DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 2:24 PM ^

They barely dropped in the advanced stats too. I think it's fair to say that they are a very talented team who has lost to one superior team and a team that they probably beat 8 or 9 times out of 10 (just like us at Iowa last year). If they lost to MSU and/or to us they may drop out completely. These things tend to take care of themselves, but I don't think yesterday means OSU isn't a top 15 team. They certainly are talent-wise. Even the best fall down sometimes.

jmblue

November 5th, 2017 at 2:30 PM ^

If you lose by 31 points (on top of a 15-point loss earlier), you don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.  That's not a tough-luck bump in the road, like our loss at Kinnick last year.  That's just an ass-kicking.

#11 is way too generous.  That's the voters rewarding Meyer for his track record.

 

DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 2:34 PM ^

We got our asses kicked in Happy Valley and I don't think we deserved to drop out of the top 25. We're back to within 5 places of PSU in the AP poll and I think this is closer to where we stand with PSU this year (I think we could beat them 40-55% of the time depending on location and conditions).

 

An ass-kicking is always somewhere on the spectrum of possibilities, whether the game is evenly matched or features a heavy underdog.

jmblue

November 5th, 2017 at 2:42 PM ^

I am not arguing that they shouldn't be ranked in the top 25 (they should be, as a 7-2 Power 5 team). But #11 is absurd.  That's way too high for a team that has played three opponents with a pulse and gotten embarrassed by two and needed a miracle to scrape past the third.  A #11 ranking is definitely a nod to Meyer's past track record and not a reflection of what they've done.

If they're also #11 in the playoff standings, they could realistically finish in the top four by season's end, which would be laughable.

 

DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^

A miracle? Did you watch their game against Penn State? They stomped Penn State's ass after the first 20 minutes. They basically played a perfect 4th quarter and near-perfect 3rd quarter. They absolutely deserved to beat Penn State. 

 

They would need a miracle to get back into the top four, that is next to impossible at this point. An undefeated UCF team would get in before a two loss OSU.

snarling wolverine

November 5th, 2017 at 3:06 PM ^

Let's be honest here.  Any team not named Alabama, OSU or maybe Clemson would not be ranked #11 with a résumé including one win (by one point) over a team with a winning record and two losses by 46 points.

Yes, the fancystats liked their wins over tomato cans and Urban Meyer has the haircut of an honest man (you can set your watch to it!) and blah blah blah, but his team's getting preferential treatment right now in the polls.  (And we have in the past, too, I won't deny that).

 

DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 3:37 PM ^

But I think "brand name" treatment is a confounding factor, not a causal one. Those teams get the benefit of the doubt because they have the most talent, because they have been consistently bringing in top 4 recruiting classes, because of their success and "brand name". A two-loss OSU still has more talent than an undefeated Wisconsin, an undefeated Miami, an undefeated UCF, etc. There's still some projection in midseason polls which, in OSU's case, holds that the Iowa loss is an aberration and that they're not likely to lose again.

snarling wolverine

November 5th, 2017 at 3:52 PM ^

How much "talent" they have should be irrelevant to the discussion.  At this point in the season, projection should be out the window.  Your ranking should be based on what you've accomplished through nine games.  If they win out, fine, move them up, but right now they don't deserve to be on the brink of the top 10.

 

DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^

"Talent should be irrelevant" my ass. Tell that to UCF who is behind 9 teams that have more losses than they do. Talent absolutely matters in rankings, it's not just a resume competition. I don't think UCF (or Wisconsin) is as good as their record indicates, and a big part of that is their respective talent levels.

Frigid

November 6th, 2017 at 5:46 AM ^

S&P stops using projections after a team has played 7 games. Ohio State didn't lose much ground because it's an odd case of a team who racked up a lot of S&P ranking in its first eight games, then got such a pounding that most of its bad drives (on both sides of the ball) were ignored by the algorithm. S&P ignores "garbage time" which when you lose by 31 points can be a lot of the game.

war-dawg69

November 5th, 2017 at 4:08 PM ^

It is laughable but after they get crushed by msu it will not matter. Look for msu to beat them the same way as Iowa. That fan base is on the ledge and any gust of wind will put them in free fall. They lose to msu and then us and christmas will be coming early for sure. Meyer does not have it anymore and is lucky for the refs gift last year.

Make no mistake the jackhammer is coming. Michigan will be the favorite in the east next year. Look for the runnng to be outstanding and the defense to be faster especially at LB. Osu will never be on top of the big and Meyer will be closing up shop. I have been saying that if meyer does not win the big this year that fan base of idiots will turn on him. They are allready comparing him to cooper and want tressel back. If we had got the win last year it would be worse but we have a great oppurtunity, but only after sparty tears into them next saturday.

You Only Live Twice

November 5th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^

Doesn't OSU tend to get more focused after a loss?  I'm hoping they take it out on Sparty and get it out of their system before they play us... it would be appropriate karma.

If the Buckeyes play to the level they are capable they should easily beat MSU.

JTrain

November 5th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^

Pretty hard to believe we will be the favorite in the east. MSU beat us in our own house this year. . They are just as young as us and have their QB.
Our schedule is BRUTAL next year. I’m not sure we are the definite favorite. We have murderers row on the road next year...with two new offensive linemen. And no established QB. If we can’t coach up some pass blocking skills and fast our season could look a lot like this one.

TrueBlue2003

November 5th, 2017 at 7:36 PM ^

but look at the teams behind them.

Should they be behind Ok St who just gave up 62 at home in a loss? Should they be behind MSU which has a blowout loss and a loss to a meh NW team?  Should they be behind UCF who hasn't played anyone?  USC which got torched worse by ND and have no real high quality wins? I guess you could make an argument they should be behind any of those teams but you could make an equal argument they should be ahead of each of them too.

Certainly wouldn't put them behind PSU.

After the top 10, no one has a very good resume and everyone has one or multiple wtf games.

Frigid

November 6th, 2017 at 5:58 AM ^

Was to Notre Dame, and was 20 points. MSU actually did decent in the box score except for turnovers. O$U lost twice by at least 15 points in both games. MSU's second loss was in triple overtime, on the road, to a team that is around 30th in the AP and most advanced ranking systems. Colley Matrix has NW at 27th and ND at 4th. Sorry, but NW wasn't a bad loss.

The Fan in Fargo

November 5th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^

Well that ranking certainly helps the good guys if they pull the upset in Theee Game. Rose Bowl bound baby. Give me the candy asses who won't leave their zip code. Speaking of you Trojans.

Shit nevermind. Rose Bowl is one of the playoff games I think this year.

snarling wolverine

November 5th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^

Meh, OSU will normally look good in the advanced stats because Meyer is a dickbag who leaves his starters in to run up the score.  Doesn't change that they got absolutely pantsed twice.

 

a team that they probably beat 8 or 9 times out of 10 (just like us at Iowa last year). 

Just like us? We lost by 1 on a last-second FG. They lost by 31.  

CLion

November 5th, 2017 at 3:23 PM ^

People refer to advanced stats like they are fact. Well, if they were, you wouldn't have five different advanced stat methodologies all saying different things. They do provide some information that's worth plugging into a larger and more holistic analysis, but nothing more than that.

DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^

What they should or shouldn't be ranked can be debated to the end of time; there's a little more certainty to how good they actually are. There are not 20 teams that are better than OSU, and I don't really think there are 15 teams that are better. If you think polls should be a means for punishing teams that lose to inferior teams, then that supports what you are saying. If you think polls should accurately rank teams in order of how "good" they are, then I don't think 11th is far off for OSU.

DrMantisToboggan

November 5th, 2017 at 3:47 PM ^

I think Michigan's poll treatment has been poor and undeserved, as I've said elsewhere in this thread, but that's an entirely different discussion independent of OSU's ranking.

 

We're closer to agreement here than we thought, it seems. I think correct would be about 13th or 14th, and, as I said, that's not too far off from 11th.

The Fan in Fargo

November 5th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^

Exactamundo snarls. Michigan played terrible and the refs fucked em at the end to seal their demise in Kinnick. The cheaters got what they deserved yesterday. It was also apparent what the Squawkeyes exposed. They shredded the tree worshippers in the short passing game, just as the Sooners did. Seems like a recipe for success to me. Playaction and rip em with the short routes and trick plays. The cheaters are talented but they aren't any smarter than everyone else. I guess we'd all say they are probably less smarter than most. Their defensive line will over pursue. I'll be waiting for Peters to fullfill his destiny in The Game also by the way.

Image result for Jedi gifs

Maizeblue11

November 5th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^

"Hey guys, UCF has a better football team than Penn State, Virginia Tech, USC, Michigan, Mississippi State!" - AP

 

Also AP- "DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR DURR"