Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes, great game, USC barely won 18-15. OSU will Have a Super season this year.

I'm not quite as pessmistic, Flaggy. USC is loaded with talent - offensive line, a stellar D with Mays, RBs out the wazzoo, etc, etc. Buckeyes played very welll, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Honestly, when was the last time OSU looked fast against top level talent? Or when they could pressure just with our front four, leaving their corners one-on-one? I was really impressed. Could they shut down Florida? Nope. But I don't think anyone could.

Offense did kind of stink, but that has a lot to do with USC. Pryor look uneasy, sure. He throws awkward. But he wasn't ripping off big runs, either. USC had him contained, and by stopping the run they made us one-dimensional. Pryor isn't ready to beat quality teams just with arm - not yet, and maybe not ever. USC did the job by stifling our run game.

NOW, that being said... Tressel gets no props from me. You gotta play to win, hit the home run, deliver the knockout blow. He did none of those, let USC hang around, and put the Bucks in a hang-on situation. HE pretty handed USC momentum on a platter.

Regardless, USC is really good. Buckeyes are solid. I see 10-2 (maybe PSU or Mich) and a quality bowl. Maybe an Alabama type matchup... which I'd take in a heartbeat.

I hope you're right. I've just got a feeling that USC is overrated just because they are USC. I mean, they lost a ton of starters, and while most big programs like to say they just reload, it's tough to replace that many starters.

I think USC stifled the running game because the Buckeyes' running game sucks. 10-2 and a decent bowl is about as good as can be hoped for I think. Again, I think they do a little worse than that.

Thank you Ohio State. We're so happy you proved early in the year that you shouldn't play for a national title. This way we don't have to wait until the BCS title game to find out what a fraud you are.

Now have fun playing Michigan and Penn State. No one outside your piece of shit state will care.

Ohio Rulz, I'm with you a bit here. While I've reiterated more than once that I don't believe that USC will be "in the hunt" this year because of their youth and all of their hard games being on the road, I warned that that Navy game meant nothing (it even had Flagpole, who's always correct in the rear-view mirror I might add, talking down the Buckeyes ahead of USC). OSU is on an upward trajectory and will probably draw a BCS bid, and it may even be the Rose against USC. They will have their shot at redemption, Pryor will get better with his reads, and the defense is fundamentally sound. But, I do think USC "takes care of business in a rematch."

Sagarin wrote:

Ohio Rulz, I'm with you a bit here. While I've reiterated more than once that I don't believe that USC will be "in the hunt" this year because of their youth and all of their hard games being on the road, I warned that that Navy game meant nothing (it even had Flagpole, who's always correct in the rear-view mirror I might add, talking down the Buckeyes ahead of USC). OSU is on an upward trajectory and will probably draw a BCS bid, and it may even be the Rose against USC. They will have their shot at redemption, Pryor will get better with his reads, and the defense is fundamentally sound. But, I do think USC "takes care of business in a rematch."

I hope you are correct that OSU is on an "upward trajectory". If the two teams do have a rematch (that's the far-fetched hope of Buckeye fans with blinders on), then that probably means the Rose Bowl, and even though I think USC would beat OSU again even if they played in Columbus again this year, playing in the Rose Bowl gives USC a HUGE advantage. I'm not big on wanting some rules changed, because basically I feel that everyone knows the rules going in (some conferences having championship games and teams like Boise State needing to do MUCH more than other teams to get a shot at the national title for example), but the one thing I'd like to see changed is Bowl games in vicinity of your fan base. If I had my way, no team would be allowed to play a Bowl Game within 500 miles of their university. USC playing in the Rose Bowl is ridiculous in my opinion.

My guess is that USC loses a game this year to an underdog opponent and that Florida and Texas meet for the national title.

Florida should steamroll to the title game. Their schedule this year is pretty soft. LSU looks bad. Georgia doesn't look that great, and I'm not sure anyone else on their schedule poses any real threat. And Tennessee just got beaten by UCLA. They will have to win the SEC title game though against whomever that produces.

Texas could fall easier than Florida though simply because with the high-powered offenses in the Big 12, you never know what can happen.

If my Buckeyes can't be in the title game, Florida vs. Texas to me would be the most entertaining, but Brigham Young vs. Boise State would be the funniest. They both go undefeated and all the others lose two games, and it would happen. Lots of ifs there though.

Flagpole, we're back on the same page, but the CONSENSUS Florida-Texas pick seems a bit to obvious to me. I believe Florida will get sloppy somewhere, but as long as it's not the conference championship, they'll be in the title game. By the way, if they do, in fact, run the table with ease, that's not necessarily a good thing going into the title game. Texas is good, but the Big 12 has a lot of depth. I still see Ok. St. and Ole Miss getting in the way and messing things up. 'Bama too.

USC could very well be a victim of their youth and gel as the season wears on, but I see them dropping at least one game, and probably more, this year. And even if OSU does drop two, which is certainly possible, they're probably still in the hunt for a big bowl and they'd better hope they draw Notre Dame and NOT USC or Florida. But that Navy game was a barometer of nothing. Just like USC's victory over a JV squad in San Jose State. But, for grins, I'm backing Texas this year. OU had to reload, and they have a tough last four games. I don't see them surviving all of them. So, with all of these potential scenarios, I could see a spot being opened up for the Big Ten or the Big East again, which churns my stomach to tell you the truth. If it were Penn St. against 'Bama, I could find that palatable, old school style.

*too

letsrun needs an editor tool.

Hey, Ohio State SUCKS.

You know, I'm not going to go there anymore. There's no reason to keep "piling on," lacking any self-righteousness coming from the other camp. By the way LenDale, I sat you this week against Pittsburgh, and it was a good move, because YOU SUCKED. I expect that will change though.

Forgot to mention that I'd tend to agree here as well. Tradition prevents it though. And, frankly, if UW or OU or Cal or even Arizona were to make it, it would meet your requirement. It would especially be unfair if UCLA hosted it since it's their home stadium. BUT, the crowd is generally equally represented, so that's not where the advantage is. The advantage comes from not having to travel.

Moreover, I don't think USC would have any problem going on the road. They routinely do so and beat the likes of the SEC, the Big 12, the Big Ten, the ACC, and the Independents. It's just that everyone underrates the Pac-10 every year, so, USC, despite being one of the two best teams in the country at the end, never gets the chance to "play away from home" that a plus-one system would afford. But, I do not believe that this is the USC of the last three years either.

Bottom line.

SC beat OSU with a freaking Freshman QB. Barkley is a stud. He is the best passer in college that I have seen since Joe Montana. He can zip it. Has touch. The pass in the end zone over the flanker's right shoulder that was just out of bounds was incredible. The end just didn't get his foot down in time.

The SC O-line kicked the Buckeye's butts when it counted.

Tressel was the best coach ... for SC. Thanks. We really appreciated OSU for not running Pryor. What kind of stupid decision was that?

All in all OSU did more to lose the game than SC did to win it.

Not having to travel is the biggest reason for the advantage, but it isn't the only one. I agree that this USC team isn't the same as the last three...they are a year away from being equal to that. BUT, if they can somehow manage to win all their games, as the players get more experience under their belts, they COULD actually end up being one of the top two best teams by the end of the season. I just don't think they are there yet.

Who gives a rat's ass what you think.

Who gives a rat's ass what you think.

Unfortunately, people who do not play the actual games decide the BCS title. After over 100 years of college football, the BCS title is solely decided by a small group of sportswriters. The BCS title is not about sports, football, or athleticism, rather, it's about selling copy, TV ads, and tickets.

YOU play fantasy football, that automatically puts you at the very bottom of the SUCK hierarchy.

Sagarin wrote:

You know, I'm not going to go there anymore. There's no reason to keep "piling on," lacking any self-righteousness coming from the other camp. By the way LenDale, I sat you this week against Pittsburgh, and it was a good move, because YOU SUCKED. I expect that will change though.