Ohio State goes Urban

With the "resignation" of coach Jim Tressel before the beginning of this season, the Buckeyes have been torn on what to do with their head coaching position. They had two choices: let interim head coach Luke Fickell keep the job or hire a big name coach at the end of the year. Ohio State has gone with the latter of the two choices, hiring former Florida head coach Urban Meyer.

If anyone has the credentials to take over the program at Ohio State, it's Urban Meyer. Meyer won two National Championships in his time with Florida, was raised in Ashtabula, and was an assistant coach under Earl Bruce at Ohio State before going off to be the head coach at Bowling Green. Meyer is clearly a talented enough coach to take over a program like Ohio State.

Probably the biggest positive from hiring Meyer will be the windfall of recruits Ohio State will now be getting. Meyer is a masterful recruiter and is widely known as being one of the best recruiters in the country, if not the best. Meyer has alreadly landed a few ESPN Top 100 recruits, most recently the no. 4 recruit in the entire country. His recruiting will also benefit from the Penn State scandal, which will have former Lions' commits flocking to other Big Ten schools.

 The only downside to the Meyer hire is the concern about how he left his former job at Florida. While at Florida, Meyer resigned twice, coming back almost instantly after his first resignation and leaving to be an analyst at ESPN after his second resignation. Meyer cited his health and needing more time with his family as the reasons for resigning.

For Buckeyes fans, these concerns shouldn't be too troubling. After what happened at Florida, Meyer has learned how he needs to run his program to prevent this from happening again. He decided he can't micromanage every detail of the program anymore, and he is dedicated to building the best coaching staff in teh country to prevent that from happening. He has also said that he's found balance with his job and his family, which takes care of the other problem for him.

Buckeyes fans should be excited about their new head coach. He's Ohio grown, he understands what the expectations are in Columbus, and he's a proven winner. Meyer his sure to bring the football program back to national relevance and competing for a National Championship year in and year out.

Buckeyes Defense Manhandled by Michigan in Bitter Loss

Denard Robinson sprints to a 41-yard TD run

At 2926 days, the streak is finally over for the Buckeyes. That's how many days it had been since Ohio State had lost to Michigan, and the bitter taste of defeat at the hands of the Wolverines is as painful as ever.

Watching the Big House after the 40-34 win over the Buckeyes brought a sick feeling to the stomachs of Buckeyes fans everywhere.  Before this game, the Buckeyes had won seven meetings in a row, which is one of the longest streaks in the history of this rivalry and it was difficult to see that streak come to an end. Missed opportunities, poor coaching in critical moments, and Denard Robinson all combined for the heartbreaking loss for Ohio State.

The missed opportunities for the Buckeyes were the most difficult thing for them to overcome. Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller, who had an otherwise impressive game statistically, had troubles hitting open receivers throughout the entire game.

Miller was throwing the ball better than usual for just about the entire game, but he missed at least three open receivers for touchdowns throughout the span of the game. These missed passes would've completely changed the momentum and could have led the way for a huge upset for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State coach Luke Fickell came into this game knowing that, aside from a possible bowl game, this would most likely be his last game as head coach of the Buckeyes and you could see it in the way he coached. Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman were unusually aggressive in their play calling, which helped the Buckeyes' offense tremendously and ultimately gave them a chance to win.

All of this good coaching was undone by a single call late in the fourth quarter when the Buckeyes were on their final offensive drive. On third down, Fickell did what even a coach of a grade school football team knows not to do: he spiked the ball on third down. That gave Ohio State just one more chance to get the first down, which they failed to do.

Lastly, the defense just couldn't find a way to stop Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson. Robinson is one of the most explosive players in all of college football, but that is no excuse for a defense that is as talented as the Buckeyes to fail to come up with a way to adjust to his play and slow him down.

This devastating loss to the Wolverines is a tough end to the regular season, the Buckeyes' winning streak against Michigan, and Luke Fickell's tenure as the head coach of the Buckeyes.

Ohio State Upset in West Lafayette by Purdue

Surprise! Ohio State came out looking flat for a noon game that they should've handled without a problem. Noon games tend to be the Buckeyes' weakness, especially if it's against one of the teams at the bottom of the Big Ten. This proved true last weekend as the Buckeyes were upset by Purdue in West Lafayette for the second time in a row.

The blame goes to the anemic offense yet again. Watching the Buckeyes with the ball is almost a chore because they are so incredibly boring and predictable. The run-heavy offense was held to three three-and-outs to start the game by a defense that has been absolutely horrendous against the run in the past few games. After having three 100+ yard rushers the game before, this seemed like a favorable match up for Ohio State, but it ended up working out in Purdue's favor.

After going into the half losing 17-7, the Buckeyes seemed to pick it up a little bit. They forced a stop right out of the game that seemed like it would get things going, but the offense still was lagging behind. It took a miracle touchdown pass from Braxton Miller to Jordan Hall to even force an overtime. But overtime could have been avoided if it weren't for the mishap on the extra point attempt.

After scoring a touchdown to even the game up at 20 apiece, all the Buckeyes needed was an extra point to sneak out of West Lafayette with a win. Apparently that task was too much to handle for the special teams. The offensive line was overpowered by Purdue's line and they blocked an awful extra point attempt from kicker Drew Basil. Had the kick been a high one and not a low line drive, it probably would have gotten in.
Nevertheless, Ohio State still had overtime. But the offense was stopped in three plays and was forced to kick a field goal and hand it over to Purdue. After having the Boilermakers at third and twelve, quarterback Robert Marve completed a 14 yard pass to the half-yard line. He followed it up with a one-yard QB sneak to wrap up the upset and basically end Ohio State's chances of making it to the Big Ten Championship Game.

Luke Fickell: Should He Stay or Should He Go?

First year head coach Luke Fickell is now more than halfway through his season-long tryout for a permanent job. Fickell has been handed a lot of crap in his first year, which makes the difficult task of winning over one of the nation's top fan bases even more difficult. Although the Buckeyes are only sitting at 5-3, Fickell has made himself a strong case to be considered to be the long term answer for the Ohio State football program.

Luke Fickell has done an outstanding job of helping his team improve. Since week 2, there has been steady improvement each week in a team that seemed nearly hopeless against Toledo and Miami (FL). Since then, it has been easy to see that the Buckeyes have been coming together as a team. The struggling offense is finally beginning to mesh in its most critical stretch of games in the season and his fledgling quarterback, Braxton Miller, has grown into the leader that the offense needed. The defense has been stellar all season long, except for the second half meltdown against Nebraska, but I still think that the offense was also to blame for keeping the defense on the field for so long.

Fickell is also doing a good job of setting off-field distractions aside and getting the wins he needs to keep the Buckeyes in Big Ten title contention. Backup running back Jamaal Berry was charged with assault over the last few days just weeks after almost being charged with the same crime in a separate occasion. But Fickell has been able to look past the Berry situation and get solid production out of the running game that has fueled consecutive wins against ranked teams.

Although it will be tough for Fickell to compete against the big-name coaches that are being tossed around in discussions for who will be coach next year (Urban Meyer), I think that he has done a good job so far. He has overcome a shaky start to the season and brought Ohio State back into the Big Ten title discussion. He's found a way to have the offense hit its stride when they need to most, and in my book he's doing what he needs to do to get a new contract at the end of the year.

A Wild Win at Home Against Wisconsin

Finally! The Buckeyes pulled together the offense and defense for a solid performance against a quality team. After facing former #17 Illinois two weeks ago and having a bye week, the Buckeyes were ready to play and take on another ranked opponent in former #12 Wisconsin.

At first it seemed like the same old story: a lethargic offense for the Buckeyes wouldn't be enough to overcome another great outing for the defense. With the score 7-3 at halftime in favor of the Badgers, the defense had still kept them in the game. But the offense turned it around in the second half.

The Buckeyes stormed out of the locker room with motivation and, now, momentum. You could feel the energy the Bucks were playing with, which was driven by the crushing defeat Wisconsin had handed the Buckeyes last year that ended their National Championship hopes and put Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. But now it was the Buckeyes' turn to play spoiler. Although most people had already written the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship hunt, if the Buckeyes won out the rest of their schedule and Penn State lost one more game other than a loss to the Buckeyes then they would make it out of the Leaders division and into Indianapolis for the championship game. But it starts with a win against Wisconsin.

Ohio State came out and took the lead, with the score at 17-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The beginning of the 3rd quarter began the most exciting quarter of Buckeye football this season. Ohio State got a quick 9 points with a Drew Basil field goal and a Braxton Miller rushing TD that was followed by an unsuccessful two point attempt. But with the Buckeyes up 26-14 with only 4:39 left, the Badgers came storming back. Wisconsin scored two quick touchdowns and a two point conversion to make the score 29-26 in favor of the Badgers. But you couldn't count the Buckeyes out. Braxton Miller cooly led the Buckeyes down the field in a time where most freshman quarterbacks would've been frantic. His leadership proved to be invaluable. Miller took the snap at the Wisconsin 40 with only 0:30 to go and a restless crowd clamoring for a score. He was flushed out of the pocket and forced to scramble to his right where he heaved up what looked to be a desparation pass to the end zone, but Devin Smith was wide open waiting for the game winning pass to fall into his arms. The Buckeyes staved off Wisconsin's attempts at a miracle and secured their biggest win of the season by far. This season-changing win showcased why Braxton Miller is clearly the QB to go with for the rest of the season and the rest of his tenure at Ohio State. Although he didn't have an outstanding statistical day passing (7/12), he made plays with his legs and used leadership to power the offense to victory. His 99 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD's were key to this huge win in Columbus.

Buckeyes Choke in Near-Upset of Nebraska

It seemed like the game was in the bag for the Buckeyes. They were leading by 21 with just 23 minutes left in the game. It almost seemed impossible for Ohio State to blow such a commanding lead, but with the way things have been going this season, you knew they'd find a way. And they did, losing what might be the most disappointing Buckeyes game I've watched for years.

Ohio State entered this game as a heavy underdog for the first time in a very, very long time. Going on the road to #14 ranked Nebraska is a challenge for any team, but for a Buckeyes team that's been struggling like they have, especially on the offensive side of the ball, it didn't seem like they stood any chance at all. Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes' offense apparently didn't hear any of this criticism because they went out there looking like a championship caliber offense. Braxton Miller was nearly unstoppable, throwing for 95 yards and rushing for 91 more. He was helped tremendously Carlos Hyde, who is emerging as Ohio State's top running back. He ran for 104 yards and two TD's, including a 63 yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was all going great, with the Buckeyes leading 27-6 after their first possession of the second half. But everything changed after that.

It started with a Braxton Miller fumble. As he was falling to the ground, he had the ball stripped out of his hands by a Nebraska defender. This turned into the first touchdown for the Cornhuskers, but the better result for Nebraska was that it gave them some hope. Hope was the last thing the erratic Buckeyes offense needed the Huskers' defense to get. On the ensuing Ohio State possession, Braxton Miller went down with an ankle injury. Ohio State's hopes of pulling off this season-changing upset went down with him. His injury forced in the incredibly ineffective Joe Bauserman, and nothing sucks the life out of the Buckeyes' offense like Joe Bauserman. After Bauserman entered the game, the offense gained just three more first downs. They were led by Bauserman's 1 for 10 performance in which he racked up a total of 13 yards for a passer rating of 0.9. No, that's not a typo, his passer rating was actually 0.9. Meanwhile, the defense was getting tired and letting up big plays, which just added fuel to Nebraska's fire. After they tied the game up at 27 apiece, you could just feel that the Buckeyes would blow it. Of course, that feeling was right and they gave up the go-ahead touchdown drive on Nebraska's ensuing possession.

If Ohio State even wants to become bowl eligible, they're going to need to get a few signature wins in the upcoming games. This is the perfect week for that win against #16 Illinois. This game gives the Buckeyes a chance to do what Illinois did to us in 2007: go into their house and ruin their undefeated season. If the Buckeyes can get revenge against Illinois this week, it could end up being a game where we will look back and see where they turned their season around.

Spartans Smother Buckeyes' Offense

The Michigan State Spartans absolutely manhandled the Buckeyes' offense in yet another embarrassing loss for the Buckeyes. The fire in the Spartans' defense combined with the apparent listlessness in the Ohio State offense for another painful to watch performance by the declining Buckeyes.

Out of all of the Buckeyes games I've watched over the past few years, this was easily the most depressing. I could tell from the get-go that the offense was going to be flat, but what ended up unfolding on the field was even worse than I expected. The Bucks were limited to just 178 yards on offense, and even that low number is padded by a meaningless last-second drive that resulted in the only points for the Buckeyes. There were pretty much no positives to take out of this game from the offense point of view. The passing numbers were poor at best with 143 yards with an interception and a meaningless touchdown. The rushing numbers were even worse, amassing a dismal 35 total yards.

This game snapped the fifth-longest home winning streak in the nation at 16 games. The last-second touchdown saved the Buckeyes from their first shutout at home in the last 183 games and their last shutout at all in the last 17 years. The only good thing that could be taken out of this game was the defense and its ability to force critical turnovers. Their two turnovers saved the Buckeyes at least 10 points and were the only reason they still had a chance of winning at all.

The offense is going to need to pick it up soon if the Buckeyes even want to become bowl eligible this year. As of now they have yet to play ranked opponents Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan and they still have to play Penn State who is on the verge of being ranked. It's not going to be an easy road to a bowl game for the Buckeyes, but if it's going to happen, the charge needs to be led by Braxton Miller and this young Ohio State offense.

Offense Sputters in Rematch of 2002 National Championship

After the ugly performance at home against Toledo, it seemed as if the Buckeyes could only get better. Unfortunately this wasn't the case. The Buckeyes were absolutely manhandled by Miami's defense and the 'Canes racked up the most rushing yards given up by an Ohio State defense in recent memory in a 24-6 loss last Saturday.

 The Buckeyes' offense was clearly the main cause of the bad game. They just weren't able to move the ball at all, especially through the air. They gained an underwhelming total of 209 yards. The worst part about this is that only 35 of these yards were gained through the air. Joe Bauserman, the fifth-year senior, looked absolutely awful. Bauserman started off the game by leading the offense to back-to-back three and outs, which basically killed any momentum or motivation the team had. He was never able to pick it up either, finishing 2/14 for just 13 yards. There wasn't really anything positive to take out of his performance. Almost all of his passes were either off target or they were poorly thrown, and the only two passes he completed were swing passes to the running backs. Braxton Miller, the promising freshman, never got a true chance to shine. He was played briefly in the second quarter, but was promptly taken out after an interception off of a tipped pass that really wasn't his fault. Again, it made little sense for coach Luke Fickell to keep in a struggling Joe Bauserman instead of playing the more versatile and exciting Braxton Miller.

If there was anything positive to take out of this game, it was how well returning junior Jordan Hall ran the ball. Hall is playing his first game after serving a two game suspension for taking $200 from a booster at a charity event. Hall was seemingly the only Buckeye who was motivated to play in the game. He rushed for 87 yards on 14 carries for a 6.2 yard average.

The last thing that bothered me was the poor coaching of Luke Fickell. Other than the quarterback situation, Fickell completely mishandled stopping Miami's rushing attack and managing the time at the end of the game. Miami ran all over the Buckeyes for an astounding 240 yards, and Fickell just couldn't find an answer to stop them. The time management at the end of the game was the thing that irked me most. It was still a two possession game when Miami was running out the clock on one of the final drives of the game, but you couldn't tell from how Luke Fickell was reacting. Fickell failed to take even a single timeout as Miami drained over nine minutes from the clock. It was almost as if Fickell had just given up.

Although the Miami game was very disappointing, the Buckeyes need to bounce back this week. They'll be playing this week as an unranked team for the first time since November of 2004. It's important for Ohio State to get a convincing win against Colorado so that they can build some confidence before heading into the difficult conference schedule.

Close Call in Columbus

After a nearly flawless performance in week one, Luke Fickell and the Buckeyes faltered in a near-loss to their in state opponents, the Toledo Rockets. The Buckeyes underwhelmed against the Rockets in the 27-22 win on Saturday. The day showed some troublesome offensive struggles that will need to be taken care of before this week's prime time showdown against the University of Miami.

The biggest problem the Bucks had was their offensive line, and every football fan knows that it's tough to get any offense going with a struggling O-line. This was proved by the measly 189 passing yards gained by the offense. Although the running game was not terrible, it was not spectacular either. The Buckeyes averaged about 3.3 yards per carry for 112 yards, but without any help from the line who simply could not get a push for their running backs.

The offensive line was not all to blame for the poor passing. Joe Bauserman looked rattled all game, and his completion percentage went down 21.7% from last week to this week. This was partially due to the lack of time to throw the ball, but that was not the only reason he didn't look nearly as impressive as last week. Bauserman consistently overthrew wide open receivers and two of the overthrows were potential touchdowns. Despite an all-around poor performance from Bauserman, the true freshman Braxton Miller didn't take a single snap. Miller looked sharp in the opener against Akron, but it seemed as if Coach Fickell's decision to play Bauserman was set in stone. This move made no sense to me. There wasn't much to lose by putting Miller in for a series to two to see if he could get something started with the offense. He certainly has the explosiveness that Bauserman lacks, but Fickell played it just as conservatively as his predecessor Jim Tressel would have.

It was a night and day difference from the Buckeye team that showed up against Akron. A lack of concentration and sloppy play nearly led Ohio State to its first loss to an in-state opponent in 90 years. Fickell and his team will need to show big improvements, especially on offense, if they plan on stealing a victory from the Hurricanes on the road this week.

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Akron Zips

Amid countless suspensions, allegations, and a difficult quarterback controversy, Luke Fickell proved in his head coaching debut that the Buckeyes are going to be as strong as ever in 2011. The rookie head coach delivered a 42-0 beating to the Zips to start off the season. There were a lot of positive things to take out of week one, with the most important being the fantastic play of both quarterbacks.

After the disgraceful departure of the former quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, Fickell faced an interesting challenge as a first-year head coach: who would start at quarterback? Ultimately, the choice came down to the senior Joe Bauserman and the freshman Braxton Miller. All preseason he has been noncommital to who would take the first snap of the season. It seemed as if Fickell was in a catch-22. If this opener means anything, it looks like that catch-22 has turned into a win-win situation. Both quarterbacks were phenomenal against the Zips. Joe Bauserman, who was chosen to start, shattered all expectations. He showed no remnants of the shaky backup from a year ago when he went 12/16 for 163 yards and 3 TD's. Not only was he impressive throwing the ball, but he showed that he has worked on his mobility with his 32 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD. However, Miller made sure that he did not lock up the starting job by going 8/12 for 130 yards and 1 TD. He was also hindered by his receivers who dropped 3 of his passes. He showed his scrambling prowess by rushing for 30 yards on 6 attempts. This quarterback controversy is by no means settled. We will definitely be seeing both quarterbacks throughout the first few games to see who will emerge as the clear cut starter.

The other main areas of concern were the receiving corps and the running backs, and again, they performed much better than any Buckeyes fan could've hoped for. With the leading receiver from a year ago suspended for the first five games of the season, the receivers stepped up big time for Ohio State. Eight different Buckeye receivers caught a pass, with two of them getting one or more touchdowns. The most impressive of the receivers was the tight end Jake Stoneburner. His three touchdowns on Saturday surpassed his season total of two from last year. He showed that he will be a reliable target for whoever ends up running the show at quarterback. The new receiver that really broke out was Verlon Reed, who caught three passes for 66 yards. However, all the achievements were topped by this absolutely incredible catch by freshman Evan Spencer. This one handed grab was one of the best I've ever seen! The running backs also had a big day. Carlos Hyde, who started because of suspensions to the two other backs ahead of him in the depth chart, had a great first start. He mowed over Akron's defense for 93 yards on 19 carries. Hyde is the big, strong kind of back that the Buckeyes have been lacking since Chris "Beanie" Wells went to the NFL. Hopefully he has done enough to secure him the starting job even when the two backs ahead of him return from their suspensions.

Both the football team and the Ohio State fan base needed a dominating win like this to start off the season. Luke Fickell showed that he will be able to put the distractions from a hectic offseason aside and coach this team to another year of Big Ten title contention. The quarterback situation has yet to be settled, but it seems as if both players are capable of succeeding under center. We'll see if they can keep it up next week when Toledo comes to town.