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Trivia Question for the Football Fans Out There…
Who was the last Ohio college to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes? Ohio State has won an impressive 43 straight in-state games since that loss, but they have lost to Ohio opponents before. Do you know who beat them?
In 1921, immediately after winning the Rose Bowl, Ohio State lost to Oberlin, by a score of 7-6. Ohio State’s only touchdown was on a blocked punt, and they missed the extra point. The game was in Columbus, in front of 10,000 fans.
This year, the Buckeyes are 10-1, and Oberlin is 1-9 (beating only Hiram College 31-28). So if a rematch was held today, it might go differently. But you never know. And apparently, Ohio State doesn’t want to find out – they didn’t schedule Oberlin this year.
From their website: Oberlin is committed to a climate where all students belong and have equitable opportunities and outcomes. The GSFS department often partners with the Multicultural Resource Center to host events affirming and promoting equity for LGBTQ+ students as well as students of color and first-generation college students.
My sainted mother went to Oberlin for a year and a half before transferring to Denison. In the late ’60s, the trend was for every white girl to have a black boyfriend. And they all did. When I played at Denison in the late ’80s, the trend was homosexuality. The whole campus was gay. Oberlin had a football dorm and a straight dorm, and they were the same dorm. I’m not sure what the trend is now, and I hate to think what the trend there might be in 10-20 years.
But whatever the trend is, I’m sure they’ll all follow it. Nothing is as terrifying to a progressive as independent thought.
My point is that Oberlin has changed. My niece is a junior there right now, majoring in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. Imagine going to a party with those folks. And then imagine going to a tailgate party tomorrow for the Ohio State – Michigan game. Where would you have more fun? Where would you meet more fun people, who are more interesting to talk to? Where would you make new friends that you would keep up with later?
Anyway, for some reason, Oberlin’s football team has not thrived with these recent changes. And Oberlin College has not thrived, either. Applications are way down, and they’re having serious cash flow problems.
Ohio State is doing quite well, thank you. And they seem quite happy about things. While Oberlin students seem miserable. I guess the Buckeyes have gotten over their loss to Oberlin 100 years ago. Might as well let bygones be bygones, and have another beer, I suppose. Happiness is the best revenge, and all that…
Academia will be unrecognizable soon. It already is, come to think of it.
I can’t wait for the big game Saturday. I refer, of course, to the Ohio State – Michigan game.
I’m not sure who Oberlin is playing. Eh — nobody cares. About Oberlin in general, I mean. As it should be. Anybody who takes themselves as seriously as Oberlin does should not be taken seriously by anybody else.
Those who pursue joy tend to attract a following. Even if they sometimes look ridiculous doing it. Go Buckeyes!
Our obsession with something as unimportant as football is a sign of the health of our society. When everyone mopes around like an Oberlin student, or a Democrat activist, then we have serious problems.
God bless football. God bless joy. And God bless America.
Published in General
Good old-fashioned tobacco!
Funny, I live just down the street from St. Edward High School (where Phil Donahue graduated) and have done work for the principle of Gilmour Academy.
As did my team -OU. Not a bad team at all. Just need a new QB.
Yeah Michigan. Since my team got its ass kicked and tOSU lost (as opposed to the real OSU), if Ga. beats Alabama will have 4 newbies in the playoffs (except the Irish) and Ga. (only one time). But no tOSU, Clemson or Alabama.
Apparently he played several games with a high ankle sprain and a broken jaw. But still.
Tough guy. Just did not have a great OLine to help him. At the end OU had the same problem. Just won a lot of close games. On to next year.
After seeing the latest comments I went and looked up the result and commentary of the Michigan vs. Ohio State game. Looks like Michigan got lucky and squeaked one out by rushing for ten times more yardage and never losing possession of the ball.
My father is a die hard Michigan fan, and he’s in the hospital. I have never understood the obsession with a game, but I felt real joy yesterday when Michigan won.
Also… I’m very supportive of the University of Austin. As far as I’m concerned, higher education in the US is self indulgent and ridiculous. But I agree. I’d rather be with the football crowd than the “academics.”
Isn’t Oberlin the one that got sued by the bakery? You can only get so crazy before people start to notice.
I thought the sister school was St. Mary’s, and that that was where the cheerleaders came from. I guess it’s changed?
What about the American way? Or is that passe now?
Yep. My wife wanted to drive out there and buy some pastries but the stuff they put on their website didn’t look appealing.
DC Comics has abandoned that. Superman is now for “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow.”
Superman is running for city council as a candidate of the Karen party.
Soon to be “My Truth, Social Justice, and Build Back Better “
My Political Science/History degree in ’78 was the perfect preparation for my 40 year career in warehousing/logistics………wasn’t it?
Tell her to repeat the following phrase until she masters it:
“Do you want fries with that?”
Go Blue!
My wife went to Oberlin in the mid-60’s. She said she was distinctive in that she combed her hair, bathed regularly and wore a skirt to class.
She recalls encountering a classmate at the Cleveland Airport on the way home for x-mas and discovering she was female, as she was wearing a dress.
She remembers a freshman girl showing up on campus with a very nice “protest” sign her dad had made. It was sanded, painted with a sculptured handle. The “backer board” was made of some kind of light weight material. Dad wanted only the best for his daughter.
One significant thing she can out of Oberlin with was a real and profound contempt for higher education.
Here is one debate for you:
Background: rivalry game between us and Clemson. Clemson had won the last six but is having a down year. My team had mostly sucked all year, and last 5-6 years, but has had bright moments including beating Auburn last week. The excitement led to a sellout. Sadly, by the end of the first quarter, the outcome was ordained. With 2 minutes left in the 30-0 game, the Gamecocks were on a drive to avoid the first shutout against Clemson since around 1983. The drive stalled in the red zone with 5 seconds left.
The Decision: kick a field goal to avoid the shutout or try one last time for a touchdown.
Final point: The field goal kicker was a senior in his last home game. He had been the one right spot in the four years he played and certainly good enough to get a shot at proball. What would the fans want more? A 30-7 loss or a 30-3 loss with a chance to cheer him one lost time?
Question: What would you do as coach?
I played freshman football at Davidson back when freshmen couldn’t play for the varsity. Our opening game was against the University of Richmond, which had 35 scholarship players. We had two spread among several. I was a walk on.
Anyway, we beat them. After the game, the coaches said they just didn’t want to be embarrassed.
To make a long story short, we won all our games up until the last one. The other team scored first. When we scored late in the game we told the coach we wanted to go for two points for the win. He let us, and of course we failed. But it would have been glorious if we’d made it.
Our head coach was Gene McEver, an All-American at Tennessee in like, 1935. He was pretty old at the time. Our real coaches we three scholarship players who were injured and couldn’t play anymore. It was the most fun I ever had playing football.
One Monday, we were running windsprints and one of the coaches asked who had gone out, chased women, and drank over the weekend. I and one other raised our hands. They said, you guys can go to the locker room. You need the rest. The others are going to run some more.
Take the field goal. Getting shutout is worse than the difference between a touchdown and field goal.
I’d definitely put the kicker in for a field goal try. After all, I’ve seen Rudy.
Reminds me of the notice on the wall of the bar at the Diego Garcia Yacht Club, “Free beer tomorrow”.
You’ve been to Diego Garcia?
Yes. I am also a life member of the Diego Garcia Yacht Club. Learned to sail there in 2002.
I never knew. Pretty cool.
Hand the ball off to the opposing team’s nose tackle and let him run 99 yards for a touchdown.
I think they had used up their turnover quota already