Playoffs!

CFP Preview!

The Buckeyes are not playing this weekend because they got a first-round bye.

Pre-CFP Buckeye Notes:

Awards:

1. Congrats to our top 10 Heisman finishers: Julian Sayin (4th), Jeremiah Smith (6th), and Caleb Downs (9th).
2. Buckeye First Team All-America selections (by the Associated Press):
   a. WR Jeremiah Smith
   b. DL Kayden McDonald
   c. LB Arvell Reese
   d. S Caleb Downs
3. Buckeye Second Team All-America selections:
   a. WR Carnell Tate
   b. LB Sonny Styles
4. Buckeye Third Team All-America selections:
   a. QB Julian Sayin
   b. DL Caden Curry
5. The above Bucks are also represented on the All-Big Ten Conference teams. Additional B1G Honors:
   a. Offense: Bo Jackson, Carson Hinzman, Luke Montgomery, Tegra Tshabola, Austin Siereveld, Phillip Daniels, Max Klare.
   b. Defense: Davison Igbinosun, Jermaine Mathews, Jaylen McClain.
   c. Long Snapper!: John Ferlmann

Other Notes:

1. There is a chunk of #BuckeyeNation that seems mad about the Big 10 Championship game. Very angry at the coaching and the kicker. And that’s fine – to each his own. But I think those people are nuts. Coach Day lists the same goals every year: Beat Michigan, win the big 10, win the natty. Of the three, the B1G championship is by far the least important – especially in the 12-team playoff era. I’d even rank “beat Penn State” higher.
2. Also, now we know we are beatable. The coaches can do the whole “y’all thought you were the greatest thing since sliced bread” thing. It was a tough game, but we are the 2-seed in the playoff. Things are good, you guys. Go for a walk or something. And let’s root for a revenge game against Indiana in the final!
3. I’ll take the 3+ weeks of preparation and getting healthy. Apparently, OL Tegra Tshabola is injured, but otherwise things look good. I enjoyed our four-game run last year and it was important for us to get on the field as soon as possible and shake off the Michigan stink. If we’d had a first round bye, it might have gone differently. This year we have the Indiana loss to be mad about, but it doesn’t really feel the same does it? And maybe that’s the best argument for us potentially losing to Miami or Texas A&M. Repeating as national champs is very hard to do.
4. Repeat Champions, starting with the most recent… Not including splits, like when the AP voted one way, but UPI voted another. So, this is “repeat unanimous champs:”
   • Georgia 2021 and 2022.
   • Alabama 2011 and 2012
   • Nebraska 1994 and 1995
   • Oklahoma 1955 and 1956
   • Notre Dame 1946 and 1947
   • Army 1944 and 1945.
   • Minnesota 1940 and 1941
   • Minnesota 1934 and 1935
   • USC 1931 and 1932
   • Notre Dame 1929 and 1930
   • Michigan 1901 and 1902
   • Harvard 1898 and 1899
   • Yale 1891 and 1892
   • Yale 1886, 1887, 1888
   • Yale 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884
   • Princeton 1878 and 1879
   • Yale 1876 and 1877
   • Princeton 1869, 1870, 1872, 1873 (there were no official games in 1871. Princeton held some practice games, but we were still figuring shit out back then, you know?).
5. It’s sad that Tennessee isn’t in the playoff this year. We won’t get to see how tough they are in cold weather.

Previews of this weekend’s first round games:

Friday Dec 19 – 8PM – ABC/ESPN
(9) Alabama plays @ (8) Oklahoma

Bama is favored by 1.5 points on the road, which seems crazy. Their Super-Sophomore WR Ryan Williams didn’t quite have the season he wanted after he and Jeremiah Smith were mentioned together quite a bit last year as Super-Freshmen.

These teams already played! About a month ago, Bama lost a home game to OK 23-21.

Bama – 39th ranked team in points/game (31.2) and 12th in points allowed (17.4).
OK – 80th ranked team in points/game (26.4) and 7th in points allowed (13.9).

John Mateer is Oklahoma’s QB. 12TD and 10INT on the season.
Ty Simpson is Bama’s QB. 26TD, 5INT. He’s pretty high on some draftboards.

Prediction: Oklahoma 24, Alabama 17. The winner plays #1 Indiana on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl.

Saturday Dec 20 – 12PM – ABC/ESPN
(10) Miami plays @ (7) Texas A&M

A&M is favored by 3 points at home. I have no idea about these teams. I watched the first half of A&M vs. South Carolina this year and they looked terrible. But then the 2nd half they looked unbeatable. Miami’s very similar. Two good, talented teams, that inexplicably shit the bed sometimes.

Miami – 34 ppg (20th), 13.8 pts allowed (6th). Pretty impressive!
Texas A&M – 36.3 ppg (14th), 21.9 pts allowed (41st).

Carson Beck is Miami’s QB – 3000 yards, 25TD, 10 INT. Preseason, he was 20-1 to win the Heisman this year but didn’t crack the top 10.
Marcel Reed is A&M’s QB – 3000 yards, 25TD, 10 INT. Reed was 35-1 for the Heisman and for a while there was near the top.
Eventual winner Fernando Mendoza from Indiana was 60-1.

Prediction: This game kicks off at 11AM local time for some reason. Miami’s got some juice and A&M are fading a bit. Miami 36, A&M 24. The winner plays YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes December 31 in the Cotton Bowl.

Saturday Dec 20 – 330PM – TNT/truTV
(11) Tulane plays @ (6) Ole Miss

It’s crazy that “Ole Miss” is the semi-official way to say University of Mississippi. U of M is favored by a whopping 17.5 points. Their coach (Lane Kiffin) already left for LSU, burning every bridge he could find on the way out. So, some assistants are running the show. The Tulane coach, Jon Sumrall is coaching them in the playoff, but then he’s leaving for Florida. He handled his coaching change a bit differently, going so far as to donate a bunch of money to Tulane and saying he hopes to celebrate a championship with them in the future. What if he wins this year?!!

Ole Miss – 37.2 ppg (11th), 20.1 pts allowed (25th)
Tulane – 29.1 ppg (58th), 22.6 pts allowed (50th).

The Ole Miss QB is named Trinidad Chambliss, which you’re required to say in the Foghorn Leghorn voice. He had 18TD and 3 INT and ran for another 6TD. He finished 8th in the Heisman.
Tulane’s QB is Jake Retzlaff. 14TD, 6INT. He also ran for 16! TD’s.

Prediction: I’d love for Tulane to get a win. But a 330PM home game, when it’s 60 degrees outside, the weekend after finals are over for the semester, in Oxford, Mississippi, sounds like an insane environment. Ole Miss 42, Tulane 17. The winner plays Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Saturday Dec 20 – 730PM – TNT/truTV
(12) James Madison plays @ (5) Oregon.

Oregon is favored by 21. Notre Dame is very butt-hurt they’re not in the playoff. BYU, Texas, Vandy, and Utah also had decent arguments. Those teams are all better than JMU and Tulane. Indeed, the committee also ranked USC, Arizona, Michigan, and Virginia ahead of Tulane, who, in turn are several spots ahead of JMU. My feeling is that ND should probably be in instead of JMU. And also, that I’m glad ND is not in because they are good and I’d rather not play them in our first game. They should chill. And join the Big 10.

Oregon – 38.2 ppg (9th), 14.8 pts allowed (8th). Their only loss is to #1 Indiana.

James Madison – 37.3 ppg (10th), 15.8 pts allowed (also 10th-ranked in the country). They lost to a solid Louisville team but otherwise killed everyone else.

Prediction: JMU’s coach is good. After the season he’s headed to UCLA to be their new head coach. Oregon’s coach is Dan Lanning, who is also very good. Oregon might kill them, but maybe JMU will show us something. Oregon 38, JMU 20.

I’ll track my picks throughout the playoff. To cover the spread, I’ve got Oklahoma, Miami, Ole Miss, and James Madison University. I put 5 bucks on the 4-team parlay… 12-1 odds, basically.

Let’s go!