Big Week for the B1G

 The B1G bowl season is off to a decent start, much better than the 1-9 ACC at least. 

Indiana fell to Notre Dame in the first round of the playoffs.  Rutgers lost to Kansas State in a high scoring Rate Bowl.  Penn State and Ohio State won playoff games.  USC beat Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl and Nebraska beat Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.  

There's a lot of action coming up this week.  

Music City Bowl: Iowa vs Missouri

Reliaquest Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama

Sun Bowl: Washington vs. Louisville

Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina - 

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech 

Fiesta Bowl - Penn State vs Boise State - The Lions face Boise State and New Year's Eve in Glendale.  Coming off a dominating performance against SMU, they are looking to make the semifinals in their first playoff.  

Peach Bowl - Texas vs Arizona State - The Longhorns are coming off a big win over Clemson and look to get past the overachieving Sun Devils in Atlanta.  

Rose Bowl - Oho State vs Oregon - Part two in a "sort of" traditional Rose Bowl.  The Buckeyes rebounded from the Michigan loss to thump Tennessee in Columbus, playing their best game of the year.  These two teams played a classic in Eugene earlier this season, with the Buckeyes squandering a late opportunity to win the game.  The Bucks are favored and I can't wait for this game. 

Sugar Bowl - Notre Dame vs Georgia - The Bulldogs are without Carson Beck for the playoffs, which may not be a bad thing.  Notre Dame soundly beat Indiana in their opening playoff game.  It should be a good one in New Orleans!

The College Football Playoff Is Here!

 Welcome to the 12 team playoff!!

College football has been around since Rutgers beat Princeton 6-4 in 1869.  The Rose Bowl was the first bowl in 1902.  From that point until 1991, teams played a regular season schedule followed, maybe, by a bowl game.  The B1G had a rule for years that, even if conference champion, a team couldn't play in the Rose Bowl in back-to-back years.  The national champion was decided by the coaches poll and the AP poll after the season was completed. 

From 1992-1997 there was the "bowl coalition" and "bowl alliance" that strategically tried to pair teams in a bowl game that could help decide the national championship.  The issue with that was that the B1G and PAC-10 were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl.  So in 1994, an undefeated Penn State team wasn't able to play Nebraska and in 1997, an undefeated Michigan team was not able to play Nebraska.  

The B1G and PAC-10, along with the Rose Bowl, agreed to be part of the process starting in 1998 with the Bowl Championship Series.  The BCS pitted the top two teams according to human polls and computer rankings.  This process win place for 16 seasons.  It wasn't without controversy as there were several seasons with multiple undefeated teams or several one loss teams vying for the two spots in the playoff.

The playoff was expanded to four teams in 2014, selected by a committee of college football minds.  The traditional bowls rotated hosting the semifinals with final moving throughout the country.  After ten years of the four team playoff, we've arrived at the 12 team playoff.  It only took 155 years, but we finally have a legitimate process to determine a national champion.

We start off this weekend with four teams hosting playoff games in their home stadiums.  The late December weather is going to be great in South Bend, State College, and Columbus.  

Indiana at Notre Dame - The playoff kicks off with the Battle of Indiana. They have played since 1991 and face off for only the second time since 1958.  Notre Dame has looked as good as any team in the country since their week two home loss to Northern Illinois.  Indiana rolled through a weak schedule, only falling to Ohio State late in the season.  It's going to be a great showdown tonight in South Bend.  I feel Notre Dame hangs on a great game thanks to a great run game and ability to get pressure on Kurtis Rourke.  

Southern Methodist at Penn State -  Penn State gets their Whiteout playoff game, at NOON on Saturday.  Big Game James Franklin managed to lose his two biggest games this season, to Ohio State and Oregon.  Can they beat SMU?  Penn State should be able to control the line of scrimmage.  The SMU offensive line is not very good and Abdul Carter and company should be able to apply pressure.  Penn State should roll to the quarterfinals and Boise State.

Clemson at Texas - Texas only played one good team all season, losing twice to Georgia.  Their best win is at 8-4 Texas A&M.  Clemson also lost to the best three teams they played before holding off SMU in the ACC title game.  Clemson is a big underdog, but there's no reason they can't go to DKR and beat the Longhorns.  The winner will be favored against Arizona State in the quarterfinals.  

Tennessee at Ohio State - The Buckeyes loss to Michigan three weeks ago still stings in Columbus, and it's going to show in the stadium.  There will be a lot of Tennessee fans making the short drive from Knoxville and they may have the largest visitor attendance ever in Ohio Stadium.  Thankfully with a "Scarlet Out", the orange may be hidden.  If Ohio State plays anything similar to three weeks ago they'll lose two home games in a row for the first time since 1990, when they lost to USC and Illinois.  Tennessee is 0-21 on the road vs ranked opponents since 2007.   Ohio State is 3-0 at home vs SEC schools.  The trends point to a Buckeye victory.... A Tennessee victory would be historic on many levels.  

The new season starts tomorrow night.  Home win, rematch win in the Rose Bowl, beat Texas in Dallas, revenge win over Georgia in Atlanta?  Awesome, cool, wow, have still lost four in a row.  November 29th, 2025 is all that matters at this point.

The Buckeyes Can Win the National Title

November 30th sucked.  A pretty good football team played an absolutely atrocious football game against the one team that they couldn't.  Sure, they're still in the playoff and the perceived ultimate goal of a national championship is still on the table, but after the past three seasons, that was just a game that they couldn't lose.  I'm not over it.  It will be on my mind until November 29th, 2025, hopefully no longer.  It was an unacceptable loss that should not swept under the rug, but let's just pretend that it was a similar loss in October to a different middling B1G team.

In 2017 the Buckeyes lost an early season game to Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma, the original Ohio Stadium flag planting.  They were rolling until the first weekend of November in Iowa City.  The Bucks were throttled, losing by 31 points.  They went on to win their last three games and beat an undefeated Wisconsin team in the B1G title game, finishing 5th in playoff rankings, one spot out.  I'm not sure if that team was good enough to win a national title, but they would have been the six seed under the current playoff format.  

In 2018 the Buckeyes were coasting until an October night at Purdue.  They lost that one by 29 points, went on to win out, and win another B1G title.  They finished 6th in the playoff rankings, two spots out.  The defense wasn't nearly as good as the 2024 defense, but they had an electric offense and would have been positioned well in the playoff as the seven seed in the current format.

Two weeks ago the Buckeyes lost by three points and made every mistake possible.  The kicker missed two FG's under 40 yards when he had only missed a single 46-yarder all season.  The offense sputtered when it hadn't struggled to move the ball all season.  The defense allowed a 4th quarter sustained drive when it had stood tall at the end of games.  Nothing went right.  

If they get out their own way, this team can win a national title this year.  It's not going to be an easy road.  A home game against Tennessee, Oregon in the Rose Bowl, potentially Texas in Dallas, and possibly Georgia in Atlanta.  If they win it, it will be be earned, but will it be deserved?  

2024 B1G Power Rankings - Week 14

The regular season is over in the B1G.  

We'll start with the reverse power rankings.

18. Ohio State (10-2) - The Buckeyes did what inferior programs do in a rivalry game.  They were embarrassed at home against a bad Michigan team.  The game was lost at halftime when the bands performed together.  It was absolutely pathetic.  To allow those flags to be on the same field with a military brass and percussion band is an all-time embarrassment.  They went from literally shitting on Michigan a couple weeks ago to sharing the field at halftime?  

This was the worst Michigan team to beat Ohio State since 1959!!  That Michigan team finished 4-5, while Ohio State was even worse at 3-5-1. The 2024 Buckeyes were 10-1, #2 in the country, and 21-point favorites at HOME after losing three in a row to Michigan.  And they lost 13-10!  In a vacuum, it is the worst loss in the history of Ohio State football.  Sure, there were national title game blowout losses, other losses to Michigan (1995 and 1996 come to mind) and horrible losses to Michigan State (1998, 2013, 2015), but none to a team this bad when the Buckeyes were perceived as being elite.  

All those seniors came back to avenge the last three seasons.  Ryan Day has said all the right things the past year.  It's a shame that the four team playoff isn't still around, because there's no doubt that Ryan Day would be unemployed at this moment.   Now in a 12 team playoff world, where signing day is TODAY, and the transfer portal opens next week, AD Ross Bjork has no choice but to cast a vote of confidence for Ryan Day.  Lose a home playoff game in three weeks?  Maybe things will be different and the trigger will be pulled.  

Being a few days removed from the game, Ohio State is still the third favorite to win the national title.  They are going to have a home playoff game, though maybe going on the road would be better for the team.  Just wait till there's a 3rd and 9 draw inside the red zone leading to another missed field goal in the playoff?  The boo birds will be even louder.  

Four B1G teams are going to be playoff bound, the most of any conference.  The winner of Penn State - Oregon will likely be the #1 seed.  Assuming Oregon wins, the question is where will Penn State fall to?  Will they be behind Ohio State or stay ahead of them?  I feel they should be behind, but will likely stay ahead.  Where does the SEC loser fall to?  Texas would be at five or six, Georgia may not move from seven, since they had previously beat the Longhorns.  So who gets the last home game?  It will probably come down to Ohio State and Tennessee.  

My Playoff Projections: 1. Oregon 2. Georgia 3. SMU 4. Boise St. 5. Notre Dame 6. Penn State 7. Texas 8. Ohio State 9. Tennessee 10. Indiana 11. Alabama 12. Iowa State.  

So now the Bucks will get to welcome Tennessee to the Horseshoe, get the win, and have a Rose Bowl rematch with Oregon, then get Notre Dame in the semi's before beating Georgia in Atlanta to win the national title!! And then they can FIRE RYAN DAY.

A final check-in on bowl eligibility is below.  Both Wisconsin and Michigan State lost and failed to get to six wins.

Going Bowling: Oregon, Indiana, Penn State, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Rutgers, Nebraska, Michigan, USC

No Bowling: Purdue, UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan State

Penn State and Oregon square off in the B1G Championship in Indianapolis Saturday night. 

The week 14 B1G Power Rankings are below.  These are based strictly on on-field performance relative to the competition and is not a projection of things to come.  

1. Oregon (12-0) - The Ducks finished off a perfect regular season, avenging last season's two losses to Washington.  They'll face Penn State this weekend in Indianapolis.  Win and they're the #1 seed for the playoff.  A loss and they'll be #5.  

2. Penn State (11-1) - The Lions did what good teams are supposed to do and stomped an inferior opponent at home.  With the Ohio State loss, they'll be heading to Indy.  They were probably locked in as the six or seven seed without playing in Indy.  Does a loss drop them back at all? 

3. Indiana (11-1) - The Hoosiers did what great teams are supposed to do their a bad rival.  They beat Purdue 66-0.  They'll likely head on the road for a playoff game.  

4. Illinois (9-3) - The Illini did what good teams do and put away their rival, Northwestern at Wrigley Field.  They'll likely be heading to the Cheez-it Bowl to face the top non playoff SEC team. 

5. Iowa (8-4) - The Hawkeyes did what better teams are supposed to do, find a way to win. They won on a last second field goal 13-10 to beat Nebraska on Friday night.  

6. Minnesota (7-5) - The Gophers did what decent teams are supposed to do to inferior rivals.  They beat Wisconsin 24-7 on Friday.  T

7. Michigan (7-5) - The Wolverines did what teams that dominate rivalries do.  They humiliated the Buckeyes by controlling the line of scrimmage and running it down the their throat win for the fourth time in a row after losing 15 of 16 since 2004.  The rivalry has turned and a disappointing season ends on the highest of notes. They'll likely end up in a Florida bowl.  

8. Washington (6-6) - The Huskies were on the road, with means they lost.  It was an up and down season for Washington.  6-0 at home, 0-6 not at home.   

9. Rutgers (7-5) - The Scarlet Knights ended the season on a high note, beating an inferior Michigan State team 41-14 to end the season on a two game winning streak.  They'll likely head to the Pin Stripe bowl in the Bronx

10. USC (6-6) - Notre Dame did what great teams are supposed to do.  They beat a rival on the road to clinch a home playoff game.  The Fighting Irish pulled away in the 2nd half, getting out to a 21-point lead in the 4th quarter.  USC is still bowl bound and will likely be in one of the historic PAC-12 bowls.    

11. Nebraska (6-6) - The Huskers couldn't hold on to a 10-0 lead, falling 13-10 at Iowa.  A final minute fumble by Dylan Raiola allowed Iowa to kick a game winning field goal as time expired.  

12. UCLA (5-7) - The Bruins beat Fresno State to finish 5-7.  They had a good second half of the season and have promise going in to 2025.

13. Wisconsin (5-7) - The Badgers will be at home during bowl season for the first time in 22 seasons.  The season was a complete disaster for Luke Fickell.  They were at 5-2 before losing their final five game.  Changes will need to be made in Madison or Fickell will certainly be out after three seasons.  

14. Michigan State (5-7) - The Spartans fell flat against Rutgers, with bowl eligibility on the line.  It was a disappointing end to Jonathan Smith's first season in East Lansing.  

15. Maryland (4-8) - The Terps are still bad, after being throttled by Penn State.  2024 was a step back after three straight winning seasons.  

16. Northwestern (4-8) - The Wildcats lost yet again, on to 2025.  

17. Purdue (1-11) - The Boilermakers did what really bad teams do in rivalry games, losing 66-0 to Indiana.  Coach Ryan Walters has been fired after two seasons and another rebuild is underway.  

18. Ohio State (10-2) - See above.  They'll probably win the national championship.