Bowlin’… Bowlin’… Bowlin’
With just two games remaining in this bittersweet season, it’s time to start thinking winter travel plans. You’re all well-versed on the current situation, but just in case you found out about the Buckeyes today, here’s where we’re at:
- Michigan State sits atop the Big Ten standings with a 6-1 record. The Spartans have a bye before traveling to Happy Valley to close the regular season.
- Penn State and Ohio State are both tied with 5-1 conference marks. The Buckeyes head to Illinois before finishing with Michigan at home. The Fightin’ JoePas welcome Indiana and Michigan State to town in their final two games.
- As far as the Rose Bowl is concerened, Ohio State owns the head-to-head tie-breaker over Michigan State, while Penn State holds that same mark over the Buckeyes.
Miami is niceSo, let’s get this out of the way first: there will not be a three-way tie for the championship. Indiana will not be beating this Penn State team anytime soon. The finale in State College between the Spartans and Nittany Lions is the Big Ten championship.
The Buckeyes can earn a share of that as well. It’s not a gimme — trips to Champaign still scare the holy crap out of me — but Ohio State should be able to win out. (And I know that anything can happen in The Game… rivalry and all, but let’s be serious about that one.)
So, you have three teams that all control their own destiny: win out and receive at least a share of the Big Ten title. For the Buckeyes, that means four straight and though this senior class fell a bit short of some bigger goals, winning four straight conference championships does not suck.
But how will it shake out?
As much as I’ll be pulling for Sparty in two weeks, I think Penn State wins that game. That will put Penn State in the Rose Bowl against either USC or the same Oregon State team they blitzed earlier in the season. If it is USC, then Nittany Lion fans will find out first-hand just how potent that Trojan team is.
If Ohio State wins out, they’re 10-2 and probably somewhere in the top 7 or so in the final BCS rankings. Almost a lock for a 6th BCS bowl appearance in the last seven years — which despite all of the heartbreak lately is quite amazing.
Orange Bowl officials were on hand to take in the Northwestern game and the speculation is that they’d love to have Ohio State. Miami is a tempting January destination for those looking to escape winter and it’s intriguing for both the team and fans because the Buckeyes have played in exactly one Orange Bowl — and that was 32 years ago.
The ACC champ, which could be one of four or so mediocre teams, is the most likely opponent in the Orange Bowl, but another interesting option has the Buckeyes going as an at-large to the Sugar Bowl to take on the loser of the SEC championship, while other projections have Ohio State meeting Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
I know there are grave concerns about the offensive line, but I’d relish the chance to face-off with that SEC runner-up or Texas. The 50+ days off are going to be a benefit this season because Pryor will be playing like a sophomore by the time that game rolls around. Beanie should also be pretty darn healthy and the defense is closing in a manner that reflects all of the talent on that side of the ball. Respectful, but not afraid.
Bama would probably be the friendliest of those possible elite foes. Sure, they have great trench play, but they don’t exactly strike fear into my heart. Ditto with Texas. McCoy is having a fantastic season, but Schnellenberger was on to something earlier this season (though in the end, his team didn’t have the talent to prove him right). This stems from my belief that Texas, Georgia and Ohio State are all very similar in terms of intestinal fortitude these days.
I know it’s been discussed a ton as of late, but where do you want to see the team play? Who is the best team you’d like to see the Buckeyes take on? Any takers on USC? Tebow?
I would love to take out a couple of years of BCS frustrations on some dinky ACC team. It wouldn’t fully exorcise the demons of BCS past, but beating the hell out of Florida State/North Carolina or the like would build some confidence going into next year…
i’ll be honest, i think bama would wreck us on the lines. they don’t have huge weapons elsewhere, but the last few NC games have shown us that we can’t accomplish anything when our QBs are getting hit as soon as they snap the ball
I think the best scenario is us smoking an ACC team. Nobody wants to see another loss in a BCS bowl.
Unfortunately, i think it’s still more realistic that we play in the fiesta bowl against texas, texas tech, or oklahoma. All 3 of which would show just how high-school our O-line is.
Here’s the upside – a third straight smoking in a bowl game should be just enough to see a new O-line coach, and new O-coordinator. Although i would think the play during NW should justify that by itself.
I am completely against playing an ACC team. Let’s be honest, the ACC is really, really, really, really bad this year. If we go to the Orange Bowl, it’s a lose-lose scenario. If we blow the opponent out of the water, we’re just picking on a shitty team, and it proves nothing. If we lose, or even if it’s a competitive win, then we lose any national respect we have left for playing at or below the level of an ACC team.
I’d love a shot at Alabama. I think they’re the best match up we have.
Ditto flip. Bourbon street is calling my name again. Though, who’s to say that Bama doesn’t pull one off against UF. Do you think our seniors would like another crack at Percy Harvin and company? I know one thing, at least Pryor would rise to the challenge…
Tj Downing arrested for drug trafficing(sp?)
I live in South Florida, so I will be rooting for a Penn State win and sharing the title. I can selfishly live with that and then I will be rooting for the Orange Bowl to pick OSU to play vs. ACC champ (North Carolina?, Miami?, Florida State?)………. I think it would do wonders for this program to blast the crap out of someone in a bowl game and have some good vibes headed into next season…. the Staff will have at least 6 weeks to get Pryor schooled and Beanie will have time to heal his injuries……. I DO NOT want to play any SEC teams, not now. When Pryor has the offense down, then bring them on– this year we need a more winnable scenario to get some respect. This is all based on OSU winning out and for some reason the Wolvereeenies scare the crap out of me since THE GAME is their bowl game and they will give 200%.
Remember that Orlando and the Capital One bowl still remains a possibility. Oregon State wins out (a longshot?), they’ll go to the Rose Bowl for a rematch with Penn State (assuming a win vs MSU). The BCS will probably take the great USC for the last at large team along with the SEC and Big XII runners-up and Utah/Boise State. I’d love to get a crack at Georgia.
Before I even think about a bowl game I want to destroy Illinois and the state not to be named. We all saw what happened last year against the illini and if our defense has a spine they will want to destroy this team. Then of course there is “The Game” and even though they have not played well you know we will get there best. As far as the bowl game goes I would be lying if I said I didnt want to play someone from the ACC. I would really like to see the Bucks destroy someone in a bowl game. But, destroying an ACC team is not proving anything. So, I would rather play Alabama or a Big 12 team. That way, if we do win it will be legit and we can earn a little bit of respect. But, another point is its not just the Bucks that arent doing well in bowl games. Its the entire Big Ten. I would really like to see the teams from the Big Ten win their bowl games. The last few years we’ve only won 2-3 games a year. Thats not very good at all. I really think a good Big Ten showing in the Bowl games would help us out more then us just winning our game.
SEC or Big 12 team. Doesnt matter which bowl. Anything else (Utah, Boise St, ACC) would be a huge let-down and frankly I would be nervous about whether or not we will even show up…(See Ohio, Purdue, etc)
the ACC champ in the orange bowl would simply be a delight. please make this happen. my excitement would be out of hound.
Sorry, but I just can’t bring myself to fear a Big 12 defense. Those teams can light it up offensively, but they would be going against our strength.
Would also love to get a crack at Alabama or Georgia, but I want no part of Tebow.
think Texas is not nearly as good as advertised. all O, no D. a win over them in a BCS bowl would look very good. exposing Bama would be wonderful but just seems doubtful. Nick Satan seems to be a very good coach – we got out coached last year by a doofus. a great team with a dumb coach beat us. what would happen if we played a decent team with a good coach? not good.
how about we play Choke-lohoma – the Battle of the BCS Bowl Losers? Someone has to finally win one!
absolute do not want to play list: Tech, Florida, USC.
want no part of the gators. they are playing better ball this year. Heavy Steve et al would doom us to another bowl game of our qb running around trying to save his ass
If OSU plays “balls to the walls”, they have the talent to compete with anybody. I repeat, “ANYBODY!” We have great players and I, for one, am not buying the hype of the SEC and B12 fans and sports pundits that the B10 is an inferior conference.
I’ll agree that we dont play an agressive enough style of football that matchs other conferences. For instance, how often do you see Florida, LSU, Texas, etc. play a game of “field position”? Our approach and game plan may stink,in fact, it often does, but our players are anyones equal.
OSU players know this. They are not “afraid” of anybody.
We need to be agressive and attack on both sides of the ball! I had been calling for Trapasso to run out of punt formation for a year now. Finally!
Lets do more. Start with passing on first down.
Juannie: I agree with you to some extent. Our talent level is on par (except for a few certain areas) with the elite teams in the country. We go after the same players that the LSUs and the USCs go after. However, I have to diasgree with you that OSU players aren’t afraid of anybody. For whatever reason, the mental makeup of this team has been lacking for two years now. They’re soft, and there’s very little to any senior leadership. SEC teams play with a swagger. We don’t. Plain and simple.
Insert-ACC-champion-here is the only one of the top contenders I’d be confident in beating with this line.
Juannie -
You mentioned if OSU plays ‘balls to the walls’ we can compete with anybody. I agree, but when was the last time we played ‘balls to the walls’? Miami in ‘02??
Bobby,
No senior leadership? What do you call Malcolm Jenkins and Jimmy L? And what gives you the impression these guys are “afraid” or don’t have the metal makeup to compete with the best? Is it because they lost the last two NC games?
Dude, its takes a hell of a team to compete on that level. They almost made it and, IMO were out-coached and out-smarted.
I want a 2 Live Crew reunion! Make it happen Luke!
We would blow out any ACC champ, which would be fun and all but do nothing to “improve” the national perception of the program. Personally I think that even with our current O line that a confident Pryor, a 100% Beanie and Boom, and our newly motivated D would be able to hang with Bama, Georgia or Texas. Even a close loss in a tight game against one of them would earn us more respect than blowing out an ACC champ.
Yeah Scott,
Its been a long time since 2002. I believe that was one of the last times we played “not to lose” against a very talented team.
Blowing out an ACC champ will earn us more respect than getting housed by Bama, Georgia, and Texas (which is what would happen, don’t drink the Kool-Aid on either Heacock or Bollman)
Pogue, I don’t think the Buckeyes get housed by Bama, Georgia or Texas. They may not be a lock to win in games against those three, but I doubt they’d lose by more than a score or two.
USC and Florida on the other hand…
Excuse me Poguemahone, but I think you have a classic case of settling for what we have been given lately.
Bama one dimensional on offense (Coffee), Georgia is a broken-spirited squad, but Texas would be tough. Rather play the SEC also-ran than Texas.
“Excuse me Poguemahone, but I think you have a classic case of settling for what we have been given lately.”
Let’s not kid ourselves. Blowing out Virginia Tech or UNC will get us a lot more respect than inevitable drubbings at the hand of Bama, Georgia or Texas.
“Bama one dimensional on offense (Coffee), Georgia is a broken-spirited squad…”
Look, the last few years, Buckeye nation has spent the month leading up to the bowl convincing itself that the other team’s offense isn’t very good and that their defense isn’t much good either. Bama’s offense this year isn’t much worse than Florida’s offense in 2006, and its defense is probably better. and Georgia’s defense has had injury problems since the start of the season, and with a month off, they’ll get very healthy. Their defense has looked bad for a reason, just like LSU’s did near the tail-end of last season.
Let’s not also forget that Georgia is the SEC’s most productive offense.
Do you think the O-Line misinterprets some of 2 Live Crew’s songs, such as:
“Welcome to the Bake Shop” or
“Oh, me so hungry, oh, oh me so hungry, me love Twinkie long time”
With the NC obviously out of the picture, beating an SEC like ‘Bama or Florida would earn the Buckeyes the most respect, followed closely by a win against Texas, OK, Texas Tech, or USC.
Though I would love to see us in the Rose Bowl, I don’t feel the Sugar or Fiesta is much of a downgrade, especially this year when the Bucks could very likely be going as co-Big Ten Champs. Any BCS bowl is a huge step up over the other bowls.
A matchup against ‘Bama would hold more interesting/welcoming to me than USC or Florida, not that those teams couldn’t be beaten. It could work out better for everybody if Penn State takes on USC in the Rose and OSU faces ‘Bama or OK/Texas/Texas Tech.
Don’t forget, the Buckeyes are 28-4-1 vs. the Big 12 all-time (current alignment) and 5-0 against them in bowls, which is very similar to UM’s record of dominance over the SEC. Doesn’t make much sense, but it’s true.
Looks like the bandwagon stopped at this comment section and everyone quietly got off…..
Seriously, we should play cupcake so we look better? Is this a joke?
I’d obviously want to see OSU play the best team available, but I’d specifically like to see either Alabama or Oklahoma. They’ve already played Texas twice recently and they’re in the middle of a home-and-home with USC. So other than those two, bring ‘em on.
I personally don’t care about respect insomuch as it doesn’t affect our recruiting ability, which it probably hasn’t. Nonetheless, people here are begging for respect, and I’m saying the only way to do it is to not get decapitated by an SEC or B12 team.
You do realize the bandwagon is a bad thing to be on, don’t you?
Oh Pogue, always fighting the last war in the present
Pogue, exactly, the recruiting is better now than it was 3 years ago before the 2 embarrassing beatings in the Championship. I hate when the fans of a program like Ohio State want to avoid playing certain teams. If Beanie is healthy after 50 days, and Pryor is playing like a sophomore then bring on the best. Personally, I’m scared to go the Orange bowl and play a team like Florida State or Miami that has a mass of young talent. What happens if they come to the game ready to play and Ohio State shows up expecting to win but not ready to win? Then the fall out is much worse than losing to Alabama, after all that is a game no one would pick the Bucks to win.
I have loved this team for a long time and it kills me to see a loss, but I always want to play the best. I say bring on Florida, USC, Oklahoma. I want to play them because that’s what the best programs do. Could you imagine in basketball if Kansas decided last year they didn’t want to play in the NCAA because they have had some very early and embarrassing exits recently? They wanted to dodge the big tourney to go play in the NIT? I realize college football fans don’t have a tournament but esentially it’s the same thing. I want to play the best teams hands down. I think lowered expectations are what have hurt this team and I don’t want to be a fan that is satisfied with having to play the Big East or ACC team or Boise State. Maybe, just maybe, all that talent on this Buckeye team can shock the world, and troubling as it is to say, it’s own fans.
Erm, thanks? I don’t think my opinions are very divergent from the masses: we have coordinators that need a-firin’, and probably a strength and conditioning coach that needs a similar boot up the rear end.
Anyone that thinks we’ll compete with elite teams with said boneheads at the helm of both units clearly hasn’t watched the last three games we’ve played against teams with a pulse.
Who here likes fun memories from disappointing seasons? Don’t all raise your hands at once!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58EyxoMxbsc
hay guyz it’s Tuesday, two Pokey Stix for the price of one, who’s with me?
BTW, if Bollman is not calling the plays, what does he do? Is he coaching the line? If so, why can’t we get a dedicated line coach? It’s obviously a big weak spot as we can’t seem to develop the talent we have.
It really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really sucks that the last two years have struck such fear of losing into the hearts of Buckeye fans. From what I’ve read, we’d go to the Rose Bowl all the time during the Woody era, and we’d lose most of the time. But getting there was the most important thing…I don’t know if anyone ever complained that we had to go up against another USC juggernaut, even though everyone knew we’d get our butts kicked again.
If bowl games against the SEC are the new Rose Bowl for Ohio State, then so be it. I despise them. I despise their fanbases (as well as their collective fanbase). I despise their coaches, their referees, their game commentators. I despise their fireworks, their hedges, their redneck culture, and their racism. I despise how they chant SEC, SEC, SEC. I despise their dumb students and their lack of academic prowess. I despise how they have the highest average salary for coaches in the nation. I despise how their fans shoot and kill each other after games. I despise how every team has 3 rivalries. I despise how several teams have 2 mascots. Most of all, I despise how teams from that region could have a 9-0 record against the 5th winningest program in college football history in post-season play, when M*CH*G*N seems to have no frickin’ problems kicking their @sses.
F*CK the SEC, F*CK all of them and everything they stand for. When the school from the cesspool in the north rocked us in the first 14 straight meetings, it planted a seed of competitiveness that has lasted for generations. The Buckeye nation needs to assert itself, and that can’t happen when playing a crappy school from the sh*tcan ACC. BRING ON ALA-F’ing-BAMA, BRING ON THE GEORGIA-F’ING-BULLDOGS. Bring them the sh*t on. They’re nobodies, and they haven’t proved sh*t this season. I’ll be d@mned if that f*cktard conference gets the best of us before I die, and I hope to God that the offensive line feels the same way.
Careful Steve, people have been shot and killed for saying less disparaging things about SEC football teams. Like, for serial.
Steve, Matt is 100% correct, take this story from last Saturday.
http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=36743196&channelId=2951&buyerId=newsmeatcom&buid=3281
Super serial, Matt…super f’ing serial.
Boy, I remember reading these glorified temper tantrums a few times before last year’s game.
thanks for leading the pep rally, Steve. this is a family show so might think about the asterisks there but nice cheer leading… I think I just bit through my mouse.
and now back to reality.
how about a good win over somebody instead of getting drubbed by the SEC again. YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!
Thanks Steve. That should be every Buckeye’s mantra. We sorely need the kick ass, take no prisioners mindset on the field and on these boards!
I believe in 73 or 74 we played USC early in the year and won big 41-17. We met them in the rose bowl that year and lost. It would be nice to have a rematch but I’d love to see a SEC team in the Capital One bowl. Mostly for selfish reasons being 1 hour from O-town.
this is amazing…..
I really like this site, but the comments section is lackluster at best. Very pathetic when “fans” (in quotes for a reason) are just asking for gimmes. I am sure we could play troy again, that was a good fight, and we can win that game, that will give us the respect we demand, right? Just the same as Boise State and Hawaii, that is a prime example of two teams who are the fear of the country’s football aficionado’s due to their winning ways…..
Sad day in buckeye land, I should just stay out of the comments, its depressing in here…… I think the bucks have more fans on the meatchicken forums than here!
CinciBuc,
no one is asking for gimmes. what we’re asking for is to play someone at our level where we can get a win. going psycho on the SEC isn’t going to change that with our current O line situation we’d get beat down again.
hello, reality calling, pick up on line one!
screaming about being a “true Buckeye fan” and insulting everybody isn’t going to change that the last two times we’ve played the SEC it’s been embarassing. not much respect earned in those games, huh?
no one is asking for a gimme. what we’re asking for is a decent opponent we can play with and defeat so that we can rebuild our national reputation. that might matter when next year, with Pryor at the helm, we need to get voted into the MNC game.
national perception matters. this year in the Big 12 if OU beats Tech they will need to be viewed as a serious contender/playing well now, etc. to get voted past a Texas team that beat them earlier in the year.
think we could get voted past anybody into the BCS championship game this year if we were in the one loss group like OU and USC? THEN LET’S GO TO A BOWL GAME WHERE WE CAN GET A WIN AND REBUILD OUR NATIONAL REPUTATION.
Why settle for a lesser SEC team in the Cap One when we might face them in the Sugar (most likely Alabama)?
In regards to respect, I think respect from a big win against a top SEC/Big 12 team and boosting recruiting go hand in hand. I’d love to see us land some big-time receivers (David Boston-types) for TP. This is where we lack the most, besides the line (but, I think that has a lot to do with coaching/development, not talent).
I agree with Buckster’s point on big-time WRs. Marlon Brown is one of those, out of Tennessee, and my guess is he’ll be leaning more towards OSU after Fulmer has been outed.
i learned about google trends today. pretty great. we can learn, for instance, that the largest number of buckeye haters after Whore City and Toledo are located in;
Columbus!
http://www.google.com/trends?q=ohio+state+sucks&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all
I just want to clarify my comment from 2:19pm. I want to see OSU play the best team available. The only reason I don’t want to see USC or Texas is due to the number of times the schools have met recently. If they’re going to be the challenge, so be it. I don’t think the players come to Ohio State and hope for a crack at a “school they could probably beat”. I think they come to Ohio State to get a crack at the elite teams in college football. What’s the point if they hope for a “kinda good” college football team to play against? The players didn’t come to a “kinda good” program. They came to Ohio State.
Playing the best team available is an opportunity, not a death sentence. That’s what being successful in life is all about. Taking your shot at being the best. No team out there is perfect. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Just remember, the 2002 team wasn’t perfect either, but they won a National Championship anyway. They found ways to win. I’m still hopeful this team can learn how to do that.
So every few years we need a bad season in order to get back into the spotlight? You think our play in 2005 is what got us into 2006? Time will heal these wounds, not cupcake match-ups. I would say cupcake match-ups is what got us our end result in 2006…..
I hope this makes sense to you guys. Respect is earned not given, as is proof by Hawaii, Kansas, Boise etc….. If you really think they (SEC and BCS) will look past last season and the season before just because we beat a lackluster ACC team then you are dreaming. No one respects North Carolina…..
This comment section reminds me of our O’Line. It is the zone blocking of buckeye comment sections…..
steve..you sure are out of hound..but i appreciate the passion
Just to clarify…my post did get a little out of hand there, but I make no apologies. Look, everyone’s a Buckeye fan here. No one’s fanhood should be questioned, everyone loves the Scarlet and Gray and Buckeye leaves and Buckeye Stripes and Horseshoes and the like. But to wish for an Orange Bowl bid against North Carolina…simply because we’d be favored?
That’s weak. And that’s what USC and SEC fans would say to you if they heard that.
We’re OHIO STATE. Woody treated football like it was an extension of WW2. You have an enemy across the 50 from you, and that enemy deserves no mercy. Why? Because that enemy will not afford you any mercy if they get the chance to stick it to you. We’re OHIO STATE, top-5 program. Most teams show up against our team year-in-year-out with the chance of getting maybe one win during their tenure, and are most often denied that lasting memory. And those that happen to take one or more often consider it the greatest win of their life.
Tressel scowled after Boom ran one in from 15 yards at the end of the game. Buckeye nation gave a collective, “FINALLY!,” and our fearless leader was worried about Fitzgerald’s feelings. Well, if Tressel doesn’t want to be mean, I say that’s fine – he’s the captain, and that’s how he runs his tight ship, and I support him regardless. But I have the fortunate position to be a fan and wanting my team to be the best, and if that means wanting to cheer them on for a full 60 minutes, and being excited to see them never quit, then that’s my prerogative! And one you can’t argue with.
You can’t be the best unless you’re willing to grab hold of the opportunity to prove it. Northwestern was a good win, but beating someone of Northwestern’s calibur in a bowl game will prove nothing, and it will be boring. I want that 0-9 streak broken…it’s the pink elephant in the room, but the one that’s been stomping on us for the last 30 years. WE CANNOT LET THEM SCARE US FROM TRYING TO BEAT THEM. That’s what those Johnny Rebs want, and they do not deserve that luxury from OHIO STATE or its fans!
Let’s not give it to them! NEVER QUIT!
Now, let’s go out there and obliterate Illinois, annihilate those blue jerkstores, and shove a cleat full of Buckeyes into the collective SEC’s mouth!
What is this “out of hand”? Surely you mean “out of hound”?
just a quick point here about the tie breaker situation.
OSU doesn’t own the tie breaker against MSU. MSU does, Conference speaking.
Because OSU played a D-2 team and MSU did not. All they have to do is beat PSU and they’re Big Ten champs.
OSU needs to win out, and hope Penn St loses to indiana and then beats MSU for OSU to win the the Big Ten.
All Penn St needs to do is win out and they’re big ten champs. But National speaking Penn St is higher ranked OSU. And OSU is Ranked higher than MSU. Buts its confusing cause the Big Ten winner gets and Automatic Bid to the BCS.
against MSU, OSU owns the tiebreaker, because the FIRST tiebreaker is head-to-head record. If there was a 3-way tie with OSU, PSU, and MSU, where PSU beat us, we beat MSU, and MSU beat PSU, THEN the D1 record would come into play. So if MSU beats PSU, we own the tiebreaker and get the automatic bid to the BCS. Also keep in mind that just because we don’t get the automatic bid (If PSU wins out), we’re still co-champs. There’s a difference between winning the conference and getting the automatic bid.
Good job though
Because I live in the heart of Big 12 country, I want a Big 12 team. They are getting as bad as SEC fans. Other than Nebraska(USC last year) the conference as a whole plays nobody. Then the south division beats up a worthless north division. Before you know it they are the media darlings of the nation. I am forced to follow the Big 12 week in and week out.
I think THE Ohio State University would compete and beat any Big 12 team; Jenkins would own Crabrtree. Colt McCoy has not been cured from his bad case of Lauranitis. Choklahoma, please. I doubt they beat Okie State. Okie State, just not quite up to tOSU.
I work with nothing but Big 12 homers. If God answers my prayers, we will play their champ in the Fiesta Bowl.
Robb, I don’t exactly follow how that prayer goes…because if we are going to play the Big 12 champion in the Fiesta Bowl, I’d have to assume that you are praying that a Big 12 North team—most likely Missouri—beats the Big 12 South team in the conference championship game, producing a Big 12 champ with at least two losses, thus setting up a title game between USC and the SEC conference champion.
Nice prayer, but not bloody likely, with either Tex Tech, Ok-U, and Texas all likely to lay a massive beatdown on the Big 12 North winner…but stranger things have happened…KSU in 2003.
Prayers and miracles go hand and hand…right??? My prayer goes something like this;
Dear God,
Please give me the scenario that would allow me to own bragging right over my co-workers this year. I am tired of jayhawk fan, Mizzou fan as well Sooner and Longhorn fan. I know God that you are all powerful and through you all things are possible. Please God if you do this for me, I will not ask for anything else, until at least the NFL playoffs.
Amen
We don’t want the top SEC team, Big 12 team, or USC. I guarantee they would roll and smoke us. We need a win and I really don’t care who it’s against. Everyone knows we’re not a top team this year anyways.
For all you oline haters here is a stat. On 46 plays on 1st and 2nd down we called 9 passes! Thats right 9! If anyone wonders why we can’t get over the hump its right there in black and white.
Random question for Buckeye historians: has there ever been a true sophomore team captain of the Ohio State Buckeyes? In an effort to begin thinking about next season entirely too soon, I am wondering who will be the offensive co-captains for 2009. I’d have to imagine that if Beanie stayed, we’d see Brian Hartline and Beanie Wells. But I doubt Beanie stays. If that’s the case, I think Pryor would have to be given serious consideration by the players, since he’s fast becoming the leader of the team, even as a freshman. I know there have been about 6 or 7 different two-year captains (junior and senior years), but off the top of my head I know of no sophomore captains.
Of those 46 plays, how many came after the game was out of reach for NW? Nine passes seem low, but there are many factors. There were alot of run plays in the second half. TP threw only 14 passes on Saturday, are you saying nine of them were on 1st down? That is a pretty high percentage.
Statistics can be deceptive.
Juannie: The leadership of Malcolm Jenkins will be sorely missed next year. And my impression that this team doesn’t have the mental makeup to hang with the elite has nothing to do with the last two national championship games. It has to do with Boone seemingly making one stupid penalty a game. It has to do with Robo (one of our captains no less) playing like he wishes he was somewhere else half the time. And as for JL, he’s a great LB. He’s given his all to the program, and I’d love to have him for another year. But when Juice was tearing us up last year, did he stand up and say, “Enough of this shit!” No, he continued to make tackles 5-6 yards upfield. If someone is giving USC problems, you know Maualuga will lower the boom on a QB or RB to let that team know that play time is over. When has JL ever gotten in someone’s face when things weren’t going well? All I see him doing is adjusting his gloves and helmet.
Robb, 6 passes on first down for 2tds
3 on second for 1 td
I’d say throwing on first and second down is a good Idea. When you have a back like Beanie Wells every defense has to put 8 guys in the box to stop him. Those numbers don’t lie. We score though the air on first and second down bottom line.
for my love of steve’s posts:
SEC SEC SEC SEC SEC……You wouldn’t say f*ck that despise this down here cause you probably would be shot…ok i’m done back to the good posting of you all. But: from my point of view, an outsider, why not want to go in and play the best and beat the best. That’s the thinking I believe would be most productive for recruiting. Playing a weak ACC team does nothing for your program, but going into a game against Texas, T Tech, Okl, Florida, USC, Bama and winning would gain that respect back. There are a lot of scared fans on here looking for the safe win, which is pathetic. I’m with steve-o, in saying you have to beat the best to be the best.
Florida Gators 2008,
My ancestors said “f-that and despise this” when they were burning their way to the Atlantic Ocean in 1865. I have no problem talking sh*t to SEC fans’ faces…it turns out they’re not very good at talking back when speaking of their own team – they need to piggyback on all the other teams.
Thanks for the props regardless.
Wow. Been gone a few days and missed a good debate. Glad that Steve and Cincibuck stopped by to make my argument for me. Well said gentlemen.