Woooooo!

Wow. Buckeye fans were all hoping for a win, many even expected one, but I don't think anyone expected it would come like this, in a 42-39 win. The Game certainly didn't play out the way I expected:

• Two of the top scoring defenses in the country gave up a combined 81 points.
  
• Michigan's vaunted run defense gave up 187 yards to the Buckeyes.
• Ohio State's turnover machine of a defense did not force any turnovers (though I don't think that interception should have been overturned. Big Ten officials use a screwy definition of "indisputable video evidence"). On a related note, Chad Henne actually looked pretty good most of the game.

I expected a defensive struggle, a battle of field position. I got a shootout. It doesn't matter to me, I'll take the wins as they come. Some more thoughts:

• From what I can gather, both sides feel ripped off by the refs, so I guess they didn't do too bad of a job (or, alternatively, they were bad, but at least the bad calls evened out).
• Speaking of the refs, don't let anyone tell you that personal foul call late in the game was controversial. You aren't allowed to lead with your helmet or hit with the top of your helmet. Easy call, and a correct one.
• One thing that did go as planned: the performance of Troy Smith. One of those fumbles was his fault, and he probably shouldn't have thrown that pass that got picked off (but he makes those plays often enough that I won't argue against his decision too much). Other than that, he was fantastic. I agree with those that say he locked up the Heisman with that game. He's definitely given the best performance of any OSU quarterback against Michigan, and I'd argue that he's the best quarterback we've had.
• Mike Hart also had an excellent performance. He doesn't make the exciting runs like a Steve Slaton, but he cannot be tackled by one man. I know our rush defense isn't exactly fantastic, but still, watching him shed tackles time and time again was impressive.
• That's not to say that our running backs weren't good. Antonio Pittman did better than anyone has against the Michigan defense. And is it just me, or did his long touchdown run look a little familiar?
  
  
• Beanie's touchdown run was even more impressive. A spin to get out of the backfield, splitting a couple defenders, then hitting the afterburners. It was great to watch
  
• Oh, and the field? Not very good. If they're confident they can get it up to par by the start of next season, great. But if there's any doubt, just go with FieldTurf. Grass is great, but crappy grass sucks.
  

So that's it. A lot of offense, not a lot of defense. Not that I'm complaining. We beat Michigan, and that's enough. But that's not all. We're going to Glendale!

T Minus 20 Hours

As you are probably aware, Bo Schembechler died this morning at the age of 77 (ESPN story here). Honestly, there isn't all that much I can say about him. I knew he was the face of Michigan football, that he means as much to them as Woody means to us. But honestly, while I appreciate his contribution to the sport I love, and while I know he was a great person, there's really nothing I can write about him. He didn't impact my life in the way he did the lives of all those Michigan players and fans. So, for some thoughts on Bo and the game tomorrow from a Michigan fan, I point you toward Brian's excellent post here at mgoblog.

However, the game goes on, as I imagine Bo would want it. Hearts will be heavy tomorrow on the Michigan sideline, but the team will play on, as they should. Bo and Woody made this rivalry what it is: a game that is bigger than any one single person. Michigan will be playing for Bo tomorrow, certainly, but not just for him. They're also playing for Fielding Yost, Fritz Crisler, Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, and hundreds of players and coaches over the years.

And of course, for our Buckeyes, it isn't just about Jim Tressel's record against Lloyd Carr, or Troy Smith's Heisman hopes, or even a berth in the national championship. They're playing for the glory of a program that has been headed by Paul Brown and Woody Hayes, two of the greatest coaches in football history, a program that has produced five Heisman Trophy winners: Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, Hopalong Cassady, Archie Griffin (twice, of course), and Eddie George. Hundreds of players over the years have had their success or failure judged by their record against Michigan, and this team is no different.

Since 1935, this game has decided the Big Ten Championship twenty times. Twice before this have both teams come into the game undefeated. This, however, is the only time the teams have been ranked #1 and #2. The winner will play for the national championship. In short, the game could not be bigger.

But you know as well as I do that the records don't matter. This game would be the most important on the schedule regardless of record. Whether the teams have everything to play for or nothing, this is the game the players and the fans want to win the most.

That's it for me until after the game. Here's hoping for a good, hard-fought game, and a Buckeye victory. Enjoy the game, and go Bucks!

The Ancient Society of Mirror Lake Jumper Inners

Later tonight I, along with thousands of other students, will participate in one of the biggest traditions of Michigan Week: jumping into Mirror Lake. It looks like it won't be as bad as years past; we're looking at a temperature around forty degrees. But regardless of the temperature, the turnout is always huge, and it's always fun.

Rather than describe the scene, I'll show it to you:


This is Mirror Lake on a normal day. Scenic and calm.



This is Mirror Lake on the night of the jump. Crazy, loud, and fun.


And here's some video, set to a crappy rap mashup, that gives you a sense of the scene.

It's yet another example of activities that are considered normal in college, yet clear examples of insanity out in the real world. I'm looking forward to it.

Thursday Links

First, a Men of the Scarlet and Gray extravaganza! They're up against Maize and Brew in the CSTV.com Battle of the Blogs, discussing the biggest battle of the game: the OSU offense versus the Michigan defense. I'll leave it up to you to decide who wins the debate, but since you're reading a Buckeye blog, I have a guess who you're picking.

MotSaG isn't done, though. They also brought back Tressnac the Magnificent to display psychic powers both astonishing and humorous. My favorite line of the whole post: "May you return to your office to discover John L. Smith measuring for drapes." If only there was an opportunity to break that one out in normal conversation.

Next up, there's some love for Troy Smith from the big boys. Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel interviews him, with predictable results. Troy says nothing interesting, and no non-Buckeye fan has any real incentive to read it. Buckeye fans will eat it up, though, because it's Troy freakin' Smith. Pat Forde also checks in on ESPN.com with talk of Troy's dominance of Michigan the past two years. Again, nothing you didn't already know, but still worth a read.

Mandel's up again with an article about Michigan's defensive coordinator, Ron English. Replacing Jim Hermann with Ron English is probably the best move Lloyd Carr's made in years. I was sorry to see Hermann go, and now that I know his replacement is actually competent, I miss Jimbo even more. Though I am glad the mini-movement to call the Michigan defense "the English Majors" never got going. That would have gotten really old really quick.

Even More Links!

Once again, I'm linking to CSTV.com's Battle of the Blogs, in part to make sure you don't see some of OSU and Michigan's best bloggers duking it out, and partly because I'm up again in it. As I mentioned, we apparently have a slacker in our midst on the Buckeye side, and for once I'm not talking about myself. Since this unnamed blogger didn't get his article submitted, I got the chance to take over for him, arguing that the dotting of the "i" is better than Michigan's fight song. I think I did a credible job with it, though it certainly took me a lot of words to do. But there is a misconception about Script Ohio, as explained by my opponent, Frank of UMTailgate.com, that I would like to correct. Frank writes:

But fortunately for Michigan, this debate is win-win. Because not only did Michigan Marching Band invent "The Victors," they also were the first to perform "Script Ohio." That’s right. We invented your march Buckeyes. Performed by the Michigan marching band in 1932, the Ohio State marching band copied it starting in 1936.

Not exactly. It is true, the Michigan band did perform a script Ohio in 1932, four years before Ohio State first did Script Ohio. But Michigan just put together a formation that spelled "Ohio" in script. Starting in a Block O, marching that mimics actually writing "Ohio," setting it to "Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse," the performance culminating in the dotting of the "i," basically everything that makes Script Ohio what it is - that all came from the OSU marching band. Saying Michigan invented Script Ohio is like saying the Wright brothers invented the stealth bomber. For more details on the whole thing, the OSU library has a nice page on the "controversy."

Moving on, the Dispatch briefly discusses the new field here. In short, it's supposed to be good to go. They say it took hold nicely, the seams are gone, and it's not going to impact the game. I certainly hope they're right, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Last up, John Porentas has an article at the Ozone about Tressel. Well, it's more an ode to Tressel. Check it:

Tressel's leadership is really characterized by three qualities. He is a rare mix of an individual who has a clear understanding and firm grasp of the big picture and is yet obsessively immersed in every detail of his undertaking. Those two qualities almost never coexist in people. That's why we have CEOs (big picture people) and accountants (detail people). Tressel, however, is both for his football team. He provides clear-cut big picture goals, but can call the parents and siblings of every player on his team by first name. He knows everyone's major, where every picture is hung in the WHAC, who every football alumnus is, the name of every team manager and trainer.

Listen, I love Tressel as much as the next rabid Buckeye fan. But I do not buy that he could identify a walk-on's sister by name, talk to her about her brother's major, then point her in the direction of some random picture of Archie Griffin. But then, I've been wrong before.

Regardless, it's an interesting article, especially the part about how players basically repeat what Tressel says in interviews. I've noticed the same thing. The younger players will occasionally say something interesting in interviews, but by the time they're seniors, it's all but a waste of time to interview them, because they're just going to spout the same old cliches. Not that that's entirely a bad thing. When's the last time an Ohio State player provided bulletin board material for the other team?

Light Posting today

If I make it through today, I can coast through the rest of Beat Michigan Week, school-wise. But I have to get stuff done tonight, so it's a light day of posting.

Basically, I just wanted to point you in the direction of the Battle of the Blogs at CSTV.com again, because my debate is up there right now. I'm up against Kenny of Westsider Rider on the topic of the Ohio State defense versus the Michigan offense. I finally won the battle of post length for our side, in a hard-fought struggle. We both make some good points and throw some numbers at each other. I'll leave it up to you to decide who wins the debate (subliminal hint: memememememememe).

I may be up there again tomorrow, as one of our bloggers has apparently gone missing, likely kidnapped by that diabolical Bo Schembechler. A man who will walk away from Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes for Michigan is capable of perpetrating any sort of evil. Continue to stay tuned.

In other news, Every Day Should Be Sunday has a report on the anarchy reigning in Columbus (side note: how can anarchy reign? Isn't that a little oxymoronic?). All I have to say is that everything they say in that post is completely and absolutely true. A snippet:

Armed gunmen announcing themselves as “the Loyal People’s Army of UzBuckistan” deposed Columbus mayor Michael B. Coleman in rush through the city hall early Tuesday morning, and announced the declaration of new statehood for what they are calling “the Republic of UzBuckistan.” Mobs control the streets, and have prevented entry into the city at all points. Many appear to be intoxicated.

“Death to Michigan, and death to all who oppose us,” said a masked figure identifying himself only as “Subcommandate Wayne” in a television broadcast Tuesday morning. “We have taken that which is ours, the pure nut at the core of this rotten fruit we call Ohio, and made it a perfect paradise for all who love and obey the Buckeye. We have everything, and need nothing–except beer, which we’re almost out of. ”

It's a fair and accurate representation. We have taken control. We shall be victorious. All glory unto our leader, the wise and noble Tressel. Viva la revolucion!

A Couple Links

As you may have seen elsewhere, CSTV.com is running a battle of the blogs between OSU and Michigan blogs this week. Buckeye Commentary handled Sunday's topic, arguing that OSU has a better gameday atmosphere than Michigan. Ryan of Pfef's Sports Blog took Monday's topic, arguing for the Horseshoe's superiority over the Big House. Both had the easier side of the debate, I think: OSU wins the atmosphere battle by default (jangling keys and tailgating on a golf course do not an atmosphere create), and the Horseshoe is superior to any hole in the ground, even if 107,500 people can fit in it. Nevertheless, the Buckeye bloggers did an excellent job in the debate, demonstrating clear superiority both rhetorical and moral. Plus, Michigan bloggers have poor hygiene and they enjoy clubbing seals.

I'm just kidding. Most Michigan bloggers shower regularly, and their representatives did a fine, if very verbose, job in the battle of blogs. However, there is no evidence that they don't not club seals.

I'm up on Wednesday in the Battle, incidentally. So stay tuned.

Next up, we have the depth chart (pdf file) for The Game. No stunning changes, but here's some notables:

• Tim Schafer is still listed as the starter at left tackle. Alex Boone is second string. It would seem that whatever injury he has is still bothering him a bit. I'm not too worried though. As someone (Chris Spielman, I'm thinking, but I'm not sure) once said, injuries have a way of disappearing for the Michigan game. I'm guessing Boone will be magically healed a couple of series in.
• The starter at right tackle is listed as Kirk Barton or Jon Skinner. I'm guessing this is a reward for Skinner playing well filling in along the line, but I'm not really sure. Can anyone shed any light?
• The Buckeyes intend to come out in a 4-3 for a change, playing Marcus Freeman, James Laurinaitis, and John Kerr. Makes sense, seeing as Michigan's not exactly running a spread offense. I haven't really seen enough of John Kerr lately to evaluate if he's made any progress, but Ross Homan looked good against Northwestern. I'm guessing both guys will play quite a bit on Saturday.
  

Week Twelve BlogPoll

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Southern Cal	6
4	Arkansas	6
5	Rutgers	8
6	Notre Dame	1
7	Florida	1
8	LSU	3
9	Wisconsin	7
10	California	6
11	Louisville	3
12	Texas	9
13	West Virginia	1
14	Boise State	1
15	Auburn	10
16	Wake Forest	3
17	Oklahoma	--
18	Maryland	7
19	Georgia Tech	4
20	Tennessee	8
21	Boston College	1
22	Virginia Tech	4
23	Nebraska	1
24	Oregon	3
25	Brigham Young	1

Dropped Out: Clemson (#22).

I got the poll done early, mostly to avoid studying for an accounting exam. Thoughts:

• There's two ways to look at the college football landscape this season: everyone's good, or everyone sucks. It's either "wow, look at all those teams that have a chance to win," or "wow, look at all those teams that apparently don't want to win." I'm kinda looking at things the second way. I feel like teams three though ten are all overrated, but who else is there?
• OSU and Michigan stay on top. There's no question there. The question will be how far to drop the loser of The Game. And I don't have an answer to that yet.
• USC has played well since their loss, and if they get through the rest of their schedule, they will have earned this ranking, so I stuck them there.
• I think I've figured out the SEC: it's like one of those post-apocalyptic pseudo-paradise civilizations you see in books and movies (I'm thinking The Island, but only because I saw it recently and Scarlett Johansson is nice to think about. You're welcome to think Logan's Run if you prefer). Apparently some teams have realized the truth: that if you actually win the SEC, you don't get a trophy; you get killed! And Arkansas is the idiotic guy who hasn't figured it out yet. So he's thrilled about the possibility of winning, while Tennessee and Auburn are running through the vents, trying to escape. On paper, Arkansas is probably the fifth best team in the SEC, but they're the only ones that actually seem interested in winning it on a week to week basis.
• Rutgers moves up because I've adjusted my thinking on the quality of the conferences. That isn't to say that I've decided the Big East isn't so bad after all; I've just decided everyone else is worse. I mean, is there any real difference between the Big 12, ACC, and Big East in terms of quality? The best team in the Big 12 just lost to Kansas State (!), and Wake Forest has become the best team in the ACC. With that much absurdity elsewhere in the country, I don't think the Big East looks that bad by comparison.
• Notre Dame has looked impressive in their quest to win the Commander in Chief's Trophy. With a win over Army, they will have beaten all the service academies. If this was 1945, I'd be impressed. However, it's 2006, and the service academies aren't any good. However, Notre Dame deserves credit for simply not screwing up, something most of college football has trouble with.
  
• Florida needed two blocked kicks to beat South Carolina. So you could either be impressed that they dug deep and made the big plays, or unimpressed with the fact that this game was that close. I'm just amused that they run their short-yardage plays out of the shotgun. When your best short-yardage back is a backup quarterback, you have a problem.
• JaMarcus Russell has exceeded my expectations in the last few big games for LSU, managing to avoid the backbreaking interceptions I'd come to expect from him. When he plays well, they win. And lately, he's played well.
• I don't think Wisconsin is a top ten team, but who else is there? And being a one-loss team in the Big Ten counts for something, so I stuck them at number nine.
• Cal's loss against Arizona was all kinds of bad. However, there's still plenty of talent on this team, and they still look like the second best team in the Pac 10.
• So, apparently that defensive secondary for Texas is really really bad. Nobody should give up that many points to this Kansas State team.
• I have West Virginia at 13, but I expect them to beat the #5 team. If the BlogPoll is supposed to rank teams based on who would win heads up, I'm sure doing a crappy job of it (it is, and I am, incidentally).
• I'm not sure what caused my enthusiasm for Maryland. They played well against Miami, but beating Miami isn't so impressive. I think I just wanted to move another ACC team ahead of Georgia Tech to punish them for not getting Calvin Johnson more involved. Listen, Reggie Ball: unless there is nobody within ten yards of another receiver, you throw to Calvin Johnson. Always. No exceptions. Alright?
• I'm really unexcited about those last five teams. But who else is there?
  

Quick Tech Update

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.

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.

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.

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!

• 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.

To summarize: a good game, but it better be against VMI. The new guys didn't play like new guys. There are five or six guys on the team that can hit threes, but the team's going to miss Greg Oden's size against teams with good post players.

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.

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:

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.

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.
  

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.

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.

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.

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.