Two seasons ago the Ohio State Buckeyes, who so many inexplicably adore, marched through an extremely weak non-conference schedule and a weak Big Ten schedule to finish the regular season #1...Ask Florida how that ended up?
This past season they started off with a Y-A-W-N of schedule once more. (Youngstown, Akron, Washington, Northwestern) After beating exactly zero teams that finished in the top 15 of either poll and only 2 in the top 25 they somehow again are awarded a #1 ranking at the end of the regular season. Ask LSU how that ended up.
Ohio State has perpetually scheduled weak Ohio schools to play: Miami(oh) in'05, Cincinnati and Bowling Green in '06, Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State in '07.
To put it simply...They recently have not played or beaten any top tier teams. In fact, Ohio State has only beaten 3 top 20 teams in the final AP rankings in the past two years combined: Michigan(#8) and Texas(#13) in '06, and Michigan(#18) in '07
In 2003 Ohio State entered an agreement with the Universtiy of Cincinnati to play a two game series beginning with a 2012 showdown at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati and ending with a 2014 game at the Horseshoe in Columbus.
In 2003 Cincinnati was coached by Rick Minter and didn't really frighten many top teams. However; Cincinnati has been on the rise ever since: They entered the Big East, went thru Mark Dantonio as head coach, landed Brian Kelly as the current head coach, won 10 games last season including the Papa Johns.com bowl, and finished with a #17 national ranking.
Now the Ohio State Wuss-Wahs are up to it again.
Recently, Ohio State opted to take a buyout of the 2012 road game. Boldly, Cincinnati AD Mike Thomas and Head Coach Brian Kelly negotiated to keep the game, but Ohio State will now pay the Bearcats $1 million to play the game in Columbus. Kelly said of the situation, "You know how I feel, I'll play anybody, anywhere, anyplace. My philosophy has always been that we need to play Ohio State. If they don't want to play here, I'll play them in a parking lot in Xenia."
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who follows Ohio State or college football. Yes they are being pansies, but as long as the voters are going to keep rewarding them for mediocrity, why do they need to schedule tough road games, or tough games period? This past season BCS teams were paid $19 million(enough to pay Cincy back its $1M), if OSU has a chance to risk little and still play in a BCS game then why should they play anyone.
Wake up voters! This team has not proved a thing in 3 years. Champions of the state of Ohio maybe, but National Championship caliber? They have proven otherwise.
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3 months ago
You have to love a person that sees the world with blinders on.
Why would Cincinnati agree to this if it had nothing to gain. To me it looks like they have agreed to take the money because they would rather have that then home field advantage. Ohio State choices this route because it does give them home field advantage. As well as they make more money for the program. They can pay the million and still give Cincinnati a cut of the gate receipts. What they will get to keep is still more then they would have received from their share of the gate if the game was played in Cincinnati. So keep telling yourself that this is about fear of the Bearcats. When to me and most of the world it looks like a financial decision by both schools.
I know I can't change your mind but I just find it funny that you can be so blinded. I can always try to look at everything from all sides. Like it's good these teams play each other. It helps both schools with in state recruiting, It keeps the money in state to help both programs, It allows both teams to get some quality TV time and Cincinnati is an up and coming team it will be good for them to win in this game and a strong performance in conference could get them to a major Bowl Game.
OR I can just take the other side of the fence and be just as blinded with. Cincinnati should just be grateful that we even give them the chance to play us. They should pay us for the chance to play. We have nothing to gain. We beat their team and everybody says they suck and our out of conference schedule is weak. If they somehow find a way to get lucky and beat us. It was just a fluke and it will never happen again.
So congratulations for knowing more then your own schools athletic department. Congratulations on seeing this more clearly then the rest of the world. You are right Ohio State is afraid of Cincinnati. have been for years and will always be. That's why they have scheduled home and home series with USC, Miami (Fl), Cal, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. The one they are really worried about is Cincinnati.
from 3 months ago
I have a feeling that the bearcats would have made more money if they played it as a home game. They were trying to be smart by bringing a major player into their conference, and what do they have to win if they lose the game, a loss is a loss last time i checked and 24-23 win for Ohio State over Cincinnati looks better than a 24-23 loss for Cincinnati against Ohio State. They are just trying to stack the odds of them winning and crush and up-and-coming team so that they can't add to the pool of teams that can beat them. Also how does being competitive against Ohio State help Cincinnati's in-state recruiting when they are going against the team that BEAT THEM. Will somebody explain this to me?
from 3 months ago
P.S. I meant "bring a major player into their stadium" not conference
3 months ago
Great article Aaron, you hit the nail on the head.
Ohio State has been over rated the last 3 years and now they will be again after signing the over rated T. Pryor. He played in a Class AA high school in Pennsylvania which is like a JR high team in Florida, Ohio or Texas, all of this hype will burn out after they lose 3 games next season. Beanie can't carry them to victory every game.
3 months ago
Mike i thought i tried to give both sides a bit. Ohio State has been overrated. I will never say they are not a good team, just not 1/2 in country. I also pointed out there is no reason for OSU to play a threatening game to point out the flaws in the system(which i feel OSU is taking full advantage of) not necessarily to demean OSU. I am aware they have USC the next 2 years and VaTech the two after that. Yes i conveniently left that out, but they haven't beaten those teams yet nor anyone else worth mentioning.
OSU wanted to cancel the cincy game outright so dont give me this financial stuff - they were gonna simply buyout of the game but ballsy Brian Kelly tried to keep it on. If they had a more marquee matchup to replace cincy they would have went thru with a buyout. On a sidenote, I really think '08 will be OSU's strongest team of the last 3 i wouldn't be surprised to see them in title game again - that hurt me.
3 months ago
Just for the record, UC HAD to take the money...OSU was backing out regardless, and either the game isn't played at all, or it's played in Columbus and UC makes money. UC has always wanted to play local teams in any sport possible (UK, OSU, Indiana, etc.).
UC would first want to play at Paul Brown, second play at OSU and make money. The option of losing the game entirely (OSU's first desire as of this week) was not an option for UC.
3 months ago
This is a joke of an article. In a span of 13 years (2005-2017) Ohio State will have played at least one of these teams every year but one (2007).
Texas
USC
Miami (FL)
Oklahoma
Virginia Tech (rumored)
Alabama (rumored)
Are any of these teams going out and scheduling a team like Ohio State year after year after year. I don’t think so. Does Ohio State have to go out and schedule 2 different top 5 teams in one year to make their schedule difficult?
3 out of the last 4 years (including this upcoming year) Ohio State will be involved in the most highly anticipated regular season college football game of the year, and that is no exaggeration.
OSU (4) vs Texas (2) in ‘05
OSU (1) vs Texas (2) in ‘06
OSU (Top 3) vs USC (Top 5) in ‘08
You know that OSU and USC are going to be at least Top 10 in ’09 when they play too.
Do you not enjoy watching these games? If you say no then you are just ignorant and don’t appreciate college football. And has any other team played in three 1 vs 2 games in one season (2006). No, that is the only time it has been done.
Once again, this article and these comments are a joke.
3 months ago
Aaron,
Your points are taken. I just guess we see things differently. In 2006 I just won't buy they where overrated. Ohio State started the year #1 in the polls(By the way I hate that. I don't think the polls should come out till at least week 6). They where the only undefeated team from a BCS Conference. They won 2 #1 vs. #2 Match ups during the regular season. Who else where they going to put in the NC Game. Did Ohio State fall apart and play like idiots in that game YES. Do I really think that the 2006 team was as bad as that game showed. Not really I just think they did not show up and Florida did and kicked their ass. I might be right and I might be wrong but I really do believe that if that game was played 10 times Ohio State wins 6 of them.
On to 2007 our schedule sucked. No big out of conference games and the Big Ten was way down last year. Do I think Ohio State deserved to be in that game? I really don't know. Allot of teams had a shot at it and each and every one of them blew that chance. So no I don't think Ohio State earned its way in last year. I just see it as nobody else wanted it and they got stuck giving us the nod. I mean what did people want Ohio state to do. "No sorry we can't play in that game. We just don't think we are good enough and we would rather play in the Rose Bowl". Once again I just don't see how we are the overrated team when every other team that was considered lost at least 2 games to teams they should have beat. LSU was the better team and it showed in the NC game. Both teams made mistakes and LSU was able to recover. Ohio State did not and they lost.
Last point to just kind of stir up the pot of conversation. Why is it Ohio State's fault that the Big Ten does not play a Championship Game. The Conference has decided that they would rather not do that and give their teams a better chance of going to the National Championship. Why is that worse then the Conferences that choose to take the money and play that game and hurt their teams chances? I do not buy they do it for competitive purposes. Those conferences do it because they get 100% of the proceeds from that game. It is a huge money maker to all of their schools. Which choice is the right one? I will admit I don't know. I will however say that if you choice to take the money and play the game. You can't complain if it hurts you. That is a choice you made.
Mike
3 months ago
Who said anything about a Big Ten championship game? And if you're gonna say that the polls shouldn't come out til week six then don't talk about beating texas, who we pretty much figured out wasn't that good as the season went on. And why is it OSU fans constantly refer to the team as "we, our, and us" as if they are putting pads on every saturday. Granted every team's fans do it but why do OSU fans do it with such regularity and ease?
3 months ago
I just brought up the Big Ten Championship Game because I thought it went along your lines of strength of schedule and was just looking for some intelligent conversation about football during the off season.
I will concede the Texas #2 game. Take it away, throw it out and Then tell me who else they where going to put in that game. Does not change the fact that they where the only Undefeated team from a BCS conference and had a 1 vs. 2 victory in their last game. Their was just no way any other team was going to be in that game under our current system. They earned the right to play in that game. I just wish they would have played better once they got their. (By the way I also believe that we need a playoff system)
Look I'm just me so I will not pretend to talk for every Ohio State fan. I say" we, our, and us" because I just don't know any better. I grew up in the Canton, Ohio area and I was raised to bleed Scarlet and Gray. I spent 4 great years at Ohio State. I'm proud of that time and I loved that time. The Ohio State Football was always something special in my family. I'm 36 years old, my father and I have never missed watching an Ohio State vs. the team up north game together. Most years I fly home for the game. One year I got stuck in Colorado 2 days before the game because of work. My father took a red eye flight out to Fort Collins just so we could watch the game together. He then had to leave about an hour after the game because he had to get back home(He had tickets to the Browns game on Sunday). I have had a web site started just to show me paying off a bet I had made during the Florida vs. Ohio State game. Not saying it is right and I'm not saying it is wrong. I just get so emotionally involved in Ohio State Football that it does feel like a "we, our and us". Lets not even go into how I get during the games. Lets just say people come to the bar to watch me, watch football. I'm not a jerk or rude to anybody but I do loose my flipping mind. I found this website because my girl Googled my name and found an article with my name in it that Ron Johnson wrote on this site on Sept 11th. 2006.
Look I only wrote all that out was because right or wrong. It is all part of why I do it. Ohio State will always be part of me. So by my stupid logic it makes me part of it.
I don't proclaim to know everything. I just write what I think. I try to look at things from all sides. I will admit it is biased toward Ohio State but I do try to look at thing objectively.
3 months ago
I just brought up the Big Ten Championship Game because I thought it went along your lines of strength of schedule and was just looking for some intelligent conversation about football during the off season.
I will concede the Texas #2 game. Take it away, throw it out and Then tell me who else they where going to put in that game. Does not change the fact that they where the only Undefeated team from a BCS conference and had a 1 vs. 2 victory in their last game. Their was just no way any other team was going to be in that game under our current system. They earned the right to play in that game. I just wish they would have played better once they got their. (By the way I also believe that we need a playoff system)
Look I'm just me so I will not pretend to talk for every Ohio State fan. I say" we, our, and us" because I just don't know any better. I grew up in the Canton, Ohio area and I was raised to bleed Scarlet and Gray. I spent 4 great years at Ohio State. I'm proud of that time and I loved that time. The Ohio State Football was always something special in my family. I'm 36 years old, my father and I have never missed watching an Ohio State vs. the team up north game together. Most years I fly home for the game. One year I got stuck in Colorado 2 days before the game because of work. My father took a red eye flight out to Fort Collins just so we could watch the game together. He then had to leave about an hour after the game because he had to get back home(He had tickets to the Browns game on Sunday). I have had a web site started just to show me paying off a bet I had made during the Florida vs. Ohio State game. Not saying it is right and I'm not saying it is wrong. I just get so emotionally involved in Ohio State Football that it does feel like a "we, our and us". Lets not even go into how I get during the games. Lets just say people come to the bar to watch me, watch football. I'm not a jerk or rude to anybody but I do loose my flipping mind. I found this website because my girl Googled my name and found an article with my name in it that Ron Johnson wrote on this site on Sept 11th. 2006.
Look I only wrote all that out was because right or wrong. It is all part of why I do it. Ohio State will always be part of me. So by my stupid logic it makes me part of it.
I don't proclaim to know everything. I just write what I think. I try to look at things from all sides. I will admit it is biased toward Ohio State but I do try to look at thing objectively.
3 months ago
I talk daily with someone very close to the athletic department at UC. So I do get a lot of information, wouldn't call it inside but he talks to Cronin, Kelly and AD Mike Thomas regularly so I give him credit for knowing what is going on.....So I consider myself informed on issues regarding the Bearcats.
Mike i understand your fanatical ways, you just fit the stereotype of other OSU fans.
If OSU beats USC next year and runs the table they will have earned a way to BCS title game. I just want to see them beat a couple good teams before i have to hear about how good they are all football season.
I'm not sure about how much UC would have made on a game in Cincy. The game would be played at Paul Brown Stadium not Nippert(on UC campus). Mike Brown(Bengal owner) charges a hell of a fee to use the stadium.
from about 1 month ago
correction hamilton county takes %50 not mike brown
3 months ago
It's not OSU's fault that they have made it to the BCS championship 2 years in a row. This is the BCS system the was created by the SEC Commissioner. I never liked it to begin with.
Stop bashing OSU. Last year was the first time ever we played a 1-AA school. SEC teams have been doing it for years. Get your God Damned facts straight.
3 months ago
i have no idea who you are, but if your gonna post a comment please post it on something i actually wrote in the article. I never once mentioned ANYTHING- not a word about the SEC.(other than Florida and LSU in title game). i wrote that i think the system is screwed, what are u arguing about?
If you want me to get into and OSU-SEC debate we can go there but I dont think you want to.
and I'm not saying they shouldn't play a AA school, a lot of teams do it to tune up- thats fine. I'm just saying play someone - last 2 years they havent. USC this year and next will be a good game and measuring stick nationally; something we havent had with them in the past.
about 1 month ago
A lot of noise comes out of Ohio State Fans mouths but nothing constructive comes out.
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