Buckeyes 31, Razorbacks 26

Ah, nothing like a comfortable win. And that was nothing like a comfortable win.
The Good
Defense
Cam Heyward and Dexter Larimore were both great in the first half. Ryan Mallett was clearly rattled whenever he had to move in the pocket. Mallett completed only slightly more than half of his passes, so the defense was doing something right. I've made Chimdi Chekwa a target for criticism so many times in his time at OSU. However, I have to say it was a shame that he got injured. The play where he was injured was the best play I've ever seen from him. And of course, there was Solomon Thomas, who sealed the game. That was amazing.
Offense
I missed the first drive, but I heard on the radio that the Buckeyes were going with a no-huddle offense. Wow! And they were having success with it. Double wow! I frankly had no idea the Buckeyes were capable of such a thing. Terrelle Pryor had a lot of success running the ball. He had some success throwing the ball too, thanks in part to receivers who bailed him out on some poor throws. For instance, Dane Sanzenbacher's TD reception. Obviously, it was not an ideal pass, but Sanzenbacher still made the grab because that is what he does. I feel pretty comfortable saying that no other receiver on the team would have made that catch.
I was amazed to see some throws to the tight end in the first half. That tight end screen (run to both Reid Fragel for 44 yards and Jake Stoneburner) was astounding. I have never seen the Buckeyes run that play before last night. Herron had some good runs in the first quarter. If I remember right, he had 40+ yards in the first quarter. Everything was going great. The offense clicked. The defense made Ryan Mallett look very ordinary. The Buckeyes had an 18-point lead at halftime. Which brings us to...
The Bad
We all know that getting a big lead against a good team is the worst thing that can happen with the Buckeyes. This is a team that will not go out and finish the other team like Stanford did to Virginia Tech (a lot can be learned from that game). No, this team will sit on that lead and just hope the defense is good enough to keep the opponent out of the end zone. In the second half, the creativity was gone, and it was replaced with predictable Tressel-ball. Just look at the play-by-play summary of the second half. There sure were a lot of run plays to the right side of the line on first down.
And the defense was not much better. It seemed like every time Knile Davis got the ball, he picked up at least 8 yards. And while Mallett's completion percentage wasn't great, his receivers sure did rack up some yardage.
The Ugly
The second half was essentially Murphy's Law for the Buckeyes. A fumble on 4th and 1, where Boom Herron would have made a first down...if only he had remembered to take the ball with him. That blocked punt was unbelievable. The defender made a great effort, but how on earth do you let the punt get blocked in that situation? HOLY COW!
And let's not forget the refs in this section. The most egregious non-call of the night came in the second half when Pryor threw the ball to Corey Brown. The defender just launched himself and took Corey Brown out. How is that not pass interference? The safety was questionable. I don't think there is too much question that Herron's forward progress was stopped outside of the end zone.
Schwinderjection
Terrelle Pryor should get a late Christmas gift (no, not a tattoo) for Dane Sanzenbacher. Dane bailed out TP twice: recovering that fumble in the end zone, and catching a lousy pass for a touchdown.
Under the Radar player of the game
The entire offense was under the radar for all of the second half, but none of them gets the award. The players of the game are on the defensive side of the ball. Cam Heyward had 3.5 tackles for loss, Dexter Larimore had 2 sacks, and of course Solomon Thomas with the great interception to preservethe win for the Buckeyes.

Buckeyes 37, Wolverines of scUM 7

(Photo of the team by Marvin Fong of the Plain Dealer)
A 30-point victory against the Wolverines is always sweet. Just imagine what the Buckeyes could do if they ever showed up for the first quarter.
The Good
Offense
Boom Herron had an amazing second half. Especially on that 89-yard run that was really a 97-yard touchdown run (more on that later). And of course when the running back has success, he gets help from the offensive line and the fullback. Dane Sanzenbacher has a future in the NFL. He may not be the biggest or the fastest receiver around, but the dude has good hands. The one catch he had over the middle was amazing. Generally, if you get the ball near him, he'll catch it. I wouldn't say Terrelle Pryor had a spectacular day, but his completion percentage was good and let's face it, he had a good enough day to earn gold pants #3.
Defense
The defense was pretty much lights out after Orhian Johnson forced the fumble by Denard Robinson. Jermale Hines had a good game, breaking up 3 passes. John Simon and Nathan Williams are the kind of player that a coach must love. Both of those guys just find a way to make plays.
Special Teams
Jordan Hall's kickoff return touchdown was great. He got a couple key blocks by Jaamal Berry and Justin Boren at the beginning, then made some good moves to elude tacklers as he got closer to the end zone.
The Bad
Offense
The first two drives netted 15 yards against the #112 defense in the country. Someone tell me why on 3rd and 12, you throw a 4-yard pass to the fullback. Or why on 3rd and 7, you throw a 3-yard pass to the tight end. If you feel you must throw the ball short of the first down marker (and I sure can't figure out why that is necessary), why not throw it to someone who has a good chance of running for the first down after he catches the ball? The offensive line was not good at all in the first half. Luckily, they realized a game was going on.
Defense
Again in the first quarter, the defense could not get off the field. I believe the Wolverines converted four of the first five 3rd downs. But of course, the defense tightened up after a shaky first quarter.
The Ugly
Offense
Another red zone interception for Terrelle Pryor. How many is that this year? Could that be a part of the reason he announced he'll stay for his senior year?
Getting a second excessive celebration penalty was stupid. If the refs called it once, why would you give them any reason to call it again? But while we are on the topic of officials, allow me to say that this crew was terrible. An offensive lineman pulls off Cam Heyward's helmet and that's not a penalty. Cam Heyward gets shoved to the ground after the play is over and that's not a penalty. And I suppose Boom Herron's head made that jerking motion on its own. But then Dane Sanzenbacher gets called for holding as he tries to help Herron score on a 97-yard run. That was about the weakest holding call I've ever seen.
Schwinderjection
Someone get Rich Rodriguez a contract extension. I'll deliver it to him myself.
Under the Radar player of the game
This is an easy one. Jordan Hall's touchdown was the play that really got the Buckeyes going. And the blocks by Jaamal Berry and Justin Boren gave Hall the gap he needed to get moving. For that, they are the co-players of the game.

Buckeyes 38, Nittany Lions 14

Photo of Boom Herron by Marvin Fong
The Good
Offense
This begins with the offensive line and Zach Boren. In the second half those guys did a great job giving Boom Herron room to run. You need look no further than the Buckeyes' first touchdown of the game to see the evidence of that. Oh and how about that touchdown drive: 96 yards in 11 plays. I wouldn't mind seeing more of those. On the topic of Boom, he did a pretty good job creating his own space to run on his longest runs. Just look at those runs. Both of them are all Boom. Dane Sanzenbacher had a very quiet game, but his one catch was a good one. He was definitely in the right place at the right time on that touchdown.
Defense
It's a good thing Devon Torrence had that interception return for a touchdown. Before that, he was not having a good game at all. Travis Howard's interception was great. Hopefully, the defense can come up with more plays like that against Iowa. Before halftime, it looked like the only guys on the defense that were interested in playing were Ross Homan and Brian Rolle.
Special Teams
OK, so maybe there wasn't really anything spectacular about special teams, but the kicks have been deeper and the coverage has been way better.
The Bad
I could make this real easy and say that everything from the first half belongs here. And that's true, but I will break it down a little more than that. The offense looked like it was using the road playbook. The offensive line was great at giving just enough blocking for a 2-yard gain. The defense looked like the same group that lined up against Wisconsin. At halftime, I thought for sure I would be writing a scathing indictment of the Buckeyes lack of heart. While this isn't a scathing indictment, I will say this. It would be nice to see someone get in the face of other guys when the offense is stagnant and the defense gets punched in the mouth.
The Ugly
It would be easy to put most of the first half here too. I mean, sorting that first half into bad or ugly is splitting hairs. However, there is one thing that belongs here for sure. Did you see Chimdi Chekwa on Penn State's second touchdown? He looked like he didn't even know a play was happening. I have never seen any defensive back concede the end zone as easily as Chekwa did on that play.
Oh, and the penalties were pretty ugly too. Eight penalties. The team will need to shore that up against Iowa.
Schwinderjection
Lousy Buckeyes! Another nationally televised game and these guys show up the same as they did in the stinking Wisconsin game! Unbelievable! Won't someone tell these guys that a game is 60 minutes long? Oh, they got that message? Never mind.
Under the Radar player of the game
It's been a while since I've had this opportunity, so I am going to take full advantage. Your UtR player of the game is Zach Boren. He had some good blocks, clearing the way for Boom to get more than 190 yards.

Buckeyes 52, Golden Gophers 10

Well loyal reader, I am back on track. I didn't post a recap last week because I was working on a deadline for a project and by the time I might have gotten around to my weekly recap, it was Monday.
The Good
Offense
I know it was Minnesota, but Boom Herron looked better than he has all year. He fought for extra yards and first downs instead of just ending up in a pile like he's done a lot this year. Terrelle Pryor for the most part looked pretty good. It's hard to argue with 18 completions on 22 attempts, plus 55 rushing yards. Even so, I can't say he had a perfect game. Devier Posey had a big game. It almost seemed like it could have been bigger because Minnesota couldn't cover him. I'm still lobbying for Sanzenbacher to get the ball more. That guy just knows how to catch the ball.
Defense
Again, it's hard to complain with the results. Adam Weber completed fewer than half of his passes. The defense not only racked up five sacks but also a touchdown. Brian Rolle is a beast. Chimdi Chekwa had a good game with an interception and a forced fumble. (I know. I can't believe I'm seeing that sentence either.) We sure did get to see a lot of defensive guys that we don't see very frequently.
Special Teams
Listing some good for the special teams? This is new too. Jordan Hall's punt return was great. I can't remember the last time we had a return even that close to a touchdown. Jon Newsome's punt block was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a guy just block a punt as he was running by.
The Bad
Offense
It didn't take TP long to waste Jordan Hall's great punt return. There are the Buckeyes ready to add another touchdown and TP throws an interception. Isn't a junior supposed to know better than that?
Defense
Letting Minnesota score a touchdown on just four plays? Really? How do you ever let the Golden Gophers do that to you? Granted, the Gophers only got three points the rest of the game, but that was pretty shabby. Jermale Hines didn't have a great game. He had a crummy attempt at a tackle on Minnesota's touchdown. He had the facemask penalty after a play that would have forced Minnesota to punt.
Special Teams
Kick coverage still wasn't tremendous, but it wasn't great either. If Barclay is going to miss field goals, it's better that he do it in a game that the Buckeyes win by six touchdowns.
The Ugly
I can't really say there was anything ugly in this game. The closest to ugly was the defense on the first Minnesota drive.
Schwinderjection
I know an Oregon loss would help the Buckeyes, but rooting for USC? Come on, be reasonable.
Under the Radar player of the game
No one (probably since I started writing this as an e-mail to a select few) has taken more heat than Chimdi Chekwa. So, when the guy comes up big with an interception and a forced fumble, I have to recognize him. I believe that makes him the first two-time recipient this season.

Badgers too much, Buckeyes not enough

Give the Buckeyes credit. This is a team that knows how to lose games that start after 3:30 Eastern time. In spectacular fashion, I might add.
The Good
Offense
Boom Herron had a good game, averaging almost five yards per carry. Aside from that, the only thing to put here is a simple plea: get the ball to Dane Sanzenbacher more. That catch he made in the 3rd quarter to bail Terrelle Pryor out of another incompletion was awesome.
Defense
Ummmm...give me a minute. It will come to me. Ummm...the defense...oh yeah! Andrew Sweat had an interception.
The Bad
Offense
Terrelle Pryor was awful. It's that simple. He completed 50% of his passes and generally just did not look like a Heisman candidate. Heck, he barely looked like a quarterback. Too bad you only get to play the Hoosiers once a year, eh TP? I do not understand the play calling on the field goal drive. First and goal from inside the 10, and you run QB draw, a direct snap to Herron and then another QB run? The Buckeyes looked like they had no interest in finishing that drive with a touchdown.
Defense
The defense got punched in the mouth immediately and never recovered. I have no idea what happened to the defense in this game. I realize the Wisconsin offensive line is immense, but let's not forget what Archie once said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog. Safe to say that there was no fight in this dog in this game.
Special Teams
How on earth does a guy return a kickoff 97 yards without getting touched at least once?
The Ugly
I don't even need to divide this up. Aside from the two 3rd quarter touchdowns, just about everything offensively and defensively was ugly.
Schwinderjection
1. Ummm, maybe this is why the Buckeyes seem to get no respect from the BCS.
2. Dear TP, it's OK to look at a receiver other than Devier Posey.
Under the Radar player of the game
One thing is for sure, every Buckeye was under the radar in this game. Can you really name a player of the game for a team that wasn't even competitive? I don't think so.

Buckeyes 45, Thundering Herd 7

Well, it's definitely good to be writing this again. Football season is always too short and 8 months between games is a long time. That being said, a game like this is never easy to write about. You don't really watch the game because you don't have to. That being said, here we go with the first write-up of the season.
The Good
Offense
Let's see. Terrelle Pryor completed 68% of his passes for 247 yards and 2 TDs. Brandon Saine and Jamaal Berry both averaged more than 11 yards per carry. The offense had two touchdowns of more than 40 yards. Dane Sanzenbacher had more than 100 yards with only 3 receptions. And get this. The offense had 3 touchdown drives of less than 70 seconds. No, I sure didn't think that I would be writing those words. Just mull that over. Teams that run a hurry-up offense rarely have 3 TD drives that brief in a game. Brandon Saine's 45-yard touchdown run was sweet. No one even came near him, which means that the offensive line did its job.
Defense
Anytime the defense yields fewer than 200 yards, it had a pretty good game. Brian Rolle showed once again that he is the best and most exciting player on the Buckeyes defense. Seriously, he is the kind of guy you have to watch on every play. Tyler Moeller had an amazing game with a couple tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a sack. And as you know, I have to give props when props are due. For all the grief I have given Chimdi Chekwa over the years, I have to give him credit for forcing a fumble when Marshall was deep in Buckeye territory
The Bad
Offense
There isn't a lot to put here. We still saw flashes of the old Pryor, but luckily they were only flashes. Devier Posey dropped an easy pass, but that sort of thing can be forgiven in a 38-point blowout.
Defense
I can't think of anything to put here.
Special Teams
I didn't see for myself, but I was told the first 3 PAT attempts were not exactly spectacular.
The Ugly
I think we all know what needs to go here. If not for a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, this would have been a shutout.
Under the Radar player of the game
How do you choose a UtR player of the game in a game like this? Well, I think it has to go to Tyler Moeller. He was the defensive leader on a night when the defense gave up only 199 yards.

Nittany Lions 13, Buckeyes 6

The Good
Offense
Well, this is pretty easy. Dane Sanzenbacher. He was pretty much the bright spot on the offense. TP had decent stats, and Ray Small had two big catches late in the game. That is pretty much it.
Defense
The defensive line was pretty solid, especially Cameron Heyward and Thad Gibson. If you ask me, Gibson is the defensive MVP so far this year. He is pretty much the only one that has shown up every game.
Special Teams
AJ Trapasso had some very good punts, and Aaron Pettrey kicked the ball a couple times without giving PSU any chance to return it.

The Bad
Offense
Did the Buckeyes even have an offensive line in this game? I sure didn't notice it. Boy, Mo Wells had a good game. One reception for 3 yards, and one fumbled kick return. Also, has anyone seen Brian Hartline? Or Brian Robiskie, for that matter? OK, Robiskie had some good catches, but these guys just seem completely unable to get open this season.
Defense
Donald Washington had a less than spectacular game, with a couple pass interference penalties (even though they may not have been warranted). I'll just say it. Marcus Freeman looks lost. He seems out of position and has a hard time squaring himself up for a tackle.

The Ugly
Well, the offensive game plan falls her for sure. I think Penn State was onto the general game plan of: run left on 1st down, run middle on 2nd down, and pass on 3rd and long. Yes, I know the Buckeyes have a really good running back. And yes, I know that they want to keep the gameplan simple with a freshman QB. But for crying out loud. To try the same thing for nearly three quarters when it has had no success, that's just ridiculous.

The refs had far too much of a hand in this game. The pass interference call against Washington on PSU's touchdown drive was ludicrous. Was there contact? Sure. Was there any way the receiver was going to catch that ball? No way. And you mean to tell me the Nittany Lions didn't commit one penalty? Come on! That is the second time I have seen a game in which OSU's opponent wasn't called for a single penalty. Funny how that works out.

Of course TP's fumble falls into this category. It's particularly a shame because he had the best statistical game of his young career.

Under the Radar Player of the Game
Well, there were a lot of players under the radar in this game. I don't really have any choice but to award this to AJ Trapasso, who helped the field position battle in the first half.

Buckeyes 20, Badgers 17

I asked for it, and you delivered. I was unable to watch the game myself, but I have two loyal readers very ably delivering their thoughts on the win over the Badgers.

From Nelson Slagle:
OSU opened with 6 play 71 yard drive and closed with 5 minute 80 yard drive for winning TD. Pryor was 4-5 for 70 yards and ran for 45 yards in 9 carries on those 2 drives. In rest of 52 minutes between those drives OSU had 2 filed goals on two 10 play drives with 54 yard run be Beanie Wells being most of offense. The other 6 times OSU had ball they ran 20 plays and Pryor lost 25 yards rushing mostly on 4 sacks!! OSU defensive line was pushed around by Wisc. Defensive line got beaten and put little pressure on QB. On Wisc final TD for a 17-13 lead in the 4th Qtr they ran 9 of 10 times during 63 yard drive.When dust settled, stats were almost identical. OSU rushed for 183 yards (168 in 22 carries by Beanie Wells) to 179 for Wisc and passed for 144 vs 147 for Wisconsin. Both completed 13 passes, each had 2 turnovers.Wisc 2nd longest home winning streak currently in Division 1 college football ended at 16. Also broke Wisc 11 night game win streak.

From Tom Bruszak:
The Good
Offense
Terrelle Pryor is the man. The kid looked like VY on that last drive. He made mistakes in the game, holding onto the ball to long or running when he should have tossed it, but those split second decisions will come with more playing time. Beanie was amazing. The first score of the game was awesome as he basically stiff armed the safety and carried him into the endzone with him from the five yard line in.
Defense
Ross Homan had his best game of the year, no, his entire OSU career thus far. Jenkins once again remains the best player on the defensive side of the ball. I will be the first to admit that coming into this year, I felt strongly that he was over rated. I am eating my words this year. Thad Gibson is a beast. Forced a fumble and really applied much needed pressure. If the DT’s played as hard as Gibson and Wilson, we would be set.

The Bad
Wisconsin’s scoring drive in the fourth quarter that put them up by four. All they did was run it up the gut, going I right 10 base every play. Watching our defense unable to stop it was painful. I've heard that Ohio State returned two highly touted senior linebackers this year. But, ever since Youngstown State, Ive not seen them? Willing to buy an APB for #1 and good ol' #33 as I think they have been abducted.

The Ugly
Brian Hartline, Brian Robiskie and hell, any wideout not named Sanzenbacher. Hartline dropped three balls that were put right at his chest, including one that saw Brian do his best Ryan Hamby imitation in the end zone. Hartline and Robiskie have been HUGE disappointments this year and that continued Saturday. At this point, Tress really should consider given Posey and Sanzenbacher more playing time. It was nice to see Saine FINALLY line up at WR, though he needs to learn to run a route better as evidenced by the pick Pryor threw on the deep ball to him. Saine really didn’t adjust to the ball at all and let the DB get position on him. I have also come to the conclusion that Ray Small is the next Albert Dukes. I don’t think Small is the speed burner people think he is and it’s safe to say that his junior year is shaping up to be like the first two: bad, bad, bad. Maybe that big hit he took in his freshman year against, I think, Minessota still haunts him. He looked good up until that point, but ever since, he runs timid routes, looks scared at times and is missing that third and fourth gear.

Under the Radar Player of the Game
Jim Cordle and Mike Brewster. Ever since Steve “Mr. False Start” Rehring went down, it’s been nothing but roses for the O-Line. Alex Boone continues to suck as he sends out his resume for his future career as a bouncer at a strip club in Zanesville , but Cordle and especially Brewster have played very, very well. It’s truly nice to see an Ohio State offensive lineman actually trying to throw a block

My final URPOG is not an actual player, but he is now my official hero. For three quarters of Saturday’s game, the OSU faithful at Dave and Busters had to endure seven drunk and highly obnoxious young men from USC. In between their pathetic attempts to pick up any young woman wearing scarlet and gray, they chanted “OSU Sucks” and “35-3.” It was at the end of the third quarter that a solution to the problem presented itself.

As it turns out, when an off-duty cop takes out the clip from his gun and starts putting the bullets on the bar and then pulls out his ID card and shows it around that even morons get the hint. Time elapsed from the time the first round was placed on the bar until the time those seven kids ran for the door: 30 seconds.