It’s election season and that means you’re going to hear Ohio and poll a lot in the coming months because the Buckeye State has morphed into one of the two key swing states — along with Florida — that decide modern-day presidential elections. A different kind of poll is making NFL news in Ohio this morning, however, and it’s a shocker. After taking a number of early hits in free agency and finally moving on from the Johnny Manziel fiasco, most of the state’s residents believe Urban Meyer’s mighty Ohio State Buckeyes could beat the Cleveland Browns. With Ohio’s presidential primary set for Tuesday, Public Policy Polling decided to throw in a little lighthearted stuff in with the serious issues and asked Ohioans who would win a game between the Buckeyes and Browns. It wasn’t close, 57 percent of those asked took the perennial college heavyweight to take out the NFL punch line, with 23 percent keeping their senses and correctly saying the hapless Browns would win. The rest were in the one group few of us understand, the blank slate of the undecided. As bad as the Browns are after losing two top-tier offensive lineman in free agency, center Alex Mack to Atlanta and offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz to Kansas City, as well as safety Tashaun Gipson to Jacksonville and receiver Travis Benjamin to the Chargers, saying a professional team — even one with only one playoff appearance since its reincarnation in 1999 — would lose to a college team, even a true heavyweight like Meyer’s bunch, is “patently ridiculous,” something PPP felt the need to mention when it released the results. I’ve been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time in Cleveland over the years, covering various sporting events and have met plenty of locals who are as self-deprecating as it gets when it comes to city’s well-publicized championship drought. And that attitude travels pretty well through the rest of the state and most residents will beat you to the punch when it comes to making fun of Ohio. For instance most Ohioans know all four seasons by heart: almost winter, winter, still winter and construction, and it’s a group that can spell Cuyahoga and Wapakoneta without batting an eye but somehow seems to forget which letter doubles up in Cincinnati time and time again. This isn’t about Browns fans being obtuse, though, or not understanding the fact that no matter how impressive Ohio State’s pro day was on Friday, boys can’t beat men over 60 minutes and the chasm between the Cleveland and the Buckeyes would be even bigger than the one you saw on New Year’s Day when the Buckeyes thumped an overmatched Notre Dame team in the Fiesta Bowl. …
Continue Reading: There is no ‘swing’ in Ohio’s perception of the Browns
