Michigan vs. Ohio State: Why Sanctions Were Best Thing to Happen to Buckeyes

Ohio State closed out their 2012 season with a win over the Michigan Wolverines. The Urban Meyer era starts on a high note as the Buckeyes close out the season 12-0. While folks wonder about the AP title and complain about not being eligible for the BCS championship, they'll miss the fact that sanctions made this all possible.

Sanctions are what got Jim Tressel fired. Sanctions are what got Urban Meyer hired. Sanctions are what gave the offense a much-needed shot in the arm. Sanctions are what helped the Buckeyes become the 12-0 team they are today.

So, while they will miss out on a Big Ten Championship Game and a BCS bowl berth, they are primed for the 2013 season and beyond. All thanks to the hardship the program endured starting in the 2010 season.

Jim Tressel was a great coach; a guy who rebuilt the Buckeyes into one of college football's most formidable programs. He had them in the hunt on a yearly basis and life was good. Except it wasn't as good as it could be.

Now with Urban Meyer, the Buckeyes are looking to take that step Tressel could not. They are playing a dangerous, dynamic offense; something Buckeyes fans have wanted for quite a long time.

Meyer is not without fault. He needs to fix the defense, but things are going great in Columbus, and it is all thanks to the tattoo scandal that Ohio State is poised to run the Big Ten, again. It's no shocker that the Scarlet and Gray are at the top of the Big Ten, as Tressel had them there for a decade.

The welcomed change is the Buckeyes being a team that is going to challenge outside of the Big Ten for as long as Meyer is at the helm. Yeah, it stinks the Big Ten's best team cannot go play in a bowl and challenge for a title. However, the fact is that the Buckeyes are only going to get better, and without the sanctions, this day, where Meyer is the leader of the program, likely never happens.