Big Ohio State fan here but several factors contributed to OSU getting in thru the backdoor. I feel bad for TCU as I thought they were a very solid team.
1. B1G committee guys obviously supporting OSU. PAC likely as well as well as some other key supporters in the room. Pro SEC comm members giving full support to OSU to give Alabama a gimme game. Very little support for b12/Texas teams on the committee
2. Lack of clear b12 champ
3. no B12 CCG - no 13 game vs quality opponent.
4. FCS teams for TCU & Baylor
5. Terrible OOC overall for Baylor
6. Name recognition and TV sets
OSU is going to lose to Bama by 30+. No way Cardale plays another game like that. He's not facing a bunch of midwestern white boys on D. Bama's weakness is its pass Defense and not sure Cardale has enough talent to be a pure pocket passer. . Running on Bama will be impossible. Baylor and TCU would have played much better into Bama's weakness to exploit it. Hence the SEC support on the committee to go with a weakened OSU.
OSU is gonna lose worse than Mizzou did?
Joey Bosa is pretty good I think. He's white isn't he? All those White NFL lineman that Wisconsin/Big Ten puts in the NFL don't count anymore?
If we keep A'Shawn Robinson out of the backfield then I like our odds. Cardale Jones is still 6-5, 250lb and I think we are gonna try to speed this up.
OSU had a better resume than TCU. way better. If beating an 8-4 OU or 9-3 Kansas St is your top win then there is a problem.
If you wanna talk about OSU vs Baylor then I'll listen but there was no conspiracy with TCU.
I think you have your Buckeye colored glasses on. Or you are just pumping out your chest. I think TCU is better the OSU and played a tougher schedule. Apparently they did not do enough to get in, and so I can only wish the Buckeyes well. I'll root for them to not get crushed by Alabama. It's unfortunate they don't have Barret. I think he makes a huge difference. With him, OSU has a chance against Bama.
Now about your better resume. It's funny you went there. Thinking it is waaay better than TCU. Well then, let's have a look.
I know this is a long read, so grab some popcorn.
TCU
Best non-con game: Beat Minnesota 30-7. Yes the Gophers turned out to have a nice team, bouncing in and out of the polls even.
Worst non-con game: Beat FCS Samford 48-14.
But that's just the beginning. Let's go over the whole season.
Week 1: FCS Samford you know about
Week 2: Minnesota you know about
Week 3: SMU 56-0 (old rival team that sucks)
Week 4: Beat #4 ranked OU. The Sooners were 4-0, recieving 1st place votes, and still rolling along with full steam since they beat Alabama in the Bowl game. TCU was an underdog and yet they beat a Bob Stoops team from beginning to end. After that, OU was exposed and did not respond too well because of it. TCU shook up their season.
Week 5: After emotional win, once again TCU was a 5 point underdog playing #5 undefeated Baylor on the road. TCU was up 21 points in the fourth quarter. Baylor fought back and tied the game. TCU was in FG range with under 2 minutes to play. On 4th and 4 they elected to go for a 1st down. There was a no-call pass interference that the TV crew said was missed. Baylor took over and got into FG range with a phantom pass interference call on TCU. Same TV crew said they didn't see any interference. Baylor kicks FG and wins by 3.
Week 6: Facing another ranked opponent for the third week in a row, and after back to back emotional weeks against top 5 teams, they destroyed #15 Oklahoma State 42-9 while racking up nearly 700 yards of offense and shutting down the Cowboys to just 3 Field Goals.
Week 7: Hello Texas Tech 82-27 (man that's 3 TDs away from 100pts)
Week 8: Another ranked opponent, #20 West Virginia was home of college game day. Lots of excitement and fun to host that. Loud fans. Good game. However, TCU found a way win their 4th game against a ranked opponent in 5 weeks. Sheesh, it can't get any tougher than that, can it?
Week 9: A road game against a tough, disciplined Bill Snyder Kstate team that is ranked #7 in the nation. In a span of 6 weeks. Are you kidding me? Well I kid you not! TCU rolls through Manhatten to an impressive 41-20 victory. Yep, that's 5 ranked opponents in 6 weeks. 3 of them were ranked between 4 and 7. But I guess since they played an FCS school and lost a road game as an underdog by a FG to the #5 team in the country, there just isn't enough there.
Week 10/11/12: Beat KU 34-30, Texas Longhorns 48-10, and Iowa State 55-3. Will note that Charlie Strong has a stout defense this year and pitiful offense. Not stout enough though.
In summary, itwas a great year for TCU. A heisman candidate, the 2nd highest scoring team in the country behind Oregon, and a defense that was 16th in the nation for points allowed per game. All that accomplished while playing 6 ranked teams. And if you don't think it matters where a team is ranked at the time of a matchup, TV execs and Vegas think otherwise.
Now lets look at Ohio State. Because they played a tougher schedule as you say. I know you did because I highlighted it. And you did it with so much boldness. Well I looked it over and I see you beat Navy as your best non-conf win. Hmmm. And then there's that upset lost to unranked Virginia Tech by 14 points (ouch, too soon?). I also see that you beat a few other crappy teams before playing your first conference game of the season against......Maryland? Eh,...But you came back the next week in another big conference game against.....Rutgers? Hmmm. So far, your schedule is not looking too impressive there. I mean, 6 games in and you beat Navy and some East Coast rejects that joined the B1G.
Meanwhile TCU is 2-1 against three ranked opponents, including two of them ranked in the top 5. It's up there, go ahead and read it again if you want. But that's okay, you've lost to Va Tech but beat Maryland & Rutgers at this point. I'm not so sure your team is even ranked at the moment. The next week it heats up because you got Penn State to play. I mean, let's ignore that they were on a two game losing streak before playing the Buckeyes. And you obviously do. Because lucky for you, after 4 quarters against a bad Nittany Lion team, you guys are all tied up. But wait, the game isn't over. Someone must win. Yay for overtime! And a good thing too because you did it! You beat Penn State! 3 stars for the Buckeyes! But what could be the reason for such a tough game? I know, it's because Ohio State was looking past Penn State to the following week, right? NOPE. It's just Illinois. Wah-Waah. But that's okay too. You win the game and next it's Michigan State. Uh-huh. Now we are getting real. And guess what, it's good win for the Buckeyes. Seriously, good for you guys. You pounded them on the road, and the Spartans were ranked #8. Hey wait a second, let's take another look at what that means. It's the 9th week into the season and you finally played a ranked opponet. 9 weeks? My gosh, the season is nearly over! Well Good job Buckeyes! I mean, there's only 3 regular season games left. That schedule must have been brutal to get through so far. Which means the following week you play Minnesota and guess what? They've been having a good year (although TCU beat the snot out of them earlier in the season, but that's ok), and they are ranked #25... out of a 1-25 ranking system. Woo Whoo! That helps beef up your resume, doesn't it? Oh well, it doesn't matter you say, because the Buckeyes are up for the challenge of a ranked team and are ready to roll. After all said and done, OSU beats the Gophers by....a touchdown. Oh no...Why did you do that? Now Minnesota won't be ranked anymore. Oh darn. But it's okay because you still have one final regular season game against Brady Hoke's Michigan team. Didn't he get fired? Well Michigan did beat that Penn State team before you played them. Anyway, you do good and you win that game too. So in recap, going into the Conference Championship Game that you clearly earned, Ohio State has beaten Navy, lost to Va Tech, and fast forwad through a whopper of a schedule, to wins against Michigan St and .....well Minnesota was ranked so yeah, you guys played 2 ranked teams out of 12 games. 2 ranked teams out of 12. 2 ranked teams out of 12. Is this sinking in yet??? If not, well let's just give out more stars for the Buckeyes. And good for you, because in the end you steam rolled #13 Wisconsin, and thus cementing all proof and clear evidence that your Buckeyes have played a tougher schedule than TCU - as you say - and opened the eyes of the College Football World Committee. And for your most deserving reward, the entire college football universe gets to see the stellar Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes - along with their 3rd string QB who will be making just his second start ever - against the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Congrats to the Buckeyes, buddy. Keep beating out your chest and popping that collar. Your team definitely belongs. And good luck too, because you might need it....Roll Tide.
