Ohio State comeback stuns Penn State Posted by Staff (10/28/2017 @ 8:58 pm) I’ll admit it. I was skeptical about JT Barrett after the Oklahoma game. I didn’t think he could fix the passing game and perform at a high level against a team like Penn State. JT proved me and plenty of other doubters wrong tonight. JT was simply fabulous. He completed 33 of 39 passes for 328 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. The Buckeyes were down 21-3 at one point and then down 15 points two times in the second half, but JT put the team on his back and imposed his will on Penn State. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley started the game with a spectacular kickoff return for a touchdown, and followed that with a 36-yard touchdown run, but then was stuffed by the Ohio State defense for the rest of the game. He only gained a net 8 yards on his other 20 carries! He’s a hell of a talent, but the kid is human and tonight showed some of the hype had gotten to ridiculous levels. The Buckeyes tried to give this game away with terrible special teams play and some questionable play calls in the red zone, but they moved the ball at will against Penn State and now have a clear shot at the College Football Playoff if they can win out. Penn State will likely need a lot of help. Fade Material: College Football Week 2 Predictions Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/10/2011 @ 12:29 pm) University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban talks with Trent Richardson (3) during the first half of play against the University of Louisville in their NCAA football game at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, October 3, 2009. REUTERS/John Sommers II (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL) My âFade Materialâ in Week 1 actually wasnât fade material at all, as I went 3-1 with my picks. I hit Boise State, Minnesota and Stanford, while Oregon ruined my shot at a perfect week. Itâs a shame too because if you canât trust a Duck, who can you trust? TCU @ Air Force, 3:30PM ET The Horned Frogs are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games against Air Force and 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a straight up loss. The Falcons, meanwhile, are 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a straight up win and 1-6 ATS in their lat seven conference games. I just donât see TCU starting the year 0-2 and this is practically a pickâem. THE PICK: TCU -1 Alabama @ Penn State, 3:30PM ET The Crimson Tide are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven non-conference games and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games in September. Theyâre also 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall and 4-1 ATS in their lat five games as a favorite. âBama proved last year that Penn State didnât belong on the same field as them and while things could be different this time around with the Nittany Lions play at home, I like the Tide defense to dominate in this one. THE PICK: ALABAMA -10 Read the rest of this entry » 2011 College Football Program Power Rankings Posted by John Paulsen (02/16/2011 @ 7:00 am) Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor hands off the ball to tailback Dane Sanzenbacher in the third quarter at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans during the 77th Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl January 4, 2011. The Buckeyes won 31-26 UPI/Dave Fornell Almost a year ago we decided to try to quantify the stature of college football programs so that we could rank them against one another. (Click here for the 2010 Rankings.) Then our football guru, Anthony Stalter, wrote a little bit about each program and the direction that itâs headed. Hereâs how the total points are determined â 20 points for a national championship, 10 for a BCS title game loss, seven for a BCS bowl win, five for a BCS bowl loss, five for a BCS conference championship, three for a mid-major conference championship, two for a BCS conference runner-up and one for a major bowl appearance (i.e. a bowl that has a recent payout of more than $2 million, so for 2011 that would be Capital One, Outback, Chick-fil-A, Cotton, Gator, Insight, Holiday, Champs Sports and Alamo.) Youâll see the total points in parenthesis after the teamâs name. We put some thought into the point values for each accomplishment, paying special attention to how the point values are relative to one another. For example, we figured that one national championship would equate to four BCS conference championships, or three BCS bowl wins. We only looked at the last five years, as college football has increasingly become a fluid and fickle sport, and thatâs about how far back a recruit will go when deciding amongst a list of schools. Lastly, since a program is so dependent on the guy in charge, we added or subtracted points if the program saw an upgrade or downgrade at the head coach position in the last five years. A max of 10 points would be granted (or docked) based on the level of upgrade or downgrade. Again, we tried to quantify the hire relative to the programâs other accomplishments. For example, hiring Nick Saban is probably worth two BCS bowl appearances, or 10 points. (Sure, he might lead Alabama to more, but he also might bolt for another job in a year or two.) So, without further ado, here are the rankings. Every year weâll go through and update the numbers based on what the program did that year (while throwing out the oldest year of data), so donât fret if your team isnât quite where you want them right now. Everyone has a chance to move up.
1. Ohio State (58) Previous Rank: #2 (+1) Some college football fans will take issue with the Buckeyes being No. 1 because of their âsoft schedule.â But this is a team that has dominated its conference five of the past six years and has finished no worse than second in each of the past six seasons. Theyâve also appeared in two title games (though they lost both) and nine straight BCS bowl games, winning the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the past two years. They’ve got an interesting season coming up though. Five of their players including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Dan Herron and receiver DeVier Posey will miss the first five games next year after being suspended. Can the Buckeyes stay unscathed until those players return?
2. Florida (51) Previous Rank: #1 (-1) If it werenât for Urban Meyer leaving the program (and their lousy 2010 season), the Gators would probably still be ranked No. 1. They have three conference championships and two national championships in two years, but the lose of Meyer hurts big-time in these rankings. But donât fret Florida fans, if Will Muschamp gets the program back on the right track then the Gators wonât be at No. 2 for long. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: College Football Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Boise State Broncos, Cincinnati Bearcats, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Iowa Hawkeyes, LSU Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, TCU Horned Frogs, Texas Longhorns, USC Trojans, Virginia Tech Hokies, West Virginia Mountaineers
Big Ten title will be decided today (and probably by some computers tomorrow) Posted by Paul Costanzo (11/27/2010 @ 11:41 am) After Friday’s games, today might be a little anti-climactic, but there’s still plenty to be determined on college football’s more traditional day. The Big Ten title is still up for grabs, with three teams — Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State — all tied at the top with one loss. If all three win, the BCS standings will decide who goes to the Rose Bowl. That will likely be Wisconsin, which has that edge going into today. If Wisconsin loses and the other two win, the BCS will again decide who goes to the Rose Bowl, as Ohio State and Michigan State did not play each other. It’s a problem the Big Ten will have solved next year when there’s a title game (two title contenders not playing each other, that is. As the Big 12 showed us two years ago, the BCS can still decide a divisional race if all hell breaks loose). If Wisconsin wins, however, and either Ohio State or Michigan State lose, it will be a lot more clear cut. The Spartans get the bid with an Ohio State loss as they have the head-to-head edge over Wisconsin. The Badgers get it if Michigan State loses, because they hold that same edge over Ohio State. So those are your scenarios (sure, there’s the “all three lose” scenario, as well, where Iowa is back in the mix, but I don’t want to force that upon you before noon). Here’s how it will play out. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: College Football Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, BCS, Big Ten scenarios, Big Ten standings, LSU Tigers, Michigan State Spartans, Northwestern Wildcats, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Penn State Nittany Lions, Wisconsin Badgers
Will Cam Newton play? Will it even matter? Posted by Paul Costanzo (11/13/2010 @ 8:00 am) One of the beauties of getting XM radio is that I get to listen to the Paul Finebaum show on a daily basis. For those that don’t know, Finebaum’s show is technically now a national college football radio show, but it can’t get away from its southeastern roots. Every four out of five callers is from Alabama or Mississippi, and they’re crazy. The conspiracies they come up with on the officiating and play-calling from week to week would make Glenn Beck proud. But the Cam Newton scandal has sent these folks into overdrive, and forced me to spend more time inside my car while it was sitting still in my driveway than one person should. People are blaming the press, Mississippi State, the press, Florida, the press, Nike, the press, Florida and the press. One caller, minutes after ESPN’s Joe Schad hung up with Finebaum, basically threatened to beat him up. It was amazing. I don’t have a conspiracy theory on this, which is sad. But it will be really interesting to see how Auburn and Newton play today after having to listen to all of this over the last week. I’m not picking the game because I have no idea who’s taking the field, but if Newton doesn’t play, expect the Bulldogs to win. A.J. Green has made them a legit SEC team. If Newton plays, however, the Tigers will roll on. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: College Football Tags: Auburn Tigers, Cam Newton, Cam Newton scandal, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, Kansas State Wildcats, Missouri Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, South Carolina Gamecocks, Texas Longhorns
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