I think the buckeyes are ranked exactly where they should be.  They look like the third best team in the country and appear, to me, to be worse than FSU and Bama by more than a little bit.  Winston looks like a beast.

^And they appeared to be waaaaaay more than a bit worse than Miami going into that championship game...... and they appeared better than Florida the year they got spanked.  You never know.  I agree with Gramarye...... I'd rather roll the dice on the NC game.

^not me.  My heart can't take getting demolished in another NC game like they did to Florida & LSU

We realize how badly those two losses have affected the reputation of the big ten.

LSU was better than us the year we played them.  I don't dwell on that game much.  But the Florida game still irks me.  I maintain to this day that it simply was a case of everything going wrong for OSU and everything going right for Florida to start the game which set the momentum in a direction that OSU never recovered.  Damn you Roy Hall! 

 

Regardless, we are not a Jim Tressel team in 2013.  Tressel built and coached up his squad to beat Michigan on a cold November day.  Meyer's team is a different animal.

LSU was better than us the year we played them.  I don't dwell on that game much.  But the Florida game still irks me.  I maintain to this day that it simply was a case of everything going wrong for OSU and everything going right for Florida to start the game which set the momentum in a direction that OSU never recovered.  Damn you Roy Hall! 

 

That game was a real letdown, but if you can't beat them... get their coach!

I'm going to go ahead & get the score predictions started , 41-17

I predict 38-13.

I predict 38-13.

 

45-17 OSU

LSU was better than us the year we played them.  I don't dwell on that game much.  But the Florida game still irks me.  I maintain to this day that it simply was a case of everything going wrong for OSU and everything going right for Florida to start the game which set the momentum in a direction that OSU never recovered.  Damn you Roy Hall! 

 

Regardless, we are not a Jim Tressel team in 2013.  Tressel built and coached up his squad to beat Michigan on a cold November day.  Meyer's team is a different animal.

 

Ah, you're touching on a pet peeve of mine.  I maintain the SEC is overrated largely  because of how they play in bowl games, which are inevitably in warm weather or indoors.  I'd like to see at least one out of three BCS championships played outdoors in the north.  If the Super Bowl can do it....

The SEC has won 9 of the 15 BCS championships, including the past seven.  One of those 15 (USC) was vacated. 

The SEC isn't the only southern conference, either. 

For a milestone post, a well timed (if perhaps not timely) video that's one of my favorites.

 

^ One of my favorite OSU/UM videos has always been the "tearing down the Go Blue banner" incident from the 1973 game at the Big House.  Probably as much for legendary Michigan radio announcer Bob Ufer yelling "They will meet a dastardly fate for that!" as for the actual banner incident:

 

 

I know that was technically a GIF and not a video, but it was the only one on YouTube with the Ufer commentary which makes the incident special.  BTW, OSU will be wearing all-white alternate uniforms for today's game at in the Big House.  These uni's look alot like those 1973 uni's.  M Club better take care of the banner - just in case. :wink:

 

 

More alternate uniform images at http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2013/11/18/5118564/are-these-the-2013-alternate-ohio-state-uniforms-for-the-michigan-game/in/4462303#4032915

It's 9am on November 30th, 2013 and Michigan still sucks

^ One of my favorite OSU/UM videos has always been the "tearing down the Go Blue banner" incident from the 1973 game at the Big House.  Probably as much for legendary Michigan radio announcer Bob Ufer yelling "They will meet a dastardly fate for that!" as for the actual banner incident:

 

 

"The unmitigated gall!"

Yep.  Michigan DOES suck.  This coming from a life-long Michigan fan.  The play of the offensive line has been HORRIBLE all season.  As a result, the running game is not-existant. The Buckeyes should be able to make hay with that all afternoon.  It should get ugly today and Ohio State fans will act like they are world beaters.  In reality, you will be beating a team with a lot of frustratingly glaring shortcomings.  Not too much to be proud of today in victory.

I absolutely hate MSU but it will be the best team OSU will have faced all year.  Their offense isn't much to write home about but that defense of theirs is otherworldly.  A victory over them would be Ohio State's most (perhaps only) impressive victory of the year. 

Yep.  Michigan DOES suck.  This coming from a life-long Michigan fan.  The play of the offensive line has been HORRIBLE all season.  As a result, the running game is not-existant. The Buckeyes should be able to make hay with that all afternoon.  It should get ugly today and Ohio State fans will act like they are world beaters.  In reality, you will be beating a team with a lot of frustratingly glaring shortcomings.  Not too much to be proud of today in victory.

I absolutely hate MSU but it will be the best team OSU will have faced all year.  Their offense isn't much to write home about but that defense of theirs is otherworldly.  A victory over them would be Ohio State's most (perhaps only) impressive victory of the year. 

 

Not so far! Michigan is kicking the OSU defense's derriere.

All of the score predictions made upthread which had OSU blowing out Michigan are silly and show a lack of understanding of this rivalry. An unranked Michigan has ruined several otherwise perfect OSU seasons. No matter how OSU or Michigan are playing in a given year, they always play a tough, usually tight game in this matchup.  No matter how good OSU might be or bad Michigan may be, it's still always a tight game.

Tough tight game at the Big House.  21-21 at halftime; then OSU pulls ahead 35-21 in the third quarter.  Michigan ties it back up 35-35 in the fourth.  OSU retakes the lead 42-35 with 2:20 left.  Then Michigan drives to score a TD to pull to 42-41 with 32 seconds left.  Michigan elects to go for 2 and win in regulation instead of sending the game to OT.  UM's 2-point conversion is intercepted by the Buckeyes. 

 

Final score: 42-41 OSU WINS!!!

The defense is terrible.

 

Here's my dream scenario:  Alabama loses today and Ohio State goes on to play a Jameis-less Florida State squad in the title game.

Michigan played amazing.  OSU had mistakes in both sides of the field, penalties, turnovers, ejections, etc.  lucky to escape with the win

FSU, without winston, vs. OSU would be a best case for those who want to watch the BCS go out with a whimper. 

Harris poll out soon, and new BCS Poll out soon. Super tight race among FSU, OSU and Auburn. The computer #s will be interesting.

 

 

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, Week 14

USA TODAY Sports 12:24 p.m. EST December 1, 2013

 

1. Florida State (12-0) (1546 points) (58 first-place votes)

 

2. Ohio State (12-0) (1462) (4 first-place votes)

 

3. Auburn (11-1) (1437)

 

4. Alabama (11-1) (1333)

 

5. Missouri (11-1) (1315)

 

6. Oklahoma State (10-1) (1248)

 

7. Baylor (10-1) (1100)

 

7. South Carolina (10-2) (1100)

 

9. Michigan State (11-1) (1037)

 

10. Stanford (10-2) (1034)

 

11. Clemson (10-2) (853)

 

12. Oregon (10-2) (843)

 

13. Arizona State (10-2) (765)

 

14. LSU (9-3) (720)

 

15. Oklahoma (9-2) (660)

 

16. Louisville (10-1) (625)

 

17. Central Florida (10-1) (572)

 

18. Northern Illinois (12-0) (547)

 

19. UCLA (9-3) (473)

 

20. Duke (10-2) (402)

 

21. Wisconsin (9-3) (266)

 

22. Fresno State (10-1) (215)

 

23. Cincinnati (9-2) (167)

 

24. Texas (8-3) (149)

 

25. Texas A&M (8-4) (121)

 

Dropped out: No. 23 Southern California (9-4, lost to then-No. 22 UCLA 35-14)

 

Others receiving votes: Miami (Fla.) (9-3) 47; Georgia (8-4) 41; Vanderbilt (8-4) 18; Iowa (8-4) 13; Marshall (9-3) 13; Southern California (9-4) 10; Washington (8-4) 6; Minnesota (8-4) 4; Virginia Tech (8-4) 4; Notre Dame (8-4) 3; Ball State (10-2) 1

 

Latest BCS standings - full standings at http://espn.go.com/college-football/bcs

 

1) Florida State  .9948

2) Ohio State    .9503

3) Auburn          .9233

4) Alabama        .8539

5) Missouri        .8428

 

MORE: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10065480/florida-state-seminoles-ohio-state-buckeyes-1-2-bcs-standings

win & we're in.  It's that simple.

 

Curious what sort of changes the defense will be making this week to stop being picked apart.  Seems to be more about the zone schemes & players being in the wrong positions rather than lack of talent. 

win & we're in.  It's that simple.

 

Curious what sort of changes the defense will be making this week to stop being picked apart.  Seems to be more about the zone schemes & players being in the wrong positions rather than lack of talent. 

 

Well the good news is that OSU probably won't see a wide open playbook that Michigan used. MSU/Dantonio is Jim Tressel Jr.

^^Pitt Brown has been a liability.  I didn't realize how big of a loss Bryant would be, but should have been clued in by Urban's reaction.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the true frosh, Von Bell, in there next game.  He's playing on special teams (#11) so you know Urban likes him and, also, his redshirt is blown.  The other option would be to switch Powell and Brown, so that Powell is the starting safety and Brown plays the star position, which he might benefit from given that his box would be a lot smaller to cover.

 

The other issue is at LB, with Shazier being the only consistent performer.  Grant is hurt, but he isn't all that good when healthy.  Help is on the way..... next year with a nice coup in last year's class and this year's class.  The kids just need to bulk up a bit.  For this year, idk.... maybe they can try Jamal Marcus like they did Zack Boren last year.  Marcus (#34) always seems to make plays when in, but is stuck behind Spence at rush-DE.  The Eubanks kid who was in against Michigan didn't do that bad, but it is just so hard for me to accept we are so thin.  OSU has always been a "next guy up" program at LB.

win & we're in.  It's that simple.

A close win and we might get passed up. OSU's strength of schedule isn't as high as the SEC teams so even going undefeated might not be enough if the Buckeyes can't convincingly beat a good opponent.

win & we're in.  It's that simple.

A close win and we might get passed up. OSU's strength of schedule isn't as high as the SEC teams so even going undefeated might not be enough if the Buckeyes can't convincingly beat a good opponent.

 

OSU and Auburn both might have hangovers after those rivalry games, I won't be surprised to see 1 of them lose on Saturday.

An undefeated BCS team has never been passed by a 1 loss team, but Auburn is close. I know Tuberville voted OSU #2 in the

coaches poll though.

"to not include a one-loss SEC team in the national title game would just be un American.  It's that simple."

 

errrrRRRRRiiiiiiiiigggggggggghhhhhhhhTTTTTTTTTT

#1 rule of college football: Don't lose. Ever.

I just realized we are playing MSU on turf in a dome.  I think that plays to OSU's advantage... big time.

I just realized we are playing MSU on turf in a dome.  I think that plays to OSU's advantage... big time.

 

Michigan State has a solid defense (especially against the run), but their offense is really pedestrian.  If Ohio State executes, they have a pretty good shot at taking Sparty behind the woodshed.

I think just the opposite.  If MSU can execute their offense with any efficiency, we are in for a tough game.  MSU will stuff the run, collapse the pocket & blanket our receivers.  I think Braxton is going to have to win the game single handedly with long runs on broken plays.  If OSU turns the ball over, it could be tough sledding

win & we're in.  It's that simple.

A close win and we might get passed up. OSU's strength of schedule isn't as high as the SEC teams so even going undefeated might not be enough if the Buckeyes can't convincingly beat a good opponent.

 

Mathematically it will be very very difficult for Auburn to pass OSU if both win.  That would mean that both teams beat 11-1 teams, and OSU is already ahead of them in the computer rankings.  Mizzou is not going to put them over it; it would need the voters to change their minds, essentially.

 

Honestly, Mizzou really has a better case than Auburn to argue that they should be the team getting in.  They have one loss, in overtime, to a better team (South Carolina, IIRC) than Auburn (which lost to LSU)--and their wins have all been fairly convincing, unlike Auburn (I think even Auburn fans would admit that their wins over Georgia and Alabama were of the miraculous variety). 

Yeah, Auburn was one miracle play away from being a two-loss team going into the Alabama game and one miracle play away from that game at least going to overtime.  And I agree with what jdm said about Missouri's current resume vs. Auburn's.  Auburn obviously has the biggest win, but its loss is also less excusable.

 

Of course, at the end of the day, we still need to take care of business against the best defense we'll have seen all year (by a long shot).  Our season low for scoring is 31 (at Wisconsin).  MSU's season high for points allowed is 28 (twice: Indiana and Nebraska).

The big night is upon us.  Strength vs. strength (OSU offense vs. MSU defense) and weakness vs. weakness (OSU defense vs. MSU offense).  Should be a good one.

 

SI cover jinxes aren't what they used to be, since they started going to multiple regional covers.  But FYI: Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes shared regional covers with Auburn this week.  As far as photos go, it was a good one for Brax.  It shows his "gold pants award" dangling from his necklace while running for a TD:

 

MORE: http://college-football.si.com/2013/12/04/chris-davis-braxton-miller-sports-illustrated/

 

Historically speaking, Michigan State is always good for at least one big choke a season. There have been multiple times over the last decade where they've lost big games that they shouldn't have.

 

I hate to say it, but Ohio State is going to win. :x

MSU has been the beneficiaries of several major OSU chokes as well in the past.

i'm going to go with... aww ef it i dont care bgsu won the mac bigtime lol!

 

 

I had to watch that awful 4 hour FOX broadcast, just to see the Buckeyes lose 34-24? #painful

that broadcast did suck, commentators were bad.

 

Buckeyes just didn't make enough plays.  Defense was obviously exposed but that was a fact weeks ago.  Offensive play calling didn't seem right.  I don't recall any short passes over the middle, crossing routes, TE drag, etc.  MSU was finding soft spots in our zone all night. 

Indeed it was a long game regardless of the outcome.

I missed the MAC championship game but watched the Big 10 championship. Bad call on my part.

It became pretty clear to me a few games into the season that this team wasn't a true national title contender.  The offense has been electric all season, but the defense was, well, terrible and embarrassing at times.  Michigan State is a more complete team and wears the crown of Big Ten Champions well. I hope that they knock off Stanford in the Rose Bowl.  It's just too bad they couldn't beat Notre Dame or maybe Sparty would be in Pasadena playing for a national title.

 

From all prognostications I've seen, the Buckeyes will head to Miami to play Clemson in the Orange Bowl.  They're going to need to put up a ton of points to win, because the Tigers are going to light up the Ohio State secondary like a Christmas tree.

wellllll at least one ohio team knows how to win a championship -- and whip a ranked team to do it!  ;)

 

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/gamecast?gameId=333402459&version=mobile&appsrc=sc&ex_cid=espnapi_internal

The Clemson matchup should be interesting.  The Big Ten matchups with Wisconsin/South Carolina, and MSU/Stanford will be huge also.  Iowa had a great season this year but they'll probably get shredded by LSU.  Ditto for Nebraska vs Georgia.

I hadn't even seen that LSU is playing Iowa and Nebraska is playing Georgia.  Wow.  The Big Ten's bowl schedule is usually tough (in the sense that we usually get matched upward), but that's really rough, especially Iowa-LSU.  I'd love to be surprised, but I agree with gottaplan.  Those are going to be tough matchups.

^They are mismatches.  The Bowls love the Big10 teams because their fanbases travel as well as any in the country.... which leads to them being selected ahead of their on-the-field value.

The thing that disappoints me with this OSU vs. Clemson Orange Bowl is that every preview is going to dredge up the last time OSU & Clemson played in a bowl game.