Bloggers Know: Conference Picks
Tressel’s not eligible, you say?If you didn’t catch it in the feed earlier, LTP has compiled the conference bloggers’ picks for various awards and other things deemed important enough to be voted upon. While several of the categories were no-brainers I’m baffled that people still consider the prospect of a Utah victory at the Big House an upset.
The Wolverines have to replace the best tackle in America and a skill group that ranks among the best ever put together in Ann Arbor. The Utes, on the other hand, are a potential BCS bowl candidate. I’m not saying Utah is a lock — the home atmosphere should be electric, but don’t call it a potential upset.
Pat Fitzgerald got our vote for the coach of the year. If the Wildcats catch some breaks, a top four finish is not out of the question. Naturally, we think Tress would be an ideal selection, but he most have too much talent or something to be eligible. Despite an unbeaten championship season and four first-place finishes, the Vest has never won the league’s coach of the year honor. Baffling.
Quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels is probably close to collecting rent in Pennsylvania. The point-man for Tressel’s recruiting efforts in the state has scored several high-profile victories over Penn State in recent years. The Gateway tandem and Pryor are a long way from what we enjoyed during the 90s. Cooper was an incredible recruiter, but Ki-Jana Carter and Curtis PEnis clearly illustrate how different it used to be.
Always excellent Georgia blog Get the Picture raises an interesting question: why does Oklahoma get more of a pass from people these days than Ohio State? While I think any fan or blogger that actually studies the game realizes that Stoops has been pretty craptacular in big games, he’s definitely correct in that the Buckeyes are the team Joe fan loves to mock.
And that’s what I don’t get. At least when Ohio State laid a postseason egg, it was against teams that won national championships. Oklahoma lost to the WAC champ and a team that dropped its previous game to a Pittsburgh squad with a losing record. Yet mention Ohio State to a typical college football fan, and there’s a visceral, negative reaction to the Buckeyes’ chances for playing in the BCS title game this year, one that I don’t sense the Sooners generate.
To expand on this a little, why isn’t the mention of Michigan met with the same guffaws reserved for the Buckeyes? Is not losing twice in national championship games better than getting blitzed by USC, losing a home opener to Appalachian State and then suffering your worst loss in 40 years back-to-back-to-back? I realize there’s the whole “OSU is the SEC’s bitch” angle and that’s hard to argue, but people are quick to forget that Ohio State lost to two pretty damn good teams the last two years.
18 Responses
To go along with the Oklahoma angle, why doesnt anyone ever mention their two straight National Championship game losses? They were upset by LSU in ‘04 and smoked by USC in ‘05. couple these losses and add the biggest cinderella in BCS history you have to ask where the nickname ‘Big Game’ Bob came from.
MackRm408 - June 27th, 2008 at 11:54 am - #
I would conjecture that b/c Oklahoma is in the middle of nowhere and even though they have had many strong teams, no one really gives much thought to them on a national scale.
Tommy - June 27th, 2008 at 2:21 pm - #
I think I actually remember hearing this discussed once. Apparently the Okies get a pass because of the Big XII Conference title game, which “proves” they’re the conference champion and thus deserving of a pass for “earning” their spot. The Big Ten — which by the grace of God does not have such a game — gets no such pass.
Oh, and because the Buckeyes also play in a conference full of clubfoots who play ball at the speed of tryptophan. Curiously enough, though, Penn State and Michigan have only lost to the SEC twice, respectively, in their bowl games since the SEC’s current format (PSU: Florida 1997, Auburn 2002 | Michigan: Alabama 1996, Tennessee 2001). Indeed, big game debacles apparently are our domain in the Big Ten. Wake me when the SEC can hang with the Gophers and that Thousand Lakes Speed (Arkansas 2002, Alabama 2004).
vico - June 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm - #
Vico…….didn’t Oklahoma ACTUALLY lose in 1 of those conference championship games and still get into the title game & then get beat in it?
Wil - June 27th, 2008 at 3:29 pm - #
Yes i think they lost to K’State in the ‘03 game (’04 bowl season). And we went onto stomp K’State in the Fiesta Bowl.
MackRm408 - June 27th, 2008 at 3:35 pm - #
Right. But do note I never said that line of argumentation was valid… just that it’s what I’ve heard down here.
vico - June 27th, 2008 at 3:55 pm - #
FWIW, I do think that the SEC is on top in terms of conference strength these days. The coaching alone is a big reason (Spurrier is a slightly better than .500 coach in the SEC).
As much as I hate to admit it, fans are definitely more passionate in the South, which is weird because the excuse for LA fans has always been the weather and outdoor activities detracting from their fandom. Look at how the sportswriters in the SEC’s footprint are continually cranking out work, while we can go days at a time with nary a college football peep from the Dispatch.
That said, the Big 12 is very comparable to the Big Ten in terms of overall depth and the talent on top tier teams. I think the Big Ten gets more of a bad rap based primarily on this national notion of the Buckeyes, though the Appy State game didn’t help matters.
Jason - June 27th, 2008 at 5:56 pm - #
I have to disagree on one point: football fans are not ipso facto more passionate in the South. If they were, men wouldn’t show up to football games in seersucker suits en masse and women wouldn’t show up wearing Sunday dresses. Where Buckeye men and women show up to games on a 2 day bender in a Buckeye jersey and longsleeve shirt ready to burn out their alcohol poisoning in the September sun, Southern football fans hide behind their pom-poms, which, I have been told, is principally used to stir their drinks (evidently they’re making martinis in Bryant-Denny… and you don’t stir a martini Goddammit, you shake it. If it’s good enough for James Bond, it’s good enough for you Southerners). I’ve been to several Crimson Tide games enough to see that the enthusiasm level for a football game here is tantamount to enthusiasm (and even dress apparel) for church. Let’s not write off big time Midwestern football (Ohio State, Penn State, whoever else) in this regard, especially when our own fanbase is given to an obsession for the Buckeyes that delightfully hinges on the verge of a mental disorder.
vico - June 27th, 2008 at 6:06 pm - #
I’m guessing that you’ve only been to Bama games during the past handful of (down) seasons. And while Ohio State fandom is on a level all by itself and rivals that of anywhere in the nation, I’m arguing depth. Georgia, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Bama (when good), Auburn, hell even the Gamecocks.
Just track the number of CFB articles that roll out of the AJC as opposed to the Dispatch or even Trib.
Jason - June 27th, 2008 at 6:18 pm - #
Hey, speaking of QB Coach Joe Daniels…
Anybody hear a rumor that Walt Harris might become part of the Buckeyes staff to ‘help out’ Joe. Joe’s been recovering from cancer, and certain names get thrown around, and Walt Harris seems like a good name.
Poe McKnoe - June 27th, 2008 at 7:10 pm - #
Yeah, I’ve only been to Bama games, but I don’t see where much is different across the SEC (at least on TV). I don’t see where fans of most SEC schools treat home games as anything other than some combination of a picnic or church. There’s a certain level of narcissism that goes into putting on makeup and wearing your Sunday best to a football game, I think, and something that indicates that it’s not about your team of choice… just that it’s about you. It’s a trend in the South, it is not a trend at Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State or any other place in the Big Ten.
And for the record, I’ve been to both Alabama openers since I’ve been down here (2006, where they were following a 10-2 Cotton Bowl winning 2005 squad under Bear Shula and 2007, with the arrival of Bear Saban) and didn’t see anything that wowed me. Indeed, I found myself bored both times. I’ve been to other games too and still haven’t been impressed. And Alabama is supposed to be one of the most obsessive fan bases in the SEC.
That said, LSU fans look like they’re into it. They travel high and low and their home atmosphere appears to be the most electric in the SEC (Florida should have a claim here too. Every other SEC stadium looks the same inside and out in my opinion, same goes with the fans).
My broader point is that the claim that Southerners make that football just “matters” more in the South is ill-specified and at best, well, cute. I’m sure you’ve seen the quote that college football is a tourist attraction in the West, but “religion” in the South. Their treatment of Midwestern college football as “cannibalism” or a “slugfest” (depending on what exact quote you encounter) is proof positive that, sure, college football matters to people in the southeastern portion of the United States, but that they ultimately have no real basis for comparison. It means a lot to Southerners; it means a lot to us. So how exactly does it matter “more” for the South? Because they say it does? Because they have more good teams?
We can’t stop them from saying it, but for the love of God, don’t believe it. Buckeyes are coming to Knoxville in about a decade and Penn State will be raiding Tuscaloosa in a few years. On both occasions, I don’t think either fan base/city is going to know what hit it in terms of nationalist zeal (especially Tuscaloosa. If they think LSU fans are rowdy, they’ll be more than shocked when Penn State comes into town). I’m planning on being at the Penn State-Alabama game, since I have a coworker that owes me a ticket.
vico - June 27th, 2008 at 7:13 pm - #
On Walt, I’d be really surprised if Harris joins the staff if the rumors of him being an overbearing taskmaster are true. Tressel runs a program focused on quiet teaching rather than strict disciplinarianism. I can’t imagine Walt would mesh well in the Tressel regime, if indeed Pete Carroll’s son is correct on Walt’s style.
vico - June 27th, 2008 at 7:18 pm - #
Check out who the new #7 is and his tats:
http://dottingthei.com/index.php/speed-kills/
cl - June 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm - #
And you guys will like this if your a fan of the roll:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YR42cdfRO0&feature=related
cl - June 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm - #
V, I’m not an expert on this, but I’m decent at taking quasi-educated guesses and from a pure emotional standpoint, nothing will measure up to Buckeye games in your eyes. You and I are probably the wrong type of people to be evaluating crowds from other schools, because, quite frankly, nothing will ever come close to the goosebumps you get when you walk into the Shoe or hear Hang on Sloopy.
We’re too biased/indoctrinated to make an evaluation.
I see your point about the costumes they throw on for the games and you’re correct. It’s kind of hilarious to see people dressed for church and cheering for a first down.
Jason - June 28th, 2008 at 12:05 am - #
ONLY in football is it worst to lose in the biggest game than suck the whole year. Look at the Bills and the Vikings from the NFL…losers. Not conference champions, but Super Bowl Losers. In MLB or the NBA if you lose in the championship, you are somehow still a worthy opponent, but if you lose a championship game in football, it would be better if you just lost in the playoffs or some crap bowl game. It’s not fair, but then again it doesn’t have to be, because football is full of mythologies (SEC Speed) that is perpetuated by those who don’t understand the wonderful nuances of this game.
Besides, the weak like to kick a champ when they have fallen.
And none of it matters anyway because it’s always better to be an OSU man than an SEC fan.
Steve G - June 28th, 2008 at 1:08 pm - #
Vico…Good points. I live in Phoenix and have been to ASU games. Half of the people couldn’t tell you who was playing at a Sun Devil game. I think importance or “mattering more” depends on what other entertainment options you have available. There are boatloads of “other” things to do in this market. I do have tix to the ASU-Georgia game. I’m ready to see if the Bulldogs are NC contenders, but ASU is no powerhouse.
JMIK - June 28th, 2008 at 10:38 pm - #
You’re certainly right that Ohio State’s football program is par excellence in both recent and past vintages. The Big 10 might not be at the level of the SEC currently, but there are damn few programs in the land which can claim to be as consistently good as the Bucks. It’s a shame that these back-to-back title losses seem to actually cost the Bucks rep points — it’s more of an indictment of a conference than the individual program that represented it. And unless you’re a fan of Florida or LSU, WTF did *your* team do those years?
Gatorpilot - July 4th, 2008 at 5:00 pm - #
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