Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes are a Symbol of BCS Stability

Ohio State is 0-9 against the SEC in bowl games.

There is no telling if the Buckeyes will break that streak in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas and in reality does it matter?

Maybe you like to poke fun at Ohio State for their recent BCS follies against the Southeastern Conference, but whether you like it or not Jim Tressel has created a Bowl Championship dynasty of sorts.

This is the Buckeyes' sixth straight BCS appearance and ninth overall.

That's impressive, especially when the BCS has only been around for twelve seasons.

If you are keeping score at home, that's the most in college football. Oklahoma is second with eight and USC is third with seven.

You can try and make arguments about the strength of the Big 10 or that they lost twice in the title game, but when you boil it down, no one comes close to the type of consistent success Ohio State has perpetrated in the BCS era.

They are 5-3 in those bowls and awaiting their ninth crack against the Razorbacks. This includes that stirring victory over Miami for the 2002 National Title, yet the Buckeyes continue to take flack. Oklahoma is 2-5, Florida State is 1-5, USC is 6-1 and Florida is 5-1 to add some perspective.

It's not easy to get to a BCS bowl game, let alone get there nine times out of twelve. It will only get harder as the Big 10 is finally stepping out of the dark ages and adding a championship game rather than relying on shared titles.

Jim Tressel deserves your respect.

I'm an SEC guy and Alabama alum living here in Columbus and as much as I get sick of seeing and hearing that Buckeye Kool Aid being poured, you can't deny what that man has done in Columbus.

I felt compelled to write this because, like many college football fans, Ohio State supporters sometimes lose their way and forget what they have in their program. Some of that is aided by the taunting of fans and media across the country and our knee jerk reactions in a "what have you done for me right now" society.

Regardless of what happens against Arkansas, Ohio State has built a program of consistent success that many programs would love to have and that is not something to take for granted.