Fox Sports analyst rants about SEC fans bashing Ohio State's schedule
Fox Sports analyst Stewart Mandel is tired of hearing SEC fans bash Ohio State’s weak schedule. The Buckeyes play just one ranked team — No. 5 Michigan State — the entire season.
After listening to the Paul Finebaum Show, Mandel let out a series of tweets voicing frustration with SEC fans who oppose the Buckeyes’ schedule.
The @finebaum show is now just 4 hours of SEC fans calling in to whine about Ohio State’s schedule. What is it they want to happen?
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 10, 2015
We get it. SEC teams play tougher schedules. No one would dispute that. You are all literally arguing with yourselves.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 10, 2015
It actually would have made more sense in the BCS. It’s 4 teams. Your champ will be there, trust me. Try beating them this time.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 10, 2015
During the SEC coaches’ teleconference Wednesday, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, formerly a Big Ten coach at Wisconsin, also voiced his frustration about OSU’s schedule.
However, all of the criticism of Ohio State’s weak schedule will fall on deaf ears and is really a non-issue until an SEC Champion gets left out of the College Football Playoff.
Well Mandel, your first mistake was listening to Finebaum
Listen everybody, you the fans are allowing this manure. ? When the College Football Play-off becomes the top 8 conference champions, do you think every program will continue to stunt their own growth, or do you think they will schedule games they can learn and grow from every week? Just say no, we are not watching a college football play-off selected by a “committee” or a “dis-associated press” or an “uncoachable poll”. Turn off the tele for one year and this will go away immediately. Instead just watch the bowl game your conference champion plays in. As soon as they get it right we can all start watching bowl games based on conference champions, runners up, 2nd runners up, and maybe 3rd runners up for top conferences. Everyone else can go back to their homework till next year. That will still be about 25 bowl games and we will know why every program qualified. (like every 6 and 6 team belongs in a post season game?)
Finebaum is to sports what the kardashians are to society. Stop making stupid people famous.
If I had to take one of them I would keep the Kardashians. I don’t pay attention to that part of society anyways so it’s easy to ignore it, but I like sports which means finebaum pops up more than I want him to.
Agreed. If Finebaum walked past me, It would never occur to me to look back at his ass.
Hahahaha! True!
No need to look if you’ve seen his face……….
Couldn’t have said it any better… I’ll try though. :D Listening to Finebaum is about the equivalent of listening to Kanye West give opinions on politics.
Heard “Dr. B” on Chattanooga’s Sport Talk radio show yesterday. Somebody brought up Kanye. He said (and was completely serious), “Kanye West? Never heard of her. Is she hot?”
I may have cried a little from laughing so hard.
I agree with him. Schedules are what they are. Ohio State can’t lobby for the rest of their conference to stop sucking. And despite what people want to believe, it’s not like athletic directors of P5 conferences are lining up to play top 5 teams.
Granted they can’t help that their conference sucks but they do have control of the out of conference games they’ve scheduled. Teams like BAMA don’t have a problem finding decent teams from the power 5 to play them, OSU wouldn’t either. If they tried!!
In the new world of the playoff, I find it hard to believe they aren’t trying to strengthen their schedule. And no team has control of their OOC schedule – that requires a willing dance partner, which isn’t a given.
It’s anecdotal, but consider that most of our OOC games have been against the Big 10. That might imply B10 AD’s are more agreeable to such things, which obviously isn’t any use to Ohio State.
I disagree. Florida has played Miami, will play Michigan in 2017, and plays FSU annually. Bama plays a top Power 5 every year. UGA plays GT. A team has complete control over their OOC schedule. Its the only part of their schedule they can control. There are 65 Power 5 schools. Take out the SEC and you have 51 schools to choose from. They have played VT the last two years but what about their other OOC games? Just wait until one year when they get pushed out because everyone else played tough schedules and they didn’t. It will happen.
Non-issue? Do you not remember Florida State? A mediocre team with a OSU patsy schedule who had no business going to the playoffs. By going to the playoffs, they kept out a better deserving team like TCU. How can the morons at SDS make such a ridiculous point.
Exactly. Strength of Schedule rarely plays into deciding who will be where in the polls. In the case of the playoffs, it will happen where 0- or 1-loss teams will get in ahead of a 2-loss SEC West team or even a team that loses the SEC Championship game with no other losses. It will happen, and that is exactly why it matters.
Was OSU a great team last year and are they good this year. Yes to last year, maybe to this year. Yet they are likely to have no more than one loss and stay in full contention for the playoffs unless the reach mediocre by SEC standards.
The difference between FSU and OSU is that after FSU won the crown they seemingly regressed and struggled, barely winning late almost every game last year. Winston didn’t look as good either. They didn’t pass the eyeball test all year but won the ACC and were given a playoff spot.
It’s very early but Ohio State, after hitting their stride in the postseason, seemed to carry that over this year and look like they’ve actually improved (most analyst’s opinions). If they pass the eyeball test weekly and are undefeated, SOS will be a moot point for them in my opinion and would more than deserve a playoff spot IMO.
You aren’t wrong, but that’s sorta the point. For the next month they play Hawaii, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, and Indiana. Does passing the eyeball test and going undefeated against those four teams really mean anything? Is it better than struggling against some combination of Bama, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, and A&M?
IMO, there is no score that OSU can post against any four of those teams that would impress me more than playing bama within a touchdown, win or lose.
Spot on.
Steve, that’s fine. If nothing OSU can do this current season would impress you then I’m not going to try and change your mind.
Just be glad this isn’t the BCS era where OSU “steals” a spot at the big table at the end. If it goes the way I hope, OSU will be undefeated with a B1G championship and we’ll have one or two shots at the best in the SEC/PAC/ACC/BIG12 and, if OSU takes down both, hopefully you’ll be impressed afterwards. Just like nothing Ohio State did all of last year before the Sugar Bowl probably impressed you either. Best of luck. It’s a long season!
Most of these discussions are already too circular to begin with. Ohio State is only getting singled out because they won the NC. It’s a ‘King of the Hill’ discussion. SEC was getting beat up over the years with everyone trying to attack their lofty position. Now that no SEC team has not won the NC in the last two years, it’s time to attack the new king of the hill.
Ohio State isn’t the only one…. There’s literally only ONE team that has constantly tried to play good OOC for the last 20+ years.(Don’t get me started on ND, Independents have a hell of a lot more flexibility) That team is Texas. Literally every other team in the nation besides Texas typically has a medicore to horrible OOC lineup.
Actually, it is way too early to estimate whether a team is better, worse or similar to last year. It is also too early to determine is a team is really good at all this year. The comment about SOS being a moot point demonstrates exactly the problem. Sure, schedules are made years in advance and no one will know how good the opponents are at that time. That is why SOS is a major point in determining which teams may be better in a given year. There have been, and will be again the case where one or more other conferences are better than the SEC, top to bottom. At that point, the same argument should be applied and SOS might knock an SEC team from a playoff to accept a team with a lower W/L record but with a much better SOS.
A tougher schedule can help a team improve along the way, but it can also cause more injuries to starters and key personnel as they have to play more of the time in any given game. Softer schedules allow more rest (less potential for injuries) and more chance for backups to gain experience that may come into play if/when a starter gets injured during the season. We can’t change the schedule but we can, and should, consider it as important as record.
They can’t play the way they did in that first half against a team like Michigan St or maybe even Wisconsin.
You appreciation of TCU is understandable.
OK, then the rankings need to take this into consideration. 6 of the hardest schedules are had by SEC teams, OSU is #42. They should not be ranked #1, and TCU shouldn’t even be in the top 25.
6 0f the top 10 hardest schedules I mean.
Your numbers are correct as of today but it’s only been 1 week. Strength of Schedule for every team will change and is only accurate late in the season or at the end of the season.
The only ranking that matters is the one final one that comes out in early December. We’ll see if “6 of the hardest 10 schedules are from SEC” at that time and the committee will use it as a factor.
Any schedule strength discussion is moot at the beginning of the year. Texas A&M was supposed to be the team to beat for SEC West after they crushed South Carolina to start the seam. Well… they surely got beat.
That is totally true. However, in a post above this one you were already drawing conclusions as to whether OSU is better than last year and apparently supporting their high ranking. It is nonsense to rank teams this early and that applies to my team as well as yours.
I would put more faith in the committee’s choices if there were no published rankings or if they could totally ignore them.
Yes. You’re right. My point was that it’s common practice to anoint the defending champ #1 if they return a lot of talent. Plus, we’re in a new era and since they successfully navigated a “playoff” last year they’re given even more a benefit of the doubt.
I agree the rankings are pointless and I wish they’d eliminate the AP especially this early. If OSU runs the table I have no problem trying to justify their spot in the playoff when the time comes without the preemptive #1 by their name.
Fox Sports is always bashing the SEC….methinks it’s because they don’t have any SEC games and are jealous of that fact….combined with the SEC’s presence on ESPN and the SEC network puts Fox Sports in the position of carrying lower level games and they are clearly resentful of this……..take it with a grain of salt….
“The only ranking that matters is the one final one that comes out in early December. We’ll see if “6 of the hardest 10 schedules are from SEC” at that time and the committee will use it as a factor.”
The above statement is exactly right. I don’t think anyone would disagree. However, how can a team start out this season with a #1 ranking when their SOS is ranked at #42 with a scheduled game with one Top 25 ranked team? OSU won it all last year and rightly so but that should not automatically catapult them up to the top spot for this season.
Everyone talks about SEC bias but this clearly shows it’s not.
Strength of schedule was a lot more relevant in the BCS IMO, at least in terms of things being “fair”. You’d see a team play an easy schedule, be ranked #1, and get an automatic trip to the big show. In the playoffs, it doesn’t really matter if you took a harder road to get there if the team with the easier schedule smokes you. Not with 4 weeks to rest.
Big Daddy, my answer to your question….
Rankings are some combination of two different things. How a team currently looks and what their current resume looks like (past play on field).
The reason OSU has the first unanimous #1 AP ranking is because they are defending champs who are returning 16 starters including their quarterback(s) and according to NFL scouts are littered with first round draft talent this year.
SOS is a rear-looking measurement which at this point in the season measure wins/loss records from last year. We know a lot changes from one year to the next. ie. ACC teams who play FSU are getting a bump in SOS because of FSU’s record last year but we all know the aren’t the same team.
As the season progresses, if OSU doesn’t look great against inferior opponents, voters will factor that into their decisions and they’ll probably lose votes.
To further address your points, yes…right now they only have 1 scheduled top 25 team but things change. Other OSU teams will climb into the rankings like Minn or even VT at some point. Also their SOS will change for better or worse.
Ok to balance out our SOS for Ohio State, they would have to leave their first string players out on the field for the enitre game, start to finish. even if they were winning 3 million to 2. then ohio state could actually come into the playoffs with exactly the same situation as the SEC teams.
I’ve always had a problem with the returning Champ being given number one. All they have to do is stay mediocre and lose no more than one game and they are given a playoff spot. Plus the polls give them every opportunity to stay atop the rankings. I think after the first week that TCU should have fell out of the Top 5. Number one should be at the most a 2 to 1 split in favor of Ohio St. They were struggling against VT and they only gained momentum when their QB went out.
Honestly can you really blame OSU for not scheduling tougher teams in the non-con? I certainly don’t. Scheduling multiple tough non-conference games in my mind is stupid. At the end of the day, the committee is going to be more impressed with an undefeated record than a tougher strength of schedule. Not that that makes it fair, but as Tupac said, “that’s the way it is.”
Compared to the standard SEC West schedule, OSU’s is a joke. Any team in the West would be guaranteed 10 wins out of that with a fair shot at beating Michigan State or Virginia Tech to end up 11-1 and a playoff team. They had basically 3 months to prep for VT and now they’ll have about 2 1/2 to get ready for Michigan State. I pity the fans that pay premium prices for tickets to watch OSU slaughter sisters of the poor. They’re the ones getting ripped off.
The frustration is that the SEC team will be worn by seasons end, especially if an SEC west team. Looking at today’s rankings, take Alabama. It it runs the gauntlet, including the SEC Championship team, it will have played against 9 ranked opponents. Ohio St would have played only two, assuming its opponent in the CGS is ranked. So going into the playoffs Ohio St should be really fresh and not too beat up by the physicality of the sport. Meanwhile, Alabama’s guys will likely be pretty beaten up come January.
Ohio st knows that they can schedule their out of conference games with higher ranking opponents but they CHOSE not to! It’s simple! A weaker schedule equals higher chance of making the end of the season undefeated and therefore making it easier to make the playoff. It also helps with keeping your players healthy as they come out of games a lot quicker. If Ohio st wasn’t scared of player better caliber teams then why did their AD cancel a planned home and home series against Ga for the 2017 and 2018???? Oh that’s right, it would keep their cupcakes from being eaten! Your conference is down, ok schedule better out of conference! Your conference is up, schedule some cupcakes….it’s pretty simple!
Strength of Schedule is important when it comes to rankings. Marshall was left completely out of any conversation last year. And when they were mentioned, the 1st thing that came to mind was “Who do they play?” Granted they lost their Conference Championship Game, but had they won, they would’ve been left out Due to their Strength of Schedule. Not a Marshall fan, but Ohio St sounded better than Marshall or TCU vs Alabama.
Marshall does not play in a Power 5 conference which, fair or unfair, hurts their chances with the committee. Also, they didn’t beat a single team who was anywhere near the top 25 (for what the rankings are worth).
Yeah I guess I forgot to think about that..They weren’t in a P5. Then maybe they should go the NCAA basketball module and create an NIT for Football? Non-Power 5 Playoff. That could solve a problem for mid-majors.
Actually, OSU did have a home and home scheduled with Tennessee and Georgia. But cancelled the series.
Yes this is true. It was a soft agreement with GA for 2020 that was nullified in 2012. However, OSU replaced them with a home/home with Oregon-not exactly a pushover-due to a new B1G and Pac12 agreement.
Yea, I could see you saying why not keep both, but who knows, the B1G might be a lot better five years from now and OSU won’t need a tougher OOC schedule.
Also, might not get a deal with GA going forward anytime soon. Georgia AD Greg McGarity was quoted recently as saying “once Urban came in that was off the table” (in response the Georgia actively looking for OOC opponents).
Please! Ohio State, try to win the championship after getting battered and bruised through the gauntlet of an SEC schedule.
Stewart Mandel – Born in Ohio, graduates from Northwestern, beats Stanford, starts beating chest like a Twitter gorilla.
Nothing to see here.
best comment on this thread. hands down.
No one is saying OSU isn’t a good team. they obviously are. and they deserved an NC last year. The thing that I always think about is that these kids are 18-24… they have bad days, bad games… they don’t always play as good as they are capable of. A great ohio state team can play 4 or 5 games not even close to their best and be ok. meanwhile, an SEC west team can have 2 bad games and whoops! chances are gone. OSU is obviously a great team, but there are lots of great teams in our conference. If they played in the SEC west my money is on at least 2 losses. yea, they can beat bama on any given night, but they could also lose to ARK, LSU, MISS ST. any given night too. we’ll just never know as long as their 2nd and 3rd toughest games are VA TECH and …. …. ?
Agreed.. What people are forgetting to realize is when say Texas A&M plays a Alabama.. Its as almost as if these teams are playing a 7game series against the same team.. There is hardly any drop off in schedule once Conference Play begins. Teams like Ohio St dont have the opportunity to play A quality teams 7weeks in a row.
Looking at Michigan State play yesterday..If Ohio State played MSU 7times, they’d 5 out 7 times..When ur Alabama and you go 7(8) – 0 in that conference, its major difference. They simply could not run the table against those caliber of opponents.. Out of nowhere last year Arkansas shut out Olé Miss and LSU back to back weeks and they were at the bottom of the barrel when they did that.. Thats like asking Illinois to not only beat Ohio State and Michigan State in back to back weeks but shut them out. It won’t happen..