Sooo...does beating Ohio "save the season"

We can't beat Ohio. 

We must all shut up and eat our mush.

puts Hoke in line for canonization.

It depends on what you mean by "save". If you mean that fans and players will be able to look back on this year with some pride and a sense of accomplishment, then yes, it would save the season. And it might even save a coach's job if his performance is under scrutiny at the end of the year and the fire-retain decision is a close call. At a minimum we would go into the bowl game and 2014 with a lot more confidence, which wouldn't be a bad thing. But it wouldn't mean that we are totally satisfied with the team's performance, or that there shouldn't be changes in personnel or how things are managed. In that sense, no, it wouldn't save the season.

Sure, it saves the season. Just like switching o-lines with Alabama would save the season.

I'll leave it up to you to determine which is more likely.

It would not save the season, but it would re-establish confidence in the coaching staff.  How this teams finishes the season will have a huge effect on perception.  If they win out, then the future is bright, if they lose out the future does not look good.  Finishing strong and winning matters.

I know I'll take a lot of flak for this comment, but yes it does.  Just look at the logic.  Ohio is hands down the best team in the B1G.  They are always near the top even in down years.  Also, the game is played at the end of the season.  So beating Ohio would always signal a success in my book because it means we're at least heading in a good direction when we can defeat a team like that no matter what the previous 11 games looked like.  Plus, my hatred for Ohio is so strong that I would trade beating them 90% of the time throughout the rest of time for our winningest record!

Our offense looks demoralized and disorganized. We're not socring points against teams with a defense.

The wheels are off the bus. There will be no upset of OSU.

Dude. We're going to lose by a minimum of 3 scores.

Worse, the stadium is going to be packed with those scarlet and grey-wearing mongrels.

this is how i used to think during the RichRod era. Some kind of sad state of affairs that we are already back to this kind of wishful thinking.

Looking at the BCS projections both Baylor and Stanford may pass OSU.  Baylor plays Texas Tech (comparable to Michigan), Indiana (comparable to TCU), @OK St. (which will be worth more than beating MSU at a neutral site), and Texas while OSU plays Illinois.

Stanford plays a bad Cal team, USC, ND and then likely UCLA.  That is a better closing schedule than what OSU faces and Stanford's has 3 wins that are either better than OSU's best win or equal to their best win.

...given the lower expectations and hubris of Gardners pre season remarks.

Despite practice limitations during season and outside it - the final game is the culmination of a teams work minus injuries.  Our schedule (at least until DB screws the pooch ... again) underscores that pinnacle with "The Game" which this year is against a team that is likely to go undefeated for two straight seasons going into it.

Win The Game and the season is saved.  A new story is told of overcoming failure and we will likely regale this season as the most pleasantly unlikely in our storied history.

Not that it will happen mind you... but that is what it would be.

Beating Ohio is always great for several reasons:

• Breaking Urban's unbeaten streak
• Knocking Ohio out of NC contention
• Beating Ohio is just plain fun
• Helps recruiting wars

So anyway you slice it, its fun to beat Ohio.  BUT, it might just save Borges job - I really hope not but it could.  To me that would be disasterous...

However, all things considered, the season is failure regardless of what happens the next three games:

• We played down to Akron/UConn.
• We let IU score a bazillion points on us.  
• We got curb stomped by our little brother.
• Nebraska just stole out lunch money and we did nothing about it.  
• PSU beat us with half a team.  
• ND actually sucks and beating them was no real accomplishment.  
• Devin has regressed into a shell of a QB.  
• The OL is bad - all time bad - horrendous.  
• Brunettes dinging kicks off the uprights is a "thank god" moment after being automatic for 2 yrs.  
• Zero pass rush from our DL - against anyone on the schedule.
• And on and on...

Don't get me wrong, there are things to still cheer about - the band, the players, the nostalgia, etc... But, we're failing at our pre-season goals by a mile.... The season is lost.

The loss to PSU is looking worse and worse each week and yesterday was really bad.  

I don't know how in the world they can beat OSU, but it damn sure would be awesom.

Cause the idea that we could beat that other Ohio is hilarious.

While we're fantasizing, yes, it does kinda save the season in a way, unless it leads to retaining Borges et al., in which case it's the worst thing that could happen to us the rest of the year.

EDIT:  I totally take back what I said above.  I just checked, and Ohio U beat Akron 43-3.  They would fucking beat our asses.  My apologies to their fine program.  Hail, Bobcats.

For me personally we would have to win out. 10-3 with wins over OSU, a quality bowl opponent, and Notre Dame is a pretty good season. It actually would be better for me than the 2006 season since we would have won our two most important games of the year. It is not the season that basketball had last year though in some ways it would be close since with basketball we didn't win the Big Ten regular season or Big Ten Tournament. Of couse we proved during the Tourney that we are one of the better teams in the nation so that made last year a very special year. This of course is not possible with football but that's another story.

Bottom line: If we lose out but somehow beat Ohio State that is more of a fluke. If we win out it means we are making progress and again have the hope that next year or the year after we will be where we want to be: at the top.

Is it going to happen? Eh.

IF we win, it'll be great but then instantly the thought that comes out will be, "For Fucks Sake where the Fuck was that for 90% of the year?!?!?"  This is assuming our offense does reasonably well and we don't have a pick 6, fumble return for a score, punt return for a score and 4 safeties which our defense helps us with.

The season was lost when they lost to MSU. Yesterday was the nail in the coffin. 

But the season isn't a complete failure yet. A win over OSU would be very significant for the Hoke regime. It may not save Borges, but it would do some real good for fans' hope in Hoke going forward. And at this point, it's the only way Hoke can salvage something meaningful out of this season.

And honestly, we're lying to ourselves if we think a win over an undefeated OSU wouldn't mean anything. Ruining their national championship hopes would be awesome.

I just don't see it happening. Unless Borges (and Hoke) somehow finds a way to stop coaching scared on offense. And figures out how to deal with a fricking blitz, especially ones that EVERYONE sees coming.

It would salvage the season.  It would mean everything.  Much of what people are saying is from pain and then numbness from the pain.

Not thinking there is a chance, though, except that in college football there's always the theoretical chance of upset.

Still going to be there anyway, in Section 43...our family home for over 4 decades.