Jeff D'Alessio, Sporting News
No need to wait a week to make those Rose Bowl reservations, Ohio State fans. The Buckeyes are BCS-bound, 17 of college football’s coaching greats say.
The Buckeyes’ defense shut down Daryll Clark and Penn State; now it can set its sights on wounded Iowa.
What was a much-anticipated battle for the Big Ten title this weekend in Columbus lost a lot of luster Saturday when 9-1 Iowa lost a game (to Northwestern), a starting quarterback (Ricky Stanzi) and any prayer of beating the 8-2 Buckeyes, the Legends say.
“Without their quarterback, Iowa doesn’t have much of a chance to win this game,” former Ohio State coach John Cooper said.
“The magic for Iowa is gone,” added former Auburn coach Pat Dye.
After a 24-7 rout of Penn State, the Buckeyes climbed five spots, to No. 8, in Sunday’s Legends Poll. That matched new No. 6 Georgia Tech for the biggest jump.
Florida (nine first-place votes) remained on top. No. 2 Alabama (six) moved up one spot after a 24-15 win over LSU. No. 3 Texas fell one spot despite a 35-3 romp over Central Florida.
Other matchups on the Legends’ minds Sunday:
• Florida vs. Alabama. If both win out, the Dec. 5 SEC championship game will feature two undefeated teams, with the winner likely earning a spot in the BCS title game.
And if they played now?
Former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen would take Florida “because of Tim Tebow. … Alabama’s quarterback (Greg McElroy) is not up to snuff. With two great teams, it often comes down to how the quarterback performs.”
Cooper, Dye and former Crimson Tide coach Gene Stallings would take ‘Bama. Said Stallings: “Alabama has a great running game, along with their kicking and punt return teams. Add that to a very strong defense, and that makes up for the still-inconsistent quarterback play. Alabama turned …
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