You are likely reading that title and scratching your head.  But here is what I mean.  ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd made a good point regarding recruiting.  He said that in his social life, George Clooney can ask a girl to go out with him, and she will.  But Colin Cowherd can’t ask.  Cowherd must convince a girl to go out with him. 

Cowherd then analogized this to college football.  Pete Caroll can go anywhere in the nation, and simply ask a recruit to come and play, and almost all of them do.  You show them around Southern California and the campus out there and it’s a pretty easy choice to make.  But Jim Tressel must convince top people to come to Columbus (unless they grew up locally as Buckeye fans).


Case in point:  USC QB Mark Sanchez was recruited by both OSU and USC.  He said of Jim Tressel that he was a good guy with a great program, but he did not relish the idea of having to play for weeks with cold weather.  He didn’t mind playing a game in the cold, but practicing all week in cold weather was something he avoided by going to USC.

So let’s look at the advantages that warm weather teams like Florida, USC, and LSU have.  Warm weather is a draw to players.  A University of Miami QB once said that he saw a photo of Vinnie Testeverde throwing a ball around with his shirt off in January and it sold him on going there.  Bowl games are often played within  fifty or so miles of a warm weather team’s home stadiums so they often are playing what amount to home games in their bowl games.  Look at LSU last year.  Look at USC and UCLA in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.  Look at Miami in the Orange Bowl.

But the most important point is the change in seasons here in Ohio and Michigan.  When you play for OSU or Michigan, you have to have a certain amount of toughness to play in the cold and in poor weather conditions.  As the season drags on, you need that to win in the Big Ten.  I’ve been to OSU/Michigan games when it was 8 degrees and snowing.  So you have to recruit guys who are going to thrive in those conditions, because what happens in November determines your fate. 

But those might not be the kind of guys who thrive in 72 degree picture perfect conditions in the Colliseum.  So when you play a warm weather team on its own field in perfect conditions, you are likely to get their best.  But they might not get your best because OSU/Michigan guys have to be dual purpose.

But here’s the rub.  USC comes to Columbus next year and plays in the Horseshoe.  The fans will be against them, so there is an advantage for OSU.  But what will the conditions be?  Given that the game will be played on September 12, 2009, unless it is raining, conditions for USC will be close to perfect.  No advantage for the Big Ten there.

I realize that the schedule for the next 7 years is already set in stone.  But how about this:  When working out the schedule for the year 2020, why not schedule some of these top warm weather teams later in the season for a home game.  Let’s have them come to Columbus in mid-November.  Let’s see how guys like Mark Sanchez thow the ball when its in the low 20s and the wind is blowing hard and there is snow on the ground.  It would mean re-working the schedule a bit, and putting a Big Ten team in among the first three opponents, but other Big Ten teams play each other during the first three games. 

Let’s take full advantage of our home stadium and see how they like it.  My guess, they’ll take a pass on playing OSU or Michigan.

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