Texas gets unimpressive win over Ohio State, what does it mean?

by JazzyUte on Jan 5, 2009 9:53 PM MST in Sugar Bowl

The Buckeyes took the lead with only minutes to go, but a late rally by Texas saved the win and any lasting hope of a national championship.

A loss would have helped Utah.

A close Texas win doesn't hurt Utah, but it isn't nearly as good.

Can someone still make the case Texas should be ranked ahead of the Utes when the final polls are released? And did the Longhorns doom any chance of splitting the national championship, regardless of what happens Thursday?

Discuss.

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An OSU win would

have been huge, but I don’t see Texas getting the split now. USC and Utah DOMINATED their opponents (who were better in the first place). They may some votes away however.

You need a repeat of the 2004 Sugar Bowl. A lower scoring lackluster game. Kind of like this, without the late game heroics.

by DoubleB on Jan 5, 2009 10:09 PM MST reply actions

Mack Brown's gonna...

..“.vote his team #1!” Wooohoooo! Are we supposed to be impressed?

That would hardly be the most unbiased vote of the year.

Well, the ONE play tOSU’s safety totally botches the coverage and lets Cosby take it to the house spelled complete doom for the Buckeyes after they’d made a courageous comeback from being nearly dead in the water in the 3rd qtr.

But the Horns prevailed even with ‘Vince Young II’ facing them from the other side of the line of scrimage.

The only thing this near loss for TX could mean for the Utes is that they have a much better chance of finishing higher than the Horns in the final polls.

I suppose if the Sooners beat FL for the NC, then TX’s win over OU will look that much better such that they finish ahead of Utah.

The drama continues…..

"...don't TAZE me, bro..."

by zE bOp on Jan 5, 2009 10:56 PM MST reply actions

If you want to be legit...

start acting like it. That means not creating posts about your final place in the rankings. Who cares? Neither Texas or Utah will be National Champs this year. Are you guys really sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see if you end up ahead of Texas? Congratulations on your victory over Alabama, a very very good football team. However, everyone needs to chill with the bowl comparisons. Half of these teams are completely unmotivated to play in these things. Alabama was one game away from the NC and blew it and their reward was playing a Utah team that no one in the country cared about other than people from Utah. Do you think they got up for the game? Do you really feel your team is 2 TDs better than Alabama or that maybe you guys had everything to prove and they had nothing?

The opposite holds true for the game that was played tonight. Ohio State had to listen to people telling them they had no shot all week. They were judged on a USC loss early in the year without their best offensive player in Wells and a freshman QB with only a few games under his belt. This wasn’t that same team and they were angry and had something to prove.

You may want to disagree but can you? Do you really believe you played a motivated Alabama team?

by Pantheon on Jan 5, 2009 11:13 PM MST reply actions

I think

Utah is 2 TDs better than Alabama. Yes. They kicked their ass all over the field. Could have won by 30 with a couple of breaks.

by DoubleB on Jan 5, 2009 11:36 PM MST up reply actions

Maybe, maybe not. Hell, who knows if Texas even played a motivated Ohio State team.

Was Penn State motivated to play in the Rose Bowl?

Get off your high horse for a second and join us back down here in reality. I’m tired of people assuming ‘Bama wasn’t playing motivated, as if that should diminish Utah’s win or excuse Alabama’s loss. It’s a pathetic excuse. The Utes went out there and handed the Tide their asses and like no one has this season. That goes beyond just motivation and luck, like with what you saw in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.

by JazzyUte on Jan 6, 2009 12:11 AM MST up reply actions

Answers

Q – Do I really believe Utah is 2 TDs better than Alabama?
A – It was on gameday, and that’s all that matters. In fact, Utah was the only team in the Nation better than the team it faced EVERY GAMEDAY. If results on the field don’t matter, why bother keeping score?

Q – Do I think Bama was up for the game?
A – Yes. Bama was motivated, but not prepared. Utah was not as undersized as Bama expected and a whole lot faster and deeper that Bama was ready for.

Much of the justification for not voting Utah #1 seems to center around the lack of motivation so many teams supposedly have for playing Bowl games. If Bowl teams are not motivated to play bowl games, the Bowl system is far more rotted than any of us have yet to assert. The idea that competitive athletes play games without caring who wins is utter nonsense.

by Rhino95 on Jan 6, 2009 8:43 AM MST up reply actions

Well, I think it matters

where you finish, start, and ARE in the polls at all times. Since they are so subjective, every little bit helps in the quest for #1.

"...don't TAZE me, bro..."

by zE bOp on Jan 6, 2009 12:04 AM MST reply actions

Of course it matters. If it didn't, Mack Brown and Pete Carroll wouldn't be lobbying the pollsters.

Aren’t they Big Time Coaches who have been there before? I guess in Pantheon’s mind, they’re not.

by JazzyUte on Jan 6, 2009 12:12 AM MST up reply actions

MSNBC article

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28515703/

i like this. what do you guys think of this?

by bcs_sux on Jan 6, 2009 12:44 AM MST reply actions

Hopefully we see it when they vote.

It’s easy to write an article, but when it actually comes to voting, well that’s another story.

Let’s call it the Mid-major effect, something similar to the Bradley effect in politics.

by JazzyUte on Jan 6, 2009 1:17 AM MST up reply actions

totall agreed!

but i hope you’re wrong this time. plz, plz… ;-)

by bcs_sux on Jan 6, 2009 1:39 AM MST reply actions

Not talking about a split NC

I didn’t write my post about a split NC. It was in response to ze bop’s obvious concern that Utah end up higher than Texas but who cares? If we’re not #1 than what does it matter? THAT was my point.

And if you guys are being honest with yourselves about how sports work you would be able to look at that Alabama game a little differently. Put it this way…“disappointed team without much to gain plays underdog given no chance but has everything to prove”. Which team do you pick to win that game? Yeah, your issue is doing it in the regular season against big time competition, and as long as you’re in that conference, that is going to be a tough sell on the pollsters.

by Pantheon on Jan 6, 2009 8:06 AM MST reply actions

Too cynical

I think your comment is far too cynical.

Every time football players suit up they know they need to play hard; 1) they’re natural pride demands it, 2) to do otherwise significantly increase the likelihood of serious injury.

Alabama may have bought into the group think of the national college football literati that Utah was this season’s version of 2007 Hawaii, and thus underestimated Utah. But it was as motivated as Georgia was in last year’s Sugar Bowl.

The unmistakable fact that the college football power structure is having a hard time dealing with is that a non-BCS school has the best football team in the land, and has proved itself on the field at every opportunity.

by Rhino95 on Jan 6, 2009 8:56 AM MST up reply actions