortable margin.

Exactly. While i would like tOSU to put 50 on USC with 600 yards of offense, i wouldnt care if we beat them like Stanford where they were outgained by 200 and still won. We got the first crystal football after winning 6 games by less than 7 points. Since then, margin of victory in the Tressel era is irrelevant. We just need to win.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

It would be nice to have a season which combines dominance and perfection. Here's an update of something I wrote in '06.

While many Ohio State teams have reached November with a perfect record, only four have finished the season unblemished. Here is a list of every Buckeye team that started 8-0, how they finished, and an indication of how dominant their wins were:

tOSU teams that finished with a perfect record
1944 - finished 9-0 (AP #2), 4 of 9 wins by less than 17, including TSUN
1954 - finished 10-0 (AP #1), 5 of 10 wins by less than 17, including TSUN
1968 - finished 10-0 (AP #1), 6 of 10 wins by less than 17, 50-14 over TSUN ("couldn't go for 3')
2002 - finished 14-0 (AP #1), 8 of 14 wins by less than 17, including TSUN

tOSU teams that started 8-0, didn't win game 9
1969 - finished 8-1 (AP #4), all wins by at least 27 points, lost 12-24 to TSUN
1974 - finished 10-2 (AP #4), 2 of 10 wins by less than 17, lost to MSU, USC in the Rose Bowl
1993 - finished 10-1-1 (AP #11), 5 of 10 wins by less than 17, tied at Wiscy, lost to TSUN
1998 - finished 11-1 (AP #2), all of first 8 wins by 17 or more, lost to MSU

tOSU teams that started 9-0, didn't win game 10
1970 - finished 9-1 (AP #5), 3 of 9 wins by less than 17, lost to Stanford in Rose Bowl
1973 - finished 10-0-1 (AP #2), all wins by 21 or more, had 10-10 tie in Ann Arbor

tOSU teams that started 10-0, didn't win game 11
1996 - finished 11-1 (AP #2), 5 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost to TSUN
2007 - finished 11-2 (AP #5), 3 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost to Illinois, LSU in BCS Title Game

tOSU teams that started 11-0, didn't win game 12
1975 - finished 11-1 (AP #4), 3 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost Rose Bowl to UCLA
1979 - finished 11-1 (AP #4), 4 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost Rose bowl to USC
1995 - finished 11-2 (AP #6), 3 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost to TSUN, Tennecleat in the Citrus bowl

tOSU teams that started 12-0, didn't win game 13
2006 - finished 12-1 (AP #2), 2 of 12 wins by less than 17, lost BCS Title Game to Florida (only team ever to win a pair of AP poll #1 vs. #2 games to not finish #1 in the AP poll)

woody, cooper, tressel are littered all over that. our southern step child stacks up pretty well historically...

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

woody, cooper, tressel are littered all over that. our southern step child stacks up pretty well historically...

A part of me sees your point.

Another part of me can't see past 2-10-1

 

[Dryden]

woody, cooper, tressel are littered all over that. our southern step child stacks up pretty well historically...

In a list of teams that started hot then lost a critical game down the stretch ... yeah, Coop stacks up pretty well historically.

Coop being prominent on that list is not a good thing.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

...Coop being prominent on that list is not a good thing.

But is exactly what you would expect given the 2-10-1...

Did I mention he went 2-10-1?

 

[jimotis4heisman]

A part of me sees your point.

Another part of me can't see past 2-10-1

certainly

look at it this way

tOSU teams that finished with a perfect record
1944 widdoes- finished 9-0 (AP #2), 4 of 9 wins by less than 17, including TSUN
1954 hayes- finished 10-0 (AP #1), 5 of 10 wins by less than 17, including TSUN
1968 hayes- finished 10-0 (AP #1), 6 of 10 wins by less than 17, 50-14 over TSUN ("couldn't go for 3')
2002 tressel- finished 14-0 (AP #1), 8 of 14 wins by less than 17, including TSUN

tOSU teams that started 8-0, didn't win game 9
1969 hayes- finished 8-1 (AP #4), all wins by at least 27 points, lost 12-24 to TSUN
1974 hayes- finished 10-2 (AP #4), 2 of 10 wins by less than 17, lost to MSU, USC in the Rose Bowl
1993 cooper- finished 10-1-1 (AP #11), 5 of 10 wins by less than 17, tied at Wiscy, lost to TSUN
1998 cooper- finished 11-1 (AP #2), all of first 8 wins by 17 or more, lost to MSU

tOSU teams that started 9-0, didn't win game 10
1970 hayes- finished 9-1 (AP #5), 3 of 9 wins by less than 17, lost to Stanford in Rose Bowl
1973 hayes- finished 10-0-1 (AP #2), all wins by 21 or more, had 10-10 tie in Ann Arbor

tOSU teams that started 10-0, didn't win game 11
1996 cooper- finished 11-1 (AP #2), 5 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost to TSUN
2007 tressel- finished 11-2 (AP #5), 3 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost to Illinois, LSU in BCS Title Game

tOSU teams that started 11-0, didn't win game 12
1975 hayes- finished 11-1 (AP #4), 3 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost Rose Bowl to UCLA
1979 hayes- finished 11-1 (AP #4), 4 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost Rose bowl to USC
1995 cooper- finished 11-2 (AP #6), 3 of 11 wins by less than 17, lost to TSUN, Tennecleat in the Citrus bowl

tOSU teams that started 12-0, didn't win game 13
2006 tressel- finished 12-1 (AP #2), 2 of 12 wins by less than 17, lost BCS Title Game to Florida (only team ever to win a pair of AP poll #1 vs. #2 games to not finish #1 in the AP poll)

i added the coaches, highlighted michigan. read through that list. look at woody's rosebowls...

techincally woody split the 54 and 57 titles, had his 61 team (undefeated) voted out of the rose bowl by the faculty board, the 70 team was really ranked 5th or 2nd depending on who you ask, the 73 controversial vote for the rosebowl. but you can look at 72-77 when woodys team won or shared the big ten title every year.

 

[Buckin Crazy]

2005 was by far the most talented team
Troy Smith Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzales,Nick Mangold, Donte Whitner, A.J. Hawk, Malcolm Jenkins,Ashton Youboty, Bobby Carpenter, Kudla, Quinn Pitcock, the list goes on and on.

 

[WyoBuckeye]

2002 (until proven otherwise).

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

2005 was by far the most talented team
Troy Smith Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzales,Nick Mangold, Donte Whitner, A.J. Hawk, Malcolm Jenkins,Ashton Youboty, Bobby Carpenter, Kudla, Quinn Pitcock, the list goes on and on.

Keep in mind that many of those eventual stars on the '05 squad did not start playing up to their potential until later in the season. Holmes was an one man show on the WR corp and didn't get much help until the emergence of Ginn Jr. and Gonzo much later. Smith was on and off until the Michigan game. The defense was great, but you the best you can say about them is that they were equal to the '02 defense.

I thought about this for a while, and I hesitantly give the upper hand to the '08 squad. Having Chris Wells at his prime has to account for something. The OL is much better. Key members of the supporting cast, such as Jenkins and Robiskie, are better than their '02 counterparts. Laurinatis will go down as one of the greats, probably on par with AJ Hawk and Chris Spielman and others. If you ask people what they think about Ohio State, they would tell you running backs and linebackers. We got two of the all time greats, possibly the greatest RB here right now, so that has to account for something.

The only thing holding us back is the inability of the defense to stop the run at critical junctures of the game. Miami too was on the verge of blowing out Ohio State with a 7-0 lead and driving to the midfield. But our '02 DL stuffed them, with key stops by Kenny Peterson and Tim Anderson. This year, whether we are up or we are down, our defense has to hold and not just open the floodgates for the opponent.

 

[Yertle]

1. 2005- They would've been the best team in the country in almost every other season
2. 2006- Had they won it all, they'd be number 1
3. 2002- National Champs, but too many close calls to be ranked number 1 here
4. 2003- Could have gone to the big one if they had beat Michigan
5. 2007- Solid team, but i don't think they were one of the top two teams
6. 2004- Tough season, but they did beat Michigan
7. 2001- Don't know much about this team, but they beat Michigan as well
8. 2000- No comment

I won't rank 2008, but they are the most talented of all the teams, they could very well be number 1 after this season.

Although I agree with the bottom half of your assessment, I can't come to grips with any logic that puts a perfect season, national championship win over THE TEAM OF THE CENTURY (according to ESPN), and the only Div 1A football team to ever win 14 games in any position but tops.

And 2005 as the best? Really? They were in a dogfight with Sparty at home! Thank God JL Smith had a melt down that carried over to his team in the fourth quarter. The best Buckeye team of the decade doesn't need a psycho coach on the other sidelines to win a home game.

1. 2002 hands down. I don't care about close calls. That's like saying a Nolan Ryan perfect game wasn't that good because he had too many 3-ball counts. What the?
2. 2006 as clear #2. Incredible team that had its defense exposed at the wrong time. Dammit.
3. 2005. Lame showing against MSU and PSU, and a sub-par performance in the 2nd and 3rd quarters at Michigan.
4. 2007. I thought about switching 3 and 4, but didn't (obviously). Lame showing against Illinois, Akron, MSU, and most of Wisky. But, expectations were so low, and Wells was so good!
5. 2003. It's tough to rank a team high that loses to Michigan. Especially when there's so many that have beaten Michigan.
6. 2004. Crappy 3 game stretch in the middle of the season. LOSS TO NW??? GRRRRRR.... Ended with a bang though.
7. 2001. Beat Michigan. Losses to Illinois, Wisky, and handed Joe Pa his record setting win. Was nice to watch this season after the mess Cooper left us with though.
8. 2000. Horrible. 8-4, but it was a tough season to watch from the very beginning. The 7-5 season in 2001 was far more enjoyable.

Someone actually voted for 2001??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I need to re-read the thread to see if there's an explanation.

 

[MUBuck]

Although I agree with the bottom half of your assessment, I can't come to grips with any logic that puts a perfect season, national championship win over THE TEAM OF THE CENTURY (according to ESPN), and the only Div 1A football team to ever win 14 games in any position but tops.

And 2005 as the best? Really? They were in a dogfight with Sparty at home! Thank God JL Smith had a melt down that carried over to his team in the fourth quarter. The best Buckeye team of the decade doesn't need a psycho coach on the other sidelines to win a home game.

1. 2002 hands down. I don't care about close calls. That's like saying a Nolan Ryan perfect game wasn't that good because he had too many 3-ball counts. What the?
2. 2006 as clear #2. Incredible team that had its defense exposed at the wrong time. Dammit.
3. 2005. Lame showing against MSU and PSU, and a sub-par performance in the 2nd and 3rd quarters at Michigan.
4. 2007. I thought about switching 3 and 4, but didn't (obviously). Lame showing against Illinois, Akron, MSU, and most of Wisky. But, expectations were so low, and Wells was so good!
5. 2003. It's tough to rank a team high that loses to Michigan. Especially when there's so many that have beaten Michigan.
6. 2004. Crappy 3 game stretch in the middle of the season. LOSS TO NW??? GRRRRRR.... Ended with a bang though.
7. 2001. Beat Michigan. Losses to Illinois, Wisky, and handed Joe Pa his record setting win. Was nice to watch this season after the mess Cooper left us with though.
8. 2000. Horrible. 8-4, but it was a tough season to watch from the very beginning. The 7-5 season in 2001 was far more enjoyable.

Someone actually voted for 2001??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I need to re-read the thread to see if there's an explanation.

Technically, the thread is best team of the decade. You are treating it as best season of the decade.