Willyville Guy

"Nooge" left Ohio State as one of the more popular Buckeyes I can remember. Kid was automatic. Really surprised by the way his pro career has played out.

Herbstriet called Penn St's turnaround "the story of the year in college football." Congrats on a remarkable season. Now please lose!

Huge win in a miserable environment. People will criticize OSU for squeaking out a win against an unranked team, but when was the last time any team scored style points on the road in a snow storm? Plus, it was a rivalry game. Before today, I hadn't truly considered the Spartans a rival because they are not a traditional powerhouse and I have longstanding respect and admiration for Coach D. But I ran out of love for Dantonio today while watching him empty his bag of tricks on the Bucks. F that guy and his program. Also, if I never see LJ Scott again it will be too soon - the guy absolutely gutted the Bucks D two years in a row. Another ugly day for JT - the passing is not getting better (is Noah Brown still on the team?). The Oline has been a problem in every tough game so far this year - that's not changing either. I'm just glad that Urban put the game in the defense's hands at the very end. Best decision he made all day. I'm thrilled to get out of there with a W. *ichigan Week!!!

Yeah, I'm nervous too. This year has reminded us that highly ranked teams are not immune from traditional stumbling blocks (Happy Valley White Outs for the Bucks; Kinnick Stadium for UM) against unranked opponents. One silver lining for the Bucks is that none of the huge Sparty losses in recent memory (1998, 2013, 2015) happened at MSU. They were at the Shoe (ugh) or Indy. OSU has won many tough games at MSU -- hopefully they will get another one Saturday afternoon. There will be wind and rain, of course.

Cbus is great. Between the downtown/arena district area, the German Village, Short North artsy area, and of course campus, there are lots of different ways and places to enjoy the city. Big contrast to schools in communities that revolve entirely around the campus. It's still a relatively young hockey town, and CBJ games are fun, but I agree the reception has underperformed expectations.

Apparently EZE's teams are a combined 85-9 going back to his sophomore year of high school. Kid goes hard. I don't think it's only about the Oline in Dallas.

Another week, another 62-3 blowout. Hopefully they can keep it rolling. For the second year in a row the Bucks will end the regular season with the upcoming Sparty/TSUN gauntlet, but this year -- thanks to TSUN losing at Iowa last night -- there is some doubt around whether they would go to the playoff even if they win out. A lot can be said about the various potential scenarios that could unfold, but for now it should suffice to say that the only thing we know is that we don't know what will happen or what the playoff committee might decide. More importantly, there are absolutely huge games yet to be played. MSU looked lost earlier this season but they appear to be refocused just in time for the Bucks (ugh). I expect Dantonio will have his team ready to play for pride and try to salvage part of their season. Meyer's team will unquestionably be focused on getting revenge for last year. I hope a video of Sparty's kicker running around the field at OSU last year doing the guitar windmill celebration (?) is playing on a constant loop at the Woody all week.

The Armstrong situation was traumatic. Seeing his father out there holding his hand was absolutely heartbreaking, and later seeing him run out and actively engage with his team on the sideline was a huge relief. Have you seen any updates today? I had assumed he was okay based on how he looked when he came back, but you never know with head injuries. Nebraska was great about getting updates out last night, and it would be good to see at least one follow up. Couldn't agree more about the TEs, and it's about time. Been waiting for a TE to really become part of the offense ever since Rickey Dudley left!

After a challenging month of October for the young Bucks, a primetime night game at home was just what they needed to get back on track. Holy beatdown -- 62-3! Love it. As Hubbard said of his team's mindset after the game, "let's rideee." They wanted to get Samuel the ball more, and they did in a big way. So much so that I was wondering if it was too much Samuel (is there such a thing?)! Barrett's passing still seems off. He throws as hard as he can no matter how far the pass - no touch. My hands were hurting just watching some of those 5 yard passes. He missed Campbell and Weber on wide open TD plays. You can tell he's working on it; there were many plays last night where JT could have taken off and run for a big gain, but he seemed committed to staying in the pocket, working through his progressions, and trying to get sharper back there. And really, how can you criticize the guy responsible for 4TDs last night and more than anyone else in the history of Ohio State football? I love the kid and think he can get back to running this offense the way we know he can. One of the best parts about a big point differential is the chance to see the even younger Bucks get PT. Victor finally got in there and almost pulled in a TD -- I hope we see more of him because a 6'4'' target can only help JT. KJ Hill looked good out there too. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching Burrow and McCall in the backfield. We said earlier in the season that McCall looks like a special talent, and they already burned his redshirt, so I hope to see him on the field more -- at least against Maryland and MSU. Apparently Urban said that McCall may get some time at PR instead of Dontre Wilson (who fumbled another punt last night), so it looks like this is in the works. Feeling good after a much needed big and emphatic win. Go Bucks!

Another week of the same issues we've been seeing for a month now. My view is that this week against Nebraska will tell us whether the Bucks can right the ship and make a run at this thing. It's a night game at home, and I like their chances.

Painful loss in Happy Valley, but sometimes teams need to lose in order to come together. The Buckeye press is saying that the team can still go to the playoff if it wins out, and that's probably true given the strength of the B1G this year, but I'm sitting here wondering what is the gameplan for Northwestern next week. The offense is painfully predictable, and the coaches are inexplicably not getting ball to Samuel enough even though it has been weeks since Urban said that would change. I'd like to think it's an easy fix: just feed #4. But now the OL and ST are struggling badly so I'm not sure where all this talk of winning out is coming from. Tough games ahead for this team. Can't wait to see how the young Bucks respond. Those friggin' whiteouts, man.

I friggin' hate the Dolphins.

"Just two good teams swinging as hard as they possibly can." - UFM We didn't know if the team would be good, but we knew it would be fun to watch. Bring on State Penn!

This year's road schedule is unusually brutal, and the home schedule is unusually weak for the fans at the Shoe -- although Nebraska on Nov. 5 is shaping up to be a beauty. We've seen some pretty soft schedules over the years though, so I guess we were due. I still choose to be mad at Gene Smith. As for PSU, I'm also sort of concerned that the run defense -- in combination with Barkey and the environment -- could cause this to be another nail biter in Happy Valley.

That was insane. Hugely entertaining. Barrett. I don't know what to say. The passing game was completely off the rails. He looked liked a RB playing QB. He wasn't throwing with any confidence, and he didn't look like he was having any fun. I was wondering if it was even fixable. But he made a few clutch throws down the stretch, and he helped the team pull out a win... again. Walk-off sack in OT!

Zing! Incredible that some people think the Badgers threw that game on purpose for the good of the league.

This is not helping my nerves: 19 of 22 Badgers starters played in the 2014 Big Ten Title Game. Most Buckeye starters were still in high school.

Lol - I've been checking the weather several times a day ever since Sat night. Right now my Dark Sky app says no rain until about 10pm, at which time there is a 51% chance of rain. I paid $1.99 for that app so it better be right!

Just hope for good weather.

No doubt about that -- a 3TD conference win is a 3TD conference win and deserves to be celebrated!

Turns out Indiana is pretty good and MSU is pretty bad. Biggest takeaway for me is that they need to get Samuel the ball early and often -- for the sake of offensive rhythm and also to keep the number of Barrett's carries down. Looks like the coaches recognize this and will focus on it. Urban mentioned after the game that IU ran the "bear," which I assume was a reference to the defense that Virginia Tech successfully ran at OSU in 2014. He strongly believes that the only way to beat the bear is through the deep ball, which just wasn't working yesterday (nor did it work in the first VT game). I expect to see a lot more of this as the season continues. Speaking of bear, Nick Bosa had his best game as a Buckeye. He appears to be healing nicely and will become more involved in the defense going forward. That is very good news. It's a rocky road through the B1G this year. Beat Wisconsin!

Really not sure what to make of either of them at this point. Indiana has grown into a relatively solid B1G team, but I expected them to take a big step backward this year with the QB Sudfeld gone. But apparently the defense has taken a big step forward and they still have that RB who ran for over 1000 yds last year, so I guess this is a ground-and-pound IU team now? I guess we'll see. As for MSU, that does not seem like a program that takes a week off against a team they expect to beat, so I'm taking it at face value that this is a down year for them. I'm sure they'll be up for the Buckeyes though.

Crazy to see Urban burning redshirts like that. Glad to see those kids get significant time but I'm sure some of them have mixed feelings about it. I believe that if the Buckeyes had made it a team goal to rush for 1000 yards today, they could have made it happen. Thanks for stopping by, Coach Ash!

I’m at peace with the idea that Meyer will not coach the Buckeyes forever. His arrival following Tressel’s departure was and remains a surreal transition – the chances of finding someone who could possibly be an improvement over the outgoing coach was extremely low. So in a sense we’re on found time right now, and that is never lost on me anytime I start to stress about the Buckeyes. The chances of Meyer staying in Columbus even if the Texas job opens up are helped by the fact that he’s from Ohio—and perhaps more importantly his wife is from Ohio—they are surrounded by friends and family, and by all accounts they are happy and comfortable in a way they never were down south. Taking at face value the reports about his lack of a work-family balance causing serious health issues in Florida, I can see a scenario where he says “no thanks” to upsetting what appears to be a perfect situation for him and his family in order to take more money in Texas. Plus, OSU is one of the schools that can probably go toe-to-toe with Texas if a bidding war breaks out. That said, Meyer has commented that he plans to stay put at least until after his kids are all out of the house. After that, who knows? This is truly a magical time to be a Buckeye fan, and I’m just trying to enjoy each game without worrying about the “what ifs” between now and whenever this era ends. Go Bucks.

There is a very real possibility that the following programs will make offers to Tom Herman within the next six to eight months: Texas USC LSU ND (??) That would be quite a set of options for the young guru. Which job is the best? I'd take Texas because of the combination of unlimited resources and proximity to talented recruits. Not many schools, if any, can match what Texas has to offer in that regard.