Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

The arguments have been made, the conspiracy theories are out there, yet Ohio State is still on the outside looking in. They are number one on the upgrade list but all of the seats for the playoff plane have been assigned by the selection committee

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The cold hearted members of that select group…see what I did there…are not buying the reason Ohio State lost so badly in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes. They did it for the kids. With the Hawkeyes  new end of first quarter tradition of waving to the kids in the Children’s hospital overseeing the stadium, the Buckeyes not only waved to the kids but waved good-bye to their playoff dreams by losing badly to Iowa. But what Buckeye  wants to upset the kids and their parents by seeing Iowa get beat up on? Woody always said pay it forward, so…well…maybe that’s a little far fetched but could have been worth a try. 

A better idea than Nick Saban calling SportsCenter at midnight following the Ohio State defeat of previously unbeaten Wisconsin to pitch the reasons his Crimson Tide should be in the playoff even before Urban Meyer had his day in the championship spotlight.  What else did Saban have to do since Alabama was forced to stay home by not qualifying for their own conference championship game. Nick used the media and Ohio State used the kids…Wiki Leaks and Putin have to be a part of this. It’s all to despicable not to be true.

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So the experts agree, losing to Iowa was bad for the Buckeyes and when given the eye test, not to be confused the every which way E chart, Alabama is the better team. Being a bit of a stats geek, I looked over both team stats to see if and how they match up, numbers wise:

Alabama definitely has the better defense and has committed half as many turnovers and with Ohio State’s proficiency of having drive killing penalties called in key situations, maybe it’s best Alabama has been given the coveted 4^th spot in this year’s playoff.

In it’s 4^th season the College Football Playoff now has 9 teams who have played, Alabama in all 4 years and this year Georgia makes its debut. I would not call 3 years history but I’m sure the SEC will lay claim to it being the first conference in the history of the Playoff to have two teams and Alabama never missing one.

Not a lot of history, just some basic facts to ease the mind of Buckeye Nation. Now it’s time to turn attention to the other conference champion left out of the playoff picture , Southern Cal and what should be a great game down in Jerry Land in the Cotton Bowl, which is not played in the Cotton Bowl.

 Remember, this is the place where Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff championship after sending the CFB playoff darling Crimson Tide home early in the semi finals.

So put away your Playoff voo-doo dolls,  make your plans for Dallas and hope for a convincing win over the Trojans, they deserve a Buckeye beat down. 

Then rest up because Oregon State visits The Shoe just 247 days later.