Ohio U., USU both suffer from the same lack of respect

BOISE, Idaho —

As if to hammer home the point, Ohio State University has long referred to itself as THE Ohio State University.

The one and only.

Which leaves picturesque Ohio University in the background. Grabbing attention is tough when you're an afterthought. In the Buckeye State, Ohio U. is a distant third, at best, when it comes to football. You have Ohio State, a sprawling, brawling football factory. You have Cincinnati, a respectable program in a semi-respectable BCS conference. Then you have Ohio, among several mid-major schools, each having its good and bad years: Toledo, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami and Akron.

Modest programs, one and all.

This hasn't kept the Bobcats from marketing themselves. Their big pitch as they approach Saturday's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl game against Utah State is that they led all Ohio universities in wins this year with nine. That's one more than Cincinnati and Toledo and three more than THE Ohio State University, which is in THE doldrums.

But if the Bobcats are feeling neglected, they shouldn't worry. They have a friend right across the banquet table. If anyone knows how Ohio feels, it's Utah State University. These are two schools in the same wading pool. Not getting the respect you desire? Feeling skipped over on the nightly news? Buried in the inside pages of the sports section?

Say hello to life in the 55-mph lane of mid-major football.

But that doesn't mean they should avoid promoting themselves. Ohio coach Frank Solich — previously head coach at Nebraska — said this week, "We are getting some things done here at Ohio that has not been done before, so as we look at it program-wise, we have a chance to reach one of the goals that we set prior to the start of the season, and that was to take a step forward by winning a bowl game. There is a lot of drive and energy that will be tied into trying to reach that goal."

Then there are the Aggies, who long ago realized their position as the state of Utah's No. 3 program. While BYU and Utah annually attend bowl games, USU is just learning the process. Yet with a five-game win streak, a case could be made the Ags are the hottest team in the state right now. BYU has won three in a row, but suffered a late-October loss to TCU. Meanwhile, Utah is coming off a home loss to lowly Colorado.