The Buckeye Blog

With the release of Monday’s ESPN/USA Today college basketball rankings, Ohio State stepped into the number one position in both basketball and football–an accomplishment that has only happened twice in the history of college sports. Only USC and Notre Dame have reached this pinnacle and it hasn’t been done since 1974.Neither team was able to hold the position for more than a week. It is also the first time Ohio State Mens’ Basketball has been ranked #1 since 1962.

While the AP has Ohio State ranked #3, a win over North Carolina (#7) tonight could secure the #1 position in both polls. The question is, can Ohio State beat North Carolina in North Carolina?

The Buckeye’s will take the floor with one of the country’s top ranked recruiting classes and the “Thad Five,” as they’ve become known, have proven themselves so far this season. And they remain unbeaten with top recruit Greg Oden on the sidelines recovering from wrist surgery.

While you would think that all of this would bode well for the Buckeyes, Ohio State will meet another top ranked recruiting class in North Carolina. (many called Ohio State/North Carolina the top two recruiting classes this year). The biggest difference between the two teams is that this year’s North Carolina recruits join last year’s number one recruiting class giving NC a big advantage in depth.

Buckeye coach Thad Matta agreed that North Carolina’s depth is a big threat. “The depth they have at all positions is obviously a challenge. Those guys inside are a force you have to be concerned with and guys on the outside on the perimeter. That’s what makes them special. You have to pick you poison and hope they don’t have a breakout game,” Matta commented.

While depth may be in issue, don’t expect our Buckeye freshmen to be intimidated.Coach Matta said, many of them have already played with and against many of the NC freshmen. OSU Freshmen point guard Mike Conley Jr. added, “I think since we are familiar with some of the guys, we aren’t as intimidated. We are just trying to come in and stick to our game.”

Win or lose tonight this will be a big step in the development of the Ohio State Basketball team. Although undefeated, the trip to NC will give them the opportunity to play a tough game in a hostile environment. The experience, win or lose, this early in the season should only help when it comes time for the big dance in March. And by March, Oden will be back to help out under the rim.

Many out there are saying that we should savor this #1/#1 while we can and that it may be fleeting. I’m confident. We have at least a month of football at the top and I don’t see them losing to whoever they meet in Jan. We may slip out of first tonight but even if we don’t get back, will be knocking at the door.

It’s a great time to be a Buckeye!

All season, we have been hearing how the USC/Notre Dame game would be the game that could stop USC. Name the commentator–Corso, Herbstreet, Holtz, Philbin, doesn’t matter–Notre Dame was the speed bump in the USC schedule. The hype was so obscene that by game time, even the bookies in Vegas were setting the spread at a mere 7.5 points.

I must admit that even though I have been saying that ND was highly overrated since Sept., by kickoff, I was beginning to think that maybe I should have picked ND against that whopping 7.5pt spread.

Then Notre Dame came out on the field.

By halftime, USC had control and it appeared that we had heard the last of Notre Dame for this year.

And then suddenly (I don’t know who said it first) one of the Game Day talking heads was talking about Notre Dame playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl. While most Michigan fans wanted to see a great rivalry rematch, nobody in Michigan or anywhere else wants to see them walk over Notre Dame a second time. After a point, it just isn’t sporting anymore.

So by Sunday when the BCS rankings came out, seeing that Notre Dame was set securely in a season ending 12th place, I assumed their hopes of a BCS Bowl were gone. What I had forgotten, however, was that this was Notre Dame. The Notre Dame that signed a multi-million dollar deal that guarantees them a spot in the BCS if they end the season ranked 8th or above.

But no…Notre Dame is still looking at a BCS game and maybe even a rematch (against a team that beat them as bad as USC in their home stadium) in the Rose Bowl. At least two major college sports sites have them playing in BCS bowl games (Maisel and College Football News)

Personally, I’m at a loss here. If anything, this is proving that the BCS is about one thing and one thing only…the almighty dollar. Let’s take a quick look at the Notre Dame season that would lead them to the BCS.

Ok, so they started out with a close win over Georgia Tech. That is good and GT has proven to be a challenging team. Other than that, they have played only three top 20 teams and beaten only one–Penn State who was ranked 19 at the time. Michigan and USC both used them like a cheap whipping boy to gain much needed national BCS recognition.

From there what do we have? They did beat all three academies. Hey, if you’ve read anything on this site, I’m all about tradition and if anybody has great tradition, it’s Notre Dame. Yeah, the Army/Notre Dame is (was) a classic that goes back to the early 1900s and I love to see it. break out the old green jerseys, heck throw on the leather helmets and play the entire game without throwing a pass but let’s face it, college football has changed. Living in Annapolis, I love the entire week that leads up to the Army/Navy game and the tradition that surrounds it but is no longer a matchup of top college teams. Notre Dame/Army is not the game it once was and it never will be again. If you want to play for nostalgia sake, play, but don’t run the score against Army (41-9) and try to lay claim as a top team in the country unless you have beaten the top ranked teams on your schedule when their time comes due.

Notre Dame had their shot. The rules state that they get a BCS game if they finish ranked eighth or above. There are six one-loss teams that stand in front of ND not to mention the two-loss teams ranked higher. A 12th ranked Notre Dame with no big wins does not equal an at large spot in the BCS.

Now is the time for the BCS to prove its mettle. If it is about providing a fair series, the BCS needs to step up now. If they don’t, and Notre Dame gets a BCS invite, we will know once and for all that in the BCS series, money speaks louder than performance.

As I wrap up Michigan week, I wanted to share something that I wrote for CSTV.com’s “Battle of the Blogs.” If you didn’t get a chance to check it out, the topic was, “Who has the better tradition?”

Sooner or later it happens to every Ohio State fan. One fall Saturday, as the first notes of Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse rise through Ohio Stadium, the crowd begins to go crazy. Yes, you’ve seen Script Ohio before but this time it is different. Your blood begins to boil as waves of emotion and excitement pulse through your veins. Cheers emit from deep within as a proud senior band member high steps to his position at the top of the letter “i”, removes his hat, takes a deep bow, spins and does it again.

Voices suddenly rise into the air and you find yourself singing “Across the Field.” You didn’t even know you knew the words yet they come out perfect.

Then it happens. The chimes of Orton Hall echo through the stands yielding to the Alma Matter. By this time, you can no longer sing. The words get stuck in your throat and your eyes are welling up with tears. You adjust your sunglasses, pretend you’ve got something stuck in your eye, anything to hide the fact that raw emotions have taken control.

It is about this time that you look over at your buddy only to realize that he too is suddenly wearing his sunglasses and looking the other way as he uncomfortably rubs his eyes with his shirt sleeve. And you’re not alone. The woman in front of you, a man four or five seats down…you suddenly notice that throughout the entire stadium, a transcendent moment has taken hold.

Then, suddenly, you are pulled out of it as the 100,000 people sing the last line of the Alma Matter-”Oooo—Hiiii—Oooo.

It is at that moment you realize that you are part of something much bigger. As you stand before this field of honor, this field where glorious young men have risen to their great moment in history, you understand that as an Ohio State fan, you are part of that great tradition that is Ohio State Football.

You can read the entire “Battle of the Blogs” here.

While we bask in the glory of this great victory, we must remember that in every great battle, there are the victims of war, the refugees who find themselves lost, searching for the home they once knew.

With that in mind, I give you Brian at “mgoblog.”“(My opponent in CSTV.Com’s Battle of the Blogs). Brain describes his experiences at the game on Sat.

“Myself, I was quiet both because I wanted to not die and because I was completely terrified the whole game. After the first touchdown, my hands started vibrating uncontrollably. I mean… this is bad, right? When you are at a football game and it causes you to lose the ability to make your body do what you want it to, you are probably doing something very wrong with your brain chemicals.

By the end — after every brief glimmer of hope had been stomped out by something horrific and unbelievable — I didn’t really feel anything. I collapsed to my seat after the Crable personal foul and then watched the remainder of the game in a haze. Three hours earlier the outcome of the game was the most important thing in the history of ever; maybe it still was but I had run out of chemicals. I berated some guy who definitely has a pickup truck and watches wrestling without a sense of ironic detachment for taunting two middle-aged Michigan fans walking back to their car, but felt oddly like if he had needled me instead I wouldn’t have cared.”

I give you a small portion of his post game thoughts not for the purpose of gloating but to instead remind us that although our Buckeyes may have burned and pillaged, although there will be a time of difficult reconstruction for our enemy, they will be back. It may be only a matter of weeks, it may be a year away but they will be back.

What have you done to beat Michigan today?

The results are in. In a three week poll 65% of Buckeye Blog voters felt that we will not see another Ohio State/Michigan game in the BCS National Championship. Of the 277 votes cast, 180 said there would not be a rematch and 97 claimed that we would.

I am putting a new poll up today asking a much more important question:

“Do you want to see an Ohio State/Michigan rematch?”

Results will be broken down by fan loyalty. Watch the side bar to the right for continually updated results.

If you missed the big game this weekend, iTunes has it available for download along with the 2002, 1997 and the 1973 Ohio State vs. Michigan games. (Don’t worry, I won’t give away the final scores)

Individual games are $1.99 and you can get all four games for $5.99.

iTunes also has both of ESPN’s Ohio State/Michigan “dating” commercials available for free download.

I don’t know how well football transfers to the small screen of the video ipod but I am about to find out. I guess I know what I’m doing at work tomorrow.

There is nothing, I repeat nothing like thousands of crazed fans suddenly stopping, removing their hats and singing Carmen Ohio after an Ohio State win. And when that win is a win over Michigan…

The photo says it all.

Yes, your’s truly has a heavily biased post game report on “The NCAA Official Blog.”

Drop by and check it out.

This is the first video of the tribute that I have found. I don’t know if it aired on T.V. or not. For a moment, all 105,000 fans from both sides of the great divide stopped, looked to the scoreboard and said goodbye one half of the greatest rivalry in college football history.

The BCS rankings were just released and the University of Michigan remains in the #2 spot.

A couple of quick thoughts in the new poll.

1) If USC beats ND, they will play the Buckeyes in the BCS championship. Personally, I would like to see this matchup. I can’t wait to watch Ohio State absolutely pound USC. No team is more deserving of good Buckeye beating. I have wanted to see Ohio State get a piece of USC for years and I don’t think USC would stand a chance against Buckeye team we have seen this season.

2) If Notre Dame beats USC, sorry Notre Dame. You were beaten badly by UM. What claim could you possible have on a spot in the BCS game over UM? While it would be entertaining to watch Ohio State beat Notre Dame two years in a row, an invite to the BCS would only be used to justify a highly overrated Notre Dame team that has no business ranked #5.

3) The winner of Fl/Ark has a good shot. I need to take a better look to see what that may do. Will it be enough to jump over a #2 UM?

4) The only team I would be worried about playing in the BCS Championship is Michigan. I am not saying that I want a rematch because I’m not sure I do. However, it would be a powerful rematch in a neutral stadium. The emotion, passion and rivalry of an Ohio State/Michigan rematch for the National Championship would transcend offense/defense analysis. While I would love the opportunity to element any question about Ohio State’s national championship run with a game against a USC or Floriday, I think Michigan would provide the toughest opponent out there.

Besides, I don’t think I could take another month of pregame hype like the last month. I am weary, let me rest.