Monday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye fans. It was another long weekend for our Buckeyes as yesterday they fell to Wisconsin for another loss at home this season.

After the Senior Day loss, the Buckeyes look to finish out the regular season with one more match up against Northwestern (at home) and Michigan State (at Michigan State).

Soon after that it's on to tournament madness! Let's get on with the Bits.

NFL Combine Is Surprising, At Least. Former Buckeyes Mike Adams, Michael Brewster, Dan Herron and DeVier Posey completed their work at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis over the weekend.

Adams, produced one of the most disappointing performances, with 19 reps on the bench press to go along with a terrible 5.40 mark in the 40-yard dash, even though it might not mean too much, being an offensive lineman. Brewster put up 29 reps on the bench and clocked a 5.35 40 at 6'2", 312.

Herron clocked a 4.66 in the 40, which is not as good as he was hoping for as a running back.

Posey turned in a 4.50, which doesn't really seem to be accurate in my opinion. Interestingly enough, Posey's unofficial time was a 4.37 40. You have to wonder which is his real true speed.

Some Tests Are Too Easy

Ed. Note: Our friend ProveIt has accepted to share some knowledge with the rest of us in form of a guest post. Be sure to tell him what you think of his article!
Did your favorite sports site or sports writer get all excited when the BCS proposed eliminating AQ status? Well, so did I!


Was he excited when he quoted Delany as open to the idea? Well, so was I!

Does he claim it would create more opportunities for mid majors, would create fewer lopsided match ups, or would open the top bowls to everyone? If so, it’s time to find a new favorite writer.


The proposal to the BCS
Remove the 4 bowls from the BCS. The NCG would be maintained as a separate bowl, and the only bowl under BCS control. BCS AQ status is eliminated. BCS ranking would only be pertinent to the title game. The NCG might be freed to market its location much like the Super Bowl.

Delany stated here "As long as I can go to the Rose Bowl, I'm OK without automatic bids. If (CUSA commissioner) Brit doesn't want automatic bids, that's fine with me. And if he doesn't want me to have one that's OK, as long as I can go to Pasadena. If they (CUSA and MWC commissioners) are saying, essentially, let the system be market based, I can't object to that." This is the closest you may ever see Delany understating his support for an idea.

Recap: Ohio State 37, Colorado 17

Miller had 83 yards rushing

The Miller era has begun in Columbus, Ohio. After being announced that true freshman Braxton Miller would be starting the game against Toledo on Thursday of this past week, you could expect the youngster to have some nerves before and during the first couple of minutes of the game. It showed on the first drive, after Miller fumbled a snap, but was soon taken care of thanks to forcing a quick 3 and out from our defense. That's when Miller seemed like a different person, a calm and collected QB that was able to rush where he wanted when he wanted. Against Colorado (1-3), Miller went 5/13 (38% completion percentage) for 83 yards, but had 2 beautiful touchdown strikes to his main target this season, Devin Smith.

Troy Smith had Ted Ginn and Anthoney Gonzalez as his targets, while Boeckman had Robiskie, and Terrelle Pryor had Posey and Sanzenbacher. It seems like the new connection is Miller to Smith, who paired up 3 times. He finished with 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Reid Fragel was Miller's other target, who he only found once, but the majority of the play-calling was in favor of Braxton's legs. Of course, handing the ball of is also important when you have the thunder-lightning combo of Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde. Hall, who amassed 231 all purpose yardage, with 84 of that coming on the ground. He also had two long kickoff returns, 1 which was called back while the other was stopped short inside the 5-yard line. Carlos Hyde only had 6 carries to Hall's 18, but still managed to get 40 yards out of it, and a touchdown that sealed the deal for Ohio State (3-1) later in the game.

When Colorado came into the 'Shoe, they didn't run their offense like they wanted to. Early on pressure from the defense didn't allow much to happen on the offensive side of the ball for the Buffs, including not rushing Rodney Stewart as much as they should have, which is one their strong suits. Eventually on long drives quarterback Tyler Hansen was able to float 2 touchdowns over the top of Buckeye defense, but they didn't use the screen until late in the game (Ironically, when things were moving well for the Buffs) which might prove to be an Achilles heel for this defensive secondary. Michigan State next week will be sure to watch the film and take advantage of situations like this. Colorado truthfully had a chance to make this game competitive, but misfortune fell when they stepped on their own feet by turning the ball over twice, and not doing well on special teams.