Bella Buckeye’s Post Draft Pick Advice for Laurinaitis

My sincere congrats go to James Laurinaitis and his 2nd round 35th pick in the NFL Draft.  I sincerely think he could seriously do his thing for the Rams on any given Sunday.  Only time will tell.  But every former Buckeye that throws their well deserved buckeye leaves into the NFL draft to be picked, makes me think about what’s in store for them and for the other football fans of the world.

I happened to jump into a chat room former QB Justin Zwick was being interviewed in by a local CBS affiliate last weekend.  One chat room member asked Zwick a viewpoint question.  He asked what were Zwick’s thoughts on Laurinaitis’ low draft pick.  Zwick responded by saying he thought that tends to happen to any football college player if they stick around and stay late into their career; that the scouts and clubs take a critical look at the players and pick apart and dissect their game, injury, flaws.  He wished James the best and hoped he stays healthy.  I thought that was some good insight.  But James, I think we’ll be seeing plenty of you on Monday night football highlights.

Interestingly enough someone else asked Zwick what he’s currently doing in the work force now-a-days.  Apparently selling medical devices.  *crickets*

Hey, I can’t knock that.  He’s probably doing more networking and seeing more paper than I am.  But it made me think of the possible footsteps Laurinaitis could follow…  Let’s explore a few, shall we?

Check it:

James could turn out to be like one of my all time favorite Buckeyes  Mike Vrabel.  Former #94 LB of the football Bucks.  ( 91st pick in the 3rd round back in 1997)   I used to hang this dude’s OSU stats and highlights from the Columbus Dispatch in my locker in middle school each week.  Now he’s one of the most reputable Linebacker in the country, bringing the New England Patriots to many Superbowl victories.  I believe he now will be with Kansas City though because of a trade involving a draft pick.

Or how about Pittsburgh Receiver Santonio Holmes?  (25th pick in the 1st round in 2006)  He started off a little rough with some legal troubles, but once he got past that, he turned around and made a game saving catch for the Steelers in the XLIII Superbowl gaining the MVP award.  I recently heard him speak on BET’s 106 & Park encouraging young ones to be positive and strive for their dreams.  Okay, we see you, good job.

One that’s dear to my heart, Andy Katzenmoyer.  The Big Kat.  From that dirty south, Westerville South that is.  (Went in the 1st round  in the 1999 Draft) One of the best linebackers to every grace OSU’s field.  He was injured in the first season with the New England Patriots and never really recovered professionally.  Sweet as all get out (met him once).  Now he is a business owner in Westerville, Ohio with a personal training studio.

Craig Krenzel.  (2004 Draft 5th round) To da Berrs.  He won his first 3 starts in Chicago.  Was traded to the Bengals and didn’t have much NFL success.  Off the field this dude is Columbus’ homeboy.  Bring home a National Championship to Columbus and the Buckeyes, you will forever be employed.  Krenzel has all types of endorsements with Nissan and I think I even saw some type of John Deer commercial.  By the way, you can catch him and Archie in a public gold outing/fund raiser May 11 at OSU on the Scarlet and Gray course.

Maurice Clarett.  This Buckeye was instrumental in bringing home the National Championship but he’s not currently employed  (He tried to get in the draft in 2004, but failed, but in the 2005 NFL Draft  he was  the final pick of the 3rd round)  After all of that, he spiraled downward into some serious legal trouble and he’s incarcerated.  He’s currently a writer of his own blog (via his momma by phone) and is studying while in prison.  James, not the way to go.

Or, you can try your hand at being a restaurateur?  1995 OSU Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee Titian 1996 NFL rookie of the year, reality TV star Eddie George setup camp on High Street with his bar & grill.  It’s pretty packed on any game night.  Also former OSU & Dallas Cowboys running back Michael Wiley opened a spot on Front Street over a year ago now by.  Went passed After 5 the other day, and it’s under construction? So maybe not around anymore.  So James if you go this route, I like seafood.

So James, the moral of the story is, it doesn’t matter when you got picked, or that you got picked at all.  Make sure you stay healthy and you got some business savvy behind you, because the NFL is dog eat dog world.  But if you have any snags on the field, you got a bunch of fellow Buckeyes that could give you plenty of pointers.

Ohio State Tops the List of Top RB Schools

Rich at CollegeFootballNews.com just wrote an article entitled Running Back U. – Top All-Around RB Schools highlighting colleges which are producing the best running backs.  He gives his take on the top 15 Running Back Universities over the last 40 years and highlighted Ohio State as #1 naming Eddie George as our top guy.

Here’s his writeup of Ohio State:

Consistency, dotted with periodic episodes of brilliance, is what separates the Buckeyes from every other NCAA program seeking the title of Running Back U.  And unlike most other schools, Ohio State backs haven’t endured any serious dry spells.  In the 1970s there was two-time Heisman winner Griffin and pile-driving fullbacks Otis, Brockington and Johnson.  The 1980s gave us Spencer and Byars, a Heisman runner-up Byars. The 1990s were highlighted by Eddie George and his 1,927-yard Heisman season.  After a stellar rookie season, Clarett looked poised to carry the torch early in the 21st century torch before his life spun out of control.

Since 1969, 16 different Buckeyes have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a college season.  Six hit the milestone in the NFL. Again, a model of consistency. From 1969-1981, no one was better than USC. Not even close. However, since that time, the Trojans slipped until Reggie Bush came along, and the Buckeyes have stayed the course, passing by at some point in the late 1990s. With both teams recruiting so well in recent years, expect them to jockey for the pole position for the foreseeable future.

Check out his story for the other 14 Universities and his take on them.

BTN: Get Ready for Eddie Tonight after Big Ten Tournament

New series "The Big Ten Quad" with Eddie George. The Heisman Trophy winner hosts three Big Ten personalities in an open forum taped in front of a live studio audience. Tonight's show includes former OSU hoops great Jim Jackson.
Continue reading at Ohio State Women’s Basketball Headline News

BTN: Get Ready for Eddie

New series "The Big Ten Quad" with Eddie George. The Heisman Trophy winner hosts three Big Ten personalities in an open forum taped in front of a live studio audience.
Continue reading at Ohio State Women’s Basketball Headline News

Buckeyes on the Move and in the News

Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George will appear on Friday’s edition of Big Ten Tonight at 9 PM ET. He will talk about the SuperBowl and whom he predicts will win the big game.

Single-session tickets for the 2009 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament go on sale to the general public Monday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. EST. The 2009 tournament, which takes place on March 5-8 at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, features all 11 Big Ten teams battling in 10 games over four days of competition. The winner will earn the conference’s coveted automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. For more information – Click Here!

Former Buckeye track and field great Glenn “Jeep” Davis died Wednesday at the Hospice Care Center in Barbarton, Ohio. He was 74. For more on Davis and his Buckeye career – Click Here!

The start of the Ohio State University baseball season is just around the corner and that means the team’s traditional start-me-up to the season – the annual Meet the Team Luncheon – isn’t far away either. This year, the event is set for 11:45 a.m. Feb. 14 at the Holiday Inn on the Lane. For more information – Click Here!

Story By Buckeye Legends

Future Buckeyes take the field in San Antonio, Orlando

If bowl games are too boring, or the performance of the Big Ten representatives too painful to watch, curious Buckeyes can always change the knob on their moving pictures box to another FCC-authorized television transmission carrier¹ to watch future Buckeyes take the field in the 2009 Army All-American and Under Armour games.

Traditionally, the United State…

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Come Back To Earth, Buckeyes; You Still Have a Long Way to Go

Ohio State fans, why must you continue to insist on your team’s greatness?

Why do you continue to boast what doesn’t impress?

That is the question. “What doesn’t impress” is your five-game win streak over Michigan and seven of eight victories.

You think this is greatness. You think this means that your beloved Buckeyes own that team up north.

Well, now, you couldn’t be more wrong.

While seven of eight wins is impressive, as is five straight wins, all that UM fans can do is yawn. Would you like to know what true dominance is? You probably do, since you’re not too familiar with it.

It is funny how quickly Buckeye fans everywhere forget about a man named John Cooper.

That is right, Buckeyes! Remember the good ole days where Michigan won 10 of 12 over your beloved Buckeyes? Hmmm, maybe you should start if you have forgotten.

As for five straight, that pails to Michigan’s longest win streak of nine games to begin the series. That streak lasted from 1901-1909. Michigan actually started the series 13-0-2 dating from 1897-1918.

In fact it was after the 86-0 blowout loss to UM (largest in rivalry history) that Carmen Ohio, the OSU Alma Matter, was written. Fairly sad to think the school’s most tradition-rich song was written after such a disgrace of a game.

Say what you want about going back to the olden days, but victories are victories, no matter the era. Most OSU fans use that old “Yeah, that was way back then” excuse just to avoid the truth. In all fairness, the level of competition at that point should have been about equal.

In fact, Ohio State didn’t even get their first win until 1919, which was Chic Harley’s first year. OSU would win the next three.

In 1918, the rivalry started back up as both teams met in their first-ever meeting as members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan prevailed 14-0; that became Michigan’s 11th shutout of Ohio State in 15 games.

That is dominance!

After Harley was finished at OSU, nature returned to its rightful manner…Michigan beating Ohio State. In 1922, The House that Harley Built was finally complete. The dedication game, which was played in front of 71,000 people, was against none other than Michigan.

Final result: Michigan 19, Ohio State 0…yet another shutout.

There is lore stating that there was a wager on that game. As a result, yellow flowers on a blue background still exist in the stadium’s upper rotunda.

Michigan would win the next five, making for a six-game win streak, before OSU won the last two of the decade.

By this point, Michigan held a 19-5-2 lead.

That is dominance!

Starting in 1930, Michigan won three of four on their way to winning two national titles.

Finally in 1934, Ohio State started to learn a little about dominance. They won the next four in convincing fashion, outscoring the Wolves 112-0.

Way to go OSU; you got something.

Too bad it didn’t last long. UM would take the next three, one of which was a 40-0 beat down in the Shoe where Tom Harmon would leave the stadium to a standing ovation, the only player to leave the stadium like so….and Tom played for Michigan.

1941 marked the two schools’ first meeting when both teams were ranked. It ended in a 20-20 tie.

We would win five of the next seven, while tying one more time by 1949. By the half century mark UM had a comfortable lead at 30-12-4.

That is dominance!

We all know who won the infamous Snow Bowl in 1950. It was that game that led to the hiring of legendary Buckeye coach Woody Hayes.

This is were the tide finally turned. The Buckeyes went on to win 12 of 18 victories vs. Michigan to start Hayes’ tenure. One of those was the 1950 game…you know, the game were Woody went for two when up 50-14, just because he couldn’t go for three.

By the end of 1968, UM still held a solid lead at 37-24-4 even despite the Buckeye dominance.

Oh, but then began the “Ten Year War.” Bo vs. Woody in arguably the most heated decade of any rivalry.The end result 5-4-1…advantage Michigan.

Michigan increased its lead to 42-28-5.

That is dominance!

Upon Hayes leaving, he was replaced by Earle Bruce. Under Bruce, the Buckeyes went 5-4 vs Schembechler’s Wolverines.

By Bruce’s last season, the series was 46-33-5. Are you still getting this, Buckeye faithful? I know it’s hard, but keep reading. It’s about to get a little harder.

Then came John Cooper. You Buckeyes remember him fondly…so do Wolverines.

Cooper lost his first game vs. the Wolverines, then his second, then third, then fourth, oops, then a tie…and then his fifth the next year. He didn’t get his first win until 1994.

The 1993 team came to Ann Arbor as the heavy favorite as they posted a 9-0-1 record and a No. 5 ranking. Michigan shut them out once more, 28-0.

In 1995, the again favored Buckeyes returned to Ann Arbor with a thirst for vengeance. The entered the game undefeated and No. 2 in the nation. They were led by Heisman winning running back Eddie George.

However, George was outplayed by Michigan running back Tim Biakabatuka…Tim who? Biakabatuka ,that is who! He put George to shame as Tim blazed through the Buckeye defense rushing for 313 yards (series record).

Michigan won 31-23.

Then there was 1996. Ohio State entered the game No. 2 in the nation once again. This time the game was in the Shoe. However, the Buckeyes flopped once again. Even without the starting quarterback, three-loss Michigan pulled of the 13-9 upset, all on the arm of back up junior Brian Griese.

One year later the rivalry returned to Ann Arbor, both teams undefeated with Michigan No. 1 and Ohio State No. 4 in the nation. Here was Ohio State’s chance at redemption. Not quite. Unfortunately Michigan had a guy named Charles Woodson who made sure that the Bucks went home with a bitter taste in their mouth once more.

Final score: Michigan 20, Ohio State 14…Michigan went on to win their first national title since 1948.

Cooper played in two more games vs Michigan. He ended his career vs Michigan at 2-10-1.

The Michigan record vs OSU got a little more comfortable at 56-35-6.

That is dominance!

But then came the sweater vest. Jim Tressel would lead the Bucks to three straight victories over Michigan to start his career at OSU.

The streak would end in 2003, the rivalry’s 100th meeting. OSU would take over that, and yes, OSU won the first ever No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting in the rivalry’s history in 2006.

This all led to the idea that Ohio State is dominant vs. Michigan. While that does hold some truth, it still doesn’t come close to Michigan’s dominance.

In fact, your five-game win streak matches only our third longest in rivalry history, if you don’t include the tie in 1992.

After the 2008 victory, Buckeyes have liked the fact that they hold the best win percentage all-time in Big 10 play. However, little do they realize how small the difference is. It is only .00001%. Some difference, huh?

Michigan also holds 42 Big Ten titles and 11 national championships.

Ohio State only claims 33 Big Ten titles and 7 national titles.

Michigan has 20 Rose Bowl appearances…Ohio State 13.

Bowl appearances OSU 39…Michigan 38

So what has been learned…

Michigan holds the series record for largest margin of victory: 86 points

Michigan won the “Ten Year War:” 5-4-1

Michigan holds the longest win streak: 9 straight (and the second longest at six straight).

Oh, and Michigan holds the all-time series record 57-42-6.

That is dominance!

But let’s not stop there. How bout we look at each school’s athletics overall. There are more sports than football, Buckeyes.

For this, let us look at the Director Cup standings which rank the top universities overall athletics.

Since the cup was created in the 1993-1994 school year, Michigan has finished in the top 5 in nine of the cup’s 15 years and has never not finished in the top 11 and only once out of the top ten. That also includes three top 3 finishes. 

Ohio State finished in top 5 only twice, with its best finish being third.

That is just to add some insult to injury and to further explain to OSU fans that they aren’t who they think they are.

Let’s cool down on the arrogance. You won five straight, congrats…but you still haven’t “dominated” Michigan to extents Michigan has you.

Keep thinking you are an elite. Ohio State will never be more than that team down south and the national punching bag.

Win a big game, then talk about being elite. Losing 41-14 and 35-3 is not elite (here come the excuses).

Until then, come back to earth, Buckeye fans. Join us down here, won’t you? Understand this…you are not superior, you are not elite, and you sure as hell are not dominant.

The sooner you realize this, the better.

By the way, it looks as if you’re going to have to wait on getting that elite status back. Playing Texas in the Fiesta Bowl…not going to be pretty. To think that OSU couldn’t do worse than the USC game.

Final score…Texas wins 45-7.

And remember 57-42-6…That is dominance!

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Celebrating Thanksgiving with YouTubes

Since I’m kind of bored this Thanksgiving day, with nothing really to do nor any work projects that need my attention, I thought I’d upload another Michigan-related Drive-Thru compilation.  It came down to 1970, 1974, 1987 or 1994.  The first three constitute much more interesting games in the series, but the 1994 game was easier to compile.  So, to celebrate Thanskgiving, I’ve uploaded John Cooper’s first… and sadly penultimate… win over Michigan in 1994.

This game was something of a career make-or-break game for Cooper.  He had received an extension after the 1992 tie, much to the chagrin of several Buckeye fans.  While his 1993 season marked a significant improvement over his previous years at the helm of the Buckeyes, the season ended in a shutout loss at Michigan and a very bleeh win over a 6 win Brigham Young team in the Holiday Bowl.  To make matters worse, the 1994 season was something of a painful one.  The Buckeyes lost early to Washington in Seattle, again lost to Illinois in a second-half collapse in the Horseshoe and, the coup de grace, were routed by Penn State 63-14 in Happy Valley.  Another loss to Michigan would put Cooper’s record against the Wolvereenies at 0-6-1 and make his already hot seat one hot enough for him to spontaneously combust.

The Game started off well enough for the Buckeyes.  They kicked off to Michigan, who drove about 60 yards through the strength of Tyrone Wheatley.  However, they found themselves in a 4th and Inches situation at the fringe of the Buckeyes red zone.  Instead of taking 3 points, Moeller opted to go for it with a pass to the fullback in the flats.  It backfired, giving Ohio State the ball on the turnover on downs.  However, it didn’t take long for an Eddie George fumble to give Michigan the ball back in great field position.  Before his Heisman season in 1995, fumbles were a chronic problem for Eddie George.  Combine his fumble-itis with some of the impatience you can see in his earlier games and you can imagine why the coaching staff, at the time, honestly thought Pepe Pearson would be their tailback for the future (that is: 1995).

Michigan’s offense, in spite of the great field position given to them, went backwards 34 yards.  On 3rd and 44, Michigan went with the draw for a short gain and punted back to Ohio State’s offense.  Ohio State’s offense, a very anemic unit in 1994 in spite of the brilliance of future Pro-Bowler Korey Stringer and professional mainstay Joey Galloway, stalled, setting up a punt.  However, the Scott Terna punt that followed was a gamechanger.  Amani Toomer, Michigan’s punt returner, made a curious decision not to field the ball with a fair catch¹.  Ohio State’s punt team eventually downed the ball within the Michigan 2 yard line.  A few plays later, Todd Collins, Michigan’s QB, tripped over himself in the end zone for a safety.  This safety marks the first real appearance of the LOLverines for this game.  Later in the second half, they would show up in full force to give the game to the Buckeyes.

The kickoff following the safety gave Ohio State a short field.  It didn’t take that long for Ohio State to capitalize.  After marching deep into the Michigan red zone, Bobby Hoying ran a poorly executed bootleg keeper into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.  The Buckeyes had taken a 9-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Bill Young, pictured to the left, had held Michigan in check through the first half.  After Michigan’s ensuing drive went nowhere, the Buckeyes received the ball back.  On this drive, the Buckeyes found themselves in that gray area between punting and going for it on 4th down.  With the down and distance 4th and 5, Hoying connected with Joey Galloway to extend the chains.  However, on 3rd and goal later in that drive, Hoying overshot a wide-open Galloway in the end zone.  The Buckeyes settled for a field goal and a 12-0 lead.

Michigan’s ensuing drive was cause for consternation for the Buckeye faithful.  It had seemed that Michigan’s offensive coordinator had finally found something he liked in Bill Young’s defensive schemes.  A bootleg fake-stretch play to Tyrone Wheatley freed up Amani Toomer deep down field for an enormous gain early into the drive.  With it, Michigan had moved from their own 30 yard line to the Ohio State 11 yard line.  Fortunately, Bill Young’s unit held, forcing Michigan to settle for a field goal to cut into the deficit.  The 12-3 scoreline eventually carried over into the intermission.  Ohio State led by virtue of the game-changing punt by Terna and the safety gift by Todd Collins.  Failing that, they were outplayed in most statistical areas in spite of the brilliant play from the defense.

The third quarter was a nailbiting affair for Ohio State fans.  The Buckeyes began with the ball, but went 3 and out.  The would continue to go 3 and out for the remainder of the quarter.  Michigan, on the other hand, racked up 94 yards of offense in the quarter to Ohio State’s 10 total yards.  While Michigan continued to dominate possession, Ohio State’s offense couldn’t muster a first down.  Michigan’s first drive of the second half resulted in a field goal to halve the Buckeye lead.  Michigan’s next offensive series after that played out just like the first of the half.  With the clock rolling over into the final quarter of play, Michigan had the ball, the momentum, and were looking to take the lead.

However, Michigan’s offense did sputter again, setting up another field goal try for the Wolvereenies.  With momentum clearly on Michigan’s side, Marlon Kerner — special teams superhero for the Buckeyes — made the play of the game.  A high snap by the LOLverines on the try was all the delay Kerner needed to spike the ball and spike it backwards.  Mike Vrabel was in pursuit of the live ball, hoping for a scoop and score.  Vrabel, however, was not able to come up with it, but Kerner’s authoritative block not only denied Michigan 3 points, and not only turned momentum back to the Buckeyes, but also flipped field position.  Ohio State’s offense now had the ball within the Michigan half of the field.  They made good on Kerner’s efforts as only that 1994 offense could: by getting at least 3 points out of it.  Ohio State now had a 15-6 lead with about 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, good enough to extend their lead back to a two-score cushion.

The LOLverines now woke up.  On the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Todd Collins found the waiting arms of the pass rush by Luke Fickell, the consensus scariest dude currently on the Buckeye coaching staff, who tipped the Collins pass to himself for the interception.  Unlike the last gamechanging play by Kerner, the Buckeye offense plowed ahead with Eddie George, then an impatient banger between tackles, for a touchdown.  The score was now 22-6, with about 10 minutes left.

Michigan’s next drive went a long way in making that the final score of the game.  Michigan’s offense took what the Buckeye defense gave them, eventually getting into the Buckeye red zone.  However, the LOLverine offense went backwards after that.  As you’ll see, on a 3rd and 23 play, Michigan’s left tackle flinched while a Michigan receiver was in motion, upending him.  As it turned out, the left tackle was flagged for a false start, and not an unnecessary roughness penalty against his own teammate.  3rd and 23 became 3rd and 28.  3rd and 28 became 4th and 28.  4th and 28 became a turnover on downs.  With about 5 minutes left, the Buckeyes were feeling it.

Ohio State ran out the next 4 minutes, exhausting Michigan’s timeouts in the process.  Michigan was set to get the ball back with about one minute and 30 seconds left, down 16 points, but the LOLverine special teams roughed the punter.  Now, the Buckeye offense could ice the game away, celebrate their first victory over Michigan in Columbus in 10 years (sigh…), and prepare to face the loser of the SEC Championship game in the Citrus Bowl.  That happened to be Alabama that year, and, sadly, I think you know what happened.  Fucking Jay Barker².

Still, for all the static John Cooper got at Ohio State, it was rewarding to see him feel so relieved after this game.  He deserved the free ride he got as time expired; it’s just unfortunate he couldn’t beat them more often.

Two other things of note about this game:

• First, it was Gary Moeller’s first loss in November as head coach at Michigan.  He was undefeated in November for 5 years to that point.
• Second, Ohio State set a team record for sacks this game, breaking a mark set in 1991.  Musburger and Vermeil didn’t say how much the Buckeyes tallied in this game.  However, the Buckeye pass rush was excellent this game.

Without any further ado, the game can be seen below.

1. He would eventually repeat this later in the game.
2. He does campus promotions all the time at the University of Alabama, maybe I should make time to find him and demand an apology for that game.

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Well, That Went Better Than Expected.

After a slow start which featured a Terrelle Pryor interception and three consecutive three-and-outs by the Buckeyes, it appeared that regardless of what some of the other blogs thought about Rich Rodriguez “Getting It,” the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry would remain a relatively even battleground, despite the fact that the Wolverines had come in to Columbus about to wrap up arguably their worst season in school history.  Although Beanie Wells’ third consecutive OSU-UM game with a 50+ yard touchdown run, the offense was unable to sustain any sort of continuity, and as a result could only muster up 14 points in the first half.  The defense played nearly flawless in the first two quarters, but it only took one poor drive late in the second quarter to bring Michigan back within a touchdown.  After a November where the Buckeyes demolished two conference foes on the road by a combined score of 75-30 and the Wolverines converted just 37% of their third downs, a blowout seeed inevitable.  But after one half of football, one thing was clear: Michigan was out to salvage their season and restore order to the rivalry.

And then the third quarter started.

After a punt that pinned the Buckeyes inside their own ten line, the Wolverines returned to their form of old, giving up two consecutive runs of 40+ yards on plays that were designed to pick up no more than five.  The second of the two runs, a 49 yard touchdown scamper by backup Boom Herron, was particulary devastating for the Maize and Blue defense.  From that point forward, the Michigan offense picked up just two first downs (three if you count a roughing the punter penalty), poor special teams play led to two more Buckeye touchdowns, and the defense let a freshman quarterback lead the rivalry’s biggest blowout in over 40 years.  Terrelle Pryor’s numbers were good, but not great (5-13 for 120 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT), but as we have all come to learn over the past nine games, his impact on the game reaches much deeper than the box score.  His ability to keep plays alive and throw on the run have proven to be the perfect antitode to an offense that at times struggled to make plays throughout the season.  Beanie Wells continued his Wolverine dominance, carrying the ball 15 times for 134 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

Other points of interest.

It’s time for Beanie to go.

Yes, as a fan, I would love to see Beanie Wells come back for his senior season.  He is, in my opinion, without a doubt the most talented running back in the nation, and as Demitrius Stanley pointed out in the postgame show, he’s potentially the most talented running back to ever don the scarlet and gray.  Chic Harley may have made Ohio State football the phenomenon that it is today, and Archie Griffin may epitomize all that it means to truly be a Buckeye, but as far as pure football skills and physical dominance over the opposition goes, there are probably only two running backs in school history that can compete with Beanie.  One is Eddie George, and the other Maurice Clarett.

In three short seasons, Beanie has done more than any fan should expect out of an athlete.  As a sophomore, he singlehandedly carried the offense into the national championship game despite being a walking bodycast.  After battling more injuries as a senior, Beanie has still managed to rush for over 1,000 yards in just nine games played.  Despite only playing one full season as the starting running back, he is the Buckeyes’ fourth all-time leading rusher.  In his brief absence this season, we all saw firsthand just how piss poor the Buckeye offensive line can be at times, and that should only make these achievments more astonishing.  Against archrival Michigan, Wells’ numbers are astronomical: 59 carries for 412 yards (7 YPC) and four touchdowns.  Against ranked teams, Wells has 170 career carries for 901 yards (5.3 YPC) and 11 touchdowns.  Very few football players have contributed so greatly to OSU over the course of their careers, much less three seasons, and it would be selfish of us as fans to beg him to stay another year.   Additionally, his struggles with injuries are no secret, and running backs statistically have the shortest professional careers of all positions.  I think we all want to see Beanie succeed at the next level, and his stock will never be higher than it is today.

Beanie, I’m not about to blame you if you decide to depart for greener pastures, and I don’t think anybody else will, either.  Maybe you’re just like James and Malcolm and you want a championship so bad that you’re willing to come back for one more shot at it, and I’m in full favor of that.  Just don’t think that because you never won a championship or a Heisman that your college career was an unfulfilling one, because it wasn’t.

I’ve decided that the above “point of interest” was enough writing for one post. Stay tuned throughout the week for more.

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It’s officially Michigan Week

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?

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