Why Don't Ohio State, Jim Tressel Bashers Trash USC and Pete Carroll?

When I wrote the editorial "Quit Bashing Ohio State! Four Reasons to Believe in Jim Tressel, Buckeyes," I got mostly grief for it. Well, I stand by my comments.

Do any of you stand by your trashing Ohio State the past year? Or this talk about how Ohio State needs to be banned from the national title game? Or how the SEC is overrated because they have "only" been beating Ohio State in the national title game? Please.

A lot of the same people that have been trashing Ohio State the past two years are now mapping a path for USC to get into the national title game. It is disgusting and unfair.

Look, people. Ohio State and USC have practically the same record since 2005. In 2005, USC had one loss and Ohio State had two. Both of them had last minute losses to Texas.

Ohio State had a very close loss (the game turned on one play) to a one-loss Penn State team that probably would have beaten USC, and Ohio State then went on to blow out the Notre Dame team that USC needed luck and accommodating officials (and questionable Charlie Weis game managing in the fourth quarter) in a bowl game.

In 2006, USC lost to No. 24 Oregon State and unranked 6-6 UCLA. Meanwhile, Ohio State lost only to No. 1 Florida. In 2007, an Ohio State team that was supposed to be REBUILDING lost only to No. 1 LSU and No. 15 Illinois. Meanwhile, USC lost to Oregon and STANFORD.

Add it all up, and all Ohio State has been doing is losing to teams that they were supposed to: teams that probably—and in USC's case, definitely—had superior talent, especially at the critical positions.

The only time that Ohio State has been upset in the 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons was against No. 15 Illinois, a team with which it matches up poorly. Illinois is constructed like an SEC or particularly Big 12 team rather than a Big Ten one.

The only things holding Illinois back are 1) Juice Williams' inability to throw the ball consistently, and 2) Ron Zook's refusal to relinquish control of his defense. Where the former will no longer be a problem after next season, the latter was what got Zook fired at Florida.

While the Illinois game was an upset, it definitely was not a bad loss.

Meanwhile, USC, with its boatload of five-star recruits, high school All-Americans, and future NFL starters, loses (or is severely tested by) teams stocked with far lesser athletes that are struggling for bowl eligibility.

It is not just the losses to Oregon State teams that have been blown out by Penn State, Boise, and Cincinnati. It was the two close calls to Washington, both of which involved questionable late officiating decisions that benefited USC. It was the fact that the loss to Stanford in 2007 came after Stanford was up 21-3 at halftime a few years ago.

It was how they didn't pull away from 3-8 Arizona in 2005 until five minutes remained in the fourth quarter in 2005, and their needing a monster game from Reggie Bush to pull away from 8-4 mid-major Fresno State that same year.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?