Ohio State and the Plight of the Big 10

If the Buckeyes run the table and no one is listening, does it make a sound?

By Chris Landers

Yesterday should have been a celebration for Ohio State. Braxton Miller made his triumphant return (and stayed healthy for four quarters), and the Buckeyes cleared one of the few hurdles on their schedule, dispatching Wisconsin 31-24 to move to 5-0.

 

AP Photo/Jay LaPrete

But there was a lingering sense of anxiety, a pall that hung over the Horseshoe as the Badgers hung around just long enough to keep things close — is this going to be enough? Ohio State’s schedule is tissue-soft, the product of a weak conference and a system that dissuades scheduling big non-conference competition. (Although it is worth mentioning that the Buckeyes are far from the worst offender in this area, with future matchups scheduled with Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Oregon.)

The SEC is the same bloodbath it’s always been, and the tops of the Pac 12 and ACC are shaping up to be entertaining all season long. Just about every national title contender is going to have their turn in the spotlight, a marquee matchup to prove themselves to the country and the voters: Clemson and Florida State, Oregon and Stanford, the SEC and, well, the SEC.

Everyone, that is, but Ohio State. A primetime matchup against Northwestern next week will be key, especially considering Gameday will be in town, but beyond that the only hurdle left is a trip to the Big House at the end of the year — and given Michigan’s recent struggles, it’s anyone’s guess how much that win would be worth.

All of which is to say that it’s not enough for the Buckeyes to simply win; they have to win with style, and make people look bad doing it. They certainly checked that box in September, piling up video game numbers with Kenny Guiton at the controls. But that was against California and Florida A&M. And with each passing week, somebody is stealing headlines —this week it was Georgia, whose win over LSU puts them in position to leapfrog the Buckeyes despite having a loss.

The fact is that the Big 10 seems to have disappeared from the national consciousness entirely. Ohio State will spend a month and a half putting up 50 points in obscurity, cruising along as the rest of the country looks to Baton Rouge or Eugene or wherever this week’s titanic clash is taking place. The Buckeyes rarely have all eyes on them, and when they do, they have to make it count.

Ohio State looks like a team that can compete with just about anyone. The work Urban Meyer has done to improve team speed is nothing short of remarkable, especially compared to the rest of the Midwest. But unfortunately, his conference mates aren’t giving him much of a chance to prove himself. Did somebody say playoff?