On to Basketball...Why is Ohio State #5?

I have to wonder why Ohio State is ranked number five in the nation for basketball? And, to top it off, why College Game Day (the basketball version) was in Columbus Saturday for the Ohio State/Michigan State game?

While the Ohio State/Michigan State game turned out to be a nail biter, I'm still wondering what College Game Day was doing there?

Let's go back to why Ohio State is #5? They have lost to three top five teams since the season opened; their one top 25 win was over Tennessee, an SEC team I might add. Since then, Tennessee has dropped from the rankings.

Now, Ohio State was dominating the first half and really made it look as though Michigan State were over-matched, but Michigan State had something to say about that! If only Oden hadn't gone to the free throw line and if only Michigan State had gone for the 2s at the end of the game rather than going for 3s...it all might have turned out differently.

There was a big sigh of relief last night as the Buckeyes clear their soggy eyes from the defeat at the hands of Florida at the end of the college football season and pin their hopes on their over-rated basketball team.

And now...a look at Ohio State's schedule

OSU's Opponent*	Opponent's Record	Final Score
N Illinois (MAC)	7-5	35-12
at Texas (Big Ten)	9-3	24-7
Cincinatti	7-5	37-7
Penn St.	8-4	28-6
at Iowa	6-6	38-17
Bowling Green (MAC)	4-8	35-7
at Michigan St	4-8	38-7
Indiana	5-7	44-3
Minnesota	6-6	44-0
at Illinois	2-10	17-10
at Northwestern	4-8	54-10
Michigan	11-1	42-39

*Correct conference for non-conference games are provided in parenthesis.

So you can see here that while, yes, Ohio State has won all of its games, only five are against opponents with winning records. Two of Ohio State's wins come against non-conference teams with winning records; one team was from MAC and the other from the Big Ten.

In the end Florida played 10 bowl bound teams, one of which is BCS bound (LSU); and Ohio State played seven, with one BCS bound (Michigan). That means that 83% of Florida's wins are over bowl bound teams, while 58% of Ohio State's wins are.

Florida's schedule v. Michigan's schedule

Let's begin the "Why Florida should go over Michigan" review with a look at their schedules. First, it's important to consider who the teams have played to understand the value of their Ws.

Florida's Opponent*	Opponent's Record	Final Score
S. Miss (Conf USA)	8-5	34-7
UCF (Conf USA)	4-8	42-0
at Tennessee	9-3	21-20
LSU	10-2	23-10
Kentucky	7-5	26-7
Alabama	6-6	28-13
at Auburn	10-2	27-17 (L)
v Georgia (Jax)	8-4	21-14
at Vandy	4-8	25-19
S Carolina	7-5	17-16
Western Carolina (I-AA)	Unknown	62-0
at F$U	6-6	21-14
v Arkansas (SEC Championship)	10-3	38-28

* Correct conference for non-conference opponents is included in parenthesis next to the appropriate opponent.

Michigan's Opponent*	Opponent's Record	Final Score
Vandy (SEC)	4-8	27-7
C. Michigan (MAC)	9-4	27-7
Notre Dame (Ind.)**	10-2	47-21
Wisconsin	11-1	27-13
Minnesota	6-6	28-14
Michigan State	4-8	31-13
Penn State	8-4	17-10
Iowa	6-6	20-6
Northwestern	4-8	17-3
Ball State (MAC)	5-7	34-26
Indiana	5-7	34-3
Ohio State	12-0	42-39 (L)

* Correct conference for non-conference opponents is included in parenthesis next to the appropriate opponent.
** Notre Dame was also pummeled by USC (44-24), a two loss team.

What does it all mean?! Simple: Florida has eight wins over teams with winning records (2 out of conference). Michigan only has five wins over teams with winning records (one out of conference). Michigan's loss comes from Ohio State, whose perfect record only includes five wins over winning teams with two of those being non-conference opponents!

Someone please explain to me based on this logic how it is that Michigan's win to loss ratio appears more impressive. From where I stand, even with one loss, Florida's got the edge in terms of quality wins.

Thank you Richard Cirminiello!

And I quote:

Enough already with the incessant chatter that Florida won ugly this year. Did the pundits, who favored Michigan in this debate, even watch the Wolverines after the Notre Dame game back on Sept. 16? Or did they conveniently forget how they struggled with 6-6 Iowa, 4-8 Northwestern and 5-7 Ball frickin’ State in successive weeks.

I couldn't have said it better! Thanks, Richard.

Accessed on 4 December 2006 from http://cfn.scout.com/2/597239.html

If You're not a Gator...You're Gator Bait!

That's right boys and girls. That won out over other fan favorites such as "If you can't get in to college, go to F$U" and "Friends don't let friends go to F$U". Here we are...largely to debate all of the CRAP that is being published about the 'invincible' Ohio State Buckeyes and how they are going to whoop up on the Florida Gators...but FIRST a bit about why Florida deserves to go to the game rather than Michigan without harping on the tried-but-true "they already had their chance" reason!

Watch for these posts in the coming hours, days, and weeks as we settle down, analyze the stats, and begin the dissecting who the better team is and the disappointing state of football analysis today.