The Nebulous called Ohio State Football

Earlier in the year I wrote a post entitled "The Nebulous called Young Evangelicals." In keeping with that idea, I have decided to write a blog on my team, The Ohio State Buckeyes. (My first sports blog ever--and if the Cavs keep playing the way they are right now, it will not be my last). Since Ohio State will meet Texas in the Fiesta bowl, I think it is important to answer the critics who think that Ohio State does not even deserve to play a team like Boise State, Utah or Ball State let alone Texas.

Now, I realize that in the last two years the Buckeyes have been somewhat of a disappointment. Some think they are over-rated--I understand why, they always seem to lose in the Big Games (though not in THE Big Game with Michigan, which for Ohio State fans is the only game that must be won every year without excuses). I can understand them being a disappointment to fans, they lost two chances to be National Champs. The first should have definitely been theirs against Florida. If you look back to both teams during that season (2006) there is no way you can say Florida was better than Ohio State. The reason why Ohio State lost by so much: they did not show up to play, they didn't even want to be there (as evidenced by what the players were saying before the game) and because of that they got crushed. The second championship game, last year against LSU, should not have even had Ohio State in the game. All of this occurred because of a sloppy BCS standings that simply gave Ohio State the chance to be there. The thing is, they were not good enough to be there. They were lucky (or unlucky, depending on the way you look at it!).

So, does all of this mean that Ohio State is going to get trounced against Texas? I do not know; Ohio State got continually better as the season went on. Terrell Pryor got better with every game. Texas is a very good team, who probably deserves to be in the national championship.

Who knows? If Chris "Beanie" Wells would have played against USC, Ohio State might be viewed differently. I am not saying that Ohio State would have beat USC--only that the game would have been closer if he had played. I mean, you can't run an offense against the best defense in the country and expect to compete without the star of your offense, in whom you base all of your plays. That is simply not possible.

What I am saying is that I think the media, and fans from other conferences, need to stop underestimating Ohio State. Envy, I guess, could play a huge part in this. I really do not understand why people can loathe a team so much. Notre Dame is the best team ever in college football, and I would never dare call them "over-rated". I respect what they have done, and realize that year in and year out they are in the top ten of high school recruiting.

Anyways, I look forward to a good game between Ohio State and Texas. Right now, the record between the two stands as 1-1. In 2005, Ohio State lost to Vince Young's national championship Texas, 22-25, in Ohio. In 2006, Ohio State won 24-7 in Austin. So, I think it will be a pretty good game.

Interestingly, the past three national championships, including the upcoming one in 2009, will all include head coaches that were raised in Ohio--Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops and Les Miles. That just goes to show you how good Ohio football as a whole is. I guess I shouldn't be so upset that Ohio-raised coaches beat Ohio State in national championship games. Or, maybe I should?