College Football - Week of 10/28

[NewUserName]

How are Michigan and USC ranked ahead of OSU in those polls!? That just befuddles me.

 

 

What has Ohio St done that deserve to be ranked higher than Michigan except to start the season ranked higher?

[CubinNY]

How are Michigan and USC ranked ahead of OSU in those polls!? That just befuddles me.

 

 

What has Ohio St done that deserve to be ranked higher than Michigan except to start the season ranked higher?

 

They've given up an average of 8.5 points per game while scoring an average of 34 points per game. No game has even been close this year.

[cubweiser03]

How are Michigan and USC ranked ahead of OSU in those polls!? That just befuddles me.

 

 

What has Ohio St done that deserve to be ranked higher than Michigan except to start the season ranked higher?

 

They've given up an average of 8.5 points per game while scoring an average of 34 points per game. No game has even been close this year.

 

1. Computers dont put margin of victory into their formulas.

2. PSU/OSU. Penn State was winning 3-0 at half. They were down 14-6 until Morelli threw 2 late 4th quarter pick sixes to lose 28-6

[NewUserName]

How are Michigan and USC ranked ahead of OSU in those polls!? That just befuddles me.

 

 

What has Ohio St done that deserve to be ranked higher than Michigan except to start the season ranked higher?

 

They've given up an average of 8.5 points per game while scoring an average of 34 points per game. No game has even been close this year.

 

1. Computers dont put margin of victory into their formulas.

2. PSU/OSU. Penn State was winning 3-0 at half. They were down 14-6 until Morelli threw 2 late 4th quarter pick sixes to lose 28-6

 

It really dont make a difference because they will end up playing and If USC goes undefeated they will be playing the winner of Mich/OSU

[Andy]

How are Michigan and USC ranked ahead of OSU in those polls!? That just befuddles me.

 

It's all based on Strength of Schedule. USC has Arkansas and Nebraska helping them out a great deal, plus their worst games are their bottom Pac 10 opponents, which are still usually rated higher than most teams non-conference schedules (their entire non conference schedule is Arkansas, Nebraska, and Notre Dame-of course Notre Dame doesn't factor in to their schedule so far).

 

Ohio State though has one great opponent so far-Texas. Other than that, Penn State, Iowa, and Michigan State all have at least 3 losses, and they have Northern Illinois, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, and Indiana. Ohio State's schedule has not really been all that hard.

 

Michigan is ahead of OSU for one basic reason-they both have played one great opponent (OSU-Texas, Michigan-Notre Dame), they both have several common games (Iowa, PSU, Michigan State), similar other non-conference games (OSU-Cincy, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Michigan-Vanderbilt, Central Michigan). So it basically comes down to their other conference games-and Michigan leads by having played Wisconsin.

 

ND shouldn't be considered a great opponent.

 

They are as much as Texas-definitely in the computer's SOS model, ND has 1 loss, Texas has 1 loss, ND has the harder schedule of the two.

 

Plus, just because a team has a great deal of close games where they had to pull it out in the end doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad team. It's a warning sign, but not necessarily true. OSU in 2002 under that definition would be considered a bad team, but they won the national title (they had 6 games decided by 6 points or less, and at least 2 of those probably should have lost, similar to ND). Plus, every 1 loss team has had a scare or two-ND should be put at about the same level as all the other 1 loss teams who have played pretty good schedules.

That's just crazy talk CCP. We all know that if ND struggles with some not-so-great opponents they are overrated and a joke, but if OSU wins half their games in a national championship season by 6 points or less, they are gutsy and come through when it matters most.

[Guest]

I am pretty sure know one thinks that NC OSU team was great.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

That's just crazy talk CCP. We all know that if ND struggles with some not-so-great opponents they are overrated and a joke, but if OSU wins half their games in a national championship season by 6 points or less, they are gutsy and come through when it matters most.

 

OSU also beat some good teams that year.

[Mark_R]

That's just crazy talk CCP. We all know that if ND struggles with some not-so-great opponents they are overrated and a joke, but if OSU wins half their games in a national championship season by 6 points or less, they are gutsy and come through when it matters most.

 

OSU also beat some good teams that year.

 

I remember almost nobody gave them a chance vs. Miami....

[Guest]

they were a defensive juggernaut with a mediocre offense. of course, they had close games.

[Andy]

That's just crazy talk CCP. We all know that if ND struggles with some not-so-great opponents they are overrated and a joke, but if OSU wins half their games in a national championship season by 6 points or less, they are gutsy and come through when it matters most.

 

OSU also beat some good teams that year.

I suppose that would depend on your definition. They beat a decent Texas Tech team in the opening game, dominated Washington State in week 3 (easily their most impressive win as the Cougs went to the Rose Bowl that year) then didn't play anyone else worth a crap until October 19th when they edged Wisconsin by five (the Badgers went 8-6...then again, they lost to IU). (Along the way, they beat Cincinnati, who went .500, by four and Northwestern, who won three games, by 11.) They damn near lost to Penn State at home, who won 9 games but were far from world-beaters, should have lost to a 7-win Purdue team (that beat Western Michigan by four) in a game that was luckier than anything ND has had in the last two years, then had Illinois (5-7 that year) take them to OT, then needed one of the worst officiating calls of the last decade to win the national title.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

That's just crazy talk CCP. We all know that if ND struggles with some not-so-great opponents they are overrated and a joke, but if OSU wins half their games in a national championship season by 6 points or less, they are gutsy and come through when it matters most.

 

OSU also beat some good teams that year.

I suppose that would depend on your definition. They beat a decent Texas Tech team in the opening game, dominated Washington State in week 3 (easily their most impressive win as the Cougs went to the Rose Bowl that year) then didn't play anyone else worth a crap until October 19th when they edged Wisconsin by five (the Badgers went 8-6...then again, they lost to IU). (Along the way, they beat Cincinnati, who went .500, by four and Northwestern, who won three games, by 11.) They damn near lost to Penn State at home, who won 9 games but were far from world-beaters, should have lost to a 7-win Purdue team (that beat Western Michigan by four) in a game that was luckier than anything ND has had in the last two years, then had Illinois (5-7 that year) take them to OT, then needed one of the worst officiating calls of the last decade to win the national title.

 

They beat Wazzou (10-3), Penn State (9-4), Michigan (10-3), and Miami (12-1). That's the difference between that OSU and Notre Dame. I could give a crap if teams almost win or barely win, it's about who you beat, and as of now that's 4 games in 1 season that are better wins than any of the 15* wins of the Charlie Weis era.

 

*GT and PSU have a chance to make this standard, likely at the lower end.

[SouthSideRyan]

Wasn't the point more that close games don't necessarily equal an indictment of the team more than ND played close games and so did OSU '02 therefore ND '06 = OSU '02?

[Guest]

Wasn't the point more that close games don't necessarily equal an indictment of the team more than ND played close games and so did OSU '02 therefore ND '06 = OSU '02?

 

OSU had a much better defense. That being said, they weren't that great. They also didn't get blown out at home by anyone. I don't see how the comparison holds any water. Had OSU lost to Purdue (great push off to win the game!) or Illinois, they wouldn't have won the national championship. ND was destroyed by a very good michigan team. they have struggled to beat some inferior teams. That suggests they really aren't a dominant team.

[Andy]

That's just crazy talk CCP. We all know that if ND struggles with some not-so-great opponents they are overrated and a joke, but if OSU wins half their games in a national championship season by 6 points or less, they are gutsy and come through when it matters most.

 

OSU also beat some good teams that year.

I suppose that would depend on your definition. They beat a decent Texas Tech team in the opening game, dominated Washington State in week 3 (easily their most impressive win as the Cougs went to the Rose Bowl that year) then didn't play anyone else worth a crap until October 19th when they edged Wisconsin by five (the Badgers went 8-6...then again, they lost to IU). (Along the way, they beat Cincinnati, who went .500, by four and Northwestern, who won three games, by 11.) They damn near lost to Penn State at home, who won 9 games but were far from world-beaters, should have lost to a 7-win Purdue team (that beat Western Michigan by four) in a game that was luckier than anything ND has had in the last two years, then had Illinois (5-7 that year) take them to OT, then needed one of the worst officiating calls of the last decade to win the national title.

 

They beat Wazzou (10-3), Penn State (9-4), Michigan (10-3), and Miami (12-1). That's the difference between that OSU and Notre Dame. I could give a crap if teams almost win or barely win, it's about who you beat, and as of now that's 4 games in 1 season that are better wins than any of the 15* wins of the Charlie Weis era.

 

*GT and PSU have a chance to make this standard, likely at the lower end.

Well, you are one of the few on this board that don't care about almost win and barely win, and you were not among the people I was trying to convince if this is the case.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Wasn't the point more that close games don't necessarily equal an indictment of the team more than ND played close games and so did OSU '02 therefore ND '06 = OSU '02?

 

The two aren't mutually exclusive though. There's a difference between playing a bunch of close games, beating several good teams, and not losing at all; and playing a bunch of close games, not beating very many/any good teams, and getting whacked by the best team you played.

[Derwood]

YOUR FAVORITE TEAM SUCKS

[CubColtPacer]

Wasn't the point more that close games don't necessarily equal an indictment of the team more than ND played close games and so did OSU '02 therefore ND '06 = OSU '02?

 

Yes, that was more of the point. Obviously, OSU went undefeated, and that counts for a great deal.

 

Notre Dame might have struggled with more teams this year because they have played more decent to good teams than some of the other schools that are ranked around them. Look at the schedules.

 

Auburn-Good teams they have beat-Florida,

Unknowns: LSU (we will know more later in the season about this team-right now their biggest wins are Arizona and Kentucky, and their 2 losses are to the two quality teams they have played so far-similar to Penn State below)

Decent Teams: South Carolina, Washington State

Bad Teams: Miss State, Buffalo, Tulane

Loss to Arkansas

 

Tennessee-Good Teams they have beat-California

Decent Teams: Alabama, Georgia, Air Force

Bad Teams: Marshall, Memphis

Loss to Florida

 

Notre Dame-Good teams they have beat-?

Unknowns-Georgia Tech-we'll know more after the Miami game this week, and Penn State-their 3 losses have still come to OSU, Michigan, and ND-which makes them very unknown.

Decent Teams: Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA

Bad Teams: Stanford

 

The only thing missing from ND's resume so far is that signature win, although the unknowns still have to shake out (Georgia Tech/Miami, LSU/Tennnessee, California/USC in a couple weeks should help to see which wins were better).

 

Other than that, Auburn struggled with one of their unknowns, and one of their decent teams out of two. Tennessee struggled with two of their three decent teams, if you don't count the Georgia comeback as a struggle. ND struggled with one of their unknowns, and two of their 3 decent teams.

 

The point is that each 1 loss team has struggled when playing decent teams. The only three unknown or decent teams on these three teams schedules that the game was not in doubt in the second half was Washington State for Auburn, and Penn State and Purdue for Notre Dame. All of these teams are flawed, and nobody has steamrolled through most of their opponents, and they should be ranked similarly. I have no problem if people want to rank ND behind those other two at this point, but they are not nearly as far behind as some people would have one believe.

[Andy]

According to Paul Lukas's Uni Watch blog, Mizzou will wear all-gold jerseys this Saturday.

[Butterscup1679666578]

According to Paul Lukas's Uni Watch blog, Mizzou will wear all-gold jerseys this Saturday.

 

Interesting. Definitely supports the "Gold Rush" theme this week. I love the gold pants, but I've never seen the gold jersey tops, I'm excited.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

According to Paul Lukas's Uni Watch blog, Mizzou will wear all-gold jerseys this Saturday.

 

Interesting. Definitely supports the "Gold Rush" theme this week. I love the gold pants, but I've never seen the gold jersey tops, I'm excited.

 

This has the potential to be amazing.

[cubweiser03]

YOUR FAVORITE TEAM SUCKS

 

THE CUBS??!!

Ban him! :P

 

Who brought up the 2002 'Luckeyes', damn you. Throughout the whole year i thought they were so overrated. The purdue game was the game that put me over the edge. I forgot about the Illini and Cincy game and right now cant remember the UM/OSU game so dont remind me, im sure to shake my head and say 'yup wtf' if you do. They were massive underdogs going against miami and people questioned if they should even play for the NC. As much as i couldnt stand the enoromous amount of luck involved in that season they had a great defense and felt they could definelty beat Miami.

 

I can see many parallels from that team to this ND team. Its not that i hate ND (i dont i grew up liking them, just not as much as UM). ND as much as we think they are overrated they probably werent as overrated as i thought OSU was at that time. For College Footbal that offense was 2005 Chicago Bears esque.

[TruffleShuffle]

YOUR FAVORITE TEAM SUCKS

 

THE CUBS??!!

Ban him! :P

 

Who brought up the 2002 'Luckeyes', damn you. Throughout the whole year i thought they were so overrated. The purdue game was the game that put me over the edge. I forgot about the Illini and Cincy game and right now cant remember the UM/OSU game so dont remind me, im sure to shake my head and say 'yup wtf' if you do.

 

I remember that year. I remember the Tony Johnson catch against UM with two feet in bounds, putting Penn State in field goal range with like 25 seconds left... but it was called out and Penn State had to punt. I'm not still bitter at all.

[Derwood]

YOUR FAVORITE TEAM SUCKS

 

THE CUBS??!!

Ban him! :P

 

Who brought up the 2002 'Luckeyes', damn you. Throughout the whole year i thought they were so overrated. The purdue game was the game that put me over the edge. I forgot about the Illini and Cincy game and right now cant remember the UM/OSU game so dont remind me, im sure to shake my head and say 'yup wtf' if you do.

 

I remember that year. I remember the Tony Johnson catch against UM with two feet in bounds, putting Penn State in field goal range with like 25 seconds left... but it was called out and Penn State had to punt. I'm not still bitter at all.

 

especially when in college you only need one foot in bounds. Someday the NCAA will take the Big 10 officials off of the Michigan payroll

[TruffleShuffle]

YOUR FAVORITE TEAM SUCKS

 

THE CUBS??!!

Ban him! :P

 

Who brought up the 2002 'Luckeyes', damn you. Throughout the whole year i thought they were so overrated. The purdue game was the game that put me over the edge. I forgot about the Illini and Cincy game and right now cant remember the UM/OSU game so dont remind me, im sure to shake my head and say 'yup wtf' if you do.

 

I remember that year. I remember the Tony Johnson catch against UM with two feet in bounds, putting Penn State in field goal range with like 25 seconds left... but it was called out and Penn State had to punt. I'm not still bitter at all.

 

especially when in college you only need one foot in bounds. Someday the NCAA will take the Big 10 officials off of the Michigan payroll

 

Well with replay they have to be a little more creative about it, like they were with Iowa and Penn State games last year.

[UMFan83]

All I know is that some of Michigan's nicest wins have come against Penn State. Who can forget Judgement Day 97 :) I am still mad that PSU scored in the 4th to become the first opponent to score in the 4th quarter against Michigan.