Big Ten owes huge debt to Ohio State
Though it might pain Michigan fans to hear it, the Big Ten owes a major debt to Ohio State.
Though it might pain Michigan fans to hear it, the Big Ten owes a major debt to Ohio State.
With remarkable consistency the last seven years - six seasons of at least 10 wins - the Buckeyes have secured their place as one of the nation's elite programs.
They've rolled over elite offensive and defensive players and still plow through the Big Ten with no consistent competition.
Yet they're decried nationally for their struggles in the spotlight. Losses in three straight bowl games to national title-worthy opponents shouldn't be the measuring stick of their greatness.
Given their geographic limitations, they've been remarkably consistent. Name another cold-weather program in the last 30 years that has played at such a high level for seven seasons (not even Penn State did so in the 1990s).
The Buckeyes are almost never upset by a vastly inferior team - you'd have to go back to Purdue in 2004 - and control similar opponents. They win rivalry games and lose few of the top recruits from Ohio, a talent-rich state. The perfect season remains elusive of late (though they did it with the 2002 national title and came close in '06) and for that, they're roundly bashed.
As Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and LSU have proved, there's room for multiple elite programs in a conference, yet the Big Ten is still searching for its Ohio State competitor.
The challengers have come in waves: Michigan for a few seasons at the start of the decade, and Purdue, Wisconsin and Illinois with one- or two-year runs. Last year, mostly because they didn't face the Buckeyes, Iowa got into the mix.
But the only legitimate, consistent challenger in recent years that can push again this year is Penn State. The Nittany Lions entered the conference in 1993 expecting to continue the dominance they enjoyed as an independent.
"We came into this thing in '93, and I didn't realize that it would be quite as competitive as it has become, and that's been a real challenge," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said.
While the Nittany Lions have put together four straight strong seasons, only in 2005 and '08 were they impressive in conference play.
They're built like the Buckeyes, with a stellar defense led by dominant linebackers. And both programs have embraced the mobile quarterback, understanding that having a playmaker under center is now the game's greatest weapon.
Terrelle Pryor will be leading Ohio State for at least two more years. And though Daryll Clark is a senior, it's impossible for Paterno to ignore that his best recent seasons have come with multifaceted quarterbacks Clark and Michael Robinson.
The playmaker quarterback is reason for hope at Illinois, which will try to squeeze another run out of senior Juice Williams, and Michigan, with electric Denard Robinson and, next year, Devin Gardner.
The Big Ten is trying to fight criticism of its recent postseason record by shortening the period between the end of the season and the bowl games.
What would make it more interesting is if a team other than Ohio State was worthy of playing in a championship game.