I am a diehard Buckeye fan. So this weekend's game against Penn State should have me pulling out all the stops, right? Red OSU T-shirt. Blow-up gray helmet complete with Buckeye stickers. Terrelle Pryor bobblehead doll in one hand. Classic pennant in the other. Texting "O-H" to fellow transplanted Buckeyes across the nation. Right? Then why am I starting to believe I should root for Penn State this weekend?For fellow Buckeyes looking at the short-term, I must seem completely insane and heretical. How can someone who claims to bleed Scarlet and Gray, who sports a OSU flag in his work office and a giant Ohio State magnet on his fridge, and who wishes he could add a home #2 replica jersey to his bridal registry, seriously cheer on the Nittany Lions on Saturday night? For the long-term sake of the Buckeyes, that's why.
Look at it this way, Ohio State isn't winning a National Championship this year. And they don't deserve to make the title game after how badly their offense has looked at times this season (16 points against Purdue?) and after getting demolished by their only quality opponent at USC (Wisconsin doesn't count anymore). They will always get the opposite of the benefit of the doubt so long as the Big Ten is a one-team league. Which leads me to believe forward-thinking Buckeyes should hope they lose this Saturday.
A Penn State win would likely set up the Lions to finish the season undefeated and have a chance at Texas, Alabama, USC, or Florida for the title. It would establish them as another good Big Ten team and debunk the myth that the league is big boy Ohio State and a bunch of D-II teams.
Let's face it, the Big Ten is in serious need of legitimacy, especially after this season. Michigan, once a national power, lost to Toledo earlier this year, after losing to App. State last year. Wisconsin and Michigan State started off looking like the real deal, but recent games have shown them to be one-dimensional pretenders. Illinois has followed up a Cinderella season with a lackluster one. Minnesota and Northwestern were doormats last year, but this year have only one loss, which shows just how bad the "good" Big Ten teams are. And, week-after-week, Iowa, Indiana, and Purdue continue to show us what bad football looks like.
If Ohio State is to get back to the title game in years to come (and they should have a good shot with Pryor's talent), after failing twice in a row against the big bad SEC, the Big Ten needs to have other quality programs besides itself. Penn State making a title appearance would be a step in the right direction.
So I guess the dilemma begins now. Root for a Buckeye win Saturday? Or root for a Big Ten win for the coming years?
4 comments:
I see the dilemma. I've thought something similar to this, but as I alluded to in my response to you over on Recliner Ramblings, I also fear a rematch with USC. Now, with a healthy Beanie and Pryor in the game full time, I think we play better, but I'm still not seeing us coming out on top. And if Penn State runs the table and goes to the NC game...that lives us playing USC in the Rose Bowl.
Do we want that?
I also don't agree with your line "Minnesota and Northwestern were doormats last year, but this year have only one loss, which shows just how bad the "good" Big Ten teams are." I actually think both teams actually deserve to go to decent bowls and have done a better job in recruiting to get to where they are (Minnesota has landed another decent class next year as well).
I see where you are coming from. I guess its a case of delayed gratification (which I usually don't have the patience for, and I'm still not sure that I have it in this case, either). Do I want to face USC again and get beat, which I believe we would (although not as badly)? Not really. I'd rather play in the Sugar or Orange Bowl against whatever team comes out of the WAC (BYU, TCU, Utah, Boise State). But if we lose and Penn State finishes the year off strong, they will be one of the 4 or 5 favorites to win it all next year and will be considered a "legit" team again. This will make it more impressive when we beat them 2 years from now when Pryor is a junior, and will give us a case to return to the NC game from which we have been banned for the time being.
As for Minnesota and Northwestern: neither of the two teams have beaten anybody. Northwestern beat up on the likes of Ohio and Duke, but got trounced by Michigan State, who got demolished by the Bucks last weekend. Minnesota has made great strides, I'll give you that, but they also have beefed up their win column with teams like Montana St. and Florida Atlantic. Sure, they beat Illinois, but they aren't what they were last year without Mendenhall. He was their only NFL caliber player. I would put them at the bottom of the second tier right now. But they're making their way up.
Regardless of competition, I think the Gophers turn around is nothing short of incredible.
Forget Mendenhall's replacement...look at the defensive stats. They were DEAD LAST last year in defense for FBS DI....DEAD LAST!
They are the most improved team in football in my opinion.
I was thinking the same thing you were though about two years from now. Not only will Pryor be a more complete QB, but the #1 RB out of high school will be a sophomore (or red shirt freshmen depending on what Beanie does I imagine). Our offense will be unstoppable!
Our offense will be unstoppable. Surprisingly, it's our defense that worries me. We have given up 41, 38, and 35 points in the last 3 big games we've played (Florida, LSU, USC). If we could have stopped LSU's offense, and Robiskie would have caught that TD pass he dropped, we might just have beaten them. Our defense is usually known as our big strength, but they get blown away against real offenses.
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