Buckeyes 21, Wolverines 10

Well, that game was:
a) thrilling
b) entertaining
c) adequate
d) as exciting as the average soccer game.

I don't necessarily want to be critical. After all, the Buckeyes just capped a 10-win Big Ten championship season with a win over the hated Wolverines. However, when you look at scUM's schedule only Western Michigan (7), Eastern Michigan (17), and Delaware State (6) scored fewer points against the maize and blue than Ohio State did. How's that for elite company? That was the sort of game that gets erased from memory as you're watching it.

And what are we to think of Tresselball? The whole point of this conservative style of play is to win the turnover battle and therefore win the game. The Buckeyes certainly won the turnover battle, but if your opponent turns the ball over 4 times more than you do, shouldn't you win by more than 11 points? In other words, what's the point of focusing so much energy on this when you only punt after forcing your opponent into a turnover?

The Good
Offense
Again, the running game was spectacular. Brandon Saine and Dan Herron both had a solid effort, as well they should have against such a poor defense. Terrelle Pryor had some excellent runs. And of course the success of the running game can be attributed to the offensive line doing its job.
Defense
Brian Rolle is THE MAN. He has to be the defensive MVP for the team this year, with Kurt Coleman running a close second. Coleman's 2nd interception was a very good and athletic play. I liked Thad Gibson's interception even better. He was just sitting there waiting for Forcier to throw it to him. Pretty sweet for a defensive lineman. Frankly, the defense did everything it was supposed to do. It limited UM's offensive output, forced 5 turnovers, and even scored a TD. It would have been real nice if the offense could have done more with those turnovers.

The Bad
Offense
Can you say the passing game was bad when it was so negligible? Certainly, Terrelle Pryor's interception falls into this category. It's tough to complete a pass when your wide receiver is carrying a DB on his back.
The Buckeyes are really going to have to learn about pass patterns that go beyond the first down marker. On the first 3rd down of the game, on 3rd and 8, the Buckeyes threw a 3-yard pass. Next, on 3rd and 5, they threw a 3-yard pass. And then, when the Buckeyes actually had a 3rd and 3, the play was a QB sweep. Brilliant.
I have to ask again, why is Brandon Saine being so limited? They seem to put a cap of 12 carries on him, even when he averages 7+ yards per carry.
Defense
I don't want to seem like I am singling out Chimdi Chekwa, but that guy just looks lost on the field. I don't even have a valid theory for what he was doing on scUM's one TD of the day.

The Ugly
Offense/Special Teams
9 punts? 9 punts? Are you kidding me? Against a team that had been giving up 28 points a game (and that includes the games against EMU, WMU, and Delaware State)? Just once, I would like to see the offense play a whole game. Why does the coaching staff feel the need to absolutely call off the dogs after the Buckeyes get a lead? I mean, a 7-point lead is pretty substantial with this defense, but it would be nice to think that the offense actually puts forth effort for the entire game, and I just don't get that feeling at all. Somehow, the Buckeyes manage to drag the rest of the Big Ten into this 1950s style offensive morass, but does anyone think it will be effective against a team like Oregon?

Under the Radar Player of the Game
Well, every one of the wide receivers was under the radar in this game. Rolle, Coleman, Gibson, and Ross Homah all had amazing games. However, since TDs were so rare, I have to give credit to someone on the offense as the UtR player of the game. And I will do just that. On Saine's TD, Jim Cordle sealed off the edge and allowed Saine to get down the sideline and into the end zone. Congrats to Cordle for being the UtR player of the game against scUM.

Buckeyes 27, Hawkeyes 24 (OT)

[photo of Dan Herron by Marvin Fong of the Plain Dealer]

This installment of the weekly Buckeyes wrap-up is brought to you by pigs eating ham.

I'll just say it. If you believed all along that this team was going to a BCS game, your faith in the Buckeyes is much more profound than mine. Of course, they tried everything they could think of to give that game away, but the bottom line is that this is a conference championship team. That seemed like a pipe dream after the loss to Purdue. I'll admit it. To me, it seemed like a pipe dream after Barclay missed the field goal. To me, that had the earmarks of another Ohio State tank job. One thing is for sure: this was an odd game. With that in mind, I am going to break from the traditional format.

HUH?
*Someone answer me this. Why is a QB even necessary on a team that almost never throws the ball further than 5 yards? Everywhere else, the QB is described as a critical position. At OSU, the QB is nothing more than a conduit to get the ball to the tailback. Why don't the Buckeyes just go with the Nebraska-style triple option?
*I will never (and I mean ever) understand why you throw a pass behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd and short, as the Buckeyes did on the first drive.
*Is there no better cornerback on the roster than Chimdi Chekwa? Did you notice the highlights of Vandenberg? In every last one of them, Chekwa appeared on the losing end.
*If Brandon Saine is the running back averaging 9+ yards per carry, why does Dan Herron get three times as many carries?
*How can a defense as good as the Buckeyes intercept the opposing QB thrice and still allow that QB a chance to win the game in overtime?
*Wouldn't it be great if the offense ever put together a solid performance for 4 quarters? Wouldn't it also be great if the offense could stay on the field for more than 2 minutes at a time?
*Why on earth didn't Iowa take a shot downfield against Chekwa when they got the ball with a little less than a minute to play?
*Is it any wonder why the Big Ten is a laughingstock when you have not one, but both coaches playing for overtime.
OK, now that I've got that out of the way, let's move on.

The Good
Offense
For the second consecutive week, the Bucks had a successful day running the ball. Frankly, they'd better considering how negligible the passing game is. Brandon Saine looked great and I can't imagine why he didn't get more carries. Herron had some good runs too, but it's hard to argue with 103 yards on only 11 carries.
Defense
The defense was great in the 1st half and in overtime. It did slip in the 2nd half mostly because Vandenberg seemed (rightly) to target Chekwa on every play. Homan had a great game. Spitler played really well. Heck, Anderson Russell had 2 of the 3 interceptions.
Since this was such an odd game, I am going to skip directly to...

The Ugly
Offense
It's the same old story. Ohio State gets a lead, then the offense becomes predictable and stagnant. Hey, at least the Buckeyes didn't break from precedent.
I just have to ask: What was the deal with that 2-minute offense at the end of the 4th quarter? 2:42 left in the game, all three time-outs and the Buckeyes showed no urgency. Not only that, they refused to run a play of greater than 2 yards. Who plays for overtime with nearly 3 minutes to play and all 3 timeouts? Ridiculous!
Defense
Nathan Williams jumping offside and negating a pick-6 by Thad Gibson was really disappointing. Although I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. AFter all, that touchdown would have sealed the game for the Buckeyes.
Special Teams
You might have thought that the game was sealed once the Buckeyes took a 24-10 lead. Did you honestly believe that the Buckeyes would salt the game away? HAHAHA! Not so fast, my friend! The scarlet and gray couldn't wait to give some of that lead back. Pretty terrible when only one defender gets a hand on the kick returner on a 99-yard return.

Under the Radar player of the game
As mentioned, a lot of guys had good games. Still, it isn't a real easy choice this week. Perhaps if somebody had done something spectacular in overtime, this would be an easier selection. But, the Buckeyes might as well have kicked the field goal on 1st down in overtime. So, who is worthy of the award? Well, Zach Boren and Dane Sanzenbacher both had good blocks to spring Herron for the TD that made it 17-10. And let's face it, would anyone have been surprised if the Buckeyes wound up with a FG attempt there? So, those two guys seem like as good an option as anyone else.

Buckeyes 30, Fighting Illini 0

Photo of Dan Herron running (courtesy of the offensive line) by Jeff Mills.

Another game, another shutout. But since the Buckeyes only won by 30, that should be good for a 3-spot drop in the polls. The Buckeyes keep up this pace and they are liable to drop out of the top 25 completely.
The Good
Offense
The Buckeyes scored 30 points and only had 13 passes in the game. First of all, you don't see stats like that very often. Secondly, if you can score 30 points when everyone on the other side knows what you are going to do, you must be doing something right. The Buckeyes had 3 players (Herron, Saine, Pryor) average at least 5.4 yards per carry. That tells you that the offensive line did its job. OK, so maybe it was the kind of offense that set football back 30 years, but it worked. If the Buckeyes can roll up 30 points using Army's playbook, I'm all for it.
Defense
Are you kidding me? Two consecutive shutouts. That in itself is incredible. But take an even longer view and you'll see that OSU's opponents have scored 18 points. In other words, in that span, the defense has surrendered nearly half as many points as that team up north allowed to Indiana today. Oh, and Brian Rolle is a freak. Ditto Doug Worthington who got a sack by jumping over an offensive lineman. That was the best play of the game. And no, I won't be jumping off the Thad Gibson bandwagon anytime soon. And how about that interception by Lawrence Wilson. He was held, tipped the ball and intercepted it. Very impressive.
The Bad
Offense
Well, it didn't take long to see the bad on offense. One yard on the first series? Way to keep Juice Williams off the field. Pryor is, well, how to say this delicately? He is still very raw. I'm not sure he has a grasp on when to run and when to make plays with his arm. His throws often have very little on them, and he makes far too many poor decisions. Like that play late in the game when the Buckeyes were driving and TP nearly threw an interception at the goal line.
Defense
There is not a lot to put here after another shutout. That being said, Chimdi Chekwa is shaky at best. He actually did the right thing by committing pass interference late in the 1st half (after Ray Small's fumbled punt return), but I'm not sure it was what he really meant to do.
The Ugly
This game is proof that a 30-point shutout does not equal perfection. The Buckeyes lost 2 of 3 fumbles. Ray Small's fumble was more than a little nerve-wracking. That was the sort of play that can turn a game. Luckily it didn't, but not for a lack of trying. On the next play Juice went deep and got a pass interference call against Chekwa.
Under the Radar Player of the Game
There are a lot of good candidates here. Todd Denlinger had some really solid stops in the first half. Any of the defenders mentioned in The Good would be a decent selection. However, when an offense rolls up more than 200 rushing yards, you have to give credit to the offensive line, and that is exactly what I am doing with the UtR players of the game.

Trojans 18, Buckeyes 15

This is never easy after a loss. However, this one somehow seems easier to swallow. Maybe that's because I've learned to recognize the symptoms of a Buckeyes surrender. For instance, when the Buckeyes were leading 12-10 and driving down the field, I knew they would end up with a field goal attempt. Then, when USC reached midfield on the final TD drive, I knew they would score and the game would be over.

Once, just once, I would like to see a Buckeyes team play with heart for 4 quarters. You know, like it used to when it had players like Hawk and Carpenter. Unfortunately, those days are gone. Loyal reader, from now on, I want you to hold me to something. Whenever the Buckeyes play a big game, I will assume a loss. That way, if they do somehow manage to win the game, it will be a pleasant surprise to me. Do you realize what we have become? We have become Tennessee Volunteer fans. How, you ask? Well, no team is more familiar with having the season end in September than UT because that is when the Vols play the Gators.
The Good
Offense
This is easy. ALL of the good for the offense was in the 1st quarter. Clearly, you want to avoid having too much offensive success. That is why after a successful quarter, you just shut down the offense and try to manage a field goal when you can.
Defense
The defense played really well. For 53 minutes. Gibson, Homan and Rolle all had very good games.
The Bad
Offense
Pretty much everything after the 1st quarter fits here.
Defense
See The Ugly.
The Ugly
Offense
You know, for all the hype Terrelle Pryor gets, I can't say he is living up to any of it at the moment. He was more reminiscent of Stanley Jackson, than say, Vince Young. He often does not throw a very good ball. His decision on the interception was terrible. Ditto the almost fumble when he decided to pitch to a guy as he was going to the ground. Even better that the running back wasn't expecting the pitch.
Defense
I have no idea how the defense can play so well for 53 minutes and then just fold. Payday McKnight had been completely bottled up until that last TD drive. So had Spencer Pratt...erm, Matt Barkley. I mean, for crying out loud, the defense held the mighty mighty Peters...erm, Trojans to 5 yards in the 1st quarter. How then, do all the players fold so easily when the game is on the line?
Under the Radar player of the game
Well, you could make an argument that just about any player in the game was under the radar. Certainly, if we're going to award this to a player for this game, it would have to be a defensive player. So, without further ado, your Under the Radar player of the game is Thad Gibson.

Longhorns 24, Buckeyes 21

Has anyone else sworn that they won't bother watching the Buckeyes next season? It's like when your friend says he's giving up smoking. You want to believe he'll do it, but you know deep down he won't. Really, it's more akin to the film Trainspotting, when Mark Renton announces that he's "off the skag" and you know for a fact that it's more likely you'll find a three-legged bellydancing gopher than to see that come to fruition. You all know that I have a harder time churning this stuff out when the Buckeyes lose, so I'll probably keep this brief.

The Good
Beanie in the first half was incredible. (Funny, we seem to say that after every bowl game). The defense was nails, allowing only 3 points in the first half. Boeckman had some good throws. TP definitely had some good runs. Robiskie had as good a game as he has all season. Anderson Russell had a big interception. Nathan Williams had some very good defensive plays. The kicking game was solid, with two field goals of 50 yards or more. The defense got some good pressure on Colt McCoy.

The Bad
UT's first drive of the second half seemed to take a lot out of the Buckeyes. The Bucks responded to that by having two three and outs in the third quarter, and trailing the Longhorns by 11. TP, as good as he is now and may be in the future showed he is still a freshman with two plays in particular. The first was when he had clear sailing down the sideline and went out of bounds three yards before the marker. Instead of a first down, the Buckeyes had a 3rd and 3 which naturally, they did not convert. The other play was right before the Buckeyes first field goal. TP should have launched the ball into the the stands instead of taking the sack and making for a longer field goal attempt.

The Ugly
Thaddeus Gibson had three penalties called against him, two of which were for 15 yards. Penalties in general destroyed the Buckeyes. Some of them were even legitimate, although the refs really seemed to take over the early part of the third quarter. The Buckeyes "offense" in the third quarter was pathetic at best. The offensive line on some plays barely gave TP half a second to survey the field. On some of those plays, I couldn't tell if they were designed to be QB runs or if TP was merely running for his life because of the ineffectiveness of the offensive line.

Under the Radar Player of the Game
I can't really say anyone earned this. I had some good candidates...if the Buckeyes had won.

Here's the bottom line. The Buckeyes have played 13 games and I don't think anyone can say for sure what this team is. If the Buckeyes were to play another game next week, I wouldn't know if I should expect the team that smoked UM, MSU and Northwestern, the team that fought (for most of the game) against Texas, or the team that cowered in fear against USC. One question that keeps popping into my mind is "Would AJ Hawk and his defensive teammates have allowed Texas to score with 16 seconds to play?" Just think about that. The Bucks were about 20 seconds away from a big bowl win and just let it slip away. Which is why of course, I'm not going to bother to watch the Buckeyes next season. Yeah right, the Buckeyes are our drug. We think we can walk away, maybe we even want to, but they always seem to draw us back.

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.