Buckeyes land their prized recruit

December 16, 2013 by 1 Comment

osuHelmet5star_recruit_iconFrom the day that Urban Meyer was hired as the head coach of The Ohio State University he hit the recruiting trail hard and fast and never looked back. He has landed some of top recruits in the nation and the top recruiting classes in the nation the last 2 years. The 2014 class may be the best yet of the 3 under his belt and with the commitment today of the nations top Linebacker he also added the most important part of the class. The needs for the 2014 class are evident Offensive Lineman and Linebackers are top priorities and Coach Meyer already has landed some top talent at both positions but there was always one LB he coveted and fought hard to land and those efforts payed off fully today in landing the 18th member of the 2014 class.

raekwon-buckeye-gloves

Raekwon McMillan committed to play for The Ohio State University Buckeyes live on NBCsports today.

Raekwon McMillan is a 6’2″ 245 lbs 5 star Linebacker from Hinesville, Georgia. Raekwon is a game changing recruit. He is a big boy who hits extremely hard and has speed you dont expect from someone his size. His greatest skill though is his ability to see the whole field and get to the ball. He has those intangibles that a middle LB needs to be great. He will come in right away and fight for playing time at a position of great need. 247Sports ranks him a 5 star and the 16th best recruit in the country. Rivals ranks him a 5 star and the 19th best recruit in the country. ESPN ranks him a 5 star and the 12th best recruit in the country. Scout Ranks him a 4 star and the 5th best MLB in the country.

You can follow Raekwon McMillan on Twitter by clicking @Kwon_daTRUTH.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, College Football Recruiting, High School Football, Ohio State Football Tagged With:

The Spread: The More Things Change

December 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

On January 7, Florida State will take on Auburn for the final BCS National Championship. The Seminoles played an SEC team (Tennessee) in the first-ever BCS title game too. Like this year’s FSU team, the ’98 Volunteers were the only remaining undefeated major conference team. Like this year’s Ohio State team, the ’98 Buckeyes missed out on a shot at the title because they lost to Michigan State. Ohio State was the preseason #1 team in the 1998 AP poll, but ended up playing in the Sugar Bowl against a team from the Big 12, just like this year’s preseason #1 AP team Alabama will.

At the time, the BCS was an exciting prospect. After years of split national titles decided entirely by polls, we were finally going to get a True National Champion, decided on the field of play, as it should be. Of course, the convoluted and amorphous gel of human polls, computer rankings and bonus points left us unsatisfied. Sure, it turned in a gem of a season finale from time to time, but more often than not, when that last piece of confetti was vacuumed off the field turf, we were left with more questions than answers.

During the BCS era, we’ve seen the sport undergo even more radical changes–from the functional (instant replay) to the philosophical (read-option) to the structural (realignment). Three of the eleven conferences that made up Division IA football (now the FBS) in 1998 no longer exist. The WAC had 16 teams back then. It has 0 now. There was no Mountain West. There was a Sun Belt, but they didn’t play football then. There was a Big East, but they don’t play football now.

In 1998, there were 22 bowl games. Now there are 35. Next year: 39.

A microcosm of the shifting world of college football comes in the form of the Big 12. At the end of 1998, they had five ranked teams: Kansas State, Texas A&M, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri. Three of those teams are no longer in the conference. Neither is Colorado. Baylor was the worst team in the conference in 1998, winning just two games by a combined 10 points. This year, they won the Big 12 with just a single loss and posted a national best 53.3 points per game.

Next year, the College Football Playoff begins and with it a whole new host of arguments and controversies and spats over regional bias and schedule strength. Those things will probably never go away–not until football gets its own version of March Madness. When that day comes, someone will ponder over the four- and eight-team eras. They’ll marvel at how undefeated teams used to regularly get shut out of the national title picture, often before any games had even been played. They’ll remind us that Conference USA used to play at the same level as the Pac-16 (which only had twelve teams back then). They’ll say: Baylor used to be good. Really good.

They’ll say: Michigan State knocked us out of the title game in 2013 too.

Filed Under: BCS, College Football, Ohio State Football

MotSaG Top 25- Week 14

December 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

1.) Ohio State
2.) Florida State
3.) Auburn
4.) Michigan State
5.) Alabama
6.) Missouri
7.) Oklahoma State
8.) Baylor
9.) Arizona State
10.) South Carolina
11.) Stanford
12.) Northern Illinois
13.) Central Florida
14.) Oregon
15.) Clemson
16.) Duke
17.) Oklahoma
18.) UCLA
19.) LSU
20.) Wisconsin
21.) Louisville
22.) Cincinnati
23.) Texas
24.) Fresno State
25.) Miami Fl

– Yes I am a homer and no I don’t care. Ohio State has done everything it can to go 12-0 this year and 24-0 over the last 2 years. Florida State has a serious issue not knowing what is going to happen with Jameis Winston. Auburn and Missouri and Alabama are all fighting for the right to be called SECs best team. Michigan State is the last thing standing in the Buckeyes way to getting to the BCS NCG. With a win on Saturday they will play for the title and get the shot they always wanted to so they can prove the naysayers wrong.

– After the top 6 teams nothing else really matters everyone else is waiting to see how things pan out this weekend to see what all the bowl match-ups are going to be. It will be a crazy weekend that is for sure so get some rest and enjoy the games.

Filed Under: College Football, Ohio State Football

Q&A with an Opponents Blogger:TTUN

November 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Well here we are at the last game of the regular season, its the most anticipated game of the regular season. This is The Game really nothing in all of sports compares. Folks down south like to think that the Iron Bowl is the best but lets face facts I believe only twice have those teams met when they were both Top 5 or Top 10 something like that. It seems like 9 out of 10 times that the wolverines of TSUN and the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University meet there is something on the line.

I know you are all just waiting for this weeks post on who I’m talking with and what kind of hard hitting questions I can come up with for TTUN. Well this week Joshua who is the editor of The Big House report was ever so gracious enough to work with me on this weeks post.

MotSaG: I wanted to start out with what the hell is going on with the Michigan fan base? I’m seeing they are getting rid of their tickets online and ready to burn Ann Arbor down, is it that bad or just the Wolverine boards I’m reading greatly exaggerated?

TBHR: It’s not fun to be a Michigan fan right now. The season hasn’t gone as planned and the fans are acting accordingly. A lot of the message board fodder you are mostly reading are from fans who have a tendency to freak out. Most fans dont understand the meaning of “perspective” and just want to automstically result in fire and pitchfork protesting.

MotSaG: Do you think enough bandwagon fans get ride of there tickets Scarlet and Gray will overrun the Big House?

TBHR: Ohio State fans always travel well, it’s not a huge secret. Considering how big this game is, I expect the stadium to be filled with plenty of scarlet. Those fans who are willingly giving their tickets to Buckeye fans are part of the problem.

MotSaG: Brady cHoke is in his 3rd season and he seems to be getting worse (record wise) with his own hand picked talent, Is it him or the coordinators failing him?

TBHR: I wouldn’t necessarily call Hoke’s tenure a failure yet. Hoke is trying to rebound from a senior-heavy squad in 2011, the team is young. I’m not trying to excuse the lack of results, it’s just the way it is right now. Is Al Borges to blame for a lack of offense? Probably. I give Hoke one more season before the heat gets turned up on his seat.

MotSaG: One of Michigan’s biggest problems this season is the offensive line, will they be able to patchwork something to keep OSU’s defensive line away from Gardner?

TBHR: Simply put, no. Michigan has shuffled that line way too many times this season. There really isn’t much chemistry there, as you can see from the terrible year they are having.

MotSaG: Whats the over/under on Devin The Pastry Chef Gardners turnovers vs Buckeyes?

TBHR: Believe it or not, Gardner has cut down on the turnovers as the season has progressed. Although that won’t help him this weekend. Considering Michigan will be desperate, they will try to force plays. With that being said, I expect Gardner to have at least two turnovers.

MotSaG: Being this is The Game and the greatest rivalry in ALL of sports Buckeye fans know and expect Michigan to bring their best and then some but my question is have they played their best yet this season at any game or is there to many problems?

TBHR: Notre Dame was arguably Michigan’s most complete game. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really mean much. I am hoping that Michigan is leaving the best for last. But, again, that’s going to be tough.

MotSaG: Seen a report come out Sunday I believe that cHoke has lost the team do you feel this to be true?

TBHR: Don’t believe those reports, they are not true. Hoke is still respected by the team.

MotSaG: With the issues the Wolverines have been having this season what effect is it having on recruiting? I seen Jabrill Peppers is taking official visits after his season ends I thought that was a big no non in cHokes eyes?

TBHR: I think losing out on Hand is good enough evidence that the season is taking its toll on recruiting. The Peppers thing was overblown, he said he wanted to have a backup plan because of fake rumors floating around that Hoke will be let go after the season. So far, there are zero decommits and I dont really expect any changes with the current class. What happens in the future remain to be seen.

MotSaG: Before the season started I wrote my first post hoping and thinking Michigan was going to be a good team and I also wrote about The Pastry Chef and our site thinking he was going to be the in the Top 25 of the B1G talent as much as I don’t like Michigan I do respect the heck out of them so my question is, is the talent on the team overrated or the coaching overrated?

TBHR: I think it’s just a simple fact of the players not living up to expectations I don’t think the coaching or players are overrated, I still think the team needs one more offseason to be coached up before we can make a determination.

MotSaG: Buckeye fans keep hearing Michigan fans say that Ohio State has a cupcake schedule and they haven’t played anyone ( you know riding the coat tails of national media). If Ohio State schedule is so easy why did Michigan need OT to beat Northwestern lost to Iowa and Penn State and barely beat the cupcakes Akron and UConn? Michigan’s schedule isn’t harder than the Buckeyes yet tOSU is undefeated and Michigan is 7-4.

TBHR: Every team plays each other differently. Northwestern gave Ohio State all it could handle, while they sucked when they played Michigan (as did the wolverines.) The lopsided records to conference strength between the two teams is due to the Buckeyes being a vastly superior team. Its as simple as that.

MotSaG: What does your gut tell you to expect from this game? Final score prediction and if you feel Michigan wins what do they have to do to beat the Buckeyes?

TBHR: I’m thinking Ohio State will put up 35-40 points this weekend. Michigan will lose, obviously. It could be worse, considering the Buckeyes need style points in the BCS.

I’m at a loss here because honestly I have been hoping that TTUN was turning things around and this was going to start another Ten Year War or something along those lines. I’m not sure what the problem is up there nor do I really care but I do know rest assured as much as we Buckeye fans are beating our chests that this should be a slam dunk kick their butts type of game, it won’t happen till the end. As much as I feel that Brady cHoke is vastly overrated and in over his head those kids putting on those putrid maize and blue helmets and jerseys they will come to play.

One of the many reasons I can never look past this team no matter the coach no matter the year 2 games stick out in my mind from all of my many years of watching this rivalry. The kid from Cleveland striking that damn pose and the one which that kid ran all over us for over 300 yards and while he wasn’t doing his Forest Gump impression on the field he was riding a stationary bike on the sideline for which we recommended envy reaper scooter bars. I refuse to mention them by name because when I hear their names I feel that same pain in my heart all over again and if your to young to know I bet they will remind us Saturday.

Like many of you I will be going out early for kegs and eggs and I will make sure I sit next to my friend who is a TSUN fan and revel in his misery I hope. Seriously the Buckeyes could really make a statement in this game early and quickly like they have done this season. This is the game where if the Buckeyes get up early and are firing on all cylinders you better believe the main man from Astubula, Oh will be going for the kill and when asked after the game why did you run up the score. “Because its TTUN”

I as many of you are hoping for a can of whoop ass to be open up on the wolverines but history and my gut tell me the odds makers are probably right with the 13 point spread. The Buckeyes defensive line is going to need to pin their ears back and constantly beat the hell out of The Pastry Chef and Carlos Hyde is going to have to do what he does best run over them again and again.

I want to thank Joshua from The Big House Report again for being a great sport and taking the time out to help me with this weeks post. Please go check out his site they do great work over there even if its for TTUN.

If you want to get involved and have questions about THE B1G Championship Game feel free to send them in to me and I can send them on. Email your questions to AskMotSaG@gmail.com or MotSaG@gmail.com. Would love to know your thoughts on this post and hope you enjoyed it.

Filed Under: B1G Football, BCS, College Football, College Football Recruiting, Ohio State Football Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Spread, Hate Week: The Hate is Off?

November 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I want to hate Brady Hoke, but I can’t.

Now don’t take that the wrong way. The capital-H Hate I harbor for That School Up North still burns as strong as ever. But lately the joy of Hating has taken a bit of a hit. Our rival’s recent ineptitude under current “head” “coach” Brady Hoke has sapped the ability to fully revel in what is supposed to be a border-war between two equal-but-opposite foes. They are supposed to be our Joker, our Lex Luthor, but instead they’ve taken to acting like this guy.

While the bulk of the Wolverine fan base is content to assign fault to quarterback Devin Gardner or, absurdly, ex-coach Rich Rodriguez, the true responsible party is the one who stalks the sideline each Saturday, footloose and headset-free (so the path of pies to his pie-hole is unobstructed, one guesses). Since arriving in Ann Arbor, Hoke has been trending downward in a vast array of statistics (including offensive yardage, first downs, sacks, sacks allowed, touchdowns and of course: wins) leading to whispers of giving a certain turf-grazing grad yet another call.

While there’s no guarantee it will happen this year, the Hoke era is nearing its end. Despite his supposed recruiting prowess, it has not yet translated to success on the field, and that is the entire point after all, isn’t it? If he can’t even do the thing he’s good at, how is he supposed to do things he’s never done before, like win a conference title?

Let’s put Hoke’s terribleness in perspective: Lloyd Carr spent 13 years as Top Wolverine and posted six bowl wins, five Big Ten titles, and 1 national title. Rich Rodriguez was no hit in Ann Arbor, but in his 19 seasons as a head coach at various stops, he produced 8 conference titles and won three bowls. He has 15 wins (so far) in his first two seasons at Arizona. Coincidentally, he also had 15 wins in his three seasons with the Wolverines. Carr’s career winning percentage was 75%. Rodriguez is currently at 59%. Brady Hoke? 54%.

In the Thanksgiving dinner of TSUN coaches, Lloyd Carr is the racist grandpa, ranting in his La-Z-Boy about the Good Ol’ Days. Rich Rodriguez is the dopey uncle, sinking his savings into one get-rich-quick con after another. And Brady Hoke is the oldest cousin, begging to sit at the grown up table, even as he dribbles Kool-Aid down the front of his untucked dress shirt.

I want to Hate Brady Hoke, but he hasn’t earned it.

This post brought to you without the assistance of the overrated 13th letter of the alphabet.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

MotSaG Top 25 – Week 13

November 25, 2013 by 3 Comments

MotSaG Top 25
1a. Florida State
1b. Ohio State
1c. Alabama
4. Michigan State
5. Auburn
6. Oklahoma State
7. Missouri
8. Clemson
9. Baylor
10. Stanford
11. South Carolina
12. Wisconsin
13. Oregon
14. Northern Illinois
15. Arizona State
16. Fresno State
17. Lousiville
18. LSU
19. UCF
20. Duke
21. USC
22. Texas A&M
23. UCLA
24. Minnesota
25. Notre Dame

I initially wanted to make this MotSaG’s Top 3 as another falls from the ranks of the unbeaten, but I owe you, the gracious reader, more than that.

And then there were three. How to rank them? I opted to chicken out and go with co-Number Ones.

I also decided that Michigan State deserved a little more credit than they were getting. They lost to a stingy Notre Dame at a point in their season where their offense was really struggling to find an identity. The defense, however, has put strangleholds on ten different opponents, squeezing any joy that offense brings to those teams. They will match-up against Ohio State in two weeks and that game is not going to be a gimme for Ohio State. Michigan State fields one of the best defenses in the country, and its a testament to Dantonio and Narduzzi who have coached a bunch of 3-stars into a world-class death machine that gives offenses no quarter. It’s impressive and I’m anxious to see what Hyde and Miller can do going against that collection of man-beasts.

I rank Auburn next and considered dropping them even lower. Their season has been revelatory, I don’t disagree with that. But they are one miracle heave from being 9-2 and would have given up a horrible come-from-behind victory to Georgia. They do have a puncher’s chance against Alabama next week, but I’m not holding my breath.

On behalf of the real OSU, I’d like to thank fake OSU #1 for keeping that home streak against Baylor alive and well. It was impressive the way Oklahoma State played on both sides of the ball and it’s a shame they crapped the bed so early against weaker competition, because that dismantling would have thrust them firmly in “The Conversation” and we’d probably be wailing and gnashing our teeth as Fake OSU #1 hurdled us in the BCS standings.

Filed Under: College Football

Q&A with an opponents blogger: Indiana Hoosiers

November 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Buckeye Nation I have to say I think this is a first. Tomorrow the Buckeye host the Indiana Hoosiers at the ‘Shoe at 3:30pm and I have had the opportunity to work with Adam Johnson of Crimson Quarry. The “first” I am referring to is that I have worked with someone who isn’t a total homer. Yes Adam loves his team but as you can see in most of his answers he kept it real, now I on the other hand am a total homer. Get your coffee and sit back and enjoy todays post.

MotSaG: History isn’t to kind for Indiana against the Buckeyes as your Blog has a nice post about it, how much does last years game give the Hoosiers confidence against the Buckeyes?

CQ: Indiana’s current confidence isn’t based on last year’s game going into this one but last week’s. We had an abysmal showing against Wisconsin and I think with Indiana looking at, at most 5 wins, the fan base has moved on to basketball season. Still we do look at last year and think… maybe?! But not many of us think it’ll be closer than 20.

MotSaG: Do you see the Hoosier players feel defeated after last weeks loss against Wisconsin?

CQ: It is actually quite impressive with how well the players seem to carry themselves. Indiana fans, despite years of awfulness are incredibly fickle. The players don’t seem to have that trait in them. They understand its a building process. Only a few are in the twilight of their college careers, so many have done a good job of taking Wisconsin as a learning experience and using it towards beating Ohio State.

MotSaG: What do you think of the negativity that the wannabe national media hordes are saying about the B1G football?

CQ: They’re right. Outside of the top tier of the conference, we’re pretty darn terrible. I mean, yeah, that’s how pretty much all conferences are and no one seems to mention that. But that doesn’t mean they’re wrong when they say it about us. Still, we’re probably only the third of fourth best conference in the nation, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our top teams can’t compete against anyone else.

MotSaG: I understand Indiana is a basketball school but is there like 20 basketball blogs to every one football one?

CQ: Yes. In fact, I’ve done my best to try and set The Crimson Quarry apart by you know, actually covering football. Unfortunately, I’ve found out why none of those other blogs really cover football. Not a lot of people seem to care. I blame that really on the historical ineptitude of the program. If we were even halfway good every few years I think you would see a ton of interest in Indiana football. But alas we’re not even the Cubs of college football, because up until Kevin Wilson showed up we didn’t even have the ability to say wait until next year. I imagine Northwestern basketball fans feel the same way.

MotSaG: Indiana’s offense has been much improved the last two seasons what do they need to find in recruiting to help make the defense better?

CQ: They actually already have a very solid set of pieces on campus. Unfortunately, they’re all true freshmen. We’ve started see some of that injected early like 3rd leading tackler TJ Simmons and a rotation spot for Darius Latham, but we’ve also had set backs from Antonio Allen’s torn ACL and other guys just not physically ready to compete yet. This isn’t to say that Indiana should feel good with their defensive personnel, but Wilson and crew already have a jump on it. They just need time to not be boys trying to play against men.

MotSaG: What is the thought on how to beat the Buckeyes?

CQ: Shootout. That may sound like the exact opposite of what many others are thinking, but for Indiana to win this one it has to be a shootout. Assuming the Hoosiers offense doesn’t completely disappear like it did last week and you can feel pretty darn confident in them putting up points. It comes down to them doing so after the defense gets a rare stop. Can’t waste wins from defensive possessions.

MotSaG: What do the Hoosiers feel is the Buckeyes weak link?

CQ: passing defense. You guys have struggled this year keeping the top on offenses. Indiana’s biggest strength is blowing the top off of defenses. With what I’d like to think is the Big Ten’s best receiving corps and one of the better passers in the league with Nate Sudfeld (passer, not quarterback), Cody Latimer and crew have got to be licking their chops at the thought of getting the chance to expose the leak in the dam that is Ohio State.

MotSaG: After the Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers will Tom Crean cut down the nets or maybe even take down the goal post?

CQ: Probably. Then we’ll stick it right next to our outright Big Ten trophy without shaking your hands.

MotSaG: What should Buckeye fans keep their eye out for while watching Indiana?

CQ: Not necessarily keep an eye out for in the context of winning/losing this game, but just watch middle linebacker TJ Simmons. He flies around the field and is very good for his very young age. He still misses his gaps and makes mental errors at times, but if you pay close attention now, you can say you see something special in him before he’s competing as one of the conference’s top linebackers as a upperclassman. Basically, watch the young Indiana defense and appreciate some of the pieces. I’m not sure they’ll even be good as a unit, but you can be a football hipster when some of them are potential NFL draftees.

MotSaG: What is your prediction for the game?

CQ: Indiana A Few Points. Ohio State A Lot More.
Just not very confident after last week’s beating.

Reality is the Buckeyes should and need to completely shut down the Hoosiers defense to gain any kind of respect back (hater nation will always hate). It’s funny they say the computers don’t take into account blow outs that’s why Baylor is so close. I digress the Buckeyes are mostly in control of their destiny the just have to keep doing what they do best and that is win. A win tomorrow guarantees their first trip to Indy for the B1G championship game and as I have seen on twitter there is going to be a large and I mean large Scarlet and Gray populous there.

I feel and this are just my thoughts I didn’t do the proper research but feel free to comment if I am wrong, that Roby needs to step up and have a huge game. He has had some lapses this year and since he has already declared for the NFL draft those lapse have cost him some cash. Now is it the defensive scheme or is it him? On one hand I feel it is the scheme I mean come on one of the best corners and your having him play off the WR on the line? On the other hand I feel it is some of him with his BS wanna be sportscenter tackles that he misses on a majority of the time. Yes the kid can hit and lay the wood down but fundamentals son wrap up.

Which defense will show up tomorrow is the key question I am hoping the one that killed Penn State not the one from last week and the beginning of the season.

For the love of God Buckeye fans please stop watching that blabber mouth non informed host on the four letter network that is just hateful. I’m not going to mention his name but you know who I am talking about. hint: still butt hurt from the 72-0 whooping he experienced.

Thanks again to Adam Johnson of the Crimson Quarry, go check out his work.

If you want to get involved and have questions about THE Game feel free to send them in to me and I can send them on. Email your questions to AskMotSaG@gmail.com or MotSaG@gmail.com. Would love to know your thoughts on this post and hope you enjoyed it.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football Tagged With:

Things I Think Going Into Week 12!

November 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

FootballA few quick thoughts on this weekend’s games:

1. Oklahoma State at Texas: Neither of these teams played well against West Virginia (which is currently 4-6). The Mountaineers handed the Cowboys their only loss of the season and took the Longhorns to overtime just last week. Oklahoma has a top thirty defense against the run and the Texas just lost Jonathon Gray. Unless Brown or Bergeron step up, the Cowboys can force Case McCoy to throw the ball and I don’t think he can sling it with the Cowboys. OK. State wins.

2. Georgia at Auburn: If this game were played in Week 2 or 3, with Auburn coming off a very close win against a Washington State team that is now 4-5, or in place of the close win against a now 4-5 Mississippi State, and a healthy Georgia squad, I’d go with the Bulldogs. As it sits, I think the only reason the Bulldogs are ranked #25 is to give the Tigers either a win or a loss to a ranked opponent. All that being said, unless Aaron Murray found some receivers in the woods somewhere and can get up on the Tigers early to force Nick Marshall into a passing game (he’s thrown 16 times in the last two games), I don’t see the Bulldogs having a chance. Auburn will head into the Iron Bowl with one loss.

3. Texas Tech at Baylor: A few weeks ago, I thought this game could trip the Bears up, but now the Red Raiders are coming off three straight losses and the Bears off a big win versus Oklahoma. Baylor lost their top wide receiver this week for the season, but Art Briles’ scheme can make up for that. They run the spread different than everyone else in that their wide receivers go all the way to the sidelines, which opens up the field for both the passing and running games. TTU’s only hope is that Baylor is looking ahead to Oklahoma State next week. Sorry, Baylor wins again folks.

4. Utah at Oregon: Who gave Oregon their only loss? Stanford. Who gave Stanford their only loss? Utah. The difference, however, was that Stanford at to travel to the Utes whereas in this case the Utes have to head to Autzen Stadium. Additionally, Oregon will be reeling from their loss last week to the Cardinal, most likely dashing their national title hopes, so the Ducks will be ready. I don’t expect Helfrich, Mariota, and company to take the foot off the gas at all this week. Keep in mind also that the Ducks got two extra days of rest since they played on Thursday last week. Aflac wins big!

5. Stanford at USC: This is my upset special of the week. The Trojans have only lost once since Ed Orgeron has taken over and that was a four-point loss to Notre Dame, which was a game they probably should have won. The Trojans’ defense is still very good (17th in the nation in total defense) and they can stretch the field with their two wide receivers (Lee and Agholor) and tight end (Cajuste). The Cardinal have the best offensive line in the country and they’ll use that to kill the clock like they did against the Ducks last week (66 rushes and 43 minutes Time of Possession). However, I think USC will score early and force Stanford to throw earlier than they want. USC squeaks out the upset and turns the Top Ten on its head again!

P.S. I’d have mentioned the Alabama/MSU game, but why? Yes, MSU only has losses against Top 20 teams, but they beat Bowling Green and Kentucky by a combined 7 points. Let’s not get crazy, people! Alabama wins and Dan Mullen may be looking for a job soon enough.

Filed Under: College Football

MotSaG Top 25 – Week 11

November 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

MotSaG Top 25
1. Florida State
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Baylor
5. Stanford
6. Missouri
7. Clemson
8. Auburn
9. Oregon
10. Michigan State
11. Texas A&M
12. Oklahoma State
13. Fresno State
14. Northern Illinois
15. UCLA
16. Wisconsin
17. South Carolina
18. UCF
19. Arizona State
20. Texas
21. LSU
22. Louisville
23. Oklahoma
24. Minnesota
25. Miami


The fight for the #1 spot could go back and forth until one of these teams slips up or they play each other. Right now, I am giving the edge because the three ranked teams Florida State faced were more impressive (according to rankings at the time FSU played them) than Alabama’s three ranked teams (and let’s be honest, LSU probably doesn’t belong to be ranked as high as they are). Either way, both teams have been impressive, dominant and seem on a collision course to face each other.

Which, much to our dismay, leaves the Buckeyes out in the cold at #3. Things are still falling the Buckeyes way, but one of their quality wins over Wisconsin, is being devalued by the “human element” that should have the Badgers and 8-1 instead of 7-2. Michigan State could crack the top ten before they meet in the B1G championship game which would bolster OSU’s resume, but it might not be enough to overcome the lead that Florida State and Alabama hold in the collective minds of the media and voters. Which may end up being quite the shame.

Baylor is still the wildcard in all of this, because they showed that they’re not a one trick pony and their defense can play just as fast and effectively. I think we may be valuing the win over Oklahoma too much. We need to remember this is the same Oklahoma that was severely beaten by a Texas team that barely made it out of September alive. That same Texas team that was thoroughly throttled by a BYU team that could barely muster a pair of touchdowns against a B1G outfit.

I’m giving Michigan State some credit for the season they are having. They have been nothing short of dominant on the defensive side, and that’s just the way Mark Dantonio likes it. He’ll put you in a headlock and no matter how much you beg, he’s just not letting up until he’s had his fun, or a new episode of Chopped is on.

The rest of the teams are just a mumbled mess of conference bragging rights, they beat them, so they are better and that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Filed Under: College Football

Saturday Open Thread

November 9, 2013 by 3 Comments

FootballTime to sit back and enjoy the nice Ohio weather and some non-Buckeye football. Here’s to hoping we get another upset this evening.

Join us to chat about what’s going on in the college football world. Also check back for OSU vs. Morgan State men’s basketball scores. (If you’ve paid for streaming the game, we’d love to hear your impressions).

Filed Under: College Football
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