Good morning, glorious readers. Today is the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday in November, which is not the same as the first Tuesday after the first Wednesday.
I'm not quite sure how it's already November—the moon and the tides, I suppose—but we should be in for an eventful month.
First off, the road to the Big Ten Championship game is wide open. My preseason pick of a title game between Michigan State and Wisconsin looked pretty genius two weeks ago, and while that could still come to pass, now there's a chance it could be a rematch of last Saturday's Michigan vs. Purdue meeting1.
It's also Movember, time to celebrate Danny Hope's greatest achievement this side of channeling a bruja back in '09 against Ohio State. So, gentlemen, grow your staches. Maybe they won't all be as impressive as a Tom Selleck or a Burt Reynolds or a 13-year-old Sarah. Doesn't matter, pedo, because it's for a good cause.
And finally, November signals the start of basketball season, and I don't know if you've heard or not, but the Buckeyes should be more than a little decent.
AND NOW FOR A BUCKET OF COLD WATER. Although it finally feels like the football team is gelling, as was the norm under Tressel when November rolled around, it will take more than a 4-0 month for a trip to Indianapolis, and I'm not just referring to an additional Penn State loss. Let's not forget the matter of the NCAA issuing a ruling re: OSU's violations.
Oh yeah...that.
If a postseason ban is handed down, and if that was announced before December 3, Ohio State would not be allowed to play in the conference title game. According to Doug Lesmerises, Gene Smith and company remain optimistic that it won't come to that, even though OSU has yet to finish their report on the DiGeronimo/unpaid work/scapegoated Posey situation. Still, they believe a verdict will be reached later this month.
HEY WHAT'S YOUR WORD? WHAT'S YOUR GAME? Calling Ohio State the Big Ten's most dangerous team, Adam Rittenberg lists five reasons why they could end up in Indy, and points out that since their last loss to Michigan in that ancient pre-YouTube age, the Buckeyes have only lost two games in November, most recently in '07 when Juice Williams channeled a bruja of his own.
While Tressel is no longer around, the rest of the staff and the older players only know triumph at this point in the season. Two games in a row against the likes of Indiana and Purdue should give them a bit more momentum leading into the Penn State and Michigan contests, when DeVier Posey will return. Considering how seamlessly and successfully Boom and Mike Adams came back, that should be a boost at an all-important time.
Although the defense narrowly avoided another collapse, it did show its worth against a potent Wisconsin offense, especially holding the Badgers to a mere 89 total rushing yards. That could be a sign that the D has come together.
Also displaying a lot of improvement is stone-faced Braxton Miller who came through in the clutch. That kind of showing on the big stage should only help his confidence level as he continues to develop.
Doin' a little east coast swing
LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN. After a relatively strong performance against Wisconsin, especially compared to the Illinois game, the wide receivers are looking for more respect. Devin Smith, with the game-winning catch, and Philly Brown Philly Bro, with a team-high four receptions, were the WR stars of the night2.
The latter hopes that Bollman will take it as a hint to order up more pass plays. Indiana and their 118th ranked pass defense are coming to town, so Saturday could be a golden opportunity for the young corps to gain even more experience and build more chemistry with Miller.
As it stands right now, Smith leads the team in yards (10 catches, 227 yards, 4 TDs) and Stoneburner has the edge in receptions and scores (12 catches, 150 yards, 6 TDs). Brown along with Carlos Hyde and the now-injured Verlon Reed, have each hauled in nine receptions.
Brown, in addition, had this to say about his QB:
“He’s out there looking like a quarterback now, as opposed to the first games when he was out there looking like Braxton, running around. Now he’s out there sitting in the pocket, making his reads and his throws, or making something else happen. He’s only going to get better.”
Perhaps disappointing to only me, Philly does not care for his nickname. However, I will continue to perform the Stephanie Tanner dance in his honor when he makes a good play or when he trolls his teammates, particularly Dominic Clarke3.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Yesterday, Bob Baptist witnessed the basketball team practice and came away with a number of observations. Most notably, out of the six different lineups to play, he was most impressed with the one that included Sully, Will Buford, Aaron Craft, Deshaun Thomas, and Shannon Scott.
This is not the first time I've read this, but Baptist liked what he saw from Lenzelle Smith. He was aware and tough on defense, something that will always get Matta's attention. Unsurprisingly, Craft was a menace during defensive drills.
What might be an area of concern for this young hoops squad is playing hard for the entire 40 minutes and not letting up. We'll get to see for ourselves on Sunday, when the team hosts Walsh for an exhibition game. It can be streamed on BTN's website for free with the code BTDN3FR33.
BESIDES FIRST, WHO'S THE WORST? An article in The Lantern claims that Wisconsin has the worst fans in the Big Ten. A couple Badger fans who attended this weekend's game admitted as such and also spoke highly of the treatment they received from Ohio State fans4.
I can't speak for everyone, but I thought the Buckeye faithful on Saturday were well-behaved overall. So, nice job, Sportsmanship Council.
I haven't graced every B1G stadium with my presence, though out of the ones that I have visited, the Wisconsin fan base was definitely the most obnoxious. Keep in mind that I've never been to Happy Valley, where I've heard of such things occuring as beer can tossing, snowball flinging, and urine bombing the band.
INDELIBLE LINK. Like always, it hasn't been a fortunate year for Indiana football... The NIU/Toledo football(?) game was a wild one last night... Freshmen 15 may be a myth, but E2B 15 isn't... Speaking of E2B, these words could describe it... A tribute to bullies from 80s movies... This Community board game should be real... They all float up here... For people who went to high school with you.
- 1 This won't happen.
- 2 Not to mention my preseason picks for breakout receivers. Even though the season isn't over, just let me have this one because I'm off base on so many other predictions, as Johnny can attest to when it's time for him to collect our weekly score guesses.
- 3 As someone who enjoys pointing out who other people resemble, I approve wholeheartedly of Philly Bro's actions.
- 4 Probably courtesy of my mom, who told every Wisconsin fan she saw, "welcome to The Shoe."
