7 in a Row

Greetings from chilly C-bus:

Where there are nothing but warm feelings for the Buckeyes today.

First, the Block O controversy. The 1942 tribute uniforms came with specially designed gloves that Nike manufactured to make an "O" when the hands are placed together in the manner demonstrated by a number of Buckeyes Saturday. When the uniforms were passed out last week, Coach Tressel even demonstrated to the team how to make the "O" with the gloves. My guess is that the gloves were trashed following the two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties assessed following two of the Buckeye touchdowns. However, two early Buckeye TDs also were followed by the Block O without penalty - one was by Dane Sanzenbacher, clearly caught on televised coverage. The still photos in today's Columbus Dispatch actually show the "O" quite clearly. The concept is pretty innovative ... good thing the game was not in doubt at the time the penalties were assessed, for the most part.

I am personally tired of the slow-start offense we've seen in the past several games. I know that Michigan tried to commit an extra man to the box to stop the run and that some early completions in the passing game would have forced Michigan to get honest on defense a lot earlier in the game. But we couldn't connect early. I continue to marvel at the Buckeyes inability to get things going early.

But when it came down to it, the Buckeyes rolled up 478 yards in total offense and they converted 10 of 18 third downs in the final tally.

Didn't feel like it.

Props to Boom Herron who amassed over 1000 yards on the season and finished with 175 yards on 22 carries including the long 89 that should have been 98. The 89 yards ties Gene Fekete for the longest run from scrimmage by a Buckeye. Should have been 98. The passing game was fairly evenly distributed among 5 receivers - Posey caught 5 for 82 yards and a TD, Saine had 4 catches for 11 total yards, and Sanzenbacher and Stoneburner had 3 apiece for 71 and 33 yards, respectively. Zach Boren had 2 for 10 yards ... and the fullback actually had a carry!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, for 2 yards. I still call for Zach to get the hand off much more often, but I still love zeroing in on his blocking. He gets more pancakes than Ihop.

Pryor was a respectable 18 of 27 for 220 yards passing and 2 TDs. He had 1 INT that Tressel took credit for in the interview at the half saying that he (Tress) was greedy going for the TD rather than the FG. Pryor also had 12 carries for 49 yards.

On the defense, Cam Heyward seemed to be under the skin of the Michigan offensive line all day. Cam actually had just 6 tackles but there were a lot of near-calls by the officials headed in his direction. Chimdi Chekwa, Ross Homan, Brian Rolle, and Jermale Hines - 4 seniors - had 8 tackles each. Rolle's speed was no match for Michigan's O line and he had 2 TFLs for 9 yards lost. Nathan Williams was also wreaking havoc and he had 2 TFLs for 12 yards. John Simon had another TFL and LB Andrew Sweat actually had 5 TFLs for a total of 2 yards (let's call those a few inches behind the line each). The list of defensive players with tackles in the game totals 24. It's great when the defense can go that deep into the roster in a Michigan game. Pretty much tells you that while the game at times felt closer, it was rarely in doubt.

And props to the defense for forcing three turnovers.

Special teams was special ... Jordan Hall's TD on the kickoff following Michigan's only score was probably the turning point in the game. The game was suddenly close and then, it wasn't. Michigan had just gone 80 yards in 11 plays for a score and Hall returns one 85 to immediately answer. That single play shut down any momentum that UM might have generated. Also, punter Ben Buchanan had a career long punt of 59yards and in 4 punts, he averaged a respectable 44.5 yards per punt.

So what does it all mean ... it means we win a stellar 6th Big Ten conference title. And it means, we wait. We wait about 2 weeks for a bowl bid and an opponent. The Rose Bowl seems unlikely. The Sugar Bowl, somewhat likely. The Orange Bowl, remote.

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!