It amazes me how much scrutiny Jim Tressel is getting for not voting in the USA Today Coaches Poll. When various people come on the air and question his character, I start to wonder whether they realize his vote wouldn’t have made a difference. I recognize that controversy gives us something to talk about and keeps many people in business, but this clearly has gotten out of control. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. Jim Tressel’s biggest crime was ruining everyone’s news column, everyone’s water cooler debate, everyone’s Matrix.

By deciding not to take the blue or orange pill, countless journalists began scratching their heads over what they should do about the two articles they wrote criticizing Jim for picking Florida or Michigan. They shouldn’t blame Jim for their lack of preparation. I’m sure there was some sportswriter out there who recognized that a Plan C would put him/herself on the map. Unfortunately, there was only a small blurb about the computer polls. As an individual who has much maligned the computer polls, I have to give them credit. They actually worked to perfection. The race was that even. While one team played the most brutal schedule I have seen in years and managed only one blemish, Michigan’s only negative was that they played like the #2 team in the nation.

Jim Tressel had plenty of reasons to vote for either team, but he chose the road less traveled and played his two cards to perfection. For me, if I was thinking about my career in the Big Ten, I would have chosen Michigan. By working for Ohio State, Tressel indirectly works for the conference. A decision to vote for Florida over Michigan could have potentially cost the Big Ten Hedge Fund $17 million dollars. Try explaining that to management when your annual review comes around. On the other hand, if I was thinking about my career at Ohio State, I would have chosen Florida. Just imagine what would have happened if Ohio State lost to Michigan in the BCS Championship game. I could just see Gene Smith and Jim Tressel logging into computers at one of Ohio’s other 100+ institutions of higher education to update their resume.

Maybe that’s why Jim Tressel has been such a successful college coach. Maybe that’s why he finds himself in a position where he doesn’t have to campaign for his team. He recognized that without a playoff system it is impossible to assess whether a wolverine or gator had a better chance of surviving an encounter.

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