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- Thread starter BrutusBobcat
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BrutusBobcat
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Things have become both more complicated and more simple now. One way or another, the Big Ten title will most likely be decided in Columbus on Nov. 14, presuming that Iowa beats MSU this weekend. Their next two games will be at home against Indiana and Northwestern, and it's reasonable to presume that they'll beat both of those teams by at least a last second field goal, or even a touchdown.
Penn State, while having only one conference loss, is likely out of the running, since they'd need for Iowa to lose twice. They can, however, spoil Ohio State's shot at making Nov. 14 a title game, and they can crush Sparty's hopes if MSU manages to upend Iowa somehow.
MSU's only shot of staying in the race is this weekend, and a win over Iowa still wouldn't put the Spartans anywhere near the driver's seat. They're three rows back hoping for some car sickness from the Bucks and Kittens due to their two out of conference losses. Should they pull one out over the Hawkeyes, how painful is that loss to CMU? Removing your own teeth with pliers is probably close. Of course, they'd still have to beat Penn State at the end of the year, so there's lots of opportunities to Sparty the whole thing up.
The two loss teams can pretty much be considered as being out of it at this point, at least until we're down to one or two one loss teams. If we're at a point where Iowa, PSU and OSU have two losses, then Operation Chaos Mode will have shifted focus to the Big Ten with full force. Right now, six Big Ten teams have two conference losses, so the various mathematical possibilities are numerous. We'll ignore all of them. The Big Ten winner will have one or zero losses. Problem solved.
That leaves us with Ohio State and Iowa. If the Buckeyes win in Happy Valley, then the game on November 14 is more or less for the title, presuming that the winner doesn't choke away their rivalry game the following week. If Penn State beats OSU, then it doesn't matter, and Iowa needs to only beat Minnesota, presuming of course, that they beat MSU this weekend.
For maximum zaniness, I like the idea of State Penn and Iowhere losing, so I'm going to root for both of the schools up north. The results of Indiana-Northwestern and Purdue-Illinois aren't really relevant to the Big Ten race, so whatever. For the ultra-paranoid or ultra-conservative fans, losses by the Boilers and Wildcats are beneficial to us, so roll with that if you just have to have a rooting interest.
Obviously we need the Bucks to beat Minnesota, if for no other reason than for this thread to continue as being relevant. It would also be nice to see people in Columbus smile occasionally over the next two weeks, and to be able to hold a conversation that doesn't begin with "So, what do you think is wrong with Ohio State's offense?"
Basically, after this weekend, the conference takes a deep breath, kicks off its shoes, pours out a stiff drink and waits around for OSU and Penn State to play on November 7. There aren't any other useful or meaningful matchups until then, so enjoy the New Mexico State game. Are they the Lobos, or is that New Mexico? New Mexico, Old Mexico...since when does the NCAA allow scheduling foreign teams, anyway?
Penn State, while having only one conference loss, is likely out of the running, since they'd need for Iowa to lose twice. They can, however, spoil Ohio State's shot at making Nov. 14 a title game, and they can crush Sparty's hopes if MSU manages to upend Iowa somehow.
MSU's only shot of staying in the race is this weekend, and a win over Iowa still wouldn't put the Spartans anywhere near the driver's seat. They're three rows back hoping for some car sickness from the Bucks and Kittens due to their two out of conference losses. Should they pull one out over the Hawkeyes, how painful is that loss to CMU? Removing your own teeth with pliers is probably close. Of course, they'd still have to beat Penn State at the end of the year, so there's lots of opportunities to Sparty the whole thing up.
The two loss teams can pretty much be considered as being out of it at this point, at least until we're down to one or two one loss teams. If we're at a point where Iowa, PSU and OSU have two losses, then Operation Chaos Mode will have shifted focus to the Big Ten with full force. Right now, six Big Ten teams have two conference losses, so the various mathematical possibilities are numerous. We'll ignore all of them. The Big Ten winner will have one or zero losses. Problem solved.
That leaves us with Ohio State and Iowa. If the Buckeyes win in Happy Valley, then the game on November 14 is more or less for the title, presuming that the winner doesn't choke away their rivalry game the following week. If Penn State beats OSU, then it doesn't matter, and Iowa needs to only beat Minnesota, presuming of course, that they beat MSU this weekend.
For maximum zaniness, I like the idea of State Penn and Iowhere losing, so I'm going to root for both of the schools up north. The results of Indiana-Northwestern and Purdue-Illinois aren't really relevant to the Big Ten race, so whatever. For the ultra-paranoid or ultra-conservative fans, losses by the Boilers and Wildcats are beneficial to us, so roll with that if you just have to have a rooting interest.
Obviously we need the Bucks to beat Minnesota, if for no other reason than for this thread to continue as being relevant. It would also be nice to see people in Columbus smile occasionally over the next two weeks, and to be able to hold a conversation that doesn't begin with "So, what do you think is wrong with Ohio State's offense?"
Basically, after this weekend, the conference takes a deep breath, kicks off its shoes, pours out a stiff drink and waits around for OSU and Penn State to play on November 7. There aren't any other useful or meaningful matchups until then, so enjoy the New Mexico State game. Are they the Lobos, or is that New Mexico? New Mexico, Old Mexico...since when does the NCAA allow scheduling foreign teams, anyway?
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BrutusBobcat
Icon and Entertainer
Since the Rose Bowl does actually involve teams from two different conferences, I should probably mention something or the other about the Pac-10. Like poll voters, I don't actually watch Pac-10 games, since they all start after my bedtime, and since I can't grasp the concept of the forward pass. Plus the fact that there doesn't seem to be a defense on the field confuses me. It's like the DH in American League baseball. Whatever rule they have seems to both up the scoring and eliminate traditional strategy, like punting and field position.
Anyway, having confessed my full ignorance regarding college football on the West Coast, I'll take my best guess as to what's going on out there. Oregon and USC play each other on October 31 in Autzen, and that appears to be a pretty important game.
ESPN seems to think that Bob Stoops has a brother, and that he's coaching at Arizona. I'll see if I can track down that rumor. They're also ranked in one of those polls by pollsters who haven't watched them play any more than I have, so take our word for it that they're good and in contention for the Rose Bowl also. Arizona State has the same record as Arizona, but is not ranked and is not rumored to be coached by a member of the Stoops family. though they do seem to have learned a thing or two from Big Game Bob by scheduling the same Idaho State team that the Sooners played the following week. I guess Bob must have needed to even up his career mark against schools from Idaho. Not sure what ASU's reasoning was.
Anyway, we can rest assured that the Sun Devils are not in the mix, otherwise the pollsters would have ranked them.
Anyway, having confessed my full ignorance regarding college football on the West Coast, I'll take my best guess as to what's going on out there. Oregon and USC play each other on October 31 in Autzen, and that appears to be a pretty important game.
ESPN seems to think that Bob Stoops has a brother, and that he's coaching at Arizona. I'll see if I can track down that rumor. They're also ranked in one of those polls by pollsters who haven't watched them play any more than I have, so take our word for it that they're good and in contention for the Rose Bowl also. Arizona State has the same record as Arizona, but is not ranked and is not rumored to be coached by a member of the Stoops family. though they do seem to have learned a thing or two from Big Game Bob by scheduling the same Idaho State team that the Sooners played the following week. I guess Bob must have needed to even up his career mark against schools from Idaho. Not sure what ASU's reasoning was.
Anyway, we can rest assured that the Sun Devils are not in the mix, otherwise the pollsters would have ranked them.
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ttk
Conquest!
BrutusBobcat;1573773; said:
:tongue2: Pac-10 football has actually been kind of defensive lately, this year has been great for new QBs though. Lots of young, impressive QBs around the conference.
With regard to punting, Neuheisel somewhat famously said "punting is winning," but I think he's rethinking that stance.
The Pac-10 is actually alot of fun this year because there's a huge amount of parity and teams really can't afford to look past any other ones, except maybe Washington State. USC can't afford to overlook Oregon State this week, for obvious reasons, and Oregon can't overlook Washington. Mandel has Washington beating Oregon as his upset special.
Of course, if both teams can come through that unscathed, it will likely mean the Pac-10 race will be decided on Oct. 31st when USC travels to Eugene to play Oregon.
An interesting possibility is that if Oregon beats USC and both teams win out from that point, if the Pac-10 could get a second bowl berth with a 2-loss USC. It might take some more losses around the country but it could lead to an attractive bowl matchup.
The other big possibility is if USC wins out and ends the season with one loss, they are in a good position among one-loss teams to get into the NC game. That would leave Oregon in the Rose Bowl for whoever the Big Ten manages to send.
A couple big weeks ahead to look at.
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ttk;1574234; said:
Mandel is a tool. I hardly ever read him. I have no idea why the guy still draws a paycheck.
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starBUCKS;1577774; said:
That's an odd thing for them to say. Every team controls its own destiny from day one every season....
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Every team controls its own destiny when it makes its schedule for 5-6 years down the road.
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MaliBuckeye
1) Be A Man.
Just so you know, Rose Bowl tickets just got really easy to get. Barring a miracle, no U$C, no UCLA means that it's not a home game anymore.
Three to go, Bucks!
Three to go, Bucks!
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muffler dragon
Bien. Bien chiludo.
Ohio State v. Oregon in the Rose Bowl!!! Make it happen, football deities!!!
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JBaney45
Hall of Fame
muffler dragon;1581312; said:
Yea that wouldn't be bad
Of course Oregon imo might be playing the best ball in the country, so once again no "easy" bcs game for us (2 teams in the title game then 2 teams that should/could have been in the title game if this works out).
Good thing about the whole flashy offense of Oregon is that you can see that it can sometimes get out of rhythm over the huge break in the Bowl season
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