Chapman: Ohio State Won! I Hope You're Happy! [BLOG]

By Brian Chapman, 97.1 The Ticket

So are you still popping bottles? Do you still have a hangover from all of that alcohol you consumed Monday night? Do you still have a headache and bruises on your cheeks from punching yourself in the head like Brutus Buckeye? Did you buy one of those national championship t-shirts like all of your BFF's from Columbus? Huh? Are you still celebrating that football national championship by Ohio State like you said you would?

Don't play stupid (because if you're not playing stupid, you just are stupid.) You know who I'm talking about. I'm not talking about the true maize and blue Michigan fans. I'm not talking about the Spartan fans who don't despise Ohio State, but don't particularly like what's emanating out of Columbus. And I'm certainly not talking about a 'We Are Penn State Nittany Lion' like myself. I'm talking about all of those "For-The-Good-Of-The-Conference" Big Ten fans. I'm talking about all of those fraudulent folks who call themselves M-Go Blue Michigan fans, but found a way to cheer for Ohio State, not once, but twice this month on the gridiron.

I'm talking about you people!

I hope you're happy about what took place on New Year's Day down at the Sugar Bowl where the Deep South Buckeyes crowned themselves the King of the South with their sound victory over Alabama. I hope no one has been able to wipe that blissful grin off of your face since their Ohio Statement over Oregon to become the first College Football Playoff Champion.

If over the last two weeks you said you were rooting for the Deep South Buckeyes in those two games, I really hope you're still doing backflips down the street because I'm not and if you are still celebrating you need to check yourself.

I took all of your calls over the last two weeks because my producers forced me to, as a lot of you people tried to sell me on the joys of painting my face scarlet and grey, getting a bunch of Terrell Pryor fake tattoos, putting on my Jim Tressel sweater vest, spelling out O-H-I-O over my head and becoming a Buckeye fan for a day on January 1 and then another day on January 12.

You people told me about how great a Buckeye national championship would be for the perception of the B1G conference. You people told me about how recruits from across the land would flock to Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and other B1G schools because they would be excited to take on the national champs. And you people sat me down on your knee, like a father does to his young child, and taught me about the first rule of College Football Reaganomics: An Ohio State national championship would trickle down golden flakes of greatness and winning football to the other 13 schools in the B1G, including Michigan, Michigan State and my beloved Penn State.

That's what you people told me. If you're right, then I guess we're about to enter the golden age of B1G football. If you're wrong—and let there be no doubt. You are DEAD wrong—your B1G school will receive next to nothing because of that Buckeye championship.

Let's start by examining recruiting since so many of you people told me that B1G schools would receive a substantial recruiting boost from a Buckeye national championship and let's also look at recent champion from a similarly maligned college football conference. I'm talking, of course, about the Florida State Seminoles of the ACC. They won the final BCS championship one year ago. Has their success trickled down to other schools in the ACC? Are recruiting experts stunned at how many kids want to play against big bad Florida State? According to Rivals.com, the answer is no.

In the 2013 recruiting class (the final class before Florida State won their national championship) the Seminoles were the highest ranked ACC school in the final Rivals.com recruiting rankings at No. 10. The only other ACC schools to finish in Rivals.com's top 25 were Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech. Let's fast forward to the 2014 recruiting class which signed just one month after Florida State's national championship.

Surely teenagers had that fresh in their minds as they flocked to ACC schools like Boston College, NC State and Virginia for the shot to take down the champs.

Right?

Wrong.

For the second straight year, the ACC finished with only four teams in Rivals.com's top 25 recruiting classes: Florida State, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina. The team that benefited most was Florida State who jumped up to No. 5. Evidence also suggests that these teenagers didn't need a year for Florida State's championship to sink in and excite them about ACC football. As of January 14, 2015 only Florida State and Clemson represent the ACC in the top 17 of Rivals.com's 2015 recruiting team rankings.

But hey! You people aren't going to give up that easily. You were proud to root for the Deep South Buckeyes because you know that their championship will reflect well upon the conference and lead to more wins and higher rankings for your B1G school. Right?

Before we even look at any rankings, just take a moment and ask yourself if in the last 13 months you now consider Florida State's Atlantic Coast Conference to be a college football juggernaut. Do you dread having to play an ACC school the same way you dread playing an SEC school?

That's what I thought.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's compare the final BCS rankings with the final College Football Championship Rankings (which came out before bowl season.) If Florida State's trickledown effect was real, then we'd see more ACC teams in the top 25 in 2014 than in 2013… and we do!

At the end of 2013 only Florida State, Clemson and Duke finished in the top 25. At the end of 2014 there were four ACC teams: Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Louisville. Case closed, right? You just stuck it to me, didn't you, because four is more than three… except when it's not.

That's because the ACC got a fourth team into the top 25, not because teams in the conference were suddenly playing better after Florida State's national championship, but because Louisville, who was in the AAC (American Athletic Conference) in 2013, moved to the ACC for the 2014 season. If TCU somehow moves to the B1G in 2015 the conference would look stronger, but not because of any kind of Urban Meyer trickledown effect. Sorry.

Now I know that some of you people (you MichiBuckeyes, you SpartaBrutuses) are still convinced that rooting for the Deep South Buckeyes was "the right thing to do" and you didn't become a Buckeye for a day and show off your abs during the game like Ezekiel Elliott (even though you probably have a pot belly) for nothing. So let's take a look at one final example. Recent B1G teams in national championship games.

According to my elaborate records, when Ohio State played in the College Football Playoff Championship on Monday, they became the first Big Ten school to play for a national championship since… Ohio State in 2007. When Ohio State played for the national championship in 2007, they became the first Big Ten school to play for a national championship since… Ohio State in 2006.

When Ohio State played for the national championship in 2006, they became the first Big Ten school to play for a national championship since… Ohio State in 2002. The Buckeyes were the ONLY Big Ten school to play for a national championship in the Bowl Championship Series era.

So where's that Buckeye trickledown effect? Huh?

With Ohio State playing for the national championship three times since 2002 and winning it once, you'd figure if that trickledown effect was true, there would have been at least one other Big Ten team that would have played for that crystal ball, but that simply has not been the case.

Furthermore, when Ohio State played for the national championship in 2006, there was no trickledown the following year. In 2007, the second highest ranked Big Ten team (after No. 5 Ohio State) was Michigan at No. 18. Illinois (No. 20) and Wisconsin (No. 24) also snuck into the top 25. When Ohio State played for the national championship in 2007, there was no trickledown the following year. In 2008, Penn State finished No. 8, Ohio State finished No. 9, Iowa finished No. 20 and Michigan State finished No. 24.

I don't know about your book, but in my book, that's not exactly a Buckeye championship appearance trickledown.

The fact of the matter is that when it comes to recruiting and on field success the only school in the Big Ten which has benefited from Ohio State playing for national championships over the last decade and a half has been Ohio State and the only team that will reap the benefits from more Buckeye success is Ohio State, not your team.

The Deep South Buckeyes—that wannabe SEC program from Columbus, Ohio—won the national championship, not the Big Ten. This looks good for them, not you. There should be no smiling and hugging of Buckeye fans if you happen to see one with no teeth, armpit stains and an exposed butt crack wandering around your neighborhood sporting a championship hat. This is their championship, not ours to share with them. Especially, since you know that they would NEVER root for Michigan and most likely not root for Michigan State to win it all if one of your teams was in the playoff. (And by the way, what college fan base ever wins a championship and immediately begins to think about how great it is for the conference. I know if my Penn State Nittany Lions won the championship, I wouldn't run around trying to share that love with the other 13 teams in the conference.)

Anyway. If you're still elated after reading all of my nonsense because you think that your decision to become a Buckeye for a day will payoff for your B1G program good for you and shame on me for attempting to steal your scarlet and gray joy. Just know that I'm a fan of a B1G team too, the Deep South Buckeyes ruined my week and I see no silver lining for my Nittany Lions or your Wolverines and Spartans based on what transpired in Jerry's World on Monday night.

The Buckeyes are not happy for you. They're happy for themselves. And there's no image uglier than a happy Buckeye.