[NU Sports] BCS notes ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> People were ready to accept that Carr got out
> coached by Carroll.  They were
> also ready to accept that Carr got out PR'd by
> Meyer.  Admitting that "walk
> on water" Tressel got out coached by Meyer, however,

Definitely - that certainly shocked me. I expected
Meyer to have tricks up his sleeve, but I never
expected Tressel and his staff to be caught in the
headlights and unable to find an answer in a big game.

I go back to that series where they finally made a
stop and had the ball down 21-14 ... the lack of a run
attempt baffles me. In 2002, Tressel's staff used an
aggressive defense and power offense to take out a
Miami team that was faster and more talented. Last
night they were passive on D and didn't even try and
shove it down the Gators' throats on offense.

Oh well, Tressel and Smith were true class acts after
the game, but it's still hard to shed tears for the
Bucknuts or their mass exodus of fans from Phoenix
today.

Some other interesting BCS notes ...

* As I mentioned, Florida becomes the first one-loss
#2 BCS team to beat the unbeaten #1 team in four tries
during the BCS reign. Thankfully for Gator fans, the
other 1-loss team with a claim to the title shot laid
an egg in their bowl.

* Ohio State becomes the fifth school to fail in its
attempt to win a second BCS championship, joining FSU,
Oklahoma, Miami and USC.

* The SEC becomes the first league with three
different BCS champions - all by different schools.

* No respect? There have been two BCS champions with
one loss ... both are from the SEC. So maybe their
tough schedule does get them some respect.

* No respect? Part Deux: There has been only one BCS
conference school to finish unbeaten and NOT get a
shot at the title. The one-loss Gators and Tigers get
the ring but no love for their SEC brethren Auburn,
who made it through the brutal league unbeaten in 2004
only to be left out of the title game.

* Finally, not only did Florida win SEC bragging
rights for this year, they also helped the SEC take
over for the Big Ten for supremacy in the nine-year
history of the BCS. The Big Ten still has the most
appearances with 15 in 9 years (the SEC has 13), but
with LSU and Florida winning and OSU and Michigan
losing, the SEC now has the most wins by a BCS
conference at 9 and the best percentage with .692
(9-4). LSU also takes over as the best record by a
school with multiple BCS appearances at 3-0 (Ohio
State had been 4-0). Notre Dame is at the bottom with
an 0-3 mark, followed by Florida State at 1-5.

But cheer up Big Ten folk - we still have our depth
and prestige. In the Big Te(leve)n era, the Big Ten
has received 22 BCS/Bowl Alliance bids in 14 years -
the most of any league - and 8 of our schools have
been involved in those major bowls, more than any
other league except the Pac 10 (which has also had 8
teams). And if you count PSU'94, we join the SEC and
Big XII with three schools who were national champs in
that span - and they're more top-heavy with only 6 of
their 12 schools in each league joining in the big
bowl fun.

OK, I'm a stats geek, but you gotta do something
during those four blah BCS games (thank goodness for
the Fiesta Bowl!) ... one more stat for good measure
on the side of futility - the Big East and ACC are the
only BCS leagues to have never received an extra
at-large bid and also have the worst mark overall with
the ACC at a lousy 1-8 (the Big Least only climbed
into the winning side thanks to Louisville and WVU the
past two years - they've now passed the Big XII, which
is 5-7). 

And Notre Dame is 0-5 in BCS bowls during those 14
years - the record of the only other non-BCS league
schools who have crashed the BCS party? 2-0 (Utah and
BSU).

Time for hoops and spring football. My favorite stat
of the week is the one I read earlier on the list -
we're one of only three Big Ten teams to enter next
year with a winning streak!:)

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!

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