Tressel wins #100, Buckeyes Move to #1

In my prediction last week, I wrote that I expected Terrelle Pryor's left thigh injury to slow him and the Ohio St offense down. Boy, was I way off. Pryor looked 100% healthy and had a career day, as Ohio St pounded Indiana, 38-10, en route to Jim Tressel's 100th win as head coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio St's defense was in its usual dominant form, holding Indiana's usually high-powered offense (which had 568 yards against michigan's great D last week, fyi) to a mere 210 yards. With Alabama's loss to South Carolina, Ohio St moves up to #1 in the polls.


Game Recap

Ohio St got off to a quick start again, as they have in each game this season. This time it was on a Dan Herron 39-yard run less than two minutes into the game. Not long after that, IU quarterback Ben Chappell was intercepted by Devon Torrence. This seems to be a good time to mention Chappell threw for 106 yards with 0 TD's and 2 INT's in this one, where he threw for 480 yards and 3 touchdowns in the week prior against michigan. Following the turnover, it only took two Pryor-Dane Sanzenbacher completions to put the Bucks up 14-0. Near the end of the first quarter, Drew Basil attempted a 53-yard field goal, but had it blocked.

Ohio St got the ball right back after a Hoosier three-and-out, and 1:30 later the rout was on after TP hit Brandon Saine for a 60-yard touchdown. After each team traded punts, LB Brian Rolle picked off his second pass of the year. Boom picked up a couple of first downs before Pryor threw his third TD of the game, this one to DeVier Posey. Posey was the game's leading receiver with 8 grabs for 103 yards, and appears to be right on track to meet my preseason prediction of being an All-Conference selection. OSU got the ball back with about three minutes to go, and drove 74 yards in two-and-a-half minutes to set up a successful Barclay kick, making it 31-0 at the midpoint.

I'm going to be honest, I didn't see a whole lot of this second half. I was at a party with Penn St fans so I was often checking in with them on their game, plus the 8 am tailgating was starting to show its effects. I did see the whole first drive, where TP was a deadly 6/6 and Herron ran in his second TD of the game. After the Hoosiers got on the board with a FG, it was Bowser time. The rest of the second-stringers were on the field in addition to Joe Bauserman, who only lasted one series (a Carlos Hyde fumble) before Kenny Guiton was under center.

There were a few 4th quarter noteworthy plays - Guiton threw a pick in his only pass attempt, Indiana RB Antonio Banks scored a touchdown, Jaamal Berry and the freshman Hyde got all of the carries for the Bucks, and freshman DB Dominic Clarke (who is starting to come on strong for the Buckeyes with all of the injuries) had an INT - before the 38-10 final.


Game Notes

Game Ball
Goes to Ben Buchannon! OK, just kidding. Terrelle Pryor completed 24 of his 30 pass attempts, threw for a career-high 334 yards, and had a 3/0 TD/INT ratio. This all coming only a week after he was "maybe 25%" with a strained left thigh muscle. You certainly didn't notice the injury in his passing game, but the fact that he never tried to run still scares me a little. Hopefully that was just an extra precaution. TP continues to reach Ohio St milestones, as he tied the record set by Joe Germaine with his sixth straight game of at least 300 yards of total offense, as well as moving into fourth place in total offense at OSU with 6,518 yards. Remember when I said I won't see him as a serious Heisman contender until he can do this on a consistent basis? Well, he better start practicing that stiff-arm.
Game balls to date: Pryor (4), Herron, Moeller

Big Ten
michigan: 17, Michigan St: 34. Now, I'm not typically one to toot my own horn, but my internal conductor is really pulling at the strings on this one. The wolverine defense looked pathetic yet again, as Sparty rolled up 536 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, Can't-Tie looked merely average, at best, against a tough MSU defense. They knew he was going to run, made him throw, and he didn't look so hot, throwing three costly interceptions. Somehow people are still putting this ass-clown at the top of their Heisman lists, but that should change when the same thing happens this week against Iowa.

In other Big Ten news, Penn St porks. They were absolutely dominated at home by a mediocre Illinois team, 33-13. The Lions will limp into their bye week at 3-3 and try to figure out some way to get to a Bowl game. John Clay had three TD's as Wisconsin cruised past Minnesota, and Northwestern took their first loss of the season falling at home to Purdue.

WR Brandon Saine
It appears as if Saine has become a full-time receiver now, getting zero carries but catching four passes for 84 yards and a score in this game. As much as I have been a big time Saine supporter the past few years, I'm okay with this. He has really struggled running the ball lately, he provides a very dangerous target in a relatively thin receiving corps, Boom has been running well the past few weeks, and guys like Jaamal Berry, Jordan Hall, and Carlos Hyde are more than ready to take Saine's share of the carries when Herron needs a break.

Another reason to hate the BCS
The BCS standings will be released for the first time this Sunday, and current projections have Ohio St at...5. Um, what? If the AP Poll (OSU ranked #1) is one-third of the formula, and the Coaches Poll (OSU ranked #1) is one-third of the formula, where the hell do the computers have Ohio St to make them fifth?! 15? 20? I could probably put my math minor to use and figure that out, but I would rather rant instead. I'm sure this isn't a very big deal, if the Buckeyes go undefeated they will almost certainly be playing for the National Title, but I just don't understand how they could be fifth. If you were wondering, the projections are 1) Boise St, 2) Oregon, 3) TCU, 4) Oklahoma.

Quick Hits
- Indiana became the 29th straight team to fail to have a 100-yard rusher against the Bucks. 29? Wow.
- Apparently we're not looking to redshirt Carlos Hyde, as he continues to get carries. I still think it would be the best decision, but then again I haven't won 100 games at Ohio St.
- If you have been trying to figure out why there has been a freshman named Corey Brown playing both offense and defense, and why he has seemingly been switching his number, like I have, let me help you out. There are two freshmen on the team with the same name. The wide receiver is #10, the defensive back is #3.
- michigan sucks.

Up Next: @Wisconsin, 7:00, ESPN
Along with the game at Iowa, this trip to Madison appears to be the biggest road block in the way of Ohio St's undefeated season. The Badgers (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) are a very balanced team with Scott Tolzien at QB and featuring a three-headed monster at running back. While John Clay (692 yards, 9 TDs) is the main guy and gets all the publicity, James White (485, 8) and Montee Ball (201, 3) can be devastating as well. All-American safety Jay Valai leads the defense.

Camp Randall is one of the toughest places to play in the country (I hate it so much because it's Wisconsin, but I have to admit that them jumping around to House of Pain before the 4th quarter is pretty bad-ass), but I recall a very raw Terrelle Pryor as a freshman in 2008 leading the Buckeyes on two fourth quarter scoring drives to beat the Badgers. My fellow FCF-ers Nick and Andy will join me for our first game together since the crushing defeat to USC last year. While this one won't be easy, I expect a better outcome than the SC game.
Prediction: Ohio St: 28 Wisconsin: 17


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