Displaced Cleveland Fan

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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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…)

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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