College Football 2020

[Assembly Hall]

The Big Ten is going to have one of their dreaded down years. I don't see another legit quality team outside OSU, and even they were far from perfect. They're going to have to figure out a way to run the ball more effectively.

Maybe Penn State is better than they showed on Saturday (and that final play was BS. It seem very clear to me the ball hit the ground before the pylon), but they haven't been recruiting very well of late and I don't think they're going to be as good as they have been. Michigan may have a chance to be decent, but Minnesota looked so bad it was hard to tell. I have no faith in Harbaugh as a head coach. Wisconsin possibly if this QB can come back and be as good as he looked Friday. But it's hard to get too excited about Wisconsin until they actually win a big game.

The best a team looked outside of OSU was probably Nebraska.

I can't see the Big Ten getting more than OSU in the playoff...assuming they run the table.

1 game and you got everything figured out? JSMH

[Roy Tucker]

OSU definitely needs some work on their defense. But this is usually the part of the schedule when they play a patsy or a mid level MAC team and they can work out the kinks. Nebraska is a step up over those teams. Plus there was a lot of rust.

And agree to the unevenness of the refereeing. There was an egregious targeting call in the UC game the the announcers were calling a sure thing that was reviewed and not called.

[Reds Freak]

I think the college targeting penalty and rule in general needed altered. I agree with you in regards to the Nebraska safety's, and my team lost our middle LB early in the game. While Ohio State was clearly more talented than Nebraska, the truth is once Nebraska lost their Safeties is when the Ohio State really began to pull away. Throwing a kid out of a game when there clearly was no intention or on plays where the defensive player can almost not avoid the contact is ridiculous. I totally get they wanted the penalty to be harsh to try to eliminate the hits....but the hits clearly have not been eliminated and some of them are unavoidable when you have a moving target. Anyone that has played football at any level understands that an offensive player is not a tackling dummy....you can try to make contact with your shoulders to the players chest, but if the offensive player suddenly drops a few inches down and to one side, you suddenly have helmet to helmet contact. Also the rule clearly prohibits the offensive player from leading with the crown of their helmet, but they do it on nearly every play and it is never called. Finally, something that may seem silly, but is very real for many college players is their parents/family may have incurred real expenses to travel to watch them play....and it may be the only game they are able to attend that season....then the kid gets tossed out of a game in the 1st Quarter on an unintentional hit that takes place.

They need to have two different levels of targeting...one where the player clearly launches with the crown of his helmet on a defenseless player (ejection) and a lesser version that only involves a penalty. If not that, then maybe the player is ejected after the 2nd targeting call in the game.

I don't know how you measure this and I've never seen a report on it, but it seems to me the helmet-to-helmet and dangerous hits have decreased in recent years. This spring, when everyone was showing old games, it was pretty amazing the hits that existed in the game as recent as 10 years ago that you don't see much anymore. I'm guessing that's a product of the targeting rule. Although, I agree that they should continue to refine and tweak the rule because it's far from perfect.

[Boston Red]

The rule and enforcement are terrible. The alternative is worse.

[GAC]

The best a team looked outside of OSU was probably Nebraska.

It was the same dog n pony show that Frost threw at OSU last year with QB Martinez (lol). Too one dimensional IMO. Last year they only threw the ball 8 times, rushed for 180+ yds total, and lost 48-7. This year they lost by 35. I'm not impressed with Scott Frost at all.

I can't see the Big Ten getting more than OSU in the playoff...assuming they run the table.

I wouldn't be so quick with it only being the first week of football for the conference. There may be some surprises in this screwed up season. I'm laughing at some of the teams currently ranked in the top 10. As far as those post-season spots? ..... You're looking at only one team in the B12 currently in OKST. In the ACC you got Clemson and Notre Dame. You've got a couple one-loss teams in both of those conferences - but I don't think that is going to be their only loss (lol). Especially with ND and Miami IMO.

I don't know what to think about the B10 this season. Again, it's only been one game. Watched both the Iowa-Purdue and Indiana-PSU games. Good games, and was impressed with Purdue and Indiana. I think MSU is in for some hard times (lol).

[adkindo]

I have seen a lot of B10 fans today online and listened to some discussion on Sirius.....and it seems like the majority opinion is that it was bad for the Big10 that Penn State lost to IU. I disagree. First, Ohio State does not need Penn State to be ranked high for a win to get to the playoffs.....but most importantly, Penn State will be fine....they are a 2nd level football powerhouse that will be back year after year. At the same time, Indiana has been trying to break through to a higher level off and on for years, and maybe this win propels them in recruiting....boosters spending a little more, and all the things that lead to a program becoming more relevant. If the Big10 is ever going to legitimately be on the SEC's level (in perception).....just like every other conference that is not the SEC...they need the historically mediocre programs to raise their profile. Most people outside the Big10 view the conference as Ohio State being legit.....then maybe a Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan being more than pretenders, but less than legit contenders....it is the same way outsiders view the ACC and Big 12 as being one contender team conferences and maybe a couple good teams. A team like Ohio State will only benefit from other Big10 teams becoming stronger because eventually it will force them to dot a few more "i's" and cross some fringe "t's" to remain on top.....the same way Alabama has had to get better as Georgia, Auburn, Florida, etc. continue to chase them.


Also, I was kind of impressed by the Freshman QB @ Nebraska (the youngest McCaffrey). I definitely saw some shades of Scott Frost, but maybe a little more athletic? What did Ohio State fans (or anyone that watched that game) think of him and his potential in the coming years?

[adkindo]

I don't know how you measure this and I've never seen a report on it, but it seems to me the helmet-to-helmet and dangerous hits have decreased in recent years. This spring, when everyone was showing old games, it was pretty amazing the hits that existed in the game as recent as 10 years ago that you don't see much anymore. I'm guessing that's a product of the targeting rule. Although, I agree that they should continue to refine and tweak the rule because it's far from perfect.

you are probably correct in there being less....definitely less than there was a couple decades ago. Also, it is logical that the harsh rule has forced a change in approach, but is that now baked in to how guys are learning to tackle? If the penalty became less harsh, would guys return to trying to target? I do not know, and it is not that I am even against the harsh rule when it contains all of the elements....a launching/leaving the feet, defenseless player and crown of the helmet....the type of hit that is clearly not a mistake. I just think we need a little wiggle room on the less intentional hits. As a WVU fan, it really hurt us this week when we lost our LB who is by far the leading tackler on the team, a Senior, and the QB of the defense....and by the letter of the law, it was targeting, but it was bang bang and his helmet grazed the offensive players helmet. I think any reasonable person would conclude he did not make that play with the thought of I am going to destroy this guy with my helmet...and the hit did not have any effect on the offensive player. At the same time, him being removed from the game had a major impact on our defense and the outcome of the game (although it would be silly for me to blame to loss on just losing him with all of the other bad play we had on Saturday).

I guess in a way I just internalize how the player must feel. Work your butt off all year, and especially all week preparing for this game. Then without any malice you are involved in a play or even get caught up in a play in the 1st Quarter, and you are kicked out of the game. It has to feel like a massive punch to the gut. In the end, I am just not sure who benefits.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I thought Luke McCaffrey looked good. They were basically using him as a RB though, which might be his role with Martinez on the team. Martinez never really developed as a passer, so that will be what to watch for with McCaffrey.

[adkindo]

I thought Luke McCaffrey looked good. They were basically using him as a RB though, which might be his role with Martinez on the team. Martinez never really developed as a passer, so that will be what to watch for with McCaffrey.

Martinez has had flashes, but I have never really been high on him. Frost was clearly just trying to get McCaffrey on the field....as a RB or playmaker. I do not expect him to ever be a high level aerial threat, but in college he really does not have to be as a dual threat QB.....as long as he can be accurate in the basic throws (5-20 yard routes), he can be successful. He will need very good skill players around him, or it will not work.....if defenses are able to just key in on him, he will not survive.

[adkindo]

I do not see how Wisconsin survives this for at least 3 weeks....

Chase Wolf, backup for Wisconsin Badgers QB Graham Mertz, also tests positive for COVID-19

No. 9 Wisconsin might be down to its fourth-string quarterback after Chase Wolf tested positive for COVID-19, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday night.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I do not see how Wisconsin survives this for at least 3 weeks....

Chase Wolf, backup for Wisconsin Badgers QB Graham Mertz, also tests positive for COVID-19

Games are against Nebraska, Purdue and Michigan. They’ll be lucky to go 1-2.

Edit: apparently Mertz would be eligible for the Michigan game

[Revering4Blue]

1 game and you got everything figured out? JSMH

Full disclosure: I believe that the B1G season may unfold in the fashion in which MWM described.

That said, with the key word being may, I'm not about to make a concrete prediction after one week of whacked out season such as this.

[Chip R]

They really need to move it to a red card/yellow card type thing. There are some situations where the hits are just dirty and the player should be ejected, but most of them aren't that. It's fine to have the penalty stand as a deterrence and if it happens twice then the player should get kicked out, but the ejection is just harsh most of the time. And the lack of consistency on how it gets applied only makes it worse.

Well, I've watched enough soccer to know that's even more subjective than the targeting rule. I do agree that some hits that are called targeting do not warrant ejection. But that is the reason they review those calls. The problem with calling these is if you're trying to tackle someone and you are doing it textbook style and not trying to hit someone in the helmet; if the runner moves even a few inches your perfect textbook tackle turns into a hit on the runner's helmet and you get a targeting penalty. Obviously that wasn't your intention but officials cant judge intent.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Wisconsin/Nebraska is canceled. Wisconsin is shutting down all activity for 7 days, which means that their game next weekend against Purdue is also likely canceled. They've had 6 players test positive and 6 staffers including HC Paul Chryst.

[Boston Red]

With the new wave of increased cases (which is not likely to improve as the weather gets colder), I wonder if college football is going to be hosed. It's pretty difficult to "bubble" college kids like you can with professional athletes (and that obviously hasn't been perfect either). The current situation seems ripe for a wave of cases that make it too difficult to continue the season. I certainly hope that doesn't happen, but it seems schools are going to need to get really lucky to avoid a rash of outbreaks like the one at Wisky.