Hopes were high for the Ohio State football team heading into the 2012 season as Urban Meyer was hired as the new head coach, but in a stunning turn of events the Buckeyes' football team has been banned from postseason play in 2012.

According to Randy Ludlow of the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State will be ineligible for any bowl games next season and will also be unable to compete for the Big Ten Championship. The discipline is as a result of players receiving improper benefits while under the leadership of former head coach Jim Tressel in 2010 and prior.

In addition to the postseason ban and any bans the school levied upon itself, the NCAA will add another year to Ohio State's self-imposed two-year probation and strip the school of four additional football scholarships over the next three years as well, according to the report.

On top of the additional penalties against the Ohio State football program, Tressel will be further disciplined as well. The NCAA has levied a show-cause penalty against Tressel, meaning that should he leave his post as a replay assistant for the Indianapolis Colts and pursue a college job, the school that hires him will be subject to discipline as well.

In a scandal known as "Tattoo Gate" several Ohio State players, including current Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor, traded Buckeye memorabilia for tattoos. Tressel had become aware of the situation, but failed to report the transgressions to the NCAA.

While the penalties may seem a bit stringent, especially with the Buckeyes under new leadership in Meyer, he new the risks when he took the job. Ohio State attempted to soften the blow by imposing its own penalties, but the punishment wasn't nearly enough to fit the crime.

It isn't as if the NCAA is picking on Ohio State since USC was banned from postseason play this past season. The best thing that the NCAA can do is to keep the punishments firm and consistent, and that is exactly the case in this instance.

Meyer has already secured a number of four and five-star recruits and while they may entertain thoughts of de-committing, Meyer is persuasive enough to keep them in the fold, in my opinion. The Buckeyes will eventually ascend back to prominence under Meyer, but it looks as if it may take a year longer than anticipated.