Happy Halloween!!

I hope that all of you enjoyed the Halloween weekend, which included another dominating performance by The Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State beat Minnesota 44-0 on Saturday, in what was Ohio State's first shutout since blanking Northwestern during the 2003 season. The offensive highlights were plentiful, and were led by Antonio Pittman and his 21 rushes for 116 yards that included two TDs. Pittman also had 47 yards receiving, as both of those receptions were on successful screen passes.

Troy Smith had another successful afternoon as he completed 14 of his 21 passes for 183 yards and one score. Smith also had a 6 rushes for 49 yards, which included a highlight reel 21 yard jaunt in which he made a Gopher LB look silly. Not the most amazing of stats if you're looking to bolster a Heisman campaign, but every week that OSU wins and he completes over 60% of his passes, there should be no complaints from anyone.

The OSU defensive effort was highlighted by 3 Buckeye interceptions, but what concerned me was that just before halftime OSU was losing the turnover margin at -2. One of the lost fumbles occured on their own 38, but the OSU defense was up to the task as they held Minnesota on downs to get the ball right back. However, turning the ball over inside your own 40 against a Michigan team would probably result in points, but this is the reason that Minnesota is now 3-6 and 0-5 in conference play. Speaking of bad turnovers, one of the OSU picks was a terrible, terrible throw by Minny QB Bryan Cupito that was picked by Jamario O'Neal. Under heavy pressure by the Buckeye D, Cupito rolled to his right, then throws across his body and across the field, into the wind, off his back foot and the ball hung in the air for what seemed like forever and O'Neal jumped in front of the Gopher receiver for the ball. A senior QB like Cupito should know better than to throw that ball, but that is why he is at Minnesota and you will likely never hear of him ever again after this year.

Anybody else concerned about Beanie Wells and his fumbling problem? I couldn't find how many times Wells has fumbled this year, but it's got to be 4 or 5 now and he's probably lost 3 of them. While I'm not overly concerned about this being a long term problem, I am concerned that maybe Michigan keys on him during the November 18th matchup. I remember during 1992 or 1993 that a certain Buckeye freshman had 3 fumbles against Illinois. That freshman was Eddie George and all he did was win a Heisman three years later.

Before I get into some stats, I'd like to praise the "other" Buckeye receivers. I am really liking what I'm seeing from Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie. These are two guys that probably would be starting WRs for any team other than OSU, Michigan and Penn State, and now have combined for 28 receptions, 420 yards receiving, and 4 touchdowns. I am very confident in both of those guys abilities and I see Brian Robiskie as a mini-Tony Gonzalez right now. Both guys are deceptively fast and run well disciplined routes.

Alright, I'll leave you with a few numbers that you should be aware of:

• 7.3 Total points per game given up by the Buckeye Defense this year.
• 85 Amount of points OSU has outscored their opposition by in the last TWO games.
• 51% OSU's success rate on 3rd down this year.
• 10 Number of points allowed in the 3rd qtr by the Buckeye D this year
• 5.5 Antonio Pittman's Yards Per Carry in 2006

Also, I've noticed that OSU is outscoring their opposition 103-23 in the 4th quarter. In the second half, OSU has outscored their opponents 157-33. That stat shows that the halftime adjustments by Tressel and his staff have been very good and gives proof that he is the best coach in the Big Ten (if not the best in College Football).

OSU/Michigan Similarities

My buddy Dan and I were talking OSU/Michigan stuff the other night, and it got me wondering how the OSU and Michigan stats compare. Since we are approximately halfway through the season, I thought it would be interesting to compare how the Numbers 1 and 2 teams in the nation (AP Poll) stack up against each other.

OFFENSE
Ohio State is 2nd behind Wisconsin and averaging 33.6 point per game. Michigan is 4th and putting up 31.1 ppg.
OSU is putting up 235 pass yards per game, while Michigan averages 188 pass yards per game.
Don't read too much into this, because since both teams have won all contests relatively easily there has been really no pressure for either side in terms of having to pass the ball to win.
Michigan is 3rd in rushing offense and averaging 188 yards rushing per game while OSU is 9th with 156 rush ypg. I will give the nod to Michigan at this point in having a slightly better rushing attack, because their offensive line is a bit better than Ohio State's. However, both teams average 4.3 ypc and are nearly equal in rushing touchdowns.
OSU is 2nd in total offense with 391 yards per game while Michigan isn't too far behind with 373 yards of total offense per game.

DEFENSE
Ohio State is 1st in the Big Ten in Scoring Defense in yielding a staunch 9 points per game. Michigan's D has been nearly as impressive, while giving up 13.5 points per contest.
Michigan's rush defense has been ridiculously good thus far, and they are only giving up 33 rushing yards per game. Their 1.4 ypc allowed is another stat that goes beyond belief, and giving up .33 rush TDS a game isn't bad either. OSU's rush defense has been pretty solid while giving up 110 yards per game on the ground. The difference here lies in the quality of competition and situations that both teams have been in. A lot of Garrett Wolfe's rushing yards came in garbage time against some of the OSU reserves, and Texas' running game is like nothing that Michigan has seen this year. I will say that the Michigan front 7 is one of the best I've ever seen at the collegiate level.
Ohio State's pass defense allows 176 pass yards per game. Michigan is slightly behind at 208 per game, but we'll see how Drew Tate fares against the Michigan secondary this week. Burgess and the UM safeties vs. Iowa TE Scott Chandler will be a matchup that will definitely be worth watching on Saturday.
Michigan and OSU are nearly even in sacks, as UM has 25 sacks to OSU's 24.
The Bucks do get the nod in turnover margin, as they are +1.50 in turnover margin per game, while UM is at + 1.3 per game.
Michigan has the edge in total defense in giving up 241 yards per game, while OSU is a touch behind at 285 yards per game.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Ohio State averages 13.4 yards per punt return, while Michigan comes in at just over 10 yards per punt return. OSU's return team is again starting to click, and it should only get better as they get more reps in the two-deep formation. Steve Breaston is nearly just as good as Ted Ginn, but I'm still giving the advantage to the Bucks here. Both guys (or all 3 if you include Gonzalez) could break one for 6 at any time, and after the MSU beauty by Ginn now sits at 6 career punt returns for touchdowns. The NCAA career record is 7, by the way.
I like what I've seen from AJ Trapasso and the Buckeye punting unit, and they are the only Big Ten team to net over 40 yards per punt. Michigan is right behind them with 36 net yards per punt, however.
Field goals are what could decide the monumental matchup on November 18th. Ohio State is only 6 of 10, while Michigan is a very good 10 of 12. Being at home for the contest should help whatever Buckeye kicker gets the opportunity for the OSU-UM matchup.

MY TAKE
So I know we've got 6 weeks between now and the matchup of a lifetime, but here are my thoughts on what would happen if these two teams played tomorrow.
It would be a classic battle, with Troy Smith having to make plays with his legs. I think the Bucks will have success passing the ball against Michigan, but that could be negated if the O-Line can't protect number 10. You know that Branch, Burgess, and Woodley will be applying the pressure and I hope that OSU can keep it's O-Line healthy between now and then. Michigan will probably have some early success running the ball, but OSU will have some key halftime adjustments and will come up with a critical turnover in the 2nd half that will be the turning point in the ball game. We're going to see some points in this one, and I think that if you're an OSU fan you should be praying for decent weather. If there is inclement weather (i.e. Penn State game), it would give Michigan a huge advantage in taking the air out of the ball for the OSU passing offense. Anyways, I'm saying OSU can move the football on the UM secondary and OSU wins, 27-23.
I'll come up with an Indiana preview on Friday, but since I was so enamored with these OSU/Michigan stats I thought I'd share them with you. And if you think this was a long post, well....too bad, as no one is putting a gun to your head to read this.

Michigan State Weekend

I'm doing it. I'm putting my foot down right now.

This is and will be the last wedding that I'm ever going to between the months of September and December, EVER!!!! I still don't understand those who can't find time between April and August to get married? Eliminating January through March, that still leaves YOU PEOPLE nearly 27 weeks to find a weekend in which you can get married that won't interfere with FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!

So, now that is somewhat off my chest, here is a look at this weekend's Ohio State vs Michigan State from East Lansing, MI preview.

I see that the line is Ohio State is favored by 15 going into Spartan Stadium. I'm really thinking that OSU should cover that, because as I seem to say almost every week, the opposing team can't and won't keep up with Ohio State's team speed. Add in the fact that Michigan State is a little banged up and has an idiot for a head coach, and you've got the recipe for a giant beatdown on your home turf.

MSU ON OFFENSE
Michigan State seems to be an offense that is regressing instead of progressing. Nearly two weeks ago, MSU only managed to post 20 points against a very weak Illinois team in East Lansing. That team looked sloppy, unorganized, and were not playing well at all until their backup QB came in to replace an injured Drew Stanton (ribs) late in the third quarter. MSU came from 10 down to tie the game at 20, but Illinois kicked a field goal with less than a minute remaining for the dramatic W. That small paragraph pretty much sums up MSU's season to date.
Last week Michigan easily handled MSU in Ann Arbor, 31-13. I pretty much see more of the same for the Spartans even though it will be on their own turf on Saturday. Last week we saw what could be the key to hanging with OSU will be for the rest of the year. If Ohio State's opposing team is grossly outmatched in terms of talent, it is best to try and run the ball and to take time off the clock. We saw this as BG did their best in hanging with the Buckeyes by running the ball 30 times for 158 yards. This kept BG within striking distance throughout the first half and some of the second, but OSU has so much more physical talent (skill positions included) than BG which ultimately led to the 35-7 smashing of the Falcons. So, with this in mind- and if John L. Smith were a reasonably competent coach (WHICH HE IS NOT!!!)- I would expect a giant dose of running plays throughout the first 3 quarters. It is worth noting, however, that in the Illinois game MSU lost their starting RB Javon Ringer. The freshman from Dayton, OH, was having a pretty successful first campaign as he had rushed for 438 yards on 61 carries, which makes for a very gaudy 7.1 yards per carry. With Ringer's injury, it is a break for the Buckeyes as the Spartans will have to use Jehuu Caulcrick at tailback. Caulcrick is more of a bruising, not as quick or fast of a runner in comparison to Ringer, but is still a talented back that can break some tackles. If I'm John L. Smith, I'd run option left and right to utilize Drew Stanton's quick feet along with Caulcrick's talent. I'd also toss in some screens and use the Tight End over the middle in an attempt to keep the Bucks D on their toes. MSU will be without one of their best Wide Receivers in Matt Trannon, and this will affect their ability to pass downfield. However, they still have speedy WR Terry Love, (enter giggles here Svoboda and Collari) who as a freshman in '04 looked like he could be a very effective WR if his talents would be utilized correctly. If given the right direction and game planning scheme, Drew Stanton could possibly keep this a game through 3 quarters (and maybe 4). But with Smith at the helm, Stanton will not have that proper direction and game plan because of Smith being the football coach's equivalent of Wile E. Coyote.

Key matchup is the OSU Defensive Line vs the Spartan O-Line. Playing without starting DT David Patterson (knee surgery), the Bucks will rotate in Joel Penton, Lawrence Wilson, and some of the younger DT's in attempt to slow the Spartan running game and put pressure on Stanton. I think that the OSU D-Line should have success against the MSU Offensive Line, and that Jim Heacock will easily outscheme the MSU coaches with his defensive packages and blitzes. I'm feeling a big day for LB Marcus Freeman.
OSU On Offense
Tressel and his staff should have a field day with the offense. In '04 at Spartan Stadium, Ted Ginn had 3 touchdowns. One rushing, one on a punt return, and a late game clinching TD on a slant where he just outran the MSU DB for a 71 yard dagger to the heart of Sparty. I'd open up the game by letting Ginn run a deep post or fly pattern, just to remind the Spartan D and coaches of how fast # 7 really is. Even if it is an incomplete pass....who cares...it would send the message and put it in their mind that this could be a track meet if Tressel wants it to be.
Then I'd give Idiot L. Smith a solid dose of Anthony Gonzalez and maybe try to find him 3 or 4 times in one drive to remind them of how good Gonzo can be. Then, after the score is 14-3, I'd pound the ball with Antonio Pittman and just bi!ch slap them down the field to remind them that OSU can not only outrun them and beat them vertically, but that the Bucks can also push them around and beat them up physically.
So I guess I'll predict about 293 for Troy Smith with 3 TD passes. I'll also toss in a random TD for good measure, because there will be some sort of a special teams meltdown or some ridiculous play that only happens to Michigan State, because of what only their coach would call in a relatively critical point during the game.
I see the Bucks putting up 38 to 41 pretty easily against this team, weather permitting. Shouldn't be much of a game due to OSU just being that much better in TALENT AND COACHING, so I'll call it a Buckeye W 38-17.

And we've got another great SEC battle on Saturday night as well. # 2 Florida travels to take on # 11 Auburn in what should be a great game. Auburn is 20-1 in their last 21 SEC games, and will be looking to keep their SEC championship hopes alive after suffering a pretty good beating at the hands of Arkansas last week. Florida looks for real and has a very underrated defense, but Auburn will be ready to play and I'll take Auburn 20-17 in what will be a classic battle.

In other College Football Chatter.....
I'd also like to see Florida lose, becuase if they do travel to Auburn and win we will be hearing a lot more Florida should be #1 talk because of their wins at Tennessee, at Auburn and a convincing win over LSU at home. Buckeye fans also know exactly who the Ohio State Haters are, and how they (ESPN anyone?) love to put down our beloved Buckeyes and start anti-Buckeye controversy. If Florida wins at Auburn on Saturday night, you'll be hearing a solid dose of Florida for #1 despite the OSU wins at Texas and at Iowa......just wait, it'll come.
Anyways, I'm off to get my shirt and tie around, and for the first and only time this fall my Buckeyes football jersey will remain lonely and stagnant in my closet. Enjoy another great weekend of Buckeye Football my friends. Later...BDS

Going Through the Motions

OSU 35, Bowling Green 7

So this afternoon officially began the "afternoon nap" portion of the Ohio State football season. Today's 35-7 win for the Buckeyes really never felt like anything more than just a Varsity-JV scrimmage, as the Bucks had this one under wraps once they received the opening kickoff.

As I'm writing this, I'm really trying to find inspiration for this blog, but there really isn't any. My buddy AR and I left by halftime today, and were betting beers on the over/under of total plays for Buckeye scoring drives. That's what kind of day it was in The Horsehoe and what kept us interested through the first half.

So in what was a pretty vanilla OSU game today, I guess we can take Troy Smith's 17 for 20 and be happy with it. He did have 3 touchdown passes, but I was mostly impressed by his scramble for a first down on a 3rd and long late in the 1st quarter. However, the 85 percent completion percentage was the 3rd best passing efficiency for an OSU QB.

I was kind of surprised that Antonio Pittman didn't have a better day. His 13 carries for 61 yards and 2 TDs was efficient, but I thought that Tress might feed it to him a little more. Today's game was mostly about just getting a win, staying healthy, and then cutting BG a giant check for coming down and enjoying a 28 point drubbing on a beautiful day in central Ohio.

Stats that caught my eye:
OSU was 7 of 12 on 3rd down conversions
Ted Ginn Jr had 10 catches for 122 yards, including a late 57 yard TD reception
BG averaged 25.2 net yards per punt. They were kicking it out of bounds so Ginn couldn't return them. 25 yards an attempt? Why not just go for it?


Since I'm pretty disenchanted by the weak OSU stats, I'm just going to toss out random College Football thoughts for the rest of this blog.

• Florida State was beaten 24-20 by N.C. State on Thursday night. The Wolfpack is a team that is starting to mature nicely. Their young QB Daniel Evans and their talented RB (can't remember his name) are starting to play very well. I'm really enjoying the FSU as a football powerhouse demise.
• Arkansas beat No. 2 Auburn 27-10 today. Arkansas played very, very well today and they proved that with a good, young QB in freshman Mitch Mustain and sophomore RB Darren McFadden, they're for real and will be another tough team to beat in the SEC. Speaking of number two, that's what Auburn played like. They weren't good at all today. This will be one of at least 2 or 3 losses for Auburn this year.
• Tennessee showed quite a bit of heart tonight. Their 51-33 beatdown of Georgia was semi-impressive. I'd be concerned if I gave up 33 to a not very good Georgia offense, though.
• Cal beat Oregon 45-24 this afternoon. Cal has been playing with quite the chip on their shoulder since they got handled by Tennessee the first game of the season. Nate Longshore had a nice 189 yards passing with 3 TDs in a Troy Smith-esque performance. The Marshawn Lynch injury will bear watching, however.
• Florida is looking tough. They got by LSU 23-10 today in The Swamp, but I see at least one loss for the Gators as they make their way through the that treacherous SEC schedule.
• Clemson looked weak today, and should've been beaten by Wake Forest. Clemson won 27-17 thanks to a strong 4th quarter in which they scored 24 points, which was keyed by 66 yd fumble return for a touchdown by Gaines Adams. Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is one of the most underrated coaches in D-I football, and I'm surprised that his team could play that poorly in the 4th quarter. Quite the balanced attack by Clemson, who had 214 yards passing and 214 yards rushing. Nice performance by Clemson Senior QB Will Proctor, who had 214 yards passing, one touchdown and 3 interceptions. Another game like that and Clemson won't be residing in the top 25 anymore.
• Welcome back, Iowa. The Hawkeyes had an impressive 47-17 win over Purdue today. Junior RB Damian Sims had 155 yards rushing on 20 carries, which included 2 touchdowns. I was never really too impressed with Albert Young, and it appears that he's probably lost his job to the very talented Sims. For the rest of this season and next, Sims will be behind Pittman and Michigan RB Mike Hart as the best back in the Big Ten.

That's all I've got for tonight. Pretty tired after a long day of tailgating, so I bid farewell to you until the middle of the week.

MLB and More CFB Randomness

The MLB playoffs started today, as the A's, Cardinals, and Yankees all took 1-0 leads in their respectives series. I was mostly impressed by the Yankees, because that lineup will mash even respectable MLB pitching. I think the Yankees take their series in 4 against the Tigers.
I see the A's taking their series against Minnesota now. Johan Santana was decent today, but by taking Game One in Minnesota today the A's have taken a huge adavantage. The Twins will take it to 5, but the A's played pretty inspiring ball today and I'm thinking they'll win with Haren on the mound in Game 5.
The Cards looked good today as well, but I'm not sold on them being a title contender yet. Their staff is pretty weak, but they'll get by San Diego. I also thought it was pretty funny that on ESPN the on field reporter, Duke Castiglione, was mentioning how passionate the San Diego crowd was. When Joy and I went out in early May for our Honeymoon and saw them play 2 games against the Cubs, there were more Cubs fans there than Pads fans. The way their fans acted it seemed like the Padre fans viewed baseball more as a social event than actually going to a baseball game. While we were impressed with the stadium and the tour of Petco we took, we weren't impressed with San Diegans as baseball fans.
I'll also take the Dodgers over the Mets. I don't see the Mets having the pitching to hang with the Dodgers, even with the Top 5 in the Met batting order being all All-Stars.
So I'll take the Dodgers over the Cardinals in the NLCS, and I think that one will go 6. The Yankees will play the A's, and I see the Yankees sweeping that series. A well rested Yankees team will play the Dodgers, and just to go against the grain I'll take the Dodgers in 7. The Dodgers should get some pretty good pitching from Brad Penny, Greg Maddux, Hong Chih-Kuo, and Derek Lowe and I think they can score enough runs to hang with the Yankees. However, if the Yankees average 7 runs a game in the playoffs I won't be suprised.

CFB Randomness
I have been doing some good college football ponderance, and the more I think about it, the more I like the team that Michigan has. I still think that OSU is a clear cut No. 1, but Michigan is my number two right now. I think that if Auburn was fully healthy they'd be my number 2, but they've got a couple defensive starters out along with their center. They will all get healthy over the next month, so it could get interesting as we head into the last 3 weeks of CFB.

As for Michigan, that team is scary. They've got what could be the best offensive line in the country and Michael Hart is healthy and running strong. Mario Manningham is one of the top 3 WR in the Big Ten (along with Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez), and teaming him with Adrian Arrington and Steve Breaston gives them a WR corps that is just as good as OSU's. Michigan's run defense is awesome, and their defense as a whole is vastly underrated right now.

It's pretty eerie how both OSU and Michigan are pretty close to the same team right now. Both teams can run the ball very well (Mich might be a touch better), both have awesome WR corps, both have good O-Lines (Michigan again a notch better), but OSU definitely has the better QB. Both D-Lines are very good, and Mich. has a little more experience at LB. Both secondary's are getting better with experience, but the matchup on November 19th will be one for the ages. I see Michigan getting up to number three in the polls by the time we play them, and I already think they are better than Florida, West Virginia, and USC. The jury is still out if UM is better than Auburn right now, and but we'll learn alot about Auburn over the next few weeks as they run the SEC gauntlet over the next month . This will be one awesome CFB season to watch mature as we head towards November 19th.

Best Team in The Land

Ohio State 38, Iowa 17
I hope that Ohio State fans are appreciative of this Buckeye football team, because it is truly something special. Seasons like this don't happen very often, and Buckeye fans should not be taking this one for granted.

What we, as Buckeye fans are witnessing is something phenomenal that we might not ever see again. This 2006 Ohio State football team is far and away the best team in the country and as I told my buddy JF on the phone on Saturday afternoon, the only team that can beat Ohio State, is Ohio State. Last night the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes EXPOSED an inferior Iowa team that was ranked 13 in the country, on their home turf. The Buckeye offense, as fabulous as it was last night, has their defense to thank for all of the opportunities.

Laurinaitis and Co.
As you probably know, the defense played very well again last night. The defensive unit, led by sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis, created 4 turnovers and held Iowa QB Drew Tate to a very pedestrian 19 of 41, with one touchdown and 3 interceptions. Tate was rattled early by the Buckeye defense, and was off target all night long, and he never really looked comfortable under center. The defense got interceptions from Laurinaitis, safety Brandon Mitchell and linebacker Marcus Freeman. The Laurinaitis pick was his 4th interception of the year, which ties him for 6th in the nation in passes intercepted. Laurinaitis and Freeman both had sacks in the contest as well.
Another stat that caught my eye was that the Iowa rushing attack only generated 5 rushing first downs. Much was said about Albert Young and the Iowa running game, and the Buckeye Defense held them to only 87 net rush yards. On 3rd down conversions, Iowa was a not too spectacular 4 for 12.
The defense pretty much drew it's line in the sand on Iowa's first possession, which netted 3 plays for minus 1 yard, and had the ball for all of 61 seconds. This first possesion was pretty much a microcosm of what was to come the the Iowa offense for the whole game.

The Unstoppable Offense
The offense was again spectacular last night. Troy Smith, Antonio Pittman, and Tony Gonzalez led the charge during the 38-17 drubbing of the home team. The offense got the ball for the first time with 13:58 left in the first quarter, and had good field position on their own 46. Troy Smith and Co. marched down the field in the next 2 minutes and 24 seconds, and put up 6 with a Smith to Gonzalez strike on 3rd and 9. On that play, Iowa looked lost and confused as OSU lined up 4 wide as Gonzalez ran a simple slant route for the easy score as he sped by a helpless Iowa safety. For a team that was trying to quiet the hornets' nest known as Kinnick Stadium, that wasn't a bad start.
What was probably the most telling statistic of the night, was the time of possession. Ohio State had the ball for 40 minutes and 30 seconds, while Iowa only had the ball for 19:30. When you're playing on the road at the number 13th nationally ranked team and you have a 2 to 1 time of possession ratio....that is entire game domination. I like to see the 10 first downs via the rush and 13 first downs by the pass. That is very good balance, and the total yards rush to pass (214 rush, 186 pass) is very indicative of an extremely balanced offensive attack. I've got a feeling that Tressel was even smiling in his sleep last night.

It should be mentioned that Antonio Pittman did rush for 117 yards and one touchdown, and Troy Smith did pass for 186 yards and 4 touchdowns. A dominant performance from the entire offense.

Where do we go from here?
Well, the next 6 weeks will be interesting for this football team. As September has expired into October, we find our beloved Buckeyes 5-0 and on top of the college football world. I wish that on October 14th we would be playing Michigan instead of Michigan State, because OSU is currently at the top of their game. The Bucks could go pretty much comatose and still end up 11-0 heading into Michigan in that third week in November. I hope this team can still keep focus and maintain motivation for the next month and a half, and not be flat as OSU takes on the weaker of the Big Ten teams.

Spitballing.....
At the end of August, I really thought that the Big Ten was the second best conference in America-next to the SEC. All of the sudden, Ohio State and Michigan are the only feared teams in what is now a suddenly watered down Big Ten Conference. John L. Smith has lost his Michigan State team, Penn State hasn't found itself yet, and Iowa's defense has it a mediocre-at-best squad. Penn State, MSU, and Iowa were all top 25 caliber teams at the start of September, and now could be fighting to be bowl eligible at the end of the season. I am kind of disappointed in this because I am a Big Ten guy, but for the time being we must anoint the SEC as the football conference king at this time. The only silver lining in this now is that with that idiot coach of theirs, playing at Michigan State on October 14th no longer scares me. And did anybody really understand why he slapped himself in the middle of his own end of the game press conference? John L. Smith is officially a mad man.


More Randomness....
When are we going to see the # 33 jerseys around? Saturday afternoon was new cell phone day this guy, and on the way to the Verizon we stopped to fill up the SUV. In the five minute span that we were at the gas station, I noticed 4 Troy Smith # 10 Jerseys (Joy and I included) and one Anthony Gonzalez #11. It really has only be a matter of time until we start to see the # 33 jerseys come out in droves....don't you think?

I will have a baseball recap mid-week, and the BG preview up on Friday for your entertainment as we head into the weekend. GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!