Buckeyes win Nat'l Championship

So FB officially over. I'm glad that I can really enjoy my Buckeyes national championship. Never saw it coming this season. I'm still a Cougar fan first, but it is nice to have another team you cheer for. I was born and raised a Buckeye fan and didn't pick them for any other reason.



I understand that many in Utah loath OSU like I used to loath Notre Dame, but it is what it is. I never get on any OSU sites and just watch the games on TV, but it was nice to still have a team that can play at a high level, even if I have to swallow the fact that Oscar Meyer is the head coach.



I do want to comment that the B12 refs that covered the game let the players play more than I've seen in a lot of the games BYU has played in this season. They missed some obvious (to the audience that can watch the replay) miscues, but as long as they allow it to go both ways, then I'm okay with that. Seems unbelievable that in a year where everyone was discounting the Big 10 that they would go out and win the national championship and beat the #1 and #2 teams in successive games.



I saw a thread over on CB that said after watching the national championship game last night that there was no way BYU would reach that level of play with the players we recruit. BYU, even with the 84 or 96 team probably could have upset one of the top 4, but I don't know that in successive games they will ever have the caliber of a team that could win both games. It almost seems unattainable.

I'm so glad college football has kept us from having a playoff for 100 years. That wasn't exciting at all [/sarcasm]



I like both teams, but having lived in Ohio and having many OSU friends, I'm glad they won. Also, it doesn't hurt that the #backthePAC Utah fans are sad today.

I really dislike the PAC (even before Utah), so I was glad that Ohio St. won. I did feel dirty rooting for Urban Meyer, but I took a shower this morning, so I'm good! :D

I'm a Minnesota Gopher fan who doesn't really care for the Buckeyes, but I've been so tired of hearing how bad the Big Ten is that I was cheering for the Bucks to pull it off. Plus it was nice to see that the Gophers gave OSU a better game than the Ducks did.

Is there a better coach than Urban Meyer?



Hard to say there is.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Is there a better coach than Urban Meyer?



Hard to say there is.

Even harder to say there isn't ;)

SpiffCoug wrote:
Is there a better coach than Urban Meyer?



Hard to say there is.

Before this season I actually was still of the belief that he kept jumping to programs where the shelves were already well stocked and that he would eventually fall on his face when left to rely strictly on his own merits. Even though I can't get the bitter taste out of my mouth that he was coach of "that team up north", I have to finally conclude that he is one of the top coaches out there. I don't know how he does it more so than the next guy (can we say Brady Hoke), but a lot of the strength of this year's team came from players he specifically recruited.



It was truly impressive to see the amount of fans from both sides at that game last night. It look squarely half Oregon and half Ohio State. I really am amazed that so many fans could fit it in their schedules and budgets to attend two games so close. Could BYU really do that? I think they could, but I don't truly know.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Is there a better coach than Urban Meyer?



Hard to say there is.

If scumbag Pete Carroll wins another Superbowl this year, he might be in contention (though he apparently couldn't do it in college without paying the players...).

EM_Puma wrote:
It was truly impressive to see the amount of fans from both sides at that game last night. It look squarely half Oregon and half Ohio State. I really am amazed that so many fans could fit it in their schedules and budgets to attend two games so close. Could BYU really do that? I think they could, but I don't truly know.

As much as people like the hate the SEC and the B1G, the reason why they get so much attention is because they have rabid fan bases who will put their money where their mouths are. These two conferences are traditionally the two best in average attendance, both averaging over 70,000 per game (though Maryland and Rutgers did about 4,000 in damage to the B1G's average attendance in 2014). 9 of the top 10 and 20 of the top 30 are in these two conferences. The Big 12, Pac 12, and ACC are all below 60,000.



While attendance isn't the primary revenue source these days, it does indicate how much students and alumni care about their schools. In Minneapolis, I know many Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa season ticket holders who drive or fly to every home game and many away games. In Chicago, I know several Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State season ticket holders who fly to every game. I'm sure it's the same way in southern cities like Atlanta, Memphis, and Birmingham.



I always get the impression that Pac 12 teams don't draw as well. Based on what I could see in video, pictures, and social media, it looked like more there were much more Buckeye fans that Duck fans.



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7MSsX6CAAASTvD.jpg:large" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

https://twitter.com/BryanDFischer/status/554807747951095808/photo/1



Not a surprise considering when OSU beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl a few years back, Buckeye fans outnumbered Duck fans there as well.



http://www.markholtzman.com/Sports/Football/2010-Rose-Bowl/i-wFPTb4S/3/M/_MG_5496-M.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

Full disclosure to start--my collegiate teams are, in order:



1) BYU

2) Baylor

3) Ohio St.

4) Cincy



In the case of basketball, switch Cincy and OSU. That said, I'll repeat a sentiment that I posted on MetalBubba's facebook:



I hope Oregon gets into the national championship every year, and then I hope they continue to lose every year. In my mind, Oregon is the poster-child for what went wrong, and is wrong, in college athletics. Oregon might also be patient zero for the epidemic. And for that, I hope that Oregon continues to get oh-so-close to their single-minded dream of a National Championship just to get embarrassed time-and-again when the title is on the line.



Don't get me wrong--I'm talking about the institution of Oregon University, not the players. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Mariota and his fellow Ducks. Oregon University though, that's the Love Canal of college athletics. Prior to Phil Knight's first substantial donation to the university in 1995, Oregon won just one conference championship in the previous 40 years. They didn't have a top-ten Heisman voting finisher for the same span. They were a below mediocre team mired in the constant drizzle of Eugene.



Then, after a bowl game loss, Phil Knight approached the incoming head coach Belotti and asked what he needed to make Oregon a winner. Two decades and $300 million in Phil Knight money later (that doesn't count the separate Nike donations), Oregon has 6 PAC championships, and 6 top-ten Heisman finalists since the cash-cow started giving milk. You see, Oregon isn't just another college football program--it's Phil Knight's semi-pro franchise. Phil doesn't like what the track coach is doing? Well, unlike a pro team owner he can't fire that coach, but he can call the AD and say, "as long as xxxxxx is the track coach, I will not give another dime to Oregon athletics." The next day, the track coach is fired--that's what happened in 2004. Oregon University is not a collection of devoted fans supporting their alma mater, it's one billionaire trying to bask in reflected glory and purchase another accomplishment for his cigar-club pissing contests.



And that's the problem. Before Oregon, money played a factor in college football, but it was community funds, with a big donation here and there. After Oregon, big donors become the underwriters at programs that never knew success and start the facilities arms race. Guys like Phil Knight and T. Boone Pickens don't belong in college sports. If billionaires want to buy athletic achievements and glory, that's what pro sports are for. That's not what college athletics are for, and as long a Oregon continues to writhe under the thumb of Phil Knight, I will continue to hope they get oh-so-close but remain oh-so-far so that he can continue in his angst and empty his wallet in futility.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Is there a better coach than Urban Meyer?



Hard to say there is.

I can't stand the guy, but there's no denying that he's a wizard.