1) Give us an update on your picks to date and what games and lines do you find interesting this week?
26-17-1….pretty good year. Since I have been dialed in with Florida State (with them and against them), I will say take the Noles giving the 4 pts against Ga Tech. The comical Committee rankings will piss the Noles off and I think they beat Ga Tech by double digits. Next, take the dogs against the #1 and #2 Committee ranked teams. Arizona is getting 14.5 tonight against Oregon and Mizzou is getting 14.5 (as well) against Bama tomorrow. I think both Oregon and Bama likely win (outright), but just think both lines are too high. Mizzou is playing much better football as of late and Arizona is a good football team – period, not to mention the Cats being 2-0 against the Ducks in their last two meetings.
2) Next man up. Is Cardale ready for his moment under the dome? What do you expect the OSU offense to do differently with JT unable to play?
Is Cardale ready? Yes and no. I don’t think he will be fazed by the so called “moment” other than maybe a few butterflies on his 1st set of downs. But Jones has no experience other than mop up action….and it is going to be a fairly big downgrade from JT to Cardale. What will OSU do differently? I think they will first try to be conservative and see what happens. You will still see plenty of called QB runs with Cardale being a solid runner. Meyer and Herman will then likely find that they have to open it up because Wisconsin is going to put points on the board.
3) Big backs have been jamming the ball down our throats with uncomfortable regularity for the past two months. How did we get so thin on the D-line and can we still win this game if Gordon gashes us for 200 yards?
Combo of reasons for the thin D-line: You lose big time talent in Noah Spence, Jamal Marcus and Se’Von Pittman because of off-the-field issues. Tommy Schutt, Michael Hill and Donovan Munger are not living up to expectations. And Joel Hale, Billy Price and Chase Farris were all moved from the D-line to the O-line. I think the Bucks can give up 150 yds to Gordon and still potentially win, but if you are talking 200-plus, it’ll be very difficult to beat Wisky without the Buckeye D or special teams scoring at least once.
4) Assuming we win and look good, you mean to tell me that TCU, with an enrollment of 8,200 is going to make the final playoff and OSU stays home? In the golden age of money football I have a hard time seeing that happen. Can you imagine the ratings with OSU in the final four?
If the top 5 teams (including OSU) win, it’s going to be close between TCU and Ohio State. With Florida State currently 4th in the rankings, any credibility this Committee may have had is gone. So, who knows? I still think they could move both Florida State and Ohio State ahead of TCU should they both win. But we will see. Yes…the mighty dollar is still in play, which is why I would not rule out OSU leapfrogging TCU if the Bucks beat Wisky. And you will see at least one top five team fall this weekend.
5) Assuming the top five all win this weekend, who would you put in your final four?
This is how I think they “should” be ranked if the top five teams each win: 1) Fla St 2) Bama 3) Oregon 4) Ohio State. But, I can see both sides of an OSU vs TCU argument.