Calling the Granddaddy Of Them All a "good, solid win" feels like damning with faint praise, but it makes sense. This was a Buckeye team that had national championship aspirations, and the Rose Bowl isn't a part of that this season. If Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson (among others) ultimately decide to protect their health and earning potential in lieu of playing in even the Rose Bowl, it's extremely hard to find legitimate fault with that given what the game currently means in a year that it isn't part of the College Football Playoff.
Which, ultimately, is why I think there's so much consternation about the push and pull of history as it pertains to the Rose Bowl. We're trying to replace one mythology with another, and right now the College Football Playoff can't possibly hope to compete with something with a century of built-in tradition.
Even so, as long as Ohio State remains a perennial threat to win a national championship (which I imagine most Buckeye fans want), the Rose Bowl will continue to play second fiddle to a giant tube of lipstick made out of silver and gold.
