So 103,000+ went to watch Ohio State beat Florida A&M by 76 points? Help explain that to me. Anyone from Ohio?

Anyone crying about the SEC should pry the BCS title out of the South first. Of course the SEC plays easy non-conference games, just like everyone else. One of the reasons is that in their conference games they're playing more future NFL players than anyone else in the country. That's an easily verifiable fact that is repeated each year in the NFL draft.

Forget prying it out of the South. First you should try to get it out of the state of Alabama, where it may stay for the fifth straight year.

short term memory wrote:

coach d wrote:

Rojo, have you ever been to Ohio?

What else are people going to do instead of watching OSU try to have an undefeated season so they can go to the BCS Championship and get run off the field by an SEC team again?

Like in 2003?

Like in 2003 when they conveniently didn't play an SEC team, or like the last two times they played in a BCS title game when Florida and LSU stomped them?

Dwide Schrude wrote:

Like in 2003 when they conveniently didn't play an SEC team, or like the last two times they played in a BCS title game when Florida and LSU stomped them?

You're right, they didn't. They played a team that had won like 175 games in a row.

And LSU didn't stomp them. Florida did.

LSU was a blown coverage (4th down fake fieldgoal) and a dropped ball (Brian Robiske in the end zone) from being in a dogfight down to the wire. Beanne Wells was slamming Tigers to the turf all game. That game is labelled a blowout because the Florida game was...

That program that had won "175" games in a row got destroyed the last time they played an SEC team in the title game.

Call the LSU game whatever you want. It was still a 14 point loss. Despite all the talk, Ohio State still hasn't won a title against the SEC. In 15 years of the BCS, the SEC has won 9 and has only lost to another SEC opponent.

It's the same thing every year: Oregon, Ohio State, or whoever talks it up all year and then can't get it done. Run the table and then beat an SEC team in the title game and then the rest of the country will listen. People that know football are laughing at you until that happens.

Ohio State was originally scheduled to play Vanderbilt (a solid but not spectacular SEC school) but Vanderbilt reneged on the schedule a year ago. Football games are scheduled several years in advance, you can't just find a good team to play on a years notice.

Ohio state football is so popular that people pay money to see Ohio state scrimmage against themselves! They are the only NCAA team that I know of that charges for their spring game, and they get 90,000 plus in attendance for that. Could you imagine people paying $30 to watch the oregon project have its athletes do a tempo run (actually that would be kind of cool but not $30 cool).

why only OSU wrote:

SEC is notorious for scheduling softies and refusing to come up north to play.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The SEC "refuses" to come up north to play?!?!?!?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Why would they go north to run over a bunch of slow pasty white boys when they have the next generation of the NFL right in their back yard?

You saw the BCS title game last year, right? Was that the best the north had to offer?

This is great. I needed some entertainment tonight.

tOSU fan wrote:

Vanderbilt (a solid but not spectacular SEC school)

There's your problem right there.

tOSU fan wrote:

They are the only NCAA team that I know of that charges for their spring game, and they get 90,000 plus in attendance for that. Could you imagine people paying $30 to watch the oregon project have its athletes do a tempo run (actually that would be kind of cool but not $30 cool).

Isn't that flotrack pro? Except it's a $20 recurring charge per month so $240.

Not trying to be a dick, but seriously, isn't that exactly what it is? Except Alberto wouldn't actually let you watch the workouts, just the warmup and cool-down (i never actually watched it - that's just what i heard).

O-H...

I actually live in Columbus, although I'm a recent transplant and have not fallen into the OSU mania. I think these games -- and, as others have noted, they're not limited to OSU -- are an embarrassment. It's all about money; Florida A&M walked away with almost $1 million, which is probably a huge chuck of their athletic budget. The NCAA picks on kids who make little mistakes but turns a blind eye to this kind of raw commercialism.

One of these days one of the players from the overmatched schools is going to get badly hurt (or, God forbid, worse) during one of these games and the NCAA is going to have a huge lawsuit on its hands. It would serve them right.

Big-time college football is all about betting & serving as a prep league for NFL, nothing about education or character. They should just pay the kids.

This is correct.

no, he means like 2006...ohio state...and every other non-sec school has gotten spanked since then.

in 2003, osu played an ACC school.

I didn't go to the game but I live right off campus and I don't think there was that many people. I'm a delivery biker and while the streets were packed and busy before and after the game, it was not nearly as crazy as it's been on past Saturdays.

RoJo, if you wanted an answer to this question you should have just texted me. I was on the sidelines at this game and it was pretty amazing to see the entire stadium packed to the brim for such a nothing game. I honestly had a great time, and was really hoping for a triple digit win. But what was even crazier than witnessing over 100,000 fans willing to pay to watch OSU beat down florida AM, is that they all stayed for the ENTIRE game. The fan base for Ohio State is just that crazy, because not only do you have 100,000 fans in the stadium, but you have at least 100,000 more outside tailgating every home game. There's no other word to describe it than a "spectacle", these fans don't just come to watch a football game, they come to worship everything that is THE OHIO STATE. The strength or identity of the opposing team is nearly irrelevant, unless of course the bucks are playing that team up north...

Colorado State hung with Bama till the 4th quarter, when they fumbled on the Criomson Tide 30. What could have been a 3 or 4 point game with 12 minutes to go, turned into 18 points with 12 minutes to go.The Rams did better than Texas A&M last week, so don't talk sh1t about the Ram Dynasty. Frankly, small conference (like the Mountain West) football is what college football-and college athletics should be.

why only OSU wrote:

Iknowit wrote:

Well, as usual, the little10 had a powerhouse schedule this week. ND, south dakota state, kent state, west michigan, san jose, florida aandm, maine, and connecticut.

Crybabies. Big ten is a joke. How can they justify paying big bucks to these wannabe rap "artists" for playing junior colleges? And losing to them ala the hillbillies of Appalachian State Junior Teachers' College. What? Are the local peewees all too busy to play the big 10 this week?

Yeah, cuz Colorado State, UMass, North Texas, and Troy (SEC opponents this week) are f'n dynasties man.

Deer Rojo,

Typically, people are not aware of the final score until well after they have decided whether or not to attend the game.

I've been to the Olympics, World Series games and 3 of the 5 world marathon majors and nothing compares to an Ohio State football game. Disclaimer: I absolutely no connection to the university. Game day starts early with thousands of tailgaters, OSU's awesome band has "skull sessions" 2-hrs before the game (practice), tons of other live bands and tens of thousands of mostly drunk college students. It's an intoxicating atmosphere for every game, no matter who the team is playing. In fact, the game itself is just one line item on day's agenda - there are so many fun things going on. 103,000+ fans is nothing. They could double that number if they had the seats. Rich team history + great day experience + exciting product + rabid fans = OSU football.

Check out this excellent article in the Washington Post about the hypocrisy of the NCAA: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/ncaa-touts-amateurism-rules-over-open-market-but-which-is-more-corrupt/2013/09/20/511e18ea-2204-11e3-a358-1144dee636dd_story.html

1955 wrote:

I actually live in Columbus, although I'm a recent They should just pay the kids.

When you actually do the research and see what athletic departments spend on their WHOLE sports programs and how much they bring in then come back and say they should just pay the kids. When most say they bring in Millions of dollars it's true but they are also spending millions of dollars on THEIR ATHLETES! 23 out of 228 D-1 school generated enough money to cover their expenses.

2nd)-Pay who? Just the men's football and basketball programs? Is Johnny football going to get paid the same as the guy who sits on the bench?

3)-What some of you need to realize-if athletes are paid (for ex.) 5k for the year, they are not going to save that. I highly doubt it and we see this all the time. They are going to spend that asap. Look at the NFL! Tons of players spend their paychecks and don't save a dime.

4) When that money runs out ...which it will! They are going to break the rules to get more!

5)-I was a college athlete and most people on these boards were athletes. Yes, there were some late nights when I was hungry and the cafe wasn't open and I didn't have money. Or I wanted to see a money and didn't have money. BUT I was living in the dorms FOR FREE, I was running and getting an education FOR FREE. No player has to leave early for the NFL/NBA, that's their choice! I was on a full meal plan FOR FREE! Shoes and gear for FREE! Travel..FREE!

Also, working compliance at a big university I can tell you if a student move off campus they CAN receive a housing check every month to cover their room. It's possible to live in a house "the XC house for ex." with 6-7 guys. With all of them getting a housing stipend. MOST of the time, in our case, they were getting MORE than enough to cover. If you get my drift. There are more ways around the issue than you think.

sorry for all the grammar errors.

-TT