Hey, Buckeyes! Great game!

[Condem]

You never gave up. Well done. You made the Big Ten proud tonight.

[TZ]

1. It was a great game. I really thought they would win it though.

I'm sure all the Big Ten haters will use this as proof of the inferiority of the conference again though..:eyes:

[cboy4]

2. And how bout those Miami Dolphins!

:bounce:

[Scurrilous]

3. Especially Ted Ginn.

And his family!

Best first round pick EVER!!1!

[trumad]

5. Actually I think Ginn is going to be a future Pro-Bowler...

This is the one thing that bothered me most about this season... Not getting the ball to Ginn enough. I think it's because of Chad's arm strength. Ginn proved he can go after the ball and come down with it.

[Condem]

21. I'll be honest.

I am humbled to have trumad and cboy present on this thread. Seriously. Love ya, both.

[Upton]

4. Just another loss

for a conference that is the butt of jokes throughout the country. Sure OSU played them close, but true winners..FINISH.

In case you're interested, here are the updated conference bowl standings...

Pac 10 5-0
SEC 5-2
Big 12 4-2
Big Ten 1-6

[Condem]

16. Had a hard time with that defense with 2 minutes, Upton

You know what's coming. Yet, you're powerless to stop it. Just Bad D. As for the butt of jokes. Saw an article by a writer in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram in todays paper. I'd provide a link, however, I have no idea how to do it. Worth the read, though. Sums up the bowls pretty well, in my opinion.

[El Supremo]

6. As a Texas fan, I hated this game.

UT didn't score enough points.
They didn't beat the spread.
They won't be number one.
They passed all the damn time, I like rushing.
They played inside. The dome was closed. Why? I like outdoor games.
The game lasted too long.
I got so tired of the same damn commercials that I almost turned it off.
They would go to commercial again after only a few seconds of coverage.
That damn Dodge truck commercial drove me nuts with all the stupid people and blow-em-up bullshit.
And the little bit of the UT half time band sucked.

A total waste of time.

I hate Florida, but I hate OU more. So I won't be paying much attention to that game.

The Utes are number 1!

[Condem]

15. You're forgetting one thig, El

How many times did we have to see Colt McCoys parents and the fucking bim with the bad dye job? How many????

[El Supremo]

18. Bim?

Is that short for bimbo?

His mother? She was kind of cute.

She didn't look real happy most of the time.

His father looked like he was a zombie.

I don't care about their camera time. It sure was better than the commercials.

[Condem]

19. No, El

The blonde next to them. I'm sure, girlfriend. ESPN also showed them all Thanksgiving Night. It just gets old. A lot of other players out there giving their all.

[El Supremo]

20. Missed it. n/m

[mduffy31]

26. You know that kind of stuff pisses me off to no end

The same thing happened in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl with tO$U and ND. They kept fucking going to Brady Quinn's sister because she was engaged to A.J. Hawk and was wearing an oh-so-cute jersey that was half Hawk, half Quinn. That just kept driving me nuts, the fans who tuned into the game don't give a fuck about that kind of shit. that is what ruins TV Broadcasts.

[Capt. America]

23. Another thing that Fox did that drove me nuts...

...how many times did they come back to a live "still" shot of the Gatorade cooler? WTF? If you want a Gatorade commercial, just show one. Uggh.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. Ohio State was always the superior team but I expected them to blow it

Ouch. That last drive hurt. I had plenty on Ohio State plus the points but the money line underdog would have been juicy.

Naturally the 4th down plays in an Ohio State game never go the way I want them to. Plus, McCoy is like Vince Young three years ago, getting away with an absurd pass late in the game that should have been intercepted. Once it's dropped, it's like it never happened. The commentators have been completely ignoring it today. On the play preceding the 4th down narrow escape, McCoy threw a ridiculous quick pass over the middle that several Buckeyes had a shot at. The only reason one of them dropped it is his teammate essentially screened him. McCoy was so incompetent he came closer to hitting three Buckeyes on that play than any of his teammates. Whatever. He's a legend. Try throwing a ball like that to Ed Reed. It won't be spiked.

Texas has easily had more good fortune than any team in the country in recent bowl games. The Rose Bowl wins over Michigan and USC, plus last night, required surreal twists of fortune in the final seconds, forfeited opportunities by the opponent as much or more than Texas pulling it out.

Anyway, it was merely another simple pointspread victory for my system of taking the higher rated team from preseason if it is a bowl game underdog. That system isn't even gambling. It identifies the disguised superior team and you get points. What a concept. Fans tend to forget that Ohio State was rated much higher than Texas in preseason. Getting more than a touchdown was a comedy. If Pryor had a bit more urgency that game would have been put away. He's like Miami's Jacory Harris in many respects, acting like, why hurry? Pryor wandered out of bounds on one early play when he had at least 5-10 yards of open real estate ahead of him. Later in the first half a competitive QB would have dived for a vital first down at the 5 yard line. Pryor decided it was more astute to traipse out of bounds at the 7. Two plays letter the Buckeyes had to settle for a FG. That type of 4 point concession is masochistic in major games.

Here's the link to preseason ratings consensus. I know posters here and elsewhere don't like that concept and will insist on looking for ways to rip it. All I know is, despite the preseason rating "mistakes," when the head to head matchups occur late in season and during the bowls, those early numerical evaluations dominate subjectivity based on trivia from regular season results, specfically when the higher rated team is the underdog. And it will work that way forever.

http://preseason.stassen.com/consensus/2008.html

As I mentioned the other day, LSU over Georgia Tech was the all time simple underdog pick based on preseason ratings. Other phony favorites were Oklahoma State over Oregon and Cincinnati over Virginia Tech.

I use The Sporting News rankings, although they disgustingly were altered this season, a merger with garbage Street and Smith's, causing Sporting News to plummet into the standard and lame method of ranking only the top 25 instead of first to last. Another wonderful choice based on fear. Their email explanation to me was pathetic.

The championship game is another example. Oklahoma the 3.5 point underdog is rated above Florida from preseason, #4 from TSN compared to #9 for Florida. The consensus of every magazine has it closer, #4 Oklahoma to #5 Florida. So despite my mocking of the defenseless Big 12, and an expectation Florida will prevail, there is some hope based on the standby preseason system.

[Condem]

17. Nice post, Awsi.

In my opinion, OSU lost it in the first half. Plenty of missed opportunities there. When Texas scored with two minutes left, the wife and I just looked at each other and said "too much time."

[GaYellowDawg]

8. Woo hoo! It's the Moral Victory Bowl!

Way to not get blown out, Ohio State! Way to not get bent over! You actually finished a bowl game down by just single digits! With this loss, you've made the Big Televen proud!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[TZ]

9. Its amazing how short peoples memory are.

OSU---NATIONAL CHAMPS in 2001....Yeah they have ALWAYS sucked in bowl games...:eyes:

[GaYellowDawg]

10. It is, isn't it?

In the 2001 season, OSU lost to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. They won the national championship the next year. Perhaps you'd better check on that short memory of yours. :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

Not to mention that OSU is 0-9 all-time against SEC teams in bowls:

LSU 38 OSU 24
Florida 41 OSU 14
South Carolina 31 OSU 28
South Carolina 24 OSU 7
Tennessee 20 OSU 14
Alabama 24 OSU 7
Georgia 21 OSU 14
Auburn 31 OSU 14
Alabama 31 OSU 6

This is why SEC fans don't respect Ohio State. Ohio State is the bowl patsy for us.

[Upton]

11. Even OSU's 2002 win was tainted

remember the imaginary pass interference call at the end of the first overtime?

[GaYellowDawg]

12. That game shouldn't have even been in OT.

Miami should have been about 20 points up. A team with the talent Miami had deserved to lose if the game hinged on one bad call. I don't begrudge OSU that one.

[Condem]

14. How bout Iowa, GaYellowDog?

How do they stack up against the mighty SEC in, say, the last ten years? Just curious.

[GaYellowDawg]

25. I wasn't talking about Iowa. I was talking about OSU.

But since you asked, Iowa is 3-1 against the SEC the past 10 years. They are one of 3 Big 10 teams with a winning record against the SEC over the past 10 years. Overall, the Big 10 is 18-24 against the SEC over the past decade. Take away one team - Michigan - and the record is 12-22. The all-time record, SEC vs. Big 10, is in the SEC's favor, 89-76-5. More simply put, whether you're talking this decade or the complete span of college football history, the SEC is better than the Big 10 head-to-head. Period. No matter how you try to spin it, we are better than you.

And if you want to cherry-pick individual teams, why don't we try, oh, Georgia? 5-0 against Big 10 teams in the past decade. Beats the crap out of any Big 10 team's record against the SEC. And I'll say it: had Iowa played Georgia at any time over the past decade, the Hawkeyes would have gotten spanked. Hot, cold, rain, snow, in Athens, in Iowa City, on a neutral field. You Big 10 people might as well learn to bow to your betters.

[HuskerDU]

27. I hope to God that Iowa gets a chance to prove you wrong

next year. You will be shocked just like Florida, LSU and South Carolina. And we do it with 2 star recruits and walk-ons rather than 4 and 5 star recruits like Georgia.

[Condem]

29. Hey, Husker!

Hawk fan or Husker fan? Man, Nebraska looked good against Clemson. The Black Shirts are a power again. This is a team on the rise.

[HuskerDU]

30. Hawkeyes all the way!

My screen name is in honor of DU and the old 80s band Husker Du. I actually hate Nebraska which makes things confusing sometimes.

Iowa is gonna be great for the next 2 years. Can't wait to see what Stanzi can do with a year under his belt. Our D should be even better than this year's fantastic unit and I like the stable of running backs we have to replace the Doak Walker award winner. In all seriousness, the next 2 years should be the best we've ever had!

[Condem]

31. Stanzi is the key.

I loved Tate, but I find Stanzi a bit more level headed. 8 starters back on D. I'm looking at the 09 schedule. UNI, @ISU, Arizona (Stoops), @PSU . How did we not get a home and home with Pitt? Tough road. Wisconsin, MSU and the Buckeyes all away. How are we at MSU two years in a row? Good to have another Hawk, here. Warehouse is one of the best pieces from the college era. I've got Moulds solos. Black Sheets is a classic.

[HuskerDU]

32. We are at MSU again next fall but Northwestern comes to IC

two years in a row. Not sure why that is or what the deal is with Pitt.

Stanzi is poised to have a fantastic year given the talent surrounding him. Iowa is an Oline factory and next year's group may be our best ever. And our defense should be even better than the group that kept us in every game this past season. That puts the season on Stanzi's shoulders. If he is simply good, Iowa will have a great year. If he is great, Iowa will go to the Rose Bowl.

[Condem]

33. I'll tell you, Husker.

Look at the 2010 schedule. That could be the year.

[Condem]

28. The top is fact, Yellow.

The bottom is opinion. I'll give you mine. Ferentz does it with 2 and 3 star recruits. Richt does it with fours and fives. And runs the cleanest program in the land. Give him 45 days and he'll get Iowa ready for ANYBODY. Hell, give him a week.

[BlooInBloo]

13. Grats to both teams - they both really showed up tp play.

[Capt. America]

22. I am a fan of the Buckeyes and all college football.

To Condem, thank you my Big 10 brother. Although the game didn't end with a score I would have liked better, we held our own with the number 3 team in the country up until the last few seconds. A missed call here, a missed field goal...blah, blah, blah. We beat Colt McCoy once when he was a freshman, now he's beat our freshman quarterback.

To everyone else in the sports board, I also thank all of the fans from every other conference on a great season of college football --the sport with the best regular season of all sports. Who says college doesn't have a playoff, every week is a playoff game; win all of them, and you are in the championship game (see: 14-0 2002 Buckeyes). Before you yell at me Boise and Utah, I know it is unfair that the BCS does not let you in as an undefeated team.

As a Buckeye fan and a fan of the Big 10, I could spout off statistics about my team (7 National Championships, 7 Heisman winners, 125 All-Americans, 800+ wins, etc.) or about my conference (oldest conference in the nation, 26-24 vs. SEC in last 50 bowl match ups, we have our own television network, the winningest program in all of college football, most BCS appearances of any conference, etc.) but I won't because EVERYBODY can throw out statistics. Instead, I will accept right up front that college football is about fans having a good time with competition between schools/states/regions/conferences and bragging rights (see also: Tressel owning Michigan; never gets old). I wholeheartedly agree with this, and let it be known that I can give the devil his due, I am not a douchbag fan. So here it is:

The SEC is a great conference. The Big 12 is a great conference (deeper than the SEC this year). The PAC-10, ACC, Big East, etc., are all great conferences. However, obviously, the balance of power shifts through these conferences and teams. I will agree with the fans on this board, the Big-10 did not show up this year in the bowl games (Iowa excluded, with Northwestern and OSU giving a good games). I will one-up the Big 10 haters and go a step further than just the scoreboards; the Big 10 needs to get better quarterbacks, be willing to spend money to get better coaches, and not run such vanilla offenses.

Going a step further, I love Senator Tressel, but he has to come to terms with the fact he cannot use the same 2002 tactics (defense, field position, and clock management) in these big games any longer. He needs to open up the playbook. Some of the play calling in the Fiesta Bowl (and other big games lately) made no sense. He opened it up a little bit under Troy Smith, but he has since reverted to his conservative ways. Also, it is clear to me that he is not preparing his teams for his opponents in the big games. He clearly has to take responsibility for the USC fiasco. He has too much talent on this team to have had such a crappy showing. USC may possibly be the best team in the nation, but they read your defenses like a book and you didn't score a touchdown against them (at least Penn State scored 28 on them). Maybe he needs some new coordinators (boy, I miss Dantonio as the defensive coordinator).

So...long post even longer, I will miss debating college football with you all. It will be a long time until September. Luckily, I'll still have baseball to talk about in a few months...

[Condem]

24. Number one, Captive

Miss debating College Football??? That's a year-round deal. I certainly don't plan on stopping. I despise the NBA. Hockey sucks. That leaves us with the NCAA hoop tournament. There are obviously some hardcore college football fans here. I love them. Too numerous to mention but they know who they are. It's why I check in everynight. That, and to see trumad and cboy go at it. Baseball's great, but this is the season I live for. To have the opportunity to tailgate in the fall, then discuss the weekends results with you assholes, is what I LIVE for. I think you're getting down on your coach a little much, however. He's got something a whole lot don't have. An NCAA championship. I could die the next day if Iowa did that. Seriously. I love this sport with a passion, Captive. And I love those who love it as much as I do. And from the posts on this board, there are many. Great post, my friend! One more thing, though. Fuck the SEC.