It looks like the Furd will head to the Rose Bowl and face the Ohio State.
I have so much respect for the Furd, especially with their schedule. Furd has further cemented its place as an elite team in college football. Such a shame, given that the parity and the 9 game Pac-12 schedule makes it such a difficult conference to win. And yet, Furd has won it 3 out of the last 4 times.
Anyway, Furd's résumé stacks up as probably the most impressive in the country, playing a road game at 10 win Northwestern at 9:00 a.m., plus an annual rivalry game with 10 win Notre Dame.
Under David Shaw, Furd has become one of the most mature, disciplined programs in the country, and nobody wants to face Furd.
That being said, it appears likely that they will play the Ohio State in Pasadena on New Year's Day. The Ohio State has been unimpressive to the committee and the college football fans for the first 11 games, culminating to a humiliating defeat to a 3rd string QB on Senior Day to MSU. The Ohio State backup quarterback Cardale Jones and tailback Ezekiel Elliott had a hard time containing their emotions, and declared for the NFL Draft immediately.
However, the Ohio State yet again demolished an upbeat Michigan program with first year head coach Jim Harbaugh, clearly a splash hire and former Furd coach. The Ohio State has now beaten Michigan 13 out of the last 15 times.
The Ohio State has not played a ranked team until their 11th game, a loss to MSU. They redeemed themselves with a ranked win against UM.
Furd's quality win is against 10 win Notre Dame, who is likely heading to a New Year's Six bowl game.
Either way, the disciplined Furd should be able to matchup against the flashy, star-studded, media attention grabbing Buckeyes.
Would UM fans root for us, considering that their head coach use to be ours? Or simply just because they wouldn't bear watching their rival winning a Rose Bowl?
There are so many key matchups to watch: Christian McCaffrey vs. Ezekiel Elliott, J.T. Barrett vs. Kevin Hogan, and so on. McCaffrey and Elliott are clearly two of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy.
One thing I have noticed, the Ohio State is simply a one dimensional offense: run the ball, run the ball...and that's it. It did work against UM, but I do not see this offense working against Furd.
The Furd has such a balanced offense, with the well-rounded McCaffrey and disciplined Kevin Hogan leading the way. The Pac-12 has one of the most exciting offenses in the country, so the Furd definitely lives up to that.
Finally, I have noticed one thing. The Ohio State, despite being a powerhouse school, has yet to produce a successful NFL quarterback. They have had numerous 2 and 3 quarterback systems throughout the year (Miller/Barrett/Jones, Miller/Guiton, Boeckman/Pryor, Smith/Boeckman, etc.), yet none of these QBs had success in the NFL. Is it because the QBs always hand the ball to their tailbacks, or run it themselves, and never throw the ball?
Meanwhile, the Furd, who is only a "recent powerhouse," has had three successful QBs in the NFL: Plunkett, Elway, and Luck. Plunkett and Elway have already won 2 Super Bowls each. Even though the Furd's historical success is inferior to the Ohio State's, the Furd has had 3 widely successful QBs in the NFL while the Ohio State has yet to produce a successful QB.
Kind of like now, the Ohio State simply just runs the ball while the Furd has a traditionally balanced pro-style offense.
Either way, I am super fucking excited for this game. The 2 best teams that are not competing in the CFP.
Predictions for this game? I would pick the Furd over the Ohio State, 38-35.
