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Ohio State has always had something that people called an advantage, whether or not if it's true. That so-called advantage was football without class during the early games of September.
Now, with the arrival of the semester system for the 2012-13 school year, means that when the Buckeyes take the field against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 1, they'll do it as full-time students with eight days of class under their belts, not three-week, football-only, mercenaries.
Here's the in-depth report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
"Under the former quarter system, Ohio State classes didn't begin until late September (last year it was on Sept. 21) meaning the Buckeyes always played three, sometimes four, games before taking a single class. That didn't change the NCAA rule on the 20 hours each week coaches can mandate from athletes. But it left a lot of free time for players to make the Woody Hayes Athletic Center their homes.
Extra film study. Extra conditioning. Extra hours with the playbook. Time for the freshmen to figure out big-time football before figuring out where English 110 meets. After working out all summer and going through preseason practice, the Buckeyes then were able to focus on football for 25 percent of the schedule.
It was an edge for Ohio State. But did the Buckeyes win more games because of it? Probably not.
In the last 10 years, Ohio State was 26-4 during its first three games of the season, losing at the Miami Hurricanes last season, to USC in 2008 and 2009 and to Texas in 2005. Considering 20 of those games were supposed to be home game walkovers, going 6-4 in the 10 national matchups that were designed to be competitive isn't the sign of a obvious advantage. The Buckeyes also had close calls against Toledo last year, Navy in 2009, Ohio in 2008, Marshall in 2004 and North Carolina State in 2003.
This season, when Ohio State plays its big nonconference game against California on Sept. 15, the Buckeyes actually will have started class one day earlier than the Golden Bears. See if you notice the difference."
"Under the former quarter system, Ohio State classes didn't begin until late September (last year it was on Sept. 21) meaning the Buckeyes always played three, sometimes four, games before taking a single class. That didn't change the NCAA rule on the 20 hours each week coaches can mandate from athletes. But it left a lot of free time for players to make the Woody Hayes Athletic Center their homes.
Extra film study. Extra conditioning. Extra hours with the playbook. Time for the freshmen to figure out big-time football before figuring out where English 110 meets. After working out all summer and going through preseason practice, the Buckeyes then were able to focus on football for 25 percent of the schedule.
It was an edge for Ohio State. But did the Buckeyes win more games because of it? Probably not.
In the last 10 years, Ohio State was 26-4 during its first three games of the season, losing at the Miami Hurricanes last season, to USC in 2008 and 2009 and to Texas in 2005. Considering 20 of those games were supposed to be home game walkovers, going 6-4 in the 10 national matchups that were designed to be competitive isn't the sign of a obvious advantage. The Buckeyes also had close calls against Toledo last year, Navy in 2009, Ohio in 2008, Marshall in 2004 and North Carolina State in 2003.
This season, when Ohio State plays its big nonconference game against California on Sept. 15, the Buckeyes actually will have started class one day earlier than the Golden Bears. See if you notice the difference."
