OSU sanctions to be released today (3:00 p.m.)

[Chris]

Actually really disagree with this. You can have all the outside guys you want, but you need those bangers on the inside of the trenches.

Come on. One guy does not make a fucking class.

 

[bushwick_bill]

The Buckeyes received bad news as the NCAA levied the program with a one-year postseason ban, stripped OSU of three scholarships per season over the next three years (nine total) and placed the program on probation for three years. The postseason ban will take effect in 2012, which was shaping up to be a very-promising season for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State had already self-imposed the loss of five scholarships spread over the next three years, vacated all 12 wins from the 2010 season, placed itself on probation for two years and forced the resignation of former head coach Jim Tressel.

However, that was not enough for the NCAA, which handed down a Failure to Monitor charge against the Buckeyes. That’s as serious of an offense that a program can be cited for, with the exception of the dreaded Lack of Institutional Control (which OSU did avoid).

Also, Tressel was hammered with a five-year show-cause penalty, which basically ends his career as a college football coach. I thought he was done anyway in terms of coaching at the collegiate level (he still might coach in the NFL) but this removes any doubt.

Smith’s Final Stand

One would have to think this marks the end for embattled OSU athletic director Gene Smith. It’s stunning that he didn’t get out in front of this and self-impose a bowl ban for the 2011 season.

What did former OSU AD Andy Geiger do in 2004-05 with the men’s basketball program after Thad Matta took over? Due to the violations committed under Jim O’Brien, Geiger self-imposed a one-year postseason ban. That ended up preventing a 20-win team from going to the NCAA Tournament. (The Buckeyes were on the bubble after beating then-No. 1 Illinois.)

Smith should have done the same thing this season with the football program. Instead of taking away the opportunity to play for big stakes next year (a Big Ten championship, BCS bowl win or even national title) the Buckeyes should be missing a meaningless Gator Bowl in a matchup of 6-6 teams. It was a miscalculation of grand proportions by Smith and it will likely prove to be the nail in the coffin in terms of his tenure at OSU.

Smith’s one saving grace throughout this disaster was that he supposedly worked well with the NCAA and knew what was coming down the pike. So much for that.

How much did the postseason ban take Smith by surprise? Just read what he had to say at Urban Meyer’s introductory press conference as OSU’s head coach a little over three weeks ago:

“All we can do is look at precedence, look at cases,” Smith said. “Some of you know we looked at cases from Jan. 1, 2007, that were similar to us and looked at rulings relative to those. That’s actually what drove us to imposing some of the sanctions that we ultimately came up with.

“So I’m not certain what they’ll do. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Smith was then asked point-blank whether OSU was still possibly looking at a bowl ban.

“When you look at all previous cases, there’s no precedence for that,” Smith said. “There were a couple more cases that were more egregious than ours (that didn’t receive a postseason ban) and I’m hopeful we won’t have (a postseason ban).”

Famous last words, as they say. Smith’s incompetence is now obvious to the world and we’ll always look back on this situation with amazement that Smith didn’t self-impose a one-year postseason ban for the 2011 season. This year was already a lost cause anyway.

Impact On Meyer

The new Buckeye boss was likely taken off-guard by today’s announcement, but it probably won’t be anything that hurts what he's trying to build too much.

As it stands, Ohio State is ranked No. 4 in the country in recruiting rankings per 247Sports. That’s a far cry from a few months ago when things were going so poorly that the Buckeyes were just hoping to finish fourth in the Big Ten in recruiting rankings.

Now that the NCAA investigation is officially in OSU’s rear-view mirror, Meyer can tell recruits exactly what to expect. And since the bowl ban will only affect the freshman seasons of 2012 recruits – and won’t affect 2013 prospects at all – recruiting shouldn’t take too much of a hit from the Buckeyes’ standpoint.

Although, could this cost OSU one or two top recruits in the 2012 class who absolutely want to play in a bowl game as a freshman? Yes, it’s possible. But, again, anything more than a negligible effect on recruiting would be a surprise.

What Took So Long?

What made the “Tatgate” situation so bad was the fact that Tressel was tipped off about it by former OSU walk-on player and attorney Chris Cicero, and Tressel decided to say nothing about it to his superiors. (As far as we know.) As they say, “the cover-up is always worse than the crime” and that was certainly the case here.

As for what look so long in terms of the NCAA rendering its decision, the fact that additional violations were discovered after “Tatgate” – most-notably shamed OSU booster Bobby DiGeronimo from Cleveland giving money to players – proved to be the major hold-up.

In fact, without the additional violations that were brought to light due to the DiGeronimo situation, there is no way we would be talking about a bowl ban right now. Thanks, Bobby D!

So, it’s not fair to blame the NCAA for the investigation taking too long. More and more violations started coming out of the woodwork for OSU and Smith should have known he needed to be harsher with the school’s self-imposed penalties.

Bottom Line

Long-term, this won’t have a crippling effect on the program or even close, but it sure hurts as far as the 2012 season is concerned. With quarterback Braxton Miller a year wiser and running Meyer’s offense, and a defensive line that will be one of the best in the country, the Buckeyes were going to be one of the clear favorites in the Big Ten.

Also, what does this mean for John Simon? He said a few weeks ago that he’s definitely coming back for his senior season, but will he decide to turn pro now? Simon, a third-team All-American this season, wouldn’t be a high NFL draft pick because he’s a tweener (DE/DT). But make no mistake that he would get drafted – likely no later than the third or fourth round. I still think Simon will come back, but this certainly makes his decision more difficult.

As for recruiting, the loss of three scholarships per year – which is exactly what I predicted (hey, it’s good I got something right since I had been saying all along there would be no bowl ban) – won’t mean a hill of beans for Meyer. It won’t even mean a can of beans. So, instead of having a total of 85 scholarships, he’ll have 82. All that will mean is that the top walk-ons likely won’t be rewarded with scholarships. Which is a shame for those young men, but won’t have a negative effect on OSU from a win-loss standpoint.

Overall, it’s a sad day for OSU. However, at least the Buckeyes finally know their fate and can move on from what has been a year-long nightmare.

http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/Instant-Analysis-Banned-In-2012-53821

 

[Maximus]

Smart money would be on Jeff Kaplan to succeed Gene Smith.

You've got to think they are planning an exit strategy.

I wish they had planned a little sooner!!!! For fuck's sake, like col63onel said, this has basically now ruined 3 years. Had they been proactive this might all be behind us now. I'm so pissed right now...

 

[RealKingofCleve]

Come on. One guy does not make a fucking class.

I agree with that, but how many other DTs do they have? Trust me the guy is important. If he bolts, they need to find some size on the interior somewhere else. No more Garret Goebels.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Well, I do think there were a few other factors in giving tOSU such a public witch's trial:

~They initially stood by Tressel and claimed nothing was wrong.
~They kept the entire coaching staff, who clearly knew what was going on, and tried to pin it all on Tressel.
~As a program, they have had much more success and a longer standing tradition than Oregon.

All of that said, ESPN has a history of using their "journalists" to bury certain sports and programs while lifting the profile of others. If a lawsuit stands to benefit major markets in their viewership, they will support it. The NBA lockout coverage certainly exemplified this. But at the end of the day, the same can be said of every publication or corporate news media: Profits for the company always trump journalistic integrity.

 

[col63onel]

I wish they had planned a little sooner!!!! For fuck's sake, like col63onel said, this has basically now ruined 3 years. Had they been proactive this might all be behind us now. I'm so pissed right now...

The good news is that the scholarship reduction is minor, and it is only a 1 year ban. Only recruits that will miss a bowl are the class of '12, and it will only be their frosh year. Class of 13 is unaffected. This isn't a crippling blow to the program by any means.

But I share your anger in Smith's Derp-titude

 

[bushwick_bill]

[video]http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7373242[/video]

Shocking ESPN being positive...

 

[Marcus]

I know it's already been said, but Gene Smith needs to be out of a job more than ANYONE right now. What a fucking moron. It doesn't matter that it's never happened before, even a casual college football fan could tell that the NCAA has been trying their damnedest to make an example out of Ohio State ever since this whole circus began.

The entire NCAA is corrupt, but it won't really show until Miami gets a light slap on the wrist for 10+ years of repeat, serious violations.

 

[Lee]

I got blasted for saying they will get a one year bowl ban 6 months ago or so. Not the end of the world though,.

 

[glockcoma]

I would love to see us run the table next year, finish #1 overall at the end of the reular season, and have the BCS championship played between the #2 and #3 teams. :chuckles:

 

[MDLT]

When you look at NCAA sanctions from 60,000 ft., it's always obvious how completely ridiculous the organization is. These colleges deserve to be sanctioned by allowing themselves to be governed by such nonsensical regulations in the first place.

 

[Steve_424]

The good news for Buckeyes fans is that Urban Meyer never lies, just ask Utah and Florida.

 

[RealKingofCleve]

The good news for Buckeyes fans is that Urban Meyer never lies, just ask Utah and Florida.

 

[jlj3184]

I got blasted for saying they will get a one year bowl ban 6 months ago or so. Not the end of the world though,.

6 months ago it was a stupid statement. It wasn't until the new stuff came out in October that the bowl ban became realistic.

 

[Apathy]

[video]http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7373242[/video]

Shocking ESPN being positive...

That's really nice to see. Combined with the recruits staying where they are, I think we'll be ok. Just a shame we can't contend next year. As people before have said though, running the table and finishing #1 would be awesome and a nice way to tell the NCAA to go fuck themselves.