Buckeyes 45, Spartans 7

Well, after two weeks away, it was nice to come back to that. The Buckeyes team we saw in that game against the Spartans was barely recognizable...thank goodness.

The Good
Offense
The offense was tremendous. I mean, the Buckeyes scored 21 points in the first quarter. Woooo! Beanie and Terrelle were both awesome running the ball. Frankly, there just aren't enough O's in smooth to describe TP. When he runs the ball, it looks effortless. I thought Beanie's best run was his second TD. It was a giant hole, but the way he exploded into and through it was great. I'd say his foot has healed. And of course, a good running game starts with solid offensive line play. more importantly, the wide receivers showed up. Granted, Pryor only completed 7 passes, but those passes were completed to 4 different receivers. And the receiver with the most completions was the fullback, Brandon Smith. You read that right. Hartline's one reception was awesome. He stayed with the ball all the way and fought off 2 defenders to catch it.

Defense
Wow! Now, that is what I have expected from the defense. The defensive line was able to get some pressure on the QB. That is the first time all year I have seen Robert Rose make a play. Laurinaitis, Freeman, and Jenkins finally showed themselves to be leaders on the field this season. Seeing Laurinaitis and Freeman meet at the QB was incredible. Ross Homan had a solid game. Jenkins, Kurt Coleman, and even Chimdi Chekwa were really good in the secondary. OK, so maybe the Spartans don't have much besides Javon Ringer, but when the defense can hold the opponent to 7 points AND score 2 TDs, it has done its job.

The Bad
Aside from the defense giving up an easy TD at the beginning of the second half, I can't think of anything else that belongs here. Normally, you can count on seeing penalties here, but 5 penalties for 45 yards is not horrible.

The Ugly
Hard to believe, but I have nothing to put here either...except maybe for Bob Griese's golf sweater.

Under the Radar Player of the Game
By now, you know my philosophy on this. If I have been particularly hard on a player or a group of players, I am willing to make that up here. I have been tough on the defensive line this year because it has seemed nonexistent. That being said, the guys showed up in this game. In fact, the entire defense did. This week the UtR players of the game are the Ohio State defensive players, with a special mention to Ross Homan, who caused the fumble in the first quarter that got the Buckeyes rolling.

Buckeyes 43, Penguins 0

Isn't it great to have college football back? I think I enjoy the return of college football a little more every year.

The Good
We certainly got to see a lot of players on the field in this game, which I thought was great. This is a talented squad and it was good to see that this season and future seasons are in very capable hands. Plus, with so many players seeing playing time, future opponents have a lot to prepare for.
Offense
Boeckman, as expected, was very accurate. I wouldn't say he set the world on fire, but he did what we have come to expect from him. Beanie delivered the goods too. The guy is just an incredible back. Brian Hartline once again showed that if it's close, he can catch it. His first catch of the game was brilliant. Boeckman put the ball right where it needed to be and Hartline tracked it down. Speaking of brilliant...Terrelle Pryor is going to be very tough to defend. Ryan Pretorius looked like the return of the Nuge. It looks like the Buckeyes will have a reliable kicking game, which is always a positive. Mo Wells had some good runs when he got his hand on the ball. When your #4 running back can go for 6 yards a carry, you are doing something right. Also a promising sign was the fact that the offense didn't take many penalties.
Defense
What can you say about the defense? it allowed only 73 yards on 39 plays. Marcus Freeman had a very good game as did Jermale Hines. The running game for the Penguins was nonexistent, not that the passing game was much better. I really liked the performance by the defense.

The Bad
OK, so it's really hard to find a lot of bad things in this performance. The offense settled for far too many field goals, but the team still won by 43 points. Honestly, I don't have anything else to put here.

The Ugly
I think we all know what has to go here. Seeing Beanie go down in the third quarter, and then seeing him carted off the field must have caused all of us to hold our breath. What makes it worse is that it was such a weird play. It was hard to see when the injury might have occurred. The good news is that the Buckeyes won't need him next week, but I certainly hope this injury won't keep him out of the USC game.

Under the Radar Player of the Game
In a game like this one, it's always difficult to pick a UtR player of the game, but you know, dear reader, that I will not let you down. Lots of players got on the field and lots of players showed us some good stuff. Grant Schwartz had a couple special teams tackles. Dane Sanzenbacher had some good blocks. But I have to say the UtR player of the game is Marcus Freeman. He seemed like he was everywhere. It's hard to believe he only finished with 6 tackles.

Let's hope Beanie's foot is OK, and that the defense can keep this going.