Jon Joseph

Thanks for the post. The one team that will win is the Lawyers who play on both sides of the LOB, Line of Bench. I'm shocked that the ACC would prefer to litigate outside of Florida.

After the School Up North Did It, 'yes' it is Natty or bust in Columbus.

Correcting an error: The average number of plays in 2023 Dropped from 68.7 to 66.9. Double Duh!

I enjoyed pondering over Chip Kelly's move from HC at UCLA to OC at Ohio State. A range of opinions from, 'He's washed up!' to 'He is a perfect fit.' One of the fun things about kicking the pondering can down the road preseason is that the proof will be in the pudding. It's far too long before the 2024/25 season kicks off but it will kick off and Chip will either come through or he won't. DUH! B1G average point production per game in 2023: 1. Penn State - 36.2 / 2, Michigan - 35.9 / 3. Ohio State - 30.5 Ohio State has room for improvement on O. Pac-12 average point production per game in 2023: 1. OREGON - 44.2/ 2. USC - 41.8/ UW - 36. Before you go all Portland State and Liberty, Ohio State put up 63 points vs. W. Kentucky in 2023. However, playing with no O against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl did not help the Buckeyes cause on O. The Pac-12 in 2023 and for decades has been a more prolific scoring conference than the more line-of-scrimmage grind-it-out-on-the-ground B1G. (in addition to the preferred style of B1G play, some of this has to do with the B1G weather.) But this is somewhat of a stereotype. When Fields and Stroud were playing QB at Ohio State the Buckeyes passed more than it ran the football. On the other hand ... From the NCAA website, below is where the Pac-12 and B1G teams ranked nationally in 2023 in the number of plays run from scrimmage. 133 G5 teams and P5 teams results were ranked. The change to the timing rules? It did not have much effect. The average number of plays from scrimmage dropped from 66.9 a game in 2022 to 68.7 a game in 2023. For comparison purposes, USF finished No. 1 with an average of 82.1 plays a game. No. 133 Kentucky finished with an average of 56.1 plays a game. (One reason why the A+M fans were not thrilled about the Aggies potentially hiring Mark Stoops.) The difference of an average of .5 plays per game can mean the difference between Indiana ranked at 79 and Maryland ranked at 85. And, the number of plays a team runs does not directly correlate to success on the field. Washington finished ranked 89 with 66.5 plays a game; Michigan finished 124 with 62.7 plays a game. As I recall these two played for the title. Also, quick-strike offenses will run fewer plays. However, from the below data, it is clear that overall the B1G plays at a slower pace of play than the Pac-12. (Plays a game = PAG.) Pac -12 Rankings: 8. UCLA 76.6 PAG. No. 1 in the Pac-12. By comparison, Ohio State ranked 93, No. 8 in the B1G, running 66 PAG. Up from 62.7 PAG in 2022 with NFL Rookie-of-the-Year Stroud at QB. It isn't the same Chip as when he was at OREGON but even with a heavy dose of run plays at UCLA, Chip runs a lot of plays. I expect that we will see much of the same from Ohio State in 2024. Our OBD was ranked 78, running 68 plays a game and still putting up 44 PAG. How about them Bird Bombs! Last in the Pac-12 was Oregon State, ranked at 104. 60.7 PAG. Ranked 110. In the B1G, Michigan State was tied with Minnesota, running 64.5 PAG. Next to last in the B1G just ahead of Nebraska which ran 64 PAG. Further proof that J Smith will likely be a great fit in East Lansing. The total ranking for the Pac-12 is 614, a 51.16 ranking on average. 14.9 above the 66.5 median PAG ranking. B1G Rankings - Purdue is 2023 B1G No. 1 coming in at 31, with 73.2 PAG. Purdue did not go bowling. As noted above, the Cornhuskers were far from the cream of the PAG crop, ranking 117. This may be one reason that Nebraska plays in (and loses) so many close games. The total 2023 ranking for the 14-team B1G is 1178, an 84.14 ranking on average. 17.64 below the median, for a total difference of 32.54 lower than the Pac-12. The above is more art than science. But it is at least in my less-than-mathematically-inclined opinion, an example that the pace of play and the number of possessions are both likely to be less in the B1G than in the Pac-12. And Chip, who likely continues to believe that time-of-possession is a meaningless stat may have to refine his thinking. Especially when playing games in November in the Midwest. I do expect that in 2024, we will see Ohio State run more plays from scrimmage. Will Oregon come close to 44 points a game? It will be a B1G blast! Vandalize the Vandals!

Do you think there is any enmity between Michigan and Ohio State? Wow! FSU in instead of Bama I get. UM out because of the worst cheating scandal in CFB history? Over the line!

Ohio State home cookin' here but the concerns are B1G and not just tOSU concerns. Ohio State football: New TV deal continues CFP losing streak SCARLETANDGAME.COM The new TV deal for the CFP isn't great for the Ohio State football team's exposure, nor is it good for anyone else except ESPN and the SEC.

Sorry, that's ALABAMA tied at 76.

This is being considered but not yet agreed to by the SEC which is holding out for more money from ESPN for an extra conference game. I think the SEC is going to take a long look at the 2024 and 2025 PO fields before making a decision.

CFNs SEC win total projections. https://collegefootballnews.com/news/sec-college-football-regular-season-win-totals-pre-spring-2024

CFNs and Draft Kings B1G totals are more optimistic than FanDuel's, Ducks Wire, and USA Today. 14 of 18 B1G teams in this projection would be bowl-eligible. https://collegefootballnews.com/news/big-ten-college-football-regular-season-win-totals-2024-pre-spring

https://collegefootballnews.com/oregon/2024-oregon-football-schedule-3-things-to-know

https://collegefootballnews.com/ohio-state/2024-ohio-state-football-schedule-3-things-to-know Summary - Piece of cake and a whiff by the B1G.

https://collegefootballnews.com/news/big-ten-college-football-regular-season-win-totals-2024-pre-spring CFN's projected B1G win totals. Note: CFN does not accept wagers so ...

Lincoln Riley, James Franklin, and Ryan Day made the list. As did Dillon Gabriel. College football 2024: Who has the most to prove next season? - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM With the entire landscape of the sport changing next season, there are more opportunities than ever for players and coaches to change perceptions.

Pac-12 guru Jon Wilner of The Mercury News will continue to follow Pac teams off to the ACC, B1G, and B12. Jon is an AP Voter who is not afraid to dance to a different ratings drumer. For example, in his preseason CFB top 25, Jon has Texas ranked No. 12, far lower than any other preseason poll I have seen. In his preseason B1G ratings, below, Jon goes against conventional wisdom with Michigan No. 3 and Penn State No. 5. 1. Ohio State - 'Kelly - The former UCLA coach will serve as OC and implement a scheme for Ohio State's running game that should maximize the not-quite-elite talent on the O Line.' 2. OREGON - 'The Ducks are well equipped to challenge Ohio State for the B1G title and will host the head-to-head showdown on October 12th. Anything short of a playoff appearance would be a major disappointment.' 3, Michigan/ 4. Wisconsin. 'QB VanDyke will receive better coaching than he did in Coral Gables.' DUH! Note, that OREGON will play both teams on the road. 5. Penn State/ 6. Nebraska/ 7. Iowa/ 8. USC - 'a comically difficult schedule.' Ranked No. 2 in the nation by SP+. 9. Rutgers - No OREGON, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State./ 10. Michigan State/ 11. Washington - '6-6 is a possibility.' A November schedule so tough it should be outlawed.' 12. Maryland / 13. Minnesota / 14. UCLA / 15. NW / 16. Illinois / 17. Purdue / 18. Indiana. Ducks play Wilner's Nos. 1, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17.

Love for the Ducks. The top five offseasons in college football WWW.YARDBARKER.COM With coaching changes and transfer portal arrivals and departures, this year's college football offseason was as wild as any in recent memory. Here are five teams that have the most to celebrate...

ESPN’s SP+ ranks hardest 2024 college football schedules WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM ESPN's SP+ rated the toughest schedules of the 2024 season. Neel, go to your room! Oregon No.10 in the B1G? WRONG! Plus, no nuance for 8 games in a row with no off week, and the final 4 games being at Michigan, Maryland, at Wisconsin, Off, and UW.

As noted several times by several posters, Ohio State at No. 17 B1G SOS = OPPS - 'Ohio State Playoff Protection Schedule.' Goosed by 3 OOC cupcakes to be chowed down in Columbus, (2025/26 tOSU plays TX OOC; 2027/28 tOSU plays Bama OOC) Ohio State's schedule is the easiest nationwide of teams, Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, with FanDuel 10.5 win totals. The disparity in SOS will continue year after year in CFB with no central authority controlling SOS. If the PO CT as it did in a 4-team PO continues to simply count wins and losses with no meaningful consideration of SOS and with a 16-team SEC playing 8 conference games and an 18-team B1G playing 9 conference games, even with the FSU situation in 2023/24 a thing of the past there will be controversy. And conference tie-breakers with the top 2 playing for a conference title instead of say 4 vs 1 and 3 vs 2 had best be well thought out. (And ND best be required come 2026 to join a conference or play 13 games with 10 at least vs P4 opponents.) I think there will be more opportunities to game the system with 12 teams than there were with 4 teams. Add on ESPN having exclusive PO broadcast rights through 2031/32, NY6 bowls being PO sites meaning non-PO bowls will be worth spit to PO contending teams that do not make the field, 5 of the 7 bowl PO sites being in Dixie as well as the 2024/25 and 2025/26 champ games (ATL + MIA) and again, the expanded PO format could engender more controversy than the 4-team PO. B1G commissioner Tony Petitti best be looking out for his conference and as much as possible, considering geography, in-conference schedules need to be equitable. In 2024, Oregon's opponents finished 101-57 in 2023. Oregon plays (SIGH) seven home games. Ohio State's opponents finished 2023 83-71 (an 18-game W/L differential between Oregon and Ohio State = a season and a half of regular season play) and the Buckeyes play eight home games. FanDuel has both teams with 10.5 wins; obviously, tOSU has the easier row to hoe, and as Micro so noted, the Ducks is the only P4 team in 2024 that will play 8 games in a row without a break. (I am likely too critical of the man but Mullens best get his Sierra together including losing a game in Logan, Utah in a few years.) Thanks for the post. It is of course, what it is but Brutus has the Pole Position with Oregon, the 13th hardest SOS in the country, on the outside. DW's Neel strikes again. Oregon at No. 10? Using SP+? SP+ has Oregon as noted above with the 13th hardest schedule in the country. When Bill Connolly comes out with his P4/G5 2024 SOS rankings, Oregon will not be No. 10 in the B1G.

How can anyone manage Bowl preparation, the transfer portal, attendant NIL deals, and early signing day at the same time in December without going nuts? And also re-recruiting your roster during the same time. That's crazy-making. NFL roster management and salary cap management by comparison is a piece of cake. CFB has to do something to ease the burden. Move signing opportunities for recruits up and move official signing day back to what is not the 2nd date in February. For enrollment purposes, CFB cannot defer transfer portal entry to the 2nd portal opening date.

Charles, I appreciate and respect your thoughts. 35 points in the B1G would not be all that bad. Penn State led the conference last season at 36.2 points, followed by Michigan 35.9 and Ohio State 3rd with 30.5 points. The high for tOSU was 63 points vs W. KY. Low, 3 points vs. Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl. A game where Ohio State basically had no QB. The D finished giving up an average of 11.2 points a game and held Mizzou way below the Tigers average in the Cotton Bowl loss. Horses for courses. I agree that Will Stein is a better fit at Oregon than Kelly would be. But I think that Kelly reuniting with Ryan Day and OL coach Frye will be a great fit. Far better than I think the Buckeyes would have been with O'Brien at OC. In 2023 OH ST had the No. 2 Blue Chip Roster behind Alabama and the No. 3 composite roster behind Bama and Georgia. It will be close to the same rankings in 2024. In 2023, Ohio State played Notre Dame OOC. In 2024, OH St plays 3 G5 teams out of conference. In 2024 Oregon plays teams that finished 101-57 in 2023. In 2024 Ohio Stat plays teams that finished 83 -71 in 2023. Oregon does not play Portland State in 2024 and may get Liberty in the 1st round if seeded No. 5 in 2024's playoff but is more likely to face a better 1st round opponent. These two games helped tilt the overall scoring numbers materially in Oregon's favor. Had CFB had a 12-team PO in 2023, Oregon's 1st round opponent would have been the Missouri team Ohio State lost to in the Cotton Bowl. In 2024 Ohio State plays 8 games in Columbus where it does not lose many games. The UCLA O finished 4th in the country in 2022 with the kind of talent on O (QB DTR, RB Charbonnet) that Kelly will have at his disposal in 2024. Like UCLA in 2023, Ohio State had issues at QB that it did not have with Heisman finalists Fields and Stroud. I think it will be a close-run thing in 2024 to see which of Oregon and Ohio State puts the better O on the field. With the possible exception of USC, I think these two will battle to see who leads the B1G in O in 2024. OT: I think the Ducks will play very good D in 2024 but I think Ohio State has a very good shot of leading the nation in D in 2024. I think 2024 will be the first of many seasons where the 2 Os battle it out for B1G supremacy. And I think the Buckeyes O will be much improved from 2023.

OBD 2023 Elite 8 Volleyball team and coach Matt Ulmer, learned on the BTN today which B1G teams will be traveling to Eugene in 2024, and the teams Oregon will be playing on the road. The specific dates of the games have not yet been determined. This is the first release of a B1G Olympic sports format for the 18-member conference and is likely a template of how the other Olympic sports will be formatted. In 2024 Oregon will play UCLA, USC, and UW Home and Away. All B1G Eastern time zone teams playing at Oregon will also play at Washington on the same trip. Ditto, UCLA, and USC for teams traveling to LA. In 2024, Oregon will play 4 teams in the Eastern time zone: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State. The Michigan/ Michigan State and Ohio State/Penn State games will likely be played on the same trip. Home - Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska (2023 runner-up), Northwestern, Purdue (OBD defeated Purdue in the 2023 Sweet 16). and Rutgers. Away - Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. In 2023, Wisconsin defeated Oregon in an Elite 8 game played in Madison. A bonus for Ducks fans was an in-depth interview with Oregon coach Matt Ulmer. Matt was very pleased with the scheduling format. Matt said that he is especially excited to have Nebraska, a team that drew 92,000 fans to a game played last season on the floor of Nebraska's Memorial (football) Stadium, a women's attendance record for any sport, visiting Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon is not yet an official B1G member and this is the second time that Coach Ulmer has been interviewed on BTN. Again, I urge all OBD members to add BTN to your viewing stable. Yesterday's 12-minute interview with Deshaun Foster was great. The 'Pac-4' will not be ignored.

New AD coming in. Not all that surprising but the guy was B1G COY only a few years ago. What have you done for me lately?

Sorry, that's ALABAMA tied at 76.

Ryan Day - 56 - 8 (1 of the Ls to Oregon.) B1G Record - 39-3, all 3 Ls to Michigan in the last 3 seasons where the Wolverines made the Final 4 and won the title in 2023. A Michigan team with 18 guys (!) invited to the Combine for the 2024 draft. In 2022 if Harrison isn't injured, Ohio State, and not UGA, blows out TCU for a title. Lost to Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl without a QB on the field. But held MO. well below its scoring average playing in the SEC. Great take but who would you replace Day with? Especially after he convinced all draft-eligible players with eligibility left, except for Harrison to come back. Finished No. 5 in recruiting, did a great job with the transfer portal, and IMO caught a break with O'Brien headed to BC and Chip coming in to run the offense. No. 1 headed into 2024? UGA on the road vs. PO teams 12-2 Bama and 12-2 Texas and the Peach Bowl winner and 11-win team Ole Miss, or Ohio State, on the road at Oregon and at a Penn State team blown out by Ole Miss? A PSU team that has not defeated tOSU since 2016. Ohio State comes into 2024 with the easiest schedule of B1G title contenders. UGA will have a slight roster ranking edge but it will be slight; the Dawgs have a more difficult schedule in 2024 than the Buckeyes.

An academic ranking of P4/G5 CFB programs. The B1G is behind the SEC in many respects including recruiting, NFL picks, and CFB titles, but leads the list here with 10 schools in the top 25. The SEC has 4 in the top 25. B1G - T3. - UCLA/ 5. NW/ 11. USC/ 12. Michigan/ T18. - Illinois and UW/ 21. Wisconsin/ 22. Maryland/ 23. Rutgers/ 24. Purdue Just missed - 27. Ohio State - FYI - Oregon No. 48/ Oregon State and Wazzu tied at No. 59. SEC - T9 Vandy/ T13. Florida/ 17. Texas/ 25. A+M. Just missed - 26. Georgia - FYI T 76. (Should be easier for deBoer to recruit to, right Jimmy?) On the B1G expansion radar screen? - 16. Notre Dame/ 15. UNC/ 28. Florida State/ T39. Clemson / 41. Miami (!) https://collegefootballnews.com/rankings/college-rankings-how-academically-good-is-your-football-school-2024 When it comes to the field of play, better to have a Blue Chip Ranking, like Oregon, than to be in the top 25 here. And yes, it's a long off-season. BTW - Using US News and World Report and Forbes rankings: 1. Princeton, 2. Stanford, 3. Cal. (Where have you gone, Harvard and Yale?)