The man who led Ohio State to victories over the University of Michigan in nine out of the rivals' last ten games has resigned.
Football coach Jim Tressel faced an NCAA investigation into possible corruption in his program, including claims that players received cars from local dealerships.
Sports analyst John U. Bacon says there have been allegations of corruption for years. So he's not surprised that a scandal finally brought the Tressel era to an end, despite his stellar performance.
"He's nine and one against Michigan, nobody in the history of either school has pulled that one off. So he has done historic work down there, won national titles, countless Big Ten titles. He's as good as they get, I mean, Woody Hayes-like numbers," says Bacon.
Tressel's assistant coach Luke Fickell will take over the Buckeye program this year. Bacon says for the University of Michigan, that means:
"If you want to break your streak against Ohio State, this would be a very good year to do it."
Bacon says if sports reporters like himself were aware of the allegations of corruption, the administration of Ohio State University had to have been.
The NCAA could impose stiff sanctions against Ohio State, including loss of scholarships and bowl games.
That could weaken the Wolverine's arch-rival. But, says Bacon, Ohio State will still be an imposing team, no matter what happens. The program tends to recruit from its own backyard of strong Ohio high school football programs, and that won't stop.
And, next year, Bacon suspects the Buckeyes could have another very strong coach in place, possibly, Urban Meyer. He's the former football coach for the University Florida.
"And if that's the case, you're now facing a guy who doesn't have one national title, but two national titles, and probably a pipeline of talent coming up from Florida," says Bacon.
