For those of you who have read my column all quarter (and according to the amazing numbers from my fan club tally, that number is still stuck at seven), you know that I have said, on several occasions, that this year was now or never for Ohio football coach Brian Knorr.
As the team sits at 4-6 heading into its last game of the season, I have not changed my stance, but I do feel a need to reemphasize it.
Now I know what you're thinking: Mike
you big jerk Knorr tied his own record for wins in a season. Why don't you just leave him alone? But the truth is I can't, because despite all the coaching changes and promises that this team would come into its own, I just don't see the improvement.
Yes, they have four wins. Yippee.
Here's a little trivia for you, though. Do you know the total number of wins for the four teams that the Bobcats have beat this season?
I bet you said seven (I played this game with two of my friends, and they said seven, so I figured that's what you would guess). Guess lower.
The answer is two.
The combined record of the four teams Ohio beat this season is 2-35.
2-35!
That averages out to half a win per team. And what makes this stat worse is one of those wins came against Buffalo, whose only win came against 0-9 Central Florida (who Ohio also beat, in overtime. Feel that Bobcat spirit).
Now I don't want to sound deprecating (OK, yes I do), but beating teams like 1-8 Kentucky and 0-10 Virginia Military Institute is like beating a kid with a broken leg in a race up the stairs (no, Jimmy, you can't use your crutches; that would be an unfair advantage).
But four wins are four wins, of course, and if they were accompanied by anything else, this could have been a nice season. But that never happened. After starting 3-2, the Bobcats had a four-game stretch where they could have proved themselves to be a very good college football team. They dropped all four games by a combined score of 130-52.
Now, I've said this before, and what little bit of conscience I have left dictates that I must say it again: I like Brian Knorr. I think he exudes character and morality. But when it comes to career records, 11-34 just doesn't cut it. And I think if he falls to 11-35, he will get the cut.
To put that kind of record into perspective, think about this: Knorr has won 11 games in four seasons; last year, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel won 11 games in what was called a disappointing season.
Ohio plays 5-4 Akron this weekend at home. This is a chance for the Bobcats' first victory against a winning team and, I think, Knorr's last shot at redemption. I have been patient during my four years here in Athens, but I think this will be the last straw.
I'm not trying to use my seven readers as a rally against the program. I'm just saying that if the team can't post one real victory during a season, how can the new administration say it's working to build our athletics? The truth is, and I'm sure they realize this without me saying it, it's time for things to change before we permanently become one of those embarrassing teams on an opponent's win list.
-Cottrill is a senior English major who doesn't usually get so angry unless someone steals his Smashing Pumpkins CD. You can contact him at michael.cottrill@ohiou.edu with comments about the column or the Smashing Pumpkins.
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Mike Cottrill
