Colin: I read an article recently that stated schools that work with the NCAA get punished worse than schools that defy them. OSU though seems to have dodged a bullet with Chase Young...a quick response from the NCAA and OSU not needing Chase against Maryland and Rutgers. Your thoughts?
Baver: A lot of angles here..... 1 – Could OSU have had this info long ago, and buried it until after the Wisconsin game, knowing that a potential 2-gm suspension against Maryland and Rutgers would be meaningless? That is possible. 2 – Is this that big of a deal anymore with the NCAA opening the door for athletes to be paid for their name, image & likeness come 2023? Athletes should have been able to profit from these things long ago. It’s not the biggest deal, but if you break rules that you know exist, you have to deal with some consequences. 3 – Your point....does working with the NCAA actually make matters worse? It can and has. Missouri worked with the NCAA recently regarding an academic scandal and got hammered. With a similar academic scandal, North Carolina fought back and got a slap on the hand.
In regards to Chase Young himself, he seems like a good kid that made a questionable decision. There is probably some more to the story than what was reported to the NCAA, but that’s just a guess. I think Ohio St has taken worse than it deserved from the NCAA multiple times in the past, so maybe this is just karma coming back around.
Colin: Rutgers is so bad let's just skip to another question.
Baver: You don’t want a breakdown of the mighty Scarlet Knights?
Colin: No. Why was LSU playing single coverage press defense up two scores with only 1:30 left allowing Alabama to hit an easy 85-yard TD making the game look much closer than it really was? Is this an SEC conspiracy?
Baver: Mind boggling. You don’t have to be a genius to know that you have to keep everything in front of you on that play. Yeah, it added 85 yards to the box score and made for a misleading final score. At least Bama still fell out of the top 4.
Colin: Meanwhile the Gophers rowed the boat and Sparty had an epic meltdown, what is the state of the Big Ten at this point?
Baver: The Gophers are 81 pts better than the Vegas spread over their last 6 gms, covering all 6 spreads. But they are a dog at Iowa this week, and Kinnick Stadium is not an easy place to play, as Ohio St can attest to. Minny is obviously in the Playoff if it wins out. Question becomes if Minny, PSU or Ohio St win the B10 title game, but finish with 1 loss...do they get in? I think Ohio St probably would...not sure about Minny or the Nits. This despite the fact that every conference power ranking I have seen this year has the Big Ten 2nd behind the SEC in overall strength. Is the committee going to leave the Big Ten out of the playoff for a 3rd year in a row? I know Sparty and Ohio St embarrassed the conference in the 2015 & 2016 playoffs, but you can’t keep leaving the 2nd best conference out of a 4-team playoff.
Sparty and the Huskers have disappointed, while Michigan has been Michigan. But Ohio St has been on another planet, Indiana has their best team in decades, Minnesota is 9-0, and Illinois has made huge strides. I’d say it’s a pretty good overall year for the B10.
Colin: As far as CFB rankings, it seems Clemson is a lock but all the other teams have serious work to do. How would you rank them this week?
Baver: I’d have LSU #1, Ohio St #2, and Clemson #3, same as the committee. #4 is a tough call. Oregon has the 2nd best overall schedule strength of the top 10 teams (behind LSU), so as of today, I’d give the Ducks the benefit of the doubt for the #4 slot. With as dominant as Bama has been (in games where they didn’t face LSU), I see little choice but ranking them #5 right now. But the Tide almost can’t move into the top 4 without a truckload of upsets. I would have Penn St at #6 based on a very strong overall SOS.
Colin: I'm going to be in Pittsburgh this weekend where sports betting is legal, what games and lines should I be paying attention to?
Baver: I’ve got one if you can hold your nose at the betting window. I still don’t think Michigan is all that, but Sparty is getting close to rock bottom, and is decimated with injuries. They are going to get waxed in Ann Arbor Saturday. I see most books currently have that line at UM -13½. If you can get Michigan laying less than 2 TDs, that is a steal.
Next best play I think is Indiana getting 14½ at Penn St. Horrible situations spot for the Nits, sandwiched between Minnesota and Ohio St.
--Brent Baver and Colin Gawel