Apparently, Dennis Dodd has not.
Dodd came out with his first pre-season ranking earlier today, and while I'm certainly thrilled that Georgia is not at #1 (I'm kinda of the mindset that starting at #2 or #3 is better - high enough that one loss isn't going to kill us - not #1 so we don't have a giant target splayed across our midsection), Dodd's choice of #1 team is....uh...well...curious, to say the least:
Ohio State is No. 1.
Hmm. OK. Odd. You did watch the past two national title games, correct? You know, the ones where it was fairly obvious that Ohio State didn't even belong in the championship game, correct? Surely, Dodd's reasoning must be that Ohio State has plugged some holes and stands a chance in the national title game, correct?
Well.....uh....no.
Ohio State? Jim Tressel has coached his Bucks to three of the last six BCS title games, winning one, so let's not go into full mock mode here. However, the Big Ten has become so soft that even if Ohio State loses to USC on Sept. 13, it should be able to recover to play for the national championship.
That's right. Ohio State is #1 because the Big Ten sucks, and uh...Ohio State should win the bad Big 10, so they probably will go to the national title game...so, uh...let's just rank them #1 and see where that goes.
I'm not quite sure in what universe this makes sense. I have no problem with ranking Ohio State #1, but to essentially announce that your reasoning for this is because the Big 10 is so God-awful that Ohio State will win it easily, then you make absolutely no sense.
I mean, argue that the Big 10 is going to be better. Argue that Ohio State will defeat USC. Make some sort of sense, for God's sake.
Well, there was a hedge:
This being Ohio State, though, there's always a chance -- make that a probability -- for a third consecutive national championship for the SEC. The Bucks are 0-9 against the SEC in bowl games and Georgia is sitting there at No. 2 ready to rip out its chunk of scarlet-and-gray flesh.
So....you think they're going to lose as well? Then why rank them #1?
Some more gems from the article:
Florida: "The only questions are the defense and how to keep Tim Tebow upright and healthy." Oh, that's it? So that's like pretty much everything, right? Hey, UCLA's only questions are their offense and how to keep whatever QB doesn't happen to be injured upright and healthy. Can we rank them #7?
"Tailback Emmanuel Moody had some problems picking up the spread in the spring." This is because Urban Meyer does not know what to do with running backs. He looks at them every spring, turns to his offensive coaches, and asks, "Why do we have a fifth wide receiver standing in the backfield?"
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5 months ago
Speaking on behalf of Ohio State fans...no one, not even the craziest, most die-hard, Scarlet & Gray blinded fans, had any expectations of last year's team making it to the national championship game. They were a young team with only a couple of seniors and had no business being there; but then again, neither did any other team.
Georgia, USC, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, etc. all had multiple chances to make it to the title game. They didn't it, either losing games late or falling short in some BCS-criteria or another.
But yes, the Big 10 is pretty weak right now, although there is a lot of younger and new coaches so things might be changing. Plus this stuff is cyclical anyway.
from 5 months ago
Right on, Scott. I remember Buckeye fans being more than happy to play USC in the Rose Bowl after beating Michigan (hell, if I remember correctly, weren't the players even running around on the field holding roses and whatnot?)
Had Missouri beaten Oklahoma, and West Virginia not been upset by Pitt, more people would've looked at the 2007 rebuilding year as a step in the right direction, instead of a colossal failure after getting destroyed by LSU thanks to asinine rookie mistakes.
5 months ago
You must have completely overlooked the part where Dodd gave this reasoning:
"Ohio State looks like the best thing on 44 legs right now. That is a reference to the starting 22, of which 18 are returning starters. We're talking some of the nation's best, most-decorated players -- tailback Beanie Wells, linebacker James Laurinaitis, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins. Heck, quarterback Todd Boeckman already is rated one of the best quarterbacks available in the 2009 draft. "
from 5 months ago
I haven't studied the 2009 quarterback class, but if Boeckman is one of the best available...yikes. He's got the arm, and has better accuracy on the deep ball than he does underneath. His mobility is, well, limited.
But for the other three, yes, they are among the best, if not the best, at their positions. Lauarinaitis tackles anything that moves, Jenkins is a great corner and Beanie Wells was arguably the best player on the field in the title game.
5 months ago
how many times has ohio state beaten an SEC team since the 1935 vandy victory?
once
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