Woody Hayes Would Be Proud

Jim Tressel has once again taken the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road to the national championship. The current polls put them at the number one position, although the only polls that really count are the last ones. I think the late Wayne Woodrow Hayes would be very proud of Jim Tressel and the current Ohio State Buckeyes. Woody may think that the buckeyes tend to throw the ball more often than he would. Woody Hayes football consisted of 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Incorporating the passing game into college football was initiated by Woody's partner and rival, the late Bo Schembechler. Bo, was the assistant coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes under Woody Hayes. Bo later moved on into the northern part to coach the Michigan Wolverines. Both Ohio and Michigan have a great following for college football, each despising each other creating the greatest sports rivalry ever heard of in these parts. I cannot think of a rivalry even in the NFL that would compare to Ohio State and Michigan. It seems that no matter where either of these two teams rank in the polls at the time of their meeting when Ohio State plays Michigan it is like another Super Bowl, almost always proving to be a good game and unpredictable. Somehow the legend of the great Wayne Woodrow Hayes and Bo Schembechler will never die.

So just how does Jim Tressel tie into this? Jim Tressel consistently demonstrates a unique blend of coaching style that would complement Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler's coaching style. To date, Tressel has a 73.3% success rate in his coaching career. His success rate with the Ohio State Buckeyes is 82.9%. Overall Jim Tressel is 204-71-2 compared to the late Woody Hayes 238-72-10 in the late Bo Schembechler to 234-65-8. The numbers don't lie and Jim Tressel ranks right up there with the best coaches of all time.

Currently, the Ohio State Buckeyes must focus on each game to continue on the road to the national championship. Some may argue that the Buckeyes have a rather soft schedule this year. Either way what it will come down to is the two best teams play each other for the national championship. It is then that the Pats schedule is a relevant and only the game being played presently shows who's the best team. The Ohio State Buckeyes have a consistently and historically successful foot ball program. Except for the whole passing the ball situation, I'm sure Woody Hayes is very very proud of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Jim Tressel.

What do Jim Tressel, the late Woody Hayes, in the late Bo Schembechler have in common? They are all exceptional coaches in the college football arena and they all are natives of Ohio. There is much that we can learn from all three of these gentlemen. It seems that something would he once said still holds true." A guy from Ohio can make it in life if he works hard enough"

All great coaches seem to be inspiring and what they say. Perhaps we can all learn something from these words. Anyone from anywhere can make it in life if they work hard enough.

Facts and figures contained in this article were obtained from Wikipedia.com