Displaced Cleveland Fan

The Buckeyes rolled into Ann Arbor having already guaranteed their spot in the Rose Bowl after defeating Iowa last week. This one was just about beating Michigan for the sixth straight year.

On the other side of the rivalry, the Wolverines were looking to end their five game losing streak to the Buckeyes. At 5-6, they were needing a win to become bowl eligible. They were losers of six out of their last seven. Michigan needed to win this game.

Fortunately, the Buckeyes weren’t going to let them have it.
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The Buckeyes are still the best in the Big Ten. They proved that today and punched their ticket to Pasadena.

Playing Iowa in a de facto Big Ten championship game, Ohio State pulled out a victory in overtime off the leg of former professional soccer player, Devin Barclay.

I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed last week when the Hawkeyes’ starting QB Ricky Stanzi went down and wouldn’t be available for this game. Sure, having freshman James Vandenberg under center should have favored the Buckeyes, but I wanted Ohio State to win against the best team possible.

As it turns out, Vandenberg did a more than adequate job filling in for Stanzi. He rallied his team to a comeback against a tough Ohio State defense and force overtime. He was 20 for 33 passing (60.6%) for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did have 3 interceptions, but one was a tipped ball and another was on a desperation 40+ yard pass to the end zone in overtime. Overall, a good game for the freshman. (Though I got very tired of commentator Matt Millen saying he looked like a 5th year senior out there.)
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The first of three big games at the end of the season that will determine how successful this year was ended with #16 Ohio State solidly beating #11 Penn State on their home field.

Buckeye quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a native of Jeannette, PA, came into Happy Valley and led his team to victory over the university that tried so hard to recruit him. He had 3 touchdowns in the game today (2 passing, 1 rushing).

Once again, the victory came in large part from the play of Ohio State’s defense. The Buckeyes held the Nittany Lions’ offense to just 7 points (none in the second half), 201 total yards. They came inches away from shutting out Penn State. The one touchdown came after the Nittany Lions got a first down on the Buckeyes’ 2 yard line. The defense made three stops to get to fourth down. Joe Paterno chose to go for it. QB Daryll Clark dove forward on a quarterback sneak. It was ruled a touchdown, though the replays made it look like the referees were being a little generous. Regardless, the defense played well again, helping Ohio State to a comfortable win over a tough opponent.
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Ohio State slipped in the polls to #11 this week, following Saturday night’s loss to USC. I optimistically predicted a #9 ranking. But hey, 11’s not bad. It’s only week 2. There’s still plenty of time for the Buckeyes to move up in the rankings (much to the chagrin of many college football fans).

So the #11 ranking… no big deal. It’s understandable. But what’s not understandable is one set of rankings for the Big Ten conference that has come out this week.

The Big Ten Power Rankings from Rivals.com has the Buckeyes at #4 in the conference. #4? Seriously?! So who do they have ahead of Ohio State?
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Unbelievable.

Or, not surprising. Either one will fit.

Ohio State was not supposed to win this game. They barely beat Navy last week. USC was coming off a lopsided win. Ohio State, an “overrated” #8 was an underdog at home to #3 USC. The Buckeyes were supposed to lose.

But something happened. For 53 minutes, the Buckeyes outplayed the Trojans. With 7:29 left in the game, Ohio State was up 15-10 with USC starting at their own 14 yard line. After a sack and a false start, it looked like the Buckeyes’ defense, which was tough all night, would get the ball back for the offense again.

But then something else happened. (more…)

Week 2 of the college football season and the Buckeyes are facing a must-win game. A loss effectively eliminates Ohio State from any prospect of going to the national championship game. A loss also means the claims that the Buckeyes can’t win a big game and that the Big Ten is a weak conference will continue.

Ohio State lost to USC in Los Angelas last year, 35-3. Now they host the Trojans in Columbus. The Buckeyes have to win this game.

So how will this game play out? There are four possibilities:
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The Ohio State Buckeyes opened the 2009 season at home, barely holding on to beat unranked Navy.

Were it not for Brian Rolle (pictured) intercepting Ricky Dobbs’ 2-point conversion pass and returning it into the end zone for 2 points, the game would have been tied and Navy would have had the chance to steal the game.
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