I have really struggled over the past several days. I look at that 8-0 record and cannot believe it. Then I look at the schedule and whom we’ve played. Think what you would like to think, but Murderer’s Row this is not. Yes, we beat Kentucky and we beat New Mexico, but I must ask, “So what?” On Monday, I sat down and wrote the following:

I know this is heresy. I know that I am going against the grain. I know that most of you will want to shoot me and call me a troublemaker. Yet, I have to do this. I am still not sold. I still can’t jump on board the Flyer Express and say that we’re ready for the Top 25. Maybe it’s the last 15 years that have ruined me. I’ve watched them play in person five times. I have seen them beat a well-known team in Kentucky. I have seen them blow out lesser opponents. I also see them rated number 13 in the Sagarin ratings.

I have a tendency to worship at the altar of one, Jeff Sagarin. Even before he was being quoted left and right and seen in every publication know to mankind, I really felt he knew what he was doing. It always amazed me, just how accurate he was. He could call a close game when no one else could. He knew blowouts when the smart money called for a squeakier. He knew we were bad when we were bad. And now he has us rated as the 13th best team in the entire country. There have been years that we were not the 13th best team in a conference that only had 10 teams. What amazes me more than anything is that we have had a tendency to give up points at the end of games that have cost us rating points. Where would we be if we actually could hit a free throw at the end of a game or OP didn’t want the walk-ons to get some playing time? Let’s begin with the two “tough” teams that we have played. When the season began, New Mexico and Kentucky looked like insurmountable objects that would probably lead us to two losses. Needless to say, that has not been the case. Let’s take a look at those and try to understand why. Both of these teams are 4-4. If someone had told me that they would have 8 losses between them this early in the season, I would have had to check their pulse because they couldn’t have been among the living.

Kentucky has lost to some good teams, but they have yet to beat a top team. Yes, they defeated Maryland (and then lost in the rematch) and Utah, but neither of these teams are playing to where they have in the past. Most of us saw Kentucky. They are not top 25 material. They are poor shooters and handle the ball equally as poor. Will they be better by the end of the year? Probably, but this can only help us in the long run. New Mexico is another issue. They have lost to the likes of UTEP and New Mexico State. Their wins and even less impressive with wins over Southern Utah, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, and Alcorn State. I realize that the “Pit” is a tough place to play, but not this year. The other team of significance that we have played, Samford, has lost to Jacksonville and Louisiana Monroe (at home). I completed the above before I went to see OSU play “lowly” Coastal Carolina. I fully expected a blowout. Here is the 12th rated team in the country playing a team that we could have beaten by 50 if we had wanted to.

Low and behold, CCU stayed with them the entire game. This wasn’t a run at the end like they gave us. This was no more than a 4 point game for the first 36 minutes. With 30 seconds to go, OSU was up by the same 4 points. This was not the stroll in the park that everyone had imagined.

This occurrence, more than anything else I have seen this year has convinced me that we are for real. This is the second time in a little over a week that a team we dismembered took a top 25 team to the wire while playing on the road. As long as we do not lose Cain, or anyone else for that matter, for an extended period of time we can win 25 games heading into the NCAA tourney. We have learned to win on the road and take care of the teams we need to take care of at home. This is not a fluke. I have come to the conclusion that I have been subscribing to the typical coach and sportswriters line of thinking. “If they stunk last year, this is only a short term aberration. They will come back down to earth and the real powers will stay above them as they should.” This is where I have been wrong. This team should be judged on what they have done this year, just like every other team. Ohio State is not the 12th best team in the country. If they are, we are one of the top 10.