Final Thoughts on the Final Week

[donovan]

Final thoughts on the Final Week

1. Boise State: Petersen leaving biggest news for Boise State this year. At last someone cared about Boise State, if only for three minutes.
2. UCF: The Cinderella team. Great come from behind win and a conference championship. If there was a team quality factor with media coverage, UCF would be the best, least covered team in the nation.
3. Northern Illinois: This is the year of Andy Warhol. NIU is one of several that get that award. Small schools are held to a different standard and even then, they are not rewarded. There great run is lost in a single lousy first half of football.
4. Rice: If you play both defense and offense better than your opponent, you will win the tough games. That is what Rice did against Marshall.
5. Oklahoma State: 19 seconds can change the whole season.
6. Oklahoma: You have to listen to Bob Stoops. See number 5.
7. Baylor: It took a full season, but they are for real.
8. Stanford: They are going the Rose Bowl. Lost to the worst teams, beat the best.
9. FSU: Best quote of the day, while We are the Champions is being played, Jimbo said, “We are not undefeated yet.” Worst quote of the week, Florida State Attorney Meggs, “"We came to the decision that it was not a case that we could bring forward, because we would not have the burden of proof, the probable cause, and the reasonable likelihood of a conviction."
10. Missouri: They can contend with any team in the country, but BCS rules do not allow them to do so, because the conference already has two contenders. Am I the only one that thinks the inmates are running the asylum?
11. Auburn: Tre Mason. Incredible. Gus Malzahn. Incredible albeit he needs a better script writer. They may be best served if Alabama is picked to go against FSU. (I have every bit of confidence the BCS will do whatever brings in the biggest gate.)
12. Ohio State: They believed the disrespect of the sports writers all season and squandered there big chance. You have to play defense, I think Spence may have mention that once or 847 times.
13. Michigan State: Will make the Rose Bowl forgetful, again. How can we just denigrate the tradition for the last hundred years because we want to play one, contrived game?
14. Fresno State: I thought they would get beat by Utah State. Carr would be a Heisman contender if he played for someone other than a Andy Warhol school.
15. Florida State University Seminoles: Give them the trophy, season is done. This reminds me of a lesson I learned as a kid. Walking with your buddies down a dirt road, you would pick up a dirt clod and throw it at the fence post. If you hit it on the first try, you learned, never pick up a second clod.

[billybud]

1....NIU was always suspect against a decent defense...and Bowling Green was #5 in Scoring D. NIU was a one trick pony with their QB...and as FSU showed last bowl, hobble that pony and it is all over.

2...I can not figure out the Big Ten...MSU scores only 14 points on hapless Purdue (the same Purdue that seven teams score 40+ points on) and MSU loses to a mediocre Irish team beaten by Pitt and Michigan...yet looks great against the Bucks. These "transitive" games are just driving me whacky and throwing me way off this year.

3...Alabama...the team not being talked about...a last second miracle knocked them out of the conversation...but they will be somebody's bowl nightmare.

4...SEC defense...where was it last night? A 100 points!

5...FSU...sloppy first half...but the game was decided when it was scheduled. Duke has a nifty passer but FSU has a great defensive secondary and the athletic differential too great to overcome.

6...Baylor...Baylor is better then I had thought early in the season...I look forward to their bowl.

7...Texas...I don't know what to say about the Longhorns' fall from grace...except that the eyes of Texas are truly upon their coach.

[donovan]

3...Alabama...the team not being talked about...a last second miracle knocked them out of the conversation...but they will be somebody's bowl nightmare.

I think you are absolutely correct. I do not feel sorry for them, bu if they had beat Auburn and lost to anyone else, and all the other results were the same, they would be FSU's opponent.

[Eric]

I was amazed at how unimaginative Ohio State's playcalling became in the fourth quarter. It was either "run it up the gut with Hyde" or "have Miller do a QB draw." I think the playcalling on that final drive was weak. These two plays had mixed success all game long, so it's not like they were dominating and they had no choice other than these two plays.

[Spence]

A interesting note from the Ohio State and Michigan State game. On the fourth down and two yards to go. The designed run for Braxton Miller which was tackled a yard short of the stick. That decision was not made by Tom Herman(OC). Instead during the timeout it was called by head coach Urban Meyer.

That play should have been good. The TE missed his block, Hyde who had the hard block got it. Michigan State played better football.

[Spence]

12. Ohio State: They believed the disrespect of the sports writers all season and squandered there big chance. You have to play defense, I think Spence may have mention that once or 847 times.

The Dline got better this year. The secondary regressed. Bad technique all year. A change in secondary coaches may need to be in order. I also think the scholarship losses hurt the depth lots more then Buckeye fans wanted to believe. It was a pretty good season. Most Buckeye fans I know thought the game with Michigan State was going to be a hard one. If we would have won Florida State would have beaten the snot out of us.

Ohio State has to build depth. The end of the game last night tells us that. It was our first real four quarter game. The Michigan game wasn't physical like this one. Ohio State wasn't able to rotate players and stay fresh like Michigan State. Give credit to Dino and the program he has built. He is just a couple players short of a national championship caliber team.

I have believed for a long time that Florida State was the best team in CFB this year. I think they are better than Alabama and I think they will beat up on Auburn almost as much as they would have beaten up on Ohio State. It has been a pretty cool season this year. I've enjoyed watching some young players grow. I really enjoyed watching a "no talent" Buckeye offensive line turn into the strength of the team. Ohio State has a solid foundation growing on the lines. They need to build depth and find another approach to coaching defensive backs and they have a shot to be a good team in two years. We will see what happens.

[Spence]

According to Fox the Ohio State vs Michigan State game got 13.9 million viewers. That top the Alabama vs Auburn game, which had 13.8 million viewers.

Ohio State has the largest Alumni base and one of the largest fan bases in the US so that isn't surprising. Add in all the Auburn fans who had a stake in the outcome and you could have predicted a ratings bonanza. There was a reason they played the SEC championship before that one.

[Derek]

3...Alabama...the team not being talked about...a last second miracle knocked them out of the conversation...but they will be somebody's bowl nightmare.

I think you are absolutely correct. I do not feel sorry for them, bu if they had beat Auburn and lost to anyone else, and all the other results were the same, they would be FSU's opponent.

Agreed. POOR POOR POOR Oklahoma. I feel for them.

A lot of frustration will be taken out on them, I'd not be surprised if this is the biggest margin of bowl victory this year.