Yesterday I was talking to a new hire at work, who recently graduated from OSU. He was talking about how he is sad that this run of great games is over; however, he is excited to watch some stress free football. Being in my 30s, I don't have many "back in my day" stories yet. But this was an exception. Without hesitation, I started reeling off horror stories almost faster than my lips could move. Cincinnati in 2002, San Diego State AND BGSU 2003, Marshall 2004, Akron 2007, Ohio 2008, Navy 2009. The new worker's face in awe and I spit out team names without a breath.
See, the annual Ohio State "clunker" has a new meaning.
2025 definition: A game in which Ohio State wins by 2+ scores; however, they do not look good doing it, leaving many wondering how in the hell this current team is going to beat the other elite teams
Mid 2000s definition: A game in which Aspirin usage in the state of Ohio reaches near overdose levels as the fans come to a collective realization late in the 3rd quarter that Ohio State just might actually lose this game.
During this era, it was a foregone conclusion before that season started that the 2 most nerve racking moments of the season would be the leadup to the Michigan game, and the second half of 1 of the 3 cupcake games. Urban Meyer was able to mostly conquer the cupcake non-conference games, but had to make a deal with the devil that then required his teams to move their annual mid-2000s definition of a clunker to late October.
Enter Ryan Day. While Day has had his criticisms, several of which were worthy prior to his impeccable 2024 title run, none of those criticisms have centered around a task easier said than done. Kicking the dog**** out of teams that should get the dog**** kicked out of them.
In fact, during Jim Tressel's tenure, 11 times did Ohio State fail to beat an unranked non-conference opponent by 20 or more points. 7 times during Urban Meyer's tenure. Want to guess how many times Ryan Day has failed to beat an unranked non-conference opponent by 20 or more points? The answer is the same as the number of collegiate snaps Dave Portnoy has taken. Zero.
Will I be nervous these next 2 weeks? Absolutely. It is still engrained in my DNA. It wasn't long ago that we were relying on a pick-6, a 55 yard field goal, a "pick-2", or a goal line stand to beat a bad team.
Go Bucks!
