I'm not a mind-reader. I have a hard enough time reading what is actually in front of me, as my wife will surely attest.

However, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is still steaming over the loss beatdown colossal thrashing his Buckeyes suffered in the BCS National Championship.

Tressel told the Chicago Tribune that he felt his team "let the Big Ten down". He said it was disappointing that his team didn't play to their potential.

I don't blame the man for being upset. In fact, I'd probably think there was something wrong with him if he wasn't upset. I think pretty much everyone was at least a little bit miffed at how non-competitive that game was. After all, his team didn't even gain 100 yards of total offense, and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith looked completely lost throughout the night, completing just four passes for 35 yards in what could be the worst postseason performance ever by a Heisman winner.

I'm not here to pick on Ohio State. There are 117 other teams in Division I-A that would have given anything for a shot at the Gators that night, and Ohio State was the team good enough to get that shot. That 12-1 record still looks pretty good on paper, and you can't take away their Big Ten title or unbeaten regular season.

I'll also defend Tressel's team a bit. Yes, they were bad in the title game, but they weren't the only Big Ten team that flopped in the spotlight. The league went just 2-5 in bowl games. Michigan got manhandled by USC. Purdue was basically a no-show against Maryland. Iowa (Texas) and Minnesota (Texas Tech) blew double-digit leads. Well, it's not fair to lump Iowa in with Minnesota. The Hawkeyes blew a 14-3 first-half lead. Minnesota blew a 38-7 third-quarter lead in a historic (and hysterical) collapse.

Anyway, I'm babbling. Let's get back on topic.

I don't need to dwell any more on the bowl performances of Big Ten teams, or on Ohio State's effort in the title game. None of it was very good.

Tressel's got a bit of the "Captain Obvious" syndrome going on here, but this needs to be where the Florida talk ends. Tressel can't worry about what happened, and neither can the returning players (tOSU had eight players from last year's team drafted). It helps that the Buckeyes have two layups to start the season (I-AA Youngstown State and MAC also-ran Akron) before a tough trip to Washington. Tressel can use those two games to shake any lingering memories from January 8 in Glendale. That's coach-speak to an extent, but it's true.

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