Jim Tressel's Milestone

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel notched his 99th win last Saturday against Illinois. That means that Ohio State's next victory (lookin' at you, Indiana) will make The Senator only the 3rd coach in Buckeye history to reach the 100 win milestone, joining Woody Hayes and John Cooper as the only other members of that club. Tressel has his fans and detractors, but nobody can say he has not been successful during his tenure. Whether you are in love with Tressel-ball (as I am) or you cringe when you see the "Run, Run, Pass" offense that is so often employed by Ohio State, Jim Tressel is approaching legendary status as an Ohio State coach, and I think it is time to take a look back on his career and some of his accomplishments, and to show some appreciation for the man that reminded us what it is like to beat Michigan.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Hype for this weekend's showdown at the 'Shoe is increasing by the minute, and with good reason. But by

You lost, get over it

now everyone knows the match ups, and I am tired of re-hashing how Hurricane fans (both of them) are still sour about how their team was manhandled so badly in 2002 that they banked on the refs missing a pass interference call to win (a strategy that ultimately failed). And for those that are so hard headed they still think it was a blown call, I present you with this, perhaps the single greatest web page in the history of the internet: the truth hurts, doesn't it Miami?

So anyway, the point of this post was the go over some other games that affect the Buckeyes this weekend; namely No. 18 Penn State @ No. 1 Alabama and Unranked michigan @ Unranked Notre Dame. Full Disclosure before I begin. I am a "Big Ten fan" in the loosest meaning of the phrase. I understand that when teams in the Big Ten appear better, it makes Ohio State appear better. However, I hate Penn State and I hate michigan, and root against them in every game. When they play Axis of Evil teams like Alabama and Notre Dame though, it complicates things.

Beating a Dead Horse: The Game

Not what I meant, google....

A lot of us were excited when Nebraska was announced to become the 12th team of our beloved 11 team Big Ten a few months ago. "CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!" we shouted. We were so excited. Oh how things can change in just a few short months. We were in shock that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany had actually done something proactive. We were the first to pull the trigger, and the team that we added, Nebraska, just seemed to "fit" in with the rest of us.

There was a lot of talk about the conference championship game. Where should it be played? Who will be in it? What about divisions? Competitive balance or geographical alignments?? There sure seemed to be more questions than answer. "But..." we thought "I'm sure that things will work out and most everyone will be happy". Looks like we might be wrong. I know this has been talked about at length, but bear with me while I beat this dead horse and maybe drop my two cents on the topic.

Damn it feel good to be a gangsta..

Seeing that I'm about 6 weeks short of 27, I'm not quite at the "get off my lawn" point just yet, but believe me, I'm getting closer and closer every day. For as long as I can remember, Ohio State has played Michigan the last week of the regular season, and a lot of times, it was for a trip to Pasadena and/or a shot at the National Title, mythical or not. Fact is, it's been played that way since 1935, it's a tradition like pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, or making your younger sibling ride "bitch" when you're in the car. It's the way things are, and the way they should be. It just feels right. Not to say that all traditional ideas and ideals are right, but this one is.

My best guess is that Jim Delany hates to do things the easy way. He must absolutely hate the path to least resistance. Currently, each Big Ten team plays two teams or "protected rivalry games" every year, year in and year out. Ohio State's are Michigan(obv.) and Penn State(again, obv.). It would seem to me that the easiest way(depending on whether OSU and Michigan are in the same division or not) is to keep these two protected rivalries as is, and to have OSU, Michigan and Penn State in the same division. On top of that you can still have the OSU v. Michigan game every year as the last game of the season. By keeping OSU and Michigan in the same division you guarantee that they play the same week, same time and only once just like always. Why is Delany causing all this trouble? The answer is right in front of him, like it always has been!

1938...

Some have hinted at Michigan and OSU being in separate divisions, making a slight possibility of a rematch. Quite frankly(F U Stephen A Smith), rematches happen every now and then in the Big Twelve and the conference that shall not be named because I can't say it fast enough to do justice to it's incredible speeeeeeed. As much as I, and a lot of other OSU (and even UM fans), am concerned this isn't nearly as bad as other options. Still not desirable, but way better than meeting up every once and while if both teams manage to make it to the conference championship game.

The third choice is to keep the game, but move it to October, or some other time other than the last week of the regular season. Another idea that I hate. The example of the Red River Shootout just doesn't work as it has led to more confusion in the past couple years. Anyone remember when Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech all finished with the same records and Oklahoma got the nod over Texas in some convoluted tie-breaker scenario? Add to that that Texas Tech was left out of the BCS on top of that Texas/OU S storm. Ugly. Isn't that the point of what this whole conference expansion/title game thing is? Keep the game as it is, a knock out round.

Option four is suicide for the Big Ten. In my opinion, it is the absolute worst option out there. Putting Michigan and Ohio State in different divisions with no guaranteed regular season match up would kill the rivalry, and kill one of the best things the Big Ten has going. Some may point and say "well, it's up to these two teams to make it to the championship game. If they can't do that then they have no business complaining." To which I say, you're ignorant. Rivalries, traditions, etc are what NCAA football is all about. If Cal didn't play Stanford the band would have never been on the field. If 2006 OSU and Michigan didn't play we'd be down another instant classic. I could go on and on as every conference seems to have at least one marquee rivalry. Without these games, college football loses another thing that makes it special and different from the NFL.

I still hate you..

Emotion is what makes college football great. The thrill of defeating your rival to win the conference and go on to a bowl game or national title game can't be matched. No one can ever take the memories I have of rushing the field after the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines. On the flip side, the agony of being on the other end of the first scenario also makes rivalries what they are. I can honestly say that growing up in the Cooper years has made my blood boil every time I see that ugly winged helmet, block M or even the colors blue and yellow(in any shade) thrown together. The NFL doesn't have that. Major League Baseball? Get out of Here. Don't even mention the NBA. None of these touch college football in terms of the emotional connection with fans.
In the eyes of the fan, Delany's choice isn't a choice at all. It's as clear as day. Can he pull of two brilliant moves back to back? Or will we rue the day that Nebraska joined the Big Ten and set the wheels in motion for the demise of the greatest rivalry in all of sports?

Don't take this from me.

The Downfall of the Wolverines

Lets take a trip back to November 2006, the Big Ten was in the national spot light as No. 1 Ohio State (11-0) prepared to face No. 2 Michigan (11-0). Buckeye QB Troy Smith was at the top of his game and leading the Heisman race and these two bitter rivals were battling for a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. In one of the best games in the rivalry (and one of the best games I've ever seen live) the Buckeyes held on for a trip to Glendale with many pundits clamoring for a re-match for the national championship.

A little over a month later things began to spiral out of control, the No. 3. Wolverines lose in the Rose Bowl to USC 32-18, and the downward spiral began. A week later their bitter rivals, the Buckeyes, lose in a similar embarrassing fashion to Florida 41-14. All of a sudden a conference that was on top of the world immediately had its reputation "tarnished" as a result of these bowl losses. Following the end of the 2006 season, current UM coach Lloyd Carr's hot seat only got hotter and his team needed a great season to save his job.

 

I wasn't smiling for long..... 

The 2007 Wolverines were riddled with injuries all season and limped into a Capitol One Bowl game vs the Florida Tebows (oops I mean Gators). The Wolverines destroyed the 2006 National Champion Gators in their best performance of the season, however the writing was on the wall and that bowl victory was Coach Carr's last game on the sidelines as Michigan head coach. A change needed to be made, however in my opinion, the fact that UM chose to hire Rich Rodriguez from WVU as opposed to one of Carr's assistants or another candidate that would continue to run the UM system set the Wolverine football program back at least a decade.

It was clear that Michigan needed to make a change, however nothing was really "wrong" with their system. I think hiring one of Carr's assistants or maybe a top assistant/coordinator from within the conference would have been the best choice in the long run for the Wolverines. Before the RRod era, UM's system was pretty simple but every effective.

On offense: -Smart, Strong Armed QB -Big, powerful OL -Tough RBs -Big Play WRs They ran pro sets which allowed them to run the ball and set up for the pass and sometimes vice versa.

 On defense: -Big, strong, hole clogging DL -Quick, play making LBs -Smart, Athletic DBs They would concentrate on stopping the run and forcing you to beat them through the air while blitzing their LBs off the edge and trying to force turnovers. When it worked they won (Exhibit 1), when it didn't (Exhibit 2), they lost. Coach Rodriguez came into Ann Arbor in 2008 immediately implementing his "system" and soon after, players who represented what Michigan Football was all about began to leave one way or another. Some declaring early for the draft, others (like freaking HEISMAN CANDIDATE Ryan Mallet and Justin Boren) just outright transferring.

After RRod's first few horrible seasons, I feel it was proven that his "system" will not work in Ann Arbor. Coach Carr's system was similar to what Coach Schembechler used with a few tweaks to keep up with the times and that's all that was needed back in 2007, just a few tweaks, not a full system overhaul. In my opinion, Coach Rodriguez's drastic changes will also continue to hurt the program for years when it comes to recruiting. Today's college recruit isn't just looking at being part of a schools tradition, he's looking to see which coach and program can give him the best opportunity to make it to the next level. A perfect example illustrating my point would be the Terelle Pryor situation.

One of the major reasons Pryor chose the Buckeyes over the Wolverines was due to the fact that Pryor knew Coach Tressel ran more of a pro style offense, which would allow him to develop his skills as a true QB and not a "system guy" (see White, Pat). This is not to say that they wont still recruit good athletes, however the 5-star QBs aren't looking to play 4 years in a option oriented system, which will force them to take their talents elsewhere.

Conclusion (c) SBB As a lifelong Ohio State fan and Alum, I hate the Wolverines as much as the next guy. However it hurts the rivalry and the conference when Michigan is down in the dumps. Michigan needs to make a change and do it very soon, barring a major miracle, I'm sure that RRod will coach his way right out of Ann Arbor this season. When give the opportunity, the Wolverines need to choose a coach that will bring this program back to life which means they need someone that will get UM back to playing tough physical Big Ten Football, none of that namby pamby "spread" crap.

Big Ten Divisional Split

Greetings to all of you, My name is Cliff and I'm one of the new additions to the InsideTheShoe team. As a buckeye fan and alum living in Florida I will be sharing some of my unique experiences here in "SEC Country" (or "ACC County" whoever is winning normally dictates that..but that's for a later post) as well as random Ohio sports thoughts and game analysis.

For now I'm gonna give my best guess on how the divisions will shake out in the Big T1E2N (all of this is subject to change with the likely addition of any new teams).

I think the conference will be split into Eastern and Western divisions with the dividing line being right between Illinois (west) and Indiana (east). Here's how it shakes out:

East

Indiana

Michigan

Michigan State

Ohio State

Purdue

Penn State

West

Illinois

Iowa
 Minnesota

Nebraska

Northwestern

Wisconsin

I think this format works best because it maintains the regional rivalries (OSU/UM, UM/MSU, Wisc/Minn, etc..) within the conference while actually creating others (Neb/Iowa, Neb/Wisc) and setting the stage for a damn good conference championship game. Championship game sites could rotate among regional NFL stadiums (Indy, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota, etc..). The Big Ten West is looking pretty tough right now!!

I can see it now, Ohio State and Nebraska playing for the 2012 Big Ten Championship at.....drumroll.....Soldier Field

The double-edged sword finally hit.

It was only a matter of time. All the seasons I've been watching Lebron James, I always wondered just like any other Cavs fan I'm sure, how he did such an amazing job of driving and scoring and being physical, without getting injured. Sure, he's had his injuries, but only for a day or two. Now we have this elbow from last night that apparently has been bothering him since Game 2 of the Bulls series. Of course, the elbow says it's fine, so I guess we should believe it. So the double-edged sword here is obviously the series being won, but bad side: LBJ's elbow. He said after the game it worries him, but we will see what happens.

Ben Koyack commits to Notre Dame. Obviously didn't want the competition here.

If you haven't seen what Michigan has done/said lately, go here. I hope they don't seriously think that will work. Obviously if your making your own new defense, and no one else will be using it, then it's not very good. I swear, they get dumber and dumber every year. Oh, and worse at all sports.
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Inside The Shoe is still looking for two writers. One basketball, and one football writer. If your interested, please leave a comment, or email us at insidetheshoe2009@hotmail.com. The requirements can be found here. We hope to be talking to you soon!

Big Ten starting to make some moves.

It has been reported throughout the day that the current Big 12 school, Texas, is currently having "preliminary exchanges" with the Big Ten and it's need for expansion. Most Buckeye fans, including other Big Ten schools, like this idea, or so we think. Personally, I would love the idea, because it seems every so often, Texas and Ohio State duke it out for the top spot. So this automatically makes the conference THAT much tougher on us, and we can continue to do better in bowl games. In this case, it would not only help the Big Ten, but also help Texas. The past year has led to a nice little downfall for Big 12 fans, and this would seem like a good time to get out. Unlike last time, this story HAS a source, and may in fact, become true.

A look back in Buckeye History.

This will start a new thing here at INS (Inside The Shoe). Every now and then, we will look back to great moments in Ohio State history and recap what happend. Today we will be looking back at 1995 when we played Notre Dame here in the Shoe. The reason for doing this game is because it goes along with our POW. Let us know if you like this!

Ohio State - 45 Notre Dame - 26

The last time these two teams met before that day was 1935, which then, was 60 years ago. Last time the team's met, Notre Dame erased a 13-0 4th quarter deficit to win 18-13. Then, it was the the game of the century, and it seemed like it was.

 This time around, when Notre Dame was ahead 20-14 in the 3rd Quarter, Ohio State was punting, and then Notre Dame squandered three straight chances to score, because of the next three possessions resulting in 2 fumbles and an interception. After some confusion on a punt return, Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying took advantage of the turnover and 3 plays later, scored on a 15 yard touchdown throw to Rickey Dudley which put OSU up 21-20. After an interception, on the heels of a 56 yard throw, Ron Powlus threw an interception. Then the Buckeyes proceeded with a 4 play drive resulting in an 82 yard touchdown throw from Hoying to Terry Glenn. The play was fairly short, but in the middle of the field, Glenn's speed was to much for the Irish.

 That drive itself was enough of a statement to put fear into the Irish. Powlus's next drive resulted in him fumbling a snap, which lead to a third three play drive for the Buckeyes in which Heisman canididate Eddie George stormed into the end zone giving the Buckeyes the lead, 35-20. The Fighting Irish were inspired to keep playing, coming as close as 35-26, but the back breaker was certainly on the next drive where Eddie George broke free on a sweep to the left for 61 yards, and a Buckeye touchdown. Irish coach Lou Holtz gave credit to the Buckeyes saying that their big play ability gave them the win. Eddie George finished with 35 carries for 207 yards on the day. This was Eddie's 4th 200 yard game in his career and his second on the year. The win over Notre Dame gave John Cooper his first out of two wins that would come the following year aganist the Irish, and it would give way to a 11-0 start to the season. Michigan then proceeded to upset the Buckeyes 31-23 as Cooper's Michigan woes became more solid into his career. The Buckeyes followed up with another loss, this time to Tennesee in their bowl game that year losing to the SEC by a touchdown, 20-14. Eddie George did manage to win the Heisman despite those losses, giving the Buckeyes their 5th Heisman.