Sep

11

Big Ten Strikes Out

Filed Under Sports: Col FB 

Well, it is a good thing I don’t make a living as a football prognosticator. Like the Big Ten I went 0-3 yesterday. It was a painful day for me and for Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio State. This will tell you how deep my dislike for Ohio State goes: I was rooting for Texas! Hey, I have lived in the state Okay?! My mom and sister still live there. I am afraid that last night I wanted everyone to share my pain. I couldn’t bear to see the beaming faces of the Buckeye fans on Monday if they had won. I know, it’s ugly, but there it is. Here is a brief post mortem:

Michigan - Notre Dame

I will give credit to Notre Dame, they played solid defense and had a couple of nice drives. They played a great first half and hung on for the win. They are now 2-0 and ranked in the top ten. They had a good game plan, especially on defense. They played physical and smart.

That said, I think it was clear that Michigan lost the second half more than ND won it. Chad Henne picked a very bad day to fall apart. The kid is a true sophomore and only 20 years old and he looked it. ND took away the easy stuff and forced Chad to focus and execute - he didn’t. Two turnovers in the red zone just ain’t gonna get it done. On the pick to start the second half, he had Avant wide open in the middle and blew it. On the goal line fumble, the game was on the line and you just can’t give up the football. Never mind that he scored on the first play but the refs inexplicably didn’t give it to him. When it mattered most Henne looked flustered and out of sync.

Clearly the loss of Mike Hart, Tim Massaquoi, and key offensive linemen hurt the Michigan offense. But remarkably the defense played inspired and repeatedly gave the offense a chance to win the game. Henne simply failed to do so. The seriousness of the injury to Hart remains unclear at this point. Kevin Grady - anothe true freshmen - is a quality back, and if he is to start they can game plan around him, but Hart provides such a spark to this offense that it would be a shame to lose him for any significant period. They need to get healthy because after next week’s game against Eastern Michigan they face Wisconsin at Camp Randall.

It was painful to watch yet another ugly loss to Notre Dame. These early losses really begin to grate on you. Michigan has lost a non-conference game every year since 1999 and seven out of eight since their national title in 1997; with four of those to Notre Dame. If Lloyd Carr wants to win a National Championship he is going to have to find a way to win these games. It is hard to blame this on Carr as he has a young team and was hit with some key injuries, but three loss seasons don’t cut it in Ann Arbor. Another season losing to ND and Ohio State and he will justifiably feel the heat. One can only hope the offense regains its rhythm and the defense continues to play like it did on Saturday.


Iowa - Iowa State

What can I say. I was wrong. Iowa State came out fired up and Iowa looked horrible. When Tate went out it was over. They were out outplayed in every facet of the game. Iowa gets a break with Northern Iowa and then has to face Ohio State and the Horseshoe. They better get things figured out.

Ohio State - Texas

At this point I was just looking for a quality game to watch! And I got one. Vince young looked sharp early but Tressel soon adjusted and forced Young to make some costly mistakes. The Buckeyes took advantage and soon had the lead. It looked like a typical defensive win for OSU. But the Buckeye offense just couldn’t get in rhythm and put the game away. I have always said that to beat OSU at home you must score touchdowns not field goals. Well, suddenly it looked like Ohio State might fall victim to their own medicine. They failed to take advantage of good field position and settled for field goals.

Vince Young really is an amazing athlete. He just never quit. He kept his poise and rallied his team. The ironic thing is that the Buckeye fans got what they wanted. All week on talk radio and online fans were saying that Young was over-rated; that if you forced him to throw he could’nt get it done. Well, they forced him to throw and he got it done. That last touchdown toss was gorgeous.

It really is beyond me why Tressle kept switching back and forth between Smith and Zwick. Granted Troy Smith didn’t exactly light it up after his first touchdown drive, but I think he simple is a more dangerous weapon. I have never liked the quarterback rotation strategy. IMHO, The Buckeyes need to find a starter and go with him. That way everyone knows who the leader is and how the offense is going to be run. That Zwick fumble was a painful reminder. As a reward Smith gets the ball on the one inch line with an impossible situation. Safety and end of game. For be it for me to question Jim Tressel, but I know the fans are going to.

As I said, I was still in pain from the earlier debacle so I admit I got a great deal of satisfaction seeing the Buckeye’s hopes and dreams come crashing down. I don’t think a lot of fans gave Texas and Young enough credit. I think they thought he was the result of the porous Michigan defense rather than his own determination and talent. Sure, Ohio State’s defense is better than Michigan’s but in the end it didn’t matter. Texas found a way to win the big game. Look out Oklahoma, I have a feeling it might be payback time.

Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio State can still have successful seasons. A Big Ten Championship is nothing to sneer at by any means. But at least for now one has to think it is advantage Purdue.

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