2006 College Football

[TonyB06]

Dear Michigan fan,

Please stop calling Ohio sports talk (radio) shows. .....or at least stop smoking crack before you make the call. We haven't been #1 all season for no reason.

Signed,
15 days until the only rivalry that matters

[macallan25]

My prediction:

Michigan holds Ohio State to less than 60 yards rushing with their bad ass run defense. Forced to throw the ball, Troy Smith realizes that....gasp....Michigan has a very good secondary and he can't throw the ball to Ted Ginn Jr. 85 times like he did in the Texas game. In a display of greatness, Chad Henne goes 25-31, 250, 3TDs and Michigan runs the ball for 150 yards and 2TD's because Ohio State can't stop the run....at all. Ohio State does get their points but lose 38-27...thus, damaging their National title hopes and reassuring those that knew it all along........that Ohio State was good, but not great, and had probobly the best schedule on paper that we have ever seen.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by macallan25

My prediction:

Michigan holds Ohio State to less than 60 yards rushing with their bad ass run defense. Forced to throw the ball, Troy Smith realizes that....gasp....Michigan has a very good secondary and he can't throw the ball to Ted Ginn Jr. 85 times like he did in the Texas game. In a display of greatness, Chad Henne goes 25-31, 250, 3TDs and Michigan runs the ball for 150 yards and 2TD's because Ohio State can't stop the run....at all. Ohio State does get their points but lose 38-27...thus, damaging their National title hopes and reassuring those that knew it all along........that Ohio State was good, but not great, and had probobly the best schedule on paper that we have ever seen.

Michigan has a very good secondary?? are you serious with this?

Michigan has a good run defense, but they're giving up 206 yards per game against the pass. How is that good? That's horrible. And that's before they face Troy Smith, who is 2nd in the Big 10 in passing yds, w/ a 67 percent completion percentage.

A. Gonzalez and T. Ginn Jr. are 1 and 2 in reception yardage among Big 10 receivers. What is Michigan going to do with this??

As for the run game, Mike Hart is good back, no doubt, but I'll take our offensive line and Antonio Pittman (5.5 yds per carry, 10 TDs) any day, on any field in the country.

[shinerbock]

The Big 10 is terrible. I think Michigan and OSU are both really good teams, but I think they'd lose to Texas and USC of last year, USC and Auburn of 2004, LSU and USC of 2003... I think they're good, but they're beatable. I think football is down this year, I could be proven wrong if OSU blasts through Michigan and blows away a team in the title game, but thats how I feel right now.

[macallan25]

Ummmm....last time I checked.....giving up only 200 yards passing a game...isn't bad.....and it certainly isn't horrible. You should look up the pass defense team statistics on the NCAA official website. Around 70 yards is all that separates 1 - 75.

Personally, I don't think yalls offensive line is that good.

Maybe i'm just wanting yall to lose so we can get a rematch.


.....and the Big 10 isn't good....at all.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by macallan25

Maybe i'm just wanting yall to lose so we can get a rematch.

that's fair, but are you sure you really want that? 24-7 in your house as I recall.

hey, all the rest is subjective; we all root for our teams, but the scoreboard tells the brutal story.

[macallan25]

Yeah, I actually do want that. 24-7...with one of the top CB's in the country suspended for a game......a fumble on yalls 2 yard line, and an interception on yalls 35. Those turnovers led to yall scoring 14. I'm just speculating that we would have scored on both occasions, but I have to believe we would have. I don't know if you actually looked at the stats for that game.....but you all didn't exactly dominate on anything.

Nevermind the fact that it was the second game of the season.

I hate making excuses for losing football games, and I really do think Ohio State is a good solid team......but when you pretty much lose a game on turnovers...its hard not to make a little argument.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by macallan25

Yeah, I actually do want that. 24-7...with one of the top CB's in the country suspended for a game......a fumble on yalls 2 yard line, and an interception on yalls 35. Those turnovers led to yall scoring 14. I'm just speculating that we would have scored on both occasions, but I have to believe we would have. I don't know if you actually looked at the stats for that game.....but you all didn't exactly dominate on anything.

Nevermind the fact that it was the second game of the season.

I hate making excuses for losing football games, and I really do think Ohio State is a good solid team......but when you pretty much lose a game on turnovers...its hard not to make a little argument.

Ok, just as you can say you had a CB suspended for this year's game....we had Troy Smith coming off a suspension for last year's game. Had he started that game instead of Justin Zwick, I could just as easily say we'd have won.

"a fumble on yalls 2 yard line" -- Jim Laurinitis put his helmet in dude's chest and caused the fumble. Do we not get any credit for that? the turnover didn't just happen out of thin air...

we didn't dominate? 24-7, in Texas, with a brand new defense and a team that had 9, count em, n-i-n-e guys drafted into the NFL last April? We took a new defense into a hostile environment, ran a balanced (not brilliant) offense that day and controlled the game. A. Pittman had a big 2nd half running the ball. Texas took away Ginn Jr., so Anthony Gonzalez (who in reality is probably the better receiver on the team at this point) killed you.

"2nd game of the year? I think it was the 2nd game of the year for us as well.

I happen to think turnovers are as much a part of the game as anything else; Most are forced by either a) good defense, a big hit or b) deceptive schemes that fool the quarterback into mistakes. I think both occured that night in Texas.

All of this is just sports and open to speculation, but these Buckeyes are for real. Jim Tressel, IMO, is the best coach in America because his teams are fundamentally sound and they perform well under pressure. And he makes great halftime adjustments. Sooner or later folks are going to have to recognize.

Now if my man Jimmy Tizzle would just kill the sweater vest-gym shoe combination on the sidelines everything would be great. But dude owns Michigan (4-1), so he will always own Ohio.

...oh, yeah, and if Texas wants to schedule another series, I'm sure Coach Tressel would take that phone call.

[shinerbock]

Tony, coaches don't just take such games at the drop of a hat. Auburn's AD has called Penn St., Notre Dame, OSU and Michigan to try and schedule games, none of which has agreed to do so. This isn't simply because they're scared, although playing dangerous teams isn't a coach's favorite...but such games are strategically planned to give the team time (usually years) to plan and to publicize. Also, Coach Tressel wouldn't be taking any calls, your AD would, and then presumably talk to the HC about it.

I think OSU solidly beat Texas, but Texas is now playing a lot better. Like I said, I think OSU is a good football team, but I don't see them as uncapable of being beaten. They remind me of Oklahoma in 04.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Tony, coaches don't just take such games at the drop of a hat. Auburn's AD has called Penn St., Notre Dame, OSU and Michigan to try and schedule games, none of which has agreed to do so. This isn't simply because they're scared, although playing dangerous teams isn't a coach's favorite...but such games are strategically planned to give the team time (usually years) to plan and to publicize. Also, Coach Tressel wouldn't be taking any calls, your AD would, and then presumably talk to the HC about it.

I think OSU solidly beat Texas, but Texas is now playing a lot better. Like I said, I think OSU is a good football team, but I don't see them as uncapable of being beaten. They remind me of Oklahoma in 04.

SB,
Yeah, as a former newspaper sportswriter I'm quite familiar with the scheduling process. I was speaking in the broader sense about Coach T not fearing the match up.

I've never said OSU was incapable of being beaten, so I'm not sure of the import of your statement. Because theirs is a more workmanlike style, I don't think even with the #1 ranking, OSU gets the respect of the more glamour teams like USC and Notre Dame. The same Notre Dame all the pundits warned would beat us in the Bowl game last year because Charlie Weis had a "whole month to prepare." Well, Jim Tressel had a month to prepare also, and we saw what happened.

I expect Michigan to come in a make a decent showing, but get handled because OSU is a better team. OSU/UM is the standard of collegiate sports rivalries, IMO. I think ESPN voted it the top rivallry in sports like 2 years ago.

15 days....

[shinerbock]

I made a post in response and its not here...weird. Anyway, all I said was that I think I'd put Alabama-Auburn as a more intense rivalry, but I can't really say that OSU Michigan isn't the best in terms of history and significance.

Also, I said that I would like to see OSU have played Texas around week 10, considering the improvement of Texas. I just think some people have a hard time placing OSU in the "great" category yet, considering their schedule. However, they will play a very good Michigan team, and playing a team other than Lville in the national title game (and winning) would give them pretty strong legitimacy. Although I dislike OSU, I prefer to have a solid champion, so I think they should face a one loss team from a strong conference in order to avoid the possibility of a OSU-Lville blowout, with a 12-1 Texas or 12-1 Florida/Auburn not getting a shot (and the what if's ensue).

[MJo19]

Hey..don't knock the Tressel vest

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

Ok, just as you can say you had a CB suspended for this year's game....we had Troy Smith coming off a suspension for last year's game. Had he started that game instead of Justin Zwick, I could just as easily say we'd have won.

"a fumble on yalls 2 yard line" -- Jim Laurinitis put his helmet in dude's chest and caused the fumble. Do we not get any credit for that? the turnover didn't just happen out of thin air...

we didn't dominate? 24-7, in Texas, with a brand new defense and a team that had 9, count em, n-i-n-e guys drafted into the NFL last April? We took a new defense into a hostile environment, ran a balanced (not brilliant) offense that day and controlled the game. A. Pittman had a big 2nd half running the ball. Texas took away Ginn Jr., so Anthony Gonzalez (who in reality is probably the better receiver on the team at this point) killed you.

"2nd game of the year? I think it was the 2nd game of the year for us as well.

I happen to think turnovers are as much a part of the game as anything else; Most are forced by either a) good defense, a big hit or b) deceptive schemes that fool the quarterback into mistakes. I think both occured that night in Texas.

All of this is just sports and open to speculation, but these Buckeyes are for real. Jim Tressel, IMO, is the best coach in America because his teams are fundamentally sound and they perform well under pressure. And he makes great halftime adjustments. Sooner or later folks are going to have to recognize.

Now if my man Jimmy Tizzle would just kill the sweater vest-gym shoe combination on the sidelines everything would be great. But dude owns Michigan (4-1), so he will always own Ohio.

...oh, yeah, and if Texas wants to schedule another series, I'm sure Coach Tressel would take that phone call.

I think you should calm down. Maybe you forget that we lost the most prolific starting quarterback in the history of college football as well as 5 starters from the #1 defense in the country. You can make an argument about losing your defense....but in reality, it is much easier to come back with a fresh, new defense than it is to return with a dominant offense.

Yall didn't "dominate the game." As far as I can remember, the only statistical category that yall were better in was passing and turnover ratio. I believe the passing was something around 250 to 150. You are right, turnovers are a part of the game.......should we have made those ones that we did? Absolutely not.

There is no excuse for fumbling on the goal line, ever. Selvin Young got hit by one guy, no excuse. I don't care if it was Lawrence Taylor making the hit, there was no excuse. "Deceptive schemes"??? Yall weren't running any kind of crazy, specialized defense. Colt made a shitty pass....one which I don't give yall any credit for. I think its safe to say that sometimes a QB makes a bad decision.

Nobody here is saying that OSU isn't a solid program. I happen to think that Tressel is a fine coach. Do I think he is the best? No. (And no, I don't think Mack Brown is the best either.) He is definitely a class act. Do I think he would just jump at the chance to schedule a series with us every year....probobly not. Coaches aren't like that. I don't know of many coaches that are just yearning for the chance to play a top 3-4 team every year....and there is no reason why we shouldn't be for atleast the next 2-3 seasons.

So, again, i'd love to play yall one more time. The difference between us now and the second game of the season is huge.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by macallan25

I think you should calm down. Maybe you forget that we lost the most prolific starting quarterback in the history of college football as well as 5 starters from the #1 defense in the country. You can make an argument about losing your defense....but in reality, it is much easier to come back with a fresh, new defense than it is to return with a dominant offense.

Yall didn't "dominate the game." As far as I can remember, the only statistical category that yall were better in was passing and turnover ratio. I believe the passing was something around 250 to 150. You are right, turnovers are a part of the game.......should we have made those ones that we did? Absolutely not.

There is no excuse for fumbling on the goal line, ever. Selvin Young got hit by one guy, no excuse. I don't care if it was Lawrence Taylor making the hit, there was no excuse. "Deceptive schemes"??? Yall weren't running any kind of crazy, specialized defense. Colt made a shitty pass....one which I don't give yall any credit for. I think its safe to say that sometimes a QB makes a bad decision.

Nobody here is saying that OSU isn't a solid program. I happen to think that Tressel is a fine coach. Do I think he is the best? No. (And no, I don't think Mack Brown is the best either.) He is definitely a class act. Do I think he would just jump at the chance to schedule a series with us every year....probobly not. Coaches aren't like that. I don't know of many coaches that are just yearning for the chance to play a top 3-4 team every year....and there is no reason why we shouldn't be for atleast the next 2-3 seasons.

So, again, i'd love to play yall one more time. The difference between us now and the second game of the season is huge.

You've said nothing that would rile me, so there's no reason for me to be anything other than calm. VY most prolific in college football history? nah. He's good, but I've seen better.

We'll just agree to disagree on who dominated whom, but when the clock hit 00:00 the score was 24-7, OSU on top --at yall's house. To me, that's sufficient domination.

As for the rest of your post, it's just your sports opinion; not much there that's relevant, IMO.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I made a post in response and its not here...weird. Anyway, all I said was that I think I'd put Alabama-Auburn as a more intense rivalry, but I can't really say that OSU Michigan isn't the best in terms of history and significance.

Also, I said that I would like to see OSU have played Texas around week 10, considering the improvement of Texas. I just think some people have a hard time placing OSU in the "great" category yet, considering their schedule. However, they will play a very good Michigan team, and playing a team other than Lville in the national title game (and winning) would give them pretty strong legitimacy. Although I dislike OSU, I prefer to have a solid champion, so I think they should face a one loss team from a strong conference in order to avoid the possibility of a OSU-Lville blowout, with a 12-1 Texas or 12-1 Florida/Auburn not getting a shot (and the what if's ensue).

SB,
that's fine. sports is subjective and regional differences will factor in. What makes you think UA/Auburn is a more intense rivalry?

As for playing in week 10 vs. week 2, you have to allow for the fact that Ohio State would be 8 weeks better as well, right? Where do you see the critical differences?

As for "great" I'm really not concerned with the label. I couldn't care less if others don't agree. I think when you look at what they've done on a pretty consistent basis, they're a great team. We have a 2002 National Championship as proof too, so it's never bothered me that others get more "pub," just something that's amusing.