The Choice Is Yours
On Friday, I heard this question asked on The Fan: if Ohio State could only beat USC or Michigan this season, which one would you choose? I actually posed this one to two diferent fans this weekend and received totaly different answers.
For our purposes here, we will assume that the Buckeyes would win their remaining 10 games - a dangerous assumption, I know, but one that is not totally out of the realm of possibility. The responses of the callers were mixed. While I am not suggesting I have the right answer, I did not have to think too hard about it.
Ohio State has to beat USC.
Here’s why:
1. Ohio State - fair or not - is the flag bearer for all things Big Ten football. When the Buckeyes lose a big non-conference game (and they have lost four straight) the entire league is shamed. When Michigan scores at will while beating Florida, no one notices.
2. I know many of the old-schoolers would say that you always have to beat your rival, but a loss to Michigan would help rejuvenate the rivalry. We know that the games in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006 were as great as any rivalry could wish for. But Tressel’s 7-1 record combined with the last two games has diminished the rivalry in many outsiders minds. If you doubt that, try to remember how you felt about the Auburn/Alabama games until 2008.
3. I know some people cringe at the thought of losing to a sub-par Michigan team with a birth in BCS Title Game on the line. But in my mind, a loss to either team ends the Buckeyes dreams of a championship appearance. There is simply no way that voters would place Ohio State in the top 2 if they lost at home to USC. And, in a weird way, a win over USC would pave the way for 2010. With the big game monkey off their back, thanks to Pryor no doubt, the Buckeyes would be poised for great things.
Anyway, what do you think?
I see your point,and your spot on.But cant you see a loss to meat chicken would take the luster off
the win over usc anyway. and folks would just we got lucky over usc. By the way do you really want deal with 12 month of hearing how yhe creeps up north BOSTING about how they are back. Not mention how RR would be considered a deity,no my friend cant stand to lose meat chicken!!!!!
I hear you and I bet the UM gloating would be insufferable.
My argument is based more on the long-term effects of a rejuvenated Michigan program and overall rivalry. I was deciding between the two games and I will always choose the betterment of the long-term. Over the long haul, a healthy OSU-Michigan rivalry is great for the Buckeyes, and college football.
I agree that we need to beat USC more than anything and get this monkey, actually 2000lb gorilla, off of our backs. This is an interesting scenario but overall I think we beat Michigan handily again this year and the realy question is can a win over USC propel this teams confidence all the way to the MNC..
Gibson is going to eat the Force's lunch then throw root beers in his fridge..
we could beat USC and lose to michigan.
at least we could woop UM's monkey asses every year from that moment on til the end of time. USC we got a 1 time regular season deal
I agree. We've beaten down UM so badly the past 8 years that it wouldn't really give Michigan fans much of anything to brag about, especially if it was a close game(which I can't imagine Michigan blowing us out anyways). And we definitely need to beat USC, more than anything. After we gave up that loss to Texas, we are in dier need of a large non-conference win, at least to gain a little respect. It's going to take more than a USC beatdown to quiet the haters, but this is where it needs to start, and I'd rather renew the rivalry than lose to USC in the Shoe.
I will also agree. I think beating USC which gives us national respect is more important at this moment in time. A Michigan loss at the Shoe (which makes me sick to even think about) would renew the rivalry and bring attention to the Big 10 as a better conference.
Love the new look!! Maybe I will feel differently around mid-November, but right now beating U$C is a must. Go Bucks! Again, congrats on the new look!!
I think the Michigan game is very over rated in importance at this point in time. This is a program that is down in the dumps why are we even comparing our program to theirs at this point. Are they our rivals? Yes. But its hard to have a rivalry when one team is a bottom feeder in a conference that is probably the weakest big time conference a few years running now. I wish every OSU fan would start worrying if we are keeping up with Florida, Alabama, USC, Texas, and places like that instead of dwelling on a Michigan program that is more like Northwestern at the moment. I will take a win over USC because at least it tells everyone we can compete on that big stage again and most importantly actually win on that stage. Because in my opinion I could care less about how many times we beat michigan or how many watered down big ten titles we win I care about National Championships and we are going to have to beat the Florida's of the world to get those!
Buckeye offense not in sync. They leave the offense on the field way too long. They should continue to work on
Pryor’s passing while helping his indecision. Defense will wear down by staying on field. Play calling has to be better. Times they should be conservative, they aren’t. Other times they should be explosive, they aren’t. There are seasons if not for
the defenses, the Buckeyes would have a losing season. Why are the Floridas, Texas, and USCs constantly having just a decent offense. If Ohio State had an offense they would be undefeated. Not a great offense, just a decent one.