I switched the blog over to Blogger Beta today, in hopes that it would make site customization and a potential site redesign easier. I've got everything looking more or less the way it was, but if you see something missing or something screwy, let me know.
As far as Blogger Beta goes, I'm not too terribly impressed with it. I was hoping it would make it easy to make adjustments to the dimensions of the site, as all that gray blank space kinda bugs me. It doesn't seem to allow that, due to the limitations of the template I'm using. So I may have to ditch the template, though that may not happen for a while. If there's ever a week not to make changes that screw up an Ohio State blog, this is it.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
It's Michigan Week
I was thinking about posting some thoughts on the Northwestern game, but really: who cares? The offense went back to firing on all cylinders. The defense gave up too much yardage on screens, but adjusted nicely at halftime and finished strong. Plus, they forced a ton of turnovers. The team missed two extra points, but if they had missed every extra point, it still wouldn't have mattered. Northwestern was a nice tuneup, but that game means nothing now, because this is the week of The Game. And it will be huge.
Ohio State, meeting all our hopes, enters the week undefeated, with a national championship game berth and a Heisman trophy at stake. Michigan, contrary to all my cheering, hoping, and insulting, is also undefeated. But while I don't like the happiness an undefeated season brings to Michigan fans, I must admit that it makes The Game that much bigger. How much bigger? Well, let's just call this the biggest Ohio State-Michigan game ever.
I've been on campus for three Ohio State-Michigan games. In 2003, Ohio State lost convincingly, finishing off a decent season, but one that never really met expectations. In 2004, Troy Smith ran wild as we went crazy in Block O. The win put a positive spin on an otherwise down year. And, of course, there was last year's comeback win, resulting in much spontaneous yelling and celebrating out in the street. There were major differences year to year in terms of expectations and the state of the teams, but the importance of the Michigan game was a constant. In short, if you beat Michigan, you had a good season. If you didn't, you didn't.
Let's look at 2003 and 2005. In 2003, Ohio State was coming off a championship season, and they were expected to be even better. However, they lost to Wisconsin and then to Michigan, for Jim Tressel's only loss to that school up north. They still made it to the Fiesta Bowl and won, finishing the year 10-2.
Last year, expectations were pretty standard: a Big Ten title, a shot at the national championship with some luck. However, early losses to Texas and Penn State pretty much ended the national championship hopes. The team finished strong, though, as they beat Michigan and went to the Fiesta Bowl, beating Notre Dame to finish 10-2.
The Buckeyes had identical records in both seasons, went to the same bowl both years, and won both years. Yet, if you're like me, you regard 2003 as a disappointment, and 2005 as a success. What's the difference?
Well, you could argue that expectations were higher in 2003, and you'd be right. But I think the real difference is the Michigan game. The Buckeyes won in 2005; they lost in 2003. This one game is the difference between success and failure.
So here we are again at Michigan Week, this time with a berth in the national championship on the line. It's Ohio State-Michigan, and it's also 1 versus 2. This is as big as it gets.
I just hope my professors don't expect me to do anything productive this week.
Ohio State, meeting all our hopes, enters the week undefeated, with a national championship game berth and a Heisman trophy at stake. Michigan, contrary to all my cheering, hoping, and insulting, is also undefeated. But while I don't like the happiness an undefeated season brings to Michigan fans, I must admit that it makes The Game that much bigger. How much bigger? Well, let's just call this the biggest Ohio State-Michigan game ever.
I've been on campus for three Ohio State-Michigan games. In 2003, Ohio State lost convincingly, finishing off a decent season, but one that never really met expectations. In 2004, Troy Smith ran wild as we went crazy in Block O. The win put a positive spin on an otherwise down year. And, of course, there was last year's comeback win, resulting in much spontaneous yelling and celebrating out in the street. There were major differences year to year in terms of expectations and the state of the teams, but the importance of the Michigan game was a constant. In short, if you beat Michigan, you had a good season. If you didn't, you didn't.
Let's look at 2003 and 2005. In 2003, Ohio State was coming off a championship season, and they were expected to be even better. However, they lost to Wisconsin and then to Michigan, for Jim Tressel's only loss to that school up north. They still made it to the Fiesta Bowl and won, finishing the year 10-2.
Last year, expectations were pretty standard: a Big Ten title, a shot at the national championship with some luck. However, early losses to Texas and Penn State pretty much ended the national championship hopes. The team finished strong, though, as they beat Michigan and went to the Fiesta Bowl, beating Notre Dame to finish 10-2.
The Buckeyes had identical records in both seasons, went to the same bowl both years, and won both years. Yet, if you're like me, you regard 2003 as a disappointment, and 2005 as a success. What's the difference?
Well, you could argue that expectations were higher in 2003, and you'd be right. But I think the real difference is the Michigan game. The Buckeyes won in 2005; they lost in 2003. This one game is the difference between success and failure.
So here we are again at Michigan Week, this time with a berth in the national championship on the line. It's Ohio State-Michigan, and it's also 1 versus 2. This is as big as it gets.
I just hope my professors don't expect me to do anything productive this week.
Some More Basketball
The last time I'll think about basketball this week:
Last night, the men's team picked up their second win of the season by beating Loyala 87-75. Ron Lewis had a huge game, going for 27 points and 11 rebounds. Daequan Cook continued to do Daequan Cook things, going for 18 points and 9 boards. Mike Conley didn't finish with great stats (8 points, 4 assists), but he only played 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Ivan Harris was much more efficient, finishing with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting (and 3 of 4 from the line).
But the high point of the game came from Matt Terwilliger. He improved from yesterday, this time going for 6 points and 5 boards in just 16 minutes, so that's good. But more important, he had a huge one-handed putback dunk just before halftime, instantly elevating himself to mythical folk-hero status. If he does nothing else for the rest of his life, he can still get high fives from me for life for that one. That might not seem like much, but it really is. Imagine feeling a little down one day, maybe you had a rough day at work. Maybe you stopped at McDonald's on your way home and they messed up your order. Maybe you notice a troublesome rattle in your engine on the drive home. Maybe you get home and see a couple shingles blew off your roof during the day. Things just aren't going your way.
Then I run up to you, give you a high five, and run off. You telling me that wouldn't cheer you up?
Monstrous one-handed dunk. High five.
Oh, and if anyone would happen to have video of said awesome dunk, I would like to see it.
Last night, the men's team picked up their second win of the season by beating Loyala 87-75. Ron Lewis had a huge game, going for 27 points and 11 rebounds. Daequan Cook continued to do Daequan Cook things, going for 18 points and 9 boards. Mike Conley didn't finish with great stats (8 points, 4 assists), but he only played 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Ivan Harris was much more efficient, finishing with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting (and 3 of 4 from the line).
But the high point of the game came from Matt Terwilliger. He improved from yesterday, this time going for 6 points and 5 boards in just 16 minutes, so that's good. But more important, he had a huge one-handed putback dunk just before halftime, instantly elevating himself to mythical folk-hero status. If he does nothing else for the rest of his life, he can still get high fives from me for life for that one. That might not seem like much, but it really is. Imagine feeling a little down one day, maybe you had a rough day at work. Maybe you stopped at McDonald's on your way home and they messed up your order. Maybe you notice a troublesome rattle in your engine on the drive home. Maybe you get home and see a couple shingles blew off your roof during the day. Things just aren't going your way.
Then I run up to you, give you a high five, and run off. You telling me that wouldn't cheer you up?
Monstrous one-handed dunk. High five.
Oh, and if anyone would happen to have video of said awesome dunk, I would like to see it.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Basketball Post-Game Thoughts
We all know that the football game against Northwestern is and should be the top priority for Buckeye fans, but there isn't a lot for me to say about it. For a quality preview, if you just have to have information on Northwestern, you could check out the O-Zone's Northwestern preview.
In news that's less important but more interesting than previewing the Northwestern Wildcats, the men's basketball team opened up the season with a 107-69 win over VMI. VMI is one of those teams that believes the only bad shot is the one you don't take. Their gameplan consists of shooting the ball as quickly as possible, hoping to just miss less than the other team and/or tire them out. They had averaged 136 points per game in the preseason as they had success with that plan. Here, not so much. Bullet points!
In news that's less important but more interesting than previewing the Northwestern Wildcats, the men's basketball team opened up the season with a 107-69 win over VMI. VMI is one of those teams that believes the only bad shot is the one you don't take. Their gameplan consists of shooting the ball as quickly as possible, hoping to just miss less than the other team and/or tire them out. They had averaged 136 points per game in the preseason as they had success with that plan. Here, not so much. Bullet points!
- OSU started three members of the Thad Five recruiting class, with Mike Conley, Jr., Othello Hunter, and David Lighty starting alongside Jamar Butler and Ron Lewis. It's a little surprising that Conley and Butler are both starting, since that gives us two point guards on the floor. But I gotta say, it works pretty well. Butler can still handle the ball, but he can take on much more of a scoring role with Conley handling point guard duties. Conley finished with ten assists, and Butler was 5-10 on threes and finished with eighteen points.
- This lineup is a cause for concern until Greg Oden returns (arrives?). This is a four-guard offense, and Othello Hunter, while a good player and better than I expected, is not a beast down low. The team can spread the floor and hit open shots, but bigger teams with a good post player or two will give the Buckeyes trouble until Greg Oden can fill in down low.
- This was a game that will contribute a lot of highlights. It was a very fast game, with OSU more than willing to run with VMI. The Buckeyes had roughly 96 possessions (65 is about average in the Big Ten), and quite a few of them ended with fancy dunks and alley-oops. The team had a great game offensively, but when you have that many chances against that bad of an opponent, you'd better look good.
- Speaking of looking good, Daequan Cook looked great. He was responsible for several of those fancy dunks, and he finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds. He still needs a little work defensively, and he needs to take better care of the ball (five turnovers), but he was the player of the game last night.
- Quick evaluation of the rest of the new players: Mike Conley made some nice passes, both of the flashy type and the fundamentally solid type, and did not look like a guy starting his first college regular season game. David Lighty was solid, but not outstanding. Othello Hunter looked pretty good down low, but grades incomplete since most of the VMI players were uninterested in venturing past the three point line. Greg Oden was well-dressed.
- Things were pretty much status quo from last season for Jamar Butler, Ron Lewis, and Matt Terwilliger. Butler and Lewis hit the open shots and looked good, and Terwilliger was tall and kinda goofy-looking. Okay, Twiggy wasn't bad, either, though I had hoped for a little more production from him (just 4 points and 4 boards).
- Ivan Harris didn't really impress me. He seemed to be a black hole out on the court. The ball went to him and never came out. He got the ball, he shot, he missed. He got the ball, he shot, he missed. To an extent, there's some bias here, since his numbers aren't that much worse than the aforementioned "great" ones from Cook, but he did lead the team in field goals attempted, despite playing only 20 minutes. I guess it's good that he's got that confidence, and once those shots start falling it'll be great, but as long as he's missing, I wish that he'd look to pass more.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Links for a Thursday
There's not a whole lot going on in OSU football right now, but here's a few links:
First up, Bruce Hooley's wondering if the OSU-Michigan matchup will be all that great. The argument's basically "yeah, they've done well, but they did it against the Big Ten, and the Big Ten sucks this year." He might be right. I wouldn't be surprised if the game doesn't live up to the hype. These games seldom do. I don't think his argument holds much water, though. "The rest of the Big Ten hasn't been very good, therefore OSU and Michigan aren't that good, either." It might be true that neither team has regularly been tested against top-flight competition, but who is that true of? Most conferences don't look all that deep this season. If The Game doesn't meet expectations, it's not because the teams aren't that good; it's because the expectations are too high. Not every game that should be a classic is.
In other news, the Butkus Award finalists have been announced, and James Laurinaitis is one of them. That's some nice recognition for the dude. He hasn't been A.J. Hawk good; I never worried about whether Hawk was going to make a tackle, which is something that sometimes concerns me with Laurinaitis. But then, Hawk didn't win the Butkus; they decided to give it to Penn State's Paul Posluszny, as I'm sure you remember. There would be some justice in Pos not winning the Butkus this year, but in that situation, I expect it to go to Patrick Willis of Ole Miss, the other finalist. I don't see a sophmore winning the award over two seniors.
Speaking of Penn State, Joe Paterno will miss this weekend's game against Temple. If there's ever a game for a head coach to take off, Temple's probably the one. But basically, I just want to mention how badass JoePa is. He sustained the sort of horrific injury that would have pretty much every player on the ground moaning and groaning for fifteen minutes. Paterno, by contrast, still tried to stand and coach on a broken leg. That's hardcore. You gotta like JoePa. I maintain that he's the only thing keeping Ohio State-Penn State from becoming a rivalry. As long as Paterno's coaching, everyone's liking and respect for him will keep Ohio State fans from developing the requisite hatred needed for a good rivalry. Once he retires, it's on.
Okay, JoePa's retired. So now, I guess, it's on.
First up, Bruce Hooley's wondering if the OSU-Michigan matchup will be all that great. The argument's basically "yeah, they've done well, but they did it against the Big Ten, and the Big Ten sucks this year." He might be right. I wouldn't be surprised if the game doesn't live up to the hype. These games seldom do. I don't think his argument holds much water, though. "The rest of the Big Ten hasn't been very good, therefore OSU and Michigan aren't that good, either." It might be true that neither team has regularly been tested against top-flight competition, but who is that true of? Most conferences don't look all that deep this season. If The Game doesn't meet expectations, it's not because the teams aren't that good; it's because the expectations are too high. Not every game that should be a classic is.
In other news, the Butkus Award finalists have been announced, and James Laurinaitis is one of them. That's some nice recognition for the dude. He hasn't been A.J. Hawk good; I never worried about whether Hawk was going to make a tackle, which is something that sometimes concerns me with Laurinaitis. But then, Hawk didn't win the Butkus; they decided to give it to Penn State's Paul Posluszny, as I'm sure you remember. There would be some justice in Pos not winning the Butkus this year, but in that situation, I expect it to go to Patrick Willis of Ole Miss, the other finalist. I don't see a sophmore winning the award over two seniors.
Speaking of Penn State, Joe Paterno will miss this weekend's game against Temple. If there's ever a game for a head coach to take off, Temple's probably the one. But basically, I just want to mention how badass JoePa is. He sustained the sort of horrific injury that would have pretty much every player on the ground moaning and groaning for fifteen minutes. Paterno, by contrast, still tried to stand and coach on a broken leg. That's hardcore. You gotta like JoePa. I maintain that he's the only thing keeping Ohio State-Penn State from becoming a rivalry. As long as Paterno's coaching, everyone's liking and respect for him will keep Ohio State fans from developing the requisite hatred needed for a good rivalry. Once he retires, it's on.
Okay, JoePa's retired. So now, I guess, it's on.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Legitimacy, Here I Come!
I didn't mention it earlier for one reason or another, but if you aren't reading the Syracuse student newspaper, the Daily Orange, you really should. Not so much because you need to stay up on Syracuse-related news, but because they quoted me. That's right, I'm a source for a real news story. Sort of.
Matt Levin of the Daily Orange, sports columnist and the greatest newspaper writer in the history of the English language, interviewed me as part of his story about the Dead Schembechlers, the anti-Michigan punk rockers, and about OSU-Michigan in general. The relevant point:
Ok, so it's not going to get me into Bartlett's or anything, but hey, it's a start. I tried to give him a feel for the OSU-Michigan rivalry, but that's a tough thing to do in just a few minutes. Or so I thought. This Daily Show clip, which has been making the rounds, sums the rivalry up nicely:
And in a completely unrelated note, Britney Spears has filed for divorce from Kevin Federline (HT: EDSBS, oddly enough). And there was much rejoicing. Why, you ask? Well let me show you:
Britney before Federline:
Britney after Federline:
There are some very real "Return to Glory" type possibilities here, only this would be a real return, not a fake one like Notre Dame had last season.
EDIT: Just realized I never actually linked the story in the Daily Orange on the Dead Schembechlers. I fixed that above, or you can just click here to check it out.
Matt Levin of the Daily Orange, sports columnist and the greatest newspaper writer in the history of the English language, interviewed me as part of his story about the Dead Schembechlers, the anti-Michigan punk rockers, and about OSU-Michigan in general. The relevant point:
But anything is possible at a school of more than 50,000 students.
"It's already getting crazy," said Sean Sheehan, an OSU senior and creator of the Ohio State football Web log, The 614. "Every year it's pretty crazy and if it's going to be No. 1 vs. No. 2, I can't imagine what it's going to be like."
He said the existence of a band such as the Dead Schembechlers is "a testament to how big the rivalry is."
Sheehan said the band has various well-written songs. He particularly enjoys the song "Ted Ginn Did Everythin'," a song that tells the tale of how the Bucks speedy receiver single-handedly built the pyramids and tore down the Berlin Wall-among other superhuman feats.
Ok, so it's not going to get me into Bartlett's or anything, but hey, it's a start. I tried to give him a feel for the OSU-Michigan rivalry, but that's a tough thing to do in just a few minutes. Or so I thought. This Daily Show clip, which has been making the rounds, sums the rivalry up nicely:
And in a completely unrelated note, Britney Spears has filed for divorce from Kevin Federline (HT: EDSBS, oddly enough). And there was much rejoicing. Why, you ask? Well let me show you:
Britney before Federline:
Britney after Federline:
There are some very real "Return to Glory" type possibilities here, only this would be a real return, not a fake one like Notre Dame had last season.
EDIT: Just realized I never actually linked the story in the Daily Orange on the Dead Schembechlers. I fixed that above, or you can just click here to check it out.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Week Eleven BlogPoll
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Michigan | -- |
| 3 | Texas | -- |
| 4 | California | -- |
| 5 | Auburn | -- |
| 6 | Florida | -- |
| 7 | Notre Dame |  3 |
| 8 | Louisville | 4 |
| 9 | Southern Cal |  1 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 1 |
| 11 | LSU | 2 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 5 |
| 13 | Rutgers | 1 |
| 14 | West Virginia | 3 |
| 15 | Boise State | 3 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | -- |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| 18 | Virginia Tech | 2 |
| 19 | Wake Forest | 4 |
| 20 | Boston College | 5 |
| 21 | Oregon | -- |
| 22 | Clemson | 5 |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | 1 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 2 |
| 25 | Maryland | 1 |
Dropped Out: Texas A&M (#22), Missouri (#25).
Thoughts:
- No movement in the top six. OSU and Michigan didn't look so hot, but the whole "undefeated" thing counts for a lot. Texas, Cal, and Auburn looked pretty good, but not enough to change the status quo. Florida had some trouble, but I still think they're the most talented SEC team, if they ever get their act together.
- I reconsidered things, and decided I was probably underrating Notre Dame a bit. They've played a solid schedule, and the one loss came to the #2 team in the country. True, they should have lost to Michigan State, but honestly, that Michigan State team could beat or lose to any team in the country and I wouldn't be especially surprised.
- Louisville moves up after beating West Virginia. They're undefeated, which is good, but they haven't played much in the way of good teams, which is bad. They beat Miami and West Virginia, which is good, but they struggled with Cincinnati and Syracuse, which is bad. They beat the (supposed) #3 team in the country, which is good, but they looked sloppy and didn't play defense, which is bad. All of this is just to say that they won't crack the top five if they don't crush Rutgers.
- USC dropped, but only so Notre Dame and Louisville could move up.
- I'm starting to figure out the SEC. Auburn and Florida are probably the best teams, but Arkansas isn't far behind. That's impressive, considering they're doing it without any meaningful contribution from the quarterback. They've been riding a great running back and some solid receivers to victory, while not letting the QB lose the game for them. Basically, they're having the season Penn State hoped to have.
- LSU finally gets a meaningful win! Yay! The team looked virtually identical to Ohio State, in terms of scoring offense and defense, but they hadn't beaten anyone worth talking about. But JaMarcus Russell couldn't quite lose this one for the Tigers, and they beat Tennessee, who now find themselves one spot behind LSU.
- I don't really know what the difference is between Rutgers and Louisville, except that one is Rutgers. And because Rutgers is Rutgers, they're five spots behind Louisville. That's two sentences that seem to make no sense, but that actually make perfect sense to anyone that's followed college football over the past decade.
- That's about all there is of note. Boise State moves up by default, Clemson continues to anti-Cinderella themselves, and Wake Forest continues to defy any reasonable expectations by climbing even more up the rankings. It's a sign of the apocalypse.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
U-G-L-Y
Well, that certainly wasn't pretty. 17-10 against a formerly 2-7 Illinois team is not what you expect to see from a #1 team. But, I suppose, if you're going to have a bad week, it's better to do it now than two weeks from now.
Offensively, that was clearly the worst game this team has played. I always say that good things will happen if you get Antonio Pittman 20+ carries. Well, he got 32, and things did end up fine, but you couldn't give much credit to the rushing attack, as Pittman only got 58 yards. I don't really blame him, as he did the same thing he's done all season: hit the hole if it's there, and cut back if it isn't. The holes often weren't there, for which the offensive line should take a lot of blame, and the cutbacks were ineffective, for which the Illini defense should be given a lot of credit.
But at least Pittman held on to the ball. For the second straight week, and the fourth (maybe? I'm not sure. Someone help me out.) time this season, Chris Wells fumbled. Woody Hayes once said that "no back in history ever has been worth two fumbles a game." I think Jim Tressel has adapted that to "no backup in history has ever been worth one fumble a game." Once Beanie fumbled, he was done. It's certainly important to keep a guy's confidence up, but until he learns to protect the football, he's going to limit his playing time.
Troy Smith had a bad day, too. He started reasonably well, but things went steadily downhill. He threw an interception, which is rare and also bad, but he also had some bad throws and bad reads. It wasn't entirely his fault; the line played its worst game of the year. Illinois shut down the run and consistently got pressure on Smith. They certainly deserve credit for that, but the line deserves some blame as well, as does Troy, for holding onto the ball too long a couple times. The long and short of it is that he probably just opened the door to get Brady Quinn right back into the Heisman race.
I don't really have any complaints about the defense. They had a few lapses, but for the most part, they shut down Illinois. They forced a couple turnovers and held them to 233 yards of total offense, which would have been a lot better if the offense picked up 400 or so instead of just 224 yards. There isn't a lot to say about them; they continue to get better each game, which is all you can ask of them.
The special teams were up and down. The return game wasn't really a factor. Aaron Pettrey made a 50-yarder, which, like most of his kicks recently, looked like it would have been good from five or ten yards further out. A.J. Trapasso looked pretty good on some punts and pretty bad on some other ones, but that last punt of his was huge. So overall, no major complaints about the special teams.
Coaching was decent. This wasn't their best effort on the offensive end. They gave Michigan a few new things to look at, but seemed to play the entire second half in prevent mode. That normally wouldn't be a problem, because normally Pittman, Wells, and Wells (that sounds like a law firm. Pittman, Wells, and Wells, LLP) would have run all over the defense. However, that didn't happen. Illinois didn't get tired, didn't get pushed around, and our running game didn't work. At that point, Tressel probably should have opened things up a bit. Overall, though, it was a problem of execution more than coaching.
Overall, what should we take from this game? Well, that Illinois is better defensively than expected. A friend of mine from Penn State mentioned that this was a pretty good defense and that the game might be closer than expected. "Nonsense," I thought, "They're still Illinois, and our offense is really good." I probably should have looked at the stats. They came in 3rd in pass defense, 6th in rush defense, and 5th total. From watching this game, I think the Illini are even better than that. True, some of our offensive woes were our own doing, but no defense makes an offense that good look that bad without being at least decent. If they keep improving, the Illini could contend for a Big Ten title in a year or two.
Other than that, I'm not too worried about the outcome. It was a bad game, but they happen. The team got out with all title hopes intact, and they get a little motivation going into Northwestern. We all knew that complacency was the biggest threat until November 18th, and this game should pretty much eliminate that.
Offensively, that was clearly the worst game this team has played. I always say that good things will happen if you get Antonio Pittman 20+ carries. Well, he got 32, and things did end up fine, but you couldn't give much credit to the rushing attack, as Pittman only got 58 yards. I don't really blame him, as he did the same thing he's done all season: hit the hole if it's there, and cut back if it isn't. The holes often weren't there, for which the offensive line should take a lot of blame, and the cutbacks were ineffective, for which the Illini defense should be given a lot of credit.
But at least Pittman held on to the ball. For the second straight week, and the fourth (maybe? I'm not sure. Someone help me out.) time this season, Chris Wells fumbled. Woody Hayes once said that "no back in history ever has been worth two fumbles a game." I think Jim Tressel has adapted that to "no backup in history has ever been worth one fumble a game." Once Beanie fumbled, he was done. It's certainly important to keep a guy's confidence up, but until he learns to protect the football, he's going to limit his playing time.
Troy Smith had a bad day, too. He started reasonably well, but things went steadily downhill. He threw an interception, which is rare and also bad, but he also had some bad throws and bad reads. It wasn't entirely his fault; the line played its worst game of the year. Illinois shut down the run and consistently got pressure on Smith. They certainly deserve credit for that, but the line deserves some blame as well, as does Troy, for holding onto the ball too long a couple times. The long and short of it is that he probably just opened the door to get Brady Quinn right back into the Heisman race.
I don't really have any complaints about the defense. They had a few lapses, but for the most part, they shut down Illinois. They forced a couple turnovers and held them to 233 yards of total offense, which would have been a lot better if the offense picked up 400 or so instead of just 224 yards. There isn't a lot to say about them; they continue to get better each game, which is all you can ask of them.
The special teams were up and down. The return game wasn't really a factor. Aaron Pettrey made a 50-yarder, which, like most of his kicks recently, looked like it would have been good from five or ten yards further out. A.J. Trapasso looked pretty good on some punts and pretty bad on some other ones, but that last punt of his was huge. So overall, no major complaints about the special teams.
Coaching was decent. This wasn't their best effort on the offensive end. They gave Michigan a few new things to look at, but seemed to play the entire second half in prevent mode. That normally wouldn't be a problem, because normally Pittman, Wells, and Wells (that sounds like a law firm. Pittman, Wells, and Wells, LLP) would have run all over the defense. However, that didn't happen. Illinois didn't get tired, didn't get pushed around, and our running game didn't work. At that point, Tressel probably should have opened things up a bit. Overall, though, it was a problem of execution more than coaching.
Overall, what should we take from this game? Well, that Illinois is better defensively than expected. A friend of mine from Penn State mentioned that this was a pretty good defense and that the game might be closer than expected. "Nonsense," I thought, "They're still Illinois, and our offense is really good." I probably should have looked at the stats. They came in 3rd in pass defense, 6th in rush defense, and 5th total. From watching this game, I think the Illini are even better than that. True, some of our offensive woes were our own doing, but no defense makes an offense that good look that bad without being at least decent. If they keep improving, the Illini could contend for a Big Ten title in a year or two.
Other than that, I'm not too worried about the outcome. It was a bad game, but they happen. The team got out with all title hopes intact, and they get a little motivation going into Northwestern. We all knew that complacency was the biggest threat until November 18th, and this game should pretty much eliminate that.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
A Sad Day
John L. Smith is officially out at Michigan State after this season.
No more hilarity at halftime, no more slapping himself in press conferences, no more stunning collapses. It is truly the end of an era.
This is a very sad time. Let us all remember better days:
That's all you'll get from me today. I had a long day of class and studying, and now I'm off to my local pub to watch LeBron. Have a nice night, everyone.
No more hilarity at halftime, no more slapping himself in press conferences, no more stunning collapses. It is truly the end of an era.
This is a very sad time. Let us all remember better days:
That's all you'll get from me today. I had a long day of class and studying, and now I'm off to my local pub to watch LeBron. Have a nice night, everyone.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Holy Crap
Big Ten Wonk returns tomorrow. And the Cavs play their first regular season game tomorrow.
This means basketball season is starting.
Troy Smith, LeBron James, and Jamar Butler (eventually Greg Oden), all being awesome at the same time. Good times.
This means basketball season is starting.
Troy Smith, LeBron James, and Jamar Butler (eventually Greg Oden), all being awesome at the same time. Good times.
Week Ten BlogPoll
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 25 |
| 2 | Michigan | 24 |
| 3 | Texas | 23 |
| 4 | California | 22 |
| 5 | Auburn | 21 |
| 6 | Florida | 20 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 19 |
| 8 | Southern Cal | 18 |
| 9 | Arkansas | 17 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 16 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 15 |
| 12 | Louisville | 14 |
| 13 | LSU | 13 |
| 14 | Rutgers | 12 |
| 15 | Boston College | 11 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 10 |
| 17 | Clemson | 9 |
| 18 | Boise State | 8 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 7 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 6 |
| 21 | Oregon | 5 |
| 22 | Texas A&M | 4 |
| 23 | Wake Forest | 3 |
| 24 | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| 25 | Missouri | 1 |
Dropped Out:
As always, let me know rather quickly if I made any serious errors, and I will correct them.
Ignore the delta numbers on the right, obviously. I missed last week's BlogPoll, which annoys me, but afforded me the opportunity to start over, which I sort of took. Some thoughts, by conference:
Big Ten
The Buckeyes still look like the class of the conference. Tops in the conference in scoring offense and scoring defense, with a defense that's improving every week. My biggest concern about the team is that they are probably being challenged more during practice than they are during gameday. That should change come November 18th, and I hope they're ready for it.
Just a note to those arguing that Michigan hasn't been as impressive as a #2 team should be: true, but that's no indication of the quality of the team. Just keep in mind, the 2002 Buckeyes seldom looked all that impressive, and look what they accomplished. Maybe (hopefully) Ohio State will blow them off the field in a few weeks, but I doubt it.
I'm not sold on Wisconsin. The offense is one-dimensional, and the defense is decent, but nothing special. If they beat Penn State, I'll reconsider.
Speaking of Penn State, I considered ranking them, again. I talked myself out of it, but their three losses came to my first, second, and tenth teams. There are 15 ranked teams that I would expect to do the same, with that schedule.
Big East
Am I giving no respect to the Big East? Absolutely. WVU's best win is Maryland, Louisville's is Miami, and Rutgers' is probably Navy. These are not good teams. If those three teams beat up on each other and everyone loses, I don't see myself ranking any of them above 15. It'll take one of the teams blowing the other two out of the water for me to consider them a top five team.
SEC
I don't really think all those teams are that good. That's not to say that it's a bad conference, just that I think they probably only have 2 or 3 legit top-10 teams. I just don't know the good teams from the bad at this point, so I threw them all in a jumble in the hopes that they'll sort things out. I tried to give Arkansas some respect, since just about the only reason they aren't as highly ranked as the other SEC teams in the rest of the polls is that they started the season unranked.
Big 12
It's Texas and Oklahoma again. Awesome. I am so excited.
Texas A&M keeps winning, but seldom impressively. I'll have to give them some real respect if they handle Oklahoma Saturday.
I liked Missouri and Chase Daniels, but I would appreciate it if they stopped sucking.
ACC
Thanks a lot, Clemson. I bought into you, then you lost to BC and I decided you were the same old Clemson team, then you were really good again, and I decided you were legit, and you got stomped by Virginia Tech. Same old Clemson. I don't care what else happens this season. You're dead to me (in other words, stay the hell out of my top ten).
Virginia Tech's sort of a usual suspect in top 25's around the world, though I'm not sure they're that good. Beating a top ten team gets you into my top 25, but I don't know if that's because Tech's capable of being that good, or if (more likely) I just overrated Clemson.
I don't know what sort of events have transpired that have led to a Wake Forest team missing it's starting QB and RB going 7-1, but I think they may eventually lead to the end of the world.
And I have no idea how good Georgia Tech is. None. They baffle me.
Pac 10
USC lost, which made me happy, since I don't especially like USC. I don't think that means they're bad, though. There's still a ton of talent on that team. I think Cal's the more complete team, though. Other than that, I don't really have much of an opinion on the West Coasters, other than I'm looking forward to watching USC's last four games of the season: Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, UCLA. Good times.
Everyone Else
If I'd thought it would piss off Charlie Weis in any way, shape, or form, I'd have dropped Notre Dame out of my top 25. How can a guy be such a jackass when there's cameras and reporters around, but such an (apparently) nice guy to people when he's away from a podium? Shouldn't famous people be nice on camera, and jerks to the individual fans, not the other way around?
As for Boise State, meh. There, I said it.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Halloween 2006: The Re-Resoddening
I saw today that the athletic department is replacing the field at the Shoe again. It's a good thing. The new field didn't look great when it was installed, and it didn't get better. The people in charge are claiming that the failure of the replacement field is just bad luck:
The turf was replaced after the home game with Penn State on Sept. 23, in time for the next home game Oct. 7 against Bowling Green. But two frosts and unseasonably wet weather since then doomed that batch of sod, Patko said.Over at the FanHouse, JD isn't so sure:
"Nine times out of 10 it works out, but this just happened to be the one," he said.
I said this before the last resurfacing, and I'll say it again: resurfacing a field in the middle of the season is rarely a good idea.He goes on to make the point that it's a little late to be replacing the turf, and I agree. However, they have to do something. That field was just unacceptable during the Minnesota game. With three weeks to prepare, I think they should be able to get the field into decent condition for the Michigan game. And honestly, I think that's all they'll get out of it. After this much trouble with the field, I expect them to switch to artificial turf for next season. Why go to all this trouble with natural grass when you can install a synthetic field and then not worry about it? It's not like we have an extensive tradition of playing on grass; there was an artificial field from 1970 to 1990. And with the quality of artifical turf nowadays, it just seems like the way to go.
The Bengals faced this problem before they switched to FieldTurf. Neil Rackers struggled mightily as the Bengals kicker because of the sandy surface, and he thrived once he left. Once a field is bad, it's bad. If the grass didn't take the first time around, why's it going to take the second? Or the third?
Friday, October 27, 2006
Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend
So, it's homecoming weekend. I don't know anyone who's all that excited about the actual homecoming festivities, though I'm sure they're out there, and good for them. But among the people I talk to, the two biggest topics of conversation are A.) Jack Nicklaus dotting the I, and B.) Halloween costumes.
Jack Nicklaus dotting the I is actually a bigger deal than I expected. I was half-expecting people to tell me "I didn't even know he went here!" But not only did I not get that, I had lots of people telling me how excited they were that he was going to do it. There isn't a lot of excitement about the game itself, somewhat understandably. Minnesota is good enough to not get blown off the field, but lacking any exciting playmaker. Plus, it's supposed to be cold and windy, if not rainy. Certainly everyone will be there and cheering, but the part of the day that will get the loudest cheers is when the Golden Bear dots the I, no question.
As for the costumes, they are a very important part of college. Halloween might not be the biggest party weekend of the year, but it's close. Everyone has a costume, from the people that spent weeks assembling incredibly clever costumes to the ones that put it off until the last minute and end up dressing as serial killers ("they look just like regular people!"). For some examples, check out CollegeHumor's Halloween section. Girls, it should be noted, have it easier than guys. If guys want to impress people with their costumes, they either have to find something clever or get a costume that looks uncannily like a movie or TV character. Girls, on the other hand, just have to pick a noun and put "sexy" in front of it. Sexy nurse, sexy devil, sexy cat, sexy duvet cover, sexy pizza - all are viable costume ideas. Once again, I must go to College Humor, which has an entertaining video that pretty accurately describes the situation:
As for me, I'm going as a grad student. I bought a long-hair wig that I've put into a ponytail, I picked up a cheap sport coat at Goodwill, and I'm going to wear a dress shirt and jeans. Basically, it's every male American teaching assistant I've encountered (that may be a slight exaggeration).
Jack Nicklaus dotting the I is actually a bigger deal than I expected. I was half-expecting people to tell me "I didn't even know he went here!" But not only did I not get that, I had lots of people telling me how excited they were that he was going to do it. There isn't a lot of excitement about the game itself, somewhat understandably. Minnesota is good enough to not get blown off the field, but lacking any exciting playmaker. Plus, it's supposed to be cold and windy, if not rainy. Certainly everyone will be there and cheering, but the part of the day that will get the loudest cheers is when the Golden Bear dots the I, no question.
As for the costumes, they are a very important part of college. Halloween might not be the biggest party weekend of the year, but it's close. Everyone has a costume, from the people that spent weeks assembling incredibly clever costumes to the ones that put it off until the last minute and end up dressing as serial killers ("they look just like regular people!"). For some examples, check out CollegeHumor's Halloween section. Girls, it should be noted, have it easier than guys. If guys want to impress people with their costumes, they either have to find something clever or get a costume that looks uncannily like a movie or TV character. Girls, on the other hand, just have to pick a noun and put "sexy" in front of it. Sexy nurse, sexy devil, sexy cat, sexy duvet cover, sexy pizza - all are viable costume ideas. Once again, I must go to College Humor, which has an entertaining video that pretty accurately describes the situation:
As for me, I'm going as a grad student. I bought a long-hair wig that I've put into a ponytail, I picked up a cheap sport coat at Goodwill, and I'm going to wear a dress shirt and jeans. Basically, it's every male American teaching assistant I've encountered (that may be a slight exaggeration).
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Mid-Big Ten Season Review
Sheesh. It's been a busy couple days. One more piece of advice to freshmen: never graduate. Never even get to your senior year. The classes are tough, and the job hunt begins. It's a pain in the ass. Just keep changing majors to stay a sophmore. Assume false identities if you have to. Just never graduate.
Anyway, the season's more than half over, and most teams are halfway through their conference schedule, so I decided it's about time to take a look at the conference. I haven't watched a ton of Big Ten football, but I've seen all the teams, I've checked out the statistics, and I have the audacity (or arrogance) to think my opinion means anything, whether that's true or not.
So, from top to bottom by quality of team, not by current or projected record. . . .
Ohio State - Who else did you think I would put at the top? But it's tough to argue with the resume. The top scoring offense in the Big Ten, the top scoring defense in the Big Ten, and a win over the number seven team in the country. The offense is rolling, but we all expected that. The surprise is the defense. They're third in the Big Ten in passing defense, and second in rush defense (though they are way, way behind Michigan). Plus, the team has both the most takeaways and the fewest giveaways in the Big Ten. Basically, it's everything you could ask for in an offense, with much more than you could hope for from a defense (sort of) replacing nine starters. The biggest concern is the kicking game, which has converted only 7 of 11 chances. With the offense scoring as much as it is, and with the defense giving up so few points, it hasn't been a problem. If (when?) we're in a game where three points can make a difference, the kicking game could be a concern.
Michigan - Perhaps 1A. The offense has been decent (7th in total offense, 3rd in scoring), but survey defensive coordinators, and see if any of them would be eager to try and shut down Mike Hart, Mario Manningham, and company simultaneously. I still think that Chad Henne is nothing without quality receivers, but that won't be a problem once Manningham gets back. Mike Hart may literally fall apart on the field one day, but until then, the Michigan offense will ride him as much as possible. Stopping the offense isn't fun, but it beats trying to do anything on the defense. The pass defense is sixth in the Big Ten, which doesn't sound that impressive, but when you consider that teams have to resort to passing due to an utter inability to run against the Wolverines, it sounds much better. U of M leads the Big Ten in rush yards allowed, and they're better than five hundred yards ahead of the second place team, your Ohio State Buckeyes. That's just crazy. But if that wasn't crazy enough for you, consider this: Michigan leads the Big Ten in field goal kicking, converting 85.7% of their kicks. It's like living in Bizarro world, isn't it? November 18th's shaping up to be huge.
Wisconsin - There hasn't been much of a step down since trading in Barry Alvarez for Bret Bielema. They're still running all over teams, and they've managed the third-best defense in the Big Ten. PJ Hill is good, John Stocco is not making mistakes, and the defense is being pretty awesome. When people talk about the conference being the Big Two again, I think they're doing a disservice to Wisconsin. This is a legitimately good team, early-season non-conference hiccups nonwithstanding.
Penn State - I think of them as about as good as Iowa, but then I look at the players, and there's a lot more to like about the Nittany Lions. So why are they nearly equal in my mind? I don't know. The importance of a quality quarterback? Remnants of preseason Iowa hype? Stupidity? You decide. This is a team with problems, regardless. Tony Hunt has been good, but the offense as a whole has been kinda shaky. Anthony Morelli's not playing up to expectations, and the offensive line hasn't been very impressive. The defense is good, but they aren't helped by a defensive coordinator that is apparently betting against his team. PSU has looked its best when blitzing, yet they don't do that much of it. Why? I don't know. But still, if they get those problems fixed, there's a lot to like about the team, including Hunt, Derrick Williams, and arguably the best linebacker in the Big Ten (I'm talking Dan Connor, not the one you're thinking of).
Iowa - Is it just me, or does this team always have injury problems? Not long ago, they were starting like a fifth string running back, and lately they've been all but starting the entire second string. When healthy, they aren't a bad team. Drew Tate's a good QB, and Mitch King's a good DT, and both are proably my least-favorite non-Michigan college football players, so they got that going for them. But they definitely miss the receivers and linebackers they graduated. They're just kind of a blah team to me. They have some talent, and they'll win some games, but you don't say, "Aw, cool, I get to watch Iowa play." I'm betting they'll be around this part of the Big Ten for at least the next year. Drew Tate's the only thing keeping this offense going. He doesn't have the weapons this year, and he's gone after this.
Purdue - Well well, look who found some offense. Curtis Painter is far and away the Big Ten leader in passing yards per game, and he's spreading the ball around nicely (three of the top six in receptions per game are Purdue receivers). This is the Purdue offense we all remember from the Drew Brees years. However, the Boilermakers are 10th in the Big Ten in scoring defense and last in total defense. If they ever find a defense, they might be a good team. But they don't have one, so they're no better than decent.
Michigan State - Um, wow. They blow the Notre Dame game, and appear to completely fall apart. Then they stage the biggest comeback in Division 1-A history against Northwestern. Anything is possible with this team. They're hurt by losing Javon Ringer for the season, but I'd still pick them over any team I have below them. Well, I'd pick Good Michigan State over them. Bad Michigan State could lose to anyone. So I'm not real comfortable with MSU here, but could I honestly say that any of the other options are better? No. Incidentally, the big comeback against Northwestern did not save John L. Smith's job. Well, it might have stopped him from getting fired in the locker room after the game, but he's still done for.
Minnesota - The high-powered rush offense isn't there this season, and they're hurting for it, both in the "quality of team" sense and in the "me caring" sense. Quality-wise, they're worse than in previous years, but not a lot worse. They're low-middle of the pack on offense and defense, but without a real offensive identity, I don't have much interest in watching them, or in writing about them (though I think I'll try some more this week).
Illinois - I didn't see the game, but from what I understand, the Illini had some success against Penn State with the option. They've got a freshman at QB in Juice Williams, who has a lot of promise, but who probably isn't ready to lead an offense short on playmakers. Asking this guy to read defenses and throw to bad receivers is probably a bad idea, but asking him to run around and decide "pitch or keep" is probably something a freshman can handle. So there is some hope for the offense. And, as bad defenses go, the Illinois defense is pretty decent, and that's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. So there's a little hope.
Indiana - The running game still needs some work, but I think they made a good choice putting Kellen Lewis in at QB. He's young and inexperienced, and he'll make plenty of mistakes, but he adds a dimension to the offense that Blake Powers didn't have. Lewis is fast enough to make defenses worry about him scrambling, and he's not bad at throwing the ball, either. The defense is not good, but. . . well, there's no but. The defense is not good. Basically, I see Indiana as Illinois, only less so. And really, that might describe the states as well as the schools.
Northwestern - They get a free pass for this season, and that's a good thing. They are not good. Basically, they're no better than eighth in any meaningful statistical category except rushing offense. And for a team with Tyrell Sutton at running back, fifth in the Big Ten is not something to be proud of. They're 2-6, 0-4 in the Big Ten, and that's about what you can expect from them. C.J. Bacher provided a glimmer of hope, looking pretty good against Michigan State, but who knows if that was him being good, or Sparty being Sparty (God, I can't believe I just wrote that)?
Anyway, the season's more than half over, and most teams are halfway through their conference schedule, so I decided it's about time to take a look at the conference. I haven't watched a ton of Big Ten football, but I've seen all the teams, I've checked out the statistics, and I have the audacity (or arrogance) to think my opinion means anything, whether that's true or not.
So, from top to bottom by quality of team, not by current or projected record. . . .
Ohio State - Who else did you think I would put at the top? But it's tough to argue with the resume. The top scoring offense in the Big Ten, the top scoring defense in the Big Ten, and a win over the number seven team in the country. The offense is rolling, but we all expected that. The surprise is the defense. They're third in the Big Ten in passing defense, and second in rush defense (though they are way, way behind Michigan). Plus, the team has both the most takeaways and the fewest giveaways in the Big Ten. Basically, it's everything you could ask for in an offense, with much more than you could hope for from a defense (sort of) replacing nine starters. The biggest concern is the kicking game, which has converted only 7 of 11 chances. With the offense scoring as much as it is, and with the defense giving up so few points, it hasn't been a problem. If (when?) we're in a game where three points can make a difference, the kicking game could be a concern.
Michigan - Perhaps 1A. The offense has been decent (7th in total offense, 3rd in scoring), but survey defensive coordinators, and see if any of them would be eager to try and shut down Mike Hart, Mario Manningham, and company simultaneously. I still think that Chad Henne is nothing without quality receivers, but that won't be a problem once Manningham gets back. Mike Hart may literally fall apart on the field one day, but until then, the Michigan offense will ride him as much as possible. Stopping the offense isn't fun, but it beats trying to do anything on the defense. The pass defense is sixth in the Big Ten, which doesn't sound that impressive, but when you consider that teams have to resort to passing due to an utter inability to run against the Wolverines, it sounds much better. U of M leads the Big Ten in rush yards allowed, and they're better than five hundred yards ahead of the second place team, your Ohio State Buckeyes. That's just crazy. But if that wasn't crazy enough for you, consider this: Michigan leads the Big Ten in field goal kicking, converting 85.7% of their kicks. It's like living in Bizarro world, isn't it? November 18th's shaping up to be huge.
Wisconsin - There hasn't been much of a step down since trading in Barry Alvarez for Bret Bielema. They're still running all over teams, and they've managed the third-best defense in the Big Ten. PJ Hill is good, John Stocco is not making mistakes, and the defense is being pretty awesome. When people talk about the conference being the Big Two again, I think they're doing a disservice to Wisconsin. This is a legitimately good team, early-season non-conference hiccups nonwithstanding.
Penn State - I think of them as about as good as Iowa, but then I look at the players, and there's a lot more to like about the Nittany Lions. So why are they nearly equal in my mind? I don't know. The importance of a quality quarterback? Remnants of preseason Iowa hype? Stupidity? You decide. This is a team with problems, regardless. Tony Hunt has been good, but the offense as a whole has been kinda shaky. Anthony Morelli's not playing up to expectations, and the offensive line hasn't been very impressive. The defense is good, but they aren't helped by a defensive coordinator that is apparently betting against his team. PSU has looked its best when blitzing, yet they don't do that much of it. Why? I don't know. But still, if they get those problems fixed, there's a lot to like about the team, including Hunt, Derrick Williams, and arguably the best linebacker in the Big Ten (I'm talking Dan Connor, not the one you're thinking of).
Iowa - Is it just me, or does this team always have injury problems? Not long ago, they were starting like a fifth string running back, and lately they've been all but starting the entire second string. When healthy, they aren't a bad team. Drew Tate's a good QB, and Mitch King's a good DT, and both are proably my least-favorite non-Michigan college football players, so they got that going for them. But they definitely miss the receivers and linebackers they graduated. They're just kind of a blah team to me. They have some talent, and they'll win some games, but you don't say, "Aw, cool, I get to watch Iowa play." I'm betting they'll be around this part of the Big Ten for at least the next year. Drew Tate's the only thing keeping this offense going. He doesn't have the weapons this year, and he's gone after this.
Purdue - Well well, look who found some offense. Curtis Painter is far and away the Big Ten leader in passing yards per game, and he's spreading the ball around nicely (three of the top six in receptions per game are Purdue receivers). This is the Purdue offense we all remember from the Drew Brees years. However, the Boilermakers are 10th in the Big Ten in scoring defense and last in total defense. If they ever find a defense, they might be a good team. But they don't have one, so they're no better than decent.
Michigan State - Um, wow. They blow the Notre Dame game, and appear to completely fall apart. Then they stage the biggest comeback in Division 1-A history against Northwestern. Anything is possible with this team. They're hurt by losing Javon Ringer for the season, but I'd still pick them over any team I have below them. Well, I'd pick Good Michigan State over them. Bad Michigan State could lose to anyone. So I'm not real comfortable with MSU here, but could I honestly say that any of the other options are better? No. Incidentally, the big comeback against Northwestern did not save John L. Smith's job. Well, it might have stopped him from getting fired in the locker room after the game, but he's still done for.
Minnesota - The high-powered rush offense isn't there this season, and they're hurting for it, both in the "quality of team" sense and in the "me caring" sense. Quality-wise, they're worse than in previous years, but not a lot worse. They're low-middle of the pack on offense and defense, but without a real offensive identity, I don't have much interest in watching them, or in writing about them (though I think I'll try some more this week).
Illinois - I didn't see the game, but from what I understand, the Illini had some success against Penn State with the option. They've got a freshman at QB in Juice Williams, who has a lot of promise, but who probably isn't ready to lead an offense short on playmakers. Asking this guy to read defenses and throw to bad receivers is probably a bad idea, but asking him to run around and decide "pitch or keep" is probably something a freshman can handle. So there is some hope for the offense. And, as bad defenses go, the Illinois defense is pretty decent, and that's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. So there's a little hope.
Indiana - The running game still needs some work, but I think they made a good choice putting Kellen Lewis in at QB. He's young and inexperienced, and he'll make plenty of mistakes, but he adds a dimension to the offense that Blake Powers didn't have. Lewis is fast enough to make defenses worry about him scrambling, and he's not bad at throwing the ball, either. The defense is not good, but. . . well, there's no but. The defense is not good. Basically, I see Indiana as Illinois, only less so. And really, that might describe the states as well as the schools.
Northwestern - They get a free pass for this season, and that's a good thing. They are not good. Basically, they're no better than eighth in any meaningful statistical category except rushing offense. And for a team with Tyrell Sutton at running back, fifth in the Big Ten is not something to be proud of. They're 2-6, 0-4 in the Big Ten, and that's about what you can expect from them. C.J. Bacher provided a glimmer of hope, looking pretty good against Michigan State, but who knows if that was him being good, or Sparty being Sparty (God, I can't believe I just wrote that)?
Friday, October 20, 2006
On Being #1
There isn't a whole lot to say about Indiana. They're improving, but Ohio State is still clearly the better team. That doesn't mean the game tomorrow is a guaranteed win, just that there's not a whole lot of interesting stuff to say about the game.
So instead I'm going to use this space to talk about the experience of being the number one team. Basically, I'm still not used to it. Since Jim Tressel took over as coach, the Buckeyes have been sort of a juggernaut underdog, if you will. The talent's never been a question, the defense has always been solid, but for years, this hasn't been a program that the entire country believed in. You'd have Trev Alberts arguing that Iowa was better, or people saying they couldn't handle Miami's speed, or people wondering if they had enough offensive firepower to beat any of several teams. And when you consider the tightrope they walked pretty regularly against teams they should have beaten easily, the national doubt is somewhat understandable.
Not that we, as Buckeye fans, generally looked at it that way. "So what if it's close or boring," we'd say, "we're still winning. That's all that matters." The Buckeyes were low on style points, but generally had more of the regular points than the other guys. However, it seemed like the style points were what mattered, and all the talk about the teams racking them up out on the west coast, in Florida, and in other places around the country has made us a little defensive. If you looked at message boards over the past couple years, pretty regularly you'd see a post along the lines of "ESPiN/SI/Whoever Disrespecting the Bucks AGAIN!!!"
Now, things have changed. The defense is still good, but they're good in a fancier way, creating turnovers left and right. More importantly, the offense has become more telegenic. Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez are threats to score whenever they touch the ball. Troy Smith is making plays with his feet and his arm. Antonio Pittman isn't exactly Barry Sanders or Walter Payton, but even he is breaking tackles and taking runs outside in a way that's more fun to watch than the ol' three yards and a cloud of dust. The team is getting a lot of attention, they're number one, and they are the favorite to win the national championship. It's a new role for the team, and a new role for the fans to get used to.
Some of us are having trouble with the new role. I'd say Buckeye fans this season have reacted to being the favorites in three main ways (yay, another list!):
Be like Happy Cat.
Don't be like Angry Cat.
So instead I'm going to use this space to talk about the experience of being the number one team. Basically, I'm still not used to it. Since Jim Tressel took over as coach, the Buckeyes have been sort of a juggernaut underdog, if you will. The talent's never been a question, the defense has always been solid, but for years, this hasn't been a program that the entire country believed in. You'd have Trev Alberts arguing that Iowa was better, or people saying they couldn't handle Miami's speed, or people wondering if they had enough offensive firepower to beat any of several teams. And when you consider the tightrope they walked pretty regularly against teams they should have beaten easily, the national doubt is somewhat understandable.
Not that we, as Buckeye fans, generally looked at it that way. "So what if it's close or boring," we'd say, "we're still winning. That's all that matters." The Buckeyes were low on style points, but generally had more of the regular points than the other guys. However, it seemed like the style points were what mattered, and all the talk about the teams racking them up out on the west coast, in Florida, and in other places around the country has made us a little defensive. If you looked at message boards over the past couple years, pretty regularly you'd see a post along the lines of "ESPiN/SI/Whoever Disrespecting the Bucks AGAIN!!!"
Now, things have changed. The defense is still good, but they're good in a fancier way, creating turnovers left and right. More importantly, the offense has become more telegenic. Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez are threats to score whenever they touch the ball. Troy Smith is making plays with his feet and his arm. Antonio Pittman isn't exactly Barry Sanders or Walter Payton, but even he is breaking tackles and taking runs outside in a way that's more fun to watch than the ol' three yards and a cloud of dust. The team is getting a lot of attention, they're number one, and they are the favorite to win the national championship. It's a new role for the team, and a new role for the fans to get used to.
Some of us are having trouble with the new role. I'd say Buckeye fans this season have reacted to being the favorites in three main ways (yay, another list!):
- Denial - These are the people that act as if nothing's changed from previous years. To them, the mainstream media is still giving the Buckeyes no respect. These are the people that read "Troy Smith doesn't have to be great for the Buckeyes to win. He just has to distribute the ball" and say "The media says Troy Smith isn't any good!" Occasionally they do actually find someone that doesn't like Ohio State, but just as often, they're reading a bit too much into things.
- Suspicion - I fall into this category sometimes. We're the sort of people that have conditioned themselves to doubt everything the pundits say, because the "experts" have been wrong so regularly, especially about the Buckeyes. However, now that the same experts like the Bucks, we're thrown into confusion. Does that mean they're wrong about Ohio State too? These people start to look at the team too critically, seeing shortcomings where there aren't any, or at least overemphasizing the flaws. If you see someone criticizing Troy Smith, you shouldn't necessarily assume he/she is an idiot; they may just fall into this category, and have conditioned themselves to disbelieve everything Lee Corso and Lou Holtz say to the point that they're applying it to their own beloved Buckeyes.
- Happiness - These are probably the most well-adjusted Buckeyes. Their team is number one, everything is great. The offense is great, the defense is one of the best in terms of points allowed, the coach wears snazzy sweatervests. What more can you ask for?
Be like Happy Cat.
Don't be like Angry Cat.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Week Eight BlogPoll
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Michigan | -- |
| 3 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 4 | Texas | 1 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 1 |
| 6 | California | 2 |
| 7 | Notre Dame | -- |
| 8 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 9 | Clemson | 1 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 4 |
| 11 | Auburn | 4 |
| 12 | Florida | 9 |
| 13 | LSU | -- |
| 14 | Georgia Tech | 5 |
| 15 | Louisville | 4 |
| 16 | Oregon | -- |
| 17 | Nebraska | 5 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 5 |
| 19 | Boise State | 6 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 21 | Rutgers | 5 |
| 22 | Boston College | 4 |
| 23 | Wake Forest | 3 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 2 |
| 25 | Missouri | 4 |
Dropped Out: Iowa (#18), Virginia Tech (#20), Georgia (#22), Penn State (#24).
Sorry for not posting more, Evil Accounting Exam of Doom kinda required my attention. Anyway, I don't even really remember what games I watched, so I'll just skip straight to my thoughts, expanded somewhat from the usual:
The Top Nine
1. Ohio State - We've looked consistently good, Michigan's looked consistently good. I've got the Buckeyes just a little bit ahead of Michigan, based mostly on the win over Texas. It's better than anything anyone else has.
2. Michigan - Some would argue that their win over Penn State was better than ours, and it's tough to argue otherwise, so I won't. My response instead would be that our win over Michigan State was better than theirs, so they cancel out. Fortunately, we get to settle the whole thing on the field, and it's looking more and more like it'll be for all the proverbial marbles.
3. USC - I kinda think several teams below them would beat them, but going undefeated in a real (i.e. non-Big East) conference counts for something, so they stay top three.
4. Texas - Interesting factoid: this weekend's game against Nebraska will be the first time they've traveled outside of Texas this season. They may have been the quietest top ten team this season. They had the loss to Ohio State, then they've split their time between destroying crappy teams from other parts of Texas and looking respectable against decent Big 12 competition. I'll feel a lot better about the top five ranking for them if they get by Nebraska.
5. Tennessee - I think one of the SEC teams is a top five team, but which one? Momentum has gotten the Vols to this ranking, but I don't really know if they're the best of the conference or not.
6. California - Probably the best team in the Pac 10, but that whuppin' at Tennessee should still be factored in. USC plays them followed by Notre Dame in a couple weeks, and those two games will go a long way toward sorting out the top ten.
7. Notre Dame - They don't really seem like a top ten team, but who else is there? They got stomped by Michigan, and they were going to lose to Michigan State before they made like Cinderella at midnight and turned back into MSU, but they've been fine other than that. Maybe they just have a problem with teams from Michigan. None of the directional Michigan schools are on the schedule, so it's smooth sailing for the Fighting Irish.
8. West Virginia - All they do is run the ball. They don't throw it, and they don't play defense. But they run the ball really, really, really well. I think, though, that all the teams ranked above them (and maybe several below) could stop their rushing attack. Therefore, they're at number eight.
9. Clemson - They also run the ball really well. They're sort of West Virginia minus the option and plus a bit of defense. I think they're more talented than West Virginia, in fact. However, the fact remains that they are Clemson, the Michigan State of the ACC. As a result, I have difficulty putting them any higher than this.
And the rest:
All those SEC teams - will you all kindly sort out who's good in the conference? Everyone's beating up on each other, and I understand that's all good, exciting, rough-and-tumble southern footbaw, but as a Yankee observer, I have a tough time telling if that means you're all good, or all decent. Until a pecking order emerges, I'm just going to stick Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, and LSU in a jumble.
14. Georgia Tech - They sure looked impressive against Bye, huh? Ok, I'm not sure why they got that boost. But I don't think it's too crazy a place for them. Calvin Johnson's awesome, the defense is good. Why not #14 for them?
15. Louisville - I saw Cincinnati. They have potential, but they aren't good. If you expect me to think you're a top ten team, you should not have to hold on to beat Cincinnati at home.
18. Wisconsin - Gradually establishing themselves as the third-best team in the Big Ten. How good does that make them? I dunno, but 18 feels about right.
20. Oklahoma - Not their fault, but Oklahoma minus Adrian Peterson is probably not a top-25 team. I'll wait until they lose before I kick them out, though, just in case.
Miami - I know I'm piling on here, but fighting with Florida International? Really? C'mon, guys. I expected better. If Youngstown State tries to pick a fight with the Buckeyes next season, I expect the players to laugh in their collective Penguin faces. I certainly don't expect any players to step in swinging helmets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)