It is the rallying cry of Ohio State Buckeye fans all over, including throughout articles and comments on this website:
"We are going to win the National Championship next year!!!!"
"We are going to get the monkey off our back and finally beat a SEC school in a bowl!!!"
"We are returning almost everyone from a team that had gone to the National Championship game two years in a row!"
"Laurinaitis is back! There is no stopping us!"
Talk is cheap.
Ohio State will undoubtedly be better next year. I would be the first to admit so.
This is a team that has won the Big Ten outright two years in a row, and as much as we like to make fun of them, they are a good team.
Seemingly the biggest problem for Ohio State is not talent, it is a problem that is prevalent throughout the Big Ten: making adjustments.
Big Ten football has not stagnated because of talent, or speed, or any level of depth. It has stagnated because of coaching.
Jim Tressel is a great coach, but even great coaches can learn a thing or two every now and then. Just ask Mark Richt. Tressel has led his Buckeyes to the National Championship game two years in a row, which is no small feat, even if it was coming out of a shallow conference.
Unfortunately for Buckeye fans, Tressel has been unable to adjust his game plans to counter the attacking style of the SEC. More importantly perhaps, the Buckeyes rarely play from behind in Big Ten play.
Clearly, they do not handle playing from behind well. They make mistakes, commit stupid penalties, and then snowball out of control until they are completely out of the game.
It is lack of adjustments when falling behind to equally, if not more, talented teams that has doomed the Buckeyes in the last two National Championship Games.
That goes to coaching. Buckeyes fans this offseason have been particularly fervent in their gloating and trash-talking, claiming their team will be back in the National Championship Game next season, that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.
If they are able to upset USC early next season there will, admittedly, be very little in their way to get to another National Championship Game.
With Michigan losing all of its star players and Illinois losing one of the best running backs in college football there will be very little competition in the Big Ten next season.
Buckeye fans are, for the most part, blind to all of this though. Many like to trash-talk and proclaim their school as the "best program in college football."
If you proclaim that they are not as superior as they think they are, at this point in time, you will get bashed. You will be told you are uneducated. You will get cursed out. Basically, you will have to deal with angry little men.
It is a simple fact, at this point in time, the SEC is better than the Big Ten. That may change in the future, but that will only change if the Big Ten and Ohio State adjust.
Michigan is making a move towards adjustment with the hiring of Rich Rodriguez. Whether that works, only time will tell.
Ohio State already has a great coach. Whether he learns how to adjust, no one knows.
Meanwhile, Ohio State fans will continue to trash-talk. They will continue to proclaim next season as their return to brilliance. It all may very well happen.
But until it does...
Put up, or shut up.
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6 months ago
You talk about inferiority complexes and little man syndromes...yet seem to have some psychological obsession with writing Big Ten/Ohio State-bashing articles. Talk about little man syndrome...
Yet you call us angry little people.
from 6 months ago
Hmm. Let's see I have written 11 articles on this site. Only three even remotely deal with the Big Ten. Of those, this is the first, non-humor article.
The first two were written in response to articles written by Ohio State fans bashing the SEC.
Thanks for the input though Anonymous Coward.
6 months ago
I will have to disagree with you on the adjustments as far as Tressel goes. I would place more of the blame on Heacock the DC. Tressel had a good game plan if you sit and watch the game over and over like I have the problem is Boeckman. He has an issue with throwing to his checkdown or just throwing the ball away. I can tell you we do have a tight end at Ohio State, Boeckman seemed to forget that fact. LSU did not however forget about the tight end. Another issue was penalties which I think a lot of the problem would have to be we shouldn't have been in that game we are a very young team and were playing a team with lots of experience. No excuses, but this wasn't as bad as it seemed if you watch the game. Another thing is that Ohio State will be just fine next year and Tressel will make the adjustments needed I expect a 2 QB system next year and a deep defense 3 deep in some areas. Our 2008 recruiting class should help with or without Pryor. The Big 10 was very young this year and will get better and better. We have a lot more spread offenses. Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Purdue all run a variation of the spread. I think the biggest misconception here is Ohio State is not bad at all they are just meeting exceptionally good football teams. LSU when healthy was phenomenal. I think the Buckeye fans are just tired of hearing all the bashing when they are carrying the conference right now. If Michigan fans or any other Big 10 fans want to complain maybe they should win more games or beat us more often.
from 6 months ago
I have to agree with most of what you wrote there. I do think Tressel needed to make some adjustments though. Maybe not so much with play calling, but perhaps in communicating to the players.
The talent is there, but the adjustments were not made. Especially last season. There is no way Florida should have beaten Ohio State that badly. The two teams had equal talent and if anything Ohio State had more.
This year, I think you are right in saying that LSU was the more talented team, but it wasn't by much, and mostly had to do with the experience on the side of LSU.
Ohio State has been carrying the Big Ten. Personally, I say the SEC is the better conference at the moment not because of what is at the top. I think every conference, with maybe the exception of the ACC has a solid top team or two. I think it is the middle that seperates the SEC from the Big Ten right now.
The middle teams in the Big Ten actually cause Ohio State to be worse than they should be. They don't put up a fight. Ohio State can cruise through half of their games as a result.
I would not be surprised if Ohio State runs the table next year, but until they do I am tired of hearing from Big Ten and Ohio State fans talking smack as if the team has done anything the past couple years.
I am a Georgia fan but you don't see me claiming that UGA will make the MNC next season. It's too early and I don't think UGA will go undefeated.
Ohio State is returning 39 out of the 44 in their two-deep. That is ridiculous. But the problem has not been talent. The talent matches up with any team in the country. The only way to explain so lopsided blowouts is poor planning and adjustments.
I really think the biggest problem Ohio State faces is the fact that they carry their conference. The weak conference does not prepare them for games in which they have to continually claw and fight.
6 months ago
Hmmm...3 Big Ten related bashing articles in 4 days.....I wonder how I ever made the false assumption that you're becoming a wee bit obsessive..
The whole Anonymous insult is getting tired, bro. You want me to sign up for an account and stop posting anonymously? Fine. I'll even let you pick the name I use.
It's the fuckin' internet. Everyone's anonymous.
from 6 months ago
Buddy....that is how Bleacher Report refers to anonymous people when they write in....here is a direct quote from your post in fact as it appears in my Play-By-Play thing ---
"Ohio State will be Great, Next Year!" was commented on by Anonymous Coward
I don't think you paid attention to the three articles relating to the Big Ten.
The first one was a respons to an article describing why the SEC does not travel north. That was a humour article so I thought I would respond with one about why the Big Ten does not travel south. (In fact, both of those articles poke fun at another article bashing the SEC!)
The second article, once again was a humour article, most everything in it was a joke. For some reason the only people that took offense to it were Ohio State fans. Yes, it was meant to start some chatter, but I guess some people take life to seriously.
Ryan seems to get it. Why can't you Anonymous Coward?
6 months ago
Weird. I just logged in to my account using my usual logon information,
email: anon@anonymous.com
password: anonymous
And my play-by-play said, "Some Rusi dude has bashed Ohio State and/or the Big Ten YET AGAIN - Click here to read his ridiculous unfunny opinion".
from 6 months ago
I'm sorry for giving Ohio State more credit than most people give them. I am sorry for saying they have talent. I am sorry for saying they have speed. I am sorry you have no sense of humor. I am sorry you can't see that this was the first article I wrote in seriousness about Ohio State or the Big Ten.
I am sorry that you are too slow to figure out that I think Ohio State is a really good team in a really bad conference, at this time. I am sorry you don't agree, even though the facts point to it. I am sorry I make you angry.
from 6 months ago
Apparently, you are also incapable of seeing that I have poked fun at the SEC as well as the Big Ten. (Making inbreeding jokes and jort jokes. Making fun of LSU's team colors.) For some reason nothing else offends you except when I point out my perceived flaws in the Buckeye team.
Unlike most people I don't think it is talent or speed. But as the proud Buckeye fan you seem to think you team has no flaws. If someone points out flaws you get offended. You want to proclaim your team the greatest program in college football but you are unable to accept another opinion.
Some Buckeye fans take this article for what it is. An analysis of where one writer thinks the Buckeye's problems are. (Making adjustments, weak conference providing no real test) These readers respond in thoughtful posts.
6 months ago
Rusi and Anonymous - Grow up! Bantering back and forth on a blog is childish and downright nerdy.
Now to the subject at hand,
Ohio State has taken some very unfair criticism from many in the media. But they aren't a mediocre team, and they certainly aren't worlds behind the SEC elites. The talent is there. The speed is there. Even the coaching is there for the most part (although I will agree that they need to improve on making adjustments on the defensive side of the ball). Florida beat OSU soundly, the game wasn't close, I'll give you that. But if you look at the numbers of the LSU game, OSU compared pretty favorably in spots. The difference was an array of bad penalties and lack of making plays. That's no excuse, I thought LSU was the better team no question. They were obviously also more experienced and benefited from playing tougher opponents regularly. Come on Big 10, do better (I'm talking about everyone not named OSU, Mich., or Wisconsin).
Making a case for OSU...
If you're a numbers person, look at them. 66-11 over last 6 years, including 1 title and 4-2 in bowl games (3-2 in BCS bowls). Their 2 bowl losses were to the national champs. Add all this up and it tells me that OSU, USC, and LSU have been the greatest college football programs over the last 6 years. It isn't even close, nobody else is in the same league with these 3 schools. That's partly the reason why the OSU/USC game may become the most hyped regular season game ever next Sept. And let's pretend for a second that OSU does have another nice year and loses the title game again, it still doesn't diminish the greatness of that program. If should only help confirm it. And if OSU somehow wins the title next year ... it could be one of the greatest 7 year runs in recent college football memory.
6 months ago
All in all, your assessment is fairly accurate. However, I do think the issue was timing, as much as anything else this year. OSU did not have a team that should have been in the title game. If everyone else had not fallen over their feet, it would not have happened. The big difference between OSU and LSU was depth. Eight runners touched the ball for LSU and eight receivers. OSU lacked depth because for the last few years nearly all of their blue chip juniors have gone pro. With nearly everyone coming back and an incoming freshman class, OSU should have more depth. Whether that is sufficient will be seen early on against USC. If OSU wins on USC's home field, they will be worthy of consideration of another NC game. If not, then they will relegated to somewhere between 6 and 10, even if they win out the rest of the way.
Respect will only be regained by beating a sound non-conference foe.
6 months ago
Great article, you really hit the nail this time. one of the comments against the basic theme of the article said that FLA and LSU were exceptional teams. I have been keeping up with the SEC for years and yall in buckeye land need to realise that these were not exceptional. LSU had two losses and FLA had one, and close games with TENN 21-20. SC 17-16.FLA ST 21-14. and lost to AUB 17-21. The Nat champion Tigers that took apart the Sooners , the same Sooners that ESPN said was the best team in College football history was an exceptional team. The last two NCG teams were a typical SEC championship team.
6 months ago
What is the point in writing joke articles? I have not read any of your stuff, and I do not plan to because I prefer a writer who takes more than his own nose up his ass as a source for their material. you want to write jokes? fine, be a comedian.
Ohio State will be a great team, and depending on the USC game in the 3rd week, will probably be in the NC mix. you can't bash us for S.O.S anymore, and you have to give us credit to bringing back a lot of juniors who could have easily gone in the first couple rounds of the draft. we have an excellent recruit squad, two OL in the top 5 in their position.
You are a joke.
from 6 months ago
Obviously, you did not read THIS article where I give OSU a lot of credit for carrying the Big Ten and bringing back 39 out of 44 in their two-deep.
But thanks for thinking I am joke without reading.
6 months ago
easy guys ohio state has all the tools to become an SEC type program. the one thing the don't have is a conference which will challenge them on a week in and out basis,
when lsu had to come back against florida and won on the last play of the game against auburn and lost in overtime twice it built character. they were 4 or 5 plays from being 8-5.
georgia went on the road at night to a jacked up alabama crowd in their new stadium and came out on top and got beat by 4 pts when they dropped about 8 passes, 2 in the endzone and missed 3 fieldgoals inside the 40 against sc. and when a program plays 4 o 5 true rivalry games and 2 or 3 big games it builds character.
the truth is when georgia and auburn and tennessee and florida and lsu and alabama play each other, no one has any idea how it will come out. ohio state lacks that kind of environment. it's a great school and program. i wish we could play them more.
6 months ago
within say 400 miles of athens georgia the dawgs compete for the same pool of players with clemson, nc state, north carolina, south carolina, georgia tech, lsu, alabama, auburn, tennessee,florida, fsu, vandy ole miss miss state appy state troy uab tulane famu the kist goes on.
who does ohio state compete for players in say 400 miles of columbus?
this isn't a smart ass question, i just want to know.
from 6 months ago
Notre Dame is by far our biggest competitor; regardless of how bad they were this year, their recruiting classes most years are top-notch. We also compete with Penn State, Michigan, WVU, Pitt, Purdue, Kentucky, and Michigan State. That's just our regional competitors of any significance. I would venture to say schools like Troy, UAB, FAMU, Vandy, Appy State, Tulane, or NCSU arent really competitors (like, would Knowshown really ever go to any of those schools?).
When we go down to Florida we have to deal with UF/FSU/Miami. When we go anywhere else, we have to deal with USC.
As far as recruiting top prospects, the competition is high regardless of where you are located regionally. Beanie Wells went to a school in Akron, oh. But he was also a top prospect. Being regionally close helps, but I guarantee you 50 schools were calling (including i bet UGa) trying to get him to come.
2 months ago
I'm a lifelong OSU fan and grad, but I agree generally that the lack of competition / adversity in Big 10 games recently has had an adverse impact on our preparedness in the NC game.
Michigan has stagnated the past 4 years, so has Purdue, so has Michigan State. Wisconsin has been inconsistent at best. Illinois has been our most dangerous competition the last two years, and we only beat them once, barely at that.
Contrast this to the 2002 season, where we played nail-biting games all season long, especially against Purdue and Michigan. This created a team with a battle-hardened toughness, perspective and confidence that translated directly to the NC game against Miami -- similar to LSU's team last year, but probably with less talent overall.
If there's a silver lining for this year, it's that we will definitely be tested @USC, @Wisc, @Ill ... and probably @Mich State, as Tressel's apprentice Mark Dantonio will be in his second year there. Michigan will also bring their new bag of tricks to the Horseshoe, so it should be an interesting year.
2 months ago
I'm now an OSU fan by default since 1998 - both my kids graduated from there and I got hooked. I have moved my family around the country so I could have ended up a Northern Illinois, Norte Dame, Wisconsin, Illinois, Cincinnati, Miami, Maine or Florida fan. Also, my wife is a University of Miami graduate (the one that was a college before Florida was a state). I have been around for enough years to realize conference superiority comes and goes. What doesn't waver is true fan support. Respect your own teams and your opponents - they are not your enemies. Is the SEC the top conference now? You bet. I love watching them play. And thanks to Tennesse, we won't have to wait until a NC game ever year to play one.
Did The Ohio State University, Florida and LSU deserve to play for the NC the last two years? I guess the voters who know more than I do said so - my opinion doesn't matter. Will OSU make it again this year? I hope so, but whether they don't lose a game or lose their fair share, I will still enjoy watching them and whoever plays in the NC game.
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