While I won't deny the absolutely miserable offensive showing by the Buckeyes (directly the result of our OL trying on their Halloween turnstile costumes early), lost in the anger of the fanbase is another group that deserves some heat: the special teams.

Our kickoff return game was pretty dismal, leading us to start each drive at the 20 or behind it when we didn't take the fair catch or touchback. The missed 42-yard FG also looms large, as it's a perfectly reasonable distance for a kicker, and the ball was snapped well and wasn't mishandled. We make that and the Husker PK doesn't absolutely drill a 54-yarder, and the score at the half is 17-3. While certainly not an exciting score, we nurse the two TD lead the rest of the game, and Buckeye Nation's collective blood pressure is a little more reasonable. Also, our punting average places us at #70 in the nation, which is in the bottom half. While I recognize the nuances of placement, in general, other teams also face such situations, and I barely remember a moment when our punter put the ball miraculously within the 10 the way we'd see happen during the Meyer and Tressel eras.