Twenty years ago Buckeye fans were conditioned to bracing for academic casualties.
This new unwanted custom coincided with the Cooper Era's death rattle. Six incoming recruits failed to clear admissions in 1999, coming after a season where numerous stars had to pad their GPAs with elective summer courses just to stay eligible.
Two in a row of anything is a new normal. Reggie Germany's 0.0 GPA was still a year away.
Jim Tressel arrived shortly thereafter and did the infrastructure work to re-establish the college part of college football in Columbus.