Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com.
Editor’s note: These letters were submitted before Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan State game.
On the OSU defense
Dear editor: I’m a lifelong Buckeye fan (71), transplanted to Boston, and I’ve done little over the past few years but watch this Ryan Day coached team and their nonexistent defense get torched almost every week. There is NO pass rush (I know, I know, a Chase Young comes along very rarely) and there’s no push up the middle, the linebackers seem to drop way to deep regardless of down and distance and the secondary often seems confused as to who to cover (waaaayyy too many blown coverages) or what to do. Offensive crossing patterns causing Buckeye defenders to run in to one another (resulting in a Purdue TD). Really? There seems to be little communication between the guys in the secondary, and that has to get cleaned up.
Obviously, this is NOT Woody’s Buckeyes. Fantastic offense, but without a defense there is no championship; at least in my opinion. It seems to me (yeah, yeah…I know, I know, I’m just a grumpy ole fart) that the change in (defensive) coordinators helped only a little bit. The run defense seems to have gotten better, but why run when you can throw for 390 yards and four TDs? (Aidan) O’Connell (Purdue) is an above-average QB, and likely one of the best in the Big Ten (when he’s “on”) and the youth on this team is also apparent, but …the (offensive) line has to focus, and Day has to call more running plays. … Well, although the Buckeyes are loaded, talent-wise, they’re young, inexperienced and obviously susceptible to a strong pass rush (LOOK OUT FOR THE “D-ENDS” FROM THAT TEAM UP NORTH!!!). But if Day and his (defensive) coordinator allows Thorne (MSU) and McNamara (TTUN) to get hot, well, it’s gonna be a LONG day (no pun intended).
Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s really easy for some ole fart like me to sit and watch this on TV, but, man, it’s frustrating. Watching this team thump MSU and TTUN over the past few years, has been an absolute delight. But Day has to get that right or we’re gonna be sitting on the sidelines this playoff season.
Tim Gase
Dear Tim: Valid points on what might prevent the Buckeyes from winning a national title, but I bet the fan bases of, oh, about 127 of the 130 FBS teams would love to have the problems Buckeyes fans fret about.
On Cincinnati and the rankings
To the editor: Thank God the CFP selection poll committee has some common sense. Do the AP writers or any coaches really think that Cincinnati is the (third)-best team in the country? I personally don’t think that they could beat anyone in the top 10 (other than Notre Dame, who is always ranked too high). This is perhaps the worst ranking I have seen since BYU won the national championship in 1984 by going undefeated with a cupcake schedule and eeking out a 24-17 win over an unranked 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl. Can we please stop rewarding teams for playing patsy schedules?
Ed Ratchford
On Ryan Day’s salary
Hey Brian: I know this Ryan Day thing has gone on for too long but I feel compelled to respond to the letter sent last week from the philosophy professor.
Yes, students pay tuition to listen to philosophy professors philosophize. But 106,000 don’t pay for the privilege on a weekly basis. That’s twice the size of the entire enrollment at OSU. You don’t have to be a math professor to extrapolate that out for seven home games a year: 742,000 attendees x $75 ticket = $55,650,000. Even though the cost of attending is over $25,000 with tuition and room and board, it doesn’t come close to those numbers.
To point to a year where there were no fans due to COVID as evidence the athletic department is not self-sufficient is ridiculous.
The outlandish salaries paid to coaches are what the free market is dictating (sorry, socialists) and is paid for by the athletic department. And to the point of subsidizing things with taxpayer money, why are parents paying for radical, socialist professors to indoctrinate kids instead of teaching them how to think? This is major reason my sons will most likely not attend OSU.
Here’s an idea: What don’t these colleges (OSU included) with tens of millions of dollars’ worth of endowments put some of that money towards helping kids go to college so they don’t graduate with student loan debt? What does the OSU president do that warrants a $900,000 annual salary? According to data from 2020, 430 professors and administrators make over $200,000 per year while kids are taking out loans to attend their university. A staggering 2,580 make between $100,000 and $200,000.
So let’s all stop the crying about salaries, OK?
Tony Federer
On coaches’ salaries
Dear Mr. White: Poor boosters. The arms race for college football coaches is about to reach Cuban Missile Crisis levels. Reports have it that two cash-laden Sparty alums are funding a 10-year/$95 million package designed to retain MSU coach Mel Tucker. Yes, that Mel Tucker. Thanks to this profligate duo every coach in America feels entitled to a hefty bump in pay.
Three weeks ago, TCU wouldn’t allow 22-year head coach Gary Patterson to finish the season. Now, Patterson is reportedly on the “short list” for Virginia Tech. If that’s so, Luke Fickell should just hire Christie’s to conduct a black-tie-only auction. Prediction: USC will be waving paddle #1.
To compound booster angst, they are expected pay the players thanks to the name, image and likeness (NIL) Pandora’s Box. Say what? Yes, that NIL proviso that prompts five-star quarterbacks to skip their senior high school seasons so they can make $1 million suffering the indignities of running the freshman scout team.
While you can listen to the sports media yammer about how coaches are tortured by the transfer portal and every player on every team is playing with a chip on his shoulder, you won’t hear a peep about the cash our one-time amateur student-athletes are receiving. (Privacy?) The same cannot be said about money and coaches and, lest I say, university priorities.
Jon Armstrong, Columbus
Dear Jon: The boosters of every team not satisfied with its coach should be raising a paddle for Fickell. He did a phenomenal job at Cincinnati. Now it’s time to cash in and move on.
On Ovechkin and Blue Jackets
To Brian: Alex Ovechkin’s goal (Nov. 12) moved him past Brett Hull into fourth place on the NHL all-time goal list. Not a word was said in (Nationwide Arena). Come on CBJ, show some class. It was a historic moment for an all-time great and, opposing team notwithstanding, public recognition and congratulations were in order.
Brent D. Rosenthal, Columbus
More from The Mailbox
Ryan Day needs to call more run plays; and, of course, more mail on Day’s salary
‘Garbage officiating’ in Penn State game; and more on Ryan Day’s salary
Ryan Day’s salary (cont.), weird head-butting, high school playoff inequality
More Urban Meyer, plus how many professors you could hire with Ryan Day’s salary
Plenty of backlash for Urban Meyer, and non-Daves weigh in on stadium noise
Media, and social media, equally to blame in Urban Meyer mess
Empathy for K’Vaughan Pope, plus more debate about loud music
Too much ‘ear-splitting’ music at Ohio State games?
Enough about Ryan Day’s beard; what about local colleges?
Shohei Ohtani vs. Babe Ruth? Table that discussion for 20 years
OHSAA gets it right with expanded playoffs; Cleveland baseball got it wrong
Does it make any sense to sit maskless in a packed Ohio Stadium?
Ohio State opener was a horrible mess, from ticketing to Kerry Coombs and beyond
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mailbox: Ohio State football defense is bad; Cincinnati is overrated