Big 10 Bowl Matchups

[Ttown]

Screw USC , Go Illini

 

[SNIPER26]

If Michigan beats Florida,.............shit I don't even think it's gonna happen, so we don't have to worry about me doing any crazy shit.

 

[scooter1369]

If Michigan beats Florida,.............shit I don't even think it's gonna happen, so we don't have to worry about me doing any crazy shit.

You guys better figure out how to stop a mobile QB in the next four weeks.

 

[SNIPER26]

You guys better figure out how to stop a mobile QB in the next four weeks.

Yeah no. We haven't been able to stop mobile QBs since the invention of time, so I don't see how we will manage to do it in four weeks. Ideally, if I were Ron English, this would be my plan. I'd scrap this bullshit soft zone we've been going with, plus we all saw how well soft zone works against Florida in some game last year I won't mention for the sake of my Buckeye compadres on this site.

I think I'd have Crable spy Tebow every play (CONTAIN, Shawn, CONTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and man up on these guys. Their receivers aren't all that great, and better hope for a great day from Englemon and Adams.

 

[scooter1369]

Yeah no. We haven't been able to stop mobile QBs since the invention of time, so I don't see how we will manage to do it in four weeks. Ideally, if I were Ron English, this would be my plan. I'd scrap this bullshit soft zone we've been going with, plus we all saw how well soft zone works against Florida in some game last year I won't mention for the sake of my Buckeye compadres on this site.

I think I'd have Crable spy Tebow every play (CONTAIN, Shawn, CONTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and man up on these guys. Their receivers aren't all that great, and better hope for a great day from Englemon and Adams.

Hope it works. I'd also recommend someone early on in the game, tear Harvin's tesicles off. That may help control him.

 

[SNIPER26]

Hope it works. I'd also recommend someone early on in the game, tear Harvin's tesicles off. That may help control him.

I'd like to have Jamar Adams cover Harvin over the top. Harvin reminds me a lot of Ted Ginn. Lots of wheels, but both of their route-running could use some work. I have a feeling we'll see lots of Harvin down the field, and Jamar Adams being there to greet him with a nice pop would be super.

 

[HailToMichigan]

I think I'd have Crable spy Tebow every play (CONTAIN, Shawn, CONTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and man up on these guys. Their receivers aren't all that great, and better hope for a great day from Englemon and Adams.

I think the only reason Harvin and Caldwell don't have more catches than they do already is because Harvin and Tebow run the ball so much. Harvin's their second-leading rusher.

Key to the game is for the defense to come up with stops around the 30-yard-line. Florida's gonna move the ball, no question. And if they get inside the 20, they'll score touchdowns, guaranteed. That defense is not going to stop Tebow if he wants the end zone. If the defense can get a stop when they have a relatively short field around the 30 and not let them in the red zone, the game'll stay close enough for the offense to win it.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Purdue and Central Michigan is a bowl game? I thought Central Michigan was someone you scheduled so that the SEC fans could say your schedule was soft and that you were all afraid of real opponents? Purdue should win easily, if they don't, they should not come home, or at least change their names and pretend to be imigrant workers.

What's worse than a Purdue-CMU bowl game in Michigan? A Purdue-CMU bowl game that is a re-match of a regular season blowout. Purdue had 300 yards in the first quarter and the Boilers were up 38-0 less than 3 minutes into the 2nd half. Final of 45-22 as CMU's offense came around late, but still......

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if CMU wins this.

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

From ESPN

Motor City
Purdue vs. Central Michigan

Champs Sports
Boston College vs. Michigan State

Valero Alamo
Penn State vs. Texas A&M

Insight
Indiana vs. Oklahoma State

Outback
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee

Capital One
Michigan vs. Florida

Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Illinois vs. USC

some game in New Orleans
us vs. somebody

Purdue over CMU
MSU over BC (go Dantonio, B10)
PSU over A&M (springboard to National Title in '08 )
IU over Okie State (win one for Hoep, I hope)
Bucky Badger over the fat Phils (nuff said)
scUM over UF (send VLLoyd out on a good note)
Ill over USCum (USC gets a taste of SEC annex speed)
tOSU over LSU (the vests over the hats)

these were with my scarlet colored glasses on , I'll be back another time to give my more well thought out picks (sure you all are waiting with baited breath :tongue2:)

 

[BrutusBobcat]

The problem for Michigan isn't that Tebow is mobile, it's that he's strong and hard to bring down. When you do, he falls forward and picks up extra yards. This becomes a big factor deep in the red zone. It doesn't matter if the guy only rushes for 50 yards if each one of those runs is from your 10. Harvin is a bigger threat in terms of agility and making huge plays, and I think he presents at least as big a danger, if not bigger.

My game plan, if I were in my worst nightmare and were Lloyd Carr, would be to use time of possession to my advantage. Work Mike Hart like he's the son-in-law you hate, using the occasional play action to see if you can get an open look at Manningham. In other words, a sweater vest game plan. This all comes apart if you get down early. I am not sure what your defense does to slow Florida down, so what you're hoping for are turnovers. Work on stripping the ball, tip drills, and jumping routes. Also, along the lines of shortening the game, you're going to want to take away the pass. Florida is going to get their yards, so make sure it's on the ground and in bounds. This means taking better angles and WRAPPING UP. Michigan has to tackle well, or this one may get ugly.

Florida's defense hasn't been anything special, so you may be able to hang with them score-for-score for a while, and if you reduce possessions and shorten the game, a break your way can make the difference. They certainly shouldn't be holding you to 90 yards. Either way, you're going to need to be mistake-free, especially in terms of taking care of the football.

The Michigan game and the Michigan State game are the two in which I have the least confidence. MSU is just plain outmatched. UM's problem is that there's a lame duck coaching staff. English and DeBord are out looking for jobs, and Carr's replacement could be announced any day, further distracting bowl preparations. The seniors' goal of finally beating Ohio State has gone up in smoke, so their motivation level (which has often been questionable) may not be great. Team psychology is critical here. This is a team that's tanked in it's last four major games -- OSU twice, the Rose Bowl, and against Oregon. They need to come up with some heart.

As far as Illinois goes, I am not going to diminish the chances of a team that came into the 'Shoe and knocked off an unbeaten, top-ranked Buckeye squad. If they can beat us, they can beat USC in the Rose Bowl. Sure, Juice played the game of his life, but he did do it. His game reached a new level, and he's more than capable of doing it again. If he plays like that, SC is in trouble.

Penn State, of course, faces a lame-duck coaching staff also, and I think that works highly in their favor. My only question is, will their fans travel? Ohio State made the crowd about 60/40 in our last Alamo Bowl appearance, despite playing a team that is relatively close by. A&M is even closer, making this practically a home game for them. PSU fans have to step up and get down there, just like we do with New Orleans.

With eight teams in bowls, I'm hopeful that the Big Ten is going to bring home some big wins. There's certainly no shortage of opportunities.

 

[daveeb]

I don't rate the chances of Michigan State against Boston College high at all. Michigan State is all about the running game. Boston College has the nations #1 run defense. This is a major mismatch. Unless Brian Hoyer has a career day, a win is not coming.

The only way I could see Michigan State being able to run the ball on Boston College is if they were to draw the game out with long drives. Running the ball at an average of 2-3 yards per play is good if you get that every time. 3rd and 5 is very manageable for Brian Hoyer.

But yeah, jeez. Hopefully Michigan State brings more fans that Boston College will.

 

[HailToMichigan]

I'm not sure why Illinois is given such little chance to beat USC. I think the pundits are not too happy that they don't get to see Mizzou-USC or some similar game, so they're taking it out on the Illini and bashing the Rose Bowl's Big Ten fix. When Illinois is on, they're good enough to beat USC.

As for Penn State, they'll beat A&M. A&M really isn't such a good team, and they're going through a lot of turmoil. I think the Big Ten is in good shape bowl-wise. The only ones that look truly overmatched are Michigan (because of Tebow - give us Tennessee or even Georgia instead and I think we win or at least aren't totally hating the matchup) and MSU (BC got jobbed by the circumstances and drew a weaker team than they should have.)

 

[Jaxbuck]

I just wanted to sum up some thoughts that have been discussed in this thread.

B10 Bowl games by BCS ranking and location.

Ohio State #1 vs #2 LSU in New Orleans
Illinois #13 vs # 7 USC in L.A.
Wisconsin #18 vs #16 Tennessee in Tampa
scUM #29 vs #12 Florida in Orlando
PSU #33 vs #34 Texas A&M in Texas
MSU #40 vs #14 BC in Orlando
Purdue #53 vs #65 Central Michigan in Detroit
IU #57 vs #46 Ok State in Arizona

-5 of the 8 games are a home game for the opponent
-B10 has the higher ranked BCS team in only 3 of the 8 games:
Wisky is playing a team 2 spots above them at a neutral site.
Illinois is playing a team 6 spots above them on the road.
Indiana is playing a team 11 spots above them at a neutral site.
scUM is playing a team 17 spots above them on the road.
MSU is playing a team 26 spots ahead of them at a neutral site.

Not really news but scUM got the worst of it. Playing a team much higher rated that is a matchup nightmare and its a home game for the Gators. OUCH.

When and if we have a decent Bowl season(I think we just might) remember this stuff. We definitly had an up hill climb.

 

[Hawn4nu]

I just wanted to sum up some thoughts that have been discussed in this thread.

B10 Bowl games by BCS ranking and location.

Ohio State #1 vs #2 LSU in New Orleans
Illinois #13 vs # 7 USC in L.A.
Wisconsin #18 vs #16 Tennessee in Tampa
scUM #29 vs #12 Florida in Orlando
PSU #33 vs #34 Texas A&M in Texas
MSU #40 vs #14 BC in Orlando
Purdue #53 vs #65 Central Michigan in Detroit
IU #57 vs #46 Ok State in Arizona

-5 of the 8 games are a home game for the opponent
-B10 has the higher ranked BCS team in only 3 of the 8 games:
Wisky is playing a team 2 spots above them at a neutral site.
Illinois is playing a team 6 spots above them on the road.
Indiana is playing a team 11 spots above them at a neutral site.
scUM is playing a team 17 spots above them on the road.
MSU is playing a team 26 spots ahead of them at a neutral site.

Not really news but scUM got the worst of it. Playing a team much higher rated that is a matchup nightmare and its a home game for the Gators. OUCH.

When and if we have a decent Bowl season(I think we just might) remember this stuff. We definitly had an up hill climb.

Gee, already making excuses for a dismal bowl season? Its still early. Its a rough year for the big ten when the excuses start flying before the bowl season begins. scUM lost to APP state, that game wont be close.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Gee, already making excuses for a dismal bowl season? Its still early. Its a rough year for the big ten when the excuses start flying before the bowl season begins. scUM lost to APP state, that game wont be close.

You don't think it's a valid point that these games aren't played on neutral sites?