Iowa Preview

THE GAME----Ohio State @ Iowa, 8:00 p.m., 9/30/06

The game is Saturday night, 8:00 p.m., from Kinnick Stadium. Iowa's home turf is probably the 5th best Big Ten home venue to play at (behind The Shoe, The Big House, Penn State and Wisconsin) and a lot of the so called "experts" have been saying that OSU needs to come out and put points on the board in the first quarter to take the air out of the crowd. I agree with that to an extent, because if Iowa gets off to a great start the game will be a tougher battle than OSU could expect.

However, I again don't really see that happening. Do I think there could be a chance that Iowa wins? Yeah, maybe a small one- but I'm not impressed with Iowa's body of work as a football team to this point.

ROTTEN OPPONENTS
Iowa's opponents to this point have been Montana, @ Syracuse, Iowa State, and @ Illinois. Iowa State was the best of that bunch, and Iowa beat them at home 27-17. I think that if that game would've been on the road, Iowa would've been 3-1 instead of 4-0. The Cyclones averaged nearly 5.0 yards per carry (35 carries for 171 yards) against Iowa, and the Bucks should be able to have similar success. ISU was also efficient with the pass as they were 15 for 31 for 171 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Buckeyes, to this point, are very battle tested. OSU has won at Texas and also beat a decent Penn State team in terrible weather conditions last week. This will be a big factor for the Bucks, who should be able to handle the Kinnick crowd.

Here's what the Armchair is thinking:

• Hostile crowd, that will be excited for their revenge for a 31-6 drubbing at The Shoe last fall
• Covering the tight end. Cincinnati TE Brent Celek has been the most talented pass-catching TE that OSU has seen this year, and he ended up with only 3 catches for 39 yards. Scott Chandler is the Iowa weapon that scares me the most, and at 6' 8" he will be the key to the game if Iowa if to hang with the Buckeyes. If he has under 75 yards receiving, OSU wins easily.
• Albert Young is a decent running back. I'm not sold on him being a guy that can beat OSU, but with Drew Tate running the show he can be effective. Young will get his touches, but I'm not seeing a 100 yard day from Young. Young only has a 4.1 ypc average, which against the defenses he's played against is not very good.
• Drew Tate scares the hell out of me. He completes nearly 63% of his passes, has 687 yards passing and 7 touchdown passes to only 2 interceptions. We've seen the Ohio State defense give up some relatively gaudy offensive numbers but have had timely turnovers from the opponent's offfense. If OSU doesn't generate those turnovers, everyone will be intently tuned into the ABC broadcast at 10:45 pm when this one is winding down. If OSU is to lose, it will be because of a Drew Tate type QB that runs an efficient, turnover free offense that doesn't beat itself at home. I guess that sentence basically sums up how a team is to beat Ohio State this year.

Now that I've talked myself into thinking this could be a closer game than I thought, let's look at the Buckeye Offense. I'm thinking that Antonio Pittman should be able to run pretty well against this Iowa defense. Last year Pittman ran for 171 yards and Troy Smith ran for 127 yards and 2 TDs as well. I'm not seeing the Hawkeye Defense stop the Buckeye ground attack, as opponents have averaged 93 rushing yards per game, and those teams that Iowa has played has had vastly inferior rushing attacks than OSU's.

We haven't really even mentioned Ginn, Gonzalez, Robiskie or Rory Nicol yet, and once again I think OSU is facing a team that can't hang with the speed of the Buckeyes. The Bucks should have success through the air when needed as well, but this will be a run-the-ball, clock management type Tressel game that will end up being a solid beating of an Iowa team that shouldn't be able to knock off number 1.

Crystal Ball.....

I think OSU should get by Iowa. If Drew Tate does play out of his mind (which he's capable of) and passes for 279 and 2 TDs, then Iowa will make it a game. I see OSU dominating the offensive numbers in this game and being control of this game throughout it's duration. I'm also seeing a blocked punt or punt return for TD that really turns the momentum of this game around for the Buckeyes. OSU is due for a big special teams play and I think we get it on the road this weekend. I think Antonio Pittman has a big night, with 140 rushing yards and 2 TDs. He is the key to the victory for the Buckeyes.

Prediction.....I'll take the Buckeyes over the scrappy Hawkeyes, 27-20.

Also, I'd like to thank Rob Dewolf at Buckeyextra.com for linking me into their blogdom. Check out their site, it has awesome OSU stats and photos that are worth perusing. Enjoy the weekend, Ohio.

Penn State Preview

The Game----Penn State vs Ohio State, 3:30 p.m., ABC

I hope that I'm not overhyping our beloved Buckeyes, because sometimes I think I am. But I think that we can and should handle Penn State relatively easily. I don't see the Penn State offense really putting together many long, point producing drives against the Buckeye Defense this weekend. The PSU special teams is vastly inferior to that of the Buckeyes, and I say this while primarily referring to their rotten kicker. Kevin Kelly will cost the Nittany Lions points tomorrow, as he is only 6/9 in field goals and 2 for 5 from 30-39 yards out. Let's see if the Sea of Scarlet gets to him....

In other news concerning the game, it will be 6 years to the day former Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro left Ohio Stadium on a stretcher after shattering a bone in his neck and severely brusing his spinal cord while tackling Ohio State's Jerry Westbrooks. Did you know that Westbrooks was one of the last players (and I think the last) to wear number 27 at Ohio State before retiring Eddie George's number?

Say goodbye to your little friend.......
This will be the last time you see the perennial rye field in Ohio Stadium for quite some time. On Monday, Ohio State will be rolling out a brand new Kentucky Bluegrass sod. Ohio State has purchased the new turf from a company near Bowling Green, Ohio and will pay $75,000 for it. The special Kentucky Bluegrass is the Cadillac of playing surfaces as only a few universities have it (not Michigan though). The University of Iowa has this playing surface, as well as the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and a couple of other NFL teams. Try getting that info from The Dispatch or ESPN. (thanks DA)

When tOSU has the ball...
I strongly feel the Buckeyes need to open it up to be successful tomorrow. The running game will be relatively succesful, but Troy Smith and Co. need to put the ball in the air to take control of the game. I haven't been impressed with the Penn State secondary this year, as Brady Quinn passed for 287 yards and three touchdowns in Notre Dame's 41-17 win over the Nittany Lions two weeks ago. I don't think there will be any way that the PSU defense will be able to contain 7, 11, 8, 9, 4, 88, or whoever the Buckeyes throw the ball to. Penn State has moved '05 Butkus Award winner Paul Posluszny from Outside Linebacker to Inside Linbacker, and I am not convinced that he is 100% healthy. They also moved last years starting MLB Tim Shaw to defensive end, and at 6'1", 237 pounds he's very undersized for a defensive end at the Big Ten level. The OSU offensive line shouldn't have much of a problem creating holes for Antonio Pittman, and that's where the running attack will be successful. The PSU defensive backfield is talented but inexperienced, and that reminds me quite a bit of the '04 Ohio State secondary that had a young Ashton Youboty, Nate Salley, and E.J. Underwood (who was probably the worst DB I've ever seen at Ohio State). There shouldn't be any problems putting up points against the Nittany Lion defense tomorrow.

When Penn State is on offense...
Keep an eye on PSU wide receiver Derrick Williams. Williams, who wears # 2, is the most dynamic of the talented PSU receivers, but only has 7 catches for 79 yards on the season. Jordan Norwood is the leading receiver for the Nittany Lions with 13 receptions for 152 yards, but Deon Butler is a very wideout as well. It will be up to the Buckeyes Defensive line to pressure PSU QB Anthony Morelli for the coverage to be successful. I'm not overly concerned about Penn State's rushing attack, although Tony Hunt does have a gaudy 5.8 yards per carry and 253 yards on 44 carries. Let's keep in mind that PSU's other two games besides Notre Dame were against Akron and Youngstown State, so those rushing totals don't scare me as much as they normally might. Hunt is a quality pass-catcher out of the backfield (6 rec., 60 yards), and that might pose a problem for the Buckeye Defense, as slip screens have been the achilles heel for the Bucks D for the past couple of years.
Out on a Limb...
I'll take the Buckeyes to win 31-10. I'll give PSU a touchdown and Kevin Kelly's bad luck continues as he will go 1 for 3 in field goals Saturday. Troy Smith has 265 yards passing and 3 TD's, and Pittman breaks 100 with one score. The weather is supposed to include a good dose of rain, so that's why I've got Troy Smith's passing yards a little lower than I normally would. The O-Line will have a nice day, and by mid-fourth quarter it will be Cincinnati all over again.
I also like Michigan State to upset Notre Dame on Saturday. This is the week that the nation gets reacquainted with the savvy passing skills of Drew Stanton as the Spartans beat the Irish 34-31.
Michigan will handle Wisonsin at home in a revenge game, as they get by the Badgers 38-17. That's all I've got for now. Enjoy another great college football Saturday.

Saturday's Recap

I wasn't supremely impressed with Saturday's 37-7 against the University of Cincinnati. Cincinnati made a game of it through the first half, as the Buckeyes managed to tally only 13 first half points. The second half was a different story, as it was all Ohio State in the final two stanzas. Ted Ginn's second touchdown of the afternoon halfway through the 3rd quarter gave the Buckeyes some much needed breathing room, making the score 20-7 with 7:10 remaining in the period. With 10 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter Antonio Pittman broke a run from scrimmage off for 48 yards, which came right at Joy and I in our 13 AA Row 2 seats. Ted Ginn actually had a very good downfield block- around the 7 yard line- that paved the way for Pittman's jaunt to the north end zone. The Pittman TD gave the Buckeyes a 27-7 lead, and a late TD and 52 yard Ryan Pretorious field goal gave the Buckeyes the 30 point home victory.

Random thoughts, Notes, Stats....
As I stated earlier, this really wasn't a great game for the Buckeyes. Of course, we as Buckeye fans were spoiled a week earlier with a spectacular win at then number 2 ranked Texas, and I suppose that coming out a little flat should not have surprised anyone. This game was for the most part relatively vanilla, with the exception being two Ted Ginn touchdowns and a nice fourth quarter Antonio Pittman touchdown run that iced the game.

I really thought going into this game that we'd blow Cincy out. We did, of course, but I thought it would be much sexier than what it was. I believe that Coach Tressel and his staff knew that they were much, much better than Cincy and they didn't really need to open things up against the Bearcats. I felt that Ohio State should've utilized their team speed much more, and we really only threw the ball deep a few times. (Come on Tress, don't you know fans are paying 62 bucks a pop to walk in the door this year? Let's give 'em their money's worth uh?)

The stat that really jumps out at me is the 10 passing first downs that Cincinnati had. If Penn State is to have success this Saturday at the 'Shoe, it's looking as if it will be through future All-Big Ten WR Derrick Williams and fellow WR Deon Butler. I think that the secondary is still cause for concern, but much like Texas, Penn State has a first year QB that will be able to be rattled.

One area of concern for the Buckeyes is the punt retuns. With having the best punt returner in the country in Ginn, I don't think that Tress is doing a good enough job getting him the blocking that he needs to be successful. To be successful, we need to look at what we did in '04 when at Northwestern Tress went to the two-deep punt return team of Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn and there was instant success. We utilized the two-deep system for most of the 05 campaign and I think it is only a matter of time before we get back to it. In all likelihood I think we will see more of Tony Gonzalez in the two-deep with Ginn, but it wouldn't surprise me to see
"the new Santonio Holmes," Roy Small in that position at different times. Much like the '04 season's special teams, Ohio State isn't getting the quality of blocking to be successful in return punts. Antonio Smith, who has been a nice surprise at cornerback this fall, has not been getting it done in blocking the other team's gunner. Much like in '04 as well, with a lot of new faces on the punt return team (Carpenter, Hawk, Schlegel, Hamby, Holmes were 5 names that played a big part in the success of the punt return team) which is contributing to the lack of success at only 8.7 yards per return.
I've already started to break down how OSU and Penn State matchup against each other this weekend, and I'll get into that a little later in the week. Enjoy what should be a pretty good Monday Night game tonight between the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'll take the Jaguars, 20-17.

Your First Look at Cincinnati

Cincinnati Bearcats@ The Ohio State University, 9/16/06, 12:00 P.M.
Hello again and here's your first look at what the University of Cinicinnati Bearcats football team brings to the table when they will play at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, September 16th at Noon.

OSU DEFENSE VS CINCINNATI OFFENSE
The Cincinnati Offense is not good. I'm not even going to try and try to relay anything positive about this offense, because there is none. Against Pittsburgh last Friday the Bearcats had 30 rushing attempts for 35 yards, which is just over a yard per carry. Their two best players on offense are running back Bradley Glatthaar and senior TE Brent Celek. It shouldn't be a big problem for the Buckeye front four to consistently generate pressure on whatever QB is in there, as there has been a small qb controversy for the Bearcats. Sophomore QB Dustin Grutza did put some separation between himself and fellow QB Nick Davila last week vs. Pitt, as Grutza was 21/35 with 189 yards passing with one touchdown pass and two interceptions. It is doubtful that the Bearcat O-Line will give Grutza enough time to be successful, so I am not at all concerned about the Bearcat passing attack.
Against Texas, Ohio State did generate 2 turnovers (one BIG FUMBLE RECOVERY, one interception) but also allowed nearly 5 yards per carry while giving up 172 yards to the Longhorn rushing attack.
In the 2005 season, Grutza was sacked 40 times, although he has only been sacked once this year. That 06 season number should number should go up drastically this weekend. I'm seeing 6 or 7 sacks this weekend, to go with 3 interceptions and one fumble recovery for the Buckeye Defense.

The OSU Offense vs Cincinnati Defense
Here we can actually point out that the Cincinnati D had some bright spots versus Pitt last week. The Cincy D did have 3 fumble recoveries and held the Pittsburgh rushing attack to 90 yards (2.6 ypc). The Cincy D also held Pittsburgh to only 1 of 11 on 3rd down conversions, althought Pitt did pass for 267 yards. Pitt does have a poor mans Troy Smith/Ted Ginn, combo in senior QB Tyler Palko and WR Derek Kinder, as they hooked up three times for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. If Cincy can't contain Derek Kinder and co. in the receiving department, what will the fastest offense in the country do to them? Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, and Troy Smith will have a field day against the Cincinnati Defense. The offense will easily put up a total of 500 yards, although once the score gets to be OSU 41-3 it's doubtful we'll see anything more than a lot of Chris Wells and Justin Zwick in the backfield eating up the clock.

Fun Stats That YOU Need To Know!!!
0 The number of interceptions by OSU Defensive Backs entering the Cincy game.
1 The amount of drives of over 50 yards that Cincinnati had against Pittsburgh.
2 The number of interceptions thrown by Cincy QB Dustin Grutza against Pittsburgh.
3 The number of minutes it will take Ohio State to put up their first Touchdown of the game.
7 The amount of beer pong games Dusty and I will consecutively win on Sat. AM.
10 The amount of beers I plan on drinking before the game on Saturday morning.
15.8 The average yards per catch for OSU.

In Summation.....
The game really won't be a game at all. The offense will roll, Troy Smith has a huge day that really intensifies his Heisman status (5 touchdowns), and the defense has a nice day. The final score for UC vs OSU will be 48-10. Thanks for coming, here's your giant paycheck for the beating, and enjoy a rotten year in the Big East.

PTP Trade Analysis....

This doesn't deal with OSU, MLB, or the NFL but,.....
My buddy Andy Ruck has asked me to do a trade analysis of all of the overall trades that were executed in our fantasy baseball league this year. To make it easier on myself, I've cut and pasted an original copy of his post on our CBS Sportsline league message board and have dropped in my thoughts on each player's overall dealings. These grades may be a little skewed because it doesn't really take into account each player's needs at the time of their trades, as this is just an overall view of all the trades that were made for each team as a whole.

Kanish:
Gave - B Myers, Jer Weaver, J Giambi, D Eckstein
Got - R Sexson, R Oswalt, J Gomes, J Peralta
You could argue that Oswalt for Giambi would be an even deal, so I consider that a wash for the most part (even though Ruck dealt Giambi about a week before he got really hot in mid June). I still view the Myers for Sexson deal even up as well, and Gomes and Eckstein cancel each other out because neither has been healthy or productive since mid-May. His grade is a C, because Jered Weaver has been pretty good since he replaced his brother in the Angels rotation in mid-June and dealing Weaver straight up for an underachieving Peralta would just be a bad deal.

The Herd:
Gave - J Reyes, B Abreu, P Fielder, R Oswalt, T Wakefield, F Garcia
Got - C Delgado, V Guerrero, D Davis, Jer Weaver, A Kearns, F Liriano
I like the deals that Brian made this year. He had been deep at SS with Hanley Ramirez on the bench, so Jose Reyes was expendable. I'll call Vlad and Liriano for Abreu and Reyes a wash, because all four have had very good years (and coincidentally all have been streaky). You could also argue that Oswalt for Delgado cancelled each other out, leaving Prince Fielder, Tim Wakefield and Freddy Garcia for Doug Davis, Jered Weaver and A. Kearns. I'd have to give the edge to The Herd on this one because Fielder has been adequate at best at 1B and Wakefield hasn't pitched since late July. Getting Jered Weaver and Doug Davis for those guys would be a steal and give his efforts an A-.

Moustachios: Gave - D Davis, J Gomes, J Peralta, A Kearns, S Kazmir, J Vidro
Got - J Giambi, J Reyes, F Garcia, F Cordero, R Durham, D Eckstein
I like what Rashid did with his trades this year. He trade for Giambi just before he got hot this in early June and acquired F. Cordero just as he took the closer's role from his then top closer Derrick Turnbow. He also dealt Kazmir before he was shelved with a shoulder injury and dealt Vidro and his chronically bad knees at the right time too. I'm not really going to break this one down, but rather just say he dealt Doug Davis, Scott Kazmir and 4 underachievers for Jason Giambi, Jose Reyes, Freddy Garcia, Cordero, and Ray Durham. Great job Rashid. A+.

The Clap:
Gave - F Rodney, C Tracy, M Cabrera, R Cano, C Hamels, F Hernandez, G Jenkins, J Patterson, R Sexson
Got - G Anderson, E Bedard, L Berkman, B Bonds, D Bush, R Lopez, K Rogers, D Weathers
It's funny that we would go from an owner that had such success dealing this year to what was probably one of the weaker GM performances of the year. I think that Cabrera, Cano, and F. Hernandez would cancel out Berkman, Bonds, and Bedard. I'd probably go as far as saying that Tracy for the recently unhittable Dave Bush would be a wash too. This leaves us at F. Rodney, Hamels, Jenkins and Patterson for G. Anderson, Rodrigo Lopez, Kenny Rogers, and David Weathers. Weathers and Patterson have both been junk, so toss them out the window. Rodney hasn't really gotten any fantasy points (although he is a hell of a set-up man) and Rodrigo Lopez hasn't been productive, so you can throw those chumps out the trade window. Now we're left with Hamels and Jenkins for Garret Anderson and Kenny Rogers. Hamels has had some nice outings since August and he for Anderson and Rogers would be a fair deal. Actually Nida, my apologies. It's not really as bad as I thought, but when you have David Weathers, Geoff Jenkins, and Rodrigo Lopez being thrown into the trade mix, you just throw this guy way off. I'll give you a B- for the solid effort.

Arabian Sea Monsters:
Gave - F Liriano, L Overbay, B Bonds, A LaRoche, C Delgado, V Guerrero, R Durham, F Cordero
Got - C Granderson, B Abreu, P Fielder, T Wakefield, B Sheets, J Westbrook, J Vidro, A Pierzynski, P Wilson, J Gibbons
Jesus Christ. With all due respect Garver, what the hell were you thinking buddy? First off, let's eliminate the crap from the equation, and of course that would be Preston Wilson, Jose Vidro and Jay Gibbons (although Gibbons did have a nice 10 day stretch in June). Now we can say that Abreu and Sheets for Vlad and Bonds are about even (although to complicate matters, Garver held onto Sheets for most of the season while he was hurt and then when he became healthy he unexpectedly dropped him and then Sheets rolled off 2 wins in a matter of 2 weeks). We can now state that Overbay and LaRoche for Granderson and Westbrook would be pretty fair. This leaves us with Francisco Liriano, Carlos Delgado, and F. Cordero for P. Fielder, Tim Wakefield and AJ Pierzynski. All I can really say is that your heart was in the right place, Garv. Overall Grade: a big fat F.

Tiny Lidgets:
Gave - D Weathers, J Gibbons
Got - C Tracy, L Overbay, F Rodney
Wow, hey nice deals soon to be Mama Ruck. Overbay and Tracy had decent seasons and Weathers and Gibbons really never were fantasy baseball factors. BS is proud and would hug you if you were here. Well Done. If I could give out stickers I would (what about Buckeye Leaf's Rashid?). A+.

Team Ramrod:
Gave - M Ramirez, B Sheets, J Westbrook
Got - C Beltran, S Kazmir, D Baez
Bum got Beltran early in the year from Brent for Manny and Baez, and Beltran blew up this year. Good trades by Bumgarner all year long. Bum just had rotten luck with injuries and had he not I think Rashid and I would be chasing him for best record and points title. Solid performance: A.

Scoring at Home:
Gave - R Sexson, C Granderson, G Anderson, E Bedard, L Berkman, D Bush, R Lopez, K Rogers, A Pierzynski, P Wilson
Got - B Myers, A LaRoche, M Cabrera, R Cano, C Hamels, F Hernandez, G Jenkins, J Patterson, R Sexson, M Ramirez
I liked my acquisition of Miggy Cabrera a lot. He allowed me to plug in an All-Star caliber at 3B when Troy Glaus would be out for 5 or 7 days with various shoulder and knee ailments. The Sexson for Myers deal was made possible because I had LaRoche on the bench, and acquiring Myers deepened what was at the time a pretty weak starting staff. I love Manny and getting him early for Beltran and Danny Baez I thought was going to be huge. Cano gave me a solid 2B to back up Chase Utley, and he really hasn't even been needed this year. I never really had much use for Garret Anderson, Curtis Granderson, Rodrigo Lopez, Pierzynski, and Preston Wilson, so we can really eliminate those guys from my Gave list (for the record Granderson was decent, but with Manny, Miggy Cabrera, and Grady my OF was strong anyways). So we can look at Bedard, Berkman, Bush, Beltran, Baez, and Kenny Rogers for Brett Myers, A. LaRoche, Miggy Cabrera, Cano, Hamels, Felix Hernandez, and Manny Ramirez. I really liked my lineup all year, and I thought my haphazard deal-making prowess really benefitted my team this year. I'll toss out an A- to the amazingly astute GM.

I tried to be as fair as I could be and I think I did a pretty decent job. Feel free to defend yourselves on the PTP message board.

36 Phenomenal Hours

Texas Sized Beat Down
Here we are nearly 24 hours after Number One Ohio State beat Texas 24-7, and I'm still trying to digest the colossal win.
To start- I will say that the Laurinaitis-caused/Washington fumble recovery and return to mid-field will be one of the bigger plays of the season. When you look back at an entire season for that year's National Champion, you can pick about a half dozen plays that make or break that year. With the '02 Buckeyes, you think about Krenzel to Jenkins at Purdue on 4th and 1, the Chris Gamble interception return for a touchdown vs. Penn State, and Number 13 stripping the ball from the Miami defender during the Fiesta Bowl. The teams that make these big plays are the ones that will have the chance to play for the National Championship. If Thanksgiving comes along and Ohio State is to play in the National Championship game, we will look back at this play as one of the turning points to the game and season.
Now that I have that off of my chest, I'll dive right into my thoughts on Saturday's giant win at Texas and discuss the season to date. As I said, THE FUMBLE was the turning point in this game, but the game was decided in a 5 minute (of actual game time) span. The Buckeye D gave up the game tying touchdown late in the first half, as a Colt McCoy touchdown pass to Billy Pittman tied the contest at 7. The Buckeyes take the ensuing kickoff and return the ball to their own 34. With a pass to Anthony Gonzalez covering 22 yards and a quick (and beautiful) 29 yard strike to Teddy Ginn in the end zone gave the Buckeyes their 7 point cushion right back with 15 seconds left in the half. Texas receives the kick and their first 2 plays from scrimmage are successful running plays that net them over 20 yards. On 1st and 10, the freshman McCoy drops back and throws a beauty right to James Laurinaitis. Ohio State gets the ball on the Texas 20 after the Laurinaitis return and gets 3 from a Aaron Pettrey field goal. 10 points in 4 and half minutes of game time, which also deflated the raucous crowd. Boom. Ballgame. Thanks for being such gracious hosts and we enjoyed your barbeque.

LIGHTNING AND.........LIGHTNING!!!!
Anthony Gonzalez had the statline of the night, as he had 8 grabs for 142 yards and seemingly caught everything that was thrown his way. Ginn ended up with 97 yards on 5 receptions, including the 29 yard breathtaking bomb from Troy Smith just before the end of the first half. Through two games in the '06 campaign, Ginn and Gonzalez have combined for 415 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns on 21 receptions. For those of you who went to Michigan and aren't too numerically savvy, that's nearly 20 yards per catch (19.76).

BEND BUT DON'T BREAK
Ohio State's first two opponents have been Northern Illinois and Texas. They have arguably 2 of the top 10 rushing attacks in college football and the OSU defense has given up how many rushing touchdowns? ZERO. The OSU defense has given up an average of 5.0 yards per carry and have yielded 23 first downs on the ground, but let's keep in mind the opponents. Ohio State hasn't had the luxury of playing North Texas or Central Michigan yet.

Plenty of O at tOSU
Through 2 games, Ohio State has averaged nearly 30 points per contest. The offense has generated 39 first downs and is averaging 7.1 yards per play. If there is one concern about the offense, it would have to be Red Zone efficiency. Ohio State has ventured inside their opponent's twenty 10 times already but has only scored on 7 of those ten attempts. The Buckeye D has held their opponents to only 6 Red Zone visits and have allowed only 2 touchdowns.

Stats are Fun!!!
A few more fun stats for your enjoyment:
Ohio State is holding their opponents to 17% on Third Down conversions (4/23).
James Laurinaitis' Saturday Statline: 13 tackles, INT, 2 Forced Fumbles. He's got all the physical attributes of a dominant LB and now seems to have the mental part down as well. He seems to always be in the right position and has a motor that doesn't stop.

Let it Fly......
This morning I hopped on CBS Sportsline to check my fantasy baseball progress for the week. On the front page for Sportsline had a big picture of Troy Smith and said something to the theme of "A Perfect 10." Conversely, at ESPN, they only had an article about the fires that were set on campus and headlined in a side story as "Fires, Injuries on campus mar big win for OSU." Leave it up to the douchebags at ESPN to put a negative spin on what was a dominant performance by number one The Ohio State University in the toughest of settings against the number 2 team in the country. While checking things out I also found this as part of the Gameday Final website:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/gamedayFinal?page=gamedayFinal2
Notice Ivan Maisel's rating of Selvin Young's performance, then only to read what king d-bag Mark May said about Colt McCoy's supporting cast. I hope college football karma goes Trev Alberts on you Mark May.
Anybody else see Colt McCoy's mom last night? She is definitely MILF Material.
Bob Davie has been added to my list of world's worst sports announcers. Add him to the Pam Ward and Chris Spielman booth and you've got an instant recipe for suicide. Bob Davie is the Randy Cross of college football.
Aaron Pettrey scares me. At this point I have no confidence in him, as he is 1 of 3 in FGs this year. He barely connected on a 31 yarder vs. Texas on Saturday and has missed from 28 and 44.
So ABC is going with round two of the Dancing with The Stars? They should've laid that one to rest after they kicked Kenny Mayne off last spring. Godspeed, Emmitt.
How about Matthew McConaghey jumping around like a 5 year old with ADHD last night? Hope you enjoyed the beating, hippie.
And what business does Lance Armstrong have shaking hands with Mack Brown 15 seconds before kickoff? Maybe Mack should've been focusing a little more on the game (and what happened to his lip at halftime?).
Selvin Young and Lamar Charles looked great last night. I don't even know why Mack put it in the air at all last night?

What are you doing, Willie?
Other thoughts from Saturday's College Football Action:
My boy Willie Tuitama, QB for Arizona, didn't have a great game. No. 8 LSU pounded Arizona at home on Saturday, 45-3. I really thought the supposedly tough Wildcat D would contain LSU and give Arizona a shot at the upset. Superstar in the making Tuitama had a rough go of it as Arizona only had 54 total yards through 3 quarters in Baton Rouge. Alright, I believe in LSU now.
Speaking of SEC love, Auburn crushed the Fighting Crooms. No. 4. Auburn dominated Miss. St. 34-0 and I think Auburn is THE BEST TEAM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL OUTSIDE OF OHIO STATE. I'm not sold on Notre Dame yet. I think that they were just the better of two mediocre teams on Saturday. I expected PSU to really give the Irish a game but it didn't happen. I wasn't impressed by Brady Quinn or the PSU defense. I think that ND is a good football team, but it is not a top 5 team at this time. Anthony Morelli was junk yesterday and made some atrocious football decisions during their 41-17 drubbing at the hands of the Golden Domers. And welcome back, California. Nothing like playing a Minnesota (or generally Indiana or Illinois) to get your program back to winning football ways. Cal beat Minnesota 42-17.
Break up the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. They've got 2 running backs that can feed it to a defense, and have a solid O-Line to pave the way. They've got Louisville at home on Thursday, November 9th and I'm telling you right now that they'll win that game.

I'll come up with an NFL update after MNF tomorrow, as well as another college football preview on Thursday or Friday.

The Weekend's Preview

Previewing Your Weekend, Ohio.
Before we get to THE big game this weekend, let's dabble in what else will be shaking out in The Great State of Ohio throughout the weekend.

The "playoff chances are on life support" Cincinnati Reds will play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates this weeked with three at the Great American Ballpark. If the Redlegs don't sweep or take at least 2 of 3 this weekend you can stick the proverbial fork in them. On Saturday first pitch is at 6:10 and it's "Kroger/Fuji Team Photo Night." I'm sure that'll compete with what could be the best college football game of the season, Wayne.
I also noticed that on the site you can vote for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award that is given to players who contribute to their community off the field. The Cincinnati Reds nominee is Ryan Freel-and I'll be honest- I'm not getting this one. No doubt this is a guy who plays his can off and I love to see him as a Cub, but for a man of the year award nominee? It is well-known that he has an imaginary friend living in his head that he refers to as "Farney," and oh, not to mention the TWO DUI'S he's had in the past two years. Nice selection Marge Schott. Why not Scott Hatteberg for this one? If you're confused you can read the article here http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060905&content_id=1646613&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The Cleveland Indians will take on the White Sox for a four game series on the south side of Chicago this weekend. The Tribe has been playing much better baseball recently by going 12-5 since August 19th, and has a chance to play spoiler against the 2005 World Series Champions. Go get 'em, Tribe!

Other college football games of interest this weekend will be:
Friday
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday
Miami, OH @ Purdue, 1:00 p.m.
(18) Clemson @ Boston College, 3:30 p.m.
(14) Iowa @ Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.
UPSET WATCH!!! Arizona @ (8) LSU, 6:30 p.m. Brent's Upset Special for the week because Arizona can bring it.

And before I really get the crystal ball rolling on the Buckeyes Texas game, I would like to state how excited I am to see Penn State take on Notre Dame (3:30 pm, Saturday). This will mark the first time ever that I'm happy that NBC covers Notre Dame because now my College Football Saturday eases me into my Texas/OSU game with both Penn St./ND and the Clemson/Boston College game (3:30, ABC) at the same time. HELLO, DUAL TV's. Before I forget, the marquee matchup of the afternoon is Penn State QB Anthony Morelli vs. the supposedly improved Irish defense. If Morelli and the O generates 24 I think there will be a lot of disappointed fans in South Bend after the game.

The Ohio State University @ the University of Texas, ABC, 8:00 P.M.
So here is what we've been waiting for. The matchup of number one Ohio State vs. number two Texas kicks off just after 8:00 EST.
I don't really know where to start except to say that I'm bitter at my younger brother for being part of a crew that is driving down and will be attendance on Saturday. I intently watched and re-watched the 1st half of the Nothern Illinois/OSU game from Saturday (didn't pay much attention to the 2nd half because there is no way James Patrick was going to show Texas anything he had in store for them) and I noticed a few little tidbits that you might want to pay attention to.
WHEN OSU IS ON DEFENSE
I really like our front seven as a unit. I think that the potential for something special is there and all they need is more experience. Ohio State needs Jay Richardson, Vernon Gholston, Lawrence Wilson, etc. to generate pressure from the edge for this team to be successful from a defensive perspective. If OSU has to bring their linebackers on blitzes to generate pressure on the young QB Colt McCoy, then the Bucks might have a problem keeping the home team's score under 28 or 31. While I was breaking down the Buckeye first half against NIU, I noticed how the swing pass killed the Buckeye D. This has been a recurring theme (not so much last year with all of our speed/experience at LB), but we can date back to 2002 and 2003 and how teams like San Deigo State, Bowling Green, and N.C. State (with T.A. McClendon) killed the Buckeye D with swing passes and bubble screens. I see the bubble screens and swing passes the achilles heel of the Buckeye D on Saturday night. If OSU has to bring LBs or corners toregularly apply pressure on McCoy, this game will be no game at all.

Thank you DVR On the screen to NIU RB Garret Wolfe that went for 60+ yards, OSU blitzed Marcus Freeman as the guard pulled. The pulling guard picked up Buckeye MLB Larry Grant, the WR on the play had a solid block on the DB, and there was nothing but green for Wolfe to work with. Here's to hoping that Colt McCoy isn't as experienced as Horvath was a recognizing blitzers and defense (and let's hope that Free can do a better job of not showing his blitz).

I was impressed on how Brandon Mitchell supported the run. He was quick to recognize the NIU running plays and made some very nice open field tackles. I was also impressed with the way the way the Defense tackled as a unit, but tackling has always been a forte of Jim Tressel coached teams (with the exception of EJ Underwood 2 years ago). We'll see how Malcolm Jenkins has progressed as a corner when he has to take on Sweed (#4) one-on-one.
Total prediction for OSU points given up by the defense: 23

WHEN OSU HAS THE BALL
What is very eerie to me is the similarities between Vince Young last year and Troy Smith this year. We can start with the obvious with both wearing number 10, both are/were the most athletic players for their teams, but the biggest similarity for me is that they both have the knack for making the big play. We've seen Smith's running ability against Michigan in both 04 and 05, and again this will be huge in OSU sustaining drives (remember Troy Smith scrambling on the last drive @ Michigan last year before finding Tony Gonzalez? That still gives me chills. Awesome.). The Texas defensive line is ridiculous in terms of size, but luckily for the Buckeyes their ) O-Line averages 6'5", 320. I think the Buckeye offensive line (with the help of Rory Nicol) can keep the Texas D-Line in check enough for Pittman and Chris Wells to be effective running the ball. I think that OSU rushes for 220 or so yards in this one and that Troy Smith ends up with 70 plus rushing yards.

What is this, The Last Boy Scout? From a college football fan standpoint, the arrest of Tarell Brown (CB who was to cover Ted Ginn, Jr. primarily on Saturday) is a very unfortunate one, and Brown's suspension for his weapons charge will definitely alter Tressel's game plan. As a Buckeye fan, I think it's a huge break for the offense and for number 7 and I now see him having a big day. I remember EDU PAES 620, Coaching Football which was taught by Coach Tressel himself and he stressed that you can't teach speed. We've really seen this the past 2 years with Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn, Jr. It was extremely obvious against Notre Dame last year and again on Saturday against NIU as those two teams just couldn't keep up with Teddy. I see more of number 7 stretching the field and letting Tony Gonzalez do his work in the middle of the field along with Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie opening some eyes on national tv. I'm predicting 298 yards passing and 2 passing touchdowns for Troy Smith. Look for red-shirt sophomore Rory Nicol to suprise some people as well.

Brent's Offensive Playbook Outlook:
Look for Tress to open the first couple of series with more traditional, Tressel-ball plays. I see the first few passes being safe, easy passes like 10 or 12 yard outs to Ginn or 10 yard ins to Gonzalez. The purpose behind these will be two-fold, as it will build Smith's confidence and calm down any jitters he may have as well as setting up their DBs for what will be a killer double move (out and up) that will go for a touchdown early in the second half. You heard it here first.

One of the more overlooked parts of this game is how I believe Tress will put Ginn and Gonzalez back in two-deep punt return formation. Once Tress started doing this at Northwestern in October of 2004 was when Touchdown Teddy began his reign as the best punt returner in America.

Total Points Scored by the Buckeye Offense: 30
Brent's Final Score Ohio State 30, Texas 23

HEY BRENT, WHAT'S ON TAP FOR THIS WEEKEND'S BLOGS?
I am thinking about possibly doing an In-Game Blog, but not sure if my level of commitment will be up to it or not. I am thinking that I will be so into the game that I won't want to do it, but at the same time it could be really fun to do and I could add some comments and updates on how much Dusty and I have been drinking throughout the course of the night. This may be something to watch for and if there is enough interest I may just pull it off.
I will definitely toss out an update on Sunday afternoon at some point and probably address the NFL and the Fantasy Football. Enjoy the games football fans.
BDS

Hello and Welcome

Thanks for Stopping By!!!
So for the past few months, I have really been thinking about creating my own website. Actually, it was the first full day of our honeymoon when I told Joy about how I wanted to set up my own site. Since I am not extremely computer savvy, I have decided to half-ass it by using the old blogspot where they do most of the work for you. So here we are now, with one foot submerged in the bathtub that we call college football and I'm starting to get things rolling.
The content of this site will basically just be one man's thoughts. Stories, predictions, and witty banter about all things life will be tossed about on my blog and I hope that maybe a few of you will enjoy it.

HOLY COW!
As most of you know by now, my wife Joy and I are expecting first child on April 1st, 2007. This will be one of the few things that I will chat about randomly, but I think that mostly I am going to keep this pretty heavily sports related. At this time I feel much more comfortable discussing all things sports, but this will be a cool opportunity for me to pretty much just throw whatever I want to out there. So I hope you enjoy the blog and toss me some feedback if you feel applicable.
GO BUCKS!!!!
BDS