In 1875, Ohio artist Archibald M. Willard began work on his painting, Yankee Doodle, later renamed The Spirit of ‘76, which portrays two drummers and a bandaged fife player marching across a Revolutionary War battlefield as a flag waves in the background.

You’ve likely seen the painting, which has become one of the most famous images relating to patriotism of the era. It now appears on everything from coffee mugs to T-shirts and has been acted out in thousands of Fourth of July parades.

Pay close attention and you might even notice an updated version of the three soldiers marching into University of Phoenix Stadium on Monday. Who might they be? Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and tackle Alex Boone, who represent a last chance for the Big Ten to save its reputation in what appears to be revolutionary change occurring in college football. That is, the free fall of the Fat Ten.

I say “appears to be” because it could be argued that the demise of the conference has been exaggerated. Using the past 10 years’ worth of Associated Press final polls as a measuring stick of conference strength — the Bowl Championship Series formula has been tweaked too often to be considered a reliable barometer — shows the Big Ten has finished with 18 top-10 appearances, compared with 21 for the SEC, 18 for the Big 12, 16 for the Pac-10, nine for the Big East and eight for the ACC.

With the final 2008 AP rankings due soon after the national championship game Thursday, the Big Ten will have one (Penn State) and perhaps two — if Ohio State defeats Texas in the Fiesta Bowl — teams in the top 10, and the SEC likely will have two, the Big 12 at least two, the Pac-10 one and the Big East and ACC none.

From that top-of-the-mountain viewpoint, the Big Ten is no worse off than all but the SEC, and better than most.

On the other hand, statistics can be massaged to reflect alternative answers. For instance, entering the Fiesta Bowl the Big Ten is 15-27 (.357) in bowl games since 2003, including 1-5 this season, and 4-10 in BCS games since 2000, an indictment that has shaped the premise that the conference is overrated. Bowl losses do particular damage to a conference’s reputation because they are the last thing people remember, which helps explain why the entire Big Ten has been tainted by Ohio State’s two lopsided losses in national championship games.

There also is this little matter of the conference going 8-31 this season against opponents ranked in the top 30 of the Sagarin ratings. Add it up, and I like the Big Ten’s chances against the Big East or ACC. Less so against the Big 12. Even lesser so against the SEC, which returns us to the image of those three Buckeyes carrying the flag for the conference.

As if Ohio State needed more stressing over big games, it’s up to the Buckeyes to stop not only their bleeding but also that of their conference. Iowa is the lone bowl winner so far, taking down SEC also-ran South Carolina. Four of the five Big Ten losers suffered double-digit losses.

“Everybody is going to remember the Big Ten by how we finish,” Boone said. “They’re either going to say, ‘They suck’ or ‘They were OK.’ Obviously, we’ve got to go out and show people that the Big Ten is no joke.”

The conference seems to be pressing to prove it’s no pushover. Penn State looked tight in losing to Southern California 38-24. Granted, the Trojans make most teams look tight, but the Nittany Lions entered the Rose Bowl ranked third nationally in fewest penalties (3.33) and fewest penalty yards (28) per game, then committed nine penalties for 72 yards. It was shades of Ohio State’s penalty-riddled loss to LSU last season, when the Buckeyes vowed to avenge the previous season’s embarrassing loss to Florida, only to overcompensate.

Now, there is more proving to do. And more pressure. Eleven schools’ worth.

Source: Columbus Dispatch, January 3, 2009
by Rob Oller, Dispatch Sports Reporter
Article Link: OSU left carrying flag in what hasn’t been banner year for Big Ten
E-Mail: Rob Oller

Letdowns in big games have damaged their national reputation

Ohio State has been outscored 55-7 in three of its biggest games (all losses) in the past three seasons:

As Ohio State prepares for the Fiesta Bowl on Monday, the Buckeyes should be muttering a mantra along the lines of “Beware the second quarter.”

Not just because Texas has outscored its opponents 173-78 in that quarter this season, but because the Buckeyes were outscored 55-7 in the second quarter in marquee losses to Florida (41-14 in the 2006 national championship game), LSU (38-24 in the 2007 national championship game) and Southern California (35-3 this season).

In each of those games, the Buckeyes took an early lead but fell behind because of turnovers, penalties, a dropped touchdown pass, a touchdown pass negated by penalty and, sometimes, pure sloppiness.

They know it, too.

“I think it’s been a mental-toughness issue,” senior linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “You look at those games and it seemed something happened, like a penalty when we’ve got them stopped, or a touchdown gets called back, and guys’ heads just went down, ‘Dang, that’s it.’ “

After Florida outscored Ohio State 20-7 in the second quarter — aided by a failed fourth-and-1 attempt and a fumble — and took a 34-14 halftime lead, coach Jim Tressel said, “We scored on the first play of the game and from that point on really couldn’t keep the pressure where we needed it to be.”

That sentiment was echoed against LSU. Ohio State’s early 10-0 lead was wiped out by 24 straight LSU points, including 21 in the second quarter. Brian Robiskie dropped a touchdown pass that would have given the Buckeyes the lead, and then LSU drove for touchdowns after blocking an OSU field-goal attempt and intercepting a pass by Todd Boeckman.

Then on Sept. 13, OSU was outscored 14-0 in the second quarter after taking a 3-0 lead. After USC scored a first-quarter TD and then made it 14-3 early in the second, a touchdown pass to Robiskie was wiped out by a holding penalty and the Buckeyes missed a field-goal attempt. Moments later, USC linebacker Rey Maualuga intercepted a Boeckman pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown that gave the Trojans a 21-3 halftime lead.

Those three beatings administered in prime time have left the Buckeyes with a black eye on the national stage. They’re the main reasons few are giving them a chance against the Longhorns.

“As seniors we’ve been putting notes up on the board about the things we need to focus on in this game,” defensive tackle Nader Abdallah said. “We need to be able to calm down. We can’t make mistakes like that.

“Play the game; don’t let the game play you. Hold on to the ball. We can’t give them turnovers, because you can lose momentum, and when that happens, it’s hard to get it back, especially toward the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half.”

Or as Laurinaitis put it, “We’ve just got to keep going and keep playing.”

He said there were signs in games after the USC loss that pointed to Ohio State adopting that credo.

“There were times in the Penn State game (a 13-6 loss) where things happened that didn’t go our way, but the guys kept fighting,” Laurinaitis said. “No, we didn’t win that night, but we kept fighting.

“Just like in the Wisconsin game (a 20-17 win). When they scored their go-ahead touchdown it could have been over. But we didn’t quit. Our offense went out and drove down for the winning touchdown. That’s part of the game. You’ve just got to keep fighting.”

Source: Columbus Dispatch, January 1, 2009
by Tim May, Dispatch Sportswriter
Article Link: OSU players face emotional hurdle
E-Mail: Tim May