Call it what you like.  Yes, I admire Munford for playing through the pain, but there are times when he is a liability at LT......pure and simple.  When he is healthy, I am sure he'll be a monster. For now, with WI coming to town, it is a concern.  

As for Munford, in stock terms, I am a "hold".   I will have to re-watch the game again, especially the first half, to make sure I am not being unfair, but for my money, I am a lot more comfortable with Munford as a run blocker than a pass blocker.  It seems to me, that every so often, his feet are in cement and the DEs run right around him.  Again, to be fair, I may be thinking of a few plays with NP-F in there, but I could swear it happened to Thayer more than once.  Doesn't matter .....we'll find out more about him and his O line mates this Saturday and again, against Penn State's D lines. 

Where in the hell did that ? come from?  LOL.    Let's stick to worrying about what we can control -- like what to eat tonight during the game. 

LOL.   Fifty years of surprises will do that to you, Allin. 

With those guys out, on the heels of a bye week, it sends a signal that the coaches are not worried about the game.  Assuming that to be true, the danger is the extent to which the kids feel the same way.  Of course, it also means the kids who DO get playing time have a chance to showcase themselves and put on a show.   We'll see how it plays out.  

So true, Linga.  Despite having a lead and in control of the game at the time, as soon as the kid from NW broke that long TD run in the 2nd quarter, if there were any members of "the Committee" watching the game, they turned it off and wrote the Buckeyes out of the cf playoff at the same time.  We could have (and should have) put up a million points in the second half and it wouldn't have mattered. In Meyer's last 2 years as a coach, his teams (and Meyer as well) simply took their foot off the gas and coasted until it was time to wake up again.  

I will go with 38-13.    A solid but unspectacular win.  Get out of there with no injuries and focus on WI.  

I can't see NW scoring 24......but I do agree that it is possible the Offense plays like crap and the narrative for all of next week comically is....."we didn't want to show Wisconsin anything"......after 7 games, LOL.

In that context, we agree.   And this year's situation is aggravated by the media's love affair with the SEC.  

I am usually a glass half-empty guy, but I will take exception to the cupcake reference in the schedule.  

Cases in point:  Cincy is no cupcake; our 42-0 victory over them remains our most impressive win of the season and among the top 5 or 6 most impressive wins among any of the top teams in the country this year.  I don't think IU or Sparty are cupcakes.  Are they world beaters?  Hell no.  But they aren't Rutgers either.   

We'll find out how good the Buckeyes are when they play Wisconsin and Penn State.  That's just the bottom line.  

Logic agrees with you, but I am not sure it will play out that way.   After a 10+ day layoff, on a Friday night in an uninspiring stadium, I expect the Buckeyes to come out flat -- with NW being inspired and playing way over their heads.  I see this as a game in which we wake up in the 2nd quarter, and much like we did vs Sparty, and put the game away before the 4th quarter.  Would love to put it away in the first half, but history says that NW will be too pesky for a quick decision. 

You must be forgetting in 2010 we were ranked # 1 and they ran John Clay right at us.  Brian Rolle still has Clay's cleat marks all over him.  They were a "typical Wisconsin team" too.........

And more often than not, jet sweeps, even with a freak like Braxton, resulted in the same thing:  2nd and 10.   I know P Campbell was a highlight reel waiting to happen, but IIRC, his big gains were usually catching short passes on the run and being perfectly led by Haskins in doing so.  

Not sure about them getting boatraced in a bowl game.  Why?  They would quite likely, be a lot more excited about their bowl destination than the team they are playing.   And we know from history, that trumps records and matchups.   I agree with the prevailing thinking that Minny is a "hold" until we see what they do against PSU and Wisky.   After what I've seen from Iowa the past 2 weeks, I think Minny boatraces them.  Iowa plays an Offense that was outmoded 10+ years ago.  It's one thing to rely on your Defense as Iowa does. It's a whole other kettle of fish, when your D is ALL that you have to rely on.  

I hope you are right.....and yes, I recall the WI teams of the past.   I also remember the one in 2010 that took one of the better OSU teams I have seen in recent memory to a pretty sound beating..... no matter what the final score said.   I hope you are spot on and have the chance to wag your finger at me and say "I told you so", LOL!

Fair point -- and no, I am not lumping this year into the past two and over-reacting.   Yes, losing to WI and then avenging it would be a "good loss" followed by a good win.  The context for my argument is if both OK and Clemson run the table, we are in a tough spot with one loss, regardless -- especially depending on what plays out in the media-friendly SEC.  

I have to disagree, 68, despite agreeing with you often.  I think you are giving Wisconsin the short shrift.....in a big way.   Yes, they've played everyone at home, and yes, they were lackluster against NW of all teams, but they are pretty damn solid on both lines in a very impressive way.  When you've curb stomped both Sparty and TTUN, you've got my respect.  And those were both curb-stompings.  Without daring to speak for him, I think even Josh Perry would cringe at your commentary based on his posted exchanges today.   

No offense meant. 

while we could potentially lose to Wisconsin and still achieve what we all want to achieve.

We could still win the B1G championship, yes.  But a loss, even a "good" loss, is likely to take us out of the cf playoff, whether we agree with it or not -- unless Oklahoma and/or Clemson have bad losses.

LOL.   That's me, orlando:  Showing my "flare for the obvious."    

How about....D.):   Quite possibly the truth??   What say you, Josh?

Orgeron -- would be lively with good jumbalaya.   

Meyer's for dessert.  As long as I can  sneak looking at Shelley without Urbs noticing it.   Hey, one of us had to be honest......

Concerns?  My only concern is how the D and O lines hold up against a really, really good Wisconsin unit.  Maybe the best units we've seen in the Big Ten since theirs in 2010.  I can acknowledge that Sparty was banged up after playing us.....no doubt.  But the way WI just curb-stomped them is pause for concern.  And I mean they truly curb-stomped them with a Rutgers-like beatdown.   Any of us thinking "it's just typical Wisconsin.....we'll beat them with our athleticism" might be in for a surprise.  

Penn State beat what was supposed to be  a "better than we think" Maryland team, at Maryland, by more than 50.  It's time to keep the momentum and then let the starters rest in the 4th quarter for the Wisconsin game.  

Excuse me?  They just played Sparty and TTUN and beat them by a combined, what, 60 points?   And who have we played again?  C'mon.  We're all homers here, but you need some coffee Moo.  

If not dominant, then they've been the next best thing, 25.   They've clogged up the middle allowing the LBs to make a lot of plays.  We'll find out for sure when we play WI as their OL will be the best we face all season long.  How our D line holds the LOS will tell a lot about who wins that game.