Remember Annie from the movie “Bridesmaids?” She was the main character who was dumped by her boyfriend, broke her car, lost her job, lost another job and got into a fight with her best friend. One life-altering tragedy happened after the other and just when you didn’t think it could get any worse, it did. But then, finally, Annie hit rock bottom.
Right now, the Ohio State football program is like Annie. They’ve finally hit rock bottom. They can’t possibly fall any further than they already have.
The program-defining coach was forced out, the star quarterback left, players were suspended left and right, an endless stream of negative headlines dominated the news, and the program’s once-lustrous reputation was irreversibly damaged.
Then the season started, and instead of a welcomed distraction, the results have been a constant reminder of what once was.
The mighty OSU football team almost lost to a team from the MAC (Toledo) and was a fingernail away from being shut out for first time since 1982 against Michigan State.
More suspensions were issued for players who were paid for work they didn’t perform and the Buckeyes traveled to Nebraska, a train wreck without a conductor.
Just when it looked like there was a spark of hope, with the Buckeyes leading the Cornhuskers 27-6 in the third quarter, it all fell apart. The Buckeyes imploded on both sides of the ball and blew the biggest lead in the program’s history. Any hope or confidence gained in the first half was washed away along with the lead. The Buckeyes fell to 0-2 in the Big Ten, a conference they’ve made a habit of winning over the past seven years.
But it won’t get any worse. It can’t.
If your car’s already broke, your boyfriend already broke up with you, and you already lost your job, then there’s just not much else to go wrong.
The NCAA can go ahead and give the program a bowl ban. What are they really taking away? A mid-December bowl game with a “.com” after the name?
Or maybe the NCAA could slash scholarships, but what would that do? The OSU football program might be a “quick fix” by normal standards, but programs are rebuilt in years, not months or days. A reduction in scholarships wouldn’t be enough to severely hamper the rebuilding process.
So, in a weird way, the Buckeye’s bottoming out is good news. It means everything is up from here. Some spoiled Buckeye fans may have to readjust their expectations because, unlike years past, a BCS bowl appearance seems like a fairy tale, not an inevitability.
It’s a sad reality, but at least things can’t get any worse.
Unless OSU loses to Michigan.
