| 02 December 2010
All the buzz has the Buckeyes ending up in the Sugar Bowl or the Orange Bowl. The question is, which one is better?
Traditionally both were "Big Four" bowls, along with the Rose and Cotton bowls. I would give the Sugar the vote for the more prestigious of the two as it has maintained its connection with the best conference in the country year in and year out, the Southeast Conference. The Orange Bowl cut ties with the old Big Eight to tie in with the Big East and the ACC. At the time it seemed like a great move. Miami and Florida State were both added to the ACC. That meant the chances for a hometown representative was high considering where those programs were when they joined the ACC. That meant keeping the money that flows into cities for bowl games right there at home. The other ACC teams were as close to Miami as the Orange Bowl could get other than the SEC which was already tied to the Sugar. Seemed like a great deal at the time. Now, not so much. The ACC is a joke. So is the Big East but the automatic tie is no longer in place.
Where do we want to see the Buckeyes play? The majority of fans want to see the Buckeyes play in the Sugar to get some payback for a couple of beatings from SEC teams in recent national championship games. I want to see the Buckeyes get some payback. I also see a better game. Arkansas is the likely opponent in a Sugar Bowl match-up. The consensus is Auburn beats S. Carolina in the SEC championship game so they will advance to the BCS championship game. That opens the door for the next highest ranked team in the SEC, Arkansas to be chosen to play in the Sugar Bowl. Recently we have seen Arkansas find a running game so a win over the Razorbacks would be a great win for the Buckeyes. It would top off one of the great seasons in Buckeye football. That is not in the best long term interest of the program.
What is in the best interest of the program is to get down to Florida as early as possible and take advantage of easy access to the vitally important recruiting hotbeds in Florida and specifically Miami. The Buckeyes would be down there in an important period in the recruiting calendar. Over Christmas there is a dead period. That means no contact. What an advantage it would be to be down there, a short drive over, for so many talented players. No wonder the Florida schools nail down so many local kids coming out of the Christmas break. They have their undivided attention for a period of time. You see, schools can't contact players but players can contact coaches. More importantly they can visit with the schools. Sometimes players stop by practice every day. That is a huge advantage for home state schools. Obviously Ohio State has it here with Ohio kids and the Buckeyes very much take advantage of it. So do the Florida schools. Any school still practicing in December takes advantage of the opportunity to get in local recruits faces. It would be nice for the Buckeyes to make some time with 2012 recruits in Florida, as well as spend some time with a player like Jabari Gorman in this years class.
Going out with a win is another matter. It would be a more impressive victory to beat an SEC team but there is a far greater chance of beating whoever is the Orange Bowl representative. A win sets the stage for another run at the national championship next year.
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