this makes me want to kick the shit out of texas even more

[peter dragon]

IF college football was a street fight, Jim Tressel would be the one standing in the alley, his sweater vest off, his sleeves rolled up and his fingers waving for the next opponent to approach.

He's absolutely fearless.

Advertisement
Walking with a silent strut, Tressel will play anyone at any time. In today's world of college football, that's rarer than a loss at Southern Cal.

Texas coach Mack Brown said yesterday games like the one we'll witness Saturday night will soon become extinct because of the BCS. Elite programs such as Ohio State and Texas can't afford to risk a potential loss in September, he said, thereby sacrificing hopes of a national championship before the conference season begins.

Saturday's game between Ohio State and Texas was scheduled 10 years ago, when Texas was struggling to sell out home games in the Southwest Conference and the BCS was a twinkle in the eyes of conference commissioners. Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds, now in his 24th year, went as far as to say he won't reschedule a series like this after Ohio State comes to Austin next fall because they're simply too risky.

Tressel just doesn't understand why. He's been a proponent of playing elite programs dating back to his days at Youngstown State and continuing now. He wasn't at Ohio State long before a series with the Miami Hurricanes was signed for 2010 and 2011, giving the Buckeyes games against teams from other top conferences every year for the next decade.

After the Texas game in Austin next year, Ohio State plays Washington in '07, Southern Cal in '08 and '09, the Hurricanes in '10 and '11, Cal in '12 and '13 and Virginia Tech in '14 and '15. While other schools want to fill September schedules with Rice, Temple and Louisiana Lafayette, the Buckeyes have an open sign-up sheet for anyone interested.

''I've always believed the biggest positive is that if you make it through the Big Ten,'' Tressel said, you're prepared to see if you're the best team in the country. I feel the same way about non-conference games.''

He's about the only one.

''It's really exciting, but probably something that's not going to happen much anymore in college football,'' Brown said yesterday. ''With everyone talking about the BCS, at places like Texas and Ohio State, they want you to win the last one. Obviously, one of us will take a step back after Saturday night.''

While that's true, it doesn't scare Tressel. It's why he's considered one of the best coaches in college football, while Brown carries the stigma at Texas of not being capable of winning the big one.

John Cooper carried a similar tag during his days in Columbus, and like Brown, Cooper had games he never wanted to play.

Cooper never liked playing Ohio schools because he had nothing to win and everything to lose. A win over a Mid-American Conference team gets you no extra votes in the polls, but a loss makes you the first coach to lose to an in-state school since 1921. Because of that, Bowling Green and Toledo scared Cooper almost as much as Michigan.

It's not a stretch to correlate Tressel's fearless approach to opponents with his teams' fearless approach in games. Ohio State teams rarely get rattled and only once seemed overmatched -- last year at Iowa. And even then, the Buckeyes responded by going 5-1 the rest of the season.

Tressel said playing Washington State in 2002, when the Buckeyes were sixth and the Cougars were 10th, prepared them for the grind of the Big Ten and, eventually, the national championship game against Miami.

With growing athletic programs, shrinking budgets and so many millions available in bowl games and especially BCS berths, it's safer and financially wiser for powerhouses to pay lesser teams to fly in and get wacked on Saturdays than it does to gamble against a Southern Cal, Texas or Miami. Like Brown said yesterday, the fans at Texas and Ohio State will show up to watch regardless of the opponent.

Even Northwestern, which has won just as many Big Ten titles as Ohio State over the last 10 years (three), will soon begin adding I-AA teams to increase the chances of a bowl berth and the big payout.

Few schools need the money more than Ohio State, which funds 36 varsity sports primarily by the revenue generated from football. But still, Tressel will continue to play the best opponents he can find, provided he can still shake a few out of the trees.

''I don't know why (big non-conference games) would fade,'' Tressel said. ''That prepares you, if you can play those kind of guys, and it's great for our fans. Win, lose or draw, it's a good thing.''

And that attitude is still good for college football.

FUCKING PUSSIES!!

[buckeye_in_sc]

but rack the fuck out of OHIO STATE...

I can't wait to play the Cal Pussies...

might have to schedule a roadie to Berkley and get Lax and Meds up there as well...

rack the schedule though...

[SoCalTrjn]

in 14 OOC games since Tressel has been coach at OSU, only 3 were in the other teams stadium and one of those was at Cincinnati. OSU's record in the other 2? 1-1.
Glad to see that Ohio State is signing to play some real home and home's but Tressel should wait until after those games are played before he starts spouting off about playing anyone anywhere anytime.

[Vito Corleone]

Rack the John Wayne attitude, as a Texas fan I wish our AD was willing to make such a commitment. I don't know if Tressel really feels that way or if he is just playing up to the OSU alumni but the fact is that he will suffer a few losses in that time and it will cost him.

Mack's biggest problem is that he is too damn honest for his own good. He expresses his true feelings (in this case they are probably shared by many coaches) and he comes across looking like a pussy. He needs to learn when to be honest and when to turn on the John Wayne bullshit.

SoCalTrjn is right, lets see Tressel's attitude when they have to leave the shoe and face these tough opponents.

I wish Texas took the attitude that we will schedule any and all opponents but the fact is Mack is right the loser of this game is likely out of the MNC hunt. But Tressel is also right win or lose both teams will come away more prepared for conference play. What really scares me about what Mack and the AD have said is that only one of our 2007 OOC's opponents have been scheduled and none after that.

That means that we will see where the priorities are after next season. pretty sad.

[Adelpiero]

Mizzou just signed a deal to play Ole Miss in a home/away series


so 07-08 should be

Iowa
Illinois
Ole Miss


finally a decent start to schedule

[buckeye_in_sc]

well it starts next year...and guys remember tressel took over in 2001 with the schedules pretty much set through 06 or so...I mean they played UCLA on the road in 01 and NCSU on the road in 04 and what not...

it is refreshing though to see tOSU go to Austin next year then out to play the Trojans...also good to see the Trojans come back to Columbus.

I don't think Tress is taking that attitude in terms of ego, but rather hey why not play the big boys and see how we stack up...if more schools nutted up like that once a year OOC college football would be so much better...

just sayin...

Socal...I'll be making that roadie...I owe Lax big time...