To the extent that the weakened Big Ten has become the target of national media potshots, the Buckeyes and Jim Tressel have been the bullseye. So why is this man smiling?As if it weren't enough to be taking a transitioning young team into an early season rematch with USC in the midst of an 0-4 streak against Top Five teams, Tressel now also seems to be shouldering the burden of the sagging fortunes of the whole Big Ten Conference. Any given off-season article on the Big Ten's fading reputation is likely to have a shot of the guy in the sweater-vest front and center.
By habitually winning the Big Ten and then losing in January with millions more people watching, Jim Tressel has become the media's poster boy for the Big Ten's problems. Who better?....you might legitimately be asking. Well, for starters, how about some of the coaches who haven't won the conference four consecutive times?
A survey of (less than 100) college players by ESPN the Mag voted OSU the nation's most overrated program.....(which raises the question of how a program so universally ragged on nationally can be called overrated, but I digress.)Â Granted, the two big high-profile losses to national champion teams in the '06 and '07 seasons, plus the pasting last fall by USC, did collectively prove that OSU was a step below the two or three elite teams in the country in those particular years, even as they racked up four straight championships in their own declining conference.
That conference's 1-6 record in bowl games last year hints that the decline continues, and as the flag bearer of the league's dominant program of the decade, Tressel might be excused for feeling like he's carrying around a boulder on his back, especially as the second USC game looms. But if his attitude and demeanor this spring and fall are any indication, it doesn't seem to be bothering him. If anything, the coach seems more relaxed than ever.
The Beanies and Animals have moved on from Columbus, and the 2009 OSU roster doesn't have a lot of household names other than that of their celebrated quarterback. And people know about Thad Gibson and Kurt Coleman on defense, but a big chunk of this year's Buckeye team is made up of a core of lesser-known young talents, just waiting to show their stuff on the football field. I'm previewing ten of the guys I think are likely to have breakout seasons for the Buckeyes in '09...with certain qualifiers...