Is There A Problem With Ohio State’s Football Schedule?
There are many questions that some people have about the Buckeyes football program. Some wonder if their schedule is not tough enough, too tough, or near-perfect the way it is. Should they get credit for trying to schedule at least one big-time game per season? For Ohio to be such a good team, every year there is always a big debate about Ohio State’s football schedule. Some people feel that the Buckeyes should play more big-time programs and less in-state schools. However, looking at OSU’s 2008 schedule, it is a schedule that is tougher than just two years ago. In the four non-conference games, the Buckeyes have one big game which is at USC, one home game against an improving Troy University team who OSU has never played before and two home games against Youngstown State and Ohio University, which are in-state teams. Their schedule is near perfect because they could have replaced Youngstown State with a better team. Buckeyes fans only care about wins and losses. That’s why they have Ohio State Wallets and Money Clips. There wasn’t a huge problem with OSU playing the Penguins last year. With a 12-game regular season, even big-time programs are going to need to schedule I-AA opponents from time to time. When somebody like Ohio State schedules a team that is in I-AA, they have to win it because if they don’t then they are subject to ridicule. In addition, OSU head coach Jim Tressel won four national championships at YSU and it was good to see him give back to YSU to some extent. He always wanted to play OSU while he was at YSU and it only made sense for him to throw YSU a bone. The game last year was boring and it was actually interesting to see OSU matched up against a team from a lesser division for the first time. But two years in a row? That makes absolutely no sense. If they are going to schedule YSU, then they should be put on a rotation like the MAC schools that OSU plays. The Buckeyes aren’t going to play OU two years in a row and they definitely shouldn’t be playing YSU two consecutive years. Buckeyes fans love their team and despite their opponent they still wear their Ohio State Apparel and Belts to the games. However, other than that, I love OSU’s schedule. The Buckeyes try and schedule one huge out of conference game per year – which is more than you can say for a lot of top programs across the country – and have participated in some very big early-season games in recent years. The 2005 and 2006 Texas games were excellent match-ups and captured the attention of college football fans across the country. As for 2007, it wasn’t OSU’s fault that Washington – a former national powerhouse – turned itself into a bad program. It’s not always going to work out perfectly, but considering how far in advance these schedules are made, you have to give OSU credit for trying to schedule a marquee game each season. And some people probably couldn’t care less about playing Troy – but I think that is an interesting game. I would like to see OSU schedule more games against schools that OSU fans, with their Ohio State Polo Shirts, are not familiar with, or the Buckeyes have never played. The Trojans (yes, that’s their nickname too) won’t be as good as they were the last two years. They were 8-4 last year and 8-5 in 2006 due to the losses of quarterback Omar Haugabook and cornerback Leodis McKelvin, who ended up a first-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills. However, the Sun Belt Conference champions won’t be a pushover. They are a nice ‘in between’ game in the non-conference slate. By that I mean it obviously won’t be the “game of the week” in college football, but it’s also not a boring “been there, done that” kind of game. As for scheduling teams like the Ohio Bobcats, I have no problem with that. I like keeping the money in-state and the MAC is an alright football conference. I wouldn’t want to see OU on the schedule two straight years. That’s the same with way Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami University and Toledo. It will get boring after constantly playing sorry teams from year to year. Also, it won’t help when it comes to the playoffs because you need a quality schedule to be able to contend in a bowl game. Buckeyes fans are watching their Ohio State Watches and Clocks until the next regular season game. With the exception of its two-year series with Youngstown State, Ohio State basically puts the in-state schools on a rotation. This also includes Cincinnati which is on its way up playing in the Big East and with a good coach in Brian Kelly. In my opinion, Ohio State has found the ideal balance of formulating a challenging schedule, yet one that is possible to navigate. You wouldn’t want to schedule USC and Oklahoma the same year, but you wouldn’t want four cupcakes either. It would be better for them to schedule two good teams, rather than two sorry teams. There needs to be a balance in out-of-conference scheduling and I think OSU has found it this year. Last season, playing three in-state schools the same year was a joke. For example, the three in-state teams they played last year were YSU, Akron, and Kent State. This year’s schedule should be the blueprint to some extent. The game against USC will even surpass the hype that surrounded the Texas games two and three years ago. And if you were at either of them, that is saying a lot. Buckeyes fans are so ready for the regular season to kick off. They have already begun buying Ohio State Tailgating and Game Gear.
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