Michigan vs. Ohio state.

[The_Swan]

@BobLibDem

There isn’t much one can do about conference opponents. And every conference has a patsy or two. Too bad that Wisconsin had to miss the big boys this year but that’s just the breaks.

The non-conference games are where a school can decide to chew on meat or feast on creampuffs. Look at Texas playing Sam Houston State. Or Miami playing Florida International. Some schools are notorious for the soft schedules, and in my opinion they aren’t punished enough for it in the polls.

Some of those schools play a tougher in-conference schedule, and they know it. I can’t think of a single school in all of Div-I that doesn’t play a patsy at some point in the season.

It doesn’t matter if a team can or can’t “help” their schedule. It is what it is, regardless of motivation. Auburn, Arkansas, USC and Florida have all played 4 teams that are currently ranked. Michigan has played 2, and Wisconsin has played (and lost to) one.

[HubZilla]

@BobLibDem

There isn’t much one can do about conference opponents. And every conference has a patsy or two. Too bad that Wisconsin had to miss the big boys this year but that’s just the breaks.

The non-conference games are where a school can decide to chew on meat or feast on creampuffs. Look at Texas playing Sam Houston State. Or Miami playing Florida International. Some schools are notorious for the soft schedules, and in my opinion they aren’t punished enough for it in the polls.

The way college football economics is nowadays, you’re always going to have 2-3 creampuffs in your OOC. The big boys want as many home games as possible, and the cream puffs ensure you won’t have to go back to their stadium.

My alma mater, Nebraska, gets a lot of flak for easy scheduling. This year, we had Troy, Louisiana Tech, and Nicholls State, three creampuffs. But our 4th game was at Southern Cal. You need at least one challenging opponent. In the next few years, we have USC, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, while you can be assured the other 2-3 OOCs will be lesser opponents.

What irritates me is when ALL of the OOC are creampuffs, like a lot of SEC (Auburn, LSU) and Big Ten (Wisconsin) and, yes, Big XII (A&M) teams do.

In 1996 Florida and Florida State rematched for the national championship. The reason was unbeaten Arizona State was tied to the Rose Bowl. Since Florida and FSU went 1-1 against each other… should it have been a split title?

[The_Swan]

@HubZilla

The way college football economics is nowadays, you’re always going to have 2-3 creampuffs in your OOC. The big boys want as many home games as possible, and the cream puffs ensure you won’t have to go back to their stadium.

My alma mater, Nebraska, gets a lot of flak for easy scheduling. This year, we had Troy, Louisiana Tech, and Nicholls State, three creampuffs. But our 4th game was at Southern Cal. You need at least one challenging opponent. In the next few years, we have USC, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, while you can be assured the other 2-3 OOCs will be lesser opponents.

What irritates me is when ALL of the OOC are creampuffs, like a lot of SEC (Auburn, LSU) and Big Ten (Wisconsin) and, yes, Big XII (A&M) teams do.

In 1996 Florida and Florida State rematched for the national championship. The reason was unbeaten Arizona State was tied to the Rose Bowl. Since Florida and FSU went 1-1 against each other… should it have been a split title?

This was ture for Auburn quite a while back, but they have had a BCS team on their OOC schedule for the past several years. USC, for one. The whole dig on SEC team is largely false these days, but used to be fairly well deserved.

[The_Universe_Lashes_Out]

@HubZilla

In 1996 Florida and Florida State rematched for the national championship. The reason was unbeaten Arizona State was tied to the Rose Bowl. Since Florida and FSU went 1-1 against each other… should it have been a split title?

FSU won by three at home with some very questionable non-calls on them roughing the passer. That was the “hit them til the echo of the whistle” game. Florida won 52-20 in the national championship game. I think the Gators title was well-deserved.

[The_Swan]

@HowieReynolds

FSU won by three at home with some very questionable non-calls on them roughing the passer. That was the “hit them til the echo of the whistle” game. Florida won 52-20 in the national championship game. I think the Gators title was well-deserved.

Back in those days, every game was a “hit them til the echo of the whistle” game. It would still be that way if they had the same caliber of athlete.

[The_Swan]

@The Swan

Back in those days, every game was a “hit them til the echo of the whistle” game. It would still be that way if they had the same caliber of athlete.

Sorry. I meant “every FSU game”.

[The_Universe_Lashes_Out]

Very true, it was Mickey Andrews’ motto. But that was the game Wuerffel got hit late about six or seven times without the refs calling it.

[ShibbOleth]

@brianjedi

I dunno. I’d almost rather put up with Ohio drivers than Tennessee drivers.

I lived in Ohio for a long time. Ohio drivers, at least from the area where I lived, are generally courteous and mostly follow the traffic rules as they understand them. That is when they are in Ohio. In my part of Florida they gawk, drive too slow in the fast moving lanes, cut across lanes of traffic when they see something that distracts them, and average about 75 years old.

“Look, Ma, it’s a bird!”

CRASH!!

[phungi]

I have a friend who is a Michigan fan, so I generally root for them, but this opportunity was too good to pass up:

Tailgating alum chanted “Go Blue”
Showing true colors, they knew what to do
So they lay on their backs
And accepted into their cracks
The posturing fans from dear OSU

[HubZilla]

@ivylass

Traitor. I dare you to walk through downtown Columbus wearing a Wolverine sweatshirt.

I wouldn’t do that in Columbus with OSU fans

[eponymous]

@StinkyBurrito

O. H.

I. O.

[jsc1953]

@ShibbOleth

Or USC. Stupid BSC rankings. Go Gators! (and Scarlet Knights! and Broncos! and whatever Pac 10 patsies the Trojans have left on their schedule!!!)

Ahem.

Cal - USC, the main event on Saturday (with some Big 10 middleweights on the undercard). It’s going to be huge.

[Fugazi]

I - O

The google ads are unanimous in their support for The Ohio State University.

Jim Tressel is probably the best big game coach in America. He just always seems to have his team ready to go. I predict a Buckeyes victory by at least 10 points.

[Fugazi]

eponymous beat me to the I - O, so we’ll just have to…

O - H

BTW, last week at Northwestern, Buckeyes fans completely took over their stadium. They got booed on their own turf and OH - IO echoed around the stadium. It was awesome

[The_Swan]

@jsc1953

Ahem.

Cal - USC, the main event on Saturday (with some Big 10 middleweights on the undercard). It’s going to be huge.

For about 10 minutes.

[some_white_dude]

@ivylass

Traitor. I dare you to walk through downtown Columbus wearing a Wolverine sweatshirt.

How could you? I’m sure your parents are very disappointed in you.

Heh, my parents actually brought me up a Michigan fan. Despite neither of them being UM alumni, we somehow acquired season tickets when I was in 5th grade, so I got to see some classic games like Biakabatuka’s upstaging of Eddie George (I think that was in '95) and Woodson’s Heisman-clinching game. Anyway, enough of that nostalgic stuff. Here’s an excerpt from an email distributed to the Michigan student body about safety in Columbus this weekend:

@U of M Administration

We know that it can be uncomfortable being in an opposing team’s environment, especially when the stakes are so high. We would like to offer a few suggestions in order to help you stay safe and have a positive experience this weekend:

 --Try carpooling to the game; if possible, drive a car with non- Michigan license plates.
 --Keep your Michigan gear to a minimum, or wait until you are inside the stadium to display it.
 --Stay with a group.
 --Know and obey the laws regarding alcohol use.
 --If you are of legal age to drink, use alcohol in moderation. Stay in the blue.
 --Stay low-key; don't draw unnecessary attention to yourself.
 --If verbally harrassed by opposing fans, don't take the bait.
 --Avoid High Street in Columbus.

If at any time you feel unsafe, you should call 9-1-1 for assistance.

I’ve been in Columbus during The Big Game before, and I never felt really threatened. Granted, there are some nasty fans, as there are most schools (I’m looking at you, Penn State), but this email makes me feel as if I should fear for my life down there. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.

My favorite part is the one about avoiding High Street. IIRC, isn’t that just about impossible if you’re attending the game?

[HubZilla]

@Team of Scientists

I’ve been in Columbus during The Big Game before, and I never felt really threatened. Granted, there are some nasty fans, as there are most schools (I’m looking at you, Penn State), but this email makes me feel as if I should fear for my life down there. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.

tOSU fans

[The_Swan]

@HubZilla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PahHn2WxUlI&eurl=

Again?

[Kiros]

@Uncommon Sense

How can the Big 10 be horrible when you’ve got 3 of them in the top ten?

Reponses in the interim have mostly covered this, but yeah - it’s mostly who they’ve played. Everyone is convinced the Big East is mediocre at best, and everyone is convinced the top of the Big Ten is amazing. Except, really, they’ve got the same thing going on. Each conference has three teams in the top ten. Each conference is, other than those teams, questionable all the way down. And we don’t even REALLY know if those teams are all that great. We hear all of this crap about the SoS at the top of the Big East, but:

• Ohio State beat Texas, in a game where Colt McCoy was clearly not where he is now (or rather was, before the injury this past weekend). Otherwise, they’ve beaten a bunch of middle of the road teams and disappointments. They didn’t play Wisconsin, and Michigan is obviously this weekend, so they’ve avoided the two other quality teams in their own conference to this point.
• Michigan beat Notre Dame, who may or may not be that good (had trouble with MSU, only win of quality was Ga Tech, demonstrated defensive deficiencies). They beat Wisconsin, at home, in a reasonably competitive game. Their games have generally been closer than OSU’s, but the Wisconsin win alone makes their schedule slightly more impressive, as is reflected in the computer rankings.
• Wisconsin has… well, they lost at Michigan, which is surely no shame, but they haven’t even played a single other game against a ranked team. They had trouble with Illinois and Penn State in home games, and their OOC schedule included SDSU, Bowling Green, Western Illinois, and this week against famed D1 doormat Buffalo. To be fair, they’ve won every other game they’ve played, but they haven’t played anyone. Their schedule makes Rutgers look ambitious by comparison.

Now, if you think PSU and Iowa are decent teams, and want to argue that these teams are vindicated by those wins, that’s fine with me. I could say the same about some of the teams in the middle of the Big East, and I probably would, we all defend our conferences. The important thing to take away from this whole thing though is this:

All we know about how good OSU and Michigan are, relative to other conferences, is a game against a less-than-perfect Texas team and a game against a Notre Dame team on which the verdict is out pending the USC result - and, lest we forget, a Notre Dame team that pounded the 4th place team in the Big Ten on Penn State’s home field. I’m just sayin’ that they MIGHT be that good, but it’ll be hard to really buy into it unless they beat an Arkansas or a USC along the way.

[Duckster]

@Random

You’re right to be proud of that fact, but it’s also true that, but for a couple of screwups by you cheeseheads, …

Cheesehead refers to supporters of the Green Bay Packers.

But you did say you’re an Illini so that explains the misperception on your part.