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.