A more in-depth look at OSU’s latest big game failure will be forthcoming, but for now I’m throwing in the towel on Ohio State ever winning another national championship under Jim Tressel.
The anti-Big Ten climate around the nation is smothering. The only hope a Big Ten team has of getting to the BCS national championship game, realistically, is to run the table. I know, I know, the Bucks made it to the dance in ’07 despite what should have been a crippling late loss to Illinois. But if you think you’re going to see a perfect storm of that many upsets late in a season again, you’re dreaming.
So the Buckeyes have to be content with trying to win the Big Ten and getting a BCS bowl bid. Admirable achievements? Sure, winning any conference is a chore, and pulling it off four years in a row and counting is impressive. And let’s be honest- a one- or two-loss Ohio State team is always going to get a BCS bid because the salespeople in the stupid colored blazers want our fans’ money in their town, their butts in the seats and their eyes glued to the TV. The problem is that the Buckeyes will always face a big-time opponent in those matchups, and as they proved again last Saturday night in the ‘Shoe, they can’t win those games anymore.
It’s run the gamut, folks. There have been blowouts (Florida, ‘SC last year) and nail biters (‘SC this year, Texas last year), but the result is always the same- an “L” in the loss column. So if Gordon Gee, Gene Smith, Jim Tressel and all the power brokers of the Ohio State football program are happy with a 2 or 3 loss campaign and cashing a nice, fat BCS check, then that will have to serve as the program’s ultimate goal.
And don’t try to lump me in with the unreasonable members of Buckeye Nation who think every game should be a 50-0 blowout and that the Woody Hayes facility should be filled up with crystal footballs. It takes luck- in addition to talent- to win a title, but it’s looking more and more like Tressel used up all his breaks in 2002. USC was just the latest attempt at “Tresselball” that blew up in the team’s face.
When Tressel took the job here in 2001, I talked with a longtime member of the media who admitted that he hoped Glen Mason would have gotten the nod. As that conversation transpired, he told me that a former Youngstown State assistant coach had told him that if Tressel could, he would win every game 3-0. I didn’t put much credence in it at first, but with 8+ years of evidence on the table, I don’t think the comment was that far off base.
I’ve said before on this site that it seems that Tressel just can’t stand it if he’s not involved in a competitive game. He is so conservative on offense and leaves it to the defense and special teams to carry the load because God forbid if the offense were to make a mistake. This past Saturday in the Columbus Dispatch’s “Gameday” section, columnist Rob Oller had this take-
“I’m not so sure Tress wouldn’t rather win a 24-14 chess match than finish off a 56-7 laugher. Sometimes is seems the hunt thrills him more than the kill.”The USC game was just the latest in a rancid stew of poor play calling, absolutely inexcusable delay penalties due to indecisiveness over play calls, and relying on field goals. Even that apparently is too risky, as Aaron Pettrey wasn’t given a shot at a 53-yard field goal late in the game that could have padded the lead to 8. No, let’s punt and once again make the defense try to hold the fort. Bless their hearts, they really only failed twice- at the end of the first half and the end of the game. But they get absolutely no support from the other side of the football to take the pressure off, so their margin of error is razor-thin. I almost wonder why any good skill-position high school athlete would want to come here and be nothing more than a pawn in his coach’s chess game. For example, USC’s tight ends made plays- including a dagger on their winning drive- while ours are a third tackle.
Ohio State has the talent to handle everyone else left on the ’09 schedule, but going up against a big-time opponent requires reliable coaching and a more aggressive approach. After his putrid gameplan against Florida, Jim Heacock has turned his troops loose in the last couple of marquee games and they’ve done about all they could. There have been hiccups- I don’t know who thinks covering Joe McKnight with a linebacker is a good idea- but I’m not going to condemn the stop troops.
Jim Tressel isn’t going anywhere and I’m not suggesting he needs to. When you take the whole picture into account- developing and teaching, community involvement, recruiting- there aren’t many better walking the sidelines right now at any school. But until someone convinces Tressel to surrender play-calling and total control of game management, the Buckeyes will not be able to win big games. There is at least one major non-conference tilt each year for the foreseeable future, and Ohio State needs to win those to have a realistic shot at playing for the national title. The Big Ten doesn’t have the worship that the SEC does to stay in contention even with a loss. So chalk those national September games up as losses, roll the dice against Penn State and see if you can get in the BCS, where another loss awaits. That’s what the football program has come to.
Again, what makes this so maddening is that Ohio State CAN compete with anybody in the nation based on their talent. But when that playing field is leveled, you have to play aggressively on defense and keep the opposing “D” off balance by mixing up your offense and utilizing ALL of your available weapons. And have confidence in your gameplan, for God’s sakes. This isn’t baseball where you’re playing every night. You have a week to prepare and Monday or Tuesday is when you should be deciding what plays you want to run in certain situations, not on Saturday with the play clock burning away.
Any shot at the 2009 national title is gone. USC was ripe for the picking and wriggled off the hook. Against Toledo, Jim Tressel doesn’t need to bother going for it on any fourth-and-short’s, giving Pettrey a try at long field goals or having the common sense to run a sneak with a 6’6” quarterback instead of handing off to a back who’s gonna get buried. The time to do all of that was last Saturday night.
Joe-S-U
Editorial: National Title Hopes Are Gone
By Joe-S-U
September 13, 2009
2000-2009 Buckeye50.com, All Rights Reserved
Click B50 Logo for Editorial Main Menu
