Buckeye Bits

Pearl's jam a bad omen for Tressel

When the NCAA dropped the hammer on former Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl and essentially banned him from college coaching for three years, former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel had to wince. Pearl's major offense was lying to the NCAA about a cookout at his home he held for recruits that was outside the rules. Tressel was forced out at Ohio State for lying to the NCAA and OSU officials in relation to the tattoo and memorabilia scandal that has rocked the Buckeyes' program. If we're comparing apples to apples here, Tressel should face a similar ban when the NCAA infractions folks reveal his sentence in another month or so.

New sheriff in town

We knew for several months that the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State was over, but the changing of the guard with the Buckeyes is increasingly obvious now as we've watched Luke Fickell conduct fall camp. The former OSU defensive lineman and defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes does not rule the Harmon Family Football Park with the same alpha dog demeanor that Tressel did. It has been much more a "coach by committee" approach, and understandably so. Fickell has made subtle changes, but not tried to remake the wheel. He's also been smart enough to lean on the guys around him. The OSU staff has considerable input as this team takes shape. It still seems awkward, however, to see Dick Tressel, the brother of the fired former coach, out on the practice field. He's not guilty by association, but the last name kind of jumps out at you.

Big Ten goes soft on preseason predictions

There are no preseason polls put out by the Big Ten this season, no preseason players of the year on offense or defense. For a conference so steeped in tradition and one that constantly bangs that drum, it looks like political correctness has claimed another victim. The Big Ten dumped both concepts this year. Either the past polls put too much pressure on those picked to win, or hung too much disgrace on those picked to finish out of the top echelon -- depends which story you heard. You would think football coaches and players would be the last to whine and complain about such things, since toughness is supposed to be their strong suit. The media filled the void with a very comprehensive group of preseason polls, ranking teams, players and coaches, with the hope that no feelings were hurt. Meanwhile, we are checking into the rumor that this year there is no league champion -- everyone gets a trophy.