I've been saying the same thing, too. If Ohio State would have won half of the "big" games they lost, I guarantee you that they'd be a unanimous decision for best team of the BCS era.
Think if they would have split the NC's with Florida and LSU.
Think if they would have beat USC at least once in their home-and-home series.
Think if they would have gone 2 for 3 against Texas as opposed to 1 and 3.
There was a string of terrible luck for Ohio State that sullied their image: being so highly thought of in 2006 only to get straight smoked by Florida, then the loss to LSU on the NC stage, then getting waxed by USC, then losing to Texas in the bowl game. Those are four huge games on huge stages. That stretch really hurt their image.