While the coaches and the pundits remain relatively high on Ohio State (#16 Coaches Poll), I'm putting them way down here at 24. And there are a TON of reasons why.
1. Lost their Head Coach, and the heart of their program in a weird/awkward way
2. Lost their starting QB (and the only with significant PT)
3. Lost their JT wristbands - the admin and the team are not on the same page, at all.
4. Sanctions could come any day, not a great atmosphere for any team anywhere
5. Even without all the drama, natural attrition meant that OSU had to replace starters including:
- 2 DL, 2 LB, and 3 DBs
- 2 OL and Leading WR
- Starting Kicker
- And of course, Starting QB
6. And among those returning, the team loses the following players for the first 5 games (the first 2 games are cakewalks, but they'll still be missing them for Miami, Colorado, and MSU):
- Top RB, Leading Returning WR, Starting Left Tackle
That means that for the first 5 games this team will be down 15 starters from last year. Ouch.
The reason they remain in the Top 25 despite all this is simple: they still have tons of talent, and the Big Tweleven is relatively weak this year (UM remains down, PSU is 'meh', etc). They'll remain one of the most talented teams in the conference, but they're also without leadership (no QB, no Coach), and given all the losses it's almost like starting over at OSU. The team will need time to gel, and that can hurt them.
Despite the relative weakness of the conference, it's not just a cakewalk (outside of the first 2 games that are literally cakewalks vs Akron and Toledo). Games 3 and 4 vs Miami and MSU will be tests, and I can see them dropping one or both. At Nebraska is a likely loss, and same with the game vs Wicsonsin. You're looking at 3-4 losses by midseason and they have to finish up vs PSU and at UM.
So, your #24 team is Ohio State. After all this, they should just drop the "THE".
On to 23, and some team that is pretty much guaranteed to anger most of the ND fanbase - it seems that that's all DMQ (harumphMattharumph) does these days.
...
23.
24. Ohio State (Biscuit)
25. Arizona State (Poot)
By TLNDMA August 7, 2011 - 8:09 pm
Bingo!
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By OderName August 7, 2011 - 8:13 pm
Shouldn’t we now call it the Big Twelven, instead of Tweleven?
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By The Biscuit August 7, 2011 - 9:07 pm
We went Ten to Televen to Tweleven. Twelven works too but I like the combo of all 3 past options…
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By Craig August 8, 2011 - 10:57 am
Twelevten?
Personally, I like just calling them the Integer.
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By Craig August 8, 2011 - 10:59 am
And yes, now that there’s also the XII^H^H, the presence of two numerically challenged conferences complicates things significantly. I think I’ll continue calling the conference Texas A&M calls home the XII^H^H.
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By BurbankSteve August 8, 2011 - 11:41 am
If you’re predicting 3-4 losses by midseason (perfectly reasonable proposition), and a very real possibility of losing the last 2, then a 6-6 team ain’t anywhere in my Top 25.
Mid to high Thirties, and that’s generous.
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By The Biscuit August 8, 2011 - 12:00 pm
I think 3-4 is possible. 1-2 is also possible, and they’re still an elite talent team with a relatively weak conference. plus, SOMEONE has to be in the Top 25. But, i agree – there’s a real chance they fall out completely by year’s end. Just not ready to dump them at this point. Yet.
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