Twitter Reactions: A Dolo For All Seasons

By Johnny Ginter on November 8, 2015 at 8:30 am
"God, I can't wait to get home and tweet!"
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I know you're probably a little upset. Frustrated, annoyed, maybe even a little angry. Ohio State threw together a lackluster performance against an inferior opponent and won a game that wasn't quite as close as the final score indicated but might actually be a decent indicator of how we feel about the team on a personal level. It's a song the team has played about six times this season, and Buckeye fans could probably be forgiven if they're getting a little tired of hearing it on a weekly basis.

What I would say to you, gentle reader, is that this 28-14 victory over a middling at best Minnesota team is in fact exactly what you needed, even if it isn't what you were hoping for.

Let me put it this way: let's say that Cardale Jones comes out with his hair on fire, passes for 350 yards on 30 attempts with four touchdowns through the air and another two on the ground as Ohio State cruises to a 50 point win. I guess you think that'd be pretty great, don't you? Grinning to yourself as you imagine ol' Dolo lighting up Goldy and sending them back to their frozen north ice huts in tears. Wrong! All wrong! Think of the chaos that brings with it; Good Cardale invites a quarterback controversy and a week of hand-wringing about what's best for the team and a thousand think-pieces dissecting the debate. Mediocre Cardale completes just a shade over 50% of his passes, tosses a neat touchdown, and wins the game in a thoroughly boring way and does nothing to change the status quo of J.T. Barrett as the starter.

Which is exactly what, deep in your reptilian heart, you wanted anyway. When J.T. likely comes back next Saturday, he can perform the ancient sports rite of humbly accepting his old position back and playing in such a way that everyone forget the reason why he lost it in the first place. We will cheer and laugh and forgive him in part because he's a human being who made a mistake and deserves forgiveness, but also in part because he's a really good quarterback who can take the Buckeyes back to the title game. The Minnesota game was hard to watch in parts, but it was a necessary part of the endgame November narrative, that hopefully leads to J.T. Barrett taking Ohio State to the Big Ten title game and beyond.

But, Ms. Rooks, can he defeat the mighty Minnesota Golden Gophers? As it turned out, yeah. So let's see how it went down.

I never, ever get tired of Script Ohio. I'm cynical enough and old enough and have seen enough Ohio State games that maybe some of its luster might have worn off for me by now, but nope. Chills every time, man. I love it.

Another cool thing was that Brutus continued to celebrate his 50th anniversary as mascot of the Ohio State football team. It's been a weird trip for the anthropomorphic Buckeye nut, but as a fan of weird and unusual sports mascots, Brutus is the pretty cool face of a pretty cool team. That uniqueness is what makes college sports fun to watch, and for Ohio State fans, he's a big part of that.

I'm going to ignore the inherent weirdness of addressing a fictional character as a singular entity even though he's been portrayed by dozens different co-eds over several decades, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRUTUS! May you your antics continue for another 50 years into the future!

Anyway: the game. It was generally pretty assy. Our good friend Doug Lesmerises was in full snark mode, and while that is very entertaining, it's also a pretty good sign that what's going on down on the field is less than amazing.

Let's talk about the bad first.

The lethargic Buckeye offense was probably not a surprise to any observant fan, but what might be a concern in the future is that Ohio State gave up several big plays through the air, an area of relative strength before the game. It's not that I think Ohio State has somehow regressed in that area to the point that it demands immediate attention, but if you see the Illini dropping bombs in Memorial Stadium, that might be a cause for alarm. As it stood, Mitch "I generally complete like 45% of my passes" Leidner was 27-44 for 281 yards and 2 TDs.

Also bad was a late game let-up that allowed Goldy to get back in it and make the game far more interesting than it should've been in the fourth quarter. In a day filled with some stupid, stupid upsets, nothing gets the stomach acid turning than giving up two quick worrying (but ultimately meaningless) touchdowns at the end of the game.

But the good? It was still there. This is still an excellent team, and guys like Zeke:

And yes, even Cardale:

...are still talented enough to see this team through a lazy night time game. So look on the bright side! J.T. is (probably) back next week! The Buckeyes still have the inside track on the College Football Playoffs! And chances are, no big whiny baby Big 12 teams will be around to whine about it!

So let's just enjoy last night for what it was: Buckeye football on a crisp fall evening. We're not going to get too many more of them this year. Savor it, and don't forget the most important thing of all:

YEEESSSSSSSS.

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