So here we are……55 days after Ohio State beat Michigan we’re live in Arizona for the National Championship game. And to think we were ready to take a second mortgage out on the house to attend if it were Michigan/OSU. Oh how a month can change things.
Florida opened as an 8 point underdog, and it looks to close at 7. FOX went live at 630, and guess what time the game starts……840!?!?!?! Looks like we’ll be here a while. Get some soda/beer/wine/vodka and join me.
Preview from CNN-SI.com:
Five Reasons why OSU will win:
1) Troy Smith will have yet another big game- Smith will face more pressure than he’s seen all season, which means he’ll have to throw on the run more often than usual
2) Conversely, Chris Leak is in trouble.- Leak is going up against a Buckeyes defense that has feasted on opposing quarterbacks’ slightest missteps. OSU has intercepted 21 passes, tied for third-best nationally, with 11 different players getting at least one pick.
3) James Laurinaitis will help neutralize Percy Harvin/Tim Tebow- Laurinaitis, the Buckeyes’ sophomore middle linebacker, is a supremely instinctive defender who led his team in tackles (100), interceptions (five) and forced fumbles (three).
4) Ohio State’s receivers will exploit Florida’s coverage.- Gonzalez said only a few teams all year have tried to defend him straight-up. Florida cornerback Ryan Smith, an All-SEC transfer from Utah who had eight interceptions, may well be able to keep up with him downfield, but Gonzalez’ most effective route is the quick slant, which is nearly impossible to defend one-on-one.
5) A national championship is the Buckeyes’ destiny.- They started No. 1 in all the preseason polls, stayed there all season long and, sure enough, they’re right back here in the desert a year later — in the same city where they captured their first championship under coach Jim Tressel four years ago — as if it there was never any other possibility.
Five Reasons Florida Will Win:
1. Nothing can wreak more havoc than a nasty defensive line.- Ohio State hasn’t faced anything like Florida’s rotating quintet of Jarvis Moss, Derrick Harvey, Steven Harris (on the ends) Joe Cohen and Ray McDonald (in the middle), which has managed to be dominant despite the November loss of tackle Marcus Thomas
2. The Harvin Factor.- The best Big Ten wideout that the Buckeyes kept out of the end zone this year, Michigan’s Mario Manningham, is a classic, NFL-sized target — and nothing like Harvin, a versatile burner who can line up at split end on one play, and on the next run a draw 67 yards for a touchdown.
3. “The Eraser” will be inspired. – There is speculation that the Gators’ insistence on playing man-to-man coverage against Gonzalez and Ted Ginn Jr. could be their undoing, but Nelson’s help makes it no ordinary man D.
4. The Block Patrol will change momentum.- The Gators already set a school record this season with eight blocks. Two were on field goals, including the 6-foot-6 Moss’ stuff of South Carolina’s Michael Succop on a potential game-winner on Nov. 11. Five were on punts, including Jarred Fayson’s block against Arkansas that set up an early touchdown in the SEC title game.
5. Trickery will be the difference.- Florida is capable of breaking the game open early — and putting the Buckeyes on their heels — with some vintage Meyer surprises. The coach said he slept through that epic game, but on the plane ride out to Arizona the next morning, he reportedly killed time with offensive coordinator Dan Mullen by drawing up trick plays.
AA’s ready…..how about you? Who’s yer Driver Pick?
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So far in the Pre-game we’ve had a meeting of the teams at mid-field, Eddie and Emmitt yucking it up, a story about Chris Leak with the soundtrack being My Chemical Romance, Richard Lewis talking about the Bucks, and now the Best Damn Band in the Land dotting the I.
Oh and from special authority I’ve learned that the fly-by will be from a B-1-B Stealth Bomber…..that’s badass.
Why does the OSU band look like Guardian Angels?
30 minutes to go……..Check out this video that the Awful GF forwarded to me. It’s long, but kind of insane.
OH WOW THAT IS BAD! Emmitt and Eddie were talking into the National Anthem, and then the audio cut out. That is horrible FOX.
“WHO WHO? Will be flying high after the game”- Chris Rose.
No Bomber because the roof is closed so they have some eagle fly around.
Lee Corso just put on the Gator Head, so you can pretty much bet on OSU winning this thing. The intro is on and we’re getting near kickoff. Who’s excited? Because I am now!
Your Announcers tonight…..Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez, and Charles Davis. Chris Meyer is on hand to ruin Troy Smith’s proposal to his GF later on.
I HATE Jim Tressel, but he is a badass. I love the slow-walk and the arms linked.
“They come at you with enough angles to make your highschool calculus teacher have a headache”- Charles Davis
John McCain on hand for the coin-toss. Florida will win because they are a Republican state. Bet me. Ha, told you…..let’s do this thing! New thread, and OSU gets the ball.
