Only one today

Only one bowl game today....the MPC Computers Bowl. It's Miami vs. Nevada on the blue turf in Boise.

My God, how the mighty have fallen. Four years ago this week, Miami was planning their "Back-to-back party", celebrating what they thought was an easy championship win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes are still playing for national titles, and Miami's struggling to keep from ripping apart at the seams. Karma's a bitch, ain't it?

I don't know much about Nevada, but whatever they've got, take them. Then sit back and watch the Hurricanes self-destruct. By the end of the game, there will be a full blown fight on the field, maybe even in the tunnel like last year against LSU. The end result will be NCAA sanctions.

And I'll laugh.

Nevada 31
Miami 24

LIFE!!! GIVE MY CREATION.....LIIIIIIFE!!!!!!!

OK, so my computer died, but I have successfully returned it from the grave. It was hairy and ugly, but all is well now.

In the meantime, I've missed out on valuable bowl predictions, so here's a quick summary.

I was shocked at myself for going against two Big Ten schools, but I didn't feel either deserved bowl bids. Purdue beat nobody, and Minnesota got humiliated in the only game I saw them play.

Minnesota vs. Texas Tech
So I chose Texas Tech over Minnesota, and then the Gophers nearly proved me wrong. In the end, Tech scored 30 points after the 3rd quarter and beat Minny.

Purdue vs. Maryland
I feel that Maryland is a damn fine team that hit too many speed bumps, so I took them over Purdue. Honestly, I can't name a single player on Purdue anyway, and I know a lot about college football.

Navy vs. Boston College
I take Navy over BC in an upset. Navy's running game is too good, and if they had a halfway decent passing game, they'd have taken Notre Dame out and spared us the misery of the Hoodie-coach. BC's squeaked out a few wins they shouldn't have, but not in this one. Take the upset with Navy.

Texas vs. Iowa
I call it my "Bad Day Bowl", based on my two versions of Bad Day videos. But in the end, Iowa will continue the Bad Day by losing badly to Texas. I've seen them both in action and watched how they each rebounded from poundings at the hands of the Buckeyes. Texas came back immediately and won their next 8 games (but they have slipped lately). Iowa lost to us and then went 2-5 the rest of the way. How embarassing. Take the Longhorns.

Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
I thought Georgia had a shot at a BCS Bowl, maybe even the Big One. Then I saw them give up 138 points in just under 4 minutes against Tennessee. They're pretenders and only the SEC apologists at CBS have kept their name among good college teams. Meanwhile, Tech has been a powerhouse on defense all year long. They had two consecutive weeks where their defense broke down on them, and they allowed 60 points in those two losses. In their other 10 games combined, they allowed 52 points. The defense will show up and Georgia will be in trouble. Take Virginia Tech.

Bowl predictions, part 6

By the way, FSN Ohio is replaying a bunch of Ohio State games from the past few years. Right now, they're playing the 1999 Minnesota game, and tonight at 730pm, you can watch the 2005 Michigan game. Tomorrow at Noon is the 2002 nailbiter against Cincinnati.

Back to the bowls......

Music City Bowl
Clemson (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5)

In my mind, this game is an important one. If Kentucky wins this one, the SEC fans will begin their assault on reality with their claims to being the best overall conference. It's bullshit and Clemson must win this game in order to keep them in check throughout bowl season.

Fortunately, this shouldn't be a problem, and it's all because of the running game. Let this stat sink in before you make a wager on the Music City Bowl.

Clemson has the 5th-ranked rushing team in the NCAA.
Kentucky has the 112th-ranked rush defense in the NCAA.

Expect the Tigers to pound the ball early and often. James Davis and C.J. Spiller may both end up with huge days, eating up plenty of yardage (and the clock, for that matter). Kentucky will counter with a prolific passing attack (nearly 300 yards per game), but Clemson's pass defense is good, ranked 14th in the NCAA.

Clemson played well enough to beat then-#9 Florida State, then-#13 Georgia Tech (by 24 points), and even beat eventual ACC Champion Wake Forest.

Every time Kentucky played anybody good, they got monkey-stomped. Lost by 31 to Louisville. Lost by 19 to Florida. Lost by 49 to LSU. You can see they're in over their heads.

Clemson 41
Kentucky 27
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Sun Bowl
Oregon State (9-4) vs. Missouri (8-4)

These two teams match up well, and both represent the second tier of their respective conferences. In the end, this game will be one that saves face for one conference, because I don't think either the Big 12 or the PAC-10 will win many games.

Missouri will try to spread the field all day long, because that's what they did throughout 2006. The problem for them is that Oregon State knows how to defend it....remember, they beat USC by shutting down the spread for 3 quarters and then holding on to the end.

The Tigers raced out to a 6-0 record and were ranked 19th when reality set in. Since then, they are 2-4.

The Beavers started slowly, losing three of their first 5 games. Then they found their groove and went 7-1 down the stretch, and five of those games were against bowl teams. They're no fluke.

Expect the late-season streaks to continue. Oregon State will thrive and Mizzou will keep sliding to a merciful end.

Oregon State 27
Missouri 24
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Liberty Bowl
South Carolina (7-5) vs. Houston (10-3)

Seriously, who the hell told Houston they could play in a bowl? I'm pretty sure that Louisiana-Lafayette told them "no" when they actually beat the Cougars back in October. Yeah, yeah, they're champions of Conference USA, so they get in. But come on? Those wins against Memphis, SMU and Grambling State just don't impress me.

Which means that South Carolina, the team who was just one average kicker away from beating #2 Florida, will get an easy win.

I'll be pulling for Houston, just to shut SEC fans up, but I know who's going to win.

South Carolina 31
Houston 28

Bowl predictions, part 5

Gotta get back up on the horse and continue these before I get behind.....

By the way, so far I'm 4-3. But it could be worse...I could be the PAC-10, who sucks big time so far this bowl season.
I incorrectly picked Northern Illinois over TCU, Troy over Rice, and Tulsa over Utah.
I correctly picked BYU over Oregon, South Florida over East Carolina, San Jose State over New Mexico, and Hawaii over Arizona State.

Back to my predictions......

Independence Bowl
Oklahoma State (6-6) vs. Alabama (6-6)

A lot of people will look at this game and wonder how each team got in, based on average records. Fact is, these teams are not as bad as their record suggests they are.

Oklahoma State got walloped once, 36-10 at Texas. Besides that, they played well all year, defeating a ranked Nebraska by 12 points, and nearly knocking off Big 12 Champion Oklahoma (they had three shots inside the Sooner 25 yard line in the final 30 seconds, before losing by 6).

Alabama had a rough schedule and lost to four ranked teams, sometimes close (three points at Tennessee) and sometimes not so close (15 points against Florida). But their wins are not very impressive, claiming only to hold Colt Brennan to a meager 2 TD passes in a win over Hawaii.

So the records are evenly matched......are the teams evenly matched? No, they are not.

Oklahoma State's offense is better than the Bama defense, and the Bama offensive line is awful. Throw in the fact that Bama doesn't have a head coach, and it doesn't look good for the SEC in their first bowl matchup.
Oklahoma State 27
Alabama 17
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Texas Bowl
Rutgers (10-2) vs. Kansas State (7-5)

Now the bowls are starting to get interesting. In my opinion, this is the first "must-see" bowl game of the year. It features two teams that nobody expected to do well. A couple of upsets later, we have the makings of a great game.

Rutgers has a lot of talent on their team, led by Heisman candidate Ray Rice. But as the season wore on, Rice became less of a focal point on the team and more of the go-to guy. The Big East quickly learned that they needed to penetrate and stop more than just Rice. Sure, Rice racked up over 1,600 yards on the ground, but when the chips were down, Rutgers often went away from Rice to make the winning play.

Kansas State looked like an average squad and was barely bowl-eligible when they met up with then-4th-ranked Texas. Late in the 3rd quarter, the Longhorns had kissed their chances at an Ohio State rematch goodbye, when KSU led them 42-21. Texas tacked on some points in garbage time, but the country had seen that the Wildcats were for real.

So we have two teams with a lot to prove, and I believe it will boil down to who has the most heart. Kansas State needs to prove they are still capable of great football...keep in mind, they were a BCS team just 3 years ago. Rutgers needs to prove that they belong with the big boys and that the Louisville game is indicative of their team, and not the Cincinnati game.

And if comes down to heart, I choose Rutgers. Plus, I'm betting that most of the college football world become fans of the Scarlet Knights on this night. It's just too good of a storyline.

Rutgers 33
Kansas State 24
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Holiday Bowl
Texas A&M (9-3) vs. California (9-3)

Another exciting game, and unfortunately it is at the same time as the Texas Bowl. Come on, people??? There's 32 bowls in 20 days....surely you could have scheduled each game at a separate time.

California was very close to the Rose Bowl, but USC kept them out of it. But the Bears did beat two then-ranked teams (Oregon and Arizona State). However, let's look at what those three teams did in their last games.....they lost to UCLA, BYU, and Hawaii....not a good sign). Cal does have a great offense and I expect them to open it up as much as possible. They'll attack through the air as often as possible, but their good rushing attack will force the Aggies defense to stay honest.

Texas A&M also has offensive firepower, but theirs is more of a grinding ground game. But their best win of the year came as a result of their defense, holding Texas to just 7 points, their lowest of the year (tied by Ohio State). A&M does not have the best defense, but it came through when it had to.

Cal was once considered a contender for the National Championship. One game later, they lost badly to Tennessee. Later in the year, they were in contention for the Pac-10 title. One game later, they lost badly to USC. We've seen what they do when the spotlight is on the Golden Bears. It'll happen to them again.

Texas A&M 21
California 17

Bowl predictions, part 4

Onward we march.....

Motor City Bowl
Middle Tennessee (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (9-4)

I'm going to make this one very simple for everybody. Take Central Michigan. Although the MAC is not the greatest conference, it's still not easy to win. Everybody thought Garrett Wolfe would carry NIU to a title, or at least thought Akron had a shot at a repeat. Instead, Central Michigan had a great year and won when it needed to, especially in a 3-touchdown victory over Ohio in the title game. Give them respect for winning the conference, and bet on them to win in their home state.

As for Middle Tennessee, I have to wonder how they got to a bowl game anyway? They're 7-5, beating teams like Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Arkansas State, Tennessee Tech, and North Texas. What the hell?

When they played good teams, they got killed. 24-10 to Maryland, 59-0 to Oklahoma, 44-17 to Louisiana, and 52-7 to South Carolina.

Nuff said. Take the Chippewas.

Central Michigan 24
Middle Tennessee 17
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Emerald Bowl
Florida State (6-6) vs. UCLA (7-5)

OK, so this game isn't exactly the greatest bowl game, considering the average play of each team throughout the year, but at least we can say that both teams have a tradition and KNOW how to play bowl games.

Florida State never really put together much of anything this year. Even when they beat Miami early on (when everyone still thought both teams were good), it wasn't impressive. The teams combined for three yeards rushing. But still, they beat a big rival and that gets respect. Also, they held their own and could have knocked off Florida, who is preparing for the big one.

UCLA struggled during the middle of the year, an a heartbreaker at Notre Dame was the focus of a 4-game losing streak. But nobody can deny the Bruins anything after they stole the dreams of everyone at the rival university. That win against USC was one for the ages.

This game will be all about defense. Neither team has an outstanding offense, which means I expect the game to be low-scoring. But the key to this game isn't about offense or defense...it's about intangibles.

UCLA wants to win because they need to build on that big win over USC. They return 19 starters next year and could be a contender if they maintain confidence, and they could do that by winning a bowl game.

FSU needs to win to save face. A losing record is NOT welcome at Football State University, and would devastate a lot of their recruiting efforts in a state that has Florida's Urban Meyer promoting the BCS Championship Game as their focal point. Going 6-7 on the year would be the best thing to happen to the Gators. "Son, you want to stay in Florida to play college ball? You can come here and play for national championships, you can go to FSU and try to be average, or you can play for......wait, who's the coach at Miami again?"

Take the Bruins. Not even Bobby Bowden will scare the Bruins this year.

UCLA 20
FSU 17

My new video

I spent a lot of time figuring this one out...MUCH longer than it took to actually put it together.

A couple of friends and I sat down for a long and in-depth discussion Our goal was to come up with the Top 10 Ohio State plays of 2006. The top 3 were easy....after that, it became a rough discussion. A couple of beers later, we decided to expand the list to include 15 plays (and we STILL had to leave off some great plays). Here's the fruit of our labor....



Now I KNOW that there were some deserving plays that had to be left out....what are your top plays? Which ones did we leave off that you liked? Did we get it right?

And as a bonus, here's a little recap of our Top 15;

#15 - Smith-to-Ginn for 46 yards against Texas. Ohio State needed to start off strong to establish themselves quickly against #2 Texas. Smith takes a hard hit after going outside the pocket, but not before he finds a slashing Ginn, who races across the field and down the Texas sideline.
#14 - Chris Wells' 52-yard run against Michigan. Against the best rushing defense in the NCAA, Wells' takes a handoff, spins away from a tackle, and cuts down the center of the defense on his way to the biggest TD of his career. And he did it without slipping on the field. He used a new-fangled device called "cleats".
#13 - Smith-to-Robiskie against Iowa. It's not often that a 13-yard slant pattern gets to be a huge play, but Smith threw the perfect pass, and Robiskie somehow caught it despite having a defender literally between him and the QB. Watch the replay. If that pass is inches to the left, it bounces off the defender. Simply incredible.
#12 - Brian Hartline makes the hit of the year. Hartline opens up a tremendous hit on an Indiana kickoff returner. I was at this game, and I still can hear the hit to this day. Hartline actually knocked the player from the game.
#11 - Marcus Freeman's interception against Iowa. The game still had a bit of drama to it with Iowa trailing by 2 TDs and a fired-up Hawkeye crowd ready for a comeback. But in one quick play, Freeman ended their hopes by batting a pass in the air and snatching it deep inside Iowa territory.
#10 - Ginn's punt return TD against MSU. We'd waited all year for him to take it to the house, and he did, thanks to speed in traffic and a huge block by Roy Hall. Hall's block comes to Ginn's right side at the 41 yard line.
#9 - Malcolm Jenkins' INT against Penn State. The game was still within reach at 14-6 when Jenkins picked off an Anthony Morelli pass and weaved his way to the end zone. The play was an eerie reminder of Chris Gamble's INT for a TD against...Penn State...the last time OSU went unbeaten. To make it even more strange, Jankins and Gamble intercepted their passes at the exacy same spot on the field.
#8 - Smith fakes out the entire Michigan defense. It was 2nd-and-1 in the 2nd quarter, and Ohio State hurried to the line, scrambling the UM defense. Ginn lined up tight on the line, and everybody thought Chris Wells was going to dive over the middle across the yard marker. He did. But Troy Smith hid the ball behind his own back, and found a streaking Ginn over the middle in a fake so perfect, it even surprised Brent Musburger.
#7 - Smith dodges Indiana defense, finds Ginn. Had Smith decided to keep running around end on this scramble, he could have easily gained 20 yards on the ground. But a QB as amazing as him has eyes all over the field, and he found Ginn in time to stop, backpedal two steps and fire it from his back foot. A perfect pass, and the "Are you kidding me?" trend from annnouncers began.
#6 - Smith again dodges a defense to fire a TD pass, this time to Michigan State. There is no way any other QB completes this play. Smith should have been tackled at least twice, but came out of traffic clean, then fired a bullet to Robiskie, the force of the pass knocking him to the ground. The most remarkable part of this play....the intense roar of the crowd, and we were playing AT Michigan State.
#5 - Ginn runs a reverse, but throws it to Rory Nicol for a TD. We were up by 25 points at the time, and the game was in control, so why run a trick play? I'll tell you why....to scare the bejeezus out of Michigan. We forced the Blue to change their defensive game plan by opening up the playbook a few weeks in advance, but in the meantime we got to see one of the most entertaining plays in all of college football for 2006.
#4 - Laurinaitus forces a fumble against Texas and Washington scoops it up. Texas was 2 yards away from taking the lead against Ohio State when a huge momentum shift took place. All of a sudden, the crowd was silent in Austin, and they rarely had another chance to get loud the rest of the night.
#3 - Troy Smith wins the Heisman in week #4. Struggling against Penn State on a sloppy field, Smith decided to take matters into his own hands. He scrambled right, then reversed field and fired from his own territory straight down the center of the field. The ball traveled 60 yards in the air before resting in the arms of Robiskie. It was like watching that Doug Flutie pass, except that the QB in this case has talent.
#2 - Antonio Pittman breaks free against Michigan. The Wolverines had battled back to within four points, and a couple of turnovers had Buckeye fans worrying. On 2nd-and-1, Tressel showed the I-formation, and several huge blocks at the line of scrimmage opened up a hole for Pittman to scamper through. The rest of the defense was nowhere to be found, and Pittman raced untouched down the field. Musburger calls it a TD when Pittman is still 30 yards away from the goal line, but it wasn't in doubt. Michigan never again had the ball on offense with a chance to take the lead.
#1 - Anthony Gonzalez weaves his way through Iowa's defense for a TD. We'd all spent two years watching Ted Ginn Jr. reverse direction and sometimes run the wrong way in order to open up an opportunity to gain yardage across the field. And we liked it. But what the hell was Gonzo doing trying that? Oh, never mind. I have watched this play over and over again, and I have counted 11 Iowa players who were within 2-3 yards of Gonzalez, all of whom were left shaking their heads by the time the play was over. Hartline makes a HUGE block at the 10 that takes out two Iowa defenders (including Little Mitchy King, who earlier had yanked off Datish's helmet and punched him in the face). Gonzo ran about 50 or 60 yards to get a 30-yard TD, but it goes down as the Play Of The Year in my book. Oh, and the "are you kidding me?" comment is revived here.

Buckeyes leaving for the NFL?

This story hit the news today, and it is sending a bit of a scare through Buckeye fans tonight.....

Ginn, Gonzalez, Pittman, Barton could leave early

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Four of Ohio State's top offensive players are considering leaving school early to enter the NFL draft.

Junior wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez, tailback Antonio Pittman and lineman Kirk Barton filed paperwork with the NFL on Friday.

"We're just awaiting some information so that we can make good decisions," said coach Jim Tressel, whose No. 1 Buckeyes play No. 2 Florida for the national title Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.

An NFL advisory committee estimates where, or if, a player might be taken in the draft. A player can then elect to remain in college or make himself available for the draft.

In my honest opinion, this is no big deal. Players do this all the time, and it's not big news...it's merely an exploratory thing. We'll know more in a couple of months, but this story is purely semantics. Players want to know where they'll stand, and this will provide them with insight.

I expect Ginn to leave for the NFL. After the Notre Dame game last year, Ginn was asked if he was going to follow Holmes into the NFL and he was quoted as saying he'd like to come back "for one more year". That gave me the distinct impression that he would leave after his junior year, and I still believe that.

I'm not sure about Barton. Good linemen are at a premium in The Show, and the lure of the NFL may be too much for him to ignore. Dear God, if the Browns don't draft Troy Smith, please make it up to us by taking a lineman of Barton's calibre.

However, I don't think Pittman and Gonzalez will leave. They've both made convincing statements that lead me to believe they'll stay Buckeyes through their senior years, and they'll stay true to their word.

"Then why would they file papers?" is the next question. For many reasons. One of which could involve Lloyd's Of London. A player may take that NFL scouting report and purchase insurance on themselves, based on future earnings. This way, if they get hurt in college, they'll still get a little of that NFL money in the way of insurance payments. It happens. For a high-profile example, Peyton Manning insured himself for his senior season at Tennessee.

But above all, Buckeye fans...don't panic. This is not a big deal at all. Hell, it's only being reported because there were four filings all at once.

Oh, and read between the lines of the story....Tressel ASKED his players to file the papers and see where they stand. If THAT doesn't show you how he puts his players best personal interests over the entire program, then nothing else will. And that's the type of coach I want...someone who will be a second father to our boys. That gets respect from his players, and it's heartwarming. remember when John Cooper used to bitch about players leaving early for the NFL?

Bowl predictions, part 3

Another edition....I'll keep posting these until I spotlight every game.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Utah (7-5) vs. Tulsa (8-4)

Sigh....this is getting bad. I can't wait until I get through the crappy bowl games and I start looking into the BCS games. This whole project of mine is turning into "let's find a whole mess of reasons why this team doesn't deserve a bowl game".

Again, neither team shows me much of anything.

Utah has seven wins. The records of the teams they beat? 6-5. 1-11. 3-9. 2-10. 4-8. 4-8. But they did hand TCU one of their two losses, which I assume is why they're in.

Tulsa was 7-1 at one point. They were probably shopping for a bowl then. But then they had to face the "meat" of their schedule...the mighty teams known as Houston, Rice, and Southern Methodist. Three losses later and they were 7-4. Thank heavens they found a team outside of the state of Texas to beat in their final game....Tulane.

I suppose if you want to see a high-scoring bowl game, this is one you will want to tune in and watch. Both teams throw the ball a lot, with the two starting QBs combining for over 5,000 yards, or roughly one Colt Brennan.

Since the passing games are very closely matched, I'll go with Tulsa for two reasons. Their running game is one. Courtney Tennial has 14 rushing TDs to go with his 800 yards on the ground. Not awesome, but good. The other reason is defense. Tulsa's defense is ranked 19th in the NCAA, while Utah's is ranked 56th.

Both teams will score a lot, but Tulsa's defense will be able to stop Utah at the end of the game, which will spark memories of their loss to BYU, which nobody outside of our least-appreciated state will remember anyway.

Tulsa 41
Utah 37
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Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii (10-3) vs. Arizona State (7-5)

I cannot wait until this game takes place. Like most of you, I have not had the good fortune to watch Colt Brennan play, and this will be my first opportunity. The game is on Christmas Eve at 8pm, which means your kids will be in bed (awake and anxious, but in bed), so put the TV on while you help Santa get presents under the tree and enjoy this one.

I'm putting absolute faith in the fact that Arizona State has an average defense and Hawaii has a prolific offense.

• Hawaii QB Colt Brennan threw for 400 yards in a game....eight times.
• He also threw 4 TDs in a game....nine times.
• Hawaii scored 40 points in a game.....ten times.
• Brennan completed more than two-thirds of his passes....twelve times.

Arizona State played three ranked teams, California, Oregon, and USC. They lost all three games, and they allowed over 40 points per game in the three. They also gave up 44 points to Oregon State. Their passing defense is ranked 34th in the NCAA, and they are ranked 68th in scoring defense.

Add this all up, throw in the fact that Brennan is a junior and wants to win a Heisman Trophy next year (and will be on national TV for the first time), and you have the makings of a blowout.

Hawaii 59
Arizona State 21

Bowl predictions, part 2

Following up on my prognostications for Bowl Season......

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Rice (7-5) vs. Troy (7-5)

I gotta be honest, who cares? Well, I won't watch this one, but I did promise to give capsules of all the games, so here goes.

Neither Rice nor Troy deserve a bowl game. However, both will get the thrill of it. Rice picked up a spot based on a late-season 6-game win streak. The problem is, they played six weak teams and barely beat each of them.

They beat a 3-9 UAB by one point
They beat a 4-8 UCF by 11 points
They beat a 5-7 UTEP by 6 points
They beat a 8-4 Tulsa by 3 points
They beat a 7-5 East Carolina by 1 point
They beat a 6-6 SMU by 4 points

The only two worthy opponents they faced were Texas and a weak Florida State. Rice lost by a combined score of 107-14.

I can make a somewhat better argument for Troy, since they were beating FSU late in the game before falling to the Seminoles by 7 points. But I'm not impressed with wins over Florida International, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Middle Tennessee State. Plus, that loss to Arkansas State?

ESPN is claiming that it will be a high-scoring affair, and I'm sure they're trying to boost ratings of a pathetic bowl matchup. Rice is ranked 51st in the NCAA in total offense, Troy is ranked 80th. And do I need to remind you who their opponents were in which they compiled yardage to get them to their lofty rankings of 51st and 80th???

Rice will rely on WR Jarrett Dillard, who has 20 TD catches, which is impressive by any standard. But that's the only time I'll use the word "impressive" to discuss this game. It's enough for me to give Rice the win.

Rice 31
Troy 17
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Papajohns.com Bowl
South Florida (8-4) vs. East Carolina (7-5)

I must admit, I like this matchup. Yes, I know I just spent some time disparaging Rice for beating East Carolina by only one point. East Carolina just barely deserves their chance, but they get my respect by knocking off Virginia. I know Virginia wasn't a quality team this year, but teams like Virginia, when in down years, get their win total up by beating the East Carolinas of the world. Overcoming the second-tier status and knocking off the Cavaliers is enough for me.

South Florida is a completely different story. I watched them beat West Virginia, and they were fun to watch. They took it to the Mountaineers in every aspect and kept their foot on WVAs throat until the game was over. WVA had a chance to win the Big East and that game meant the world to them...and South Florida wouldn't let them win, IN Morgantown. The Bulls also looked great against Rutgers, but fell by 2 points.

Defense is the key to this game, and South Florida has the advantage. Their secondary has enough to shut down ECU, and if you watched their DL shut down Slaton and White, you'd know enough to bet on the Bulls in this game.

South Florida 27
East Carolina 10
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New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico (6-6) vs. San Jose State (8-4)

When I saw this matchup announced, I though "Wow! How convienent that the New Mexico Bowl found a 6-6 team worthy to play! And it must be a coincidence that the team was New Mexico". I hate setups like that and I'm not happy about it in the least.

The Lobos have done nothing this year except squeak out 6 wins. Their last two wins ere against 4-8 Colorado State and 3-9 San Diego State. They were humiliated at BYU by 25 points, and they LOST to Division 1-AA Portland State. Give me a break.

San Jose State, on the other hand, earned their trip. The schedule isn't full of world-beaters, but they knocked off 8 teams and was the team that came the closest to defeating 12-0 Boise State, falling by only three points.

SJSU's QB is Adam Tafralis. If you watch this game, you'll be impressed with him. His QB rating is 151.05, and he's thrown 20 TDs to 8 INTs. We're spoiled with Troy Smith, but if you look at Tafralis' numbers, you will see that he has led his team valiantly. To be honest, SJSU looks like a poor-man's version of the Buckeyes. A good QB who can run, a 1,000 yard rusher backed up by a young RB with 400+ yards, and two WRs with over 700 yards each.

If the defense holds up and they can overcome a home-field bowl, I'll give them their 9th win.

San Jose State 31
New Mexico 28

My Bowl predictions, part 1

OK, I've drifted away from the discussion of college football lately, and that ends today. The following is my first installment of my thoughts on Bowl Season. I'll briefly breakdown each game and make my predictions. Here we go.....

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Northern Illinois (7-5) vs. Texas Christian (10-2)

Let me get this out of the way now. Who the fuck allowed this bowl to be named? OK, now on to the breakdown....

Most people will look at the teams' records and declare a 10-2 TCU the winner over a 7-5 NIU....not so fast. TCU may be the better team, but there is an deeper quality to both teams that will make this one a good game.

Both teams have great offenses. TCU is ranked 17th in total offense, NIU 24th. Both are due to prolific rushing attacks. Most of the pre-game discussion will focus around Huskies' RB Garrett Wolfe, who will likely break 2,000 yards for the season sometime during the game.

After viewing the schedules of each team, I'm not convinced that a clear winner will emerge until the final minutes of the game.

NIU's losses came to quality opponents (with the exception of a close defeat to 5-7 Toledo), including the #1 ranked Buckeyes. Their only quality win is a 3-touchdown destruction over MAC champion Central Michigan.

TCU had only three quality opponents all year. They lost to Mountain West champion BYU 31-17, and the MWC's 3rd-place team Utah 20-7. They did knock off Texas Tech 12-3, who was ranked at the time, but TT finished 7-5 on the year. They have looked good lately, winning their final five games by an average of 37-12. But those five games were against the worst five teams in a horrible conference. That stat also helps foster TCU's defense stats, which put them at #4 in the NCAA. But I'm just not impressed.

Garrett Wolfe will be the difference.

Northern Illinois 34
Texas Christian 24
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Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl
BYU (10-2) vs. Oregon (7-5)

BYU is on a 9-game winning streak, mostly against below-average teams. But that streak does include a win over 10-2 TCU (in Texas) and their biggest rival Utah (at Salt Lake City). Their only losses are to ranked Boston College 30-23, and at Arizona 16-13.

Oregon is on a 3-game losing streak, getting demolished by USC 35-10, losing to rival Oregon State 30-28, and getting crushed by Arizona 37-10.

Oregon should not be in a bowl game. Their 7 wins came against teams that are 1-11, 4-8, 7-5, 7-5, 5-7, a Division 1-AA Portland State, and Oklahoma....and we all remember how they beat Oklahoma. Had the Oklahoma game been reviewed properly, the Sooners would have won and Oregon would have only had 5 wins against 1-A schools, rendering them unqualified.

Furthermore, that Arizona team will show the difference in the two schools. Both lost to the Cats, but BYU lost by 3. Oregon lost by 27.

Plus, Oregon sucks in bowl games.

BYU 28
Oregon 17

Two wrongs probably don't make a right

Remember when all the Michigan blogs and fan sites were posting a video of an Ohio resident who was caught masturbating in a public library? Not a single person I know was happy to hear about this story, because it was just plain awful.

Let me rephrase that....Michigan fans were THRILLED to hear this story and couldn't wait to tell all their friends about it....because the asshole who couldn't squeeze one off in private was wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt.

Well, my mother always told me that two wrongs don't make a right, but to hell with it....watch this video anyway!!!!



Now you tell me....which is funnier?

a) An Ohio State fan whacking off in public
b) A Michigan fan getting teabagged

A really good Saturday

OK, allow me a personal post...I do so few of these, so be patient.

On Saturday, Troy Smith had the best day of any resident of the state of Ohio....I may have had the second-best day, though.

I went up to Cleveland to see The Lemonheads, playing a show at the Grog Shop, fast on the heels of their first studio album in 10 years. I've always been a fan of the band, even naming my cat after their lead singer Evan Dando. And if you are in your late 20s or 30s, odds are you know a song or two by them.

The band takes the stage a little after 11pm, and it's a fun, laid-back show. Up-tempo, but very intimate, like you were watching an old friend play a show. Playful banter between Dando and the people up against the stage, a few ad-libbed changes to the playlist, etc. A really good time.

Midway through the show, a girl near us calls for them to play "Mrs. Robinson", their cover of the old Simon and Garfunkel tune. They discuss it amongst each other, and Evan tells the woman that he's tired of playing the song, and asks if anybody else wants to sing it. My hand goes up right away, and he actually invites my on stage to sing the tune!!!!

So up I go, and I spend the next four minutes as the lead singer of The Lemonheads. It was exhilarating, and I loved it. Evan gave me a big hug as I left the stage, and we got to chat for a few minutes after the show. It was a night I'll never forget as long as I live.

But still, it was the second-best night that a Buckeye had. I think winning the Heisman qualifies as a better night.

About 2 hours to go

There's a little over 2 hours left before the Heisman Trophy Presentation begins. I'm leaving in 5 minutes to go to Cleveland and see a concert (The Lemonheads, if you want to know). Since I'll be gone, choose from the following stories after 8pm.....

a) The voters made the right choice, and only Notre Ame fans were unable to grasp the reality of it all. Congratulations to Troy Smith on moving Ohio State into a first-place tie for the school with the most Heisman Trophies...our 7th! Mazel Tov, Troy!

b) A complete travesty, unparalleled by anything I've ever seen. Troy Smith, go take it out on Florida, and bring home the Crystal Football!!!

But let's be honest...we all KNOW Troy wins it. The only question left is "will he win it by the largest margin ever?"

P.S. Yes, I know I called them "Notre Ame". We already know there's no D at that school, so let's have the name reflect it.

Desperately seeking inspiration

"When are you going to put out "Michigan Had A Bad Day"?....it's a question I've heard a lot lately.

I've put together a few short video clips lately, but to be honest, they just don't have the passion and the spirit that the rest of my films possess. I've set aside most of the drive and inspiration that used to help create my videos.

Frankly, I think it might be because I made my previous movies to help get myself (and others) hyped up for the next game. It was a way to stay excited about Buckeye football....but after seeing the best game I've watched in a LONG time, it's hard to top that sort of excitement.

Plus, let's be honest....Texas had a bad day. Iowa had a bad day. But Michigan just simply DIDN'T have a bad day. They just weren't capable of beating Ohio State. And I could make a good video right now and throw in a bunch of plays that didn't go Michigan's way...but it just wouldn't be the same. It would be much harder to laugh at a team that took us to the brink so well.

Granted, I still have a strong distaste for the maize and blue....but in the words of a friend I "get it" when it comes to that rivarly. You gotta still respect the tradition and the rivarly. John Cooper didn't "get it", and his record in The Game shows. Jim Tressel "gets it", and it's why he is able to outsmart Michigan year after year.

I'm excited for the National Championship game. But I put so much energy into The Game that it's hard to get off that roller coaster, only to jump back on another one immediately.

I'm going to spend some time tonight making a season recap, which should be fun....but I felt that it was necessary to explain why a Bad Day video was having a hard time flowing from my brain to my Windows Movie Maker.

Heisman invitations go out today

This afternoon, 5 invitations will be sent to college athletes, inviting them to New York City for the Heisman Trophy Presentation.

In other words, 4 college football players will be asked to come witness Troy Smith's acceptance speech.

But the Notre Dame fans in the media are crying foul already.... this guy seems to think that Brady Quinn should get the Heisman because he has no defense on his team, and he tried so hard to beat Michigan and USC, but his team sucks, so give it to him. Or something like that. Then he pushes Quinn because of his yardage and passing TDs.

Furthermore, the writer seems to forget that two of Michigan's TDs were scored because Quinn threw an INT for a TD and fumbled for another TD.

I always hate it when people push Quinn's numbers, without reporting how many times he actually threw the ball, so one more time, here they are......

Troy Smith - 199-297 - 67% completion - 2,507 yards - 30 TDs - 5 INT - 167.9 rating
Brady Quinn - 274-432 - 63% completion - 3,278 yds - 35 TDs - 5 INT - 151.6 rating

Had Troy Smith thrown the ball as many times as Quinn, his numbers would have looked like this......

Troy Smith - 290-432 for 3,647 yards - 44 TDs, 7 INTs

If the ball had been in Smith's hands on a passing play as many times as it was for Brady Quinn, Smith would have thrown for an extra 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns. THAT is how much better he is than Quinn.

Not like it matters, because the Heisman is already decided......but case closed.

The Tears Of A Clown

POJO took notice of this a few days ago, and I'd like to add comment.

Apparently, Brian at M Go Blog has been doing a fair amount of whining about the turf at Ohio State, baselessly claiming that Michigan lost because of it.

I suppose he's right. It's a good thing Ohio State was allowed to install drier grass each time they got the ball, then re-installing the old stuff whenever we were on defense.

But, rather than come up with new ways to say "you're an idiot", I decided to do what I do best....make a new video.

Let the bitching commence

So far, I've only seen a little bit of whining from fans of TTUN, but I'm sure a lot more of it will come soon.

Did Michigan deserve a chance? Sure they did.
They deserve it more than Florida? No, they didn't. It was really, really close, though.

Here's the way I see it;

• When Michigan took the field against Ohio State, they KNEW that they would make the Championship Game with a win. They lost.
• When USC took the field against UCLA, they KNEW that they would make the Championship Game with a win. They lost.
• When Florida took the field against Arkansas, they had a chance to make the Championship Game with a win. They won.
• When Ohio State took the field against Michigan, they KNEW that they would make the Championship Game with a win. They won.

Two teams wanted it more when the final battle took place. Two teams did not.

It's that simple.

Oh, and for everybody who begins the whine of "Ali/Frazier had a rematch, why can't we do it too", allow me to remind you that Ali and Frazier fought three times....but it took FOUR YEARS for those three fights. Michigan shall have their rematch, just like Ali and Frazier did....next year.

My thoughts on who we get to beat

I'm looking at all the polls, and I'm trying to estimate what will happen in the next 22 hours.

The BCS is comprised of three factions...the Coaches' Poll, the Harris Poll, and the Computer polls. Headed into today's action, Florida trailed Michigan by 0.0319 points.

After careful consideration of the polls, I predict that Florida will be headed to Glendale, Arizona. Here's why;

The computer polls are a strange lot, but they will make a big difference. Here's how they looked this morning

• AH - Michigan 3rd, Florida 4th
• RB - Michigan 2nd, Florida 4th
• CM - Florida 3rd, Michigan 4th
• KM - Florida 3rd, Michigan 4th
• JS - Michigan 2nd, Florida 4th
• PW - Michigan 2nd, Florida 4th

Let's assume that NO leapfrogging takes place in the computer polls. USC falls out of all of them, and both UM and UF advance where they can. Michigan will advance one spot in three of the polls, Florida will advance one spot in all six. The computers take out your best ranking and your worst ranking, and tally the results.

• Michigan will gain .02 in the computer polls
• Florida will gain .04 in the computer polls

That brings the difference down to 0.0119. Which means the X-Factor will be the Coaches Poll.

A difference of 0.0254 separates Michigan and Florida in the Coaches Poll. USC will certainly lose all of their second-place votes, but who will they lose them to? Michigan or Florida???

Raise your hand if you think ANY SEC coaches....ANY of them....will put Michigan in 2nd place on their ballots. The SEC is desperate to maintain their "we are the best conference" mantra, and will vote to put their school in the title game. The Big Ten hasn't got as much loyalty, especially since one of their teams is already in the game.

I wouldn't even be surprised to see Tuberville and Urban Meyer vote Florida as #1 to give the Gators an extra boost into the championship. I doubt that will happen, but it wouldn't shock me at all. Tuberville's not above that kind of manipulation, and Meyer's been whining for weeks. If given a ballot and a chance to boost his team a little more, he'd be a fool to not do it.

Add to that the chance of leapfrogging in ANY poll, and you have Florida in Glendale. Florida just beat the BCS' #9 team while Michigan was idle for the second straight week...that adds up to at least a few leapfrogs.

Fair or not, this is what I see happening. And I think it's another nail in the coffin of the BCS.

But then again, I also predicted USC and Arkansas to win today, so take my calls with a huge frickin' grain of salt.

The Curse of #2 continues.....

Look at how many teams have been ranked #2 so far this year.....

Notre Dame
Texas
Auburn
Florida
Michigan
USC

They all lost after being #2. But none of them choked as badly as USC did...man, that was hilarious.

So one team who was #2 previously will get their chance again...either Florida or Michigan will be #2 tomorrow.

The Curse Of Number 2...may it continue for at least another 7 weeks.

A big week starts today

Today begins what may be a very historical week for the Buckeyes football team. They might be facing their biggest week in which they don't have a game to play. Yeah, that sounds strange, but it makes sense in my head.

• Today at 4:30, USC takes the field against UCLA. All speculation says that if USC wins today, they'll secure the #2 BCS slot and head to Glendale for the BCS National Championship Game.
• However, we won't know for sure until 8pm on Sunday. That's when the BCS bids will be announced officially. Ten teams will learn which BCS Bowl game they are headed to, and we'll find out who our 13th victim is at that time.
• Wednesday afternoon, Troy Smith will get his invitation to the Heisman Trophy Presentation. 5 athletes will be invited, and the only drama is whether or not Brady Quinn even gets to attend (my guess is no, he'll finish 6th in voting and will not be attending)
• Then the following Saturday afternoon, Troy Smith heads to New York City to accept his Heisman Trophy.

On a different note, here's my predictions for today's games, which will lead to the following BCS Bowl games.....

• USC will easily defeat UCLA, but Pete Carroll will run up the score to distance themselves from #3 Michigan. The backlash will not be pretty.
• Arkansas will win the SEC Championship, then claim they deserve to play in the Championship Game, convienently forgetting their 50-16 loss to USC in Week 1. They will officially steal Michigan's battle cry, commonly known as "That Game Didn't Count, So We Want A Do-Over".
• Meanwhile, LSU fans will be left in a hysterical fit over the BCS rule that only allows two teams from the same conference to play in BCS Bowls. Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville will be seen bitching on televisions across Alabama, screaming "conspiracy" for not allowing a 10-2 Auburn or a 10-2 LSU into the BCS.
• In another part of the country, 11-1 Wisconsin will prepare for their non-BCS Bowl game in a very dignified manner, completely ignored by the commentators who will be broadcasting Tuberville and his wailing.
• In the most ignored championship game of the 21st Century, Wake Forest will win the ACC over the team they are playing. I forget who it is, and I don't care enough about the game to research it. Oh, yeah. Georgia Tech. Whatever.
• Oklahoma will win the Big 12 over Nebraska, and in my opinion, this should give Bob Stoops the Coach Of The Year award. Find me another coach that can lose a starting QB and a Heisman candidate at RB and still win 11 games and a league title (12 if you count the Oregon debacle).
• Rutgers will knock off West Virginia to win the Big East title. Mountaineer fans everywhere will immediately begin their claim as the "best 3-loss team in the NCAA".

The outcome of this weekend will create the most fucked-up BCS series in history. Bowls will scramble to grab teams that can sell tickets, and the result will leave the worst matchups we have ever seen.

BCS National Championship Game - 1/8/07
Ohio State vs. USC

Sugar Bowl - 1/3/07
Arkansas vs. Notre Dame

Orange Bowl - 1/2/07
Wake Forest vs. Florida

Fiesta Bowl - 1/1/07
Oklahoma vs. Boise State

Rose Bowl - 1/1/07
Michigan vs. Louisville

Sweet Christ, I hate Dick Vitale

I watched the Ohio State-North Carolina basketball game last night (like most of you), and I absolutely LOVED what I saw. The boys were INCREDIBLE. Outside shooting, inside power, hustle, defense, passing the ball quickly, etc, etc, etc. If only we were allowed to take three steps in the paint like ACC teams were, we would have won....but that's another story.

The only part I HATED about the game was the incessant pounding of the "Greg Oden is God, or will be at a later date" theme by the aptly-named Dick Vitale. Dicky, we KNOW that Oden was an amazing high school athlete and has the potential to be an even better college player and someday an even better NBA player....but can we PLEASE save the constant prognostications until the kid has played at least ONE game in college??

- Did you really have to proclaim him as the best college player in three decades (and you did do that) before he's even worn the uniform???
- Did you really have to compare him to some of the all-time greats (which you did do) before he's made a single basket???
- Did you really have to put him on the NBA All-Star team (which you did do) before he's even stepped on the court???

I know your job at ESPN is to cheerlead and come up with phrases (like "dipsy-dooooo, baby") that I used to say to my daughter when she was an infant (but stopped when the diapers were retired, because it seemed too.......childish). But come ON, man...give it a rest until we at least see the kid play!!!!!

Honestly, Dick, your predictions and guarantees reminded me of one player. Granted, it's from a different sport, but does the name Ron Powlus mean ANYTHING to you? After one half of quarterbacking (against Northwestern, by the way), there was a little over-zealous prognosticating going on about Powlus' future, proclaiming him to be better than Joe Montana. These days, Powlus is now the guy who asks you if you want the hot wax with your car wash.

Calm down, Dickie. You ruined a great night of college basketball with your bullshit. All that excessive excitement and screaming is going to give you a stroke or something.

Wait a minute. On second thought......

Bouncing back.....

I've been fighting it for a few days, but this morning the flu got me. I've been pretty sick most of the day, but now I'm on a heavy dose of medicine, and am too wired to sleep (slept for hours this afternoon).

So consider that my apology for not getting a new video up, but I am working on it now. If I can maintain a relatively healthy status for a few hours, it'll be finished tonight. And when I fully recover, I have a few other ideas that you might see popping up on YouTube.

Stay tuned.

Michigan gets their rematch, cries about it

It looks like Michigan is going to get a rematch. They have been whining for a rematch....and now they've got one, and their fans are already whining about that, too!

Last night, USC monkey-stomped Notre Dame 44-24, and launched themselves into the #2 BCS slot. A win over UCLA will secure their spot in the championship game. Notre Dame finishes their season at 10-2 and appears to be headed to the Rose Bowl to play Michigan again.

A quick look around the blogs and message boards will show you that Michigan fans are NOT happy about giving Notre Dame another shot.

Why? Because of one key fact.....REMATCHES ONLY BENEFIT THE TEAM THAT LOST THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!

Now that Michigan will be forced to give ND another chance at beating them, Wolverines are not pleased. "We beat them once already, why do they get to play us again" said one fan, without a clear understanding of the word "hypocrisy".

So here is the lesson, Michigan fans....be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.

Enjoy the Rose Bowl.

The difference, or "why I am cheering for USC to beat Notre Dame"

As someone who is (obviously) obsessed with Ohio State football, I'm always looking for comparisons and similarities to previous matchups and previous seasons. Clearly, it's easy to compare this season to 2002.

Ohio State won their bid to the National Championship game in 2002 two weeks before the opponent was named, which gave us two weeks of college football to discuss and cheer for (or against). I cheered my heart out for Virginia Tech to knock off Miami. I had come to HATE Miami and I wanted them to lose as often as possible, but deep down, I didn't really want to play them. Looking back, I'm not sure why. That championship was SO much sweeter because we knocked off a team we were supposed to lose to (by as much as 2 touchdowns). Would the glory have been as great if we had defeated Oklahoma? I don't think so.

The comparison is (according to conventional wisdom) that we should want to beat the best team in order to call ourselves the best. That would be Michigan. They're #2 to our #1, so I should want to beat them in the NC game.

Thing is, we ALREADY BEAT THEM. So forget it. They don't get a mulligan. Get 'em out of there and put them in the Rose Bowl. Besides, if you're a fan of Michigan football under Llllloyd Carr, you can count on two things....1) Losing to Ohio State, and 2) Losing in a bowl game. What the hell do you think is going to happen if you have to do both on the same day? It's quite possible that a rip in the space-time continuum may be exposed and chaos will ensue.

So rather than comparing, I'm looking at the long-term analysis. The class of 5-year seniors leaving Ohio State this year have defeated some of the best teams in college football.

- They defeated Miami
- They defeated Michigan
- They defeated Notre Dame
- They defeated Texas

The biggest team that they have not yet defeated is USC. So bring them on.

Oh, and another reason I'm cheering for USC.....they are playing fucking Notre Dame. OF COURSE I'm cheering for USC.

--edited because I neglected to recognize LSU's BCS championship. Tommy Tuberville called me and told me I was ruining college sports by ignoring the SEC. Then he slowly began to weep into the phone. I felt bad, so I changed my post here.--

Happy Thanksgiving

Wanna know what I'm thankful for????

Our Best Friend

The more I watch The Game, the more I recognize that one Michigan player should have NEVER been put on the field of play. We exposed him time and time again, especially in the 4th quarter.

So here's my tribute to Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent.



Oh, and yes, there WILL be a "Michigan Had A Bad Day" video. I'll be working on it tonight!

Disgusting behavior by OSU fans

I've been sent some disturbing footage of a nasty fight following Saturday night's victory. I'm repulsed by it, and I've posted it so you can see it for yourself. Trust me, it's not pretty.

Take a look at it. If you know any of the people in the footage, please do the right thing. These are not the types of people I want roaming the streets after they did what I've just watched.



Seriously, I wish I hadn't seen that.

Only three possibilities

In case you haven't seen any examination of the BCS yet, here's the straight-up goods - Only three teams can possibly make the championship game against Ohio State. Michigan, USC, and Florida.

The latest BCS poll looks like this;

1. Ohio State - 1.0000
2. Michigan - 0.9263
3. U of S.C. - 0.9188
4. Florida - 0.8838
5. Notre Dame - 0.8198
6. Arkansas - 0.8065

- Michigan's season is finished and their lead is precariously small over #3 USC. They actually have to cheer for other teams to lose in order to get in. They must have USC AND Florida lose, or they go to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl.

- USC is the only team left that controls their own destiny. If they defeat both Notre Dame and UCLA, they will leapfrog Michigan and get to Glendale. The win over #5 Notre Dame will improve their strength of schedule just enough to give them the #2 spot.

- Florida is in Michigan's boat. they have to cheer for other teams to lose. But they also have to win against Florida State (on a down year, but that means nothing in this big rivalry) and Arkansas. The win against #6 Arkansas will also boost their strength of schedule enough to leapfrog Michigan.

- Notre Dame has one game left, at USC. Even if they win, they will not have enough momentum to jump over Michigan. Plus, there's no way a one-loss Notre Dame gets in over a one-loss Michigan, especially when ND's one loss was to Michigan. Plus, nobody gains a full point in the BCS standings without the team above them losing, and even Llllloyd Carr can't figure out a way to lose again in 2006.

- Arkansas put up a valiant effort, and will be rewarded with a BCS Bowl. Just not the big one. Not enough gas in the tank to jump over the Wolverines, I'm afraid. They could go 12-1 and finish with 12 straight wins. That rule about "losing early is better than losing late" only works if you don't lose early by 36 points, which the Razorbacks did to USC, 50-14.

Who do I want?

I want USC.

This senior class has defeated all the great teams of the 21st century. Michigan (5 times), Texas, Notre Dame, Miami. All we need is USC and we will be in the history books as the team who beat the world.

150,000

That's how many people watched my videos on YouTube in the last 7 days. Michigan Week brought me 150,000 viewers.

And to think that Mom said I was wasting my life.

Holy crap, I'm tired

Look, anything I have to say, you can read somewhere else too....so no insight tonight. But I have no voice left and I'll be asleep in a couple of hours. So here's a few thoughts.

Ohio State

- Troy Smith guaranteed himself the Heisman Trophy. It better be unanimous.
- Michigan's defense is overhyped and overrated.
- Ted Ginn Jr. is a God amongst men. I swear he literally left Morgan Trent's jockstrap on the field at one point.
- Smith has a total of 1,051 total yards against Michigan in his career.
- Yikes on that defense. I was a little upset about giving up 39 points, but then I reealized that Michigan scored 10 points from two drives that TOTALED 12 yards. Turnovers gave them extra points, so we weren't that bad after all.
- 503 yards of offense. I thought we were playing Notre Dame for a while there.

Michigan

- Thank Heaven Llllloyd Carr won 11 games this year. They might fire him otherwise, and we don't want that.
- Steve Breaston never showed up. Kirk Herbstreit was right.
- Adrian Arrington tried to start a fight in the first quarter, and it wasn't against a woman. What's up with that?
- Mike Hart is a whiny bitch, but he's a whiny bitch who is 0-3 against Ohio State.
- Michigan's defense gave up more yards to Antonio Pittman on ONE RUN than they allowed to the entire Vanderbilt rushing offense, the entire Central Michigan rushing offense, the entire Notre Dame rushing offense, the entire Wisconsin rushing offense, the entire Penn State rushing offense, the entire Iowa rushing offense, the entire Northwestern rushing offense, the entire Ball State rushing offense, and the entire Indiana rushing offense.
- Michigan's defense gave up more yards to Beanie Wells on ONE RUN than they allowed to the entire Vanderbilt rushing offense, the entire Central Michigan rushing offense, the entire Notre Dame rushing offense, the entire Wisconsin rushing offense, the entire Penn State rushing offense, the entire Iowa rushing offense, the entire Northwestern rushing offense, the entire Ball State rushing offense, and the entire Indiana rushing offense.
- Michigan may still be the #2 team, but they had their shot. They lost. Enjoy the Rose Bowl.

Didn't I start this post by saying "no insight tonight"??? Ah, fuck it. It's fun.

18 hours left, bitch

Classy move

By now you know. Legendary TTUN Head Coach and Ohio State Assistant Coach Bo Schembechler passed away this morning at the age of 77. The BBC sends condolences to his family and friends, and we hope he and Woody are already having spirited debate in Heaven.

However, one aspect that won't get covered much on ESPN (but will be attacked by trolls) is that tonight on High Street, the Dead Schembechlers were scheduled to play their annual concert. Seriously. On the day Bo died.

Today, the Dead Schembechlers released the following commentary;

The band is crushed to learn of the death of Bo Schembechler. We named this band after Coach Schembechler to honor him as the face of Wolverine football. We have never wished ill will upon him in any way and have always wished him the best. When we learned that Bo had seen our web site and was amused by it we were delighted. We were simply delighted. He said to those with him as he read it, "See, I still matter in Columbus!" That may have been the greatest understatement in football history. We believe that he took the band's name as the compliment that it was meant as and that he was flattered by it. We wish to extend our deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to his family. We are truly sorry for their loss

That's a classy move. My hat is off to the boys in the band. You did the right thing.

The Big Ten

Lost amidst the hype is something verrrrry interesting.

The Big Ten is on the verge of becoming the first conference to ever send three teams to BCS Bowls in the same season.

Should Ohio State and That Team Up North both reach the championship game (which is possible, but not likely), the Big ten still has an automatic bid up for grabs. Wisconsin would grab that spot and pack for the Rose Bowl.

My goodness gracious, what will the Tubervilles of the world have to say about that????

Time to discuss The Game

It's about 55 hours from kickoff...time to begin my discussion of The Game, 2006-style. You've heard every sportscaster and read every sportswriter, and they'll all say the same thing. Yes, this IS the biggest game of the year, and the biggest game of the 21st century. And it's ALL been said before, so I'm just going to give you MY take on things.

Am I scared? Yes, a little. I'm nervous like I was heading into the Texas game. Like I was heading into last year's That Team Up North game. But deep down, there's a peaceful serenity. Because I know I have the three strongest earthly forces I could have heading into this matchup. Troy Smith, Jim Tressel, and the loudest crowd the Horsheshoe will ever hold.

1) Smith plays better when he's up against stronger competition. And Saturday will have the toughest opponent he's faced yet. However, EVERY year, That Team Up North is the toughest opponent Smith has faced.

- In 2004, he went 13 of 23 for 241 yards and 2 TDs. He even ran for another 145 yards and a TD.
- In 2005, he went 27 of 37 for 300 yards and a TD. He ran for another 37 yards and a TD.

That's a total of 723 yards (541 passing/182 rushing) and 5 TDs. Those are the type of two-game numbers you expect to see against Indiana or Northwestern. The guy is having MONSTER games against the best team on our schedule. That's inspiring.

2) From the day he was offered the job, Tressel has shown everyone that he gets it. It's all about beating Michigan. He gets it. He showed it to us in January 2000 when he was introduced to the crowd at an OSU/TTUN basketball game, and he's shown it to us every day since then.

Every weapon he has (and damn it, he's got a LOT of them this year) will be utilized. If the situation calls for it, he'll use it. I wouldn't be shocked to see Ginn throw a TD pass....to Smith even. Nobody knows the power on this team more than Tress, and nobody knows how to exploit defenses better than Tress. And since he "gets it", he'll unload the arsenal on Saturday afternoon.

Really, is there anything more I can say than that?

3) The 'Shoe. Just be loud, please. I know you can, so just do it. If the guy next to you or in front of you is sitting down on third down, MAKE him stand up and scream. If I can't be in the 'Shoe, then dammit, someone who can be there BETTER be screaming like mad on my behalf.

OK, now for the remaining factors....

A lot of discussion recently about Mario Manningham returning to the Wolverines lineup. It doesn't scare me, and I'll tell you why; In 2005, a high-profile offensive player was injured for most of the season and made a triumphant return for The Game. He was supposed to be the savior, and the key to victory for That Team Up North. Then, he took the field. Mike Hart rushed for 15 yards that day. Not a factor at all.

Steve Breaston, however, does scare me. He's always been a threat, but never produced jack squat. However, Kirk Herbstreit woke him up by calling him out. He's had great games since that, and I expect him to be the most fired-up Wolverweenie on the field.

Adrian Arrington will be this year's folding tent. He's not going to handle it very well, and he'll end up being benched late in the game for dropping too many passes and making an ass of himself. For all the trolling from TTUN fans about Ohio State's players, why is it that they never seem to notice that their team has the only player currently facing a criminal trial?

Lloyd Carr has quite possibly his best team ever. He's made all the right moves this year, dominated every opponent, and his team is undefeated. They look strong and they look ready. Next up is the biggest rivalry in the entire sports world.

Now re-read the above paragraph and replace the words "Lloyd Carr" with "John Cooper". That's all you have to say about that.

Ohio State 34
TTUN 20

I'm #1!!!!!

Holy crap, I'm astonished.

YouTube has my latest video ranked #1 on their "Top Favorites" for sports.

It's also #7 for Most Viewed sports video of the day (nearly 10,000 people have watched it since it went up 40 hours ago).

So keep passing it around to your friends. Me likey fame.

The trolls are invading

Yeah, I knew it was bound to happen....but it's really kinda funny.

My blog and my YouTube account are being inundated (look it up, Maize and Blue lovers) by trolls of That Team Up North. Now granted, I may deserve it by posting a video calling Chad Henne a "mother-fucking bitch", but apparently someone up north has decided to show my videos to their various array of internet-friends. Today alone, I've rejected at least 10 comments on this blog and I've deleted about 20 comments from my YouTube videos (it must drive them nuts when the comments disappear).

I expect it'll only get worse as the week wears on. Feel free to fight back and post positive comments here and at YouTube.

On a side note, I do find it humorous when someone tells me I have no class while calling me a faggot. Pot, meet kettle.

Semi-useless stats for you to ponder

First quarter
Ohio State 104, Opponents 13
TTUN 86, Opponents 23

2nd quarter
Ohio State 112, Opponents 30
TTUN 101, Opponents 43

3rd quarter
Ohio State 68, Opponents 10
TTUN 85, Opponents 23

4th quarter
Ohio State 110, Opponents 33
TTUN 51, Opponents 44

- Ohio State's best quarter is the first, and their worst is the third (and we've still only allowed two scores in the 3Q)
- TTUN's best quarter is the sedond, and their worst is the 4th, when they are nearly outscored.

- Ohio State has scored in 38 of their 44 quarters
- TTUN has scored in 36 of their 44 quarters

- Ohio State has shut out opponents in 29 quarters
- TTUN has shut out opponents in 22 quarters

- Ohio State has scored twice in a quarter 18 times
- TTUN has scored twice in a quarter 16 times

- Ohio State has allowed two scored in the same quarter twice
- TTUN has allowed two scores in the same quarter three times

- Ohio State has outscored their opponent in a quarter 35 times
- TTUN has outscored their opponent in a quarter 29 times

- Ohio State has been outscored in a quarter five times
- TTUN has been outscored in a quarter six times

Ohio State has the edge, but these are ALL so very close.

But does any of it matter when The Game starts?? Of course it doesn't. It's The Game. And if you haven't figured out that either team can win The Game on any given year no matter what, then you haven't watched enough OSU/TTUN games in your lifetime.

One more video

I wasn't going to make any videos this week. I'm WAY too busy planning a large tailgate party, and I just don't have the energy with all the pressure of this week's events.

But screw that, I have been bouncing off the walls and this is a good way to have some fun.

I'm really pissed that I cannot attend the Hate Michigan Rally on Friday night in Columbus, so I've created this video featuring "Chad Henne is a Joke" by the Dead Schembechlers. I've been laughing my ass off at the song, so I decided to match up some visuals to go with it. I hope Bo Biafra and the boys like it......

Watch "Chad Henne Is A Joke" on YouTube now!!!

And GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!

.....and the Grammy for Song of the Year goes to........

Gather 'round the keg, me hearties, and I'll weave you a tale of a piece of human scum. A barkin'-mad, terrible lad, clad in maize and blue pad, stinkin' of bad gonad named Chad.

Chad Henne is a joke
A mother-fuckin' joke
His wolverines are gonna fuckin' croak
They call him Dr. Choke, bet on him, you'll go broke
'Cause Chad Henne is a mother-fuckin' joke

Chad Henne is a bitch
A mother-fuckin' bitch
As welcome as a case of rectal itch
His gender he should switch, the Buck defense it makes him twitch
'Cause Chad Henne is a mother-fuckin' bitch

Chad Henne is a dick
A mother-fuckin' dick
A fucked-up, stuck-up, nasty whiny prick
He can't get a chick, when he fucks he comes too quick
'Cause Chad Henne is a mother-fuckin' dick

Chad Henne is a clown
A mother-fuckin' clown
The biggest clown in all Ann Arbor town
A loser all around, you son of a bitch, you're goin' down
'Cause Chad Henne is a mother-fuckin' clown
Chad Henne is a mother-fuckin' clown

-"Chad Henne", by The Dead Schembechlers

To hear this song (and it is SO much funnier to hear, especially when they sing the tune to "Le Regiment"), you should click here and show them some MySpace love!

It's official....NOBODY wants to play us in Glendale!

While the Buckeyes were dismantling the Wildcats yesterday, the rest of the NCAA had the chance to step up and take over the Number 3 slot, putting themselves into position to play in the BCS National Championship game on January 8th.

- #3 Louisville had already lost hope and breathed a sigh of relief at NOT having to face the Bucks.
- #4 Texas had a flashback to September 9th and said "No Mas."
- #5 Auburn said "HELL, NO! PLEASE DROP US OUT OF THE TOP 10!"
- #6 Florida said "We don't want to play Ohio State", but then South Carolina's kicker wouldn't let them lose.
- #8 California said "You know, we're not quite ready for that pressure yet."

That leaves only five possible scenarios for the National Championship.

The winner of Ohio State- That Team Up North WILL play for the title.

They will play either;

- USC
- Notre Dame
- Florida
- Rutgers
- The loser of the Ohio State/That Team Up North game

As for me....I want Notre Dame. And I can guarantee you that they're having nightmares already. If they get in, they have to face one of the two teams that gave them their two most recenty ass-handings.

But above all, I DO NOT WANT TO PLAY RUTGERS!!!!! If we face them, every story leading up to the game will be "David Vs. Goliath", and when we win, everyone will say "well, you should have won, so it doesn't mean anything." No thank you, I don't want that headline. Give me Notre Dame for the second straight year. It'll be just as easy of a win against Rutgers, and we get the satisfaction of humiliating Irish fans all over again.

Back to the Buckeyes.....

OK, my Election day hangover is gone now. And if you are wondering, it was a happy hangover. I've spent the last three days driving people to the polls, watching results in anticipation, losing plenty of sleep, celebrating, working, and playing with my 8-year-old.

Back to the Buckeyes.....

I don't recall where I saw it, but someone asked "why do all our opponents seem to have their best game just before they play us?" Good point. Maybe they don't always have their BEST game, but they sure do play a good one.....

-Northwestern knocked off Iowa last week, now they face us.
-Illinois nearly beat Wisconsin, then faced us.
-Indiana beat Iowa, then faced us.
-Iowa beat Illinois, then faced us (look at Iowa's schedule...they DID play their best game against Illinois)

So what does that tell us?

Not a damn thing. I just thought it was cool.

No commentary today.....

...for two reasons.....

- It's Election day, and I always dedicate myself to helping people who have difficulty getting to the polls. I'm taking a six-and-a-half minute break for lunch, so I'm writing fast.

- I expect Blogger to completely lose power once the polls close and millions of people begin refreshing their pages on political websites.

So have a nice day, go Buckeyes, and please go vote.

Jeff

Oh, and this too.....

...lost amidst the worrying was a cool stat.

Before Illinois scored their FG, Ohio State had scored 105 consecutive points against their opponents. 44 straight against Indiana, 44 against Minnesota, and 17 against Illinois.

Tressel nearly outsmarted himself

I've spent the last few hours contemplating my thoughts on the game, and I came to one conclusion. Jim Tressel tried so hard to NOT show anything new to Michigan, and he nearly got bit in the ass for it.

We went up 17-0 at halftime and we were cruising to another blowout victory. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Tressel became TOO predictable. It was horrifying to watch, because EVERYBODY knew what play was coming.

In the second half, Ohio State ran 10 plays on first down. NINE of them were handoffs to Pittman. The only remaining first down play? A three-yard pass to Pittman.

Ridiculous, and nearly embarrassing. I expected better, and frankly, I'm angry about it.

Am I angry because we only won by 7? No. Am I angry because we didn't execute well? No. I'm angry because we didn't even put up a pretense of trying to mix it up.

We buried Indiana because when we got a small lead, we kept playing OUR style of ball. The same goes for Minnesota. We didn't run up the score, but we still ran OUR plays. But today, we gave up trying. We stopped showing them any different formations, and Illinois reacted.

I kept saying "Tressel's drawing them in, here comes the kill." It never came. He just kept running off-tackle. Again and again and again.

Fortunately, this was an abberation. Tressel will return next week and stop thinking ahead. Michigan Week doesn't begin until the first second AFTER the game against Northwestern.

But today? It feels like a loss. Thank Woody that it wasn't.

Sidebar, your honor?

Quick non-Buckeyes note...I'm a HUGE fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers (and everything else Cleveland, mind you). I want to point something out that I'm going to update all year long.

2005 - First home game against Washington - Cavs won 114-99
2006 - First home game against Washington - Cavs won 97-94

2005 - Road game against San Antonio - Cavs lost 76-102
2006 - Road game against San Antonio - Cavs won 88-81

Two games into the season, already an improvement. Game three is tonight at Charlotte (we won 103-91 last year). I call a 55-60 win season.

Now LET'S GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!

Another new video!!!

Here it is.....

My tribute to Ginn and Gonzo

Enjoy!

Answering MotSaG questions

Every week, the gang at Men Of The Scarlet And Gray ask a few questions, to get predictions from their experts on what will happen in that weekend's game. Since I'm a staff of one, I can only ask myself questions. Last time I got caught doing that, some nice men in white showed up with a warm new jacket. It didn't have much mobility, and I don't remember where they took me and now my head's starting to hurt from remembering the bad men with jumper cables.

So I think perhaps I'd like to take a crack at MotSaG's questions.....

Does OSU win by more than 17 points?
How many rushing yards does Illinois get? O/U: 100
Pittman starts the game at 894 yards on the season. Does he become a thousand yard rusher this week?
OSU is averaging 2.1 interceptions a game. How many interceptions this week?

- Yes, Ohio State wins by more than 17 points. Buckeyes 41, Illini 10
- I'll take the under. Illinois gets 64 yards on the ground.
- Yes, Pittman gets 1,000 for the year tomorrow. He'll have 128 against Illinois.
- They'll fall below the average and only get 2 INTs this week.

By the way, another video will be available in ten minutes......

Dear Scott Wolf.......

Dear Scott Wolf,
For nine straight weeks, I have been puzzled as to why you have voted West Virginia as the #1 team in the NCAA. As each week goes by, more and more people join the chorus and wonder what it is that you see in the Mountaineers that place them higher than the Buckeyes.
Your blog always lists your vote in the Associated Press poll, but you have consistently refused to explain your vote.
Never mind. I no longer need an answer from you, as I can see you will no longer be able to vote West Virginia as #1.
Your last vote showed us that you voted Ohio State at #2. Clearly, when #1 loses, #2 takes over as the new #1.
Will Ohio State get your vote as the #1 team in the nation, provided they defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini?????

Thank you,
Jeff Seemann

Very little to say.....

Seriously, what is there to say about this week's game? Illinois, while having a few moments above mediocrity this year, is not going to inspire words of wisdom. Having Tress at the helm calms me, because I KNOW he's got The Boys focused on the Illini.

I do have one point to make, and I haven't seen it anywhere yet this week.....

I think it's pretty cool that we are facing off against a former Ohio State Assistant Coach for the second week in a row. Illini Head Coach Ron Zook was a defensive coach here under Head Coach "He Who Shall Not Be Named" in the late 80s.

One last item of interest......

The videos I make. You know which ones I mean. I take the originals, make them high-quality, burn them onto DVD and broadcast them on 4 HUGE SCREENS at the restaurant I work for. I'm the Director Of Marketing, so this is a nice little tie-in to generate excitement. My restaurant is the ONLY place that plays these videos.

Wednesday, the Regional Manager came into town (we're a chain restaurant) and asked to see the videos. I showed him one. He asked me to make several copies of everything I have and get them to every restaurant in his region. They'll be shown before the Michigan game on the 18th (and before, if I can get all the copies made in time).

I had hoped I'd get a little recognition for those, outside of my own blog and YouTube. I guess that's happening now.

Copyright infringement must be the legacy I will leave behind.

Edit - By the way, I'll take Louisville tonight. WVA may feel underappreciated, but how do you think Louisville has felt watching all those ESPN commentators talking about WVA feeling underappreciated?

Two items....

Two items I'd like to point out, I hope you'll find them both interesting.....

1) Blogger keeps dying, making it very hard for me to post new articles. Any website with "blogspot.com" in the URL (like my site) might give you trouble loading for the next week or so. There's a LOT of traffic going through there, primarily due to a very intense political election coming up in 7 days. Expect the traffic to slow down after next Tuesday, and all Blogger sites to run a little smoother after that. I'll keep posting stuff, but it'll take a little longer for me to succeed.

2) Apparently, Michigan and Texas fans have found my collection of Buckeye videos on YouTube. There's been a wave of trolls bashing the Buckeyes on nearly every one of my videos. As the creator, I have the ability to delete any comment I choose, so I've been removing anything anti-OSU, but I just knocked about 20 comments off when I woke up this morning.

It is nice to know that the Buckeyes scare people so badly that they have to attack surrogates in order to quell their fears......

Domination, 4-for-4, and some cool stats

First of all, we completely dominated today's game. That much is obvious.

Had you told me that Ginn and Gonzalez would only have three catches each and we'd turn it over three times (twice in our own territory), I would have NEVER guessed a 44-0 final score.

Ohio State and Michigan have now played four common opponents, and Ohio State clearly has won those four games more impressively than Michigan did.

Against Minnesota, Ohio State won 44-0, Michigan won 28-14. Both teams racked up around 500 yards, but Michigan allowed 150 yards MORE on defense than the Buckeyes did. Also, that "vaunted" UM rush D??? Minny ran for 108 against UM, and ran for 47 against the Buckeyes.

Finally, some very cool stats that have me beaming tonight;

- Ohio State has scored 88 consecutive points.
- That's OVER three TOUCHDOWNS more than they have allowed all season.
- Ohio State has allowed one TD in their last 13 quarters, and that was in garbage time against MSU.
- Ohio State has now played 36 quarters of football this season. They have failed to score in only four of them.
- The Bucks have won their first 9 games by 17 points or more, the first time that has happened since 1973. They have NEVER done it in their first 10 games (hat tip - MotSaG)

Game number 9!

First, a couple of quick announcements....

-No third video this week. I had to make a choice last night on what to do with my evening. I chose playing board games with my daughter (and my friend Janessa), and decided that two videos was enough for the week.

-I actually got a full night's sleep last night...first time that's happened on the night before a game in over a year.

-Yet another team from Michigan choked on the big game. Everyone expected the Tigers to roll over the Cardinals. Instead, they just rolled over. Just like last year's Pistons. And the Pistons the year before that. And the Wolverines in their Bowl game in 2005. And the Wolverines in their Bowl game in 2004. And the Wolverines in their Bowl game in 2003. And the Wolverines against Ohio State in 2005. And the Wolverines against Ohio State in 2004.

By now, everybody knows what to expect in today's Homecoming game against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are NOT a good team, and the Buckeyes should dominate again today. I prefer to take a look deeper into teams, rather just just quote how many yards they average and leave it at that. Here's a few facts that will leave you smiling before the Bucks take the field.

-Minnesota has three wins on the year. One is against a team ranked in the Bottom 10 (0-8 Temple). One is against a Division 1-AA school (ND State, a one-point victory). One is against Kent State.
-In Big Ten play, Minnesota has allowed 32.75 points per game.
-They are ranked #96 in the NCAA in rush defense (Ball State actually has a better run defense at #94)
-They are tied for #86 in the NCAA against the pass. They are tied with Indiana....the team that allowed Troy Smith to throw for 4 TDs in a half last week.

Our offense, provided JT has prepared them properly (I know, I know) will have no trouble at all. The Buckeyes could tag another 40 on the board if they play well.

The defense will need to buckle down. Minnesota has already played 4 of the top 5 Big Ten teams, and they have averaged over 18 points per game. Today they meet the Big Ten's best team, and we MUST beat them by more than Michigan did.

If we can beat Minny more impressively than Michigan did, then we will have won the "battle of comparisons" over the Blue in all four games. The Blue didn't put Iowa away until 4 minutes remained. Penn State had the ball, down by 7 with less than 2 minutes to play. And Michigan State, while the respective scores were clearly in favor of Ohio State, take a look at yardage gained....OSU/MSU, 421-198....Michigan/MSU, 351-312.

Go make it four-for-four, Buckeyes.

My prediction
Ohio State 42
Minnesota 10

The first...and SECOND...of three new videos are here!!!

As promised earlier today, I have begun processing three new Ohio State highlight videos. The first one is now complete, and is a Troy Smith tribute.

Watch "Nobody Does It Better" at YouTube.com!
--or--
Watch "Nobody Does It Better" at MySpace.com!

And now, here is the SECOND new video, just finished this morning!

Watch "Boom!" at YouTube.com!

The final video should be ready by Saturday morning. Pray that it gets done in time, as time is running short!

Enjoy, and please leave a few comments. A guy needs a little validation, you know?

Message to Michigan WR Adrian Arrington

First, from a recent article describing Adrian Arrington's criminal behavior a couple of weeks ago....

In an incident that occurred at about 2:49 a.m. Oct. 13, Hupe told police that she picked up Arrington, 20, from a bar in Ypsilanti. Because he was drunk, she said, she wanted to take him home with her.

He refused and they started arguing. Once the car was parked behind her apartment, Arrington left the car and they started yelling. Then he walked to her side of the car, banged on the window and she opened the door.

That led to a fight over the keys. According to the report, Arrington grabbed the keys, Hupe locked the door, Arrington unlocked the door and then pulled her out of the car by her wrists before he drove away in the vehicle. Hupe called 911 after that, reaching the Ypsilanti police.

Now, a message to Arrington from all of us in Buckeye Nation.....

When you are playing in Columbus on November 18th (because, who are we kidding, you KNOW you won't be suspended for that game), there will come a time when your team has the ball on third down. You will be on the field as a wide reciever and you may notice something in the stands of Ohio Stadium.

People will be holding their keys and rattling them. This is symbolic of it being a "key play."

Please do not go into the stands and beat up the women who are holding keys. They are not trying to prevent you from driving drunk. They are merely cheering for their team. They do not deserve to be domestically abused.

This has been a public service message from The BBC. Thank you.

Lllloyd Carr skirts the rules of decency, loses

I've gotta be honest, I am JUST NOW hearing about this....but apparently, there's a little bit of drama and a whole lot of "what, I didn't see anything" coming out of Ann Arbor, Michigan these days.

MotSaG has the story down in a nice summary, but here's a quick lowdown;

WR Adrian Arrington was drinking and driving and apparently beat his girlfriend the night before UM played Penn State. 9/11 call from the girl is made public. Carr lets his WR play, presumably because the Blue are VERY thin at WR. During the week of Iowa, Carr decides that his player will stay on the team because he doesn't necessarily believe the story. Against Iowa, the Blue are still thin at WR, and Arrington plays anyway.

NOW, the Blue have a very weak schedule, where being thin at WR isn't as bad of a dilemma. Who wants to wager that Carr suspends Arrington now???

MotSag sums it up best when he compares it to Mack Brown at Texas. Brown suspended his players, knowing that it would hurt his team but send the right message about following the rules. Brown was rightfully praised for this decision, as he knew that consequences come with poor behavior at Texas. But Lllloyd looked the other way JUUUUUUST long enough to get through a tough schedule of PSU and Iowa.

I don't know about you, but that's fishy to me. Let's hope karma bites Lllloyd in the ass over this one. Jim Tressel may have had his share of bad times from players, but he ALWAYS gave them the discipline right away. The two best players he has seen in his tenure had troubles. Clarett was suspended right away and never saw his uniform again, and he sat Troy Smith out for a bowl game, and it indirectly led to the Texas loss last year. Hell, the guy even suspended his STARTING QUARTERBACK for the freaking MICHIGAN game for something that happened more than a week before.

Carr, you're going to get what you deserve over this. Karma doesn't play kindly to people like you. I wouldn't be surprised if it bit you in a way you never saw coming.

"Are we 11-0 already?", updated.....

Three weeks ago, I asked the question "Are we 11-0 already?". At the time, we were actually 5-0, but were facing a string of 6 consecutive weak opponents.

I took criticism and praise for suggesting this. Around The Oval agreed with me immediately, while personal friends claimed I was tempting fate and daring it to strike back in the form of Michigan State's 1998 defeat of the then-#1 Bucks.

I'd like to look back at that prognostication and see how I fared so far....

- Bowling Green - The Falcons are 3-2, but two of their wins came against teams ESPN had in their "Bottom 10". And here's two facts that will allow you to breathe easy this weeks - BG's defense allows 30 points per game, and they lost to Kent State by a score of 38-3. This one's going to be a walk in the park.

We blew out BGSU 35-7 to nobody's surprise. We actually didn't beat the 35-point spread, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to call this game.

- Michigan State - OK, now I was a little bit worried about this game, until I saw them collapse against Notre Dame and then actually lose to Illinois. Now they seem like the bottom-half team they usually are. Wins against Idaho and Eastern Michigan now appear to be their backbone to 6 wins and getting into a bowl, and that doesn't scare me. Drew Stanton is their biggest weapon, and I'm no longer afraid of QBs named Drew. It'll be a tough game for about a half, if MSU can play on emotion. After that, if they're still around, John L. Smith will find a way to lose.

Granted, MSU made it easy to predict against them after the ND and Illinois losses, but the prospect of a road game against a team with the capability to win was slightly scary. I expected to win, but I thought MSU would make a game of it. This one was over by halftime, though.

- Indiana - The only drama about this game is whether or not I'll be able to find 2 tickets, so I can take my daughter to her first game the day before she turns 8. Whatever the point spread is, take the Buckeyes.

Long story short, I found tickets, took my daughter, and she now believes that Ohio State destroys everybody because that is all she has witnessed in her whole life. Oh, and the point spread was 31, so I hope you took it.

A quick statistical look at the previous three games:

-Ohio State has scored 39 points per game.
-Ohio State has allowed 5.7 points per game.
-Ohio State has allowed 249 yards rushing combined (21 less than we rushed for against IU alone)
-Troy Smith has 9 TDs and 0 INTs
-Ohio State has turned the ball over only twice.

Now, you may say that these games are against inferior competition. Well, when you are #1 and you play inferior opponents, THESE are the numbers you SHOULD have. We are doing the things we SHOULD be doing. Beating the good teams and slaughtering the weak ones. We do have strong teams on the schedule and nobody has yet been within 17 points at game's end.

By the way, we have scored 30+ points in 12 of our last 15 games. Under Jim Tressel, Ohio State has NEVER lost when scoring 30 or more points.