OSU-ND would be ratings bonanza for TV

[Irish Envy]

<img src="http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/images/helmets/nd.gif" vspace="5" hspace="5" align="left">Ohio State has Hopalong Cassady, Archie Griffin and Woody Hayes. Notre Dame has the Four Horsemen, Touchdown Jesus and Knute Rockne. Pitting Ohio State against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 would be a ratings bonanza for television.

A lot of people would tune in to watch the "Duel in the Desert" between Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk.

Of course, we're assuming that Ohio State and Notre Dame will get at-large invitations to the Fiesta Bowl on Sunday, and that there will be no major upsets involving the nation's top teams this weekend.

"Ohio State-Notre Dame would be a great matchup," said Alan Young, the selection committee chairman for the Fiesta Bowl. "They've only played four times. We're just realizing how important that would be."

The Fiesta Bowl has the first and third picks in the Bowl Championship Series lottery. The Orange Bowl has the second choice, and the Sugar Bowl the fourth.

Champions of the six BCS conferences are guaranteed spots in the four BCS bowls. The remaining two openings are filled by at-large teams that must have nine wins and be in the top 12 of the final BCS standings.

Ohio State, No. 6 in the rankings, and Notre Dame, No. 8, both qualify.
Notre Dame is the national darling.

The Fighting Irish are a virtual lock for the Fiesta Bowl.

Ohio State, meanwhile, is the odds-on-favorite to be paired against Notre Dame.

However, Fiesta Bowl officials have become more and more tight-lipped as decision day draws closer.

Oregon, which finished 10-1 and lost only to Southern Cal, is also under consideration for an at-large bid, as is longshot Auburn at 9-2.

Oregon officials have been lobbying Fiesta Bowl execs for weeks.

Maybe the BCS does owe one to the Pac-10 after California got shut out last season.

But does Notre Dame-Oregon or Notre Dame-Auburn make more sense than Ohio State-Notre Dame?

Nah.

Not even close.

Love 'em or hate 'em, all eyes are on the Irish, who have lost their last seven bowl games, including two Fiestas by a combined score of 82-33.

The way it looks now, a showdown between Ohio State and Notre Dame - just 2-2 against each other since the Buckeyes first started playing football in 1890 - would get overshadowed only by No. 1 USC playing No. 2 Texas for the national championship in the Rose Bowl.

"We'll look at all the matchups," Young said. "If you have to prioritize what we look at, No. 1 would be the most exciting game to watch."

The Buckeyes finished with a flourish, winning their final six games to end 9-2 and earn a share of the Big Ten title.

The Fighting Irish also are 9-2, winning their last five under first-year coach Charlie Weis.

Ohio State played in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, beating Miami 31-24 in double overtime to win the national championship, and again in 2003 when they edged Kansas State 35-28.

The Buckeyes appear to be headed back to the desert for the third time in four years.
And they're not afraid of the ghost of the Gipper or the golden domers, having won the last two meetings with Notre Dame in the 1990s.

Source: Toledo Blade

 

[jiggafini19]

The thought of playing Ohio State is the most appealing to me.

Oregon and Auburn, not so much.

Auburn worries me the most of the three.

 

[South Side Irish]

ND v OSU

ND v OSU

I believe ND matches up much better to OSU than the others. I think ND would have some success on the Buckeyes secondary. The run, on the other hand, may be difficult. We can control their Offense pretty well.

 

[Domer95]

"Love 'em or hate 'em, all eyes are on the Irish, who have lost their last seven bowl games, including two Fiestas by a combined score of 82-33."

OUCH!!!! (hopefully) ANOTHER few pound of flesh to be extracted (hey, a decade long bowl drought will do that) in the desert......

I think that this quote says it all, "We'll look at all the matchups," Young said. "If you have to prioritize what we look at, No. 1 would be the most exciting game to watch." = Quackers, book your tickets NOW to SD.

 

[bigdon]

"Love 'em or hate 'em, all eyes are on the Irish, who have lost their last seven bowl games, including two Fiestas by a combined score of 82-33."
OUCH!!!! (hopefully) ANOTHER few pound of flesh to be extracted (hey, a decade long bowl drought will do that) in the desert......
I think that this quote says it all, "We'll look at all the matchups," Young said. "If you have to prioritize what we look at, No. 1 would be the most exciting game to watch." = Quackers, book your tickets NOW to SD.

First let me say that ,like just about everyone else, I think ND-OSU is the best matchup. There are about 40,000 OSU alumni in the general area of Phoenix and ND has scads of people all over. Great game!!!

But for Young to say they are looking for the best matchup he is not speaking about the field of play. He is speaking about the matchup that would bring in the most money because that is his job. Naturally, if he says that he would be fired but that is the reality of the bowl games.

The Fiesta bowl committee is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable in the business. And, YES, this is a business.

 

[LuckyDUCK]

I was just reading one of our papers with an article about ow much more deserving ND beloongs in the Fiestia. They talk about a turnaround year for them. Oregon won 5 last year, and 10 this year. Is that not turn around. Also the talk about the History

“Any bowl has to look at Notre Dame,” Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker said. “There is what I call the evergreen elements of Notre Dame. There is the history, the story of the fans, the national interest.

Here's the link
link:http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/13290667.htm

This is why Oregon can't get in. But they also talk about a ND-Oregon matchup. Since ND has had a good season and Ohio has been to this bowl 3 out f the last 4 years, that they need new blood. Why not Oregon - ND. Would be a nice whipping on ND. By the way , You also have a good in with Fiesta bowl pres. heard he graduated from Ohio State.

 

[DucksToFiesta]

Deserving??? All these posts and articles talk of the most "exciting" matchup for the BCS. That's great and all, but these arguments assume that notre dame is actually worthy of playing in a BCS game. You guys have beat a total of 3 teams over .500. You lost to a miserable michigan state team. Sure you played USC close, but who cares when you nearly get humiliated by the Cardinal. I love the argument about you are more deserving than Oregon because you lost to USC by less than they did... ok, how about our games against Stanford? Washington? good arguments. In reality, ohio state, oregon, and even auburn, if not more teams, are better and more qualified to play in the Fiesta Bowl. In a perfect world, Ohio State and Oregon would be playing each other because those two teams are undoubtedly more qualified than notre dame and the others. Unfortunately, the system is far from perfect and the deserving teams notoriously get snubbed, especially on the west coast. Notre Dame fan may be right in saying they will be playing Ohio State in Tempe. However, I want nothing more than to see Oregon embarass Notre Dame on the big stage just as Oregon State has done twice this decade already.

 

[iloveirish_12]

I think the thing Ohio State has on Notre Dame is speed. I live in Ohio and I see them playing all the time and they are fast. The offense isn't the best but they do run it good. But the bowl game isn't for a long time, so I think its just enough time for Tory Smith to get in trouble again.

 

[irish9331]

Deserving??? All these posts and articles talk of the most "exciting" matchup for the BCS. That's great and all, but these arguments assume that notre dame is actually worthy of playing in a BCS game. You guys have beat a total of 3 teams over .500. You lost to a miserable michigan state team. Sure you played USC close, but who cares when you nearly get humiliated by the Cardinal. I love the argument about you are more deserving than Oregon because you lost to USC by less than they did... ok, how about our games against Stanford? Washington? good arguments. In reality, ohio state, oregon, and even auburn, if not more teams, are better and more qualified to play in the Fiesta Bowl. In a perfect world, Ohio State and Oregon would be playing each other because those two teams are undoubtedly more qualified than notre dame and the others. Unfortunately, the system is far from perfect and the deserving teams notoriously get snubbed, especially on the west coast. Notre Dame fan may be right in saying they will be playing Ohio State in Tempe. However, I want nothing more than to see Oregon embarass Notre Dame on the big stage just as Oregon State has done twice this decade already.

Beware of the trolls.

 

[LuckyDUCK]

Pop quiz, did ND set any sort of record with the 700 yard+ performance with Standford? Also did they manage to score the least amount of points with over 700 yards of offense. Unreal that many yards and only 38 points.

 

[Irish Envy]

Pop quiz, did ND set any sort of record with the 700 yard+ performance with Standford? Also did they manage to score the least amount of points with over 700 yards of offense. Unreal that many yards and only 38 points.

I missed the game. Did they win or lose?

Again, if you have something logical to post, post it. If not, head back down the road. You're about out of strikes here.

 

[Guest]

Pop quiz, did ND set any sort of record with the 700 yard+ performance with Standford? Also did they manage to score the least amount of points with over 700 yards of offense. Unreal that many yards and only 38 points.

Most childish post of the year, you make irishgo8 look like a genius...

 

[jiggafini19]

However, I want nothing more than to see Oregon embarass Notre Dame on the big stage just as Oregon State has done twice this decade already.

Don't go holding your breath there, my friend.

Has Notre Dame been embarassed in 2005? Nope. Don't expect it in January either. They are probably two plays from being in the Rose Bowl. Oregon is 30 minutes and 32 points away from that. You know, if SC had beaten ND by 10 or MSU beat ND by 21, there might be a case for those two losses. Fact is, they were damn close. And everyone knows that.

The head coach of this team (heard of him?) has prepared for SUPER BOWLS in a week's time. Now, you're going to give him a month to prepare for a defense? Fess up and admit there is something to be said for that.

Oregon's corners are 5-9 and 5-11. ND's receivers are 6-4 and 6-5. They've been killing people all year.

Now at the same time, Notre Dame's defense is a bend but don't break unit, so I could certainly see the Ducks being able to score some points. I'm not sure, but does Oregon not run a spread offense with 3 WR? Could be an issue for the ND D.

However, this group is very well coached, poised and is the most schematically prepared team on the field any given Saturday. If you're going to use the Oregon State bowls under the last TWO ND coaches as a barometer, please allow me to be your bookie.

You keep bringing up Stanford and Michigan State. Allow me to provide a few lucid thoughts on that. First, Notre Dame lead for that entire game until Stanford took a ONE point lead with 1:55 left. No one panicked, they marched right down the field, scored and then converted a two point play. 8 points in about 60 seconds. The Irish also had several starters leave the field hurt in that game and had players playing hurt. And I can almost guarantee Stanford gave Notre Dame more of a game than they did Oregon. They were playing for bowl eligibility.

Second, was Michigan State pathetic when ND played them? No. See, Sparty tanked after back to back losses to Michigan and Ohio State, probably their two biggest rivals. This was one month after they beat Notre Dame....in overtime....by 3....after leading by 21 in the third quarter.

ND is 9-2. Oregon is 10-1. There are a lot of people out there, computers and humans alike, who feel that two close, 3 point losses have a bit more value and quality to a 32 point loss. No one is bringing up ND losing to SC close....the Oregon folk continue to say their only loss was to the #1 team in the country. Funny, they don't mention the score.

And yes, after 1 and 2 are matched up the other three games, as well as the other 40 that proceed it in December, mean nothing so the suits must sell tickets.

This BCS system was agreed upon by the conferences. You want someone to blame, look at your team. All you had to do was beat SC and you'd be going to Pasadena to play Texas.

Coming to irishenvy.com isn't going to change much in terms of your fate.

This crap is really starting to bore me. We're getting our 23 rd verbal on Monday and have better things to talk about.

 

[domerfor life]

Pop quiz, did ND set any sort of record with the 700 yard+ performance with Standford? Also did they manage to score the least amount of points with over 700 yards of offense. Unreal that many yards and only 38 points.

If you know anything about football you know that turnovers happen. You also know that special teams can have a bad day. both were prevalent in this game. Luckyduck..............since you've been posting on this board, the level of intelligence has declined. Your post are neither thoughtful or thought-provoking. It's just a bunch of useless, asinine, immature, and pointless banter. Furthermore, those 38 points won the game. So what's really the point? go back to your own board troll.

 

[bigdon]

Jiggs, why don't you shut down this thread. The posts are nothing but a rehash of things said ten times. It is boring and let's talk about something else.

 

[domerfor life]

Deserving??? All these posts and articles talk of the most "exciting" matchup for the BCS. That's great and all, but these arguments assume that notre dame is actually worthy of playing in a BCS game. You guys have beat a total of 3 teams over .500. You lost to a miserable michigan state team. Sure you played USC close, but who cares when you nearly get humiliated by the Cardinal. I love the argument about you are more deserving than Oregon because you lost to USC by less than they did... ok, how about our games against Stanford? Washington? good arguments. In reality, ohio state, oregon, and even auburn, if not more teams, are better and more qualified to play in the Fiesta Bowl. In a perfect world, Ohio State and Oregon would be playing each other because those two teams are undoubtedly more qualified than notre dame and the others. Unfortunately, the system is far from perfect and the deserving teams notoriously get snubbed, especially on the west coast. Notre Dame fan may be right in saying they will be playing Ohio State in Tempe. However, I want nothing more than to see Oregon embarass Notre Dame on the big stage just as Oregon State has done twice this decade already.

Svoboda....please don't welcome any of these trolls to our board. They're here to do nothing but flame. Dude, about 50 of your friends beat you to the punch and they all sound as senseless as you do. Feel free to read many of the threads previously posted by your buddies. Everybody please just ignore this clown. How many times do we have to address the same stupidity? One duck comes over here, not bothering to read the other threads, and posts the same thing over and over again. It's ridiculous. Anyway, I would rather play OSU. Auburn is a scary team, because they are playing well right now. They are one of those teams that you don't want to face right now, because they are clicking. They are one of few SEC teams that have a potent offense. OSU is a great team and would be a fun matchup to watch. I want Oregon to get snubbed only because their fans are annoying and resort to putting other teams down to further their cause.

 

[domerfor life]

jiggs, please stop responding to these trolls. It's the same thing over and over again everyday. It was old two weeks ago. It wouldn't matter if Notre Dame were 11-0. They would still say because we are not in a conference our schedule is too easy and we don't deserve to play for a NC. Ignore them and let's talk about something else.

 

[jiggafini19]

You know, I feel like if I can just reach one.....

I think Ohio State is similar to ND in that they have 2 very close losses that were early enough in the year to keep them in the hunt for this BCS deal.

Tressel's conservative play calling killed them against Texas. The Horns took advantage.

I'm not sure that anyone played Penn State as well as Ohio State did up there in Mount Nittany.

Troy Smith is a leader. Put all of the off field stuff aside, he's a leader and a good football player. Notre Dame needs to focus on him and the run.

A winnable game that ND would be favored in, but probably the toughest opponent ND could wind up facing.

 

[domerfor life]

You really think ND would be favored against OSU? You know most of the "experts", most notably Mark May, won't give ND any chance to win this game. ND, in my mind, will most assuredly be dogs in this game. It's ok with me, because that gives Charlie more ammunition. They haven't won a bowl game in 11 years, they've lost the last two by an average score of 39.5-15, nobody's picking them to win, etc, etc. Jiggs....Charlie's got alot of ammo. You know he will use anything to make sure that those guys come out focused, hungry, and ready to play.

 

[jiggafini19]

According to Vegas, ND would be the chalk against Oregon and OSU, dogs against Va Tech, PSU.

After Herbstreit and Fowler, the analysts on ESPN are all one sideded homers. Holtz loves ND, South Carolina and East Carolina. Mark May just hates everyone but SC and Pitt.

I can't take any of them seriously.

 

[domerfor life]

According to Vegas, ND would be the chalk against Oregon and OSU, dogs against Va Tech, PSU.
After Herbstreit and Fowler, the analysts on ESPN are all one sideded homers. Holtz loves ND, South Carolina and East Carolina. Mark May just hates everyone but SC and Pitt.
I can't take any of them seriously.

Yeah Lou and Mark are a piece of work aren't they? The only guys that bring stability are Fowler, Herbstreit, and even Rece Davis. Other than that, you have to take their opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[jiggafini19]

I like Reece Davis. Also like Mike Tirico.

 

[domerfor life]

I like Reece Davis. Also like Mike Tirico.

Yeah, Mike Tirico does a great job. Him and Herbstreit are often insightful and unbiased. How about Bob Davie? LOL!!!! I really didn't get why people criticized him. That's because I often tuned him out. When I started listening to him to see why everybody was downing, I found that the guy is terrible. In providing insight, he often reverts back to his head coaching days. Wait a minute......ok....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

[jiggafini19]

D4 Life, I have to admit I rather like Davie in the booth. As far as the color commentary goes, he's pretty good.

I was taken back by the fact he was giving ND and Weis props during the Purdue broadcast.

Davie often tells it like it is. He isn't afraid to call guys out for making plays, good or bad.

 

[domerfor life]

D4 Life, I have to admit I rather like Davie in the booth. As far as the color commentary goes, he's pretty good.
I was taken back by the fact he was giving ND and Weis props during the Purdue broadcast.
Davie often tells it like it is. He isn't afraid to call guys out for making plays, good or bad.

There's nothing wrong with that Jiggs. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Anyway, I'm interested to hear the "analysts" once bowl bids have been handed out.

 

[DucksToFiesta]

Your responses are dually noted. I will certainly leave your forum and go back to my own... but do keep in mind, there are irish fans coming on to our forums as well and running their jabber. Good luck with your Fiesta or Orange Bowl, and I definitely hope to see that Oregon v. ND matchup.

 

[Irish Envy]

Your responses are dually noted. I will certainly leave your forum and go back to my own... but do keep in mind, there are irish fans coming on to our forums as well and running their jabber. Good luck with your Fiesta or Orange Bowl, and I definitely hope to see that Oregon v. ND matchup.

Well point them over here and we'll smack them into line, too. We don't mind Duck fans, we just don't appreciate the Duck fans coming over here badmouthing ND saying we haven't accomplished anything.

Have a good weekend!

 

[GREENJERSEYS'07]

Your responses are dually noted. I will certainly leave your forum and go back to my own... but do keep in mind, there are irish fans coming on to our forums as well and running their jabber. Good luck with your Fiesta or Orange Bowl, and I definitely hope to see that Oregon v. ND matchup.

I'm sure you have left,but I've read some posts by notre dame fans on your boards and it probably ticked them off to see you guys calling samardzija a girl.
anytime any of you duck fans want to try out for oregon football and score 15 touchdowns in a season...please let me know,i want to be your future agent.

honestly,you don't see anyone on irish boards talking about oregon.All you guys have been talking about on your boards is notre dame.The same thing you have been throwing at us here.I guesss that's fine since it is your forum board there,but myself,i'd be talking about more constructive stuff...then oregon would hang 60 on notre dame on a sunny day in austen.