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Ladies and Gentlemen, your No. 1-ranked Florida Gators

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by novelist_wannabe, Dec 4, 2006.

  1. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    At least, according to this guy:

    http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/12/04/1204walden.html

    My apologies if this is a d_b. Mods, feel free, etc, etc
     
  2. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    I love college football, but this sport is as bad as figure skating.
     
  3. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    No it isn't. While college football has Lee Corso, the one trick pony of CFB, skating has Christine Brennan....
     
  4. daemon

    daemon Well-Known Member

    The guy makes good points. And you know what? He may be right. The pack mentality dominates so much in our industry, and these polls are the perfect example.

    I think Ohio State should be No. 1. But have the Buckeyes really shown enough to be the unanimous No. 1 team in the country?

    I think Florida would have had a much better chance at going undefeated against Ohio State's schedule than it did going against its own schedule.

    People complain that teams like Florida don't play anybody out of conference, but when four teams on your conference schedule finish the season ranked higher than Ohio State's marquee non-conference "test," it diminishes that complaint a bit.

    What do we really have to judge Ohio State on?

    A win against a three-loss Texas team who was starting a freshman QB and went on to lose to Kansas State and Texas A and M.

    Otherwise, we're left to handicap the Big 10. Sure, OSU beat Michigan convincingly (maybe not on the scoreboard, but certainly on the field). But what if Michigan really isn't the second-best team in the country? What if the Big 10 really is that bad this year?

    Again, not saying I would have voted Florida No. 1. Because I wouldn't have. I'm just defending this man's right to do so from the McCarthyist philosophy that seems to dominate when it comes to a "people's champ" like Ohio State.
     
  5. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    I liked this guy's line of thought -- a whole offseason to prepare for Texas and its freshman quarterback, then 11 more to prepare for Michigan. Considering that only Ohio State and Michigan (Notre Dame, Wisconsin) have wins against current top 25 opponents among Big 10 schools at this moment, there's some reason for doubt.
     
  6. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    I'm sure some on here will brand the dude as a quack, but I thought this was a good argument. Cetainly simplifies who should be in the national championship game. If the No. 2 argument is between Ohio State and Michigan, then we have a head-to-head matchup to straighten it out. But then, it goes against the "if you rank them No. 1 all season and they don't lose ..." train of thought.
     
  7. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/onlinenews.ap.org/collegefootball_rankings/voters.php?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME
     
  8. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Ohio State most certainly did not shrink from opponents. Is it OSU's fault it didn't have Wisconsin scheduled? Is it OSU's fault that Iowa blew up down the stretch? Is it OSU's fault that Michigan State fell into the ocean? Walden's gonna start counting Florida State and Southern Miss…I give you Cincy and Iowa to counter.

    And how many times does a person have to watch Florida to know they've been lucky to win a couple games? South Carolina outplayed them. Tennessee outplayed them. LSU outplayed them. Now, true, Florida found a way to win those games by graciously accepting the opponents' gifts, but to watch this team in a game setting is not to have some great admiration for them. Just the opposite.

    And then Florida has a loss. Ohio State doesn't.

    If you watch the teams, there isn't any question who's better.
     
  9. IGotQuestions

    IGotQuestions Member

    daemon, regardless of who the opponents were, check out Ohio State's average points for and average points against this season. Maybe it's schedule was a little "soft" but the Buckeyes thoroughly dominated most of its opponents (and handily beat two then-No. 2-ranked teams to boot, one on the road).
     
  10. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    The first No. 2-ranked opponent started a freshman in his second game, then went on to lose to Kansas State and Texas A&M. Not the Buckeyes' fault, sure, but it doesn't look near as good now as it did then. Still a good team, though.
     
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