12/21/24
January 13, 2015
Buckeyes Win College Football Playoff: The Ohio State Buckeyes won the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, defeating Oregon 42-20 at AT&T Field in Arlington, Texas, Monday night.The Buckeyes overcame four turnovers thanks to Ezekiel Elliott (36 carries, 246 yards, four touchdowns), Cardale Jones (16-of-23 passing for 242 yards, a passing TD and a rushing TD) and a defense that swallowed the vaunted Ducks attack, forcing six punts.
It's cool that the first winner is a team that wouldn't have gotten a chance to play for the championship under the old system. I didn't think Ohio State had it in them.
Nor did a sea of prognosticators. Pat Forde's pick: "I picked Ohio State to lose to Michigan State. I picked Ohio State to lose to Wisconsin. I picked Ohio State to lose to Alabama. So by now I've seen the light and am ready to jump on the Buckeyes bandwagon, right? No."
posted by rcade at 08:28 AM on January 13, 2015
It's cool that the first winner is a team that wouldn't have gotten a chance to play for the championship under the old system. I didn't think Ohio State had it in them.
That is very satisfying, as a fan. The system seemed to work fairly well (even though TCU may not agree).
I was amazed how quickly Ohio State adjusted after Oregon's first possession and their own. If not for the turnovers the Buckeyes could have scored 60. The OSU running game beat the ducks into submission.
posted by dyams at 09:41 AM on January 13, 2015
It's cool that the first winner is a team that wouldn't have gotten a chance to play for the championship under the old system
Amen.
The previous system simply dictated the top rated SEC team played an undefeated major conference team. Year after year.
Lost in the glow of the Elliot and Jones performances was the play of Ohio State's offensive and defensive lines. Pure domination on every play.
Mariota was the only bright spot for Oregon. Deadly accurate through 3 quarters his final numbers are skewed by having to force balls in the 4th. And some horrendous drops early in the game.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:10 AM on January 13, 2015
OSU's run over the last several games has been remarkable, and increasingly so from one game to the next. The title game was like watching the Washington - Denver Super Bowl with Timmy Smith running Hog wild.
I can't believe how quickly Urban has gotten the Buckeyes firing on all 12 cylinders. With Harbaugh in the picture, the rivalry with Michigan is now right back up into the "huge for the whole country" category.
During the game, I thought back to some of Urban's Florida teams, and as skilled and athletic as they were, I wasn't sure that any of them would be able to compete with the dominant squad he sent out there last night. The player development, depth, and execution he has going now is at a next level. And they have speed to boot.
posted by beaverboard at 11:12 AM on January 13, 2015
Urban Meyer and his offensive co-ordinator/QB coach Tom Herman deserve a special award for getting the team this far after having to create schemes that had to work for 3 different quarterbacks (planned for Miller, adapted for Barrett, re-adapted for Jones).
Most teams would have folded if their 1st string QB went down (in the pre-season), and almost every team would have folded if their 2nd string QB went down (right before the Big 10 championship game).
posted by grum@work at 12:04 PM on January 13, 2015
And some horrendous drops early in the game.
Yeah, I wonder how the trajectory of the game may have been changed if Oregon converts those early third downs and puts some more points on the board. Those drops sure allowed the Buckeyes to stick with their game plan.
And surviving that string of turnovers in the 2nd and 3rd quarters was a monster. If you told me that OSU would turn the ball over on 4 possessions in the middle of the game and still win, I'd have called you crazy. The Buckeyes D didn't get much love coming into the game, and rightly so, but they sure stepped it up a notch last night.
Zeke Elliot rightly gave all the credit to his line in the post-game interviews. Tough to tackle a guy built like him when he hits your secondary going north-south at full speed. This Buckeye fan hopes he sticks around a couple more years, but I also look forward to seeing what he can do on Sundays. BTW, did anyone else notice that he pulled his shirt down over the famous abs in the fourth quarter?
posted by tahoemoj at 12:07 PM on January 13, 2015
the rivalry with Michigan is now right back up into the "huge for the whole country" category.
Harbaugh is going to have to win some games first.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 12:25 PM on January 13, 2015
I think the ability to motivate is much more important at the college level (e.g., Pete Carroll) so I would not be surprised to see Harbaugh will the team to at least 8 wins next year.
schemes that had to work for 3 different quarterbacks
Today's SportsCenter has a sidebar "Is Cardale Jones NFL-ready?" Am I nuts or are they?
posted by yerfatma at 12:44 PM on January 13, 2015
Am I nuts or are they?
They are. And Jones agrees with you.
Related content: see Smith, Akili.
posted by tahoemoj at 12:48 PM on January 13, 2015
When Cardale sent his infamous tweet from way down the depth chart about coming to college to play football not school, several disapproving commenters advised him to buckle down and get that degree because he would never in his wildest dreams get a look at the NFL level.
That will in time prove to be notably incorrect. But what if you don't need another QB if/when he enters the draft? Could you use a badass tight end or strong safety?
Note to LeBron: since Cardale is now the current owner of Cleveland, you need to see if he'd be willing to rent it out to you every once in awhile.
posted by beaverboard at 01:28 PM on January 13, 2015
Today's SportsCenter has a sidebar "Is Cardale Jones NFL-ready?" Am I nuts or are they?
To be fair, it's the same sort of logic that leads a team to offer a back-up quarterback a multi-year multi-million dollar contract because of just one start the previous season.
posted by grum@work at 01:30 PM on January 13, 2015
Congratulations to Ohio State. They certainly proved that they belonged in the playoffs. I am not a fan of either team but like most people I thought that Oregon would win easily. I bet the Las Vegas bookies aren't very happy.
posted by JohnSoCal at 03:07 PM on January 13, 2015
Remember when Ohio State and Michigan was a rivalry lol
posted by phaedon at 03:16 PM on January 13, 2015
I bet the Las Vegas bookies aren't very happy.
I think bookies could care less who wins any sporting event. Bets are usually hedged and they win regardless. Probably not always, but in most cases.
posted by Ricardo at 03:31 PM on January 13, 2015
Who starts for Ohio State next season, assuming all three QBs are healthy?
posted by billsaysthis at 03:37 PM on January 13, 2015
Those who still believe that a football game is decided by the guys up front had that belief verified. Ohio State's "fat guys", "big uglies", or whatever else you want to call them were dominant. The blocking on many of the OSU running plays was textbook. I was surprised that Meyer didn't just tell his offense to keep running Elliot off tackle right or left until Oregon stopped it. I don't think they could have. The OSU win was a mild surprise; the dominant way in which they won was a shock.
posted by Howard_T at 04:53 PM on January 13, 2015
I think bookies could care less who wins any sporting event. Bets are usually hedged and they win regardless. Probably not always, but in most cases.
I think this is generally true, but I was reading something yesterday that suggested that the sports books stood to lose quite a bit if Ohio State won because the Braxton Miller injury raised the Buckeyes' championship futures payout from 12-1 to as much as 50-1 and there were still a lot of takers on that bet.
posted by bender at 05:05 PM on January 13, 2015
double post deleted
posted by bender at 05:06 PM on January 13, 2015
Who starts for Ohio State next season, assuming all three QBs are healthy?
And assuming all three stick around.
posted by Etrigan at 05:26 PM on January 13, 2015
Who starts for Ohio State next season, assuming all three QBs are healthy?
It appears Miller is set to transfer to another school (who knows, maybe Oregon). Apparently if he has graduated and still has football eligibility he can transfer without sitting out a year. Jones, having done what he did, as a freshman, on the biggest stage in college football, would have to be the favorite to be the starter next year, barring some unforeseen problem. Hopefully he keeps himself in shape. The media has talked about how large and out of shape he was when he arrived at Columbus.
posted by dyams at 05:32 PM on January 13, 2015
suggested that the sports books stood to lose quite a bit if Ohio State won
The long term futures probably didn't hurt the books at all. Bets are taken on all teams and I doubt there was a heavy run on Ohio State futures after their early season performance and injuries.
I believe I saw numbers pointing to heavy game bets on Oregon, so books would be happy about that. Ohio State moneyline wagers in retrospect were a killer bargain (!damn).
Am I nuts or are they?
A little early for talk of him moving to the NFL as a QB, but he's a monster athlete who a team might take a flier on assuming he would agree to consider other positions.
He did look like a more athletic version of Big Ben with a stronger arm yesterday but Oregon's defense isn't a sufficient test. And he probably doesn't start next year ....
posted by cixelsyd at 05:45 PM on January 13, 2015
I think the ability to motivate is much more important at the college level (e.g., Pete Carroll) so I would not be surprised to see Harbaugh will the team to at least 8 wins next year.
As bad as Michigan looked this year they may have the talent to let Harbaugh give sheer will a rest. Brady Hoke brought in two very good recruiting classes. If Harbaugh is any better than Hoke at developing players (and that really should not be hard) he should be able to field a team that can beat most of the teams on its schedule.
Jones, having done what he did, as a freshman,
Jones was a redshirt sophomore this season. J.T. Barrett was a redshirt freshman.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:30 PM on January 13, 2015
the Braxton Miller injury raised the Buckeyes' championship futures payout from 12-1 to as much as 50-1
100-1 actually.
posted by tahoemoj at 08:23 PM on January 13, 2015
JT Barrett says that he expects all 3 quarterbacks to be Buckeyes next season. Of course, he's the only one who doesn't really have any options. I suppose if Cardale Jones is leaving, we'll know tomorrow (unless Urban Meyer's calls to delay the deadline are heard).
posted by bender at 01:41 PM on January 14, 2015
Well I, for one, was glad to see Ohio State exposed by Oregon. Just a pure money grab, y'all.