^^Why?  Because you think Austin and Seattle are 'cool'?  We'll split the difference and say Dayton.  Seattle and Austin might be considered second tier cities.... with Seattle a borderline first tier city.

 

Because they are newer cities that have recently attained notoriety but are still not top tier. Dayton would have been an appropriate comparison in the '90s, but that has been transcended. Austin/Seattle=Cincy are below SF/Boston=Ole Miss are below NYC/Chicago=OSU in the tier structure I'm using. A Dayton/Cheyenne program doesn't finish a season ranked 3 or 4, ever.

I get what you are saying, but I would probably reserve that kind of category for a team like Oregon.  It's a poor comparison model, but we are on UO I suppose.

 

For the record, I hope Cincy whoops VT.  I always root for the Ohio teams.

Bob Frantz ‏@BobFrantz80  9m9 minutes ago

Text o' The Day received at @SportsRadio1065: "Typical SEC bias: Alabama gets a first round bye, and Oregon has to play FSU" #damn!

I get what you are saying, but I would probably reserve that kind of category for a team like Oregon.  It's a poor comparison model, but we are on UO I suppose.

 

For the record, I hope Cincy whoops VT.  I always root for the Ohio teams.

 

I would go ahead and put Oregon in the tier with Ole Miss. In fact, if they win a couple NCs over the next few years, bump 'em up to OSU caliber. There comes a point when new success trumps traditional hierarchies, e.g. Los Angeles vs. San Francisco.

 

I think the city model is pretty good. Possibly the best analogous phenomenon, though obviously not flawless. If you believe there can't be a Detroit team, or there can't be a Los Angeles team, then that could be the crux of our disagreement more than which tiers are which. I believe the conference shake-ups threaten the historically quite stable status quo, certainly more than it has ever been threatened before.

Oh, there can be a Detroit.  Think about the Ivy League schools which pretty much dominated the landscape at the turn of the 20th Century.  Or how about Army and Navy?  There were times when schools like Minnesota and GT were considered elite.

 

Today, college football success is based almost entirely on recruiting.  It is why it lacks the parity of the NFL.  You can take a look at the recruiting rankings each year.  When was the last time Cincy had a top 100 recruit?  Whereas any year OSU does not have 5 of the top 100 players is generally considered a disappointment.  And even though Michigan sucks right now beyond belief, it still recruits very well.  The top tier programs hog all the top recruits and the consequences of that dynamic are obvious.  Schools with second tier recruits can 'pop' every now and then based on some luck and having a really solid upper class which, while unheralded when it came in, really developed in the 3-4 years of playing college ball together.  But year over year success of being elite is nearly impossible for any program outside of the ones I listed above.  It's just the way it is.

oregon is phoenix.  it is the nouveau riche team of the ncaa.

^^ Wasn't Gunner Kiel rated pretty high? Anyway, lots of times the recruitment ratings aren't as reliable as advertised. Much like with the NFL draft (can you say "Tim Tebow?" or "RGIII?"). Cincy has had more success than the numbers would dictate. For that matter, OSU had less recent success than you'd expect, until that former Bearcat Urban Meyer's second year.

 

No B1G teams have been doing very well in the "year over year success" metric lately, btw. Aside from 2002, B1G didn't pull off a single title in the BCS era. Same as the Big East.

True.  MAC level is more accurate.  I say this even though they are my second favorite college team for now.

 

tOSU beat them soundly even though they figured out an exploitable gap in their D.  Without that quick slant, it's a Wisconsin-level demolition.

 

What's in it for Ohio State to schedule them annually?

 

If Cincy were MAC level, why tf do all the articles about the Big 12 not making the playoff mention Cincy as an addition and none of the MAC teams?

 

Examples:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11993892/big-12-commissioner-bob-bowlsby-says-conference-reconsider-how-declare-champion

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/12/7/7347577/tcu-baylor-college-football-playoff-big-12-expansion

 

Cincinnati (and a couple peers like Boise State and BYU) is recognized by all relevant parties, including national media and Big 12 insiders, as standing out above all other teams that aren't in a Power 5 conference. Calling the program MAC level is laughably ignorant.

Cincy is obviously better than any MAC team (better than the best team in the MAC almost every year), but inclusion in the big12 doesn't necessarily have anything to do with quality of the football program.  UC has more students and a much larger fanbase than any of the MAC schools.  the other sports programs are better, too.  There is more money in inviting UC to the big12 than any school in the MAC.

Cincy is obviously better than any MAC team (better than the best team in the MAC almost every year), but inclusion in the big12 doesn't necessarily have anything to do with quality of the football program.  UC has more students and a much larger fanbase than any of the MAC schools.  the other sports programs are better, too.  There is more money in inviting UC to the big12 than any school in the MAC.

 

Those are good points, and help explain why a school like Rutgers was picked out of the Big East over Cincy. B1G sought a large school in the NYC market, not a perennially successful program.

 

Edit: Success on the field helps put a school in the conversation, though. If a MAC school could actually hold a candle to Cincy, people would be talking about how they should get a leg up out of the G5 (whether it would be a super serious conversation, probably not).

Cincy is obviously better than any MAC team (better than the best team in the MAC almost every year), but inclusion in the big12 doesn't necessarily have anything to do with quality of the football program.  UC has more students and a much larger fanbase than any of the MAC schools.  the other sports programs are better, too.  There is more money in inviting UC to the big12 than any school in the MAC.

 

Those are good points, and help explain why a school like Rutgers was picked out of the Big East over Cincy. B1G sought a large school in the NYC market, not a perennially successful program.

 

Edit: Success on the field helps put a school in the conversation, though. If a MAC school could actually hold a candle to Cincy, people would be talking about how they should get a leg up out of the G5 (whether it would be a super serious conversation, probably not).

 

I have a ton of respect for The Rockets and of course NIU, BGSU, Ohio etc., but if the Big 12 expands I would stunned if UC is not the first choice (for many reasons). The top of the MAC has good football teams.

There is no consistently good mac school.  every year there is one legitimate team, but it is a different team every year.  Coaches leave as soon as they have any success. 

 

Here is how I put teams into tiers: are you a team that the coach is using as a stepping stone to move up to the next level?  Kent had a good coach who used his success to go to Minnesota and the Minnesota job is one that a coach would take on his way to the top programs. this makes Kent a third* (or fourth, depending on how many tiers your cake has) tier school.  UC is a second tier school.  You can be a coach in Cincinnati and become the coach of a top ten program.

Teams like Michigan, FSU, USC, Texas, Bama, etc. are the destination schools.

 

It doesn't mean a second tier school cant have very good years, but I wouldn't expect a second tier school to sustain dominance for longer than five years.  Burgeoning programs are so fascinating because they become successful against all odds.

 

*The bottom tiers are much larger than the top tier, pyramid style

And with Tubs having no interest in other jobs that is huge. UC is dam close to getting 5 star D End CeCe Jefferson to commit. He has offers from everyone including OSU and all of the SEC.

Bob Frantz ‏@BobFrantz80  9m9 minutes ago

Text o' The Day received at @SportsRadio1065: "Typical SEC bias: Alabama gets a first round bye, and Oregon has to play FSU" #damn!

 

Um, did that texter even read the score of the Georgia Tech game, let alone watch any of it?

There is the national perception that the big10 stinks and the top teams get good rankings by reputation and by beating up on other bad, over-rated, big10 teams. 

 

If you believe that the big ten is overvalued by the voters, then you can believe that Wisconsin wasn't even a legitimate top  15 team and the Buckeyes blew out a mediocre team.

 

I think OSU is good enough to play well, but there is precious little evidence that they can contend with other to teams in big-time conferences.

I also think Whisky was overrated. They played against crap teams almost all season. Big 10 West is not the place 2 B.

Big Ten gets its rep as a weak conference in part due to terribly mismatched bowl games.  A few years ago there was a very average Iowa team that played LSU and got crushed.  They get these matchups because Big Ten teams have huge fan bases that will travel, buy tickets, and tune in to watch games.  What is the fan base of a school like Wisconsin or MSU vs a school like LSU or Auburn.  No comparison.  But those mismatched bowl losses end up getting repeated as stats that quote a lousy Big Ten record vs SEC teams...

 

Speaking of MSU, they beat Stanford last year in the Rose Bowl, which was a great game.  Stanford was the conf champ and the PAC 12 was the highest ranked conference at the end of the season. 

 

Regardless, every year is a new opportunity.  If OSU, Wisconsin and MSU could all win bowl games, that would go a long way in re-establishing the Big Ten as dominant conference

I also think Whisky was overrated. They played against crap teams almost all season. Big 10 West is not the place 2 B.

Wisconsin had a double-digit 2nd half lead on LSU until they mysteriously stopped running the ball, and Gordon ran for about 1,200 yards on Nebraska.  Wisconsin is a solid team, I think OSU surprised them with the wide-open air attack by a 3rd string QB.

some of the long passes, I think some of the long TD passes, were just heaved up by Jones.  Smith just made incredible catches, beating out the defender and going up to get it

Big Ten is a great conference although they have 1 basketball title in 25 years and 1 football title in 44 years. However adding Rutgers and Md just for tv metrics is interesting. UC put up 60 plus on Rutgers 3/5 years in football and crushed them in bball.

^^ Wasn't Gunner Kiel rated pretty high? Anyway, lots of times the recruitment ratings aren't as reliable as advertised. Much like with the NFL draft (can you say "Tim Tebow?" or "RGIII?"). Cincy has had more success than the numbers would dictate. For that matter, OSU had less recent success than you'd expect, until that former Bearcat Urban Meyer's second year.

 

No B1G teams have been doing very well in the "year over year success" metric lately, btw. Aside from 2002, B1G didn't pull off a single title in the BCS era. Same as the Big East.

 

Yes, Kiel was very highly recruited.  But he first committed and enrolled at Notre Dame.  He transferred to Cincy.

 

Recruitment rankings are certainly not a science.  AJ Hawk was a 3-star no-name.  Malcolm Jenkins was a 2-star recruit.  OSU has had several 5-star recruits who didn't live up the hype.  OSU passed on several Ohio kids (e.g. Tyrell Sutton, Ryan Brewer) who turned out to be really special.  But the fact that it is not a science does not mean that you want to ignore the rankings.  They are right more than they are wrong.

 

Less recent success?  Define that.  In recruiting?  We have been in the top 10 nearly every year I can recall, and that would include the Cooper and Tressell eras.  As for on-the-field success, I don't know how you can argue with their body of work.  There really have only been about 2 years out of the last 20 when OSU was not considered and played like an elite team.

I was just catching up on the latest recruiting news/updates/commits.  WTF is this??

 

 

Apparently it is one of our new Offensive lineman  :-o  Looks kinda like my HS social studies teacher, Ms. Williams.

Hts121, it's okay to embrace those urges. Society is becoming ever more accepting. You may even be able to marry in the state of Ohio before your new amore graduates!

I was just catching up on the latest recruiting news/updates/commits.  WTF is this??

 

Apparently it is one of our new Offensive lineman  :-o  Looks kinda like my HS social studies teacher, Ms. Williams.

 

Ms. Williams sounds like a bada$$!!! :roll:

 

On a somewhat serious note:  I don't follow the recruiting as much as you do, Hts.  Got a name to go along with that 'face'?

^Matthew Burrell - http://247sports.com/Player/Matthew-Burrell-27604

 

Ms. Williams took no lip, for sure.

 

Hts121, it's okay to embrace those urges. Society is becoming ever more accepting. You may even be able to marry in the state of Ohio before your new amore graduates!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMQLrnbBgE

Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman was hired this week to be the next University of Houston head coach.  Herman will remain with the Buckeyes coaching staff for their CFP semifinal game on Jan. 1 at the Sugar Bowl and for the national championship on Jan. 12, if they advance.

 

The 39-year-old Herman, a Cincinnati native, spent the first 10 years of his career coaching in the state of Texas before becoming offensive coordinator at Iowa State (2009-11).  For the last three seasons he has been the OC/quarterbacks coach and offensive playcaller for Ohio State under Head Coach Urban Meyer.

 

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12034332/houston-cougars-hire-ohio-state-buckeyes-oc-tom-herman-head-coach

 

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2014/12/46464/appreciative-and-ambitious-tom-hermans-dream-houston-ohiostate

Considering the offensive numbers his second- and third-string QBs have put up, this was just a matter of time.  Hope Urban can find someone else out there like Herman at another place like Iowa State to bring to OSU next; he'll be missed as much as Dantonio was on the defensive side.

I think he should've held out for a more prestigious job, which he was bound to get with continued success at OSU (think D'Antonio).  Is he even going to get paid more as HC of Houston than he did as OC of OSU.  I thought OSU's asst coaches were amongst the highest paid...

Fun little fact to throw in when his name comes up:  Joey Bosa is the great grandson of Tony Accardo, who ran the Chicago mob for decades.

 

So is his cousin Jake Kumerow, who plays WR for Wisconsin-Whitewater (playing Mount Union for the DIII title once again).

 

There was actually discussion of the NFL blacklisting Eric Kumerow (Jake's dad, Joey's uncle) for that reason.

Bosa would've made one helluva Mob goon

If anyone is coming down to the Sugar Bowl, give me a ring.  There are tons of of Alumni & fans events the days prior to the game, and a few other fun things to do in New Orleans

I am pumped for the OSU game.  I think the Buckeyes have a real shot to knock off Alabama but they will have to play a great game on both sides.  In other news I think FSU gets dismantled by Oregon.  What's the line on that game?

Oregon is a 9 point favorite over FSU.  Bama is a 9 point favorite over OSU

Bama is gonna be tuff. I actually think Whisky wasn't that good of development for the new QB. If that game would have been tougher I actually think the Bucks would be better prepared. And who is his backup?

^Good question.  My guess would be Jalin Marshall, who played QB in high school.  There was a QB in this last recruiting class, Stephen Collier, but I'm sure he redshirted the season already.  There is also an 'invited walk-on', Luke Morgan, who is a sophomore.... but he was given the same jersey number as Ezekiel Elliot so they would have to do something about that.  Marshall is probably the safest bet.  He knows the speed of the game and the offense.  He has his timing down, at least on the read option.  Bottom line is if Cardale gets hurt, we are in deep doo-doo

If anyone is coming down to the Sugar Bowl, give me a ring.  There are tons of of Alumni & fans events the days prior to the game, and a few other fun things to do in New Orleans

 

Thanks for the invite, but I have to watch it from cold Ohio.  But you're right about lots of other Buckeye fans being there.  According to http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2014/12/26/Ohio-State-football-1226.html - Ohio State’s allotment of 13,000 seats sold out in 24 hours after the Dec. 7 announcement that the Buckeyes had qualified for the semifinals.  The Sugar Bowl and Big Ten later contributed an extra 600 tickets.  The 13,600 tickets Ohio State had to sell are down from the 17,500 OSU was allotted as part of BCS games.

 

And alot of the Buckeye fans will be flying to New Orleans - instead of the easier driving option for Bama fans.  Because of this, Port Columbus added over a dozen extra flights to New Orleans.  According to this mid-December report - http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/12/15/southwest-adding-5-flights-for-buckeyes-fans.html - 10 flights will carry about 1,300 passengers between Columbus and New Orleans over New Year's weekend, not counting the football team, band or official boosters traveling on separate charters - and more flights have been added since then by charter companies.

 

But that's not the most Buckeye flights and fans for a bowl game:  The 2002 National Championship game against University of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl saw about 10,000 more passengers than usual traveled through Port Columbus on 40 extra flights. 

If anyone is coming down to the Sugar Bowl, give me a ring.  There are tons of of Alumni & fans events the days prior to the game, and a few other fun things to do in New Orleans

 

Thanks for the invite, but I have to watch it from cold Ohio.  But you're right about lots of other Buckeye fans being there.  According to http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2014/12/26/Ohio-State-football-1226.html - Ohio State’s allotment of 13,000 seats sold out in 24 hours after the Dec. 7 announcement that the Buckeyes had qualified for the semifinals.  The Sugar Bowl and Big Ten later contributed an extra 600 tickets.  The 13,600 tickets Ohio State had to sell are down from the 17,500 OSU was allotted as part of BCS games.

 

And alot of the Buckeye fans will be flying to New Orleans - instead of the easier driving option for Bama fans.  Because of this, Port Columbus added over a dozen extra flights to New Orleans.  According to this mid-December report - http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/12/15/southwest-adding-5-flights-for-buckeyes-fans.html - 10 flights will carry about 1,300 passengers between Columbus and New Orleans over New Year's weekend, not counting the football team, band or official boosters traveling on separate charters - and more flights have been added since then by charter companies.

 

But that's not the most Buckeye flights and fans for a bowl game:  The 2002 National Championship game against University of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl saw about 10,000 more passengers than usual traveled through Port Columbus on 40 extra flights. 

 

Well if you have a group going and a larger vehicle, 900 miles is driveable in a day.  That wasn't as doable in Tempe.

Rumors starting to surface now that Braxton Miller will in fact be transferring.  I expect an announcement soon after the bowl games.

 

The more of these bowl games I watch, the more I like OSU's chances to win.  SEC teams have not played very well thus far, showing very little defense

Well, game day is finally here!  To me it's starting to feel a bit like the 2002 BCS Championship Game - where OSU "had no chance" against then 24-game win-streak, undefeated, defending champion and #1 ranked Miami.  And then, against the odds, OSU won in OT by "playing their game".

 

Alabama is also ranked #1 and is a 9-point favorite over the Buckeyes.  And for good reason.  Outside of a mid-season loss at Ole Miss and a couple of close SEC calls at Arkansas and at LSU, Bama has consistently dominated offensively and defensively.  They are the standard that must be beaten in CFB today.

 

The question for Ohio State is "what does playing our game mean" going into tonight's matchup with Bama?  After Barrett took over for preseason #1 QB Miller, "playing our game" meant getting the young offensive line to coalesce, and then having a dynamic read-option duo of Barrett and Elliott to run-first.  This led to big running plays and opened the opposition defense to passing plays. --- But when Barrett got injured and Cardale Jones took over for the Big Ten championship game, "playing our game" changed.  With Jones, the read-option mostly went away and Elliott took the brunt of the runs.  But the down-the-field passing opened up with Jones and was on display with WR Devin Smith in that game.

 

So will "playing our game" mean continuing this game plan?  Or will Meyer and Herman tweak the offensive game plan against Bama?  Bama has the #1 ranked run defense with an average of 88.7 ypg and only 3 rushing TD's given up all season.  Whereas Bama's passing defense is ranked 57th and has been vulnerable to long pass plays. --- Of course, so has OSU's defense.  And Bama has the dynamic Amari Cooper at WR.  Can OSU contain Cooper?  Or will Bama bust out big gains with the Kiffin-led offense?

 

With all that said, I'm going with the cliche of "big plays" and "turnovers" determining the game.  Whichever team has the most big plays and/or whichever team commits the fewer turnovers will be the winner. --- Of course I'm predicting a close OSU victory.  But honestly, I've never felt so confident yet also concerned at the same time about an OSU game.  Now we just have to wait until 8:30PM!

Rumors starting to surface now that Braxton Miller will in fact be transferring.  I expect an announcement soon after the bowl games.

 

The more of these bowl games I watch, the more I like OSU's chances to win.  SEC teams have not played very well thus far, showing very little defense

 

Nice win this afternoon for Wisconsin over a solid SEC West team. Ole Miss and Mississippi State got worked...maybe this division was a bit overrated.

I think bama will have to load the box to stop the run and blitz Cardale.  Leaves our receivers in man coverage to make some big plays.  I think OSU defense will totally stuff the Alabama run game and force some bad throws.  I think our secondary is better than most any they've faced all year

O - H - I - O ! ! ! !

 

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400610178

Well, that's that.

Business-like effort from Ohio State. Short of a few mistakes, this game almost should have been a blowout. Way to go Buckeyes!

That was a dicey game.  Lots of momentum changes.

 

A few notes

- Cardale running the ball up the middle was nearly unstoppable.  For a big guy, he's pretty light on his feet and was delivering the blow to 'Bama linebackers

- Cardale's passing was really inconsistent.  He fires line drives, with incredible velocity, but seemed unable to hit guys in stride or put much touch on the ball.  He also seemed to be staring down his primary receivers.  Many times he really seemed to be forcing it instead of just taking the natural progression

- He did have time to throw, but Alabama was really pressuring, bringing 4-5 rushers each down

- i wasn't a big fan of the play calling.  The early series after they had the ball at the 1 yd line, and proceeded to pass it 4 times was terrible.  At that point, 'Bama was already giving up yardage to OSU running the ball.  Again, seemed like Cardale was staring down his receivers, trying to force it.  A couple sweeps or off-tackle runs might have been safer & more productive

- the 4th quarter punt from the end zone which bounced backward and ended up being about a 15 yd punt was horrible.  So lucky the next play Alabama threw an interception

- the punt return game was a nail biter all night.  Fair catching some of the balls inside the 10 yd line rather than letting them go into the endzone was terrible

 

- What was the deal on the opening kickoff that Alabama didn't touch...?  That was a live ball that OSU could have tackled for a safety or recovered for a TD?  The game callers didn't really explain what a bonehead nearly-disastrous play that was.

 

- The 3rd quarter play where Cardale was tackled in the endzone was a safety.  I don't understand the rationale of "forward progress".  Cardale was trying to escape, was trying to throw the ball still...

 

- Meyer's response in the postgame interview when asked about Oregon winning by 40...  "They won by 40?  We gotta go..."

I am not a huge Buckeye fan but I was cheering for them. The SEC narrative driven by ESPN is tiresome., so yesterday was awesome. Good win, if OSU played clean in the first this could have been a blow out.

 

Bama's punter was something else. He kept Bama in the game by giving OSU horrible field position. He deserved the MVP if they did manage to win. I think the distance he was punting was part of the problem for the return team. The return guys felt uncomfortable being back 40 yds off the line instead of 25 yds. I can see how that messes with your head.

 

Edit: I had sports center on this morning and in case if you are wondering "the gap between the SEC and other conferences narrowed a little bit" yesterday. Vomit...

^ Agree.  not a huge fan but happy to see my fellow Ohioans so amped.  gotta get to a point where the majority of Ohioans are that amped when football isnt the catalyst and we will be in really good shape. 

 

I was rooting for the buckeyes and will root for them against Oregon.  And certainly agree with the whole ESPN thing.  Hopefully the lack of objective coverage and always having an agenda will be their demise some day.

Glad that SEC got beat up bad in the big bowl games.

I think I woke up my entire household on that last play screaming for Tyvus Powell to GO DOWN!  WTF was he thinking running that pick out of the endzone with no time on the clock??

 

What do they feed those 'Bama players?  They don't have one skinny guy on that team.  Really no one you could even describe as 'svelte'.  Every one of them has legs like tree trunks and a little bit of a gut.