In November 2001, Jim Tressel made good on a promise made 310 earlier by beating Michigan, 26-20, in the Big House, kickstarting a dominant run against the Wolverines.
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Remember When: Jim Tressel Fulfills a Promise Made 310 Days Prior
With this week's news Jim Tressel will be enshrined in Ohio Stadium's Ring of Honor during Ohio State's season opener against Ball State, it felt right to revisit one of his greatest victories in our latest installment of Remember When.
Ohio State football was in a bad place at the conclusion of the 2000 season. Head coach John Cooper's program was struggling in the classroom, appearing in court with alarming regularity, looking undisciplined on the field and failing to stack enough wins - specifically against Michigan and in bowl games.
All of that came to a head in a season-ending 24-7 loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl on January 1 as the Buckeyes racked up roughly 47 personal foul penalties, allowed Ohio native Ryan Brewer to carve them up for three touchdowns and generally looked like a rudderless program to cap an 8-4 season.
Cooper was let go the next day and the search began for his successor. Names like Glen Mason, Fred Pagac, Jon Gruden (of course) and Mike Belloti, among others, were bandied about but just over two weeks later, on January 18, 2001, Jim Tressel was announced as the 22nd head coach in Ohio State football history with a 5-year contract worth $4.6 million.
A fair amount of OSU fans weren't blown away by the hire, questioning if Tressel could make a successful leap from the I-AA ranks where he powered Youngstown State to four national titles. But even those who approached the hire with caution were elated Tressel was an Ohio guy and had served as an assistant coach at Ohio State for three years before heading to YSU. That meant he understood the importance of The Game and holy smokes was that needed after Cooper, for all his great teams, could only muster a 2-10-1 mark against the Wolverines (not to mention a 3-8 record in bowl games).
And of course even the lukewarm fans jumped fully onboard after Tressel addressed the crowd at halftime of Ohio State's basketball game that night saying,
"I can assure you that you will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan.”
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