Stu, I really do not try to respond to statements about running up the score anymore. If a good team is playing well and clicking on all cylinders, there are always going to be some heavy numbers. Any thoughts on the game with Purdue next weekend in West Lafayette? The Boilermakers always seen to create problems for the Buckeyes on their home turf. Ratings and standings do not seem to matter.
On Saturday, you had the 2-time defending National Champion with a huge blowout lead have their starting QB in the game with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter throwing into the end zone trying to match 'beauty points' that Oregon scored over Tennessee earlier this year. It's cheap. It's ugly. Yet, I can't blame anyone. It's the reality of the system we live in today.. the system blows. You can't blame the guys for doing what's best for their kids. No one will blame Ohio State for that. They've also done it all year and I've not heard a squeak. Nor should we.. it is what it is.
I agree games get out of hand and big scores result, but if you want to play in the big game and you are behind in the polls you need to win convincingly. You can't pull your starters in the 2nd qtr and you can't tell your scrubs to not try when they get in the game. OU got big margins during Sam Bradfords Heisman run, and he stayed in the game...the same for Colt McCoy he stayed in the games when maybe it would have been better to sit him and let Garrett Gilbert get some reps, if they'd done that maybe the kid would have had a chance in the championship game.
Braxton Miller was out from under center with four minutes left in the third quarter in our 49 point win. (Right after his last pass, which you conveniently noticed and mentioned.) (Yeah, his last play he was in at wideout for Guyton's touchdown run...I figured they were just showing the look to future opponents to give them something to think about...maybe it was running up the score.) You won by only 14 points more. I didn't see the game. Did Tommy Rees and your starters get pulled? When do you take the foot off the gas? What combination of points/time? What is the perfect score to prevent either "you aren't that good" or "you ran up the score"? Should we even care? (No). Should we even be having stupid conversations like these? (No). Did TOK, who started it, even see the game? Done it all year? Really? Which games were those? Other than the Fla. State? And what, pray tell, should have been the politically correct score for that game?
Irish pulled Tommy Rees in the 3rd qtr after his last TD pass that put us up comfortably 38-10. I think you are misunderstanding my comments as criticism. It is what it is, you guys were seriously better than PSU that night and short of pulling all your starters in the 2nd qtr and telling your scrubs to go 3 and out you were going to beat them pretty bad. And pulling your starters in the 1st half isn't fair to them, and pulling them towards the end of the 3rd qtr was fair, and that you scored some after that is not a big deal. But face it beating them soundly like you did helps your standing, do you actually think that if Baylor wasn't beating everybody by 50 or 60 points and instead was undefeated with a winning margin of 7 that they would be ranked as high as they are? And I did not watch the game.
The bigger the margin of victory the better. It has always been that way in college football. To paraphrase, " kill 'em all and let the pollsters sort 'em out ". We all know this going in so we should not seem indignant at any point.
KP, if you read my entire post you'd see that I have no issue with it nor do I fault you guys at all. Hell, the color man for the game Danielson was making the comparison in the first quarter. He was openly campaigning for you guys as this game was to be clear proof that Alabama was better than Oregon. The problem is that you aren't that kind of team for the most part. There is a reality to the game, and this isn't a thread hijack as this very much applies to Ohio State as well. Alabama was trying like the dickens to get to 50+. The problem isn't you guys, or Ohio State, or even Oregon. The problem is the system. The problem is that guys like Danielson now spend 3 to 4 hours on a Saturday afternoon trying to sway voters and public opinion. They have too much credibility when in reality, they warrant none. As long as on field results are judged and weighed by these idiots with style points attributed to the game by horribly unqualified individuals, rather than sticking to on-field actions/results, this is what we have to live with for another few years.
While I still think M can beat Ohio in football when we meet in November, it seems pretty clear that their band is going to blow ours away. http://www.uproxx.com/sports/2013/10/ohio-state-marching-band-won-weekend-incredible-t-rex-formation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+uproxx%2Ffeatures+(Uproxx) Hard to see in the link but the T-Rex ended the program by eating the drum major wearing Devin Gardner's jersey and then spitting out the helmet.
The Buckeye Band Rocks! Funny thing is I posted that Michael Jackson halftime over on InsideTexas and commented how great the Buckeye Band was, and most people agreed with me...except for 1 guy. He ripped me a new one, of course he is a former Longhorn Band member (Show Band of the Southwest) and acted like I needed to have my alumni card pulled. LOL...
Clearly the band is piling on...and they've been doing it all year. PS: Thanks, Bobda for posting that...how cool.