Does the Trojan Loss Help the Buckeyes?
First, allow me to get this out of the way. NCAA fans (outside of Ohio) may have a point when they discuss the Ohio State Buckeyes in big games. Sure, we have lost big games. But as a fan of the Scarlet and Gray, I would much prefer to lose said games to the inevitable champions in Texas, Florida and LSU than Stanford and Oregon State…twice. How the Buckeyes can be considered overrated because they lose to top-notch opponents, but USC can be considered “LA’s Professional Team” that happens to lose to unranked opponents is beyond me. I’m sure Derek Anderson is pumped, but that is an entirely different topic for a different day.
In my piece that broke down the possible chaos within the BCS, I mentioned USC’s cake schedule. The Buckeyes will wind up playing more top-25 opponents than USC. They would have gone on the road against tougher opponents than USC. Sure, they were blown out by the Trojans - and this loss to Oregon State obviously makes our loss to them look that much worse – but come on. I am not about to soap box saying that Ohio State should be considered elite, but in no way should USC be granted another mulligan. I’ll take a title game loss all over again before I would accept these types of defeats.
Matt Hinton hits the nail on the head.
That’s a black swan of nearly Stanford-level magnitude, but USC can’t keep getting passes for games like this. Three years in a rowit’s dropped out of the top two or three in the polls with a shocking, inexcusable loss to a vastly inferior outfit, with the same set of problems: inconsistency at quarterback, a sketchy, makeshift running game and no go-to playmakers anywhere on an offense ostensibly overflowing with them.
Yet we lose to the eventual champions, and we don’t belong. Perhaps USC just needed a few more bye weeks and home games? You tell me.
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Now…where does this leave the Buckeyes? When the polls come out early next week, we’ll see the road map a little bit clearer. Obviously, USC will drop a few spots. All eyes will be on the Georgia-Alabama game this weekend. Rankings wise, we should be pulling for ‘Bama which in no way is a far-fetched victory. Sure, UGA is a touchdown favorite, and is hosting, but the Tide looks pret-tay good.
While we were having a tough go at Ohio University, Penn State was rolling Oregon State. If any team benefits the most from last night’s USC loss, it’s the Nittany Lions. You cannot blame their fans for being excited, but they’ll have to be careful not looking ahead too much as they host Illinois this week.
Other winners are the SEC and Big 12. Until the USC loss, only one team from those combined conferences were looking at a title shot. Now there could be dual representation.
What do the Buckeyes have to do? Take care of their business in the Big 10. Doug Lesmerises forecasts Penn State could be a top five team by the time they travel to Ohio Stadium in late October. It was not long ago that we anticipated Wisconsin and Illinois being our biggest games; something we all have to reassess. However, we have to take this all step by step. Getting Beanie back this week is a very, very big addition in the grand scheme of things. Even if he touches the ball five-to-ten times, that’s a win…as long as the score provides the same.
A loss to Minnesota would be crushing. Traveling to Wisconsin would no longer be important, and if we fall into a bout of laziness or looking ahead, we are in trouble. However, if we run the table as once anticipated, the BCS shakeup that I mentioned not all that long ago appears to be more and more of a possibility with each week of college football.
Now if D.A. could just harness some of his alma mater win…
September 26th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Scott – your article doesn’t outright come out and say it, but the implication seems to be that the USC loss possibly makes larger the glimmer of hope for a Buckeye return to the BCS championship. To that I say no way. Ohio State will go no further than the Rose Bowl. For Ohio State to make the national championship game all the teams in the SEC would have to lose 3 times, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri would have to lose twice, and USC would have to lose AGAIN. (Oh yeah, and the Bucks would need to run the table.) After the debacle in SoCal two weeks ago and the two BCS losses, the pollsters have lost all respect from the Bucks. Come the final week of polling, many will knock OSU down their ballots if necessary to keep them out of the title game if no viable alternative is there. Hell, I think Utah has a better shot of making the title game if they go undefeated.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am
USC better fall below the Buckeyes. They were 20+ point favorites
September 26th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Nah…I still don’t think we will get a title shot. I think it’s BCS/mathematically possible to be contenders come selection time, but this actually hurts us in the short-run. Now, if we win out and there is complete chaos from this point on, it could get interesting…
If anything, I think the early part of this post questions the “respect” issue all together. The second half claims that PSU gets the most help from this win, and that it shows that anything can happen…
September 26th, 2008 at 9:23 am
OSU would have to look unstoppable in the Big Ten with Pryor at the helm in order for them to have any shot at the national title.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:44 am
After tOSU wins out they’ll be top 6 and get a BCS bid, just not for NC. Which is just fine with me.
USC had just as many haters as OSU. However, this game will be treated as an aberration (brain fart if you will) come selection time because they won’t be playing Oregon or Stanford. Where as OSU has unfortunately played poorly against 3 of the other BCS teams in the last 2 years.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Brain farts are far worse than losing to a very good team.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I agree with Swig. The best hope for this season is to go to the Rose Bowl and get a nice victory. Had that happened last year – where the Buckeyes didn’t truly belong in the NC game in the first place – the public would not hate OSU.
They would still be considered an elite program and Tressel would be 5-1 in BCS games overall. Incredible. Instead, they’re known as the team that got blown out in the last two NC games and can’t win th big game.
But just because everyone else slipped up in the last two weeks of last season and the Buckeyes fell to the top spot, their reputation is tarnished. Damn you West Virginia. Damn you Missouri! Damn you Kansas!
September 26th, 2008 at 11:20 am
If anything, USC losing to Oregon St hurts Ohio St. OSU got destroyed by a team that just lost to one of the worst teams in the country. Now I know you can’t really use things like that because every game is different, but still. Macnip, how do you figure USC should fall below the Buckeyes? They beat the crap out of OSU. People will probably drop OSU in the polls because of this
Going to the Rose Bowl sure would be nice, but who would we face there? Almost definitely USC, who will still win the Pac-10. Sorry, but I don’t want to see that game again. Maybe if we lose to Wisconsin or something and finish 2nd in the Big Ten we will still qualify for a different BCS game
I definitely agree on your take about USC getting a free pass from the media though. This happens almost every year, and nobody seems to care
September 26th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Sure MacNip, but is it better than getting completely destroyed in every aspect of the game? The game last night was close and if you play it 10 times how many times does USC win? If we could replay the USC, tOSU game how many times do we win?
September 26th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I can’t think that it helps much at all. The Buckeyes, right now, are not a national championship caliber team, and, if anything, it indicates that the team that blew us out may not be as good as everybody thought they were. Until last night, we could take some comfort in the fact USC was likely to do to everyone they played what they did to us. Instead, they lost to a team that had its doors blown off by Penn State.
Yep, Penn State. The Buckeyes may be lucky to get to the Citrus Bowl this year.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Sometimes, I wonder if people read the full post…
September 26th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Last night was not a close game. USC was dominated. They were down 21-0 at half. At no point was Oregon State ever in trouble. You can’t look at the final score there and understand how the game was played.
People need to relax about the USC loss. OSU ran Boeckman out there way too much and he showed he can’t play. The whole team looked unprepared. At least USC was a quality program. USC just lost to a pathetic team (read OSU losing to Troy, if that had happened).
Honestly, I now think OSU will be facing USC in the Rose Bowl this year. Lets see how the game goes on a neutral field with both teams well rested, instead of only one team coming off a bye.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
@Swig – you give tOSU the week off and make USC come into the Shoe and play and I bet tOSU wins. Home field is HUGE in college football
September 26th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
@MacNip: Rose Bowl, neutral field? You do know that the RB is right down the street from LAC?
September 26th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
@scott – I sure do. I also know that OSU travels incredibly well and will be able to get fans in those seats there. The fan split should be close to 50/50
September 26th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
The NC game was split 50/50 last year, give or take, but it was obviously LSU had a home field advantage. They were playing in their home state, they hardly had to travel, and while OSU fans travel great, USC fans will not have to travel at all, there will be way more USC fans just walking around and not even planning on going to the game because, shocker, they live in Pasadena. And isn’t the team looking unprepared, and their starting QB being bad, signs that a team isn’t that good?
I read the whole post Scott, your point about USC getting a free pass is spot on, its another example of the national media really only being the media of the east and west coasts and not everything in between. Making the NC game is not something I am even thinking about anymore, but another Big Ten title sure would be nice
September 26th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
USC can be considered “LA’s Professional Team”
…because they’re highly paid.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
This also helps the argument that Beanie Wells might have changed the outcome of the game given what little running back was able to do to the Trojans.
This post seems to ignore the loss to the Illini last season. (I know they’re a bowl team, and the fix was in, but it was a game we should have won, and didn’t)
September 26th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I think the fact that the Buckeyes will have a different QB/RB for the big 10 season can be seen as a plus if they start dominating (I stress they must dominate) the Big 10, especially Wisconsin and Penn State.
USC will be given a free pass and will only drop to somewhere around 9. I hope they lose to Stanford again