REALLY Big Game Week

[Goober McTuber]

I'm hoping it's exciting like the 2013 game.



That will never get old.

[Mikey]

The "Big Game" is not so big this year. Probably deciding who goes to the Holiday Bowl vs the Cheez-It Bowl or the Las Vegas Bowl.

If Stanford gets the Holiday Bowl I might just have to go, even though a little disappointed in the overall season.

[L45B]

Not to go all Self-Pity-Sam here, but for the game in Indy tomorrow, I would not be at all surprised-- and would actually count on, based on what has transpired this year-- seeing Northwestern play Ohio State extremely close, possibly pulling the upset. I would take 'NWS' and the 14 points in a heartbeat.

The Wildcats won the West division handily and no doubt, Fitzgerald will have them fired up for a shot at the Rose Bowl. tOSU has been so inconsistent this year, and despite the TUN asskicking from last week, I regretfully predict that they will be back to sloppy football again. Urban thrives in the underdog role, but this week all the talk is how badly the Buckeyes need to blow out NU. Not gonna happen.

tOSU 29
N'Western 23
(OT)

Oklahoma to the Cotton.

[Dinsdale]

If Stanford gets the Holiday Bowl I might just have to go, even though a little disappointed in the overall season.

I've yet to see one bowl projection that didn't have Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

Just sayin'.

[Killian]

Maybe ND should have added The Citadel for their 13th data point.

Give me a fucking break. Once they switched to Book they had two games won under 10 points. Pitt (playing in their conference championship) and USC after they scored a garbage time TD.

They kicked the holy fuck out of Syracuse, beat Northwestern by 10 and Michigan by 7 with their backup QB and RB. If their special teams were worth a shit, Michigan, Pitt and Northwestern wouldn't have been close.

Take a look at Oklahoma's schedule ('sup Army) and logically tell me how they deserve the third spot over ND.

[Mikey]

If Stanford gets the Holiday Bowl I might just have to go, even though a little disappointed in the overall season.

I've yet to see one bowl projection that didn't have Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

Just sayin'.

Just read a couple yesterday but really who cares what the projections say.

[Mikey]

BTW...
https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/index ... jecti.html

[King Crimson]

fake fg was bad.

did a little pacing myself today.....but OU-TX not the same outside the Cotton Bowl. good as hell to win, but hey. weird.

Sooners own Bama.

Herbstreit and Heather DInich seem primed to push Ohio State......however. at least Texas showed up today instead of Michigan folding like a cheap tent and somehow we are still calling them a top team?

edit: i don't know if i think OU belongs..but they DID beat every team on their schedule. despite what heather dinich and herbstreit say.....Ohio State weren't "peaking" two weeks ago when they barely beat Maryland. they were peaking when they beat a Michigan team that is 2-16 or something in the Big Game this Century....in Columbus.

[King Crimson]

Murray should win the Heisman. He deserved it before today and he should have clinched it today.

he's pretty good to have on your team.

[L45B]

Murray should win the Heisman. He deserved it before today and he should have clinched it today.

Check the stats, Sam. Dwayne Haskins is putting up Sam Bradford type numbers. Best QB to ever play at tOSU.

OU will likely get that last slot in the CFP, but they should hand the Heisman to Haskins right now.

[FiatLux]

Haskins is a FREAK.


Hands down.. the best player in College Football





the truth

[Dinsdale]

If Stanford gets the Holiday Bowl I might just have to go, even though a little disappointed in the overall season.

I've yet to see one bowl projection that didn't have Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

Just sayin'.

We nailed that badboy... RACK us!

David Shaw should talk to Mike Bellotti -- I think he had a winter residence in El Paso. He certainly knows all about the place, home away from home.

[Mikey]

Fuck it. I didn’t want to go anyway.

The Murph (it will never be SDCCU stadium or whatever they’re calling it now) sucks ass for football and is about ready fall over any day.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

If Stanford gets the Holiday Bowl I might just have to go, even though a little disappointed in the overall season.

I've yet to see one bowl projection that didn't have Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

Just sayin'.

We nailed that badboy... RACK us!

David Shaw should talk to Mike Bellotti -- I think he had a winter residence in El Paso. He certainly knows all about the place, home away from home.

So is Herbert supposed to play, or what? Don't think it will matter much though. If Oregon can put 14 points on the board, Ducks should win.

MSU Defense = really really good
MSU Offense = AIDS-spackled tire fire

That's the path to 7-5 in the Big Ten.

[Dinsdale]

Herbert should be just fine. But your biggest worry is that Penei Sewell will be back. Many pundits said he was the best freshman in the country at any position. Ducks were a different team with him at left tackle. Completely different team. He's a bulldozer.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

MSU's defensive line is going to own your OL. That's the only thing I know for certain. But you don't have to play well on offense to win. You just have to be not horrific, and that should do it.

[Left Seater]

Maybe ND should have added The Citadel for their 13th data point.

Give me a fucking break. Once they switched to Book they had two games won under 10 points. Pitt (playing in their conference championship) and USC after they scored a garbage time TD.

They kicked the holy fuck out of Syracuse, beat Northwestern by 10 and Michigan by 7 with their backup QB and RB. If their special teams were worth a shit, Michigan, Pitt and Northwestern wouldn't have been close.

Take a look at Oklahoma's schedule ('sup Army) and logically tell me how they deserve the third spot over ND.

Question, would UCF have made the playoff going undefeated against ND’s schedule? I think the answer to that is pretty clearly no. So why should ND make the playoff with their schedule?

ND made it in on name alone. Home wins by single digits against Ball State and Vandy? Hardest road game is at Northwestern? That schedule is for crap. Sure they may beat Clemson, but let’s not get all worked up over a discussion about OU and the 3rd seed. Just be glad your name got you in and root for them against Clemson.

[Killian]

I don't think UCF could hack it as a football independent so we will never know. Had they played that schedule and gone undefeated I bet they would be ahead of two loss Michigan and possibly 2 loss Georgia. Assuming ND played another schedule and lost a game, that would put them close to 5 and in the debate. Would they get in? Who know. Likely not. But their chances would have been greatly enhanced playing teams like Michigan, Stanford, VaTech, FSU and USC based on name recognition and perceived value alone.

Do you want to discount the single digit wins by OU over Army, 6-6 Okie State, or 5-7 Texas Tech? Games where OU was playing with their #1 QB and #1 RB?

Notre Dame's schedule was crap? Come on, Lefty. You're better than that. The SOS was 26th, with a high of 9 and a low of 34. OU's SOS is 16th with a high of 8th and a low of 70. ND's defense gave up 27 points one time, OU's defense gave up 27 or more 7 times. OU played 3 ranked teams (one team twice) and was 2-1. ND played 3 ranked teams and was 3-0. Yes, they benefited from Syracuse and Northwestern being better than normal, but they also probably didn't expect VaTech, Stanford, FSU and USC to suck balls like they did. Their schedule was down based on the performance of some traditional powers. Not really Notre Dame's fault. And if you are going to make fun of ND's hardest road game being Northwestern, I'll say the same about OU at West Virginia. Those teams have essentially the same record over the last 4 years.

If any major college team chose to go the Independent route, played ND's schedule and was undefeated, yes, they would be in the playoffs as well.

[Left Seater]

Couple of things. OU played all season without their #1 RB. Dude was injured in pre-season.

And yes ND was hurt by FSU, USC, Virginia Tech and Navy not having their traditional success. It is what it is though. I will still stand by the fact that NDs schedule was mediocre at best and more likely crap. That is the risk you take as an independent. Enjoy the benefits and deal with the downsides like this schedule.

I will totally agree with you on your last sentence though. And I would say the same thing about any of them as well. It is much easier to go undefeated as an independent. Having to make it thru a conf schedule is a grind and ND doesn’t have to do it. That makes it much easier for them and they shouldn’t be rewarded because of that.

All this said they may very well beat Clemson, but I doubt it. I also think they lose to OU if they played them, but we will never know. In fact I think there are 5 teams better than ND this season but their name recognition got them in.

[Dinsdale]

In fact I think there are 5 teams better than ND this season but their name recognition got them in.

I'm on the fence on this one. I generally think that ND gets way too much benefit of the doubt. But I believe they earned their spot this season. What more do you want them to do -- end worldwide famine? They beat more decent teams than Bama did.

[Left Seater]

I guess at the end of the day they did what they need to do when the name is Notre Dame and you are an independent.

I think they lose to Bama, OU, Clemson and Georgia without a doubt. But again we will never know. I think OSU beats them as well but I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on that.

[Killian]

ND is contractually obligated to play 5 ACC games. This year was VaTech, Wake, FSU, Syracuse and Pitt. Their "OOC" was Michigan, USC, Navy, Northwestern and two cupcakes in Vandy and Ball State. When do you want to judge the schedule, when it's made or when it's played? You can't have it both ways. Call it crap if you want, but you're objectively wrong.

Since the playoffs started one team was undefeated before they started, so I would say that it's not easy to go undefeated in a conference or independent. ND knows the downside. They lose one game, they are likely out of playoff contention.

[Left Seater]

Every game for Notre Dane is out of conference. They wanted the ACC for their non football athletics. The ACC added the 5 football games per year.

The bottom line is UCF wouldn’t have made the playoff going undefeated against ND’s schedule. Why should ND get special treatment?

If Clemson wins I am going to say “see, I was right.” If ND wins you will say the same.

[Left Seater]

This is where I say ND didn’t belong. They were outmatched from the start. Fumbles on the first two drives (one lost) and penalties. At least their D showed up for a bit.

Georgia Clemson it should have been.

[Screw_Michigan]

I'm just amazed that Alabama and Clemson are heads and shoulders better than the second best teams in nation. All but one of the CFP semifinals have been uncompetitive. How does that happen?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Football_Playoff

[Killian]

ND losing their AA CB for the second quarter sure didn't help things. Dabo and Lawrence found Donte Vaughn and beat him like a red headed step child to the tune of 2 TD's, and set up a third. ND's offensive line was pathetic as well, shocking given Kelly's crony hire in the off season.

That was about the best ND fans can hope for under Kelly. I think if Love had remained in the game it would have been much closer, but ND's offense couldn't do shit. Oh well.

The only team that looked like they may have belonged ahead of ND was OSU, and they almost gagged the Rose Bowl away near the end. Did ND look any more or less deserving than other teams that were blown out in the playoff in the past? Who knows.

[L45B]

Naturally my personal leanings say that tOSU would beat both Notre Dame and Oklahoma on a neutral field. But it’s not like the Rose Bowl result was a huge told-you-so. Had the Buckeyes played a full four quarters and won 42-10, which they should have, then sure it makes it a little bit easier to talk shit.

Nonetheless I don’t think anything would’ve changed who is playing next Monday night. But it would be nice to settle a few more of these discussions on the field. Expand the CFP to at least six teams soon please.

[L45B]

To Lefty’s point earlier, Ohio St and Oklahoma were very similar this year in that they had lots of offensive firepower but virtually no defense. Can’t speak for OU, although I presume it’s the same as tOSU— loaded with talent on defense, but coaching and scheme were big issues.

I expect Day to pick up right where Urban left off and to have some early success like Lincoln Riley has since Stoops retired. Even with Haskins likely declaring early, the cupboard is still full and more so with the possibility of getting that Fields kid from UGA via transfer.

The rest of the B1G is still messy. Harbaugh is all talk, Franklin at PSU seems to be a great recruiter but an average game day coach. Dantonio arguably the best coach in the league (next to Fitzgerald) but needs to can his OC and literally cannot compete recruiting-wise with the tops in the league year in and year out. Frost may have something brewing in Nebraska before long. Verdict still out on Chryst at Wisky.

[L45B]

You got Fields.

Isn't Martell damn good, though?

Just came across this:

Good post, Sam. I don’t follow recruiting that closely anymore. The tOSU boards I scan, like any team, has its camps of QB favorites. At one point there was a pretty strong “Joe Burrow should start over Haskins” crowd that obviously died out.

Seems about 50/50 on Martell. Lots of Buckeye fans say he will win an NC no matter where he ends up (OSU or txfr), that he’s a Baker Mayfield-esque competitor. Others say he is the next JT Barrett, in the negative light— that he’s not a passing QB. And thus, Coach Day would pick a pass-first guy over him.

I dunno. All I know is it’s good to have as many horses in the stable in the springtime as possible.