Eleven Warriors

Looking forward, we'll probably use Sunday afternoon/evenings as an opportunity to release that week's latest stab at attempting a coherent BlogPoll balot. Given that this week we have a pretty potential top 10 re-arranging clash still to be hashed out tomorrow evening, we're going to hold off on releasing our arbitrary guesses at how to rank teams this early on until we have a chance to check out the two relative heavyweights' clash then. In the interim, we give you a pair of YouTube'tastic looks back at this past Thursday night to get the proverbial hype wagon a rollin' for next Saturday.

The dual Script Ohio shot from the stands:

And lastly, a phenomenal, condensed highlight version of the entire Marshall game:

Brian Rolle and Brandon Saine were the big winners, but damn, it's great to see Tyler Moeller's name in here again:

The Ohio State football coaching staff has selected its weekly award winners for outstanding play in Thursday’s 45-7 season opening victory over Marshall.

Linebacker Brian Rolle, with an interception for a score and four tackles, is the defensive player of the week. Tailback Brandon Saine, who rushed for 103 yards and two scores, is the offensive player of the week. Nate Oliver is the player of the week on the special units.

Mike Brewster was named as the Jim Parker lineman of the week. Cameron Heyward received the Attack Force award on defense. The Jack Tatum big hit of the week went to Tyler Moeller.

Players of the week on the scout teams: Kenny Guiton (offense); Dan Bain (defense); Spencer Smith (special units).

Like Ohio State, most Big Ten teams kept it safe on opening weekend by scheduling various jamokes for their annual beatdowns. Indiana, Iowa and Penn State smacked around helpless FCS milquetoasts, Michigan State played a team with a losing record in the MAC last year, and Minnesota played Middle Tennessee State without their best player. Still, if you don't have the free time necessary to watch every game a Big Ten team played in this weekend, here's a quick recap to catch you up:

Illinois 13, Missouri 23

Illinois led this game 13-3 to start the second half before surrendering 20 unanswered points, turtling in a fashion that must be all too familiar for Illini fans in the fifth year of the Ron Zook regime. Redshirt freshman Nathan Scheelhase looked largely overwhelmed against a Missouri D few expect much out of, going 9/23 for 1 touchdown and 3 picks, and fumbling the ball twice. I suppose the biggest compliment that can be paid to Ron Zook's team is that they both covered the spread and held the Tigers to 23 points, but I doubt that will make his seat anything less than boiling hot over the next few weeks.

Indiana 51, Towson 17

A 38-point first half buoyed the Indiana offense against its chosen FCS cupcake on Thursday night. The Indiana offense, returning essentially every skill position player of note, was actually missing star wideout Tandon Doss, but didn't miss a beat. Ugly score aside, Towson experienced its fair share of offensive success, but couldn't stop turning the ball over: quarterback Chris Hart ran for 123 yards and passed for two scores, but also threw three interceptions, two of which led directly to Indiana touchdowns. Hoosier QB Ben Chappell completed 16 of 23 passes for two scores, while running back Darius Willis toted the rock 14 times for 102 yards and two scores.

Minnesota 24, Middle Tennessee State 17

At first, it looked like the Gophers were poised to dominate this game. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, Tim Brewster's team let the Blue Raiders right back into the game, unsurprisingly, and would eventually need a late turnover to preserve a 24-17 team win. Senior quarterback Adam Weber was his typically unremarkable self, completing 10 of 17 passes for 150 yards, no touchdowns, and no picks. The real story of the game was running back Duane Bennett, who racked up 187 yards on 30 carries. If Minnesota's going to win any Big Ten games this year, it'll need production at or near this level; last season, the Gophers finished dead last in rushing offense in the conference.

Though we must take into account the caliber of opponent, it's impossible not to feel pretty damn good about how the Buckeyes kicked off the 2010 season. The way the game unfolded made it decidedly more fun than last year to pen the kickoff version of Five Things so here we go...

PRYOR PROGRESSION

On the surface, Terrelle Pryor's passing numbers of 17/25 for 247 yards and 3 TD without a pick jump off the page but what we saw beneath the surface was even more impressive. Again, it was Marshall so there are no absolute guarantees the greatness will continue but I'm willing to take a risk and expect what I witnessed to be more the standard than an anomaly. In no particular order, here's what I took away from his performance:

Even though we saw increased comfortability in the pocket back in January, I was further impressed as Pryor stood tall in the pocket consistently and kept his feet underneath him while scanning the field. Though I'm sure the mostly solid protection helped the cause, I was also incredibly pleased with Pryor's willingness to stay in the pocket and go through his progressions instead of reverting back to the quick tuck and run as his defacto "second progression" choice from last year. His willingness to go through the progressions also signaled an increased familiarity with the offense which was likely aided by the notion he also appeared very involved with Brewster in calling the protection packages. I just got the feeling he not only knew what each of his guys was doing on the play but he was also intuitively watching defenders to truly understand where they would be as the play developed. This contributed to a much improved accuracy rate (68%). Also impacting accuracy looked to be improved footwork and an overflowing confidence as he stepped into throws.

Speaking of throws, it was good to see him so sharp on virtually every type. When he needed some zip, he delivered a strike as we saw on the second TD toss to Posey. The ball not only had some steam but it was perfectly placed, low and away, so that only DeVier had an opportunity to make the catch. The 65 yard post to Sanzenbacher for six was also aerial poetry as he stepped up in the pocket and hit Dane in stride to give the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead. Personally, I think his most impressive toss was a 28 yarder to Dane on 2nd and 7 during OSU's third possession. Watching Dane run a seam route, Pryor placed the ball perfectly over the linebacker and in front of the safety sending shivers down my spine. Last year, I didn't even want him to throw over the middle but as he confidently let this one go I found myself excited for the outcome. Two plays later, Pryor lobbed what looked like a sure TD down the sideline to Posey but it was just a bit long. Some called it a misfire but from my vantage point, it looked like Posey slowed down on what was an almost perfect throw. Another play that wrecked havoc on my salivary glands occurred on the opening drive of the 2nd half. On the fourth 1st down play of the drive, Pryor looked off the safety and delivered a 20 yard strike to Dane, again in stride. Once again, it was an attempt that gave me heart palpitations a year ago but not so in 2010. Lastly, you gotta love that TP shared the sugar with Stoney, Posey, Sanzenbacher, Schwartz, Fields, Boom, and Homan while also unsucessfully attempting to connect with Saine and Washington.

Someone with knowledge of the situation is telling us that LB Etienne Sabino will redshirt this season. Sabino did not see action last night against Marshall, and our source tells us the move is voluntary on Sabino's part in order to create separation between himself and Brian Rolle at the MIKE spot.

If true, Sabino will have two years remaining at OSU and will likely be your starting middle linebacker in 2011 and 2012. As long as he is not needed this season, I think this is a great move for Sabino as he allows himself to get two years as a starter and can continue to learn the position from a mental standpoint. Being that the Bucks substitute the STAR out for the SAM often in what is becoming ultimately their base defense, the permanent move to MIKE is a smart one on Sabino's part.

The source we have is reliable, although we cannot 100% confirm the redshirt at this point. Stay tuned for updates and verification, but if true, what are your thoughts?

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. It's time for yet another season of Weekend Update, which profiles a handful of games to keep your eyes on (as well as some friendly random guesses as to what may go down with respect to the ol' Vegas line). Yours truly served up a bowl of awesome last season (albeit in an abbreviated slate) going 58-19-1 for the regular season and 20-11-1 in the post-season. Despite that being 71%, we repeat as always: your child's college savings fund is more important than the uber-improbable 4-team parlay. P.S.: There is no way the 2010 college football season is anywhere near as bad as the album depicted to the right. None.

National Games

Washington at BYU (-2.5) 7:00 p.m. - CBSCS
Jake Locker and trendy buzz pick Washington head to Provo to take on the recently declared independent women 25-year olds of Brigham Young. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall says he plans to play 2 QBs against the Huskies to try and make up for the departure of all-Mountain West selection Max Hall while UDub DC Nick Holt (late of the 2008 SC squad that brought the paintrain to Todd Boeckman and co.) plans on bringing an aggressive attack to keep both on their toes. After Utah's win yesterday evening it would certainly seem easy to keep riding the MWC waves, but take Washington and the points, 27-24.

Cincinnati at Fresno State (-2.5) 10:00 p.m. - ESPN2
New Cincy coach Butch Jones (late of Central Michigan) makes his UC debut as the Bearcats travel west to take on Pat Hill and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Anywhere, anytime = a return trip by the Bearcats in this instance. New Cincy QB Zach Collaros looked brilliant in small stretches last season and Fresno State loses 1st round running back Ryan Matthews. Despite the home field advantage and the first game of the season sloppiness sure to ensue, take the road dogs (outright if you must) 30-21.

SMU at Texas Tech (-13.5) 3:30 p.m. (Sunday) - ESPN
What do you get when you combine an Air Raid (for now) club and a Run n Shoot in a bizarre Sunday afternoon opener? The recipe for offenses that are anything but crisp. Fortunately for new Tech coach Tommy Tuberville and SMU headman June Jones, neither of these defenses bring much to the table either. Expect these 2 to get out of the gates slowly but ultimately find their rhythm and make things watchable. Tech wins, but SMU makes gamblor happy 35-28.

 The Big Ten is 3-0 in '10. Believe it or not, there were other games on last night. Big Ten games, even! The most competitive, by far, was Minnesota's game at Middle Tennessee State. Now, a competently coached Gopher team would have beaten MTSU by three touchdowns (even on the road), considering the Blue Raiders were attempting to make do without their best player. Instead, the Gophers are coached by Tim Brewster, and thus needed to force a late turnover to preserve the win. The only other Big Ten team to play last night was Indiana, who made quick work of the Towson Tigers on the strength of a 38-point first half.

The FAMU band could put up a better fight. The only other game for a 2010 Ohio State opponent last night was Miami's debut against Florida A+M. Jacory Harris was sharp (as expected), throwing for 210 yards in the first half as the 'Canes rolled to a 35-0 lead, possessing the ball for just 8:03. Wideout Leonard Hankerson was the other star of the show, notching 6 grabs for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Cane defense also registered 8 sacks. Many of Miami's scores came with the Hurricanes in a hurry-up offense, which, if used extensively next week, will mark the fourth straight hurry-up offense (after Michigan, Oregon and Marshall) the Buckeye defense has had to prepare for. The returns against the first three were pretty solid, but none of them featured passers on the level of Jacory Harris.