2010 College Football Predictions: Jim Tressel Win Away From Erasing Cooper Era

               Ohio State fans all know the dreadful numbers: 2-10-1.  It is the combination of a proverbial lock; one which secures a door leading to a dark and ominous memory of Buckeye fans everywhere. Twice in an abysmal thirteen year span were the Buckeyes declared winners over their archrivals and most hated nemeses. Twice. This was during a period of time where the Buckeyes were probably the richest they’ve ever been or perhaps will ever be with talent. The team saw several All-Americans and major award garnering athletes pass through on their way to the NFL. Names like George, Springs, Glenn, Vrabel, Dudley, Katzenmoyer, Pace, Hoying, and Winfield (among many others) were as feared by opponents as they were celebrated by fans. Yet during such a talent rich era in Buckeye history, only two times did any of these all-stars get to celebrate a win over Michigan. On more than one occasion, some of the best players that ever suited up in scarlet and grey were stopped dead in their tracks by Michigan on what previously seemed like a clear road to the national championship game . Even the most casual football observer can tell you what this thirteen year span has come to be known as, recognized by both Michigan and Ohio State fans: The John Cooper Era.

               From 1988 to the turn of the millennium, John Cooper coached the Ohio State Buckeyes . During his tenure, he obtained an overall record of 111-43-4 with a conference record of 70-30-4. He lost to Michigan ten times. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that one third of all of John Cooper’s conference losses came at the hands of his maize and blue Achilles’ heel. Even worse is the fact that nearly a quarter of his total losses at Ohio State came from Michigan. His bowl record was almost as depressing as his rivalry record. While he led the Buckeyes to 11 bowl appearances, he only coached them to three postseason wins.   To his credit, two of those wins were major bowls (The Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl ). However, regularly losing to Michigan is an unforgivable sin in Columbus. While John Cooper was one of the best coaches at stocking the NFL with top shelf talent, he wasn’t good enough to win when it mattered the most. After 13 years of embarrassment and unfulfilled great expectations, John Cooper was canned.

               Enter Jim Tressel : A well mannered, soft spoken, sweater vest wearing man who wasn’t widely known to a justifiably impatient and cantankerous Buckeye nation. Tressel had great success as a coach at Division 1-AA juggernaut Youngstown State where he won 4 national championships. However, most Buckeye fans were reluctant to believe he would be a winner at the major 1-A level. Nine years and 94 wins later including 9 bowl appearances, 5 bowl wins (4 of those wins in BCS bowls), he is a living icon to the Buckeye nation. He has even coached Ohio State to their first national championship win since 1968. Any true fan of Ohio State football should be delighted by this era of excellence. However, just about all of it is a mere footnote to perhaps the grandest accomplishment of Jim Tressel. During his nine year tenure as the Ohio State head coach, Jim Tressel has only lost to Michigan ONCE. Only one time in a nine year span has Michigan celebrated a win over its archrival and most hated nemesis. Just once. He is 8-1-0 vs. that team up North . This is night and day different from the 2-10-1 record his predecessor left with. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that if Jim Tressel coaches the Buckeyes to just one more rivalry victory, he will hold a 9-1-0 record over archrival Michigan, effectively erasing any deficit John Cooper created in the biggest sports rivalry.

               Think about it. John Cooper won two games in the rivalry. Add Jim Tressel’s eight wins and you have ten combined wins vs. Michigan. Since Cooper lost ten games in the rivalry and Tressel has lost only one, that leaves us with eleven losses vs. Michigan. Combined, Jim Tressel and John Cooper are 10-11-1 vs. Michigan. Could this finally be the season where Ohio State catches back up to the starting point John Cooper had before his mortifying run in the rivalry? In a year where most pundits rate Ohio State as the second best team in the nation and don’t even favor Michigan to finish in the top five of the Big Ten, you have to like the Buckeye’s chances. However, it cannot be taken for granted that this is historically the biggest rivalry in college football and even a desperate underdog can have a lethal bite (evidenced many times throughout the history of the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry). Will Jim Tressel finally put away the shortcomings of his predecessor? Will Michigan regain its ability to upset a Buckeye team seemingly headed for glory? One thing is for certain: Despite the declining luster in THE rivalry, there is still some significance to winning the last game in November. For Michigan, it's resurgence. For Ohio State, it's finally putting the past away.