Eight weeks into this year's Ohio State football season, I've finally come to grasps that we (myself included), as a collective scarlet & gray Kool-aid drinking mass, are a bunch of spoiled drunkards. I've refrained from posting on the Bucknuts.com free message boards and bite my tongue in the office when Buckeye debates find their way through the cubicle mazes. Between the media and the masses (via message boards), I've come to the conclusion above based on the following laundry list:
1. Since 2002, Ohio State has finished no worse than #4 in the country (except in 2004). Let's not forget three National Championship appearances - Champ in 2002, runner-up in 2006, runner up in last year. Erase the 2004 season (except the Ted Ginn Jr. highlight reels) and the Buckeyes have finished no worse than #4 since 2002!!! Heck, we've only lost once to scUM during that time period and drubbed Notre Dame and Charlie "ICanHas Cheezburger" Weis along the way. In a society that screams "what have you done for me lately" we've lost perspective on how good Coach Tressel has been to us.
2. It's not like we lost to Youngstown State, or Ohio, or Troy, or Minnesota, or Purdue. Take solace Buckeye fans, it isn't the end of the world. We have a future all-world QB who needs a year to get the system under his belt (and wait for the slow offensive, offensive linemen in front of him to graduate). This guy is a gamer. I'm going to offer up another thought here - the guys around him are holding him back from his potential. Robiskie and Hartline make great possession receivers. Robo was clutch in 2006 when he was flanked by TG-II and Gonzo. He was a perfect 3WR. His limitations were magnified only after we waltzed into the 2007 NC game and he ran into (quite literally) bigger, faster DBs. Hartline, contrary to popular belief, is not the second coming of Gonzo. Ray Small should stay in the dog-house for his on-field performance as much as his off-field shenanigans. Posey has showed flashes of excellence and it looks like Lamaar "Flash" Thomas is getting his shot at least on kick-off returns.
3. Recruiting boon. The 2008 class was pretty special. In fact, I'll go on step further and say as a result of the 2008 class, expectations for the 2008-2009 team were exponentially higher. The coaches, Mr. Brewster, Block O and company brought in another Top 5 class. Unfortunately, I think most of us failed to recognize that most of the kids probably wouldn't get to see the field this year. With 20 returning starters from a NC team, what would you expect? I sit behind a desk all day and I understand that politics and bureaucry exist in every organization, team, or group. We can't get away from it. What if you, yourself, were the starting WR (with three letters) coming off an almost-double digit TD, 1,000 yard receiving season and people were calling for your head/spot? Or worse, you're the 5th year senior QB who's plateaued as a QB and you lost your job not because you're not an intelligent, skilled QB, but because your OL is analogous to Swiss Cheese and stagnant blocking dummies?
4. He's only 19. Yes, Terrelle "the Future" Pryor, is only 19. There's a reason why recruits and freshmen are called "prospects" and not "Pro-Bowlers". Give him a break. Sure, he doesn't make reads quickly and he doesn't know how to throw the ball away (or in his case, flick his wrist) but he hasn't LOST a game for us (i.e. Boeckman v. Illinois) by making mistakes, fumbling or throwing INTs. We've been exposed as a better than average team with a better than average defense with a work-in-progress offense. In a season full of injuries and 'if'-statements, we're all left to wonder what would have happened if Beanie hadn't tore up his toe/foot. Who knows, Boeckman might still be the starting QB and we might have lost by fewer points to USC. Which would you prefer?
In conclusion, it should be noted that the Ohio State football machine is not obsolete or broken, merely in the shop for repairs (like Beanie's toe) and some reconfigurations. It's safe to say that we lost a team for the ages in 2005 (Hawk, Carpenter, Whitner, Pittman, Holmes) and 2006 (Heisman, Ginn, Gonzo). We were fortunate to see teams like WVU and Mizzou take it on the chin late last year to vault our beloved Buckeyes into the NC game against LSU in LSU's backyard. I think it proved that we probably weren't quite there yet and far be it for me to say that these most-honorable seniors have become complacent and lazy having two shots at the NC but the way they're playing this year, maybe they have been.
If you're a golfer you can appreciate this - there's always the next hole or the next 9 or the next 18. 2008 isn't a "complete failure" - we're 6-1 with five games left... and we'll beat up scUM again. Would you rather be 6-6 and beat scUM or 10-1 and lose to scUm? Get off the high horses and appreciate the success our university has had over the last 6-7 years and realize that 2009 and 2010 have potential written all over them.
And realize we PWN Michigan in the 21st century.
