Nice to have the Cincy game behind us.  Now, maybe Buckeye fans won’t wake up in a cold sweat with visions of that near disaster in PB Stadium in 2002.  The Buckeye offense was about what we had to expect. Good, bad and ugly, but mostly young. The O-line seemed to improve as the game went on and they wore the Bearcats down physically.  The 2-QB drama seems destined to continue for at least another week.  JZ looked very good at times and very bad at others.  Somehow, I just don’t get the feeling that Tressel trusts Troy Smith enough to let with the keys to the family car.  This puts Smith at an extreme disadvantage because everyone knows he is not in there to pass. And I don’t think those QB draws are fooling anyone. Wasn’t it great to see Bam Childress play in a real game.  Lydell had a nice day and seemed to gain confidence as the line did.  Pittman may be a star in the making, but also may be dinged up.  Hopefully somebody coached him up on running out of bounds at the end of  his long run. 

            The defense looked much better than we had any reason to expect.  The front four dominated and the linebackers were awesome. Is anyone going to block Quinn Pidcock? Certainly no one from the Queen City. Simon Fraser was a beast!  Either Cincy had absolutely no team speed or the Silver Bullets may be faster than ever.  I expect our secondary to be fast but the front 7 get to the ball about as well as any group I have seen.  It is way too early in the season to start passing out accolades, but this group has the promise of greatness. I know , no sacks and no turnovers.  Patience!

            The punt is still the most important play in football especially if you don’t have to use it.  One punt for 57 yards grades out  pretty well.  I thought the Bearcat punter was awfully slow and that if we really wanted to we could have blocked him. KO returns looked to be much improved.  Mo Hall looked great and we still are waiting to see TG get a shot.  I love the strategy of just letting Nuge kick off deep into the end zone.  We have seen the “angle it to the corner” strategy backfire too many times.

            This week the Marshall Thundering Herd come to the Shoe.  Last week Marshall lost to Troy State for the second straight year.  Keep in mind that Marshall lost to Troy last year, yet still beat Kansas State on the road and scared Tennessee enough to have Phillip Fullmer speaking in tongues for a week.  Marshall’s loss to Troy looks a little better in the light of the way Troy dismantled #19 Missouri last night.  Mizzu jumped out 14-0 early, but from that point on Troy totally dominated the game.  Still, this is Marshall.  Marshall, who joined the MAC, only to lower the academic and ethical standards of the conference, while winning multiple championships.  Marshall who admitted Randy Moss after he was denied admission by Notre Dame, and was kicked out of Florida State.   Lower standards than Florida State?  Think about that for a second, …is that possible?  The Marshall players come from high schools and institutions (not necessarily educational institutions), all over the nation and may not be intimidated by the Shoe.  The Marshall fans, however should be fun to watch, assuming their trucks make it all the way to Columbus.  We won’t need to scan their tickets, just count their teeth.  Let’s see if they still think we are flatlanders when they get to the top of C Deck.  Hopefully the Columbus police will explain that the ban on open containers refers to drinking out of not spitting into cans.  Can President Holbrook  prevent the Marshall fans from taking their Saturday night baths in the Olentangy?   That might contribute to riots east of High Street…..somehow. 

It was a relief to all that the ban on grills in the parking garages was successful and we didn’t suffer any  of those tragic garage fires which had been plaguing us. It was an even bigger relief that, surprisingly, no one was killed on Lane Avenue.  I suppose Lane must be kept open so that emergency vehicles  can get to the parking garages to put out the fires from the contraband grills.   Thank you President Holbrook.     

Saturday Earle Bruce will be inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame.  Do you suppose he will be presented by former OSU president Ed Jennings?  If the ceremony takes place at half time I think a fitting score would be 9-3. 

 

Around the nation:

Like most Hollywood sequels, Pete Carroll’s Trojans II didn’t seem quite as good as the original.  In fact, if not for a totally bogus offensive pass interference call, the Hokies might have started 2004 with a huge upset.  USC looked a little suspect in the offensive line and their freshman receivers, seemed, at least in their debut, to lack  the ability to catch the ball. Generally a problem for receivers.  They’ll have some time to get better.  Their schedule is not much of a challenge. All in all, though it was an enjoyable appetizer for the feast of the college football season.  Reggie Bush, however, looked to the Heisman front runner for that week.

Utah looked impressive in dismantling Texas A&M.  Now that Coach Fran has lost 9 of his first 13 in Aggieland, are they are telling Aggie jokes in Tuscaloosa?

            Ty Willingham continues to prove why the ND administration really wanted George O’Leary.  The Irish looked incredibly slow against BYU.    If they think the Mormons had team speed, wait til the Weasels get to South Bend this weekend.  Unless they can pull off some kind of motivational/home field miracle this one could get really, really ugly. 

            Oregon State had LSU on totally the ropes and let them get away. Their kicker misses 3 PAT’s, the last one in OT.  Northwestern loses in OT, after  their kicker whiffs on 5 field goals.  Can’t we have some kind of corporal punishment for kickers? 

Thank you Mrs. Nugent, for sending us your son, NOOOOG!

            The Sooners struggle, for a while with Bowling Green, then assert themselves as they await their trip to Dallas in October.  This week the Sooners play Houston and unless it is the Houston Texans,  Cougars will soon be on the endangered species list.

            Texas and Arkansas play for the mythical Southwestern Conference championship.  Can both teams wear retro uniforms and run the wishbone all day?  I may tear up just thinking about that.  The Long Horns yearn for the old SWC days when their Red River Riot with OU was a just meaningless civil disturbance, not a public humiliation. 

            Georgia at South Carolina.  Lou Holtz and a 245 pound QB go jowl to jowl with UGA the bulldog.  I can smell the barbeque from Ohio, and I think it is Gamecock on the spit.

            Alabama vs Ole Miss.  This is the old south at it’s best.  Who cares if the Tide is on probation and that Eli is New York?  Ole Miss, where the coeds are said to be so beautiful that they redshirt Miss Americas and Bama, where they live in the past as well as anyone.

Miami vs Florida State….  vs Frances vs Ivan.  If you win the coin  toss in this one you definitely take the wind.

      Buckeyes 31 Marshall 13.  Close for the first half, but don’t bet on Marshall QB Stan Hill to finish the game.