Although it may be hard to believe, there is still football to be played in Columbus.
And it might be some of their best football played in recent years.
Returning 20 starters from a year ago, including All-Americans James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins, might be a good place to start.
Couple that with another top recruiting class, and you just may get another crack at a National Championship.
The Buckeyes will rely on veteran leadership and a bolstered schedule to try and repeat as Big 10 Champions. If they are to do so, they will be the first school in conference history to win three consecutive outright conference championships.
Games at Southern Cal, Wisconsin, and Illinois may prove to be major obstacle courses in their repeat hopes.
Still, the Buckeyes will be one of a few teams who could make a viable title run again.
While that may upset pundits around the nation, (including those in Columbus), there is no doubt the Buckeyes have reloaded yet again.
And while people will cringe at the thought, with a top 10 preseason ranking, wins over Southern Cal and Michigan just may put them back in familiar territory.
In this multi-part segment, I’ll take a stab at the depth chart, covering offense, defense and special teams. I’ll also take a look at their upcoming schedule, and offer early previews and predictions for a Buckeyes team hoping the third time’s a charm.
For their sake, and mine, I hope it is.
Quarterbacks:
Todd Boeckman (5th-yr Sr.) – Unlike Troy Smith’s senior year, look for Boeckman to heavily rely on the enormous amount of talent surrounding him on offense. And with a great defense, just avoiding mistakes may be enough for this team.
2nd String: Joe Bauserman(Fr.) – Bauserman may have taken away the backup job from Antonio Henton in the spring game. He showed he has a big-time arm and can make all the throws necessary. Don't be surprised if Bauserman is the bridge between Boeckman and incoming freshman Terelle Pryor.
Wild Card:Antonio Henton/Terelle Pryor – Both QBs are in the same mold – fast, athletic and elusive. But with Pryor not expected to join the team until June, it might be too much to expect him to fully grasp an offense. Look for either QB however, to have packages in place to fit their abilities.
Running Backs:
Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells (Jr.) - Wells looks to build on an outstanding sophomore campaign (1,609 rushing yards, 15 TDs). Beanie proved to be a rare bright spot in the BCS title game, and will certainly enter this year as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
2nd String: Brandon Saine (So.) – Saine didn’t play much in the spring game, but primarily for health reasons. Tressel is looking to keep him healthy for the upcoming season. Saine proved he can also be a down-the-field threat catching the ball out of the backfield last season (3 catches for 69 yards in the BCS title game).
3rd String: Maurice Wells (Sr.) – Wells played sporadically in the ’08 season, and with the emergence of Brandon Saine, might not get on the field much again this year.
Wild Card: Daniel Harron (Fr.) – Boom Harron has a similar style to Chris Wells, but also possesses above average hands and balance. With mop-up duty likely this year, Harron is poised for greater things down the road with the Buckeyes.
Wide Receivers:
Brian Robiskie (Sr.) – Robiskie dominated cornerbacks a year ago, and with a repeat performance this year, he could be a sure-fire pick to go in the 1st round in next year’s draft.
Brian Hartline (Jr.) – While fellow wideout Brian Robiskie gained all the national headlines, Hartline caught 52 balls and reached the endzone six times. Both Brian’s have lofty expectations this year.
2nd String: Ray Small, Taurian Washington – Two guys that didn’t have an overwhelming contribution to the offense last year, but may get much more playing time this year. Small, a junior, probably holds the slot receiving job right now, but a few more big plays from Washington may lead to a heated battle in the offseason.
Wild Card: Dane Sanzenbacher (So.) – With stiff competition ahead of him, it’s most likely he’s waiting patiently for his junior year. Although if Small or Washington struggle, look for Sanzenbacher to make the most of such an opportunity. Somewhat reminds me of Brian Hartline.
Stay tuned for my next segment, where I'll cover the offensive and defensive lines.
comments (18) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
He showed he has a big-time arm and can make all the throws necessary. I give him the slight edge over Schoenhoft."
I'm afraid you lost any credibility - Schoenhoft is not on the Ohio State team. He transferred to Delaware
2 months ago
My apologies, he definitely transferred in January. I remember there was talk that hey may stay, and there was also speculation that he may play tight end.
2 months ago
Maybe its just my pessimism with this team after two humiliating bowl games, but at best, I see this team going 9-2 (losses to USC and either Wisconsin or Illinois) or at worst, 7-4 (losses to USC, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan). I don't see Pryor being much of a factor this season (and I hope it stays that way) unless Ohio State decides to play him at the end of a blowout game where they're up 50-14 on an opponent just to get him some playing time.
Boeckman's still a good qb who needs to fine tune his passing accuracy before taking on the Trojans in the LA Coliseum. His last three games (Illinois, Michigan, LSU) were pretty bad compared to the earlier games (especially at Penn State) where he looked like Troy Smith incarnate.
2 months ago
Ohio State will continue to be the best team in the Big-10 and they'll continue to get slaughtered by SEC teams, becuase as we all know the SEC is a much better conference.
In fact the Big-10 has to be the most overrated conference in the country. It's basically the same as the Pac-10. Their style of play is different with bigger more bruising players and offenses but its dominated by one team, and the rest of the "contenders" like MICHIGHAN, UCLA, CAL, WISONSIN are continually overhyped and overmatched.
Hopefully this year voters will be smart enough to not let OSU into the championship game unless they are undefeated and have completely dominated their opponents. In the meantime they can take pride in beating Michigan.
Besides in the end college football really dosen't matter; it's amateur sports and decided by writers and journalists around the country. Maybe if we stop caring to attend their 1000 worthless bowl games theyll give us a playoff.
from 2 months ago
Spenser - that's too much idiocy to sift through. Please, stop commenting.
2 months ago
What was idiotic?
The fact that the big-10 has been overratted shown by its quality of performance over the last 5 years? Look at your BCS games, Illinois (owned by USC), OSU (owned by LSU & Florida), Michigan (owned by UT & USC). You have to go back to the Buckeyes miraculous win against Miami to find the last time a Big-10 team stepped up against a big time opponent. Not to mention your lack of a conference championship is what allows two teams from that conference to even play in the BCS many times.
The fact that Michigan will get dominated by OSU again? You surely wouldn't disagree with that, and I don't see that trend stopping anytime soon.
The fact that College Football is amateur sports? It is
The fact that the SEC is the best conference in college football? surely you can't be that blind seeing as you've felt their wrath first hand.
The idiocy is that you failed to argue against some of my legitimate points. I know I shouldn't expect much from an OSU fan seeing as they're generally blindly patriotic of their Buckeyes and fail to aknowledge football outside of their realm. It's funny that you seem upset when my post praised OSU as the dominant team in the Big-10; the Big-10 just isn't what it used to be. Today, the South has better players and better football, and it's tough for other schools to lure that talent away.
Last 10 Champions: Tennesee, Oklahoma, Florida State, Miami, OSU, LSU / USC, USC, Texas, Florida, LSU
Any questions?
from 2 months ago
Here's what was idiotic:
1. You guys act and talk as if the SEC has been dominating college football consistently since 1750 or something. They've had a great two year run - nobody's denying that. And they're currently the best conference in college football from top to bottom - nobody's denying that. But it's just two damn years. The year before Florida won the national title, the SEC was rated the 5th strongest conference (and the Big Ten was rated 1st) - the year before that, they were rated 6th. So go ahead and keep pretending that the history of college football began when Florida beat Ohio State 41-14 - it only feeds into the stereotype that SEC fans and southerners in general are retarded inbred hicks. I'm not saying it's true, I'm just saying it's a perception that tens of millions of people share.
Conference strength is cyclical - I think I've demonstrated that. More importantly, history has demonstrated that.
2. To make your case against OSU or the Big Ten being able to beat quality teams seem more logical, you simply cherrypick their losses and completely ignore their quality wins. It's dishonest, yet very typical of OSU hating idiots. I'm not saying you're one, I'm just saying you're acting like one. OSU got owned by LSU and Florida...yep, that about sums it up, huh? Forget their BCS thrashings of Kansas State and Notre Dame, right? Forget their annihilation of Texas on their homefield, right? Forget Michigan's complete embarrasment of a BCS-bound Notre Dame in South Bend in 2006, right? None of those games help your argument, so I can see why you would conveniently overlook them.
3. The oft-repeated mantra from SEC Boy that the Big Ten is somehow "overrated" (or as you so eloquently put it, "overratted").
Let me see here: SEC fans think the Big Ten sucks - ESPN analysts have been saying the Big Ten sucks for two or three years now. The computer conference ratings have been saying that the Big Ten sucks for two years now. Fans across the country have basically been saying that the Big Ten sucks for two years........so I'm completely confused - who, in your little pea-sized brain, is "overrating" the Big Ten? I mean....EVERYONE says that the Big Ten sucks, right? Even Big Ten fans like myself are willing to admit that the Big Ten is in a down cycle. So please, explain the "overrated" crybaby bullshit that you guys keep puking up.
2 months ago
Why do I get the feeling that Michigan is going to be terrible next year and still have a chance at upsetting Ohio State? Just sayin'.
I don't think we Buckeye fans know how good we have it. If college football is about keeping up with the Joneses, Ohio State has the nicest house in the Big Ten's neighborhood. We can keep getting slaughtered in big bowl games, for all I care. As long as we keep bringing Big Ten trophies and Gold Pants charms back to Columbus, this Ohio State alum will be happy.
from 2 months ago
I know exactly how good we have it. Yet the rest of the country seems to think that OSU is "overrated", "sucks", and "never schedules anybody". Yet only 2 or 3 teams can match OSU's success in the BCS era. Not too shabby.
However, implying that you don't really care what happens to OSU in its bowl games just got you evicted from OSU fanhood ("we can keep getting slaughtered for all I care").
You are no longer considered one of us.
2 months ago
Jeff,
1.First off the U.S. wasn’t a country in 1750. I never said the SEC has dominated forever; I’m talking about now (although they have been good for longer than just 2 years.) When you say “Conference strength is cyclical - I think I've demonstrated that history has demonstrated that”. While it might be true you didn’t demonstrate that and you forget that for much of college football’s history the black athlete was not allowed to participate, the very black athletes that dominate football today; much of whom do not reside in the most segregated regions of the U.S. known as the mid-west.
2.“The year before Florida won the national title, the SEC was rated the 5th strongest conference (and the Big Ten was rated 1st)” So because your rated higher but don’t perform to that level you should get praise? That goes against your argument and serves to justify my point that your overrated and that CFB is flawed by having a ratings and rankings system in the first place and not a playoff.
3.That’s sad that your using Notre Dame and Kansas State thrashings to justify your point. We both know Notre Dame has no business getting the praise and attention they garner and Kansas State is historically one of the worst college football programs around. The thrashing of Texas was a good point; but that’s one instance; I gave you 5.
4.I never said the Big-10 sucks, I said it is overrated. And you didn’t admit until now that the Big-10 was in a down cycle. Instead you go butthurt that another person pointed out the fact that OSU’s play showed how overmatched they were. I know from experience (seeing as I’m from the Midwest) that being from the Midwest you lack humor, fun, culture, and any sense of knowledge beyond farming but you’ve got to take these things in stride. You get the term overrated by your team being evaluated by journalists, sports writers, and voters and not your play on the field. OSU is a perennial powerhouse, but they are not the premier team in college football.
5.I’m not an SEC fan; I’m a football fan and a realist. The reality is that the Big-10 lacks the overall speed and athleticism (especially at skill positions) that the SEC, BIG-12, and ACC have. I would only be “crying” if OSU, Michigan, or Notre Dame (they should be big-10 and basically are) could actually win the games that they don’t deserve to be in. Rather I am laughing and reveling in the fact that your football prowess is dwindling. You mistake me for an OSU hater which I am not, in fact I find myself rooting for those hair-less nuts sometimes because Ohio deserves for their beloved team to be good; its all they have.
6. "The oft-repeated mantra from SEC Boy that the Big Ten is somehow "overrated" (or as you so eloquently put it, "overratted"). Once again nit-picky showings from someone who is overmatched in their football knowledge and has to result to spelling corrections or calling me a dumb southerner haha. And when you do choose to point out spelling errors make sure your not a hypocrite.
“Forget Michigan's complete embarrasment of a BCS-bound Notre Dame in South Bend in 2006, right?” Last time I checked its embarrassment.
from 2 months ago
Hmmm....item #1:
"First off the U.S. wasn’t a country in 1750"
I never said it was. And it was an obvious exaggeration on my part - not intended to be taken literally. I guess you need things like this explained to you?
"I never said the SEC has dominated forever"
I never said you did. I said "you people" and I said "act as if" - I didn't accuse "you" personally of "saying" anything that you didn't say.
"While it might be true you didn’t demonstrate that"
I demonstrated it by reminding you that the SEC wasn't very strong in 2004 and 2005, while the Big Ten was. It's only one example of the cyclical nature of CFB, but dozens more exist.
Item #2: You took a quote of mine completely out of context to go off on some irrelevant tangent about "praise" and a playoff? I don't get it. The quote of mine that you used was simply used to demonstrate that the SEC has been down before and they'll be down again.
Item #3:
"That’s sad that your using Notre Dame and Kansas State thrashings to justify your point."
You're an idiot for typing this, by the way. I didn't use Notre Dame and Kansas to justify my point. I used them to refute your obvious implication that the Big Ten hasn't performed in a BCS game since OSU's national championship. You chose to only cherrypick the Big Ten's high profile losses - and I counterbalanced your dishonesty by showing the greater picture.
"We both know Notre Dame has no business getting the praise and attention they garner and Kansas State is historically one of the worst college football programs around."
Oh, but Illinois was worthy of being the Rose Bowl against USC? You seem to think so, since you specifically mentioned their loss earlier in this thread. You can't have it both ways. You're cherrypicking the Big Ten's high profile losses and brushing off their significant wins by saying their opponents were never good in the first place. More blatant dishonesty.
Item #4:
"I never said the Big-10 sucks"
What, and I said that you did? Because I didn't. Let's just respond to things that have actually been said, alright?
"And you didn’t admit until now that the Big-10 was in a down cycle"
Not that I expect you to go back and research it - but I've commented on many OSU articles that the Big Ten has been weak for two years. Anyone who denies that is stupid.
The rest of this response was too stupid to acknowledge.
Item #5:
"The reality is that the Big-10 lacks the overall speed and athleticism (especially at skill positions)"
This is fallacious as well. Unworthy of serious response.
Item #6:
"Last time I checked its embarrassment."
Thank you for catching my typo. Last time I checked, it's "it's".
2 months ago
1. No it was just a shitty use of satire. And furthers my belief that Ohio-State fans lack the necessary humor and or wit to carry out a civilized conversation that regards their football team not being the best. At least the michigan fans show some in their arguments, where as you just get overly butthurt and resort to cliche name calling "such as southerners are inbred hicks". Which is even more sad considering you write articles on cliche sayings.
2. No I don't think Illinois deserved their BCS bid. At least not over Missouri. And I mentioned that in my earlier commenting.
3.While I might be cherry-picking the Big-10's high profile loses"your cherry-picking their low profile wins. Beating Kansas State (a perennial loser for which you refused to admit) or Notre Dame (like i said has no business being there) and a regular season victory at Texas are your choices? My point for which you fail to see over and over because you've been blinded by loyalty to OSU and idiocy is that the BIG-10 is overrated and dosen't deserve having nearly two BCS bids everyyear (especially with no conference championship). Seeing as I can actually objectively argue something I chose the BCS games because that is when they play NON-Conference teams in a game that means something. In doing so I had 5 examples all of which outweighed wins against K-State and Notre Dame. The Texas one was a good point but seeing as they beat OSU a year earlier in Columbus (largely because your coach kept taking our Troy Smith for some reason) evens that out.
Moreover when you refute someone's point your justifying your own.
4. "The reality is that the Big-10 lacks the overall speed and athleticism (especially at skill positions)"
Those are the direct words of your boy kirk herbstreit when explaining why his Buckeyes get mopped up when they play the SEC. So apparently my idiocy enjoys company from a member of Buckeye nation.
5. I like that in response to item four you said “the rest of this is too stupid to aknowledge”; which included “OSU is a perennial powerhouse”. Thank you.
The point of the typo comment was to show that it's a worthless endeavor for us to point out typing mistakes; it serves to take away from the arguments at hand. Neither of us are on here to edit each others grammatical errors. Yet you chose to point it out again.
I think what's lost in all of this is that we both agree the OSU is a great team, The Big-10 isn't what it was once, the SEC is the best currently. The problem with your rebuttals is that in all of this your not mentioning the rest of your conference; just wins by OSU. And considering our only point of objection has been that the Big-10 is overrated you've failed to come up with concise or logical points as to why it isnt. And surely you won't rest on a Michigan wolverine win at Notre Dame a few years back as your guiding example; not only would you be bordering on treason to your team but your're citing programs that are marred in dissapointment; and have been for a few years now.
from 2 months ago
"And considering our only point of objection has been that the Big-10 is overrated you've failed to come up with concise or logical points as to why it isnt"
I think the crux of the matter is that you don't understand what the word "overrated" means. Or maybe I don't, who knows.
You're saying the Big Ten is "overrated", and I'm asking "by whom?" and "how so?"
1. The consensus among TV analysts the past two years has been that the Big Ten is the 5th or 6th best BCS conference, top-to-bottom. This is out of 6 BCS conferences, by the way.
2. The consensus among college football fans nationwide the past two years has been that the Big Ten is the 5th or 6th best BCS conference, top-to-bottom.
3. The fact that Ohio State has run roughshod over the Big Ten two straight years only to get humbled in the national championship game by an SEC team is further evidence that the Big Ten schedule has not properly prepared them for the biggest game of the year.
4. Objective Ohio State fans like myself openly admit that the Big Ten schedule has given OSU a tremendous advantage the past two years - an advantage that top teams in other conferences don't necessarily share.
Need I go on? The obvious question is, who is "overrating" the Big Ten? Please provide specific examples.
2 months ago
I haven't failed to prove my point but rather you've failed to understand it. Obviously your not fully aware of what the term overrated implies or we've got different views as to what it means.
The term overrated referes to a team or person that receivers more praise or acclaim then their achievements merit. Being overrated is no fault of the team or conference but of those who view it.
The "who" are the writers, voters, computers, etc. that have allowed the Big-10 to have 2 BCS bowl bids almost every year only to have those teams completely drubbed by the competition. If those very people didn't have the influence on the outcome of the season they do then being overrated would be a moot point as it could be decided on the field of play. I use the BCS bowls because like I said it's the example of when they play non-conference big-time teams in a game that means something. It's not merely the fact that OSU got pounded in two consective title games (i'll give them some leway since they pulled arguably the biggest upset ever in college football, and won two other BCS bowl game wins) but that coupled with Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Notre Dame for good measure being invited to games they don't deserve being a part of. You have to go back to 1999-2000 BCS season when Wisconsin beat mighty Stanford for a BCS game won by a Big-10 team other than OSU. No other conference has had such a dubious track record as of late and still been given the chance to compete on that stage.
Please show me where and when the consensus among TV analysts was that the Big-10 is the 5th or 6th best conference.
"The fact that Ohio State has run roughshod over the Big Ten two straight years only to get humbled in the national championship game by an SEC team is further evidence that the Big Ten schedule has not properly prepared them for the biggest game of the year"
You nailed it; plus having to take a month off before the big game dosen't help at all. Maybe that's why Tressell scheduled USC this year; should be an interesting matchup considering there will be about 15 future NFL defensive players between the two of them. Hopefully OSU beats them because I can't stand USC
from 2 months ago
You have a fundamental misunderstanding of the main objective of bowl games. The main objective of every bowl game is to generate revenue - not to select the most deserving teams or create the most exciting matchup. That's why the Big Ten keeps getting two teams in every year - because they draw the most revenue. It has nothing to do with "overrating" - it's all business.
"I haven't failed to prove my point but rather you've failed to understand it"
Haha, that sounds just like my old lady. Always blaming other people for her shitty communication skills. Thanks for the laugh. Anyway...
If you're saying that "overrated" essentially means "being given more credit than deserved", then we agree on its definition, at least. However, you have repeatedly applied this label to the Big Ten conference, so I must ask once again - WHO has been "overrating" the conference lately? Are you reading some unknown website from a fourth dimension where everyone declares the Big Ten a great power conference? Because everywhere I turn, whether it's online columns, computer polls, or message boards - the overwhelming consensus among objective people is that the Big Ten is weak right now. Do you disagree with this very-easy-to-understand statement?
2 months ago
Listen, you guys have both made some good points, and obviously, I think Jeff and I will defend the Big 10 and our Buckeyes until the day we die. But the botom line is, conference strength is cyclical, it changes every 3-4 years or so. And yes, the Big 10 is definitely struggling the past few years. But there are still a few points a lot of people want to point out about Ohio State or the Big 10 that just arent true.
1. Ohio State is overrated: They have lost 3 games in the past two years. They have gone to back to back national championship games. Yes, they lost, but what did Florida do the year after their NC title? LOST TO MICHIGAN IN THE OUTBACK BOWL. Ohio State has won a title this decade, (2002), and have multiple BCS Bowl game wins, against Miami, Kansas State, and Notre Dame. They're not "overrated", they are a very good football team, they just didn't play well in the championship games.
2. We don't schedule tough opponents: Please, who does? And secondly, people ignore the fact that a few years ago when NCAA added an extra game, here's who OSU went out and scheduled.
Texas
USC
Oklahoma
Miami, FL
Tennessee
Not to mention, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State "typically" are very good teams, and typically, the Big 10 as a whole is a fairly tough conference. So we don't have it quite as easy as everyone thinks.
3. SEC dominates Big 10: I don't care if Ohio State lost to Mississippi State in some slough bowl game 25 years ago. So the fact that they're 0-9 doesn't really speak the truth. How many of those games were they favored to win anyways? Secondly, the year Ohio State lost to Florida, Big 10 schools played other SEC schools. Outcome:
Wisconsin wins over Arkansas (Capital One) wasn't Arkansas supposed to be your "best" or at least #2?
Penn State wins over Tennessee (a Tennessee team everyone wants to include as part of the "dominance" of the SEC?)
Listen, no one is doubting Ohio State played poorly in the two title games, but the difference is, they got there, and that should say something. They've also been one of the most consistant teams of this decade, Texas, Auburn, USC included. I'm not going to make excuses for why we lost, they didnt play as well, bottom line. But to assume they're a shitty team and they play in the shittiest conference in footballl is wrong and a flat out exaggeration.
Plus, don't be surprised if we beat USC, and go undefeated, which I think Buckeyes alike would agree is a very good possibility, we'll be back in the title game this year. Let's just see what LSU does after their championship last year....
about 1 month ago
Thanks Mike, i agree you you've been a helpful viewpoint (even though your an OSU fan so it's not entirely objective).
1." Listen, no one is doubting Ohio State played poorly in the two title games, but the difference is, they got there, and that should say something."
In the immortal words of the great philosophizer Ricky Bobby; "if you're not first you're last".
2. "to assume they're a shitty team and they play in the shittiest conference in footballl is wrong and a flat out exaggeration"
This was certainly not a viewpoint i was conveying and anyone who does is flat out wrong. Once again I need to remind you that i'm not a fan and ardent supporter of the SEC. My objection was to what I see as the Big-10 being overrated stemmed not from OSU's play (which has been phenomenal). Rather their placement in those championship games was many times because they benefited from a weak conference. Which is no different a case than with USC and the Pac-10 arguebaly more so (hence the reason i alluded to that in the first comment) but rather the rest of the conference as of late; who were getting the chance to play in bowls i don't believe they deserved (which wouldnt be an issue if they didn't get 15 million that they don't have to share with the rest of the conference for going to a BCS game). While conference strenght is cyclical the Big-10 has seen a decline for more than just the past few years. Since the 70's much of college football has been dominated by teams like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Miami, Florida State, USC, Florida, etc. In fact OSU's very return to victory has been largely due to Tressell. While they've always had great talent and been a staple of college football he has been able to recruit out of state better than most Big-10 schools and more importantly keep ohio natives from going north to Michigan.
Lastly I will be rooting for OSU against USC and I hope that you beat them; and most likely the winner of that game will be in the Championship game. As for LSU, they might not be great this year but someone in the SEC will; Georgia or Florida.
Jeff,
"You have a fundamental misunderstanding of the main objective of bowl games. The main objective of every bowl game is to generate revenue - not to select the most deserving teams or create the most exciting match up."
That’s why I said in my first post that college football should not be taken as seriously so long as there is no playoff. It is impossible to have an even and level playing field with such a subjective system in use. For instance in my opinion the 2005 OSU team that lost to Texas was the best one I have ever seen under tressell and there is no doubt in my mind had he stuck with Troy Smith they would have gone on to win that game and probably the National Championship. I'll never forget Vince "jesus in cleats" Young being stymied in his rushing attack by Carpenter and AJ Hawk; something USC failed to do. Unfortunately none of this will change so long as people attend such prestigious bowls as the Meineke Car Care Bowl, or the Sun Bowl, or whatever other money grubbing game they come up with next.
"Because everywhere I turn, whether it's online columns, computer polls, or message boards - the overwhelming consensus among objective people is that the Big Ten is weak right now. Do you disagree with this very-easy-to-understand statement"
That is because of the last two years; and was hardly the case 3 years ago as you said. Moreover you claimed that TV analysts and voters shared this sentiment, not fans who have no outcome on the process.
Since we have basically come to an agreement (that being that OSU is a premier team and the Big-10 isn't what it used to be) I'm done arguing this point so instead I offer a concession: let's talk about how Michigan sucks and is overrated haha. Cmon no Buckeye fan can turn that down; especially when you are in the midst of what I see as the most dominant period for OSU football in regards to the wolverines.
about 1 month ago
Haha I gotta admit, I like the Michigan dig. Of course, if you ask 99% of Ohio State fans, beating Michigan is far more important than a bowl game (maybe outside of a national championship game). And like I said before, you made some good points, no one's arguing that, but like everything, there's two sides to the story. People are quick to point out Ohio State's inefficiency in the past two title games, but in that, does not mean they're not a good team. And while the Big 10 has struggled lately, teams such as Wisconsin and Illinois have quickly rosen back from the grave to be very solid teams.
Let's just save this argument for five years from now, when SEC teams like Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee hit a few tough years, and maybe a resurgence from Penn State, Michigan, and Iowa, and see how that conversation goes then.
Every team in every conference has had bad years, it's a part of college football because of recruiting. And that will continue to happen. But Ohio State's credibility this season will go a long ways by the outcome of the week three matchup at Southern Cal.
And, to wrap it up....GO BUCKEYES!!!
I'll be a fan whether they're 12-0 or 0-12!
write a new comment