When speaking with a client early this
morning, I was surprised to notice his California
tags and USC T-Shirt he was wearing. He knows that everyone at the office
are Buckeye alum/ and or faithful, so he decided to let some friendly words
fly.
By Ryan Leonardo
He said that the Trojans were going to “beat us down like red-headed
step-children.” I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. But it wasn’t
that comment that made me laugh the most. It was when he said that “we
took care of Illinois,
and you got beat by them.” Of course, I had to bring up arguably one of
the biggest upsets I’ve ever seen aside of Appalachian State. I reminded
him of the 41-point underdog Stanford Cardinal coming into their house and
winning. He had excuses I was not interested in hearing. I have
enough respect for competition to refrain from excuses for our loss to Illinois. They
earned it.
Now, whether it is people discrediting
the Big Ten Conference, or The Ohio
State University in general, is unknown. What is known, however, is that
our program has been in the very top tier for the past three years
straight. We have proven that we are not scared of tough non-conference
games, even if they are scheduled 10 years in advance. The main point here
is that this game will bring just as much negative scrutiny as it will bragging
rights, just like a National Championship game. Tress and the guys will be
ready to play under the lights on September 13th, and should
surprise the Trojans in what will be a highly anticipated match up.