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OSU/Toledo home and home (2009 and 2011)

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Dispatch

6/9/06

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Buckeyes set date in Cleveland for 2009

Toledo to be opponent in Browns Stadium

Friday, June 09, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Maybe Gene Smith wants a chance to visit home more often. The Ohio State athletics director and Cleveland native announced yesterday that the Buckeyes will play Toledo in a football game in Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2009.


He also said the OSU wrestling team would compete at suburban Lakewood St. Edward High School this coming season. This comes on the heels of an announcement that the men’s basketball team will play at Cleveland State in the 2007-08 season.

"We want a bigger presence in Cleveland, no doubt," Smith said while driving back from Cleveland, where he officially announced the basketball game. "We have a tremendous fan base there."

The football Buckeyes will play there on Sept. 19, 2009, and will play host to Toledo on Sept. 11, 2011. It will be the fifth time OSU has played in Cleveland but only the second time since 1944. In 1991, the Buckeyes beat Northwestern 34-3.

It’s a neutral site, but Toledo is the home team for financial purposes. The Rockets will pay for stadium rental and security but will not split the gate.

OSU will be allotted 12,500 tickets in the 73,200-seat stadium.

Smith said OSU will pay Toledo a guarantee for the 2011 game in Columbus because it will allot Toledo only 4,000 tickets in Ohio Stadium.

Toledo athletics director Michael O’Brien realizes there will be more OSU fans than Toledo fans in the stands.

"Our base is going to be a decent number, but there will be plenty of people wearing Ohio State colors," he said. "Still, it’s a terrific series for us."

The Buckeyes have an open date remaining for 2007 (Sept. 1) and 2008 (Aug. 30). OSU has a tentative opponent set for Sept. 20, 2008, but is not ready to announce that.

Smith said OSU definitely will play Division I-AA school Youngstown State, but no date has been set.

Smith also said school officials have talked to Alabama about a possible neutral-site game in the next several years, but it now looks like that might be a home-and-home series at least 10 years down the road.

OSU has major opponents set through 2015, including Texas this fall, Washington (2007), Southern California (2008-09), University of Miami (2010-11), California (2012-13) and Virginia Tech (2014-15).

In recent months, Big Ten teams have had a harder time trying to schedule single home games with mid-major Division I-A teams. Bowling Green will play Wisconsin in Cleveland this fall, and Purdue signed a two-for-one deal with Toledo in which the Boilermakers will play in Toledo in 2007.

Smith said OSU has a contract with Cincinnati to play a 2012 game in Paul Brown Stadium, part of the deal that had Cincinnati coming to OSU in 2004 and again this fall.

"We wanted to play Toledo, but we can’t (afford to) go to the Glass Bowl (Toledo’s home stadium, with a capacity of 26,248)," Smith said. "To get Division I-A schools nowadays, you have to look more at neutral sites. We needed to be sensitive to that."

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zincfinger said:
I'm not sure I understand the rationale for holding one of the games at Brown Stadium. It will probably be a "neutral site" in name only, and one with 50% less capacity at that, as compared to Ohio Stadium. I'd think it would make more sense to hold both games in the Shoe for a bigger payday to both athletic departments.
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As a Clevelander who is not an alum, this is fannnnnntastic. Plus it will nice to have something to cheer for in Browns Stadium for a change. Mmmmm, tailgating....the possibilities are endless.
 
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am I the only one who sees this as a bad move on OSU's part. IMHO if they were going to go after a mid major home and away series they could have done better that Toledo. It might have cost them a bit more cheddar but they could have gotten a series with Kent State that would have served the university much better.
 
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KillSlashBurn said:
am I the only one who sees this as a bad move on OSU's part. IMHO if they were going to go after a mid major home and away series they could have done better that Toledo. It might have cost them a bit more cheddar but they could have gotten a series with Kent State that would have served the university much better.
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How would games against Kent State "serve" the university any better?

I see this as a pretty good move. Living in the Cleveland area, I see WAY too many Michigan fans. (Of course, 1 is "too many" for me.) Playing in Cleveland every now and then might remind the football fans in the area that as long as they consider themselves fans of Cleveland, Ohio, they should be fans of Ohio teams.

Plus, it would be flippin' sweet to not have to drive 2-1/2 hours to go to the game.
 
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Zurp said:
How would games against Kent State "serve" the university any better?
I see this as a pretty good move. Living in the Cleveland area, I see WAY too many Michigan fans. (Of course, 1 is "too many" for me.) Playing in Cleveland every now and then might remind the football fans in the area that as long as they consider themselves fans of Cleveland, Ohio, they should be fans of Ohio teams.

Plus, it would be flippin' sweet to not have to drive 2-1/2 hours to go to the game.
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Well, if you were a Kent State Alum with connections in the athletic dept. it would "serve" the university by providing you with discount tickets.
 
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I see it as a chance for Toledo to claim hosting tOSU as an opponent. It won't pay either school as much as if it were held in the 'Shoe, but the bigger loser financially will be the Buckeyes. And as was previously stated, the Rockets will have a bigger presence in Cleveland than in Columbus. ...not much, but every little bit helps - or so they hope.

I wonder how the Holbrook rules will hold up outside of her "home" stadium? Of course by then, they may all be overturned.
 
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http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/COLUMNIST09/606110389/-1/NEWS24

Amstutz up for challenge of playing OSU

As University of Toledo athletic director Mike O'Brien revealed that UT will play two football games with national power Ohio State beginning in 2009, one question begged to be answered.

What does coach Tom Amstutz think about having to face the Buckeyes twice in three years?

Playing Ohio State - once at Cleveland Browns Stadium, once at Ohio Stadium in Columbus - is probably viewed as a form of torture for most Mid-American Conference coaches.

A big payday is no consolation for most MAC coaches when the subject of playing the Buckeyes comes up.

So what's Amstutz's take on the situation?

"They're a great program, but we'll take the challenge," Amstutz said Thursday. "I know their budget is astronomical compared to ours, but football is played on the field, player against player. Where you come from doesn't matter once you cross those white lines.

"If you're at Ohio State, you say you better not lose. If you're at Toledo, you say you have a chance to win."

Amstutz isn't trying to be unrealistic when it comes to Toledo's chances of upsetting Ohio State. The Buckeyes routed the Rockets 49-0 in 1998 in Columbus in the only meeting between the schools.

Yes, Amstutz sounded upbeat when he was questioned about the upcoming two-game series with the Buckeyes.

Can UT defeat Ohio State? On paper, no. But Amstutz pointed out the games will be played on the field, where anything can happen.

"As a coach, I know it's going to be tough. But I think it's a very good situation," Amstutz said. "Our players want to play Ohio State. All of our players watched them growing up through high school. It's an opportunity to test ourselves.

"I heard some coaches in our conference complaining about having to play an Auburn, or whatever. If a coach is complaining and miserable about it, the players will be too and your performance will be reflected by a coach's attitude toward a game like this."

UT's 2006 schedule includes games against opponents from the Big 12 (Iowa State and Kansas) and Big East (Pittsburgh).

The Rockets, who have faced Big Ten opponents such as Minnesota, Purdue and Penn State, as well as Pittsburgh, in recent years, will host Iowa State and Purdue in 2007.

"A good football schedule for teams in our conference is to be willing to play anyone at any level and have a tough game, then to have a game you should be able to win, along with the conference games,'' Amstutz said. "I think Ohio State really wants this game [in 2009]. The NCAA has pushed to have everyone play 12 games.

The Big Ten likes playing teams from the Mid-American Conference. They took advantage of an opportunity to play in a big stadium at a new location.

"It's a good set-up for both schools."

The Rockets will be underdogs against Ohio State, but Amstutz has been coaching football for a long time. He has been a part of enough upsets to know that if the Rockets believe they are beaten before they take the field, they have no chance.

In 2000 under former coach Gary Pinkel, visiting UT crushed Penn State 24-6.

"Who would have ever believed we could have lined up and played against Penn State?" Amstutz said. "You win a game like [Ohio State] and it adds a lot of credibility to your program and a lot of confidence to your players."

Amstutz is confident enough to believe his Rockets will be up for the challenge. But he's even more grateful for the rare opportunity to get Ohio State on the field.
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