Displaced Cleveland Fan

This is the type of game you expect at the beginning of the year. New Mexico State was overmatched in every way.

The Buckeyes 559 yards of total offense (310 rushing, 249 passing) compared to a total of 62 yards from the Aggies. Ohio State’s defense held New Mexico State to just 2 first downs.

This game was really nothing more than a warmup for the final three games of the season. If the Buckeyes win their remaining games against Penn State, Iowa, and Michigan, they’ll win the Big Ten.
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Maybe you noticed that I didn’t update following last week’s embarrassing loss to Purdue. That wasn’t just because they lost. It was a hectic weekend here, so I didn’t really feel motivated to post a reaction to the game.

What last week’s game did was end any shot the Buckeyes had to play for a national title. I know, it was a long shot. And with the way the offense has played the past few weeks, they didn’t deserve it. But they were at #7 going into last week’s match-up against the Boilermakers. This week, when the first BCS standings came out, Ohio State was at #19. No way they reach one of the top two spots.

But this team can still reach a BCS bowl. They still have games against Iowa (#6) and Penn State (#13). If they win these games, as well as their remaining games against New Mexico State and Michigan, they’ve got a shot. So all is not lost, especially if the offense plays as well as it did today.

So on to today’s game against Minnesota.
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Looking at the final score, it looks like the Buckeyes were on top of everything this game. The offense put up 31 points. The defense held the Badgers to 13. Good solid game right?

Not exactly. The defense and special teams won this game for the Buckeyes. They had two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and one kickoff return touchdown. Take those away, and the Buckeyes lose 13-10 on Terrelle Pryor’s unimpressive 5/13, 87 yard, 1 TD, 1 INT performance.
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The Buckeyes continued to roll through the Big Ten with a 33-14 win over the Hoosiers in Indiana.

Coming into this game, the Ohio State defense had held opponents scoreless the past two weeks. Indiana finally broke that streak with a touchdown in the second quarter. They added another meaningless TD in the final seconds. All in all, another good showing by the Buckeyes’ defense.
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Following Saturday’s 30-0 win over Illinois, the Buckeyes are back in the top-10.

Thanks to the upsets of four top-10 teams, Ohio State jumped four spots to #9. Ole Miss dropped from #4 to #21. Penn State slipped from #5 to #15. California, after getting pummeled by Oregon, fell from #6 all the way to #24. Miami, after jumping 11 spots to #9 the previous week, went back down to #17 this week.

Iowa is now ranked #13 after beating Penn State. Not sure yet if they really belong this high or if Penn State was overrated. Either way, the Hawkeyes will get their chance to prove themselves as the season moves on.

Another Ohio team is in the top-10. Cincinnati is right behind the Buckeyes at #10.

The Buckeyes opened their Big Ten schedule at home against Illinois by beating the Illini 30-0.

A rainy first half finished with Ohio State leading 13-0. The Buckeyes had zero passing yards for the half. But they were able to move the ball effectively on the ground. They rushed for 236 yards in the game, led by Brandon Saine (81 yards) and Dan Herron (75 yards and 2 TDs).
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OK. Figure this one out…

Ohio State was ranked #11 in the polls last week.

They beat Toledo 38-0.

Two teams ahead of them lose to unranked teams.

The result: The Buckeyes fall to #13. (more…)