Zack, great breakdown - I completely agree with you.
Brandon and Rob, agree with you guys as well. Good points all around.
I said yesterday there was a 50/50 chance of Ohio State making it in with a win. Now, I'm at about 90 percent likelihood that they make it in. They just dropped the mic and walked off the stage, and the entire nation has responded with, "Like a boss."
This was the best performance I have ever seen from Ohio State in my lifetime, and perhaps the great single game performance of any team at any time, considering the magnitude of the game, the stakes involved, the quality of the opponent, and the stage.
I said that I thought Baylor winning would help Ohio State because it effectively keeps a "cap" on TCU. I think I was right in that assessment - and was helped by the in-fighting at Baylor/B12 that has ensued. Baylor knows they have a legitimate beef to be the champions of their conference and are letting everyone know about that. In turn, everyone has to be thinking, "How can TCU get in to the playoff when they aren't even the best team from their conference?"
Some media are saying that the committee has a really tough choice. Actually, I think their job got easier last night with how things played out. If I am on the committee, this is my rationale for picking Ohio State over TCU and Baylor:
- sorry TCU, you lost head-to-head to Baylor, so you can't get in over them
- sorry Baylor, you didn't play in a championship game, so you can't get in over a team with a similar resume who did
Those are undisputable facts, which, I think, is what the committee will want to use, as it makes it difficult to argue against them. Also, the committee will know that the general public sentiment supports their position, as the entire county saw with their own eyes the obliteration that Ohio State wreaked. Meaning, the committee doesn't have to site the "eyeball" test in naming Ohio State the most worthy of the three, but they know that's what everyone is thinking.
Sure, TCU is going to cry foul, and so will Baylor. But someone is going to cry foul when all of this is said and done, whether it's TCU or Baylor or someone else. However, I think TCU and Baylor's whining will be the least convincing, if that makes sense.
IMO, the committee's job would have been infinitely more difficult had Ohio State only won by like 2 TDs and didn't play all that well.
Some other thoughts:
- the QB situation is amazing. Everyone has to be thinking, "Well, apparently at Ohio State they back up Heisman contenders with other Heisman contenders."
- kind of getting lost in this crazy season is how good Elliott is. He is really, really good.
- I really like how little we had to use Jalin Marshall. If we can get into the playoff, then we can surprise teams with adding him to the mix opportunistically.
- is Curtis Samuel as fast as what he appears to be? Christ, it seems like everyone on this team are track stars - and I fucking love it.