Unnecessary Football Preview: Youngstown State Penguins at Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State is scheduled to host lower-division Youngstown State this Saturday, September 9^th in Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes’ home opener. Ohio State traveled to Bloomington, Indiana last Saturday to take on the Hoosiers and came home with a 23-3 victory for its first conference win of the season. The win was largely unimpressive, but the Buckeye defense looked solid giving up just eight first downs and 153 yards from scrimmage to a bad offense. It would’ve been nice to see the defense force a turnover, but it was obvious the Ohio State offense would not have to score a lot of points to win the game.

The offense needs to make significant improvement leading up to the first major test of the season, when Ohio State travels to South Bend to play Notre Dame on September 23^rd. Three weeks of game film will give first-year Offensive Coordinator Brian Hartline plenty of material to identify the issues and iron them out. Ohio State has tremendous talent at every skilled position, and I expect to see fireworks once the offense starts executing.

Why is Ohio State scheduled to play FCS Division Youngstown State on Saturday? The answer lies with former OSU President E. Gordon Gee. During Gee’s first stint as president in the 1990’s, he championed an initiative for the Buckeyes to play one in-state football game every season and keep revenues in Ohio. Why pay an out-of-state university such as Rice or Duke $1 million to come to Columbus and play when the money can be paid to an in-state opponent of similar caliber such as Bowling Green or Toledo? Gee’s initiative was brought to fruition and the Buckeyes have played an Ohio opponent every year since 1997.

Ohio State has won every game, all of which have all been played in the Horseshoe except one, when the Bucks traveled to the University of Cincinnati in 2002 to take on the Bearcats. Ohio State narrowly escaped Nippert Stadium with a 23-19 victory that day, thanks to late-game heroics by Chris Gamble. It was the first of seven wins by seven points or less for the Buckeyes that season, and the team went on to win the 2002 national championship. But let’s not get sidetracked…

The YSU Penguins had a great team in the 1990’s, winning four 1-AA national championships with two runners-up finishes in a ten-year span, led by Head Coach Jim Tressel. Youngstown State first played Ohio State in 2007. Ohio State hired Coach Tressel away from YSU after the 2000 season, but the Penguins weren’t far removed from their decade of dominance when the game was scheduled, considering the lead time for scheduling non-conference games was 5-7 years. It wasn’t unheard of for an FCS/1-AA team to challenge a major conference power. Remember when Appalachian State toppled Michigan in the Big House in 2007? Major programs around the country were scheduling 1-AA opponents, so it seemed reasonable for Ohio State to do the same. The Buckeyes easily handled the Penguins in 2007 and 2008 by a combined score of 81-6.

The college football landscape has changed dramatically since these teams last met 15 years ago, and there’s no longer an appetite for this type of matchup. Urban Meyer elevated Ohio State’s program from very good to elite status where it remains today.  Youngstown State is no longer the dominant force it once was at its level of competition. The Big Ten Conference has expanded dramatically, there will soon be 18 schools in the conference, up from 11 in 2008.

Ohio State and Youngstown State would both benefit from not renewing this matchup in the future. Fans and season ticket holders would rather see more compelling games on the schedule. How about adding another conference game? The Buckeyes win by a wide margin Saturday.