Columbus: The Day After

Well, I must admit, this has been a damn enjoyable day. Local Columbus radio was fantastic! Callers were losing their minds, hosts were nearly in tears, and everyone wants Tressel fired. There was also an outstanding commercial running all day long that congratulates Ohio State on being the national champions. It even gives you the opportunity to purchase a collector's edition game ball!! Sweet. I hope somebody lost their job for that one.

Open Letter To The Ohio State University

Dear Buckeyes,
Please stop making it to the BCS Title Game. You are ruining the end of the season by being completely non-competitive, and we're sick and tired of it. I understand that some of the blame lies with WVU and Missouri, but still. And I don't want to hear about how this was a rebuilding year either, and that you're not upset. I live in Columbus and you all thought you would walk away with the trophy this season. Newsflash: you're not very good. Again, please give it up, and stick with the Rose Bowl or something. You're tainting this for all of us with your annual blowout at the hands of some team that just isn't that great. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
College Football

P.S. Please beat the hell out of Michigan.

Live Near a Browneye Fan?

Here you go. This is supposedly from www.wemustignitethiscouch.com but I can't find it there. If anyone can get me the link to credit them, I'd appreciate it.

"BCS Fun

Shifting focus a bit, it seems that a host of haters have popped out of the woodwork around cyberspace and the media to decry the Mountaineers' ascent to their lofty BCS ranking for a variety of reasons. While soaking up the criticism of others is a sign that your favorite team has truly reached the pinnacle of success, it will be necessary to put the jealous and misinformed haters into their place over the course of the next month and a half. So here, for your convenience, is a crib sheet for Mountaineer fans to refute the various incorrect arguments against the Mountaineers inclusion in the BCS Championship game.


Argument #1- "Your schedule is a joke!"

Response- Apparently the Sagarin ratings don't agree.

See, the BCS takes strength of schedule into account via the Sagarin Ratings, which make up a percentage of the "computer" vote that is weighed along with the human polls.

WVU's present strength of schedule in those ratings is 35th. Not particularly low or high, but better than other BCS Championship game hopefuls like Ohio State (56), Kansas (90), Oklahoma (67), and Virginia Tech (45), and not significantly statistically different from other teams like Missouri (34), USC (33), Georgia (22), or LSU (26). The only team in the Top 10 of the BCS with significantly better strength of schedule is Florida (5), who also has three losses on their resume.

So when the champion of the SEC is either going to have the 26th or 25th hardest schedule (LSU and Tennessee, respectively), and the likely champion of the Pac-10 has the 33rd hardest schedule, exactly how hard does WVU's schedule need to be?

Forget what a fan's biased eyes see as far as strength of schedule. I'll take the facts. And I'll be right.



Get ready for the Hater's Ball.


Argument #2- "You didn't beat anyone! _________ is more deserving!"

This is the point at which the traditional powers of college football and present realities part ways. There are plenty of traditionalists who live in a world which South Florida, Cincinnati, Rutgers, and UConn are afterthoughts. Doormats. These same traditionalists view Notre Dame's season this year as a hiccup, rather than a continuing trend of mediocrity.

Does it matter that WVU drilled Mississippi State, who beat Auburn and Kentucky this year? Does it matter that WVU has played 4 ranked teams this year and beaten three of them?

Not to these people. It just matters what the school's name is, and whether that school was ranked when daddy was growing up.

Additionally, almost as important as the "who you beat" argument as far as deserving a chance to play for the title is the "who did you lose to" contingent. Of all the teams in the BCS Top 10, only Missouri (a road loss to Oklahoma) has a loss on their schedule that is as respectable as WVU's loss to South Florida in October.

WVU lost to a team presently ranked 21st in the BCS. On the road. At night. In what that team considered "the biggest game in the history of the program."

Contrast this these teams' losses, in order of their BCS rank after Missouri and WVU:

1) Ohio State- Lost AT HOME as the #1 team, knowing a national championship was at stake, to an unranked Illinois team.

2) Georgia- Lost AT HOME to presently-unranked South Carolina, and lost at presently-ranked 14 Tennessee. Also failed to even win its conference.

3) Kansas- Respectable loss to now-#1 Missouri at a neutral site, but that 90th-ranked SOS isn't going to help them. Plus they, too, will not win their conference.

4) Virginia Tech- Lost AT HOME to a Boston College team that couldn't pass effectively because the game was played in a monsoon. Also got shellacked by LSU so completely that the Tigers are still finding hokie feathers around the field.

5) LSU- Lost AT HOME to presently-unranked Arkansas, and lost at presently-unranked Kentucky. Yes, their two losses were both in triple overtime, but knowing that a national championship was at stake, they couldn't figure out how to stop the spread option. (And the claim that WVU couldn't score on LSU was rendered completely moot.)

6) USC- Lost AT HOME to doormat of NCAA D-I football Stanford, and lost at Oregon.

But honestly, anything after "lost AT HOME to Stanford" doesn't even need to be listened to. Sorry, USC. You lost to Duke. No BCS Championship for you.

7) Oklahoma- Lost to presently-unranked Colorado and presently-unranked Texas Tech.


So exactly who are you going to promote from this group over Missouri and WVU, should both teams win out? While there were some impressive wins among them, there were also some pretty big slipups that neither the (Mizzou) Tigers nor the Mountaineers have.


Argument #3- "You don't play a conference championship!"

The Big East, unlike other conferences with championship games, plays a schedule in which every team plays every other team during the course of the regular season.

Exactly WHY do we need a championship game? It's already been settled on the field!


Argument #4- "Missouri/WVU would be the most boring BCS Championship Game ever!"

Really? Two of the most dynamic offenses in college football- both in the Top 8 of scoring offense- with 3 pre-season Heisman candidates on the field (and 2 that will be going to New York City as finalists for the award), running two drastically different versions of the spread offense which one of the coaches happened to invent... won't be fun to watch?

One team ranked 2nd in the nation in rushing yards per game, the other ranked 4th in passing yards per game... is a dull game?

Two of the most talented QB's in college football, each imposing their will on the game in different, thrilling ways... won't move the ratings needle?



Patrick White- boring. Who knew?


Two schools that have never won a national championship, including one that is the winningest team in the history of NCAA D-I football never to have won a title... won't draw a crowd?

Please. Exciting football is exciting football. And unless I missed a memo and fast-moving, high-scoring offenses suddenly became boring, I'd say that a Missouri/WVU title game would be a hell of a game to watch.


So there you have it. A possibility that we (ok, I) thought all but dead, the potential to fulfil all of our wildest dreams as Mountaineer fans, and the ammo to shut up the haters who are jealous of the success presently being enjoyed by our beloved program."

the Ohio State University

The Buckeye fans are mouthy, which is nothing new. I am reading on an awful lot of websites that tOSU would kill us. I read them saying that we shouldn't be in the game, but they should. I keep hearing them say we have no tradition. I keep watching them on TV talking about what a joke we are. They keep saying we have no history, and therefore they say we have no chance.

That's fine. We have no national title. We have no Heisman winner. We don't have a 100,000 seat stadium.

One thing for the Buckeyes to remember though. Tradition and history can't tackle Patrick White and Steve Slaton you mother fuckers. And based on Juice Williams' performance, neither can James Lauranaitis.



Nice picture douchebag. And for what it's worth, this dude is pure, utter garbage of a linebacker. He's undersized and slow. But in Columbus, it doesn't matter. They don't play any decent offenses, EVER, so they all look like stars. Hopefully we can change that on January 7. Bring on the Browneyes.

This is going to be a long fucking week...

O-H-I-.......shit

John Radcliff, thank you fine sir.

This is brilliant.

As an FYI, now that they've lost, the fans have taken to attacking other teams. Michigan, WVU, LSU, Oklahoma, and USC are the main targets. If you're in the vicinity, beware. But feel free to remind them of Juice Williams peeholing their defense for an entire quarter when everyone knew what was coming. Sweet glorious justice.

Stay Classy State College

ROAD RAGE!!!

All we ever hear in the media is how classy and tradition-rich the Nittany Lions are. How they have such knowledgable and passionate fans. That's great. But if you ever actually go up there, you'll realize what a high volume of trash they have as well. Their women also have big hair, so I'm told. Regardless, here's a fine example of their classiness, courtesy of some idiot that videotaped it. All of that nonsense, and they get their asses kicked by every decent team they play. Sigh.

I do agree on one note though, "Fuck Ohio!"

Tuesday in the Rain

Well, there is no Mountaineer press conference or MSN Mountaineer Replay on my beloved Fox College Sports Atlantic channel tonight, as they are showing a women's volleyball game between Florida State and Miami. Ugh. I'll try to catch the Sportsline broadcast online though I guess, so at least I might have something to discuss.

Listening to the radio in Columbus today, the Big Show with Bruce Hooley came on at 5pm. I hated this guy last year, my first year in Columbus, but he seems to have leveled out a bit. He was mad delusional in 2006, claiming Florida and West Virginia run high school offenses, and that the Browneyes would "plant Percy Harvin in the turf if they run that stuff". This season, he's actually pretty good. He thinks the Browneyes will go undefeated, as do I, and he claims that it's a combo of their talent and a terrible schedule. Again, I think tOSU is good, but not great. They will likely go unbeaten, but it's just as much a product of the teams they play.

Tim Brown joined Hooley on the show today, and picked tOSU and LSU to play in the title game. He too thinks the Browneyes go unbeaten, and then proceeded to crush their schedule. Brown implied that the Bucks would almost certainly lose at least 2 games if their schedule were legit. Furthermore, Hooley asked Brown who impressed him this season. He mentioned only two teams, West Virginia and South Florida. He went on to say that USF was upset by a good team under the lights on the road, and that he believes that they are truly a great team that will make noise even with one loss. Mind you, Tim Brown played at Notre Dame, so I was very surprised at his remarks. The BigEast has really raised its profile in the last couple of years.

Kirky Herbstreit's Top 5 Teams:
1. OSU
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma
5. Boston College

I won't argue with that too much. You can justify each of those teams being in that position, and I believe he ranks based on record and potential finish, rather than who he believes is the best team. He suggested that the upset trend will continue this week, and I think he's absolutely right. Kirky also put Oregon on Upset Alert against USC. I think if USC wins that game, they jump WVU in the BCS, but we'll see. I also think VT will jump us if (and when) they beat Boston College on Thursday.

Bottom line is this: the Mountaineers need to continue taking care of business and hope for some help. If we do that, the rest will take care of itself. The best team we've beaten is ranked #44 in the Sagarin ratings in Maryland. We have no real bragging rights type wins, and are still #7, so let's quite crying about getting no respect from the media. Considering what we've done this season, we're getting plenty.

So let's go Mountaineers, and beat that Rutgers-Jersey ass.

Mississippi State in Review and A Look Around the NCAA

So I look at my buddy as Pat White steps on the field to start the game and say, "Shit. I was hoping for Jarrett Brown."
He replies, "Yeah, me too."
I then say, "You know what though? It'll only take one long TD run for me to love him again."
He says, "Yeah."

BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!! One snap later, the man-crush is back in full effect.

I would also like to point out that even though we completely turned off the engine after the 1st quarter, I don't so much care. That MSU team was a complete joke, and our defense beat the crap out of them. Marc Magro is a man-beast, and was gnawing on human flesh for much of 3 quarters. His anti-tobacco commercial, however, is stupid as all get out.

Why did Noel Devine not play? I recall seeing him on a kickoff return fake reverse, but that's about it. Anybody know what that was all about? I'd love to get the scoop on that. I keep reading that RichRod just wanted to get Slaton back in the groove, but I don't totally buy that. I mean, if he's the #2 back, why not get him in there at all? It doesn't make any sense to me, but Rich doesn't make any sense to me about half the time anyway. Thanks to Hamilton, in the comments, who noted that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette answers my question. Devine apparently missed a practice (the absence was indeed excused) and was not allowed to play because of missed practice time.

Great game by the defense all around. The line dominated, the linebackers were sweet, and the backs covered very, very well. I couldn't have been more pleased with that side of the ball.

The offense was its usual badass self as long as it needed to be. Since they only needed to be badass for about 8 minutes, I hope we got some guys rested. It was also cool to see White get uber-pissed when that MSU cockwrangler hit him late. I wanted Owen to ninja-kick that guy in the face just for spite.

I couldn't help but notice fat #95 on MSU's defense dancing quite a bit for a guy whose team was getting butt-raped. I guess that says a little bit about his team-first attitude and overall class. I kept hoping he'd slip a disc or something, but I'm not overly optimistic.

Finally, we've moved up to #7 in the BCS, even though we are #6 in both polls that matter. FYI, we are tied for #10 in the computer averages. Personally, I'm more than fine with #7, and I think if we handle our business from here on out we're in great shape to make some noise. Cincy losing to Pitt hurts us in my opinion, as they could have been a quality win for sure.

Around the nation a bit:
LSU got so lucky on a wretched call at the end of that Auburn game. If it hadn't worked, Les Miles would be filling for a corn dog right now. He's a moron, and I can't stand him. I wish nothing but bad things for his career.

UCONN is one screwed up snap from being 7-0. Their defense looked really good against the hapless Cardinals, and I think they're better than I thought they were. Kudos to them, I think they're a cute little program. I'd hate to see Edsall leave for Syracuse, per the rumor mill.

Newsflash: The Big10 is poop. Penn State sucks ass, and was unbelievably fortunate to escape Bloomington. The same can be said for Michigan against the Fighting Zookers. tOSU was uninspiring as usual, at least on the scoreboard. I spoke to a Browneye compadre though, and he said it was no big deal. He felt tOSU was in command and was never really threatened. I didn't watch that "game" so I'll take his word for it.

I heard on the radio today that Vandy beating USC-E is conclusive evidence that the SEC is by far the deepest and most outstanding conference. I agree that it is, based on the number of good teams. I disagree that Vandy winning is undeniable proof, because when bad teams beat good teams in any other league, it only proves the good teams suck. But whatever, I don't know any SEC fans anyway, so there's no point in me bitching.

Oklahoma is all kinds of unimpressive. They have looked like garbage lately, but they do keep pulling out wins. The computers have them ranked #14, and I agree. If they Big12 had any real good teams, they might be in trouble. I still think the Sooners go down one more time before it's all over.

BC will lose at VT, but VT will likely then jump over us. It does us no good really no matter what happens in that game, as we need VT to lose another and probably BC to lose 2 total. The ACC is what it shall forever be; Virginia Tech's to lose, considering FSU and Miami are in the shitter for the foreseeable future. We'll have to let that one play out and complain more about it later.

I can't see Oregon and Arizona State getting through the Pac-10 unscathed. I have the Ducks losing one more, and ASU dropping 2 or 3. No sweat off my balls there.

tOSU is unlikely to lose because no one in the Big10 can beat them. I'm over it. The Big-10 is straight shit.

LSU will lose. They are too shaky and dumb to get all the way through the rest of their slate. The Bayou Bengals are winning in spite of Les Miles, not because of him. He is a dumb son of a bitch to be quite frank. He better thank his lucky stars that they have the talent they do. For what it's worth, I still don't think their offense is very impressive. Glenn Dorsey, on the other hand, feasts on the hearts and livers of mortal humans.

Thanks to all the upsets and nonsense, college football is fun for me again. When we lost to USF, I was sick about the whole situation. As the next day and subsequent weeks have played out, I could be sick about the fact that we should be #1. As it stands, I'm loving all the chaos, and the fact that we're right back in the mix. This is a year to end all years on the college football front, and regardless of the outcome, we should all savor this. So root for the Mountaineers or whoever, and just roll with it people. This is something to behold.

Weekend Aftermath

Well, here we are. Another crooked-ass weekend of college football has passed us by, and the picture of what the hell is going on has never been less clear. The Mountaineers sat this one out, and hopefully installed some sort of creative offensive gameplan to use against the Fightin' Crooms of Mississippi State.

We somehow managed to drop in the AP poll, though I thought we might as UK jumped us. More surprisingly, however, we actually moved up several spots in the Coaches' Poll. Honestly, there is just so much chaos at this point, who the hell knows where to put anyone. We are ranked 9 in the BCS, which is about where I would put us as well. There are several teams in front of us that will lose, so I think we have a pretty good shot at getting back into the top 5 before it's all said and done.

So I'm listening to the Mike Tirico show at work today, and Kirky Herbstreit is on the air. He proceeds to go through and devalue all teams not named OSU or LSU in the top 10, but especially USF. He masks his own opinion by claiming "it's not what I think should happen, but it's what I think WILL happen". He feels very strongly that USF doesn't have the strength of schedule to play for the Mythical National Championship, at least in the eyes of the voters. He finally proceeded to point out (after being goaded by an email) that OSU does not deserve the #1 spot based on who they've played. He did say, however, that the Browneyes will have the opportunity to prove they do belong, with games at Penn State and Michigan.

So let me get this straight...USF's schedule is too weak because they only win AT #17 Auburn, and beat #9 WVU in Tampa, yet OSU can prove they are legit by winning at unranked PSU and #25 Michigan. Anybody else see something a bit off?

Unfortunately, it's all going to come down to name recognition. OSU is a perennial power, albeit in a two team conference. They will always be in the discussion, because each year they only have to win one real game...Michigan. Frankly, I'm not sure how viable a test that is anymore either. I guess if you can sprinkle 2 teams ranked between 20 and 30 into your schedule, and are named Ohio State, it doesn't matter if you have only beaten Youngstown State (I-AA), Akron (3-4 MAC), Washington (2-4), Northwestern (4-3, but arguably in the worst 10 teams in college football), Minnesota (1-6), Purdue (5-2, has lost 2 in a row now that Indiana State and Central Michigan are off the schedule), and Kent State (3-4 MAC). I understand that many teams have played a crappy schedule at this point, but not many have been THIS crappy, nor will continue to be THIS crappy. So here's your season tOSU fans. Beat unranked PSU and #25 Michigan, and your berth in the title game is apparently legitimate. Thank you, Kirk Herbstreit for the wonderful, insightful commentary. In fairness to Kirky, who I used to like until this season, OSU is #1 by default, because at least they haven't lost to one of these crap teams, which is more than you can say for virtually anybody else, outside of LSU and WVU.

On a side note, Kirk took back all the criticism of OSU's schedule when he appeared later on Columbus radio, letting it be known that he doesn't see anyone in the country scoring against that defense. He also claimed that getting blown out by Florida in last year's title game is unfairly influencing the opinion of OSU this season. Well, Kirk, they didn't play anybody last year (again, Michigan only, who was absolutely massacred by USC in the Rose Bowl) until they were hammered by the Gators. What in God's name makes anyone think it will be different this time around?