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I would like each blogger that reads this to read the post written by edclinchsaint.
It is called "Have You Ever Heard of Antietam? ML King? Love? Sacrifice?"
To me it is the BLOG OF THE YEAR so far. Very nicely written, and worth commenting on.
I would post a link to it, but I'm at work and can't because of the restrictions on this PC.
I'm not the type to sit around and ponder a loss. Sure the Gators chomped on a scarlet fluff Monday night. I won't even say that there was anything Ohio State could do right and the Florida Gators do wrong in the BCS National Championship game, but I wonder what if....
WHAT IF.....
The earth DIDN'T revolve around the sun?
With that in mind was there anything the Buckeyes could have done Monday night with their running game to make the game shorter and respectable? And I don't mean the 15 commercial time-outs or the 5 commercials between each snap. ( you suck Fox) Troy Smith is a talent, but you gotta acknowledge sometime during the game that your QB isn't going to be able to throw effectively. This became quite clear in the first quarter, and painfully moreso as the game progressed. With so much attention being placed on the wide-outs and Smith himself couldn't some of these big WRs do some blocking schemes for Pittman and most certainly Chris Wells? OSU did run the ball 23 times, but it was clear this defense had to be worn down to slow down. Sure the Gators defense would have been quick to the ball, but Wells is a talent. He is a big strong back that would not have been so easily tackled. Pittman is a good back as well, but Wells may have been the key to opening the defense. Wells does have a tendency to fumble so maybe that factored in. At least the committment to a running game would have made the Gators defense at the least second guess. Draw plays up the middle in many of Florida's schemes could have gone for some yardage. I guess if you knew you were only going to gain 82 yards the entire game, you'd think twice about your gameplan also. Yardage on the ground inevitably leads to yardage through the air via play action fakes, draws, end arounds, etc. I'm no coach, so I'm just guessing that once Florida scored so quickly and so often one would have to consider slowing down the game and limiting possessions. Maybe OSU was committed to the run and Florida just wasn't going to have it. Rarely though does a defense though shut down both the run and the pass so effectively. Apparently though Florida did. Was it the Gator's defense or the inept play-calling on the part of the Ohio State offense?So...
WHAT IF......
Troy Smith had ran the ball more? He cut off a few good runs. One for a first down. One shy of a first down. The guy is capable of running, that's a given. Again, I can think of at least two critical 3rd down plays where Smith threw a horrible pass when he could have easily ran for the first down. Smith's running the ball also could have softened the defense of Florida. He's always had success as a pass first quarterback, but when things aren't working, take what the defense gives you. The lanes were there. The lanes were not taken. Did Tressel and his staff not consider altering the game plan? Again, I'm no coach, and I'm certainly no expert, however I repeatedly saw areas that could be exploited. So....
WHAT IF......
Ginn had played the entire game? Considering how the front four of Florida played, probably wouldn't have mattered. However, the short-passing game may have been effective. Dump offs, and crossing patterns may have worked more effectively with a deep threat. All in speculation though. Considering Ginn scored half of your teams points in 16 seconds of play, well speaks for itself. No real tie-in here....
WHAT IF......
There weren't two costly penalties in the first quarter, on Florida's first two possesions? How would Florida had responded starting from the 20? How would the OSU defense had responded? Simple questions but big keys to the game. Much harder to drive 80 yards for one score since Florida showed no real deep passing game. But this be because they played with the lead. However if you give a talented offense such as Florida's a chance to drive 80 total yards and get two scores, well you're in for a long night. And that's what OSU did. The first drive after the penalty went 7 plays and only 46 yards for the score. The second drive 5 plays covering 34 yards. Speaking of yards...
WHAT IF......
There was a measurement on the fourth down call in the first half? Strangest fourth down play in my eyes. One of such importance, yet no measurement? Did they measure and I blinked? Tressel couldn't have challenged because he used his challenge earlier. ( A poor use of a challenge also I may add) But there was no second guessing. Florida made the call for the officials and the officials bought it. It was close. I'm not saying he crossed the 30 yard line or not. But, the view from the sky cam had it been reviewed may have changed some minds. The whole play was just surreal to me. Speaking of surreal...
WHAT IF.....
Chris Hetland just plain sucked like he did all year long? Just a sign that nothing was going to go wrong for the Gators Monday night. I have watched that guy kick, he really did stink up the team. Made me question everything about Florida at times when they couldn't even make a gimme field goal. But not on that night, not in this game. A 70 yarder was in order. I expected one just for, well, kicks. Didn't happen, but you know...it would have been good on that night. So, finally...
WHAT IF
The Florida Gators hadn't shown up for the game? I mean litterally shown up. Not like Ohio State not figuratively showing up. I mean litterally. Planes not landed, buses not pulled up. Just the scarlet and grey on the field. On that night Ohio State would have found a way, yes, to lose.
WHAT IF
I didn't whine so much you say? I'm not whining. Just now realizing how this team could look this bad so easily. Hats off to Florida. I'm not taking anything away from what they did on the field Monday night offensively or defensively. They did absolutely everything right. It was football conceived, practiced, and executed to its finest.Rarely do we get the chance to witness a game where everything just went right for one team and everything just went the opposite for another. But it happened. So many more WHAT IF's, but one could what if his life away now couldn't he? I'm over it. I hope my fellow Buckeye fans are also.
1. Congratulations to my Kentucky Wildcats for beating Clemson in the Music City Bowl, 28-20, for their first bowl win in 22 years!
2. Sorry, been a long time between blogs. Lots to do, little time to do it.
So now to what I have to say. I haven't read a single blog, or a single article even about the Wolverine-Trojan game in The Rose Bowl. I really didn't need to read about it, I watched it.
A 3-3 tie at halftime proved one thing to me: the second half was going to be a fun one to watch. I knew this for one reason alone- Pete Carroll may be the best 2nd half adjustment coach going right now in college football.
What I didn't know however was how Michigan would play in the second half. Yes, Michigan did put up good numbers against Ohio State after half-time. Turnovers and shortfields however helped that cause. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the Maize and Blue.
A heaping dose of Mike Hart maybe? Well, no, because based on the first half, USC showed me and the nation that they too could stop the run.
A dozen Henne-Manningham-Breaston hook-ups? The way the Trojan Defense played in the first half, I just couldn't see a big game coming. What I did see in the first half was this: USC couldn't run against the Michigan D. Not many this year could, save Ohio State.
So what did Carroll do? Throw, Throw, Throw. And the talent level rose immensely in the second half. So rarely do you see such a one-dimensional game be so successful. Dwayne Jarrett for USC caught 205 yards worth alone. Even double-teamed, triple teamed at times it seemed. Smith and the rest of the receiving corps caught some spectacularly thrown balls from John David Booty in the 32-18 USC blow-out.
As many questions this game answered about USC to me, it arose a few more about the competence and even the confidence Lloyd Carr had in his Michigan squad.
The one thing about the game that still sticks out to me is this: with 8:02 left in the game and Michigan trailing 25-11, Carr decides to go for it on 4th and I believe it was 13. It's only a two touchdown game Lloyd. Your last possession you drove down the field and scored with Henne completing six straight passes capped off with as perfect a throw to the endzone as could be made between two defenders for a score.
Yes, JDB did throw a perfect strike to Jarrett just a few minutes earlier for a TD, but it seemed like a shootout was about to take place. But, what happened on that 4th and 13 call? If I'm not mistaken Lloyd you were in field goal range. Had you kicked and made a field goal, well the score would have been a more manageable 25-14. Eleven point game with 8:02 to go in the fourth. Not many coaches would choke under those situations. Lloyd choked.
His players felt it. They knew he had given up on the game. There was a chance that Michigan would convert on that 4th down, but it was slim. Not given the way the Trojans were playing.
Why would you give up on your team so soon Lloyd? Well, if your team didn't feel it, the nation that watched sure felt it. USC definitely felt it. So much in fact they were the sharks and well Michigan the bloodied piece of meat dangling, lifeless, hopeless, just waiting.
Why do I feel Carr gave up? Well, any intelligent coach would take three and rely on his defense. I mean, this WAS Michigan's defense. The mighty mighty defense we were lead to believe were so awesome this year. Carr knew more than the nation knew though. Maybe Carr knew it was over after Jarrett raced by the two clueless Michigan defenders and caught that perfect throw by JDB. Maybe Carr knew his defenders just were out-matched by the talented Trojan offense. An offense I may add that seemed on life-support most of the year.
In any case, 8:02 to go is an eternity in football. Carr has an eternity now to think about that 4th down call.
Much debate is an understatement on who should be NO.2 in the final Coaches and Harris Polls which we all should know by now. I am a guy that likes stats and numbers though. So I went to the USA Today website and made this simple chart of how the COACHES voted Florida and Michigan in the Final Coaches Poll.
There weren't any really big suprises really. Only a few. I will continue on with the discussion after this chart. I didn't list the coaches individually, but listed their vote for the team as a group by conference. So naturally, when you see 2 or 3 under the column of Florida and Michigan, then that's a no.2 vote by that coach, or no. 3 vote, respectively. OSU unanimously got all NO. 1 votes. No coach voted Florida or Michigan lower than 2 or 3. Here is the breakdown by conference posted Sunday Dec. 3rd, 2006:
CONFERENCE FLORIDA MICHIGAN
ACC 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
BIG 10 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 3
BIG 12 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 3
SEC 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
BIG EAST 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 2
WAC 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3
C-USA 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 3
PAC 10 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 3
SUN BELT 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3
MAC 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 3
MTN WEST 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 2
INDEPENDENTS 2 3 3 2
Like I said, no really big suprises. Note if you will though one Big Ten coach, Ron Zook of Illinios (former Florida coach) did give Florida the NO. 2 vote over Big Ten rival Michigan. Just food for thought. Not that it mattered. Of course we all know by now that Jim Tressel, coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes did not cast any votes, therefore there were 62 coaches that voted.
Florida garnered 44 of the 62 NO. 2 votes, while Michigan was granted the other 18 NO.2 votes.
NOTABLES: The four Mountain West votes were split, as well as the two independent votes. Charlie Weis coach of Notre Dame cast his NO.2 vote for Michigan...no real big suprise. The ACC, SEC, and WAC swept the voters with all NO. 2 votes cast for Florida. The Coaches in the PAC-10 were 4-2 in favor of Florida.
There are other notable voting that stuck out at me. I will list a few here:
1. Howard Schnellenber coach at Florida Atlantic voted LSU no. 15 in the final voting! What did the Tigers do to him? lol
2.Mike Bellotti coach at Oregon has Wisconsin at no. 4 in his final voting. Interesting.
3.Bobby Bowden of Florida State still thinks USC is the best 2 loss team, even over one loss teams, he has them ranked no. 4 in his final poll. As do many other coaches I may add.
Now in light of this, Kirk Herbstreit, former OSU QB, now ESPN College Football Analyst, did have a valid argument in favor of Michigan. Not quoting him, but Michigan had not played in the last two weeks. He wondered how a Florida team that was ranked no. 4 in the nation following Michigan's loss at OSU, but still remained no. 2 in the polls following that loss, could leap-frog a team whose season was over. His argument stated in paraphrase that If the OSU/UM game had been played this past Saturday, would the coaches still have voted the way they did, hence out of site, out of mind? And he went on to say that the coaches clearly did NOT want to see a rematch. I'm not saying I agree/disagree, but I will let you decide.
So, I began to look at how the coaches that voted Florida NO.2 and Michigan NO.3 on Dec. 3rd had voted after the Nov. 18th showdown, and then the following week. However, it seems difficult for me at least to locate how the coaches voted on Nov. 25, 2006. If someone could direct me to that link, it would be much appreciated.
UCLA has just ended USC's title hopes. The Gators are leading 17-14 after having a 17-0 lead in the first half. Michigan fans are gonna get what they want. A REMATCH!
Go Bucks!
Should be another barn burner in Glendale this time!
LIke I said in a comment below, the BCS uses the ELO_Chess to determine standings. Before the new ones are released, it goes like this:
Michigan no. 3 99.52
Florida no. 4 96.60
Arkansas was no. 7 at 92.67
Florida needs probably two polls to rank them no. 2 ahead of Michigan, maybe all 3...AP/Coaches/Harris...to have a shot at taking over the no. 2 spot in the BCS.
Florida won a tough SEC, and the Championship game...let's see what happens!
Since every blogger enjoyed my last post concerning a 16 team BCS playoff system (joking, hardly anyone read it) I thought I would plug in this weeks top 16 BCS teams to see what kind of intriguing match-ups there would be.
Keep in mind, the highest ranking team that wins each game plays the lowest ranked team the next round
So here goes.
WEEK ONE:
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes
16. Tennessee
2. USC
15. West Virginia
3. Michigan
14. Virginia Tech
4. Florida
13. Rutgers
5. LSU
12. Oklahoma
6. Louisville
11. Auburn
7. Wisconsin
10. Notre Dame
8. Boise State
9. Arkansas
Last week I placed the highest ranked team to win, this week I will predict a winner. There are some interesting matchups in the first round most notably: Wisconsin/ND, Michigan/Va. Tech, USC/WVU, and Florida/Rutgers
Here are the winners from week one:
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes ( won 38, 17)
15. West Virginia (won 42, 38 in OT)
3. Michigan (won 19, 17)
4. Florida ( won 20, 17 in OT)
5. LSU (won 13-10)
6. Louisville (won 24-21)
10. Notre Dame (won 28-14)
8. Boise State (won 34-31 in OT)
So now the highest ranked team plays the lowest ranked team in WEEK TWO:
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes (BCS Bowl)
15. West Virginia
3. Michigan (BCS Bowl)
10. Notre Dame
4. Florida (BCS Bowl)
8. Boise State
5. LSU (BCS Bowl)
6. Louisville
Here are the winners of WEEK TWO:
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes ( won 30-13)
3. Michigan (won 45-40)
8. Boise State (won 27-26)
5. LSU (won 20-16)
We are down to the final 4, again the highest ranked team plays the lower ranked team, here's the matchup for WEEK 3:
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes
8. Boise State
3. Michigan
5. LSU
Now we have settled the two best teams in college football, the winners in WEEK 3 play for the BCS National Championship.
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes (won 42-14)
5. LSU (won 23-21)
In light of the recent postings by fans saddened that USC has "stolen" the no. 2 spot in the BCS standings over Michigan, I just have a few things to say.
Michigan, get over it. The BCS is designed to reflect the two best teams in the nation at seasons end. Sometimes it gets it right, other times well it just doesn't. These teams are to play in the BCS title game. We all know that. Since there is no playoff system, then these so called powerhouse schools need to take into consideration what it takes to be ranked high in the BCS standings.
The BCS is not rocket science guys. The one thing about the BCS that schools tend to overlook is this: your team has to play some quality non-conference teams in order to get a good BCS ranking. How many years has this tune been playing? That is, schools being snubbed because of a poor non-conference schedule.
Michigan fans especially, quit your whining! Here is Michigan's outstanding resume non-conference.
Vanderbilt
Central Michigan
Notre Dame
Ball State
So why are you crying that USC got the no. 2 nod over you? Here is USC's non-conference schedule.
at Arkansas
Nebraska
Notre Dame
So for the Trojans that's a non-conference schedule featuring two teams playing for the champioinship in their respective conferences.
Not even Ohio State can boast of such a schedule. Yes they played at Texas this year, but really how good is Texas. Ohio State has proven their worth on the field. I don't think anyone questions that Ohio State is one of at least the two best teams in the nation.
So dry up those tears Michigan fans. The Florida Gators have more of a right to play Ohio State in the BCS title game than you! Florida doesn't have a non-conference schedule to boast about either, but at least they have to prove themselves in a tough Southeastern conference. And although FSU has had a down year, they still have more talent on that team than all four non-conference teams the Wolverines scheduled this year.
Until some sort of playoff format is implemented, then this debate will go on and on and on. And until then schools will be crying foul over and over and over. USC had the balls to schedule teams they could lose to, so did Ohio State, so did Florida. Michigan, it scheduled teams that would make their win/loss record look good, and suffice to say, that's not good enough for the BCS.
NOW YOU HAVE 8 TEAMS FOR THE FOUR MAJOR BCS BOWL GAMES. LET'S JUST PLUG THEM IN BY BCS RANK AGAIN WITH THE HIGHEST SEED FOR SIMPLICITY AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE CONFERENCE TIE INS FOR RIGHT NOW
ROSE BOWL: 1. OSU VS. 8. WISCONSIN
SUGAR BOWL: 2. MICHIGAN VS. 7. WEST VIRGINIA
FIESTA BOWL: 3. USC VS. 6. ARKANSAS
ORANGE BOWL: 4. FLORIDA VS. 5. NOTRE DAME
NOW YOU ARE LEFT WITH 4 TEAMS FOR 2 MAJOR BCS BOWL GAMES. NOT GOING BY CONFERENCE TIE INS WITH BOWLS RIGHT NOW, JUST FOR SIMPLICITY I'M JUST GOING TO PLUG THEM IN RANDOMLY. THE HIGHEST SEEDED BOWL TEAM WOULD PLAY THE LOWEST SEEDED BOWL TEAM IN THE NEXT BOWL.
SO....FOR EXAMPLE ( OF COURSE THERE IS MORE MONEY TO BE MADE HERE AS YOU CAN SEE)
BCS "Im Richer Than U R " Bowl PRESENTED BY MARC CUBAN: 1. OSU VS. 4. FLORIDA
BCS "Bel-Tones" Bowl PRESENTED BY MIKE TYSON: 2. MICHIGAN VS. 3. USC
THE FINAL TWO TEAMS PLAY IN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
So there we go, we can spread them out over a four week period, have college football all the way through the first week of January and then crown a champ! I'd love to see it!
I have posted below the seasons of Southern California, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida and Arkansas (to date). All five are vying for their shot. Just simply give the name of the team you think is more deserving to play Ohio State in the BCS National Title game. This is not a vote of how you think the BCS computers will rank them, rather based on their season, who you think is more deserving to play in the title game. (Of course ND and USC cannot win out, neither can Florida and Arkansas. So pick the team you think will win and cast your vote accordingly).
A. Southern California Trojans (some rankings were at time game was played, notable wins/losses)
RECORD 9-1 (records to right are opponent records)
09/02 at Arkansas W 50-14 record 10-1, rank no. 5, still to play no. 9 LSU, no. 4 Florida (SEC champ)
09/16 #19 Nebraska W 28-10 record 8-3, lost to no.5 Texas, won at no. 24 Tx A&M
09/23 at Arizona W 20-3 record 6-5(upset no. 22 California)
09/30 at Wash St W 28-22 record 6-6
10/07 Washington W 26-20 record 5-7
10/14 Arizona St W 28-21 record 6-5
10/28 at Oregon St L 33-31 record 7-4
11/04 at Stanford W 42-0 record 1-10
11/11 #21 Oregon W 35-10 record 7-4
11/18 #17 California W 23-9 record 8-3
11/25 #6 N Dame 8:00 PM record 10-1, currently ranked no. 6 coaches/AP
12/02 at UCLA 4:30 PM record 6-5, lost to every top 25 team they have played this season
USC of course still has two games to play, with the huge game against Notre Dame looming. If USC beats ND at home they will have won 5 games against top 25 teams, some teams not ranked above were ranked at time played.
B. Notre Dame
RECORD 10-1
09/02 at Ga Tech W 14-10 record 9-2, 7-1 ACC, currently ranked no. 16 AP, no. 15 Coaches
09/09 #19 Penn State W 41-17 record 8-4
09/16 #11 Michigan L 47-21 record 11-1, CRUSHED by the Wolverines
09/23 at Mich St W 40-37 record 4-8
09/30 Purdue W 35-21 record 8-4
10/07 Stanford W 31-10 record 1-10
10/21 UCLA W 20-17 record 6-5, still to play USC
10/28 at Navy W 38-14 record 8-3
11/04 UNC W 45-26 record 2-9
11/11 at Air Force W 39-17 record 4-6
11/18 Army W 41-9 record 3-8
11/25 at #3 USC 8:00 PM record 9-1
Notre Dame still has to prove it's worth against no. 3 USC on 11/25. Memorable game LAST YEAR in South Bend. One win against teams that are still ranked (GT). Only 4 teams played with records above .500.
C. Michigan Wolverines
RECORD 11-1
09/02 Vanderbilt W 27-7 record 4-8, notable win at Georgia 24-22
09/09 C Michigan W 41-17 record 7-4, 6-1 in MAC, possible MAC champion
09/16 at #2 N Dame W 47-21 record 10-1, CRUSHED by Wolverines, most notable win Penn. St.@home
09/23 Wisconsin W 27-13 record 11-1, current ranks AP no. 10, Coaches no. 9
09/30 at Minnesota W 28-14 record 6-6
10/07 Mich St W 31-13 record 4-8
10/14 at Penn State W 17-10 record 8-4
10/21 Iowa W 20-6 record 6-6
10/28 N'western W 17-3 record 4-8
11/04 Ball St W 34-26 record 4-7, 4th in MAC West standings
11/11 at Indiana W 34-3 record 5-7
11/18 at #1 Ohio St L 42-39 record 12-0, Big Ten Champion
Michigan has notable wins against Notre Dame, and Wisconsin (notable wins for Wisconsin - Penn State at home, and @ Iowa). Played tough against no.1 Ohio State.
D. Florida Gators
RECORD 10-1
09/02 So Miss W 34-7 record 7-4, 5-2 C-USA division leader
09/09 C Florida W 42-0 record 3-8
09/16 at #13 Tennessee W 21-20 record 8-3, ranked no.19 AP, no. 21 Coaches
09/23 Kentucky W 26-7 record 7-4
09/30 Alabama W 28-13 record 6-6
10/07 #9 LSU W 23-10 record 9-2, ranked no.9 AP, no.8 Coaches
10/14 at #11 Auburn L 27-17 record 10-2, ranked no.14 AP, no. 13 Coaches
10/28 at Georgia W 21-14 record 7-4, beat then no. 5 Auburn, play at no.16 Ga. Tech.
11/04 at Vanderbilt W 25-19 record 4-8
11/11 S Carolina W 17-16 record 6-5
11/18 W Carolina W 62-0 record 2-9
11/25 at Florida St 12:00 PM record 6-5, only top 25 win was first game @ then no. 12 Miami
12/02 #5 Arkansas 6:00 PM record 10-1, ranked no. 5, SEC Championship game
Of course Florida has a tough road ahead of them. About as tough as Notre Dame and USC, because Florida St. is a rivalry game, and Arkansas is not the same team USC plowed over at the beginning of the season (RB McFaddin did not play against USC). Florida has beaten 2 teams currently ranked in the top 15.
E. Arkansas Razorbacks
RECORD 10-1
09/02 #6 USC L 50-14 record 9-1, crushing loss without RB McFaddin
09/09 Utah St W 20-0 record 1-10
09/16 at Vanderbilt W 21-19 record 4-8
09/23 Alabama W 24-23 record 6-6
10/07 at #2 Auburn W 27-10 record 10-2
10/14 SE Mo St W 63-7 record 4-7
10/21 Ole Miss W 38-3 record 3-8
10/28 at La Monroe W 44-10 record 2-8
11/04 at S Carolina W 26-20 record 6-5
11/11 #13 Tennessee W 31-14 record 8-3
11/18 at Miss St W 28-14 record 3-8
11/24 #9 LSU 2:30 PM record 9-2, to be played
12/02 at #4 Florida 6:00 PM record 10-1, to be played (SEC Championship game)
The fact that USC Crushed Arkansas to open the season doesn't help the Razorbacks. They do have impressive wins @ Auburn and against Tennessee. Assuming they can beat no. 9 LSU and no. 4 Florida that would give them 4 wins over teams ranked in the top 15.
For the 13 Americans over the age of 18 that did not watch the OSU/UM game. Don't be fooled by the score. OSU lead 28-14 at the half. Michigan cut it to 28-24, but never took the lead.
In fact, OSU had a terrible second half. The team gave Michigan the ball in great field position most of the second half.
The game was OSUs to lose. And....they didn't even come close. Michigan tacked on a late TD that cut the margin to the final score of 42-39. It was not the climactic finish that America wanted.
On the contrary is very anti-climactic. The first turnover, a Troy Smith interception, gave the Woverines the ball in Ohio State territory. Ohio St. handed them the gift three point field goal and exited the field. Of course there were no good replays of the two Wolverines draped over the Ohio State receiver, a blatant no call, as he was attempting to catch the ball. Was the receiver Ginn? Gonzalez? Who will know? There was so much blue on him, one would think he was wearing the enemies jersey.
Another turnover gave the ball to Michigan inside the Ohio State 10. Again, a gift wrapped present for a team that could not stop any play the Buckeyes drew up. The Ohio State center whiffed the ball over Smiths head. Seemed as if it bounced off his helmet a few times, well it didn't he was grasping at air. Michigan scored the gimme.
In another gaffe play, the center snapped the ball, but it drug in the high turf and didn't even make it to the QB. Ohio State tried really hard to give the game away.
But in the end, Michigan just wasn't good enough to win on this day. Michigan over-rated. Nah. Over powered in this game, yes!
Chad Henne had a decent day. However, The heralded Wolverine Defense, allowing just 29.9 yards per game...HA! well were overmatched and outcoached. Let's see I think Ohio State rushed for more than that on one play. Yes, the Wolverine D was over-rated. Wells and Pittman both had long TD runs of 52 yards and 56 yards, respectively. And who would have thought the Buckeyes would have outrushed that GREAT Mike Hart. (yes, he is good, and elusive!)
And of course there is Troy Smith. Yeah he looked mad when his ball was intercepted, but I would be too if I thought it was pass interference if you have two defenders one on each shoulder of your reciever before the ball got there. But great job MR. HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER!
I will end by reiterating this. The game never was in doubt. Michigan couldn't stop anything Ohio State was doing to them, and Ohio State couldn't stop themselves from turning the ball over. Don't be deceived by the final score.
"First of all, thank you Oregon State Beavers for finally taking USC out of the picture. Thank you for exposing the over-rated Trojans. Although it's true there are plenty of games to be played, the BCS for what it's worth may be working on getting it right."
Wow, what a slap in the face when the BCS standings were released Sunday! USC back at no. 3? Ahead of Florida? Ahead of Rutgers? Ahead of Boise St.? Well, granted the latter is taken for granted, I must concede that I know nothing.
Equally as surprising I suppose is Ohio States descent to no. 3 in the computer rankings. Yeah, I look at those six computer rankings. It is what it appears to be. That is one third of the popular vote.
Speaking of voting, how 'bout them democrats? I believe that was roughly two thirds of the popular vote.
Speaking of republicans, in a what have you done for me lately society, Texas losing hurt OSU. Arkansas winning helped USC. So that means Clinton would beat G.W. in a one-legged bag hop to the finish line sort of race?
One thing I do know is this. Isn't it funny how Ohio, as in the state, has had a major impact on the nation over the past few years? Well, isn't it? It elected G.W. It re-elected G.W. It is now the center of the sports world this weekend. And in between it houses the best all around NBA player up in Cleveland. People just can't talk anymore without talking OHIO.
With all this in mind, hear this. I still have my BCS Championship Bowl game prediction in tact. If even by the tips of my fingers
OSU/Fla. to square off in Glendale. I just need Cal, or Oregon, or even the Irish to help me. I don't know how it came to this. Florida wasn't impressive. Haven't been impressive for awhile now. But they have won.
For the record, NO, I repeat NO one-loss team deserves to be ranked ahead of Rutgers. Period. I live and breathe SEC down here in the south, but I have to give my props to the Knights. They have won. I know we have to wait on this BCS thing, because it's supposed to reflect your "body of work" at seasons end.
When that day sadly arrives I may be slapped in the face again. Who knew USC was that good again? Again, wow!
First of all, thank you Oregan State Beavers for finally taking USC out of the picture. Thank you for exposing the over-rated Trojoans. Although it's true there are plenty of games to be played, the BCS for what it's worth may be working on getting it right.
Thank you bayou bengals for taking Tennessee out of the picture. Tennessee's chances of reaching a BCS game looks pretty much in danger after LSU just beat them in the volunteer state. Florida escaped today so my BCS match-up for the national title game, well is starting to come together quite nicely. Although OSU and Michigan both got scares today 11/4/06.
There are plenty of scenarios to ponder about the BCS though. As their usually is, makes you wonder how it will all play out. Let's take a look at the top 5 spots in the BCS standings and make arguments for all the scenarios.
1. Ohio State. (0.9864) If OSU is not clearly the best team in college football then who is? Obviously the Computers do not think OSU is the clear cut no. 1 team in the land. In looking at the computer rankings. somehow Michigan gets the nod as the no. 1 team. The Wolverines get the no. 1 spot in 5 out of 6 computers. Go figure! With the highest and lowest dropped, that leaves with a computer average of 1.000. Meanwhile OSU gets the number 2 spot in the computer rankings with 5 out of the 6 computer rankings therefore giving them an average of .960. Ohio State stays no. 1 overall because of the emphasis of their no. 1 ranking in the human polls.
UPDATE: OSU survived (the only word to describe it) today by beating the Illini. A last second latteral scramble went by the wayside when the Illini had the ball on its own 2 yard line. Buckeye nation breathes easier after OSU goes up by 17 early, but lays a goose egg after that. The Bucks first "scare" of the season.
2. Michigan.(0.9697) As stated earlier the computers love Michigan. The human polls kind of like them also. Michigan's no. 2 in the human polls keep them alive for a BCS title game.But obviously they would have to knock off the Buckeyes in Columbus to earn the spot. Or do they? We will discuss later.
UPDATE: Michigan like the Buckeyes also had a scare today against lowly Ball State. Like OSU in the second half, the Wolverines basically the entire game seemingly had overlooked the Cardinals. Michigan did put together 3 straight scoring drives to give them a 31-12 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. Ball State would not go away though, cutting the defecit to 34-26, the final margin of the game.
3. West Virginia. (0.7862) There is no love whatsoever for the Mountaineers by the computer rankings. WVU has a computer average of 13!!!! IF the human polls didn't show a little love for the Mountianeers by putting them at no. 3, then they would have no shot in the national title hunt. And you wonder how much love that really is considering Michigan leap-frogged the Mountaineers somehow! However we have to look back at weeks 4 through 7 of the season. When Michigan finally cracked the top ten by beating a then ranked no. 2 Notre Dame back in week 3, everything started to go south for the Mountaineers. No the win itself didn't catapult MU over the Mountaineers, but steadily from week 4 through 7, the human pollsters kept agreeing that MU was better than WVU until it finally happened - the jump. The good news for Mountaineer fans is that their best games are still ahead of them. If they truely are worthy of a BCS National title game berth, the remainder of their schedule, obviously, is crucial.
UPDATE: WVU lost to Louisville on Thursday: Ok, you know that already. Bye-bye pretender.
4. Florida. (0.7791) Noone expected them here. They lost to Auburn. No they lost to Auburn by double digits at home! Yet here they are. Comfortably sitting where a lot of other Schools would like to be sitting. The computers love them also, to be a one-loss team, currently slotting them at no. 4 but interestingly enough behind a Cal. Bears team. This is the only love the SEC gets: tough strength of schedule gets you high maks in the computer rankings, although wobbling in the bottome 5 of the top 10 of the human polls.
5. Louisville. ( 0.7621) Here is another one of those teams that have to love where they sit. With a no. 9 computer ranking, they have much more love than the Mountaineers, but still not the respect they deserve. For the Moutaineers and the Cardinals, the fact that the Big East is viewed as weak does not help. Yet with help from the human polls they sit comfortably in the top 5. Like Louisville though, undefeated and still needs help to get to the BCS Championship game.
So let's look at some scenarios:
A. It's easy for OSU and Michigan. You win out, you earn a trip to the BCS Championship game. But this won't be the case. As we all know OSU/MU will battle on Nov. 18th in Columbus for this right. Could OSU lose at home to Michigan and still make it to the title game? Good question. Look no further back than Oklahoma, no. 1 all year, but losing the Big 12 title game and still making the big game. Should OSU lose by say
B. Could Michigan lose to OSU and still make the BCS Title game? The answer is maybe. Again, because they are favored in the computer rankings, and depending on the final score, how far will the human polls drop MU? Of course by then WVU will have already played UL. So either team could already be poised to pass MU in the human polls, or at least knocking on the door.
C. Could Louisville win out and make it to the BCS title game? Yes, I believe they could. The computers already favor them at no. 9..the human polls both have UL in the top 5. My guess is if they beat WVU and Rutgers in back to back weeks, then the computers will LOVE them. Enough so to either close the gap substantially between them and Michigan, or even over take them in the computer rankings or even over take the Buckeyes in the computer rankings. But how will these wins affect the human polls? If they take a no. 2 spot in the human polls away from Michigan, well the final tally will be a close one.
D. Could WVU win out and make it to the BCS title game? Yes! With the human pollsters showing some love at no. 3, could they beat a no. 5 team in UL, then take care of business against conference foes till they play # 15 Rutgers on 12/02.
E. Could Florida spoil the unbeatens by leapfrogging and making it to the BCS national title game? Absolutely. Florids wins out the regular season, that wouldn't be so impressive. But, take in consideration the love the computer rankings have for them at no. 4. Already ahead of UL with one loss, Should Florida win the East in the SEC then beat possibly Arkansas or Auburn in the SEC Championship game, things could get crazy. I think Florida would benefit more for beating Auburn, BCS no. 6, than for beating Arkansas.
F. Could Texas, USC, or Notre Dame spoil the aforementioned fun? Probably not.
I guess here is where I eat my words. I would suppose there is a long shot at Texas making it back to the BCS title game. Maybe even USC could sneak in there. UofL has its fate in its own hands.
Here again lies the problems with the BCS: it IS possible that a NO loss UL, WVU or even Rutgers does not make it to the championship game. And that a one loss Michigan or even Auburn or Florida plays OSU for the title. Or a one loss OSU drops only to no. 2 in the human polls, and causes all sorts of problems for the above mentioned teams should the computer rankings finally give OSU the love it deserves and make them a clear cut number one.
Anyway, you gotta love college football, and hate the BCS! Those numbers should not determine a national champion. Numbers on a scoreboard should. Let's figure out a playoff system guys! I know I'm only the 300, 000th person to blog about this. If you have comments please write! I know a lot can change between now and the end of the season, but man it's fun to think about. And to think about with so many games to be played!
Ok, now the national title picture is getting somewhat clearer now that WVU has lost. I guess Louisville now controls it's own destiny. How will the AP/Coaches poll rank them? Could they steal a no. 2 place against Michigan? We will have to wait and see. However we must note that Louisville didn't win as much as WVU lost. The Mountaineers turnovers which lead to easy points for UL may sway the voters into thinking they still don't know who the best team was. It's possible folks! But as I see it, many a game has been decided by turnovers. You can't turn the ball over as WVU did, on the road, and win.
My prediciction of OSU/Florida for the national title just took one step closer to becoming a reality! I know, I know...long way to go yet.
One thing I do know is this...the pretenders are starting to drift away, which we all expect to happen. First USC, now WVU....who's next? Might be UL next Thursday night!
First blog ever here guys, so listen with caution:
Does the world of sports ever feel so "fixed" as it does now? Maybe, just maybe I am currently in a state of perpetual funk for lack of better words. I have turned to sports for many years to help ease the pain of real life. Well, not that it helps, but sometimes for a few fleeting moments, a team, a game, a play can turn your world inside out. You know what I mean. I know I'm not the only one. Yet for all the hope this brings, there is always an equal and opposite force that erases all that is good and replaces with a dark evil...
This is evil in its most primitive of forms.....
Evil so wretched I dare type about it.....
Of course I am referring to the "X" factor in games, the refs, the umps, the officials.
Ed Hoculie (sp?) aside, what is up guys? Let's go ALL the way back to the beginning of (dare I even mention their names) the PATRIOTS first AFC title game a few years ago against the Raiders. The tuck rule? No matter who you were for, Brady fumbled.
This one just sticks out like a sore thumb, you know. Many more. Many a couple nights ago behind homeplate in the NLCS. All the Card's pitchers had to do was get the ball to the plate for a called strike. Not that I'm a huge Mets fan, but c'mon.
It's the umps, the refs, the officials that ultimately decide these crucial games, not the players.
Oh yeah, Super Bowl XL.....I was at work...I was running back and forth catching a few minutes at a time. I was disgusted. In fact I watched NO post-game show, no ESPN, no Fox, nothing. I went straight home from work, and as I was crawling into bed my wife asked "who won the game?"
Well...
As I proceeded to tell her that Pennsylvania team won, my next statement was, " that had to have been the worst officiated game I have ever watched".
Anyway, there is this deep impending doom that has grown within me. The World Series should be a good one, I'm sure Fox wants at least 6 games after last years ratings. Money talks.
With NASCAR I'm safe. For now. At least I can watch it and know with some assurity that hey Matt Kenseth has a chance. No whistles, no flags based upon opinion, no way to lose it, unless you lose it yourself. Dale Jarrett has lost it himself...and I respect that. And that's the way it should be. Don't you agree?
Anyway, I got that off my chest...well part of it.
I usually write about things that bother me. Sometimes because I like stats, I will write a somewhat lightly technical blog. Anyway, Go Wildcats, Buckeyes, Raiders, Vikes, Rams, Lakers, and Mavs.
