Wow….. and we thought the Buckeyes had issues at QB.  Please excuse the conservative game plan for the second half, because once we had a 14 point lead and the OSU staff had a chance to see just how really bad Michael Robinson was, it was lights-out.  Robinson truly raised (or lowered) the bar for bad quarterbacking. Not only did he repeatedly miss open receivers, some of his forward passes missed forward.  At least two of his pass attempts were backward, thus laterals.  Fortunately for the Nits, they were so wildly off target no defenders were close enough to pounce on the ball.  My personal favorite was the one he threw over everybody’s head out of bounds.  While I was screaming for an intentional grounding call, the official spotted the ball where it sailed OB, because it was like a fumble out of bounds.  Though I don’t think these words have ever been written in this forum, it was a good call by an alert official.  How they saw that and missed the constant holding by the PSU offensive line is another question.

                It actually looked like we might have seen an innovative game plan, based on some early formations and plays by the Buck offense.  But along came Teddy Ginn and Tyler Everett to ruin it all.  My only complaint is that we gave up on Antonio Pittman a little too quickly.  Mo Hall was playing well but I thought Pittman needed reps more than he needed to be punished for a fumble or being late for a meeting.  Tress’s quote of the week “Punctuality is important.”   And yes, he actually said that.

                The defense came up with some big plays, most notably the two picks.  They also made some nice stops when they had to.  Before we get too excited, keep in mind that Penn State’s 10 point total is their high for 4 out of the last 5 games and is the most they have scored in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big 10.  This bunch still worries me on two counts.  First, we are giving up too much on the run and second is poor or at least inconsistent tackling.  The connection is pretty obvious, and it really, really needs to be fixed prior to November 20^th.  Coach Snydes seems to be getting a little more aggressive in the defensive play calling. Hopefully it is not just that we have been playing teams with receivers who couldn’t scare a 4 year old on Halloween.

                Around the Big 10, more heartbreak as the Weasels, being what they are, weaseled their way to a win against the Spartans.  Note to John L. Smith:  Would it hurt so terribly much to double cover #1 when you are trying to hang on to a 17 point lead half way through the 4^th quarter????  Purdue has come unglued, losing to Northwestern and Tiller benched his QB.  I lost a lot of respect for Tiller, not for taking Orton out of the game, but the way he handled it.  Orton was banged up and playing poorly.  Tiller’s explanation to the media that he would have removed Orton regardless of his injuries, because of poor play and poor decisions was entirely unnecessary.  Why embarrass the kid who, just a few weeks ago, was a Heisman contender, if not the favorite.  Minnesota fell to Indiana.  Would someone please explain that to me?  Have the Gophers just plain quit? 

                Looking ahead in the Big 10, can Purdue get their cute little train back on track?  Iowa City is not exactly the best place to get well.  Orton is doubtful and, as Buckeyes know, the Hawks are tough at home.  I expect the Boilers to go down for number 4 in a row.  The high-flying Badgers host the Gophers in Rodent War II.  Can Coach Mason coax a winning performance out of his team? It will be closer than it should, but at home you have to like Wisconsin.  The third member of the league’s rodent trio, is resting up for their big home finale with Northwestern next week.

                Nationally there are some interesting match-ups.  OU travels to College Station to face Texas A&M.  This one might be a lot more intriguing if the Aggies hadn’t just lost to Baylor.  Evidently Baptists do know how to celebrate.  Once the game was over the iced tea-fueled crowd had the goal posts down in no time.  Last year the Sooners edged the Aggies by a score of 77-0.  Can revenge overcome great athletes?  Don’t think so.

Texas hooks up with Oklahoma State for the job of Big XII bridesmaid. Oh, I know that Nebraska seems headed for the North division crown.  But let’s face it an OU-Nebraska Big XII championship game only sounds good. The reality will have the Sooner fans spending the entire 2^nd half on their cell phones booking flights to Miami.   Notre Dame travels south to play Tennessee.  The Vols are a virtual lock to play in the SEC championship game.  Can Coach Fullmer convince his players that it is still a big deal to play a 5-3 Notre Dame team?  The Irish are still looking for that elusive 6th win with USC and Pitt lurking.  At some point the Tennessee players will realize they are playing against Yankees and will do what their gray-clad ancestors could not do and defend their home turf.  Florida, to show support for  AD, Jeremy Foley, who fired the entire staff earlier in the week,  lost to Georgia in the world largest outdoor cocktail party.  It sounds like there are still places where tailgating is allowed.  I think the difference is that Georgia got rid of Karen Holbrook and we have yet to do so.  Now the Gators will have to rally the troops and beat Vanderbilt.  Coach Superior has taken his name out of the Gatorcoach derby.  What big name can the UF alums money-whip into coming to Gainesville?  Louisville fans should keep a close eye to see if Coach Petrino has his cell phone with him on the sidelines tonight.  I’ll bet Jeremy Foley has Petrino on his speed dial.

                The Michigan State Spartans should be so embarrassed that they should just start basketball season.  They let the entire free world down when they choked against the Weasels last week.  They should be emotional wrecks and ripe for the picking.  That’s what they should be, but with our luck they will come up with fire in their eyes trying to redeem themselves before their home fans.  Fortunately, whatever they do they’ll have to do it without star QB, Drew Stanton.  That bodes well for another improved performance by the Buckeye defense.  If Troy Smith wants to make this his team, the time is now.  I think he’ll get it done, or should I say (with apologies to Larry the Cable guy) GITTRRDUN!!”  The 24-10 margin and the relative ease with which the Buckeyes win will perplex OSU fans.  Optimists will come out of hiding, critics will go the way of Kerry campaign signs and at last we will begin to believe……just a bit.  With only 3 games left, it is about time somebody has some fun around here!