Darth Wolverine

December 20th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^

...the NCAA won't do much more, if anything. If they do something, I think the worst would be a few more scholarships, but no bowl ban. They should get at least one bowl ban considering all those ineligible players who played in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio is going to get away this and I think it's bull shit.

ChuckWood

December 20th, 2011 at 12:36 PM ^

The consensus, including people with professional opinions, is that OSU will not receive a bowl ban.  The other consesnsus, including people with professional opinions, is that it's bullshit.

Even if the NCAA receives tons and tons of hate mail, the verdict won't change.  Which is unfortunate, because the next school that is not OSU that crosses some of the same lines will get hammered.  

Darth Wolverine

December 20th, 2011 at 1:20 PM ^

That's exactly it. This just shows that the NCAA cares about nothing but money. Since Ohio is a powerhouse program, they get preferential treatment. Some might say USC was in the same boat but they got hammered. The difference is the relationship between Gee and the NCAA president. Plus, Ohio has been paying people for years. It's so obvious. I think their basketball program cheats also. I don't buy this, "Thad is such a great recruiter" crap. Ohio went from being an average to above average basketball program to being one of the elites in about a one year span. That doesn't happen without improprieties. All of a sudden a lot of highly ranked recruits wanted to come to Ohio to play basketball. That doesn't happen that quickly.

Tater

December 20th, 2011 at 9:18 AM ^

The only thing I can pretend to know here is that I am probably going to be either very pissed or very happy.  I hope Ohio finally gets the punishment they escaped in the Maurice Clarett case, but can't help but think that cronyism will allow them to squeeze through yet another loophole. 

MrVociferous

December 20th, 2011 at 9:33 AM ^

Anything short of a severe punishment is just going to give a greenlight to any program thinking doing something wrong. I mean seriously, just feign ignorance and nothing happens. "Sorry NCAA, we were in the habit of leaving a pile of money in the middle of the locker room and didn't think anything of it when the pile went missing. We kept replacing it, but it kept disappearing. It was weird. Our bad."

mgowill

December 20th, 2011 at 9:42 AM ^

USC fans are probably going to be upset as well.  If USC complains too loudly, the NCAA response could leave Oregon as the next likely target.  An NCAA smack down of another Pac-12 school could prove to be a very volatile situation.

Oh, drama...

MGoSteelers

December 20th, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall seeing somewhere on the interwebs that if the punishment levied doesn't reach a certain theshhold, the suits at USC are prepared to file a lawsuit against the NCAA, paperwork's ready and everything.

 

I actually hope this is the case.  Until some well endowed individual or group goes after the NCAA, I don't expect a single thing to change moving forward.  They're the house and we're just playing their tables.

jblaze

December 20th, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^

the NCAA already punished them, denied their appeals, and clearly doesn't like/ care about USC.

Gee is friends with the infractions committee (wonder why OSU made him the higest paid University President?) and they will just ignore USC or deny their appeal.

By having Gee, OSU basically "paid" to cheat and get away with it. It is what it is.

jblaze

December 20th, 2011 at 11:59 AM ^

are they going to say, look you punished us more then them? BFD, the NCAA just has to lay out the differences and claim that their committee is independent, blah, blah, blah... and that's it.

Plus, does USC really want to piss off the NCAA even more? Kiffin has to be up to his old tricks there.

Lampuki22

December 20th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^

I believe Ohio will get no further sanctions and USC, MIami etc. will do nothing because I can't think of a basis for a lawsuit against the NCAA based on treatment of two completely different fact situations. 

 

If someone knows how a USC or Miami or any other third party with standing could sue the NCAA over this, I would be ALL EARs (lawyer here). 

saveferris

December 20th, 2011 at 12:39 PM ^

The NCAA tagged USC with "Failure to Promote an Atmosphere of Compliance" and "Failure to Monitor".  They have an ironclad excuse for not hitting OSU as hard as they hit the Trojans.  Given the fact that the allegations against OSU never included these two violations, it really should come as no surprise that the NCAA is probably going to let the Buckeyes off light.

Not to say that USC fans don't have a reason to be frustrated given the amount of publicity the OSU scandal has generated the past 9 months, but the media don't get to try and convict schools.... unless you're Michigan, of course.

saveferris

December 20th, 2011 at 12:57 PM ^

I forgot about that, which of course is what prompted their bullshit, self-imposed 5 scholarship reduction over 3 years.

Still, OSU not being saddled with Lack of Institutional Control will be the NCAA's "Get Out of Jail Free" card when USC starts crying foul and shouting, "Sue!!!"

mtlcarcajou

December 20th, 2011 at 9:22 AM ^

they'll be able to talk their way out of when they self report their next 380 violations in the next 2 years.

Maybe add one or two schollie reduction, max.

That'll be al folks, nothing to see here, move along.

We'll see them on the field.

jblaze

December 20th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^

but look at Troy Smith, Clarett, and that LB with long hair (I forgot his name, but the dude who was robbed of $5K cash from his dorm and reported it to the polics).

Add in that DB (or WR) that was cut and his saying that this was happening all of the time.

Oh, yeah there is also Tressel getting caught at YSU.

BRCE

December 20th, 2011 at 12:42 PM ^

Smith was suspended for a bowl and the next season opener. Clarett never played college football again after his falsified police report. A.J. Hawk had all the cash in his apartment -- there isn't an NCAA rule against having two many greenbacks on you nor is there a paper trail for it. Whatever the player in question said is speculation.

Bottom line - you get hammered for fire, not smoke. This isn't an NCAA rule, it's also how the American judicial system works. On the times OSU players have been caught with fire, they have been suspended or ceased to remain with the program.

LJ

December 20th, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^

The fact that all of BRCE's comment have been moderated on this thread is embarassing, and shows homerism that we've manage to stave off on this site for a long time--one of the things that makes us different from everyone else.

All the guy is saying is that we really don't have evidence that OSU has been paying players and gaining a competitive advantage by doing it.  He's right--we really don't know.  The punishment they'll get will still likely be far too lenient for the bad acts that we do know they did, but you guys act like there's some incontrovertible evidence out there of years of wrongdoing.  There isn't.

Should Be Working

December 20th, 2011 at 9:25 AM ^

Ohio must watch season 1 of LOST without being able to ask an questions afterwards. Followed by the NCAA making the entire athletic department eat ice cream until they've obtained a brain freeze.

Don

December 20th, 2011 at 9:25 AM ^

Mark Emmert is going to offer his hindquarters in submission to Gordon Gee and Gene Smith for the inconvenience of making them worry about sanctions, and will offer to resign. Gee will mount Emmert ritualistically for a few moments, and then magnanimously allow Emmert to stay on, and all will be well.

bronxblue

December 20th, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^

As others noted, probably some additional scholarship reductions and probation.  It won't be much, and it will piss everyone off but then we'll all get over it.  And by unfortunate timing, nobody will get too worked up over it because (a) it is the week before the holidays, so people are in a good mood/leaving work, (b) the PSU story is so sickening that a couple of tattoos and payments are rightfully viewed as less vile, and (c) the bowl season is kicking off and the ESPN/NCAA midnset is to keep a prominent program off the front page. 

At best, I could see a one-year bowl ban, which I always figured OSU would have just taken this year and then not even worried about it.  

Bodogblog

December 20th, 2011 at 9:58 AM ^

this thing was coming out Thursday or Friday. 

But in truth this is probably the worst timing for Ohio: people nationwide will go home for the holidays and agree on the testicle-less-ness of the NCAA, the cheating of Ohio, and comical nature of the lack of sanctions. 

What the hell else are you going to talk about with your in-laws?