no doubt. the atmosphere for the big games, in the big stadiums is awesome. i was really disappointed when the Ohio State/UGA series got cancelled. it would've been 2020-21, so last years game wouldn't have been played anyway, but what a matchup it would've been this year. doesn't matter if it was in Columbus or Athens, it would've been a great game. hope the 2030-31 home and home stays on the schedule. i'd love to see the Buckeyes play in Sanford.

i'd have to disagree with you. revenue will be generated for the lower seeded teams regardless of whether it's on campus or at a neutral site. on campus or at a neutral site, the teams involved are going to earn revenue that the higher seeds won't get. so if revenue is going to be generated either way, might as well have the game on campus. speaking of revenue, on campus games are better for the fans - the people buying the tickets. think of the fans involved here. they potentially have to pay to go see a conference title game at a neutral site, then pay to go to 3 more neutral sites, if their team were to make it all the way to the national championship game. who can afford to go to four different neutral sites in a row? not many. most fans will at best be able to go to one, but which one? should they go to the first round game, or should they hold off until the semi final? but what if the team makes it to the championship? so hold off on the first two rounds in hopes of going to the championship. but then if your team loses, you've just missed out all together. if you can only afford to go to one, and you go too early, you may miss out on a national championship game opportunity. if you hold off in hopes of going to the national championship game, and your team loses, then you've missed out and don't have any game to go to at all. i think that would get old really fast for most fans. the result is that those neutral site venues, especially in the first round, would likely only be half filled, and many in attendance probably wouldn't be fans of either team. at least with an on campus game, most fans can afford to go to the first round game, and still have an opportunity to go see one of the neutral site games. having the first round on campus makes it a lot easier on the fans, not to mention a lot cheaper, and it will make those first round games a lot more exciting. neutral site games just cannot match the pageantry and atmosphere of on campus games.

the idea of a playoff game happening on campus is the most exciting part about this whole thing. i love the idea of teams meeting on campus, who may have never played against each other before, or at best, have only met on a neutral field. here are some matchups that i think would've been great to see: 2014 ole miss @ michigan st 2015 ole miss @ iowa 2016 fla st @ xichigan and usc @ wisconsin 2017 miami @ auburn and penn st @ usc 2018 penn st @ uga, lsu @ Ohio State and florida @ xichigan 2019 penn st @ baylor and florida @ wisconsin these would've been some fun games to watch. games like these, on campus, are what make college football so great. on campus games are a lot more fun than neutral site games, in my opinion.

can't speak for other fan bases, but the 'Shoe would be sold out. Buckeye fans are rabid, just look at our spring game attendance every year. Ohio Stadium would be full to the rafters just by virtue of the Buckeyes playing a game. throw in a playoff game, especially if it's against an sec team, and it would be a mad house. i suspect penn st, wisconsin, iowa and nebraska would be sell outs too. xichigan fans suck in general, so the sh!thouse might be less than full, but other big 10 programs would have fans lining up to buy tickets.

We also know, Boondock, that Joe Burrow couldn't beat out Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State, and neither were what you'd consider zone read qb's. As I mentioned in my other post, Haskins went on to have the greatest passing season in Big 10 history, better than tom Brady, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson. The point is that Ryan Day's offense is different than Urban Meyer's. The result is that in Day's 4 seasons at Ohio State, the Buckeyes have had two of the best passing offenses in Big 10 history. Once with Haskins, and again with Fields. In his 22 games at Ohio State, Fields played against 12 top 50 passing defenses. In those 12 games, he threw for 249 yards/game, with 34 TDs and 6 Ints. In his two seasons at Ohio State, Fields had the 2nd and 4th best pass efficiency ratings in Big 10 history. That's not bad by any measure. Fields has the talent and drive to succeed in the NFL. Do not underestimate him, he is a winner.

Nah, not so much, Gump. If someone is putting forth the proposition that Ohio State players are only successful because of lesser talented conference opponents, the natural next question is, how do they fare against elite non-conference competition. The answer, they still do pretty well.

Ohio State is not just successful against Big 10 competition. The Buckeyes have 12 BCS/NY6/CFP wins. That is more than any other program, including Bama (11). Ohio State's 12 victories in those big stage games, is as many as UGA (5) and Clemson (7) added together. You're not going to just 'out talent' other elite teams in those bowl games. You need to have players who are winners that can execute the game plan. As for Fields, your statement applies to every single player that's drafted. They all need to go out and prove it. Leadership, toughness, talent and drive to succeed, are necessary to succeed at the next level, and Fields checks all the boxes. It's not a stretch to think he'll be a winner at the next level.

To be fair, Ohio State is traditionally a run first program. Woody Hayes' three yards and a cloud of dust philosophy was three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad. And, Jim Tressel said the most important play in football is the punt. As you might expect, the run game was key for a program whose most important games took place in November weather in the upper midwest. The consequences of which is that the QB position at Ohio State was historically just complementary to the run game. It wasn't until recent years that the Buckeyes modernized their offense. Consider, the two greatest passing seasons in Ohio State history are 2018 Dwayne Haskins 4,831 yds and 50 TDs (both are not just Ohio State records, but also Big 10 records - better than tom brady, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson), and in 2019 Justin Fields 3,273 yds and 41 TDs (second most single season TD passes in Big 10 history). What do those two seasons have in common? Both occurred while Ryan Day was running the offense. As Day gains experience running the program, his offenses will become even more explosive, and Buckeye QBs will be the beneficiaries. Look for Buckeye QBs to have a greater impact in the NFL going forward. And, Haskins isn't done in the NFL just yet. Things could turn around for him in Pittsburgh. Whatever team drafts Fields will be very glad they did. He is a winner, and he will win a lot of games wherever he ends up.

In addition to Terry McLaurin, Michael Thomas is pretty good. Also on nfl rosters are Devin Smith, Paris Campbell, KJ Hill, Noah Brown, Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor and Curtis Samuel. and don't be surprised to see Ted Ginn on an nfl roster this fall. 10 Buckeye receivers in the nfl, how many do the vols have?

maybe i didn't read what you read. what i read was that a Buckeye won the nfl defensive rookie of the year, 4 of the last 5 seasons (not to mention Zeke Elliot winning offensive rookie of the year in 2016) . that's outstanding, no sarcasm button necessary.

although it was officially Day's second season, for all intents and purposes, it was his third. Urban basically let him run the show in 2018. Urban was a phenomenal recruiter, but Day has taken it up even a little higher. as with bama, the Ohio State roster is loaded with nfl talent. Day and the Buckeyes will be regular cfp contenders.

no question bama was the better team on the field that night. had those missing Buckeye players been available, the tide still probably would've won, but the score might've been a little closer. the thing that hurt the Buckeyes the most was the lack of live game snaps throughout the season. there just is no replacement for it. no amount of practice can make up for it. from the third game of the season on, they never got to play two weeks in a row. it's almost impossible to develop the cohesion necessary to win a championship, when almost half of your games are cancelled. it also didn't help that even when they did get to play, they didn't get to do it as a whole team. from the 4th game on, they were missing huge swathes of the team. one game they're missing half the offense, and the next they're missing half the defense. sprinkle in some missing coaches, and it's really hard to develop as a team. frankly, it's kind of amazing, and a testament to the leadership on the team, that they made it to the championship game at all, given everything they had to overcome. although i'm disappointed in how the season ended, i'm proud of the way that team persevered. they will be back, and hopefully they'll get another shot at the tide. Go Bucks!

sissies from Columbus? dabo would disagree. every team experiences bad losses from time to time. take your dawgs for example, they've had a few the past couple of seasons. The Buckeyes will be back, and they'll have a little extra motivation.

@vehemon, as i wrote elsewhere, the rule was created right before the start of the season, so it was not a long standing rule, and it was created with the caveat that it could be changed as circumstances changed. the intention was to keep a 2-0 team from jumping ahead of a 7-1 team. also, Ohio State beat indiana on the field. the Buckeyes earned the right to be in the game ahead of the hoosiers. consider also, Ohio State fell only 1 game short of the threshold, because two teams on their schedule cancelled on them. including xichigan the final week of the season. the Buckeyes were ready to play, but the opponent cancelled. why should Ohio State be penalized by a transitory rule for circumstances beyond their control? the answer is, they shouldn't. as far as the number of games played, again, that was beyond Ohio State's control. they were ready to take the field and play the 13 games on their original schedule. they were ready to take the field and play their revised 10 game conference schedule. they were ready to take the field and play their revised, revised 9 game conference schedule. the games not being played were beyond the control of Ohio State. they wanted to play, but couldn't because of circumstances beyond their control. it is what it is. but consider the flipside, teams develop over the course of a season. they build the cohesion and timing necessary to become a championship team. bama had much more opportunity to develop as a team. opportunities Ohio State did not have. the Buckeyes may come into the game a bit more rested, but bama comes in with a lot more development and experience. that is a distinct advantage for the tide.

Like every other program, Ohio State players have followed the rules and isolated themselves, but no matter how hard you try, you can't completely cut yourself off from the outside world. You can minimize exposure, but you can't cut it off completely. People from the outside must be brought in to prepare food, to clean the facilities, etc. You can test those people, but you can't test the people they come into contact with. The more people in a given area, the more likely it is to come into contact with the virus. simple as that. Also, different conferences have different testing methods and protocols. It's possible that the number of people exposed is the same for two different teams, but with different testing methods and protocols, one could show a higher rate of infection than the other. but whatever, hopefully both teams are on the field and ready to play on monday.

Who's defending the Big 10? kevin warren has completely screwed up the season. No argument there, but that's not what's in question. You wrote that Ohio State hasn't had to play games while missing players. That's incorrect, they've done it several times. Including the Big 10 title game and the Sugar Bowl. As for keeping themselves safe, like every other school, Ohio State has been following the rules in place. The difference is, the sec and Big 10 use different standards and methods, and have different protocols in place. And as far as I know, neither Ohio State, nor the big 10 has asked for an extension. What I've read, is that they're preparing to play on Monday.

Ohio State was down 20+ players (including most of the o-line) and the head coach against michigan st. They were down 20+ players, including starters, and multiple offensive coaches in the Big 10 title game. They were also down a couple of starters and some key backups against Clemson. The Buckeyes haven't played at 100% since the Indiana game. Also, the rule you reference has only been around since October. It was made to prevent a 2-0 team from getting to the Big 10 title game, and it was made with the caveat that it could be changed as circumstances changed. Plus, Ohio State beat the team on the field, that would've taken their place. Not to mention, Ohio State was only one game shy of the threshold, and two other teams canceled on them. Why should the Buckeyes be penalized for something they had no control over?

Right, kind of makes you wonder if both schools and conferences are using the same standards. The fact that Columbus has about 900,000 people, while Tuscaloosa has about 100,000, might have something to do with it too.

A few points here, firstly, don't blame Ohio State for the ineptitude of kevin warren. he and the big 10 itself have made a mess of this season, not Ohio State. The Buckeyes were ready to take the field on 5 Sep to face Bowling Green, in preparation for their matchup with Oregon. When that got nixed, and the big 10 went to a conference only schedule, the Buckeyes were ready to take the field on 3 Sep to face Illinois. When the season got cancelled, Ryan Day, Justin Fields, the other players and their parents all fought like heck to salvage the season. They were ready to take the field on 14 Nov to face Maryland, but the Terps cancelled. They were ready and really, really looking forward to taking the field on 12 Dec against xichigan, but the skunk weasels weaseled out. It's not Ohio State's fault those schools cancelled. Ohio State did cancel the Illinois game on 28 Nov, because of a spike in cases, but they did take the field down 20+ players, including most of the o-line and the head coach on 5 Dec in East Lansing. They also took the field on 19 Dec in the Big 10 title game down multiple offensive coaches and 20+ players, including starters. They were down a couple of starters and several key backups in the Sugar Bowl too. Ohio State has proven time and again they are not afraid to take the field, regardless of circumstance, and that they want to play. They want to take the field on 11 Jan, whether they're missing players or not. Justin Fields is extremely tough. He wants to play, no matter what his ribs feel like. Never doubt it. There are a lot of conspiracy theories being expressed on here, but let's use occam's razor, and just cut that gordian knot. There is no need to assign conspiracy theories to Ohio State, when the big 10 conference has shown time and again that it's more than capable of screwing up the season all on its own. If there are reports of players not able to play because of testing, it'd fit right in with what's happened this whole season. No Justin Fields conspiracy theories necessary. But suppose for a minute it is true that an entire position group will be out, I've read speculation that it's the d-line. Or suppose that it's true this is just an elaborate ruse to give Justin Fields time to heal up, would it be so terrible a thing to delay a week? If it were the Tide missing it's d-line, or Mac Jones was banged up, wouldn't you want to delay a week? Suppose they play next week, and the Buckeye d-line is out, or that Fields is a shadow of himself, would you bama fans feel ok with that trophy? Don't you want to face an opponent that's at full strength, so there are no excuses were you to win? Doesn't it bother you when people question the 2009 title because of the injury to Colt McCoy? I mean, I could see a team that's never been there before being proud of a title they only won because the other team was down a whole bunch of players, or their opponent's best player was playing injured. I could see xichigan or some other lesser team happy to take a trophy no matter what asterisks are stamped on it, but you're bama, right? This ain't your first rodeo. You've been here before. Don't you want to face a full strength Ohio State, and leave no doubt? Not to mention, if it were delayed a week, that'd give Jaylen Waddle another week to get back into game shape. Wouldn't that be a good thing for the Tide? Another thing, Ohio State didn't cheat it's way into the Big 10 title game. They beat the team that would've taken their place had the rule not been changed. Indiana would've been backdooring their way in on a technicality. That's not right, especially considering the Buckeyes were only one game short of the threshold, and two teams cancelled on them. Speaking of the rule, it's not as if it's been around for decades. They made it up in October to prevent a 2-0 team from making the title game. And when they made the rule, it was with the caveat that it could be changed as circumstances changed. Other conferences changed their rules midstream too, just ask the ACC. Anyway, I think it'll be a great game whenever it's played. May the best team win. Go Bucks! O H!!!

There are young men and women wearing different uniforms risking far more than money, and they wouldn't dream of quitting on their team. Many of these young men and women are wearing that uniform to earn an opportunity they might not otherwise have, to earn the degree that so many of those athletes seem to care so little for. These young men and women work every bit as hard, and sacrifice far more than those athletes; but unlike those athletes, many of these young men and women in uniform will still owe money for that degree when they finally earn it, despite their hard work and sacrifice. One of the great things about this country is the ability to choose your own path. The athletes should have the freedom to opt out if they want, but they should at least be honest about it and call it what it is. They quit. They abandoned their commitments, because money is more important to them than loyalty to their team or teammates.

Honestly

nah, they disabled the comments in the article i'm referencing, so i figured i'd just throw it in here.

with that echo chamber arrogance of max kellerman and the other talking heads in bristol, is it any wonder espn is dying?

Ohio State has a new president, who's only been on the job for about a month. she probably doesn't have the courage or wherewithal to force the big 10 to do anything. and the previous president's politics leaned pretty heavily to the left. so in all likelihood, he'd have been in favor of cancelling the season anyway.

the average age of those who have died from covid is 78. not many 78 year olds attending classes on any campus.

This whole thing has been nothing but a disastrous circus, with weasel warren as the ringleader in clown shoes. All of the ADs, coaches, most of the players, and pretty much the entire big 10 fan base wanted this season. The decision came down to weasel warren and..........? who knows? at least a couple of university presidents are 'uncertain' that an official vote actually took place. So if these presidents aren't even sure if there was an official vote, it likely came down to weasel warren making the call, and the presidents nodding along like a bunch of academic bobbleheads. is there any doubt that had jim delany still been the commissioner, there'd be a season? none on my part. ego is an apt description of what happened. weasel warren loved wallowing in the love heaped on him from the covid-mad media, for being the first to release a conference only schedule. his ego made him assume that if he cancelled the season, the rest of the country would just fall in line, and he'd be heaped with praise again. what a shock all of this anger must be to him. the fact that he's surprised by all of the anger tells you all you need to know about his qualifications to be the commissioner of a power 5 conference. he doesn't understand the game. college football is a whole other world from the nfl. he's in way over his head, and his ego is writing checks his a$$ can't cash. Ohio State has already announced that cancelling the fall season is going to cost the school $130 million dollars. add in the other 13 schools, and weasel warren's ego will have cost the big 10 over a billion dollars. that money would've gone to fund scholarships for athletes in other sports. iowa has already cut several programs, and you can bet other schools won't be far behind. those kids will be without their teams, and those coaches will be without their jobs. That doesn't even take into consideration all of those small businesses that needed college football to be the lifeline to save their livelihoods, after having their businesses devastated by the lockdowns. high school football is happening in Ohio, but while those high school kids are playing, the Ohio State Buckeyes will be sitting in the dorms dreaming about what could've been. Ohio State has a new president, she's been on the job about a month. she says she was 'in favor' of having a season. so did she not have the courage to stand up and say that, or is she just saying that to keep the target off her back? gene smith says he would've voted to play the season, so did this rookie president just ignore her veteran AD? was there ever even an actual vote on it? a lot of questions remain unanswered. Ohio State certainly has the clout to force the big 10's hand, but with a rookie president, they're unlikely to do it. the whole thing is an unmitigated disaster, and kevin weasel warren should be out of a job right now, but he probably won't even take a pay cut. what a clown he is.

what an unmitigated disaster this weasel has been for the big 10. can we get jim delany back, please?

whoa, hold up. an article that has any combination of 'beat Ohio State' and 'michigan' in it, even vicariously, has lost all credibility. it made my stomach churn just typing that. and if i were going to pick only one sec team to root for this year, it'd probably be lsu (despite 2007). i still have some good feelings about Joe Burrow and the tigers. really wish it would've been the Buckeyes playing lsu last year.

i know it's easy to mock the big 10 right now, but the vast majority of fans, players and coaches want the season to happen, and are feeling pretty devastated that it's not. it's just a handful of gutless, spaghetti-spined stuffed suits, with support from the talking heads toeing the party line, keeping it from happening. with how crazy this year has been, we need college football now more than ever, and it's really depressing that we won't have it. i've never liked the sec. nothing personal, but as a Buckeye fan, i've taken a lot crap from sec fans since the early 90s, but this year, i'll be rooting for the sec, acc and big 12 to have great seasons. and then i'll hope that your success is enough to cost weasel warren his job. i mean, if your conferences can pull off the season successfully, it'll mean weasel warren's decision will not only have cost the big 10 tens of millions of dollars, it'll have untold cost on all of those small businesses that make their whole year on college football season. after the devastation of the lockdowns, most of those businesses are hanging on by a thread, and were counting on college football season to get back in the black. and now it's not happening.

keep nebraska, and get rid of warren. heard an interview this afternoon with Ryan Day. he's still pissed off. he didn't say those words, but it was there in every answer he gave. it sounds like he'd be all in with what frost and nebraska want to do. he says he's still looking at every option. sounds like franklin/penn st and hairball/tsun would be on board too. unfortunately, it sounds like ad gene smith is going to put the kibosh on Ohio State looking outside the conference this season. i don't think Day has the juice to override smith, the way Tressel or Urban would, so it doesn't sound like it's going to happen. but how great would it be to see a mutiny, and have the marquee programs of the big 10 play in other conferences this season. i think that would be enough for kevin warren to get his walking papers.