In reply to
Yeah, I mean, clearly… by
Soulfire21
dragonchild
May 20th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
Nobody else is recruiting on the level of OSU, Clemson, and Bama. That probably won't change until we beat OSU, play for a B1G title, make a playoff appearance, etc.
It won't change even if that happens. College football is well past a crossroads where every program had to make up its minds. OSU decided it's a "good old boys'" business, where its coaches and players are untouchable, they cover things up with a very slick PR campaign, and they're best buddies with the NCAA. They run their football program like a successful organized crime ring -- corrupt, territorial, but also very savvy. I'd marvel at it if it wasn't for the depth of institutional corruption; when they can't keep a lid on everything, they literally pick and choose their scandals and punishments, and the media is more than happy to lap it up.
I won't pretend Michigan's players aren't held to different standards as the general student body, but Michigan is still an academic institution first, and some of that bleeds over into recruiting and retention challenges OSU simply doesn't worry about. We've lost out on recruits due to academic eligibility. We've suspended key players for meaningful durations over academic infractions, something OSU probably thinks is hilarious. Harbaugh's crew has made some boneheaded mistakes but overall they get close to most out of what they're forced to work with.
One upset isn't going to change all that. There are massive institutional differences between the two schools; OSU is still a large academic institution, but when it comes to football, functionally it is now a football program with a school arbitrarily attached. It's no exaggeration to say that by far the most powerful government official in that state is the OSU football coach.
It's killing my interest in the sport, really. The games get more interesting further down, but for all but a few programs there's nothing at the top left to play for. The business of football has become so cynical and insular that the outcomes are usually decided well before the players even start the season, and if Michigan decides it's going to go the OSU route I'd be all. . . okay? It's hard to care about the "rivalry" now, but if it goes from an annual curb-stomping to not one but
two huge faceless, corrupt, politically well-connected crime families throwing their bottomless resources at each other, that's not going to save it for me.