It's Miller Time: Go Ahead Hail Mary Beats Wisconsin

Here's the play that will go down in Buckeye history. True freshman Braxton Miller on the sideline all the way to Devin Smith, another true freshman receiver. Both guys never gave up on the play, setting in motion one of the craziest games and plays of recent memory for Ohio State football.

Live Blog: Ohio State vs. #15 Wisconsin

Join us at 7:45 PM EST when the Buckeyes host the #15 ranked Wisconsin Badgers on ABC!

Preview: Ohio State vs. #15 Wisconsin

Bucky is invading the 'Shoe

The Buckeyes host the Badgers at 8 PM EST tomorrow night at the 'Shoe, and have had 2 weeks to prepare for this battle. Along the way, OSU officials have said that they will be honoring Eddie George at halftime, and they want a "Scarlet Out" to occur among the fans.

Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1) comes into this match up after falling to an instant classic Hail Mary play at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans. Ohio State (4-3, 1-2) got off with a BYE week, and had extra time to prepare a course of attack against this underrated Badger defense. The last time the Buckeyes played, was when they upset then undefeated 6-0 Illinois, which has lost it's past two games, including the one to Ohio State. OSU's ability to run the ball might be in danger tonight, for Bret Bielema is no fool, and will try and make Braxton Miller throw the ball again tonight.

National CFB Games This Weekend: Recap

Cousins made the catch of the day

This weekend was one of the craziest as far as upsets go so far this year. I had picked a total of 5 games this weekend that were the largest games of interest. I ended up going 3-2, with my losses being picking Wisconsin over Michigan State and Oklahoma over Texas Tech. Let's get to the recaps of those games:

Last Week's Record: 0-0
This Week's Record: 3-2
Season Record: 12-6 (66% correct)

Texas Tech 41, #3 Oklahoma 38 (0-1 This Week)
Texas Tech dominated this game throughout the first and second half, but couldn't quite clamp the Sooners late in the fourth quarter, almost giving them a chance to comeback. The good news is that the Red Raiders held on after blitzing the Sooners defense and racking up 572 yards of total offense. My Prediction Was: Oklahoma Wins 44-21


North Carolina 38, #9 Clemson 59 (1-1 This Week)
Tajh Boyd had 367 yards passing and 5 TD's as he led the Tigers to a big win over a pretty good North Carolina team. Clemson keeps on winning, and they might be going places, including the BCS. My Prediction Was: Clemson Wins 31-21

A Long Way To Go

Miller showed he can compete

I don’t know if I would feel better today about a complete blowout in Lincoln, NE or the way things really went down on Saturday night. On one hand, the offense looked fairly competent during the first half giving me hope for the future. On the other hand, coping with complete melt-downs like the one witnessed in the 4th quarter are a really tough pill to swallow.

Braxton Miller finally showed glimpses of what may be in store for OSU during the first 30 minutes on Saturday night. He looked more comfortable in the pocket and appeared to know when to scramble to pick up crucial first downs. His throws were much better than in previous weeks and it really looked like the rout was on when the Bucks pushed the lead to 27-6 early in the third quarter. Then Braxton showed that he is still 18 years old and gave Nebraska a cheap touchdown with a fumble deep in Buckeye territory. Things would go downhill quickly from there. The offense completely abandoned the things that were working for most of the game and the defense also began to show signs of panic.

Hopes And Fears: Illinois

Wow, that Nebraska game was an ugly loss. We looked so good in the first half and so bad in the second half. I understand how important a QB is, especially a starting QB having a good game, but losing him should cause the defense to completely fold, and yep in the second half the silver bullets were more like empty blanks. Now, it is on to Champaign to play Illinois, a game that I really want to win. First of all my wife went to U of I, so we have house bragging rights, and I live in Chicago, so I deal with all kinds of Illinois fans, I really don’t want to lose!!

Now on to my hopes and fears for the game. I believe that my hopes and fears are essentially the same thing in this game. First of all, I hope Miller does not get hurt again, because I fear we will have to see Joe Bauserman again. 

Preview: Ohio State vs. Michigan State

Can Braxton find his receivers? 

Ohio State (3-1) and Michigan State (3-1) are both unranked for losing at the wrong times, to the wrong teams. OSU losing just two weeks ago to Miami (Fl.) and Michigan State losing a crazy game to Notre Dame. Now, both are on the verge of being ranked again but need to open up the Big Ten season with a win. That won't come easily for either team as the Buckeyes are scrappy with young freshman Braxton Miller in at quarterback after making his first start just one week ago. Michigan State has a lot of veterans that look to make an impact in the opening day of B1G conference play and to make a national statement in the 'Shoe. Ohio State owns a 27-12 series lead over Michigan State, which includes seven straight wins over the Spartans. The teams haven't played since 2008, when Beanie Wells was stiff-arming people all over the place.


There is no shortage of talent at the offensive skill positions on either squad, although the Buckeyes do have less experince. MSU QB Kirk Cousins, who has completed 69.2% of his passes for 947 yards and 5 TD's compared to 2 INT's. The ground attack is nothing to skim over, thought, with Le'Veon Bell having 217 yards and six TD's while the "main" man coming into the season, Edwin Baker, has 216 yards on the ground. Both are capable backs, and are something the Silver Bullets need to watch out for in this very balanced offense. 

What Went Right/Wrong: Colorado

You could say Brutus was happy

The Buckeyes bounced back in their fourth game of the season, as they took on the Buffaloes of Colorado. After suffering their first loss to the hands of the Hurricanes (Who got beat the next weekend by undefeated Kansas State), Luke Fickell and the coaching staff finally decided to start true freshman quarterback Braxton Miller. For Buckeye fans across the nation, it was finally Miller's time to shine, and we would get to see how a whole playbook would look like under his reins. A solid 37-17 win showed a couple of things from the offense, as well as the defense. While the win may not have looked so grand on the television, the fact of the matter is that Ohio State scored 20 more points than the Buffaloes, with a freshman quarterback with no real playing experience other than a couple designed runs against Miami, one of which ended in a turnover.

This week might prove to be will be a real Big Ten test for the Buckeyes, who are headed into conference play with a 3-1 (0-0) record. Starting off for Ohio State they meet the Michigan State Spartans in the 'Shoe. After that, they travel to Lincoln to take on the new-comers to the B1G, Nebraska. For now, though, they have to set their sights on MSU, and to do that, they'll have to improve on some things from the Colorado game. With that, let's take a look at what went right and wrong for the Buckeyes on Saturday. 

Who you got?: #7 Ohio State vs. #20 Iowa

Ian: 17-13, Ohio State - It's going to be a defensive football game, and OSU's secondary almost loses Ohio State the game. Luckily, Pryor has a late minute, game-winning drive to seal the victory. Kinnick Stadium will be loud, though, and this was a tough pick.


SBB: 38-20, Ohio State - Let me start off by saying that to this point Iowa SHOULD BE A 4 LOSS TEAM at this point in the season. Typical of Iowa, they came in ranked high and collapsed for no apparent reason. Now that bye week madness is over, I expect the Buckeyes to come out fired up and unaffected by the pink locker room. The defense, mainly the secondary needs to play well, but it all starts up front. Can our front 4 get pressure on Stanzi and force mistakes? I think so, at least enough to make a difference. Boom goes for 100+ again and opens it up for the pass game.

Brady: 27-17, Ohio State -  Iowa will probably be pretty fired up with the Buckeye's visiting Iowa City this weekend.  Coming off a loss, I expect Iowa to throw everything they have at Ohio St.  Some big plays by the Buckeye offense and an untimely pick for Stanzi will be the difference.  A tough one, but the good guys come out on top.

Danny: 20-17, Ohio State - This is a tough game for me to pick.  If the Buckeyes that played the second half against Penn State show up, Ohio State wins.  If they come out slow like against Penn State, this will be Wisconsin all over again.  The O-line will have their hands full, and I don't see Sonic Boom getting anywhere close to the 190 yards he picked up this week.  This game will be won/lost by Terrelle Pryor.

Representing: Indiana

The Hoosiers are coming to C-Bus, and The Crimson Quarry was nice enough to answer our weekly questions.

1. Right now, how do you feel about where the Hoosiers are as a team?

I really don't know.  Ever since the 2009 loss to Michigan, I and most IU fans had been anticipating this year's Michigan game and viewed it as an opportunity for a signature win.  It was an opportunity, but not a win.  Last year's team was mostly competitive but failed to finish games.  The 2009 Hoosiers haven't had much opportunity, other than the Michigan game, to prove anything, and won't for a while.  IU's three pre-conference games were easy wins.  The Ohio State game is a likely loss.  Arkansas State is a likely win.  I don't expect to have a read on this team until after they have played Illinois and Northwestern on October 23 and October 30.  

2. Ben Chappell is good, but who else do they build around?

Chappell is very good and experienced, and IU's receiving corps, led by Tandon Doss, Terrance Turner, and Damarlo Belcher, is among the best in the conference.  Darius Willis hasn't been the most consistent back, but he played well against Michigan.  

3. What has to happen for Ohio State to beat Indiana, and vice versa?
For IU to upset the #2 team in the nation on the road would require a number of things to happen.  IU would have to comfortably win the turnover battle despite having shown nothing on defense so far, and would have to continue to score points against the first legitimate defense that IU has faced this season. OSU simply has to take care of the ball and play conservatively.

4. Will Bill Lynch throw his gum at someone?

I hope so.  A gum throw would be indicative of a bad call in a close game, and it's been a long time since IU has been in a close game with the Buckeyes.  

5. How will Indiana finish the season? (W/L, Bowl Game?)

I think the most likely finish is 6-6 (2-6) and a minor bowl bid, but again, I still don't have a great read on this team.  I can picture anything from 4-8 to 8-4.  The games against Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, and Penn State are the most important, in my mind.