It is very uncomfortable for a Buckeye fan to read the kind of comments made in this thread. It's hard to not think that this Buckeye team has two hurdles to overcome in its remaining games and in the future.
The first hurdle concerns the unrealistic expectations of fans. How many teams have had the success that Ohio State has enjoyed in recent years? Once a feared powerhouse, Ohio State was a team that usually expected to lose to its main rival and any decent bowl competitor for a decade before Jim Tressel arrived.
Under Tressel, it has regained a lustre that it once enjoyed under Woody Hayes. In anyone's mention of the top teams of this century, Ohio State must rank among the top 5.
But, expectations have a funny way of affecting the way we feel about achievements, according to a stream of customer satisfaction research (i.e., expectancy-disconfirmation theory). When our expectations are exceeded, we feel satisfied. When they are met, we feel neutral. When expectations are not met, we feel dissatisfied.
Playing for a national championship requires not only good coaches, players, game plans, and execution, but also a lot of luck. Because no team can expect to play for the national championship year after year, a fanbase that expects nothing less will usually be dissatisfied and, at best, will feel that their team has only "achieved what they were supposed to achieve".
The second hurdle is a knock-on from the first. It concerns the effects on team morale of unrealistic expectations. Like some of the other older, crusty guys around here, I lived through the Woody Hayes era. Many of the Buckeye fans who hold Woody as a saint today are the same folks who talked him down when he was Ohio State's coach.
Look at Woody's record. How many times did he have a run like Tressel has had and how many times did he have consecutive years when Ohio State really was never in contention for the national championship? In any year when he had two or more losses, loudmouths all over Columbus were calling for his job.
This team includes a bunch of seniors who decided to come back to win a national championship. For reasons of coaching and their own preparation, they and their team were unprepared to seriously contest that national championship.
No doubt, not achieving their goals is at least partially due to the offensive and defensive schemes Ohio State has employed, which our opponents have said are predictable, but player execution also has been poor in many instances.
There are complex reasons for this. For instance, is it possible that the changes in strength and conditioning -- let's be honest, driven by a desire to keep up with Barwis -- also may explain at least some of the reasons why this team walked on the field lacking energy this year?
If you want to get better, you try new things. Sometimes, you get it wrong when you experiment. Sometimes, resource constraints (i.e., players) present you with a limited set of options that are not sufficient to achieve your goals. You cut your cloth to what is possible.
Whatever the reason for not achieving their goal of playing for a national championship, players don't need to hear and read discussions such as this all over Columbus. They get it. Their fans think that they are a failure.
Even though only one or two teams have achieved more in this decade, "trust the coaches" has become "fire the coaches." Their fans think that they are a failure.
So, what does all this mean?
For the coaches and players, it means taking a hard look at themselves and redouble their efforts now and during the off-season. The predictability of our offensive and defensive schemes must be revisited. Something special needs to be put away during the off-season for every big game next year. And if any Buckeye assistant coach does not have a plan to deliver, then Coach Tressel needs to give serious consideration to a replacement. Personally, I am not convinced either way (i.e., that Bollman, for instance, can't fix his own problem or that new blood would not help).
For Buckeye fans, it means it's time for a reality check. Just look around the country and remember what you've got here: one of the best teams in all of college football. These are kids playing football. Don't live out the frustrations of your life through them. Don't invest so much of your identity in them that you are unable to acknowledge that they are kids playing football.
I love this University and Buckeye sports and, guys, this destructive mode of discussion has gone on long enough. They have lost two games. Bigger events have happened during the same time. Let it go. The coaches and sports administrators are very well aware of the problems. Ohio State can still end up playing in a BCS bowl this year, with good performance and some luck. This can still be a good season. They'd love to have your support.
