Is this our best opportunity to win one of these big OOC games between LSU/USC-W/Bama, and how do you feel our chances are against Ohio State as compared to the other big games we have played?

Answer by Will Stewart: This turned out to be an interesting question to answer. I’ll answer it by comparing what I think about this game to what I thought about other big OOC matchups before they happened, not with the gift of hindsight.

First, we have to define the games we’ll consider as “big OOC matchups.” Let’s start with the 2007 season, and I’ll include the following games: LSU 2007, Alabama 2009, Boise State 2010, Stanford 2010, Michigan 2011, and Alabama 2013.

I’m not including the Orange Bowls against Kansas and Cincinnati, or the matchups with Nebraska. I chose to concentrate on games where the stage was big and/or the opponent was a storied program and/or highly rated. I just don’t think many people on a national level cared about the matchups with Kansas, Cincinnati, or Nebraska. I also didn’t include last year’s matchup with UCLA because it was in the Sun Bowl, VT was unranked, and UCLA was only ranked 17th. Not many people were paying attention.

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