Revisiting Preseason Predictions for the 2013 Indians
October 11, 2013Brian Hoyer’s surgery set for October 18
October 11, 2013
Congratulations Buckeyes fans. Your team has made it through half of their schedule unscathed and this week gets a bye for their efforts.
But, in spite of consecutive hard fought Big Ten wins against solid teams, Ohio State still can’t get any national respect. The Buckeyes are trapped by the overwhelming and tired perception that the Big Ten just plain sucks. Every week the pundits and Twitter legions say the same thing. When Ohio State wins big it’s because they played a glorified high school squad that shouldn’t be on the same field as them. When Ohio State wins a tight game (as they did each of the last two weeks against very capable Wisconsin and Northwestern teams) it’s because they’re garbage and are only undefeated due to their marshmallow soft schedule.
Luckily, this weekend offers that rare opportunity for Ohio State fans to support their team without risking a loss or Braxton Miller injury (I’m just kidding, he hasn’t gotten hurt for two whole weeks in a row). With the Buckeyes idle, there’s a lot of Saturday hours to fill. Many Buckeyes fans will feel lost with so many options and no one game to focus on, but I’m here to help. Here’s your handy guide to what you should be cheering for this week and throughout the rest of the season.
The Buckeyes remaining schedule resembles the nuclear fallout zone surrounding Chernobyl. Iowa, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Combined record: 19-12, but only 3-4 in the Big Ten, which, as any talking head or non-Big Ten fan will tell you, is undeniably weak this year.
Michigan is 5-0, but that record includes a four point victory over Akron (1-5) and a three point win over UConn (0-4). Undefeated is undefeated, but this year’s Michigan-Ohio State game is not shaping up to be a repeat of the 2006 classic.
Penn State, after shocking the world with an 8-4 record last season in the first year of the Sandusky sanctions, has crashed back to Earth thus far with a 3-2 record that includes a home defeat at the hands of Central Florida and the Nittany Lions’ first ever loss to Indiana.
Speaking of Indiana, their pass happy spread offense has them sitting at 3-2 and 1-0 in the Big Ten, good for an early tie with the Buckeyes atop the Leaders Division (note: Leaders and Legends are still the dumbest division names in college football). They still have to face Michigan State, Michigan, and Wisconsin before they come to Columbus, so expect them to have at least two, and probably three, more losses by the time they play the Buckeyes.
Michigan is not good this year, but the reality is that they’re the best remaining opponent on the Buckeyes schedule. They still have to get by Michigan State and Northwestern – both on the road – but they could enter The Game undefeated. If they were to run the table until the matchup with Ohio State, it would likely ensure that the teams would play back-to-back weeks1 – once in Ann Arbor on November 30 and then again on December 7 for the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Obviously, this means Buckeyes fans should be donning their maize and blue and learning everything they can about Devin Gardner, but that’s much easier said than done.
I’m actually in Happy Valley this weekend visiting a friend for the Penn State-Michigan game. I have a real dilemma on my hands. My heart tells me to root for the Nittany Lions, but my head screams Michigan. While it’s clearly the rational thing to do, I’m not sure if I’m comfortable being seen publicly cheering for a Michigan victory.
One alternative does exist for Buckeyes fans. Northwestern – who the Buckeyes dispatched somewhat unconvincingly last week – could make a run at the Legends division title. Their remaining schedule is tougher than Michigan’s (they still face Wisconsin and Nebraska on the road as well as Michigan and Michigan State in consecutive weeks), but they proved to a national audience last week that they are a skilled football team. If they could sneak into Indianapolis they just might earn Ohio State and the Big Ten a little more respect than Michigan could after their embarrassing early season struggles.
As impressed as I was by Northwestern last week, I just can’t see them winning four tough games in a span of six weeks. It pains me to say it, but Michigan looks like the Buckeyes’ likely opponent in Indianapolis. That’s my head speaking again. My heart will be cheering wildly for Northwestern to reverse their entire football history and make it to the Big Ten Championship Game.
So Buckeyes fans, tune into ABC tomorrow at 3:30 to watch Northwestern travel up to Madison. They can use all the support we can give them. I’ll
be crunched into Beaver Stadium, torn between two equally unattractive outcomes. By 8 PM Northwestern could be 0-2 in conference play and we could all be Michigan fans for the rest of the season. But maybe, just maybe, the Wildcats will win, and Buckeyes fans will have good reason to join forces with the nerds in purple as they fight to shock the world, spoil Michigan’s party, and earn a spot in Indianapolis.
- I’m operating under the assumption that Urban Meyer keeps the Buckeyes focused and they don’t falter over the next five games. [↩]
9 Comments
“The Buckeyes are trapped by the overwhelming and tired perception that the Big Ten just plain sucks”
This could be alleviated by the Big Ten actually winning big games against top ranked opponents from other divisions. Just sayin’.
I get tired of the Big Ten bashing too, there have been some very solid teams in the conference the last few years, but the reality is that for the most part, the Big Ten just hasn’t gotten the job done when they need too,
And I know the schedule is planned out far I advance, but if the Buckeyes want to be considered top tier, they have play more top tier teams.
“Obviously, this means Buckeyes fans should be donning their maize and blue…”
What in the world are you talking about?! You don’t even come close to making a convincing, rational argument as to why a Buckeye fan should be all of a sudden “donning their maize and blue” (what?!) or even rooting for Mich.
First of all, the only standings that matter – the BCS Ranks – aren’t even out yet. Not that tOSU could necessarily be ranked higher, the point is we just don’t know.
Second – if we’re only playing “undeniably weak” Big 10 teams the rest of the year, it’s possible to see lopsided blowouts week after week – you’d have to think that could influence voters.
Clemson plays Florida State next week and still has to play at South Carolina. FSU also still needs to play rivals Miami and Florida. Alabama still has to play LSU. And Oregon has yet to play Stanford. Think the results of those game might reshuffle the standings? I do!
Also every team in the current top 6 still has to play in a league championship game against a decent opponent (except maybe tOSU). This gives every other team a BIG opportunity to lose.
Point is – there’s a lot of season left and the Bucks are not exactly in a position of desperation. I’ll root for them to beat all of their opponents, but I don’t see any reason I should be donning some other teams’ ugly colors. The only way the Big 10 is going to regain national recognition is by actually beating SEC teams in big high profile games. SEC dominance is a trend and like all trends it will ebb at some point. While they’ve dominated the Big 10 in bowl games since 2006 – the SEC has a 21-17 record vs. the Big 10 in bowl play since 1998. Things will change at some point.
Root for our rivals in the middle of a great Buckeyes season? Do what you want, just know that my colors run true.
I have no issue with people cheering for a rematch with NW. That was a fun game, we controlled the LOS on both sides, and they are not Michigan.
I have a big issue with anyone who ever cheers for Michigan. If they never win another game, then I’m happy. A Michigan loss is as good as an Ohio State win.
Exactly.
The Big 10 is far from a cupcake conference like the *former Big East or Sun Belt but it isn’t a meat grinder either. Ohio State is very much a product of a soft schedule, and I’m not talking record. I’m not saying they would have lost a game by now; I’m saying they’d be awarded much more national respect by swapping FAMU for a decent ACC team for example. I don’t know if that’s totally on the OSU administration, but you have to have a tougher non-conference schedule when you aren’t playing top tier talent week in and week out.
Agree to a point. What makes it better if Michigan gets to the Ohio State game undefeated is that it hurts more when the Buckeyes beat them. Another good benefit this year is that the Bucks would get to beat them twice.
the better their record, the better their recruiting, the better they might be in the future.
the happiest my college rooting self would be is if Ohio State gets the opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin on a 0-12 Michigan football season. that cannot happen this year, but the descent towards it could 🙂
I’m trying to remember the specifics, but they had a couple teams fall off the schedule this season and Cal obviously is down.
Hahaha. Vote up! Vote up!
The problem with the Big Ten is that after Ohio State you have 10 teams that are probably all between #20 and #45 in the country (Purdue is brutally awful). I Sincerely doubt there is another team in the league that will be able to achieve and sustain at ranking much above 20 this season. The gap between Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota near the bottom and Nebraska, MSU, and Wisconsin near the top isn’t that wide…mediocrity reigns supreme.
The problem with teams in the 20-45 category is that they are probably too talented for the Buckeyes to run up the score against, but they aren’t perceived as good enough to be an impressive win either.
The only chance OSU has to play a top-15 team again this season is for Nebraska or Michigan State to run the table and head to Indy 11-1 and maybe ranked around 15, give or take. With a head to head matchup as well as games against Northwestern and Michigan left on both team’s schedules I doubt either can run the table through Thanksgiving.