I hate Texas but I think they beat Ohio St. It will be hard to stop Vince Young this year. Where is this game played? That may make a difference.
We get 'em Sept. 24th... so we've been seeing a lot of posts on how their practices are going. I think Tressel has made a commitment to the number of touches he wants for Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn... and given that no one has stepped up at running back... they may play more "open sets" just to create running lanes for Troy Smith.
If there are two teams that I honestly cannot stand it is Ohio St. and USC in that order!!!!!! I hope that Michigan and Texas stomp all over OSU and that USC (I know I'm reaching here) somehow falters with their "cupcake" schedule.o:
Just remember, even if Texas loses to Ohio State, it would come early in the season--which is a time that everyone says is better if you're going to lose. So even if the Longhorns get beat in Columbus in early September, they still have LOTS of time to regain lost ground. Especially if they run the table. Unfairly, a win vs the Sooners alone will give Texas some MAJOR "media love" because it seems that year in and year out, OU, USC and Texas are three teams that the media seems to over-hype and rave about them when they win, let alone win a game vs the other 2. Case-in-point, take last year's BCS title game. In various reports I read, they all sounded the same: "USC crushes OU...they're the best ever" and "OU looked lost, but they're not that bad".
Well, Tejas, I hope you're right on about the OSU win over Texas, I can't stand the longhorns either. And, after a #6 OSU takes out #2 Texas, Tennessee will move into the 2nd spot with OSU or Michigan third, depending on the AMOUNT OF LOVE AP POLLSTERS SHOWER ON OSU. That sets up a #5 LSU (assuming LSU doesn't overtake Michigan with a win over #20 ASU) vs. a #2 Tenn. If OSU is ranked third, it could be very close. I hope you're right.
Good Point! The possibility of Texas losing and staying in the Top 5 never occurred to me. Is it possible that a 1-loss Texas (at OSU) could outpoint the Big Ten or SEC winner? I say Yeah, if those winners have 1 loss also, and this includes Tenn. But an undefeated Big Ten or SEC team would certainly get the nod over a 1-loss Texas team, no matter even if Texas stomped OU (and that won't happen).
Acknowledging that this is big time premature, what ifs are fun to consider. I think the only 3 way we have to be concerned about with undefeated teams is one where USC is #1 and LSU and some other team are fighting it out for #2. If USC isn't #1, I'm pretty confident considering our schedule, we would be one of the two teams going to the championship. In the USC #1 scenario, I would have to believe that USC would be #1 by a comfortable margin; the polls would want to make sure that they would get there. I think the battle for # 2 would be quite close due to the various regions splitting up the vote. So regardless of order, the computer models, like last year, will probably be the determining factor as to who goes to the CG. The old BCS average SOS is a great predictor of the avg computer model rank order for teams with similar records. Since that SOS is based just on Ws and Ls its really hard at this time know who will have the best SOS. The top of the schedule counts no more that the bottom of the schedule. So if you play fewer good teams but better bad teams than the team that plays better good teams, you could have a stronger SOS without as much risk as AU found out last year. I think we will have a respectable and comparable regular season SOS to our most likely competitors at this time. The conference championship game is a big advantage over the Big Ten competitors however, and like 2003 it may be the difference that elevates us. Against the others, I don't know. The Big 12 have been masters at manufacturing a strong avg SOS without playing very many good teams, so we have to see how the season plays out.
USC is no cupcake, deserves to be number 1 ranked, however, i predict that Arkansas will beat USC. Arkansas has a big, talented offensive line that should eat a lot of clock against a USC D that has lost over half their starters. Arkansas always seems to contend against great teams (aside from the fact that LSU has had their number recently) With a close fourth quarter game, i say a highly energized Arkansas team upsets a frustrated USC. Frogleg's prediction: Arkansas 27 USC 24
All LSU can do is go out there & play their best every game. I honestly believe that if we do that, we can go undefeated. Playing in the national championship game takes a little extra luck, but a top 5 ranking should be enough.
My prediction has as much to do with the coaching matchup as anything. Enabler of bad behavior among his playes he may be, but Jim Tressell has also shown that he gets the job done in big games. In a head to head with Mack in winning crucial games against similarly talented teams, Tres absolutely crushes Mack. More specifically, what has a Mack Brown-led team done in situations in which it faced very good teams...on the road. Considering Dallas as a semi road game, well...that record speaks for itself (and it includes total choke job in Dallas against Colorado in a game in which Texas had a spot in the national championship at stake). A last-second win over a less than impressive defensively Michigan team last year hardly undoes a track record that includes losses in Lubbock to Texas Tech as well. Jim Tressell won big and repeatedly at Youngstown St. and, in my mind, pulled off one of the most impressive coaching jobs in recent memory in getting his talented yet overmatched Buckeyes to play at their highest level in a Fiesta Bowl against one of the most talented Miami teams in recent memory. In short, what indicates that a Mack Brown who can't win big games located in his own damn state can take his (once again) very talented Texas team into a place like Columbus against a talented team know for playing tough defense, that can play at high levels against more athletic teams and win?
