I love all the other bowls, but being a Big Ten guy from Ohio and watching the Rose Bowl in the '70s with Archie Griffin, it's everything everybody says it was.
There are certain states that just by quality and quantity you go, the Texas, the Georgia, the Florida, the Jersey, those are off the top of my head that we're going to saturate a little bit, but then we go cherry pick the best players at certain positions, and Ohio State is a national brand... and a national recruiting base.
I've been in rivalries. Utah-BYU. Bowling Green-Toledo. Florida, we had three: Florida State, Tennessee and Georgia. You make them personal, but they're not. I didn't grow up disliking Georgia.
When you start using terms like national championship and playoffs, that's very rare air.
Here is the truth: While at the University of Florida, and now at The Ohio State University, I have always followed proper reporting protocols and procedures when I have learned of an incident involving a student-athlete, coach or member of our staff by elevating the issues to the proper channels.
I think there's probably a perception that I did try to mislead people, that I tried to not be forthright about everything I knew about Zach Smith, Courtney Smith situation, which was not the case at all.
