The 5-Hole, CBJ News and Notes – 9/9/08
September 9, 2008Hey, Remember This Guy?
September 10, 2008The Ohio State Buckeyes are kind of like Duke basketball, and maybe the New York Yankees. As Ohioans or fans of the Buckeyes it might be tough to admit, but the proof is out there. After dropping the last two national championship games to Florida and LSU, it was impossible not to hear the celebration of Ohio State’s misfortunes. There is a national resentment toward the Buckeyes. But facts are facts. The Buckeyes did lose the last two national championship games. They haven’t been competitive in those two games. Even going back to 2002 a lot of the media thinks that Ohio State was handed the championship over Miami.
Maybe it is time for the Buckeyes to look in the mirror. The Buckeyes are always impressive on paper, and usually impressive in the Big Ten, but they rarely put it all together. The M.O. is usually to squeak by opponents, even some that they should beat handily. Is it any wonder that fans around the nation and some in the media start to whisper that scary word; overrated?
Beanie Wells is one guy who will never hear that word uttered about him. Same with James Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins. But there are others, who don’t show up to play at the same rate. And these are the guys who have something to prove on Saturday at USC in order to help the Buckeyes prove, as a team, that they are in fact a power in college football. They need to prove that the last two years were just unlucky. They need to prove that the Buckeyes truly were a rebuilding team last season even though they made it to the championship game. The difference between Ohio State and LSU last year wasn’t premier players like Beanie Wells and James Laurinaitis. The difference is in the other starters and role players.
I know it may be painful to admit, but if some of these “other” guys fail to play on Saturday, it might finally be time to admit that the Bucks just aren’t as good as we want them to be. It might be time to admit that they are (gasp!) overrated. So, who am I looking at to prove themselves?
First, the receivers. Even as a Buckeyes fan, I sometimes wonder just how “elite” Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline are. They are good, but do they measure up to the likes of Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn, and Anthony Gonzalez? I think it is possible that they could, but they certainly haven’t done so yet. They need to execute on Saturday and prove against top competition that they truly are deserving of the praises they receive.
Second is Todd Boeckman. At 24 years of age, he has certainly waited his turn for a shot to play big-time football. Even so, Boeckman hasn’t secured his status in the upcoming NFL draft. Nobody looks at him and thinks he is a sure-fire first rounder. He might not even be looked at as a third-rounder. He needs to prove that he can make good decisions, stand in tough and deliver the ball. This is especially important given that the Buckeyes might be limited with Beanie Wells. It is also important for Boeckman because if the Buckeyes lose on Saturday they will limit their championship chances. If that happens, what is to keep Tressel from using the rest of the season as a training exercise for Terrelle Pryor?
Third is the Ohio State offensive line. This unit could be the most important in the game on Saturday. The success of the Buckeyes offense might be the thing most in doubt as the game approaches. Alex Boone returned for his senior year to get the bad taste out of his mouth, but he and his friends didn’t seem like they were out to prove anything last Saturday versus Ohio University. They allowed that defensive line to disrupt their offensive gameplan all day long. Of all the units on the Buckeyes, I am guessing that Boone and company have the most to prove.
I am sure there are others, but these are the ones that came to mind. It isn’t fun to look in the mirror and point out your own potential blemishes, but it is important. The Buckeyes have been impressive in reaching the championship game in the last two years, but they need to graduate from being studs only on paper and put it all together the way Florida and LSU have done in the last two years. That is the only way to quiet critics and earn praises. It will also be the only chance Ohio State has to return to the national championship game for a third time.
16 Comments
This game really is all or nothing for the Buckeyes. No one can question the quality of their talent, but where is the fire? Ever since the post-TD celebration of Ted Ginn Jr’s kickoff return against Florida, I can’t recall seeing much in the way of swagger from an Ohio State team. And I love what Senator Tressel has done against Michigan, but what exactly does he do during the rest of the season? I can understand coming out flat against OU last week (no Beanie, expecting a walk-over), or having some initial jitters in a title game. But whether it was last week, against LSU, or against Florida, when do you ever remember the team coming out after halftime looking at all fired up? In the pros, coaching is 85-90% inspiring. At the college level that is reduced, but still has to account for at least 50% of a coach’s job: frankly, I think that’s where the good Senator is lacking. And it shows when the team is down and in need of a kick in the pants.
All that said, this game reminds me most of the game at Texas in 2006. Very few expected Ohio State to go into Austin and win, and they ended up manhandling the Longhorns. I don’t see it being quite as one-sided as that game was, but there is no reason the Buckeyes can’t win on Saturday night. The key, to me, is getting up early and matching USC point-for-point. If Ohio State gets behind by more that a TD, then it’s time to start worrying–USC is that good, like it or not. And if the Buckeyes are down at halftime, let’s hope someone steps up and lights a fire under them; otherwise, it could be a long night and a lost season.
What about the two games against Texas? Sure, they lost against Vince Young – but he was unstoppable that year and it was a close, hard fought game.
The seoncd year the two teams played – Ohio St. won handily.
And what about when they blew out Notre Dame and Kansas State in BCS Bowl games. Looking back these wins may not seem that impressive. But, at the time, they were highly regarded teams.
I believe that Ohio State has proven time and again that it is among the College Football powers. If they win this week at USC, it will go a long way to regaining some of the national respect.
Regardless, I think Ohio State should be applouded for scheduling these tough matchups early in the season and putting their record and reputation on the line. Not a single team in the country does it with the same regularity that Ohio State does.
Great write-up of the game at http://cfn.scout.com/2/788908.html
I’m guardedly optimistic about the game but am pretty unsure. Nothing has seemed to light a fire under the offensive line in any of the recent big games besides the Gold Pants. Hopefully something will.
Also, how stupid is Ray Small? SC really needed a reason to get fired up – glad he could provide one.
NT – I know that nobody wants to hear about them, but the traditional Florida teams play each other every year. Thats TWO big games a year, not one big game + three MAC schools.
I understand that a home game generates millions of dollars for the athletic department, but I’d love to see a yearly game with WVU or ND or some other regional team that would be a big draw. Make it home and home, or make it at a neutral site like Clemson/Alabama.
I’d love to see that. I have a feeling, however, that’s less likely than seeing Ohio Northern roll into the Shoe.
Some observations from a non-OSU fan:
1. OSU HAS to schedule games like this to be taken seriously nationally… that’s just the sad fact of how bad the Big Ten has been recently. With the exception of Michigan stunning Florida last year and maybe Wisconsin beating Arkansas the year the ‘backs almost snuck into the NC game, what major bowl wins does the Big Ten have? in fact, most of the time they get smoked on the national stage (UM/USC Rose Bowl, ILL/USC Rose Bowl, OSU’s last two NC games, etc.). If OSU wasn’t playing USC this year, guarantee you would have heard a TON more squawking nationally about how soft their schedule would have been.
2. OSU does seem to tighten up when things are going rough for them. As you point out Craig, they came out a house on fire against Florida, but once Florida started gashing their defense, you could seem them playing worried and tentative: they spent most of the game trying not to get beat deep, and it cost them. Last year, they really did come out and hit LSU right in the mouth, but a couple of bad things (penalties, mainly) hit them, and it was like a snowball rolling down a hill. Whether that’s coaching or purely dumb luck, I can’t say.
I’m generally ambivalent about OSU football except for the UM game and their bowl games, but those are the things I see when I watch them.
One more observation, relative to what Ron says above, too:
As a UM fan, one thing that seems to always “matter” to us is the ND game, no matter how bad both teams are. Last year, after losing to Appy St. and Oregon, it was, this season is over, but DON’T LOSE TO NOTRE DAME. Back in my college days, I used to play in a band at some of the south campus dives, and I remember one weekend when they played Notre Dame in Columbus. I saw more cars getting flipped and trashed after that win than in any of the UM/Bowl wins since then. I think the idea of a home and home is a good one.
That said, ND will probably never do it, because then they’ll be pressured into joining the Big Ten (since they’d be playing at least 4 schools from it every season, and in turn they’d probably lose their USC game). Plus, ND doesn’t want to add another sure-fire beat down onto its schedule every year. They wouldn’t be able to pad Charlie’s win totals if they traded San Diego State for OSU!
why is this guy talking about Notre Dame as a Michigan fan on our site?
1. If Beanie Wells is full go, this game will be interesting. They have to be able to run the ball, so if Beanie’s 100% and the O – Line does their job, that’ll obviously take the pressure off Boeckman, who isn’t going to beat anybody throwing the ball.
2. If the defense shows up, and I think they will, this game will be closer than most of the “experts” think.
3. Ray Small – Shut Up
Ron-In my perfect world, ND would be forced to join the Big Ten*, the conference would split into 2 divisions, and there would be a conference title game. This would hopefully eliminate at least SOME of the national griping about the conference. And a yearly battle with WVU would be mandatory, despite the war it would create in my home. Sadly, until another program in the state steps up big time, we just aren’t going to get an opportunity to have intrastate battles like they do in Florida.
NT-Ohio State’s problem is that when it’s been on the biggest stage–not just playing a ranked team, which they do well (11-2 in their last 13), but playing for the title–they have been embarrassingly overwhelmed and outplayed. Like it or not, the college football world has annointed the SEC as the gold standard for conferences and teams. Even if the Buckeyes do take out USC, they STILL won’t get national respect: after all, USC “only” plays in the Pac 10. The only thing that will really get the Buckeyes the national respect we all feel they deserve is by ending this season beating Georgia, Florida, or whoever else comes out of the SEC in a title game, on the big stage, for all to see. And even then, the SEC won’t be giving us any credit!
Yea, who invited DP!? 🙂
S-bud:
Because they let me. 😉
#7: Nice misplaced pronoun, there. The guy you’re talking about has his name on the masthead. And why does a site with Indians, Browns, and Cavs logos in the banner and specific mentions of those teams in the “About” section on every page regularly cover a team that’s 150 miles away? The entire article’s off-topic already, so what does DP’s contribution matter?
As to the article itself:
Craig, the cries of “overrated” are only partially due to OSU’s inability to play football in January. In DP’s (terrible) “op-ed” last week, draftniki and B-bo were talking about wanting every other team in the Big Ten to lose every one of their games (roughly paraphrasing) — and that’s where the seed of “overrated” is planted.
OSU isn’t the equivalent of Duke or the Yankees. OSU is the equivalent of the early nineties Buffalo Bills — a punch line. And even if they beat USC this week, come BCS bid time in a few months, I guarantee the national conversation is going to be along the lines of “They beat one good team, in the third week of the season.” Any perceived persecution is due to legacy ranking, not OSU’s “success” — quite the opposite, in fact.
Joe, they can’t be the Buffalo Bills because they actually won one in 2002. Maybe they are the Atlanta Braves, who also won one.
Joe,
I fail to see how making the national championship game the last 2 years running makes us a bad team. Hell even your Bills analogy sucks, they had better seasons than all but one team in the NFL for those years. Additionally we actually won the national title in ’02 so your analogy fails again.
Yes OSU is the Duke or Yankees of college ball. Every year we’re one of the top teams in the country, our fan base is crazy all over the country, and everyone not with us is pretty much against us. (you’re hating only backs me up here).
If we beat USC then that will matter come bid time (also if we do beat USC we have a pretty solid shot of going undefeated), and if Wisconson keeps up with their level of play then knocking them off would also be a huge win.
People like to kick the best when they’re down and for the past few years the Big 10 has been down (hence all the media hating, it makes for good ratings) and SEC is flavor of the month.
Hoy
Hoy: So, in your first paragraph, you accuse me of claiming OSU was bad because I compared them to the team that made it to the Super Bowl four straight years — and then tell me the analogy “sucks” because the Bills were good, they just couldn’t win their championship. Yeah, you’re right, it’s a terrible analogy to claim that a team that got blown out in two consecutive national championship games is similar to a team that lost four national championship games in a row 😛
I’ll spell it out: OSU isn’t terrible — they’re a regional powerhouse. They just can’t make it over the top. Which is what I said in my first post.
Craig, I can see (and I’ll concede) the Braves point — but given the circumstances under which the ’02 title was won, I can’t help but point out how the Bills nearly won Super Bowl XXV.
Back to Hoy: I hope you’re right that Wisconsin has a good year. Their first half against Marshall wasn’t impressive.
If OSU wins Saturday, they must then keep their fingers crossed that Wisconsin, Penn State, and Illinois continue to win; the ILL/PSU game in two weeks might be a good indicator, especially with how ILL played against Missouri.
If those three are stronger, wins AT Wiscy and Illinois will surely help to soften schedule critiques. Sadly, PSU’s non-conference is/was a joke this year, and I don’t see them continuing to be ranked by the time OSU plays them. Coastal Carolina? Syracuse?? Temple??? I didn’t know the Owls even had a football team!