Commentary: OSU rated, hated, and slated for court dates

COLUMBUS - Even though Ohio State's football players don't report for preseason practice until Sunday, OSU fans have had a lot to digest in the last couple weeks.

First, the Buckeyes were picked as the overwhelming favorite to win the Big Ten at the conference's annual summer meetings and media days in Chicago.

Then defensive lineman Doug Worthington's drunk driving arrest quickly followed on the heels of defensive back Eugene Clifford's arrest for assault during a fight outside a bar.

And now ESPN has rated Ohio State as the most hated college football program in the country.

The hatred part is easy to understand. If you win a lot, you make the list. Southern California was second behind Ohio State. They were joined by teams like Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami and Tennessee.

You won't see Northwestern, Oregon State and SMU making too many top 10 most-hated lists.

There's also an added factor for the Buckeyes. After back-to-back losses that weren't very close in BCS national championships, most people in the other 49 states aren't looking forward to a possible return to that game by OSU.

That sentiment certainly hasn't eluded Ohio State's players, senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins says.

"To be completely honest, even if we go undefeated, nobody wants to see us in the national championship game," Jenkins said. "For us to go, we're going to have to be undefeated and beat some people by huge margins. If we lose to anybody, we won't be considered."

Worthington and Clifford's problems came after a period of relative calm in which there were only two arrests in the last three years for Ohio State's football team.

Clifford - who didn't make the trip to New Orleans for the national championship game because of a violation of team rules - has left the team and plans to transfer.

Worthington's punishment has not been determined. Considering his infraction, Tressel's choice of words at the Big Ten meetings in Chicago about what he does to players who get into trouble sounds ironic.

Tressel referred to "losing their car keys" when he talked about dealing with disciplinary problems.

Judging by what Tressel said, Worthington, a junior, could face a harsher penalty than if he had made a boneheaded move as a freshman.

"I'm a little harder on guys who lose their car keys later in their career than on freshmen. Sophomores and juniors, oftentimes I say to them, ‘Hey, you know I've got 20 freshmen over there killing me, don't add to our challenges,' " Tressel said.

If Ohio State fans need some better news to consider, there is this from two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin:

He called junior tailback Chris Wells "the closest thing to Jim Brown that I've ever seen," during a teleconference on Tuesday.

"That says a whole lot, I know, but I really believe it," Griffin said. He also thinks Wells could approach 2,000 yards rushing this season.