Buckeyes often open the season in very hot weather. A couple of years ago, I forget which game, the temperature on the field was reported to be 105. Early Sept. in Ohio can be just as hot as earl Sept. in Florida. It’s not every year but we do have our moments.

Buckeyes also usually open training camp in very hot and humid conditions.

http://chompinblog.blogspot.com/

There’s my blog. I actually rarely post on it, don’t think I have in over a year, I’m just a bit too busy these days. I may get back into it when things cool off, but for now I just have a few posts on my views on how bad the BCS is. I think I share most of the views of Dan Wetzel, but I have some pretty interesting proposals on there for what could happen but never will because of Jim Delaney and the Pac 10.

I wouldn’t count Iowa out as a traditional powerhouse. Yes, they’ve had trouble the past few years but they used to legendary for their powerful, physical play. Probably the reason they may have slipped the past couple of years as modern college football does not reward the Big Ten’s “three yards and a cloud” style.

Drop back to the mid 80s though and man, they were tough. I think it was ’85 when the Buckeyes beat a #1 ranked Iowa. That was the goal post that used to hang in Papa Joes on campus. Fans used it like a battering ram to get through a police blockade at the top of University Hill. (Not that I know from experience. Just stories I’ve heard)

Before the Florida/Ohio State BCS I wrote a piece for CSTV about bowl tradition. It hits on a number of points Carl made. Check it

Of course, that post was something of a letdown as the post I wrote before the Michigan game that year was much better.

After a game like that and seven weeks off, I just couldn’t get up for a game against Florida. I know it was the national championship and all but basketball season was well underway, holiday break was over and I was back to work and to be honest, my hands had put on a little weight and my typing fingers were out of shape.

Thanks for coming by Gatorfan. I’ve enjoyed the discussion. Carl mentioned you had a blog. If you do, please leave a link.

All of that said, I don’t have a ton else to say, I agree Carl that our success may not be top 5 program every year. I’m not sure that anyone will ever again have a run like Bowden did there for those 15 years or however many it was, but if we keep our coach and if you keep yours for the next 10-15 years or so, I can probably guess who will have more success year in and year out. Next year has the potential to be a bit rough, but we’ll see. As much as I hate the Buckeyes and Michigan and ND, I do subconsciously wish you guys luck. I think the football world is not right if Iowa is winning the Big 10. Iowa is an occasional Outback Bowl team at best. UM and OSU are supposed to be up there every year and ND is supposed to be too. Doesn’t mean I’ll be cheering for you guys though..

I hear you when it comes to SEC fans. Part of the reason I welcome Gatorfans comments is that they are so far removed from the typical comment left by SEC fans on this blog. Go back through the archives to posts about the SEC or Florida and you’ll see that they average comment of the SEC fan consists of three to five word sentences, mostly filled with four letter words. They really don’t make the SEC look good.

No, I wasn’t looking for a OSU/Michigan rematch in Phoenix. We settled that game the way it should be settled. However, there is no question the BCS game that year felt like an after thought. I was in Phoenix both that year and again when we beat Miami and the atmosphere was radically different.

I believe the Florida game was the first time the BCS game had been pushed back the extra week into January. Unlike the Fiesta bowl in ’03 where the entire city came to life, the BCS championship in Glendale felt like we were in the way. Tempe was crazy, Glendale was way out in the desert.

Holiday break was over and for the local citizens, the game meant little more then a traffic jam. Especially after Boise’s dramatic win the week before complete with post game marriage proposal.

By the time the BCS game rolled around, it was as if nobody cared — Buckeye fans included.

Then the game opens with an amazing Tedd Ginn kickoff return followed by one of the most boneheaded moves I’ve ever seen taking Ginn from the game. No question that was a devastating blow to the entire team.

Yep, that was the beginning of the era of Tressel’s inability to adjust and it’s been a problem ever since.

However, the Buckeyes play Florida in late November anywhere, even Florida and Florida’s in trouble. Bring them north to the cold and they dont’ stand a chance. I’ll give you that they would be close games but talent wise, the Buckeyes outmatched a young Florida. I’ll give you close games but more like 60/40 split Buckeyes. You get Smith, Ginn, Little Animal et all firing on all cylinders (which they did almost every game that year) and there wasn’t a school that could beat them — not Florida, not USC, not anyone.

So yeah, Tressel had 7 weeks to prepare. It also gave the team 7 weeks to slip, 7 weeks for the top players to think about their future in the pros, and it gave them even fewer weeks until the beginning of spring practice. The intensity was gone on all fronts. Buckeyes had their big win against the only team that really matters in an Ohio State season.

Be careful. Your starting to sound like your whining. It’s always tougher to take it, than deliver it.

That said, I can’t even come close to agreeing with you, Annapolis. I do fully agree that I’m sure the intensity was huge for the OSU/Mich game that year. I watched the whole game and thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was by no means the National Title game. Michigan had an argument to be in the NC game that year, but I think the general sports population agreed that it would have been ridiculous to put 2 teams in one conference in the title game. It was a great game and probably the greatest regular season game of the season, but if you think that the Buckeyes just got dominated in every single aspect of the game just because they couldn’t build up the intensity, then I respectfully have to tell you that you’re wrong. Florida beats Ohio State 19 times out of 20 that season, and maybe only 17 times out of 20 if that game is played in Columbus. It would be one thing if OSU had had the athletes to compete in that one, but they didn’t even put up a fight, and it was pretty much game 1 of Jim Tressel’s cluelessness in big games. He had 7 weeks and came up with nothing resembling a game plan.