Personally, I think that will extend beyond “on paper.” I’m a Big Ten fan, as some of you may know, but I’m definitely on the Michigan side of the Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Penn State fan to the soul, but if I have to choose one team to cheer for, it’d be Michigan. There are few teams I like less than Ohio State. USC is one of them, but since they aren’t playing this year, I just might have to cheer on Oregon.

Terrelle Pryor wasn't so hot against Purdue. Can he lead the Buckeyes to victory against Oregon? Image: Newscom

After all, I expect Oregon to win.

It’s not the Ohio State isn’t a good team. They are. But their season was less than impressive. Let’s not forget their 26-18 loss to Purdue in October, and their near loss to Iowa in November. They weren’t impressive against Michigan, either.

Oregon didn’t start off the season well, with a 19-8 loss to Boise State. The game turned ugly when running back LeGarrette Blount threw a punch at a taunting Bronco, but the Ducks turned things around and beat the rest of their ranked opponents with room to spare in most cases. Things against Oregon State were tight, which is comparable to the Ohio State – Iowa game.

The real thing that should concern us, though, isn’t past games, but rather today’s talent. What we’ll see on the field tomorrow are two top-ranked programs that match well – Ohio State has an awesome defense to match Oregon’s sixth-ranked offense, but on the other side of the spectrum, both teams are weak. I think the game will come down to two things:

1. Will Terrelle Pryor be on his game? The Buckeyes’ young quarterback is inconsistent, but if he has a good day, it’ll be the nail in Oregon’s coffin.

2. Will the Ducks rely too much on rushing? They have an amazing rushing offense, but against a team like Ohio State, I think they’ll have to play the ball in the air a little more often than they’d like if they want to win the game.

The Rose Bowl, which is played in Pasadena, California, starts on January 1, 2010 at 4:30 PM EST, and the whether should be in the mid- to upper- 40s and partly sunny, making it perfect conditions for football. Good luck to both teams.

Post from: EveryJoe

2009-2010 Rose Bowl Preview

• Auburn: Outback Bowl
• Central Florida: St. Petersburg Bowl
• Kentucky: Music City Bowl
• Mississippi: Cotton Bowl (against Oklahoma State)
• Navy: Texas Bowl
• Ohio State: Rose Bowl
• Oklahoma State: Cotton Bowl (against Ole Miss)
• Southern Methodist: Hawaii Bowl
• Tennessee: Chick-fil-A Bowl
• Troy: New Orleans Bowl

These bowl announcements are up-to-date as of today (12/2/09), but new bowl teams are being announced every day, and like I said, after Saturday’s games, we’ll know a lot more. Right now, there are still a number of teams who haven’t finished their seasons, and until they do, we won’t know for sure who is eligible and who is ranked where within their conferences. Check back this weekend for a much more comprehensive list of bowls and the teams that will be playing in them!

Post from: EveryJoe

Bowl Season Matchups 2010, An Early Look

It doesn’t look like that will be the case. Today, Iowa fell, but not to Penn State (no, they beat them gloriously – sigh – earlier this season) and not to Ohio State (they play one another next week). Iowa was stomped into the ground by none other than Northwestern.

Ok, “stomped into the ground” is a little harsh. The game ended up with a score of 17 – 10, which isn’t necessarily bad, until you realize just how mediocre  both of the teams really were today. It’s really easy to claim that this only happened because Ricky Stanzi, the Hawkeyes quarterback, got taken out with an ankle injury in the first half. That definitely contributed to the loss. I’m not buying it, though, that the team deserved to be ranked #4, with or without Stanzi. Iowa may have been undefeated, but what the records don’t show is that they’ve played sloppily in many games and almost lost more than once.

So at this point, the Big Ten title could still go to Iowa, or it could belong to either Ohio State or Penn State. After the Iowa game, all of these teams had one loss. Just a short time after, though, Ohio State and Penn State kicked off, and it quickly became apparent who had the upper hand. Personally, I think that both quarterbacks looked pretty bad today, but when it was put on the shoulders of the rest of the offense to make plays, Ohio State’s players stepped up. Penn State’s embarrassing 24 – 7 loss puts them out of the running for the title.

Yep, this was pretty much the scene all day in Happy Valley. Image: Newscom

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Michigan State finally showed that they actually remember how to play football by crushing Western Michigan 49 – 14. Michigan, on the other hand, didn’t have such a good day, losing 38 – 36 to Purdue. I will say, however, that even though Michigan’s record isn’t so good, they’re hanging in there every week and actually showing some hope for the future under Rich Rodriguez. Wisconsin held on against Indiana (for the record, I think they’re overrated too at #21, but that’s a post for another day), and Illinois overcame Minnesota 35 – 32.

The Big Ten may not be a powerhouse at this point, but hopefully they can rebuild the conference to be competitive nationally again. At least with teams like Iowa rising to such a high ranking, which teams in the Big Ten do consistently every year, they’re remaining attractive to prospective students, which can only lead to strong teams in the future.

Post from: EveryJoe

Big Ten Teams Shake Things Up

Yet, it was. So difficult, in fact, that the Boilermakers took advantage of Terrelle Pryor’s fumbles and interceptions and when on to win 26 – 18.

That’s not to say that Purdue only won because Ohio State didn’t play well. Quarterback Joey Elliott did well today, especially in the second half, and the Purdue defense kept forcing turnovers and stopping drives. Purdue dominated, simple as that.

It’s easy to forget that Pryor isn’t an experienced upperclassman. Yes, he’s a good player, but days like today remind us all that he still has a lot to learn. Getting to a BCS Bowl Game is nearly impossible at this point, unless drastic things happen in college football, but I can see him growing as a quarterback, and I’ll be interested to see what he does the rest of the season and next year.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Purdue Shocks #7 Ohio State

First and foremost, what the crap, Oklahoma State. I think like, the entire state of Oklahoma is bummed out. First, Sam Bradford gets injured. Now this. In case you didn’t watch the game…Oklahoma State, who was ranked #5, got their asses handed to them by Houston. Most people don’t even realize that Houston has a football team. At first, it was just a good game, but Oklahoma State didn’t look like they were really in jeopardy. Whatever adjustments the Cougars made during halftime worked, though. They scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone! Final score? 45 – 35. Ouch, Cowboys. There goes your bowl game bid.

Everyone’s still talking about the Ohio State – USC game, too. I actually watched every minute of this game on a 72 – inch HDTV. Be jealous. I was cheering Ohio State (Big Ten love), but I knew it would be a close game, and I’m not upset that USC won. Every year, people say that Big Ten teams can’t compete with Pac-10 teams, but I think this game proves that they can.

USC's #4 Joe McKnight was key in the win against Ohio State. Image: Newscom

The final score was 18 -15, and it was not an easy game for either team by any means. It came down to a final amazing drive across the field by USC’s Matt Barkley and Joe McKnight, which led to a score and two-point conversion. There just wasn’t enough time left on the clock for the Buckeyes to make anything happen to take back the lead. Ohio State dropped to #11, from being #8 last week, and I personally think it is a good place for them to be. Although some are calling for them to drop farther, if you saw the game, you know that USC just barely outplayed Ohio State, and the win had a lot to do with timing rather than talent.

Florida, Texas, and Alabama all won. *shrug* No big new there. The games sucked, for the most part. It was interesting that Texas was so sloppy against Wyoming in the first half, but other than that, there really wasn’t anything to see.

Other interesting scores:

• On Thursday, #15 Georgia Tech was almost upended by Clemson. Final score, 30 – 27. Read about it more at The Palmetto Scoop and Football Zone TV.
• Connecticut kept up with #19 North Carolina, but ultimately fell 12 – 10. Read about it more at Tar Heel Blue.
• Ouch. Michigan State lost to Central Michigan 29 – 27, who is a better team than people give them credit for. Read about it more at The Niles Star and The Scores Report.
• Wisconsin held on against Fresno State in double overtime. Final score was 34 – 31 – it was a great game. Read about it more at Bleacher Report.
• UCLA beat Tennesse 19 – 15. Another great game. Read about it more at the UCLA website and Ledger-Enquirer.

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 in Review

Before we get into the games, let’s look at the Top 10 list for this week:

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma State
6. Mississippi
7. Penn State
8. Ohio State
9. BYU
10. California

The top five in particular intrigue me. #1 Florida play Troy this week, and try as I might, I can’t even imagine this as a good game. It should be as easy of a game as last week’s game against Charleston Southern. #2 Texas arguably has an even easier game, playing at Wyoming. #4 Alabama also has a gimme game, hosting Florida International this week, and #5 Oklahoma State might has well just have a 4-0 record now, since they play Houston this week and Rice and Grambling State the two weeks after that. Well, ok, Houston may be a little resistance. As long as OK State doesn’t lose their head, though, it should be a win for the Cowboys.

So does that mean Week Two is a complete waste of time? No way – because this week, #3 USC travels across the country to Buckeyes territory to take on #8 Ohio State at home.

This week is USC's Matt Barkley's real test. Image: Newscom

Now, last week, Ohio State was anything but impressive. You might not know it from the final score, but they were perilously close to letting Navy run away with the game before rallying to come out on top. They’ll have to do better than that to beat the Trojans. On the other hand, though USC stomped San Jose State last week, they have a brand-new quarterback and they’ll be playing at one of the hardest places in major college football. Terrell Pryor might be young too, but he’s an old pro next to true freshman Matt Barkley. So, my friends, I believe we have game.

There are other potentially good games during Week Two as well.

On Saturday afternoon, #18 Notre Dame plays at Michigan. One team has a fairly experienced quarterback. The other team has allegedly been working to the bone to prepare for the season. Both teams have coaches that have a lot to lose. If Notre Dame doesn’t have a BCS bowl season, head coach Charlie Weis should be worried about his job. If Michigan doesn’t at least have a winning season with some exciting wins, head coach Rich Rodriguez may get run out of town. Hell, even if they do have a great season, Coach Rod may be fleeing the state when the season is over, the way things are going for him. On both teams, you’ve got players who are just sick and tired of being laughed at. With so much on the line, it should be an interesting game.

Personally, I want to watch the UCLA – Tennessee as well. Neither team is ranked, but they both want to be. Last week, UCLA won over San Diego State – no surprise. Tennessee also had a fairly easy week, winning over Western Kentucky. Against one another? I think the game will be pretty even. The Tennessee defense might tip the scales in their favor, but we’ll see.

Also significant? #18 Miami doesn’t play this week after surprisingly beating Florida State last week to knock them out of the Top 25. Will their week off slow them down enough to make the game on September 17 against Georgia Tech a lost cause for the Hurricanes?

Your thoughts on Week Two?

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 Preview

It has not been a good week for Michigan. Image: Newscom

According to reports, Michigan’s coaching staff has been pushing the players to work out many more hours than is allowable according to NCAA rules. While these extra hours are “voluntary” on paper, anonymous players have said that punishment was in store for anyone who didn’t volunteer their time.

Sez the Buckeyes, “Um…yeah.”

Kurt Coleman and Doug Worthinton, co-captains of Ohio State’s team, say that every college football player in every program is putting in extra time if they want to have a great season. They look at the 20 hours per week during the season that the NCAA says is a max for mandatory work out time as a minimum.

Coach Jim Tressel agrees, saying that in his experience, the players want to be there more and more and more hours. They want to be good, because on Saturday, they want to be on the field.

Post from: EveryJoe

Michigan has an Unlikely Ally: Ohio State

Jenkins is a cornerback out of Ohio State who many experts believe could start for the Saints as a rookie. While missing the beginning of camp won’t help, it likely isn’t too late.

Said Mickey Loomis, the GM of the Saints: “We’re glad to have agreed to this five-year deal with Malcolm and look forward to seeing him at practice with his teammates. He is an intelligent young man and given what we saw from him on the field during the offseason, I’m confident that he will get up to speed sooner rather than later.”

To win a starting gig, Jenkins will need to beat out Tracy Porter or Jabari Greer. Randall Gay may also be in the competition.

Malcolm Jenkins - New Orleans Saints (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Malcolm Jenkins Agrees to Terms with Saints

Image: sxc.hu

I’m totally on board with this decision. Not only will it save colleges money, but it will also cut down on paper usage, making it a green decision as well. Some of the colleges that will not be printing media guides anymore include:

• Iowa State
• Ohio State
• Michigan
• Wisconsin

Iowa and all of the Pac-10 schools are also considering the move.

Members of the media will still be able to print information from the schools’ website if they want a hard copy, so they aren’t eliminating guides altogether – just paper versions.

Post from: EveryJoe

R.I.P. College Football Media Guides