Throughout the offseason, BTN and FOX College Football have been having conversations on various topics as it relates to Big Ten football. And since former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is a big part of the studio crews for both, he’s been featured in a lot of those discussions, and his take on things is always interesting.
On Friday, BTN’s Gerry DiNardo and Meyer got debated what success looks like for three of the historical best programs in the Big Ten’s East division, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan. The topic? What defines success at those schools.
For Meyer, it was easy — win the Big Ten Championship.
“In my mind it’s very simple,” said Meyer. ” It’s did you win the (Big Ten) Championship? If not — and I hate to be so blunt — I just remember growing up in the Woody Hayes – Bo Schembechler era, you either won the championship or you really just had an okay year.”
DiNardo had a little different take on it and said for at least two of the programs, it’s now bigger than that.
“I look at it that it’s changed,” DiNardo said. ” I look at it that college football, for certain programs has become national championship or bust. I think that’s how you define Ohio State, you might define Penn State as a national championship or bust program — certainly a Big Ten Championship program.”
He then went on to provide an unattended slam to Michigan with a dose of reality.
“Michigan is the confusing one for me,” DiNardo continued. “I don’t see Michigan as being a national championship or bust program. I do think that they expect to win the East (division), they expect to go to Indianapolis, they expect to go to the Rose Bowl. But historically, Bo (Schembechler) set the tempo for Big Ten coaches goal should be to win the conference and go to the Rose Bowl. That mentality is different than what I perceive in Columbus and in State College.”
So, there was a bit of a disagreement between the two. Meyer went on to agree with what DiNardo was saying, but said it shouldn’t be that way because of the tradition of what Woody and Bo set.
You can watch the entire exchange here thanks to BTN sharing it via their Twitter profile.
Next … What we say
Expectations for Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan
What we say
DiNardo has a point. Michigan fans probably won’t want to hear it, but things are clearly different in Columbus than Ann Arbor when it comes to expectations — especially with where the two programs have been over the last fifteen years or so.
And while Meyer is a traditionalist at heart and puts a lot of stock in winning the Big Ten, Ohio State’s view of a successful year has changed since becoming a part of the national championship picture has become the norm. It’s still a very, very good year to win eleven games, beat Michigan, with the division and league, but it’s expected. Yeah, fans are a bit spoiled and entitled at this point, but it really is a run for the national championship on a yearly basis now, not just a run for the roses.
To me, Penn State is the more confusing one. I don’t know that the Nittany Lions really know what type of program they are. On one hand, James Franklin has brought the program back to a contender in the conference, but I’d argue that it’s not a national power. I think winning the Big Ten Championship and getting to Pasadena is really where the program is. In some ways, Nittany Lion fans have a inflated view of where they believe the program is, and the results simply don’t add up. In fact, even Franklin himself famously said Penn State is not an elite program after a close and bitter loss to the Buckeyes back in 2019.
Let’s be real. Ohio State is king of the Big Ten for now and one of a small handful of college football programs that are national title and bust. I still enjoy Indy, the Rose Bowl and all that comes with it, but winning the national championship is the biggest carrot out there now.
Now, this year could be a perfect marriage because you have to go through the Rose Bowl to win the national championship, so there’s at least that.
