Posted on 11/18/2006 4:50:32 PM PST by ajolympian2004
Troy Smith and Ohio State did it all, overwhelming Michigan with offense, winning the Big Ten title and streaking into the national title game.
The Wolverines may have another shot at the Buckeyes though -- they, too, can still make it to the BCS title game in Arizona.
Smith and the top-ranked Buckeyes put their dazzling speed on display with a barrage of big plays, and they needed every one of them to beat an inspired Michigan team, 42-39 on Saturday. The Game of the Century, the first 1 vs. 2 matchup in this storied rivalry, was played a day after Michigan lost one of its legends in Bo Schembechler.
The feisty and revered former Michigan coach died Friday, and the top two teams in the nation couldn't have honored his memory with a better game -- though it wasn't the type of football that Bo and Woody Hayes played when they were coaching.
Two defenses that came in allowing 20 points per game combined were unable to stop each other's attack, making the 103rd Ohio State-Michigan meeting the second-highest scoring game in the series.
It was surely one of the most entertaining.
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The Ohio State University marching band!
"Hang on Sloopy"
http://www.osu.edu/download/sloopy.mp3
Official band website -
http://tbdbitl.osu.edu/
From an ESPN college football commercial.
What about Florida?
If Florida is 12 and 1 in the tough SEC and wins the SEC championship game you think they should take a backseat to
the team that came in second in the Big Ten?
I'm a Big Ten OSU fan, and I want OSU to play the best opponent possible. I'm certainly not afraid of Michigan again, I want the Buckeyes to play the best team out there...which may not necessarily be Michigan.
Ohio State wide receiver Brian Robiskie (80)
Is he related to former LSU/Raider great Terry Robiskie?
yes, his son!
The SEC is way down this year IMHO.
"A rematch may not be so far-fetched anymore. The reason is simple: I don't see any other team except maybe Arkansas that could keep up with Ohio State."
Why wouldn't you want to play USC? Top-level program, making some improvements with each passing week, and they did beat Arkansas earlier this year 50-14. Might deflect some of the criticism percolating about the lousy schedule Ohio State has played all year.
What? You don't want to play us again?
Notre Dame has one loss. Michigan has one loss. Michigan beat Notre Dame 41-17. Enough said.
Thank you. You're the first person I've heard to say that truism
While I would love to see the Buckeyes play someone from another conference, I'm not afraid for OSU to play Michigan again. I am confident in the Buckeyes and Tressel.
Add that to Bo Shembechler's speech and death, and that would be a big part of why Michigan put up big numbers on OSU.
I'd much rather see each team face a strong out-of-conference opponent. Assuming Michigan's head is still in the game, they should show other teams just how tough this game was.
The most annoying thing about Big-10 teams playing PAC-10 teams at the Rose Bowl is that it's like a home game for them three time zones out of whack, and 40 degrees warmer.
At least Tempe is sometimes cool in the evening.
"The most annoying thing about Big-10 teams playing Pac-10 teams at the Rose Bowl is that it's like a home game for them three time zones out of whack, and 40 degrees warmer. At least Tempe is sometimes cooler in the evening."
Regarding the time zone difference, the Rose Bowl teams travel to, and generally begin practicing in southern California better than a week before the game. Jet lag doesn't last that long, I wouldn't imagine. And I can't believe that playing in nice weather, Pasadena, Tempe, or wherever, can be used as an excuse for losing. Good weather doesn't impact the ability to perform the skills of the game. A snowstorm certainly would, a driving rainstorm certainly would, as would a howling wind. But good weather?
Look, the Rose Bowl games were the best thing to happen to the Big 10 long term, in that throughout the 70's and 80's, they came out here generally favored to win and lost far more often than they won. Actually, the Big Ten lost an incredible 19 of 23 Rose Bowl games from 1970-1992. And they usually lost because the West Coast teams could throw the ball, and the Big Ten teams couldn't. So the Big Ten teams decided they needed to upgrade their passing attacks, which they have, and it has been to the overall betterment of the conference.
Get used to running in weather in the 30s, then do sprints on a sunny 70 degree day. It's a big difference.
"Get used to running in weather in the 30's, the do sprints on a sunny 70 degree day. It's a big difference."
I'll agree with you there. But how do you resolve something like this? Weather is just a factor in football, but 19-22 year old bodies can't be impacted that much by a change in temperature, one way or the other. Older guys, maybe!
Since fewer people want to go to a bowl game in the midwest in January...I doubt you can. But it DOES make a difference. There's a reason that AFC and NFC north teams are built the way that they are, and that home field advantage becomes even stronger in late November and all of December, and that Tampa has won what, 2 games in their entire history with the temperature below 40 degrees (and lost 21 in a row)? Not having to change time zones, and not having to deal with a 30 degree temperature change is a sizable advantage. It's not everything by any means, but playing in homelike conditions helps.
Yeah, that's one of the incredible inconsistencies of the NFL. They'll play the playoff games in whatever weather there is, but the Super Bowl is always played in a good weather city or under a dome. That being said, I have to believe that the impact of weather more significantly impacts a team going from good to bad, than vice versa, at least in terms of how the skills of the game are able to be executed.
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