Germany = The Ohio State Buckeyes (Football)

Woody Hayes and Archie Griffin

Franz "Der Kaiser" Beckenbauer led (West) Germany to victory in the 1974 World Cup Final.

Significant portions of Columbus and many other places in Ohio were settled by German immigrants in the 19th century, and their respective brands of "football" reflect this common cultural heritage. Both OSU and Germany enjoy large geographic advantages-- being the only major conference program in a very populous and football-crazy state, and having Europe's largest economy and 2nd largest population, respectively-- that keep a steady stream of elite talent flowing into their rosters. As Woody Hayes and later Jim Tressel racked up Big Ten and national titles from the 1950s through the early to mid 2000s, West Germany and later unified Germany won 3 World Cups and 3 European Championships. The German teams played a style of football described as "tough," "pragmatic," and "workman-like" by their admirers and "boring," "utilitarian," and "conservative" by their detractors. It was more or less the fútbol equivalent of "3 yards and a cloud of dust." Since the middle of the last decade, tactical evolutions in each sport of "football" led both the Buckeyes and Germans to adopt more attack-minded, skill-based systems. While both teams have remained among their sports' elite, the last decade or so has seen them lose frequently in finals (World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008 for Germany; 2006 and 2007 for OSU) and semifinals (World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 for Germany; the 2013 B1G title game... which was like a semifinal... for OSU) instead.

This year's German squad is "high in the middle and round on the ends." They are absolutely overflowing with midfield talent. Mario Götze, Thomas Müller, Marco Reus, Mesut Özil, Andre Schürrle, Julian Draxler, and Toni Kroos would all walk into the Starting XIs of most World Cup participants, but some of that group will likely struggle to see the pitch in Brazil. However, their only true striker is 35-year-old Miroslav Klose (a legend with 14 career World Cup goals, tied for 2nd all time, but he served in the Kaiser's army during World War I); and their defense looks shakier than something coached by Luke Fickell, even when healthy. And it's not exactly healthy at the moment. Right back and team captain Phillip Lahm, holding midfielders Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer are all battling injuries. Their vast well of depth should carry them reasonably far, even if those players can't all get healthy, but it's hard to see the Germans breaking their title drought if that group doesn't recover soon.