clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Why is this news?: Urban Meyer worried about travel costs for families, Buckeyes rewrite narratives

All of the big Ohio State news in one convenient location.

By Matt Brown
Sean Gardner/Getty Images

"We should get the families to Dallas to watch them play"

- Urban Meyer, via Forbes

Plenty of words were written about Ohio State's big upset yesterday, and we'll get to those, but perhaps lost in amidst the congratulating and the playoff adulations is the real, financial cost for parent's families. If you're a parent of a Buckeye player, you've had to pay for trips to Indianapolis, New Orleans, and now Dallas, all in a very short period of time. The flights, the hotels, and extra tickets add up in a hurry, and there isn't much the schools can do to help. Urban Meyer hasn't forgotten, and he's lobbying to fix it.

Meyer said he that is going to "personally bring this up because people are avoiding the conversation", and given the fact that the Big Ten is awash in cash like never before thanks to TV deals and the popularity of the sport, it makes sense somebody, the league, the schools, the NCAA, a generous booster, could set aside a healthy travel stipend so all families, even those of limited means, can attend. Here's hoping that the important suits listen to Meyer.

"Ohio State would have been an afterthought. The Buckeyes could have won the Big Ten title game 159-0 and still missed the national championship game. "

- Adam Rittenberg, ESPN

You know what's awesome about the playoff? It isn't the BCS, that would have almost certainly given us Alabama and Florida State. Rittenberg talks about how the semifinals provided an opportunity to look beyond the #narrative and give teams a chance to change perception on the field, and now we've had two excellent games, plus one more, as a result.

Without it? Rittenberg is right. Ohio State could have beaten Wisconsin by a billion and it wouldn't have mattered, thanks to their misstep against Virginia Tech. Even that might not have been enough, given the human element of the BCS and the fact that Ohio State was never going to get the benefit of the doubt, thanks to the negative perception of the Big Ten, and the Buckeyes' failings in other championship games. When you give guys like Drew Sharp a vote, even a small one, in the championship process, teams like Ohio State are going to lose. Now that the system, which is still flawed and imperfect, is a bit more meritocratic, Ohio State, and college football fans everywhere, benefit.

In news that surprises exactly nobody, the College Football Playoff was compelling television, and a lot of people watched. And, in other not surprising news, a lot of those people live in Ohio. Columbus was the second highest rated market for both games, and cities in Ohio (no doubt full of Buckeye fans) were all over the list. Birmingham, as is typically the case for college football broadcasts, was first. Folks in Birmingham love their TV, after all.

When the ratings come out for the Ohio State-Oregon game, expect similar domination of the charts by the Buckeye state. The full release can be found here.

""I had a vision...I just want to thank my teammates and thank God." "

-Steve Miller, via Yahoo! Sports

There aren't too many things more awesome than fat guy touchdowns in college football. Except, I suppose, for fat guy touchdowns that help launch Ohio State into the championship game. Or, perhaps fat guy touchdowns that launch Ohio State into the championship that were predicted by said fat guy. And that's what happened!

Apparently Miller had a vision that he was going to get a pick, and it couldn't have come at a bigger time. His pick six, one of three Blake Sims' interceptions, gave Ohio State a 34-21 lead and helped dramatically change the direction of the game. Here's hoping Miller as another vision.

STICK TO SPORTS

More From Land-Grant Holy Land