Sports Then and Now

Both Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor are gone from Ohio State football.

After previously throwing their head coach and star quarterback under the bus, the Ohio State administration is now throwing away the entire 2010 season in the hopes that this self-imposed action will appease the NCAA and keep the Buckeyes from losing their football future.

Depending on what side of the fence you sit on, the decision by Ohio State to vacate all of their victories from the 2010 season, including their Big Ten co-championship and their victory in the Sugar Bowl, can be seen either as a major sacrifice or simply as a desperate attempt to keep from getting hit with significantly more severe penalties by the NCAA.

It is obvious that Ohio State president Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith are trying to spin these self imposed penalties as a major punishment for one of the most storied programs in college football.

According to Smith, forfeiting all their wins from 2010 is a major sacrifice not just because of the Sugar Bowl, but also because it signifies an end to their seven-year winning streak against rival Michigan.

“That’s a significant impact to those who participated, and some of them are still here today,” Smith said.

In addition to vacating their 2010 wins, the school placed the football program on two years of probation. However, it is what they didn’t do that speaks loudest about how they continue to view the NCAA and the scandal that has rocked the school since coming to light in late December.

From the very beginning, Ohio State has been in a mode of self preservation and trying to make the situation as painless as possible.

First they lobbied for the five players involved in selling memorabilia for money and tattoos to be suspended for the first five games of 2011, but to be allowed to play in the upcoming Sugar Bowl.

At the time, the argument was that no one had previously known and keeping them out of the bowl game would hurt the integrity of the product, so suspending them for the first five games of the next season was a fair punishment. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite violations, Terrelle Pryor and four teammates will be able to play in the Sugar Bowl for Ohio State.

So let me get this straight, five members of the Ohio State football team committed actions deemed severe enough to warrant suspension for five games during the 2011 season, but not severe enough to suspend them from their bowl game for this season? I guess it just proves the old adage that the truth is stranger than fiction.

If you haven’t yet come to the realization that college football is a business, maybe this latest action will help you see the light.

Instead of suspending the five junior members of the Ohio State team (including the starting quarterback, leading runner and second leading receiver) from the high profile Sugar Bowl for which Ohio State and the Big Ten is being paid $17 million to participate, the NCAA postponed the suspension until the 2011 season. Of course it is highly likely that most, if not all, of the offending players will never serve even one game as this decision has probably ensured that they will be NFL bound following their bowl game.

I can’t really decide which part of this situation bothers me more: that the NCAA is being so blatant in ensuring the quality of the Sugar Bowl despite acknowledging that some of the participants broke known rules or that in a college football landscape where billions of dollars of revenue is being generated these players are being punished because they collected between $1,000 and $2,500 for choosing to sell items given to them during their college careers.

The NCAA and university leaders are always spouting off about the sanctity of college athletics out of one side of their mouth while seemingly doing everything they can to cash in on the other side. Read the rest of this entry →

The Big Ten has seven unbeaten teams going into Week 3 of the football season––but let’s face it, many of the opponents during the first two weeks of the season have not exactly provided stiff competition.

This, however, is true of most conference schedules.

Yes, there are exceptions, with Penn State taking on No. 1 ranked Alabama and Ohio State taking on No. 13 ranked Miami Hurricanes.

Illinois played Missouri out of the Big 12 in their opener, just as the Iowa Hawkeyes took on Big 12 In-State rival Iowa State.

Additionally, Purdue played Notre Dame––just as Michigan played the Irish, as well Connecticut, out of the Big East.

It is a little premature to conjecture about the strength and weaknesses of the Big Ten Conference. But as we head into Week 3, this is how the Big Ten Teams line up in the latest Power Rankings…

11. Minnesota Golden Gophers [1-1]

The Gophers are already reeling after being upset by the South Dakota Coyotes 41-38 in Week 2.

Duane Bennett, who rushed 18 times for 104 yards, kept the Gophers competitive with two one-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, the last with 3:21 left to cut the lead to three.

Every time the Gophers have played football teams from the Dakotas, they’ve found themselves in deep trouble.

North Dakota State came up one point short in 2006, but found a way to win at the Metrodome in 2007. Minnesota had to struggle mightily for a 16-13 victory over South Dakota State last November.

The Gophers did not help themselves by turning the ball over twice in the first half last Saturday. First, Minnesota failed on a fourth down attempt at the South Dakota 30, and then QB Adam Weber fumbled at the Coyotes 30 in the closing seconds.

Kicker Ellestad, who missed from 39 and 40 yards in the opening win at Middle Tennessee, also hooked a 48-yard field goal left.

Weber found Stoudermire open on a post pattern from 49 yards out for Minnesota’s first touchdown and hit Gray and Da’Jon McKnight for scores in the third quarter. Weber was 21 for 31 for 258 yards.

Read the rest of this entry →