By Ray Buck
CBS SportsLine National Columnist
Dec. 11, 1998
E-mails over cocktails while wondering if anybody will even remember John Cooper's name by the time Ohio State finally wins another national championship.
First shot
"WE'VE NOW LEARNED THAT THERE are two kinds of whining; those supported by Mr. Buck, and those not.
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"Your article makes me wonder when journalistic intelligence went flying out the window."
(In part, Buck wrote: "Buckeyes blew it. They are the only team among the Top 10 to lose a game at home this season, and one of only two teams in the Top 25 to lose to a team shut out of the bowl picture. Cooper has no room to beg for anything when it comes to postseason performance. He is 2-7 in bowl games.")
"Well, Florida State is the only team in the top five to lose by 17 points. And FSU is the only team to lose to a team that lost to Baylor. So? And (Cooper's playoff record) has what to do with this year? He's 0-0 in bowl games this season. He's 61-11-1 over the last six years. Seems pretty great to me.
"I also checked. Ray Buck never played for John Cooper at Ohio State. So how does he know how Coop's players feel?"
(signed) Thomas Orr, OSU education
BUCKSHOT: Right on, Thomas. Ray Buck never played for John Cooper at Ohio State, and now neither will Chris Simms, the nation's top-rated high school prospect and son of former NFL QB Phil Simms. Seems that young Simms has changed his mind about Cooper U and has canceled his official visit to Columbus, to visit Penn State. Nice going, Coop. Simms has narrowed down his choices to the Penn State, Tennessee and Texas.
Second shot
"OSU HAD ONLY ONE CLOSE GAME and lost by four. FSU lost by how many? They wasn't even in the game.
"Bucks lost because you (media) put all the pressure on them about beating the big M (Michigan). After the loss to Michigan State, Ohio State put things in order and beat Iowa bad and Big M bad. It took FSU nine weeks to be the caliber team OSU was already at the start of this season, and still is.
"So, if OSU beats Texas A&M by 60 or more and FSU struggles to win, AP poll national champion will be the Bucks, buckhead. So, go Cooper! Go wide-open and destroy A&M! By the way, John is a better man than you will ever be ... loser!"
(signed) "TC" Carr
BUCKSHOT: Ohio State should beat Texas A&M, because Cooper already has turned in his choke job for the year.
Third shot
"JUST GOT DONE READING THE HATCHET JOB on John Cooper. What the hell has he ever done to you to deserve that kind of treatment?
"He
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John Cooper has been embraced by the readers.
(Allsport)
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"If you want to write about something, write about media darlin' Bobby Bowden (and his) dodging of the question put to him during the announcement of the BCS bowls, about whether he thought that FSU, without QB Wienke, really was the next best qualified to be there. He answered something about not hearing the whole question, mumbled something about being happy to be there and changed the subject.
"I'm sorry you feel that the face that God gave John Cooper isn't as inspiring as you feel a coach's face has to be. I know that if you tried to improve yourself everyday, and lived to be 100, he would still be head and shoulders above you in class."
(signed) Poncho Guy
BUCKSHOT: If I live to be 100, and John Cooper lives to be 100, my guess is that he and I will have won the same number of national championships -- zero. Then again, I don't coach. Allegedly, he does.
Fourth shot
"GIVE ME A BREAK! IT'S THE SAME OL' THING where people feed computers what they want . Just ask Florida State, UCLA or K-State how hard it is to run the table."
(signed) Monty Lewis
BUCKSHOT: I asked all three schools -- you're right, they said it's very difficult to run the table. Cooper apparently thinks it's impossible. Or at least he coaches that way.
Fifth shot
"READ YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT JOHN COOPER, and how you called him a crybaby. Before you go talking about others, look in the mirror and make sure you don't have flaws of your own.
"John Cooper is upset like all the other Ohio State fans. This is the best team we have had in a long time and -- hands down -- it's the best team in the country. Granted, the Michigan State loss was very disheartening. I was so pissed, I didn't know what to do with myself. But I guarantee you that this Ohio State team could beat any team in the country this year, even Tennessee.
"Tennessee got lucky all year long. So did UCLA. The Fiesta Bowl should be Tennessee vs. Ohio State for two reasons. One, they beat us a few years ago in a bowl game and, come to find out, they cheated. Two, I guarantee we would prove that they were the luckiest team in 1998. They should have lost to Syracuse and Florida and even Arkansas.
"Cooper was just basically saying that things didn't pan out this year in the BCS standings. There are still a lot of loopholes ... because a lot of teams other than OHIO STATE got screwed, like Kansas State and Central Florida, while teams like Syracuse and Florida go to a BCS bowl.
"Personally, I think there should be an eight-team playoff at the end of the season and the winner is the national champ. What do you think about that? We're better than Florida State this year. I just wish we could prove that. GO BUCKS!
(signed) C. Turner, a diehard Ohio State fan
BUCKSHOT: I agree, a playoff makes too much sense to be ignored. Every other sport in college and pro has a playoff system. I also agree that Tennessee was lucky three times this season, but when they had to be good in the clutch in the SEC championship game ... they were that, too.
Sixth shot
"TULANE SHOULD BE DOING THE WHINING. Admittedly, the Green Wave don't have the schedule that others have (although it was tougher than K-State's), but why didn't they even get the opportunity to play against a ranked team?
"The BCS has one letter too many. Oh, and Tommy Bowden sucks."
(signed) Prof. Ashley Morris, University of Idaho, Dept. of Computer Science.
BUCKSHOT: The BCS actually refers to the changes that need to be made: Better Come Soon.