2013 NCAA College Football

[MS256]

It was a good game. Auburn is playing like a hungry football team and Gus Malzahn is giving them the offensive tools to make pretty good defenses look bad. When linebackers are on their heels trying to make a read the blocks for the O-line get that much easier. I wish Saban would take a lesson from that, but he won't.

[k-troop]

Exposed.

[Golfingdad]

Exposed.

Seems a little harsh. They lost a fairly close game to a really good team. Regardless, this is two crazy weekends in a row! Now it's almost bowl season!! :)

[SloverUT]

Seems a little harsh. They lost a fairly close game to a really good team. Regardless, this is two crazy weekends in a row! Now it's almost bowl season!! :)

I do think exposed is a bit hard considering Michigan State is a really good team.  However, Ohio State fans can't deny that they had their shot and lost it.  They were playing for the Big 10 championship and a N.C. game chance and couldn't get the W.  I think a lot of people felt this may happen so that is why we heard more scrutiny toward OSU as opposed to FSU.  Even though FSU playing Duke for a conference championship is a bit humorous.

I will say that I find it amazing that Auburn had the year they did last year and now they are most likely contending for a N.C.

[teamroper60]

Exposed.

Actually, I think they were exposed last week and then ran into a better team this week.

Gonna be interesting to see if FSU can do anything with the Auburn running game.   Goodness knows Mizzou sure couldn't!

[MS256]

Actually, I think they were exposed last week and then ran into a better team this week.

Gonna be interesting to see if FSU can do anything with the Auburn running game.   Goodness knows Mizzou sure couldn't!

I wouldn't say they were "exposed". They lost a football game. It happens. At least the Big Ten put 2 decent football teams on the field for their championship game, which is more than I can say for the ACC. Duke? Really?

Auburn is making defenses look bad right now and they appear to be getting better. That's what it usually takes to win a championship. Get some breaks and have some things go your way that probably shouldn't but keep improving.

Pains me that Alabama lost to them on the last play of the game but I suppose I'll suck it up and root for them in the NC game (I guess, maybe). At least the trophy has a chance to stay in the state for the fifth straight year (just not in the right trophy case for my liking).

If they win I'll have to wear earplugs for the next 365 days but that's OK.

[saevel25]

I do think exposed is a bit hard considering Michigan State is a really good team.  However, Ohio State fans can't deny that they had their shot and lost it.  They were playing for the Big 10 championship and a N.C. game chance and couldn't get the W.  I think a lot of people felt this may happen so that is why we heard more scrutiny toward OSU as opposed to FSU.  Even though FSU playing Duke for a conference championship is a bit humorous.

I will say that I find it amazing that Auburn had the year they did last year and now they are most likely contending for a N.C.

MSU is a heck of a team. They got beat early in the season by ND, when they had no offense at all. That defense is legit. I agree, OSU had destiny in their hands and let it slip away. All the props in the world to MSU for winning that game. I think the refs called a great game. I like when they don't call to many fouls. I think there was what, maybe 5 on each side. They let them play and it was a competitive game.

Honestly, I kinda think OSU gets trashed by FSU. If OSU's defense was top 20, I would say we could hang with anyone. Our offense can keep us in games, but FSU's passing game would lite us up to bad. It would probably be like 45 to 30 or something like that, but OSU wouldn't ever be that close. OSU Would have to run the hell out of the ball, and play keep away, which I think they could do for 3 quarters against FSU. Then it would probably end up similar to this game, were FSU would just pull away at the end.

Ohio State's offense is for real. And their defense is as advertised.

Edit: sarcasm. I guess we can stop arguing whether OSU deserves to be in the NC.

Yep, OSU's offense is for real. Well their running game is. They put up nearly 300 yards rushing on MSU, which only allows 65 a game. It wasn't enough, with out a legit passing attack we could only bend MSU's defense not break it. I thought Braxton would come out throwing the ball well. He's still not good when the coverage is tight. He had some decent throws. I am still pissed that we didn't go back to that seam route with the tight end. We had some advantages there when MSU had their safeties 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. Then we just run the ball into a 8-9 man front. Don't know, I think the check to something outside, or down the middle pass play would have been much better, and loosen up that defense.

OSU finally got caught playing with fire on their pass defense. That was horrible. I swear, if I saw another DB just push a WR for no reason, I MEAN NO REASON, and get called for a pass interference, god that was just bad.

On that note, congrats to MSU, they played one hell of a game.

Also anyone who gets a chance to go see a football game in Indy, DO IT!!! That stadium is amazing, just loved it. The atmosphere around that stadium is awesome. It is very fan friendly, some great restaurants, and easy access. A+ to Indy for hosting this game.

[David in FL]

MSU is a heck of a team. They got beat early in the season by ND, when they had no offense at all. That defense is legit. I agree, OSU had destiny in their hands and let it slip away. All the props in the world to MSU for winning that game. I think the refs called a great game. I like when they don't call to many fouls. I think there was what, maybe 5 on each side. They let them play and it was a competitive game.

Honestly, I kinda think OSU gets trashed by FSU. If OSU's defense was top 20, I would say we could hang with anyone. Our offense can keep us in games, but FSU's passing game would lite us up to bad. It would probably be like 45 to 30 or something like that, but OSU wouldn't ever be that close. OSU Would have to run the hell out of the ball, and play keep away, which I think they could do for 3 quarters against FSU. Then it would probably end up similar to this game, were FSU would just pull away at the end.

I agree with everything here.  Gotta admit, as a Badger fan I really don't like OSU, so I was looking forward to an FSU/OSU ass whipping though.

Regardless of the outcome, it was a fun game to watch.  Kudos to Sparty for pulling out a great win.  They deserved it.

[teamroper60]

I wouldn't say they were "exposed". They lost a football game. It happens. At least the Big Ten put 2 decent football teams on the field for their championship game, which is more than I can say for the ACC. Duke? Really?

Auburn is making defenses look bad right now and they appear to be getting better. That's what it usually takes to win a championship. Get some breaks and have some things go your way that probably shouldn't but keep improving.

Pains me that Alabama lost to them on the last play of the game but I suppose I'll suck it up and root for them in the NC game (I guess, maybe). At least the trophy has a chance to stay in the state for the fifth straight year (just not in the right trophy case for my liking).

If they win I'll have to wear earplugs for the next 365 days but that's OK.

Ohio State's poor passing defense was exposed by Michigan and exploited by Michigan State.   Everybody said all week that Michigan gave Michigan State the blueprint to beat Ohio State and it was obvious last night that was true.   So yeah, exposed is the right word.

On the flip side, Auburn's pass defense didn't look good either, and FSU has some really good receivers so Winston is likely to have a good day against them..  The national championship game may look a lot like a replay of the SEC championship game.  If I was FSU, I would load the box and force Marshall to beat me through the air.   (I thought Pinkel was gonna do that at the start of the second half last night, but he didn't stick with it, even though Auburn didn't start throwing).

[teamroper60]

Yep, OSU's offense is for real. Well their running game is. They put up nearly 300 yards rushing on MSU, which only allows 65 a game. It wasn't enough, with out a legit passing attack we could only bend MSU's defense not break it. I thought Braxton would come out throwing the ball well. He's still not good when the coverage is tight. He had some decent throws. I am still pissed that we didn't go back to that seam route with the tight end. We had some advantages there when MSU had their safeties 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. Then we just run the ball into a 8-9 man front. Don't know, I think the check to something outside, or down the middle pass play would have been much better, and loosen up that defens

Against Michigan, they only attempted 15 passes.  Granted, they didn't need to pass much in that game but he was only able to complete 6 of those against a really bad defense.  I suspect that played into why Urban didn't try to pass more against one of the better secondaries in the country.

[saevel25]

Against Michigan, they only attempted 15 passes.  Granted, they didn't need to pass much in that game but he was only able to complete 6 of those against a really bad defense.  I suspect that played into why Urban didn't try to pass more against one of the better secondaries in the country.

Well if you read up on what Narduzzi does on defense. He plays press coverage, drops his safeties into run support, but their DB's read the 2nd receiver. A D-line has about 3-4 seconds to get to the ball. That means the QB usually reads 3-4 reads in a 4-5 second period. So when Michigan State presses your WR's, and takes away the first option, now you lost 1-2 seconds. Then they key on the 2nd receiver. This is because they assume the QB might switch off the 1st because of the press coverage. So now MSU forces you to go, One - Two- Three, or Two-Three. This throws off timing, and forces the line to hold for longer. This also takes away the short routes because they press, and the intermediate routes as well. Which are typically, 1 and 2 routes because they are shorter distances. This is why a wheel route is typically a 3-4 read because it takes a long time to develop.

Yes OSU attempted 15 passes against Michigan. This wasn't because they were good against the pass. OSU wanted to pass more, but when you got Hyde and Braxton averaging 8-10 yards a run, why pass it.

This once again drove me crazy in the game. When MSU clearly sold out against the run, OSU ran the ball. They also emptied the backfield, taking the option out of play. I think Hermain tried to out smart Narduzzi, but he ended up getting too fancy. As someone who has watched OSU all year, this was just a strange play calling game. When they started to get into a groove, it looked more like the offense I was use to seeing. Then they went away from that again. To me it just seemed like he was trying stuff they practiced for the first time all year. It just didn't work.

[teamroper60]

Yes OSU attempted 15 passes against Michigan. This wasn't because they were good against the pass. OSU wanted to pass more, but when you got Hyde and Braxton averaging 8-10 yards a run, why pass it.

This once again drove me crazy in the game. When MSU clearly sold out against the run, OSU ran the ball. They also emptied the backfield, taking the option out of play. I think Hermain tried to out smart Narduzzi, but he ended up getting too fancy. As someone who has watched OSU all year, this was just a strange play calling game. When they started to get into a groove, it looked more like the offense I was use to seeing. Then they went away from that again. To me it just seemed like he was trying stuff they practiced for the first time all year. It just didn't work.

I don't disagree that Ohio State didn't need to pass much against Michigan, in fact, I stated just that.   My point was (and is) that Miller was only able to complete 6 of those 15 against a bad defense.   When you only complete 40% against a weak defense, it stands to reason you wouldn't throw a lot against some really good DBs.   It also stands to reason that your next opponent is going to dare you to throw it until you prove you can do so successfully and Miller really wasn't able to do that last night (8 of 21).

I don't know if Miller is nursing an injury that hasn't been reported, the injury he had earlier in the year is still bothering him or what, but in 3 of his last 4 games, his completion percentage has been less than 50%.  If you look at his stats for the year, it's pretty clear something has happened because they basically stopped throwing the ball after the Illinois game.

[saevel25]

I agree. I wouldn't put Illinois and Indiana as great defenses were he lit up teams earlier in the year. So something has to be bothering him. He had a few good passes in last nights game. That TD pass was perfectly thrown where only his guy could get it. He had a great pass over the shoulder to Spencer, but the DB knocked it out of his hands from behind. I am perplexed by his regression. Honestly, in pregame he didn't look good throwing the ball. I wonder if his head is in the game right now. The back up QB's looked way more promising than Braxton throwing the ball.

[Golfingdad]

At the time, when my boys (Fresno State) blew their chance at a BCS bowl last weekend I was pretty bummed.  Non-AQ's don't get many chances like that, so you have to take advantage.  But now I am OK with how things have turned out.  Had we finished the season undefeated, I'm guessing that we'd have knocked Clemson out of the Orange Bowl, and they probably would have put UCF over there against Ohio State, and we would be up against Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl.  Realistically, we'd probably get creamed.

Now, we get to play a game, still against a big name team, but against one that is beatable.  USC is going to be on their 3rd coach of the season, and is not going to be as excited to play Fresno State as Fresno State is to play them.

If USC plays like they played against Stanford, well, then we're screwed ... however, if they don't, I think this can be a good game.

@RPMPIRE I know you're not quite as excited for this as me because I can't wait!!!

December 21st!!!

[MS256]

Most Alabama fans are upset that they aren't playing a higher ranked team in a bowl game but they mistakenly don't understand that the BCS was never designed or intended to match up the "next best teams" in bowl games.

The only intention was to match up the best two teams in a championship game.

Bowl criteria is about interesting matchups that will attract fan bases and hopefully a national audience. Totally different thing.

I'm looking forward to the matchup and just hoping that Alabama comes to play after the let down of not being in a NC game that I'm sure the team thought they would be in. Our (Alabama's) record in such situations is not very good historically.

Looking forward to watching the NC game. On paper FSU has the better team but Gus Malzahn understands that an indecisive defender is easy to block. BUT, I've watched Jeremy Pruitt coach defenses since he coached my son and if there's anybody that can figure out how to stop Gus it's Jeremy.

[RPMPIRE]

@RPMPIRE I know you're not quite as excited for this as me because I can't wait!!!

December 21st!!!

@Golfingdad I am pretty excited about this game not only because every time FSU plays USC, they put up a good fight - the most memorable was in the 2005 season that almost derailed SC from going to the title game. I don't expect anything less from FSU because I'm sure that team is pissed about losing to SJSU and what better way to prove themselves is to win against USC. I'm not sure how the coaching changes will affect the SC players, but I think the rollercoaster year that they went through would help them prepare for that.

Either way, I anticipate a good game on both sides. Go Trojans!

[dsc123]

I was at the Mich St/ND game in September and it was painful to watch those two "quarterbacks."  At least one of them improved as the season went on.

[saevel25]

In honor of FSU and the championship match, the Puntrooskie!!!!

It would be awesome if FSU pulled out the old play in the NC game