The Ohio State Chickens Out!!!
I case you missed it, we reported earlier that there were unconfirmed rumors that Ohio State had backed out of the 2012 & 2013 matchup with Cal. That story can be seen here, along with a number of comments from Ohio St. fans who are really mad that I playfully poked fun at their team wanting to cancel the series. Apparently, they seemed mistake my overt homeristic tone and ridiculousness of my arguments as real legit arguments and statements for justifying why the Ohio St. is inferior to Cal. Sorry, Buckeye fans. The next time I write something concerning The Ohio St. university I’ll keep things really simple.
That next time is now.
Ohio St. did in fact chicken out!
I’ll give you a few seconds for that to sink in. Yup, I’ll repeat that again. The Ohio St. chickened out. They want to cancel the matchup against Cal. Cal didn’t contact Ohio St. to cancel the series because Cal was too scared to play Ohio St. Nope. Ohio St. contacted Cal, and said they wanted to cancel. OHIO STATE WANTS TO CANCEL THE 2012 & 2013 MATCHUP WITH CAL.
What a bunch of pansies.
But lucky for Cal fans… the game is still on. Yup. Ohio St. chickened out and called up our Athletic Director wanting to cancel the series. Our AD, Sandy Barbour, said "you guys are a bunch of pansies, hell no!" Okay, she probably didn’t say that but I’m sure she was thinking it. All joking aside, what really happened here is that Ohio St. tried to cancel the 2012/2013 matchup but Sandy Barbour wouldn’t let them. Not unless Ohio St. paid out a nice hefty buyout in a wad of cash. Which apparently they don’t want to do because the game is still on.
If any Ohio St. fans are reading this, I’m not kidding. This story comes from the very mouth of Cal’s very own athletic director, who remarked upon the situation at an online chat at the Bear Insider yesterday.
Cal will still play Ohio State in 2012 and 2013.
See you in the Horseshoe, Buckeye fans!
Excerpt from another post:
Buckeye fans will be quick to point out the fact that Ohio State has other national powerhouses such as USC, and Oklahoma on the future OOC schedule and while just playing Texas most recently. The Buckeye fans will say, surely the Buckeyes aren’t afraid of Cal if they are going to play USC and Oklahoma! But then, if Ohio State is not afraid to play Cal then why did they try and cancel the series with Cal? Because they’re NOT afraid? If they’re NOT afraid to play Cal then why not keep Cal on the schedule? But as we all know, Ohio State did in fact try to take Cal off the schedule and cancel the series. Hmm… it’s looking more and more like Ohio State really is afraid of Cal.
A very observant Cal fan over on the BearInsider noted that Ohio State usually only plays one really good OOC opponent each year. In 2002 they played Texas Tech, Kent State, Washington State, and Cincinnati. In 2003 they played Washington, San Diego State, North Carolina State, and Bowling Green. In 2004 they played Cincinnati, Marshall, and North Carolina State. In 2005 they played Miami (Ohio), Texas, and San Diego State. In 2006 they played Northern Illinois, Texas, Cincinnati, and Bowling Green. This year it’s Youngstown St., Akron and Washington.
As you can see, they do only schedule one really great team each year at the most. If there isn’t a premiere OOC opponent then they usually have a bunch of mediocre teams or a sweet tooth with a weakness for cupcakes. In 2002 the biggie was WSU. In 2003 it was NCST. In 2004 it was NCST. In 2005 it was Texas. In 2006 it was Texas. This year it’s Washington (the schedules are set many years in advance and they probably scheduled UW back when UW was pretty good).
So if Ohio State wants to take Cal off the schedule then either (a) Ohio State thinks Cal is too strong of an opponent and wants a weaker premiere OOC opponent, or (b) Ohio State wants to schedule a different premiere OOC opponent in 2012 or 2013 (such as Florida or some other powerhouse SEC school for example) and thinks playing Cal in that same year would be too tough since Cal is on the rise and pretty good too. Or (c) that OhioState is not afraid of Cal yet wants to cancel anyways.
While I don’t know what the real reason is, I think we have to eliminate answer (c) above. Afterall, if Ohio St. wasn’t afraid to play Cal and thinks that Cal sucks then why not just keep us on the schedule with all the other cupcakes like Youngstown State or Akron? Buckeye fans, try explaining that one please.
Any way you look at it, it sure seems like Ohio State’s desire to cancel the series with Cal is an admission of fear of Cal. If any Buckeye fans are reading this, I’m not arguing Ohio State isn’t afraid to play top teams - because they aren’t since they played Texas and will play USC as well as Oklahoma - but that Ohio State is specifically afraid of Cal.
The very reason Cumberland Gap had to face Georgia Tech. I don’t see why we won’t also defeat OSU 222-0.
Comment by TwistNHook — August 23, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
I’m excited the home & away are apparently still on, but seriously, is anyone concerned that Tedford might not be around when it does? And if so, that may only mean a nationally televised beatdown by THE OSU, home and away. . . Western History has b.c. and Cal has b.t., but does Cal footbal remain a powerhouse without our savior, the lord Jeff Tedford? Sure, if Tedford left he would leave Cal in great shape, but it only takes one Tom Holmoe and one year to destroy what Tedford built. Bottom line - I’m excited for the match-up IF Tedford is around, but dreading it if he is not. An no one can guarantee that Tedford will be around that long …
Comment by oaktownmario — August 24, 2007 @ 10:46 am
the series with drew carrey u has potential to either mark the end of a great Cal era or really put our flag on the national map. playing a minnesota and a colorado and a maryland here and there + dealing with $c every year won’t get it done … more SEC schools, GOOD big 8+4, and good big 11 schools are what it will take.
what we do have:
08: michigan state, @ maryland, colorado state
09: maryland, @ minnesota
10: la tech, colorado
11: @ colorado
12: @ ohio state
13: ohioe state
what we need:
more (tough) out of conference games
ROLL ON YOU BEARS!!!
Comment by dano — August 24, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Ever consider that Ohio State found a higher profile team with a larger stadium that had 2012-2013 open? No offense, but your stadium doesn’t hold a lot of people, and Ohio State never likes to play in small venues if it’s a non-conference game. It’s probably that OSU won’t get an appreciable return off the game in Berkley. For example, they’re playing Akron in a couple of years at Cleveland Brown Stadium, and they won’t play Cincinnati in Cincinnati unless it’s held at Paul Brown. I was excited to see the matchup, and I’m disappointed that my alma mater would do that. But use your Berkley brain…it’s all about the money. Go build a bigger stadium…oh wait, you can’t fill the one you got.
Comment by Anonymous — October 1, 2007 @ 1:26 am
Hey Anon, scared-of-Cal Ohio State played Washington in Husky Stadium this year. Husky Stadium holds 72,500 people. Cal’s Memorial Stadium holds 75,662. So Ohio State won’t play Cal because Cal has a small stadium? Argument defeated. Thanks for playing. Better luck next time.
Comment by HydroTech — October 1, 2007 @ 10:52 am
HydroTech - have to pour some cold water on your vitriol.
It is and remains about the capacity. It is and remains about the money.
With a new AD at Ohio State comes a review of all OOC games. One of the criteria is the money. It was too late to reverse field on UW. It wasn’t too late to reverse field on Cal - until your AD grew a pair a stones and said no to Gene Smith.
The money and capacity remains as key issues for future OOC games. Expect to see more Big 12 or SEC on the Buckeye schedules going forward. Unless, that is, Cal has faith in their football team and builds a stadium of sufficient capacity.
Lastly, I’m glad the games are still on. However, without that bigger house being built on your part, I expect to only see the Buckeyes play Cal in Bowl games post this series.
Comment by sandgk — October 9, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
In the next ten years or so, OSU has home and home series with the following schools
USC
Miami
Oklahoma
Virginia Tech
Cal is having a great year, no doubt (apologies oit Gwen Stefani).
do you really think with that schedule that OSU is afraid to play Cal?
Thanks
Comment by Bert — October 9, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Sandgk, thanks for stopping by and giving a legitimate response. You’re the first Ohio State fan to give us a mature and intelligent response and not simply just start name calling Cal. I do appreciate your conduct.
Bert, prior to sandgk’s response, yes I did think Ohio State is afraid to play Cal. If you read the italics portion of the post towards the end (which I believe you might not have read since I addressed your very argument in that portion), you’ll see my reasoning as to why I concluded that Ohio State was afraid of Cal.
Comment by HydroTech — October 9, 2007 @ 6:39 pm