An Ohio State Sports Blog
I was halfway through writing a post chiming in with my opinion on the somewhat infuriating “Season of Backlash” article from Blue Gray Sky, when my Bloglines feeds updated and Brian’s extremely cogent response appeared. His post said everything I was planning to argue, and more.
Head on over there for some good logic.
Troy Smith’s Heisman trophy had to be shipped home after failing an airline security inspection.
Smith was not allowed to take the trophy on the plane. He could have passed it through the X-ray scanner, but that’s how Eddie George’s trophy got damaged in 1995. Apparently, he asked for a hand inspection, and the trophy was denied clearance.
Wonder if anyone checked to see if the TSA screener was a Michigan fan…
Jackets 6, Senators 2
Quite simply, I have never seen the team play so well as I did last night. What a perfect game it was to initiate my six-year-old daughter as a Jackets fan. It was her first game, and the nonstop excitement was ideal for her short attention span. We arrived at the game, picked her up her very first jersey (she wanted the 2nd jersey), & headed up to our center-ice/upper-bowl seats for the game.
Eight seconds into the game, Anson Carter pinned a player to the boards, and the tempo was set. The pace was frenetic, the hits were hard, and the siren sounded a half-dozen times. About five minutes into the first period, I had to explain to my daughter why Shelly was pounding on McGrattan (it was a rough clip). “Why is he hitting him?” *punchpunchpunch* “Well, sweetie, see number 45 there?” *smash* “He’s the good guy.” *poundpound* “He got clipped. That means someone tried to hurt his legs. You don’t do that to number 45.” *smashbonkgruntOOF* “Oh, cooollll…” she said. “He winned! What’s he doing now?” “Going to the penalty box, sweetie.”
Gotta love the innocence.
Both Nash and Fritsche were in position for hat tricks by the end of the second period, and Hainsey and Malhotra picked up the other two goals. Five of the six came on power plays – a new CBJ record.
It was quite interesting to see the new lineups. Not seeing Fedorov take the opening face-off was a bit odd, but Sergei had a fantastic game nonetheless, getting an assist on one of Nash’s goals and wreaking havoc elsewhere. Hitchcock is still playing with the lines, and whatever he’s doing is working. All the lines have been playing with increased chemistry for the past half-dozen games or so.
The usual bad news about a game this fast and rough is the number of injuries that occur… and the Jackets had some unfortunate ones. Adam Foote was taken away during the first period, suffering a “lower body injury.” That could be code for “back,” or it could be code for “balls.” Who knows yet. Anson Carter got hurt too, but I heard on the Jackets post-game radio show that he was okay.
The worst potential injury came from LeClaire… he was taken off the ice after an awkward stretch in the second period. It was hard to tell what happened, it just looked like he stretched “funny.” An MRI was scheduled today. After hearing that the Jackets issued an emergency recall of Ty Conklin from the Crunch today, I’m guessing the news from the MRI isn’t so good.
If you’re Lloyd Carr, campaigning for your team is beneath you. Apparently, though, nonstop whining is a virtue.
For two straight weeks, Carr hasn’t passed up a microphone, a camera, or a reporter without making sure everyone knows how sorry they should feel for the Wolverines.
Carr continued his boo-hooing in a news conference yesterday:
Carr said [the BCS selecting Florida] was one of the most disappointing moments in his 27 years with the Wolverines.
“Sometimes, in athletics, you get a bad bounce, and things don’t go your way,” Carr said. “And we have to move on from this.”
Oh, for the love of… Just sheesh. “Sometimes things don’t go your way”?!?
Lloyd: The reason you’re not in the BCS title game isn’t because the “BCS failed.” It’s because you lost to OSU.
You failed to secure your spot. It was right there in front of you, for the taking, and you missed it. Every single star aligned for you to win that game; from three turnovers, to having the officials in your hip pocket, even to the team-rallying tragedy of Bo’s passing. You failed.
Does anyone else realize how elitist this whining sounds to the players, coaches, and fans of over 100 other football teams who didn’t have the opportunities that Michigan did this season? You not only think you’re better than them, but you think that you’re so special that you demand a second chance, no matter how unfair it is to anyone else?
I’ve said it before: Carr & co. better hope they destroy USC. Anything less will validate the BCS selections.
If I were a UM fan, I’d be nervous. All of this talk is pretty disrespectful to USC. Don’t think for a minute Pete Carroll isn’t making his players watch Carr, his team, and everyone else in Wolverine nation as they complain that UM deserved better than USC, and that they deserved more than the Rose…
OSU reigned, Lloyd Carr complained, Brady Quinn gained, but Troy Smith maintained.
Here’s a summary of OSU award winners (let me know if I neglected any):
Davy O’brien (Best QB):
Troy Smith
Walter Camp (Player of the Year):
Troy Smith
Bronko Nagurski (Top Defensive Player):
James Laurinaitis
Danny Wuerffel (Outstanding Athletic, Academic, and Community Service):
Joel Penton
All-America Team (Outstanding Athletic Acheivement):
Troy Smith, Quinn Pitcock, James Laurinaitis
Academic All-American Team (Outstanding Academic Achievement):
Anthony Gonzalez, Stan White, Jr. (1st team); James Laurinaitis (2nd team)
Scout.com National Player of the Year:
Troy Smith
Scout.com All-America Team (Outstanding Athletic Acheivement):
Troy Smith, Quinn Pitcock, James Laurinaitis (1st team); Doug Datish (2nd team)
Heisman Memorial Trophy (Best Player in College Football):
Troy Smith (yes, we’re already including this one)
“But… but… Quinn won the Maxwell! So the media thinks he’s the best player!” Not exactly. The Maxwell tends to be more of an MVP trophy. Some people confuse ‘most valuable’ with ‘best,’ but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, they’re the same person, and other times not (like this year).
I think there’s an argument that Quinn, while not the best player in college football, might be more valuable to Notre Dame than Smith is to OSU. Of course, Smith is still the better QB and athlete, but if you remove Quinn from ND they probably become a sub-.500 team. Do the same to OSU, and they probably lose a bunch more games, but they probably don’t tank like the Irish would.
Besides, Quinn had a good season and broke all those records at ND… so they had to give him something. A good player like Quinn, from an institution like Notre Dame, getting shut out would be bad for PR purposes. And the media is still overly obsessed with Weis.
So I consider the 2006 Maxwell as sort of a token “Most Valuable, but Really Bad Timing Award,” as in “Sorry, Brady, you’re a good player, but you just happened to be playing football when Troy Smith was. Bad timing for you, so here you go.”
Otherwise, he ends up being remembered as being the guy that got to ride in the limousine with Troy Smith after the 2006 Heisman ceremony.
I don’t care what team you root for, when you watch this video you’ll understand why Troy Smith is the best player in college football.
Yes, you’ll see great performances from his receivers. But no other QB (including Quinn) could thread the needle like Smith does, and from any hash, from the pocket or on the move, with guys hanging off of him, for three yards or 60. No matter what his body or foot position, he simply puts it where only his receiver can bring it down.
My favorites are #17 and #29.
We can be glad that common sense prevailed, and the voters put the more deserving team in the title game.
A rematch would have been disasterous for college football as a whole. If OSU had won, the country would have felt that Florida was cheated out of its shot. If UM had won, all it would have proven is that if you give a team with less talent enough chances, they might finally beat a slightly better, but less motivated, team that felt it had already proved its case.
Still, the flaws in the BCS system have been on display this weekend. To me, all the BCS hatred seems a bit premature. I think fans should let the games play themselves out. Consider the following:
WHAT IF: Florida beats OSU?
WHAT IF: USC wins the Rose?
WHAT IF: UM wins the Rose, but needs a miracle (or just looks sloppy)?
Any of the three outcomes would retroactively validate the BCS selections.
In short, if UM wants to convince the world that it was cheated out of Glendale, it had better destroy USC in the Rose Bowl. If Michigan truly is the number two team in the country, they should have no problem trouncing a team that just lost to unranked UCLA. Anything less, in my opinion, would validate Florida’s selection for the title game.
…barring a miracle (for UM).
The coaches poll gave the nod to Florida at the #2 spot.
It’s not likely that the Harris poll will be able to give UM the votes it needs to overtake Florida.
Another classy (and smart) move for Tressel; he abstained from this week’s coaches’ poll.
We are excited to play in the BCS title game against a tremendous opponent,” he said in a statement. “After consultation with my director of athletics, Gene Smith, and based upon our unique position in the BCS standings, I believe it is only fair that we not participate in the final poll.”
More at the Fanhouse.
UPDATE:
The LA Times quotes a BCS source as saying it is official: The Gators will advance.
Buckeye nation must wait until 10 p.m. EST tonight to find out who OSU’s opponent will be in the BCS national title game.
Fans seem to be evenly split on the issue, as is evident in the ESPN poll:
Mark Schlabach’s ESPN article makes a pretty persuasive case for the BCS taking Florida. He goes all Dave Letterman on us, listing ten reasons why Florida’s body of work is more impressive than Michigan. One of his points:
“5. The 12 teams Florida defeated finished the season with 11 combined wins against opponents which were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at the time the game was played. The opponents Michigan defeated claim just three wins against ranked teams (Notre Dame beat Penn State. Indiana beat Iowa. Vanderbilt beat Georgia. The Nittany Lions, Hawkeyes and Bulldogs, it should be noted, haven’t been ranked in seven weeks).”
What’s interesting to me is that everyone is arguing over what’s fair for Florida or Michigan. I agree that a case can be made for both, but nobody is arguing over what’s fair for OSU! Shouldn’t the team that clinched the spot more clearly than any other get a say? Shouldn’t what’s fair for OSU be a determining factor in the decisions of the voters in the coaches’ and Harris polls?
Clearly, giving Michigan a mulligan would be unfair for OSU. The Buckeyes have already proved they were the better team. Why have to validate it again, just because some kool-aid drinking BCS voters think Florida doesn’t deserve a shot?
**UPDATED… see below.**
Michigan did not lose to OSU because of a shoddy field.
There. I just had to get that out there. Sheesh. There is waaay too much talk on UM blogs and message boards blaming the November 18th loss on mediocre grass. (No, I’m not giving you any links to such.) If Woody and Bo could hear the fans complaining, they’d be ashamed of how wuss-ified college football had become.
At any rate, am I the only one that notices the inherent contradicton in that argument? If you argue that UM is about as good as OSU, but you also argue that UM isn’t OSU’s equal on a slippery field, isn’t that the same as admitting that UM isn’t as good as OSU? Think about that for a moment. “They’re just as good. Oh, they can’t beat them on a non-perfect field, but they might be able to beat them on a perfect one. So, they’re just as good.” WTH kind of logic is that?
Let us slap some logic on ya:
(1) No, the field wasn’t as perfect as field turf. Yes, the occasional player slipped. But it wasn’t as bad as what a lot of UM fans make it out to be. And it wasn’t as bad as a rainy field, or a muddy field, or a snowy field, etc. If you want to see terrible field conditions, watch the OSU/Penn State game, played during a heavy downpour. Interesting how you didn’t hear Penn State players or fans blaming their loss on the field conditions. Maybe that’s because…
(2) Surprise! OSU played on the same field. Saying the field conditions only gave the advantage to OSU is pure cognitive dissonance. One Michigan blogger, who I really respect, actually said that a slippery field hurt Mike Hart more than it hurt Antonio Pittman, because Hart makes a “lot of cuts.” Foolish me, I never noticed that Pittman only runs in a straight line! Someone else wrote, “But the field caused Manningham to trip and not catch that bomb from Henne.” But the field kept Ginn from catching the first-quarter bomb from Smith. Advantage: nobody.
One of these things is the REAL reason Michigan lost
Some have argued that the turf benefited the OSU offense more than the UM defense. But even if that was the case, remember that both teams had 12 offensive possessions. They both had equal chances to “benefit” from the field conditions. (Note: in actuality, UM had one more offensive possession than OSU, as OSU’s twelvth possession was a “run the clock out” possession at the end of the game.)
No matter what your loyalty, the field did not give one team the advantage over another. For a given play, it may cause a ball carrier to slip, for another, it may cause a defender to slip.
(3) This is the first time in history that a group of fans have complained that a slippery field actually raised the score in a game. Uhhh… whatever.
(4) The turf wasn’t the reason that, at any given time, two out of four or five OSU WRs were completely alone and not covered in the flat. It didn’t have anything to do with the UM secondary being out of position on Pittman’s and Wells’ 50+ yard runs, or the many missed tackles on OSU ball carriers. Ginn was covered as best he could be on the second quarter play action TD pass, and the turf didn’t help Smith put the ball in that 12″ wide window where only Ginn could catch it.
(5) Turf aside, the only reason Michigan even had a chance in that game were the three gift-wrapped turnovers from OSU, and a bogus pass-interference call that kept a UM touchdown drive alive. It was those four events that led to 17 UM points, and that kept OSU from scoring at least two touchdowns more than it did.
Know what? That’s such a good point, I think I’ll rephrase it in a more dramatic way:
Turf had nothing to do with it. I really do understand the need to find something – anything – to mitigate a disappointing loss. Heaven knows what we OSU fans went through during the Cooper era. But understand, the turf had absolutely no effect on the outcome of the game.
UPDATE: Jeff at BBC is being mean again. (If you’ve read our other posts that link to Jeff’s work, you know that’s our way of complimenting him.) He’s put together a video that shows a couple of Buckeye ball carriers — the ones who don’t make cuts — juking UM defenders out of their shoes… without slipping.
