WSJ Article Title: UM wins title. This School Spent Millions to Make Sure Never Happens Again

Submitted by BlueinKyiv on January 24th, 2024 at 11:28 AM

Paywalled article doesn't get into too many of this year's monetary specifics (except the leadership of Cardale Jones and Stroud's donation), but does quote Day telling boosters that it cost $13 million to keep OSU's roster intact in 2022.  Otherwise, it's mostly about the players they have lured in or got to stay.

 https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/ohio-state-michigan-fundraising-c4fc8932?mod=hp_lead_pos11

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BlueTimesTwo

January 24th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^

I agree on this, but if the stockpile of talent becomes great enough, even a weak culture can still succeed.  If the two-deep is entirely 5* athletes, they have a wider margin of error.  However, if the talent is all concentrated in one or two areas, and missing in others (e.g. O-line) even aggregate talent may not be enough.  And if the mercenary culture pits players against each other, things will fall apart when they face adversity.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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coldnjl

January 24th, 2024 at 1:03 PM ^

Texas AM bought recruiting classes with nothing above them. It isn’t a surprise that players who came in for money left for more money, especially when the team sucks. OSU is unfortunately not in a similar situation. OSU has quality returning senior players, nice quality transfers, and a high quality recruiting class. They haven’t beat us but they do win. I am not anointing them, but comparing what they are doing to what AM did is just wrong 

Joined: 12/31/2009

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canzior

January 24th, 2024 at 3:01 PM ^

Perhaps...how do we know how much of OSU is talent vs development? MHJ was going to be a star regardless of where he went. Maybe not the same stats, but a star nonetheless. The secondary was better, but not the reason they lost to Michigan. They were still soft up the middle and had no pass rush to speak of.  has that been addressed?  Upgrade at LB?  Not that I've seen. Upgrade at OL? Maybe slightly. Upgrade at QB? TBD but it looks like a push. Downgrade at WR w/o MHJ, downgrade at TE and upgrade at RB. 

I think Ohio State will be preseason 1 or 2 next year, and I doubt they'll be challenged before the Game. They will likely be a run first offense, and while their SP+ number will be high, it'll be due to poor comp and the eye test will back up that they aren't nearly as explosive. 

What's interesting is that it seems as though Michigan's success will have forced them to be a different team, and it remains to be seen if Ryan Day can coach that way. Behind BoB, we could be looking at an NFL offense, without a dynamic NFL passing game, but something more conservative as most NFL coaches tend to be conservative. 

Joined: 05/28/2010

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True Blue Grit

January 24th, 2024 at 12:13 PM ^

You hit the nail on the head.  I've also said this for a long time.  Too many highly rated players at some point start to rely on their athletic ability to succeed, and finally reach a point where it isn't enough anymore.  It's the classic double-edged sword.  The ones who achieve a lot have the strong work ethic that enables them to take full advantage of their skills.  Also, highly rated players have heard from too many people how great they are and start to believe it after a while.  This can make them poor team players.  I'll be interested to see how OSU's latest Mercenary-palooza works out for them.  

Joined: 01/21/2011

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Vasav

January 24th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^

I think it's not even necessarily work ethic - it's learning how to improve in ways you didn't know - aka having a good coach. You may be fast but if your technique is off and it takes you an extra step to get up to speed, that fast doesn't translate. May not matter in HS or against Akron, but ends up mattering in November and further on.

Sometimes you see guys who are great team players and leaders, freak athletes, flash as freshman and everyone wonders how they didn't become something more - but there are so many subtle ways to use your strengths, know your weaknesses, and win each play. Like in boxing, yes the biggest guy with the longer reach should win. When he doesn't, it's not because he lacked heart - it's because it really is a sweet science and the other guy, for lack of a better term, "outsmarted" him. Got past his defenses, made his punches count, didn't waste his energy on attacks that wouldn't do damage, and made sure to keep himself out of trouble and mitigate the other guy's advantages.

Really long way of saying coaching matters a lot.

Joined: 12/13/2009

MGoPoints: 19255

BlueTimesTwo

January 24th, 2024 at 12:44 PM ^

There are few guarantees in life, and even fewer in sports.  However, 5* athletes are like lottery tickets.  When they do pay off, they often do so in a big way (see, e.g. Will Johnson).  And the more lottery tickets you have, the better your odds of getting the big payoff.

The whole of OSU is often less than the sum of its parts, but that is still enough to win most games.  Hopefully once all of the coaching carousel nonsense is over, we can retain enough players and coaches to keep the culture that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.  If they don't beat us this year, I don't know when they ever will.  At least not with Day at the helm.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 13407

RibbleMcDibble

January 24th, 2024 at 11:47 AM ^

I doubt the culture stuff matters next year.

People are acting like they went 8-5 last year. They went 11-2 and the second loss came when their best player and starting QB didn't play. Their defense was excellent in the bowl game.

They return a ton of seniors, added weapons in the secondary and at RB and at least have a good starter at QB. 

The Game is in Columbus next year, it will be very difficult to win. 

Joined: 10/24/2023

MGoPoints: 7725

abertain

January 24th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^

Yeah. They lost 30-24 and were driving to try and win the game against an all-time great Michigan team. I find the insistence that OSU is bad, rather odd. I don't want to be like those other BIG schools that were all openly anit-Michigan. I don't like OSU, but I respect the hell out of them, unlike MSU. 

Does Georgia say Bama sucks every year and won't win it or is this some odd BIG thing where everyone just claims the other teams suck. It's odd. OSU will be favored next year barring some  major injuries. Go blue! 

Joined: 10/24/2009

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VBSoulPole

January 24th, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^

Definitely agree here. I have been saying for weeks that OSU was the toughest game of the year for us. In my eyes - they were the #2 team in the country, with only Georgia/Alabama having a potential claim for that spot.

OSU is overreacting accordingly in my eyes. They just watched their rival win the national championship and are taking rapid steps to win one in short order to reestablish themselves as the dominant B10 team and force the world to forget about Michigan's season as soon as possible. 

Whether it actually works, we will see. 

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 418

Vasav

January 24th, 2024 at 12:30 PM ^

I think OSU had the best team they've had since 2019 last year. I think they did a great job of running most of it back - losing MHJ was inevitable and hurts, losing Fleming and McCord is definitely worth an eyebrow raise. Bill O Brien as well. And, what's going on with their OL?

Next year is going to be tough. They're going to be good. They always have been. We are going to see some regression. But we are going to be pretty good too. I think we can get them. Let's get it, GO BLUE!

Joined: 12/13/2009

MGoPoints: 19255

Phaedrus

January 24th, 2024 at 12:49 PM ^

I think people often use the internet to push a narrative rather than have an honest dialogue, and this is what you find so confounding. Sam Webb does this with his shows/publications, too.

The goal is to create the narrative that Ryan Day can’t coach to dissuade recruits from going there (clearly not working). Some people are also just trying to convince themselves because it feels good to be an arrogantly confident fan. 

Joined: 09/02/2019

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Phaedrus

January 24th, 2024 at 1:45 PM ^

I’m not of the opinion we’re screwed next year. There is a lot of merit to the arguments that Day doesn’t have the culture, his excess talent at some positions is counterbalanced by weaknesses elsewhere, etc. I just don’t think it’s a given.

I can confidently say that Indiana will suck next year. With OSU, I just hope they will suck.

Joined: 09/02/2019

MGoPoints: 6532

KBLOW

January 24th, 2024 at 2:03 PM ^

"...driving to try and win" is technically true, but overstates how little chance they had. It was a last minute desperation drive where they had to have a TD to win against CFB's best defense. And in a a game where we had a far less than 100% QB all game and were missing out best OL and CB for the 2nd half. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

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olm_go_blue

January 24th, 2024 at 2:20 PM ^

This doesn't make sense. How little chance they had? Osu had the ball with plenty of time left inside of the 50. We could have easily lost that game.

Would you say UM's final drive was desperation with little chance to win against Alabama? Of course not.

Osu played us dead even and outgained us. Yes, we had a few key injuries. They got better, and we will be worse and on the road. 

Joined: 08/09/2013

MGoPoints: 5039

rice4114

January 24th, 2024 at 12:34 PM ^

They were a fantastic Iowa team for their bowl game. They pushed their starting QB out that is their problem. You dont dominate recruiting and then lay 3 pts in a bowl game gtfo. MHJ isnt coming back through those doors for the next season. OSU is always February sweethearts. Eventually they are going to win some. Im not too worried though. Long term we just arent built to out football factory them. Ill enjoy the short term dominance in the meantime and cut them absolutely zero slack for losses (But Stroud threw for 340 yds vs Michigan, they were 3 points away from a championship, they didnt have their starting QB in a game they scored 3 pts) leave that shit for 11 warriors. 

Joined: 08/26/2010

MGoPoints: 47270

DHughes5218

January 24th, 2024 at 4:39 PM ^

Their second string QB was hurt very early in the game and their third string was a true freshman who didn’t know the line protection calls and they were already working with a make shift line because they suspended their starting center for talking about private stuff on a podcast. One of the things he talked about was that they didn’t use all of their practices and they weren’t really preparing for Missouri.

 

Joined: 10/04/2014

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mGrowOld

January 24th, 2024 at 11:38 AM ^

As my late father was want to say: "Donald, the only thing money cannot buy is poverty"

Anyways - good luck with the dream team OSU, as history has proven multiple times across multiple sports, when you assemble a roster of all-stars where the only thing they have in common is they're very highly paid, nothing can and will ever go wrong.

Texas A & M, The Vince Young Eagles, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving Nets and now OSU.  Champions all are they.  I'm pretty sure they never lost a game.

Joined: 10/04/2010

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