And then there were four.  Only Iowa dropped out of the Big Ten’s first place demolition derby.  Northwestern  humiliated the psycho-Spartans, Wisconsin handled Purdue, and the Nits ran all over the  hapless Illini.  Now I suddenly see the logic of the NCAA’s fight to eliminate the use of native American nicknames.  Who ever and wherever the Illini tribe are; they must be hiding  their faces in shame after their namesakes gave up 63 points at home to Penn State.  Of course the Buckeyes, kept pace with a 41-10 pasting of the Indiana Losiers.  I normally think of Kirk Ferentz as one of the top two coaches in the league.  That being said, I do not understand his decisions late in their loss to the Weasels.  The Hawks appeared to play for a tie rather than try to win in regulation, by settling for a FG. Then in OT, it seemed if they were more than willing to settle for a FG again.  They got their FG, thus allowing the Weasels to win with a TD. I don’t understand the very conservative play selection and taking the ball out of Drew Tate’s hands.  I wonder what  is the color of the home locker room at Kinnick Stadium, now that they blew their 22 game home win streak?

                The 41-10 margin for the Bucks seemed in line with the statistics for the game.  What neither the score nor the stats reflect are the many weird plays and calls. 

On the positive side of the ledger, it was another dominant performance by the Silver Bullets. They only yielded 3 points and that was after an interception return took the ball deep into OSU territory.  Tony Pittman continued to improve.  This guy reads blocks  and seems to have more vision than anyone we have had in the last two seasons. He also broke a few tackles, something I have not seen in a while. Even little Maurice Wells scooted for 50 yards on 5 carries.  Troy had a better game.  At first glance I thought his pick was a terrible decision.  After watching many replays, while he may have been forcing the ball, the fact that Santonio fell or was pushed was a big factor in the result.  Teddy Ginn reappeared and ran both a KO and a punt back for TD’s and made a few nice catches.  The KO return was, of course nullified, by the now famous defenseless player call.  That label pretty much covers the entire Loosier squad does it not?  I did hear that it was also a block in the back.  No, the points did not count, but opposing coaches will see it on film and tremble. Tell Mike D’Adrea to get ready; he may see some more pop-ups.  I think the biggest reason our defense has been so good is that opponents know if they score they will have to KO to Teddy and Santonio.  Right?

                On the negative side of the ledger we had way too many penalties.  Mike D’Andrea muffed  the catch of a Indiana KO.  I doubt he thought he would be returning kick offs in his first real action  this year.  We had a fumble, all be it a questionable call, on the strip and run from T. Ginn.  And of course Troy had the interception.  Overall, even considering the ineptitude of Indiana, it was a step in the right direction.

                This week the task is a little different.  We play an indoor game against the nation’s number one rushing offense.  Unfortunately for the Gophers, the Silver Bullets are the number one rushing defense. I’m sure the game plan will be to make QB Bryan Cupito beat us with his arm.  Penn State used this strategy in State College and came away with a 44-14 win.  Now granted this is a home game for the Gophers and the loss to PSU was on the road.  I don’t mean to disrespect Laurence Maroney, as he has looked like the real deal.  With Glenn Mason’s offensive lineman chop blocking everything not in a skirt, this should be a battle.  Still I don’t think they or anyone can beat OSU by running the ball.  Texas tried and had to turn to Vince Young’s underrated arm.  Granted the Gophers are good at what they do and may have some early success as we adjust to the surroundings and the turf.  Over the course of the game I think we will put Cupito in too many third and longs.  The Minnesota defense is sort of a middle of the road bunch.  Buckeye speed will be enhanced by the carpet (think Alamo Bowl) and will be too much for the Gophers to handle. This will be much less of a game than the 4 point spread would indicate. 

                The rest of the Big Ten leaders should hold serve with PSU handling the sad Purdue Boilermakers, Wisconsin will drub Illinois, and the Northwestern Wildcats will end the Weasel’s season in Evanston. Wait a minute.  Every time I pick the Weasels to lose they shock the world and win.  So, I wish to reconsider.  This is Northwestern.  Of course the Weasels will win easily.   Iowa has the week off to reflect.

                Around the country there are precious few big games.  Florida vs. Georgia is by far the marquee game.  Hard to believe that the University of Georgia is a participant in an event know as the World’s Largest Cocktail Party.  Georgia, of course,  is the wonderful institution which spawned our disaster of a president,  Karen Holbrook.  Evidently she was unable to change the culture for this event so she headed north to try to destroy our way of life.  Pay back for the civil war.  We gave the south Sherman and they send us Queen Karen.  Georgia will be playing without QB DJ Shockley.  Florida’s strength has been their defense as Chris Leake has looked less than comfortable in the spread option.  Georgia has been solid all year and should be able to overcome Shockley’s loss in a close low scoring game, for which the SEC is famous of late.

                In a matter of minutes I’m leaving on the lengthy journey which, I hope,  will end in the Minneapolis Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. This is a trip of many firsts for me. I have never been to Minnesota.   I have never been to an indoor football game.  I have never driven 12 hours to get to a football game.  It just seems downright weird;  almost November in Minnesota and I’m not packing handwamers and thermal underwear??  Questions abound.  Will Brutus overheat in dome? Do you tailgate in the cold and then go inside for the game?  Since it is an NFL facility ( as well as a baseball stadium) do they sell beer?  Will there be piped in gopher sounds?  Does Tressel ball work without wind?  Do we try to sneak in a flask or spray deodorant ? Other than Mary Tyler Moore, what is Minnesota known for?  Will they sell beer?  Tune next week for a full report/travelogue on the Buckeye’s victory.