Ever since all the hoopla surrounding Tattoogate, it seems as though the national media has had it out for Ohio State.The school's football program became such a powerhouse under the sweatervest that even other schools from other conferences started hating on Ohio State. It was the program that could do no wrong. The program by which all others were measured against.
Ohio State was America's college football team. Then, well, last year happened. And going into the 2011 season, with its athletic director, head coach and all kinds of expected returning starters no longer working or playing for the scarlet and gray, Ohio State got a #18 preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll.
Respectable, but not by Ohio State standards. And fans knew that AT LEAST the first half of the season would be a cluster on the field. Sure, the non-conference schedule had a couple easy ones tossed in there, and that was a good thing this year as Ohio State needed some time to figure things out on the field.
At 6 wins and 3 losses, Ohio State should be ranked. But they are not. They're receiving some votes, and virtually sit at #27 right now. But the team should be ranked somewhere around 20th. And here's why:
They started the season with a 42-0 romp over Akron, a team they should've blown out and did. Then the voters moved them up from #18 to #15.
In their second game they beat Toledo 27-22. Although the game was close, remember that Ohio State still had no identity on the field and players were still being shuffled back and forth. Also, Toledo and other top Mid-American Conference schools have been closing the competition gap between themselves and schools from larger conferences, playing them more competitively over the last 8-10 years. Toledo is a quality MAC opponent who also took Syracuse to overtime before losing by a field goal. The Rockets are ranked 26th nationally in passing offense, 18th in rushing and 8th in total points scored. So although it was a close game against a small school, a win is still a win, yet the voters penalized Ohio State and dropped them from #15 to #17 in the AP poll.
Game 3 saw the Buckeyes suffer their first defeat of the season with a 24-6 loss to a good Miami (FL) team. Miami is 5-4, but could just as easily be 9-0. They have been in every single game this year, always in a position to win, even when playing against the big boys. Look at their four losses: 32-24 @ Maryland ... 28-24 vs. #17 Kansas State ... 38-35 @ #10 Virginia Tech and 28-21 vs. #36 Virginia. All four losses could've been wins if not for mistakes on defense, penalties and a key turnover here and there. Miami has beaten itself countless times but is still a quality team when it plays like it should.
The Miami game dropped Ohio State from the rankings and they haven't been back since. I swear, voters were waiting for the opportunity to do this and are now only hoping and praying for another Buckeyes loss to keep them from re-entering the Top 25.
Game 4 was the 37-17 win at home over Colorado, a team everyone is blowing out this year, and Ohio State did the same. Still, at 3-1, Ohio State was left out.
Game 5 was a hard-nosed 10-7 loss to a Michigan State team that is ranked #13 in the AP. Close games like these against good teams shouldn't hurt the team on the losing end that much, case in point #2 Alabama only dropped to #4 in the AP after losing to #1 LSU in overtime 9-6. Michigan State is 7-2 (4-1 Big Ten), has one of the nation's best defenses (ranked No. 9 in the country in points allowed), and has quality wins over Michigan and Wisconsin.
Game 6, Ohio State blows a huge lead and barely loses at the end, 34-27, to a Nebraska team currently ranked #19. Ohio State was still one-dimensional at this point, and I chalk-up the miraculous comeback as more of Nebraska winning the game rather than Ohio State losing it. Nebraska has beaten Michigan State and they also blew-out a good Washington team earlier in the year.
At this point, the low-point in the season, Ohio State was 3-3, unranked, with two of its three losses in close games, and all three losses against very good teams.
After the Nebraska game, Ohio State got back senior RB1 Dan Herron, and the ground game was back! In the 3 games since his return, Herron has carried the ball 23 times for 114 yards, 33 for 160, and 14 for 141. The guy moves the chains! In those games, the Buckeyes have rattled off three consecutive wins, two over quality opponents (17-7 over a then-ranked Illinois team, and 33-29 over #16 Wisconsin). Illinois is ranked No. 27 rushing and No. 13 in points allowed, with a quality win over #28 Arizona State. Wisconsin is No. 10 in rushing, No. 4 in scoring and No. 10 in points allowed, and they've beaten Nebraska and narrowly lost to Michigan State.
Two teams with 3 losses have been ranked inside the Top 25 this year. Texas A&M was ranked when they were 5-3, but dropped out with another loss last week. The other team is current #24 Auburn (6-3). I like Auburn, but looking at their body of work I am not impressed. They have escaped with close wins against Utah State (42-38), Mississippi State (41-34), South Carolina (16-13) and Florida (17-6), and they've lost by large sums to Clemson (38-24), Arkansas (38-14) and LSU (45-10). It's like whenever Auburn faces a quality opponent, they either get blown out or somehow barely squeak-out a win. Aside from Miami, Ohio State has been playing everybody close.
Right now I would say Ohio State and Auburn are the best 6-3 teams, but Ohio State sits just outside the Top 25 at No. 27. They should be around No. 20 in my book. How teams like #16 Wisconsin, #21 Texas, #22 Michigan and #23 Cincinnati are ranked higher than the Buckeyes baffles me. The only justification is Tattoogate. Voters like hitting a team when they are down. Watch. If #12 Penn State loses this week, they MAYBE stay inside somewhere between Nos. 20-25. But there is a good chance they will drop off the poll. The voters are good like that.
With three regular season games left (Purdue, Penn State, Michigan), Ohio State has a good shot at running the table. Earlier in the year, under new head coach Adam Sandler, Ohio State had lots of work to do in finding an identity. They were without a handful of key expected returning starters, and Sandler had to shuffle quarterbacks until he found out which one made less mistakes. Good for him he went with the frosh. That'll pay off in two years.
The voters need to set their grudges aside and put the best teams into the right order. Enough with the politics. The fact of the matter is Ohio State is 6-3. It's three losses are to Miami (FL), Michigan State (close game) and Nebraska (close game). All quality opponents. If Ohio State had it's act together earlier in the year they could be 7-2 or even 8-1 right now. But, instead, they are 6-3, and in my opinion, the best 6-3 team in the nation. That warrants something, something other than "others receiving votes."
