Consensus rankings

That's been my point Gaterz.

It's essentially the same schedule that ranked 62nd last year in Sagarin's poll except USC is now in the mix.

Lose that game to USC and you have the same resume as last year and I think pollsters will be suspect of that.

BT...that's true because with all the returning players OSU looks on paper to have the strongest team.
Beat USC at USC and it looks like the paper is right.

Lose to USC and the Buckeyes will hard pressed to prove they are better than they were last year because of the rest of the schedule as Gaterz mentioned.

 

Gaterz,

for the record, let's just say that we have a material disagreement about the ease of playing Wisky, MSU, Illinois on the road and Penn State, Purdue and M in Columbus. If they are such a walk in the park, how do they manage to compete at such a high level -v- the SEC?

The fact that the expectations nationally are for us to run the table is more a tribute to our ability to consistently play at a high level than it is an indictment on the quality of those programs.

There is no person the least bit knowledgeable of college football that could suggest with even a shred of credibilty that going to Madison, for example, in November is a cakewalk.....

 

Last year is last year. Nothing to do with this year. You are assuming that voters and computers will look at last years BCS champ game and say well they didn't all that great so lets make sure we vote in a way that they can't get back into it this year.

If we had the BCS back in '96 would you have felt it was fine that the 100-0 beat down by Neb in the Champ Game precluded the Gators from another chance next year?

I know it wasn't a 100-0 beat down, it just seemed like it. But it was the worst beat down in the (short) history of Nat'l Championship games.

 

Yeah, you're right...as Terry so aptly pointed out, those chumps (our opponents) haven't been able to beat anybody except SEC teams...pretty weak stuff. :wink:

 

The prevailing argument from our southern friends seems to be that we have a higher burden of proof because of what has happened in years past......I would suggest that on the basis of years past, only LSU would seem to be advantaged over us in that regard, no?

If we are using last year as a tie-breaker - so to speak - other than the Tigers, it would seem to me that our record would be superior to any others in consideration, no? So, that being the case, logic would suggest that we would be advantaged -v- any team with 2 or more losses from last year. Bring it.....

 

What is tOSU's schedule versus the SEC?

Anyway ... don't think I've opined as to the easy/strength of any 2008 football schedule. Heck, I thinks it's hard to do in July '08. My point is .... the perceived difficulty of schedule would play a role in deciding whether a 1-loss B-10/11 champ (11-1) or 1-loss SEC champ (12-1) would get a shot in the BCS+1 game.

My hope is the Jan' 2009 game is another matchup of SEC and Big 10/11 champs. I sorta enjoyed the last two!!

:wink:

 

Talk about tired arguments....

Anyway, I think all my "misguided" SEC brethren are trying to say is that the burden of proof lies with Ohio State (if they don't go undefeated) to show something that would make the pollsters feel that things would turn out differently if they got another shot at an SEC champion opponent. Certainly games at Wisconsin and Illinois among others are tough games but beating those teams (or most of 'em) wouldn't be unlike what they did the last two seasons. I understand that Ohio State fans feel attacked here but you have to consider the merits of the argument and it does have some merit.

Something else to consider, we all know that the pollsters are heavily influenced by the powers that be (TV ratings among other things). Just ask Oregon, Cal, and others that have been jilted if the polls can dramatically swing on that last vote to stage the matchups everyone wants to see. You have to think that if it comes down to a scenario where you have a 1-loss OSU, a 1-loss Florida, and a 1-loss Texas for example that those powers that be might influence the voters to make sure a "rematch" of the 2006 NC doesn't take place. I'm not saying it's right but I could see that happening.

 

Tired does not come close.....

It would seem to me, if I were a Gator fan, I would be vastly more interested in the difficulties of re-establishing the credibilty of my 4 loss team than it would be to regurgitate ad nauseam the difficulties of re-establishing the credentials of an Ohio State team that lost to a damn fine LSU team in the national championship game. There is a vast difference in the level of difficulty between the two.....but that is just me and I guess I underestimate the influence of "THE-ness" envy but it clearly is a powerful force.

 

Even "tired old arguments" can have some merit.

I try to post my "tired old arguments" only as responses to somebody else's tired old jabs...but that doesn't mean there is no merit.

 

Point well taken, Stu. I understand that completely.

My opinion is that Ohio State has the best returning team in America. If they can get to the NC game with last year's team, imagine what they can do with an extra year of experience under their belts. Love 'em or hate 'em, no one (with the exception of USC) has more returning than the Buckeyes. I can't wait to see the showdown in LA.

 

I think it should be a great game...we should clearly be the dogs, IMO...nonetheless am looking forward to it. It sure beats the heck out of the rest of our NC schedule.

This whole NC thing is all about money...not necessarily only about playing patsies. The big schools might upgrade their schedules a bit, at least to mid-level, but they want home games only to bring in the $...not home-and-away commitments and the schools that give you those commitments are usually smaller ones.

Ohio State also is pretty much required to schedule public universities from Ohio (they aren't "required" to do so but the legislature has hinted at funding issues if they don't)...that brings us some ok competition from MAC schools, but now we have Youngstown State coming in...having said that, the Penquins could give us all that we could possibly want from a Div II school (can you say...shhhhh...Appalachian State?)

Lesson should be...if you're gonna get dissed for scheduling a Div II school...make sure it's not a quality one who can make you look bad. :shock:

 

LOL .... my only point is .... the perceived difficulty in a team's schedule would come in to play when deciding if a 11-1 Big-10/11 champ or a 12-1 SEC champ should get the spot opposite some other 1-loss or undefeated team in the BCS+1 game. Frankly, I don't know if tOSU's 2008 schedule is going to be any higher than the #38 and #24 (per the NCAA) of the last two seasons. It may very well be considered more difficult, when all is said and done. We'll see in about 5 months.

Over the last two seasons, the NCAA ranked UF's schedule #3 and #1 in the nation. I doubt the 2008 schedule is going to be ranked anywhere nearly that high.

 

I know you didn't mean it that way but don't group all southern fans together. Don't even chastise all Gator fans for the actions of one or two. :wink:

 

You have to give the PAC10 their props for their OOC schedule this year. It's a very fair one, with trips out of region and dotted with lots of BCS conference schools.


Arizona: Idaho, Toledo, @ New Mexico
Arizona St: N. Arizona, UNLV, Georgia
Cal: Michigan St, @ Maryland, Colorado St
Oregon: Utah St, @ Purdue, Boise St
Oregon St: @ Penn St, Hawaii, @ Utah
Stanford: @ TCU, San Jose St, @ ND
UCLA: Tennessee, @ BYU, Fresno St
USC: @ Virginia, OSU, ND
Washington: BYU, Oklahoma, ND
Washington St: Oklahoma St, @ Baylor, Portland St


Terry

 

Tom, point well taken. My bad..... :wink:

 

I liked what this guy had to say about LSU in 2007 and the need for some luck in getting to the NC game. And he didn't even mention the improbable upset of WVA by lowly Pitt. Sometimes it's more important to be lucky than anything else. Tenn wouldn't have won in '98 if that Ark QB could have just held on to the football and run out the clock. Lots of other examples.

 

..... or the good fortune of having to play a schedule that includes a span of 15 games ...... starting the middle of 2006 season and stretching into the middle of the 2007 season ..... that includes only 2 games against teams with winning records, 1 game against a non-D1 opponent, and 12 games against D1 teams with average records of 4-8.

:twisted:

 

Ohio State beat no top 15 teams last year for a reason...the Big Ten had none when they played em.

The Big Ten was 3-5 in the bowls...that's good? The Big Ten had some really embarrassing losses to lesser non-con teams in the regular season.

Let's see....the Big Ten Champion has had it's a## handed to it two years in a row by the SEC Champion and in light of the above mentioned factoids somehow the Big Ten one loss champion if it is OSU with a loss to it's one decent non-con opponent in the last two years, will get more NC game votes from the pollsters than a one loss SEC Champion.

After all the above is digested does somebody really believe that could happen? Not me...and not anybody else outside of a few midwesterners.

 

Speaking of whom, looks like the Bobsey Twins are revving up again.

 

It's a non-stop circus Sid....I feel their pain!

Now that Beavis has returned, at least they'll have someone else to talk to for therapy to ease the embarrassment of last year. :wink: