14.0 That is all you need. It is the ratings for the infamous 2001 Washington vs. Purdue slugfest in the Rose Bowl. It also happens to be the ratings for the 2012 National Championship Snoozefest. The BCS gave the nation the embarrassment of seeing Alabama become the first team since Minnesota in 1936 to be given the national championship without winning its own conference. It is an abomination, an aberration, a disgrace.
Why in the hell should a team that was incapable of winning its own conference get a shot in a four team playoff? This is not the NBA, it is not a sixteen team playoff. The regular season has some bearing on the post season. The idea that a bunch of poll voters’ opinions somehow gives the rankings some sort of legitimacy is absurd. I am married with three kids and I probably watch more college football than the average pollster. I watched the hideous offenses that both Alabama and LSU fielded last year. They were atrocious. They happened to play in a conference full of similarly differently abled offensive teams. I thought that the nation fielded half a dozen other teams that could have beaten LSU or Alabama. I was not alone in this thinking. The nation in it’s entirety tuned out. Nobody gave a damn about a game that they did not feel would crown a true national champion. I had no interest in watching it and it was the first that I have missed in the BCS era.
Sportswriters want to disparage Delany for his proposal, but I don't think that it goes far enough. If the regular season is supposed to mean anything, you have got to win your conference. The three lowest ratings scores all took place in a year where a team who did not win their conference was allowed into the game. That is not a coincidence. The people who's eyeballs bring in the advertising dollars have tuned out. It is not what people want to watch. If the actual farce of putting a non conference winner in place to win a national championship is not damning enough, the the fact that the money does not support it should be enough for the greedy bastards who run this show to see some (dollars and) sense.
agree. Nothing is stopping Conferences from doing a 4 team Conference Championship series, to really determine the best team in their Conference if they feel that their league is that strong, that the regular season doesn't tell them who the best team is.
Conference Champs only!
Love your handle, Yankee Scum! :-) I'm also in total agreement with your position. If you can't win your conference, you have no business being in the running for the National Championship.
Real fans stay for Carmen.
I despise the SEC living in Atlanta, but I would have to disagree. The BCS is designed for the 2 best teams to play each other in the championship game. You can't tell me that Alabama wasn't 1 of the 2 best teams. You can't argue that Oklahoma State was because they lost to a terrible Iowa State team whereas Alabama lost to a very good LSU team. Now I'm not saying that the BCS is a great system because I despise the BCS as well, but given the system that is in place.... they got it right.
Having said that... I didn't watch the game because offense is what gets people to watch games. Those teams didn't have great offenses.
I think that it is an easy argument to make that Alabama wasn't one of the best two teams.
But let's say that they were one of the best two teams. They still did not have one of the best two seasons. Hell, they did not even manage to win their division. Georgia did. LSU did. On paper, they may have been the best team in the history of college football, but what they did during the season should have some bearing on where they play. Otherwise we might as well schedule the National Championship Game with the two teams at the top of the preseason poll before anyone has played a single down of football.
So if Alabama can't be one of the 2 best teams in the country, you're telling me that the Yankees and Red Sox can't be the best and 2nd best teams in the league in baseball?? Why can't they come from the same conference/division?
I know hockey isn't that popular, but take a look at the NHL playoffs in the Eastern Conference this year. First - the way they seed teams is absolutely RIDICULOUS! The Rangers are the best team in the conference and get the #1 seed. Then the next 2 (purely going off record, but you can easily make the case that they are) best teams in the conference are in the same division as the Rangers, so they get a 4 & 5 seed. That's clearly not a good way to do it. They get penalized for being in the same division as the best team?? Doesn't make any sense. I have yet to hear a good argument as to why Alabama wasn't the 2nd best team in the country going into the BCS Championship. Don't tell me they didn't win their division because that's a horrible excuse.
Ive always said that you should be a conference champ to be in the playoff. There should be 8 major conferences with 12 teams in each conference split up into two divisions. Every team plays each team once in the regular season and one out of conference game giving every team in each conference a 12 game regular season. The winner of each division will play for their respective conference championship with the winner moving on to the National playoffs. This will make the regular season just as important as it now. You must win to get in. We can have bowls also with this format.
Agree. Alabama didn't even win their DIVISION, much less their conference last year. And there is no quesion that they were very good, but LSU beat them at their place during the regular season. Alabama had no business in that NC game last year. I didn't watch the game -- the wife and I went out to dinner and a movie that night because I was one of many who were boycotting that game and I'm glad many people did since it scored the lowest ratings of any NC game in the BCS era and rightfully so. LSU and Alabama are now 1-1 for the year. This is why you never rematch in football.
Yea. I'm not saying Okie State would have beaten LSU in a title game, But I'd like to think they would have scored a few times and made it exciting. LSU's offense was nothing special, and OK state D wasn't bad.
EsecPN got what they all wanted, and it bit them in the ass, now they are pushing for a playoff. If Ok State beat Iowa State, and plays LSU for the title, then nothing changes.
Dustin Fox was our leading tackler as a corner.... because his guy always caught the ball.
Hopefully, within a few years, it'll be an 8-team playoff. But with four teams, it should be the top four in the BCS rankings. With an 8-team, it should be conference champs and then some at-larges.
I wouldn't cheer for Michigan if they were playing the Taliban.
Can anyone give me a good reason why Alabama WAS the second best team in the nation. Still trying to figure that one out? Can never have two BIG teams playing for a NC (give me back 2006) but its a different story if its the SEC??? I dont think so. Its not one way or the other its garbage.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/01/alabama-lsu_produces_lowest_t...
@BHardy - I can give you a pretty solid reason why they were the 2nd best team... they absolutely demolished the "best" team in the country. I'm not saying the system isn't flawed, but under the current system that says the 2 best teams should play for the championship, they got it right.
At everyone who thinks they shouldn't have been in - who should have???
I give you Alabama's schedule against ranked teams...
@ 23 Penn State - win by 16
vs 14 Arkansas - win by 24
@ 12 Florida - win by 28
@ 24 Auburn - win by 28
Other wins by 39, 41, 34, 45, 31, 17, 24.
You have to absolutely be on crack if you don't think they should have been in that game UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM.
I think it's ironic that the same people who were all up in arms over the idea of OSU and Tsun playing again in the NC game back in 2006 when OSU was ranked #1 and Michigan was ranked #2 are now clammering for the same system that would have allowed those teams to play for the tittle back then. Funny how it is ok for 2 SEC teams to meet a 2nd time in the BCS but not for the BIG schools to do it.
Yes there are two Buckeyes in Ann arbor on this site!
first off GAbuckeye, Penn state is bad, florida was bad and so waas aubrun those wins mean nothing to me, just cause they are in the SEC doesn't make me believe they are so much better. The fact was they didn't even win their division that would even let them play in the SEC championship game. Now if LSU and Bama meet in the SEC championship game and they lost having a rematch would not have been soo bad but still they didn't win their conference. If this is how it was then why didn't Michigan get a shot at OSU in 2006 when they only lost by 3 points. same thing but the SEC got their two teams in more SEC biased and perception they are better. And that game was the lowest rated NC game ever in the BCS shows people didn't care.
oh if you couldn't tell I am all for only conference champions in the 4 team playoff if it gets expanded then You can let non conference champions get in it.
No, it is not a coincidence that Delany and a lot of other ADs feel this way about last year's national championship. In a system where everyone shares BCS money on some level, everyone has a vested interest in the intrigue the national championship matchup has. If the national championship fails to find viewership, then we all lose.
I am for conference champs but with pre-qualifyers. Pick a minimum rank that you must meet to be in the play off, say, top 6 or top 8. If there are not 4 conference champs in the top 6 or 8 or whatever number you pick, then go to highest ranked at-large. That way there is no crappy 9-3 Big East teams playing for all the marbles.
"Because the rules won't let you go for three." - Woody Hayes
THE Ohio State University
I like that idea, it makes a great deal of sense.
Yes there are two Buckeyes in Ann arbor on this site!
Wow you are hypocritical alex root... if they play for the conference championship really??? THEY CAN'T CAUSE THEY ARE IN THE SAME DIVISION!!! Why is it okay if they're in the same conference but not same division??? No one one can answer this question... why can't the 2 best teams be in the same division?? And no one can also answer this question.. if not alabama, then who? Which team was better than alabama??
I love how some of you can only say that they didn't allow 2 big 10 teams to do it so they shouldn't have let 2 sec teams, but no one can answer who should've been there instead. I'm not saying the bcs was right to leave michigan out, but they were most definitely right to leave alabama in.
I hear a lot of people saying that, Buckeyeneer. But the polls are so out of whack at this point that you have to be crazy to trust them. If you go by the polls, Oregon was the 3rd-best Pac-12 team last year. That makes no sense. And Alabama got into the big game because they were highly ranked before a down of football was even played in 2012.
The whole thing is a mess, and it needs a radical change. Perhaps even a committee to select the 4 conference champs that will participate.
@GABuckeye
They should not have been in because LSU beat them at home in the regular season. You don't turn around and give the loser in that situation a chance to beat the same team that beat them at home for higher stakes in the NCG. That's just utterly ridiculous and completely undermines the first game's result. If they deserved to be there, they would've beat LSU at home. They didn't, so now LSU and 'Bama are 1-1 for the year. Neither one is the national champion for 2011. That's why so many people boycotted the game. It was a ridiculous ESPiN driven sham.
@GABuckeye
Georgia Southern who Alabama creamed by 24 points happened to lose to North Dakota State by 28.
Auburn, who lost to Alabama by 28 points, managed to get shellacked by Georgia by 38.
Those Golden Flashes from Kent State, who lost to Alabama 48 to 7 got blanked by Kansas State, 37 to 0 and crushed by Northern Illinois by 20 points.
Tennessee, who the Tide beat by 31 points, got beat by Arkansas by 42.
Penn State, who Alabama famously beat 27 to 11 lost to Wisconsin 45-7 for an astounding 38 point margin of defeat. Paterno U. also lost to the University of Houston 30 to 14 for the same 16 point margin of victory in a bowl game.
The SEC as a whole stunk on ice last year. So it is not that big a leap to think that Oklahoma St. could have done alright against LSU, or how about those Badgers who handed took the Nittany Lions to the woodshed? Or Boise State, who beat Georgia, who took second place in the SEC by 2 touchdowns? This is the same Boise St. team that beat an Arizona State team by 32 points, the same Arizona State team that manhandled USC by 3 touchdowns. Could West Virginia have scored against LSU in another rematch? Maybe? So hey man who knows?
Those are some conference champions who maybe deserved to be there more than an Alabama team that managed to qualify for the National Championship while failing to earn a spot in their own conference championship game. And all of them could have conceivably beaten the Tigers. Who thought that the Buckeyes would beat Miami in the desert? Or that Florida could crush the Buckeyes? Or that the Giants could beat the Patriots? That is why we play the games.
So I guess GABuckeye that I think that there are plenty of teams who should have taken Bama’s place at the table. They earned it on the field, Alabama was given it by some voters who liked what they saw.
@ Yankee
Agree.
@Yankee - I'm not disagreeing that other teams would've given LSU a game or maybe even beat them. I'm saying that Alabama was the 2nd best team in the country before that game. You can't say that they didn't deserve to be there because they already lost to that team. The game features the 2 best teams in the country regardless of conference affiliation. It doesn't feature the 2 best conference winners. Anyone who wants to argue that it must feature a team that won their conference UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM is an idiot. Like I said before, yes the system is flawed and needs to be changed, but they got it right under the current system.
2011 - requiring teams to win their conference would've worked out well:
-SEC champion LSU - duh.
-Big 12 champion Oklahoma State - the team with the best argument for the MNC that didn't get in - of course.
-Big 10 champion Wisconsin - legit - lost twice on hail maries. Of course you're going to have close games - MSU was really good and even our Buckeyes were looking pretty good at the time we played Wisconsin.
-PAC 12 champion Oregon - they defeated Stanford, who did have a better record. They also benefitted from USC, who they lost to in the regular season, being banned from the postseason by getting to play UCLA in the conference championship game. Maybe Oregon would've got payback. I'll give them the benefit of any doubt and say they were legit.
I say you have to be a conference champion AND ranked in the top 10. Nobody would've wanted to see ACC champion Clemson or Big East champion West Virginia in a playoff. Alabama would've killed both of those teams. I think there is a point that can be reached where a non-champion from a strong conference is more deserving of a playoff birth than an 8-4 champion of a weak conference. But I do make the criteria fairly loose to make sure that we get at least 3 conference champions in.
Class of 2010.
Sorry guys, 'Bama was definitely deserving of their spot in the title game. Their defense was legendary and would have eaten Brandon Weedon for breakfast. Furthermore, Trent Richardson would have run all over Okie State's merely-adequate defense.
I can understand the sentiment on wanting solely conference champs, and I'll wholeheartedly agree that Oregon would have deserved a nod over Stanford, but I don't get allowing in a 2-loss, 10th ranked Wisconsin over a 1-loss (to the #1 team in the nation), #2 'Bama team.
I've mentioned this before ad infinitum, but I prefer a model taking conference champs ranked within the top 6 or 8, and then filling any remaining spots with at-large bids for the next-highest rated teams. This way you get #1 LSU, #2 Okie State, #3 Oregon (leaps and bounds better than Stanford), and #4 'Bama (which is an infinitely better four seed than Wisky would be).
Furthermore, you have to believe that this is an exceptionally rare circumstance where four conference champs are unavailable within the top six or eight. So we won't see weird scenarios like this normally.
Thank you and well said Hodge - someone with a non-biased level head!
Agreed just look at the draft bama was loaded, and say what you want about Saban, but the man knows how to coach.
maybe the conferences need to be responsible to find a way to pick their best representative.
I'm so tired of this support for having Bama play in NCG last year (and condemnation from a few against having a conference champion rule) that I've resisted getting dragged into this knife fight. But a Purdue commentor over at OTE nailed it for me as to the reason against Bama last year and for a conference champion rule going forward.
For the regular season to retain its significance, you have to view it as part of the playoff. (Which when we go to the four superconferences, it actually will be.) Everyone is getting the opportunity to move forward on a weekly basis by climbing their divisional ranks. When you lose to someone in your division, you're sealing your fate. AND it's nobody else's problem if you lose. You had an opportunity to continue. Now someone else gets that opportunity.
What Bama was able to do last year was the equivalent of losing in the second round and having someone casually reinsert them back into the bracket in the fourth round "because that someone thought they were one of the best teams in the country." For example in last year's NCAA tournament, someone just decided that VCU wasn't a good enough team so let's have Butler play Pitt again for the semi-final game instead.
Uh, no. You lost in the second round. You're done. It's someone else's turn now. LSU should have played Oklahoma State in the NCG last year. They were the next man up.
#fistpumpgobuckeyes
Then why didn't we award Kentucky the national championship last year as well? They were by far the most talented team on the hardwood, in the nation. If pollsters are picking who they think is best, without looking at the results on the field, then the system is flawed. Why even play the games? Schedule the championship game before the start of the season. Is there anyone who really thought that Oregon was better than the Buckeyes in 2010? Why didn't the Bucks get there? Or USC in 2003? Or those bastard Trojans again in 2008? Or Utah, the year that they kicked the shit out of Alabama team that had talent coming out of their ears? There have been just three unanimous AP National Champions over the last 10 years, last year had 3 teams receiving votes. OK State played a tougher schedule than Bama and had the same record. LSU played a tougher schedule than Alabama, a better record and beat the Tide head to head. I am not suggesting that Alabama was not the most talented team in the land last year, I am saying that based upon their win loss record, and strength of schedule, they did not deserve another shot at LSU.
Last time I checked, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kentucky Wildcats also failed to win their respective conference/divisions1...are they just as much of imposters as 'Bama was?
1 While Kentucky won their regular season crown, they lost their auto bid to the dance by losing the tourney.
I guess we'll all agree to disagree. Like it or not, Bama deserved to be there and they proved why.
@hodge
Baseball has an eight team playoff that lets almost 27% of it's teams into the postseason.
NCAA basketball lets in 64 teams to the playoffs.
College football currently puts in 2, and is thinking about switching to 4. The system to let those teams in is completely asinine and has no basis in any kind of legitimate competition. If there was even an eight team playoff (which I personally am not a fan of), I can see the sense in letting in non conference winners.
I don't know how Alabama is "infinitely" better than Wisconsin. They had one common opponent who Alabama crushed 27-11, but Wisconsin absolutely demolished 45-7. (I am not saying that common opponents is a good measure of a teams worth, but it goes to show how in reality, we have no real idea how good anybody is).
By the way man I love the Peter Sellers picture, he kind of looks like Tressel if somebody gave the guy a valium once in a while.
@GA, in my analogy above, that would be like saying Pitt deserved to be reinserted into the bracket over VCU because they (Pitt) beat Butler the second time. Not buying it. It's arbitrary, unfair, and illogical... just like it was to Oklahoma State.
I just hope there are more people with my mindset and less people with your mindset out there so cfb doesn't have to suffer thru another decade of this SEC bias.
#fistpumpgobuckeyes
Not sure why Bama was the only team allowed not be perfect this past season. They lost at home. Every other team that lost was disqualified from the BCS NC Game. Since we are talking a possible playoff with fewer slots than conferences, You would think that winning a conference would make for a good playoff entry qualification.
@YANKEE -
The Penn State game really isn't one to go by, since you could tell that Saban was holding his team back out of respect for JoePa (something good ol' Bielma knows nothing about). My contention is that 'Bama's defense--which held #1 LSU without a touchdown in two separate games--would have been far too immense for Wisky to score with any kind of regularity. UW thrived--much like OSU in '06--by using the run to set up a mistake-free quarterback. 'Bama would have shut down Ball enough to make them put the game on Wilson's shoulders--a situation he'd never been in before. With the ability of their front seven and the talent in their secondary, I just can't see that working out well for Wisconsin. That said, Richardson would have gashed Wisconsin's D; they gave up like 165 yards to Boom, imagine what 'Bama's offense could have done.
I know I was comparing apples to oranges with playoffs--and in spirit I agree with your sentiment. I just think that in cases where you're looking at conference champions that lie far enough back in the polls that another four team field could be created between them, you should just award an at-large berth instead. I guess my point is that--as the old saying goes--once you get outside the top 5-6 teams in the country, the next ten teams back are all almost on an even plateau. I want that top 5-6, no matter what; preferably by conference champs, but seeing the best teams far outweighs that obligation.
Digging on that "Tressel on Valium" bit haha. I think Tress would've been great as the President in Dr. Strangelove.
I never once said I liked the current system that's in place, want to keep it, or anything like that. I'm saying that UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM, the 2 best teams played for the championship. I'm BY NO MEANS a fan of the BCS, but you can't argue a situation that wasn't possible. There wasn't a 4 team, 8 team, whatever # team playoff. There was a BCS National Championship Game featuring the 2 best teams, and that is what we saw.
The SEC is not invincible, and we need to stop buying the media hype.
Q: Next to the Nov. 5th game in which Saban played wayyy too conservative, against which opponent did Alabama have it's lowest offensive yardage total?
A: Penn State.
Q: Against which team did Alabama have their worst passing Yards Per Attempt?
A: Penn State, 5.25 YPA (compared to 6.86 and 6.88 in the two games against LSU).
Q: Against which opponent was Alabama forced to punt the most?
A. Penn State (LSU only forced 5 punts out of Alabama in both games... 2 in the first game, 3 in the second).
... and the next one is my favorite....
Q: Which FBS opponent put up the most offensive yards against Alabama last year?
A: Penn State.... Yes, Penn State and their patented LULZ! offense managed to put up more yards against Alabama than every Tide opponent except Georgia Southern (who almost caught the Tide sleeping).
Alabama was mortal. Don't forget it. Yes, their defense may have been great. But honestly, were they ever really tested? The average offensive rank of their FBS opponents was 94th. Out of 120 teams. To put that in perspective, Indiana finished 83rd in the country in yards per game.
@HUMBLE - You're working off a very small sample size there, and correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation (regarding Penn State only, the rest of your data is spot-on). My point is that 'Bama played an undisputed #1 LSU team twice, the first time literally handing them the game on special teams blunders and the second time taking them to the woodshed for the first ever BCS championship shutout. People might have doubted 'Bama's legitimacy, but not LSU's--they proved themselves all year against quality opponents and couldn't win a glorified home game against a team they'd previously beaten on the road.
Besides, while 'Bama lost their one game to that undisputed #1 LSU squad, Okie State couldn't keep it together vs. Iowa State--it's not like Gundy's boys didn't control their destiny up until that point. Also, I think if Oregon doesn't lose to USC, you'd have seen them get in over 'Bama.
Let's all just agree we need a playoff.
Haha, GABUCK is right. And at least we can all agree on home playoff sites...
To me, that's the most important thing being debated right now.
Wow Hodge - I've been saying that for years. It's time for southern teams to go play in the cold. I'm tired of having bowl games that are basically home games for the opponent. The USCs, Floridas, and LSUs of the world get to play in their own backyard.
I don't think it's fair to say what would have happened if Wisconsin and Alabama had played each other, and that such a hypothetical matchup is reason not to include Wisconsin in the playoff. Wisconsin got their rematch against a team they lost to on the road earlier in the year, and beat them. It didn't happen in the national championship game, but it did happen in the conference championship game - making Wisconsin the B1G champion. Because of the B1G's perceived lack of quality, Wisconsin barely squeaked into the top-10, despite having the best offense the B1G has probably ever witnessed in its history. They were only held under 30 points once all year (on the road at night in Columbus against an Ohio State team that, frankly, played out of their f'ing minds...and they still scored 29!).
It would have been a crime if Wisconsin didn't make it to the playoff, had their been one. Some of you are saying Alabama's D would have handled that attack. I could just as easily ask you, "yeah, but for how long? 1 series, maybe 2?" No way Alabama's D withstands that sort of onslaught for more than a quarter of play. No one's D was really up to the challenge.
So, since the polls are not to be trusted, Alabama's #2 ranking at the end of the year simply has no merit. That's why we need change. Apparently, football outside of the SEC is now obsolete - which is a reality that none of us are going to stomach any longer.
@Hodge... and the Patriots literally handled the NY Giants the whole game a few months back, but in the end, the Giants got lucky.
This is college football. The regular season IS the playoff. It has always been that way. Alabama was the best team in the country last year. That I will never dispute. I said that even AFTER the November 5th game (go and re-read my posts if you would like). But guess what? Alabama arguably did not have the best season. And in college football, we reward teams for their entire body of work. If it were all about who was best and most talented team, then Ohio State probably would have had three national championships under John Cooper.
Guess what? Alabama, at 10-3, was the best team in college football in 2010. They absolutely were. Somehow, they slipped up and lost three close games. But when things were clicking, they were absolutely unstoppable. Now under most people's cries for a playoff, Alabama 2010 probably would have won a national title. Is that what you want? Do you want players to be able to sleep for 2 or 3 games, as long as they know that the media knows that they are good enough, and still go on and win a national title? Because I guarantee you, if there were a playoff in 2010, Alabama, even with three losses, would have been the odds on favorite in Vegas.
Alabama is the best team in college football. They have been since 2008. That doesn't mean they just deserve to play for a national championship every year, It has to be earned.
We can definitely agree on playoffs and the first round or two (depending upon how big of a playoff it is) need to be played @ the home site of the higher seeded team. Would love to see USC, LSU, Florida, 'Bama, etc. come up and play in ~30 degrees and snow.
Bucksfan, did you really say that Wisconsin had the best offense the B1G has probably ever witnessed in its history last season?? Seriously are you high??
Yes there are two Buckeyes in Ann arbor on this site!
Wow, Humble, you and I actually agree on something. Maybe we should stick to football, and avoid everything else in the universe...lol. Seriously, I totally agree that just because you're the best by perception doesn't mean you deserve a national championship. Heck, half of Alabama's national titles were based on some publisher's perception, and not what they actually did on the gridiron.
You could make the argument that Ohio State was probably the best team in 2010, too. Alabama struggled mightily with an Arkansas team that Ohio State obliterated in the first half of the Sugar Bowl. But, OSU finished 2nd in a 3-way tie in the Big Ten, and I don't recall us bellyaching about not getting the Rose Bowl bid. But it's quite possible that that OSU team would have destroyed Auburn or Oregon.
Another example is Carroll's USC teams over the last 10 years. I have no doubt that a 1 or 2-loss USC team would have decimated a playoff containing 3 other conference champions no matter the year or the teams involved. They didn't get to play for it, but they did win the Pac-10 in most of those years which should have given them an argument in a playoff system.
So, conference champions have to be the way to go. What good is a national championship if regional champions aren't allowed to compete because of a poll taken in August?
AnnArborBuckeye, I've never heard of a B1G offense that was that good. Maybe you know of one. Montee Ball scored the 2nd-most TDs by a RB in the history of the game. Russell Wilson threw for over 3,000 yards (OSU has only had 1 QB who ever did that) and 33 TDs, with only FOUR interceptions. And like I said, they were only held under 30 points only once.
Their defense and special teams let them down. The offense was sick. Literally, it was nauseating because you knew what was coming, and no defense could really stop it.
WOW, I never knew those stats other than Montee Ball's but they just looked so akward on offense I wouldn't have given them credit for being that good.
Yes there are two Buckeyes in Ann arbor on this site!
Yeah, I definitely didn't pick up on any sort of "awkward" look. It was incredibly efficient.
@ Bucksfan
Thankfully it wasn't enough for them to beat us. :)
Bucksfan... Good point about USC... Can't believe I didn't think about them. And I agree with you about Wisconsin's offense. Also, when you were rattling off RW's stats, you forgot to mention that he set a single season NCAA record for passer rating. Record setting running back, record setting QB, mammoth offensive line (did they have three guys drafted this year, or was it just two?). I don't care who you throw at Wisconsin; at a neutral site, Wisconsin is going to put up 30 on anyone.
And I've said it before and I'll say it again: name me one QB in the SEC last year that was drafted or will be drafted next year. Can you name me any? I didn't think so. QB play in that conference is arguably at its lowest point ever.
^Next year? Aaron Murray from UGA. Let's not act like QB play has been amazing in the Big 10 the past 5 years.
@ Humblebuckeye
When you think about those stats, the fact that they lost 3 games is just the definition of underachieving. But that's what Bielema does. :)
I like the format a couple people have suggested with having to win your conference but have to be in the top 6 or 10 not sure which would be the best. But also i dont remember who said it but the regular season is part of the playoff if you loose its your own fault your got your shot and you lost. I am not bitter because I didn't want OSU to play Michigan again in 2006 because they got their shot and lost it was a thriller but Michigan lost. Alabama Lost to LSU they didn't deserve another shot. LSU had a terrible Offense as well, Alabama had a stellar defense but they didn't play to many high powered offenses. Its over though LSU and Alabama are 1-1. I just think they need to put some kind of restriction on who can be in the playoff and winning your conference is a starting point. I think the playoff will eventually go to 6-8 teams which I think is the most it should go to. On a side note I think the BCS has actually done a decent job getting it right. I think the only reason the playoff is coming into the picture now is because of a few years were we had a boat load of teams loose in the final few weeks to were OSU jumped from 5or 6 to #2 without playing a game.
2011 Wisconsin offense was not as good as 1994 State Penn.
http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/bigten/penn_state/yearly_results.php?year=1990
@william... thanks for taking the bait.
Aaron Murray: 0-2 in Bowl Games, 0-9 against opponents ranked at season's end. Will be a junior next year. 6'1" 211 lbs.... dude is not getting drafted next year. Needs two solid seasons and some big wins to get scouts to overlook his height.
Stanzi, Tolzien, Pryor, Cousins, Wilson... all QBs from B1G drafted and currently on NFL rosters in the past 2 seasons. The SEC has Mallet, Newton, and McElroy in that same time frame. This past year, the SEC had four QBs enter the NFL draft. None were drafted.
You can knock the B1G all day when it comes to depth at dline and talent at DB, LB, and WR. But the one thing the B1G hasnt lacked is solid QB play. A healthy Dan Persa would have started at any SEC school this year, as would have Russell Wilson, and James Vandenberg and Kirk Cousins would have started at 9 of the 12 schools in the SEC.
MFW Stanzi, Tolzien, Pryor, Cousins or Wilson have or will do anything in the NFL. The crux of your argument was about being drafted and whether or not they will perform in the NFL. The only guys that have any chance whatsoever are Pryor and Wilson and even then it's highly doubtful. You point out Aaron Murray's height, but what about Russel Wilson's? The league hasn't put out any QBs that have done anything since Tom Brady and Drew Brees, who both came out over a decade ago. I'm not saying the SEC has incredible QB play, but let's not act the B1G has really done that much better. Also Dan Persa would get knocked in his first game in the SEC, just like he was continuously knocked out of games in the B1G, the dude is made of porcelain.
Arkansas Tyler Wilson is going to get drafted and probably in the 1st round.
This is where I predict 4 major conferences composed of 16 teams.
64 teams with a chance to win respective conference, 4 team tourney.
The SEC has its fair share of NFL quarterbacks right now. Just off the top of my head, Matt Flynn, Matt Stafford, Cam Newton, and Ryan Mallet is at least a backup. These things come and go. But the B1G is woeful in that department over the last 5 years. I guess Curtis Painter saw some garbage time while Manning was out. Anyone else?
Bucksfan..
Scott Tolzien and Ricky Stanzi are #2s, Mike Kafka is a #2/3 in Philly (depending on Vick's health... he's alternated between 2 and 3 on the depth chart), Adam Webber is still listed on the Broncos roster and if not for Tebow probably would have gotten some more PT in the preseason (Broncos coaches said he was the most impressive QB last year in the preseason). Terrelle Pryor is a #2/3, but obviously he is a work in progress. Drew Stanton is a #2 in Indy. Curtis Painter is the #2 in Baltimore. Troy Smith is the #2/3 in Pittsburgh. Chad Henne was a starter and will likely be a #2 this year. Throw in Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins, and that's 11 B1G QBs that will be on NFL rosters off the top of my head from the last 6 years. There's also a good chance Persa earns a roster spot with someone. Eight of those 11 QBs have played in the last two seasons.
@HUMBLE - Kudos for the stats you back every argument up with, makes it hard to argue with you haha. I like your "Body of Work" argument, and I think it has a lot of merit; especially when were trying to determine criterion for a playoff. I think that perhaps we've stumbled upon another caveat to this argument; how is the field selected? Will we need to modify the BCS?
Admittedly, I was going to explain why Oregon would've made my cut, while Wisconsin wouldn't have; but their body of work is eerily similar. The Ducks beat the Hell out of a #4 ranked Stanford team, while losing to #5 USC and #1 LSU. The Badgers lost to a #12 MSU and unranked OSU squad, while beating then #23 PSU, #21 Nebraska, and #12 MSU again.
Regardless the scenario our playoff adheres to, we'll need a less controversial way to select the field than merely polls. Perhaps an RPI-style computer ranking used in conjunction with a selection committee? Poll average? What do y'all think?
Humble, none of those guys you listed are starters, except Henne, who has been mediocre, and the rest have barely had an impact on any of their respective teams. The past 5 years have been awful for B1G QBs.