Jim Tressel Resigns: How Much Did NCAA's Denial of USC Appeal Sway His Decision?

Perhaps Jim Tressel saw the writing on the wall.

When the NCAA denied USC's appeal over the punishment meted out related to the Reggie Bush scandal earlier this week, it sent an unmistakable message.

No more shenanigans would be tolerated. Period.

Regardless of what one thinks of college football's governing body and believe me, there are tons of detractors, it must be acknowledged that they are the sports sole arbiter and what they say goes.

Say what you want about USC, whether you think the punishments were fair or not, its appeal over the poorly handled (by the NCAA) case had merit.

That is why a case where a ruling was promised in four to eight weeks took over five months for a decision to be rendered.

Which brings us back to Tressel and his decision to resign as Ohio State's football head coach.

As "Tattoo-Gate" grew day by day, with accusations manifesting themselves in abundance, coach Tressel probably looked at how the NCAA ruled on USC's appeal and thought, "My God, I don't have a chance."

After all, in addition to the lack of institutional control charges being leveled at the program, there is the sticky matter of Tressel's subterfuge regarding "what he knew and when he knew it," to quote political inquiries of days gone by.

At least on the surface, Tressel and Ohio State's road would seem much more difficult to hoe than the Trojans.

That USC got royally screwed by the NCAA must have sent shivers up Tressel's spine as he pondered his next move.

So, he threw himself on the sword for Buckeye nation.

Knowing that a best defense sometimes requires bold moves to position oneself for a plea for mercy,Tressel made the ultimate sacrifice.

How much this move sways the NCAA is anyone's guess.

Chances are, not much at all.

One thing that anyone who has watched the NCAA's methods over the years knows that their actions are rarely bound by common sense.

In the final analysis, how much did the NCAA's denial of USC's appeal influence Jim Tressel's decision to step down as the Buckeye coach?

No one but Tressel knows, though the timing suggests at least he must have at least thought about it.

And when he did, those thoughts must not have been too comforting.