Guest Panel-Week 6 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:
1. Dr. Funkenstein (21-8) (3-3 last week)
1. Hudy Delights (21-8) (4-2 last week)
3. Nostrapigskinus (19-10) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (19-10) (5-1 last week)
5. Philly Cheese (18-11) (4-2 last week)
5. Batman (18-11) (5-1 last week)
7. Spam Sandwichsan (17-12) (3-3 last week)
7. Mr. Potayta Head (17-12) (4-2 last week)
7. Buckeye Cock (17-12) (4-2 last week)
10. Pat Head (16-13) (4-2 last week)
11. Team Big Dog (14-15) (3-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. OSU vs. Wisconsin
2. Auburn vs. Vanderbilt

And the oddball games this week are:
3. Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Louisiana-Monroe
4. Temple vs. Miami (Not Florida)
5. Southern Methodist vs. UCF
6. Florida International vs. North Texas

What to Expect

Some people have said this could be a game OSU looks past as they prepare for Wisconsin, but I don't buy that argument. This team has already had wake up calls against Ohio and USC, and possibly against Troy. Ohio State still has many things to work out on the offensive end, breaking in a new quarterback, adapting new plays for the new QB style, and plugging in Beanie. That being said, OSU is in a good position to win the conference and return to a BCS game. The loss by USC last night is an indication of what to expect this season, with other highly ranked teams getting upset. Hopefully OSU will benefit by those upsets, and not be one of the victims.

In regards to Minnesota, they are not that far removed from an 1-11 season, and many of those same parts are in place. Coach Brewster had a great recruitment class, and some of those players are on the depth chart, but look for them to make an impact in the coming years. The defense is still struggling, having allowed non-conference schools to move the ball, and the offense can be stopped by shutting down receiver Eric Decker, who has almost half of the reception yards for the entire team. Look for Jenkins to match up against him, and Decker only has an inch in height advantage over Jenkins. Beanie is back, but it is not clear how much he will play. Regardless, look for OSU to run the ball quite a bit. Minnesota could keep this close with turnovers, as they are #4 in the nation in turnover margin, but I don't think they will win the turnover margin in this game. Minnesota will score, but OSU should have this game in control mid-way into the second quarter.

Scouting the Golden Gophers, Updated

Quarterback
Sophomore Adam Weber returns to the QB spot after throwing 57.5% for 2895 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions as a red-shirt freshman. So far this season he is a much improved throwing 71.8% for 967 yards, 7 touchdowns, and one interception. His big game this season was against Bowling Green, throwing 84% for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

Runningbacks
The running game is lead by DeLeon Eskridge, one of the highly touted freshman, with 204 yards and 5 touchdowns. Returning starter sophomore Duane Bennett has 140 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bennett is often compared to Lawrence Maroney, not only because he wears #22 but based on his running style.
UPDATE-I failed to mention that Bennett is out for the season with a knee injury from the BGSU game.

Receivers
Junior Eric Decker leads the team with 454 yards and one touchdown. Outside of playing baseball as an outfielder at Minnesota, last year in football he had 909 yards and 9 touchdowns. Second in receiving is RB Bennett with 140 yards.

Defense
This unit was not very good last year, in fact Minnesota would be 0-12 if Miami would have hit a 33-yard field goal. Over the summer Coach Brewster dismissed three defensive players, but based on the stats last year they won't be missed. So far this season they are still struggling allowing 354 yards/game with 109/game on the ground and 245/game in the air.

This Season
Some quick stats about Minnesota, #4 in nation in turnover margin at +2.75/game, 4-0 for first time since 2005, #11 in pass efficiency at 164.83, and #17 in kickoff returns at 25.86 yards/return. That being said, the defense was still pretty bad against non-conference games, which isn't comforting for them going into conference play. Minnesota was able to avenge the loss to Florida Atlantic, which is good because the loss last year was the first victory for a Sun Belt Conference team over a Big Ten team. Otherwise they have beat Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Montana State.

The Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his eighth season at OSU, he has a record of 76-17. In his 23rd year of his coaching career, including time at YSU, he is 211-74-2. He has guided OSU to one national championship.


Tim Brewster
In his second season as a head coach Brewster is 5-11, with four of those victories this season. For the first time in a long time there is some excitement at Minnesota as Brewster signed a top 25 recruiting class and the new football stadium will open next year. Brewster was an assistant for over 20 years, with time at the San Diego Chargers, University of Texas, and North Carolina. Brewster was a tight end at Illinois, a part of the 1984 Rose Bowl team.

The Series

It is surprising that there is no trophy in this game, especially considering Minnesota has four trophy/rival games, including the always impressive Paul Bunyon's Axe. OSU leads the series 40-7, including a 20-3 record in Columbus. OSU won the game last year 30-7. The last win by Minnesota was the 29-17 upset of then #6 OSU in Columbus. I rememer the game distinctly because the Minnesota coach, former OSU player, Glen Mason spoke with the press after game, expressing his love of Ohio State in what appeared to be an early job interview for the spot that would soon be vacated by Cooper. Obviously Tressel got the job over Mason, which turned out quite well because Mason now does TV work for the Big Ten Network and we know what Tressel has done.

Guest Panel-Week 5 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:
1. Dr. Funkenstein (18-5) (6-0 last week)
2. Hudy Delights (17-6) (2-4 last week)
3. Nostrapigskinus (15-8) (3-3 last week)
4. Old Bag of Man (14-9) (4-2 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (14-9) (5-1 last week)
4. Spam Sandwichsan (14-9) (3-3 last week)
7. Mr. Potayta Head (13-10) (1-5 last week)
7. Buckeye Cock (13-10) (4-2 last week)
7. Batman (13-10) (2-4 last week)
10. Pat Head (12-11) (2-4 last week)
11. Team Big Dog (11-12) (3-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Minnesota vs. OSU
2. Alabama vs. Georgia
3. Illinois vs. Penn State
4. Purdue vs. Notre Dame
5. Colorado State vs. California
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Idaho vs. San Diego State

What to Expect

After the tough trip last weekend and all the power outages in the state this week, OSU could use an easy game this weekend, but I don't Troy is what the doctor ordered. Troy will score some points, and might keep things interesting past halftime, but I see OSU coming out with the win, but it may be a bit close for comfort. I rank this team as the second best team OSU will see in the first four games so far this season, and we all know how OSU did against USC and Ohio. Now, if OSU gets motivated and plays a great game this could be over in the first quarter. Look for Pryor to finally get quality playing time and make his case for the starting position. Honestly I never thought I would be seeing Pryor as a starter this season, but Boeckman is struggling, and Pryor has looked good. I'm hoping Tressel settles on a running back during this game.

Concerns about OSU

I won't even begin to talk about the horrendous display from last week, as that game has been analyzed by enough people. Honestly, nothing went right, so there are a lot things to improve upon. The biggest question marks that remain for this team are, what is going with Boeckman, how much more will Pryor play, when is Beanie returning, who will step up while Beanie is out, what the heck is going on with the O-line, is Pretorius going to hit the critical FGs down the road, and why are the receivers struggling to catch balls and separate themselves from defenders. Some folks may also throw in some questions about the coaching staff, but I really feel like the players aren't playing well, so it is tough to blame the coaches yet... I think Boeckman is struggling because OSU is not establishing a running game, his passes are short (due to his choice, the receivers not getting open deep, or the play called by the coaches), and the line is not giving him sufficient time. It is not clear who will start this week, but Boeckman may be playing himself out of the starting position, as Pryor had over 60% of the snaps in practice this week. Until the O-line wakes up, Pryor may be the solution as he can move. I really do not think we will see Beanie until the second half of the season. He is for sure out this weekend and likely out for Minnesota. Unless he starts to heal faster, he will likely miss Wisconsin and possibly Purdue. I am not sure who will step up in Beanie's absence, but I would guess Boom Herron. Tressel needs to find a back and stick with him, as the running by committee is screwing up the flow. The O-line is one of the biggest mysteries to me, as this unit is highly experienced and supposedly 1-3 of them will have high paying jobs in the NFL. To me they look slow, letting the opposing D-line get the first hit, and they let more guys through that line than Chipotle on a free burrito day. I was concerned last year when Pretorius won the job from the injured Pettrey. After Pettrey healed, I really hoped he would take the job back, as he did and continues to have a stronger leg. Pretorius concerns me because his angle last year was very low, which led to some blocks. This year the angle doesn't seem to be as bad, but he hasn't lived up to the Tressel special teams standard, missing a PAT and two FGs so far this season. He has hit a 50 yarder, but I just hope he can hit the big ones down the road. So why are the receivers struggling? I have three answers, one being that OSU is not getting enough yards on first and second downs, which leads to obvious pass situations that are easier to defend. The second possible answer is that the passes are short, which allows the defense to pack in around the receiver. The last answer is that the receivers are not spacing themselves out and when they do get the ball they can't seem to keep the ball in their hands. OSU better get some answers quick.

Scouting the Trojans

Quarterback
Jamie Hampton leads the offense, with an impressive 66% for 459, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in two games. Last year he was a backup, starting one game, throwing 54.5% for 45 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Runningbacks
The running game is split between DuJuan Harris and Maurice Greer. Harris has 187 yards and three touchdowns. As a backup last year Harris had 372 yards and no touchdowns. Greer has 114 yards and one touchdown, and is a junior college transfer.

Receivers
At the H spot is Jerrel Jernigan, Y is Cornelius Williams, X is Kennard Burton, and Z is Mykeal Terry. Burton and Terry are returning starters. Jernigan leads the team with 137 years and one touchdown.

Defense
The D-line returns a lot of experience with Kenny Mainor, Brandon Lang, Steve McLendon, and Cameron Sheffield returning as starters. Returning at linebacker are Borris Lee and Terrence Moore. Lee has started 23 straight games. In the secondary Sherrod Martin and Tavares Wiliams return as starters. Williams has started 26 straight games.

This Season
Troy is undefeated going 2-0, with the LSU game postponed in week two. Troy beat Middle Tennessee 31-17 and Alcorn State 65-0. Alcorn State is a nobody, but Middle Tennessee beat Maryland and lost to Kentucky after a tackle at the one yard line at the end of the game.

Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his eighth season at OSU, he has a record of 75-17. In his 23rd year of his coaching career, including time at YSU, he is 210-74-2. He has guided OSU to one national championship.


Larry Blakeney
In his 18th season as a head coach and at Troy he is 138-68-1. He is the winningest coach in school history, with the record previously only 44 wins. His success has allowed Troy to move from Division II to Division I-AA and now Division I-A. He played football at Auburn, which is where he was an assistant coach and from there he moved to the head coach position at Troy.

The Series

What series? Ohio State has not played Troy or any team from the Sun Belt Conference. Under Tressel OSU is 22-1 versus non-conference teams at Ohio Stadium, with the only loss being to Texas in 2005.

Guest Panel-Week 4 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:
1. Hudy Delights (15-2) (6-0 last week)
2. Mr. Potayta Head (12-5) (3-3 last week)
2. Nostrapigskinus (12-5) (5-1 last week)
2. Dr. Funkenstein (12-5) (4-2 last week)
5. Spam Sandwichsan (11-6) (4-2 last week)
5. Batman (11-6) (4-2 last week)
7. Pat Head (10-7) (4-2 last week)
7. Old Bag of Man (10-7) (3-3 last week)
9. Philly Cheese (9-8) (2-4 last week)
9. Buckeye Cock (9-8) (2-4 last week)
11. Team Big Dog (8-9) (2-4 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Troy vs. OSU
2. LSU vs. Auburn
3. Wake Forest vs. Florida State
4. Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina
5. Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi
And the oddball game this week is:
6. New Mexico State vs. UTEP

What to Expect

As I said in the previous entry, USC has only played one game, and that was against a team that struggled the following week against Richmond. I think USC is getting much more credit than they deserve at this point. Do I think there is a chance they continue on this path and finish undefeated, yes, but at this point I think it is too early to make that prediction.

OSU did struggle against Ohio, and I don't think the simple answer is that they were looking ahead. I honestly think Ohio gave them a great game and some of our guys looked tired, if not hungover. Honestly I thought our team looked like it had went out drinking the night before, like it was a January 1st bowl game. Outside of that it looked like the running game was not getting established with Mo' Wells and they quickly went to the pass, and the passes were short. Boeckman and the receivers were not on the same page, with timing off, and catchable passes being dropped. It didn't help that many passes were short making them easy to cover. I was really bothered by the fact that Pretorius missed a FG and PAT. The FG would have been a career long of 53, and it wasn't even close.

Some key points to this game, Beanie Wells will likely play, USC has struggled to prepare, USC is over confident, OSU returns some key players, and OSU is the underdog. Unless I hear something dramatically different from Tressel today or tomorrow morning, I think Beanie will play. His coaches said he was 75% on Wednesday, but that number went down Thursday morning. Honestly do you think Beanie would not play if he was at least 50%? This game is too big for him and the team, even if it is early in the season. OSU gets some key players back with Washington at corner and safety O'Neal returning after a two game suspension. Don't expect Washington to start, as Tressel will continue the punishment, but he will make some major contributions as will reserve O'Neal. USC has struggled to prepare, because they do not know what to expect out of OSU, in regards to Beanie or Pryor. There is not one simple gameplan to prepare for, because the Buckeyes could be one of three different personalities on Saturday. The first personality being the team that barely won on Saturday without Beanie or Pryor having an impact. The second being a team that has a hard nosed running game with Beanie and some passes sprinkled in by Boeckman. The third being a team that has Pryor going in to change things up. Due to the struggle by OSU last weak, USC may be a bit over confident, which is fine, because OSU loves being the underdog. Think about this, when was the last time OSU was the underdog in a big game? Without looking at my records I think this is comparable to the OSU-Miami championship game, and we all know how that went. I still think the Buckeyes will win this one, and if you disagree, please let OSU know so that they can put it up on the bulletin board for motivation.

As Good as Advertised?

As I said in an earlier post, we did not see a dominating running game in USC's first game, so it is hard to predict what the running game will look like for them. It is possible to O-line is still trying to find itself, as it only returns one starter. I wouldn't say the running game for USC is weak, but outside of showing four guys that can run the ball, they did not show that the running game will dominate as it has in years past. I also mentioned earlier that the returning receivers only accounted for half of the team receptions last year, so there may be some questions still remaining about the receiving game. Sanchez looked great against Virginia, but then again is Virginia as good as people believed? Last week Virginia struggled against Richmond, only leading 3-0 at halftime, they scored only one offensive touchdown which was in the fourth quarter, and scored a TD off an interception. I still think USC needs to play a few more games before we can say they are the best team in the country. Lou Holtz criticized the always annoying Mark May, by saying you can't fall in love with a girl after one date, just like you can't fall in love with a team after one game.

Scouting the Trojans

Quarterback
Mark Sanchez came into the season as a question mark because he had hurt his knee in practice. He looked great in the first and only game so far this season, throwing 26 of 35 for 338 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception at Virginia. Last year Sanchez was 60.5% for 695 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions, backing up and filling in for John David Booty. Sanchez is a pocket quarterback, not known to run, but he is able to move around in the pocket to avoid tackles.

Runningbacks
Gone is Chauncey Washington and in his place are four capable backs. Starting is Joe McKnight, but he splits time with CJ Gable, Staton Johnson, and Allen Bradford. Gable led the team in the opener with 73 yards and one touchdown, while McKnight had 60 yards. USC is expected to use 3-4 of these guys in the OSU game.

Receivers
The three starters are Vidal Hazelton at flanker, Anthony McCoy at tight end, and Patrick Turner and Damian Williams both work out of the split end position. Williams led the team two weeks ago with 91 yards and Johnson had 78 yards with one touchdown. The other three touchdowns were Turner, McKnight out of the backfield, and Tyler. The wide receivers returning this season only accounted for half of USC's receptions last year.

Defense
The defense is led by returning linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing. There are also returning starters Cary Harris at corner, safety Taylor Mays, safety Kevin Ellison, tackle Fili Moala and end Kyle Moore. As you can see this defense has a lot of experience returning.

This season
USC scored quickly, with a 21-7 lead in the first quarter, but they only had one more touchdown before halftime. In the second half they had four more touchdowns. The defense only allowed one touchdown and 187 yards, forced four turnovers, and Virginia only had 32 yards on 21 carries. However USC was not perfect, with seven penalties and two turnovers.

As good as these runningbacks are, and with a high scoring game, I was surprised to see only 208 of the 558 yards were in the running game and none of the backs had over 100 yards. Now, most teams would be satisfied with a 208 yard running game, but consider the fact that it was a 500+ yard game and that USC is known for their running game with any of those guys being capable of having a 100 yard game on their own. Also, Gable only had nine carries, while McKnight had only six.

Beanie Not Better

As I indicated in an earlier post, Tressel was expected to answer questions today regarding Beanie's status after practicing yesterday. In a 12:30 press conference he said that Beanie did not practice today and Beanie did not feel better today.

Tressel did not directly say Beanie would not play, but here are some quotes, "He had more soreness this morning than we had hoped for. A late afternoon practice followed by a morning practice, we hope that's a little bit the reason why. So we'll just have to play it by ear. We're hopeful, but he didn't work this morning." He also said, "We were hoping that this morning he'd wake up and feel ever better than yesterday. But it didn't happen. We've just got to see how this next 24 hours feels and if he can move around. And the thing we've been saying all along is that being able to move around and being functional at the job you have to do are two different things. And the thing I've been reminding him of is it is September, and we've got to treat things as they should be. I'm listing him as doubtful."

It sounds like it will be a gametime decision. I'll post more details as they are announced. Anyone think there is a conspiracy going, and Beanie is ready to play, hmm I hope.

The Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his eighth season at OSU, he has a record of 75-16. In his 23rd year of his coaching career, including time at YSU, he is 210-73-2. He has guided OSU to one national championship.


Pete Carroll
In his eighth season at USC, he has a record of 77-14. This is his first head coaching position in college. He has guided the team to two national championships (split with LSU in 2003) and a 5-1 bowl record. He played safety at Pacific University. He has been an assistant at Pacific, Arkansas (under Lou Holtz), Iowa State, Ohio State, and North Carolina State. Earl Bruce brought Caroll with him to OSU when he took over for the fired Woody Hayes. Carroll was the secondary coach at OSU in 1979, and that team lost to USC in the 1980 Rose Bowl. Carroll spent fifteen years in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks.

The Series

USC leads the series 11-9-1. The series started in 1937 and the teams last played in 1990. In 1990 USC won in Columbus, 35-26. OSU last won in 1974 in the Rose Bowl 42-21. Six of the games have been decided by a touchdown or less. OSU is 50-23-2 against the teams in the Pac-10, having faced all of the teams in the conference at least twice. OSU 2-4-1 in games played in Los Angeles. USC has won the last five games between the two teams.


In the 1974 Rose Bowl OSU trailed 21-14 in the third quarter, but scored the last 28 points. Archie Griffin lead the team with 149 yards, and won his second of a historical four consecutive Rose Bowl games that he started. The team finished the season 10-0-1 but finished second in the AP poll to undefeated Notre Dame. It has been argued that this was OSU's best all-time team, despite the lack of a National Title.

In the most recent matchup in 1990, the game was cut short with 2:36 left on the clock due to lightning and thunder. OSU was down 21-10 at halftime but came back and scored with 2:38 remaining in the game to put it at 35-26. The coaches had discussed the weather and Coach Cooper agreed with the head ref that if OSU didn't recover the on-side kick, the game would be over. USC recovered the kickoff and the game ended with USC winning.

(Thanks to "The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia" for the info and picture.)

Why Trojans?

Last I checked ancient Troy was not in Southern California, so why is the USC mascot the Trojan? In the early years USC was known as the Methodists and Wesleyans and the team struggled to establish itself, due to the low number of teams in the area and the limitations on travel. Surprisingly USC actually dropped its football program in the years 1911-1913 and started a rugby team. It was during that time that the nickname started, as the team was often overmatched by more experienced and better funded schools.

Credit is given to Owen Bird, a writer for the LA Times in 1912 calling them the Trojans with this quote, "At this time, the athletes and coaches of the university were under terrific handicaps. They were facing teams that were bigger and better-equipped, yet they had splendid fighting spirit. The name 'Trojans' fitted them." He also said, "I came out with an article prior to a showdown between USC and Stanford in which I called attention to the fighting spirit of USC athletes and named them 'Trojan' all the time, and it stuck. The term 'Trojan' as applied to USC means to me that no matter what the situation, what the odds or what the conditions, the competition must be carried on to the end and those who strive must give all they have and never be weary in doing so."

The Horse is named Traveler and the Trojan riding him is named Tommy Trojan. There is no consensus opinion on why he is named Tommy. He has a statute in campus that is often vandalized during the week of the USC-UCLA game.

USC plays in the Coliseum, which was built in 1923. I did not find a good reason for the name Coliseum, although there have been other facilities around the country with that name. I don't pretend to be a Greek or Roman history expert, but the Colosseum was in the Roman empire, and is located near modern day Rome, Italy, while the Trojan empire was located near modern day Turkey. Also wasn't Troy back in the times of the Greek empire? I don't know if USC chose the name in connection to the mascot, but it doesn't seem to fit. If anyone can figure this out, please post a comment.

Wells has first practice

Beanie Wells has been running drills, but not practicing with the team since he suffered a jammed right forefoot in the season opener against YSU. Yesterday he practiced for the first time, and Tressel said he is 75% or better. Tressel said Beanie was sore after the practice, and he will likely announce later today how Beanie felt this morning before the team leaves for California. Regardless, Beanie will not be 100% and will play with some pain, but it is not clear how the injury will affect the quality of his runs or his playing time.

Guest Panel-Week 3 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:
1. Hudy Delights (9-2) (3-2 last week)
1. Mr. Potayta Head (9-2) (5-0 last week)
3. Dr. Funkenstein (8-3) (3-2 last week)
4. Nostrapigskinus (7-4) (3-2 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (7-4) (3-2 last week)
4. Spam Sandwichsan (7-4) (4-1 last week)
4. Old Bag of Man (7-4) (3-2 last week)
4. Batman (7-4) (3-2 last week)
9. Pat Head (6-5) (3-2 last week)
9. Team Big Dog (6-5) (3-2 last week)
9. Buckeye Cock (6-5) (2-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Ohio State vs. USC
2. Wisconsin vs. Fresno State
3. Kansas vs. South Florida (Friday)
4. Iowa State vs. Iowa
5. Michigan vs. Notre Dame
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Alabama A&M vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Enough Tressel Hating

Ok, so I finally have seen enough articles and heard enough crap from fans, so I feel like someone needs to defend Tressel's decision to play Beanie in the series where he was injured. In ESPN's Forde column he compares keeping Beanie in the game to USC keeping Sanchez in the game in the fourth and Texas keeping McCoy in the fourth. That is a horrible comparison for a variety of reasons. first of all Beanie was not playing in the fourth, and I think it is fair to assume he would not have been playing in the fourth, if Forde really knew Tressel. Why would Tressel want to keep his starters in against his old school? Forde, did you notice Pryor was playing very early? Beanie's injury happened in the the third, and if you look at the numbers, he just eclipsed 100 yards during that drive, which is a typical goal for a running back, especially a star player looking for post season awards. Yes, he eclipsed 100 yards before the injury, but it is typically only fair to let a running back have a shot at the endzone after he gave you some good carries during a drive. Sanchez had 338 yards and three touchdowns and McCoy had passed for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns before being pulled. Yeah that is a fair comparison!

It is unfair to criticize Tressel and ridiculous to compare him to Carroll at USC or Brown at Texas. USC was up 44-7 when they pulled Sanchez and Texas was up 45-10. Tressel does not run up the score, in fact it was only 26-0 at the time Beanie was hurt. Carroll always runs up the score, leaving starters in late, and Brown has been known to do it often. Tressel is smart enough to know that leaving players in late is risking injury and it just is not the right thing to do. I have always respected Tressel for not keeping the starters in late during a blow-out. In summary please think before you criticize Tressel's decisions or compare him to classless coaches like Carroll.

Approaching win 800

A victory on Saturday would give OSU 800 total wins as a program. Below is a current list of programs with the most wins. Michigan football was established in 1879, Notre Dame in 1887, Texas in 1893, Nebraska in 1890, and OSU established in 1890.

869 Michigan
824 Notre Dame
821 Texas
818 Nebraska
799 Ohio State
791 Penn State
788 Alabama
777 Oklahoma
772 Tennessee
754 Southern Cal

What to Expect

With the absence of Beanie, look for all three remaining backs to split the minutes, with Boom Herron starting. Assuming OSU does not have trouble scoring, we will see Pryor at least by the second quarter. He looked good against YSU, but he still needs practice before the USC game. The game plan will probably be similar to last week with the yards split close to 50/50 between rushing and passing. Hopefully the team will have better luck in scoring opportunities. Although I enjoyed seeing the 50+ yard FGs, 15 points on five attempts doesn't cut it against the big boys. This shouldn't be an exciting or interesting game, but some kinks still need to be worked out before the big trip to Souther California. That being said, USC has the day off, so they have extra time to prepare for the game. I know Tressel is holding back on some plays, and I believe he is intentionally holding back info on Beanie. I believe that Beanie's injury is less serious than it appears.

Scouting the Bobcats

Quarterback
Junior Theo Scott returns as the starter. He came in part way through the season, as a junior college transfer, splitting time with Brad Bower. With the departure of Bower, Scott will help the team continue with the switch from option to pass attack. Last year he was 57% for 753 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Runningback
Junior Chris Garrett will lead the running game this season. He was the number three back last year, after converting from wide receiver. This unit as a whole will be down, with the top two backs gone. Garrett had a total of 99 yards last year, and last week he had 30 yards.

Kicker
Senior Barrett Way is the place kicker, after sitting out a year, due to a transfer from VMI. At VMI he was 10 of 12 in 2006. So far this year he is 2 of 2 on FGs and 2 of 2 on PATs. Sophomore Schulte averaged 37.6 net last year, and last week he averaged 47 on two punts.

Defense
The defensive line is led by junior Jameson Hartke who leads the team with 13 sacks. Leading in the secondary is cornerback Mark Parson with 24 career pass breakups.

Last Game
Ohio came up short at Wyoming, coming home with a loss 21-20. Ohio was led Taylor Price with 14 catches for 139 yards. Donte Harden returned a 100-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Wyoming took the lead with just over 7:00 left in the fourth. Ohio had 12 penalties for 115 yards.

The Series

This will be the sixth time these two teams have met for a game, with OSU winning the first five meetings in 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, and 1999. In the first four games, OSU kept Ohio off the scoreboard, winning 41-0, 20-0, 17-0, and 17-0. In the 1999 game, OSU came back from a halftime tie of 10-10 to win 40-16 behind the arm of first-time starter Steve Belisari. Ken-Yon Rambo played big role in the second half, finishing with seven catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

The Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his eighth season at OSU, he has a record of 74-16. In his 23rd year of his coaching career, including time at YSU, he is 209-73-2.

Frank Solich
In his fourth season at Ohio, he is 19-19. In his tenth season as a head coach he is 77-38. Prior to Ohio he was the coach at Nebraska, his alma mater. Solich was born in Pennsylvania, but grew up in Cleveland. He was a very successful player in high school and college. He was an assistant under Tom Osborne for 19 years before taking the head coach position. Solich's teams started to struggle and he was fired in 2003. He took off a year from coaching and was hired in 2005 by Ohio.

They Call Me Ohio!

Ohio University has been overshadowed by Ohio State University in sports, but Ohio is a very important school for the state. Many people from out of state are confused to find out that Ohio University is not connected to OSU. Ohio is located approximately 75 miles to the southeast of OSU, in Appalachia. The university is much older than OSU, having been established in 1804, shortly after Ohio was admitted as a state. OSU wasn't established until 1870. Ohio was the first university in the Northwest Territory, and is the ninth oldest in the country.

The school prefers to be called Ohio or Ohio University, despite the fact that you see the acronym OU used to describe the school, sometimes even on official merchandise like shirts and hats. They also do not like being called Ohio U.

(If you caught the Sidney Poitier connection, give yourself five points.)

Beanie out for game

Tressel has announced that Beanie Wells will not play against Ohio University this weekend. There are still very few details on the extent of his injury, although his mother was quoted as saying it was his toes and not turf toe, while Tressel said it was a jammed big toe and forefoot injury. Tressel is keeping details at a minimum, which has to make USC nervous.

Guest Panel-Week 2 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:
1. Hudy Delights (6-0 last week)
2. Dr. Funkenstein (5-1 last week)
3. Nostrapigskinus (4-2 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (4-2 last week)
3. Buckeye Cock (4-2 last week)
3. Mr. Potayta Head (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (4-2 last week)
3. Batman (4-2 last week)
9. Pat Head (3-3 last week)
9. Team Big Dog (3-3 last week)
9. Spam Sandwichsan (3-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Ohio vs. Ohio State
2. Cincinnati vs. Oklahoma
3. Georgia Tech vs. Boston College
4. Minnesota vs. Bowling Green
And the oddball game this week is:
5. Alcorn St. vs. Grambling State.