Eleven Warriors

Week 9's Buckeye NFLer is Santonio Holmes of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Holmes had 4 catches for 110 yards including TD catches of 15 and 35 yards as the Steelers whooped the Baltimore Ravens 38-7.

It was a night where the Steelers were celebrating their 75th season in the NFL. Steelers Hall of Famers were in the MNF booth, on the sidelines, and in the seats.

Lynn Swann and John Stallworth had to have been proud of the new class of Steelers receivers, Holmes and his mentor Hines Ward.

In 7 games played so far in the 2007 season, Santonio has totaled 536 yards on 29 catches with 6 TDs.

In only his second season as a pro, Holmes is on pace for his first 1,000 yard and double-digit TD season.

Two more unbeaten teams fell by the wayside and we're left with 2 major unbeatens (3 if you count the team formerly known as the "Rainbow Warriors", but we're not). Despite all the gnashing of teeth and wailing from the masses, the Buckeyes are in the title game if they win out.

We like Oregon in the 2nd spot because LSU is looking less the gorilla with a chainsaw for a penis we saw earlier in the season.

The BCS thinks differently, putting them at #2, but excuse me for refusing to believe Alabama would smoke a Penn State or Wisconsin. Others no doubt feel differently and that's what makes the potential of an Ohio State-LSU matchup in the BCS Championship Game so fresh. Beating the Tigers in their own backyard would be a tall order, but would silence the critics (for 8 months or so at least).

As always, you can check the ballots of every voter and the final version is due Wednesday morning, so get your thoughts in by Tuesday night if you think we got it wrong.

1		The Buckeyes dispatched a P.J. Hill-less Badger team. Only two more chances for the haters to root against the Vest.	--
2		Arizona State wasn't a world-beater, but they are a good team. I think Vegas would take the Ducks over LSU right now.	--
3		Another nail-biter. Because, you know, any team in the SEC would win the Big Ten/PAC10/AFC East..	--
4		The Sooners spanked A&M and could be a threat to jump LSU soon.	2
5		The Mountaineers had a bye before their Thursday night tilt with Louisville this week.	2
6		Nebraska kind of sucks these days, but 76 is 76. The odds of seeing Mangino on national TV for 3 hours in January are all but a lock right now.	2
7		Each time Missouri goes out and annihilates an opponent, the Sooners win looks that much better.	2
8		Can't punish these guys for losing at Autzen -- the Ducks are rolling right now.	3
9		You can snicker about a 10-point win over Troy, but folks that know football don't. Big game against an Auburn team out for revenge from last season's drubbing.	1
10		The Noles won in the cold! Check that, the Noles won! How good can these Eagles really be?	6
11		The Hokies put it to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Next up is Beamer v. Bowden.	--
12		The Trojans got back on the winning side of things thanks to Oregon State. Their game against Cal this weekend looks significantly weaker than it did two months ago.	--
13		The Gators throttled Vandy and head to SC this weekend in a game that won't receive any hype for the coaching matchup whatsoever.	--
14		Tough comeback on the road in a rivalry game, though MSU gave a little bit of it away. Wolverines get the Badgers this weekend.	--
15		Proving they're for real, UConn beat down Rutgers. Big game in the 'Nati this weekend.	1
16		It took a monster comeback, but the Horns got the victory and that's ultimately all that matters.	1
17		Tuned up for the Georgia game this weekend by punking Tennessee Tech.	1
18		The Bears finally got it together, though they almost let Washington State steal it. Welcome USC to town this weekend.	4
19		Put one on the Dukies, whose lone victory this season was Northwestern. Yeah Big Ten!	NR
20		Gotta give 'em some love for exposing Boston College. Next up: Virginia Tech.	NR
21		We've decided that Hawaii could win their next 200 games and they'd still stay at #21.	--
22		Hung tough with LSU, but Bear Saban ran out of miracles (fumbles inside the 5 don't help either).	1
23		SOS Particle Points: the Washington loss remains as Boise's lone blemish of the season.	NR
24		Run DMC indeed. Spurrier got his for talking smack about OSU a few weeks back. Karma, OBC, karma.	NR
25		I'm so glad about 40% of the voters had USF #1 a few weeks back. Genius.	NR

DROPPED OUT: South Florida (#17), South Carolina (#19), Wake Forest (#20), Wisconsin (#24), Troy State (#25).

Terrelle Pryor claims he is going to wait until signing day, February 2nd, before he announces his college choice, but talk has picked up recently over the Buckeyes holding a slight lead.

Ohio Sate's team and crowd made sure to roll out the scarlet carpet for the nation's top recruit during his visit to Columbus this past weekend. Not only did Ohio State take care of the Wisconsin in front of 105,000+, most of the crowd started chanting Pryor's name, giving him a taste of Buckeye love.

How do you think that conversation went for Tressel after the game? "Thanks for coming Terrelle, I'm glad you could witness our 28th straight regular season victory, 20th within the conference. If we can win 2 more, we'll get to our 3rd national title game in 6 years. You know, you remind us of Troy Smith, last year's Heisman winner and Todd Boeckman is putting up similar numbers this year, therefore you would have success here. Take your time, but let me know when you are ready to commit."

Pryor is set to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 5, joining 4 other future Buckeyes in this showcase of high school talent. After completing an undefeated regular season, Dublin Coffman's Mike Adams and Jake Stoneburner received their jerseys and official invitations. Those two will be joining Ben Buchanan (K) and Devier Posey (WR) who have also accepted invites. Posey's jersey presentation, included a visit from Chad Johnson, confirming to Devier he had chosen the correct OSU.

Andrew Sweat was recently featured in an interview with DeathRattleSports. Sweat lead his Trinity HS team to a 43-16 victory in the first round of playoff action and he seems to be in close contact with Pryor. Ohio State only has a few more scholarships to give out for next year's class and one of those could be filled by next week. As 11W mentioned last week, Etienne Sabino has narrowed his choices to OSU and USC. Ohio State has already secured his teammate Travis Howard and Sabino could soon follow, with a possible announcement by November 12th.

Wells Saves the Day
It's becoming more and more difficult to come up with the superlatives to describe what we're seeing out of Wells. It's scary the way he makes it look so easy.

When the Badgers went up 17-10 and that sinking Wisconsin feeling returned to our stomachs, I wondered allowed aloud why the Buckeyes weren't pounding the ball on the ground.

Penn State, Michigan State and a host of other teams have had success running the ball against Wisky and here the Buckeyes were -- down by 7 with one of the best running backs in college football.

Well, it's a good thing Tressel takes my phone calls during games because sure enough, he started feeding Beanie the ball and he was able to ice the game with his three long touchdown runs down the stretch.

Since his "day off" against Kent State, Wells has put up 221 on Michigan State, 133 on Penn State and 169 on Wisconsin. With 1165 yards on the season and three games to play, Beanie has a decent shot to crack 1500 and get himself into the top 5 on the single season rushing list.

He won't win the Heisman this year, thanks to Smith hangover, but he'll be one of the favorites to win it going into next season.

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LG: Life's Good
Do you think the two tackles last week against Penn State bothered Little Animal much? While not in the rarified air of Spielman or Cousineau's 29-land, 19 tackles is pretty damn impressive.

His stop on Wisky's 2nd fake punt of the day and his later fumble recovery were absolutely huge and his overall effort on the afternoon served notice to those (including us) that pointed out his limited impact in Happy Valley.

Not wanting to be outdone, Gholston put up his own Nintendo stats, tying the school record with 4 sacks on the day. The Gun Show's effort was part of a 10 sack day by a defense that absolutely shut the Badgers down in even-numbered quarters.

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That Barry Alvarez Was Full of Shit, Man
I was a little surprised P.J. Hill wasn't able to go for the Badgers. Freshman Zach Brown performed admirably, but Hill would have given Wisky more of a shot to win the game.

Going back to Sutton, Hill is the 2nd elite back the Buckeyes have avoided facing this season. seeing as how there are still faint memories of the defensive disappearance at the end of last season, it would have been good team experience to have had a crack at Sutton and Hill.

Barring anything unforeseen, the Silver Bullets will get a chance at two more quality backs in Mendenhall and H20-3 the next two weeks.

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$20 Says Willis Could Still Pancake Half of the Minnesota Defensive Line
It was fitting that Dan Wilkinson, the last great Buckeye to wear #99, was the honorary captain on hand for the game in which Bill Willis, the original great #99, was honored by having his jersey number retired at the stadium.

Willis was a part of Paul Brown's success at Ohio State, becoming a black star at a time when being a black star wasn't all that fashionable. As an undersized sophomore lineman at OSU, he was part of the 1942 national championship team. He later went on to more success, following Brown to the Cleveland Browns where he earned several all-pro honors culminating in his selection to Canton.

A Columbus East product, he is one of those guys that enjoyed tremendous success at every level of life and our congratulations go out to him.

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So Long BTN.. For Now
The good news is that yesterday marked the last Big Ten Network game of the season. The bad news, of course, is that the BTN has about a dozen Buckeye basketball games locked up, including several key conference matchups.

We've refrained from taking sides in this one, mostly because, much like American politics, it's basically just two groups arguing over who gets to put the tightest screws to the public. The bigger picture answer is a la carte channel pricing. Why shouldn't you be able to subscribe to and pay for only the channels you want without subsidizing other networks that are often owned by the same cable companies forcing you into a packaged plan?

Perhaps if we weren't all so entranced by 10 hours of HD College GameDay and Desperate Housewives of American Karaoke, we'd write letters to lawmakers. Or something.

Trailing 17-10 midway through the 3rd quarter following back to back long Badger touchdown drives, the Buckeyes scored 28 unanswered points, 21 in less than 8 minutes, en route to a 38-17 victory. The come from behind win made it 20 straight inside the conference breaking the all-time mark and moved Ohio State to a perfect 10-0 on the season.

The rally became reality as Beanie Wells put the offense on his back scoring on three 2nd half TD runs (31, 30, 23 yds) including two within 4 minutes turning the 17-10 deficit into a 24-17 lead early in the 4th quarter.

The Buckeyes didn't let up from there as the defense forced a 4th down at Wisconsin's own 27 before Badger punter Ken DeBauche missed the call to not attempt a 2nd fake punt. DeBauche carried off right end but was met by James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman for a 2 yard loss setting up OSU at the 25 yard line. Four plays later, Brian Robiskie made a one handed circus catch of a Todd Boeckman throw giving the Bucks a 31-17 cushion with 10 minutes left.

The defense continued to shine forcing a punt and two fumbles, the last one leading directly to Beanie's 3rd TD of the day giving OSU a unforgiving 38-17 edge with 3 minutes remaining but the game was not without some semi-tense moments considering Wisconsin's past success in the 'Shoe.

Once again, the defense allowed the opponent to score on its opening drive of the game (FG) and also gave up consecutive TD drives (92, 62 yards) to begin the 3rd quarter putting OSU behind 17-10 before the the aforementioned hostile takeover of the game by Beanie and the Bullets.

Immediately after the game I was sorta sarcastically wondering whether or not Tressel engineered a close game like he did last year against Illinois to ensure his team had the confidence of overcoming adversity but I think he decided to go with short passing routes due to so many Wisky players in the box. Giving Beanie just 7 first half carries, it seemed Tressel fell in love with crossing routes or rollouts to the tight end partly out of his natural tendency to be conservative and partly due the offensive line failing to block anyone in a white jersey.

That said, once Beanie returned to action full time and the defense rediscovered it's rhythm the end result was another statement win keeping the Buckeyes in control of their destiny. It's two wins to New Orleans and three from erasing the nightmare in Glendale. Buckle up.. It's time for the stretch run.

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OFFENSE:

Is it too late for Beanie to get into the Heisman race? He topped the 1,000 yards barrier on his very first tote and finished the game with 169 yards on just 21 carries. Beanie was extra large in the 2nd half carrying 17 times for 137 yards and 3 TDs. His presence helped the Buckeyes to 4 TD's on seven 2nd half possessions as he showed his power on the inside runs and his speed to the corner on outside runs proving too much for the Badgers to handle. Beanie has now rushed for over 100 yards in 3 straight games and 7 of 10 on the year. His 8.0 yards per carry was his 2nd best of the year (8.3 Northwestern) and his career high 3 TDs gave him 10 on the season.

To their credit, the offensive line overcame a pathetic first half opening up some holes for Beanie and protecting Todd Boeckman in the 2nd half to fuel the offensive outburst.

Boeckman finished 17/28 for 166 yards and 2 TDs through the air and rushed the ball a season high 7 times for 27 yards, mostly the result of the early shoddy line play. He looked more comfortable in the face of the line breakdowns resulting in zero turnovers, a few busted scrambles for decent yards and the occasional smart throw away after escaping the pocket only to find no open receivers. Boeckman has thrown for at least 2 TDs in every game giving him 23 against 8 INT's after 10 games.

On the outside, Brian Hartline led the team with 7 catches for 95 yards and Brian Robiskie had a big day with 2 TD catches including the amazing one handed grab on an 8 yarder giving OSU breathing room (31-17) with less than a quarter to play.

For the game, the Buckeyes rushed for 211 yards and passed for 166 for a total of 377. To me, the most impressive take away was the 10 play, 80 yard drive to tie the game at 17 answering Wisconsin's back to back TD marches. If the unit comes out flat on that possession, an upset could've been possible but that became a non-issue as Beanie chewed up 63 yards on 6 carries including the 31 yard dash to paydirt to begin the 28 point onslaught.

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DEFENSE:

The defense had another impressive day although it too ran into some trouble along the way. The D continued the recent trend of surrendering points on the opponents initial drive, giving up a FG on Wisky's first possesion of the game and TD's on the first two Badger possessions in the second half.

The other 8 possesions resulted in punts or turnovers as the defense gave up just 29 total yards not counting the final meaningless Wisconsin possession that picked up 43 yards before stalling at the OSU 27 yard line.

It looked like a personal battle for defensive player of the game broke out between James Laurinaitis and Vernon Gholstin as each had a feast on the big but slow Wisconsin offense.

Laurinaitis responded to last week's 2 tackle effort with a career high 19 tackles (2 TFL), 1 sack and a fumble recovery. The peformance also included a key stop on Wisconsin's 2nd fake punt attempt setting up the Boeckman to Robo TD connection.

Meanwhile, 'Vern Baby Vern' picked up 4 sacks, tying the school record, showing off his speed rush all day long. Vern's effort helped OSU record a season high 10 sacks against an offense that had given up just 8 on the season. Helping L'il Animal and the Gun Show, Doug Worthington hung out in the Wisconsin backfield registering 4 stops including a sack. Anderson Russell had a nice day in the secondary recording 8 tackles and a pass breakup.

The Buckeyes defense gave up a season high 17 points but give some credit to Wisconsin QB Tyler Donovan and uber TE Travis Beckum. Donovan made a few miraculous throws that can only be considered out of character including a perfect 28 yard strike to Beckum in the back of the endzone to tie the game at 10 before connecting with Beckum again for 46 yards on the next drive setting up a 2 yard TD throw to Chris Pressley to give Wisconsin the short lived 17-10 edge.

In conclusion, the defense once again stepped up when it needed to. The Silver Bullets allowed just 63 yards on 20 carries by backup RB Zach Brown and the 10 sacks shrunk the net rush yards allowed to just 12 on 37 carries. Through the air, Beckum finished with 140 yards on 9 catches but the coverage was tight for much of the day. Chimdi Chekwa was stride for stride with Beckum pretty consistently but Donovan simply made some nice throws.

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SPECIAL TEAMS:

The special continue to be up and down. There's no excuse for having a FG blocked for the third time this season. Those mistakes can be fatal in close games. Kickoff returns were also less than impressive. Ray Small's hesitation bringing one out of the endzone cost the Buckeyes 5 yards.

The punt return unit faired no better as Hartline and Small mostly ran sideways with 5 punts resulting in 6 net return yards. Small broke one for a big gain but it was negated by a penalty.

Aaron Pettrey split kickoff duty with A.J. Trapasso and recorded 1 touchback in 3 tries while Trapasso went 0 for 4. Trapasso averaged 41 yards on 4 punts including 1 inside the 20.

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NOTES:

OSU is now 67-9-1 when ranked #1 and set a school record with 28 straight regular season wins...The Buckeyes are now 28-9 against Top 25 teams in the Tressel Era...OSU has scored on it's opening drive in 8 of 10 games including the last 6 straight...On the season, the defense has forced 52 three-and-outs on 116 total possessions, good for 45%.

From the "It's So Janky It's Actually Awesome" file, check out this Buckeye flavored Halloween Tube. Tressel turning into a werewolf? Priceless.

15 days...

Plug Time: Avid 11W reader and personal friend, Patrick Murphy wrote to let me know about a new Firefox theme his company whipped up for CoachTressel.com. Patrick's company, Brand Thunder, previously created a theme for the Washington Capitals and their CoachTressel.com theme will let co-workers and friends know that you're a serious Buckeye fan. If they can't already tell by the way you incessantly talk Buckeyes.

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Preview: #1 Ohio State vs. #24 Wisconsin

#1 Ohio State 9-0, 5-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

November 3, 2007 12:00 PM ET ------ Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH

#24 Wisconsin 7-2, 3-2 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

Fresh off a resounding victory in Happy Valley and the accompanying props from most of the college football punditry, Buckeye fan is feeling better than Alex Boone in an end zone. With Natty Lite and some Cheetos.

There's some "Why Not Boeckman" chatter for the Heisman and we've even gone so far as to -- gasp -- favorably compare the current crop of skill players with last year's set.

The offense is grooving like Rosie O'Donnell at 24-hour Ponderosa and the defense is still the nation's best. What's there to worry about?

That is exactly what to worry about.

For all but the past week of the season, the Buckeyes have been playing with a chip on their shoulders. But their newly gained respect could fuel the only thing capable of beating this team right now -- itself.

Tale of the Tape

OHIO STATE	OFFENSE	WISCONSIN
34.6 (26th)	SCORING	30.1 (46th)
419.2 (38th)	TOTAL OFFENSE	418.4 (40th)
199.4 (24th)	RUSHING	205.4 (21st)
219.8 (66th)	PASSING	213.0 (73rd)
OHIO STATE	DEFENSE	WISCONSIN
8.9 (1st)	SCORING	20.8 (34th)
214.6 (1st)	TOTAL DEFENSE	334.1 (33rd)
70.9 (4th)	RUSHING	141.1 (51st)
143.7 (1nd)	PASSING	193.0 (29th)

In the Badgers, Ohio State will be getting a 7-2 squad that was the pre-season fave to win the conference. Their head coach is all of 37 years old, is a master of the rulebook and is the only active Big Ten coach with a better winning percentage than the Vest.

Did I mention that the Badgers also have history on their side? They've won the last three matchups in Columbus and 4 of the last 6 overall.

Tressel is a scratch-your-eyes-that-can't-be-true 1-3 against Wisconsin, his worst record against any Big Ten team and if that wasn't enough, Cris Carter's brother plays for the Badgers.

Even when Wisconsin was craptacular in the early to mid-eighties, they gave the Buckeyes fits. They haven't played in three years, but all I can remember from the Barry Alvarez squads is that they used to hurt Buckeyes and they liked to come back on OSU in the Shoe.

In the three most recent meetings in Columbus, the Buckeyes have squandered leads of 17-0 twice and in the last meeting, Ohio State lost an early 10-point lead before Anthony Davis and John Stocco got it going and put the Buckeyes away 24-13.

Luckily, outside of one dark night, Tressel has proven to be a fine motivator and his teams own the month of November. You can bet they'll be plenty of footage of the last three blown home leads looping through the WHAC and a chance to break Michigan's record of 19-straight conference victories should provide ample motivation.

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Opponent The Badgers started the season ranked #7 and got to as high as #5 in the polls before losing a tight one at Illinois four weeks ago. Not satisfied with that, they took a beating in Happy Valley the following week dropping to 5-2 and completely out of the polls.

Bucky bounced back the last two weeks thanks to home tilts Northern Illinois and Indiana and will be looking at this game as a chance to redeem a part of their season.

While Bielema has shown the ability to mix it up on offene a little more than his predecessor, Wisconsin has and will be about power football. Big descendents of Vikings, punching you in the mouth and trying to run over the top.

The engine behind the machine is sophomore tailback P.J. Hill (#35), a wrecking ball that is the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year after popping off for 1500+ last season. Hill is still considered doubtful for the game this weekend after sustaining a leg bruise against Indiana last weekend.

Seeing as how Hill's backup has po-po issues and can't leave state lines, the Badgers will have to turn to freshman Zach Brown (#30).

It's tempting to get cocky, but first consider that both Ron Dayne and Anthony Davis had success on the Buckeyes as freshman. You don't go to Wisconsin to tote the rock if you can't play.

You can bet that no matter whether Hill goes or not, Bielema will try to emulate some of Penn State's blocking schemes that saw the Nittany Lions become the first team to really have any type of success running the ball against the Silver Bullets. When you can hold Laurinaitis to 2 total tackles, you're doing something right.

Quarterback Tyler Donovan (#12), a first year starter, has had his moments this season. A decent thrower that can also do damage running the ball, he has scored 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) in the season opener against Washington State and hung 392 yards on Illinois in the failed comeback attempt.

He didn't throw an interception in his first 3 starts, but all of a sudden has 9 picks in his last 6 games. Good, but not great, he's prone to making mistakes when pressured and hit, like most all quarterbacks.

Junior tight end Travis Beckum (#9) is a favorite target due to his size (6-4/224) and hands. Outside of Purdue's Keller, he may be the best tight end the Buckeyes will face all season.

Freshman wideout Kyle Jefferson (#14), a former Glenville High track captain, has great size (6-5) and has been coming on strong as of late. In the last game the Badgers have seriously needed his services, he had 6 catches for 124 yards against Penn State. He's a skinny 6-5, though, and there's a chance that Heyward could snap him in half if he drops back into zone coverage.

Junior linebacker Jonathan Casillas (#2) and defensive end Matthew Shaughnessy (#92) may get all the pub on defense, but the Badgers secondary is outplaying the front seven. They harrassed Indiana's Kellen Lewis into a terrible outing last week and in the process snapped James Hardy's streak of a touchdown catch in 9 consecutive games, holding him to 4 catches for 17 yards.

Then again, Devin Thomas caught 4 balls for 111 yards earlier this year on this secondary, so there's no telling what we'll see. One thing that is certain, though is that the Badgers are having a lot of trouble stopping the run.

The Badgers surrendered 289 yards on the ground to Illinois, 241 to Michigan State and 221 to Penn State. Not very Badger-like at all.

Expect the Badgers to be ready to go. In Bielema, a former Hawkeye defensive lineman, they have a guy that's learned to dislike the Buckeyes from two different angles. Quite impressive. Don't be surprised to see a little bit of trickery -- this is the first huge game of his young career as a coach and he'd like nothing better than to stick it to the Buckeyes.

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Notes: Wisconsin is 1-5 vs. OSU when the Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 with the lone victory coming on Oct. 31, 1942... In four of Wisconsin’s last five wins over Ohio State, OSU has been the higher-ranked team... Neither team has scored more than 24 points in any of the last five meetings... One or both of the teams has been ranked in each of the last eight meetings... Wisconsin is 3-14 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.

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Buckeye Breakdown As good as the Buckeyes looked against Penn State last weekend, the staff had some things to teach from and keep the guys from getting too full of themselves. There was the 6 yards per carry given up to Nittany Lion running backs and yet another kickoff return for a touchdown for starters.

Some guys, like Little Animal and Kurt Coleman have a little something to prove after less than spectacular games last weekend. Do you think the 2 tackles last week motivated Laurinaitis a little bit during this week's practice?

Taking a page from Illinois, Penn State and other schools that have had success against Wisconsin this season, the Buckeyes will look to run the ball whenever possible, yet still look to catch the Badger secondary in matchup problems when their safeties creep up to stop the run.

As well as the line is playing and as well as Beanie is running, there's no reason to believe the Buckeyes won't be able to control the clock and set the tempo for the game. If they can get on the board with a long early drive again, watch out (down Corso).

The key, as was the case last weekend, is to get out to an early lead that will force Wisconsin to abandon their rushing attack sooner than they'd like to.

Although it will be a letdown for the defense not to face Hill if he can't go, they'll be licking their chops for other reasons.

The Gun Show will be going against a freshman offensive tackle and the Buckeye secondary should have no problems locking down the banged-up and inexperienced Badger receiving corps.

Here's to hoping the team puts on another show. After all, Vince 2.0 will be watching from the stands.

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Notes: Todd Boeckman has snuck up to 3rd in national pass efficiency rankings... Former lineman Bill Willis, a member of the 1942 national championship team, will be honored at halftime by having his #99 jersey retired... Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman was named coordinator of the week by Master Coaches... Ohio State leads the all-time series with a 50-17-5 mark. In games played in Columbus, the Buckeyes lead 27-7-3. The teams are deadlocked 5-5-1 over the last 11 meetings (back through 1980).

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Jason: OSU 31, Wisconsin 6
Chris: OSU 27, Wisconsin 10

What's that? Back to back 3-1 weeks for your humble host? Ooh yeah. Problem is, I didn't gain any ground on Jason who also went 3-1. For the season, I'm back over .500 at 18-17 while Jason stands at 21-14.

Should I be concerned he's been hanging out with 'Hot Rod' Williams?

With the Badgers coming to Columbus, I'm forced to announce Wisconsin alum Bud Selig as this week's guest picker. I tried to land the parrot that Barry Alvarez' son used to know, but no luck. Oh well, let's see if Bud can make his university proud.

Nevermind, it's probably a little too late for that.

Now on to the picks:

Arizona State (+7) @ Oregon (ESPN 6:40) The weekend's biggest matchup could be trouble for the Sun Devils if QB Rudy Carpenter isn't recovered from a thumb injury suffered last week against Cal. Meanwhile, Oregon QB Dennis Dixon looks to bolster his Heisman candidacy. Chris: QBs like Dixon are a huge advantage at the college level, ask Mack Brown. Oregon 31-23. Jason: Oregon at home? Easy cover, 35-17. Bud I predict a 35-35 tie. That's an acceptable ending, right?

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LSU (-7) @ Alabama (CBS 5:00) LSU will be without part time QB Ryan Perrilloux and two others when they head to Alabama to face Bear Saban's boys. Perrilloux was suspended while backup LB's Jeremy Benton and Derrick Odom were kicked off the team as a result of their involvement in a weekend brawl. The distraction isn't likely to affect an LSU team pumped to punish the coach who ran out on them in 2004.

Chris: I smell a reality check for Saban. LSU 27-17. Jason: Seven doesn't seem like nearly enough. LSU 28, Bama 13. Bud: Wow. I don't know what's bigger. Saban's ego or Barry's head. LSU 23-6.

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Michigan (-4) @ Michigan State (ABC 3:30) Taking a page from his mentor's book, Dantonio's had this game circled since he got to MSU but will that be enough if Mike Hart is healthy?

Chris: Carr's boys will win, but they won't cover. Michigan 24-21. Jason: Michigan has it going right now. Michigan 20, MSU 10. Bud: I heard Lloyd's listed in the Mitchell Report. Spartans in an upset, 24-23.

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Florida State (+6.5) @ Boston College (ABC 8:00) Struggling to be among the elite on the field for years now, Bobby Bowden's troops have rallied to boost the team up the Arrest Rankings thanks to a recent surge of not going to class and participating in bar fights before getting tasered by the cops. Typically, having your QB (Xavier Lee) suspended should be a huge setback, but all it really does is decrease FSU's number of horrible QB's from 2 to 1.

Chris: Dag gummit, does Bobby Bowden even wear a headset anymore? BC 28-10. Jason: The Noles playing in Boston in November = BC 22-13. Bud: You know Bowden's opposed to a salary cap. BC 33-10.

For a team with just four players boasting college basketball experience, Thad Matta's sqaud showed an exciting glimpse of their potential in an 88-59 win over Division II Ashland University.

Veteran Othello Hunter and freshman Kosta Koufos led the Buckeyes with matching 15 point, 12 rebound double-doubles while David Lighty chipped in with 13 points on 6/9 shooting from the field. The three were joined in the starting lineup by Jamar Butler who tallied 7 points and 7 assists and freshman Jon Diebler who added 7 points.

Looking to see what he's got, Matta substitued freely as 11 players saw double digit minutes. Besides Koufos and Diebler, fellow true freshmen Dallas Lauderdale, Evan Turner and and Eric Wallace made their Buckeye debuts and each showed skills that should enable Matta to go 10 deep throughout the season, 11 if you count the latest Project Whiteboy for Ohio State, Kyle Madsen. Corey and I decided Madsen's destined to be one of those usable spare part big bodies similar to his predecessors Bill Robinson, Velimir Radinovic and Matt Terwilliger, among others.

Back to the freshmen, Koufos impressed with his post moves, footwork and college ready physique. It's hard to fathom that he's a 7 footer because he's such a fluid offensive player. He's going to be fun to watch for a year and gives Matta a lot of frontline options because he can play the 3, 4 or 5 spots. He obviously face stiffer challenges than Ashland but Koufos showed he can be a force with or without the basketball.

Diebler didn't have the 3-ball working tonight but he did use his size to penetrate the lane giving hope he's capable of more than just being a spot up deep threat. Defensively, his length at the 2 spot could be a factor although he could stand to get stronger.

Fellow frosh Eric Wallace showed off his athleticism all night with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 7 points including a high wire dunk in the first half. He also showed good body control on a baseline drive and the dude looks like he sleeps at Gold's Gym. My guess is his jumper is suspect but his slashing ability will be beneficial and he also projects as a guy who could cause havoc once this year's 3/4 court press is unveiled.

Rounding out the freshman, swingman Evan Turner looked more like a glue-guy than a go-to guy, which is fine. He appears pretty versatile (4 asst, 3 pt, 2 reb) although he finished with 4 turnovers. He's another guy that gives OSU length and extends the depth. Lastly, Dallas Lauderdale came in as the least heralded of all the newbies but he looks ready to contribute. He posted 8 points in 16 minutes showing more agility than I expected. I can see him logging contributor-minutes off the bench against more physical teams and/or when foul trouble saddles Hunter. Oh, and is it me or does he look a lot like Shun Jenkins?

The final newcomer, juco transfer P.J. Hill, played 16 frantic minutes at the PG spot finishing with 4 points and 3 turnovers. He looked a little erratic at times on the offensive end but I got the impression his biggest asset for OSU could be his ability to make the opponent's PG work. I won't accuse him of being a lockdown defender just yet but he's not afraid to press the ball handler which could be helpful against conference players such as Drew Neitzel.

While the freshmen gave us plenty to be excited about, the vets look ready to go. Hunter could be primed to have a breakout season in just his 5th year of playing organized hoops and Lighty displayed a confident stroke that just began to blossom late last season. If both Lighty and Hunter continue to grow and support the steady Butler, this team will be capable of another tourney run.

Overall, it was solid performance by the young squad as they raced out to 47-26 halftime edge on the strength of a 26-4 scoring advantage in the paint and a defense that forced 9 turnovers. The half was highlighed by Koufos scoring the first 4 points and grabbing the first 3 rebounds and was punctuated by Eric Wallace's monster dunk off a steal.

The 2nd half was more of the same as the Buckeyes continued to register easy baskets after long rebounds generated from Ashland's 34 attempts from beyond the arc. For the game, OSU held Ashland to 37% shooting, forced 19 turnovers and finished +13 on the boards. Offensively, the Buckeyes shot a solid 56% from the floor resulting in a 56-17 edge on points in the paint although they hit just 27% (5/18) from deep and only 11/20 free throws.

The Buckeyes have one more exhibition game, next Tuesday against Findlay before the regular season begins November 12th. If you can, make plans to attend. Good seats will be available based on the maybe 6,000 that showed up tonight and this team is worth the look. Thad is indeed rad.