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 Oregon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon. 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 23, 2014
CFP: Should Indiana game keep Buckeyes out?
On Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1, 7-0 Big Ten) played conference foe Indiana (3-8, 0-7 Big Ten) at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeys had a tough time against the Hoosiers, not taking control of the game until the third quarter, and at one point even being down 20-14 after Indiana opened the scoring in the second half with a 90-yard touchdown run by RB Tevin Coleman.The Buckeyes ended up winning the game by a score of 42-27, a difference of 15 points.
So now the question is, should a game against an opponent as bad on paper as Indiana that wasn't a 52-7 pasting keep the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff?
The Mississippi State Bulldogs beat a football team that might end up not bowl eligible, and there's talk about UAB ending it's football program by 13 points. I don't see anyone holding that against the Bulldogs as they make a case for them to be in the top four.
So now the question is, should a game against an opponent as bad on paper as Indiana that wasn't a 52-7 pasting keep the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff?
The Mississippi State Bulldogs beat a football team that might end up not bowl eligible, and there's talk about UAB ending it's football program by 13 points. I don't see anyone holding that against the Bulldogs as they make a case for them to be in the top four.
The mighty Oregon Ducks beat a Washington State team that is 3-8 and won't be seeing a bowl. I don't see anyone holding that against the Ducks.
Florida State also sqeaked by a team that may not be bowl eligible after next week when next the season is done. They won this game by only six points.
As matter of fact the Seminoles beat Virginia (5-6) by only 14, Miami (6-5) by 4, and Boston College (6-5) by 3 points. If not blowing out lesser teams, much less almost losing to them should keep you out of the College Football Playoffs, then if Florida State loses against either Florida in the regular season finale or Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game...then the Seminoles shouldn't be in at all. The only thing keeping them in it right now is being undefeated, if they lose that, then by the argument(s) against Ohio State, Florida State shouldn't be in it either.
A week ago, the Horned Frogs, the team that would be "first left out" of the College Football Playoff,, almost lost to a really bad Kansas (3-8) team. That same week, Ohio State played a close one against Minnesota (an AP Top 25 team) and ESPN made it sound like TCU had a gutty performance against a good team and the Buckeyes almost lost to a team that was without a win.
So don't tell me there isn't a bias against the Buckeyes or the Big Ten.
The fact of the matter is, close games happen, especially in conference play where teams see each other often every year. Maybe you overlook an opponent. Ohio State is facing their big rival in *ichigan this week, maybe the players figured they'd roll Indiana and were looking at The Game.
Maybe Indiana looked at this as their bowl game, and gave their all. After all, their best offensive weapon was their RB and they saw how much trouble the Buckeyes defense had against Minnesota.
What I do know is, that most of the other teams in front of Ohio State have had a close game against teams that on paper they should have beaten by no less than 24 points.
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.
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