ncaa football: december bowl games .........

[DoubleDown]

Zwick is definately NOT a stiff. Has WAY more QB skills than Smith, but no where near the athleticism.
Zwick's ability to read defenses, is Manning-like. You must remember that Ohio State was running Ross at TB, and only Holmes as a reliable WR.

Smith has had the benefit of an eager-to-please freshman TB, and the "new" secret weapon, Ted Ginn, Jr.

Smith didn't play very well in his starts, with the exception of the Michigan game, where he was a STUD.

The competiton that Zwick faced in the first few games , was far superior to the talent that Smith faced.
It will be interesting to see what results Zwick will have with Ross out of the line-up, (thank God), and a real play-maker, Ted Ginn, Jr, lined up at WR.

Ohio State now will command respect in the passing game, running game, and trickery dept.

One of those behind the scene type rumors, was that the black athletes were upset that Smith didn't get a fair shake at the onset of the season, so they were going out of their way to make Zwick look bad. Who knows.
Coach Tressel will have these boys ready to play!!

 

[gman2]

weasel:

zwick is not a stiff by any stretch. the kid came into osu with the hype of having a chance to be the best ohio state qb ever. whether or not he ultimately becomes that, or if he just becomes ron powlus -- we'll see. but the physical tools are abundant.

like double down said, a lot of what hurt zwick in his starts was a non-existent running game. that ended up putting too much pressure on him, and he made some poor decisions.

also keep in mind that tressel didnt give zwick the luxury of having ginn on the field as a weapon. right about when they made the qb switch was when ginn started seeing the field. so in that sense, zwick got a raw deal.

heres what its gonna come down to:
will ohio state allow zwick the same freedom they allowed smith? obviously, smith was/is the better athlete and scrambler, but its like the lightbulb went on in the osu coaches head once smith was in the lineup that the '2.5 yds and a cloud of dust' running game just wasnt gonna cut it. they let smith improvise and they spead the offense out and .......voila.....ohio state showed off the bluechip talent that tressel recruited into that program.

i still think zwick is a little overwhelmed by the hype and he isnt as far along as smith with his qb progression, but i think osu would be doing him and the team a huge disservice if they didnt keep the offense wide open in this bowl game.

 

[bombercoops]

Gman, you said in an earlier post that you were going to hit BG hard for tomorrow night's game. Exactly how hard are you going to hit this one??

 

[arrow]

Qoute
Zwick's ability to read defenses, is Manning-like.

Are you kidding me. his reading defenses is like Marc Wilson, ex raider q.b.

 

[baltimore buc]

Line down to 3 at spots. This one looks strange. I love Bowling Green like a lot of others here, but is this the game the dog finally gets it done? Also love the fact that I liked the game and Gman solidified my selection, but the line drop has me thinking....probably too much.

Could the potential weather in Mobile (storms, wind, 1 inch of rain) be having an effect on this line - maybe perception is Memphis would play better in the rain?

 

[gman2]

Could the potential weather in Mobile (storms, wind, 1 inch of rain) be having an effect on this line - maybe perception is Memphis would play better in the rain?

thats kinda what i think it is.
ive also learned to just ignore mac line moves this year and trust my stuff. there have been all kinds of 'wrong' line moves in the conference this season. some of my biggest plays this year have had the lines move against me before gametime (toledo over ohio, toledo over miami, etc), only to mean nothing when the game is over.

 

[baltimore buc]

Cool. Will have to listen to the game on the radio tonight as I will be driving from Baltimore to eastern ohio where my in laws live - joy. A possible snowstorm, a 6 month old cryng in the back seat, the wonderful road known as the PA turnpike.....hopefully a big BG win will make it a little more tolerable. Good Luck

 

[gardenweasel]

my real concerns with bowling green are twofold.........

1)no real wins over quality teams...other than say, marshall...and you could argue that marshall had a down year.....although,b.g. moved through the herd like a hot knife through butter.....that 17 point loss to n.ill. really worries me...n.ill. ran for almost 300 yards....and,although they smoked marshall,marshall doesn`t run all that well....

to be fair,memphis` wins,though vs a little better competition,weren`t that much better...


2)the domination that scooter mcdougle exhibited over the bowling green run defense...once toledo got back into the game,bowling green was dominated and couldn`t get the ball away from toledo...

now they see an even more accomplished back in williams...and an offense that has some balance...

i really think this one`s a toss-up...i suspect that jacobs should do business vs the memphis secondary...

some great stats,g....and memphis is sporadic....they can be very good...or very pedestrian...wimprine`s inconsistency probably has alot to do with that...

this is a toughie for me.....but,a great match-up from a fan`s standpoint...

g.l.

 

[gman2]

too much value to pass this up:

bowling green falcons (-0.5) (+110) for the 1st quarter

number of times bowling green has been outscored in the 1st quarter this season? ZERO

number of times theyve been tied at the end of the 1st qtr? ONE

who was it against and when? OKLAHOMA SEASON OPENER

memphis is a decent 1st qtr team, outscoring their opposition 92-52 in the 1st.

but bowling green looks to throw early haymakers and jmup on teams from the opening kickoff. their playcalling is super aggressive and they love getting out to fast starts.

bowling green outscoring teams 163-27 in the 1st qtr

 

[Ranger6]

Thanks Gman I followed you on the 1 QTR play. Great call. I wish they were all that easy.

Great job on BG!! i FOLLOWED AGAIN!!!

 

[Another Steve]

Great Info lead to a Great Play...Thanks

 

[gardenweasel]

appreciate the 1st qtr play...it looked solid...and was....nice job...

 

[Bill]

Great catch to take the lead.

G-Man, what does you crystal ball say the 2nd half total going to be?

Bring it home.

 

[cavy1]

Excellent write up !!!!!!
Nice call on BG
Thank you

you are an asset to the board


:clap: dance1 :bigun: :Yep: :director: :firing:


cavy1

 

[kneifl]

Gman -

Nice call buddy!!! I put $100 on BG and hit it good. Hey, thanks for all the great picks this year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family!!

kneifl

 

[bombercoops]

Another solid MAC call gman. keep it going mate! I see at least two of the other three MAC games hitting before the bowl season is over also.

 

[bombercoops]

Sorry, forgot about marshall tomorrow night. Could be a good bowl season for the MAC this year if the thundering herd can pull it off against cinci!

 

[vyrus858]

looks like your sweeping every NCAA sport board...can't wait to see what you have for water polo lol (kidding)...you are truley one of the best at what you do, glad to see you had a great day brother...congrats

 

[tulah]

thanks Gman for the BG play. I hammered it and boy am I glad..
Looks like XMAS didn't cost me a penny ... Awesome!!

season's greetings to all!!

 

[gman2]

marshall thundering herd under 54

on the heels of a nintendo-like shootout in the gmac bowl, i think this marshall/cincy game finishes in the 40s. although bowling green sliced them apart a few weeks ago, this marshall defense is still very fast...very athletic...and very good. im not sure cincinnati is gonna be able to establish their ground game against the herd run defense. marshall is barely allowing 100ypg on the ground, and theyre top 10 in the nation defensively in yards per carry.

id also like to think with dantonio being a former ohio state defensive coordinator that his main focus the last 3 weeks was restoring some pride in his defense and fixing the mistakes that led to the 70-7 louisville debacle. cards are good, but they shouldnt have scored 50+ on UC, let alone 70. and if you file that louisville game as 'one that got away', their defense has indeed been respectable (#49 in the country). as poorly as they played against louisville, cincinnati did hold a potent memphis offense to 10 points, 10 first downs, and only 202 yards of total offense.

weather certainly doesnt hurt an under play either. temps are gonna be in the teens at gametime. shouldnt see too many mistakes, as both teams are used to the colder climate. but all in all, i see a lot of power football with two defensive-minded coaches.