Today the Ohio State Buckeyes play their annual spring game. The football team has been practicing for weeks, and with the spring game they finally get to strut their stuff in full uniform in front of adoring fans.
The most interesting thing about this year’s game is that it’s not in Ohio Stadium. Because the old Horseshoe is undergoing maintenance, the game has been moved to Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Fitting, because Paul Brown once coached the Buckeyes, before he went on to a legendary NFL career, and also fitting because Ohio State doesn’t dominate the sports conversation in Cincinnati like it does in other parts of the state.
The people of Cincinnati — the southernmost and westernmost of Ohio’s larger cities — have divided loyalties. Some follow the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, some are fans of the University of Kentucky, and some pledge their allegiance to old Notre Dame. By playing the spring game along the banks of the Ohio River, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State braintrust hope to increase their toehold and their visibility in one of the prime football cities in the state. They’ll be giving the Buckeye team a full taste of Cincinnati, too, complete with hometown favorites like Montgomery Inn ribs, Skyline Chili, and Graeter’s ice cream.
As for the game itself? The rules will make it a pass-happy affair, to try to cut down on the possibility of injury, so it won’t be like a real game. We’ll get a chance to evaluate QB Braxton Miller’s continuing progress, and see with our own eyes the new players who’ve been dominating the news reports on spring practice — players like defensive linemen Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington. Every spring game there is one player who has a flashy performance. Then we will put away the pads and wait until fall practice, when things get real with the Big Ten season looming on the horizon.
Alabama crushed unbeaten Notre Dame last night, 42-14. The game wasn’t that close. Alabama has won three of the last four national championships. Add the championships won by LSU, Florida, and Auburn — all of the SEC — and you have an amazing record of success. The truth is that, right now, the SEC teams are better.
After the game, I was surprised to read some very harsh comments about this simple gesture. Fans of Michigan, Wisconsin, and other schools — many of whom think Ohio State’s domination of the Big Ten conference is the product of a dirty program that skirts the NCAA rules and cheats — depicted the ceremony as Ohio State thumbing its nose at the NCAA and displaying its contempt for the rules and sanctions that ultimately resulted in Jim Tressel’s resignation. I think that is a small, mean-spirited reaction to a desire to honor a storied Ohio State team on the 10th anniversary of its greatest achievement.
I give a lot of credit to Urban Meyer. He took a 6-7 team and turned it around. He got it playing with passion, and he got it to believe in itself. He had a great senior class and good coaches to help him, but Urban Meyer set the tone. Obviously, we hope that he continues to recruit and coach as well as he did this year. If he does, the future for Buckeye Nation is bright.
This week comes but once a year
It wasn’t a pretty game offensively. The Buckeye offense was pitiful during the second half, when it had multiple chances to put the game away. The low point came when, with time running out in the fourth quarter, the offense could have salted the game away with one first down — but was unable to pick it up. Wisconsin’s defense was terrific, and never let Braxton Miller shake loose. The Badgers covered the Ohio State receivers like a wet blanket, and Miller often seemed baffled about what to do. Ohio State’s coaching staff had better figure that out, because Michigan will be studying how Wisconsin defended the Buckeyes and will try to follow that approach next week.
These teams have a very good rivalry going, in both football and basketball. In football, the teams have taken turns knocking each other off in recent years, often in dramatic fashion. Last year, Ohio State’s nail-biting win over the highly ranked Badgers was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal season, and the year before Wisconsin handed Ohio State its only loss. In basketball, Bo Ryan and Thad Matta have established a tremendous rivalry; each program has had excellent teams in recent years and the season series has been split in each of the last three seasons. Next to traditional rival Michigan, Wisconsin is Ohio State’s top adversary in the Big Ten and, I think, the team Buckeye Nation most wants to beat in the big-money sports.
Today’s game should be a classic. Wisconsin is a tough team that has lost three close games. It features the perennial punishing ground game that you expect from a Wisconsin football team; top running back Montee Ball has already rushed for more than 1200 yards and is mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate. The Badgers strap it up and run right at you, which means the Ohio State defensive line will need to come to play. The Wisconsin defense, on the other hand, has been terrific in keeping opponents off the scoreboard and is one of the best defenses in the country in that category. Add in the din that always is found in Camp Randall Stadium, and you have all the makings of a barnburner.
