Eleven Warriors

Three games in three years is terrific, but I think this loss is more devastating to the program than even last year's catastrophe. Regardless of how well Ohio State plays next year - or in the next five years, probably - no one will want them in a title game, especially if the opponent is from the SEC. We're going to have a tough time garnering votes at the top of the polls, no matter what we do. We've entered Buffalo Bills Land.

I hate to say it, but I wonder if this isn't the beginning of a three- or four-year swoon for the program. Rodriguez gets hired at m*ch*g*n, m*ch*g*n beats the team Ohio State couldn't touch last year, m*ch*g*n gets the glory of defending the Big T(elev)en against the SEC, and probably takes the lead in the Pryor sweepstakes (presuming they didn't have the lead already, as I suspect they do).

I could be overreacting, but I really don't think so. One thing will make this game palatable to me: If Mike Adams, or Shugarts, or the Pillsbury Doughboy comes in and beats out Person or Rehring for a starting job. Somebody - anybody - has to be better than those two. And Antonio? Please, please, please start practicing up. Please.

dear UM troll, go away.

also, lulz@the pic.

Chris, are you nuts? 3 championships games in 2 years is pretty good. Yeah, thats true. But "Even Florida can’t say anything at this point." Are you kidding me? Florida crushed us in not 1 but 2 championship games in 2007 and won 3 championship games in 2 years. The Super Bowl trophy is named after the great Vince Lombardi who said that winning isn't everything, its the only thing. No doubt getting to the championship game is a a big deal, but take a clue from Lombardi, winning is the only thing. Florida can say whatever it wants to say and Gators fans are laughing their butts off at people with your attitude. We were overmatched again, or at least we played like we were. Take it like a man dude. And hate Michigan and ND all you want to, but keep in mind that their history and tradition, like ours, is what makes college football special. Maybe someday we will win as many titles or Heismans as ND has. We will never catch Michigan in all-time wins, but lets hope we can keep beating them after the coaching change. It won't be easy though, especially if we play like we do in bowl games. Its not good enough to beat Kent State, Akron and Youngstown State. We have to beat Florida and LSU. Until then, Gators fans and Tigers fans and football fans everywhere can say the Big Ten sucks and OSU can't win the big game. Prove it on the field, period.

@scUM troll... Appalachian State... Enough said. Bye.

Rich Rodriguez is a weasel.

"I very well may go away once this blog ceases to utilize Notre Dame as a scapegoat for OSU’s horrible, horrible “representation,” nay failure even custom now, to uphold BigTen honor. I am a third generation Michigan grad, and the third generation from Ohio, and I cannot fathom how OSU continually vomits on its purported role as BigTen champion. OSU couldn’t beat Mount Union after the game’s first ten minutes for chrissakes.

BuckeyesTakeItUptheBowels - January 8th, 2008 at 1:20 am"

LOL:

Oooh, I am a Michigan grad and I from Ohio.

That does not mean anything. Clearly, you do not know much about football, based on your dodgy analysis. Then again, most trolls are utter buffoons, so your thinking and behavior is a prescribed response to certain stimuli. Clearly, you are not a real Buckeye fan either.

Let us know when Michigan wins a National Championship in football, until then, keep your idiotic ramblings in the Big House.

LSU was the better team today. If anything, it is an indictment of Michigan. OSU completely dominated Michigan this year. And, OSU lost to a top notch LSU team. So what. All we do know, is that OSU is better than Michigan. And LSU was better than OSU this year. And, that Notre Dame sucked big time this year.

And, that; you are another cry baby loser who wants to project your bullsh__. Go away and stop trying to proclaim you are a Buckeye, because you are not.

You take it up the bowels and love getting a money shot right in your eyes.

Boo Hoo!

[...] to the LSU Tigers for winning the MNC. Condolences to the Ohio State Buckeyes for coming up short. Again. What OSU and its fans are going to hear over [...]

Typical Michigan arrogance. We root for them to win their bowl game and are happy for them when they do because they are in the Big11Ten. But they are too blind to see that a loss in the Championship game hurts the entire conference, not just tOSU. So their inferiority complex rears it's ugly head and they to come to a Buckeye site and make derogatory remarks about their biggest rival. Kind of sad, really.

I agree with Joe and Tom that, by in large, they "played hard. Dumb, but with great effort, at least."

But more than that, we lost the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball, particularly the interior line. Gholston and Heyward had some effective moments, but we got no push in the middle and they were able to create WAY too many 3rd and short (hell, usually 3rd and 1) situations for us to stop their running attack. On the other side of the ball Person, Cordle, and Rehring were inconsistent at best, and knocked backwards at their worst. Save a few choice plays, Boone and Barton did a good job. It seemed Beanie's best runs came off tackle, and when he was stuffed it was because one of the interior linemen was knocked off the ball and possibly on their butt.

You can't make that many mental mistakes, give the other team momentum on several occasions, lose the battle up front on both sides of the ball, and expect to come away with the W. There are a number of what-ifs, like if Robo would have held onto that pass to put us up 17-10 (which may have actually meant more in terms of momentum than score when it was all said and done), or if we hadn't given them two 15 yard penalties on their long drive to tie the game, or if we hadn't given them the ball back when punting on a 4th and 23....but in the end we lost to a better team.

Oh and Tom add 3 good interior linemen to that Wanted poster...

I don't really follow recruiting, so that's quite promising.

I didn't say we were dominated, just that we lost the battle up front (particularly the interior line)--which means that they were pushing us more than we were pushing them. This isn't to say that we were unable to knock them off the ball from time to time, just that they were able to do it more often (i.e. more than 50% of the time).