Reaction Time: Ohio State Receives Bowl Ban

He's got to go

Bowl Ban! You’re kidding me right NCAA? I just want to get this straight before I move on. Ohio St. players trade some tattoos for signed memorabilia. Tressel receives and email that clues him in on the infractions which also lets him know the guy giving the tattoos is being investigated for drug trafficking.

None of the players are thought to be involved in the drug angle of this investigation but they are receiving tattoos for free or at a discounted price. Tressel drags his feet on letting anybody know because he realized it may cost his team valuable players for the upcoming season.

The email implicating the players is uncovered by the media and a shit storm ensues. Pryor bolts for the NFL. Herron, Posey, Adams, Whiting and Thomas all sit out various amounts of time because of the tattoo incident and some free golf and small appearance payments. Tressel is then forced to resign and Ohio St.’s 2011 season is basically ruined before it could even begin. The university vacates the whole 2010 season along with the only victory over an SEC team in a bowl game. OSU also takes away a number of scholarships from itself in an act of contrition to show the NCAA it means business. That’s the basic gist of the whole situation right?

Where in that paragraph did you see anything about hookers, drug use, drunk driving, booster payments to players or any other egregious act that takes place on college campuses across the country? I know there were mistakes made. Tressel deserved to lose his job over the lies and deceit he exhibited throughout the investigation with the NCAA. The university showed remorse over the situation and levied heavy penalties against itself. How does taking away post season play from players and a coaching staff that had nothing to do with any of it seem like a just punishment?

I’m pissed. There is no other way to sugarcoat or soften my stance on the whole situation. Ohio State football is a religion in this state and those pricks in Indianapolis have taken away the opportunity to watch our favorite team compete for a national title next season. For what? Some tattoos. The punishment far outweighs the crime in this instance and strips the enjoyment of a whole season for the players and fans of this great university.

The craziest part of this wave of college football scandals is the silence coming from Coral Gables, Auburn and Oregon. All of those schools have had scandals in the past two years that were equally offensive (in the case of Oregon) or far worse than Ohio St. Has anyone heard a thing since that horrible story in South Florida broke? Those allegations had hookers, abortions, drugs and cash payments to a number of players that totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars over a decade. Since the first week that story broke it has been nothing but crickets coming from Indianapolis.

We didn't know!

Is this even real life? How is something like that possible? That story had legit crimes being committed and the media still chooses to pile on the Buckeyes. I understand that OSU is the sexier university due to our football success over the last decade but come on! Now that this precedent has been set, I fully expect the NCAA to blow up Auburn and Miami (FL) when the “get around” to it.

Now that I have that off my chest, let’s focus on what this means for next season. Urban has been a recruiting ninja to this point but the recent news may halt the flow of blue-chippers into Columbus. I still think this incoming class will be strong but the lack of post season play next season can’t be good. That is grade-A ammo for opposing coaches to use in living rooms across America. “Why would you go to Ohio State when you can’t even play in a bowl game?” will be a popular phrase in the coming months. Hopefully these young men can see that Ohio St. still presents one of the best chances to reach the NFL and gain a useful education. The university will get through this but it certainly puts a damper on 2012.

The NCAA is taunted and laughed at constantly and they still can’t seem to get out of their own way. While I type this, Gene Smith (another rant all together) issued a statement saying that Ohio St. will not appeal the decision. He says that the university is “shocked” and “disappointed” in the ruling (that makes 10,000,000 of us Gene) but just wants to move past this era in Ohio State football. I guess the only thing Ohio St. can do next season is go 12-0 and win the AP National Championship. Hell, the AP might be the real championship anyway.