OPINION

By Dave Curtis

updated 7:44 p.m. ET Nov. 14, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Congratulations, Ohio State. Way to hit the benchmark again. Now comes the part where things have to change.

A Big Ten title and a BCS bowl berth have become birthright in these parts. Saturday's 27-24 overtime victory over Iowa brought a fifth straight double for the Buckeyes, who again spent a November evening dancing on a football field. The lone difference this time was the long-stemmed red flowers, a shout-out to OSU's first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1997.

All that's great of course — more sweet memories for the players and more hardware for the stuffed trophy cases at the Woody Hayes Center. But the true measure of these Buckeyes, and their true legacy, will come on New Year's Day.

For all the program's in-league success, Ohio State's national reputation remains a few notches south of Boise State's. The Buckeyes are rust-belly bullies -- ferocious against Michigan State and the Midwest, feeble against the national powers. Punch first, or punch back, and the guys in scarlet and gray will act yellow.

Once again, though, coach Jim Tressel's guys get a mulligan. They've earned another shot in a big-money bowl by shaking an embarrassing afternoon at Purdue to dominate at Penn State and overwhelm the undermanned Hawkeyes. The Bucks were picked to win the conference, and despite making things seem dicey at times, they won the conference.

In the recent past, this is where OSU's reliability changes from sure Big Ten winner to definite BCS loser. The 2006 Buckeyes, an accomplished group led by a Heisman Trophy winner, got smacked in the national championship game. The 2007 squad followed the same script except for the Heisman part. Last year? OSU showed a valiant side in the Fiesta Bowl but still came up a field goal short against Texas.

After Saturday, the safe bet is to say the '09 Buckeyes will follow suit. A three-point OT victory over Ricky Stanzi-less Iowa won't have the guys out west quivering. OSU's best Rose Bowl asset might be the lack of a juggernaut opponent -- whoever emerges from the mosh pit atop the Pac-10 couldn't hang with either of OSU's past three postseason opponents.

And these Buckeyes won't go west weaponless. They'll bring their usual top-10 defense, anchored by star ends Thad Gibson and Cam Heyward but full of potential heroes -- Austin Spitler and Doug Worthington swung the game with tackles for loss in overtime.

The offensive line looks more cohesive, and when Tressel's play calls allowed it Saturday, the Bucks seemed like a team that has learned to score.

It came together well enough Saturday for OSU to clinch a conference championship and meet expectations. But this group needs to exceed the standard if it wants to show the program again matters coast-to-coast again.

The chance for that comes New Year's Day in Pasadena, Calif. It's time to beat up on somebody different, Ohio State. It's time for things to change.

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