lvbuckeye
Silver Surfer
feel free to merge it, but i thought it warrants it's own thread, if just for a little while... anyway, here you go:
Originally posted byRufusMorgan on BN:
I have many, many seasons of Big Ten memories going back to the 60's. My intuition, I have found, is excellent enough to make money betting. I frquently boast that I will bet, but I never do. We all know there are better ways to invest time and resource. But about Big Ten football, I am as passionate as I am intuitive. Since 1969 I have predicted the winner of each and every OSU-Michigan game with the exceptions of 1975 and 2004 and what I lacked in intuition in 75' I made up with passionate rooting for my Wolverines to beat OSU after not winning for three years in a row(1972, 1973, 1974...each year Michigan was unbeaten, untied until it met up with Ohio State). Then the magic returned in 1976. I didn't know what the final score would be but I did call the shutout. The final: Michigan 22-0. And since 1977, I feel that we have enjoyed much success against a sporadic Ohio State. I was really feeling smug and superior especially during the Cooper Era; I even suggested that the Ohio State game was no longer the "Big Game". My revenge for the indignities imposed on us culminating in '75.
Well, it's 30 years later...another year ending in "5". I am one up on the voting members doing the rankings. After watching what OSU did to my Wolves last year, I am absolutely certain that there is no team in the land that can stand up to Ohio State for much more than 2 quarters. It may be one of the most brutal defenses in Big Ten history. We couldn't run, Oklahoma State couldn't run, Miami couldn't run and the OSU pass rush is equally overwhelming.
Even worse for its opponents is that in '05 the OSU offense will be equal to or greater than the Michigan offense.
Basically I have observed that OSU plays in 2 modes:
1) Declaration of total power mode
2) Maintenance mode
It is the first mode which lasts only 2 quarters or so that is so impressive. Personally I don't think any other college team can stand up to that and hope for a win.
What follows is a statistical image of just about 2 quarters length. These are the stats for OSU and Michigan during that period last year whan OSU scored 27 unanswered points.
Each team had the ball six times. The results:
Rushing yards:
OSU 177
Mich 3
Avg Rush
OSU 6.3
Mich 0.3 (that's right 12 inches)
Passing Yards
OSU 169 avg gain 8.9 53% comp
Mich 65 avg gain 4.0 44% comp
Return yards
OSU 126
Mich 0
Avg Length of drive
OSU 57.6 yards
Mich 11.3
First Downs
OSU 14
Mich 3
For every yard Michigan rushed OSU scored 9 points. OSU scored more yards rushing on its last possession than Michigan had all game.
72% of Ohio State's offense came from big plays(10 or more yards).
In just two quarters and including return yardage, OSU 466 yards to Michigan 68.
I have never ever witnessed Michigan being so dominated. We have awakened a sleeping giant. And, Texas, I really believe you're next on the list.
My prediction: Texas will break before the half...
Oh, and if we don't survive Notre Dame this Saturday, Iowa may replace us as your "Big Game" of the league this year. Now I know how it felt during the Cooper years(oh, I miss that dear man).
It is, therefore, my humble belief that OSU is number 1 until another team proves that it can up to such an overwhelming college team. I predict Ohio State as National Champions for 2005.
Originally posted byRufusMorgan on BN:
I have many, many seasons of Big Ten memories going back to the 60's. My intuition, I have found, is excellent enough to make money betting. I frquently boast that I will bet, but I never do. We all know there are better ways to invest time and resource. But about Big Ten football, I am as passionate as I am intuitive. Since 1969 I have predicted the winner of each and every OSU-Michigan game with the exceptions of 1975 and 2004 and what I lacked in intuition in 75' I made up with passionate rooting for my Wolverines to beat OSU after not winning for three years in a row(1972, 1973, 1974...each year Michigan was unbeaten, untied until it met up with Ohio State). Then the magic returned in 1976. I didn't know what the final score would be but I did call the shutout. The final: Michigan 22-0. And since 1977, I feel that we have enjoyed much success against a sporadic Ohio State. I was really feeling smug and superior especially during the Cooper Era; I even suggested that the Ohio State game was no longer the "Big Game". My revenge for the indignities imposed on us culminating in '75.
Well, it's 30 years later...another year ending in "5". I am one up on the voting members doing the rankings. After watching what OSU did to my Wolves last year, I am absolutely certain that there is no team in the land that can stand up to Ohio State for much more than 2 quarters. It may be one of the most brutal defenses in Big Ten history. We couldn't run, Oklahoma State couldn't run, Miami couldn't run and the OSU pass rush is equally overwhelming.
Even worse for its opponents is that in '05 the OSU offense will be equal to or greater than the Michigan offense.
Basically I have observed that OSU plays in 2 modes:
1) Declaration of total power mode
2) Maintenance mode
It is the first mode which lasts only 2 quarters or so that is so impressive. Personally I don't think any other college team can stand up to that and hope for a win.
What follows is a statistical image of just about 2 quarters length. These are the stats for OSU and Michigan during that period last year whan OSU scored 27 unanswered points.
Each team had the ball six times. The results:
Rushing yards:
OSU 177
Mich 3
Avg Rush
OSU 6.3
Mich 0.3 (that's right 12 inches)
Passing Yards
OSU 169 avg gain 8.9 53% comp
Mich 65 avg gain 4.0 44% comp
Return yards
OSU 126
Mich 0
Avg Length of drive
OSU 57.6 yards
Mich 11.3
First Downs
OSU 14
Mich 3
For every yard Michigan rushed OSU scored 9 points. OSU scored more yards rushing on its last possession than Michigan had all game.
72% of Ohio State's offense came from big plays(10 or more yards).
In just two quarters and including return yardage, OSU 466 yards to Michigan 68.
I have never ever witnessed Michigan being so dominated. We have awakened a sleeping giant. And, Texas, I really believe you're next on the list.
My prediction: Texas will break before the half...
Oh, and if we don't survive Notre Dame this Saturday, Iowa may replace us as your "Big Game" of the league this year. Now I know how it felt during the Cooper years(oh, I miss that dear man).
It is, therefore, my humble belief that OSU is number 1 until another team proves that it can up to such an overwhelming college team. I predict Ohio State as National Champions for 2005.
