My vote goes to the 110 because of my Bobcat loyalty.....but the OSU performances are more entertaining.
I love The 110 and happily forward some of their YouTubed performances to grads of Ohio and other schools.
I've often wondered why Suk and his staff don't design performances that would have all band members on the field. I tend to think it is possible...
Most of the "reserves" are percussion? If so, that would likely unbalance the sound.
We should stick to being critics of the football coaches and their game planning as we obviously as a group are experts in that arena!
Current/former 110 members can correct me if I'm wrong but my guess is that there's a couple of reasons why the 110 doesn't march everybody-
1. Competition breeds excellence. You have to earn a spot on the field, just like with the football team. Its also a message to everyone who has a spot- slack off and there are plenty of people who can replace you, and will replace you.
2. Style of drill. Ohio marches in block formations with groups of 4, its most noticeable on the dance numbers. You can't just add 1 or 2 people as needed, you have to add in multiples of 4, and usually several groups of 4 to balance out the formation on both sides.
A lot of universities require music education majors to participate in marching band for 1 year so the band is full of people who are taking a required coarse for credit, not because they want to be there. As a result you have a lot of turnover, a lack of student leadership, less student and alumni loyalty, and less than 110% effort given by the band members. This is not the case at Ohio. As a result we can run our marching band more like an athletic team with tryouts, competition for spots, etc. The extras on the sidelines represent just how competitive the 110 has become and how difficult it is to earn a spot on the field. The large number of alternates is a good sign.