The Ohio State marching band is renowned for "dotting the i" as its members spell out the state's name in script at the end of every pregame performance. What the Buckeyes band should have done this bowl season is underline one of its two "O's."
The Buckeyes were shut out by Clemson in Saturday night's Fiesta Bowl, a national championship semifinal contest, 31-0. Of the 80 schools that took part in the 40 bowls in the past fortnight and change, Ohio State was the only school not to put points on the board. When the Buckeyes lost the national championship game a decade ago to Florida by a 41-14 score, the team changed the keypad combo to the door of its weight room to "4114." Will Buckeye players be keying in to pump iron this winter by pressing "3100?"
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As you expand the circle of stink outward, you will find the state of Ohio went 0-4 in bowl games: the Buckeyes, Ohio University, Miami of Ohio and Toledo all lost.
The record was no better in "that state up north," as Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer refers to Michigan. Schools from the Wolverine state also finished 0-4 in bowl games, as Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Ohio State's biggest rival, the University of Michigan, all lost. The Wolverines did score 32 in a one-point Orange Bowl loss to Florida State in what was arguably the most entertaining bowl game this season (folks who watched the Rose Bowl would be arguing otherwise).
So the states of Ohio and Michigan finished 0-8 in bowls, and their Rust Belt neighbors fared little better. In bowls featuring a school from Ohio or one from a state bordering Ohio (Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania), those schools finished 1-15. Indiana lost. Kentucky lost. Louisville lost. West Virginia lost. Penn State, Pittsburgh and Temple all lost. The only school from the Ohio orbit to win its bowl game was Western Kentucky, which tamed the Memphis Tigers 51-31 in the Boca Raton Bowl on December 20.
Rust Belt schools overall looked rusty, and none more than Ohio State, which only two years ago won the national championship. Even Mount Union, the Division III juggernaut from Alliance, Ohio that had won 11 national championships in the past 20 years and 112 consecutive games entering early November, faltered. The Purple Raiders lost in mid-November and then failed to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2004.
It may be a delicate topic to broach, but Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania were important swing states in the recent presidential election that all voted for the eventual winner, Donald Trump. Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia also voted for Trump. For the historical record, in bowls that pitted a blue-state school versus a red-state school this season, the blue-state squads went 10-4. The last such contest was Monday night's thrilling Rose Bowl, in which USC defeated Penn State 52-49 on a 46-yard field goal as time expired.
The Rust Belt does have one last shot at redemption. On Saturday, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) championship game will be staged in Frisco, Texas. Ohio's own Youngstown State Penguins will play James Madison University, which is located in Virginia. It's up to the red-clad Penguins to make Ohio great again.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
John Walters is a writer and author, primarily of sports. He worked at Sports Illustrated for 15 years, and also ... Read more
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