Why All the Love for Ohio State?

Ohio State must be great because they were undefeated last year, right?  Undefeated yes, but like Notre Dame, tOSU dodged more bullets than a firing squad survivor — and to top it off, they must replace ten out of their 22 starters!

In 2012 tOSU won six of their twelve games by a total of 30 points.  And this doesn’t even include their glorious victory over 3-9 Alabama Birmingham, who outgained the Bucks 403 – 347 and trailed by only 6 in the fourth quarter.

Take away the Bucks’ 14-point margin in two overtime games and you have t-mighty OSU outscoring six of their twelve opponents by a total of 16 points in regulation.  That averages out to less than a field goal per game!

Ah, but these were tough teams, you say?  No, not really.  Their combined records were 36 wins against 41 losses, with one of those six teams being our PAC-12′s own California Bearskin rugs — who we all know checked into the bear hotel for early hibernation last September.  Let me say this about that:  59 – 17.  That’s what our Ducks did to the kind of teams that the Bucks struggled with regularly.  Even with tOSU’s 14 overtime points against middling opponents, Oregon outscored California by 12 points more than tOSU outscored California, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan…combined!!!  And not one of those teams ended up ranked in a major Top 25 poll.

It’s true that good teams find a way to win.  But really, really good teams don’t find themselves in a position where they have to ”find a way” regularly.  Notre Dame did, and Ohio State did, too.  Yet even with ten starters to replace, Ohio State is regularly hitting the early 2013 polls in the number 2 or 3 position.  Why all the love for Ohio State?