...if they win the Rose Bowl.

if? They will, and you can take that to the bank.

My banker is a huge Buckeye fan, but even he'd have to agree people sound like idiots saying "take that to the bank" as a sign of assurance.

The Rose Bowl favorite will probably be Oregon -8.

Do you not understand Ohio State isn't great? Obviously not. The defense is stellar, one of the best in the country without question. Oregon's offense is also stellar and one of the best in the country. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. The problem is Ohio State's offense, it's borderline terrible. Go on and on about rushing yards, but the Buckeye offense scored a mere two touchdowns against Michigan. That's rather pathetic. Michigan's defensive secondary is nothing to write home about.

Can an Oregon defense stop a one-dimensional Ohio State team? I think so. Can Ohio State's defense stop Oregon's spread-option offense? Probably.

My guess is somewhere in the neighborhood of 24-13 Oregon in this one.

Oh yeah I almost forgot, Notre Dame is terrible and Charlie Weis is fat.

Who cares? As long as they win the rose bowl I will be happy. That is all I care about. Rankings don't matter unless you are number 1 at the end of the year.

yeah let's see how things filter out before we start saying stuff like this

I am a die hard Buckeye fan and even I am reluctant to say that Ohio State will be the underdog in the Rose Bowl. Depending on who represents the PAC-10 (Oregon or Oregon St), OSU will definitely have a solid shot at a win, but if against Oregon, they will probably be moderate underdogs (about -8 as stated previously). If Oregon State manages to crash Oregon's party next week, the predictions might be a push as both are fairly comparable on paper. I personally think that OSU will play a solid game, win the Rose Bowl, finish in the top 8, and come out pre-ranked in the top 5 next season as they return 17/22 starters. However, to claim that OSU wins the Rose Bowl in a fashion that you can "take it to the bank".....Not so fast sweetheart

Bucks have no business in the Top 5.

quick edit...nm, I was thinking about ending season/pre season top 5. I can see them in the Top 5 because some of the teams in front of them will have to lose their bowl games. If the Bucks win, they will jump the teams that lost...essentially "placing" them in the top five.

No way Oregon is an 8-point favorite over Ohio State. Favored yes, but not more than a touchdown. By 5 maybe.

I think OSU will win in the Rose Bowl, and also finish in the Top 5 of the final BCS Standings.

11-2, Big Ten Champions, Rose Bowl Champions and Top 5 in the BCS. That wouldn't be bad for a "disappointing" season.

I'm also 100% certain that USC, LSU, Oklahoma, Georgia, Penn State, WVU, Michigan, FSU, Miami, and Notre Dame will NOT win a BCS Bowl, will NOT finish in the Top 5 of the BCS. I mention these schools, because since Tressel has been at OSU, all of these schools have played in BCS bowls and multiple schools from this group have won a BCS Title or a BCS Bowl and finished in the Top 5 over the past 9 years. But, NONE of them have an opportunity to do any of those things this season, while OSU is already assured of playing in a BCS Bowl.

Unless the winner of the Oregon/Oregon State game is a big blowout (Either way), Ohio State will be slight favorites. Ohio State will enter the game as the higher rated team.

As was posted above, teams that lose in their bowl game will drop below the Buckeys.

Foot, depending on how/if Oregon beats Oregon State they may jump the Buckeyes in the rankings.

Who gives a shit? The only post-season ranking that means anything is the #1 spot.

If OSU finishes in the top five that would be great, but they will really have a tough time beating Oregon....The Oregon qb is fun to watch and could cause major problems for OSU....JMO

Citybuck wrote: If OSU finishes in the top five that would be great, but they will really have a tough time beating Oregon....The Oregon qb is fun to watch and could cause major problems for OSU....JMO

I think it will be a tough game for Ohio State whether the opponent is Oregon or Oregon State. For one, I believe the long layoff between the final regular season game and the bowl games really hurts teams in the Big Ten.

The Oregon -vs- Oregon State game is being played on December 3rd, and the Rose Bowl is Jan 1. While both teams will have a layoff, the gap between games for the winner of Ore - Ore St will be 4 weeks, while it will be almost 6 weeks for OSU.

The QB for Oregon is indeed fun to watch, and they have a very good offense. But, the strength for Ohio State is their defense. I think the Ohio State defense can contain the Oregon offense, but it will require the help of the offense to score points and have some time sustaining drives. If the offense has several drives of only 3-6 plays, and the defense is forced to be on the field for much of the game, in the end the Oregon offense could simply wear down the Ohio State defense. And, this is basically what happened in the OSU - USC game this year and also the 2007 Texas - OSU game.

My guess is that the Rose Bowl will be very similar to the OSU game against USC, last years Fiesta Bowl against Texas or the 2007 OSU-Texas game. It will be a close game, that comes down to which team executes the best, especially in the 4th quarter.

And, if Ohio State ends up playing Oregon State, then I guarantee that OSU will win.

Footwedge wrote: Unless the winner of the Oregon/Oregon State game is a big blowout (Either way), Ohio State will be slight favorites. Ohio State will enter the game as the higher rated team.

As was posted above, teams that lose in their bowl game will drop below the Buckeys.

Just because they are the higher rated team doesn't mean they will be favored. Iowa was rated higher than OSU when they played but OSU was a heavy favorite.

The distance traveled will be a factor and I am almost certain that Ohio State will be an underdog in the Rose Bowl if they play Oregon. Possibly a slight favorite if they play Oregon St., but most likely still an underdog or even.

Sage wrote: Who gives a shit? The only post-season ranking that means anything is the #1 spot.

So your team is obvioulsy not ranked at all? At least that is what I get out of your post.

Buckeyes 21
Ducks 17

early prediction

Hopefully, the Buckeyes will win and avoid dropping below themselves in the final football poll of the year. I'm sticking with my optimistic view that the Bucks will find a way to win the Rose Bowl and finish very respectably in the final season poll. It would, of course, be considerably less difficult if Oregon State pulls the upset and knocks the Ducks out. Otherwise, it looks like it will be a Bucks-Ducks showdown!

tcby99 wrote: Buckeyes 21
Ducks 17

early prediction

What if they play the Beavers?

I hope to god we play against Oregon State.

me too...