I mean, I think a committee is a stupid as all get out way to decide it, and that the playoff is a nonsensical farce that is really designed to make more money for the big schools(which is does fantastically), not actually name a national champion(which is does terribly).

So, OSU getting in would check both of those boxes. Moving CFB closer to NFL-style stuff makes me like it less, not more.

If PSU or Wisconsin were not deserving, then they should just not take a B1G team.

Could they? Yes. Would they? Probably.

Should they? Absolutely not.

If a team is in a conference and is not the champion of that conference, they(and the rest of their conference-mates) have determined a method of selecting the team that is most deserving to be in, and OSU will have failed to accomplish that. If a team is not the most deserving team of their small subset of college football, they are not the most deserving of a crown for all of CFB.

OSU getting in would be the same as Alabama getting a second shot at LSU a few years back, or Michigan getting a second shot at OSU in 2006. It should not happen.

Their secondary is actually pretty darn good, now that they're healthy. I expect to see Minnesota load the box against Zeke, bring pressure from a ton of different angles to try to confuse Jones, and play a lot of Cover 0 or Cover 1 with the corners on islands.

Mason feasted on cupcakes in a way that Kill and co haven't been able to do. Mason had also all but given up after Tressel got the OSU job over him for the 2001 season.

Great article, I think you did really well explaining what Minnesota wants to do. I particularly like how you hammer on eye discipline - it's something we really harp to our guys, too, but is difficult to get with the reps we can throw at them at a small high school.

One small thing - your "12 personnel" description has "2 back," when you need "1 back"

Teams were keeping two high safeties when Jones was in. With Barrett's running ability, they needed to add another player to the box to keep from getting gashed(which Rutgers didn't do initially, which was why Barrett was averaging like 9 yards a carry in the first half). That means they're more vulnerable to the deep ball.

No. "Faceguarding" is not against the rules. Similarly, there is no "five yard chuck" rule in college - as long as you're not holding a guy and the ball is not in the air, you can hit him as far down the field as you like.

I felt like they were difficult to see on TV, as were the red numbers.

But, then again, I am in general not a fan of the black jersey trend or OSU wearing them, so I'm likely a bit biased.

I...disagree pretty strongly with that. That play was practically textbook targeting.

I mean, it was definitely targeting, a proper call, and the legal punishment.

FPI is not worth the electrons used to print it on ESPN's website. It's a complete mathematical black box - you should trust it no more than you trust a random ranking from any AP voter.

Correct, it is a "spot of the foul" penalty.

Too late, they're wearing black!

Just because one side thinks it is a huge game doesn't make it a rivalry. The lightning bug doesn't have a rivalry with the windshield.

Black was actually explicitly rejected as a school color, because Princeton had chosen orange and black.

Some people have fun differently than you...

Blackouts often seem less effective because people's skin color stands out against the black clothing, too, so the effect of the all-black is broken.

No thanks. I'll wear the school colors.

Fully agreed GB, especially when "the backup" is a guy who set all manner of records for QBs for the OSU offense last year and was a top 5 Heisman Trophy finisher.

"Cardale has JT beat on accuracy. He just does."

Is that why Barrett has a better completion percentage than Jones this year despite throwing fewer of those touch passes, or why he had a better completion percentage than Jones last year?

Look, I love Cardale Jones' enthusiasm, energy, and love for Ohio State. I think he's a great kid doing his best for the Buckeyes, and that's all I will ever ask of him. But I think JT Barrett is a better fit for the team and scheme that the Bucks have been running, and should be the starting QB.

I get that I am not privy to the QB meetings or practices or any of those things, but your last sentence is the absolute definition of the logical fallacy of an appeal to authority, and it makes many intelligent people dismiss your arguments out of hand.

I think you're somewhat missing the point - they aren't looking JUST for big bodies/freak athletes. They need to find guys who have the physical ability(obviously), but also the mental and fit.

Perhaps the headline could be a little clearer with "They are looking for both fit and flash."

It is a great problem to have, to have two guys who are that good at the QB position battling for a spot.

Every time I think about Cardale Jones back there, though, and I hear "his arm strength opened up the deep ball" (which, admittedly, you did not write here, though I think you implied it), I wonder how much of that was Devin Smith being a FANTASTIC deep threat.

Many of those throws were Devin Smith winning a jump ball, rather than Cardale putting it where only his guy could get it.

Wonderful! A small adjustment/addition to the "3-tech" part - a "1-tech" or "shade" usually lines up on the shoulder of the center, a 3 is on the outside shoulder of the guard, a 5 on the outside shoulder of the tackle, a 7 on the outside shoulder of the TE, and a 9(or ghost 9) on the outside shoulder of a wingback(or where one would be).

To be on the inside shoulder of a guard/tackle/TE, those guys are often said to be in a 2i, 4i, or 6i.

I'm confused as to how the basketball game had a higher rating (16.0 vs. 15.2), but fewer people watching (28.26 million vs. 28.27 million)