Discuss!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/ap/

Really need Boise to drop another game, the most likely of which is Nevada.  Anyway, the next closest non-AQ to Ohio is Louisiana Tech with 7 votes, so we have a pretty good cushion.  As long as we continue to win, finishing as the highest ranked non-AQ is a very good possibility.

Ohio also needs Penn State and Marshall to keep winning.  CUSA is so bad I would not be surprised to see the Herd in the championship hunt.  Another thing that would help Ohio out is to face a team from the West in the championship game with 1 loss.  That would make the game more high profile and could be a battle between 2 top 25 teams.  I actually think that is possible.

Style points are useful for teams like Ohio coming from non-AQ conferences and trying to get the attention of the media and voters, not AQ teams firmly planted in the top 25.

Ohio also moved up to 28 in the RPI

I realize that MSU lost to ND.  But the loss was just last week, then they followed it up with a stinker of a game against a team that hasn't won.  Compare that to Nebraska that lost a relatively close one to UCLA (who lost Saturday) but the loss by Nebraska was three games ago and the Huskers followed that up with two poundings.  Why wouldn't Nebraska be ranked higher than MSU right now?

Could someone who was there write a few words about the back-ups.  Specifics on who played, for how many minutes apiece, and who looked good.  Especially interested in guards, center and linebackers.  THanks.

Living in Toledo and being only 2 blocks from the Glass Bowl, I am looking forward to taking in the Ball State @ Toledo game in November on a MACtacular Tuesday night. Very well could have MAC Championship implications for that one.

The thing with non-AQs and the polls is this.  You either have to have a MAJOR win (like beating a top 10-15 team) to make a big jump, or have built up some awareness from the previous season(s) in order to get ranked.  This is the exact formula TCU and Boise followed to get where they're at now.  Basically they started winning games and winning bowl games until they got on the radar, and once they got some legitimate top 20 teams on the schedule they could beat they made the most of it.

The pub we got from winning 10 games last season and our 1st ever bowl win is what we're riding on now.  Of course the PSU win helped, but without last year we wouldn't be sniffing the top 25 at this point and may not even have votes.  Add in some of the videos that have gone viral, and all of that helps to gain greater awareness to a degree.

Also, the success of the basketball team most definitely has had an effect on Ohio in the national spotlight and has had a positive effect on the football program.   Basketball wins don't equal football votes, but thanks to the big run in the tourney and continued progress in football, Ohio is no longer some unknown on the national landscape.  Obviously we still have to win the games, but the simple fact that we are being recognized as Ohio is major.  It's not hard to figure out.  The pollsters like to vote for teams and schools they're familiar with.  Slowly but surely, we're becoming one of those schools.

Based on what?   Marshall and Penn State are just as good if not better than South Florida and better than Indiana and we won both games on the road.  Plus they were absolutely spanked by Clemson (45-10 at the half).  That game obviously gives them a tougher schedule but that doesn't make it a better resume.