The Ohio State Buckeyes have a very good, very well coached football team. The Ohio State football program is one of the nation's most storied with a long winning tradition. As a result, Buckeye fans are some of the most loyal in college football.

With all of that having been said, I'd like you all to just take a subjective look at the Ohio State football program. Compare this season's edition to the 2006 team, a team that went undefeated through the year and gained the top BCS ranking. A team that earned a well-deserved trip to the 2007 National Championship Game, where it was finally determined that it would play a team that a multitude of fans decried as a pretender. Do you recall the upheaval created when it was strongly suggested that the Michigan Wolverines, the once beaten second place team in the Big Ten Conference, was more deserving to play in the NC game over any of the championship teams from the other conferences? The very arrogance of it all was sickening and dead wrong. The so-called "undeserving" Florida Gators then, after spotting Ohio State a touchdown at the game's outset, proceeded to dismantle the vaunted Buckeyes in what turned out to be a travesty. This while the Wolverines had earlier been thoroughly beaten by the twice-defeated Southern California Trojans in the Rose Bowl. This brought the Big Ten under intense scrutiny. Was it a fluke, or was this proud conference actually slipping and hiding their faults by playing a weak schedule?

So here we are, another football season is now into its final month and once again the number one ranked team in the nation is the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Columbus after several key players moved on to the NFL. But like they say in Buckeye Country, "We don't rebuild, we reload!" and so it goes. The team is once again on a course to garner a ticket to the NC game. I don't find it a stretch to question whether this year's Buckeye team is, first of all, deserving to be a participant in the big game, and if they are selected to play there, then secondly, are they capable of winning the National Championship? I base these questions on what happened last season, and on the similarities between last year and this. See for yourself and remember that last year's Buckeye team was just as talented as this year's edition or, if you think about it, last year's team should have been more formidable than this due to the experience factor.

2006 Ohio State Buckeyes' Football Season

H/A _ Opponent _ Rank _ Points For _ Against

H ___N. Illinois __ 89 _____ 35 _______ 12

@ ___ Texas_____22 _____ 24 _______ 7

H___ Cincinnati __ 32 _____ 37 _______ 7

H ___ Penn State __24 _____ 28 _______ 6

@ ___ Iowa _______50 _____ 38 _______17

H ___ Bowling G. __164 ____ 35 _______ 7

@ ___ Michigan S. _83 _____38 _______ 7

H ___ Indiana _____70 _____ 44 _______ 3

H ___ Minnesota ___47_____ 44 _______ 0

@___ Illinois _____ 112 ____ 17 _______ 10

H ___ Northwest'n _ 94 ____ 54 _______ 10

H ___ Michigan _____6 ____ 42 _______ 39

2006- 8 Home games and 4 road games...

2007- 7 Home games and 5 road games...

2006 Average Strength of Schedule through 12 games - 66.08

2007 Projected Ave. Strength of Schedule- 12 gms.- 54.67

2006 Average Strength of Schedule through 9 games - 64.56

2007 Average Strength of Schedule through 9 games --- 64.56!

2006 through 9 games- Points scored - 323 allowed - 66

2007 through 9 games- Points scored - 311 allowed - 80

2006 Regular Season Record - 12 wins and 0 losses

2007 Record to date - 9 wins and 0 losses

2007 remaining schedule and current rank:

H/A _ Opponent _ Rank

H ___ Wisconsin __ 29

H ___ Illinois _____ 26

@ ___ Michigan ___ 20

The final three games of the 2007 season are decidedly more difficult than the last three games of the Buckeye's 2006 campaign, but luckily, the Buckeyes play two of them at home.

In 2006 Ohio State qualified for the National Championship Game as the Number 1 ranked BCS team in the nation.

In 2007, the Buckeyes are currently ranked Number 1 in the BCS ranking.

2006 National Championship Game

H/A _ Opponent _ Rank _ Points For _ Against

N ___ Florida ______2 ____ 14 _______ 41

This was a tragedy for Buckeye fans...

Now we're hearing that the 51-day layoff was the reason the Buckeyes played so poorly last January...

How far will the similarities go in 2007?

Will we see them in the 2007 National Championship Game once again???

Just remember this, I don't hate the Buckeyes, I believe there are some legitimate questions that surround the team and they arise after looking at the quality of their opposition and taking it the next logical step forward, their opposition's quality of opponents. It all feeds on itself. This was also true in the 2006 season. How do we know if they are worthy of being in the big dance?

There's a song that has started swirling around in my head. Last year it started about this same time as well... It goes something like this:

Here comes the rain again... raining in my head like a tragedy... Tearing me apart like a new emotion... Here it comes again; here it comes again...