Well, I've had a week to process it and I still have a huge smile on my face! The Ohio State Buckeyes...the team that many said didn't belong in the College Football Playoff, won the whole damn thing!
They went up against the #1 team in the nation from the mighty SEC, and knocked them off! Ezekiel Elliot ran all over Alabama to the tune of 230 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Then against the Oregon Ducks, he ran all over them for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns.
But what impressed me the most in the National Championship, was the defense. The Buckeyes were facing the team that scored quickest, and scored the most in all of college football. The Ducks averaged almost 50 points a game, and their touchdown drives averaged just over two minutes.
Would the defense be able to get a stop or two? Would they be sucking wind by the fourth quarter, allowing Oregon to just gash them?
The Buckeyes held them to 20 points, and forced the Ducks to punt more times in a single game than likely any time in the past three years.
The Buckeyes have changed the perception of their team. People now call them an "SEC team in the North," Urban Meyer has made this team into what he wanted them to be. Physical, fast, tough. They are mentally tough...losing Braxton Miller, then having JT Barrett come in and lead them to the brink of the Playoffs and losing him in the *ichigan game...third string QB Cardale Jones leading them through the Big Ten Championship, Sugar Bowl, and then caping it off with a National Championship.
There has always been a target on Ohio State's back in the Big Ten. They have won 7 conference championships in the past 13 years. If you include their vacated share of the Big Ten championship in 2010. that gives them 8 of 13. They've won a total of 24 Big Ten championships, second only to *ichigan's 42.
Now that they're the National Champions, that target is only going to be bigger.
The Buckeyes are expected to run the table this upcoming season, win the Big Ten, and be a top two seed in the College Football Playoffs.
They were there a year earlier than Urban Meyer expected. The perception of the Buckeyes now is that they could be a dynasty in the making.
I'll take that perception any time! O-H! I-O!
Showing posts with label Alabama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alabama. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sunday, December 7, 2014
B1G Champs/College Football Playoff STATEment
Last night, the Buckeyes made an Ohio STATEment with a 59-0 clobbering of the Wisconsin Badgers to win the 2014 Big Ten Championship.
The Buckeyes did it without the quarterback that they originally thought would be starting the season, a player who was considered a Heisman Trophy front runner: Braxton Miller. They did it without their second string quarterback, who became a Heisman Trophy candidate and broke Big Ten and Ohio State records throughout the season: JT Barrett.
So then who did they do it with? Their third string quarterback, Cardale Jones, who was the MVP of the Big Ten Championship Game after tossing three TD passes.
I guess the Buckeyes just stockpile talented quarterbacks.
Ezekiel Elliot ran for a Big Ten Championship Game record 220 yards and added another couple of touchdowns.
They did all of this against the #2 defense in college football. They put up a brick wall against the NCAA's leading rusher, Melvin Gordon, who they held to 76 yards on 26 carries and no touchdowns. Gordon had seven consecutive 100 yard games coming into this one. On top of that, as mentioned before, Elliot broke the record for most rush yards in a Big Ten Championship Game...a record that was held by Gordon. I think it's safe to say that Gordon has a really bad night.
Urban Meyer won his first Big Ten Championship as Ohio State head coach. This was the type of game everyone expected Meyer's teams to put up.
Now the question is, was it enough to put the Buckeyes in the one of the four College Football Playoff spots?
The three teams that are definetly in: SEC Champion Alabama, Pac-12 Champion Oregon, and ACC Champion Florida State,
The battle for the fourth spot is between Big 12 Co-Champions TCU and Baylor, and Big Ten Champion Ohio State.
It's been said that conference championships are going to play a big role in choosing the four teams to make the Playoff. And if that's the case, I don't see how you can leave Ohio State out. They have a conference championship, the Big 12 doesn't have a conference champion, they have co-champions. You can't put two teams in one playoff spot.
If the College Football Playoff committee wants to put the best four teams in college football right now in the Playoff, then I don't see how you leave Ohio State out, especially with what they just did to Wisconsin.
It's obvious the committee doesn't respect Baylor's head-to-head win against TCU, seeing how they've had the Horned Frogs ahead of the Bears and even put them in the top four last week.
So if that's the case. how can you hold Ohio State's week two loss against Virginia Tech against them? This is a completely different Ohio State team than back in week two, literally and figuratively.
If they leave Ohio State out, I think they will have failed at putting the four best teams in college football in the playoff. If they put them in, I still think they should expand the College Football Playoff to eight teams.
The Buckeyes did it without the quarterback that they originally thought would be starting the season, a player who was considered a Heisman Trophy front runner: Braxton Miller. They did it without their second string quarterback, who became a Heisman Trophy candidate and broke Big Ten and Ohio State records throughout the season: JT Barrett.
So then who did they do it with? Their third string quarterback, Cardale Jones, who was the MVP of the Big Ten Championship Game after tossing three TD passes.
I guess the Buckeyes just stockpile talented quarterbacks.
Ezekiel Elliot ran for a Big Ten Championship Game record 220 yards and added another couple of touchdowns.
They did all of this against the #2 defense in college football. They put up a brick wall against the NCAA's leading rusher, Melvin Gordon, who they held to 76 yards on 26 carries and no touchdowns. Gordon had seven consecutive 100 yard games coming into this one. On top of that, as mentioned before, Elliot broke the record for most rush yards in a Big Ten Championship Game...a record that was held by Gordon. I think it's safe to say that Gordon has a really bad night.
Urban Meyer won his first Big Ten Championship as Ohio State head coach. This was the type of game everyone expected Meyer's teams to put up.
Now the question is, was it enough to put the Buckeyes in the one of the four College Football Playoff spots?
The three teams that are definetly in: SEC Champion Alabama, Pac-12 Champion Oregon, and ACC Champion Florida State,
The battle for the fourth spot is between Big 12 Co-Champions TCU and Baylor, and Big Ten Champion Ohio State.
It's been said that conference championships are going to play a big role in choosing the four teams to make the Playoff. And if that's the case, I don't see how you can leave Ohio State out. They have a conference championship, the Big 12 doesn't have a conference champion, they have co-champions. You can't put two teams in one playoff spot.
If the College Football Playoff committee wants to put the best four teams in college football right now in the Playoff, then I don't see how you leave Ohio State out, especially with what they just did to Wisconsin.
It's obvious the committee doesn't respect Baylor's head-to-head win against TCU, seeing how they've had the Horned Frogs ahead of the Bears and even put them in the top four last week.
So if that's the case. how can you hold Ohio State's week two loss against Virginia Tech against them? This is a completely different Ohio State team than back in week two, literally and figuratively.
If they leave Ohio State out, I think they will have failed at putting the four best teams in college football in the playoff. If they put them in, I still think they should expand the College Football Playoff to eight teams.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Moves Will Be Made in the Polls This Week
The Buckeyes were off this week, but that doesn't mean they won't be moving in the polls after the #5 Stanford Cardinal beat the #3 Oregon Ducks on Thursday night.
So the question is, where do the Buckeyes go?
Before this week of college football, it looked like this:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Florida State Seminoles
3. Oregon Ducks
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Stanford Cardinal
Now you would think that with the Ducks losing, the Buckeyes would move up to #3. However, Florida State recently jumped the Buckeyes to get into the Top Three, leaving the Buckeyes at #4.
Stanford is 8-1 while the Buckeyes are 9-0. Stanford lost to a 4-5 Utah Utes team, the Buckeyes have lost to nobody since they lost to Florida in the 2012 Gator Bowl.
However, the Buckeyes started at #2 this season, hasn't lost a game, and has slipped to #4 in the rankings. So I wouldn't he shocked if Stanford were to move ahead of the Buckeyes, leaving them at #4 and a one-loss team moves ahead of them, because that's the team that beat the Ducks.
Should the Buckeyes move up to #3? That depends on who you ask. Personally, I think they should have never been removed from the #2 spot without a loss. But a lot of people look at Ohio State's schedule and well, they laugh.
However, the Buckeyes did have an SEC foe on the schedule originally, they had the Vanderbilt Commodores scheduled. Yes, they aren't Alabama or LSU, but those teams aren't big on leaving the SEC footprint for Out-of-Conference games. Vandy is 5-4 with wins over Georgia and Florida in the SEC. They are probably a second tier SEC team.
But they cancelled at the last possible minute, and the Buckeyes had to scramble to find a team to replace them. By this time, you can't get a big time school. Most teams have their schedules set. So the Buckeyes ended up playing Florida A&M, a team that they ended up beating by a score of 76-0. And people blame Ohio State for scheduling such a weak school. Did the Buckeyes want to schedule such a weak opponent? I doubt it. But they had to fill the void in the schedule, and this was the school that would agree to come to Columbus. The Buckeyes were painted into a corner on this one, and the scheduled who was available.
The Buckeyes also cannot help their conference schedule. They don't choose who or where they play these teams. Everyone says every single one of the Buckeyes "hard games" are home games this year. However, the Buckeyes played Cal in California last year, the Golden Bears were playing their road game in the home-and-home agreement. Last year, the Buckeyes played Wisconsin in Madison, per B1G scheduling, the Badgers played in Columbus this year. And Northwestern, probably the most difficult game for them so for, was played on the road.
Ohio State still plays Michigan on the road, and even though That Team Up North isn't as good as people expected this year, you throw the records out when these two teams meet. There is a true dislike there, and these teams live to beat each other. With Michigan looking at a second tier bowl game this year, they'd love nothing more than to end the Buckeyes undefeated streak, especially with the game being in Ann Arbor.
And then you have the B1G Championship Game, held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Buckeyes will likely be facing Michigan State, who will be in their second B1G Championship Game in three years. They have one of the best defenses in college football, and they have an offense that is tough and focused on controlling the clock. And their quarterback, he seems to make big plays when they are needed. This will be the toughest game Ohio State plays before their bowl.
However in the end, they'll likely be on the outside looking in at the National Championship as long as Alabama and Florida State don't lose a game. But the Buckeyes have the longest win streak in the nation. They'll likely go two straight seasons without a loss. The Buckeyes would have likely been playing Notre Dame for the National Championship last season if not for a bowl ban handed down by the NCAA.
So it's looking like the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes. Where they will end this season without a loss. In the last year of the BCS, will the AP once again split the National Championship and give theirs to Ohio State? Looks like we will have to wait to find out.
So the question is, where do the Buckeyes go?
Before this week of college football, it looked like this:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Florida State Seminoles
3. Oregon Ducks
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Stanford Cardinal
Now you would think that with the Ducks losing, the Buckeyes would move up to #3. However, Florida State recently jumped the Buckeyes to get into the Top Three, leaving the Buckeyes at #4.
Stanford is 8-1 while the Buckeyes are 9-0. Stanford lost to a 4-5 Utah Utes team, the Buckeyes have lost to nobody since they lost to Florida in the 2012 Gator Bowl.
However, the Buckeyes started at #2 this season, hasn't lost a game, and has slipped to #4 in the rankings. So I wouldn't he shocked if Stanford were to move ahead of the Buckeyes, leaving them at #4 and a one-loss team moves ahead of them, because that's the team that beat the Ducks.
Should the Buckeyes move up to #3? That depends on who you ask. Personally, I think they should have never been removed from the #2 spot without a loss. But a lot of people look at Ohio State's schedule and well, they laugh.
However, the Buckeyes did have an SEC foe on the schedule originally, they had the Vanderbilt Commodores scheduled. Yes, they aren't Alabama or LSU, but those teams aren't big on leaving the SEC footprint for Out-of-Conference games. Vandy is 5-4 with wins over Georgia and Florida in the SEC. They are probably a second tier SEC team.
But they cancelled at the last possible minute, and the Buckeyes had to scramble to find a team to replace them. By this time, you can't get a big time school. Most teams have their schedules set. So the Buckeyes ended up playing Florida A&M, a team that they ended up beating by a score of 76-0. And people blame Ohio State for scheduling such a weak school. Did the Buckeyes want to schedule such a weak opponent? I doubt it. But they had to fill the void in the schedule, and this was the school that would agree to come to Columbus. The Buckeyes were painted into a corner on this one, and the scheduled who was available.
The Buckeyes also cannot help their conference schedule. They don't choose who or where they play these teams. Everyone says every single one of the Buckeyes "hard games" are home games this year. However, the Buckeyes played Cal in California last year, the Golden Bears were playing their road game in the home-and-home agreement. Last year, the Buckeyes played Wisconsin in Madison, per B1G scheduling, the Badgers played in Columbus this year. And Northwestern, probably the most difficult game for them so for, was played on the road.
Ohio State still plays Michigan on the road, and even though That Team Up North isn't as good as people expected this year, you throw the records out when these two teams meet. There is a true dislike there, and these teams live to beat each other. With Michigan looking at a second tier bowl game this year, they'd love nothing more than to end the Buckeyes undefeated streak, especially with the game being in Ann Arbor.
And then you have the B1G Championship Game, held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Buckeyes will likely be facing Michigan State, who will be in their second B1G Championship Game in three years. They have one of the best defenses in college football, and they have an offense that is tough and focused on controlling the clock. And their quarterback, he seems to make big plays when they are needed. This will be the toughest game Ohio State plays before their bowl.
However in the end, they'll likely be on the outside looking in at the National Championship as long as Alabama and Florida State don't lose a game. But the Buckeyes have the longest win streak in the nation. They'll likely go two straight seasons without a loss. The Buckeyes would have likely been playing Notre Dame for the National Championship last season if not for a bowl ban handed down by the NCAA.
So it's looking like the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes. Where they will end this season without a loss. In the last year of the BCS, will the AP once again split the National Championship and give theirs to Ohio State? Looks like we will have to wait to find out.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Can the Buckeyes raise the crystal football next year?
This college football season ended in an all to familiar way...with an SEC team, Alabama for a third time under Nick Saban, winning the BCS National Championship Game. This one was in blowout fashion, which has often been a case...twice Ohio State has been on the receiving end if these beat downs, against Florida and LSU.
This year the team to get beat was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, to a score of 42-14. They couldn't stop Alabama. They got rolled by the Crimson Tide. This game gave a new meaning to "Roll Tide."
There was only one team to end the football season without a single blemish on their record, the Ohio State Buckeyes. They finished third in the final AP Poll. This positions them well to potentially play for that crystal football next year, as long as they stay unbeaten.
I expect them to start the season in the top five, most likely the top three. The only two teams I can see starting the season in front of them would be Alabama and Notre Dame.
The whole Ohio State finishing undefeated part shouldn't be all that hard. Here is what our schedule looks like next season:
08/31 vs. Buffalo Bulls
09/07 vs. San Diego State Aztecs
09/14 @ Cal Golden Bears
09/21 vs. Florida A&M Rattlers
09/28 vs. Wisconsin Badgers
10/05 @ Northwestern Wildcats
10/19 vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
10/26 vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
11/02 @ Purdue Boilermakers
11/16 @ Illinois Fighting Illini
11/23 vs. Indiana Hoosiers
11/30 @ TSUN Wolverines
That's not a very daunting schedule. Hopefully we won't have the hiccups we had this past season because we should be stomping teams like Purdue and Indiana. The two teams on the schedule that I think have a real chance of beating the Buckeyes are Northwestern and TSUN.
The big issue is, with this schedule lacking a team that's going to be in the top ten of the AP Poll going into, and likely throughout the season, will the Buckeyes be able to make it over a one-loss SEC team.
Now in the history of the BCS, a one-loss team from an automatic qualifying conference (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Pac 12, Big East) has never been awarded a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. However there was talk that if Ohio State had been bowl eligible this past season, they would have been jumped by a one-loss Alabama team because of the better strength of schedule. However we will never know, because Ohio State was not eligible for the BCS Poll due to their postseason ban last season.
If Ohio State runs the table and ends the season as the only undefeated team, I think they will play for the National Championship. You have to play the schedule in front of you. They can't help the fact that the Big Ten isn't as good as it was a few years ago. They can't do anything about the fact that Cal hasn't been all that great since Aaron Rodgers....and that's when Ohio State scheduled this home-and-home series, back when Cal looked like they'd be competing for Pac 10 titles. They can't help that the SEC is the darling conference of college football at the moment and their mid-tier teams get top-15 votes when they deserve to be in the 16-25 range.
Now if they go undefeated, and so do Notre Dame and an SEC team....then there's going to be a big controversy. I have no doubt that the SEC team will get into the game in that scenario.
The issue would be Ohio State and Notre Dame. The Irish schedule for the most part isn't all that daunting. They play TSUN, so do we. They play Michigan State and we don't, but I don't expect Sparty to be a factor in the Big Ten, and if they are we might play them in the Big Ten Championship Game. Notre Dame plays USC, but nobody knows how good they're going to be...they went from #1 to unranked this past season. However the two teams they play that could give them the edge over us would be the Oklahoma Sooners anf Stanford Cardinal. Those two teams are better than any team on the Ohio State schedule this season. That could give Notre Dame the edge.
I hope that scenario doesn't come to light. If it does, we'd be in the Rose Bowl. That's great...a BCS Bowl...the "Grandaddy of em All." Before the BCS, that's where any team from the Big Ten wanted to go, the premiere bowl game for the conference. Back then, if Ohio State was undefeated and won the Rose Bowl, they'd be claiming a National Championship. The BCS put a stop the that, there's only been one split National Championship since the BCS system came into place. Would a split National Championship be a possibility? Yeah, but also unlikely.
So who would I want in the BCS National Championship Game which takes place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California? I want an SEC team. If I had to pick one, I'd want Florida.
Why Florida? This SEC dominance started when Ohio State lost to Florida 41-14 in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game (decided the champion of the 2005 season). Since then the SEC has had a team win the BCS National Championship every year since then, once having both the participants being from the conference. Florida won twice (including the game against Ohio State), Alabama three times, LSU once, and Auburn once.
Nothing would be sweeter way to end the BCS era of college football by not only defeating an SEC team, but beating the team that started their run....with the head coach who started that run being the Buckeyes head coach. It would bring a sweet closure to the BCS era, giving the Buckeyes their second title in the era and a 2-2 record in the big game.
When will Ohio State lose again? Hopefully we won't be finding out the answer to this anytime soon.
This year the team to get beat was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, to a score of 42-14. They couldn't stop Alabama. They got rolled by the Crimson Tide. This game gave a new meaning to "Roll Tide."
There was only one team to end the football season without a single blemish on their record, the Ohio State Buckeyes. They finished third in the final AP Poll. This positions them well to potentially play for that crystal football next year, as long as they stay unbeaten.
I expect them to start the season in the top five, most likely the top three. The only two teams I can see starting the season in front of them would be Alabama and Notre Dame.
The whole Ohio State finishing undefeated part shouldn't be all that hard. Here is what our schedule looks like next season:
08/31 vs. Buffalo Bulls
09/07 vs. San Diego State Aztecs
09/14 @ Cal Golden Bears
09/21 vs. Florida A&M Rattlers
09/28 vs. Wisconsin Badgers
10/05 @ Northwestern Wildcats
10/19 vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
10/26 vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
11/02 @ Purdue Boilermakers
11/16 @ Illinois Fighting Illini
11/23 vs. Indiana Hoosiers
11/30 @ TSUN Wolverines
That's not a very daunting schedule. Hopefully we won't have the hiccups we had this past season because we should be stomping teams like Purdue and Indiana. The two teams on the schedule that I think have a real chance of beating the Buckeyes are Northwestern and TSUN.
The big issue is, with this schedule lacking a team that's going to be in the top ten of the AP Poll going into, and likely throughout the season, will the Buckeyes be able to make it over a one-loss SEC team.
Now in the history of the BCS, a one-loss team from an automatic qualifying conference (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Pac 12, Big East) has never been awarded a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. However there was talk that if Ohio State had been bowl eligible this past season, they would have been jumped by a one-loss Alabama team because of the better strength of schedule. However we will never know, because Ohio State was not eligible for the BCS Poll due to their postseason ban last season.
If Ohio State runs the table and ends the season as the only undefeated team, I think they will play for the National Championship. You have to play the schedule in front of you. They can't help the fact that the Big Ten isn't as good as it was a few years ago. They can't do anything about the fact that Cal hasn't been all that great since Aaron Rodgers....and that's when Ohio State scheduled this home-and-home series, back when Cal looked like they'd be competing for Pac 10 titles. They can't help that the SEC is the darling conference of college football at the moment and their mid-tier teams get top-15 votes when they deserve to be in the 16-25 range.
Now if they go undefeated, and so do Notre Dame and an SEC team....then there's going to be a big controversy. I have no doubt that the SEC team will get into the game in that scenario.
The issue would be Ohio State and Notre Dame. The Irish schedule for the most part isn't all that daunting. They play TSUN, so do we. They play Michigan State and we don't, but I don't expect Sparty to be a factor in the Big Ten, and if they are we might play them in the Big Ten Championship Game. Notre Dame plays USC, but nobody knows how good they're going to be...they went from #1 to unranked this past season. However the two teams they play that could give them the edge over us would be the Oklahoma Sooners anf Stanford Cardinal. Those two teams are better than any team on the Ohio State schedule this season. That could give Notre Dame the edge.
I hope that scenario doesn't come to light. If it does, we'd be in the Rose Bowl. That's great...a BCS Bowl...the "Grandaddy of em All." Before the BCS, that's where any team from the Big Ten wanted to go, the premiere bowl game for the conference. Back then, if Ohio State was undefeated and won the Rose Bowl, they'd be claiming a National Championship. The BCS put a stop the that, there's only been one split National Championship since the BCS system came into place. Would a split National Championship be a possibility? Yeah, but also unlikely.
So who would I want in the BCS National Championship Game which takes place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California? I want an SEC team. If I had to pick one, I'd want Florida.
Why Florida? This SEC dominance started when Ohio State lost to Florida 41-14 in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game (decided the champion of the 2005 season). Since then the SEC has had a team win the BCS National Championship every year since then, once having both the participants being from the conference. Florida won twice (including the game against Ohio State), Alabama three times, LSU once, and Auburn once.
Nothing would be sweeter way to end the BCS era of college football by not only defeating an SEC team, but beating the team that started their run....with the head coach who started that run being the Buckeyes head coach. It would bring a sweet closure to the BCS era, giving the Buckeyes their second title in the era and a 2-2 record in the big game.
When will Ohio State lose again? Hopefully we won't be finding out the answer to this anytime soon.
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