I've been fiending for football (I feel like Cartman in the Go God Go episode) so I started watching the 2006 rendition of The Game. That was one of the best of the series and man, do I love watching these teams go at it in late November like God intended. But then I started thinking... these were the #1 and #2 teams in the nation and they went on to get destroyed in their bowl games a few weeks later.
I guess what I'm asking is, Do you guys think The Game being held as the last game of the season is detrimental to both teams?
No, not at all. It is the perfect cap to the B1G season, and it doesn't affect how the teams perform in their bowls at all. There is tons of time between The Game and the bowls, so much that the Bowls are almost a separate one-game season unto themselves.
If you're asking if a late game against a high ranked team is detrimental to being selected for the championship game, I'd say only for the loser.
I would wager a guess that the time off between that 2006 game and the BCS title game hurt the Buckeyes more than anything else.
I would agree with both you guys ^^ . There is plenty of time between to prepare for a bowl - maybe even too much. I guess I can't help but wonder if the players fought so heavily in that game that they truly left everything out there that day.
No I think in 06 we felt a sense of entitlement and thought we had already won the game before we actually played it. We looked, slow, unprepared, and FAT!! Thats by far my worst OSU memory...
I am more concerned with how The Game will affect our performance in the Big Ten Title game (obiviously after this season).
I don't know how much the game impacts post season play, but I would say in most cases the B1G championship game will provide a good buffer. If we are in that same 1 vs 2 situation then I believe having to play the game twice would be a huge impact.
No not at all. We were only blown out in two bowl games in the last decade (UF and LSU). Don't forget about the National Championship, and the BCS bowl wins against ND, Kansas St. , and Arkansas. Go Bucks!
Not having a Big Ten Championship game killed us the most, would have put a game in the middle of the time off. Urban Meyer's gameplan comes in a a very close second, he outcoached us.
It used to be great, but you guys need to re-think this. We're probably going to be top 5/top 10 (we're assuming, right?) for the forseeable future. Michigan is on a track to be a top 10/top 15 program and contend for the Legends division every year. Once we get eligible, I would expect us to win the Leaders 4 out of every 5 or something like that. So we go against a good Michigan team, then turn around and have to play Michigan/Nebraska/Sparty the next week for a big 10 title. We would need to win both of those for a shot at the "playoff" which could go something like Oklahoma then Bama. You're talking about 4 top 10/15 teams IN A ROW to cap off the season. Any year that goes scUM/scUM in back to back weeks is going to be brutal.
No and the main reason why is history. The history of who wins this game often means a Rose Bowl birth or better. I believe a match up being repeated in a B1G Championship game is an interesting thing to think about. Look at it as OSU wins 'The Game' and then loses the conference championship game to tTUN would really suck and could mean the difference in a Rose Bowl or NC (meaning shot in play offs after next year or if this happens next year...both teams have favorable schedules with OSU going up there and then...???). Hopefully when OSU wins the first go around it will mean tTUN will not be in contention for a B1G Championship. So that last part should answer your thread...it will only benefit the winner as it always has. Unless we meet in B1G championship game...then it's going to be interesting...
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
@Redstorm45-
Perfect. That is exactly what I want. Win that and there's no doubt you're the champ. I want to face the best and beat the best, no excuses.
Look, the bias right now is toward the SEC, and rightfully so. Beat a high-ranked Michigan in the middle of the season, and it means little come playoff selection time. People are all about "what have you done for me lately". But beat a high-ranked Michigan right before the B1G championship, then win the B1G championship and we'll be in.
It's all about perception so long as there is a poll or a committee. Space out your big wins and they're still wins, but put them in a row immediately before the committee meets and they're play-off qualifying wins.
It is best for us if our hardest conference games are all right at the end of the year.
I'm just saying every former player says that Michigan game takes so much out of them. To have to do that twice in a week....
^^^ Alabama and Auburn have won back to back Nat. Champs winning SEC Champs and BCS Title games after the Iron Bowl. So no, the Game is perfectly Awesome when it is.
If a rematch were to ever happen in a BIG10 title game, I think the loser of The Game would have a harder road to travel in trying to win a rematch. If everything and the Kitchen Sink is thrown out there to win the Game, not much can change in a week to alter the rematches outcome.
You could say some cat-n-mouse could be played if both teams were guaranteed a rematch in the BIG10 Title game regardless of the outcome of The Game, , who knows.