Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

They are smart.  Same folks that picked OSU over UM and Bama over Oklahoma. 😂😂

I see what you're trying to do here.  But your sandbagging reverse jinx voodoo hex won't work.  

The Longhorns are DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!

Honestly don't care who is doomed, but this talk about how great Ohio State is exactly the kind of karmic setup that seems to often end with whatever the team is that gets the adulation losing.

Wouldn't that be a real shame????

In all seriousness, Buckeyes are favored because they should be.  They're trending in the right direction, and Texas is either stagnant or going the wrong way.  I'd pick the Buckeyes too if I had to bet.

But, hopefully it'll at least be a close game.  I think the Longhorns are due for a solid effort and can keep it from being a blowout.

You're not hearing it from most Ohio State fans except for the slappie types like mdot .Offensive line still concerns me

OL concerns me as well but beyond that I think there is an issue of intensity.  As in, can the Buckeyes play at the remarkable level that we saw to open the Tennessee and Oregon games for a third consecutive game (and hopefully fourth as well).  

Around here we tend to give the SEC teams a LOT of crap for scheduling crappy FCS opponents the week before rivalry week but there is a very good reason for it.  

@OrangeAfroMan pointed this out once, for as great of a coach as Steve Spurrier was and for as great as the Florida teams that he fielded were, one thing that Spurrier's Gators NEVER accomplished was to win consecutively:

• SEC Game
• FSU Game
• SECCG
• Bowl

Here were their results from the inaugural SECCG in 1992:
1992, 2-2:

• beat Vandy
• lost at FSU
• lost to Bama
• beat NCST

1993, 3-1:

• beat Vandy
• lost to FSU
• beat Bama
• beat WVU

1994, 2-1-1:

• beat Vandy
• tied FSU
• beat Bama
• lost to FSU

1995, 3-1:

• beat Vandy
• beat FSU
• beat Arkansas
• lost to Nebraska (and it was BAD)

1996, 3-1:

• beat USCe
• lost at FSU
• beat Bama
• beat FSU

1997, 3-0:

• beat USCe
• beat FSU
• missed SECCG
• beat PSU

1998, 2-1:

• beat USCe
• lost at FSU
• missed SECCG
• beat Cuse

1999, 1-3:

• beat USCe
• lost to FSU
• lost to Bama
• lost to MSU

Note that this 1999 team was 9-1 and ranked #3 in the country heading into their clash with #1 FSU in the Swamp.  They finished 9-4 and outside of the top-10.  
2000, 2-2:

• beat USCe
• lost at FSU (badly)
• beat Auburn
• lost to Miami, FL

2001 was unusual, the games on 9/15 were postponed due to 9/11.  Florida was scheduled to play the Vounteers on 9/15 but that got kicked back to December 1.  Florida lost that game thus missing the SECCG.  

2002, 1-2:

• beat USCe
• lost at FSU
• missed SECCG
• lost to Michigan

2003, 1-2:

• beat USCe (barely)
• lost to FSU (barely)
• missed SECCG
• lost to Iowa

2004, 2-1:

• beat USCe
• won at FSU
• missed SECCG
• lost to Miami, FL

2005, 2-1:

• lost to USCe
• beat FSU
• missed SECCG
• beat Iowa

That is it.  After 2005 they started scheduling a patsy the week before FSU and in 2006 they cruised to a 62-0 win over Western Carolina then beat FSU, Arky, and tOSU to win a NC.  Their week-before FSU opponent since then:

• FAU in 2007
• Citadel in 2008
• FIU in 2009
• ApSt in 2010 (despite what some Michigan fans will tell you, this was an easy game)
• Furman in 2011
• Jacksonville St in 2012
• Georgia Southern in 2013
• Eastern Kentucky in 2014
• FAU in 2015
• LSU in 2016 (did this get rescheduled due to weather?)
• UAB in 2017
• Idaho in 2018
• week off in 2019, Mizzou prior to that
• There was no FSU game in 2020 due to COVID and Florida played an all-SEC schedule
• Mizzou in 2021
• Vandy in 2022
• Mizzou in 2023
• Ole Miss in 2024

So apparently the Gators are back to playing an SEC game the week before FSU but it frankly hasn't worked out real well for them.  


IMHO, it is simply VERY difficult to maintain a VERY high intensity level game-after-game-after-game.  

As far as tonight's game, I think that Texas and Ohio State are evenly enough matched that it comes down to who has the better game relative to their ability:

• If Texas is "due" for a great game after not playing all that well these last two and Ohio State is "due" for a clunker after opening the last two so incredibly well, this gets ugly in favor of Texas.  
• If they both play well or both play poorly it should be a competitive game.  
• If they both bring their "best game" it should be a great game and a classic.  
• If Ohio State continues to play well while Texas continues to play not so well, Ohio State runs away with it.  

So you're saying it could be a close game with either team winning, or it could be a blowout by either team????

Tie ruled out

It's interesting that the next team that the loser of this game will play, will be the same team again, next Fall.

Seems to me that they're both very talented and overall well-coached.  If they both play their best games it should be a great one.  It's debatable whether or not Texas can play their best game....they usually just play their best half and then spend most of the other half calibrating the sights on their rifles to achieve maximum accuracy as they aim for their foot. 

For those hoping for a great game, now would be good time for the Horns to play a full 60 minutes.  They can start by matching the intensity OSU has been showing early on.  Longhorn defense is usually reliable in that regard.  The offense needs to avoid starting with a bunch of 3 and outs while the Buckeye defense works itself into a progressively more feverish lather.  The Buckeyes have kicked the snowball down the top of the mountain early on the last couple games and the avalanche consumes everything in its path.  If Texas weathers that and lets OSU know early on "we ain't TN or UO" then I think it'll be a good game.  If Texas gets caught in that, Sark might go full Sark, and then who knows what might happen.  Anything from Greatest Comeback Of All Time to OMG Can You Believe Some Of Us Thought UT Could Win?  

Pretty even teams.  I was getting pretty down watching the Buckeyes continually shooting themselves with stupid penalties.  

Very impressed with both defenses.