By Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Aug. 10, 1998

There is this perception in the Ohio Valley that good news came roaring from coast to coast about college football '98.

It's

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August, and coaches have decided that the Ohio State Buckeyes are the best team in the country... which is comparable to the claim that Conrad is the best show in the new television lineup.

What?

Precisely. Neither makes its debut for quite some time.

Predicting Ohio State to win the national title is like saying Nolan Ryan would win the most games of any pitcher in a given baseball season. Sure, he would lead the league in strikeouts, pitch a handful of very low-hit games (maybe even a no-hitter). But win 20-25 games? Not a chance, really.

THE SAME GOES FOR the Buckeyes. They look great on paper.

The NFL is loaded with Buckeyes from the past 10 years since John Cooper became coach. There are explosive offensive players like Joey Galloway, Eddie George and Terry Glenn. Bobby Hoying will be the starting quarterback for Philadelphia. Shawn Springs is one of the top young defensive backs around, while linebacker Mike Vrabel prompted the Pittsburgh Steelers to dump five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Greg Lloyd.

The list goes on and on, as OSU consistently flirts with No. 1 the first five weeks or so of every season.

This past NFL Draft proved to be the first one since it began in 1936 that no Ohio State players were taken. And that's the good news. That translates into 17 of the 22 starters returning from last year's 10-3 team that finished 12th in the nation.

The

Joe Germaine finally holds the reins to a potent Ohio State offense. (AP)

bad news is they finished 12th in the country. That's all too typical of any Ohio State team in the Cooper regime. You see, they've been labeled No. 1 before -- just never finished there. In fact, it's been 30 years since that happened -- dating back to the days of All-Americans Jack Tatum, Jim Stillwagon, John Brockington and Rex Kern, before legendary coach Woody Hayes decided to make a punching bag out of Clemson's Charlie Bauman 20 years ago.

The rest of the country always accuses the Buckeyes faithful of being too harsh. Even the athletic department, firing Cooper's predecessor Earle Bruce because he couldn't do better than 9-3, was an embarrassment. The difference was Bruce could beat Michigan and win bowl games.

Cooper's teams cannot.

SINCE COOPER BECAME COACH, OSU is 1-8-1 against Michigan and 2-7 in bowl games. They hung on to win the Rose Bowl in 1997 over an overrated Arizona State team, then were blown out in the 1998 Sugar Bowl by an underrated squad from Florida State.

They will be better without the quarterback controversy that hung over the team the past two seasons between versatile incumbent Stanley Jackson and upstart passing wiz Joe Germaine. Jackson made life impossible for many around the program complaining about sharing the job with Germaine. Many people thought Jackson was right, because whispers of racism surrounded the movements. If they weren't accurate whispers, they were certainly a consideration.

Jackson was a leader and was spectacular running and throwing from time to time, but erratic. Germaine, the freckle-faced skinny guy who looks like Huck Finn, was often amazing with his long and short passing coming off the bench.

But when it came to big games, Cooper consistently choked up and struggled with whom to start, putting uncommon pressure on the rest of the team. They lost winnable games to both Penn State and Michigan last season before the predictable Sugar Bowl fiasco.

Anyone questioning Jackson's ego need only have witnessed his brief stay with the Seattle Seahawks this summer as a free agent. He's 6-1, 210 pounds and has great hands. He came in as a wide receiver candidate and was cut after he began squawking that he deserved a shot at quarterback.

Starting at quarterback at Ohio State is one thing. But with his questionable passing skills and lack of height, the Seahawks accidentally used him as a place-kicking tool at training camp. He landed out of the stadium, across the Eastern Washington University campus and outside the city limits.

SO NOW THE BUCKS ARE BACK WITH Germaine at quarterback, David Boston and Dee Miller at wide receiver and the super-fast Michael Wiley at tailback. They have the best linebacker in the country, Andy Katzenmoyer, anchoring the defense, and the bitter reminder that they could have won the national title each of the past two seasons.

Still, they have to play Michigan, again, but at least it's in Columbus this year.

They'd also have to win their final bowl game, and/or count on somebody else losing to have a shot at the national title. And that's presuming they are still No. 1 after their first game, at West Virginia, which is hardly guaranteed.

Will the Buckeyes sustain? Don't count on it ... unless the country happens to fall in love with Conrad. All you have to do is watch John Cooper walk across campus on Michigan week with his tail tucked between his legs to know what the problem is. But we can't wait to read the next book about Cooper: Fear and Loathing in Ann Arbor.