That mediocre schedule

We all knew this day would come. The Ohio State Buckeyes were eventually going to lose a regular season game under Urban Meyer. The streak couldn’t go on forever, it was inevitably going to end at some point. Still, most Buckeyes fans wouldn’t have pointed to last week’s game against Virginia Tech as the matchup that would trip up the Scarlet and Gray.

Frank Beamer’s program is a player on the national stage. The Hokies are not one of college football’s true bluebloods, but their current run of success runs all the way back to the mid 1990s, peaking during Michael Vick’s heyday in Blacksburg. However, the team has gone through somewhat of a rough (for them) spell over the last two years, going just 15-11 over that stretch. With that recent history in mind and a young squad coming into the Horseshoe for a night game, it was understandable that Buckeye fans, though respectful of the Virginia Tech program, were much less worried about this game than they will be for the November 8 showdown with Michigan State in East Lansing, for instance.

But, as they say, that’s why they play the game. Texas Tech transfer Michael Brewer played like he had been in the system for years. His stat line included just 199 yards passing and two interceptions, but he played his best when it mattered, bailing the Hokie offense out with clutch third down conversions over and over again. On the other side of the ball, all of the concerns about Ohio State’s inexperienced offensive line looked lost. They routinely were confused by VT defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s blitz packages, resulting in constant pressure and seven sacks of J.T. Barrett, who looked overmatched (albeit with little help) in his second start replacing Braxton Miller.

When the scoreboard finally showed triple zeroes, it was an ugly 35-21 loss for Ohio State. In addition to the 25-game regular season win streak, the defeat ended a 15-game winning streak in Columbus that stretched back to a November 2011 loss to Penn State. It was also the first time the Buckeyes have dropped a home opener since 1978.

But, beyond the snapped streaks and the question marks on the offensive line and in the secondary, the most disappointing thing about the loss is the shape in which it leaves Ohio State’s season after just two games. With MSU the only ranked team on the schedule, the game against Virginia Tech represented one of the Buckeyes only other chances to impress the voters and playoff selection committee. While it seems clear now that OSU is not a real contender for one of those four playoff spots, many fans, even after the injury to Braxton Miller, held onto hopes that the Buckeyes could compete for a national title this season. Urban Meyer’s squad still has a chance to compete for a conference title and make one of the top tier of non-playoff bowl games, but they will have little opportunity to prove their mettle until the Michigan State game. Ohio State’s biggest test until then is…Cincinnati in Columbus on September 27? The Penn State game October 25?

This is largely due to the quality (or lack thereof) of teams in the Big Ten. It is in the middle of an extended run as a second-tier conference. Adding Rutgers and Maryland do not fix the problem. Until the day that a rising tide of talent lifts all ships in the conference, the Buckeyes will continue to face a schedule littered with mediocre opponents and devoid of many opportunities to keep themselves relevant in the national conversation.