Ohio State Football: OSU Shouldn't Have Gotten Harsher Penalties Than USC

The Ohio State football program was given a one-year postseason ban Tuesday by the NCAA in addition to other penalties, and the Buckeyes rightfully got a lesser penalty than USC received in 2010 for their own violations.

To go along with the postseason ban, the Buckeyes have to give up nine scholarships during a three-year period and will be placed on three years of probation.

Ohio State also won't be able to compete for the Big 10 championship next season, and former head coach Jim Tressel was slammed with a "show-cause penalty of five years for committing violations, including lying to the NCAA and failing to report violations," according to USA Today.

The Buckeyes will not appeal the penalties leveled against their program, and that is a smart move. They did not receive the severe penalty that USC did last season for multiple years of violations.

The Trojans were hit with a two-year postseason ban, lost 30 scholarships and were forced to vacate all football wins from December 2004 through the 2005 season, among other penalties.

That was a huge hit for a school that deserved to be hit hard for the violations it committed. 

What Ohio State and Tressel did was wrong, but I don't have a major issue with a lot of it.

Some of his players received free or discounted tattoos and cash payments, and one player was given a loan for a car.

Tressel was alerted of the violations and did not report them. While not notifying the right people of these violations was wrong, I don't think it deserves a postseason ban.

Regarding the players receiving cash, tattoos and other things from a Columbus area tattoo parlor, I do not think that is much of an issue. Sorry, I don't.

Many of these kids do not have a lot of money, and even though they don't have to pay for meals, football equipment or room and board, the temptation to make some money is always there.

The NCAA has far bigger problems than football players getting a good deal on tattoos, or even some small cash payments.

Look at the Penn State and Syracuse sex scandals, for example. Those are two different situations the NCAA must look at and spend time finding out what went on and what penalties need to be imposed, if any, on either school.

Breaking a rule is breaking a rule, I get that. But let's face it: what the Buckeyes did wasn't a big deal.

I do not think that getting free or discounted tattoos warrants the penalties that the program was given by the NCAA on Tuesday. Tressel lying is a pretty big deal however, and ultimately this mess the school is in is his fault.

However, the NCAA should have hit Ohio State with some penalties, and I think what they got wasn't too bad for the future of the program.

The Buckeyes' violations were not more severe or even on par with USC's over the past decade, and OSU was correctly not hit as hard as the Trojans by the NCAA on Tuesday.