Turn on any national talk show in America and you will hear the jokes and slights.The Ohio State Buckeyes are being disrespected by just about anyone outside the state of Ohio. Maybe this verbal berating is justified.
After all, the Buckeyes have been outscored in the past two BCS National Championship games by a combined total of 41 points.
It’s easy to point and laugh at the team that almost wins it all including such teams at the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Braves or even the Cleveland Indians. To take shots at them is elementary. No brains needed for that.
Obviously, the Buckeyes did not belong on the same field as Florida or LSU. Yet, another perspective can be taken on this whole scenario that paints the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State as a legit dynasty not a runner-up.
Many things have changed since Jim Tressel took over the program in 2001. Ohio State has become a recognized power in the college football world. Besides this year, the Buckeyes schedule a major out of conference opponent every year.
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Out of conference games in recent memory have included matchups with Texas, Notre Dame and Washington. Ohio State does not just schedule these opponents, they beat them. The Buckeyes have a 29-8 record against ranked teams and an 8-4 record against Top-10 teams under the Tressel.
The recreational football fan would point out that they have been shellacked in the past two national title games, but the Buckeyes have been to five BCS bowls in seven years and have a 3-2 record over that span.
Ohio State has made a bowl game every season under Tressel, recording a 4-3 record in those contests. Ohio State has notched an overall record of 73-16 under Tressel.
It is amazing to me that “The Sweatervest”, as he is so lovingly referred to, is having his big game coaching put under fire. The man is 4-1 in overtime games and 20-10 in games decided by a touchdown or less.
In the Michigan, games which matter the most to any Ohio State fan, he is 6-1. Four of those wins coming in years the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title.
Five ten win seasons, five top five finishes, a BCS National Championship, and a Heisman Trophy award winner are just enough accolades to have your coaching questioned and your program called weak.
Ohio State has engineered 34 current NFL players and annually lead the Big Ten in Academic All Conference picks.
These accomplishments get you scrutinized by the national media? Who said being a head coach is a thankless job?
When it’s all said and done people will form any opinions they feel. I do believe that most of the negative connotations that are put upon Ohio State are because of fans, not football itself. You would be hard pressed to find any bad statistics from the Scarlet and Grey.
The fans, on the other hand, carry a stigma that 90 percent of the country dislikes. This must be most of the reason Ohio State is regarded the way that it is. When vibes from this most recent loss wear off and you step back and look at the whole picture, it's tough to find a program that’s had a better seven years.
So hosts can belittle Jim Tressel and they can use Ohio State’s name in jest. They can even question whether or not they really are “The” Ohio State University, but the numbers do not lie.
In 50 years, when all this is just stat sheets and box scores, the picture that will be drawn will look a lot more like a dynasty than a doormat.
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7 months ago
The people who jest and joke about Ohio State, should take a step back and look at thier own alma maters. I am very confident they will find a team that does not even come close to what OSU has achieved over the last 5 years. Here in Columbus, we are very dissapointed, not with the team ( we are very very proud of them ), but with all the journalists around the country. This journalist disrespect a great program and give everyone the feeling that it is better to be 7-5 instead of 11-1. We, at Ohio State, are looking forward to next season already, and we know that with our starting sophomores and juniors only getting better..we may be back again.
Somak Chakraborty
Buckeyes Forever.
from 7 months ago
they need to play a better sched. before the big ten instead of the state of ohio.
from 7 months ago
They actually DO that pretty much every year.
It's not like they paid all the teams they usually play that used to be good to start playin shitty
7 months ago
OSU just needs to play a tougher schedule to prepare themselves for big games
7 months ago
Ohio State has become the New York Yankees of college football. You either love them or hate them, because they've got a ton of talent, always play in marquee games, win a ton of games, and get a ton of exposure. They've fallen a little short these past two years (similar to the Yanks) but are always in the mix, which is something only a short list of schools can claim. How many other schools can lose the talent that OSU lost and still appear in the title game, regardless of schedule? The answer: not many. OSU was not a top-two team on the field this year, but the system put them in the Big Game. Teams like USC and Georgia probably would've beaten OSU, but the name of the game is taking care of business in the regular season - and OSU did it better than anyone else. Anyone that complains about their schedule is nothing more than an opportunist. OSU always schedules up, it just didn't pan out this year. The Big Ten was down and Washington sucked. As we all know, they've played Texas home-and-home in the past, Washington State, Notre Dame, etc...and in the coming years they've got home-and-homes with USC, Cal, VT, Oklahoma...so eat my shit, haters.
7 months ago
There will always be more games... so I didnt take this loss too hard..
LSU played very well, don't get me wrong.. their linemen on both sides of the ball were tough to deal with...
a few things went nicely their way, such as a muffed punt on their own 10 yard line that bounced right to an LSU player surrounded by Buckeyes when it was 10-3... if OSU recovers.. punch it in.. 17-3.. instead it turns into a 14 point swing which of course was the final margin...
uncharacteristic penalties by OSU contributed as well.
It was LSU's year.. good for them. I'm sure it was nice to play the championship game at home.
from 7 months ago
well said. Now you are a true football fan instead of a die hard. Well put.
7 months ago
Well that says it. The national media cricifying the buckeyes only strenthens our resolve. The fact that we played in the national title game alone sets us apart from almost all other programs. Lets face it. LSU had faster people on the outside and that was the difference. The buckeyes are young and the recruiting seems to be coming in each year. This year is no exception. If you look at it without bias, TOSU is clearly a top five program and I truly believe that there are only a handful of teams that could defeat our young buckeyes. So in the end, While disappointment is the overwhelming emotion buckeye nation now feels. (Followed closely by fury for the national media). I Feel strongly that we will be back challenging for the national titles and back in football nations good graces once again. I will add that Pat Forde and the like are merely puppets for espn. I promise you this, that these stories were driven by the inception of the big10 network. ESPN wants this to go away as there has been talks in other conferences thinking of launching similar networks. Which would bite ESPN in the butt with sponsorship and such. ESPN's Thinking (Why kick a conference when their down....They can't think of a better time).
Buckeye Faithful.
7 months ago
"I am very confident they will find a team that does not even come close to what OSU has achieved over the last 5 years"
Really?
Ah, remember a team named LSU that you met the other night.
They won 2 National Title games in the past five years.
Ohio State has won zero (counting the 2002 season as just outside of the 5-year window).
Ah, how about USC?
USC was in 2 title games, winning one of them, and at least giving the opponent a close game in the loss.
I thinkyou have a 3rd place tie with Oklahoma.
Showed up in two title games and stunk them both up.
---------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm sure it was nice to play the championship game at home"
Look, LSU doesn't pick the site of the National Title game, so don't blame them for where the rotation fell this year.
Not a piercing comment, but still inicative of a sore loser.
My respects to all of those Ohio State fans that have congratulated the Tigers on their victory and are moving on to next season (one where I personally think Ohio state will be very good!).
from 7 months ago
"I'm sure it was nice to play the championship game at home"
That doesnt equal sore loser.. it just musta been nice. There are some schools who just happen to be located very close to bowl sites that they can qualify for
I'm sure Ohio State wouldnt mind playing in Cleveland, and Texas wouldnt hate playin in Dallas for the natl championship...
its just the way it is.. LSU gets to play in N.O., USC gets to play in LA, Florida teams can play in Florida... doesnt always equal an automatic victory but it doesnt hurt
7 months ago
Byron,
Shut the fuck up. Ohio State can't help the fact that Washington was 11-1 and in the Rose Bowl when we scheduled them, and now they eat buckets of your Mom's shit.
Ohio State's always got a big team on their schedule. You must be the only dumb fucker on earth that doesn't have OSU @ USC circled on your calendar for next year. The entire planet will be watching it, except for your dumb ass. You'll probably be doing what you usually do on a Saturday night - fucking your own dad in his ass while the family dog pisses in his face.
7 months ago
Wow Byron...just shut up.
You're a piss poor example of an Ohio State fan.
7 months ago
Despite the jokes, getting to back to back national championships in football and getting to a national championship in basketball in the same year is extremely impressive. And while Ohio State wasn't tooth-and-nail with LSU, it isn't as if the Tigers wiped the floor with the Buckeyes. Plus this was a rebuilding year for Ohio State which makes their season even more impressive.
And honestly, there weren't exactly better candidates lining for the Championship Game either. Georgia was red hot but they got throttled in one of their losses and their second loss was to a team that didn't make a bowl. USC also lost to a team that didn't make a bowl, and Missouri and West Virginia blew their chances of playing for the title.
Buckeye fans should be extremely proud of their program and this is coming from a Gators fan.
Unless you are a Gators fan or a Tigers fan, look at how your favorite school has done in football and basketball the last two seasons. I'll guarantee that its been far worse than Ohio State.
7 months ago
Jux wrote: "I'm sure Ohio State wouldnt mind playing in Cleveland, and Texas wouldnt hate playin in Dallas for the natl championship...its just the way it is.. LSU gets to play in N.O., USC gets to play in LA, Florida teams can play in Florida... doesnt always equal an automatic victory but it doesnt hurt"
LOL - OSU got demolished by Florida on NEUTRAL ground last year (Arizona), so stop the excuses. This year was just another example of last year.
7 months ago
Byron wrote: "Ohio State's always got a big team on their schedule. You must be the only dumb fucker on earth that doesn't have OSU @ USC circled on your calendar for next year."
yeah, NEXT year. Thanks for finally gettin with the program. How many big teams from last year did LSU have on their schedule this year? Sorry dude, you lose.
7 months ago
Jux wrote: "LSU played very well, don't get me wrong.. their linemen on both sides of the ball were tough to deal with... a few things went nicely their way, such as a muffed punt on their own 10 yard line that bounced right to an LSU player surrounded by Buckeyes when it was 10-3... if OSU recovers.. punch it in.. 17-3.. instead it turns into a 14 point swing which of course was the final margin...uncharacteristic penalties by OSU contributed as well. It was LSU's year.. good for them. I'm sure it was nice to play the championship game at home."
LOLOL - LSU scored THIRTY ONE unanswered points! Sorry, you can't chalk that kind of lopsided performance to your pitiful excuses above (and please don't deny that's what they are). When LSU is down by 10, and then scores THIRTY ONE straight, that's not just home field advantage or one muffed punt or a few penalties. That's one team dominating, and the other team intrinsically sucking.
7 months ago
LSU had 326 total yards to OSU's 353. LSU averaged 6.4 yds per pass to OSUs 8.0. LSU averaged 3.1 yds per rush to OSUs 4.8. LSU dominated???????
All SEC fans preaching domination better watch yourselves. We play two bowl games against the big ten every year. On three occasions in the BCS era, the Big Ten sent its third- and fourth-place teams to play our second- and third-place teams. The SEC only had to do this once to the big ten, yet we are only 9-11 against the big ten in these bowl games???
LSU did an excellent job getting into the heads of OSU, and putting pressure on a young team that is just getting started... quit bringing up this domination bs... it is making all SEC fans sound ignorant.
7 months ago
Uh, when you have proof of domination, you're not ignorant. Here's the proof: BCS bowl records by conference over the past 10 years.
When you look at the final bowl tallies (including BCS games)...
SEC: 44-30 (59.4%)
Big12: 33-32 (50.7%)
PAC10: 20-20 (50%)
BigEast: 19-18 (51.4%)
Big10: 28-38 (42.4%)
ACC: 22-30 (42.3%)
... then just the BCS records...
SEC: 11-4 (73.3%), 4 BCS Titles
PAC10: 8-4 (66.7%), 1 BCS Title
BigEast: 6-4 (60%), 1 BCS Title
Big10: 8-8 (50%), 1 BCS Title
Big12: 6-8 (42.9%), 2 BCS Titles
ACC: 1-9 (10%), 1 BCS Title
Sorry, but when the Big-10 is behind not only the SEC but also the PAC10 and BigEast, there's no excuse.
7 months ago
one last time:
Osu was moving the ball on lsu as easy as lsu was moving it on them... osu's maturity cost them, but they wont always be as young as they are now.
YOU can't argue that we are dominating when we don't have a winning record against the conference YOU are bashing... just stop, it's embarrassing.
7 months ago
LOL - what's embarrassing is when someone says that when a team scores 31 unanswered points in a football game, that's not domination. Do you seriously not realize the intellectual blindness that must go with that position? just stop, please - everyone disagrees with you, except OSU fans.
7 months ago
Oh and by the way, the SEC does have a winning record against the Big-10 over the past 10 years. Please check your facts again before embarrassing yourself.
7 months ago
"quit bringing up this domination bs... it is making all SEC fans sound ignorant."
I could link you to scores of media articles (from Yahoo, Sports Illustrated, etc) that use language such as:
LSU dominated Ohio State
and LSU crushes Ohio State.
I don't feel ignorant at all.
It is only the Ohio State fans that claim a close game.
The rest of the nation (and not just LSU or SEC fans) witnessed domination.
7 months ago
Puleeeeeeeze! Don't present facts that make the defeated Over-rated State University fans have to face the reality that their football team is less than second rate. On the other hand, it's okay by me!
7 months ago
Considering that I expected the 2007 to be a "Rebuilding Year for Ohio State" I'm not that upset about how the season turned out. Although the comments about Ohio State not being afraid to schedule opponents outside the conference were indeed accurate, they failed to mention that OSU plays at USC September 13, 2008 & USC comes to Columbus in 2009. As for the Jim Tressel era: Because of his integrity and emphasis on academics...I can't think of any other Coach I'd perfer having my son play for.
7 months ago
Will Burge is a hater baiter. Ohio State is neither a dynasty nor a door mat. They are a good football team that has done nothing more than what was asked of them in the regular season to make the last two championship games, but not played to their potential in those games. All I have to say is keep it up Bucks! Nothing will bring in a fair system to determine a national champion faster than the continued success of tOSU Buckeyes. I wonder how well SEC teams would do in a playoff game in November if they had to play in Columbus, Ann Arbor, or Madison. By the way, only one SEC team traveled outside of the southest this year to play another BCS conference team. That team was SEC East champion Tennessee. They lost by two touchdowns to a team that did not make a bowl. Congrats to LSU, but out of 13 games played you could only schedule 4 out of your home state? I know Louisiana has all those powerhouses, but the airplane has been around for over 100 years now. All nine bowls that SEC teams played in were in the southeast. I wonder when the NC game will be played at Cleveland Browns Stadium?
7 months ago
George wrote: "All nine bowls that SEC teams played in were in the southeast."
You mean like when Florida blew out OSU in ARIZONA last year? LOL
7 months ago
I think that SEC schools have played in more than 9 bowl games in their history. If you don't beleive me have someone look it up for you.
7 months ago
I thought the article was excellent Will. Keep up the good work.. OSU has loads of talent coming in every year and its 90 percent home grown talent. Not many teams have as many local boys as the Ohio State. From a national point of view its understandable that ppl will hate because of the bucks showings on the national stage. This was a rebuilding year and the Bucks only lost 1 player from the starting roster this year. I would like to be a little stronger at quarterback,but with that being said the Bucks are gonna be a tough win for teams next year. Once again Will, great article. I enjoyed it.
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