People may not like this…..but it looks like another SEC vs. Big-10 National Championship game….my guess is Georgia……but then again their QB, in my opinion, is very inconsistent. Florida’s defense sucked this year after key losses, which is what I think, is going to happen to LSU after losing Craig Stelz, Glenn Dorsey, and Ali Highsmith. Watch out for Tennessee which has 17 returning starters, and Auburn who seems to be right on the cusp every year. If Florida can fix their defensive woes I would give them the nod over Georgia……but their going to need some young guys to step up big in order for that to happen.

Now for those of you predicting OSU to lose 3 games, you’re idiots. Illinois loses its best player from a team we SHOULD have beaten; Wisconsin is breaking in a new QB and lost its best defensive player, and Michigan State? Whoever said that should be band from this site…they have 12 returning starters and that INCLUDES the kicker and punter. If there is anyone for us to look out for in the Big Ten it’s Penn State who returns 20 starters and losing their QB isn’t that big of a deal considering he sucked.

So to all of you haters:

Quit drinking after Mark Mays, you seem to be coming down with a case of idiot@$$holeitos.

Ron, I totally agree with you vis-a-vis the inanity of the current selection system, and I won’t try to defend it. All this should be decided on the field, and the BCS doesn’t do that, so we’re in agreement there.

I think Ohio State drops one or the other of the Illinois and Wisconsin games, and probably drops a game to USC. I would not be surprised if there’s a third loss in there somewhere - either to Illinois/Wisconsin or - and this would indeed be an upset - m*ch*g*n State. That’s just my gut.

Only by running the table in glittering fashion, and doing it against a resurgent, competitive Big T(elev)en, can Ohio State even *hope* to be mentioned as a contender. The “stupidest thing ever” link mentioned under today’s Pryor highlight is a perfect example of what the national perception of OSU is right now. It’s dumb, it’s overblown, but it exists, and it isn’t going away, and OSU has no one but itself to blame for that, and will be paying the price for some time to come.

GoBucks89 added:
“Wisconsin played SEC runner-up Tennecheat, and they took Fat Phil and the boys to the limit….Wisconsin manned up pretty well considering they didn’t have Luke Swan and P.J. Hill was not 100%. As for Michigan State, they took ACC runner-up Boston College to the limit before bowing out under a flurry of bad throws by Brian Hoyer.”

Tennessee was hurt *far* worse than Wisconsin in that game, but were indeed a feisty bunch during the season. And I can’t imagine that the Boston College team I saw play six times during the season would finish anywhere in the top half of the Big T(elev)en, even considering how poorly the conference performed in ‘07. Even Purdid should have been able to beat Boston College.

But, yeah - Hoyer sucks. And I should know better than to expect any Spartan team to hold a lead. Ugh.

Gotta differ with you here, Joe. Wisconsin played SEC runner-up Tennecheat, and they took Fat Phil and the boys to the limit. Remember that Erik Ainge almost single-handedly cost them the game against LSU with two critical 2nd half INT’s. Also remember how badly they crushed Georgia. I thought Wisconsin manned up pretty well considering they didn’t have Luke Swan and P.J. Hill was not 100%. As for Michigan State, they took ACC runner-up Boston College to the limit before bowing out under a flurry of bad throws by Brian Hoyer. If they had gotten even mediocre QB play from Hoyer they would have won. I don’t care what Herbie and the rest say, the Big Ten this season was the third best conference after the SEC and the Big 12. Don’t forget that the Big Ten had 5 teams finish in the ESPN/USA Today final Top 25, matched only by the SEC and Big 12. The Slack 10 and ACC had only 3, and the Big Least had only 2 (that’s pretty sad when UC is your second-best team).

I agree, that we need strong competitors in the Big Ten to boost our own national standing, and that isn’t likely to happen next year. Even with an N-0 record, there could be a problem getting to the NC game. AP poll doesn’t matter. Coaches vote a little differently than the media. Computer rankings are wierd (they’re programmed by subjective people anyways.) We’ll see.

10-2? Who are you predicting they’ll lose to? USC? and who else?

I’m anticipating, naively and optimistically, that they’ll be good enough be a festing boil in the national consciousness: “too good to ignore, but they’re OSU so we can’t rate them too high” Kinda like happened last season, except more so next season … or so I hope.

That’s precisely my point. Ohio State in ‘08 has much going for it: a good out-of-conference opponent early, on the road: a favorable schedule vis-a-vis p*nn st*t* and m*ch*g*n (albeit a very unfavorable one in regard to Wisconsin and Illinois); a lot of returning experience, etc. *But it doesn’t matter.* If outside opinion is what propels a team into the title game - and it does, unless everyone else loses and we come out totally unbeaten - then we’re screwed. I don’t believe *any* performance on Ohio State’s part will get them into that game, unless all other contenders fall flat on their face - and that will not happen. Ohio State will lose at least two games next year. This team will not go unbeaten.

Respectfully, your allusions to m*ch*g*n’s turmoil and troubles heading into next year are not good for OSU - they’re bad. We need m*ch*g*n and p*nn st*t* to be strong, tough football teams to boost our own credibility. If the annual game we play against what is supposed to be a powerful arch-rival is anything less, it diminishes us. We lose credibility when the rest of the Big T(elev)en is weak.

I hope Ohio State licks USC 49-0, and rolls through the Big T(elev)en. But other teams from strong conferences will *also* be playing big out-of-conference games, and I don’t see the national media allowing an Ohio State team coming off two bad performances in the title game to get a third chance.

OSU will go 10-2, probably play in a BCS game, and hopefully get redemption against an SEC opponent. And that would be very good for the program.

The national media is just a virtual world to me. It doesn’t matter. What does matter to me are the players and staff of Buckeyes. That’s real world. As a fan, of course, I can only have an opinion. Likewise, the national media can only have opinions. Coaches and players don’t have opinions, they have say. So, I care about what they’re thinking and doing, although good information is very hard to come by.

The best I can hope for is that, along with his opinion, Mark May develops the piles next season trying to explain away an undeniably powerful Buckeye team. The team is loaded. I hope the staff and players aren’t, in any way, dissuaded by national media diatribes.

But, like you said, it all kind of hinges on a convincing victory over USC. I expect that USC will be pretty tough, but they’ll be breaking in a new quarterback too. So, like the Texas victory against a green Colt McCoy, there’ll be excuses to explain away a win. Like a give a rat’s ass about excuses. Just win.

Ron

… and the bad news is: that it’s everyones opinion that determines who goes to the NC game in the first place. Maybe I need to polish-up my butt-kissing techniques? Our Honor Defend, I will butt-kiss to the end (if necessary) for O-HI-O … But under no circumstances will I butt-kiss a piles infested Mark May.

The rest of the world may have their doubts, but OSU is probably in a better position for ‘08 than just about anyone else. The only fly in the ointment was the manner in which the previous season ended. Think of our bitter rivals, the team from up north: They actually finished the season with a very impressive win over Florida and the much-hyped Tim Tebow. They had all their old swagger and attitude. They looked very good. But … Look at the comments at MGOBLOG these days (100’s of comments for the most pedestrian articles) . Michiganders are totally uptight about next season, and rightfully so. Their world is turned upside-down. No conventional points of reference, no comprehension for what the future holds. They have growing reservations about their coach, aren’t sure they want Pryor either. The whole team will be defacto freshmen next year, needing to learn and practice a whole new system. They don’t even have a quarterback! Jesus! Talk about your funny feelings…

The Buckeyes are anchored to the rock of Gibraltar, by comparison. Everyone is coming back, the recruiting class is stellar, the coaching staff is stable, and Pryor is simply an recruiting option, not a life or death matter. We got it good. I continue to have a great deal of confidence in Jim Tressel’s leadership, even with consecutive NC losses. Hey, he got there! Getting there is a tougher ordeal than playing there (but next time, a win would be much appreciated).

A entire season coming up, starring: Beanie!! DEFENSE!!!! Robiskie! Hartline! 4&5-star recruits out-the-whazoo! Offensive line-to-die-for!! God! It’s tough to type with both hands holding my ding-aling-aling!

Cheer up!!

Ron