Buckeyes-Trojans used to play for roses

Cleveland Plain Dealer columnists Bill Livingston recalls when Earle Bruce and the Ohio State Buckeyes used to meet USC in the Rose Bowl. Livingston also takes a pretty good shot at Jim Tressel.

Livingston says USC has replaced Notre Dame as the country's most glamorous name in college football.

"For a while, it looked like it was going to be Ohio State, but Florida changed that in one night. The fact that OSU was outrun, out-passed and, most critically, out-coached, made Jim Tressel, the most feared big-game coach in the sport before the kickoff, an overnight failure. His standing has never been as high since.

"The Buckeyes have lost their last five games against top-five-ranked teams. Penn State and Texas could have gone either way, but both national championship game losses to Southeastern Conference teams were over by halftime, as was last year's game in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Chants of "Over-rated! Over-rated!" greeted the Ohio State players, hecklers playing the role of fortune tellers before the game even began.

Nothing less than OSU's reputation is at stake tonight."