Ohio State has been picked on, ridiculed, and otherwise slammed all season long, and yet, finished in the top spot of a formula that contains human elements as well as non-human factors like strength of schedule, university endowment, and degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

The two major criticisms of the Buckeyes are unfair and are actually easy to dismiss:

1.    Their schedule was soft. Ohio State defeated five teams with winning records, which was second best among all schools within the six major BCS conferences (I saw that on ESPN). OSU’s schedule was no different than in any other year. For the non-conference portion, Jim Tressel schedules teams from the MAC, which may not be elite, but often have rosters full of kids from Ohio who relish the chance to play at the Horseshoe. He also schedules other Ohio schools whenever possible (for example, this year, Cincinnati, often in the Top 25 and going to a bowl game, was not on the schedule, but Akron, Kent, and his former employer, Youngstown State, were). The non-conference schedule always contains one big opponent from a BCS conference. Last season, it was Texas. The next two seasons, it will be USC and in the two after that, Virginia Tech. This season, OSU traveled to Washington to complete the home and home first played in 2003. This game may have been scheduled while Tressel was coaching at Youngstown State. It’s not OSU’s fault that Washington hasn’t maintained any sort of national prominence.

The Buckeyes played the same kind of Big Ten schedule that they do every year. It’s also not OSU’s fault that Joe Paterno can’t “coach up” talented players like Derrick Williams, that Lloyd Carr couldn’t beat Appalachian State, or that Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Northwestern just didn’t have it this year. Ohio State was not the only team to lose one conference game only, but they were the only team to lose only one game overall and still win their conference (sorry, Kansas). They got here because after a crushing loss to Illinois that the team believed ended its national title hopes, Jim Tressel rallied his team and they kicked Michigan’s ass all over Ann Arbor.

2.    People don’t think Ohio State deserves to play for the 2007 National Title because Florida throttled them in the 2006 game. This argument borders on insane. It’s like saying the Cleveland Indians did not deserve to make the 2007 playoffs because they ate a giant shitburger in 2006. There was no excuse for OSU’s performance against the Gators. Troy Smith came in fat from Heisman Trophy buffets and promotional appearances. Ted Ginn Jr. got hurt because Roy Hall was the only guy on the field who tackled him. The Gators were the better team that day, flat and simple. The fact that the Buckeyes lost on that day should take nothing away from a season in which they beat Texas on the road, and beat an undefeated Michigan team to play Florida.

You want to know how we ended up with OSU-LSU? By default. Look at what happened to all of the other teams:

-Missouri: They won a huge game against Kansas to rise to No. 1 in the BCS standings, then got demolished by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Title Game. They probably deserved to go to a BCS game, but the Rose Bowl likes to have a Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup, and you do not mess with the Rose Bowl. (Juice Williams may pull a Vince Young circa 2005). The lasting image of the Tigers was a team that got blown off the field, and that had to play a key role for the pollsters.

-West Virginia: My G-d, this team had no ability to perform once it knew it was slotted for New Orleans. They almost handed a game to Cincinnati and then got outplayed by a Pitt team that didn’t have a winning record. And notice how, once again, in a big game, the Steve Slaton-Pat White combo disappeared/got injured. But for two phantom holding calls (some of the worst since the clip on Rocket Ismail’s return against Colorado years back), WVU would have lost by 17. Slaton and White should get the “Chris Simms in a Big Game Treatment” until and if they ever win one.

-Oklahoma: The Sooners have a legitimate beef with LSU being selected over them. They lost a bad game to Colorado, then lost to Texas Tech when their quarterback got knocked silly. They won a tough conference, beat Missouri twice, and, the way they are playing, would likely beat OSU or LSU. Unfortunately for the Sooners, ever since Auburn got left out of the title game the year it was undefeated, the SEC, its fans, coaches, and media members have become whiny bitches who get their way. From now on, I will refer to the SEC as “The Veruca Salt Conference.”

-Virginia Tech: Uh, LSU mauled the Hokies in Week 2 and they lost to some team in the weak ACC. Sorry guys. If people want to pick on the Big Ten, they should piss on the ACC (and Pac-10).

-USC: another team that could probably beat LSU or OSU, but they lost to Stanford and play in the easiest conference imaginable. They can comfort themselves knowing they’re loaded for next season and probably the next decade. They’ll also get the Buckeyes next fall.

-Georgia: Mark Richt won this year’s “Urban Meyer Award” for lobbying for his team to get in the title game, going so far as to complain about being jumped even though his team could not make the VSC championship and had a worse record than Kansas. While Richt’s argument about the rules not requiring a conference championship to play for the national title is valid and correct, there hasn’t been a team that played in the title game that did not at least play for its conference championship. How can Georgia get selected over every other school I just mentioned?

-Hawaii: I know the Rainbow Warriors are undefeated. I know Boise State beat Oklahoma in an awesome BCS game last year. I do not care. The BCS expanded so that teams that go undefeated do not get the Aurora Greenmen treatment (Aurora is a high school in Ohio that went 10-0 one season and lacked the computer points to make the playoffs). Hawaii should enjoy their payday and a chance to show they can play with the big boys. Then they should shut up.

In most years where there is a BCS controversy, the controversy stems from picking between a number of deserving teams. Here, the BCS had no choice but to take somebody. An LSU team that won what I am obligated to say is the toughest conference and lost its only two games in overtime (to unranked opponents….oops…sorry, I’m trying to argue for LSU’s inclusion) seems like as good a choice as any.

Comments? Adamh164@yahoo.com