COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Winter can be cold and bitter in Ohio, particularly after the Ohio State Buckeyes get beat in a bowl game.
The days have been even longer and darker since they’ve been stuck in a three-year freeze-out.
“The last three times, the locker room, obviously, has been completely dead and sad and depressed,” offensive lineman Jim Cordle said.
Lopsided losses to Florida (41-14) and LSU (38-24) in the Bowl Championship Series national title games have been followed by last season’s last-minute, 24-21 loss to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
Nationally, people have made fun of the Buckeyes’ troubles. Those within the locker room are aware of the verbal jabs and putdowns.
e. We HAVEN’T won the big one in how many years. There’s not really much we can say to the fans. We just have to get to the next game and do it.”
Another chance awaits when the Buckeyes (10-2) take on Oregon (10-2) in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. It’s another opportunity to end the snickering.
The last time the Buckeyes had smiles on their faces after their last game of the season was the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, a 34-20 victory over Notre Dame.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel came aboard in 2000, succeeding John Cooper, who won just three of nine bowl games with the Buckeyes. After a loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl in his first season, Tressel’s teams beat Miami in two overtimes in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2002 season to capture the school’s first national championship in 34 years. The Buckeyes then won Bowl Championship Series games the next three seasons.
It was as if Tressel and his teams could do no wrong. But bowl trips since then have ended in misery.
“No, I don’t get tired of hearing it. If someone said something that wasn’t true, I suppose you would be tired of hearing it,” Tressel said of the recent defeats. “If they said, ‘Hey, you’ve lost nine straight bowl games,’ you probably want to correct them on that. (But), hey, it’s only been three, or four, I don’t know. Three?”
Yes, three.
aring elastic wristbands that say “Finish Strong” on them.
Nate Ebner, a substitute defensive back, created the bracelets in memory of his father, a murder victim. The rest of the team has taken the phrase to heart.
“Yeah, we haven’t finished since we’ve been here,” said fifth-year senior safety Anderson Russell. “We haven’t won a bowl game since Notre Dame, and I don’t really count that because none of us played, other than (defensive end) Lawrence (Wilson). So we haven’t finished yet in our careers, and that’s something we definitely want to do.”
The Buckeyes have won five consecutive Big Ten titles, but haven’t taken care of business against other top teams. They lost to Southern California each of the last two seasons, adding to the perception that they’re bullies in the conference but cannot stand up to talented teams from other regions.
Ask the Buckeyes and it’s clear they have grown weary of hearing about their failures instead of their accomplishments.
“Yeah, especially when you lose three in a row and you’re excited about the Rose Bowl, but you have to hear about how the last three bowl games went,” Cordle said.
Maybe that’s a good sign, that the Buckeyes are angry about what people are saying about them.
“I don’t feel at all that we have an attitude like, ‘We can’t beat a good team,”’ Cordle said. “We just haven’t gotten it done. But we will.”
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