Scarlet Sunrise: Jim Tressel believes Buckeyes will right the ship in Ann Arbor this season

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Jim Tressel believes Buckeyes will right the ship in Ann Arbor this season

The history of The Game wouldn’t be the same without former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.

Tressel, who was 9-1 against Michigan in his tenure, sparked a turnaround that saw the Buckeyes reclaim bragging rights in their storied rivalry versus the Wolverines. In his first year with the program, Ohio State went into the Big House and defeated Michigan, which had won two straight and five of its previous six meetings with the Buckeyes.

But, even before that, Tressel famously turned the tide with a speech at halftime of an Ohio State basketball game in January 2001.

“I can assure you that you will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community and, most especially, in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the football field,” Tressel said at the time, drawing cheers from the Buckeyes faithful.

In a recent interview with David Briggs of the Toledo Blade, Tressel — now retired after a nine-year run as Youngstown State’s president — was asked if he had a similar prediction for this year’s game in Ann Arbor.

After all, Ohio State has lost back-to-back games against Michigan for the first time since 1999-2000.

“There’s no question that I think the Buckeyes will make us proud in Ann Arbor,” Tressel told The Blade.

Michigan leads the all-time series, 60-52-6. But from 2001 (the year Tressel became head coach) until 2019, the Buckeyes won 17-of-19 games against the Wolverines.

The Game was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19 complications within the Michigan program. And the Wolverines have beaten Ohio State by double digits each of the past two seasons. Last year, Jim Harbaugh’s squad was the first Michigan team to take down Ohio State in the Horseshoe since 2000.

“We need to go up there and turn it the other direction,” Tressel told The Blade.

Tressel added, via The Blade: “I’ve really grown to be a believer, whether it’s a society, a family, or a football team, until you suffer a little bit, it’s hard to learn lessons. Now, we’ve suffered. I tell people all the time, the strength of our 2002 national championship team was that they were done suffering. They’d been 6-6, 8-4, 7-5. They’d had it. They weren’t going to lose. … Michigan might have suffered a long time, and maybe they felt like they’ve suffered enough. We’re all allowed to learn lessons. It’s not just the Buckeyes. Now I think you’re going to see a real square-off, and I’ve got confidence in the Buckeyes.”

During his interview with Briggs, Tressel also voiced his confidence in Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, who Tressel said has done “a great job.” Day is 45-6 since taking over for Urban Meyer but is only 1-2 versus Michigan and 1-3 in the College Football Playoff.

Analyzing PFF stats that show value of each Buckeyes returning offensive starter

Ohio State is returning eight starters on offense: wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming; running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams; tight end Cade Stover; and offensive guards Matthew Jones and Donovan Jackson.

Lettermen Row dove into the Pro Football Focus database to find a defining statistic for each of those returning starters. They all provide value in their own way.

And they’re in place to help whoever wins the two-way race for QB1.

Check out our analysis here.

Next Man Up: How Buckeyes can replace kicker Noah Ruggles

Lettermen Row continued its “Next Man Up” series by taking a look at how Ohio State will replace kicker Noah Ruggles this season. Unfortunately for Ruggles, his Buckeyes career ended in heartbreaking fashion: His missed potential game-winning, 50-yard field goal in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal abruptly ended Ohio State’s upset bid against Georgia and national title hopes.

But it’s important to remember that Ruggles drilled a season-long 48-yarder earlier that game and finished his two years at Ohio State having recorded the best field goal percentage (90.2%) in program history.

He was 37-of-41 on field goals, and one of those makes capped a thrilling comeback win over Utah in the Rose Bowl during the 2021 season.

Now, Ohio State is looking for a new leg. The competition started in spring ball and will continue in fall camp. For more on the kicking battle, go here.

RELATED

• Next Man Up: How Buckeyes can replace Cameron Brown at cornerback

• Next Man Up: How Buckeyes can replace Paris Johnson Jr. at left tackle

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 103 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 187 days

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