Displaced Cleveland Fan

After last week’s tough loss to USC, the Buckeyes traveled north this week to take on the Toledo Rockets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. If there was any wonder whether this team would be able to move on after last week, that was settled early on in this game. After scoring two first quarter touchdowns and building a 24-point halftime lead, the Buckeyes never looked back.

This was not necessarily going to be an easy win for Ohio State. Sure, they were playing an over-matched in-state school. But this team beat Michigan last year. And Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt came into this game leading the nation in total offense (437 yards/game). But the Buckeyes defense completely shut down the Rockets offense. The closest Toledo came to scoring was in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Eric Page had the ball stripped at the goal line. Ohio State recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchback. The Buckeyes then marched down the field for a touchdown to go up 38-0.
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The big story to have come out of Ohio State’s season opener against Navy has nothing to do with the game. The talk has been about Buckeye QB Terrelle Pryor’s tribute to Michael Vick. (Under one eye, he had the name “Vick” written on the eye black.)

Since being released from prison for his role in a dogfighting operation, Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and is waiting for his suspension to be over so he can play football in the NFL once again. The league has been criticized for reinstating him. The Eagles have been criticized for signing him. Now Pryor is under criticism for this show of support.

Many are quick to jump on Pryor for this. Now, I believe he should have run this idea by his coach before doing something that would generate this much controversy. And I believe he could have framed his response better when questioned about it (”Everyone kills people.”). But remember, he’s still just a sophomore in college, so it’s not surprising that he might do something unwise. It’s just that this caught national attention. I don’t believe the coaches will allow him to do something like this again.

But this post is not so much about Pryor’s lapse in judgment, but about the continued animosity people have toward Michael Vick. It has bothered me for a while and this episode with Pryor gives me an excuse to write about it.
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First, the good: (more…)

On January 5, the Ohio State Buckeyes will be in Glendale, AZ to play the #3 Texas Longhorns in the Fiesta Bowl.
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305.

That’s the number of rushing yards Ohio State had against the Illini. Chris “Beanie” Wells ran for 143 yards. Terrelle Pryor added 110 on the ground. The running game was so effective that Pryor only had to attempt 10 passes.
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Back to business.

The Ohio State Buckeyes came off a bye week following a tough loss to Penn State played a solid game, beating #24 Northwestern by 5 touchdowns on their home field.
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The nation can rest easy tonight.

It is no secret that the Buckeyes are one of the most unpopular teams in college football. After two national championship losses, the country dreaded the thought that Ohio State could be back in the title game for a third straight year.

Then came the 35-3 loss on September 13 to USC. Things looked promising for everyone who is not an Ohio State fan. But the Buckeyes would not go away. After getting Chris Wells back and inserting Terrelle Pryor into the starting QB spot, the team won 5 in a row coming into a showdown with #3 Penn State. A win would put Ohio State right in the hunt.
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