If you’ve never lived in Ohio, you perhaps cannot truly understand the role of Ohio State athletes in the community. They aren’t just football players or basketball players: they are expected to be role models, good citizens, and able representatives of an important institution. Buckeyes fans want Ohio State to have great players, to be sure, but we also want them to be great people so that they can fulfill that aspirational role.
This little video of a visit some Ohio State basketball players made to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, to hang out with some of the kids who are being treated there, gives a glimpse of what can happen when good people become Buckeyes. And it happens all the time, usually without any fanfare. When one of my colleagues was battling cancer, he was surprised by a visit from some Ohio State football players, including one of the biggest stars on the team. They came, they sat down, they talked with him and listened to him, and they provided encouragement. No photographers or publicists were there, and to my knowledge no news story about the visit ever appeared. But my friend greatly appreciated the gesture and the fact that these football players took time away from being BMOC to visit an ill stranger.
It touched him deeply, and it made me understand, better than I had before, the great significance these young people can assume — if they are good people. That’s one reason why we care so much about who becomes a Buckeye.
This year, there’s been a lot of talk — from people not named Charles Barkley — about the Big Ten being the best conference in basketball. Seven teams from the Old Conference made it to the Big Dance, and so far they’re represented the league well. The Big Ten’s record after the round of 64 is 6-1, with the only hiccup being Wisconsin’s dismal performance against Mississippi in a game where the Badgers simply could not put the ball into the basket. The Big Ten’s top-seeded teams, Indiana and Ohio State, both won by wide margins, Michigan State and Michigan played well in convincing wins, Illinois survived some poor shooting to beat Colorado, and Minnesota spanked UCLA in a surprising upset. Other conferences that were touted prior to the tournament, such as the Big East and the Mountain West, did not fare so well during the first round of play.
When I think of National Letter of Intent Day, however, I think of kids, and their parents. A high school student who is a stud athlete is still a high school student. They may run faster, and bench press more, and catch footballs better than your ordinary kids, but deep down they are the same mass of raging hormones that you find in every kid of that age. They are making a huge decision that could have tremendous, long-term consequences for their lives — and they and their parents are hoping that they make the right decision. It’s a huge, emotional matter for any high school student about to go away from home to college. Just imagine what it must be like for a kid who not only is leaving the cocoon of their family, but moving into new territory where their every move will be scrutinized and deconstructed by rabid college football fans.
The Buckeyes scored 35 points in a row to put the game away. They got a special teams touchdown, a good thing for a team looking to significantly improve its special teams play. Ohio State racked up 244 yards through the air and ran a lot of passing plays involving a lot of players. Braxton Miller had some great runs, and Devin Smith made one of the most unbelievable catches I’ve ever seen from a Buckeye receiver. The defense had two picks and held Miami — admittedly a pure passing team — to -1 yard on the ground. The back-up quarterback, Kenny Guiton, played significant minutes and looked comfortable running the offense. And no one got hurt, aside from Miller’s cramps.
Every true sports fan know that, even though you don’t suit up for games, and your athletic ability could be fully measured in a thimble, your behavior has a real, immediate impact on the outcome of contests. Perhaps it is because you don’t wear your lucky shirt. Perhaps it is because you didn’t drink your Budweiser in precisely the right way. Or perhaps — as in my case — you wrote or said something that was just a thumb in the eye to the unforgiving Fates.
That’s why last night’s win against Nebraska was so valuable. Nebraska clearly is not one of the elite teams in the Big Ten, but this is a year when just about anybody can spring an upset at home. You can’t take any game for granted — just ask Illinois, which lost at Penn State, or Michigan State, which fell at Northwestern, or Indiana, which got beat by . . . Nebraska. The fact that the Buckeyes won comfortably at Nebraska means another bullet dodged and another step closer to being a legitimate contender for the Big Ten regular season title.
It’s not just because Coach Meyer has been an extremely successful coach, although that is certainly part of it. He’s won everywhere he’s been, from Bowling Green to Utah to Florida. He knows how to build a program and how to recruit and then coach talented athletes. But for Ohio State fans, it is more than that. We want someone who understands what Ohio State means. We want someone who grew up in Ohio, who lived and died with the Buckeyes, who got their first coaching job at Ohio State. Urban Meyer has all of those qualities.
We’ll see how Coach Meyer performs as Ohio State’s coach; you never know how things will go. But I was encouraged by what he said at his news conference this afternoon, about wanting to make the state proud of its flagship university and its football team. And, more importantly, I was encouraged because Coach Meyer’s very decision to come back to Ohio State, when he could have had any job in the country, shows he feels the importance of Ohio State football in his gut, just like everyone else in Buckeye Nation does. This won’t be a job for him, it will be a passion and a crusade. He won’t rest until Ohio State football is as good as he can possibly make it.
In the “Legends” division, Michigan State leads at 4-1, with Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa right behind at 3-2. Yesterday’s games made the division race a lot more interesting, with Northwestern gutting out a shocking win at Nebraska and Iowa toppling Michigan. All of the leaders in the Legends division (pun intended) have tough games remaining; Michigan State must play Iowa and Northwestern; Nebraska plays Iowa, Michigan, and Penn State; Iowa has Michigan State and Nebraska; and Michigan still has Illinois, Nebraska and the Buckeyes. The eventual winner of this division is anybody’s guess.
In the “Leaders” division, Penn State leads the way. The Nittany Lions are undefeated in the Big Ten and have only one loss overall, but they aren’t getting much respect — largely because the general perception is that the team hasn’t played many tough games. That will change straightaway, as Penn State must close with Nebraska at home and then Ohio State and Wisconsin on the road. Ohio State and Wisconsin are 3-2, and both will be rooting for the other to knock off the Nittany Lions — but then lose another game, besides.
