Indiana is only on the schedule for a few more days. And then...
WHY NOT OHIO STATE? I don't watch a lot of ESPN programming outside of sports events, but it seems to me like there's been a shift in the grumblings of the Buckeye blogosphere©.
Is the fix on? Will Ohio State get that #ESPNbump to get into the playoffs?
From David Hale of ESPN.com:
And since that loss to Virginia Tech, Ohio State has been nearly flawless. The Buckeyes are 8-0 and have won by an average of 28 points -- the top scoring margin for any Power 5 team during that span. Its opponents’ winning percentage during that time is better than that of Oregon, Florida State, Mississippi State and TCU -- teams all ranked ahead of Ohio State. It has toppled two ranked teams in Michigan State and Minnesota. It has scored 49 points or more six times.
If the goal is to put the best teams into the playoff, Ohio State’s case is sound. In fact, there may not be a team in the country playing better football right now than the Buckeyes. Barrett has gone from a deer in headlights to a Heisman candidate. The offensive line has allowed just 10 sacks in the last eight games. The defense is light-years ahead of Oregon by virtually every metric.
Ivan Maisel is on the bandwagon, as is Trevor Mattich; Scott Van Pelt said J.T. Barrett is a clear-cut Heisman finalist. Hell, even David Pollack is throwing shine on Ohio State:
I'm telling you: the fix is on, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Unless Ohio State looks outright incompetent against Indiana or loses to Michigan or Wisconsin/Minnesota/Nebraska in the Big Ten title game... the Buckeyes will be in the playoffs.
Ohio State simply moves the meter. Mississippi State, Baylor, and TCU are mere peanuts to the ESPN overlords.
And no, I don't care how Ohio State gets into the final four. Why should Ohio State apologize for being a historically prominent program with a massive alumni and fan base or the sea of haterz that will watch just to see if Ohio State loses?
I'll also say this: if Ohio State gets in... it's winning the whole damn thing.
J.T. BARRETT GREW UP WANTING TO BE VINCE YOUNG. Well, this is another pitiful mile marker on the way to the sewage-caked gutter that will be my grave.
J.T. Barrett said he grew up like most kids in TX QBs wanting to be Vince Young. The UT offer never came but he's glad how it's worked out.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 20, 2014
Don't get me wrong, Vince Young was a hoss in college. It's just blood-curdling to think a current college quarterback I watch grew up watching another college quarterback I watched at an earlier time in my life. (The space-time continuum continues to torment me like this.)
Urban Meyer, however, bluffed us about J.T. Barrett's running ability in the lead-up to the season. (This is where I'm required by Ohio law to say "Barrett doesn't have Braxton Miller's explosive ability...")
And while Barrett doesn't dance or outright electrify, that guy is a damn battering ram. Herman/Meyer love their QB draws/designed runs, and Barrett's effectiveness in that dimension has been one of the best surprises of his debut campaign.
ALREADY CLAMORING FOR EIGHT TEAMS. The playoffs are coming in January, and make no mistake: it's going to be a slobber-knocker. Yet, the FCS will be holding a 24-team playoff. Do you know how awesome a 24-team playoff would be?
But, because multi-billion dollar industries don't turn on a dime, we will first have to settle for an expansion to eight teams.
From Shawn Krest of The Durham Herald-Sun:
“I don’t think all the controversy’s going to go away,” [ACC commissioner John] Swofford said of the new system. “You have four teams that get a chance to play for the national championship, which is twice as many as before, but whoever’s fifth or sixth is not going to be happy. There will be some conferences that won’t have a team in the playoff.”
The ACC might be that conference. Reigning national champion Florida State, ranked third in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s weekly ratings, is the league’s only team in position to contend for a playoff berth.
[...]
“I do think it has a great deal of potential,” he said. “The question is asked a lot, ‘Why not eight?’ or ‘Will it become eight in a few years?’ I can tell you why not eight, right now: The presidents made the decision as to how far we can go with the playoff, and the bookends are exams in December, and the presidents don’t want football to become a two semester sport. Those concerns are education-based. So I think they’re appropriate.”
Eight would be good (Power Five champions and three at-large bids)... but 16 would be better. And 16 is no 24, but it's one day at a time.
But when they do expand the playoff to eight teams... first round better be on the campus of the higher seed. Twenty degrees in Minnesota is as much a part of college football as Jerry Jones' shitheap in Arlington.
DEPRESSION: THE MICHIGAN DIFFERENCE. I realized yesterday it's been awhile since I've slandered Michigan. Let me go on and fix that:
Depression: The Michigan Difference. An actual @umich pamphlet. pic.twitter.com/EDLoIZQxu2
— David Adrian (@davidcadrian) November 12, 2014
OHIO RANKED WORST STATE IN WHICH TO ENJOY THANKSGIVING. Something called Estately ranked the states with the worst Thanksgivings, and... OHIO STATE RAN WILD ON THE COMPETITION.
Here are some of the factors that went into Ohio's No. 1 ranking, via WKYC.com:
Likelihood of food poisoning: Ohio 9th
Food poisoning is fake. It's simply a catch-all excuse because people don't like admitting their immune system is pathetic. Nothing worse than trying to decide on a place to eat with people and some blockhead torpedoes a communally-decided restaurant because he "got food poisoning there freshman year."
Likelihood of relatives binge drinking: Ohio 12th
I look on this ranking with mixed pride and disappointment. Twelfth isn't terrible, but Ohio could do better; binge drinking is one of history's greatest family-building exercises, after all.
Likelihood of political arguments at dinner: Ohio 3rd
"You see, Jimmy, your grandma is from a different time."
Dietary restrictions impacting meal quality: Ohio 1st
Controversial takes: Thanksgiving food is overrated and turkey is disgusting. There is no such thing as a quality Thanksgiving meal. This ranking is a false position.
Likelihood of favorite NFL team losing on Thanksgiving: Ohio 6th
No.
Likelihood of guests/cooks abandoning meal for Black Friday sale: Ohio 14th
Wait, what!?
THOSE WMDs. Ohioans drink a lot of booze... During his ten-game suspension, Josh Gordon was a "really good" car salesman... OSU's freshmen class sets record for diversity, academics... Lessons on losing from Greg Poppovich... Johnnie Dixon is out for the year, but he's still working with Marotti.
