Dali Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Really looking forward to this one and hoping my Buckeyes can pull it off. Glad to see Florida as the opponent, and think they are worthy of being in it. We already beat Michigan so a rematch didn't seem right. And I can't stand USC and that annoying drone their band maintains (equal to Oklahoma Boomer Sooner and Florida State's 'B' movie Indian war hymm for college football's most annoying sounds). OSU is a big favorite, which scares me because I think Florida is in exactly the same position we were in against Miami a few years ago when everyone said we didn't have a chance... and it turned out to be one of the best championship games ever. Pregame story lines are: Can Smith shake the Heisman jinx and prove himself worthy of the trophy? Can a Big 10 team keep up with the speed of an SEC team? (a joke now, though this storyline probably had validity 15 years ago) Can Florida maintain with all the big name Buckeyes who are can't miss NFL 1st rounders? (of course they can, they didn't make it this far by being a bunch of slackers) For me, I just hope we win so that I can forget our last championship came with two asterisks, due to (1) the controversy of the overtime penalty when Miami was called for interferance, and (2) we would not have won without Maurice Clarett, a total embarrassment to OSU and college athletics in contrast to what most of us feel our university stands for. Go Bucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belem Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 There's no one on the Florida team faster than Ted Ginn. Ohio State's speed and athleticsm surprised Miami back in 2003, and they had to adapt to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 34-14 at the half ! Hells Bells. Who would have guessed. OSU...what can I say? Sure make the Gators look good. Playing like they are, I have no idea how the Buckeyes went undefeated ('til this game). Yeah, it ain't over yet and all that. But so far, I'd move Boise State, LSU, and USC ahead of Ohio State. Will be a sad day for the Big 10 if OSU doesn't at least make a game out of it. I know hindsight is 20-20, but any comments on Fassel's decision to go for the first down with 4th and 1 (which they didn't make)? HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayRay Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 Great defense beats great offense every time. That was an absolute clinic put on by the Gator D. Ohio State's D ran out of gas in the third quarter. Just be thankful Spurrier isn't still at Florida because he would have hung 60+ on the Bucks. I know the Big 10 fans don't want to admit it, but the SEC is the toughest league top to bottom. Ohio State and Michigan each would have had at least two losses if they played a full SEC schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belem Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 Tedd Ginn was the fastest player on the field and OSU lost a very important piece of their offense when he left the game in the first quarter because he stretched defenses. Not to blame the loss on that, but that really hurt OSU. SEC being superior to the Big Ten? Funny how Penn State, the slowest team in the Big Team, beat Tennessee running the same running play over and over the entire game. And Wisonsin beat Arkansas. Looks like the SEC was 1-2 against the Big Ten in Bowl games this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was_usvirgin Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 True about Ginn. His injury hurt the team badly, but his presence would not have been enough to make up the difference. The game I saw ...what impressed me was Florida's defensive speed, especially on the front line. To me, they made the huge difference. PS. The other thing that struck me was it seemed the OSU defense was giving up short-medium range passes all night long and not making any adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 The SEC IS one of the better conferences, no doubt about it. But I think the overall level of play is over-rated. If you get rid of 3 or 4 of those teams, then, yeah, maybe it is the toughest conference. I seem to recall one of the graphics on one of the bowl telecasts that showed that the SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10 have the most players in the NFL (in that order). But when TWO of the Gators' wins came against teams that were like 2-10 and 3-9 (Western Carolina and UCF)...well, I wouldn't call those quality wins. Kind of like beating mediocre community college teams :grin: Still, you have to admit that the Gators did beat 3 ranked teams this season. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dali Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Yes, Florida kicked our ass. No other way to put it. The loss of Ginn definitely hurt, but his presence would not have changed things much as the offensive line, which was great all year and considered by many the best in the country, provided virtually no protection. As far as overall conference strength, I agree that in most years the SEC is best. I don't think Florida is really a ton better than OSU, but they sure were last night. They played great and OSU didn't. OSU's win over Michigan was the highest of highs, only to be followed by a total letdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belem Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 The 51 day break OSU had also didn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 7 weeks is a looooooooooong time to be off and try to stay focused. I'm still amazed that OSU did not drop further in the final polls after the beating it took. I was pulling for OSU, but it was apparent by half-time that the ride was over for it. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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