As I watched this game I felt my heart slowly rise with anticipation for 50+ minutes of game play, then rapidly sink with a familiar dread. It took me several hours to revive my spirits and regain my sense of optimism about the remainder of the season. I can feel hope again because I have realized that there are 5 important moral victories the Buckeyes won in this game. I will share them with this site in the hopes that anyone reading this blog can also find some peace of mind in them.

Before I begin the post -which I am sure will generally be regarded as "loser talk"- I have to throw out a disclaimer.  For everyone who finds "moral victories" unacceptable as a substitute for real victories, I agree and I salute you. If you can find no solace after a game like that, I can't criticize your perspective. This is Ohio State football; everyone involved should be held to a higher standard. The high expectations fans place on the program are the real reason TOSU has such a terrific history of success. I do not believe any amount of moral victories should placate a team that was on the brink of a major victory. I want the players and coaches fired up and motivated to win every game, and to never settle for a just putting in good effort.

Since I am not connected to the program, and my mental attitude has no impact on the Buckeyes' performance, I will look for moral victories when I can. It is just a small way a fan can find on modicum of succor, after investing so much emotion into a sports event over which he has no control. 

Counting down the Top 5 Moral Victories From a Tough Loss to Southern Cal . . . . .

5. The Ohio State football program and fan base still have enough pride and ambition to find a close loss to a top level opponent disappointing. Some other schools have had it so tough, they give their coach a contract extension just for coming close to beating USC (e.g. Notre ame).

4. Anyone who predicted that TOSU would get blown out at encouraged others to wager money on the Trojans dominating (such as a certain ESPN radio a$$ hat) wound up looking foolish. Of course it would be even worse if she also predicted that Tennessee would beat UCLA and UNC would clobber UConn.

3. The House that Harley Built lived up to it's reputation as one of the toughest stadiums in college football. I had heard whispers that the crowd was going to be full of old alumni and desperately short of students meaning a quiet 'Shoe (so pretty much like That Stadium Up North). Some pundits even predicted that the SoCal crew would make themselves right at home in Ohio Stadium. Thankfully the crowd proved as loud and intimidating as we could want, bringing the pressure to bare during a few key moments. They certainly did a much better job than the famous Sea of Red in Nebraska, or than the home crowds in the supposedly ultra-passionate EssEeeSee Our team played like one of the best in the nation and our fellow Buckeye fans showed why we are in a class by ourselves.

2. No one can honestly say Ohio State doesn't play on the same level as the best teams in the nation. The Buckeyes were a few plays away from toppling a college football dynasty and ending any number of highly touted win streaks the Trojans had going. Losing sucks. But it would suck a lot worse if it was an ugly blow out like past games, or if it came at the hands of MAC team.

1. As we wonder "Where do we go from here?", let us remember that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward victory for the Buckeyes. Do people realize this may be the weakest Buckeye team since 2004? Yet they still mananged to hold a lead over a team filled with NFL-caliber talent with more experience. Has anyone else noticed that in each of the last 3 big game losses the Buckeyes have come closer and closer to achieving a big game win? Last year's loss in LA was a pure beat down. Then in an ugly slugmatch with PSU the Bucks caught a bad break from which they couln't quite recover. In the Fiesta Bowl the team played well and it came down to the wire. Last night Tressel imposed his style of play on Pete Carroll and the Buckeyes were in a position to win until literally the final minute. I have faith that the young players will keep learning, that Pryor will continue to improve as a QB, and that the Buckeyes will continue to improve in the big games. Because it's only a matter of time before the Buckeyes win another big game. I can't say when it will happen, but once it does the rest of college football better watch out.

With those 5 moral victories in mind, I can still say I am proud to be a Buckeye.