'Cause it's 1... 2... 3 strikes you're out...

Can we have some sort of moratorium imposed on Ohio State when it comes to BCS Bowls? For 3 straight years, we've had to suffer through the Buckeyes slogging through one of the biggest games of the season, and for 3 straight years, we've watched them fail. And while I typically enjoy watching the Sweater Vest lose big game after big game, it's actually starting to get a little tiresome.

While some will argue that it's impressive the Buckeyes have made 3 straight BCS games, I propose that it's an indictment of the (lack of) quality of football in the Big10. As you watched that game last night, did you honestly say to yourself, "Wow, I'm watching one of the best football teams in America right now"? Or did you think "How bad is the Big10 that this team won 10 games?

The Big 10 went a pathetic 1-5 in bowl games this year. Their lone win was Iowa's thumping of South Carolina, a reeling team that hasn't beaten a team with a winning record since early October. The 6 losses included blowouts and heartbreakers, but all 6 ended up losses. I recognize that Big10 has some history and tradition, particularly when it comes to being a sacrificial lamb for the Pac10 in the Rose Bowl, but right now, that's all it has. It's a subpar conference that's won just 1 BCS game in the last 5 years.

Scary Thought

So I'm flipping through Phil Steele's college preview guide today, looking at bowl projections and schedules et al, and a terrifying thought occurred to me... What if the BCS Championship Game was Ohio State vs Clemson? Before you laugh, consider the facts: Each plays in a mediocre conference and will be favored in most if not all their games.

Florida and Georgia - considered by most to be the SEC's best shot at yet another title this year - each have much tougher schedules, particularly UGA. While no one with half a functioning brain woulds argue that OSU or Clemson is better than either UGA or Florida, the chances of either SEC team getting through their regular season slate unscathed are very slim. It's just the nature of the beast in the SEC and something that outsiders can't understand, because they're not exposed to it in the lesser conferences like the Big10+1 and the ACC.

While Ohio State has a big road game @ USC early on, that will be by far their biggest test of the season. Everyone outside the Buckeye Nation will be pulling for USC in that one because, quite frankly, no one wants to see OSU in the BCS Championship Game again this year. They've been embarrassed in it for two straight seasons, and that's enough. If they get past the Trojans, they're all but guaranteed an undefeated season and third straight humiliation.

As for Clemson, they're the preseason pick by everyone to win the ACC this season. They open the season on a neutral site against Bama and end the season against South Carolina, but have - obviously - a very manageable conference slate. The biggest problem for the Tigers has been consistent inconsistencies. HC Tommy Bowden's seat has been hot for several years running as his Tigers always drop at least one inexplicable game per season. Phil Steele projects them to be a BCS team this year and with a few lucky breaks, they could end up playing for all the marbles.

Can you imagine that game? I'm talking about Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! It would be like watching an SEC game in slo-motion. The announcers would be working overtime to try and convince the viewing public that the game is worth watching. The Sugar Bowl would have the highest national viewership, as - quite frankly - no one outside the two fanbases would care.

Like I said... Scary Thought

Shocking: ESPN dedicates Cyberspace to tOSU

I am shocked - shocked I say - to see that ESPN dedicated a page to boasting about how strong the Buckeyes will be this season. After being outclassed across the board for 2 straight seasons, the talking heads at ESPN are standing by their Buckeyes.

Now, instead of making up stories about SEC coaches changing jobs, Homer Herbstreit can make excuses as to why his Suckeyes have been embarrassed for 2 straight seasons. Sure they've got basically their entire team from last season back, but that team was slow and systematically exposed by a clearly superior LSU team. James Katzenmoyer Laurinaitis is an absolute joke. There's a perfectly good reason he came back for his senior season - he was exposed for the mediocre player he is against the Tigers and Gators in the two bowl losses. LSU ran their entire offense directly at Laurinaitis and moved the ball at will.

Look, I understand it's impressive to go 23-3 over two seasons no matter what conference you're in. But if tOSU finishes with only 1 loss, you'd be hard-pressed to convince anyone who doesn't live in Columbus or work for ESPN that the Buckeyes are more deserving than a 1-loss Georgia, Florida, LSU, USC, Oklahoma, or Texas team. But, like Dook basketball, tOSU has their own personal spokesman on ESPN. Homer Herbie is the ultimate Buckeye Sunshine Pumper who will work diligently all season to convince otherwise intelligent people that this Buckeye team deserves a chance to be humiliated on a national stage, just like their 2 predecessors were.

Excellent read on ESPN bias

There's a great piece on the Sporting News website that delves into the bias of ESPN, particularly that of no-talent ass clown Kirk "Homer" Herbstriet and his perennial tOSU love fest.

It's basically a summary of what every SEC fan knows anyway.. the Buckeyes had no business being on the field with either LSU or Florida the last 2 seasons. They were outclassed at every position. They were slow and lumbering and abused by SEC Speed. Guys like Chris Wells are fast, but that's just one. the SEC depth charts go 2-3 deep with that sort of speed.

Jim Rome on the BCS Championship Game

Few sports talk figures divide a room like Jim Rome, but unless you're a fan of the abomination that is Big 10 football, it's hard not to at least chuckle at this "rant" from Tuesday. Basically, it implores Ohio State to decline a BCS berth next season if they have to play an SEC team. 0-9 all-time against the SEC in bowl games has long since surpassed coincidence. You're not good enough, fast enough, strong enough, or tough enough to be on the field with an SEC team. Please spare us, the viewing public, your humiliating efforts.

Thank Goodness

I, like any non Big 10 homer, would like to thank Illinois for fulfilling their civic duties today by knocking off #1 Ohio State, in the Horseshoe no less. The Buckeyes had to be the weakest team in recent memory to be ranked #1 this late in the season. The Big 10 is a joke this year and had they sent a participant into the BCS Championship game, it would have been a sham equivalent to Oklahoma reaching the Sugar Bowl after getting rolled by Kansas State in 2003. Besides, no one wearing a sweater vest should be allowed to attend a football game, let alone coach one.

This puts LSU in the driver's seat as the clear #1 team in the country, with Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, and Oklahoma left to battle it out for the role of sacrificial lamb to Les Miles and his magic 8-ball. It looked - for a while - like an Ohio State/Boston College matchup in the championship game, which actually may have ended the BCS format. No way the real power conferences like the SEC and PAC-10 would stand by idly while two average teams which won mediocre conferences dueled for the National Title.

OT: Penn State Fans are Classy

While this has nothing to do with SEC football, if you haven't seen or heard about this, it's worth your while...

There have been a couple of SEC student sections have thrown objects onto the playing fields this season - Alabama against Georgia, Ole Miss against Alabama - but neither even approaches the actions of a Penn State fraternity's treatment of some Ohio State fans at last weekend's game. While the Buckeye football team is used to being embarrassed by the SEC on the field, no visiting fans should have to put up with this sort of harassment.

And, by the way, kudos to the genius who decided it would be a good idea to not only film this, but also put it online for others to view. It's not going to be difficult to identify people from this video. You and your buddies should be run over by Joe Paterno.

*WARNING: Some NSFW language