Buckeyes at #1: Why not?

The Ohio State Buckeyes are still #1 in the nation, though so many people seem to wonder why. Routinely, I hear comments that "they aren't that good" and that they "Don't deserve to be #1".

I ask: Why not?

The season began with the Bucks outside the top 10. While their season schedule hasn't been the toughest nut to crack, they've still made it to almost the end of October without a loss. That's more than can be said for Florida, LSU, USC, Virigina Tech, and every other team that started the season ahead of the bucks.

Until another team proves that they can beat the Buckeyes, they should remain #1.

This is a team that hasn't lost a regular season game since 2005. The only loss since was to Florida in that infamous rout last January. No other undefeated team (Kansas, Arizona State, Boston College, Hawaii) can claim that kind of history.

With the toughest segment of the schedule still ahead, there's plenty of opportunity for the Buckeyes to prove their worth. Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan all have the potential to knock OSU from the top spot. I'll concede that this team isn't as sharp as it has been in recent years: no Heisman hopefuls, no Ted Ginn, and no league dominant linebacker corps. Despite that, they haven't lost a game yet. Why not #1?

Greg Oden: Man or Myth?

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Ohio State v. Iowa basketball game. It was a quite convincing win for the Buckeyes, who lost twice to the Hawkeyes last season.

Just as you'd expect from all of the media hype surrounding the player, Greg Oden was the star of the show. The kid (and I can say that because he was born in '88) is unreal. He towers over everyone else on either team and dominates down low. He's automatic in the paint. Essentially, the rest of the team just needs to feed it in to him and it's two points on the board.

Oden scored a thus-far career high of 29 points, and all of them were scored from right under the hoop or from the free throw line. He's still shooting with his left hand, and he's right handed by nature.

What impressed me the most about Oden wasn't his dunking, his reach, or his blocking skills, but his lack of fouls. Any player who spends that much time under the hoop is bound to pick up a few. After all, center is one of the most full contact positions in all of sports. But Oden took only two fouls while attaining those 29 points- a true feat for a guy who plays so many minutes.

If you should have the means to get to a Buckeye basketball game this season, do so. Oden alone makes the experience worthwhile. What's more, chances are high he won't be sticking around for another season. (though reports are quite mixed on this issue) Oden has been touted as the savior of the NBA, and the competition to select him in the upcoming draft has been dubbed "The Greg Oden Sweepstakes."

At least a few reports have stated that Oden likes the college life and wants to spend another year or two being an 18-22 year old college kid. I can't say I blame him there. The NBA will still be there in a couple of years, and so long as he doesn't become injured, his future is more than secure. If you need any more proof that he's having a good time at OSU, look no further than right here:

Ohio State loses BCS Championship because of old age

The Ohio State Buckeyes, beloved by all the world, fell to the Florida Gators last night in the BCS title game. The Bucks were defeated as much by Father Time and their own lack of discipline as they were by Florida.

It had been 51 days since the Bucks' last game, which is a long time to ask of any team. Players get out of rhythm, out of shape, and outright out of the right mental state to play a competitive football game. In that same time Florida played not one, but two games. If Ohio State had been 14 days fresher, who knows what difference that may have made. Let's take a look back to remember the world 51 days ago.

A young, hip, President Reagan was leading the United States out of the Iranian hostage crisis, as well as developing a space based anti-missile system.





Bruce Springsteen, or "The Boss" as he would later become known, took the radio waves by storm with his hit Dancing in the Dark. The video for the song also starred a little known actress, Courtney Cox, who would become famous for her role in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.


The futuristic Tron was the top grossing movie. Few knew how accurate the movie would be in predicting the future. By the time the BCS bowl games started, the red guy was already up 3-1 on the blue guy.


It is ridiculous to ask any team to wait so long to play again following the regular season. I've been a fan of a playoff system for a while now, as I documented in this post on The Soap Box. If Ohio State fans ever needed another excuse to support the disposal of the bowl system, last night was it. No other sport uses such an archaic and outright absurd system for evaluating a champion as does NCAA football.