35-7 somehow sounds more impressive than it actually looked. The Bucks did what they had to do.   The BG Falcons were cooperative victims.  Things must be going pretty well when the only thing callers to local radio talk shows can bitch about it that the Buckeyes run to the left too frequently.  Troy was 17-20 with 3 TD’s.  The long one to Teddy was especially nice.   At the halfway point in the season, even the Domers would be embarrassed if Brady wins the Heisman.  The Buckeye defense yielded one long ugly drive to the Falcons, but otherwise kept everything in check and the end result was 7 points.  This defense, with 9 new starters (have we heard enough about that already?), amazingly now leads the nation in points per game.  At times I wonder how they are doing it, and the run defense still seems a little shaky, but they ARE doing it. Doing it mainly with a lot of turnovers.  And I still maintain that with this defense the best is yet to come. 

Elsewhere, it was an interesting week. Arkansas went on the road and exposed Auburn. We thought there we saw a few chinks in the Auburn armor when they almost lost to South Carolina a week earlier.  I think most wrote that off to the genius (am I allowed to use that word in reference to someone not named Charlie?) of Steve Spurrier. The Razorbacks simply shredded the vaunted Auburn defense.  Florida handled LSU with more ease than expected and Tennessee returned to glory by dismantling Georgia in Athens. Either Georgia was really overrated or the Vols have it going. Might it have something to do with the return of offensive coordinator David Cutliff? If I recall he coached a couple of pretty good QBs at Ole Miss and in his previous stint at Tennessee.  Seems like they might have been brothers…. Peyton and Eli, though the last name escapes me.  Now Coach Cut has Eric Ainge playng at a high level.   I need to throw a bone, or in this case a doughnut to Coach Fullmer, for an impressive performance by Big Orange, especially after their earlier loss to Florida.  Texas dispatched the Sooners as the Horns continue to hope for a rematch with the Buckeyes in Glendale.  Out west, Cal took apart Oregon, but sadly did not take away the Ducks’ ugly uniforms.  Before we anoint Cal as a challenger for USC’s crown, lets recall how Tennesse routed the Bears in the first week of the season.  Either the Vols are a super team or Cal, WSU, and the Ducks are just trying to get the PAC Ten bridesmaid dress over their hips.

          This week the Buckeyes get to travel to East Lansing.  Their opponents, assuming they are released from the psych ward in time for kickoff, will be the MSU Spartans.  The Spartans are beaten, injured (Ringer and receiver Matt Trannon are  out,  and Stanton is beat up) and demoralized from 3 straight losses and the search to replace coach John L. Smith has begun.  So yeah, you guessed it, the Spartans are extremely dangerous.  Historically, MSU has always been wildly erratic, but this team makes Sybil look like a model of mental health.  The Spartans don’t just thrive on adversity, they create it just for fun.  If they had not melted down against ND, and had not lost to Illinois (‘splain that one Lucy!) and been crushed by the Weasels, I wouldn’t worry.  But since they are in the crapper already, it is hard to imagine them spiraling further downward.  Their coach, John L. Smith, who is not terribly well balanced in the best of times appears to have come completely unglued.  In a lame effort to mock Charlie Weiss, he slapped himself in the post Illinois press conference. I agree that anyone losing to Illini should be slapped at the very least, but let someone else do the honor.  John L. is, however, psychosis aside, a superior offensive schemer. If one recalls last year, in the Shoe, no less, the Bucks were already behind 17-7 when MSU ran the old 10-man field goal play.  The kick was blocked and Yabouty ran it in for a TD and Sparty was done for the day.  My point is that John L. can put points on the board.  Fortunately, the Spartan defense has yielded more scores than Paris Hilton.  The Buckeyes need to break on top and then create some turnovers and get after Stanton.  Then just hope the Spartan’s medication doesn’t kick in. It would be a great time for our special teams to score.  I like the Bucks in a 24-10 win which will be a bit closer than the score would indicate.

          Other big games include Florida invading Auburn.  If Auburn has anything left, they should win this home game.  The Gators have no running game and that seems to be what Auburn can’t stop so maybe Tubberville can rally the troops and get another unbeaten off the board.  The Weasels travel to Happy Valley for a night game.  If Joe Pa can find some offense other than Tony Hunt, they have a chance.  Whatever happened to all that young speed they had last year?  Let Morelli thow it because the Weasel corners are not great and hope the locals can stir up as much craziness for this year’s whiteout as they did last year when the Bucks visited.  The Nits defense catches a break as they appear to be getting healthy just as Mario Manningham has to sit one out.  Can Mike Hart carry the load?  I don’t think so, but still I haven’t seen enough from the Brittany Lions to think they can pull the upset.  Their offensive line seems overmatched in this one and the Weasels win.