Ohio State - Penn State Game Thread

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by D-Man

Hypothetical question: if OSU loses a game, could they still play for the title?

I'd say that'd be tough. If they lose, they will drop quite a bit in the polls - maybe not out of the top 10 but probably out of the top 5 - because of their weak schedule. The pollsters are just waiting to knock them down because of that. Now if they lose to a Wisconsin and beat Michigan, they may have a shot but even if their only loss is to Michigan, they are going to drop and they are going to have to hope the other teams ahead of them will get knocked off in the conference championship games. Fair or not they aren't going to be able to make up that Michigan loss with more wins.

[OnBaseMachine]

OT but is anyone watching the ASU-Cal game?!? I don't have a dog in this fight but it's very clear that ASU is getting robbed. This has got to be the wiorst refereed game in the history of college football. ASU's QB was facemasked which caused him to fumble and Cal picked it up for a TD. No flag was throw though it was a blatant facefask. Then Desean Jackson catches a questionable TD and the call goes in favor of Cal. Now Jackson fumbles a punt at his own 10 and it's ruled a fumble. ASU ball at the Cal 10. They then review it and give the ball to Cal, despite it clearly being a fumble. Now an ASU loss helps USC, but I hate to see referees affect the outcomes of games and they are clearly doing that. They have cost ASU dearly in the first half.

[MWM]

It would be possible, but only if two of LSU, Oregon, and Oklahoma lose another game. There's no way they'd ever jump one of those teams if they all win out. I'm totally fine with that for LSU and Oregon. But I think OSU is much better than Oklahoma.

[MWM]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

it's very clear that ASU is getting robbed. This has got to be the wiorst refereed game in the history of college football.

No offense, OBM, but you pretty much say this every week about some game.

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by MWM

No offense, OBM, but you pretty much say this every week about some game.

Because it's mostly true. Refs continue to get worse each year. But tonight is very different. You have to be watching this game to understand just how bad these guys are. I mean these are easy calls to make. I'd be ticked if I were an ASU fan right now.

[MWM]

Well, so far, Cal has been penalized 18 times for 148 yards, while ASU 10 times for 90 yards.

[MWM]

Can you imagine if Boston College and Kansas are the only two undefeated teams and play for the National Championship? Short of OSU getting there, this is what I'm rooting for.

[D-Man]

Originally Posted by Chip R

I'd say that'd be tough. If they lose, they will drop quite a bit in the polls - maybe not out of the top 10 but probably out of the top 5 - because of their weak schedule. The pollsters are just waiting to knock them down because of that. Now if they lose to a Wisconsin and beat Michigan, they may have a shot but even if their only loss is to Michigan, they are going to drop and they are going to have to hope the other teams ahead of them will get knocked off in the conference championship games. Fair or not they aren't going to be able to make up that Michigan loss with more wins.

I should just clarify that my hypothetical is based on the assumption that not everyone else wins out. This year has proven that there is a lot of parity in college football.

I can't see OSU falling out of the top five unless they had a humiliating loss. After this week, there will probably be two or more teams in the Top 10 with two losses. I don't see the Buckeyes falling below any 2-loss team, and I certainly see them ahead of a few 1-loss teams (at least).

Here are the other contenders:

BC could win out, but they have fewer quality wins than OSU. I can't see them making it to the title unless then finish the season undefeated.

ASU is losing tonight--no way they finish undefeated. I suppose they could get in as a 1-loss team, but they have the meat of their Pac-10 schedule coming up. They would have to look more convincing than they did in tonight's first half (91 yards of offense vs. 271 yards for Cal).

Oklahoma has had an even flimsier schedule than OSU, and OU's loss at Colorado looks much worse than a loss at UM or at home against Wisconsin.

Kansas is a good team and proved it tonight. They still have to play Missouri. They will likely play OU in the Big 12 Title game, so that eliminates one of these teams.

LSU and Oregon would both be ahead of OSU, but they both have at least modestly difficult schedules from here on out. The SEC is brutal, just look at today's bloodbaths.

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by MWM

Well, so far, Cal has been penalized 18 times for 148 yards, while ASU 10 times for 90 yards.

18 penalties?!? in the first half. I'm not so sure that is correct. That would be a record.

[MWM]

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefoo...071027_CA@AZST

[OnBaseMachine]

That's an error. There's no way there has been 18 penalties in this game...for either team.

[WMR]

Originally Posted by MWM

No offense, OBM, but you pretty much say this every week about some game.

OBM is a ref/ump basher!!

(that is not a bad thing, IMO! They deserve it.)

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

OBM is a ref/ump basher!!

(that is not a bad thing, IMO! They deserve it.)

I actually like MLB umps though sometimes I get frustrated with wide strikezones. I can give them a break because unlike football refs, they have no instant replay. There's no excuse for refs to miss obvious calls like they did tonight.

Anyhoo, ASU continues to be a second half team. They outscored Cal 17-0 in the second half to improve to 8-0 on the season. Next weekend's matchup at #5 Oregon should be a great game.

Dennis Erickson is a heckuva coach.

[WMR]

I always like when you make one of your Questec rants! That would be maybe the biggest single improvement MLB could make to the game.

[GAC]

Originally Posted by D-Man

Much like last year, the defense isn't 7 ppg/against good. . . On several occasions this year, they have managed to escape dangerous scoring threats by coming up with a good play at a clutch moment.

But that is what good defense's do though.

I imagine that those key plays won't come as easily against a good offense. It's a bend-not-break unit, one that will be exposed sooner or later.

I would have believed that if it were last year. And I even stated that then. But I think that this year's defensive squad is better. They have played the Big Ten's top overall offense's in Purdue and MSU, and shut them down.

The good news is that this is the type of club that Tressel likes to coach. He loves to run the ball, kick field goals, and win close games. He never quite "got it" the past few years when his offense was loaded with weapons. This team strikes me as a better match between his coaching preferences and the guys he deploys.

I think the term "Tressellball" got a little overplayed IMO. He was pretty aggressive last year, and has been so this year too. They have had a very balanced attack IMO.

I am impressed with Boeckman, and I had questions going into this season. Especially after losing guys like Ginn, Gamble, and Gonzalez. But kids like Robiskie, Hartline, and Small have stepped up big time IMO.

Hypothetical question: if OSU loses a game, could they still play for the title? Given the wackiness of 2007, I imagine that they could. Among the one-loss teams, I would say that only LSU and Oregon would have better claims on the title game at this point, and neither of those teams have cakewalks from here on out.

No way does OSU get in. Late season losses are killers. And the so-called experts have been rooting and hoping for an OSU loss for the last few weeks. They are looking for an excuse. I think they are upset because they got burned last year for riding that OSU bandwagon going into the NC game vs Florida.

Hypothetically - if OSU and BC get into the NC game, then here is a "head to head" matchup.....

                   OSU DEFENSE       BC OFFENSE

Points/Game          8.9 (1)          32.0 (62)  
Rush Yards/Game      70.9 (6)         130.5 (175)  
Pass Yards/Game      143.7 (5)        307.6 (15)  
Total Yards/Game     214.6 (1)        438.1 (38)  
Third Down Pct.      29.7% (20)       42.5% (71)  
Fourth Down Pct.     62.5% (200)      55.6% (214)  
Sacks                27 (12)          13 (63)  
Sack Yards           -169 (27)        -72 (41)  
Rushing TDs          2 (2)            12 (131)  
Passing TDs          3 (1)            19 (28)  
Carries/Game         265 (20)         260 (213)  
Yards/Carry          2.4 (8)          4.0 (127)  
Completion Pct.      53.4% (138)      60.7% (73)  
Yards/Pass Attempt   4.5 (1)          6.8 (122)  
Pass Rating          87.4 (2)         130.9 (83)  
AVG NCAA Ranking     20.2             66.2

                   OSU OFFENSE       BC OFFENSE

Points/Game         34.6 (45)         32.0 (62)  
Rush Yards/Game     198.7 (52)        130.5 (175)  
Pass Yards/Game     220.6 (109)       307.6 (15)  
Total Yards/Game    419.2 (61)        438.1 (38)  
Third Down Pct.     49.6% (17)        42.5% (71)  
Fourth Down Pct.    55.6% (83)        55.6% (82)  
Sacks               10 (38)           13 (63)  
Sack Yards          -75 (69)          -72 (41)  
Rushing TDs         12 (135)          12 (131)  
Passing TDs         22 (15)           19 (28)  
Carries/Game        392 (22)          260 (213)  
Yards/Carry         4.6 (61)          4.0 (127)  
Completion Pct.     66.3% (98)        60.7% (73)  
Yards/Pass Attempt  8.3 (29)          6.8 (122)  
Pass Rating         159.3 (16)        130.9 (83)  
Avg. NCAA Ranking   38.6              60.2

Obviously, Tressell's game plan would be ball control and clock management in order to keep BC QB Ryan off the field. And that would call for running the ball. The problem is that BC is #1 in the nation in stopping the run (55.1 RYPG).

But on the other hand - BC relies heavily on their passing game, and is average in running the ball.

Could be an interesting matchup. I think it would be a high scoring affair IMO, and possibly a quite thrilling NC game.