By: Bill Blanton (Examiner.com) –

It doesn’t seem possible that the man who broke a 34 year drought in Columbus by delivering a national championship in his second season could possibly lose his luster. Jim Tressel is experiencing just that as he prepares for his 9th season at the helm of the Ohio State University football program.

Prior to coming to Ohio State, Tressel spent 15 seasons as head coach at Youngstown State University. The Penguins won four national championships and appeared in six total national championship games during Tressel’s stint. The Penguins flourished under Tressel’s leadership qualifying for the Division I-AA playoffs 10 times with an overall record of 135-57-2. Tressel was a four-time selection as the Division I-AA National Coach of the Year.

Now entering his 9th season in Columbus, Tressel has led Ohio State to an overall record of 83-19, eight bowl appearances, including six BCS games, six 10-win seasons, five Big Ten titles and one national championship and three national championship game appearances. By the way, did I mention the Buckeyes are 7-1 against Michigan?

There some division one programs, I won’t mention names…..Notre Dame, wishing they could have that type of success in an eight year run. However, in Buckeye land, the magic of the 2002 season is a distant memory. Buckeye fans are blinded by the recent failures in the 2006 national championship game in what turned out to be a debacle to the Florida Gators. OSU was outcoached and outplayed in a 41-14 loss. The Buckeyes tried to erase those bad memories by earning their way to the national championship game in 2007 with a team that was supposed to be a year away. Another poor performance led to a 38-24 defeat to the LSU Tigers and the beginning of media and college football fans questioning the Big Ten’s lack of speed and overall talent, not to mention the attack on Tressel’s sudden inability to win “the big game.” Columbus has suddenly forgotten the pain of the previous thirteen years prior to Tressel. Yes Ohio State fan, I’m talking about the John Cooper era at OSU. John Cooper was the only Ohio State coach that never “got it” when it came to Ohio State-Michigan until it was too late. From 1988 thru 2001, Cooper posted a horrific 2-10-1 record head to head with Michigan.

Tressel’s formula for success has always been a tight vest, conservative approach. Low risk offensive game plans, great defense and exceptional special teams have been the ingredients to building success in his coaching career. Tressel has even gone one step further by proclaiming the punt as one of the most important plays in a football game.

The Buckeyes showed some signs of being an offensive juggernaut in 2005 and 2006. Tressel in all his wisdom gave the keys to the Ferrari to Troy Smith who drove it all the way to the Heisman Trophy. Once Smith departed for the NFL, enter Beanie Wells and the reacclimation of the Woody Hayes playbook, “Three yards and a cloud of dust.” I’m not saying Buckeye fans are complaining, because they’re not……..as long as you win.

Last year’s offensive woes were magnified by injuries to Wells and the entrance of a true freshman quarterback, Terrelle Pryor. Pryor showed flashes of sensation at times as he seemed most comfortable improvising his own big plays. Overall, his numbers were respectable, throwing for 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions and completing 61% of his throws. Pryor showed his freshmen inexperience against Penn State with a late 4th quarter fumble that led to the eventual go ahead score. He later would throw an interception in the final minute that sealed a Penn State victory. Those growing pains continued in the Fiesta Bowl against Texas. An ineffective Pryor looked uncomfortable with his throwing motion. He almost seemed to push the ball to try to get it where he wanted instead of throwing it with command. Overall, his performance was disappointing considering the time Ohio State had to prepare him for the game.

The Buckeyes now enter a year where the national media bias towards them and the lackluster reputation of the Big Ten conference is at an all-time high. The Buckeyes roll into 2009 fresh from a last minute defeat to the Texas Longhorns in the Fiesta Bowl, a team many college football experts felt should have been the one facing Florida in the BCS title game. The loss marked Ohio State’s third straight BCS bowl game loss. The Buckeyes, eager to show the college football world that their demise has been greatly exaggerated, look to their showdown with USC at 8pm EST on Saturday September 12th to change the perspective of the college football world. The USC game along with a November 7th showdown in Happy Valley against Penn State look to be the big hurdles OSU must cross to factor into any talk of the 2009 BCS National Championship.

The big question surrounding this year’s Ohio State Buckeyes is whether Tressel will surrender the keys to the Ferrari to his sensational sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was selected the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. Or, will he continue to play things close to the vest, which has cost him several BCS bowl wins and potentially his reputation as a big game football coach? The coming season prescription pills online is not only paramount for the Buckeyes and all of the Big Ten, but it may be critical to how the legacy of Jim Tressel is defined in the ranks of the great college football coaches of today and his place in Ohio State football coaching history.

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