Nevada Dawg

I remember someone above posting some stats that favored the Ducks over IU. Not to be nasty and so be it if it made you feel a little better, but this is why such posts often get the comment "Statistics are for losers." I also saw the comment something to the effect We'll be fine check our recruiting rankings. While there is often a solid relationship (statistically) between recruiting ratings and on-field performance, it is so far from perfection (as are the recruiting ratings themselves) as to be laughable. So don't simply "star gaze" to inform any betting decisions you may choose to make. Perhaps the most amazing factoid I have seen (cited by different sources) is that not one starter on Indiana's defense rose to the level of being a 4-star recruit. They seem to be a bunch of 3-star and lower FCS and smaller school FBS guys who came to Bloomington with chips on their shoulders and desperately hoping to prove themselves. I don't know about all y'all, but that is an amazing tale if true, illustrating that it is not the number of stars a recruit has that matters most. Remember that only 15-20% of 5-stars ever achieve the goal of being drafted in the first- round of the NFL draft.

I've now seen theplqy from several angles and definitely agree.

Trinidad Chambliss can become absolutely become electric in the clutch. But his problem tonight is he scored too quick at the end of the 4th Quarter to starve Miami of clock time. Even at that he brought his guys all the way down the field in the final 39 seconds. I simply watched this one not rooting for anything but an exciting game--and that sentiment was rewarded in spades. Whom do the Ducks match up best with? Can't say for sure, but should they get there, I think the Ducks would have the better shot against Miami. The reason I lean in that direction is that I saw several Cane secondary guys taking themselves off the field with arm and shoulder injuries. Watch the availability reports as the natty draws near. There is little doubt in my mind that tomorrow night's came with the Cigsters is going to be a war. As it is hard to beat a team twice in the same year, I'm leaning in on the webfeet. Go Ducks!

Place me in the Camp that thinks Dante needs another year or two of development to be likely to reach his full potential in the NFL. Should he ball out in this game to put out the Cig, he is very likely to be the first QB off the board, be able to sign an absolute fully guaranteed monster contract, and would likely be headed to the Las Vegas Raiders--an absolute disaster for any hopes of development IMHO. But with 50-75 million guaranteed, he's set for life. My biggest fear in that scenario is that Dante will be immediately fed to the wolves behind a terrible OL and could illustrate the old NFL mantra that NFL means ""Not for Long".

Pardon me for not reading all the comments (many I did read were insightful though). As I was reading pre-game comments on the Talk'n Dawgs site, many of the coach-types who hang out there started coming across like Miami would be the more physical team and ITO should be favored in this one. One guy even reached out advising me to get my butt to one of the local casinos and lay a healthy bet on the Canes. I should have listened. Their view (pre-game mind you) was that Miami would be a tougher match-up for the DAWGs than the Suckeyes. At this point I am just hoping that the Dawgs can be the first beat the jinx of having a bye, so as to earn the right of playing Miami in the semi-final next week. If that happens of course, it would indicate that OBD had taken care of Texas Tech and earned a semi-final berth. Go Ducks and Dawgs.

I understand yours and JJ's concern about Whittingham, but I have to admit that I admire the man and the way he coaches and I will be rooting for him (especially against Ohio State).

And a major reason the North was historically dominant in the 40s, 50s, 60s and until the mid-70s was segregated football in the South with the top Black athletes gravitating to the Big-10, the Big 8, Penn State, Notre Dame and other northern football powers. Th major rise of the SEC came as many more black athletes stayed home when member schools integrated.

I remember posting on more than one occasion that NIL would level the playing field. I just never expected it to happen as quickly as it has. Now if only the 18-team B1G could find a way to level the playing field a little better intra-conference. Recently Ohio State's Caleb Downs was asked the difference in playing an SEC schedule vs. a B1G schedule (remember he played, and played very well, at Alabama his first year). He said exactly what I thought he'd say remarking that you really only needed to be in top form for 2-3 of the 9-Game B1G contests to prevail. He then remarked that in the SEC you better be on your toes always as you are going to face "DUDES every game!" That is a bit of an overstatement but still truer of the SEC than the B1G IMHO.

Oh hell no!

They really do resemble each other on the sideline don't they?

I have to say I don't know. I am as mystified as you are but they always seem to have excellent receivers to take up any slack.

Oklahoma proved tonight that they suck playing with a sizable lead. The biggest play of the game IMHO came in the 2nd Quarter when Mateer, facing a 3rd and 3 around midfield, spun away from pressure and threw ACROSS HIS BODY to a receiver 20+ yards down field when he had 10-15 yards of unoccupied green grass in front of him. Had he not committed this egregious brain fart and simply tucked the ball and taken the easy 8-10 yards and the first down, he'd have put his team in FG position and likely been in position to improve on his 17-3 lead. What happened? The stop put a charge in the Bama offense and before you knew it, they marched down the field to cut the lead to 7. Plus OK quit pressuring Simpson and let him pick apart their zone defense. Really the game was never the same from that point on: a complete turn around. Will Bama compete with Indiana. It will not surprise me in the slightest. However, because the opponent is Bama, this is one of the very few times I will root for a B1G team other than OBD to win a playoff game.

Well I sure as hell wouldn't want to be the second pick and headed to Las Vegas. On the other hand 50 million big ones with half of that up front, properly invested, will be worth a whole lot more down the road than whatever NIL Oregon can come up with. As I financial consultant (which honesty compels me to admit that I am not) I'd clearly have to advise Dante to take the money and run. That is a no-lose proposition even if Dante never starts a game in the NFL.

I always respected this guy and his teams. I heard this Alabama lineman (an All-American) tell a story about playing Utah in one of the New Years Day bowls in a year after the Tide had won the Natty. He said Coach Saban didn't like the way they were practicing leading up to the game telling them "You better be getting your heads on straight or this man's team will kick your rear-ends!" They scoffed, went to the game, and got their rear-ends kicked. I think it is likely Whit would succeed In Ann Arbor but believe he is really retiring.

Well at least you are not the bear-er of bad news.