Tag: John Cooper

The day after: Thoughts on Ohio State’s crushing loss to Georgia

So many thoughts but these stuck out in my mind the most. How about yours Buckeye fans? #GoBucks

If you were like me, it was hard to sleep Saturday night.

For more than three quarters of the [autotag]Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl[/autotag], it looked like [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] would face [autotag]TCU[/autotag] with a national championship on the line. Georgia had different plans. It mounted a massive comeback during the fourth quarter and sent the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a disappointing loss.

Since the game ended, many thoughts have passed through my head, some good, some bad and a great many pondering what the future for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his program will look like. Here are my thoughts the day after Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. (Also, happy New Year’s everyone, even if it wasn’t what many of us wanted).

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Opinion: Notre Dame will be better off without Brian Kelly

Will the Irish be better or worse without Kelly?

The last 11-years have been fantastic, the Irish have seen some great football, four straight 10-win seasons and trips to the BCS National Title game along with two berths into the College Football Playoff. Brian Kelly has elevated the team to new heights, but as he is now leaving to the Bayou, what is to be made of the Irish?

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Personally, I feel like this is a blessing in disguise, a similar situation to another Midwest power, Ohio State had with head coach John Cooper. Cooper did everything but win the big game, constantly losing to their rival Michigan while occasionally winning lower-tier bowl games. Sound familiar?

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Kelly has amassed the most wins in Notre Dame football history as a head coach, but what does he have to show for it? A Citrus Bowl win. Camping World crown. How about a Sun Bowl victory? Even a Music City Bowl win was thrown in there. Nothing to write home about.

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For all that Kelly did for the program, he will go down as not being able to win the big game. As for the Buckeyes, they would go on to hire Jim Tressel, and in year 2 they hoisted the National Championship Trophy. The Irish could very well be in the same exact position.

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The difference between the two? The Ohio State roster was diluted with over-rated talent, the Irish roster is quiet the opposite. I, for one, believe that the future is bright, regardless of who is brought in to replace Kelly. That coach will have to be able to win the big game and if they’re just winning 50% of those, it will be much better than what Kelly was able to accomplish.

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In no means am I saying the next coach will win over 100-games and surpass Kelly as the all-time wins leader. What I do expect is that the next coach will have more success in big games, which should lead the Irish to a place they haven’t been since 1988.

John Cooper’s legacy might look a whole lot different with expanded playoffs

John Cooper is one of the best coaches in Ohio State football history and an expanded playoff would have likely changed his legacy.

John Cooper is one of the most underrated coaches in Ohio State football history as he continuously brought in elite talent and was consistently bringing teams to the cusp of greatness. But his legacy is not brought up in the same light as Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, or Woody Hayes due to his struggles against Michigan and the fact that he is the first full-time head coach in OSU history since Wes Fesler to never win an outright Big Ten title.

With the news of the latest college football expansion to twelve teams, it had us at Buckeyes Wire thinking about how many times John Cooper would have had an opportunity to totally redeem himself! Cooper has a string of insanely talented teams that would have made the expanded playoffs and below we are going to break down those teams.

Re-live the 1995 Ohio State win over Notre Dame Saturday at Noon

97.1 the fan will be airing the 1995 Ohio State vs. Notre Dame football game at noon EDT on Saturday, October 10.

One of the most hyped games in Ohio State history came in 1995 when No. 15 ranked Notre Dame came to Columbus for the first of a home and away series with The Fighting Irish.

The Buckeyes cruised to a 45-26 victory on that fine fall afternoon before a then record-breaking crowd of 95,537. It was the first time that the Buckeyes had ever beaten Notre Dame on the football field. Eventual Heisman Trophy winner, Eddie George would rack up 207 yards with two touchdowns against the Irish.

On Saturday, October 10, you can listen to the game in full, as 97.1 the fan in Columbus will be airing a replay of the game hosted by the voice of the Buckeyes, Paul Keels along with Jim Lachey and Skip Mosic. They will also be joined by former OSU quarterback Bobby Hoying, who threw for 272 yards and four TDs in the game, as well as Hall of Fame head coach, John Cooper.

Even if you don’t live in the Columbus area, you can still listen along on the 97.1 The Fan app on your smartphone or just go to 971thefan.com to listen live to re-live some Buckeye glory.

 

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