M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[WM Wolverine]

Yup; the 'east' will be down; PSU, Wisky look 'down', Ohio isn't eligible... Winner of the east could be 4th/5th best team in the league (after Ohio too).

[iam416]

Ohio, literally, may be better than the Leaders representative.

I think the real B10 CG will in Columbus. It will certainly be Ohio State's bowl game!

[WM Wolverine]

Ohio would certainly be as talented as anyone next season, which is why you guys should've self imposed a bowl ban this season and got your punishment over with as quickly as possible. All next season we'll hear about Ohio not being post-season eligible, which will hurt your rep nationally more than a little.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Buchanan:

I hope you make it to Columbus next season for the real B10 CG. And I hope you stick around longer after the game than you did in 2008. Have a Merry Christmas, kind sir! Always good chatting with you.

I'm already planning on it and I WILL remain post game regardless of the results.

Now, since a bar has been set by Entropy who, at our Tail Gate in November, graciously led his party of Cornhuskers in singing Hail to the Victors before leaving for the Big House where he was forced to watch the slaughter his team experienced at the hands of DR and his band of mighty mights, I will be expecting your wife to lead your entire family in such a rendition of M's fight song before and hopefully after The Game ...... I will provide song sheets for everyone but your good wife who knows the words by heart I am sure.

May several lumps of coal be found in your stocking.

[Optimus Prime]

"I still have a shitload of these for sale, merely a few steps outside in the trunk of my car."

[iam416]

Ohio would certainly be as talented as anyone next season, which is why you guys should've self imposed a bowl ban this season and got your punishment over with as quickly as possible.

Heh. Yes, Gene Smith sort of F'd that up. What's lost, too, is that a bowl ban THIS year could have actually slapped the players responsible!

Buchanan:

I read the precedent set by Entropy as that visitors shall sing for their hosts. I'm fine with that!

[Jamie H]

Given the sham that was Tressell crafting that deal to play players he knew were ineligible in the Sugar Bowl last year, I don't see how anything LESS than a 1 year bowl ban was ever on the table. Really could have been a 2 year ban. I don't ever remember a coach swinging some back room deal with the NCAA to "delay" suspensions before, and it's now obvious that Tressel was dealing in completely bad faith, as he knew the players were even more culpapble than the NCAA did at that point.

[Michael Pitts]

I'm waiting for the march to Sweatervest's house for the rally and singing of the fight song.

Oh, the life of a tragic hero.

[Ghengis Jon]

The sanctions were more than I expected from the NCAA, but not USC-esque which is what I had hoped for. These sanctions will have no effect on osu as a power, only in that the post season revenue for all B10 teams will be slightly diminished. No real effect on current team members...everyone gets to play in a bowl this year and The Game will be a bowl game for them (as it always is) next year. Gee screwed up by not self imposing the bowl ban this year when osu is 6-6 instead of when they have 9-10 wins next year. But thats what arrogance will get you. The paltry 9 schollies lost simply means a few 3* players won't get offered. All the 4* and 5* will still join the roster. It won't even be a speed bump in recruiting for Pope Urban. osu won't miss a beat next year except for not playing in the post season. The sanctions aren't significant enough, they should have been at the USC level. 15 schollies lost and a 2 year ban would have sent the message that USC style penalties are the new normal, not the exception.

It should have been more severe, but its more than I expected. No gloating.

[iam416]

As to the effect on OSU, I think you're right, Jon. The only thing I'm mad about is that this year's team is playing in a bowl. Personally, I suspect the NCAA would have hit them with a 2 year bowl ban if they self-imposed this year. But, at least the wrong-doers would be getting punished. Oh well.

The problem with hitting them with USC sanctions is they didn't find LoIC. But, you'll be glad to know Buckeye Nation is outraged -- though I think the bulk of the anger is directed at Smith. So, while you may be disappointed a bit, rest easy knowing OSU fans are irate.

Fortunately, it took me about 15 minutes to step back. OSU will be more than fine. Breath deep and I think most OSU fans loving the future. And, the only way the bowl ban next season would actually suck is if they were 12-0, and I don't see that.

[Rocky Bleier]

So Urban lied to Brionte Dunn? I an shocked! Shocked, I tell you! Shocked!

[Ghengis Jon]

My issue is that there wasn't "Lack of Institutional Control". It was tightly controlled and the wrong doing was covered up. No 'lack', I would say "Highly Involved Institutional Control", which is why I would argue for more severe penalties. But it is what it is.

[lineygoblue]

My reaction is "meh".

I think OlieO's pride will suffer just a bit by not being able to go to a bowl game, and they won't be able to participate in CCG Part Deux, but in the long run, they won't even remember that.

I agree with what was said above about hitting them hard in the scholarship area. The 3 X 3 they will lose won't even be felt, because as stated above, the players lost will only be stragglers normally added at the last moment, and not people that they really wanted. If the NCAA really wanted to send a message, they should have hit them harder here. Let them play in the post season, but do it with less players.

Oh well. It was pretty much what I expected. Light sanctions that they will absorb easily, and forget quickly. The connections paid off.

[Jeff Buchanan]

While I agree more scholarships would have been more painful and perhaps more appropriate given the rule breaking at the first level and the DeGeronimo thing at the next, what was handed out by the NCAA was enough to put the buckeye nation in a frenzy. This is good.

Moreover, it creates a change in the dialog regarding osu. It's too bad we are in a dead period now for recruiting. This could work to osu's advantage. OTH, it could work against them as they can't contact 12 recruits who might be having second thoughts. I think the former is more likely the case.

What is very good is that ufm is going to get cast as a guy you may not be able to trust. He has made a point of making it known that "he did a lot of research, talked to people he knows that know the NCAA" and then made statements to recruits, albeit with a no promises rejoinder, that there won't be anything else coming down from the NCAA that we don't know about. He was wrong and he may have acted too confidently as he is known to do. This sort of thing helps to show him for what he could be (untrustworthy) and tends to cast him in a bad light. Hopefully those involved with recruits, particularly HS coaches, will tell players to think about this.

[Optimus Prime]

Bowl ban next year has teeth. Meyer will be denied 15 additional practices with his team as Blue continues to roll along, it really does matter.

Jon, you are correct, Gee & Smith were "in" on it, they knew what Tressel was doing but chose to look the other way then run for cover once he was exposed, pretty standard operations IMO. LoIC is the stiffer charge and fits only in the sense of stiffer fine.