Ohio State runs over Oregon 42-20 to capture national title

[Omaha Steve]

Source: USA Today

Nicole Auerbach and Paul Myerberg

ARLINGTON, Texas — Analyzing No. 4 Ohio State's 42-20 victory against No. 3 Oregon in Monday's College Football Playoff championship game:

THE BIG PICTURE: The College Football Playoff selection committee got this one right. It picked Ohio State for the fourth spot in its inaugural four-team playoff, and while the Buckeyes were arguably the hottest team in the country at that time, they still had a major blemish on their résumé — a Week 2 loss to Virginia Tech at home. But now, imagine this Playoff without Ohio State. Imagine a national champion crowned that wasn't this team. The Buckeyes backed up the committee's faith by proving not only were they one of the country's four best — they were undoubtedly the top team, even with a third-string quarterback.

On the other hand, everything had seemingly fallen into place for Oregon. Its quarterback, Marcus Mariota, was the finest player in program history. After early struggles, the offensive line rounded into form after a loss to Arizona in October — and entered the championship game playing its best football of the season. The defense had found its groove under first-year coordinator Don Pellum, playing an opportunistic and aggressive style that melded well with the team's frenetic and prolific offensive philosophy. Unmentioned during the days leading into the title game was an indisputable fact: Oregon might never have a better chance to win the national title.

That the Ducks came up short will be difficult for the program to swallow. Oregon is set to lose Mariota, who is expected to forego his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL draft, as well as a number of key senior contributors — from center Hroniss Grasu through defensive backs Troy Hill and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. Next year's team might be ranked among the top teams in the Pac-12 Conference, but it won't be viewed as a championship contender.​

FULL story at link.



Ohio State Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) celebrates a touchdown during the third quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium.
(Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2015/01/13/ohio-state-oregon-college-football-playoff-championship/21673353/

[pkdu]

1. Apparently the punishment for cheating wasn't severe enough?...

I have no dog in this fight BTW.

[nomorenomore08]

2. I'm no OSU fan, but they did go 12-0 the year they were banned from bowl games.

And while I'm pretty pissed off about this game, I have to admit the Buckeyes deserved it. Top to bottom they're probably the most complete team in the nation right now.

[sinkingfeeling]

37. Cheating? Please explain.

[pkdu]

45. Google "Jim Tressel"

[sinkingfeeling]

46. That's not the definition of cheating. That's a NCAA code violation.

[pkdu]

48. ..."However, as a result of NCAA violations from Tressel knowingly using ineligible players

the 2010 season was vacated, leaving the team's official record for the campaign as 0–1."

"Tressel KNOWINGLY using ineligible players" ...Meets my definition of cheating.

[sinkingfeeling]

49. Long time ago and OSU/Tressel paid the price back then.

[Fuddnik]

3. Fuck them Ducks.

[Brother Buzz]

9. LOL, suddenly I flashing on Jim Dodge's novella, FUP

First published in 1983, this story is set in the coastal hills of Northern California between 1880 and the present. The tale revolves around three characters: two humans and one over sized duck, Fup.

[C Moon]

4. I was hoping Oregon would win. That was after reading a column in the L.A. Times Sport page

that seemed to say the coach of Oregon didn't deserve to stand on the same field as the Ohio State coach.
Maybe I was reading too much between the lines.

[pinboy3niner]

23. Can't blame you for your confusion

It's hard to tell what they mean with subtle, nuanced writing like that.

[Botany]

5. OSU beat ......

...... Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon ina row.

[Fuddnik]

6. The last 3 with a third string freshman QB.

[Dawgs]

27. And, the last three all had the finalists for the Heisman this year. n/t

[Borchkins]

39. Badger fan here. . .

My son met the news of an Ohio State win with "that means we got demolished by the best team in college football!" He was very happy, as am I, good win for the Big 10.
B

[Botany]

43. You dub you dub you dub

I was very happy to see the Badgers kick some SEC ass in
their bowl game ..... Melvin Gordon is a beast

Big Ten

[VA_Jill]

44. Wisconsin and Tennessee fan here

so very mixed emotions. I did root for OSU to beat Bama......any self-respecting UT fan would!.....but I could NOT root for them in this game, no way, no time, nohow. I was at UW during the Woody Hayes era and......uh-uh. Just NO. Besides which, my nephew is a newly minted Oregon grad. So just not real happy this morning.

[blue sky at night]

7. NOW...maybe the Buckeyes will get some respect...

the lines on all three games were a joke and really if they hadn't turned the ball over four times the score may have been in the 60's...read that and weep all of your SEC and PAC12 fans....can't wait until next year!

GO Buckeyes!

[CANDO]

12. It's a 2 way street...

Give it to get it. Win gracefully. It's just a game in the end.

[JonLP24]

17. If you were into sports betting

and focused mainly on two stats yards per pass attempt & yards per pass attempt defense you would make a killing betting the under against teams whose lines were favored towards team with high public perception.

Ohio State was the only team of the top 4 ranked in the top 10 in both categories, the only pass defense in the top 10 was Alabama at #21 (there run D was among the best but those 2 stats above alone make an effective prediction model). Oregon was #1 in YPPA offense but Ohio State was right there at #4.

[Laurian]

10. Happy Ohio State grad, here!

As a member of the alumni association, I qualify for tickets to one game a year which is determined by lottery. This year, I traveled from Georgia for the Virginia Tech game. Wow....after losing that one, I never dreamed the Buckeyes would end the season as National Champions.
Go Bucks!

OH-IO.

[pinboy3niner]

24. A Red Coat got me in free to the game against the Wolverines in November '04

I had come out from CA to volunteer for Kerry in Columbus for a couple of months, and I'm not even a sports fan. But the enthusiasm of the fans was infectious, and I really enjoyed it. I also got to see a traditional performance of part of the band at a local restaurant, and the Battle of the Bands in another campus building before the game. And got to spend some time with the editor and top reporters of the local Buckeye sports publication. As a Kerry volunteer, I was welcomed with open arms.

Now when the Buckeyes are playing on TV here in CA, I put on the OSU cap a friend souvenired me and watch whenever I can. GO BUCKEYES!

[Blue_Tires]

11. Three truths:

1. Big-time college athletics is still hopelessly corrupt, exploitative, and allows too many athletes to skate on serious crimes...

2. This result answers once and for all just how incredibly fucking overrated Florida State was...

3. The Hokies can proudly claim they beat the national champions on the road...

[JonLP24]

18. I agree with the corrupt and exploitative part

but allowing athletes to skate, well depends on what you consider serious crimes since the penalize stuff that is legal for the rest of us. Will the reason why I feel they are corrupt has to do with the monopsonic rule "agreement among competitors not to pay more than a fixed price for a key input, such as labor."

When it comes to the NCAA my argument is only this, I just want the athletes responsible for billions in revenues to enjoy the same labor rights we enjoy as all Americans.

[Blue_Tires]

31. I mean skating on stuff like rape, robbery, assault, DUI, drugs, etc...

[JonLP24]

32. Isn't that the responsibility of law enforcement?

[Blue_Tires]

33. Usually...

Sometimes schools can cover up things all by themselves, sometimes they do enlist the police in making sure the offending player gets the proverbial slap on the wrist if they can't cover it up...

But the point remains that athletes get a lot of leeway in criminal behavior, because universities and local LEOs help enable it...

[JonLP24]

35. They can do that but I certainly agree in how it pertains to everyone

don't like it when anyone is involved in the covering up, allowing, and refusing to do something about crimes which is why the torture thing particularly bugs me since it was done by people with those kind of powers. The cover-ups were covered up for.

[Hulk]

13. Congrats to Ohio State!

I'm a Duck fan, but Ohio State clearly out-played them tonight. That's what it's all about. Unfortunate that the Ducks had to play without their starting WR, but hey, the Buckeyes played with a back-up QB; so it was just a hard fought game. But the Buckeyes outplayed them, plain and simple. Congrats!

[Purveyor]

14. Not a Buckeys's fan but what a win for them and the "Big Ten"! eom

[geek tragedy]

15. Under last year's system, Florida State and Alabama

would have played for the national championship.

Playoff system was LONG over due.

[SoapBox]

16. Ugh...

Sheesh Oregon, you sucked tonight.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I, too, am a Ducks fan,

but Ohio State clearly outplayed them on this occasion. I was just happy that it wasn't Alabama or FSU.

[jmowreader]

20. As long as an SEC team didn't win, I'm pretty happy with the result

[Dawgs]

29. Jealous, huh?

[jmowreader]

50. No, just tired of hearing how the SEC is the only football conference in America

[Dawgs]

52. Yep. Jealous. n/t

[stonecutter357]

21. GG

and RTR!

[JDDavis]

22. This might get me banned from DU but...

REALLY: I don't think sporting events are "late breaking news" on DU.

It really doesn't make a hill of beans difference in the world, only to those who "invest" in one team or another winning or losing. And we all know that football coaches make 10-100 times what a good Ph.D. college professor makes.

It's not really "breaking news" when two teams play a sport and one wins and one loses.

And besides, both Republicans and Democrats support one team or the other, so it's not at all political, in any sense of the word. This is the Democratic Underground, not the college sports underground.

Why is posting the results of a football game "late breaking news"?

Post this in a sports forum, post it about your state or state college/university, but it's not really news. One team always wins, one always loses.



Priorities?

[RandiFan1290]

25. Thank you!

A Rapeball score is NOT news

[Omaha Steve]

28. Banned for an honest opinion?

Nope.

Notice a huge lack of sports in LBN. You are partly correct. Championship events are about the only sports allowed in LBN. One OP only. We don't put the bookie reports like Smith got hurt and won't play. When the lights went out at the Super Bowl after 1/2 time a few years ago that was LBN too.

LBN is not just politics. It is NEWS of national interest. Try to find any news source today that isn't filled with info from this game. Again there is only this one OP for this event.

Then there is the old you aren't interested in a particular post, don't click on it.

OS

[Dawgs]

30. UNREC if we still could

1) Who cares? It's very rare that a sports score is posted in LBN.

2) You could say the same thing about hundreds of other posts in LBN.

3) Just because you don't like or don't care, doesn't mean others don't.

[JDDavis]

36. You're probably right, but at least you didn't ban me.

I just sort of think that sports aren't really news. They happen almost every day.

Some are amazing, some are just what happens when one team wins and another loses.

Just my opinion, I'm sure.

[Dawgs]

42. Sports generally aren't news, but this was a historic game, so I'm okay with it.

Agree that sports scores shouldn't be posted on LBN, in general. This game was a little different because it's the first one of it's kind and it was a national championship game.

[Laurian]

41. The title of the thread was clear. Just don't click on it

if you're not interested. I have diverse interests and appreciate topics about current events that are not necessarily political or controversial.

I will never understand why someone would make the effort to complain about something like this when it's so easy to avoid subjects you don't care about.

[LanternWaste]

55. If fits well within "news" and "late breaking"

"but it's not really news..."

Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.

Oxford Dictionary, 2013

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. That's a lot of free furniture for folks who could afford it.

One of the local furniture chains had a deal going where if you bought at least 2k worth of furniture a while back during a specific timeframe (presumably long enough ago that you couldn't return it after the game), if OSU made it to and won this game by more than 7 points, they refunded your purchase price and you got the furniture free.

[JDDavis]

38. A furniture store around Boston did the same for the Red Sox one year

They paid out. But I guess they had bought an insurance policy of some sort to do it with.

Anyway, they are still a favorite furniture store around Boston.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

51. I heard on the news today it cost them 1.5 million $

[alcibiades_mystery]

34. It could have easily been 70-7.

Honestly, Oregon could not stop Ohio State's offense, period. They got straight runned over. Only four unforced OSU errors kept it from being a historical embarrassment.

[sinkingfeeling]

40. Way to go Buckeyes!

[lark]

47. Urban Meyer is a great coach,

but an uber hateful and despicable person. Bad guys win again.

[Baclava]

53. Urban Meyer is a GOD

Go Buckeyes

[underpants]

54. Those two Oregon drops were huge. GO BUCKEYES!!

As a native Ohioan I couldn't happier.