Who do you wantt to Win PSU or OSU?

Submitted by MaizeGoBlue on October 16th, 2023 at 5:07 PM

Who do we ant to win that game? Part of me says Penn St which puts OSU behind the 8 ball...BUT a OSU win especially if its a close game and a emotional loss sets us up nice to go into Happy Valley with them all dejected and emotionaly drained..What say YOU?

Hensons Mobile…

October 17th, 2023 at 8:26 AM ^

Sure. But it is like the 5th tiebreaker. Would whoever is voted highest in the AP be better? SP+ ranking? What is the non-stupid tiebreaker for when UM, OSU, and PSU all end up as 1-loss team when head to head has to be thrown out?

What is stupid is that this conference has 14 teams and is going to 18 and counting.

Ernis

October 17th, 2023 at 9:28 AM ^

I would look at in-game stat differentials (such as: the delta of points for vs. points against) to attribute a weighted value for each win to then determine how the wins should be ranked. The team with the better margins of victory over the common opponents between the tied teams gets the nod.

Imperfect, but at least it's something each team has control over. They have no control over their opponents' records.

DelhiWolverine

October 17th, 2023 at 6:44 AM ^

I would agree with you if I was not confident in Michigan’s chances of winning in Happy Valley. 
 

In this scenario, I’m pulling for PSU. That will put them at a higher rank (likely top 5) when we play them and beat them in November. It also gives OSU time to recover in the polls before our game with them and there’s a good chance they could be back up to #3 or #4 by the time The Game rolls around, just in time for Michigan’s three-peat blowout. 

RockinLoud

October 16th, 2023 at 5:14 PM ^

Probably OSU in a rock fight. I have a feeling it will be a game for 3 qtrs and then OSU will score a couple TD's in the 4th to make it not look as close, very similar to the Maryland game.

NittanyFan

October 16th, 2023 at 5:16 PM ^

I'll disagree with the hypothesis "an emotional (PSU) loss sets us up nice to go into Happy Valley with them all dejected and emotionally drained."

In recent history, PSU has played worse in the MUST wins games (in terms of winning the B1G) and better in the "we're probably already out of B1G contention and now we face a very good team" games:

  • 2019: Lost at Minnesota, a team they were better than, when both were undefeated in early November.  Competed well at OSU a couple weeks later.
  • 2020: Weird COVID year - but PSU started 0-5 and finished 4-0.  Sort of fits the trend.
  • 2021: Laid the egg at Iowa when both were undefeated.  Competed well vs. both OSU & U-M when only the opponent had B1G title shots.
  • 2022: Lost big at Michigan when both were undefeated.  Competed well vs. OSU on their visit 2 weeks later, could have won but undone by -4 in turnovers.

Anyway, take that FWIW: I'd argue it's more likely for U-M to get a worse PSU if they have 0 losses versus 1 (or more).

Amazinblu

October 16th, 2023 at 5:17 PM ^

The game's in Columbus.  The Buckeyes OL hasn't shown a lot - and, they will want to make a positive impression.  Allar is young and this will be the most hostile environment where he's a starter.   Both teams have a lot to prove.

As others have noted, I'll cheer for the meteor.

I expect to see a bunch of this...

HUGE on X: "This is the Ohio State fanboy ref working the Ohio State at  Michigan football game Saturday in Ann Arbor. Love the photo from his  unbiased work in that classic

1997 National …

October 16th, 2023 at 5:18 PM ^

Any Michigan fan who roots for OSU after the last 20 years is a hopeless. I pray OSU turns into Rutgers or Vanderbilt for 20 years to see them suffer. Slightly sadistic, but that's how every OSU fan feels about us and we need to reciprocate that feeling. 

trustBlue

October 16th, 2023 at 6:41 PM ^

This is the only answer. 

Michigan probably needs to win out regardless -  Assuming Michigan runs the table, its clearly better for us for OSU to lose as many games as possible. 

A PSU win over OSU sets up Michigan to

  • beat a Top 3 or 4 ranked PSU team on road
  • end the regular season by knocking OSU out of any possible chance to backdoor their way into the playoffs a second year in a row.  

Ernis

October 17th, 2023 at 9:42 AM ^

The only valid upside I see to an OSU win is that it would make it harder to fire Day even as we continue to beat his teams annually. This would draw out the BPONE like a slow, agonizing torture for the singularly-focused nuthead faithful... though, canning Day could result in a coaching carousel situation leading to a real downward spiral. Either way, M just needs to keep winning, baby!

Vasav

October 16th, 2023 at 5:19 PM ^

I think PSU - tbh I was hoping OSU lost to ND and would've lost to Wiscy, though that looks unrealistic. It'd be good to dent their recruiting dominance, to dent their credibility as a national power, and to have them fall down to the pack. 3 straight losses to us, and a clear spot as 3rd place in the pre-expansion Big Ten, would make a powerful argument.

Will there be a concurrent rise from PSU? Potentially. I've long felt PSU is a sleeping giant - a larger state than Ohio, almost as football mad, and the premier program for the entire Northeast (sure not as crazy as most of the rest of the country but...still in football first America, and with a population near equal to what the rest of the big ten has). But...I dunno, maybe because of the last 20(!) years, it's hard to fear an insurgent PSU as much as a resurgent OSU. So knock the king down, and have confidence we can rule the resultant roost.