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(09-30-2019 02:22 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(09-30-2019 12:57 PM)nachoman91 Wrote:  

(09-30-2019 07:16 AM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  

(09-30-2019 06:59 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:  

(09-29-2019 05:51 PM)Bcatbog Wrote:  Gotta beat UCF. Early rankings are meaningless.

This is not correct at all. Early season rankings mean a ton. Its much harder to climb into and up in the polls if you start the season unranked. And its darn near impossible to jump over a team in the polls if the team above you doesn't lose.

Not to mention the PR that you get from being in the polls which helps with recruiting and increasing the overall brand of the team. The entire reason Boise is above UC is because of this. They have a respected national brand, UC does not.

I argued earlier that playing Ohio State was like a season killer. So much better off playing a buy game against the MAC. Imagine sitting 4-0 going into Friday.

A program like Cincinnati should never play road games at elite programs. Those games can become season and reputation killers. Play anyone else and you give yourself a chance at a special season.

Finally, someone who gets it. I've been preaching this for years. Everyone gets excited when UC schedules high profile teams like OSU and Michigan. The reality is those games are horrible for UC right now. Getting blown out by OSU just keeps UC's football reputation at the second-class level. Look at the 2009 season when UC was undefeated. They scheduled winnable games against Illinois and Fresno and thus finished the season #3 and one play from playing in the national championship. If they had scheduled OSU that season and lost they aren't even in the Top 10.

Being 12-0 with a questionable schedule is ALWAYS better than being 11-1 with a blowout loss to the only good team on the schedule.

I agree with your premise. But scheduling doesn't occur in a perfect world. With football game contracts signed as much as a decade in advance who knows what you'll get when you reach the opening coin toss any given year? OSU may just have their best team ever this year until proven differently; a tough draw for UC and everyone else on the Buckeyes schedule so far. But it originally was a cash rich deal over the long term that was pretty enticing when UC needed a stadium modernization and practice facility to keep growing our program.

Conversely, we got a pair of games with Purdue when they were worse than most of the MAC and convincingly swept a B10 opponent, home and away. Ditto, UCLA.

How about this today from espn.com,

To date, Alabama and Clemson have occupied nine of 20 total CFP spots since the playoff began in 2014. Throw in Oklahoma and Ohio State, and four teams have accounted for 14 bids.

Unless it's some home and home arrangement or just too much money to ignore, let's not schedule any of those four again anytime soon. A super elite class has emerged in college football that appears unbeatable by more than 95% of the other schools.

I've posted this before, but IMHO a consequence of the CFP is to create a super-class of teams. Sure, schools like Ohio State has always have had historic advantages and resources, but now schools like OSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, LSU, Georgia and a few others are recruiting at an extremely high level compared to the rest of the field (including other P5 schools). As a UK buddy of mine commented about OSU FB, they have been recruiting like Calipari does in basketball, taking the top players in the country at every position group. If OSU doesn't get the top player in the country, they are getting a top 5. A decade ago they were often recruiting three and four star guys. The others schools I mentioned are doing this as well.

During the OSU week CLF commented before the game UC should be playing schools like Pitt, WVU, Louisville and VT OOC. I think he is right. Very few teams go into OSU, Alabama, LSU, etc. and beat them at their place-- the only ones who are doing it one of the few I mentioned above.