Good morning Buckeye faithful and welcome to your Tuesday Skull Session.
Last Sunday, it was revealed that #1 LSU and #2 Alabama would play in the BCS championship game. I thought to myself, haven't I seen this somewhere before?
We all remember the last time these two teams met on November 5 in Tuscaloosa. The #1 ranked Tigers pulled off the 9-6 overtime victory over the #2 ranked Rolling Tide and it appeared as though Alabama's title dreams were over. But here we are, a little over a month later and the Tigers will be facing the Crimson Tide in the rematch to end all rematches.
Personally, I'm with all the BCS skeptics on this matchup. Nick Saban's team had their chance at the best team in the nation at home, so why isn't someone else getting their shot on a neutral field?
In 2006, #2 Michigan lost to #1 Ohio State, and Michigan cried all the way home when Florida was selected over them to go on to face the Buckeyes for the national title. Florida would go on to upset the undefeated Buckeyes and usher in an era of SEC dominance.
By not letting Michigan go onto the title game, the college football world discovered that Florida was the best team in the nation that year. However, if the BCS had used the same logic they did this year back in 2006 we would never have known about Tim Tebow and the Gators.
Oh well, Oklahoma State, maybe next year.
THE MEYER BOWL. The staff at CollegeFootballNews.com ranked this year's Gator Bowl matchup as the 11th most exciting game to watch out of the 35 bowl games.
The article cites that the hiring of Urban Meyer casts a large shadow over this game and it will be interesting to see how Florida fans will react to the hiring. Also, the article mentions how watching Braxton Miller play in his first ever bowl game is sure to give this game some extra hype.
From my perspective, the winner of this matchup will be able to salvage what's left of a mediocre season. For OSU, if they lose this game it will be their first losing record since 1988. For Florida, it will be their first losing season since 1979 when they went 0-10.
The pressure will definitely be on for both teams, as neither wants to end their season on such a low note.
SQUEEZED IN THE MIDDLE. Adam Rittenberg ranked all the Big Ten teams from this past season with the Buckeyes ranking right in the middle of the 12 teams at number 7.
According to Rittenberg, OSU ranks behind Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, and Iowa. Falling behind OSU in the rankings were Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana.
The only ranking I would debate is why Minnesota is ranked over Illinois. But then again, I can't bring myself to care that much about two teams that both finished 2-6 in the conference.
Ohio State will rebound under Urban Meyer's leadership and will hopefully return back to the top of the B1G conference as early as next year.
Will Durkin follow Marotti to OSU?
FILLING IN THE BLANKS. Columbus Dispatch reporter Tim May is reporting that former Arizona coach Mike Stoops has interviewed at Ohio State for a coaching position. In the article it is not clear whether Stoops was offered a job, despite reports he has been sitting on a defensive coordinator contract for a few days now.
According to May, Stoops said he also spent time watching film with other Buckeye coaches. The Youngstown native, who was fired midway through this season at Arizona, is also reportedly being recruited by Nebraska, as ties to the Pelini family via Cardinal Mooney are strong.
Additionally, with the news of Strength and Conditioning coach Mickey Marotti and Director of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni coming to join Meyer's staff from Florida, there appears to be more former colleagues on Meyer's radar.
Some names that have been mentioned are Florida's DJ Durkin and Temple's Chuck Heater, Scott Loeffler, and Zach Smith.
Durkin and Heater would be a part of the defensive staff, but as we get closer to announcement time it appears they are longer shots than originally though.
Loeffler (QB) and Smith (WR) have a better shot to land with the Buckeyes, but it appears we won't know anything until December 12 at the earliest and after the bowl game at the latest.
HEISMAN WATCH. Five finalists were invited to New York for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy. The lucky young men are Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Tyrann Mathieu, and Montee Ball.
As much as I hate to acknowledge a "Sconi", I personally think Ball deserves the Heisman Trophy. He's just shy of 1,800 rushing yards and has 32 touchdowns on the ground, while also recording over 250 yards and 6 TDs through the air. In additon, he is a difference make on a team that went on to win the Big Ten title and is set to play in the Rose Bowl.
Luck, Griffin, Richardson, and Mathieu have all had monumental seasons, but I believe Ball's numbers and accomplishments speak for themselves.
LOS LINKS. A slide-by-slide guide to the Gator Bowl... Shazier expected to be back for the Gator Bowl... How much would you pay to have your face on an athlete's jersey... Is the Gator Bowl a hot ticket... Say it ain't so, Joe Paterno... A question to ponder.
