The Big Ten Season Begins

Here comes the B1G..skirts?

Well folks, the fake season is officially over and it is time to finally enter conference play. I guess it really isn't a fake season although it felt like one this year. Going into the season I think we all knew, even if you didn't want to admit it to yourself, this was going to be a rebuilding year. After the fallout from over the summer it was hard to picture the Buckeye’s demolishing opponents and vying for a spot in the National title game. If Tatgate and the mess it caused never happened I think that would have been a possibility.

Unfortunately, our worst nightmares were realized which in turn thrust numerous young and unproven players into the limelight.

The dust has settled somewhat and OSU now stands at 3-1 heading into the Big Ten gauntlet. At many other schools, 3-1 would be cause for parades but here in Ohio it is a tough pill to swallow. We have been spoiled over the past decade and expect to beat teams like Miami. That didn’t happen this season (thanks Joey Ballgame) and the focus must lie on getting into that inaugural Big Ten title game. It won’t be easy though, especially right out of the gate this weekend with MSU coming to town.

The fans, players and coaches will find out where this team really stands in a hurry this year. We already got a glimpse of the dark side with that loss in Coral Gables but there is no time to dwell on that clusterf@#$ of a game anymore. Spartans, Huskers and Badgers (I couldn’t figure out how to add “Illini” into that cleverly written sentence) all stand in the way over the next month. By all accounts, Wisconsin and Nebraska are the class of the Big Ten this year so the Buckeyes’ will get a taste early of what it will take to make it to Indianapolis at the end of the season (assuming we are allowed to go).

Looking toward this weekend, Michigan St. will be no pushover when they visit Columbus. The quarterback situation seems to have been figured out last week but young Braxton Miller hasn’t seen a defense quite like this yet. Miami did have a fast team on the defensive side of the ball but were undersized. He also didn’t have to face them for the whole game. MSU will be a different animal and a good measuring stick for the huge games that loom on the horizon.

Little bit faster than we thought

It will be nice to get back to league play and away from the Toledo’s and the Akron’s of the world. Big Ten football holds a special place in my heart. There is nothing quite like watching two teams for our great conference smack pads on a cool fall day. Much has been made of the Big Ten over the last decade. We are too slow. We don’t embrace change. The college game is passing us by. Blah, blah, blah. I still think our boys play the game the way it was meant to be played. I formations and 2 receiver sets still get the job done when plays are run correctly. I love this type of football and can’t wait for it to kick off again this Saturday. Go Bucks!