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Yertle

Pounding out aggression, turns into obsession
I didn't see this posted, so if it was, I apologize.

The Big 10 is playing five Ohio Div 1A schools this weekend:

Michigan vs. Miami
Minnesota vs. Toledo
Penn State vs. Akron
Iowa vs. Kent State
Ohio State vs. Cincinnati

Considering there are 8 Ohio Div 1A schools, that leaves only 2 not involved in this battle: Ohio University and Bowling Green. I think Ohio isn't playing (probably because the rest of the Big 10 already had games scheduled), and Bowling Green decided to take on some cream puff Big 12 school. Which one was that again? Oklahoma? Oh yeah.

I typically root for the Big 10 in non-conference games (except for maybe Michigan, of course), but at the expense of our home state? Ninetly percent of these teams are the Ohio kids that didn't get offered by the Bucks. How can you root against them? They probably grew up Buckeyes fans.

Go Bucks. Go Ohio.
 
Ohio is playing VMI, which before this year could be considered on the level of a middle-of-the-pack ACC school :wink2: The MAC schools could make some inroads here. I don't know if any of these games are "winnable" per se, but only Kent State has no realistic chance. Penn State was 3-9 last year, and Toledo may be the best in the conference, so either one of those has a shot. I don't think Miami has anything for scUM (they were humbled by Iowa last year WITH Big Ben) but they could make a good showing.
 
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Here's how each of those five Ohio teams have faired against major opposition (BCS conference member or major independent) since 2000:

Miami:
Lost at Ohio State 27-16 (2000)
Lost at Michigan 31-13 (2001)
Lost at Iowa 44-19 (2001)
Won at North Carolina 27-21 (2002)
Lost to Iowa 29-24 (2002)
Lost at Iowa 21-3 (2003)
Won at Northwestern 44-14 (2003)
Won at Colorado State 41-21 (2003)

Toledo:
Won at Penn State 24-6 (2000)
Won at Minnesota 38-7 (2001)
Lost at Minnesota 31-21 (2002)
Lost at Pittsburgh 37-19 (2002)
Lost to Boston College 51-25 (2002 bowl)
Won against Pittsburgh 35-31 (2003)
Lost at Syracuse 34-7 (2003)

Akron:
Lost at Virginia Tech 52-23 (2000)
Lost at Ohio State 28-14 (2001)
Lost at Illinois 33-14 (2001)
Lost at Iowa 57-21 (2002)
Lost at Maryland 44-14 (2002)
Lost at Virginia 48-29 (2002)
Lost at Wisconsin 48-31 (2003)

Kent State:
Lost at Pittsburgh 30-7 (2000)
Lost at Purdue 45-14 (2000)
Lost at Iowa 51-0 (2001)
Lost at West Virginia 34-14 (2001)
Lost at Ohio State 51-17 (2002)
Lost at Pittsburgh 43-3 (2003)

Cincinnati:
Won against Syracuse 12-10 (2000)
Lost at Wisconsin 28-25 (2000)
Lost at Indiana 42-6 (2000)
Lost to Purdue 19-14 (2001)
Won against TCU 36-29 (2002)
Lost to West Virginia 35-32 (2002)
Lost Ohio State 23-19 (2002)
Won at Temple 35-22 (2002)
Won at West Virginia 15-13 (2003)
Won against Temple 30-24 (2003)
Lost at TCU 43-10 (2003)

Miami, Toledo, and Cincinnati play tough against Big Ten teams, and Miami and Cincinnati play very well against other BCS conference teams. Akron and Kent State are virtual locks for a win.
 
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I think both Toledo and Akron have at least a shot in there games. If I were betting I would take the Big Ten in all games.

By the way Miami will give scUM a pretty good shot, better than they gave Iowa last season. Remember Miami has a game under their belt.
 
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Great news for Ohio football

The great thing about all this -- besides Mili's ability to pull obscure stats out of the air in a nanosecond -- is the resurgence of college football in Ohio beyond the confines of the Horseshoe. And it is a planned resurgence, not an accidental one, with tOSU knowingly putting itself at risk somewhat by agreeing to put these schools on its schedule.

It's great for these schools -- and was planned for by Ohio's higher education kingpins -- because it brings needed money and recognition to them.

It's great for Ohio players, because, as Yertle pointed out, most of them are Ohio kids who weren't quite ready for the major leagues when they graduated from high school, but can now play on a national stage.

And it's great for Ohio State, because it draws national attention to the Ohio football tradition, making the state an even more attractive place to play for kids from Florida, or California or New Jersey. Even though there's a little risk in this for tOSU, it will always be the dominant program in the state and it's better to be king of a strong kingdom than a weak one.

I am very proud of the Ohio football tradition and think it will only take on greater stature in the years ahead.
 
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Well put, Megawoody. The kids that are playing at Miami, Toledo, Akron,... used to be the same kids that became third and fourth string Buckeyes. With the reduction in scholarships, these kids are staying in state as opposed to going to lesser Big 10, ACC, or Big East schools.

The end result is the MAC is turning into a respectable conference. They're getting Thursday night TV games (I watched more non-OSU MAC games last year than all other years combined), typically have a team in the top 25, and they're beating respectable BSC Conference schools.

Kind of cool. That is, assuming OSU keeps beating them every year....

Oh, and by the way, I realize that Cincy is not a MAC school. You get my point.
 
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Toledo vs Minney is going to be killer

Talk about a high scoring game, the Toledo vs Minney game is going to be something like 45 to 42. Niether one of those schools plays any D, but man they can both score. Last year UT was inconsistant due to inconsistant QB play, but hopefully with a year under his belt Bruce G. will tear Minney up. I would look for a 400 yard/ 4 TD performance from Bruce.
 
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I'm drooling over the thought of a Redskins (hawks, whatever) victory this weekend. I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibilities, either. Granted, Miami doesn't have Big Ben anymore, but they whooped Indiana State. Okay, so Indiana State doesn't have Larry Bird anymore, and they weren't playing Basketball, and it wasn't at the Pig House, and they're named after a tree (kind of like the Bucks, I guess), but the Miami D was especially good. Michigan has a lot of offensive question marks at key positions (ignoring the receivers), so it might be more interesting than the spread indicates.
 
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Love my hometown Rockets, but I think 4 new DL's starting their first game at Minnesota, against that running attack, is not going to be good. I think Minny will run for 300, and while that's over 100 less than they ran for against TSUN last year, I don't think it's a good thing.
 
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