College Football 2020 Part Two: Will They Finish the Season?

[Roy Tucker]

I’d play for that Northwestern coach.

[GAC]

My golfing buddies nephew started for Fitzgerald at Northwestern, and has nothing but high praise for him. A man of character

[Reds Freak]

I’d play for that Northwestern coach.

Some are speculating he could be the next Bears coach.

[GAC]

Sermon is simply in a zone. Would love to see him break 300 yards. Eddie George hold the record for a Buckeye at 314 yds.

[Roy Tucker]

Wow. Haven’t seen a running performance like this since I saw Keith Byars blow out a shoe on his way to a 270+ yard day. I think it was against Illinois

[RedTeamGo!]

Trey Sermon will never buy another drink in Ohio for the rest of his life.

[GAC]

Wow. Haven’t seen a running performance like this since I saw Keith Byars blow out a shoe on his way to a 270+ yard day. I think it was against Illinois

I remember that game because I was there! LOL

[GAC]

Let's also give credit Ohio State's offensive line too.

[Roy Tucker]

I remember that game LOL

I looked it up. It was 1984. 275 yards and 5 TDs.

Back when I had season tickets to every game. Now I let my daughter take me to one game a year maybe. The Shoe isn’t a luxurious place to see a football game.

[Roy Tucker]

Ohio State’s athleticism and talent finally won out. I was pretty worried though.

[GAC]

With the 2-minute warning coming up I guess I don't need to tell Ohio State to run the ball! LOL

[GAC]

GEEZ! This kid is a superhero! 325 yards rushing

[Roy Tucker]

Man. I did not see this game coming from Sermon at all.

Kudos to a Buckeye offensive line.

[GAC]

Hey Northwestern! You don't need to hang your head, you played your heart out and gave it your best shot.

[RedTeamGo!]

The OSU defense actually played really well. I think this game may have cost them the CFP, though.

[BuckeyeRed27]

It will be very weird to have Trey Sermon and not Eddie George as the single game rushing record holder, but fantastic effort by him and the line. He came to OSU to do that, very happy for him.

Four Big Ten championships in a row!

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The OSU defense actually played really well. I think this game may have cost them the CFP, though.

Haha ok

[RedTeamGo!]

Can’t tell me this OSU team is a top 4 team. If ND loses tonight OSU should absolutely not jump them.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Can’t tell me this OSU team is a top 4 team. If ND loses tonight OSU should absolutely not jump them.

OSU will be the 3 seed and will play ND or Clemson. They are gonna do that because they are a top 4 team and deserve it.

[WVRed]

The OSU defense actually played really well. I think this game may have cost them the CFP, though.

One of Clemson/Notre Dame will lose tonight and Florida “could” give Bama a scare. USC and Iowa State lost and Texas A&M isn’t playing for a conference championship.

I think Ohio State is in but I would be concerned with Fields. The moment just seems too big for him. Sermon isn’t going to run crazy on Clemson or Bama and this same defense gave up over 500+ yards to Indiana earlier this year so it could come down to Fields in the end. Kinda wonder if his draft stock took a hit too.

[GAC]

The OSU defense actually played really well. I think this game may have cost them the CFP, though.

I don't. They won the Big Ten championship against a very good, ranked team. Who jumps over them?

[kaldaniels]

Can’t tell me this OSU team is a top 4 team. If ND loses tonight OSU should absolutely not jump them.

If OSU isn’t a Top 4 team after today I’ll need arguments for 4 teams that should be ranked above them. There will be arguments for other teams but OSU will have a good argument too.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I don't. They won the Big Ten championship against a very good, ranked team. Who jumps over them?

No one. Everyone is acting like they played some crappy team like Tennessee and struggled. They played a well coached, top 15 team with a good defense. They absolutely didn’t play well. They had a ton of stuff go wrong. They gave up 10 points and won by 2 scores and had a running back set the school all time rushing record in the process.

[Hillsdale87]

The OSU defense actually played really well. I think this game may have cost them the CFP, though.

How? OSU was number 4 coming in and will have the best win of the weekend of anybody outside the top 3. As frustrating as it was, OSU was 1 yard from winning by 20. 513 total yards. And that's with a bunch of guys out. The only team with a chance to pass them is A&M, but I don't know what the argument is. They have one win against a ranked opponent


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[RedTeamGo!]

I will not be surprised if TAMU jumps them

[BuckeyeRed27]

I will not be surprised if TAMU jumps them

I would be stunned. I think Oklahoma has a better chance of finishing 5th than A&M does of finishing 4th.

[kaldaniels]

I will not be surprised if TAMU jumps them

I’d be stunned but we’ll see.

[Roy Tucker]

I remember that game because I was there! LOL

I was too. I think I saw you. You were wearing red?

[Roy Tucker]

One of Clemson/Notre Dame will lose tonight and Florida “could” give Bama a scare. USC and Iowa State lost and Texas A&M isn’t playing for a conference championship.

I think Ohio State is in but I would be concerned with Fields. The moment just seems too big for him. Sermon isn’t going to run crazy on Clemson or Bama and this same defense gave up over 500+ yards to Indiana earlier this year so it could come down to Fields in the end. Kinda wonder if his draft stock took a hit too.

Fields threw for 320 yards against Clemson last year. And Lawrence had a tough game throwing. If you play a good defense without your best receiver and a sprained thumb, you aren’t going to look very good. Fields didn’t have a good day but they got the W against a good disciplined team. I can’t see them either dropping or rising.

[adkindo]

ND is realizing that this Clemson team with Lawrence and Skalski is not the same team the were able to beat in OT during the season.

[BuckeyeRed27]

ND is realizing that this Clemson team with Lawrence and Skalski is not the same team the were able to beat in OT during the season.

They need to at least keep it where it’s at. If this gets ugly in the second half they are gonna be out.

[adkindo]

If OSU isn’t a Top 4 team after today I’ll need arguments for 4 teams that should be ranked above them. There will be arguments for other teams but OSU will have a good argument too.

I think there is strong arguments that Ohio State is not one of the 4 best teams in the country. Outside of Indiana and Northwestern, every other team they beat finished the season well under .500. Ohio State had a weak schedule and only played 6 games. In a straight up game if it was tomorrow....I would take TA&M, Florida, Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame and maybe Cincy (depending on how they look tonight) over Ohio State.

If Ohio State gets matched up against 'Bama or Clemson in the playoffs, they will get embarrassed.

(I could also make an argument that Ohio State "deserves" to be included.)

[adkindo]

They need to at least keep it where it’s at. If this gets ugly in the second half they are gonna be out.

I expect it to get ugly.....ND is just not on Clemson's level in my opinion.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I think there is strong arguments that Ohio State is not one of the 4 best teams in the country. Outside of Indiana and Northwestern, every other team they beat finished the season well under .500. Ohio State had a weak schedule and only played 6 games. In a straight up game if it was tomorrow....I would take TA&M, Florida, Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame and maybe Cincy (depending on how they look tonight) over Ohio State.

If Ohio State gets matched up against 'Bama or Clemson in the playoffs, they will get embarrassed.

(I could also make an argument that Ohio State "deserves" to be included.)

Ohio State would beat all of those teams including Clemson. They’d need the bounces to get Alabama.

[kaldaniels]

So what happens if Clemson (both teams at full strength) mauls ND in the CCG? I’d argue that would be disqualifying.

I wasn’t bold enough to predict it, but there was a reason why I asked this.

[kaldaniels]

I think there is strong arguments that Ohio State is not one of the 4 best teams in the country. Outside of Indiana and Northwestern, every other team they beat finished the season well under .500. Ohio State had a weak schedule and only played 6 games. In a straight up game if it was tomorrow....I would take TA&M, Florida, Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame and maybe Cincy (depending on how they look tonight) over Ohio State.

If Ohio State gets matched up against 'Bama or Clemson in the playoffs, they will get embarrassed.

(I could also make an argument that Ohio State "deserves" to be included.)

Cincy over OSU (ignoring your maybe qualifier)...how do you get there?

I can see the argument that Cincy “deserves” to be in over OSU...but to beat them? How?

[adkindo]

Do not be surprised if Dabo calls off the dogs to try to help Notre Dame

[Roy Tucker]

Clemson is making ND look very pedestrian.

[adkindo]

Ohio State would beat all of those teams including Clemson. They’d need the bounces to get Alabama.

LOL, no they would not....what do you think the score would be if Clemson played Northwestern? Ohio State has played 2 decent teams, and struggled with both. Bounces to get 'Bama is near delusional in my opinion. I think Ohio State will get in, and one of us will be right and the other will be wrong.

[adkindo]

Cincy over OSU (ignoring your maybe qualifier)...how do you get there?

I can see the argument that Cincy “deserves” to be in over OSU...but to beat them? How?

I think the Cincy defense would be better than any defense Ohio State has played this year. Do not get it twisted, I would not put real money of any significance on Cincy beating Ohio State because I know the talent that Ohio State has on their roster, but they have not played like an elite team.

[adkindo]

Notre Dame is the team that should not be included. I mean if they lose by 40 points in December, what is the point in including them? They are not going to close that gap in a few weeks.

[BuckeyeRed27]

LOL, no they would not....what do you think the score would be if Clemson played Northwestern? Ohio State has played 2 decent teams, and struggled with both. Bounces to get 'Bama is near delusional in my opinion. I think Ohio State will get in, and one of us will be right and the other will be wrong.

Ohio State led 35-7 against Indiana and fell asleep and left 17-24 points on the board today. They made it harder than it needed to be, but they didn’t struggle against anyone.

Ohio State is gonna beat Clemson like 38-31ish.

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I think the Cincy defense would be better than any defense Ohio State has played this year. Do not get it twisted, I would not put real money of any significance on Cincy beating Ohio State because I know the talent that Ohio State has on their roster, but they have not played like an elite team.

Honestly I’m not sure you’ve watched Ohio State play other than the fourth quarter against Indiana and the first half today.

[Roy Tucker]

I think one good thing that came out of today’s OSU game is that they found their running game. Trey Sermon is a good back, but Ohio State’s offensive line was absolutely dominant. They really were the MVP. I hope that continues into their next game. I do think they are a too 4 team but I get the arguments against them.

Field’s thumb is worrisome. Those take a long time to heal.

[kaldaniels]

I think the Cincy defense would be better than any defense Ohio State has played this year. Do not get it twisted, I would not put real money of any significance on Cincy beating Ohio State because I know the talent that Ohio State has on their roster, but they have not played like an elite team.

I say this respectably but I’m not twisting anything.

You threw out the “well maybe I’d take Cincy over OSU” take. No way. Other than an “Any Given Saturday/Sunday” scenario. Cincy has had a great year. But to honestly pick them (or slyly suggest the thought) over OSU...C’mon.

[kaldaniels]

I don’t care if ND gets in the playoffs. Frankly I’d like to see Bama thrash them.

But I’m surprised they get so much credit for beating Clemson (in OT) without Trevor Lawrence.

[Assembly Hall]

But I’m surprised they get so much credit for beating Clemson (in OT) without Trevor Lawrence.

Have you been listening to the Golic boys again?

[Boston Red]

I'm a Xavier guy, so I hate all things UC. But right now it seems to me that UC should be in. Not sure why anyone would be impressed by Ohio State, Texas A&M or Notre Dame other than the fact that they've got names on their jerseys that seem impressive.

[kaldaniels]

Have you been listening to the Golic boys again?

Can’t say I have.

[Assembly Hall]

Can’t say I have.

Well they would answer all your questions about the Irish! Like right now, they are already saying ND should be in...

[KronoRed]

A way of the vols to avoid a buyout?

https://fanrunradio.com/breaking-tennessee-football-under-investigation-by-compliance-and-ncaa/

[Assembly Hall]

I'm a Xavier guy, so I hate all things UC. But right now it seems to me that UC should be in. Not sure why anyone would be impressed by Ohio State, Texas A&M or Notre Dame other than the fact that they've got names on their jerseys that seem impressive.

I would say now, that the Bearcats deserve to be #4. Hell if anything for TV ratings, UC would be "America's Team."

[KronoRed]

ND only has themselves to blame, if they don't join the ACC just for this year they aren't playing this week (playing games is BAD ;) ) and they are in.

I'd still have them in over A&M.

UC has no shot, that's just the way the system works.

[Assembly Hall]

A way of the vols to avoid a buyout?

https://fanrunradio.com/breaking-tennessee-football-under-investigation-by-compliance-and-ncaa/

LOL, they didn't cheat very well...........

[adkindo]

Ohio State led 35-7 against Indiana and fell asleep and left 17-24 points on the board today. They made it harder than it needed to be, but they didn’t struggle against anyone.

Ohio State is gonna beat Clemson like 38-31ish.

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Honestly I’m not sure you’ve watched Ohio State play other than the fourth quarter against Indiana and the first half today.

like I said, don't come back with excuses in the playoffs....Clemson will curb stomp Ohio State in 2020-21.

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you either a Gator or you Gator Bait :)

[adkindo]

I don’t care if ND gets in the playoffs. Frankly I’d like to see Bama thrash them.

But I’m surprised they get so much credit for beating Clemson (in OT) without Trevor Lawrence.

it wasn't just Lawrence either....at least 2 of their best defensive players were out

[JaxRed]

There's no way I'd put ND in. Assuming Bama wins it is Bama, Clemson, buckeyes and either A&M or cincy.

[BuckeyeRed27]

like I said, don't come back with excuses in the playoffs....Clemson will curb stomp Ohio State in 2020-21.

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you either a Gator or you Gator Bait :)

I won’t need to make excuses because Ohio State is better than Clemson. As long as the refs can tell what a fumble is this time, Buckeyes will be playing Bama for the title.

[Assembly Hall]

There's no way I'd put ND in. Assuming Bama wins it is Bama, Clemson, buckeyes and either A&M or cincy.

What if 'Bama loses?

[KronoRed]

What if 'Bama loses?

Not to a Dan Mullen led team.

[Roy Tucker]

UC is leading 17-10 at the half. UC is playing how UC plays. Sometimes good, sometimes making mistakes. Not pass the eye test for me.

[adkindo]

UC is leading 17-10 at the half. UC is playing how UC plays. Sometimes good, sometimes making mistakes. Not pass the eye test for me.

Tulsa is no joke....they gave OK State all they could handle back when OK State was supposedly playing their best and playoff favorites from the Big12. If Cincy wins, I would probably advocate for it to be...

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Cincinnati

but it won't be

I am sorry, I just do not understand how you can include Notre Dame when we know for a fact they cannot win a championship because we just watched them get crushed by Clemson....it would be different if it was 5 weeks ago

[Assembly Hall]

'Bama

Clemson

tOSU

Texas A&M

[adkindo]

'Bama

Clemson

tOSU

Texas A&M

screw Jimbo :) (actually, I am conflicted....he is a West Virginian by birth, but did not like how he exited FSU)

[adkindo]

UF is hanging in there.....get another stop....down 11

[Roy Tucker]

UC scores, 24-17.

[Danny Serafini]

Not buying any A&M talk. They have a nice win over Florida. Their next best win is over 6-4 Auburn, the only other team with a winning record they've beaten. They also have a 28 point beatdown by Alabama. No, just no.

[adkindo]

they just moved the playoff game from the Rose Bowl to AT&T Stadium

[adkindo]

Not buying any A&M talk. They have a nice win over Florida. Their next best win is over 6-4 Auburn, the only other team with a winning record they've beaten. They also have a 28 point beatdown by Alabama. No, just no.

right, but look at ND's wins (Clemson JV and UNC with a Clemson beating).....and Ohio State does not have any big time wins this year either.

[RedTeamGo!]

I’m watching the UC/Tulsa game. The idea these teams are remotely on the same level as the top P5 teams is hilarious. I watch a lot of MAC football, and this is barely better quality.

[Danny Serafini]

and Ohio State does not have any big time wins this year either.

They have wins over 2 teams currently ranked in the committee's top 15. There aren't many schools that can say that.

[adkindo]

Cincy just got stopped at the Goal Line....not kicking the FG may end up costing them

[Roy Tucker]

Cincy just got stopped at the Goal Line....not kicking the FG may end up costing them

Agree. Dumb call. Take the field goal and the 10 point lead.

And yeah. This is MAC level football. Good game but not dynamic athletes. And I’m a UC fan.

[KronoRed]

UC needed to obliterate these guys and others to have a prayer, just winning ain't good enough.

[RedTeamGo!]

Alabama has given up 46 points tonight. Why does everyone act like this team is the 86 Bears?

[Roy Tucker]

UC wins at the buzzer, 27-24.

[adkindo]

hell of a game by Florida....only team that may be able to give 'Bama more is Clemson.

[adkindo]

Alabama has given up 46 points tonight. Why does everyone act like this team is the 86 Bears?

Florida has an elite college offense....take a look at 'Bama's schedule and results this year. Nobody has came close to what UF did tonight against the 'Bama defense, and I am not sure anyone else will be able to go toe to toe in a shootout with them.

[RedTeamGo!]

Florida has an elite college offense....take a look at 'Bama's schedule and results this year. Nobody has came close to what UF did tonight against the 'Bama defense, and I am not sure anyone else will be able to go toe to toe in a shootout with them.

Ole miss scored 48 and that game came down to the wire. Ole Miss is awful.

[Revering4Blue]

Florida has an elite college offense....take a look at 'Bama's schedule and results this year. Nobody has came close to what UF did tonight against the 'Bama defense, and I am not sure anyone else will be able to go toe to toe in a shootout with them.

Alabama also gave up 48 points to powerhouse Ole Miss.

[KronoRed]

That sucked.

So who gets the Heisman? don't see how you give it to Jones when he's not even the best player on his team.

[RedTeamGo!]

That sucked.

So who gets the Heisman? don't see how you give it to Jones when he's not even the best player on his team.

I honestly don’t really think there should be a Heisman given out this year, but it will be Jones.

[kaldaniels]

Can we get some finality on the UC over OSU talk?

Ugly Bucks 22-10 over NW, UC 27-24 over Tulsa.

[kaldaniels]

Florida has an elite college offense....take a look at 'Bama's schedule and results this year. Nobody has came close to what UF did tonight against the 'Bama defense, and I am not sure anyone else will be able to go toe to toe in a shootout with them.

I don’t know a better term but who’s to say this isn’t just an SEC circle jerk?

The playoff will answer the question.

[wolfboy]

Agree. Dumb call. Take the field goal and the 10 point lead.

And yeah. This is MAC level football. Good game but not dynamic athletes. And I’m a UC fan.

MAC level football. Mmmkay.

[Stray]

I get that the Bearcats hadn't played in like a month or whatever, but tonight they looked like they hadn't played in a year. Fortune win tonight considering all the mistakes. Real happy for those seniors.

[wolfboy]

I get that the Bearcats hadn't played in like a month or whatever, but tonight they looked like they hadn't played in a year. Fortune win tonight considering all the mistakes. Real happy for those seniors.

It shouldn't have been that close. But, yes, having a month off for a covid outbreak didn't help. And the weather was awful (trust me - I was there). But at the end of the day they beat a ranked team when they played arguably their worst game of the year. Winning all your games is hard. Period.

[Stray]

It shouldn't have been that close. But, yes, having a month off for a covid outbreak didn't help. And the weather was awful (trust me - I was there). But at the end of the day they beat a ranked team when they played arguably their worst game of the year. Winning all your games is hard. Period.

I'm jealous that you were there. But all those presnap penalties were killers man. Coulda won by 17 w/o them. But you're right, a win is a win and I'm happy for that.

[wolfboy]

I'm jealous that you were there. But all those presnap penalties were killers man. Coulda won by 17 w/o them. But you're right, a win is a win and I'm happy for that.

So here's a weird covid thing - I can't remember the last time I mostly lost my voice screaming in the stands. Thanks Jake Renfro (a phenomenal freshman that played like a freshman tonight).

[GAC]

I was too. I think I saw you. You were wearing red?

Had a friend that lived in Westerville whose Dad owned a small recording studio. On the morning of the game he knocks on my door and asks if I want to go to the game because the studio got tickets. Sure. 50 yard line mid-level I guess. But I remember the shoe incident quite well, and was yelling My Gawd! His shoes can't keep up with him!" LOL

[GAC]

I think there is strong arguments that Ohio State is not one of the 4 best teams in the country. Outside of Indiana and Northwestern, every other team they beat finished the season well under .500. Ohio State had a weak schedule and only played 6 games. In a straight up game if it was tomorrow....I would take TA&M, Florida, Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame and maybe Cincy (depending on how they look tonight) over Ohio State.

If Ohio State gets matched up against 'Bama or Clemson in the playoffs, they will get embarrassed.

I'm not gonna say anything about the getting embarrassed in big games part because it certainly has happened before (lol).

But the NCAA states there is no minimum requirement for CFP eligibilty. And how could they place such a restrictive requirment while trying to conduct a physical, contact sport, in the middle of a pandemic? They had no idea how the season was going to pan out under the circumstances. But more importantly (IMO), if such a rule was a factor, then the NCAA pretty much dictated an all SEC/ACC CFP while punishing those conferences that started a month later. Why even play or put your players at risk for nothing, knowing no matter what you do there's no CFP for you this year.

As for this weak schedule argument, there's is one unique factor peculiar to this season .... no non-conference play. So you're relegated to play only those teams in your conference. IMO, kind of hard to evaluate any team's strength under that scenario. The B10 had 4 teams above .500, while the SEC, ACC, and B12, each had 5. B10 had 9 teams under .500, the SEC and ACC each had 7. And I'm certainly not going to get into any type of subjective discussion comparing .500 or worse teams between conferences (lol). But I also think it's a huge disservice to programs like Indiana and Northwestern who, if anyone has watched them and know their HC's, built solid programs and are seeing the dividends. It wasn't an aberration they are ranked IMO, or because Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, or whoever are having off years.They got where they are on their own merits IMO.

OSU's SoS was 40th compared to Clemson (67), ND (65), Cincy (88).

The only shuffling I see in the current top 4 is Clemson #2, Ohio State #3, and ND #4. It's posssible the committee might drop ND out (#5) and slide Texas A&M in at #4. But that would still be a controversial call IMO. If the committee was going to drop OSU out of the top 4 they woud have done it by now because the oportunity was there towards the end when they had to cancel games due to covid. They could have slid someone above them, yet didn't. They aren't going to do it after they win their conference's championship game vs a ranked opponent, while Texas A&M manhandled a really bad 3-win Tennessee team.

[RedTeamGo!]

MAC level football. Mmmkay.

I watch a lot of MAC football, that was MAC football quality.

[Stray]

The idea that UC would get destroyed by Alabama so they should be left out is dumb. Maybe they would, but so did A&M. I mean ND got destroyed by Clemson last night. Seemingly every year power conference teams get destroyed in the playoff semis.

[GAC]

The idea that UC would get destroyed by Alabama so they should be left out is dumb. Maybe they would, but so did A&M. I mean ND got destroyed by Clemson last night. Seemingly every year power conference teams get destroyed in the playoff semis.

I think there's blowouts every CFP season. It all comes down to match-up.

[RedTeamGo!]

The idea that UC would get destroyed by Alabama so they should be left out is dumb. Maybe they would, but so did A&M. I mean ND got destroyed by Clemson last night. Seemingly every year power conference teams get destroyed in the playoff semis.

I think UC should be the 4th team just so we can put this discussion to rest. ND would beat UC by 35, but give them a shot this year. Why not.

[texasdave]

I think there's blowout every CFP season. It all comes down to match-up.

In the six seasons of the College Football Playoffs, 18 games have been played. 11 of the 18 have been decided by 17 points or more. 1 game was decided by 11 points. In just six games, has the margin been less than a touchdown. It seems as if blowouts are the rule, and not the exception.

[Roy Tucker]

I watch a lot of MAC football, that was MAC football quality.

I think I was too harsh before calling it MAC level football. Those were miserable conditions. Late season midwest Big 10 weather when the elements play a big part. Put Alabama or Clemson on that same field and conditions and it’s not going to be a pretty game either. Cold hands, sloppy footing, wet and cold conditions and the game turns into a slugfest and a battle of wills. Fickell starts playing a lot of Tressel ball and plays those games very close to the vest. I wish he’d fire with all barrels a little more.

[wolfboy]

I watch a lot of MAC football, that was MAC football quality.

Neat.

[wolfboy]

I think I was too harsh before calling it MAC level football. Those were miserable conditions. Late season midwest Big 10 weather when the elements play a big part. Put Alabama or Clemson on that same field and conditions and it’s not going to be a pretty game either. Cold hands, sloppy footing, wet and cold conditions and the game turns into a slugfest and a battle of wills. Fickell starts playing a lot of Tressel ball and plays those games very close to the vest. I wish he’d fire with all barrels a little more.

I have no idea why they didn’t have Ridder running more in the first half. They offense jump started when Ridder started to use his legs.

[wolfboy]

I think UC should be the 4th team just so we can put this discussion to rest. ND would beat UC by 35, but give them a shot this year. Why not.

It cracks me up that another team is playing relevant college football in the state of Ohio and you bend over backwards to **** on it. That’s pretty miserable really. Can’t you just say good job to a bunch of kids that worked their butts off instead of finding a hundred lame ways to demean their accomplishments? You go out of your way to do it. It’s bizarre.

[Assembly Hall]

In the six seasons of the College Football Playoffs, 18 games have been played. 11 of the 18 have been decided by 17 points or more. 1 game was decided by 11 points. In just six games, has the margin been less than a touchdown. It seems as if blowouts are the rule, and not the exception.

How many of those 6 games were in the Championship Game?

[RedTeamGo!]

It cracks me up that another team is playing relevant college football in the state of Ohio and you bend over backwards to **** on it. That’s pretty miserable really. Can’t you just say good job to a bunch of kids that worked their butts off instead of finding a hundred lame ways to demean their accomplishments? You go out of your way to do it. It’s bizarre.

I am not some OSU slappy. I was extremely critical of them yesterday and stated they are not a top 4 team this year. The idea UC is a top 4 team because they beat the likes of Tulsa and Army is just amusing to me. It’s a great accomplishment, but to simply disregard the fact they didn’t play a P5 team this year and act like they are world beaters as a result of running the table in a weak conference is just silly.

[RedTeamGo!]

I am a Toledo alum and fan of the football team. A couple years they beat Arkansas on the road and ran the table in the MAC and lost to NIU at the end of the year. Prior to that they were like 11-0 with an SEC out of conference victory. I never seriously thought “this team had a shot at the national championship and deserves to be in the CFP!” Because it’s Toledo and they play in a crappy conference. Great season by Woodside and Hunt. But they were not remotely on the same level as Clemson, Alabama, ND, etc and the country shouldn’t have had to watch Toledo get slaughtered on national television on their day off.

The last time UC played a power team they got absolutely demolished. Last season. What has changed?

[adkindo]

The last time UC played a power team they got absolutely demolished. Last season. What has changed?

replace UC with Notre Dame and it remains a true statement

[adkindo]

I think UC should be the 4th team just so we can put this discussion to rest. ND would beat UC by 35, but give them a shot this year. Why not.

I recall that time that Georgia was going to prove to the world UCF did not belong, and that did not work out so well. Then the next year, Joe Burrow's LSU was going to show the world UCF did not belong....and well I think most fair minded people know UCF wins that game if McKenzie Milton did not rip off his leg a few weeks earlier. I have little doubt UC would cover the example point spread you posited with ease.....but that would not be close to the Vegas spread to begin with....

[adkindo]

there it is....we got Clemson @ #2 and Ohio State @ #3....we will find out what is what...:D

[RedTeamGo!]

Like I said, I am fully for putting them in to face Bama. Might as well this year.

[adkindo]

Alabama will embarrass Notre Dame....and I can't wait

[GAC]

there it is....we got Clemson @ #2 and Ohio State @ #3....we will find out what is what...:D

I'm a prophet! LOL


The only shuffling I see in the current top 4 is Clemson #2, Ohio State #3, and ND #4. It's posssible the committee might drop ND out (#5) and slide Texas A&M in at #4. But that would still be a controversial call IMO. If the committee was going to drop OSU out of the top 4 they woud have done it by now because the oportunity was there towards the end when they had to cancel games due to covid. They could have slid someone above them, yet didn't. They aren't going to do it after they win their conference's championship game vs a ranked opponent, while Texas A&M manhandled a really bad 3-win Tennessee team.

That is until I have to chose the winners/losers in our Bowl Shedule (lol)

We've played Clemson four times, and we've lost four times; but three of those meetings were good, tight games. Only in '16 did they blow us out (and boy did they!). And there was huge debate in '16 prior when they jumped OSU in over TCU(?)

I'm glad we're playing Clemson again! It is what it is boys. What do you thinks going through Notre Dame's mind right now facing 'Bama? Of course if they hadn't bumped ND, then they would have had to play Clemson for the third time. JMO, but 'Bama and Clemson are, without a doubt, the two best teams in the country ... and the road(s) go through there. We need to get that monkey off our back. Do I think it's possible? Yeah. Do I think it's going to happen honestly? No. When I look at the various numbers ... I don't like this matchup at all. Both teams are very stout defensively vs the run (OSU 6th Clemson 8th). OSU leans far more heavily on their running game (275 yds/g 5th). Clemson not so much (rush yds/g 64th). Clemson's bread and butter is the passing game behind Lawrence (344 yds/g 7th). I look at the trouble we've had this year with our secondary, the lapses and meltdowns, and I'm wondering if Lawrence isn't already licking his chops (lol). Unless of course something is done and DC Coombs is able to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Can our defensive front apply pressure on Lawrence, as much as I think theirs is going to give Fields? Which Heisman candidate QB is gonna shine, because this game has a big spotlight on both.

Swinney's running of his mouth kinda gets to me. Here's some fodder now! LOL

https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2020/12/clemsons-dabo-swinney-voices-displeasure-with-ohio-state-football-potentially-making-college-football-playoff-with-only-six-games.html

[wolfboy]

I am a Toledo alum and fan of the football team. A couple years they beat Arkansas on the road and ran the table in the MAC and lost to NIU at the end of the year. Prior to that they were like 11-0 with an SEC out of conference victory. I never seriously thought “this team had a shot at the national championship and deserves to be in the CFP!” Because it’s Toledo and they play in a crappy conference. Great season by Woodside and Hunt. But they were not remotely on the same level as Clemson, Alabama, ND, etc and the country shouldn’t have had to watch Toledo get slaughtered on national television on their day off.

The last time UC played a power team they got absolutely demolished. Last season. What has changed?

AP - top 10 team.
Coaches - top 10 team.
CFP - top 10 team.
Mediocre internet poster in Cleveland - they probably couldn’t beat Toledo.

One of these things is not like the other.

[wolfboy]

I am not some OSU slappy. I was extremely critical of them yesterday and stated they are not a top 4 team this year. The idea UC is a top 4 team because they beat the likes of Tulsa and Army is just amusing to me. It’s a great accomplishment, but to simply disregard the fact they didn’t play a P5 team this year and act like they are world beaters as a result of running the table in a weak conference is just silly.

Who is saying they are a top 4 team? I think it’s just you arguing with your own cognitive dissonance. Let it go, Elsa.

[RedTeamGo!]

Welp, another Clemson vs Alabama national championship. What fun. College football is in danger of ruining the most popular sport in America somehow. Just expand the playoff to 16 teams already. All conf champs + a few at large bids. Players would actually be more interested in playing for teams other than Clemson, OSU, bama, etc. I follow the recruiting - it is absurd right now.

[RedTeamGo!]

AP - top 10 team.
Coaches - top 10 team.
CFP - top 10 team.
Mediocre internet poster in Cleveland - they probably couldn’t beat Toledo.

One of these things is not like the other.

Where did I say they couldn’t beat toledo? You are misreading my post.

[Assembly Hall]

Welp, another Clemson vs Alabama national championship. What fun. College football is in danger of ruining the most popular sport in America somehow. Just expand the playoff to 16 teams already. All conf champs + a few at large bids. Players would actually be more interested in playing for teams other than Clemson, OSU, bama, etc. I follow the recruiting - it is absurd right now.

Most interesting season I have seen in years.

[RedTeamGo!]

I’m kind of over college football, honestly. I follow recruiting pretty closely and the top 4 teams are hoarding talent. And this includes OSU. It is at a point where if you are a top 50 recruit and want a legit chance at a national championship you realistically have 4-5 teams to choose from. Maybe a couple more. Either way, elite recruits have very little reason to go to mid level P5 teams or G5 teams. The only way to start increasing parity in college football is to expand the playoffs to get all conference champs in automatically and have a few at-large bids. 16 teams would be perfect IMO. I think college football is going to start hemorrhaging fans if they don’t fix this soon.

- - - Updated - - -


Most interesting season I have seen in years.

I mean, I guess? I can see that from an Indiana fan and understand, but the lack of OOC games hurt the season IMHO.

[texasdave]

How many of those 6 games were in the Championship Game?

Three within a touchdown. Three blowouts.

[GAC]

And as far as coaching ability goes, I'm still carrying an open mind when it comes to Ryan Day. I know his resume, who he mentored under, and it's impressive. But he also inherited a solid program that was well stocked by his predecessor.

[RedTeamGo!]

And as far as coaching ability goes, I'm still carrying an open mind when it comes to Ryan Day. I know his resume, who he mentored under, and it's impressive. But he also inherited a solid program that was well stocked by his predecessor.

Day has actually been recruiting at a higher level than Urban, believe it or not. The 2021 and 2022 classes are insane. Might end up being the best two classes in the history of the program. Not being hyperbolic. At the end of the day, it was one game in which they won in a crazy season. Day is a good coach. Also, let’s not forget their best WR was out and WR coach.

[wolfboy]

I’m kind of over college football, honestly. I follow recruiting pretty closely and the top 4 teams are hoarding talent. And this includes OSU. It is at a point where if you are a top 50 recruit and want a legit chance at a national championship you realistically have 4-5 teams to choose from. Maybe a couple more. Either way, elite recruits have very little reason to go to mid level P5 teams or G5 teams. The only way to start increasing parity in college football is to expand the playoffs to get all conference champs in automatically and have a few at-large bids. 16 teams would be perfect IMO. I think college football is going to start hemorrhaging fans if they don’t fix this soon.

- - - Updated - - -



I mean, I guess? I can see that from an Indiana fan and understand, but the lack of OOC games hurt the season IMHO.

Totally agree, although I’m a fan of 8 teams. Conference realignment has been a net negative for fans as well. Huge rivalries are no more and teams are in conferences that just don’t make sense. Oh well. All hail the almighty dollar.

[RedTeamGo!]

Totally agree, although I’m a fan of 8 teams. Conference realignment has been a net negative for fans as well. Huge rivalries are no more and teams are in conferences that just don’t make sense. Oh well. All hail the almighty dollar.

Imagine how much worse it would be if they weren’t opening up transfers.

[wolfboy]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30563882/college-football-playoff-2020-committee-remains-disappointingly-predictable

Accurate article but the fact that it’s posted in ESPN is hilarious.

[Boston Red]

Kind of hilarious that the regular season ended yesterday and Bowl season starts tomorrow.

[Hillsdale87]

And as far as coaching ability goes, I'm still carrying an open mind when it comes to Ryan Day. I know his resume, who he mentored under, and it's impressive. But he also inherited a solid program that was well stocked by his predecessor.

Day has lost one game in his coaching career, and it was a game where OSU completely outplayed Clemson, but shot itself in the foot with 2 dropped TDs and suffered from a few questionable ref calls. He outcoached Dabo, but OSU just didn't execute in some key moments.

Day didn't have a great day yesterday, but he's been great overall. I'm not sure he would be as good at building a program as Urban, but it's irrelevant because that's not what he has to do. Day is better with Xs and Os, and IMO better at calling the game. So far he's been the ideal guy to build on the foundation Meyer built


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KronoRed]

I like that bowl season starts tomorrow, also liked the only conference game schedules, in the future I'd love to see everyone play 10 conference games and only 2 OOC, preferably against other power 5 schools.

[RedTeamGo!]

Day has lost one game in his coaching career, and it was a game where OSU completely outplayed Clemson, but shot itself in the foot with 2 dropped TDs and suffered from a few questionable ref calls. He outcoached Dabo, but OSU just didn't execute in some key moments.

Day didn't have a great day yesterday, but he's been great overall. I'm not sure he would be as good at building a program as Urban, but it's irrelevant because that's not what he has to do. Day is better with Xs and Os, and IMO better at calling the game. So far he's been the ideal guy to build on the foundation Meyer built


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Day is actually recruiting better than Urban as well.

On top of an incredible 2021 class just signed the 2022 class is being led by the best recruit in the country, Quinn Ewers, a quarterback out of Texas. He already has the rare 1.0000 rating by 247sports. To put this in perspective, Trevor Lawrence was not rated this highly, and only 5 other players in history have received a 1.0000 rating.

https://247sports.com/player/quinn-ewers-45572600/

[Boston Red]

I like that bowl season starts tomorrow, also liked the only conference game schedules, in the future I'd love to see everyone play 10 conference games and only 2 OOC, preferably against other power 5 schools.

Why screw the Boises, UCFs and UCs?

[KronoRed]

Why screw the Boises, UCFs and UCs?

System now already screws them over.

[adkindo]

https://twitter.com/UCF_Football/status/1340710966384705537?s=19

[Stray]

The Big 12 is not *that* much better than the AAC. I think the Bearcats beat anyone in that conference. Nobody in the PAC 12 is beating this Bearcat team either. The disrespect is absurd. They're rewarding teams based on the school name, nothing more.

And how in the world can you justify Iowa State ahead of Coastal Carolina? Burn it all down. This system is stupid at best, corrupt at worst.

[GAC]

Day has actually been recruiting at a higher level than Urban, believe it or not. The 2021 and 2022 classes are insane. Might end up being the best two classes in the history of the program. Not being hyperbolic. At the end of the day, it was one game in which they won in a crazy season. Day is a good coach. Also, let’s not forget their best WR was out and WR coach.

I wasn't specifically referring to the game Saturday, but the entire season. I'm not saying he's a bad or average coach. Just giving him more time to see what he does. He's only been on the job 2+ years.

He said this the other day, which I have no problem with, other then he's got to get past Clemson first. ;)


https://tdalabamamag.com/2020/12/20/ryan-day-promises-buckeyes-victory-alabama-college-football-playoff/

[GAC]

The Big 12 is not *that* much better than the AAC. I think the Bearcats beat anyone in that conference. Nobody in the PAC 12 is beating this Bearcat team either. The disrespect is absurd. They're rewarding teams based on the school name, nothing more.

And how in the world can you justify Iowa State ahead of Coastal Carolina? Burn it all down. This system is stupid at best, corrupt at worst.

Coastal Carolina plays in the SunBelt Conference, and has a SoS that's 108th in the country. I'm also a Bearcats fan. The fact you think they can beat any team in the B12 conference does not mean it's so. The only way one finds out is if they play head-to-head. And during the regular season, for the most part, they don't on a consistent basis, and that's the problem.

I certainly agree that the "distribution" of talent is grossly slanted toward those P5 conferences due to national exposure, as well as multiple other advantages it offers talented players getting noticed. And yes, like anything esle, it's a power/money/influence issue. Sports is no different animal. So is it an "anti-trust" issue then with the NCAA creating a monoply with these P5 conferences? It's not just those lesser conferences not being able to draw talent, but it's a huge issue within those P5 programs too. Look who seems to sit at or near the bottom of those P5 conferences on a year-to-year basis. Why? Sure coaching is an issue; but it's also not being able to draw talent. If you're a highly talented athlete, why would you go to Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Kansas, etc, etc? - the list goes on and on. So if it's an issue within those P5 conferences (drawing talent), then it's even worse with those lesser programs.

But it's not just talented players that are going to those P5 schools .... it's also quality coaching. Where did Ryan Day and Brian Kelly start out at? It's only natural to want to prove yourself at one level and move up, get promoted to what is seen as the "next level" (coaching a P5 school).

Each year these smaller (lesser) conferences - for the most part, there's always aberrations - are feasted on by those P5 conferences, especially the "elites", in the first few weeks of the season and are called "cupcake games" for a reason. They agree to get embarrassed nationally for large sums of money thrown their school's way. And IMO, those monies being thrown at those smaller schools has improved the level of play of some of those conferences (American, MW, MAC). But OVERALL, these conferences are still not near the level (talent) of those P5 conferences.

Here's my issue with the P5 elites .... they seem, for the most part, to avoid putting those "elite" teams in those lesser conferences, those that are excelling, proving themselves, on their schedule on a consistent basis. OSU played Cincy last year and walloped them 42-0. How often do they play? 2011 was the last time that the Bearcats had an SEC team on their schedule. I'm not picking on the Bearcats, because it's occurring all over. They're proving themselves on a consistent basis within their respective conferences, yet they aren't being given that opportunity during the regular season to prove themselves vs those bigger schools. There's sound reason why the elites play some state college out of nowhere vs a Cincy, Tulsa, Boise State, you get the picture. ;)

Do you set up a system, is it even possible, like the other sports have when it comes to the "draft" season, signing letters of intent, and an order in picking? Who is going to tell a Justin Fields or Trevor Lawrence you got drafted by Montana State, and that's where you have to sign in order to bring parity/fairness?

It is simply ridiculous trying to narrow it down each year to the four best teams, and leaving that decision at the hands of a committee where politics can be involved. Every season we're having this same discussion (lol).

You got 10 conferences. Screw those that want to remain IND. You need to join a conference. Each conference champion is part of a CFP. You add two seeds which brings you to 12 teams, six games starting out and go from there. It begins at the start of Bowl season, and progresses from there. Tell me who wouldn't want to be watching ALL of those games, as the best in the country, small to large, fight it out? And you're still having other Bowl games for those that didn't qualify for the CFP, but at least you're giving the opportunity for a Cincinnai or whoever to prove themselves.

[Stray]

Coastal Carolina plays in the SunBelt Conference, and has a SoS that's 108th in the country. I'm also a Bearcats fan. The fact you think they can beat any team in the B12 conference does not mean it's so. The only way one finds out is if they play head-to-head. And during the regular season, for the most part, they don't on a consistent basis, and that's the problem.

I certainly agree that the "distribution" of talent is grossly slanted toward those P5 conferences due to national exposure, as well as multiple other advantages it offers talented players getting noticed. And yes, like anything esle, it's a power/money/influence issue. Sports is no different animal. So is it an "anti-trust" issue then with the NCAA creating a monoply with these P5 conferences? It's not just those lesser conferences not being able to draw talent, but it's a huge issue within those P5 programs too. Look who seems to sit at or near the bottom of those P5 conferences on a year-to-year basis. Why? Sure coaching is an issue; but it's also not being able to draw talent. If you're a highly talented athlete, why would you go to Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Kansas, etc, etc? - the list goes on and on. So if it's an issue within those P5 conferences (drawing talent), then it's even worse with those lesser programs.

But it's not just talented players that are going to those P5 schools .... it's also quality coaching. Where did Ryan Day and Brian Kelly start out at? It's only natural to want to prove yourself at one level and move up, get promoted to what is seen as the "next level" (coaching a P5 school).

Each year these smaller (lesser) conferences - for the most part, there's always aberrations - are feasted on by those P5 conferences, especially the "elites", in the first few weeks of the season and are called "cupcake games" for a reason. They agree to get embarrassed nationally for large sums of money thrown their school's way. And IMO, those monies being thrown at those smaller schools has improved the level of play of some of those conferences (American, MW, MAC). But OVERALL, these conferences are still not near the level (talent) of those P5 conferences.

Here's my issue with the P5 elites .... they seem, for the most part, to avoid putting those "elite" teams in those lesser conferences, those that are excelling, proving themselves, on their schedule on a consistent basis. OSU played Cincy last year and walloped them 42-0. How often do they play? 2011 was the last time that the Bearcats had an SEC team on their schedule. I'm not picking on the Bearcats, because it's occurring all over. They're proving themselves on a consistent basis within their respective conferences, yet they aren't being given that opportunity during the regular season to prove themselves vs those bigger schools. There's sound reason why the elites play some state college out of nowhere vs a Cincy, Tulsa, Boise State, you get the picture. ;)

Do you set up a system, is it even possible, like the other sports have when it comes to the "draft" season, signing letters of intent, and an order in picking? Who is going to tell a Justin Fields or Trevor Lawrence you got drafted by Montana State, and that's where you have to sign in order to bring parity/fairness?

It is simply ridiculous trying to narrow it down each year to the four best teams, and leaving that decision at the hands of a committee where politics can be involved. Every season we're having this same discussion (lol).

You got 10 conferences. Screw those that want to remain IND. You need to join a conference. Each conference champion is part of a CFP. You add two seeds which brings you to 12 teams, six games starting out and go from there. It begins at the start of Bowl season, and progresses from there. Tell me who wouldn't want to be watching ALL of those games, as the best in the country, small to large, fight it out? And you're still having other Bowl games for those that didn't qualify for the CFP, but at least you're giving the opportunity for a Cincinnai or whoever to prove themselves.

My thing with Coastal and and Iowa State is that they have a common opponent, Louisiana. Coastal beat them and Iowa State lost to them by 17 points. Coastal is 11-0 and Iowa State has 3 losses. But Iowa State is ranked ahead of them? I don't know how that can be justified.

[wolfboy]

The distribution of talent is not slanted toward the P5, GAC. You missed the point. It’s slanted toward five or six schools in the P5. UC has recruited at or better than the Iowa States or Oklahoma States of the world. And you can’t say on one hand that they need to prove it with head to head matchups and then say P5 schools should only play P5 schools.

[RedTeamGo!]

My thing with Coastal and and Iowa State is that they have a common opponent, Louisiana. Coastal beat them and Iowa State lost to them by 17 points. Coastal is 11-0 and Iowa State has 3 losses. But Iowa State is ranked ahead of them? I don't know how that can be justified.

Because ISU plays in a better conference and beat Oklahoma

[Reds Freak]

Because ISU plays in a better conference and beat Oklahoma

The Big 12 was 0-3 vs the Sun Belt Conference this season.

[RedTeamGo!]

The Big 12 was 0-3 vs the Sun Belt Conference this season.

Cool, we are going to pretend the sun belt is a better conference because of this?

[Stray]

Cool, we are going to pretend the sun belt is a better conference because of this?

Overall? Nah. But Coastal Carolina is better than Iowa State.

[Boston Red]

Oklahoma lost to both Iowa State and Kansas State. Iowa State and Kansas State were a combined 0-2 vs. the Sun Belt.

[Assembly Hall]

My Hoosiers got screwed....

[Sea Ray]

The distribution of talent is not slanted toward the P5, GAC. You missed the point. It’s slanted toward five or six schools in the P5. UC has recruited at or better than the Iowa States or Oklahoma States of the world. And you can’t say on one hand that they need to prove it with head to head matchups and then say P5 schools should only play P5 schools.

Wrong. It's slanted towards about 45 schools in the P5. Of course talent is slanted towards the P5. It's a ridiculous statement on your part to say otherwise.

Let's look at current recruiting rankings for 2021. The top 44 teams are P5 teams. To their credit UC is the top non P5 team at 45. Know how many 5* and 4* guys UC got? Try zero. The next non P5 team listed is Memphis at #48. They also got zero 4* and 5* guys. At #50 SMU has one 4* guy.

The talent is overwhelmingly going to P5 schools and it isn't even close. Once again, the top 44 teams in recruiting are all P5 teams. Of the top 50 teams, there is one 4* player going to a non P5 team. That's it

https://247sports.com/Season/2021-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/

[Reds Freak]

Cool, we are going to pretend the sun belt is a better conference because of this?

Not necessarily, but stop acting like the G5 are a bunch of JV teams.

[RedTeamGo!]

Not necessarily, but stop acting like the G5 are a bunch of JV teams.

They are

[Boston Red]

Someone step up and play 9-2 Army already. FFS

[wolfboy]

Wrong. It's slanted towards about 45 schools in the P5. Of course talent is slanted towards the P5. It's a ridiculous statement on your part to say otherwise.

Let's look at current recruiting rankings for 2021. The top 44 teams are P5 teams. To their credit UC is the top non P5 team at 45. Know how many 5* and 4* guys UC got? Try zero. The next non P5 team listed is Memphis at #48. They also got zero 4* and 5* guys. At #50 SMU has one 4* guy.

The talent is overwhelmingly going to P5 schools and it isn't even close. Once again, the top 44 teams in recruiting are all P5 teams. Of the top 50 teams, there is one 4* player going to a non P5 team. That's it

https://247sports.com/Season/2021-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/

Honestly, next time you want to come at me with my "ridiculous statements" why don't you read up on how recruiting class rankings actually work. Do you know the difference between the 62nd ranked class (IU) and the 29th ranked class (UVA)? The number of kids. UVA had 24 recruits, 2 four stars and 22 three stars with an average recruit rating of 86.11. IU had 13 commits, 2 four stars and 11 three stars with an average recruit rating of 86.49. That's not a material difference in talent, it's a difference in class size. So don't throw rankings at me when you don't even know what they mean. Bottom line, the difference in talent going to most mid-lower end P5 programs is not materially different than the upper end G5 programs. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know much about recruiting, including you.

And, yes, cherry pick one year to show how UC doesn't get any 4-star guys. They had three in 2020. They have two committed already for 2022. Typical Sea Ray cherry picking and intellectual laziness.

[oregonred]

ESPN driving the Bowl matchups just has to stop and only going to get worse with the ESPN/SEC contract

At least this year the 90% empty stadiums for the 10-15 mediocre Bowls won't look so odd

[Assembly Hall]

Honestly, next time you want to come at me with my "ridiculous statements" why don't you read up on how recruiting class rankings actually work. Do you know the difference between the 62nd ranked class (IU) and the 29th ranked class (UVA)? The number of kids. UVA had 24 recruits, 2 four stars and 22 three stars with an average recruit rating of 86.11. IU had 13 commits, 2 four stars and 11 three stars with an average recruit rating of 86.49. That's not a material difference in talent, it's a difference in class size. So don't throw rankings at me when you don't even know what they mean. Bottom line, the difference in talent going to most mid-lower end P5 programs is not materially different than the upper end G5 programs. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know much about recruiting, including you.

And, yes, cherry pick one year to show how UC doesn't get any 4-star guys. They had three in 2020. They have two committed already for 2022. Typical Sea Ray cherry picking and intellectual laziness.

Meh, Sea Ray knows what he is talking about.

[Sea Ray]

Honestly, next time you want to come at me with my "ridiculous statements" why don't you read up on how recruiting class rankings actually work. Do you know the difference between the 62nd ranked class (IU) and the 29th ranked class (UVA)? The number of kids. UVA had 24 recruits, 2 four stars and 22 three stars with an average recruit rating of 86.11. IU had 13 commits, 2 four stars and 11 three stars with an average recruit rating of 86.49. That's not a material difference in talent, it's a difference in class size. So don't throw rankings at me when you don't even know what they mean. Bottom line, the difference in talent going to most mid-lower end P5 programs is not materially different than the upper end G5 programs. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know much about recruiting, including you.

And, yes, cherry pick one year to show how UC doesn't get any 4-star guys. They had three in 2020. They have two committed already for 2022. Typical Sea Ray cherry picking and intellectual laziness.

You wanna talk stars and not volume? Fine. In looking over the top 100 teams in recruiting, how many 4 and 5* players are going to non P5 schools? If you answered one, go to the head of the class. (SMU has one 4*) Put another way, all but one of the 4* and 5* recruits are going to P5 schools. Kind of overwhelming evidence that even you should be able to grasp.

I've made my point. Carry on...

[Boston Red]

Sea Ray knows what he is talking about.

That's something one doesn't hear around here very often! :)

Welcome back Sea Ray.

[Assembly Hall]

That's something one doesn't hear around here very often! :)

Welcome back Sea Ray.

LOL

Yes, it is good to see him back posting.

[Strikes Out Looking]

My Hoosiers got screwed....

Yes they did. Fortunately, it will give them something to feed off in 2021. Tom Allen is the real deal, his players are only going to be better moving forward.

[bucksfan2]

Day has lost one game in his coaching career, and it was a game where OSU completely outplayed Clemson, but shot itself in the foot with 2 dropped TDs and suffered from a few questionable ref calls. He outcoached Dabo, but OSU just didn't execute in some key moments.

Day didn't have a great day yesterday, but he's been great overall. I'm not sure he would be as good at building a program as Urban, but it's irrelevant because that's not what he has to do. Day is better with Xs and Os, and IMO better at calling the game. So far he's been the ideal guy to build on the foundation Meyer built


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was yelling at the TV watching OSU play NW. Its not because NW wasn't a quality team, and FitzGerald is one of the better coaches out there, but I thought they played a game that let NW hang around. I was shocked that Day didn't go tempo more. When OSU was gashing NW, play fast, don't play slow. NW needed to shorten the game in order to win, and Day went methodical which shortened the game.

A counterpoint to all of that, OSU was missing a boatload of players. It wasn't just Olave and Browning, it was depth on the DLine. It was LB depth, it was Lathan Ransom getting big minutes in the first real game he played. There was a point when Smith went down they were down to two healthy DE's. I do think part of a slower pace was because they didn't have the depth.

Fields didn't have his best game, but there were two plays that pretty much highlighted the struggle that it was. Early on in the first series Fields and Flemming weren't on the same page that led to an incomplete pass. Fields immediately went to Flemming and told him what he should have done. The second was the INT where it was an out pattern that Olave runs all the time but Williams broke up the field leading to an INT. That is 100% on the WR as the ball is released prior to Williams breaking. There may have been some hesitation on Fields part because there was only one guy who he knew was going to be where he should have been in Wilson.

As much whinning as Dabo did about OSU playing only 6 games, you could see where those extra games would have come in handy. Getting Flemming, Scott, Ransom, etc more reps would have been huge. In a normal year those guys get reps in spring, then they get reps during the early games of the season, and reps scattered as they get into the heart of the season. You see freshman pop in the second half of the schedule because they have had the reps, have had the practice time, have worked themselves into live game minutes. Remember 6 games is the midway point in a normal season, and it showed.

[Hillsdale87]

I was yelling at the TV watching OSU play NW. Its not because NW wasn't a quality team, and FitzGerald is one of the better coaches out there, but I thought they played a game that let NW hang around. I was shocked that Day didn't go tempo more. When OSU was gashing NW, play fast, don't play slow. NW needed to shorten the game in order to win, and Day went methodical which shortened the game.

A counterpoint to all of that, OSU was missing a boatload of players. It wasn't just Olave and Browning, it was depth on the DLine. It was LB depth, it was Lathan Ransom getting big minutes in the first real game he played. There was a point when Smith went down they were down to two healthy DE's. I do think part of a slower pace was because they didn't have the depth.

Fields didn't have his best game, but there were two plays that pretty much highlighted the struggle that it was. Early on in the first series Fields and Flemming weren't on the same page that led to an incomplete pass. Fields immediately went to Flemming and told him what he should have done. The second was the INT where it was an out pattern that Olave runs all the time but Williams broke up the field leading to an INT. That is 100% on the WR as the ball is released prior to Williams breaking. There may have been some hesitation on Fields part because there was only one guy who he knew was going to be where he should have been in Wilson.

As much whinning as Dabo did about OSU playing only 6 games, you could see where those extra games would have come in handy. Getting Flemming, Scott, Ransom, etc more reps would have been huge. In a normal year those guys get reps in spring, then they get reps during the early games of the season, and reps scattered as they get into the heart of the season. You see freshman pop in the second half of the schedule because they have had the reps, have had the practice time, have worked themselves into live game minutes. Remember 6 games is the midway point in a normal season, and it showed.

Day had a bad game. There were certainly explanations for some of the issues, but ultimately he made a lot of mistakes and needs to be better against Clemson. Yes, some of the issue is injuries/COVID, which threw off the passing game, but the way to deal with that is to lean on what's working, and he just couldn't let the passing game go. He wanted so badly to get it on track, and it just wasn't necessary. A bad game is going to happen though, and he has overall been awesome, so I'm not too worried about it.

And yeah, Dabo can needle OSU all he wants, but I guarantee you Day wishes OSU had played 11 games, not 6. Playing a half season is a disadvantage. OSU has been out of rhythm and hasn't been able to play enough to get totally in sync. There's a little bit of an advantage with OSU being fresh, but Clemson rolled through most of their schedule, so they should be pretty fresh too.

[Reds Freak]

They are

If the Sun Belt are the JVs, what are Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State who all got clobbered by Sun Belt teams this year?

How about Syracuse and Duke? Illinois, Rutgers, Cal, Oregon State, and Vandy?

[wolfboy]

You wanna talk stars and not volume? Fine. In looking over the top 100 teams in recruiting, how many 4 and 5* players are going to non P5 schools? If you answered one, go to the head of the class. (SMU has one 4*) Put another way, all but one of the 4* and 5* recruits are going to P5 schools. Kind of overwhelming evidence that even you should be able to grasp.

I've made my point. Carry on...

No, you actually haven't. You're cherry picking one year to make this argument, which isn't even a very good one. In the 2020 cycle UC had as many or more 4* recruits than 31 P5 programs: Maryland, Iowa, West Virginia, Minnesota, Cal, Oklahoma State, Louisville, NC State, Michigan State, Pitt, Iowa State, Northwestern, Texas Tech, Virginia, Baylor, Missouri, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Oregon State, Washington State, Kansas, Indiana, Syracuse, Arizona, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Boston College, Duke, USC, VaTech and Illinois. So if we go with your argument in a different recruiting cycle I guess it makes my case, doesn't it? We could talk about 5* recruits but that only bolsters my argument further that power is consolidating at the very top of the football heirarchy.

But as I said before counting 4* prospects in a void is a bad argument. The quality of talent on the field isn't defined by a handful of kids, it's defined by all the kids. And that's where you really see the lines blur. The vast majority of mid to lower P5 programs and top G5 programs all fall within a range of a few points when it comes to average recruit ranking. Call it the 83 or 84 to 87 range. That's where a ton of P5 schools typically land in a recruiting cycle, along with the schools you'd expect from the top-tier of the G5 (UCF, Boise, UC, Houston, BYU, Memphis).

To be clear, I'm not saying programs like UC or UCF or Boise are on par with the upper tier of the P5. But they sure as hell aren't the JV to the P5. There's very little difference between a UC and an Iowa State (or BC, VaTech, WVU, Pitt, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, etc...). Take any metric other than conference affiliation and media contract and you'll see that's true.

But at the end of the day, if all this talent is gravitating to the P5, why are teams like Tennessee losing to the Georgia States and BYUs of the world?

[RedTeamGo!]

If the Sun Belt are the JVs, what are Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State who all got clobbered by Sun Belt teams this year?

How about Syracuse and Duke? Illinois, Rutgers, Cal, Oregon State, and Vandy?

Kanas? lol. The worst program in college football.

Kansas State is in transition mode after their legendary HC retired after 90 years or whatever it was.

If Coastal played ISU today I’m guessing the result would be different.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Day had a bad game. There were certainly explanations for some of the issues, but ultimately he made a lot of mistakes and needs to be better against Clemson. Yes, some of the issue is injuries/COVID, which threw off the passing game, but the way to deal with that is to lean on what's working, and he just couldn't let the passing game go. He wanted so badly to get it on track, and it just wasn't necessary. A bad game is going to happen though, and he has overall been awesome, so I'm not too worried about it.

And yeah, Dabo can needle OSU all he wants, but I guarantee you Day wishes OSU had played 11 games, not 6. Playing a half season is a disadvantage. OSU has been out of rhythm and hasn't been able to play enough to get totally in sync. There's a little bit of an advantage with OSU being fresh, but Clemson rolled through most of their schedule, so they should be pretty fresh too.

I think Day knew he could run the ball whenever they wanted and the defense was going to stop Northwestern. Fields was a little off and it was the first time getting reps for Flemming and Williams and they tried to play through it. Eventually he had to make sure he won the game and just started pounding it, which obviously worked.

[wolfboy]

Kanas? lol. The worst program in college football.

Kansas State is in transition mode after their legendary HC retired after 90 years or whatever it was.

If Coastal played ISU today I’m guessing the result would be different.

By my quick count P5 teams are an even .500 against G5 teams the last three years (4-4 last year, 3-2 the year before and 3-4 the year before that). That just doesn't scream JV to me, no matter how many lols you throw at it.

[RedTeamGo!]

By my quick count P5 teams are an even .500 against G5 teams the last three years (4-4 last year, 3-2 the year before and 3-4 the year before that). That just doesn't scream JV to me, no matter how many lols you throw at it.

Kansas Football is always going to make me laugh out loud. I will not apologize for that.

[Assembly Hall]

I think Day knew he could run the ball whenever they wanted and the defense was going to stop Northwestern. Fields was a little off and it was the first time getting reps for Flemming and Williams and they tried to play through it. Eventually he had to make sure he won the game and just started pounding it, which obviously worked.

I don't know why the Bucks go away from the running game when it is working.

[wolfboy]

Kansas Football is always going to make me laugh out loud. I will not apologize for that.

Okay that's fair. :laugh:

[Reds Freak]

Kanas? lol. The worst program in college football.

Kansas State is in transition mode after their legendary HC retired after 90 years or whatever it was.

If Coastal played ISU today I’m guessing the result would be different.

No one is arguing the G5 will compete regularly with the elites in college football, but there's not much daylight between the top half of the G5 conferences and middle of the pack P5.

[Assembly Hall]

Kansas Football is always going to make me laugh out loud. I will not apologize for that.

You would apologize...to Gale Sayers.

[RedTeamGo!]

You would apologize...to Gale Sayers.

That was like 50 years ago

[Sea Ray]

No, you actually haven't. You're cherry picking one year to make this argument, which isn't even a very good one. In the 2020 cycle UC had as many or more 4* recruits than 31 P5 programs: Maryland, Iowa, West Virginia, Minnesota, Cal, Oklahoma State, Louisville, NC State, Michigan State, Pitt, Iowa State, Northwestern, Texas Tech, Virginia, Baylor, Missouri, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Oregon State, Washington State, Kansas, Indiana, Syracuse, Arizona, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Boston College, Duke, USC, VaTech and Illinois. So if we go with your argument in a different recruiting cycle I guess it makes my case, doesn't it? We could talk about 5* recruits but that only bolsters my argument further that power is consolidating at the very top of the football heirarchy.

But as I said before counting 4* prospects in a void is a bad argument. The quality of talent on the field isn't defined by a handful of kids, it's defined by all the kids. And that's where you really see the lines blur. The vast majority of mid to lower P5 programs and top G5 programs all fall within a range of a few points when it comes to average recruit ranking. Call it the 83 or 84 to 87 range. That's where a ton of P5 schools typically land in a recruiting cycle, along with the schools you'd expect from the top-tier of the G5 (UCF, Boise, UC, Houston, BYU, Memphis).

To be clear, I'm not saying programs like UC or UCF or Boise are on par with the upper tier of the P5. But they sure as hell aren't the JV to the P5. There's very little difference between a UC and an Iowa State (or BC, VaTech, WVU, Pitt, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, etc...). Take any metric other than conference affiliation and media contract and you'll see that's true.

But at the end of the day, if all this talent is gravitating to the P5, why are teams like Tennessee losing to the Georgia States and BYUs of the world?

You have exposed a weakness in me. I can't resist straightening people like you out.

Cherry picking? UC's recruiting class last yr was an aberration for a G5 school but let's go with it. According to the site I posted earlier, 2020 recruiting class, UC had three 4* recruits. Kudos coach Fickell. How many other 4* kids were picked up by G5 schools? Answer: one. Charlotte managed to nab one.

So let's do a sum total for 2020:

P5 schools got 351 four star players...G5 schools got 4

P5 schools got all 32 five star players (a total of 15 different teams)

So let's do the math:

P5 schools got 385 four and five star players
G5 schools got 4 four and five star players
Out of 389 blue chip recruits, P5 schools are getting 385 of them. What UC did was nice but it doesn't bail out all of G5.

Fact: the top notch recruits are going to P5 schools, spread out over about 50 schools

You're touting UC for getting 3 blue chip players. That puts 'em on a par with Baylor. Tennessee, who's clearly not one of the 5 or 6 blue blood programs you referenced earlier, got 13 blue chippers in 2020.

Case closed

[wolfboy]

You have exposed a weakness in me. I can't resist straightening people like you out.

Cherry picking? UC's recruiting class last yr was an aberration for a G5 school but let's go with it. According to the site I posted earlier, 2020 recruiting class, UC had three 4* recruits. Kudos coach Fickell. How many other 4* kids were picked up by G5 schools? Answer: one. Charlotte managed to nab one.

So let's do a sum total for 2020:

P5 schools got 351 four star players...G5 schools got 4

P5 schools got all 32 five star players (a total of 15 different teams)

So let's do the math:

P5 schools got 385 four and five star players
G5 schools got 4 four and five star players
Out of 389 blue chip recruits, P5 schools are getting 385 of them. What UC did was nice but it doesn't bail out all of G5.

Fact: the top notch recruits are going to P5 schools, spread out over about 50 schools

You're touting UC for getting 3 blue chip players. That puts 'em on a par with Baylor. Tennessee, who's clearly not one of the 5 or 6 blue blood programs you referenced earlier, got 13 blue chippers in 2020.

Case closed

I'm not touting three blue chips players. I'm telling you that it's a poor way to measure the overall talent level on a roster. I said average recruit rating is the better measure. I guess you don't want to talk about that because it's a losing argument for you.

Also, thirteen blue chippers is impressive. Ditto with two five stars and ten four stars in the 2019 class. But how many does it take to beat Georgia State?

[WVRed]

Tennessee is out of the Liberty Bowl due to covid. Either Mississippi State or Army could be playing WVU.

[Revering4Blue]

Tennessee is out of the Liberty Bowl due to covid. Either Mississippi State or Army could be playing WVU.

I’d so love to see this if Army gets the nod. What a contrast of offensive philosophies. Could really be a fun bowl game.

[oregonred]

I just learned something called the Myrtle Beach Bowl was played earlier today

OTOH, tomorrow's Roofclaim.com Bowl nearby in Boca Raton looks like a really good matchup (UCF and BYU)

[Boston Red]

That's one of the 5 best bowls of the season for sure.

[adkindo]

I just learned something called the Myrtle Beach Bowl was played earlier today

OTOH, tomorrow's Roofclaim.com Bowl nearby in Boca Raton looks like a really good matchup (UCF and BYU)

it seems like more than once FAU has played in that bowl on their home field....which I guess kind of sucked, but I am not sure it sucks more than leaving Boca Raton, FL to play in Montgomery, Alabama in December which is what they are doing this year.

[adkindo]

these guys are the best...and this is one of their best yet...


https://youtu.be/wuFeqg86YYE

[adkindo]

Not sure if anyone watched the HBO Doc mini series "The Cost of Winning (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13399526/)", which was about the St. Frances Academy Football team in Baltimore, but in the final episode there is a scene that makes LSU Head Coach Orgeron look really bad. From the first episode, a St. Francis Defensive End (Demon Clowney - 4 Star (https://247sports.com/Player/Demon-Clowney-94681/high-school-214084/)) was committed to LSU, then the day before early signing day Coach Orgeron pulls the offer. At one time Clowney had offers from tons of big schools including Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M and others, but chose LSU over all of them and had been verbally committed to LSU for nearly a year before they pulled the offer. The scene has the St. Fancis coach on the phone with Coach O telling him how dirty it was of LSU....and I am sure Coach O had to take it because St. Francis is a 4 and 5 Star factory. Clowney had to scramble to find someone with a scholarship, and committed to Ole Miss.

Dana pulled that crap a few times at WVU, and I have always thought it was bush league. I get if the kid does something and gets in trouble or does not make the grades....but just pulling a scholarship near signing date because you prefer to give it to someone else is just wrong.

[KronoRed]

Ugh recruiting is just gross.

[GAC]

The distribution of talent is not slanted toward the P5, GAC. You missed the point. It’s slanted toward five or six schools in the P5.

I agree, and stated such ...


It's not just those lesser conferences not being able to draw talent, but it's a huge issue within those P5 programs too. Look who seems to sit at or near the bottom of those P5 conferences on a year-to-year basis. Why? Sure coaching is an issue; but it's also not being able to draw talent. If you're a highly talented athlete, why would you go to Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Kansas, etc, etc? - the list goes on and on. So if it's an issue within those P5 conferences (drawing talent), then it's even worse with those lesser programs.



UC has recruited at or better than the Iowa States or Oklahoma States of the world. And you can’t say on one hand that they need to prove it with head to head matchups and then say P5 schools should only play P5 schools.

Under the current system, the way the NCAA has constructed it currently - Yes. I'm not disagreeing with you wolf that the system in place isn't one screwed up mess. In my previous post I stated such when they established this POWER FIVE conferences. Right then and there they bestowed upon them the mantle of superiority over the other conferences, that they would always be given the benefit of the doubt, you go to the head of the class based on what? Privilege ... "we're up here, whether we deserve it or not, but because the NCAA said so, and you're down there. Know your place!" And that's they way it's been ever since. It's nothing more then a "systemic bias/prejudice". It's almost like any big "business" trying to shut out the smaller ones.

I'll use the Bearcats as an example (more familiar with them), but numerous others could be sighted .... in any discussion concerning them and the CFP what is the same stereotypical knock we hear? - "They play in a lesser conference vs weaker competition, and their SoS is bad." You're practically carrying three strikes, under the current system, going in!

But why isn't the NCAA trying to show more even-handedness, take actions to help/elevate these other schools/conferences instead of throwing them crumbs? Easy. It would mean dividing up the pie between more particpants. Where is the NCAA, these major colleges, ESPN and all the other sports networks, cash cow? In those P5 schools. It is a monopoly. One hand is washing the other. That's what they want. And as long as all the parties within that monopoly are profitting immensely on all sides, including players getting showcased, upping their stock in the eyes of the NFL, everyone is profitting all around... they aren't going to change things, and will continue to fight it.

Want just one good example of the NCAA's mindset, and how corrupt it is? .....


https://sports.yahoo.com/army-to-play-west-virginia-in-the-liberty-bowl-003719860.html[/url]

Thanks to SEC bowl arrangements and the conference’s billion-dollar partnership with ESPN, a Tennessee team that lost seven of its last eight games got chosen over Army.

This is simply how bad it is. But how do you fix it? I suggested a play-off system where ALL conference champions, plus to "byes", 12 games total, square off during Bowl season. I think you'd have a hard time making an argument that the best in the nation weren't squaring of. The NCAA has put itself in a terrible box trying to whittle it down to the four best teams (in their opinion) in the country. It's just stupid!

[GAC]

ESPN driving the Bowl matchups just has to stop and only going to get worse with the ESPN/SEC contract

THIS!

I don't know if the NCAA has any jurisdiction in this or not, but when you allow major sports networks to negotiate and sign highly lucative contracts with a conference, this invites corruption and favoritism. But as long as the NCAA is getting their cut they're not going to say anything.

I can't stand ESPN.

[bucksfan2]

Not sure if anyone watched the HBO Doc mini series "The Cost of Winning (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13399526/)", which was about the St. Frances Academy Football team in Baltimore, but in the final episode there is a scene that makes LSU Head Coach Orgeron look really bad. From the first episode, a St. Francis Defensive End (Demon Clowney - 4 Star (https://247sports.com/Player/Demon-Clowney-94681/high-school-214084/)) was committed to LSU, then the day before early signing day Coach Orgeron pulls the offer. At one time Clowney had offers from tons of big schools including Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M and others, but chose LSU over all of them and had been verbally committed to LSU for nearly a year before they pulled the offer. The scene has the St. Fancis coach on the phone with Coach O telling him how dirty it was of LSU....and I am sure Coach O had to take it because St. Francis is a 4 and 5 Star factory. Clowney had to scramble to find someone with a scholarship, and committed to Ole Miss.

Dana pulled that crap a few times at WVU, and I have always thought it was bush league. I get if the kid does something and gets in trouble or does not make the grades....but just pulling a scholarship near signing date because you prefer to give it to someone else is just wrong.

I may have to check that series out. There is an ugly side to recruiting, especially at the big boy level. There are offers, committable offers, and then "rescinded offers." A lot of times its communicated to the kid that is best if both parties walk away. You do it early enough in the process then its probably best for everyone. But if you do what Orgeron did, it sticks with you.

I remember the recruitment of Danny Clark at OSU. He committed very early on in the process, never developed like expected, and then decommitted when he realized there wasn't a spot at OSU for him. Had he stuck to his guns and continued at OSU, I don't think OSU could have outright pulled the scholarship because they still want a stronghold at Massilon. But you have to convince the kid that there just isn't a spot for him.

On the other side, you hear all the time that, if player X wants to come, there is a spot for him. That spot is often an older guy who either grad transfers for PT, or is encouraged to transfer. Is it right?

[adkindo]

I may have to check that series out. There is an ugly side to recruiting, especially at the big boy level. There are offers, committable offers, and then "rescinded offers." A lot of times its communicated to the kid that is best if both parties walk away. You do it early enough in the process then its probably best for everyone. But if you do what Orgeron did, it sticks with you.

I remember the recruitment of Danny Clark at OSU. He committed very early on in the process, never developed like expected, and then decommitted when he realized there wasn't a spot at OSU for him. Had he stuck to his guns and continued at OSU, I don't think OSU could have outright pulled the scholarship because they still want a stronghold at Massilon. But you have to convince the kid that there just isn't a spot for him.

On the other side, you hear all the time that, if player X wants to come, there is a spot for him. That spot is often an older guy who either grad transfers for PT, or is encouraged to transfer. Is it right?

Like you describe, there is nuance and there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Dropping the news the week of a signing period is not the right way, especially if it is a unilateral decision. Maybe there was something that the doc left out, but I just did not understand how LSU could not make room for a 4 star defensive end (with good genes as he is a cousin to Jadeveon Clowney). LSU had a higher ranked 4 Star Weak Side Defensive End in the class, but it does not hurt to have two. The early signing period is mid December, and I think he was notified on December the 18th....not a lot of time to pick another school if you are scheduled to early enroll in January. In the doc to make it worse, St. Francis has a big media day where all their guys sign their LOI's.....and there are over a dozen players every year, so all of his friends were on stage signing their letters, and dude was not able to be part of the event.

[WVRed]

I’d so love to see this if Army gets the nod. What a contrast of offensive philosophies. Could really be a fun bowl game.

The bowl game features one side with the worlds largest collection of firearms and the other is Army.

[WVRed]

Didn’t see this one coming:


https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30584705/auburn-set-hire-boise-state-bryan-harsin-next-head-football-coach-source-says

[Boston Red]

Better choice.

[Boston Red]

This whipping BYU is putting on UCF is renewing my wishes that Coastal Carolina wasn't in a third tier bowl against a fourth tier opponent.

[adkindo]

This whipping BYU is putting on UCF is renewing my wishes that Coastal Carolina wasn't in a third tier bowl against a fourth tier opponent.

UCF' defense has been the issue all year....have to wonder if this is Randy Shannon's last game @ UCF

[adkindo]

The bowl game features one side with the worlds largest collection of firearms and the other is Army.

is that all you or did you copy from somewhere? Either way, that made me laugh.

[RedTeamGo!]

UCF is a great team, definitely showing how quality the AAC is.

[schmidty622]

UCF is a great team, definitely showing how quality the AAC is.

What this game is doing is showing how a top G5 team can destroy a pretender just like a top P5 team can. Nothing more.

It's certainly not an argument against letting a G5 school into the playoff.

[Danny Serafini]

UCF is a great team, definitely showing how quality the AAC is.

I'm sure they'll still hang a banner after this game

[GAC]

UCF is a great team, definitely showing how quality the AAC is.

They are a good program, but not this year. Huge issues on the defensive side, and not a good match-up vs a ranked team (#16 BYU) and QB Wilson. A disaster waiting to happen.

A true representation of quality from the AAC this year would be the Bearcats and Tulsa. Not a 6-4 team.

[RedTeamGo!]

They are a good program, but not this year. Huge issues on the defensive side, and not a good match-up vs a ranked team (#16 BYU) and QB Wilson. A disaster waiting to happen.

A true representation of quality from the AAC this year would be the Bearcats and Tulsa. Not a 6-4 team.

UCF nearly beat the Bearcats

[JaxRed]

Didn't watch the game. Heard Wilson put on a show. It's coming on again in a couple days on ESPN. I've set it up. I'll watch it if my Jags blow the top pick.

[paintmered]

UCF was hot garbage last night. Yeesh.

[Assembly Hall]

UCF nearly beat the Bearcats

So that makes UCF a great team? I think not.

[GAC]

UCF nearly beat the Bearcats

So what? Like I said, UCF is a good program, just having a down year. They still finished 6-4. You don't form positions off of one game and just because the opposition (underdog) played a good game and made it close on that particular day. We see it happen every year in games within the P5 programs. OSU was suppose to romp over Northwestern and Indiana, piece of cake, yet could have lost both, and didn't look that great. Florida lost to LSU. ND barely escaped Louisville. Clemson had to have a 2nd half comeback to beat Boston College.

In any given year, the true "representation" of any conference is going to be the one(s) who shined within, and then went on to won their conference. And IMO, that would be the Bearcats and Tulsa.

The #8 Bearcats got a solid matchup vs #9 Georgia. Meanwhile, #24 Tulsa gets matched up vs 3-7 Mississippi State, tied for last place in SEC West. Why? See ESPN, who is broadcasting the game, contract with SEC. I guess, according to this agreement, the SEC is guaranteed by ESPN a certain number of Bowl games. If not so, then how does 3-7 Miississippi State and 3-7 Tennessee get into Bowls over a team like 9-2 Army? Army got selected only because the Vols had to drop out (covid). If this is not a perfect example of the prejudices/mind set that drives the NCAA committee when it comes to that Group of Five conferences, and their cozy relationship with ESPN, then nothing else will.

[Danny Serafini]

This year it says more about the conference's willingness to play bowl games. Army had a bowl bid, they were going to the Independence Bowl. They were supposed to face a Pac 12 school, but their schools all decided to shut it down because of Covid. That left the Independence Bowl to try and find a replacement elsewhere, and nobody wanted to play Army on short notice because that offense is so funky to prepare for, so they wound up having to cancel the game. Just a weird situation all around. SEC schools have no qualms about playing now, so that's how you get 3-7 Mississippi State in a bowl. Any other year they're not eligible, but they're taking advantage of this year's weirdness.

[adkindo]

I have not followed Marshall closely this year beyond the boxscores, but what happened to their QB. The Freshman was playing like a star early in the season, then recently including today he just sucked. Did he hit a wall or did teams just figure him out on film?

[adkindo]

WVU got big news today....Doug Nester (https://247sports.com/Player/Doug-Nester-89542/) who was a high school All American 4 Star OG/OT who originally went to Va. Tech and started as a Freshman/Sophomore is transferring back home to WVU and will be a Sophomore again next season. If I recall, Nester was an Ohio State commit, then decommitted before committing to Va Tech. The addition of Nester should make WVU's OLine a strength again after being average this past season, and terrible the season before.

[adkindo]

Utah Utes RB Ty Jordan, Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, dies (https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30600621/utah-utes-rb-ty-jordan-pac-12-offensive-freshman-year-dies)


"Following a preliminary investigation, we do believe that this was an accidental shooting, where the victim accidentally shot himself," Denton Police Department public information officer Allison Beckwith told ESPN.

[JaxRed]

WVU got big news today....Doug Nester (https://247sports.com/Player/Doug-Nester-89542/) who was a high school All American 4 Star OG/OT who originally went to Va. Tech and started as a Freshman/Sophomore is transferring back home to WVU and will be a Sophomore again next season. If I recall, Nester was an Ohio State commit, then decommitted before committing to Va Tech. The addition of Nester should make WVU's OLine a strength again after being average this past season, and terrible the season before.

He uses that word commitment pretty loosely.

[WVRed]

He uses that word commitment pretty loosely.

He’s from West Virginia and wasn’t recruited by Holgorsen. It’s common for kids to commit early in high school and then change.

[adkindo]

He’s from West Virginia and wasn’t recruited by Holgorsen. It’s common for kids to commit early in high school and then change.

fans are hoping Darnell Wright returns also....not sure how the coaching situation will impact him @ UT, but it was pointed out that he has been "liking" many tweets from Neal Brown and WVU Football in recent weeks. It still blows my mind that Dana did not heavily recruit Nester or Wright. If Wright returned, there is a world where WVU could basically have an all WV offensive line at some point over the next two seasons of almost all WV kids that were 4 and 5 star recruits. Nester, Wright, Frazier, Milum. Actually Frazier was a high 3 Star, but was a Freshman All American this year. WVU also picked up the commitment from the big TE from Spring Valley today (Corbin Page, 6'5" 250 lbs.) and many think he ends up on the OLine. Assume you have heard of him in WV. Neal Brown has really tried to lock down the state for P5 level recruits which Dana never hardly recruited in state.

[GAC]

Could you ask to be watching a better game of football yesterday then the Coastal Carolina- Liberty one? Wow!

[adkindo]

Could you ask to be watching a better game of football yesterday then the Coastal Carolina- Liberty one? Wow!

the play near the end where the RB was trying not to score, and the defensive players are trying to pull/push him into the endzone was bananas....then him fumbling was just icing on the cake.

[RedTeamGo!]

Either Florida is awful and the SEC is overrated or Oklahoma is really good.

[adkindo]

Either Florida is awful and the SEC is overrated or Oklahoma is really good.

Florida is short handed, but I still think they lose to Oklahoma even if their players played. Oklahoma started the season 1-2, so everyone quit paying attention....but they were very young and got better every week. I thought at seasons end, they could compete with any team in the country. They may be a problem next season.

[Stray]

They ranked this 3 loss Gator team ahead of the Bearcats.

[bucksfan2]

Either Florida is awful and the SEC is overrated or Oklahoma is really good.

Its ironic how you look when you are without your best receiving targets.

That said, in the first half Trask and Florida looked bad. Rattler can really sling the ball, should have had a couple of deep balls completed that were dropped by his WR's.

[Assembly Hall]

Either Florida is awful and the SEC is overrated or Oklahoma is really good.

Florida was overrated. And with the HC's comments after the game(whine ash) UF should have opted out. My Hoosiers would have loved to take a crack at the Sooners.

[adkindo]

Florida was overrated. And with the HC's comments after the game(whine ash) UF should have opted out. My Hoosiers would have loved to take a crack at the Sooners.

Right, cause every team is able to have a chance to beat 'Bama in the final minutes of the game....and no disrespect, but your Hoosiers would have been walking into a buzzsaw against Oklahoma.

[Hillsdale87]

Florida was overrated. And with the HC's comments after the game(whine ash) UF should have opted out. My Hoosiers would have loved to take a crack at the Sooners.

Those excuses were pathetic. Yes, Florida was down good players against Oklahoma, but they lost by 35. Ohio State was down their #1 and 3 WR, their MLB, and starting safety against Northwestern and took care of business. Yes, Oklahoma is better than Northwestern, but NW is still a good team. If Florida was really a top team, they would have at least made it a game.


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[adkindo]

You guys.....I am not a UF fan, but they did not have their top 4 receivers, and were without 4 starting defensive players plus two additional rotation players on defense. Those 4 receivers accounted for over 1/2 of their offensive production on the season. On top of that, Oklahoma is probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the country right now and were at full strength. UF @ full strength would crush Northwestern.

[adkindo]

still makes my eyes water every time I hear....

https://twitter.com/WestVirginiaU/status/1344333930657411075

[Assembly Hall]

You guys.....I am not a UF fan, but they did not have their top 4 receivers, and were without 4 starting defensive players plus two additional rotation players on defense. Those 4 receivers accounted for over 1/2 of their offensive production on the season. On top of that, Oklahoma is probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the country right now and were at full strength. UF @ full strength would crush Northwestern.

WTF? Their back-ups suck? This was supposed to be a big and bad SEC team. Should have opted out and saved their Gator faces.

[RedTeamGo!]

You guys.....I am not a UF fan, but they did not have their top 4 receivers, and were without 4 starting defensive players plus two additional rotation players on defense. Those 4 receivers accounted for over 1/2 of their offensive production on the season. On top of that, Oklahoma is probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the country right now and were at full strength. UF @ full strength would crush Northwestern.

They had a heisman finalist QB play. They lost by 40. I’m calling shenanigans on these excuses. They also talked **** and said “oklahoma ain’t SEC”

I fully disagree about Florida crushing NW.

[Assembly Hall]

They had a heisman finalist QB play. They lost by 40. I’m calling shenanigans on these excuses. They also talked **** and said “oklahoma ain’t SEC”

I fully disagree about Florida crushing NW.

But I would agree to Florida crushing West Virginia...

[RedTeamGo!]

Tulsa lost to a garbage Miss St.

One of the best teams in the G5 this year to one of the worst teams in the P5.

[WVRed]

Tulsa lost to a garbage Miss St.

One of the best teams in the G5 this year to one of the worst teams in the P5.

You mean there was a football game?

[Assembly Hall]

You mean there was a football game?

The Ball State David Letttermans were on against the San Josie *****cats?

[adkindo]

They had a heisman finalist QB play. They lost by 40. I’m calling shenanigans on these excuses. They also talked **** and said “oklahoma ain’t SEC”

I fully disagree about Florida crushing NW.

their defense has always sucked this year....but how does it matter if you have a Heisman Finalist QB and no receivers? I personally think Northwestern is not very good, but it is extremely hard to evaluate teams this year because everyone mostly just played conference teams. Northwestern crushed Maryland, got beat by a Michigan State team that only won one other game.....then basically escaped the rest of their games by a single score. I mean they escaped teams like Purdue and Nebraska who were bad teams. I expect a 6-4 Auburn team to handle Northwestern.

How does anyone watch the UF/'Bama game and claim them missing so many important players did not have an impact against Oklahoma? Bama's last 5 games before UF had a average margin of win near 50 points.....and they are about to kick the crap out of Notre Dame tomorrow. So UF just got lucky?

[adkindo]

But I would agree to Florida crushing West Virginia...

oh, they definitely would kick the crap out of this years WVU team.....but you know who can't? Army! Yes, WVU handled the juggernaut from West Pointe to result in the Big12 being undefeated in bowl games this season.

[adkindo]

The Ball State David Letttermans were on against the San Josie *****cats?

I picked Ball State and thought the Vegas line was bad. I only watched Ball State one game....and San Jose one game....both their championship games, and it was clear to me that Ball State was the superior team.

[adkindo]

Tulsa lost to a garbage Miss St.

One of the best teams in the G5 this year to one of the worst teams in the P5.

https://media.giphy.com/media/jBI8UR5hZ5vdm/giphy.gif

[BuckeyeRed27]

They had a heisman finalist QB play. They lost by 40. I’m calling shenanigans on these excuses. They also talked **** and said “oklahoma ain’t SEC”

I fully disagree about Florida crushing NW.

Florida is probably the 4th or 5th best team in the Big Ten this year. Northwestern and Florida on a neutral field is a toss up to me. Florida has slightly better talent, but Northwestern has such a ridiculous coaching advantage.

[Hillsdale87]

Florida is probably the 4th or 5th best team in the Big Ten this year. Northwestern and Florida on a neutral field is a toss up to me. Florida has slightly better talent, but Northwestern has such a ridiculous coaching advantage.

That seems a bit extreme. I think Florida is probably better than everybody in the big ten except OSU and maybe Indiana when Penix was healthy. But the gap between OSU and Florida is huge IMO


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[Assembly Hall]

That seems a bit extreme. I think Florida is probably better than everybody in the big ten except OSU and maybe Indiana when Penix was healthy. But the gap between OSU and Florida is huge IMO


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I don't think Florida is better than tOSU,NW,IU,Wisconsin, or Iowa.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I don't think Florida is better than tOSU,NW,IU,Wisconsin, or Iowa.

I’d put Florida ahead of Wisconsin but in the same category as Indiana, NW and Iowa.

[Stray]

Tulsa lost to a garbage Miss St.

One of the best teams in the G5 this year to one of the worst teams in the P5.

Iowa State, a top 10 power 5 conference team lost at home to G5 Louisiana by 17 points. If we're picking one game samples to trash on teams.

[GAC]

Florida is probably the 4th or 5th best team in the Big Ten this year. Northwestern and Florida on a neutral field is a toss up to me. Florida has slightly better talent, but Northwestern has such a ridiculous coaching advantage.

and defense

Every season at this time I love listening to the fans of respective conferences arguing, presenting and throwing out all these subjective scenarios as irrefutable facts, when we have no idea..... LOL

I'm looking forward very much to the Cincinnati-Georgia and Northwestern-Auburn games today. But regardless of outcomes, one game, even a Bowl game, IMO, proves absolutely nothing as far as comparing conference strengths. If the #8 Bearcats beat #9 Georgia, does that mean the American conference is on par with the SEC? No more, IMO, then a Tulsa losing to a bad SEC team (Miss State) is evidence these G5 schools can't compete. But it shows that the Bearcat program has vastly improved. Games should be judged on those merits, and not what conference you came out of.

As far as I'm concerned, the NCAA, these P5 schools, ESPN and other major outlets, have set themselves up a nice "country club" that as far as membership goes, it's quite exclusive.

[GAC]

I hope this punk gets what's coming to him too ....

https://saturdaytradition.com/big-ten-football/mississippi-state-wr-malik-heath-brags-about-kicking-tulsa-player-in-the-head-during-post-game-celebration/?fbclid=IwAR2t-9a_KT7VaK9PIzCAgsT4sFwgP7NQiAHqk8Fkm5SF9Es2n3dNVQL dBLk

[adkindo]

The same Northwestern that is a 4 point favorite over a 6-4 Auburn who does not even have their coach for the game? That is the Northwestern that is even with a full strength Florida team.....the one that hung 46 points on Alabama? The same UF team that lost 3 games in the regular season with an SEC schedule by a combined 12 points?

I am going to be really honest with you guys. I like all of you....really enjoy to mostly high level debate on RZ.....but I truly believe you guys are delusional in regards to Big10 Football. I say that with kindness. Everyone knows that Buckeye fans have been this way for generations, but now I am learning that it is also a Big10 thing in general. The Florida Gators on the same level as Wisconsin, Indiana, Northwestern and Iowa.....are you kidding me? That is hilarious.

The good thing is over the next 36 hours, we should have a better idea of reality. I would think if your version of reality is correct, Ohio State should easily knock off Clemson, Northwestern should handle a 6-4 Auburn team with ease, and Indiana will curb stomp a 4-5 Ole Miss. We should be thankful that it will be resolved on the field...soon.

Tik Tok......

[BuckeyeRed27]

I just think the SEC is a bit down this year. LSU, Georgia, Auburn were all not anywhere near as good as they have been the past few years. Florida and A&M were about the same as they’ve been the past few years, and got a bit overrated because the teams that had been better than them stepped back. None of the bottom tier teams like Missouri, South Carolina, Vandy stepped up. I don’t doubt that Alabama is a very good team. I am curious if ND or Clemson/OSU can get a pass rush on Jones if they look different because that hasn’t happened much this year.

Bowl games are a dumb way to have any sort of conference debate and that’s probably even more true this year.

[kaldaniels]

and defense

Every season at this time I love listening to the fans of respective conferences arguing, presenting and throwing out all these subjective scenarios as irrefutable facts, when we have no idea..... LOL

I'm looking forward very much to the Cincinnati-Georgia and Northwestern-Auburn games today. But regardless of outcomes, one game, even a Bowl game, IMO, proves absolutely nothing as far as comparing conference strengths. If the #8 Bearcats beat #9 Georgia, does that mean the American conference is on par with the SEC? No more, IMO, then a Tulsa losing to a bad SEC team (Miss State) is evidence these G5 schools can't compete. But it shows that the Bearcat program has vastly improved. Games should be judged on those merits, and not what conference you came out of.

As far as I'm concerned, the NCAA, these P5 schools, ESPN and other major outlets, have set themselves up a nice "country club" that as far as membership goes, it's quite exclusive.

I agree. I actually may have been late to the party with this belief but a few years after the playoffs started I came to consider the bowls meaningless so far as comparing teams and conferences go.

Some teams show up for the bowls, some do not. Many star players opt out. Teams usually don’t show up to the bowls with the same focus they have in Oct/Nov. They are just different games. Hence I’ve been 100% quiet about bowl results - I just don’t care.

I’m no insider but I guarantee the prep say Northwestern and Auburn put into their game is nothing like the prep OSU or Clemson has done. Sadly the playoffs, which are bogged by a few programs, are all that matters at this point. (In terms of team evaluations)

[Hillsdale87]

The same Northwestern that is a 4 point favorite over a 6-4 Auburn who does not even have their coach for the game? That is the Northwestern that is even with a full strength Florida team.....the one that hung 46 points on Alabama? The same UF team that lost 3 games in the regular season with an SEC schedule by a combined 12 points?

I am going to be really honest with you guys. I like all of you....really enjoy to mostly high level debate on RZ.....but I truly believe you guys are delusional in regards to Big10 Football. I say that with kindness. Everyone knows that Buckeye fans have been this way for generations, but now I am learning that it is also a Big10 thing in general. The Florida Gators on the same level as Wisconsin, Indiana, Northwestern and Iowa.....are you kidding me? That is hilarious.

The good thing is over the next 36 hours, we should have a better idea of reality. I would think if your version of reality is correct, Ohio State should easily knock off Clemson, Northwestern should handle a 6-4 Auburn team with ease, and Indiana will curb stomp a 4-5 Ole Miss. We should be thankful that it will be resolved on the field...soon.

Tik Tok......

I'm an OSU fan but would agree with you that I think there's some B10 delusion in this thread. I think especially including Wisconsin in the group is a bit much. I didn't watch a single Iowa play all year, so I can't speak to how good they are. I don't think Northwestern could score enough to keep up with Florida. I do however think Indiana, with Penix, is on the same level this year. That's an explosive offense with a defense that gets turnovers. I don't know if Florida could get stops, and I think whoever forced more turnovers would win

But I also think you're overrating Florida. Yes, they put up 46 against Bama. But Bama was in control all game. Florida also played a relatively close game against Tennessee and lost to a terrible LSU team right before that. They played 4 good teams and lost to 3 of them, plus a terrible loss to LSU. They have one win against a ranked team. There's no reason to believe that they were anything other than a pretty good team.


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[BuckeyeRed27]

I'm an OSU fan but would agree with you that I think there's some B10 delusion in this thread. I think especially including Wisconsin in the group is a bit much. I didn't watch a single Iowa play all year, so I can't speak to how good they are. I don't think Northwestern could score enough to keep up with Florida. I do however think Indiana, with Penix, is on the same level this year. That's an explosive offense with a defense that gets turnovers. I don't know if Florida could get stops, and I think whoever forced more turnovers would win

But I also think you're overrating Florida. Yes, they put up 46 against Bama. But Bama was in control all game. Florida also played a relatively close game against Tennessee and lost to a terrible LSU team right before that. They played 4 good teams and lost to 3 of them, plus a terrible loss to LSU. They have one win against a ranked team. There's no reason to believe that they were anything other than a pretty good team.


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Right, Florida is fine. They had a good QB that masked a lot of problems. But they weren’t a top 10-15 team.

Iowa lost their first 2 games and then got some guys back and started to look good, but never got any attention because they were 0-2.

Northwestern has a legitimate defense. They are super boring to watch and don’t have the brand name, so you get a lot of LOLNorthwestern takes.

I hate that Indiana is missing Penix. I still think they’ll beat Ole Miss, but they should have been in one of the big games with him.

[kaldaniels]

Right, Florida is fine. They had a good QB that masked a lot of problems. But they weren’t a top 10-15 team.

Iowa lost their first 2 games and then got some guys back and started to look good, but never got any attention because they were 0-2.

Northwestern has a legitimate defense. They are super boring to watch and don’t have the brand name, so you get a lot of LOLNorthwestern takes.

I hate that Indiana is missing Penix. I still think they’ll beat Ole Miss, but they should have been in one of the big games with him.

NW’s defense got gashed by OSU’s run game allowing a record breaking day. How good can they be? I can’t remember - were they missing anyone that game? Or does that speak to an out of this world run attack by OSU?

[Hillsdale87]

Right, Florida is fine. They had a good QB that masked a lot of problems. But they weren’t a top 10-15 team.


I still think Florida is fringe top 10. Trask, Pitts, and Toney is an elite group. There just aren't a lot of really good teams in college football. Clemson and Bama are in the top tier, OSU is just behind them, and then there's a huge gap.


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[Revering4Blue]

Right, Florida is fine. They had a good QB that masked a lot of problems. But they weren’t a top 10-15 team.

Iowa lost their first 2 games and then got some guys back and started to look good, but never got any attention because they were 0-2.

Northwestern has a legitimate defense. They are super boring to watch and don’t have the brand name, so you get a lot of LOLNorthwestern takes.

I hate that Indiana is missing Penix. I still think they’ll beat Ole Miss, but they should have been in one of the big games with him.

Iowa began the season 0-2 due to Ferentz reverting back to playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That’s a program that could use a dual threat QB in the worst way.

I hope to be dead wrong about the Northwestern/Auburn game. But after watching Ramsey as IU’s former QB, I’m unconvinced Northwestern can win this game if he’s bottled up and forced to throw downfield at a high rate.

Even though Ole Miss had their top WR opt out to prepare for the draft, they can sure score points. The IU offense has to score points of their own, as it’s doubtful- but not impossible- that the IU defense can alone carry the team to victory in this bowl game.

[gonelong]

UCF claimed a National Championship when they ended the year atop the Colley Matrix rankings. (Frankly, I think they were right to do so.) The NCAA recognizes the NC.

I just noticed Cincinnati is currently ranked #2 by the Colley Matrix poll (https://colleyrankings.com/currank.html), so if Alabama loses, there is some chance they may end up at #1 if the eventual BCS winner does not pass them. Note that the poll has not included Coastal Carolina's bowl game loss.

GL

[BuckeyeRed27]

NW’s defense got gashed by OSU’s run game allowing a record breaking day. How good can they be? I can’t remember - were they missing anyone that game? Or does that speak to an out of this world run attack by OSU?

Well you have to do something against OSU, so they blitzed a bunch and made Fields uncomfortable (quite successfully) and tried to take away the pass. Seems like a good plan against OSU except Trey Sermon turned into Gayle Sayers for the afternoon.

They still haven’t given up 30 points this season and most teams they’ve played had their worst offensive game against them, so that seems pretty good.

[RedTeamGo!]

NW’s defense got gashed by OSU’s run game allowing a record breaking day. How good can they be? I can’t remember - were they missing anyone that game? Or does that speak to an out of this world run attack by OSU?

The NW passing defense also completely shut down one of the best passing attacks in college football.

[kaldaniels]

The NW passing defense also completely shut down one of the best passing attacks in college football.

True (though Olave was missing). So they were half-effective?

Like I said it may just speak to the strength of OSU. I’d just argue a top defense shouldn’t allow an offense to adjust to a run game where a guy runs for 300! yards. But again if the argument is that OSU has an unstoppable offense I can at least allow that logic.

[Assembly Hall]

True (though Olave was missing). So they were half-effective?

Like I said it may just speak to the strength of OSU. I’d just argue a top defense shouldn’t allow an offense to adjust to a run game where a guy runs for 300! yards. But again if the argument is that OSU has an unstoppable offense I can at least allow that logic.

I think tOSU running the ball caught Northwestern off guard. The Bucks don't run the ball near enough.

[kaldaniels]

I think tOSU running the ball caught Northwestern off guard. The Bucks don't run the ball near enough.

I do hope OSU stumbled onto huge with that run game.

[Boston Red]

This UC/ Georgia game is entertaining so far if nothing else.

[RedTeamGo!]

True (though Olave was missing). So they were half-effective?

Like I said it may just speak to the strength of OSU. I’d just argue a top defense shouldn’t allow an offense to adjust to a run game where a guy runs for 300! yards. But again if the argument is that OSU has an unstoppable offense I can at least allow that logic.

Olave is really good, but so is Fields, Ruckert, Wilson, and their other 17 5 star WRs. You are not giving nearly enough credit to NW.

[GAC]

This UC/ Georgia game is entertaining so far if nothing else.

Up 21-10 now on Georgia. I'm also watching that Northwestern-Auburn game, and Northwestern's defense looking good.

[Hillsdale87]

True (though Olave was missing). So they were half-effective?

Like I said it may just speak to the strength of OSU. I’d just argue a top defense shouldn’t allow an offense to adjust to a run game where a guy runs for 300! yards. But again if the argument is that OSU has an unstoppable offense I can at least allow that logic.

I think NW just took a gamble, and it almost worked. They were willing to let OSU run the ball as long as it meant they couldn't throw the ball downfield. You're not going to stop OSU, just hope to minimize the damage. NW gave up too much on the ground, but the strategy worked. NW may have been run all over, but they only gave up 22 points. I think that's probably the fewest OSU has scored since the disaster against Purdue in 2018.


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[Boston Red]

UC is one score away from completely taking command now. Let's see if their offense can come through.

And....they went backwards 20 yards. Not ideal.

[RedTeamGo!]

UC defense is hitting so hard. Playing nasty.

I thought they would tone it down after the incredibly stupid play by Hudson in the first half, but they have actually ramped it up.

[Assembly Hall]

UC is one score away from completely taking command now. Let's see if their offense can come through.

And....they went backwards 20 yards. Not ideal.

SEC....SEC.....SEC.........meh. Go UC!

[RedTeamGo!]

SEC looks like trash. Starting to think ND has a shot.

[Boston Red]

Another shot for UC to finish them. Need to take advantage and take some of the pressure off their defense.

[Boston Red]

UC's offense blew a bunch of chances. Their bad if UC loses.

[kaldaniels]

Nm