There is another difference you are overlooking:  Cardale Jones wanted to be a Buckeye his entire life and came from an environment where former Buckeyes flourished. Matt Baldwin came from Texas.  He had no ties to the Buckeye state.  Was going to Colorado State until a prettier date came calling. When the prettier date found someone else, he remembered that he had no ties here or reason to stay. It’s not so hard to see. To me, he is just another casualty of Urban Meyer’s obsession with players outside the state of Ohio.  While an earlier poster got scolded for sounding like a troll, there was an element of truth to what he said whether we agree with it or not.  

Maybe.  Did you say the same things about Fields? 

Loathes

Classifying

Themes

You are right!  It will be another banner night for OSU football and its recruiting and player development chops.  And for Paul Finebaum and the many Meyer haters in the media, another chance to wag a finger and remind the world about the talent Urban Meyer wasted while in his final 3-4 years at Ohio State.   The sad and very real thing is, they won't be totally wrong.  

Maybe.  But even though it was just a "Spring scrimmage", I saw enough this past Saturday to realize how much and how badly Haskins is already missed from this team for next season -- his holes and all.  And lastly, for those seeing Haskins slide, I only need to point to Mitch Trubisky to see a kid with only 1 year of cf starter experience, who with good NFL coaching, still thrives.  

Okay, I didn't get a good night's sleep obviously.   What is a CB in this context?  

 I understand the OPs main point, but with all due respect, I think he underestimates everything that goes into the game as it is.  With security and so many other issues to take into account, I am presuming it is one of if not the bigger athletic department event until the first football game in the fall. 

You want to add, what?  A concert with Drake?  Billy Joel?  A U2 reunion to the day?  No. It won’t work.   Lastly, no coach in his right mind is going to risk unnecessary injuries, when in this day and age, you are one planted foot on artificial turf from blowing out an ACL.  Taking out the tackling is a drag, but it is what it is. 

Id be a lot more concerned about regular college football attendance in the main season in light of the ongoing challenge to fill stadiums when games take a minimum of 3+ hours to attend and the conclusion of most games for the power elite is already decided when the kids get off the bus  

Considering that Haskins was a generational player -- and Tate, no matter what we call or think of him, was a terrific talent that we never truly saw.  Considering that we really don't know......yet.....what we have in Fields and Baldwin, since they have never taken a competitive snap at Ohio State, I can't say I am feeling better about this year's QB meeting room.  Not saying you are all alone in your opinion about "feeling better about this year", but as of now, I am not ready to join you.

And drive a good car on good roads.   That way, you'll have "good on good".   

Sorry.....I couldn't resist.

Until shown otherwise, and despite my deep respect for Greg Schiano, I put last year's D woes on him -- and Urban Meyer.  Grinch had the keys to the office taken from him.....and I am guessing did not have final say on personnel, let alone, scheme. I might be naive in my thinking, but while I do blame Grinch for taking on what was presumed to be an attitude, I think some or much of it was justified.   

I agree with my fellow phillynut.   Totally support what Ryan Day is doing here, but the flag football format that Urban Meyer started, has been completed, full circle.  Again, I think this is a good idea, but I would not pay to see it.  It's just another practice -- only this time in front of a larger crowd. 

Tongue-in-cheek post of the decade!

Bingo, Johnny.  Tempting as it is, I am not going to throw shade at Harbaugh and Michigan, when we all know that nothing happened under the roof of the WHAC without Meyer's approval -- which makes Harbaugh just like him, no matter what either of them said or told anyone in the hiring, recruiting, or any other process.  

So.....does that mean Ed Warriner was "All Buckeye" to you when he had his first presser in Ann Arbor?  I mean, if it's true for one, it fits for the other, right?

Agree.  And, I'll pile on.  I saw as much softness at times in the Offense as I did with the D.  Much of it we wrote off to confusion with the  scheme, and I am sure some of that is true.  But all in all, our O line was soft -- shit they were beaten up by Minnesota more often than not. 

"Backhanded" compliment of Lincoln Riley?  In what universe?  People can argue that Bobby Stoopes left him a full cupboard and a chef's kitchen. Regardless of that opinion, Riley, in two consecutive years, has produced 2 Heisman QBs and two teams that have gone to the cf playoff.  In his first year, he had Urban Meyer and his staff scratching their heads and asses looking for answers in the 2nd half -- that never came. Time will tell if Riley's early success is fool's gold, but if Ryan Day's early coaching success is anything like Riley's, he will be off to a good start. In the meantime, the comparisons will be there, fairly or not.

I think that is a realistic take, B.  Until we see what the new kids bring, those goals are achievable -- and they are probably the ceiling for now.  We have to balance the excitement and anticipation of what one more year of off-season development and an influx of new blood to the program will bring, with the sobering reminder of what this team looked like without K Wesson for stretches of time this year.

I don't anyone is suggesting a "devaluing" of The Game.  After-all, it is unlikely we achieve our grandest goals if we don't beat Michigan -- although there could be exceptions to that as Alabama has already proven.  On the other hand, I have been around long enough to see what happens when there is a long, hangover effect after beating Michigan when it comes to bowl games, and it sure as hell is not pretty. 

So, yes, beating Michigan is a key component to a successful season, but it is not the only one.  If you don't believe me, ask Tim Beck and Ed Warriner after the Clemson loss in January of 2017.  As they cleaned out their lockers (and their offices) I don't think they or anyone on that humiliated team, at the moment, gave a shit about their win over Michigan 6 weeks earlier. 

Also, we are an elite college football program and should be more concerned with making the playoff and winning national championships than how we do against Michigan. In the weird hypothetical where we could either beat Michigan or win the national championship I'd take the national championship with no hesitation 100 out of 100 times. 

Nicely said -- you are wise beyond your (young) years!  There are many among us (although it is a declining number) who would be satisfied going 1-11 as long as the 1 win was against you-know-who.  

While The Game, will always be The Game, with the B1G championship, the cf playoff and the hunt for the crystal, I am more interested, like you, in the total prize.  If Ohio State is going to recruit on a national scale, then it needs to win on a national scale -- and that means, not just against Michigan or the Big Ten.  We did that with Jim Tressel while losing two NCs in a row. For a few brief years, OSU established itself as the most over-rated cf program in the BCS era.  That has since been corrected, but only because we have won another NC, beaten Alabama, and USC.  I would have gladly traded one of the Michigan wins earlier in this decade to have beaten Florida or LSU for the natty.  If that is blasphemy, then so be it.  So, while The Game will always be the most exciting Saturday of the year, it is not the end.....it is the means to the end.  

And so forth......

You're full of opinions this morning, eh, bob?  That's ok, it's what this forum is for.  Even yours.

Any player who saw really little playing time this year should think of bailing if the incoming frosh are that good.  We should not forget the stretches of time that this team looked flat out horrible.  If a kid sat on the bench during those minutes, he will sit for good when the team starts to score and play well   

Maybe. 

But IMHO, I'd rather play Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Rutgers every year than Alabama, LSU, Mississipi State and Texas A &M. 

It definitely continues under Day, Hove.  Lincoln Riley set the bar as a new, young coach, who replaced a highly successful coach and had instant success, including two consecutive Heisman winners and two trips to the cf playoffs. Riley and Day are cut from similar cloth, so yes, the expectations are high for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the full cupboard Meyer left behind.  

Yeah, well that sucky Western Division has fielded teams that have handed us our asses two years in a row. 

And while we don't have to give a damn what they think (we don't).... people living along the southeastern Gulf coast are laughing like hell at the claim that we are in the "toughest division in all of college football",