An honest question from a Wolverine.

[Inflames]

I have a question for the OSU faithful on this board. Mind you this is in no way sarcastic or stirring the pot. I would just like a non we hate you you hate us conversation. I honestly would like to know what is being said in Buckey Nation.

If OSU gets beat by Texas this year what are your honest thoughts about your head coach? From an outside point of view I would have to think that the fans feel that they should be able to do better than they have in recent bowl games. When does the free pass run out?

I for one am not counting out OSU. I remember a Michigan team that was supposed to get destroyed by a good Florida team. I never count out any Big Ten team in any bowl.

[Voleye]

I really think Texas should win. Really they should be playing for the NC. So even if Texas wins or wins big I still think he is safe. Really safe.

I would like to see the teams be a little more prepared in the bowl games. Like they showed against ND, Kansas State, OkSt, and Miami. Most of those were not top quality teams.

He won the NC in his second season, He has a really good regular season record, And he beats Michigan, There may be a few fans that think he needs replaced. But not many

[Inflames]

I really think Texas should win. Really they should be playing for the NC. So even if Texas wins or wins big I still think he is safe. Really safe.

I would like to see the teams be a little more prepared in the bowl games. Like they showed against ND, Kansas State, OkSt, and Miami. Most of those were not top quality teams.

He won the NC in his second season, He has a really good regular season record, And he beats Michigan, There may be a few fans that think he needs replaced. But not many

I was just wondering if the chatter starts this year if they lose. I would not expect them to even come close to letting hime go even if OSU were to get blown out.

Good post thanks for your thoughts.

[Buckeye Sweetie]

I'm not ready to see Tressel leave, regardless of his past 2 bowls, he's had nothing but good to great seasons. I'll start asking for his head on a platter when he loses complete control over his players & continuously loses to Michigan.........ie Cooper. Tressel at least gives us pride, Cooper just shamefully let us hang our heads.

[rickyleach]

i really think texas will win , im sorry osu may be in the big10 but i never root for them and as far as tressel goes ,i have never liked him ,even when he was at youngstown state,

[pryorthrowslikeagirl]

funny how few buckeye fans responded to this question....

[blueisbetterthanred]

Sounds like buckeye fans are more concerned with the record against Michigan instead of the bowl record to gauge tressels performance, understandable after cooper. Beat Michigan and you get a pass in the bcs bowl.

Just an observation...

[1OSUNUT]

How many bowl games has Stoops and Oklahoma lost in a row ? They lost to Boise State. Tressel is losing games to elite NC caliber teams. That is the level you strive for. The downside is that you cannot win them all. Do I wish the scores would of been closer - Yes. It's hard to argue with the sucess Tressel has had. He wins or competes for the Big Ten title every year and he beats Michigan. He is also in a BCS bowl game almost every year and has won more then he has lost.

If RR has half the sucess Tressel has had you guys will call him great. The truth is that its hard to get to the level that Tressel has and even harder to stay there. He loses as many or more players to the NFL then any other team - yet he keeps winning. He lost 85% of his offense last year and ended up in the NC game. He played a true freshman this year and still ended up in a BCS bowl. The guy recruits well and wins alot of games. I'm cool with that.

[goblue]

How many bowl games has Stoops and Oklahoma lost in a row ? They lost to Boise State. Tressel is losing games to elite NC caliber teams. That is the level you strive for. The downside is that you cannot win them all. Do I wish the scores would of been closer - Yes. It's hard to argue with the sucess Tressel has had. He wins or competes for the Big Ten title every year and he beats Michigan. He is also in a BCS bowl game almost every year and has won more then he has lost.

If RR has half the sucess Tressel has had you guys will call him great. The truth is that its hard to get to the level that Tressel has and even harder to stay there. He loses as many or more players to the NFL then any other team - yet he keeps winning. He lost 85% of his offense last year and ended up in the NC game. He played a true freshman this year and still ended up in a BCS bowl. The guy recruits well and wins alot of games. I'm cool with that.

You're kewl with Tressel and Ohio State now. But eventually you may grow tired of it if OSU continues to play like a second rate team against the elite teams. I don't know what people in Ohio are saying about Ohio State and Texas, but here in Michigan about everyone I've talked to thinks Ohio State is going to get killed.

I still think Tressel is a great coach and he does win a lot of games and competes every year for the Big Ten title. I can't imagine Ohio State will continue to get killed in every game against an elite team. But say they do get killed again against Texas. Then they get killed again in 2010 against an elite team. What would eventually happen next is Ohio State would have a downturn similiar to Michigan.

These recruits come to schools like Ohio State to play in big games like these against elite teams. If OSU continues to get killed in these games it will erode OSU's program. What will happen next is OSU won't do as well in the Big Ten. That will be the start of recruits no longer wanting to come to Ohio State as much.

It's very hard to just stay the same in football. It's sort of like walking up a down escalator. If you don't move forwards you will go backwards. Something's got to give Nut if Ohio State gets killed in this game. You know it and I know it.

My guess is the downward spiral has already begun. Ohio State is a team with absolutely no confidence in these kinds of games. Another blowout loss such as this year against USC and I believe Ohio State will lose all confidence in these kinds of games from here on out. This will then progress to Ohio State losing more in the Big Ten, which will lead to Tressel getting fired.

[Mike Furley]

My opinion goes unchanged.

We should have lost to the Hurricanes but won. We should have beat the Gators and lost (badly).

We shouldn't have been paired up against LSU in New Orleans but that was not of our doing. I thought our effort and coaching were decent but we were simply beaten by a better team.

The USC loss was embarrassing but it confirmed the same deficiencies we had the previous year - receivers that can't get off the line and DT's that aren't stout enough against the run or create pressure on the quarterback.

If Texas is as great as everyone makes them out to be, we'll get smoked for the second time this season. I'm not sold on them being that great.

We've dominated the Big Ten under Tressel (in part to Michigan & Penn State being down) and Tressel's rolled off 5 straight against Michigan.

He's seems to have recuited a lot of talent last year and has a good group coming in next year, and he got Pryor a lot of experience this year.

Tressel is among the ten best coaches in college football and he's at one of the ten best football schools.

He's fine. A blowout loss to Texas won't affect my opinion. As for the national blowhards and idiot fans from other regions of the country - I really don't care what they think. College football is entertainment - not a religion.

[Mike Furley]

My guess is the downward spiral has already begun. Ohio State is a team with absolutely no confidence in these kinds of games. Another blowout loss such as this year against USC and I believe Ohio State will lose all confidence in these kinds of games from here on out. This will then progress to Ohio State losing more in the Big Ten, which will lead to Tressel getting fired.


And with that, go blue's wet dream comes to an end. Bad losses in BCS games are program killers? Oklahoma is in the title game this year, no?

[Uncle Rico]

After Cooper, Tressel was hired primarily to beat Michigan and compete for the Big Ten title. He has done what he was hired to do. Anything on top of that is a bonus, like the 2002 season. If OSU eventually does fire Tressel, who could come in and do better? There are only so many great coaches out there and all of the major programs are after them. Plus, I think that he runs a clean program and is a stand up guy, no matter what Rickyleach says! I persoally think that Ricky secretly has a serious ''man crush'' on Tress, but is angry because Tressel is ''straight''.:p

[Buckeye Sweetie]

My guess is the downward spiral has already begun. Ohio State is a team with absolutely no confidence in these kinds of games. Another blowout loss such as this year against USC and I believe Ohio State will lose all confidence in these kinds of games from here on out. This will then progress to Ohio State losing more in the Big Ten, which will lead to Tressel getting fired.

I'm not sure how losing to the #1 & #3 team is considered a downward spiral. The last season that was pretty deplorable was in '04, that was the last time the Bucks didn't end up in the top 5 & 2001 before that which was his 1st season at OSU. 8 seasons, 5 conference championships, 4 bowl championships, 1 NC. Yep, he's been outplayed by the big boys and the '04 season was just a mess, but honestly if you lose 4 games, 3 of which are non top 20 teams & still end up 20th in the nation, it kind of says something about the other 19 teams in front of you. Downward spiral? Nah. Counting chickens before they hatch is not a wise thing to do. There's no "ifs" in College football, I'll wait to see how I feel AFTER Monday's game.

[osusteve]

The Buckeyes are incredibly fortunate to have Jim Tressel.

The guy runs a clean program, recruits extremely well (and has built a wall around the state of Ohio), wins on a regular basis (and beats the teams he should beat - unlike Pete Carroll always losing to one bad team every year), and he has no interest in pursuing other coaching opportunities.

Ohio State with Jim Tressel is one of the most stable programs in the country. If a kid decides to go to Ohio State, he knows the coach will be there for a long time. This helps recruiting tremendously.

Winning one BCS championship every ten years is an outstanding accomplishment. Will Tressel win one in his second ten years? I hope so, but I have no doubt that his teams will continue to perform at a very high level and will certainly be in the hunt.

[cartyboi]

Even being a huge Michigan fan and an even greater "hater" of OSU, I don't think that Texas is as good as advertised. They aren't as good as the Texas that Michigan played in the Rose Bowl.. I honestly believe that OSU should win this game. If they don't, no big deal to me. They should be able to beat a decent Texas team. They are decent. Nothing special.

[goblue]

My opinion goes unchanged.

We should have lost to the Hurricanes but won. We should have beat the Gators and lost (badly).

We shouldn't have been paired up against LSU in New Orleans but that was not of our doing. I thought our effort and coaching were decent but we were simply beaten by a better team.

The USC loss was embarrassing but it confirmed the same deficiencies we had the previous year - receivers that can't get off the line and DT's that aren't stout enough against the run or create pressure on the quarterback.

If Texas is as great as everyone makes them out to be, we'll get smoked for the second time this season. I'm not sold on them being that great.

We've dominated the Big Ten under Tressel (in part to Michigan & Penn State being down) and Tressel's rolled off 5 straight against Michigan.

He's seems to have recuited a lot of talent last year and has a good group coming in next year, and he got Pryor a lot of experience this year.

Tressel is among the ten best coaches in college football and he's at one of the ten best football schools.

He's fine. A blowout loss to Texas won't affect my opinion. As for the national blowhards and idiot fans from other regions of the country - I really don't care what they think. College football is entertainment - not a religion.

Lets see. You're not sold on Texas being that great. But a blowout loss to Texas won't affect your opinion? I don't think you realize how out of touch OSU fans are with the rest of the college football world. The rest of the country thinks you guys are a joke. They don't care if you beat Michigan or win the Big Ten. If you guys are really that good you should matchup well against these kinds of teams.

Your expectations don't seem that high Mike. You should feel fortunate to have the opportunity to play against the elite teams. Moreover, you should feel confident that you will matchup well against these elite teams. Otherwise get the hel l out. And the only way to get out is to not do as well in the Big Ten. As long as you do well in the Big Ten, you will face these elite teams. But it's getting to the point where it seems like you don't want to play the elite teams cause you know what's going to happen.

Tressel is a fine coach, and Ohio State is one of the better football schools. But I just don't see how you guys can stay on this course much longer if you get blown out again by Texas. You either grow or you go. You either move forward or backwards. I just don't see how you guys can remain the same like this. Sooner or later something's got to give.

[goblue]

Even being a huge Michigan fan and an even greater "hater" of OSU, I don't think that Texas is as good as advertised. They aren't as good as the Texas that Michigan played in the Rose Bowl.. I honestly believe that OSU should win this game. If they don't, no big deal to me. They should be able to beat a decent Texas team. They are decent. Nothing special.

That's just my point. Texas isn't as good as advertised. Ohio State should win this game. If they don't, could it be that Tressel isn't as good as advertised?

[goblue]

I'm not sure how losing to the #1 & #3 team is considered a downward spiral. The last season that was pretty deplorable was in '04, that was the last time the Bucks didn't end up in the top 5 & 2001 before that which was his 1st season at OSU. 8 seasons, 5 conference championships, 4 bowl championships, 1 NC. Yep, he's been outplayed by the big boys and the '04 season was just a mess, but honestly if you lose 4 games, 3 of which are non top 20 teams & still end up 20th in the nation, it kind of says something about the other 19 teams in front of you. Downward spiral? Nah. Counting chickens before they hatch is not a wise thing to do. There's no "ifs" in College football, I'll wait to see how I feel AFTER Monday's game.

I think Tressel is a fine coach. His calling when he got there was to beat Michigan as well as win the Big Ten. That he has done. But if he gets killed by Texas in this one, I think it's fair to say that Tressel is a fine coach but not a great one.

There's no reason why Ohio State shouldn't be able to play with Texas other than that maybe it's Tressel who isn't so great. This isn't the SEC. It's not USC. They matched up well against Texas earlier in Tressel's career. It's looking more and more like Tressel is lacking confidence in these big games. A good coach would light a fire under their players' as ses in games like these. Somehow it seems like Tressel is unable to do this anymore.

[osusteve]

goblue:
So now you are saying that Texas, which decisively beat Oklahoma on a neutral field and lost on a last second pass in Lubbock is not very good? The Longhorns are a great team with a great quarterback. Many "experts" feel they should be playing in the BCS Championship game.
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Buckeyes is how the two teams match up. Texas has a young secondary that can be thrown on. But can Pryor effectively pass against the Longhorns this early in his career?
The future for Tressel and the Buckeyes is bright regardless of how this game turns out. You should be more concerned about the future of RichRod and the Wolverines. Happy New Year!

[goblue]

goblue:
So now you are saying that Texas, which decisively beat Oklahoma on a neutral field and lost on a last second pass in Lubbock is not very good? The Longhorns are a great team with a great quarterback. Many "experts" feel they should be playing in the BCS Championship game.
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Buckeyes is how the two teams match up. Texas has a young secondary that can be thrown on. But can Pryor effectively pass against the Longhorns this early in his career?
The future for Tressel and the Buckeyes is bright regardless of how this game turns out. You should be more concerned about the future of RichRod and the Wolverines. Happy New Year!

As I told Nut the future is bright for now. Everyone is just kind of sitting back wondering what's gonna happen againt Texas. Is this just a few years of ending the season on a bad note, or is this going to be the way OSU plays against the elite teams every year?

They haven't got blown out yet cause the game hasn't even been played. But you've got to admit steve that if OSU does get blown out in this one that this is going to be really ridiculous. I mean it's getting to the point where every time OSU is in these kinds of games about everyone will be saying that the game is over even before it's played. Happy New Year.

[blueisbetterthanred]

Maybe the question needs to be posed differently.

At what point does tressel have to start taking responsibility for losses/blowouts to SEC/elite teams and installing changes to ensure that they don't happen again? (osu fans) The program doesn't have much respect outside of the state borders.

also LOL'd at "tressel runs a clean program" thanks for the chuckle.

[Buckeye Sweetie]

I guess when the SEC becomes permanent on the Bucks schedule we'll have to worry about it. Finally the Bucks are getting a chance to play tougher teams, hopefully this will change the program slightly. Not saying Tress doesn't need a wake up call because he does seem to choke in the spotlight and hopefully this game will show it coming around.

Tressel runs a much more cleaner program then Cooper did. He may have his blind spots every now & then, but then again, what coach doesn't. What he did to turn Smith around I think was one of his best moves. Smith could have been a punk running around shooting at people, Tressel made sure he didn't.

[Inflames]

Just on Foxsports blog and some osu faithful are getting restless with the vest.

We have the top recruiting class for 2009, but we will still lose the big games thanks to the VEST, ie Tressel...he sucks!!!!!!! With him we will never again win a NC!!!!!!!GOODBYE OSU DOMINANCE!!!!!

I think if JT loses to UM next year things may get ugly for him in cbus.

[Buckeye Sweetie]

Frustrated is the word. Heacock is 1st on my list though. Hello zone d, meet no one!! Can he not run anything else? I have a feeling Tressel is going to get A LOT of angry mail, not so much calling for his head but to open his play book & grow some balls. We should of had that game by much more then the score reflected, but hey, we'll keep taking field goals :rolleyes: it's points after all...........right????..............I hope you are catching my sarcasm.

[Inflames]

It's weird how this is almost the mirror image of what U of M went through with Carr during the Cooper years. NC with someone elses players and owning your arch rival. We were riding that high for awhile it kept us from noticing the long downard spiral that the program (coaching) was heading. If you take an honest look back it really is almost a mirror image. If I were a member of uos nation I would be getting nervous about JT just from what happened to U of M. Its good that you can beat your arch rival the way we did with Cooper and the way uos is doing now to U of M. It pains me to say that App. St. and Toledo also beat us so JT hanging his hat on those wins as of late may be keeping the reality of whats happening there from really coming to light. The school recruits very well and has good talent but look at him getting out coached on the big stage as did Carr USC, Texas etc... Its great to get behind your coach and enjoy being on the winning side of the Michigan and Ohio war but dont let it cloud your judgement on what actually may be going on in Cbus.

JMO =)

[Uncle Rico]

Inflames, that was a really good thread. Thank you for being a reasonable Michigan fan and asking an intelligent question. Yes, it is weird about the similarities between Carr and Tressel. If the tide starts to turn with RR in charge at Mich, then you will see Tress in the hot seat. I don't think that either school will ''own'' the other like when we had Cooper. I think that a new ''war'' like Bo and Woody had would be great for the Big Ten. Like I said before, there are only so many great coaches out there and every big program wants them.

[Inflames]

Inflames, that was a really good thread. Thank you for being a reasonable Michigan fan and asking an intelligent question. Yes, it is weird about the similarities between Carr and Tressel. If the tide starts to turn with RR in charge at Mich, then you will see Tress in the hot seat. I don't think that either school will ''own'' the other like when we had Cooper. I think that a new ''war'' like Bo and Woody had would be great for the Big Ten. Like I said before, there are only so many great coaches out there and every big program wants them.

Thanks for the good words and your thoughts.

I do agree with you about if RR can "turn the tide". I honestly think the next two years are very big in in regards to JT's future with OSU. It could even be a year. The way OSU has been getting close it would surprise me if they would let any coach stay too long that wasn't, in their eyes, able to win the big games.

In a way I think this years loss to Texas is almost worse that the two bowl games before it. This year they should have won that game. To have the victory there with 16 secs left as opposed to not being in the game at all after the half to me would feel worse. As a U of M fan I can remember Texas doing that to us with Vince Young. Unless I am mistaken it was a final drive for a touchdown that cost us that game (again I go back to the mirror thing with LC and JT). I remember saying how at least we showed up, it took a final drive and it is Vince young after all. My point is that I hear what you guys are saying about the loss to Texas but I also remember saying the same thing and look at how much has gone through since then.

Not trying to be all doom and gloom JMO =)

[Blue In Ohio]

I have to agree with bucks fans about Tressel. I'd be real happy with what you've got and no reason to hang your head. Cooper was better in the big games against nonconference big time teams but Tressel has dominated Michigan. Who's to say if you hired someone else things wouldn't get much worse? Beating Michigan every year should be enough to make you all happy.

[NCBLUE]

I think Tressel recruits well, his teams are disciplined, he has beat his rival, won more than his fair share of conference championships and been in more than his fair share of BCS games.

He makes 0.0 in game adjustments, his teams of late have not been prepared and up for the big stage. He is on losing streak for major top 10 games.

Where does this leave him ? I think he is not on the hot seat, but will start getting some pressure to make some changes. He is a good coach maybe a very good coach but he is not an elite coach.