Michigan Football: Will the Wolverines Benefit from Ohio State's Concerns?
It’s been nearly 10 seasons since Michigan has held the upper hand in the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry. The downward spiral began when first-year coach Jim Tressel brought his underdog Buckeyes into the Big House on Nov. 24, 2001.
Behind unheralded quarterback Craig Krenzel, Ohio State upset the Wolverines, 26-20.
It may be hard to explain, but the Buckeyes have won eight of the last nine meetings as Tressel pilfered a rivalry that Michigan claimed for a decade or so.
He's also dominated the recruiting battles in Ohio, where Michigan knows it must compete to be successful.
Not anymore.
Michigan has begun to make inroads in the Buckeye State since the OSU brand has been recently tarnished. Brady Hoke's arrival in Ann Arbor has furthered Michigan's cause. .
The recent tat-gate, car-gate and gold pants fiascoes may cause the Buckeyes to lose scholarships, vacate games and find a new head coach.
Apparently, Buckeye football players have traded all sorts of complementary gear for favors that included tattoos, cars and cold, hard cash.
While it may all seem petty in nature, the NCAA insists on an “atmosphere of compliance,” and frankly, the OSU athletic department is behind the eight-ball in that regard.
Probably the worst part of this whole mess, is that Coach Tressel has been accused of a cover-up. The consequences could be devastating.
Many of us recall what happened when Michigan’s Fab Five secured a substantial loan from a booster in the early 1990s.
Anyone close to the Wolverines knows the program is still suffering from the NCAA sanctions..
While there has been concern over the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry’s lack of excitement of late, the back story has been filled with intrigue. Here are a few of the subplots in this ever-evolving soap opera.
Ray Small
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The latest Big 10 television contracts look like this (according to the Orlando Sentinel):
Big Ten Network:
25 years, $2.8 billion
ABC/ESPN:
10 years, $1.0 billion
...and Ray Small, a former wide receiver for the Buckeyes, sold four Big Ten rings, reports The Lantern, Ohio State's student newspaper.
Needless to say, the television contracts were good business, the jewelry business wasn't.
(Small caught 61 passes for the Buckeyes from 2006-10).
"We have apartments, car notes," Small added. "So you got things like that and you look around and you're like, ‘Well I got (four) of them, I can sell one or two and get some money to pay this rent."
Other past Ohio State players are beginning to come forward, but some of the "testimony" is beginning to resemble "practice-gate," which occurred during Rich Rodriguez' watch in Ann Arbor.
Practice-Gate
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The Michigan football program, which already took a tumble during the 3-9 season in 2008, crashed even further when a Detroit Free Press story came out on Aug. 29, 2009.
Wolverine fans were actually optimistic the day before. Rich Rodriguez finally had a quarterback to run his read-option spread offense, but the article brought about a dark cloud that still hasn't left the building.
The article read: "The University of Michigan football team has consistently has violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities under coach Rich Rodriguez, numerous players told the Free Press."
"Players on the 2008 and 2009 teams described training and practice sessions that far exceeded limits set by the NCAA, which governs college athletics.
"The restrictions are designed to protect players’ well-being, ensure adequate study time and prevent schools from gaining an unfair competitive advantage." the newspaper added."
There were headlines all over the state. Rodriguez had destroyed the university. Michigan would never win another game.
Some 20 months later, the NCAA decided to slap Michigan's wrists. The Wolverines were forced to cut some practice time and go on three years' probation. The NCAA found that the charges by the Free Press were overblown.
Youngstown State
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To some, Jim Tressel left Youngstown State with four 1-AA titles and a squeaky-clean image.
Some knew otherwise. To this part of the story comes a definite cast of characters.
First, there's Tressel himself, who according to reporters Tim Farrey (espn.com) and our own Mitch Wilson, made sure his players wore suits to the airport and behaved accordingly.
Then there was Mickey Monus, the local Phar-Mor discount drugstore magnate, who liked to see Youngstown do well. There was Ray Isaac, the star quarterback who was short on money. And finally, there was Maurice Clarett, whose situation was similar to Isaac's.
A quick read of these detailed articles will help connect the dots.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Fab Five
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About the same time Tressel was making his first impression at Youngstown, five freshman basketball players converged on Ann Arbor. Never before had the Wolverines pulled in such a recruiting class.
But Michigan had recently won the 1989 NCAA championship, and coach Steve Fisher could do no wrong.
Until Michigan got caught.
It was later discovered that Chris Webber received nearly $280,000 from a booster named Ed Martin. In total, Michigan players were loaned slightly more than $600,000.
But if you consider that Webber made well over $100 million in his NBA career, the borrowed money looks like pocket change.
Ohio State Basketball
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While Michigan basketball was suffering in Ann Arbor, Jim O'Brien was thriving at Ohio State. At least for a short time.
O'Brien came from Boston College in 1997 where he had bucked heads over academic admissions. He did bring with him a fine player in Scoonie Penn, however.
Before he was fired for sending money to a player's family, O'Brien's Buckeyes made four straight NCAA tournament appearances and shared the Big 10 title with Michigan State in 2000.
All of those wins were vacated, as the Buckeyes finally paid for O'Brien's mistakes.
Terrelle Pryor
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Terrelle Pryor is no doubt the key player among the Buckeyes' tat-five. Like the rest of the entrepreneurial group, he will miss the first five games of the 2010 season.
The much-maligned quarterback has nonetheless completed 477 of 783 passes in his career, with 57 touchdowns.
Some thought he would forgo his final season for the NFL draft, but instead he's returning for a possible Heisman run and a chance the the national title. .
Regardless of what happens this fall, Pryor will find a spot in the NFL. Besides being a possibility at quarterback, Pryor could use his size and excellent speed to be a highly effective receiver.
Brady Hoke
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There's no doubt first-year coach Brady Hoke could benefit from the possible meltdown in Columbus. He's already doing well in the Ohio recruiting battles. Thus far, Michigan has 12 verbal commitments for 2012, five from Ohio.
Should Michigan win a few games during this period, some Buckeye fanatics will claim they don't count.
Just like the victories during Cooper's regime and the wins before 1950. Of course there's plenty of smack to go around. Just watch a game in either side's yard. You might be surprised what you hear.
Michigan Expansion
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Michigan may actually benefit financially if Ohio State encounters stiff penalties..
Last Thursday, AD Dave Brandon told radio station WTKA-AM (1050) in Ann Arbor that Michigan was exploring another expansion to the Big House.
The university is merely waiting for an increase in the season ticket waiting list before construction will start. The first phase of the expansion will occur in the south end zone.
When completed, the stadium would then seat between 120,000 and 125,000.
There's no doubt some of the extra fans would come from fence-riding families near the Michigan-Ohio border.
Jim Tressel
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So what's next for Jim Tressel? Will he, or for that matter, athletic director Gene Smith, start looking for work soon?
The NCAA is well aware Tressel's problems go back to Youngstown State. While his 106-22 OSU record and his 9-1 mark against Michigan carry a lot of weight with some, the records are meaningless to the NCAA.
OSU football will undoubtedly survive the NCAA probe, but does university president Gordon Gee have the patience to wait for the final outcome?
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
