sphere's best and brightest to breakdown college football....the Fab Five are Zach of The Big Picture, Graig of Money Shot, Jon of Complete Sports, Virgil of The Ship of Fools (formerly of Wasting Company Time), and me (Rick) of Stiles Points.....t
oday we begin our Dream 8-team playoff to determine this year's National Champion....the seedings were determined by the final BCS rankins.....enough gibberish, now to our thoughts on today's match-up..... First round playoff game - #8 Kansas Jayhawks (11-1) vs. #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) - Ohio State - 8.5
Game to be played at the Motor City Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit
Zach of The Big Picture
Hello, Kansas. Welcome to a game with a real football team. The Jayhawks' schedule had enough cupcakes for a successful bake sale. When KU actually meets a solid team, with real coaches, real players and real fans, things aren't gonna go so well. Ohio State's defense will be too much for Todd Reesing and co. to put points up on. And Beanie Wells is gonna run all day over Kansas' D. All OSU in this one.
Ohio State 28 Kansas 7
Virgil of The Ship of Fools
The two one-loss teams that have taken the most flack for the weakness of their schedules match-up. To be honest, I was never a big believer in Kansas. I think if this team had to face Texas OR Oklahoma (or Texas Tech for that matter) in conference play, they would have been exposed earlier than they were by Mizzou. Couple that with the fact that defense was barely a rumor this year in the Big 12, and you have a team that would be at a serious disadvantage. I think that Chris Wells and the OSU offensive line would simply be too strong for a Kansas team that really only played one power-running team all year (Texas A&M).
Ohio State 31 Kansas 17
Graig of Money Shot
The first thing that jumps out at me regarding this matchup is the homefield advantage. While Kansas has been a great story this year, the fact remains that in their biggest game of the year, with the crowd noise in their favor, they laid an egg. What are they going to do in Detroit when 90% of the crowd is wearing scarlet and gray? I think Jim Tressel will find a defensive package that confuses Todd Reesing and forces him to turn the ball over. While Todd Boeckman isn't necessarily going to light the sky on fire, the power running of Beanie Wells will be too much for the Jayhawks defense. The big offesnive line for the Buckeyes will wear down the Jayhawk defensive front seven and be able to chew up a lot of clock in the second half. The Fightin' Mangino's may get a junk touchdown or two at the end but I expect Tressel's Boys to end the dream season for Kansas
Ohio State 34 Kansas 17
Jon of Complete Sports
With Hawaii missing out on the BCS top 8, Kansas is the closest thing that we have to an underdog, "Cinderella" type team. With an explosive offense led by QB Todd Reesing and RB Brandon McAnderson, they'd pose a legitimate threat to knock off the top seed. However, Kansas hasn't played a defense like the Buckeye's this year. Led by James Laurinities, they're fast, and they're really talented. Reesing would be able to make some plays and move the ball, but it would be imperative that they get off to a fast start. I project Ohio St. to be able to stake claim to an early lead, and then just give the ball to Chris Wells. The Buckeyes will use that combination, stout defense and running the football, which has worked so well for them this year.
Ohio State 27 Kansas 17
Rick of Stiles Points
This is a match-up of teacher vs. student....many don’t know that Bear Mangino was a graduate assistant under Jim Tressel at Youngstown State University.....one thing for sure, Bear will be well prepared for this game as he is one of the diligent planners....the Fighting Manginos are ready for the big stage after playing that Missouri game on national television.....I could see this game being close early on....Tressel knows that he could outmuscle the Fighting Manginos and wear them down as the game goes on.....it would be a battle of field goals early on with the halftime score being 13-6 OSU.....Kansas will have use some trick plays and make sure the ball gets in the hands of Aqib Talib when he is on offense....but in the end, OSU will wear this team down....in the fourth quarter Chris Wells will take over and finish with 170 yards....I love the Bear, but Tressel and Ohio State are the way better team....
Ohio State 26 Kansas 13
So a decision has been made....So Let It Be Written - So Let it Be Done - the Roundtable rules in favor of Ohio State advancing and playing the winner of Georgia-Oklahoma.....check back Monday for our thoughts on that game....
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