November 12 - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Northwestern Recap

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. It’s my weekly critique of The Ohio State University football performance.

It’s time to get the party started. Muck Fichigan week is here and it promises to be the biggest ever, #1 versus #2. But first, let’s recap this week’s thrashing of Northwestern, 54-10. It was Ohio State largest offensive output in over 10 years.

OSU improved their record to 11-0. They maintained their #1 ranking in all major polls including the BCS.

THE GOOD

• Scoring Defense – Even though OSU gave up 10 points, OSU remains #1 in SCORING DEFENSE at 7.8 per game.

• Turnovers – OSU ranks 1st nationally in interceptions with 21 on the year.

• Special Teams – OSU blocked two Northwestern punts. I’ve been wondering where that intensity had been all year. In the past, it seemed we blocked a punt every other game. I believe these were the first blocks this year.

• Balanced Offensive Output – Troy Smith throws for 4 TDs to three different receivers. The backs totaled 229 yards with Chris Wells gaining 99 yards on 11 carries (and no fumbles).

THE BAD

• Fumbles – Pittman had a red zone fumble.

• Extra Points – OSU missed two more extra points. It could be critical at some time in the next two games.

THE UGLY

• Northwestern Fan Support – There were 47K fans Ryan Field and almost half were wearing Scarlet And Gray. Is it a bandwagon or do you not look well in purple?

The most amazing statistic from this season is that OSU opponents have not scored a single point after OSU’s 13 turnovers this year. Inversely, OSU has scored 127 points off of their opponents’ turnovers. If you cannot grasp this dichotomy, then you don’t know football or probably know what dichotomy means.


My WTF moment came over the course of the weekend as the #3 Louisville, #4 Texas, #5 Auburn, and the #8 California football teams all decided that the possibility of being embarrassed by Ohio State in the National Championship game was to much to bear and decided to lose now. It was a sad game of Musical Chairs when the music stopped and they were seat less.

Vegas sites have already handicapped the remaining field:

OSU favored by 4 points over USC

OSU favored by 6 points over Florida

OSU favored by 7 points over Notre Dame

I personally would love to play “genius” Charlie Weis and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame. Maybe Brady could get his twisted sister (at right) a maternity jersey to wear this year. She made herself a "story" last year when she was dating OSU linebacker A.J. Hawk when OSU played ND in the Fiesta Bowl. She tried to honor both teams. Some call it fashion, I call it multiple personalities.

Now it’s time for THE GAME. Every year, when Ohio State visits michigan, I throw a Muck Fichigan party. Every year, when michigan visits THE SHOE, I travel to Columbus. This year will be no exception. I will be in Room 402 at my usual prime location. There’s still some space on the bandwagon, so RSVP your attendance at my tailgate party.

GO BUCKS.