Bowl Options Beyond The Buckeyes For The B1G

If you have not listened to this week’s Men Of The Scarlet And Gray Podcast, shame on you. I will remember you during The Airing Of Grievances when I celebrate Festivus next week with my family.
Bowl season is upon us. Just like the college football season itself, bowl season seems to come and go far too fast for my liking. Below are some quick thoughts about how The B1G will be represented this bowl season…

12/26 at 3:30pm EST on ABC, in The New Era Pinstripe Bowl ~ Indiana vs Duke. Admit it – after a couple days of family time, won’t you be anxious to see some college football? Personally, I think Indiana has too much offensively for Duke, but maybe I am mistaken.

12/26 at 9:15pm EST on ESPN, in The Foster Farms Bowl ~ Nebraska vs UCLA. To say that Huskers Head Coach Mike Riley had a rough year in 2015 would be an understatement. While I would like to see Nebraska finish out 2015 on a positive note against UCLA, my feeling is UCLA has too much, especially with budding superstar quarterback Josh Rosen at the helm for the Bruins.

12/28 at 5pm EST on ESPN2, in The Quick Lane Bowl ~ Minnesota vs Central Michigan. Quite commonly in bowl games, it comes down to which team is happiest to be there. After losing their head coach midseason unexpectedly, I believe the Golden Gophers are going to make the most out of their bowl experience.

12/30 at 10:30pm EST on ESPN, in The National Funding Holiday Bowl ~ Wisconsin vs USC. Some things never change. Among them, the idea that kicking off a football game at 10:30pm EST, even during bowl season, is a good idea. Wisconsin seemed to falter down the stretch; I like USC under their recently named head coach Clay Helton here.

12/31 at 8pm EST on ESPN, in The Goodyear Cotton Bowl (CFP Semi-Final) ~ Michigan State vs Alabama. First off, do not be surprised if this does not kick off at 8pm; the other semi-final game is scheduled to start at 4pm, but that could always run over. Anyway, this is a tough one to call, but I am leaning with Michigan State, if, and this is a big if, Spartan quarterback Connor Cook’s shoulder is healthy. Remember I wrote “big if”.

01/01 at 12pm EST on ESPN2, in The Outback Bowl ~ Northwestern vs Tennessee. Northwestern has had a solid year, but has really struggled offensively. While I do not believe Tennessee is an upper echelon SEC team, I believe the Volunteers will have too much speed for the Wildcats in this one.

01/01 at 1pm EST on ABC, in The Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl ~ That Team Up North vs Florida. Personally, whenever I go to Buffalo Wild Wings, the last thing in the world I think of is “citrus”, but I digress. Buckeye fans will be focused upon what the Buckeyes will be doing at this time. Do not be surprised if Jim Harbaugh earns a win over an offensively challenged Gators squad.

01/01 at 5pm EST on ESPN, in The Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual ~ Iowa vs Stanford. “The Granddaddy Of Them All”. Yes, I would have loved to have seen the Buckeyes in this one, but that is a separate conversation. Iowa is to be congratulated upon a fine 2015 season, but I like Stanford in this game.

01/02 at 12pm EST on ESPN, in The TaxSlayer Bowl ~ Penn State vs Georgia. As I stated up above, bowl season will go fast. Here will be one of your last chances to watch live college football for several months. Maybe your last time to watch Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg running for his life in a Penn State uniform. I like Georgia here, despite all of their coaching turnover.

Bowl season is something to be cherished. Here is to hoping The B1G will give us fans something worthwhile to watch over the next couple of weeks.

The 2016 Fiesta Bowl Is Fitting For The Buckeyes

Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes for being selected for The 2016 Fiesta Bowl. The players, coaching staff, and Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer are to be commended for a tremendous 2015 season, with the opportunity of beginning 2016 on a positive note against a well-regarded and highly-ranked team from the University of Notre Dame.

Am I disappointed that Ohio State will not repeat as national champions, as the Buckeyes were not picked as one of the four best teams in the country by the College Football Playoff committee? Absolutely. Do I believe Ohio State ranks as one of the four best teams talent-wise this season? Absolutely. Do I believe Ohio State deserved inclusion within the College Football Playoff? No.

As so many of you witnessed throughout 2015, as I did, Ohio State never seemed to play up to their potential. All season, Ohio State fans waited and wondered for the juggernaut that finished the 2014 season with a mighty and triumphant flourish to appear. That team finally appeared with the demolition of That Team Up North on November 28th, with a resounding 42-13 victory.

Unfortunately, the Buckeyes had not demonstrated the same type of intensity and domination throughout most of the 2015 season. Yes, there were flashes ~ at Virginia Tech. At Rutgers. Ask yourself – what kind of performance was registered against Hawaii? Northern Illinois? Maryland?

Did that Ohio State team look like one of the best teams in the country at that point? With the eyes of the nation watching, Ohio State played listlessly against Michigan State, and lost, at home, to a team playing two backup quarterbacks.  I was there, in the stands of Ohio Stadium - trust me.  The better team won that day, plain and simple.

Before I am besieged by multiple tweets and comments, let me simply remind you that my thoughts are similar to other former Buckeyes, such as Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Spielman, and Matt Finkes. If former players could see the same type of issues that faced this team this season, and have the same type of reaction by the ranking that led Ohio State to the Fiesta Bowl, how far off can I be?

Would I have liked The Rose Bowl over The Fiesta Bowl? Yes – who is not awed by “The Grandaddy Of Them All” on January 1st? I am intrigued by the idea of playing against Notre Dame, a team similar to Ohio State in the sense that both teams are only a few points away from being undefeated. I will offer up an analysis of The 2016 Fiesta Bowl as it gets closer and closer to January 1st.

In the meantime, I urge you, and the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes, to think in the vein of Henry David Thoreau ~ “Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh…”.

[video] 2015 Ohio State Football: Team Up North Highlight

Courtesy of www.elevenwarriors.com.  My favorite part was Joey Bosa crushing Jake Rudock.

How Much Do I Love Beating TTUN In Ann Arbor? Let Me List Them For You

Congratulations to the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes for a thorough and dominating performance against That Team Up North. Heading into this game against their rival, with so many doubts about the team’s collective psyche, it would be fair to say that the Buckeyes were facing their moment of truth in Michigan Stadium. Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, the coaching staff, and the players all truly rose to the occasion in the 42-13 victory.

Also, congratulations to all of the players who were honored by inclusion on The B1G conference teams. Defensive lineman Joey Bosa, linebackers Raekwon McMillan and Joshua Perry, and safety Vonn Bell were named first team All-B1G defense, while defensive tackle Adolphus Washington, cornerback Eli Apple, linebacker Darron Lee, and punter Cameron Johnston were named to the second team. Running back Ezekiel Elliott, offensive tackle Taylor Decker, and guard Pat Elflein were named first-team All-B1G offense. Wide receiver Michael Thomas, center Jacoby Boren, and guard Billy Price were named to the third team. Congratulations to Taylor Decker for being named the B1G offensive lineman of the year, Joey Bosa for being named the B1G defensive lineman of the year, and to Ezekiel Elliott for being named both the B1G running back of the year, as well as the B1G offensive player of the year.

Above all, congratulations to the Buckeyes for winning their fourth straight pair of Gold Pants. Back to the main point, and that is savoring the dominant victory over That Team Up North. After Ohio State won over That Team Up North, it got me thinking ~ where does this victory rank, when I think of the wins over That Team Up North in Ann Arbor?

5. 2013 Ohio State 42, That Team Up North 41: Ohio State should have won this game in far easier fashion, but the defensive lapses that plagued the Buckeyes all season allowed the Wolverines to stay into this game until the final seconds. A win is a win, but this was far too close for my liking…

4. 1987 Ohio State 23, That Team Up North 20: Perhaps I am going too far back into the archives for some of the readers here, but the way the Buckeyes were able to win the final game for fired Ohio State Head Coach Earle Bruce is very memorable to me. Watch the clip below, and tell me Coach Bruce wasn’t fired up for this one. And who knew how dreadful the next thirteen years against That Team Up North were going to be?!? 




3. 2015 Ohio State 42, That Team Up North 13: The most dominant performance by the Buckeyes over That Team Up North in Ann Arbor with the 29 point victory since Ohio State won 50-20 in 1961. Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes had an assistant on his staff that year – some fellow named Bo Schembechler.

 

2. 2005 Ohio State 25, That Team Up North 21: Yes, I am still mesmerized by Troy Smith’s poise and footwork with only seconds remaining. As former Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel said about Troy Smith, “There will be a lot of No. 10 jerseys and a lot of kids on Thanksgiving weekend trying to make those moves in a pile of leaves…”. Yes, I still get excited watching Anthony Gonzalez make a clutch catch to put Ohio State into scoring position. Yes, Antonio Pittman should get more credit for the winning touchdown run that sealed the win. Here is why I rank this game so high on my list ~ Ohio State was down 21-12 midway through the fourth quarter, and the Buckeyes rallied to victory in this thriller.



1. 2001 Ohio State 26, That Team Up North 20: “You will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially, in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the football field…”. After so many disappointing losses in Ann Arbor from 1989-1999, I will forever savor this one. To top it off, Ohio State knocked That Team Up North from The Rose Bowl by virtue of this defeat, so it was like pouring salt into the wound. 



There is an old saying about “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. When I behold this list, and think of the dominance Ohio State has had over That Team Up North in Ann Arbor these past several years, I truly believe I am looking at a thing of beauty.