I've never heard anyone say 0-3, or 0-5, or 0-8 with passion or fervor, but if I had a nickel for every time I've heard 0-9 when talking about how good or how overrated Ohio State football really is, I'd be EXTREMELY rich.
It's become the battle cry of fans from the South. Well, that and chanting "SEC, SEC, SEC" before and during games, even vs. other SEC opponents, which make no sense at all.
What's that all about anyway? You do realize the SEC isn't an actual school, right?
Back to the topic at hand: Ohio State's 0-9 bowl record vs. the SEC.
You would think all nine losses have come in the last nine seasons to hear SEC fans tell it. Truth be told, the very first Bowl game that pitted Ohio State against an SEC school was the 1977 Sugar Bowl against Alabama, and the latest, of course, was last season's BCS title game vs. LSU.
You never hear where the game was played, or Ohio State's W/L record, or the record of the SEC opponent they played, or who was favored and by how much. All you hear is 0-9, and alone, it sounds bad—real bad.
If you asked the majority of College Football fans, none of them would know.
Well, that's all about to change. While I don't know who was favored or by how much, an educated guess tells me that Ohio State may have been the favorite in no more than three of the nine matchups—but you don't have to take my word for it. You can judge for yourself.
| SEASON | OHIO STATE W/L RECORD | SEC OPPONENT - W/L RECORD | BOWL GAME/LOCATION | BOWL RESULT |
| 1977 | 9-3 | ALABAMA / 11-1 | SUGAR BOWL / NEW ORLEANS, LA | ALABAMA 35 - OHIO STATE 6 |
| 1989 | 8-4 | AUBURN / 10-2 | HALL OF FAME BOWL / TAMPA, FL | AUBURN 31 - OHIO STATE 14 |
| 1992 | 8-3-1 | GEORGIA / 10-2 | CITRUS BOWL / ORLANDO, FL | GEORGIA 21 - OHIO STATE 14 |
| 1994 | 9-4 | ALABAMA / 12-1 | CITRUS BOWL / ORLANDO, FL | ALABAMA 24 - OHIO STATE 17 |
| 1995 | 11-2 | TENNESSEE / 11-1 | CITRUS BOWL / ORLANDO, FL | TENNESSEE 20 - OHIO STATE 14 |
| 2000 | 8-4 | SOUTH CAROLINA / 8-4 | OUTBACK BOWL / TAMPA, FL | SOUTH CAROLINA 24 - OHIO STATE 7 |
| 2001 | 7-5 | SOUTH CAROLINA / 9-3 | OUTBACK BOWL / TAMPA, FL | SOUTH CAROLINA 31- OHIO STATE 28 |
| 2006 | 12-1 | FLORIDA / 13-1 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP / GLENDALE, AZ | FLORIDA 41 - OHIO STATE 14 |
| 2007 | 11-2 | LSU / 12-2 | BCS CHAMPIONSHIP / NEW ORLEANS, LA | LSU 38- OHIO STATE 24 |
As you can see, all but one of Ohio State's bowl games vs. the SEC was played in the South.
You will also notice that in several of these years, the Ohio State program was down.
During several seasons, the Buckeyes won only seven, eight, or nine games. If you know anything about Ohio State football, just being bowl eligible isn't a successful season.
Call Ohio State fans spoiled or unrealistic if you wish, but the fact is, if the Buckeyes win fewer than 10 games, it was a down year.
Nine times in 30 years, Ohio State has played an SEC team in a bowl game, and nine times they have lost.
Could it happen again in 2008?
It's possible if the Bucks lose to Penn State. They could be heading to the Capital One bowl to play a top tier SEC team.
However, if they beat Penn State and win out, your worst nightmare may come true unless you're an Ohio State fan.
The Bucks could be playing in their third straight BCS Championship game and their fourth in seven years.
Win or lose, and vs. an SEC school or not, that's still an impressive resume that any team would love to have—and something to be proud of in Buckeye-land!
If other fans don't hate you and aren't talking about you, you're just not important.
I'd say that makes Ohio State as relevant as any team in the nation, and they'll beat an SEC team in a bowl game soon enough.
Hopefully Buckeye fans and haters alike now have a better understanding of the truth behind 0-9.
Oh, and just so you know, Ohio State is 7-2-1 vs. SEC teams in the regular season making them 7-11-1 overall all-time (not 0-9) but you never hear the true overall record, just the bowl games.
Well, now you know the truth!
Look for more articles from me, HD, coming soon!
17 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
Kristofer Green 8 months ago
No one ever talks about Ohio State's winning record against the SEC in regular season match-ups either. Good job.
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
If they do, they try to lessen the victories by saying it was against Kentucky & Vandy!
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Bob Zen 8 months ago
HD, Save me the trouble of looking it up, how about you present the records of all of the SEC teams that OSU 'manhandled' over the years. After that we can talk about how 7-2-1 ranks compared to 0-9.
Bob
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Bob Zen 8 months ago
Wow... I took the time to look up the games you list in your 'now you know the rest of the story' article and I have to say that times must be rough in Columbus if you're willing to try to make this argument.
First you state that "You would think all nine losses have come in the last nine seasons to hear SEC fans tell it. Truth be told, the very first Bowl game that pitted Ohio State against an SEC school was the 1977 Sugar Bowl" When I looked up the 10 games that you listed only two were after WWII. Mind you it is really 11 games because there is also the loss to Bama in a 'pre-season' type game back in 1986. In those games, I'll count Bama, you were 1-1-1. As for the rest, do you really want to go back to a win against Kentucky in 1895 to try to prove some kind of a point?
Now lets go to this part "You will also notice that in several of these years, the Ohio State program was down." and this "During several seasons, the Buckeyes won only seven, eight, or nine games. If you know anything about Ohio State football, just being bowl eligible isn't a successful season." Of the pre-WWII games, you had a better record than your opponent most of the time, although only a few of those years were quality seasons. I'm sure if they had bowls back in 1895 when you beat Kentucky by a score of 8/6, your 4-4-2 record wouldn't have gotten you far. I'm not sure what Kentucky's record was that year, it wasn't listed in the database I used to source this.
So, in conclusion, if you've got to go back to 1895 to make a point about OSU football and you inability to win bowl games in the modern football era, then you've really got problems in Columbus.
I hope you somehow manage to make it back to Miami this year and that there is an SEC team waiting for you. I'll be betting heavy on SEC to cover.
Bob
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
Well Bob,
Being that I am looking at the Buckeyes record "ALL-TIME" vs SEC schools, does 1895 not count under the category "ALL-TIME" or since it was a Buckeye win, would you prefer to sweep it under the rug as if it never happened? Perhaps you should write the NCAA, The Big Ten, The SEC, the President of OSU & Kentucky and have all of them strike it from the record book if you're going to be that anal about it.
I find it so hilarious that SEC fans talk big as a conference and with the 0-9 banter, but as soon as I menton our regular seaon 7-2-1 record, they're quick to throw Kentucky & Vandy under the bus. And here I thought the SEC was tough top to bottom...
You know if the SEC would actually schedule OSU and play in Columbus during the regular season nowadays, we'd prove to you that we can beat you in 2008, not just 1895 or 1930 or whenever but SEC schools (other than Tennessee) will not schedule Elite OOC opponents such as Ohio State b/c they do not want to play us on the road and ruin their season by being exposed.
Just ask Georgia, they declined a Home & Home offer from tOSU very recently so OSU then scheduled Tennessee H&H in 2016 or 2017, something like that.
The SEC has 4 or 5 pretty good teams right now but after that, it's no different than any other conference.
Sorry to break this to you but Ole Miss isn't good, they're below average and would NEVER come into the shoe and beat the Buckeyes so Florida's loss to them proves the SEC is overrated top to bottom. From 5th-12th, it's just like any other conference and if 1-4 loses to 6-12, it's because 1-5 was overrated, not because 6-12 are good.
It's pathetic that SEC fans really believe that. If Indiana beats Ohio State when OSU is supposed to be really good, you're never gonna hear me or anyone say it was because Indiana is awesome.
Indiana stinks and if that day comes when they beat OSU, so do we, PERIOD.
When you lose to a bottom feeder, you were overrated --end of story!
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Bob Zen 8 months ago
I guess you missed the point there. You were yammering on about how 1977 was 'so long ago' when we were talking about your bowl record, but then most of your SEC wins were before WWII. Really the more important issue, again getting back to YOUR argument is that most of those wins came against teams that you should have beaten. You don't get to have it both ways. You can't argue that OSU was 'down' or had worse records than the teams that you faced in bowl games, then talk about us throwing Vandy and Kentucky 'under the bus' if we state the same thing.
Before you get too caught up on SEC's out of conference schedules, keep in mind that we play, Georgia Tech, USC, Miami, FSU, OkSt., Arazona St. Boise St., Cal, UCLA, and those are just the teams that I can think of off the top of my head. Although FSU and Miami are down lately, they are quality teams. You can't argue USC. All of the other teams are quality to, Ok St. is making a run for the Big 12 this year. Boise St. took down Oklahoma. Also, keep in mind that we average more ranked teams and top ranked teams year in and year out so our SEC schedule is tough. With the exception of down years, and yes this is a bit of a down year for some of our usual top end teams, then our gauntlet of teams is enough to prove to anyone that we deserve to be in the big game. Contrast that with your schedule which in always pitiful. You manage one possibly two quality games followed by a bunch of mid tier games, then throw in your usual cupcake teams, it is no wonder you skate into a BCS game so easily.
Per the USU/UGA match up, I don't know the specifics of that, but if we turned it down it is likely that we already had a home/away scheduled for those years and couldn't add another one. With UGA/UF played in Jacksonville every year, we're a little limited in how we schedule home/away games. Also, note we have GT every year home/away.
As for Florida and Ole Miss, they also Thumped LSU. I think we know how you do against them! Every team has a oops game from time to time, heck USC makes a yearly event of it lately. I believe you dropped one to Northwestern a few years ago. So don't be so quick to call a team, or conference over rated just because of one game.
Net net, In games played when most of the people reading this were alive, you're record against the SEC is pitiful at best. If you want to go back to the 30s and before to claim some wins to make you look less pitiful, enjoy.
Bob
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A to the H 8 months ago
I never understood why OSU had to have a winning record against a whole conference... Pick any team in the BCS and you will probably find that they have a losing record against a whole conference.
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
Since 1933 (the year the SEC was founded), Ohio State is 2-1-1 vs the SEC with wins over Vandy (1933) and LSU (1988), a tie with #4 ranked LSU that went 11-1-1 in 1987 and a loss to Alabama in 1986
We'd love to play the SEC schools during the regular season but it's not our fault they're scared to play us in Columbus...
We'll gladly play them in their stadiums because we consistently schedule teams OOC for Home & Away 2 game series
2006/2006 Texas
2008/2008 USC
And in the coming years we have home and home 2-game series scheduled with Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Miami (FL), Tennessee.....
Meanwhile the SEC teams play the likes of Troy, LA Monroe, Mid Tenn State, Florida Atlantic, Alabama State, etc....and all at home of course!
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
** 2005/2006 Texas **
- We lost in 2005 by 3 to eventual National Champs led by Vince Young
- We owned Texas in 2006 with 2008 Heisman fav Colt McCoy
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Splash Daddy 8 months ago
You didn't OWN Texas in 2006. You beat them because you were better that year. You won 24-7, putting the game away midway through the fourth qtr. And yes Colt McCoy was the QB - a redshirt freshman making his second start.
You OSU guys sound silly and defensive. You're one of the greatest all-time programs in NCAA history. You're clearly one of the top 5 programs of the BCS era. You have a great coach who is a class act and a recruiting machine. Yet you incessantly point to past deeds - acting like losers instead of the winners you are. From what I see of the recruiting you can expect to be a top team for the foreseeable future.
The SEC is in a golden era right now. Each week there are two or three games that have national impact and they tend to be very intense, physically violent, down-to-the-wire games. As a football fan it is fantastic!
As for playing creampuffs, Youngstown State? And UL-Monroe beat Bama last year! Everybody schedules those. Besides, LSU beat ACC-Champ VaTech 48-7 last year to open the season.
Most SEC fans still remember the days when everyone was looking up at Alabama. Now the SEC is extremely competitive and unpredictable. Don't let the chants of SEC! get under your skin. We're southerners - it's our birthright to act stupid!
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
Help me understand then how an OSU 38-24 loss to LSU (by 14 points) is a blowout but we just managed to put Texas away 24-7.....the perception is amazing & ridiculous all at once.
When Ohio State wins by 14, it never enough b/c of the "style points" factor but when an SEC team wins by 14, even over a doormat team, they blew them out.....
I'm not making this stuff up. I'm not that creative.
I have heard many an SEC fan preach how OSU sucks or how so & so was overrated after we beat them.
I fully expect that this week if we beat Penn State and with good reason.
Wasn't MSU #20 and playing the Bucks at home last week? Many experts picked the Spartans to beat Ohio State hands down.
The minute we crushed them, it was only b/c they were overrated, not b/c we just that good b/c of course, we all know Ohio State is overrated....they always are, right?
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Walt Traxler 8 months ago
What do Ohio State & Marijuana have in common?
They both get smoked in bowls!
I know, its off a Laffy Taffy wrapper, but still hilarous
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
Ohio State is 4-2 in bowl games since 2002 Walt.....
No matter where you got the idea for your comment, it was inappropriate, childish and utterly stupid in addition to completely inaccurate.
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Luke NoneyaDB 8 months ago
I don't understand my fellow bucks fans that act as this. We went to 3 BCS championship games recently. We lost 2 (last year we shouldn't have been there, blame the people that kept losing ahead of us), but the fact is A LOT of teams were not there. I treat recent history at tOSU as a win, since a win is what we get way more often than not. Each season is different and history, as it pertains to college football, is only there for nostalgia and has no bearing on each season. TOSU is a winning school that has become a victim of its own massively elevated expectations. Notice nobody kicks a bad team when it plays poorly, they only kick teams expected to play well for playing poorly. Take the criticism as a complement and look forward to the next game.
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Mark Rupert 8 months ago
Handshue. the only point you proved with this spill is that you are a hater. The line that SEC teams beside Tenn will not schedule elite OCC opponets such as OS, because they don't want to ruin their season by being exposed is just stupid.
First, the only reason Tenn does this is so they can recruit national players, the state won't produce enough talent for them to compete. (remember they play a SEC schedule).
Second, when the buckeys only play two quality teams in a season compaired to SEC teams playing four to six quality teams in Conference every season, trying to make this point just makes you look like a spoiled child. This is not a good arguement for a buckeye fan to try and use against the SEC.
Third, the 0-9 record dosent suggest that OS could ruin a season or expose a top SEC team not in Fla or Columbus.
Most SEC fans don't hate or envy OS, they just see the results. You have proved that you are what you are accusing others of. Get over it and don't be a hater.
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
Mark,
If OSU is playing at a top tier SEC team, in their stadium, of course I'd expect the SEC team to be favored.....on a neutral site, I'd say the Bucks could win but still may not, but come to Columbus and play us in the Shoe, well, let's just say that it would be pretty much all over but the crying...
WE MUST (& DO) DEFEND THIS HOUSE!!!!!!!
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HD Handshoe -- BlockONation.com 8 months ago
and it's HandshOe, not HandshUe -- O, not U
Thanks
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