Eleven Warriors

Mullens should have another big game. (D. Harker: The O-Zone)

Ohio State 10-3, 1-2 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

January 9, 2009 7:00 PM ET - BTN —— The Schott Columbus, OH

Houston Baptist 1-15, 0-0 Indep. Roster | Schedule

The mighty Huskies of Houston Baptist, in only their second year of D1 hoops, roll into Columbus to round out Ohio State's non-conference schedule.

This game was a late addition to the schedule, after the season opening tournament Thad wanted, fell through.

Houston Baptist will join the newly created Great West conference starting next year. They lost their first 14 games of the season, before beating Howard on NYE. Against their two ranked opponents this year, they were beat by an average of 33 points while giving up 93 and 95.

Opponent

The Huskies are scoring 68.6 points a game, on 40 percent shooting, while giving up 83.9 points and 48.6 percent from the floor. This team has 11 seniors on their roster and rely on Sauls and Watt to lead them. It looks like they will run 8-10 players into the lineup, none taller than 6'9".

The only thing that is potentially scary about the Huskies, is their experience. They shoot 33 percent from deep and the three ball is the great equalizer for underdogs and we all know how much OSU has loved giving up three's lately. If the Bucks come out flat for an extended period, this team may just hang around long enough.

For those of you interested, Houston Baptist was founded in 1960 and has an enrollment of 2300 students.

Buckeye Breakdown:

Obviously, Ohio State should dominate this game and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Losers in 3 of their last 4, they showed some fight in Tuesday's loss against Michigan State, but are still searching for the right chemistry on both ends.

The Bucks are still struggling with their rotation in the zone, giving up 30 three pointers in the last 3 games, including an 8 of 17 performance Tuesday. Rebounding woes also continue, as OSU has been beaten on the boards in 4 of their last 5, giving up almost 13 offensive caroms in that span.

Offensively, the Bucks discovered the post entry pass late in the game Tuesday and must continue that effort tonight. BJ took a team high 14 shots, converting 8 of them in his best outing this season. I thought he did a better job of holding his post position and wanting the ball against the conference's best front court. Following Thad's lead over the last few weeks, don't be surprised to see Mullens in the starting lineup tonight, as Dallas continues his offensive struggles.

We should get to see the debut of Nikola Kecman tonight and I would also like to see Walter Offutt get some good minutes, giving Diebler and Turner some needed rest.

Etc

• Tom Hamilton and Bill Hosket will call the game on BTN.
• The Bucks are scoring 65.5 points a game and shooting 44.1 percent.

Hmm... (Source)

Florida took care of business Thursday night and Herban now how has 2nd "title" in four years.

We're not here to say that the Gators aren't a fine team. There's no question they'd open as double-digit favorites against the Buckeyes (and justifiably so). But the finest? Who knows?

In the BCS's little over a decade of existence, you can say it probably got it right four times or so. And even then, it's just nothing more than a good hunch.

Please write your congressman. Jam up the AM airwaves. Bankroll a phone bank. Do your part to bring us a playoff system of some kind.

And for all of Tressel's struggles in the big one-and-overs, he's that much better of a coach in a playoff system.

We have a feeling the Sooners are in for a world of hurt based off of the performances of Big 12 teams in bowl games to date. Besides, Tebow of Nazareth won't allow an upset.

We're not exactly ruling the Sooners out, but there is that Heisman curse. And Bob Stoops.

One thing is for certain: perhaps more so than any other edition of the BCS, this year's champion won't quite be recognized as the best team in the country once all of the dust settles.

Feel free to chime in with your witty takes on the game -- the first championship in three years where you won't be subjected to the humiliating defeat of your favorite team.

Not that this really surprises anyone, but it was fun holding on to that half a percent chance he'd be back.

So, where do you think he'll end up?

We love tradition, but not these pants

Two tough losses in two men’s sports may have ruined the start of 2009, but look on the bright side: Ohio State is sure to beat Houston Baptist (who?), and that means one thing and one thing only.

Indiana’s looming, and they look thoroughly beatable.

God, how I despise Indiana basketball. Let’s take a happy look at one of Ohio State’s best basketball victories against Indiana – February 17th, 1991.

The Matchup

Indiana came to Columbus having lost to Ohio State almost a month earlier in Bloomington, 93-85. Bob Knight’s Hoosiers were young, quick and athletic, and boasted rising stars like Eric Anderson, Damon Bailey and Calbert Cheaney. The Hoosiers were riding a six-game winning streak and had climbed to #4 in the polls.

Ohio State started the 1990 season with 17 straight wins, took a four-game winning streak into the matchup, and was ranked #3 in the polls. Randy Ayers’ Buckeyes had a talented, deep team. Mark Baker handled point duties, and was supported by Freshman of the Year 6’6” swingman Jim Jackson. Perry Carter took the center spot, Jamaal Brown was a potent shooting guard, and forward Chris Jent set Ohio State records for floor burns in a career.

Showdown

The first half was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams, but Ohio State was crippled badly – literally – when Mark Baker stepped on a player’s foot and sprained his ankle with 11:14 left. Baker was sidelined for all but one minute of the second half, Ohio State stumbled, and Indiana took a five-point lead with just a minute left in the game.

Undaunted, Ohio State rallied with four clutch free throws – two from Jamaal Brown and two from Treg Lee, and closed the lead to 77-76 with 20 seconds left in the game. Indiana’s Bailey – a player with eerie parallels to Jon Diebler¹ – was fouled with 12 seconds to go, but hit only the first of his free throws. That gave Ohio State the ball with 7 seconds left.

Jim Jackson took the inbounds pass at midcourt, drove the lane and hit a beautiful, floating shot over Eric Anderson with just a second to spare, thus setting the stage for overtime.

Round One

The first overtime saw Indiana again get some breathing room. The Hoosiers had a four-point lead with 2:06 left, and led 87-83, but the Buckeyes refused to die. Back-to-back defensive stops, followed by key baskets from Perry Carter and Treg Lee tied the game. A Chris Reynolds shot at the buzzer failed to give Indiana the edge, and the teams went to a second overtime.

Round Two – Treg Lee from the Baseline

The two exhausted teams played excellent defense, resulting in a 95-95 tie with just 26 seconds left in the game. Indiana failed to take the lead when Eric Anderson’s short turnaround failed to drop, and Ohio State set up for another Jim Jackson drive to the lane. Not wanting a repeat of the ending to the regulation period, Indiana double-teamed Jackson, forcing him to look elsewhere. Sure enough, Treg Lee had slipped to the baseline, where he took a pass from Jackson and set up for a game-winning 10-foot jumper.

“That play at the end of the second overtime was designed for me,” Jackson later explained. “I got double-teamed and Treg made a smart move and cut backdoor. I saw him and hit him.”

Lee delivered, and his shot hit nothing but net. Indiana’s Pat Graham missed a desperation 40-foot heave at the buzzer, giving Ohio State a 97-95 (2OT) victory over Indiana in one of the best games ever played at St. John Arena.

“I shoot that shot every day in practice,” Lee said. “It’s a layup. Eric Anderson came over and I had to get it up there. It felt good going off the back of my hand, but they all do.”

Damon Bailey led the Hoosiers with 30 points, outscored only by Jim Jackson, who dropped 32. Perry Carter added 22 clutch points, followed by Jamaal Brown with 17 and Treg Lee with 14. Hoosier freshman Calbert Cheaney racked up 26 points before he fouled out.

Ohio State ended the year with a 27-4 record (15-3 in the Big Ten), and with a perfect 15-0 mark in Columbus. The Buckeyes ended up losing to St. John’s in the Elite 8.

¹ Damon Bailey was roundly praised by Bob Knight during the recruiting process. He has a reputation for having had trouble adjusting to the college game after having been lionized as a high school legend, and was a poor pro player, but still ended up as Indiana’s sixth all-time scorer. We’ll see how Diebler pans out.

Even with a couple days gone by, I'm still staring at the screen deciding what I feel about the 24-21 loss to Texas. Was some national respect regained? Probably. Does that matter if Ohio State still lost? Not in my eyes. But, I guess I can see where the moral-victory-camp of fans is coming from. It's a matter of taste, I suppose.

Still, I say you play to win and anything less is losing. That doesn't mean it's realistic to expect to go undefeated every year but it does mean there's nothing wrong with not being in all giddy over the simple fact the Buckeyes finally showed up in a big game. That should be a given. Right?

Anyway, I apologize in advance for a lengthy and rambling final edition of Five Things...

The Defensive Game Plan In a season filled with second guessing of coaching decisions more so than any other year I can remember since Coop was chomping his nails to the quick, I don't have as many qualms as usual with regard to the game plan.

Do I think Heacock should have crowded the linebackers at the line of scrimmage and not left at least one safety over the top while man blitzing on the final play? No, I don't. But I do like the fact the game plan was to get pressure and hit McCoy as often as possible. That plan is certainly better than the all too familiar strategy of sitting back in a soft zone hoping the opposing offense makes a mistake. We saw that soft zone for much of the third quarter and McCoy picked it apart.

In the end, the aggressive strategy nearly all Buckeye fans clamored for still wasn't enough to pull out the win but even though the D surrendered 468 yards and 33 first downs, it also held Texas to a season low 24 points.

Besides the last play call, my only other major gripe defensively was the fact Tressel and Heacock refused to take call any timeouts when Texas went into the hurry up offense and the Buckeye D was running on fumes. If you aren't going to call a timeout while Gibson is hopscotching through the neutral zone, in the freaking red zone, when are you are going to call a timeout and give your D a chance to collect itself? Baffling.

On another occasion, Gibson was about 12 feet from his position at right end, standing next to Freeman and had to dead sprint to the other side of the line while the ball was being snapped. Again no timeout. And lastly, Jenkins appeared to be a combo of tired and hurt in the red zone and still no timeout. Unbelievable.

And one last out of sequence thought on the blitzing. I liken it somewhat to starting Pryor after the USC game. Everyone knew there was a significant risk involved but all were willing to take the good with the bad. In the case of Pryor it was about grooming for next year and beyond since a title run was shot in September. In the case of the defense, it was about forcing McCoy to make a play versus sitting back and letting him execute down the field. Even with the loss, I'm ecstatic that the plan was to try and dictate, to match athlete versus athlete. That's why kids come to schools to Ohio State and Texas - to see how they fare head to head against elite talent.

Pryor and the Offensive Game Plan I hate gimmick offenses but I think the coaches felt there were yards to be had in the Texas secondary leading to Boeckman getting off 11 passes (5/11, 110 yards) compared to 16 for Pryor (5/16, 66 yards). Rumors continue to swirl around the water cooler about Pryor having an injured shoulder or maybe a bad right hand.

Watching the replay, I'm not sure I believe any of that though I assume the truth will come out at some point. Until proven otherwise, I think the problem with Pryor's passing is that his mechanics are garbage at this point in his career and I'm sure Tressel had him so uptight about throwing a pick that he just never got settled in the pocket. From my vantage point, he appeared to regress during the layoff. Even easy screen passes looked like the ball was filled with helium and he looked anything but poised in the pocket.

I know some are using the fact Pryor was running out of bounds like Ray Charles on various plays as evidence of an injury but my recollection is he typically ran out of bounds while running up the right sideline with his left shoulder exposed, not his right. In fact, I do recall at least one instance when scrambling left, he did take on a tackler with his right shoulder exposed. Again, I guess we'll wait to hear if he was truly nicked or just lost his mind on a few carries resulting in stalled drives.

One specific reason I held off writing about the game was my worry that Pryor might not live up the Vince 2.0 hype and instead continue to look like a great running back / athlete trying to play quarterback. Now that the boil is reduced to a simmer, I am convinced TP's competitive nature will lead to improved passing but I don't think even the biggest Buckeye homer on earth can disagree that Pryor has much to work on if the 2009 Buckeyes are going to be a top five program.

Getting back to the actual game plan, I had no problem with Boeckman getting some time even though it was obvious a pass, or attempt to pass, was coming if he was lined up at QB. Though I hate such a plan for the long term, I did like how Pryor was used when not under center. When I'm 80, I'll still find it funny that Pryor could assuredly be a first round pick as a WR if he wanted to while Hartline finished with zero catches to put the finishing touches on his stellar season. (I know - Pryor's lack of throwing ability didn't help Hartline's stats but still..)

One complaint I will share is the first down play calling. In the first quarter, Ohio State threw on four of nine first downs completing 3/4 for 39 yards but then chose to pass just six more times on first down while running 15 times over the final three quarters. I just don't understand the decision to abandoned the first down pass especially considering 'The Warrior' carried the ball only four times in the second half before giving himself a concussion tapping his helmet too hard to signal he needed a few plays off. (Man...I was doing so well at staying level headed and avoiding sarcasm. I'm sure you'll all make me pay for it in the comments but you know it's funny.)

Speaking of Beanie I know this is supposed to be about the Texas game but I don't even want to play 'What If' where we all project what would've happened had he not suffered the concussion.

There's no doubt a healthy Beanie ranks as one of the all-time most devastating running backs ever to sport the Scarlet and Gray.

Unless you're too drunk on the Beanie Kool-Aid to be objective, there's also no doubt he is the most dramatic and finicky running back, albeit the unluckiest, to ever sport the Scarlet and Gray.

I am truly forever grateful for the times he put the team on his back and single-handedly won games over the years he gave us but I'd be lying if I said I personally thought he deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as true warriors like Archie and Eddie.

To me, he's in that second tier, no doubt, and that's nothing to sneeze at but the fact remains he couldn't always be counted on to deliver no matter the reason or the validity of the reason.

Regardless, I again applaud and thank Beanie for all he did accomplish and sincerely hope he is wise enough to go pro now while he's still a top 15-20 pick. Even a healthy and dominant senior year may not vault him up the draft ladder enough to justify the risk of coming back and proving he can stay healthy because of all the extra carries added to the odometer.

Thanks to the Seniors I'm going to miss Malcolm Jenkins more than any other senior. The guy didn't have a stellar showing against Texas but he was definitely deserving of the Thorpe Award he bagged a month ago and he represented the university exceptionally well during his time at Ohio State.

They talk about Lighty being the glue-guy of the hoops squad and that's exactly what Jenkins was to this Ohio State team in addition to being a dominant player. I can't wait to watch him at the next level and project him to have the most impressive pro career out of all this year's Buckeye draftees.

Laurinaitis was also nothing short of a class act and his leadership will also be missed. The guy took some flak for not being able to shed blockers in a dominant fashion and wasn't quite the playmaker some thought he might become but Little Animal still slots into the top 5-10 best linebackers to play at Ohio State.

I remain indifferent on Boone though he was clearly the best o-lineman in this year's crop and did his job more often than not. I know the media loved him but I personally wasn't a fan of his antics over the years. Even as a senior after his last game, he's on TV dipping while doing an interview. Vintage Boone. And a prime example of why he's just another player to me.

Good luck to those guys as well as Robo, Freeman and the rest.

You gotta respect the fact they collectively came back when they could've been getting paid to play at the next level instead of sacrificing the money for a chance at a national title and redemption for not just themselves but the program. That says a lot about these guys even if they did fall well short of expectations.

National Perception The good news is it appears Ohio State is getting a little more love nationally for hanging in to the bitter end. While I could care less what Joe Fan thinks about Ohio State, it is obviously important the media and voters view the Buckeye program in a slighty better light than they did coming in to the game.

There's still a ways to go to undo the collateral damage associated with three straight BCS bowl defeats but if this season taught us anything it's to try and accept baby steps.

First off, apologies to all of you IE 6 or earlier users that have been seeing some pretty janky comment formatting since we cutover to threaded comments. I thought at first it was just browsers caching the old stylesheets, but it looks like the comment theme really does look busted when viewed in those browsers.

The good news is that we have a temporary fix, so you'll be able to follow the comments without wanting to gouge your eyes out. The bad news is that the fix essentially just hides the Gravatar icons in these older versions of IE.

I'll spare you the nerd rant against using IE, but if you are using Inernet Explorer 6 or earlier and have the ability to upgrade your browser, please do so. Here's a partial list of some excellent (and free) alternatives:

• Firefox
• Chrome (Windows only)
• Safari
• Opera

If you're absolutely dead-set on sticking to IE, at least give IE7 or IE8 a try. If you have IE6 at work and can't update your machine, you'll just have to hang in there, but at least you'll now be able to see each comment.

Oh, there are some other minor fixes that all users should see and hopefully will make the whole discussing-our-agony thing a little more palatable.

Turner: 4th double-double this seaon (AP: Goldis)

Since celebrating moral victories seems to be en vogue for both the football and hoops squad's, I guess it's good news the Buckeyes didn't quit in addition to getting strong performances from B.J. Mullens and Wil Buford but they still didn't have enough to threaten Sparty in a 67-58 loss tonight in the Breslin Center.

Buford scored a team high 17 points on 7/13 shooting while Mullens put up 16 points (8/14 FG), six boards and two blocks in 22 minutes. Considering the stiff competition, it was easily Mullens' best performance of the season and it was much needed as Dallas Lauderdale laid another egg with two points, two rebounds, 3 blocks and two turnovers in 18 minutes of virtually invisible play.

Keeping with a recent theme, Ohio State allowed a big run to close the first half, this time a 21-7 stretch in which Sparty shot 5/6 from three point land while holding the Buckeyes to 2/10 shooting. The blitz turned a 17-14 Buckeye lead into a 35-24 halftime hole.

Preceding the run, OSU held Sparty scoreless for over four minutes forcing them into 4/15 from the floor before the defense once again lost track of perimeter shooters.

Though the offense sputtered shooting just 36% in the half, OSU did manage to assist on six of nine field goals compared to eight assists on 18 field goals for the entire Minnesota game. Baby steps, I guess.

Trailing 41-28 early in the second half, a 10-3 Buckeye run keyed by two triples and a dunk by Buford cut the deficit to eight at 44-36 but it was merely a teaser as the Buckeyes would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Evan Turner logged another 40 minutes and registered 14 points (5/11 FG), 10 rebounds and three steals after struggling with his shot (32.6%) in three previous games.

The Buckeyes get a chance to regroup with Houston Baptist coming to town Friday night before a home tilt with Indiana next Tuesday.

Hopefully, those two games will give Matta a chance to figure out what adjustments to make before back to back roadies against Michigan and Illinois.

One adjustment should be the insertion of Mullens into the starting lineup in place of Lauderdale. Though his blocks might be sexy, Dallas is incapable of adding anything offensively and Mullens needs more than the 19 minutes he's averaging over the last four games if he's going to develop at a rate fast enough to help this team keep their head above water.

Another adjustment could be the deployment of an occasional man to man defense. The continuous failings of the wings to pick up shooters resulted in another back breaking night from three point land as Michigan State went 8/17 (46%). In fact, Big Ten opponents are shooting 46% (30/65) from deep against the Buckeye zone through three games.

I'm really not sure what else Matta can do in an effort to jump start this team since kidnapping Mike Conley is probably against NCAA rules.

Oh, and I found it somewhat interesting Kecman didn't see the floor tonight. I think that probably tells you all you need to know about whether or not he'll be of much help considering he's been practicing all season.

Izzo and MSU are groovy. (Al Goldis:AP)

#23 Ohio State 10-2, 1-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

January 6, 2009 7:00 PM ET - ESPN2 —— Breslin Center East Lansing, MI

#15 Michigan State 11-2, 2-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

Wipe the crust out of your eyes and shake off that hangover, now that football is over, we can all turn our heads towards hoops and cheer for a return to the tourney.

The B10 scheduling gods were not kind to Thad and his young squad this year, forcing them to play 4 of their first 5 on the road, against teams that have lost a combined 8 games.

The Spartans haven't played a game at the IZ-Zone driven Breslin Center since Dec. 17th and as usual they are a deep veteran squad. This game has a chance to resemble the West Virginia debacle for OSU if they can't match MSU's physical tenacity.

The Buckeyes have had success in East Lansing lately, winning 2 of the last 3, but with the recent unexpected changes and inconsistent play, leaving there with a win will require a perfect game, or one hell of a debut from Nikola Kecman.

Opponent

Michigan State leads the conference in scoring at 78.6 points and shooting at 48.1 percent, but surprisingly rank 10th in scoring defense at 67.1 a game. The Spartans offense is completely different from the Bucks, as Izzo's crew actually looks to screen, move the ball, move without the ball, use post entry passes and look for good 2 point shots. They have attempted the least amount of three's in the B10, but the most FT's and their 18.8 assists per game rank 6th nationally.

Izzo loves to sub early and often, taking advantage of his depth by rotating 11 guys into the lineup, including 5 players 6'8" or taller. He has the luxury of starting 3 seniors, a junior and a sophomore, then brings in super sophs. Durrell Summers and Chris Allen, to go along with freshman stud Delvon Roe. Those three account for 25 points and 11 boards a game.

Even though the Spartans have allowed more points than usual on D, they still have outrebounded their opposition by almost 10 a game, while allowing just 12 assists. It is a tested bunch, gaining wins over Oklahoma State, Texas, Wichita State, Bradley and Minnesota, while losing to Maryland and UNC.

Buckeye Breakdown:

This team is in a funk and a trip to East Lansing isn't going to solve it. I don't know what kind of boost Nikola Kecman will give the Bucks, but at least it gives Thad one more option on offense. However, the last thing OSU needs is another player who is going to stand around the perimeter.

The overall lack of movement, screening and post entry passes is becoming maddening. I learned at an early age, that once you pass the ball, you look to make some kind of cut or look to screen someone. It baffles me how OSU makes a pass on the perimeter and then stands there and watches. When they do attempt to screen, they are essentially switching spots on the floor. No one looks to set up their defender for the oncoming screen, nor do they wait for the screen to be set. BTW, where was the high screen for the Bucks pseudo-PG's on Saturday? It is not illegal to screen even when facing a zone defense.

I am not going to get into it again, but if OSU does not learn how to get their big men involved in the offense it is going to be an ugly conference season. Both the post players and the wings are to blame for the lack of inside success thus far.

Luckily Michigan State doesn't hoist a bunch of three pointers, but they move the ball well, so a tightening up of rotation within the zone is a key to this game. I didn't expect the defense to continue the early season pace, due to inexperience, but with the loss of Lighty, it has added to the troubles.

Thankfully, the Buckeyes have had a couple of bright spots the last few games, in Turner and Diebler. Turner has struggled from the field, but has continued his all-conference play with 32 points, 13 boards and (gulp) only 1 TO. Diebler has connected on 12 of 21 bombs in conference play, leading to 42 points, 9 rebounds, 8 steals and 6 assists. After four straight in double digits, Buford took a step back in Minnesota, going for just 6 points on 1 of 6 shooting.

Etc

• Michigan State leads the series 56-48, but OSU has won 4 of the last 6.
• The Buckeyes fell from the top 25 this week, but still sit at 30th.
• OSU has 138 assists vs. 148 turnovers on the season.

Probably not how he anticipated going out

Ouch. This one will take a while to get over, but for the first time in three bowl seasons, we can all be proud at how the Buckeyes played.

You can still be upset with some of the playcalling, missed tackles, and other mistakes made during the game, but the bottom line is that the Buckeyes gave Texas a much bigger scare than many thought they'd get and came within a whisker of knocking off one of the nation's top teams.

Can a loss like this improve the program's reputation? Doubt it. But at least it temporarily halts the slide it had been on for two years.

There are some problems to fix, but the wonderful thing about sports is that there's always a next year. And next year, Pryor learns how to really throw.

Bullets

• You gotta feel for Anderson Russell. That missed tackle will sit with him for a while. Hey, that's football -- sometimes you don't make the play. But, don't forget about his pick at the end of the first half or the fact that he finished 2nd on the team with nine tackles.
• On the winning score, the Buckeyes brought the house and paid for it. With a quarterback like McCoy that's smart enough to make the right read on that, it's risky, but it paid off for the staff against Dorsey oh so many years ago (though it should be pointed out that the goal line cut out half of Miami's playbook), so I don't fault them for dialing that up. They had been getting pressure on him all night.
• Props to the boys for not rolling over when down 17-6 and momentumless heading into the 4th.
• If this was Beanie's last game as a Buckeye, it was a microcosm of his career. I'd still be shocked to see him back next year.
• The Boeckman to Pryor combo makes you wonder why we didn't see something like that on goal lines all year long. Hats off to Todd, he played well tonight.
• Pryor, on the other hand, burned the Horns with his legs, but curiously stepped out of bounds early on a couple of plays. He didn't look comfortable throwing the ball at all, but that will come.
• McCoy was the real deal. I think if you had told me he'd have 400+ two days ago, I'd have assumed a blowout. He could run into Pryor one more time if things line up right.
• The Longhorn hurry-up offense really got to the Buckeyes at times. They had to have known it was coming, but that's tough to simulate in practice. (Well, you can simulate it, but not the personnel running it so well.)
• The officiating was questionable, but each team received its share of calls. That fourth down spot was close, but the right call.
• Robo showed up huge -- his 5 for 116 led all Buckeye receivers and the bomb was a thing of beauty. Hartline, on the other hand, finished with 0 receptions, which surely can't help his draft evaluation.
• Orakpo is a great player and got his plays in, but he didn't take over the game. Credit to the staff for getting a second blocker on him for most of the night.
• Prayers for Shaun Lane and his family. Looks like he'll be okay.
• There are some great game photos at the Statesman.
• My money is still on USC being the best team in the country. And it's not really close.

We'll have more in the coming days.