By Ben Flemming

Associate Editor/TWIF

Coach Jim Tressel has been a God send to Buckeye fans across the nation.

But now in his ninth season as the Buckeye boss, the Buckeye faithful are starting to question his supernatural status.

Fair or not, it is happening. Yet a long look at Tressel’s Buckeye career does make one wonder why he is being so scrutinized.

Tressel led the Buckeyes to a winning record his first season in Columbus, and more importantly, a much-sought after win over “the team up north.”

He has since beaten Michigan seven of eight times and led the Buckeyes to a  84-20 record, eight bowl appearances, six BCS bowls, six ten-plus win seasons, five Big Ten titles and even more importantly, a BCS National Championship.

He has also coached 13 first-round NFL draft picks and 47 First Team All-Big Ten selections.

Not too shabby of a resume for Tress.

During the last four years, however, Tressel and the Buckeyes have been highly criticized for their inability to win the BIG GAME.

And of the eight bowl appearances, the Buckeyes have only won just four, and Tressel is a mere .500 in BCS games and against Top Ten teams (8-8).

Since 2006, OSU has lost six consecutive to Top Ten squads – including the 2006 and 2007 BCS National Championship blowout debacles to Florida and LSU.

And of course, let’s not forget last year’s 35-3 embarrassment to USC in Los Angeles.

The recent big-stage failures have led to the media, and even the Buckeye nation, to criticize Tressel’s conservative coaching.

Still, Tressel was on the brink of quieting all the critics, with OSU’s defense giving the offense multiple opportunities to put the Trojans away during Saturday’s 18-15 heartbreaking loss.

In the end, as you all know, OSU came up short yet again, with the outcome hinging on three specific questionable Tressel play calls:

1. Second quarter, 4th down from USC one-yard line, Tressel elects for the chip shot field goal instead of attempting to punch it in for six.

2. Third quarter, 4th and 1 from the USC 45-yard line, the Buckeyes punt.

3. Fourth quarter, 4th and 11 from the USC 36-yard line, the Buckeyes punt, as opposed to allowing reliable and big-leg placekicker Aaron Pettrey to attempt a 53-yard field goal which would have put OSU up by eight.

And looking back to the Navy game, when the Buckeyes were stuffed going for a similar 4th and short in Midshipmen territory, it is no wonder why Tressel played it so close to the sweater vest against Southern Cal.

On the other hand, Trojan Coach Pete Carroll had no problem going for it on fourth down against OSU, and his confidence proved to be the deciding factor in the game.

And now Carroll is being lauded as the nation’s premier big-game coach, despite not even playing for a national championship since the 2005 season.

All in all, though, the Bucks can still easily make the Rose Bowl if they win out. Not a bad goal left in place for OSU.

As for Tressel’s and the Buckeyes’ future beyond 2009, it all looks very hopeful.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor and several very talented Buckeyes will be juniors next year – a season in which OSU will for sure be a national title contender…once again.