Thoughts About the MNC Game Two Days Later

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:51 am

^^^^^^^^

thank god after some early incidents things have cleaned up immensely...i think they had a ton of kids with greater than 3.0 GPA's and what not...plus not too much happening on the police blotter lately either...

hats off to Leak even though I don't care for him (just don't care for him like I said prior and a guy like Hart just my opinion)...dude won with class and showed it...also hats off to Troy I read what he said at the press conference...class kid...

too bad we couldn't have been treated to a QB duel would have been nice...

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:01 am

Leak went from late rounder to late first day.

Smith didn't hurt himself too much but a huge game would have propelled him into the top ten I think.

It costs him some $$$$$.

Bobby42 · Post by **Bobby42** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:15 am

Hey, everybody.

Good points all around, but Florida kicked the Buckeye's ASS...!!

Plain and simple.

They were prepared. They made no mistakes and exploited Buckeye miscues.
Florida played with passion and they never let up. THEY NEVER LET UP.

Where was the Buckeye passion?

Maybe we shot our wad during the Michigan game. Maybe the 51 day layoff was a factor,
or maybe Teddy Ginn's injury was a factor. Forget about that shit.

During the game I said to myself: "Damn...they really want to kick our ass!"

Passion. They had it. tOSU lost it.

On Monday night the Gators had the "eye of the tiger."

Jobocky · Post by **Jobocky** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:26 am

Great take on the game 88. I want to add a couple key moments in that game that I think were crucial

(1) Florida's first drive, On the one 3rd down pass completion there is no way in hell the receiver made a first down. His feet were over the line, but the ball was at least half a yard behind it. Still don't understand why that was not reviewed by the booth. This was a key moment because of the momentum Florida was getting back at that point. If they have to punt there, OSU's defense gets off the field, the offense gets on much earlier than they did, with the lead (which OSU's offense was never on the field with), and the D can regroup. Now maybe FLA goes for it there, but regardless ... key moment

(2) After OSU finally was able to hold Florida to a FG making it 24-14, the kick off's in the end zone, Buckeye ball 20 yard line. What a perfect time to bring in Wells, and pound the ball a little bit, give the defense a much needed rest, and take some pressure off Smith who was horrible up to this point. This was the perfect opportunity to have Smith let the game come to him and move the ball slowly down field. Remember, OSU just shredded the FLA defense on the ground in their previous drive. What does Tressel do but have Smith throw 3 horrible passes .. 3 and out and to me ball game over. In my opinion this was Tressel's worse decision of the night. Much worse than the next series where he went for it on 4th down (which by the way, I didn't think was such a bad move at the time) If you remember that next series, he did come out with Wells. At this point FLA knew Smith didn't have his game and and knew the ground game was coming.

Props to FLA and their game plan and the fire they came out and played with. They were definitley the more motivated and hungry team. With that being said and all that 88 mentioned above, the loss of Ginn brought the Buckeyes intensity down as well. It shouldn't have, but it did.

Florida is the deserving national champ today, no question about it, but it may have been a little different ball game at those 2 moments

rozy · Post by **rozy** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:23 am

RACK Dinsnails

Just a simple ass-whipping. Plain and simple.

Ginn's injury wasn't near the factor that 51 days and an inferior coach were.

BraveFan · Post by **BraveFan** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:30 am

Yes, it was definitely a "perfect storm" for the Bucks. Absolute worst case scenario all the way around.

That said, Florida reminded me of our 2002 National Title team, only with more athletic DEs (saying a lot) and a deeper group of WRs. We can't forget that this Florida team was one bad call away from being undefeated with wins over LSU, Auburn (the bad call), Arkansas and tOSU. Pretty fookin' impressive.

I just hope this loss doesn't do to OSU what the Jan '03 loss did to Miami.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:02 am

T REX wrote:Leak went from late rounder to late first day.

Smith didn't hurt himself too much but a huge game would have propelled him into the top ten I think.

It costs him some $$$$$.

I don't think Smith would be a top tenner anyways. I see him more as a second rounder, perhaps even third. I've never really looked at draft projections this year... is Troy really rated that highly?

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:31 am

Jobocky wrote:
(1) Florida's first drive, On the one 3rd down pass completion there is no way in hell the receiver made a first down. His feet were over the line, but the ball was at least half a yard behind it. Still don't understand why that was not reviewed by the booth. This was a key moment because of the momentum Florida was getting back at that point. If they have to punt there, OSU's defense gets off the field, the offense gets on much earlier than they did, with the lead (which OSU's offense was never on the field with), and the D can regroup. Now maybe FLA goes for it there, but regardless ... key moment

(2) After OSU finally was able to hold Florida to a FG making it 24-14, the kick off's in the end zone, Buckeye ball 20 yard line. What a perfect time to bring in Wells, and pound the ball a little bit, give the defense a much needed rest, and take some pressure off Smith who was horrible up to this point. This was the perfect opportunity to have Smith let the game come to him and move the ball slowly down field. Remember, OSU just shredded the FLA defense on the ground in their previous drive. What does Tressel do but have Smith throw 3 horrible passes .. 3 and out and to me ball game over. In my opinion this was Tressel's worse decision of the night. Much worse than the next series where he went for it on 4th down (which by the way, I didn't think was such a bad move at the time) If you remember that next series, he did come out with Wells. At this point FLA knew Smith didn't have his game and and knew the ground game was coming.

Wow. Freaking solid breakdown. My only bone to pick would be that Smith had little to do with things, since he was running for his life all game long...although when he did get protection(an arguable point), his throws weren't the amazing works of art I came to expect all year. But he was never given a chance to get "in rhythym."

Vito Corleone · Post by **Vito Corleone** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:34 am

T REX wrote:Uhhhhh.....

When did Ginn start to play defense?

I don't buy the idea that if Ginn plays the whole game tOSU wins, but....

If Ginn did play the whole game it changes the way Florida runs its defensive coverages and how much blitzing they do. If Ginn was successful in touching the football it would probably show up in longer time of position and more points. Less time of possession for Florida to score.

Qbert · Post by **Qbert** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:24 am

nice breakdown 88.

PROPS to Florida! an EPIC ASSKicking for sure!

no hindsight could change that outcome.

RACK Florida National Champions

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:10 am

Inferior coach?

Wha....

Tressel got outcoached monday night but to label him inferior is laughable...in just about every big game a coach gets out coached...

Again not sure how many times Buckeye fan has to say it...FLA won and they deserve the belt...can't we co-miserate and play hypothetical in our misery...

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:57 pm

Jobocky wrote: but it may have been a little different ball game at those 2 moments

Yeah....and if you scored more points than the Gators you may have even won!

I have never seen a group go through so many what if's and could have been's. If he didn't do this or he didn't do that.

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:05 pm

^^^^^^^^^

and YOU have never done that correct after a horrific loss? Never...ok then you are the perfect sports fan...you never have questioned a coaches decision...never questioned what could have been? Never?

again Buckeye fan is in their misery just playing it out...not meant as a dis...don't know why you incessently have to come back in and just bash and whatever...you won PERIOD...I don't think any Buckeye fan has said THEY WOULD HAVE won the game...merely pointing out IT COULD have been different...

I am sure USC fan is saying it could have been different last year had they stopped Vince on the goal line...Miami fan can say it could have been different in 2002 if we didn't let Krenzel scramble and or run for 80 yards...again it is human nature...

human nature dog...human nature...

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:39 pm

now come on sam don't play hypothetical with us...that is not allowed...

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:44 pm

buckeye_in_sc wrote:^^^^^^^^^

and YOU have never done that correct after a horrific loss? Never...ok then you are the perfect sports fan...you never have questioned a coaches decision...never questioned what could have been? Never?

again Buckeye fan is in their misery just playing it out...not meant as a dis...don't know why you incessently have to come back in and just bash and whatever...you won PERIOD...I don't think any Buckeye fan has said THEY WOULD HAVE won the game...merely pointing out IT COULD have been different...

I am sure USC fan is saying it could have been different last year had they stopped Vince on the goal line...Miami fan can say it could have been different in 2002 if we didn't let Krenzel scramble and or run for 80 yards...again it is human nature...

human nature dog...human nature...

I gotcha. I get it, but you should be on this end. Joey Galloway on his local show was in complete and utter denial. He said if they played again OSU would win the next nine games. This is what UF fan deals with. Continued disrespect.

When I see a post with basically a bunch of excuses in it, I'm going to call it out. If we did this and if we did that....

HELL, the one time you did score was only because of a bad personal foul. Otherwise you wouldn't have scored on offense at all. In fact, it should have been a shut out. Yes, a shut out. A non-call and a bad call lead to OSU's only points. (now that's bashing)

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:54 pm

if you say so...

SO galloway was in utter denial good for him...but don't misrepresent the Buckeye Fans on this board and lump us in with the media and what not...we lost we dealt with it...the OSU fans like other fans of programs that have lost big games...close or not always revert back to hypothetical...again human nature...

Honestly I deleted the game had it recorded and I watched the opening kick a few more times...I still think Ginn gets by him...you disagree and that's cool...

on tOSU's TD drive it went 4 plays and 64 yards...of course it was helped by a questionable call but it was made...can't take it back...but Pittman on that drive was a beast the 18 yard TD run was nice as was it seemed the only time that night the OL blocked anyone...

so let's not get too crazy here...pittman had 62 yards on only TEN fucking carries...don't know how or why our stud TB only got TEN FUCKING carries...but that is the point of going back and replaying man...if he carries it 25 times...is there a difference? Perhaps from a game and clock management standpoint...perhaps...but again I take nothing away from you, U of F, or anyone...I can still dislike Leak, I can still show my respect for you guys...but I can play hypothetical in my mind because it doesn't change the one thing...

FLA HAS THE BELT...no disrespect man...just the way it is...and again don't think UF was the first team to ever get disrespected (SUP tOSU 2002)...you are not...

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:05 pm

He got ten carries becuase you were down 21-7 in a blink of an eye. I guess if somewhere somehow you guys were going to go from 82 TOTAL yards to 400.....sure......whatever hypotheticals you want to run. I just can't stand when it sounds as if you would have won or something.

Yes, I didn't think we had much of a chance but now looking back on everything......the Big 10 was overrated and the SEC underrated. This is all the media's fault and mostly ESPN's. Everyone jumped on OSU's back feeding the monster. UF played in big games all season long. OSU played in two. I think that was the biggest difference. UF was battle tested and OSU wasn't.

I also disagree if the UF-OSU was played one week after the Michigan, OSU would win. It wasn't the layoff, it was the athleticism of Florida's athletes. OSU didn't see that all year from anyone(maybe Texas, see: NOT UM). Poor OSU's o-line had no chance against the faster d-line of UF.

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:11 pm

no my point was from a game planning standpoint we got to 21-14...and then went away from the running game...again only TEN FUCKING carries...

I never said the layoff was my excuse...and we will never know if tOSU would or would have not beaten FLA had they played sooner...we never will know

just like we will never know had OSU BROUGHT it's A game if the game would have been closer or what not...again we will never know...can't go back now...all I can do is look forward...

by the way I have never said we would have won...get off that already...my point as an OSU fan is why didn't we do the things that got us to where we were...ran the ball physically...again Pittman got good yardage when they went with the power running game...granted it was only on a handful of carries but why go away from it...again there was never an implication that OSU would have won...but be honest...if you could chew some clock...run the ball and give your D a break why not do it? that is football 101...nothing more nothing less...

BraveFan · Post by **BraveFan** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:19 pm

T, don't be one of those guys obsessed with being "dissed." Of course the Buckeye Nation is in denial.... shell-shocked..... confused.... saddended..... angry..... frustrated...... all those negative emotions. This one will hurt bad for a while. What else would you expect? If you think this is bad -- or if you somehow think that Florida is being "disrespected" right now -- imagine what it was like for us after the '02 season...... having guys like.... well, YOU, Trex, all over the country.... talking about how badly OSU sucked and how we cheated to beat Miami.... and how the refs gave us the game, etc.

I've got some advice -- it's very simple.... one word.... ENJOY. There will never be a better time to be a Gator fan. Enjoy it and don't let some bitter OSU fans like me and sc bring you down. You guys dominated in basketball.... then in football.... and likely in basketball again this year. Who knows what football will bring for you next year, but there are a lot of good programs and playing in the SEC is not conducive to a lot of BCS titles. In 100 years of football, you guys have 2 titles and both required some major luck (in '96, OSU choked against a vastly inferior UM team and then went on to beat ASU in the closing seconds to give you the title...... this year I'm thinking about plays like the blocked kick at South Carolina and the muffed punt by Fish in the SECCG and you wouldn't have even been in the NC game). So, just enjoy it. You kicked our ass. Of course we're going to talk about it and play the what-if game. When a team as good as OSU gets beat like that.... of course we search for answers. That's what makes us fans and that's what keeps us coming to sites like these through thick and thin (well, most of us anyway).

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:20 pm

well said Brave...well said...

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:26 pm

I kinda see your point.

Pittman rushed for 7 yards in the first quarter. In the 2nd maybe....but looking at the play-by-play you guys are down. He had one good run for 18 yards on the TD. There was a series where you guys went 3 and out on three straight pass incompletions. Besides the one run up to that point, its not like you were gashing UF or something but I think Tressel may have panicked.

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:30 pm

BraveFan wrote: In 100 years of football, you guys have 2 titles and both required some major luck

I think that says it all on the respect issue.

Luck?

Are you freaking kidding?

Outside of NU '95, don't we all need some help?

I mean you guys got a gift from that ref in '02. That was luck, right?

Come on with the luck bullshit.

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:30 pm

^^^^^^^

Perhaps...but again...why not try it...obvious the passing game was in the shitter...

hell even try a fullback fucking dive for all i care something to slow down the FLA pass rush and give them something to think about...hell even fake a fucking reverse for all I care...those guys were like caged up dogs...they pinned back and got upfield and wrecked havoc...oh did I mention we didn't try to much to either block and or throw them off with any type of mis direction...

I am no football genious...but the answer to a defense that is fast...perhaps susceptible to overpursuit might be some misdirection or some straight ahead running...but hey I am not the one making 2MM per year plus to make those decisions and someone on bucknuts posted a sign they saw...I TRUST THE VEST...it's one game out of what 80 something he has coached at tOSU...they are allowed to have off nights, and weeks...it just so happened it came at the wrong time...but I love the guy and am confident that he will have tOSU contending again sooner rather than later...

BraveFan · Post by **BraveFan** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:14 pm

Yes, we absolutely had luck on our side in 2002. No question about it. Again, I think you missed my point because you're apparently more obsessed with being dissed than you are enjoying the greatest time ever to be a Florida Gator fan. I'm just telling you from my own personal experiences that it's better to just enjoy it. You made the decision to resurface here after your "self ban" or whatever -- knowing full well that there are OSU fans on here and that we'd in all likelihood be tossing around hypothticals and general thoughts on why this happened. I don't think it's as simple as "Florida is 27 points better than Ohio State." No way do I beleive that after watching PSU beat Tennessee and Wisconsin beat Arkansas and Ohio State put up 44 on Michigan and beat the shit out of Texas at Texas at night..... Iowa at Iowa at night..... and Florida struggle with Vandy, South Carolina, FSU, etc. I just don't buy that at all. There was a lot more to it than that and we're all searching for answers even though we know that none of them matter.

As for the "luck" comment..... the fact is that you won both your titles with one-loss seasons. You've never had an undefeated season to my knowledge, which is in no way saying that you're not a great program. It just says you needed some "help" or some "luck" or whatever you want to call it to get the crystal. In '96, you did not control your own destiny. You needed OSU to choke AT HOME against a vastly inferior Michigan team. Then, you needed that same OSU team to shake off that devestating choke-job and go out west to beat an undefeated ASU team.... which we did in a game that could've went either way. Doesn't mean that Florida wasn't a damn good team in '96.... but they needed some luck. There's no way you can deny it.

This year, if the Gamecock kicker strikes the ball a split second sooner or later, you lose that game and you're playing Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Or what about the fact that USC got shocked by UCLA in a game they win 99 out of 100 times..... or that Michigan got jumped in the polls two weeks in a row after not playing? You don't recognize that there was some luck involved here? It's nothing personal and it's certianly not Florida-specific -- you can probably look at 80-90% of all MNCs over time and find a little luck somewhere throughout the season..... some more than others. That's why I'm saying ENJOY it because you never know when it might happen again. Shit, Ohio State has had at least two or three teams per decade good enough to win a title and we have 2 in the last 40 years with a hell of a lot of top-fives and a hell of a lot of All-Americans.... first round draft picks..... four Heismans..... arguably the top program in the country over that time and only two titles since '68! You've got to enjoy 'em when they come because even the best programs don't get to epxerience it very often.

And yes, for the recrod, in 2002, Ohio State needed a Cincinnati receiver to drop a TD pass in the end-zone.... among other "breaks" throughout the season. Yes, luck was definitely on our side that year. This year, we didn't need any luck -- we were that much better than everyone we played until Monday night when we ran into a buzzsaw and we went into the game in terrible shape..... with a poor attitude..... and an even worse game plan. Florida does have amazing athletes and those athletes played flawlessly and deserved to win as decisively as they did. Congrats, and enjoy!

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:23 pm

i can't say i disagree Brave...well said again...

we can recount many times over the years the NC team needed luck, a break or something goofy to get them to the MNC game...what about in 2002 when Ed Reed ran back a weird fumble or some shit at BC or tOSU doesn't play Miami...

tOSU had luck on it's side what 6 times in 2002 winning those games by 7 points or less...a fact that many media types compared this FLA team to the 2002 OSU team...this FLA team won 5 games by 7 points or less...nothing to be ashamed of there...

Again T Rex no disrespect and I am with Brave...enjoy it man...the media dissed you so what...what do you think tOSU fan is going through right now hearing everyone tell them they didn't belong the other night even though they won 12 games...we are getting the other side of it...am I enjoying it...NO...but you know what I realize with losing something you wanted so badly you take the good with the bad...enjoy the good man...enjoy...

T REX · Post by **T REX** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:26 pm

I got the whole luck thing. We needed it, everyone needs it. It just seemed like a dig. Yes, yes, it is a great time to be a Gator and I am ecstatic.

Thank you Buckeyes for the '96 one.

I guess I should thank the Bruins this year?

Lastly, I look forward to our undefeated season so I can hunt down Brave and remind him of the comment.