Florida 34, Ohio State 14 (halftime)
Of the 3 QB’s to take snaps tonight, Troy Smith (2 for 8, 24 yars, 1 INT, 1 fumble, sacked 3 times) would be the one bearing the least resemblence to a Heisman winner. Even taking the relative strength of the SEC versus that of the Big Ten into account, the nature of this blowout has to be considered a stunner. The Buckeyes have allowed a month’s worth of points in 30 minutes, while the Gators’ defense has been dominant, holding OSU to a mere 73 yards total offense.
After putting Ohio State ahead with a 93 yard return on the opening kickoff, Ted Ginn Jr. has been a non-factor due to ankle woes.
Jimmy Johnson suggested Jim Tressel’s charges were unprepared for a game of this magnitude, having played “only one meaningful game all season, against Michigan.” I guess that Week 2 visit to Texas was no big deal.
While authorities are still trying to figure out what was up with that unpleasant odor that permeated much of Manhattan this morning, just for safety’s sake, I think James Dolan should pledge to keep his townhouse windows closed for several hours after breakfast.
Wow. 1) Very long, 2) Very Not-Close. Although I guess, much as it pains me, I can now admit that Michigan was definitively not robbed.
i’m just outraged that Eddie George and Emmitt Smith bickered over the top of the “Star Spangled Banner”. Fox Sports hates freedom!
Why would Michigan be robbed? The Big 10 is full of mediocre football teams that can’t score points when it counts (or in Ohio State’s case, at all). Notre Dame sucks too, while I’m at it.
Zook/Meyer had such an advantage recruiting in Florida as Larry Coker was a lame-ass and Bobby Bowden was senial. For the last few years they have been getting all the blue-chip prospects in Florida. I think they’ll stay dominate (top 3) for at least a few more years until Bowden dies and Randy Shannon makes inroads.
Well, as it turns out, Texas was a three loss team that struggled against 6-6 Iowa, and the Buckeyes didn’t have to play Wisconsin. I’m a Penn State fan myself but it certainly appears Texas was no better than the high-middle SEC teams.
The ESPN column by Wojechowski about the grouchy old Washington State coach is pretty funny.
indeed, Jason, but at the time of the OSU/Texas tilt, the Longhorns were ranked no. 2 (undeservedly so, as it turned out). One of those 3 losses was to Ohio State.
OSU did manage to beat a bunch of bowl teams this year. But they also allowed, what, 72 points between the start of the Michigan game and halftime last night?
Yeah, we’re talking the difference between a “meaningful game” or a game of “magnitude,” which the OSU-UT game certainly was, vs. games against a top-quality opponent, which OSU’s schedule was indeed lacking. Easy to say this now of course. But much of OSU’s aura of invincibility came from that prime-time road win over the defending national champions. Beating last year’s national champ is an overrated benchmark to begin with since it’s never the same team, and as it turns out the Horns were the Big 12 equivalent of Penn State or Georgia.
Similarly much of Michigan’s aura came from its prime time win over a Notre Dame program that many had at #1 before the season (and the Irish were coming off a stomping of Penn State that kept people fooled before it turned out they weren’t anything special either).
“Yeah, we’re talking the difference between a ‘meaningful game’ or a game of “magnitude,†which the OSU-UT game certainly was, vs. games against a top-quality opponent, which OSU’s schedule was indeed lacking.”
OSU should play fewer games against Big Ten schools, in that case. Maybe just Michigan, Michigan State and who ever looks the toughest out of Penn State, Wisconsin and Minnesota (judged 2 or 3 years in advance, anyway).
I mean, all the Buckeyes could do was win the games they had scheduled. The 10-3 Texas squad (10-2 not counting the loss in week 2), was not totally undeserving of a year end no. 13 ranking. So they nearly lost 3 games in a row to end the season. The wins over Nebraska, Texas Tech and Oklahoma oughta factor in just as surely as the losses to A&M and K-State.
all of that said, I can’t argue that beating Texas last season wasn’t nearly as big a deal as it might’ve been the prior two seasons.
It’s only 11:38pm on the west coast, so if Scott Weiland would like to chime in with further thoughts on Charlie Weis’ future, I’m all ears.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with OSU’s schedule, nor should people start saying the game proves the Big 10 is truly weak anymore than anyone ever claimed the Pac 10 was a great conference when USC was the country’s most dominant team, or the Big 12 does when Oklahoma ruled. But if Johnson — not that he knows all that much about college football these days as far as I know — was claiming OSU hadn’t been tested by more than one great team (as opposed to claiming they hadn’t been tested by the pressure of a big game) he wasn’t far wrong.
None of this was really an issue as far as the larger nonsense anyway, it was more about Michigan’s credentials (hey, at least they had to play Wisconsin).