Ohio State's Loss Maintains Program's Integrity

Shortly following their upset at the hands of the Fighting Illini, Ohio State decided to take their sixty minutes of frustration out on the victors from Champaign. With the post-game fracas now subsided, the Buckeyes should be able to look back to this game as a face saving performance, allowing them to continue to be considered one of the best teams in college football this year. They truly are lucky to have lost this game. 

If it weren't for this blessing from above, the Ohio State University would have gone through the motions, finished off as the undefeated champion from the Big Ten. And as such the voters would have felt compelled to vote them on to the national championship game, as an undefeated team from a BCS conference, despite the obvious weaknesses of this year's Buckeyes squad. 

If it weren't for their loss, the argument would have been centered around who is the more complete and deserving team to be considered for the BCS Championship Game: Oregon, LSU or Oklahoma. (You'll have to forgive; I refuse to jump on to the Kansas bandwagon. But that is another story, for another day.) Ohio State would have shown up to the game against Oregon, LSU or Oklahoma, with the nation's attention focused on them, and be exposed as the fraud that they are this season. Much like last years game, Ohio State would have been outmatched, outperformed and outscored by a more dominant team from a stronger conference. Without the Buckeyes gracefully bowing out of the title hunt, the boys from Columbus would have been the whipping boy for journalists from Norman, to Baton Rouge, to Eugene, and anywhere and everywhere in between. (Just ask Oklahoma how it feels to be embarrassed in the national championship game, front of a national audience, two years in a row in 2003 and 2004). 

Most of the college football watching nation, except for those from the "elite" Big Ten schools, felt that this year's Ohio State team was not the best team in the nation. Yet, many of those same talking heads were afraid to buck tradition and vote a team down in the polss, solely because they did not believe them to be as strong as their record. 

Because the pollsters refused to intervene, Darwinism did. What might seem like a sharp blow really is a blessing in disguise for the Ohio State University; they will go on to face a Michigan team that is much weaker than in years passed, yet the game will still be highly hyped. Though this year's game lacks much of its usual luster, it is still "THE Rivalry." Ohio State will no doubt win, regardless of the injury status of Henne and Hart, because this year Ohio State is the king of the Big Ten. And as the champion of the Big Ten, they will ship off to Pasedana, likely to face the USC Trojans, another team suffering an from an off year. 

Imagine this, ten, twenty, thirty years from now, you look back to the results of this seasons bowl schedule. You see Ohio State victorious over the Men of Troy. In the context of recent history, and even "ancient" history an Ohio State win over USC in the Rosebowl, will be a badge Ohio State should proudly wear. Both Ohio State and USC are destined to return to the glory of the previous seasons, and though neither are quite the team they have been in years gone by, this victory will look impressive in the annals of history.

A Rosebowl victory, Tressel's perceived coaching prowess, and the potential for another strong recruiting class are likely to result from the loss to Illinois. So make sure to thank the Fighting Zookers when you get the chance.