Some 2011 scheduling news:  Colorado Buffaloes coming to play Buckeyes in 2011

The 2010 season for Ohio State starts tomorrow with a Thursday night game against Marshall.  But that's not the main conversation taking place among Buckeye football fans this week.  The Big Ten is very close to choosing a new division format and schedule for the 2011 season when Nebraska joins the conference. 

 

The new two-division Big Ten may or may not have OSU and Michigan in the same division.  It also may or may not keep the OSU/Michigan game at the end of the Big Ten season, where it has been since 1943.  Below are two articles, one local and one national that discuss these possibilities:

 

Ohio State football: Michigan game yet to be decided, Smith says

 

Ohio State vs. Michigan: The Pros and Cons of Moving "The Game"

Different divisions, game to remain at end of the season.

That wasn't a good solution IMHO.  I don't like the possibility of playing 2 weeks in a row.  They should have split it up geographically, like so:

 

East: PSU, OSU, Mich., MSU, IU, Purdue

 

West: Ill., NW, Wisc, Iowa, Minn., Nebraska

 

Balance of power would have been pretty even too.  A little heavy in the east, but not that much.  OSU-Mich game could have remained as the final regular season game with the potential for the game to determine who will play in the B10 championship game.

That wasn't a good solution IMHO.  I don't like the possibility of playing 2 weeks in a row.  They should have split it up geographically, like so:

 

East: PSU, OSU, Mich., MSU, IU, Purdue

 

West: Ill., NW, Wisc, Iowa, Minn., Nebraska

 

Balance of power would have been pretty even too.  A little heavy in the east, but not that much.  OSU-Mich game could have remained as the final regular season game with the potential for the game to determine who will play in the B10 championship game.

I like that east-west geographic line-up too.  As it stands, the Big Ten swapped Michigan and Michigan State for Wisconsin and Illinois from that east-west line-up.

 

Big Ten reveals divisional breakdown 

 

Division 1: Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern

 

Division 2: Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana

That wasn't a good solution IMHO. I don't like the possibility of playing 2 weeks in a row. They should have split it up geographically, like so:

 

East: PSU, OSU, Mich., MSU, IU, Purdue

 

West: Ill., NW, Wisc, Iowa, Minn., Nebraska

 

Balance of power would have been pretty even too. A little heavy in the east, but not that much. OSU-Mich game could have remained as the final regular season game with the potential for the game to determine who will play in the B10 championship game.

 

I agree 100%.  The east-west lineup would have worked perfectly.  Three of the four traditional powers would have been in the east, but Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska would have held down the west just fine.  The Big Ten got greedy in looking for a few OSU-UM rematches in the title game down the road.  I think they fail to respect that fact that all of the Big Ten schools have big followings in the Midwest and nationwide, and almost any championship game matchup would have (and will) attract huge audiences.  Oh well...

That wasn't a good solution IMHO. I don't like the possibility of playing 2 weeks in a row. They should have split it up geographically, like so:

 

East: PSU, OSU, Mich., MSU, IU, Purdue

 

West: Ill., NW, Wisc, Iowa, Minn., Nebraska

 

Balance of power would have been pretty even too. A little heavy in the east, but not that much. OSU-Mich game could have remained as the final regular season game with the potential for the game to determine who will play in the B10 championship game.

 

I guess the East and West divisions were too elegant a solution for the Big Ten.  I agree that it should have been split East and West as you've stated.  I wonder what they'll call the divisions?

i propose they call them "the big ten division" and "the other half of the big ten division."

 

no wait!  hows about "the schembechler division" and "the hayes division?" hmm i like it!

i propose they call them "the big ten division" and "the other half of the big ten division."

 

no wait!  hows about "the schembechler division" and "the hayes division?" hmm i like it!

 

I love it! :clap:

Buckeyes roll over Marshall 45-7.  Bring on the U.

I was at the game tonight but left after the 3rd qtr. OSU obviously dominated but I was hoping Marshall wouldve at least kept it close. I hate watching blowout games it gets boring. Miami will be a test for them though.

Everything looked great... except special teams and, to an extent, the defensive secondary.

Looking forward to the big game with Miami U on Saturday.  But let's enjoy the first win one more time with the highlights from ESPN below.  Did anyone else catch the dead-on Jim Tressel impersonator in the stands?  They show him starting at the 1:30 mark in the highlights.  And at 1:45 there is a great split-screen of both Jim Tressel and the "Jim-Poster".

 

Ohio State vs. Marshall Highlights Sept. 2010

Will LeBron show up at Saturday's game?

 

OSU football: Don't boo LeBron, Pryor pleads

 

It's still not clear whether LeBron James is going to make the scene on Saturday afternoon for the Ohio State-Miami game in Ohio Stadium, but until further notice, OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor expects him to show.  "I think he is, actually, but I'm not sure," Pryor said today.  "I haven't talked to him since after the Marshall game" Thursday night.

 

Asked whether he expected James to root for Ohio State, Pryor quickly said, "He's a Buckeye."  But the question needed to be asked, because in June the basketball star originally from Akron disappointed many in his fan base when he said he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of joining the Miami Heat.

 

"If LeBron does come, just treat him with respect, and respect his decision," Pryor said.  "Please, no name calling, or booing, or anything like that. Because that's my mentor, and I've got a lot of respect for him, a lot of love for him."

 

Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/09/08/0908-dont-boo-lebron-pryor-pleads.html?sid=101

He's not a Buckeye, and he deserves to be tormented if he shows his face at the 'Shoe tomorrow.  It makes no sense for anyone, including Pryor and traitor James himself, to expect anything less.

LeBron has always been an Ohio State fan and I think this is just as silly as that Quran issue in Florida.  Let the man enjoy his favorite college team!

Actually, Lebron grew up a Florida State fan.  He faithfully rooted Yankess, Bulls, Cowboys, Florida State in the 1990's.  See a pattern?

He's still a Buckeye fan (he's attended games before).  Booing him at a college football game is pretty idiotic.

Aside from a couple special teams breakdowns, very impressive win by the Buckeyes today.  Game was not nearly as close as the final score (36-24) indicated.  We could have easily been up 35-3 at the half if not for two Miami kick returns and a few penalties that negated touchdowns.

eeeeweeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww the tip!

Very convincing win over Miami.  Those two return TD's made the game seem much closer than it was. 

 

Ohio State's defense was dominant, forcing 4 INT's.  The biggest in the third quarter when big Cameron Hayward drops into a zone blitz coverage, intercepts a pass at the 5 yard line and returns it 80 yards.  Pryor runs for a TD to cap the drive.  The game wasn't in doubt after that. 

The "U" got served.

If Pryor can learn how to connect on the short routes to his receivers, then OSU could win a national title. Go Bucks!

It was definitely an impressive win, but I admit I have some serious doubts about special teams play, at least at this point in the season.  It wasn't just this week--we had a blocked FG returned for a TD against us in the Marshall game, too.

We have to get some more speed on the kick teams.  That's for sure.

 

Very impressive win though.  Should have been a blowout.

He's still a Buckeye fan (he's attended games before).  Booing him at a college football game is pretty idiotic.

 

He should be booed whenever comes to Ohio, no matter what he is doing.  He's not Mother Theresa--even when he's giving away from bikes to underprivileged kids, it's all part of his "image," not because of some altruistic motive.

 

As for the game, Buckeyes looked pretty good, but I'm still worried about Pryor a bit.  Defense was SOLID!

I wouldn't worry about Pryor as much as the special teams at this point.  They were not solid.  Heck, even some of our extra points didn't look all that crisp--never mind the three special teams touchdowns we've already surrendered this season.

Tressel has 4 weeks to get the special teams straightened out.  They'll be fine once they find the right personnel before they play Wisky.  I'd rather have a concern about special teams rather than our O or D at this point in the season. 

The Buckeyes roll OU 43-7.

It was a slaughter.

Can I just say how much I hate the big ten network!  It's probably been beaten to death but geez!

^ totally agree.  turn the volume down and listen to the radio broadcast.

btw Ohio U got prison raped. 

The Bucks are 44 point favorites over Eastern Michigan.  Anyone want to take EMU and the points?

No. Its gonna be ugly.....5? - 0.

Honestly, this could be a match up of the best team versus the worst team in 1-A

The Bucks eked out a 73-20 win over EMU. :wink:

 

(And they beat the point spread too!)

Meh.  The real game today was Alabama-Arkansas, and unfortunately, the Buckeyes lost that one.

Tress must have had money riding on the game ;)

well i fell asleep. no doubt it was more fun to watch than it was for me watching michigan tromp all over bgsu earlier. ugh.

 

ahh well since i suffered the whole game here's my scouting report: hard to believe but all in all bg really didnt look that bad considering....at least the falcons won the second quarter, a moral victory! oh and they knocked out denard -- you're welcome! what else? although i noticed running was tough, you can definately pass all over on this year's michigan team. you may be able to run on them too, but bg made a bunch of stupid run play calls (always up the middle, never end around or even much trapping or off tackle). of course bg lacks the depth of talent so its hard to say.

 

the bottom line is i was glad to check out this year's wolverines and wasnt overly impressed -- i have no doubt the bucks will whip them. 

 

factoid of the game:

*The crowd of 109,933 was the largest ever to see a football game involving BGSU.*

 

 

Tressel wants this team to feel good. There are some years when it seems like Tressel is intentionally trying to hold his team back from busting the flood gates. He doesn’t seem to go for the jugular against lesser opponents because he seemingly doesn’t want his team to think too highly of itself. This is not one of those seasons. This team is good. Very good. Tressel knows it and he wants his players to know it. It reminds me of the 2006 season the way they are rolling over teams with no regard. That ’06 was a confident bunch, and they needed the confidence to beat Michigan 42-39 in the “Game of the Century,” but by the bowl game they were too confident.

 

^ interesting take. this is not so easy to manage as a coach...exactly when do you let loose the dawgs...? in the past tressel seemed to think you cant do it every game.

Heh.  We'll see if we're still steamrolling teams in league season.  People have been dissing the Big Ten for a while now, but it's still a very tough league.  Also, like Flee2theCleve said, EMU just might be the worst I-A team out there--worse than many I-AA teams.  We can't read too much into this.

 

Han Solo may have said it best: "Great, kid!  Don't get cocky."

^ Yup we'll see.  That said, putting up 73pts (could've been 100) against any Div I team is still impressive.  18pt fav against Ill. Take it to the bank. 

Even though it was against EMU, Terrelle Pryor's performance was still impressive.  Six touchdowns - 4 passing TD's, 1 rushing TD and 1 receiving TD.  That's right.  A receiving touchdown for Pryor from running back Jordan Hall, his former high school teammate in Jeannette, Pa.

 

College football notebook: Pryor named Big Ten's offensive player of the week

The Buckeyes get a scare in Champaign.  Terrelle Pryor goes down with a reported quad injury early in the 3rd quarter.  After missing two drives, Pryor returns to lead OSU to a 24-13 win.

It was an ugly game.

Heh.  Not as ugly as LSU-Tennessee. :-)

Heh.  Not as ugly as LSU-Tennessee. :-)

 

No kidding!  What was worse at that game's end.  Was it LSU's offensive fire drill that almost ran out the clock?  Or was it Tennessee's 13-man defensive scheme that gave LSU a final play to win the game?

Looking like OSU will be #1 in the next 20mins or so.