2009 Schedule

Ohio State released the 2009 football schedule. Outside of hosting USC, another game of note is Navy in the season opener in Columbus. The two teams have agreed to a two game series, with OSU playing the season opener in Maryland in 2014. OSU has only played Navy three times, winning each game, twice in the 30's and once in 1981 in a bowl game. Below is the schedule for 2009.

2009 Season
Sept. 5: Navy
Sept. 12: Southern California
Sept. 19: vs. Toledo (in Cleveland)
Sept. 26: Illinois
Oct. 3: at Indiana
Oct. 10: Wisconsin
Oct. 17: at Purdue
Oct. 24: Minnesota
Oct. 31: New Mexico State
Nov. 7: at Penn State
Nov. 14: Iowa
Nov. 21: at Michigan

Boren has Transferred

It has been confirmed by Tressel that Justin Boren, a starter on the Michigan offensive line, has transferred to Ohio State. In a previous post, I discussed the fact that players were transferring from Michigan after Rod took over. The transfer and comments by Boren lead me to believe that some of these transfers were outside of the normal transfers that occur with a coaching change. There is no word on how Boren is paying for his tuition, since the Big Ten does not allow students transferring within the conference to keep athletic scholarships. According to OSU football historian Jack Park, this transfer is historic in the rivalry, as no players have transferred between the two schools since World War II, and Boren's dad played for Bo at Michigan. Boren will sit out this year, but it will still create tension when the teams meet. Oh, and Michigan still may be sore about Pryor.

OSU 2008 Football Night Games

Ohio State has released some of the game times for the upcoming football season. Below are times released so far.

2008 Season
Aug. 30: Youngstown State
Sept. 6: Ohio University
Sept. 13: at Southern California (Likely a Night Game)
Sept. 20: Troy
Sept. 27: Minnesota
Oct. 4: at Wisconsin (8PM, Not on Big Ten Network)
Oct. 11: Purdue
Oct. 18: at Michigan State
Oct. 25: Penn State (8PM, Not on Big Ten Network)
Nov. 1: Bye
Nov. 8: at Northwestern
Nov. 15: at Illinois
Nov. 22: Michigan

Tressel Calls Out Rod

This week, a reporter asked Tressel if there really was a "gentleman's agreement" of not taking players that have verbally committed to another team in the conference, in light of Michigan signing Ray Roundtree after he had verbally committed to Purdue. Tressel said, “I guess only between gentlemen.”

I can't predict Rod's future at Michigan, but Indiana basketball fans remember what happened to their recent coach that stole Eric Gordon after he had verbally committed to Illinois...

OSU wins NIT!

My time to edit the blog has been extremely limited this semester, and the basketball team has not gotten the attention it deserves. I have watched the highs and lows of the season, and have tried to convince everyone that this team had it in them. After the end of the regular season I thought OSU deserved a bid for the tournament. No they did not win the first game in the Big Ten Tournament, but I didn't think that was necessary. I think the media convinced itself, which in turn convinced the audience, and the NCAA committee that OSU had to win the first game in the Big Ten Tournament. OSU had a very difficult non-conference schedule; Syracuse, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Butler, Florida, and Tennessee. The Big Ten, in typical fashion, did not have an overpowering first or second place team, but the top five to six teams were good. OSU had two bad stretches of three and four games in January and February, respectively. This was not the team from last year, and I think people had a hard time getting past that.

After OSU beat UNC-Ashville in the first NIT game, the fans came out for the next two games in Columbus. The California game at St. John Arena was quite an event, as the sold-out crowd gave the Buckeyes the home court advantage, while bringing out some of the magic of the storied building. The game had been moved due to a Springsteen concert in the Schott. There was some speculation that OSU wanted to play the next NIT game in St. John, but the ticket office had already started selling tickets for the Schott. It ended up working out, as OSU sold out the Schott, which seats about 6,000 more fans than St. John. OSU plowed past Dayton in Columbus and then Ole Miss in Madison Square Garden. The Buckeyes struggled in the first half last night against UMass, but after some half-time adjustments they held the lead for most of the second half. Koufos really turned it on, scoring 20 of his team-high 22 points in the second half. I think Jamar Butler summed it up well after winning the NIT.

"That's what happens when you put an NCAA Tournament team in the NIT. They walk through it," senior Jamar Butler said with a smile. "Write that."

I have been harassed by friends, in regards to OSU missing the NCAA after being in the championship game last year, especially since I am not living in a pro-Big Ten Conference area. I told them that OSU could have lost its first NCAA game, but instead I got to see four more games, and the team was able to get more practice and add to the win column. The game that really grabbed my attention was the California game at St. John Arena. I really liked seeing the fans go crazy, because I am guessing most of them did not have a chance to get decent tickets to the Schott, due to seat licenses (a discussion for another day.) The game also reminded me that true OSU fans make the best of an opportunity and see the silver lining, sure they were disappointed that OSU missed the NCAA, but they realized that it was good for the team to play more games. I think the extra games were critical in developing players like Lauderdale. It was great seeing Hunter have a career game in his last game at Ohio State. I will miss his physical play, and especially his shot blocking. I don't know if Hunter has the height or offense to play in the NBA, but perhaps he will excel in Europe. Terwilliger did not get a lot of minutes last night unfortunately, but he has always provided solid play when he gets in. I am not sure if he is the type of player that will want to go to Europe to keep playing, so he may just graduate and move on with his life. Butler won't likely get drafted, but I think he could be a solid backup point guard for an NBA team, and with some time he could maybe start somewhere. He will have to be able to hit some NBA threes, and work on his ability to drive past guys to the basket. He is a great passer, three point shooter, and does incredibly well off the screen.

I don't see Koufos leaving after this season, although it sounds like he will be in Greece again this summer, so hopefully they won't take him away. He would get drafted in the NBA first round, but if he had one more year he could become a top-ten pick, and would show how well he shoots away from the basket, while perhaps working on his inside shooting game and defending in the paint. With 7'1" B.J. Mullens coming in next year, we will have a true post player, which will allow Koufos to get away from the basket and show how well he can shoot the basket at mid-range and from behind the three point arc. Can you imagine having those two playing at the same time?

I think it would also benefit Turner to come back for another season. I have seen him listed as a second round pick. He has a great frame at 6'6" and we saw how his long arms allow him to defend well. He needs to put on a few pounds, work on his three, and cut down his turnovers. I really enjoyed seeing him slash to the basket in the NIT games.