The Buckeye Battle Cry

I’ve been watching The Game since I was a little boy. I’ve seen Earle Bruce win games he shouldnt have won, I’ve seen John Cooper lose games he shouldn’t have lost, and I’ve seen Jim Tressel absolutely own TTUN.

On the other side of the field, the TTUN coaches who understand the rivalry have done the best. There’s a damn good reason Bo Schembechler won that 1969 game against the best OSU team ever. It’s the same reason that Tressel beat #7 TTUN in 2004. It wasn’t about who had the better team, it was about who could motivate and execute better.

So yesterday, I saw an article about The Game, and a few key points stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Head Coach Rich Rodriguez might have more riding on this game. Redemption and the ability to walk around Ann Arbor without a disguise until next football season.

“(Upsetting Ohio State) is not going to salvage the season, but it at least will make you feel good for a few days,” Rodriguez said.

Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME????

If the Head Coach of That Team Up North thinks that beating us will make him feel good “for a few days”, then he very clearly does NOT “get it”!

“We talk about … the frustrations we’ve had or any disappointments we’ve had. A win would help a little bit, but it’s not going to erase everything, and it shouldn’t erase everything.”

I don’t know about you, but if my team was 3-8 and we beat our biggest rival, who happened to be in the Top 10, I’d have to say that would erase EVERYTHING painful about the whole year.

Hey, TTUN.  You have the power to knock us out of the freaking Rose Bowl….and you’re not excited?

“I’ve told the team … not a lot of people are going to expect you to do well and win the game, but we expect them to do well,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a challenge, but we are capable of playing pretty good football.”

That’s the sound of defeat coming from your head coach.

Now, here’s what it sounds like when your coach “gets it”…..

OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel said. “Ohio State vs. Michigan trumps everything. It trumps your record. It trumps whether it’s dangerous or you don’t have a chance, or any of those kinds of things. … I would like to think our guys understand that. There’s only one demonstration of understanding and that’s at 12 noon on Saturday.”

That’s the attitude to have.  Ohio State has it, TTUN doesn’t.

When John Cooper showed up at Ohio State, he was wearing a blue blazer around campus one day, when a student told him “coach, you can’t wear that”.  Cooper didn’t understand why.  He said that the TTUN game was “just another game”.

Rodriquez is talking the same way.

Here’s hoping RichRod has the same success at TTUN that Cooper had at Ohio State.

Let’s look back, shall we….

Ohio State OWNS Michigan;

Per Adam Rittenberg of ESPN’s Big Ten Blog, things could get very ugly for TTUN this weekend at Ohio State.

Starting QB Steven Threet is injured and is listed as doubtful for the game.  He missed a lot of the Northwestern game, and head coach Rich Rodriquez is reporting that Threet may have a slight shoulder separation.  That leaves the starting QB slot in the hands of Nick Sheridan.

Sheridan’s stats?  He completes less than 50 % of his passes, he’s thrown two TDs and 5 INTs.  His best game was against Minnesota’s defense, when he threw for over 200 yards in a win.  Hos worst game was when he completed 3 passes for 5 yards in a loss to Penn State.  Incidentally, one of his three passes at PSU went for 8 yards, and he had a total of 5 yards.  You do the math.

Also, RB Sam McGuffie, who has been the only spot of brightness on the TTUN offense, missed last week with a shoulder injury, and has had a death in the family which will send him back to Texas.  His status for The Game is unknown, but not likely.

RB Brandon Minor missed the NW game with injuries all over his precious wittle body, but DickRod says they’re optimistic that he’ll play against the Buckeyes.

Good thing, because without Minor and McGuffie, they’ll have to rely on Kevin “Stop me after 17 beers because I have to drive” Grady.

The offense at TTUN has been piss-poor all year, and this news cannot be at all uplifting for the Wolverines.  Just punt on first down, guys.

Here’s the video of Beanie Wells’ amazing run-and-hurdle yesterday.

terrorist fist jab - Sean at Around The Oval

Seriously, how you gonna stop a guy that can do that? Also, watch it again….the final block on the play was made by Terrelle Pryor. LBiC ran 30 yards downfield to make a block. Thank you, Tressel for getting that kid in a Buckeye uniform!

To me, this week is like the week before Christmas.  Every year since I realized what college football was, this week has been my favorite time of year.

Recently, especially since Jim Tressel took over as head coach, TTUN fans have been relegated to one argument and one argument only….all-time record in the game.  They furiously point to the days of the early 1900s, when TTUN regularly beat the Buckeyes.  You know, the days when Phineus Q. Rosenblarff scuttled up the terrain for over 80 lengths per contest.  The gals were blushin’ in their bloomers for that resolute young scallywag, they were.

Having been written off for dead in 2008, the Wolverines have but one shot to save their season.  If they beat Ohio State, it’ll make their lives worth living again.  Otherwise, they’ll be forced to say ridiculous stuff like repeating Rich Rodriquez’ first-season record at West Virginia (hint, TTUN fans….WVA was never a college football elite team.  RR has relegated your once proud school to the likes of being compared to West freaking Virginia).

So we as Ohio State fans must be VERY careful this week.  We must display pride and snicker at the little school near the bottom of the conference, but we must also stand tall, lest our beloved Buckeyes and our pride be crushed by TTUN.  Because ANYBODY can win this game.  That’s what makes this rivalry great.

But also, let’s remember.  Their quarterback is Nick Sheridan.  He’s like Steve Bellisari without all the flashiness.

With very few decent college football teams plying Saturday night (seriously, Florida State-Boston College?), I took advantage of the opportunity to watch the Cavs game.

I’ve seen plenty of games throughout my life, and I’ve witnessed some of the most talented teams in Cavs’ history, from the days of World B. Free, to Daugherty-Nance-Price and Company, to the Eastern Conference Champions of two seasons ago.

And I’ve gotta say, this version of the Cavaliers shows more promise and more talent than any team I’ve seen from Cleveland.  When they want to turn it up, there’s not much you can do to slow them down.

The trades and acquisitions that GM Danny Ferry has made in the past year have been perfect for this team.  Mo Williams is the PG we needed, and it has opened up SO many more options for LeBron and the rest of the team.  No longer does LBJ have to carry the load and run the show.  He can be the player he needs to be.

Williams’ talents allows LeBron to be better, and that in turn allows Boobie Gibson to be better.  Which, of course, makes the Cavaliers better.

From Wally to Ben Wallace to Delonte West to Williams, this team looks very different each season…and thankfully, they look better and better.  The current 7-game win streak is promising, but it’s a long season.

But after 10 games, I must say I am VERY impressed.

Final score

Ohio State 28
Troy 10

End of third quarter

Troy 31
LSU 10

When we beat Troy by “only” 18 points, we were mocked heavily as being “too weak to bury the cupcakes”.  Right now, it’s taking a massive 4th-quarter collapse by that cupcake for you to even have a chance.

Suck it.

Not exactly the powerhouse conference, are you?

Bring it on, bitches!

Ohio State, fresh off a 30-20 win at Illinois, now gets to focus on That Team Up North without looking past anybody. The Buckeyes return home for their final regular season game at 9-2, while TTUN comes to Columbus at 3-8.

Today’s game was rather anti-climactic, but any fan of the Buckeyes could see that coming. Ohio State has a long, storied tradition of underachieving in the game before The Game. For example;

• 2007 - Ohio State never got their game plan working, as Illinois tole a big win away from the #1 Buckeyes, 28-21
• 2006 - Ohio State 17, Illinois 10. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Prior to that game, OSU had 7 games of scoring 35 or more points. It was a win, but not at all pretty
• 2004 - A 24-17 loss to Purdue in the final two minutes, one of only two regular-season losses for Troy Smith
• 2003 - A scary overtime win at home against Purdue, 16-13. A missed Purdue FG saved the day.
• 2002 - Overtime win against Illinois (and a serious nail-biter)
• 2001 - A 34-22 loss to Illinois at home, secured by a late INT return for the Illini

Need I go on? We just rarely play well before The Game. The only exception to the rule in Tressel’s tenure is a 48-10 pasting of Northwestern in 2005.

So I expected revenge, but I didn’t think it would be pretty. Still, we looked good enough and got the job done.

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Beanie Wells moved into the #5 slot of all-time rushing leaders at Ohio State, sliding past Pepe Pearson. He cracked the 3,000 yard mark on his first carry, and kept moving all day long. Here’s the current standings;

• #1 - Archie Griffin - 5,529 yards (2,386)
• #2 - Eddie George - 3,768 yards (625)
• #3 - Tim Spencer - 3,553 yards (410)
• #4 - Keith Byars - 3,200 yards (57)
• #5 - Beanie Wells - 3,143 yards

Wells will top 1,000 yards for the season, and move past the legendary Keith Byars against TTUN at home on Saturday, barring injury and any other natural disaster.  Odds are good that he’ll stay at #4 even adding in the bowl game.  Getting another 410 yards against TTUN and a bowl opponent seems unlikely, even if you factor in Wells’ proven ability to rush for over 220 yards against the Wolverines.

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Speaking of Wells, holy f-ing poopbags, did you see him leap four feet in the air to clear an Illinois tackler?  I’ve gotta get video of that posted.  Best hurdle I’ve ever seen.

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Sweet Jesus, are Illinois fans the biggest WATBs you’ve ever seen?  Have you ever heard ANYBODY whine about the refs in a game where they only get flagged four times?  They were still moaning at the end of the game (those that hadn’t abandoned their seats before the game ended, that is).

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Penn State struggled for a half against Indiana, but pulled away in the second half and won 34-7.  This means that their home game next week against Michigan State will determine half of the Big Ten Championship.  Ohio State plays Michigan at Noon, and if the Buckeyes win, they clinch a share of the title.  PSU-MSU is at 330, and if the Bucks win, the Spartans and Lions will do battle for the other share.

Let’s speak hypothetically.

• If Ohio State wins and Michigan State wins, Ohio State goes to the Rose Bowl.
• If Ohio State wins and Penn State wins, Penn State goes to the Rose Bowl
• If Ohio State loses, the winner between MSU and PSU is the outright winner of the Big Ten and goes to the Rose Bowl.

Penn State controls their own destiny.  Both Sparty and the Buckeyes need help.

However, I do believe that Ohio State will secure a BCS Bowl with a win.  More on that after the jump.

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Ohio State stands at #11 in the current BCS Standings.  Ten teams make BCS Bowls. but there are tie-ins involved that could hurt us.

Six teams will guarantee themselves BCS Bowls by winning their conferences.  Let’s make some assumptions here;

• Championship Game - #1 Alabama - #2 Texas Tech
• Big 12 representative - #3 Texas
• Big 10 Representative - #8 Penn State
• SEC representative - #4 Florida
• Pac-10 representative - #6 USC
• Big East representative - #22 Cincinnati
• ACC representative - #24 Wake Forest

This leaves two at-large bids open.  The remaining schools in the Top 14 of the BCS Rankings are;

• #5 Oklahoma
• #7 Utah
• #9 Boise State
• #10 Georgia
• #11 Ohio State
• #12 Missouri
• #13 Oklahoma State
• #14 Ball State

Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri, and Oklahoma State are ineligible for the BCS, because of the rule only allowing two teams from each conference to play in the big 5 bowl games.  That leaves Utah, Boise State, Ohio State and Ball State as the only possible teams able to get those final two bids.

Utah and Boise State have won BCS bowl games before and will use that in their lobbying efforts.  Ball State can forget it.  No MAC school is getting in, especially in a year when the #5 school will get left out.

If we don’t secure the Rose Bowl, we are left to the mercy of the selection committee.  We’ll need to hope that the Fiesta Bowl remembers our massive numbers at previous bowls and how we travel better than any other team, during bowl season.  But if BYU can do us a favor and knock off Utah, we can consider ourselves in.  Maybe Fresno State can help out more and beat Boise State on November 28th?

So, in this order, let me just say….

1. Go Buckeyes
2. Go Spartans
3. Go…..whatever BYU’s mascot is
4. Go Bulldogs

And yes, I know it’s the BYU Cougars.  Did you?

It’s a nice fall day here in northeast Ohio, and I’m finishing up raking the leaves in my front yard.

A squirrel just climbed down the tree near my front door, and began sprinting towards the street, racing right past me.  When the squirrel got near me, it did a little dodge-and-weave around me, and continued on it’s path.  As it approached the edge of the grass, it hopped through the air onto the pavement, and then it stopped, turned around and looked at me

Yes, I just witnessed a squirrel doing the “Beanie Hop”.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Beanie Hop, here’s a video;

Buckeye football. So powerful, even the animals can’t resist.

The BBC has spent some time recently documenting the road to Ohio State’s fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship.  I will reiterate that this does NOT happen unless Ohio State defeats BOTH Illinois and Michigan, so no printing t-shirts just yet….

I believe that the road to the Big Ten Championship is significantly easier this year than in years past (based on a lack of defense from both Illinois and Michigan, compared to the better teams fielded by both schools previously).  But getting to the Rose Bowl now becomes the ultimate goal for the Buckeyes.  In order to do that, we need help.

If Michigan State beats Penn State in 9 days, and we win both our remaining games, we get the automatic invite to Pasadena to play for the roses.  Yes, I want that option badly.

But if that happens, a streak that I often gloat about will be destroyed.  You see, Ohio State is the ONLY university in Division 1 college football to be able to claim the following accomplishment.

Over the past four seasons, we have never lost to a school that didn’t play in a BCS Bowl the same season.

• 2005 - Texas, eventual National Champions
• 2005 - Penn State, won Orange Bowl
• 2006 - Florida, eventual National Champions
• 2007 - Illinois, lost Rose Bowl
• 2007 - LSU, eventual National Champions
• 2008 - USC, likely BCS Bowl
• 2008 - Penn State, likely BCS Bowl

EVERY other team has lost to someone they shouldn’t have.  Not us.  We have ONLY lost to the elite schools, nothing more.

But if we get to the Rose Bowl, Penn State will not make a BCS Bowl.  Because it will mean that Penn State lost to Michigan State, and no BCS Bowl will take the third-place team from the Big Ten over a co-champion.  No way, no how.

So I’m torn.  Do I want that streak, or do I want the Rose?

Oh, fuck it…I want the Rose.  Go Spartans.

There’s a humorous little snit going on behind the scenes at the Big Ten Bloggers.  I won’t get into the details of it, as I’m not out to shine lights on any of my brothers.  But it did lead me to want to make this post.

Ohio State, should they win their final two games at Illinois and against Michigan, will be crowned Big Ten Champions for the fourth consecutive year.  Apparently, that factoid makes us Ohio State fans “presumptous”.  Well, if that’s the case, then so be it.  All the denials of our four straight titles will get you nowhere.  If we pull off two more wins, it’s the reality.

But it’s worth noting exactly what this Ohio State group of seniors has accomplished, and what they have done in comparison to the rest of the conference.

Therefore, I give you the cumulative Big Ten records of the entire conference of the past four years;

Take another look at that….three losses in a four-year span.

Let me add this….over the past four years, EVERY TEAM in the Big Ten (except Ohio State) has had AT LEAST one year where they have lost 4 or more Big Ten games in a single season.  Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have not lost 4 Big Ten games over the entire four-year span.

So, yeah.  We have earned that honor.  And if we win our final two games, a fourth straight title is the LAST thing that should be brushed off.  No other team is closer than six full games away from matching our record.  We’ll happily take your insults and set them next to our trophies.

Yes, I know there’s a game this Saturday at Illinois.  And I’m not concerned with whether or not the Buckeyes will overlook the Illini.  Hell, I KNOW the Bucks won’t overlook it.  They want revenge for last season.

But that doesn’t mean that I am forbidden from preparing for The Game.

The good news about this weekend’s matchup is that they play a similar style of offense to Michigan’s, except that Illinois’s quarterback is much better and Michigan has a slightly better rushing attack.  Both teams do not have the defense to keep up with us.

So while our defense can sharpen its claws on the Illini, the offense can begin showing new looks to confuse the Michigan D (which, frankly can be done like one might fake-throw a stick to a dog…you just KNOW he’s gonna fall for it each time, so you keep faking that throw until the 12th or 13th time).

Michigan’s defense is allowing over 4 touchdowns per game, and gave up more than 35 points an astounding five times.  If we prepare for this game and take it as seriously as we have every time Tressel has led the team against the Wolverines, then this game should end up just like 6 of the last seven have finished…with a Buckeye win.

But I caution you.  Do not dare count this one in the win column.

I do not believe that Rick Rodriquez understands the essence of this rivalry yet, but the players do.  They KNOW they can salvage a horrifying season by beating Ohio State, becoming the first Michigan team to do so in 1,806 days.  Yes, that’s 2003.  During Bush’s first term.  Back when Terrelle Pryor was in the 8th freaking grade.

Michigan will be hungry, so don’t count them out yet.  ANYBODY can win this game any given year.

Example - 2004.  Michigan was 9-1, ranked 7th in the nation, and on their way to an undefeated Big Ten season and a possible.  Meanwhile, Ohio State was 6-4 and lost to Northwestern and Iowa.  The point spread was in double-digits.  The Buckeyes won 37-21 and embarrassed Michigan.

The rivalry supercedes all logic and expectations sometimes, so be careful.  But enjoy it.  It should be a real treat.

After a couple weeks away, we have seen the return of the roundtable! Maize and Blue Nation (which has quickly shrunk to a principality, like Monaco) is hosting the BTB Roundtable this week. Here’s the questions…..

1) With two weeks left in the season, it’s safe to say that most schools have reached the point where the year has been a success or a disappointment. How has your school fared this year in your opinion? Or, is the jury still out?

This isn’t an either/or question for Ohio State. We have done both. This season is, and should end up a success, especially if we win our last two games (thus capturing our fourth straight Big Ten Championship). But it is also a disappointment. We returned 20 starters and grabbed the best freshman in all the land….but are 8-2 with two to play. We should have been 10-0. One major injury and one fumbled ball cost us, and that’s very disappointing.

The good news is, it’s made us hungry, like we got after two losses in 2005.

2) Is your school heading to a bowl? If so, which one? And if not, WTF?

Yes, we are heading to a bowl, but we dont know which one yet. The Rose Bowl is within grasp, but only with help from MSU. I think we’ll end up in the Fiesta Bowl again, perhaps playing Texas. A loss would send us spiraling, and I don’t wanna see anything lower than the Capital One Bowl. But I think we’re safe.

3) The Big Ten has recently had a hard time getting respect among the national media as a top conference. Has the Big Ten taken a step forward or a step backward in this debate this season?

I think we have taken neither. Penn State helped by going 9-0, then let it slip away on national TV. Let the people hate the Big Ten all they want. I’ll just let them go and think of the words of the immortal R Kelly.

Haters wanna hate. Lovers wanna love.

I dont even want none of the above

I want to piss on you…..

4) Would the Big Ten benefit from adding another school to create two divisions like the SEC, Big 12, ACC and MAC? And if so, which school should be added? Or, should we drop one school?

Yes, I do think that we could benefit from adding another school. I’d like to say Notre Dame, but they’ll never leave their cozy TV contract for a conference. So I propose adding Pitt. It would revive the Pitt-PSU rivalry deeper, and could create two divisions (Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois in one conference, Michigan, MSU, Wisky, Iowa, Minnesota, and Northwestern in the other)

5) Do you agree with President-elect Obama….

Yes!!!!

Oh, there’s more?

….that college football should have an 8 school post-season playoff?

Actually, I do agree with that. We could even keep the BCS Bowl games in the fray. I’ll explain another time, but yes, we should do this!

6a) Who is your favorite network television play-by-play announcer/color commentator/sideline reporter?

That’s easy.

Gus Johnson is the greatest play-by-play man in the history of sports. Just watch…..if you’re not fired up after these videos, you’re missing a pulse.  First video gets me going about 2 minutes in.

It doesn’t get more exciting than when you’re watching a game with Gus.

6b) If you listed Erin Andrews, please provide a photo/video to back up your pick.

I didn’t pick her, but here you go anyway….

You’re welcome.

These are mine…..

Ohio State Illinois football tickets November 15, 2008

I put them up because I can’t go to the game.  The auction ends around 3pm on Monday.

I had originally bought them, thinking I might eventually sell them back, but then I decided I wanted to go to Champaign and see the game.  I can’t go now.  I’d like to sell them and ship them off quickly to someone who wants them.

Go grab them if you have the desire.  I’ll next-day them to the winner.

The new rankings are out.  No major surprises.  Buckeyes are 10th.

But this just in…..The University of Michigan is now the 4th best team in the state of Michigan.

Yes, that’s right.  Michigan State is ranked 18th.  Western Michigan is #32.  Central Michigan is #34.

UM is unranked.  Three teams in Michigan are better than them.

dfghdfghdf

Unreal. Not only did the Buckeyes have a game in which SO many things went their way, but the chips kept falling into place well after their Noon game ended.

Ohio State’s complete destruction of 24th-ranked Northwestern wasn’t the end of the day’s joy. The 45-10 win was a constant afternoon of “did you SEE that?” moments, and then the truly unexpected happened when Penn State was defeated by Iowa 24-23 (seriously? Iowa? No, seriously?).

The BBC wanted to see Penn State go all the way after they upended us two weeks ago, but the Lions couldn’t handle the success. Now the Big Ten (and the automatic BCS bowl bid) are up for grabs.

Michigan State stands alone at the top of the conference with a 6-1 record. Sparty is off next week before traveling to Penn State in two weeks.

Ohio State and Penn State are now tied for second place at 5-1 each. The Buckeyes play Illinois next week before coming home to face Michigan. Both teams are sad sacks right now, as Michigan is 3-7 and Illinois just lost to Western Freaking Michigan. Penn State goes home for their final two games Indiana and MSU.

The Buckeyes should (I said should, not will, in case karma is listening) win out, which will automatically give them a share of the Big Ten title. But who will they share it with? The winner of the Michigan State-PSU game will tell us. If PSU wins, the Lions get the Rose Bowl bid. If MSU wins, the Buckeyes go west.

It’s that simple.

But we get nothing if we don’t beat Illinois and Michigan.

By the way, the only path for the Buckeyes to outright win the conference is for Indiana to beat PSU in Happy Valley. Not. Gonna. Happen.

UPDATE - My friend from MotSaG tells me that Ohio State loses the tiebreaker, based on playing an FCS school (MSU scheduled no FCS teams, and that Youngstown State game hurts us). However, that is not the case here. From the Big Ten website;

Method to Determine Big Ten Conference Automatic Representative to Bowl Championship Series

Effective for bowl games following the 2006-09 regular football seasons, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) will consist of five (5) bowl games: BCS National Championship Game, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. Participation by a Big Ten Conference member institution will be determined as follows:

1. BCS National Championship Game. In the event the conference has one or two football teams ranked No. 1 and/or No. 2 in the final BCS poll, these conference team(s) shall participate in the BCS National Championship Game.
2. Rose Bowl. Unless ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final BCS poll, the conference champion shall participate in the Rose Bowl. The championship shall be determined on the percentage basis of conference games (tie games counts ½ win and ½ loss). If there is a tie for the championship, the Rose Bowl representative will be determined as follows:
   1. An ineligible team shall not be considered in the standings for determination of the conference representative.
   2. If there is a tie for the championship, the winner of the game between these two teams shall represent the conference.
   3. If there is still a tie for the championship, or if the tied teams did not play each other, the team that played more games against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams shall be eliminated.

It doesn’t happen often, as SportsMonkey is a smart dude….but in this case, he’s wrong. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head.

If there were a THREE-way tie between us, MSU and PSU, then it’s Spartytown headed to Pasadena, because the first tiebreaker (head-to-head) would be all even. The second tiebreaker would fall to MSU based on a non-FCS schedule. But in a two-way tie, the clear winner is the head-to-head victory over Michigan State.

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The Big Ten now has six teams eligible for bowl games with a possible 8 teams getting in. Illinois and Wisconsin have two games each to win one and get in. Illinois has Ohio State and Northwestern. I think they blew their bowl bid by losing to a MAC school yesterday. Wisconsin has Minnesota and Cal Poly left. Barring another collapse like mid-season, they should get one win there.

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Beanie Wells rushed for 140 yards yesterday, giving him 2,999 yards in his career. He also went from the 9th-leading rusher in OSU history to the 6th-leading rusher, all in one game. He passes Antonio Pittman, Michael Wiley and Carlos Snow and looks to move up again at Illinois.

• #1 - Archie Griffin - 5,529 yards (2,530)
• #2 - Eddie George - 3,768 yards (769)
• #3 - Tim Spencer - 3,553 yards (554)
• #4 - Keith Byars - 3,200 yards (201)
• #5 - Pepe Pearson - 3,121 yards (122)
• #6 - Beanie Wells - 2,999 yards

All signs point towards Wells cracking the top 4 by the end of November, should he stay healthy. Illinois’ defense is average, but Wells should be able to get the 122 yards he needs to take over the #5 slot. 201 total yards in 2 games will put him at #4 over the legendary Keith Byars. Keep in mind that Wells ran for 229 against Michigan alone last year.

Even with the bowl game, it’d be incredible if he cracked the top 3. He needs 554 yards to do it. That’s 185 yards per game. Possible, but not likely.

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By the way, did you see the replay of Tressel’s face on our final TD? Had Boom Herron been tackled, the clock would have run out on 1 38-10 win. But nobody wanted to tackle him and he scampered into the end zone for a 45-10 win. Replays showed Tressel’s face looking very disappointed at the final score. JT doesn’t like to run it up, especially on a last-second TD. Nobody expected an off-tackle run to gain nearly 20 yards, so I can’t blame anybody for the final score except a greater level of athleticism from the Bucks. But still, JT wasn’t happy. I’ll post a video of his reaction if I can.

Lots of things to discuss, no time to waste;

Cleveland Browns

Tonight will mark the first start in the career of Browns’ QB Brady Quinn.  Is he the right quarterback?  We don’t know yet?  But Derek Anderson clearly does not possess the skills to win in Cleveland.  I often said that his numbers were a byproduct of having great recievers who could overcome a lot.  Now that we’ve had Braylon Edwards turn into Orlando Brown’s character from “The Replacements”, we understand that Anderson is average at best and NEEDS amazing catches to get his completion percentage over 55.

I for one never like to see the Browns lose.  But I think it takes hard losses to get the coach to make lineup shifts.  We saw it with Justin Zwick/Troy Smith, we saw it with Todd Boeckman/Terrelle Pryor, and now we’re seeing it again.

I hope that Quinn has a good game and we win.  Nothing too spectacular (because we’ll expect it every night), but good enough to make the plays when needed.

Cleveland Cavaliers

I must say I am VERY impressed with the new Cavs.  Who would have thought that a point guard would help LeBron.  OK, all of us thought that, but now we HAVE one!

Jumping all over Chicago and Dallas this week was a nice sight, but we need to burst out to a great start.  an early 6 or 7-game win streak would be a joyful present.

Cavs play Friday at home against Indiana, then are in Chicago on Saturday.

Damn, I would love to be in Chicago for the weekend…Bucks at Noon and Cavs at 8.  Hell of a day, huh?

Ohio State

Not much to say about this game, other than the fact that a BCS Bowl depends on it for us.  Northwestern has proven to be a good team this year, but we have to be a GREAT team to get in.  If we win out, I think we get the BCS bid.  But the best way to start our final push for that game would be to blow a bowl team out of the water.  Northwestern is that bowl team, let’s do it.

In 2004, Northwestern shocked Ohio State in overtime, and sent the Buckeyes reeling.  we were 3-0 before traveling to NW, and it took us nearly a month to get that fourth win of the season.

They bit us hard and it hurt.

Since then, the Buckeyes have returned the pain in rather harsh manner;

• 2005 - Ohio State 48, Northwestern 7
• 2006 - Ohio State 54, Northwestern 10
• 2007 - Ohio State 58, Northwestern 7

That’s pretty nasty, outscoring your opponent 160-24 in a three year span.  53-8 is a blowout, but doing it as an average for three seasons?  Yikes.

Now with Ohio State angry from a loss and well-rested from a bye week, Saturday’s game could get ugly for the Wildcats again.

My call is not another 40-50 point win, but it should be nasty.

For the past 72 hours, I’ve been away from The BBC, but I’m back now.

I was busy busting my ass in the final hours of my chance to make history.  And as you all know by now, my efforts were well worth the change we have made in this country and this world.  Yesterday I did a 23-hour stretch of work (between campaigning and celebrating), and I feel great despite the lack of sleep.

So I’ll get back to my job here, discussing Buckeye football.

But first, allow me to say congratulations to President Barack Obama.  I’ve never been prouder to have worked for anyone in my life.

With no Ohio State game this weekend, I’m probably going to be watching no football on Saturday.  Truth be told, I’m going to Cedar Point for Halloweekend, and riding the Millenium Force at night.

The Big Ten schedule has it’s two best teams taking the week off with the Buckeyes and Penn State resting for the final stretch.  Most teams will be fighting for a shot of bowl season.  And two teams will be fighting for survival.

Michigan (2-6, 1-3 Big Ten) will be at Purdue (2-6, 0-4) for a Noon kickoff.  Both teams need to win all four of their remaining games to become bowl-eligible, so at least one of these teams will walk off the field on Saturday knowing that the season ends in November.

Michigan fans will say whatever they want to make themselves feel better in the morning….but not a single one of them would have ever predicted they’d end their bowl streak during Week 9 of this year.  They can rationalize it all they want, but a 2-7 record while playing teams like Miami (OH) and Toledo and Notre Dame was NEVER acceptable to them.

So as you watch the noon games, keep that in mind…that Michigan has their pride on the line.  Their beloved streak could be over in 24 hours, and all they’ll have left to clamor about is thier all-time win-loss record.

And you just KNOW they will ALL fall back on that tired argument, as if any of them can recall the early days of Michigan football.  Like way back in 19-ott-8 when Phineus Q. Rosenblatt ran for 80 lengths in a match.  He had the lasses blushin’ in their bloomers, he did.