Saturday is the annual day that the media proclaims one college football player top dog of his sport.  Its good to see a couple of new guys get their shot at the bronze stiff arm in “Big Suh” and Toby Gerhart, as well as knowing that Tim Tebow will most likely not win his second Heisman thus preserving the legacy of Archie for at least one more year.  Anyhoo, here’s the rundown on the finalists:

Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford:

• 311 attempts
• 1,736 yards
• 5.6 yards per carry average
• 26 TDs
• 0 Fumbles
• 10 receptions
• 149 yards

Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska:

• 82 tackles
• 47 solo tackles
• 12 sacks
• 1 interception

Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama:

• 249 carries
• 1,542 yards
• 6.2 yards per carry average
• 15 TDs
• 30 receptions
• 322 yards
• 3 TDs

Tim Tebow, QB, Florida:

• 182/279 passing (65.2%)
• 2,413 yards
• 18 TD, 5 INT
• 203 rushes
• 589 yards
• 13 TDs

Colt McCoy, QB, Texas:

• 330/468 passing (70.5%)
• 3,512 yards
• 27 TDs, 12 INT
• 128 rushes
• 348 yards
• 3 TDs

Now, who do I think should win the trophy?  Well, if I had a vote I’d cast it for either Ndamukong Suh or Toby Gerhart.  They both played like men among boys during their respective seasons, easily head and shoulders above anyone else at their positions this year in college football.  Who do I think will actually win?  Probably Mark Ingram.  He had a great performance in the SEC championship game on national TV and that game, coupled with his season stats, will probably catapult him to the stage on Saturday.

By now you know who is facing whom in all of the BCS games this year.  But for the record here is the rundown:

Sugar Bowl:

Cincinnati vs. Florida

Fiesta Bowl:

Boise State vs. Texas Christian

Orange Bowl:

Iowa vs. Georgia Tech

Rose Bowl:

Oregon vs. Ohio State

BCS National Championship Game:

Texas vs. Alabama

Well, as much as it would seem that the BCS hates the Big Ten, they’re one of only two conferences to get two teams into BCS bowls.  (Partially due to the two “mid-majors” in the Fiesta Bowl.)  I would love to see Texas beat Alabama because I really don’t like the SEC and never have, but I’m kind of getting tired of this whole “Big 12 vs. SEC” game for the national championship.  And I really don’t understand the Fiesta Bowl matchup.  I know both TCU and Boise have been trying to make a case to play for the title, but playing each other isn’t going to get it done.  If anything, I think the greatest interest would have come from switching TCU and Cincy in their respective bowl games.  But I digress.  For the state of Ohio football, I hope that Florida puts Cincinnati in their place by 30 and that Ohio State is able to muscle out a win against Oregon.  Tell me your predictions below in the comments section.

My history major brain is telling me that no Civil War battle ever took place in Oregon.  But, if this were 140 years ago we might be getting pretty close.  Oregon and Oregon State are currently locked in their annual Civil War.  I can’t imagine what those who are devout American-ites would be saying about the rivalry if it was as huge as, say…The Game.  But, I digress.  Oregon hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1995 and Oregon State hasn’t been there since 1964.  No matter who wins, our Buckeyes will be facing two teams who love to run the football and take it up and down the field.  Unfortunately for them, the Pac-10 has this nasty habit of not playing defense very well (part of the reason why USC has dominated the past decade).  Who would you rather see in Pasadena on January 1?  I was rooting for Arizona, but since that’s out of the question, I’ll go with Oregon State for a number of reasons.

Your’s truly just jumped in Mirror Lake for the first time in his life.  It was actually pretty warm.  The last two years it was snowing.  There was a newspaper photographer taking pictures there, so look for me in tomorrow’s Dispatch.  It may or may not happen.  In either case, LET’S BEAT MICHIGAN. (regardless of what terrelle pryor is doing after the last victory.)

I don’t want to jinx us with the picture, but the entire off-season, the entire regular season has led up to today (well, about 2 hours from today).  I will be live tweeting my thoughts and observations on the game, so if you’re a twitter fan pay attention.  Here’s to the first Rose Bowl in the new millennium.  Cheers.

Its game day.  Post your hate here.  I’ll be the first to say it, I hate the State Penn of Pennsylvania and I hope my roommates survive the trip to Happy Valley.

Now, bear with me a for a moment after what I’m about to say.  Terrelle Pryor has been pretty good passing the ball the last two games.  I mean good to the tune of 24/48 (50%), 374 yds, 3 TDs, and only 1 INT.  While the completion percentage doesn’t look quite like Colt McCoy’s the TD:INT ratio is where I like to see it.  Want to hear something more surprising than those numbers?  In the past two games, Pryor has only been sacked once.  Now, granted, one of these games was against New Mexico State, but that doesn’t mean that the starting 11 doesn’t have to go out there on Saturdays and do their jobs right.

Does anyone else see a correlation between the two stats?  Well, compare those numbers for the past two games with the Oct. 17 loss at Purdue.  Pryor was 17/31 (55%), 221 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs.  In addition, Pryor lost two fumbles.  And as for the offense line that game?  They gave up 5 sacks.  Yeah, I’m starting to see a pattern here.

It may be elementary that passers who get better protection are going to pass better, but Pryor has been taking heat all year for his throwing, but the fact of the matter is he’s been under pressure all year behind an offensive line that has been more porous than swiss cheese.  Now this doesn’t absolve Pryor from all the blame, but surely it at least covers some of it.  I would love to have some numbers on the amount of time Pryor has had from the snap of the ball until he throws or is forced to scramble/roll out because of pressure.  But as a college kid who lives off of $60 every two weeks for groceries, I’m not really in the market for a DVR.

However, what I will be doing this weekend as I’m downing Budweiser’s watching the game from the comfort of my living room is taking the time and effort to calculate that exact stat for examination.  Make a mental note of it yourself, if Pryor is given ample time in which to make a decision about where he should throw or whether he should tuck it and run without being chased from the backfield by a defensive lineman or a blitzing linebacker he should have games comparable to his last two and the team will have a greater chance of coming out of Happy Valley with a Happy W.

I said in my last post that we were definitely going to beat Purdue and there was no chance of an upset.  But that is just the game that college football is.  The intangibles mean more to college football than any other sport: turnovers, momentum, home/away.

So now many of you are asking: now what?  I read comments saying that its only a matter of time before we as Ohio State fans realize that Tressel is only a glorified version of John Cooper, that he’ll never win the big game (Cooper’s being Michigan, Tressel’s being Top 5 opponents obviously).  Ohio State is no longer the highest rated team from the state of Ohio, and that is something that some of us never dreamed we’d see.  Terrelle Pryor seems to be taking two steps forward and three steps back, week after week.  So that leaves many of us scratching our heads, where does the Ohio State program go from here?

Forward.  As a fanbase, as a team, as a coaching staff.  I know we can still win the Big Ten this year and it could still realistically happen.  And if we do, we’re going to the Rose Bowl where maybe, just maybe we’ll be able to beat a big name team for the first time in a long time.  And if that happens, hallelujah, all is saved.  But in all reality, if this team plays every week like they did last weekend at Purdue, they’re not going to come close to winning the Big Ten.  But there’s still hope for this team.  I know you’re saying that this team has a lot of potential, and a lot of talent, and that a lot of  it is being wasted.  But there’s still a lot of growing left to do on this team.  Hell, Terrelle Pryor is younger than I am.

Some people have said that Pryor should be benched, or maybe he should be moved to wide receiver.  Doing either of those, in my opinion would be a big, big mistake.  Pryor is not the only guy on this team who has not stepped up this year.  There’s the offensive line who hasn’t provided and adequate blocking game in what seems like my lifetime.  There’s a young wide receiver corps from which no go-to guy has really emerged yet.  But I think worst of all is the fact that the stigma that is haunting this team is really starting to get to the players.  Tressel would never say it and neither would any of his players, but I think this Ohio State team is really feeling like they’re in a make-or-break situation in terms of national perception.  So maybe the best thing for this team would be to finish third in the Big Ten.  Try their luck in a bowl game in which they don’t have to play a Top 5 team, where there’s not a large national audience watching them and try to build some momentum for next year.  I feel like this year is starting to become comparable to 2004, an 8-4 year ending with a trip to the Alamo Bowl, but one that culminated with an offensive explosion against both Michigan and Oklahoma State (even without Troy Smith).  What happened the year after that?  A Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame.  And the year after that?  A trip (albeit a forgettable one) to the National Championship Game.

So maybe it takes a step back year to provide real progress for the future.  Hell, it worked for the 2004-2006 teams.  And knowing Tressel, he’s not going to let guys quit this year or any year in the near future when things look bleak.  Eventually, he will find a way for this offense to truly click on all cylinders with the guys he has now, the guys he will get in the following years, and without those who are leaving.  He’s done it before, but college football is a team game that can take a year or two to perfect with personnel.  Even I’ll admit that a loss to Purdue last weekend was unacceptable.  But if it helps take this team to a more positive place with a more determined work effort, then it was a good loss.

If you remember correctly, last week I said that we’d learn a lot about the Buckeyes next two opponents, Purdue and Minnesota, because the two were to play each other that Saturday.  So, what did we learn?

Purdue: Pretty much…this is a bad team.  Now 1-5 with no hope of becoming bowl eligible this year, the Boilers will probably find themselves looking up from the bottom of the Big Ten standings come years end.  I don’t really know what else to say about this team; they do still like to throw the ball and did so to the tune of 299 passing yards last week.  But then again, there were also two interceptions by Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott.  Also, there is still some quick offensive production available as evidenced by the fact that Purdue jumped out to a 10-0 1st quarter lead last week…but then there’s the defense which took that 10-0 score and managed to give up 28 points to the Gophers over the next three (in reality, two) quarters.  So is there anything to worry about this weekend’s game?  Nah,  Elliott will be facing off against one of the best secondaries he’s seen all year and the pressure that the defensive line is going to put on him will probably end with him throwing up to 4 INTs.

Minnesota: I think this team is a lot better than a lot of people give them credit for.  Granted, every bit of analysis I may have to offer about them may be skewed by the fact that Purdue is not a good football team, but there are still some things this team can do right…and wrong.  Minnesota, unlike Purdue, favors the ground game; and it showed last week as they racked up 207 yards on 44 carries last week.  The D will have to show up in a major way in two weeks in order to limit this ground game.  For as good as the gophers are at running the ball, they aren’t that great at throwing it.  Adam Weber threw for just 75 yards last week with two interceptions and only five completions.  Derek Anderson-esque numbers.  But the win did allow Minnesota to run their record to 4-2 and they have a real good shot to make a decent bowl game.  Ohio State’s biggest advantage in this game might be the fact that it will take place in Ohio Stadium.  I feel like Minnesota is looking for a marquee win to mark the opening season of it’s new outdoor stadium, but that won’t be us.  Will Ohio State win this game?  Yes.  But it could be a lot closer than you think.

Ohio.  Its getting a tid bit nipply outside in Columbus these days, but that’s not going to keep the action and the competition from heating up in Ohio Stadium (and Happy Valley) for the rest of the season.  Here’s my look at the rest of the Big Ten schedule for the Buckeyes from where they stand right now.

Wisconsin, 10/10/09, Home: The Badgers are coming into this Saturday’s game a rather impressive 5-0, including a win over an always dangerous Fresno State team, even if it was only by a field goal.  A three point victory over Minnesota coupled with that OT victory against Fresno State is probably the only reason why the Badgers aren’t ranked in the (AP) Top 25.  And some people thought Brett Bielema’s job was in jeopardy, psh.  One thing we always know about the Badgers, they like to run the football, and they do it well.  They’re currently 14th in the nation in rushing and will be facing off against Ohio State’s 10th ranked running defense.  This is gonna be a good ol’ fashioned Big Ten grind-em-out kinda game.  Look for Pryor’s ability to scramble and make plays with his feet to be the difference maker in this game.

Purdue, 10/17/09, Away: Your’s truly was personally in attendance for the drubbing that was laid down on the Boilers in 2007.  365 days later, and it was the polar opposite as Ohio State struggled to move the ball on offense and was “saved” by Malcolm Jenkins’ blocked punt.  Gambler’s fallacy would tell you “well, we’re bound to break out for a big game then this year.”  Eh, probably, but don’t count your chickens before they hatch.  While Purdue is only 1-4 and an abysmal 1-3 at home, they did come close to beating both Oregon and Notre Dame.  Watch out as always for the Boiler offense, they currently average 30.2 ppg and over 400 total yds/game. Yikes.

Minnesota, 10/24/09, Home: I really don’t know what to think about this Gopher team.  They win a close one on the road against Syracuse, win their home opener against Air Force and then proceed to drop two out of their next three (@Cal, vs. Wisconsin).  They’re only averaging 96 yds/gm on the ground and 25.4 ppg, but I still have this nagging feeling that somewhere inside of them they have a breakout, once-a-season game.  Let’s just hope its not on October 24th.  We’ll definitely learn a lot more about the two aforementioned teams this weekend, as they meet in Minny.

New Mexico State, 10/31/09, Home: Ah how college kids love Halloween (probably more so than 5 year-olds, and that might be a little creepy).  On a day just fit for an upset I just don’t see it happening.  The Aggies are 2-3 and are looking up from the bottom of a very bad WAC standings sheet.  Plus, they only average 15.2 ppg. Add in the fact that most of the crowds these kids will play against this year will probably total what they’re going to see in the ‘Shoe and we may just have a third shutout on our hands.

Penn State, 11/07/09, Away: Now its starting to get good.  Happy Valley, 8 o’clock kick off, white out; yup, smells like Penn St./Ohio State.  After an early loss to Iowa Penn State will be looking to re-insert itself into the Big Ten Championship discussion and a win against the Buckeyes would go a long way in doing so, even if it would be hoping for a co-championship at best.  Forget the stats and the teams, this game is probably going to come down to pure heart.  Can Darryl Clark look like the one that won last year in the ‘Shoe?  Can Pryor forget his fumble that changed last year’s game?  Can Joe Paterno stay on the sidelines for the entire first half without having to run to the locker room?  All these questions and more will be answered on the first Saturday in November.

Iowa, 11/14/09, Home: Assuming Ohio State can come away from Pennsylvania with a win, this will be the game of the year in the Big 10 (assuming, of course, Iowa doesn’t lose twice between now and then).  Kirk Ferentz is a marvelous coach who has done wonders with the Iowa program over his tenure, making sure they are competitive in each and every  big game they play in.  Iowa boasts a very balanced offense along with a staunchy D that is only giving up 13.4 ppg. Couple in the fact that there could be some hangover after a potential win in Happy Valley and this game has all the makings of a classic.

M*chigan, 11/21/09, Away: A roommate of mine recently told me that Michigan no longer looks at The Game as the biggest game of the year, instead, they’d rather beat Michigan State.  I think that may have something to do with Tressel’s record against the Maize and Blue over the years.  Believe me, there would be nothing better for the University of Michigan, Rich Rodriguez, the fanbase, and the rivalry than a victory over the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor…just, not this year.  Call me in two years, we’ll talk then.  Again, throwout the stat books and the standings, this is The Game.

Overall: The path between October and November is certainly going to be a long one for the Buckeyes, after this weekend’s clash with Wisconsin I think the team could ease off the accelerator and still be undefeated in conference play going into the Penn State game.  But that three game stretch is going to be as brutal as any that any team will play this year; yes, that means even you, Florida.