A Lot On the Line
October 25 2007 08:57 PM -- Filed in: Massey
Tidbits: In case you missed
it, the Buckeyes have won 26 consecutive regular
season games. That is a school-record.
Overall, the Buckeyes have won 27 of their last
28 games. The previous record for consecutive
regular-season wins was 21, set from 1967-69.
The
Scarlet and Gray have also won 17
straight home games and 21 of the
last 22 games played in the Horseshoe. Ohio
State has won a school-record 18 consecutive Big Ten
Conference games, dating to the 17-10 loss at Penn
State Oct. 8, 2005. Ohio State is now 65-9-1
when ranked No. 1 in the country.
Here We Go Again: If nothing else, SEC fans are immodest and shameless self-promoters. Now that Ohio State and LSU are precariously close in the BCS standings the talk has already begun about what the Tigers would do to poor little Ohio State if they met in New Orleans (that is assuming Ohio State even bothers to show up). I hear this stuff all the time, but I wondered but the historical data would show.
A little research tells us that Ohio State is 1-9-1 against SEC teams since 1950. That is not a misprint. So, you are probably asking yourself, "Why is an ardent Ohio State writing such blasphemy on the best Ohio State blog?!" Mostly, because I was curious what the record is and because you are bound to hear it over and over again if Ohio State is fortunate enough to play in the National Title game against LSU. But there is another reason; I wanted to analyze the record.
So, what is causing this horrible record? One common theory is that the SEC teams are playing virtual home games in the south. The mileage says otherwise. On average, Ohio State has traveled 930 miles, while the SEC team has traveled 765 miles to play each other. In the days of chartered flights and 4-star hotels, I hardly think the extra 170 miles makes much difference. Strangely lending some credence to this theory, Ohio State's lone win against the SEC is a home win versus LSU. Moreover, a bad Ohio State team (4-6-1) beat LSU (8-4) 36-33 with furious comeback in the fourth quarter.
The other comment I often hear is that Ohio State (and, Big Ten teams in general) always get bad bowl match-ups. Because the Big Ten teams draw so many fans, bowls are willing to take lower ranked, high-profile teams to fill seats. Thus, a mismatch is born. I have no hard data on this hypothesis beyond the teams' records in the individual year they played. But, as SEC fans are so apt to say, records can be deceiving. Ohio State was a cumulative 91-39-3 (.684) in the years it played an SEC team. The SEC teams were a cumulative 112-23-1 (.829) when playing Ohio State. That is a big spread, folks. What makes Ohio State's winning percentage in those seasons even more surprising is that since 1950 the Buckeyes' winning percentage is the best in college football: .754 (465-147-15).
Finally, I thought I would check to see how other Big Ten teams have fared against the SEC. Surely, if the mightiest of them all struggles there is no hope for the rest of the league. Yet, that is not the case. Michigan is 10-4 against the Southeastern Conference; Penn State is 15-16; including winning 6 of the last 8, and Iowa is 3-3. Even the Golden Gophers are 3-1.
So, is it bad travel schedules, bad match ups, bad teams, or bad luck that has caused OSU's skid? Most likely a combination of each. If Ohio State makes it to New Orleans at the end of this season and has to play an SEC team, remember one thing fellow Buckeyes fans: if Minny can beat them, anyone can.
Picture Pages: A new site has been launched called PoorSportz. It is founded by a local and is poised to become the finest sports trash-talking site on the Web. It is billed as a site dedicated to the best (worst) fans around. It is easy to use and will provide you with hours of enjoy (and inactivity at work). You can browse photos uploaded by fellow fans and arch rivals. Or, you can create your own images and email them around the globe to opposing fans. Show us what you've got Buckeyes' fans!
Here We Go Again: If nothing else, SEC fans are immodest and shameless self-promoters. Now that Ohio State and LSU are precariously close in the BCS standings the talk has already begun about what the Tigers would do to poor little Ohio State if they met in New Orleans (that is assuming Ohio State even bothers to show up). I hear this stuff all the time, but I wondered but the historical data would show.
A little research tells us that Ohio State is 1-9-1 against SEC teams since 1950. That is not a misprint. So, you are probably asking yourself, "Why is an ardent Ohio State writing such blasphemy on the best Ohio State blog?!" Mostly, because I was curious what the record is and because you are bound to hear it over and over again if Ohio State is fortunate enough to play in the National Title game against LSU. But there is another reason; I wanted to analyze the record.
So, what is causing this horrible record? One common theory is that the SEC teams are playing virtual home games in the south. The mileage says otherwise. On average, Ohio State has traveled 930 miles, while the SEC team has traveled 765 miles to play each other. In the days of chartered flights and 4-star hotels, I hardly think the extra 170 miles makes much difference. Strangely lending some credence to this theory, Ohio State's lone win against the SEC is a home win versus LSU. Moreover, a bad Ohio State team (4-6-1) beat LSU (8-4) 36-33 with furious comeback in the fourth quarter.
The other comment I often hear is that Ohio State (and, Big Ten teams in general) always get bad bowl match-ups. Because the Big Ten teams draw so many fans, bowls are willing to take lower ranked, high-profile teams to fill seats. Thus, a mismatch is born. I have no hard data on this hypothesis beyond the teams' records in the individual year they played. But, as SEC fans are so apt to say, records can be deceiving. Ohio State was a cumulative 91-39-3 (.684) in the years it played an SEC team. The SEC teams were a cumulative 112-23-1 (.829) when playing Ohio State. That is a big spread, folks. What makes Ohio State's winning percentage in those seasons even more surprising is that since 1950 the Buckeyes' winning percentage is the best in college football: .754 (465-147-15).
Finally, I thought I would check to see how other Big Ten teams have fared against the SEC. Surely, if the mightiest of them all struggles there is no hope for the rest of the league. Yet, that is not the case. Michigan is 10-4 against the Southeastern Conference; Penn State is 15-16; including winning 6 of the last 8, and Iowa is 3-3. Even the Golden Gophers are 3-1.
So, is it bad travel schedules, bad match ups, bad teams, or bad luck that has caused OSU's skid? Most likely a combination of each. If Ohio State makes it to New Orleans at the end of this season and has to play an SEC team, remember one thing fellow Buckeyes fans: if Minny can beat them, anyone can.
Picture Pages: A new site has been launched called PoorSportz. It is founded by a local and is poised to become the finest sports trash-talking site on the Web. It is billed as a site dedicated to the best (worst) fans around. It is easy to use and will provide you with hours of enjoy (and inactivity at work). You can browse photos uploaded by fellow fans and arch rivals. Or, you can create your own images and email them around the globe to opposing fans. Show us what you've got Buckeyes' fans!
