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College Football Playoff: OSU Needs Decisive Wins To Overcome Weak Schedule, Virginia Tech Loss
http://thebiglead.com ^ | October 24, 2014 | Ty Duffy

Posted on 01/13/2015 7:35:36 PM PST by NKP_Vet

Miami clobbered Virginia Tech 30-6 in Blacksburg Thursday night. That drops the Hokies to 3-4 vs. FBS teams on the season. Ohio State’s two-touchdown loss at home to them looks worse with each passing week. Tech’s continued slide could be devastating to the Buckeyes’ chances of reaching the playoff, despite their dominance of late.

Here is a reasonable scenario if Ohio State wins out. Florida State wins out to get to 13-0 and is a lock for the playoff. Alabama wins out and wins the SEC claiming a second place. That leaves two places for a one-loss Ohio State (B1G Champ), one-loss TCU (B12 Champ), one-loss Oregon (P12 Champ), one-loss Notre Dame (Independent) and one-loss Mississippi State (SEC Runner-Up).

Ohio State has an easy schedule. They played no one non-conference. Their B1G schedule draw missed Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa. Michigan went into the toilet. The Buckeyes, winning out and thus eliminating Michigan State from contention, would still have the weakest quality wins compared to teams from the other power conferences. Here’s a look how the teams would stack out for wins against the current SRS Top 40.

That’s also a best-case scenario for Ohio State. Minnesota could fall out of the Top 40. The winner of the B1G West could be a complete non-entity. Losing heavily to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes also have the worst loss of those five teams.

Notre Dame: L 31-27 at Florida State Mississippi State: L – at Alabama in this hypothetical TCU: L 61-58 at Baylor Oregon: L 31-24 vs. Arizona Ohio State: L – 35-21 vs. Virginia Tech

Essentially, Ohio State will lose any arguments about resumé. The Buckeyes need a bunch of losses in front of them, or they need to close so decisively they have to be considered one of the four best teams.

Dropping 50 on Michigan or Indiana won’t impress anyone. Ohio State likely needs to beat Michigan State on the road and the B1G West champ by double-digits to even have a chance. A 24-20 win in East Lansing will get the Buckeyes into the discussion. It won’t win them the argument.


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: collegefootball
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To: tumblindice

Let’s dump all of these playoff schemes altogether and restore the tradition and pageantry of the bowls. Let the national champion be determined by coaches, sportswriters and computer modelers.


21 posted on 01/13/2015 8:44:58 PM PST by Fiji Hill (Io Triumphe!)
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To: NKP_Vet

Damn,If Ohio State sucks that badly,just imagine how badly that makes Oregon.Maybe Oregon should go back to playing peewee football.


22 posted on 01/14/2015 1:40:00 AM PST by Craftmore
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To: All
Here's the problem with the national championship. When you "selected" the champion, you had the #2 team crying about it. When you had a BCS championship that pitted #1 against #2, you had the #3 team crying about it.

With a four team playoff, now you have the #5 team crying about it. If you consider expanding to eight, you're going to piss off the #9 team.

And so it goes, ad infinitum.

The NCAA did a GREAT job this year with their selections. Those were three of the best bowl games I've ever seen.
23 posted on 01/14/2015 6:10:49 AM PST by mmichaels1970
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To: NKP_Vet
The big reason why TCU or Baylor didn't get in was the Big 12's mantra of One True Champion proved to be a lie when TCU and Baylor were declared co-champions. That probably irked the selection committee to no end....
24 posted on 01/14/2015 6:46:46 AM PST by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: Fiji Hill
Let the national champion be determined by coaches, sportswriters and computer modelers.

Ah, no thanks. We ended up with too many co-champions with the old bowl system with different polls each picking their own #1 at the end of the season.

25 posted on 01/14/2015 6:49:31 AM PST by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: RayChuang88

NO on Division 1A playoffs! And let’s start the season on the Vernal Equinox and end it on January 1. College football is getting to be too much like pro football.


26 posted on 01/14/2015 7:04:00 AM PST by Fiji Hill (Io Triumphe!)
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To: NKP_Vet

OSU dominated Wisconsin, and their Heisman finalist, in the Big 10(14) Championship despite being underdogs.

They then beat #1 Alabama, and their Heisman finalist, in the heart of SEC territory, again as underdogs.

Finally, they beat #2 Oregon, and their Heisman winner, by three TDs despite committing four turnovers in an overall dominant performance.

I’d say they frickin’ EARNED this one.


27 posted on 01/14/2015 7:08:27 AM PST by kevkrom (I'm not an unreasonable man... well, actually, I am. But hear me out anyway.)
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To: Pox
Due to the “type” of sport we’re dealing with here, a “prolonged” playoff is neither warranted nor practical, IMO. This format is likely the best available due to the “extreme” nature of the “sport” and the “extreme” nature of the violent contact involved.

Division I-AA (FCS) has a 24-team playoff.

28 posted on 01/14/2015 7:10:38 AM PST by kevkrom (I'm not an unreasonable man... well, actually, I am. But hear me out anyway.)
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To: kevkrom

The BCS at least pitted the two best teams in the country. Weekend and weekout the teams were evaluated on who they played during the reason season and how they played them. No team that loaded up their non-conference schedule with the likes of Navy, Virginia Tech, Cincinatti, Rudgers and Kent State would have been ranked in the top 10, and damn sure would not have played for a national title. BSC might have had it’s flaws, but it didn’t let teams play half their games against no-bodies and end up playing in the title game.
The new format does. It politics plain and simple.


29 posted on 01/14/2015 7:48:38 AM PST by NKP_Vet
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To: Fiji Hill

LOL did you see the tv ratings and revenue generated by commercials for the 3 playoff games?

This deal is HUGE MONEY for everybody.


30 posted on 01/14/2015 7:51:11 AM PST by nascarnation (....)
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To: Fiji Hill

I think they should go back to the BCS ranking system to determine the top four teams for the playoffs.


31 posted on 01/14/2015 8:22:56 AM PST by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: kevkrom

Good for them! :)

If it comes down to the money aspect, I’m sure another round will be added eventually, but I personally don’t see the point in it.

Some people won’t be satisfied no matter what the format.


32 posted on 01/14/2015 8:25:54 AM PST by Pox (Good Night. I expect more respect tomorrow.)
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To: mmichaels1970
The NCAA did a GREAT job this year with their selections. Those were three of the best bowl games I've ever seen.

Am I the only person who thinks that Urban Meyers is a chump for running the score up with a 15 point lead, 20 seconds to play, and no Oregon time-outs, instead of doing the classy thing and taking a knee? I can see running up the score in the old days when the national champion was based upon the final subjective opinions and polls of the sportswriters and coaches, but it makes no sense to me under the current format.

33 posted on 01/14/2015 8:39:17 AM PST by Labyrinthos
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To: NKP_Vet
No team that loaded up their non-conference schedule with the likes of Navy, Virginia Tech, Cincinatti, Rudgers and Kent State

You just described half of Notre Dame's annual schedule, and if they went 11-1 or 12-0 you can damn well be sure they would have been in the BCS title game.

Politics mattered as much, if not more, under the old system, to the point they felt compelled to create a new system to eliminate controversy. It had basically devolved to "top team from the SEC vs. whoever people think might be best from the rest of the country".

You want to know why Texas Tech and Baylor got squeezed out? The failure of the Big 8 (er, 12, no... wait, 10) to keep enough schools in the conference to qualify for a championship game. A TT/Baylor "playoff" would have almost guaranteed a spot in the top 4.

Honestly, the top 4 team that didn't belong was FSU. They were undefeated but always seemed to be playing from behind, so that their wins really weren't particularly impressive. And Oregon proved that you can't pull that **** off against actual quality teams. FSU played with fire all year and it eventually burned them.

34 posted on 01/14/2015 8:59:02 AM PST by kevkrom (I'm not an unreasonable man... well, actually, I am. But hear me out anyway.)
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To: NKP_Vet

My solution...

Four 16 team super-conferences of two divisions each = 64 teams. Win your division and play for conference championship. Four conference champions play for national title.

OK, what about #s 65 through 68? Every year the worst team in each conference is relegated out of the conference, and the previous #65-68 join their new conference. You could base relegation on a rolling three or four year average if you like.. Try to keep geography relevant to conference assignment if possible, but no guarantees.

If you’re #69, tough!


35 posted on 01/14/2015 9:08:23 AM PST by ReaganCowboy (History books are written by winners.)
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To: Labyrinthos
Am I the only person who thinks that Urban Meyers is a chump for running the score up with a 15 point lead, 20 seconds to play, and no Oregon time-outs, instead of doing the classy thing and taking a knee?

Oregon still had two timeouts with 0:28 seconds to play when OSU had it at 4th and 1. The timeouts became moot when they jumped offsides on 4th an 1 giving OSU a first down.
36 posted on 01/14/2015 10:39:11 AM PST by mmichaels1970
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To: mmichaels1970

You are correct, but my point is the same: Take two knees and run the clock out. This would never happen in the NFL except in the rarest of rare tie-breaking situations for a playoff position where net points scored might realistically mean something at the end of the regular season.


37 posted on 01/14/2015 11:09:09 AM PST by Labyrinthos
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To: hinckley buzzard

Good point.


38 posted on 01/15/2015 3:06:34 PM PST by piytar (No government has ever wanted its people to be defenseless for any good reason.)
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To: Labyrinthos
Am I the only person who thinks that Urban Meyers is a chump for running the score up with a 15 point lead, 20 seconds to play, and no Oregon time-outs, instead of doing the classy thing and taking a knee?

You aren't the only one, but I respectfully disagree. Before that touchdown, the score was 35-20. Say Oregon penetrates the O line when Ohio State is trying to take a knee and Ohio State turns over the ball. (BTW, not a completely unrealistic situation given the four earlier turnovers by Ohio State including one caused by a bad snap.) Now it is a game again.

As a Buckeye, I wasn't 100% secure in our win UNTIL we scored that last touchdown. Oregon is THAT good. Anyone who follows them has seen them score in under 30 seconds.

In other words, scoring that last TD was a sign of respect for the ability of Oregon to score FAST.

BTW, Oregon STILL went down field after that play. They were trying to score, get a TD, on-side kick, score, repeat. Incidentally, I have seen the Cowboys score 21 points in under two minutes (obviously against a professional defense), so that is not an impossibility.

To repeat, the game was not 100% put away until that TD. And Urban Meyer's job was to put the game away...

39 posted on 01/15/2015 3:16:36 PM PST by piytar (No government has ever wanted its people to be defenseless for any good reason.)
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To: piytar

Very fair rationalization. Thanks.


40 posted on 01/15/2015 4:01:50 PM PST by Labyrinthos
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