TCB...Buckeye Style

Ohio State - Iowa Observations

Overall
After watching the the #2 (in one poll) struggle on the road against a converted WR playing QB and the other #2 have a tough time in Pullman, the Buckeyes of Ohio State absolutely trunk-f*cked the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. That's right...a trunk-f*cking that was over after about the first 5 minutes of the game.

OSU Offense

• Antonio Pittman - He is just a tough runner. It helps when the O-Line is making holes on the left side of that Iowa D-Line that you could drive a dump through or around. Hell, I think that Kevin Grady could run through them if there werent any stray Rivas-donuts laying around the field. Earlier in the day, Lee "The ORACLE" Corso stated that he didnt think that Antonio could win a game for the Buckeyes....what an a$$hole.
• Troy Smith - Mr Heisman. I had heard that there were grumblings on some of the message boards (Namely..Oklahoma and Notre Dame) that Troy's stats were not Heisman-worthy. Well, there is only player that can win this year's Heisman with an unbelievable stat-line and his name is Garrett Wolfe...otherwise, it will be the player that makes unbelievable plays for a MNC contender. I mentioned earlier this year that Garrett would be the best back that the Buckeyes face (I dont want to hear about Michael Hart...start gaining your yards against a real defense...not Notre Dame and Vandy). Your Welcome.
• Anthony Gonzalez - Stud. Pretty soon teams will be keying on him instead of Ginn, which should lead to Ginn having some big days.
• Teddy Ginn - Not really understanding why he is having such a tough time catching the ball on punt returns. It is starting to feel like he is playing his way out of the first round, because he is not going be getting the ball from a better quarterback than Troy Smith at this level. His route running is better, but his receiving will not be the reason that he is a first round pick.
• O-Line - Geesh. Probably the most complete game by the OSU offensive line this year. The chemistry is finally starting to come together with this unit, and that is simply scary for opposing D-Coordinators.

OSU Defense

• Tough break with Anderson Russell. Sounds like he is out for the season. Nothing like having your ACL (speculation of course) blown out on a touchback. Looks like Jamario O'Neal is going to grow up in a hurry .
• Gholston is still unblockable...yet...still quite holdable. Did Iowa have a penatly? Ughh...Delaney...our officials reached for Pac-10 ineptitude status in this game. I hope that you dish out some punishments. Phantom PI calls on Iowa's first scoring drive, Drew Taint's Brady-ish fumble, and the ever-present Ginn incompletion on a play where not only did catch the ball and was down, but was speared on a late hit (yeah that wasnt called either)
• Laurinitis - One more interception. They are almost inevitable in every game now. Brian over MGoBlog will tell you that he is the fortunate receiver of a lot of lucky bounces, but I could use the same logic and tell you the entire D-Line for UM is the fortunate receiver of sacks due to an overblown schedule of patsies without a decent O-Line among them, but hey...that's just me.
• Mitchell and Smith - The old guys in the secondary are playing like Tressel always want his seniors to perform...by leading and setting the tone for the young guys.

Iowa Offense

• Drew Tate - He is a great QB. That is never in question, but his attitude has got to get old for the Iowa players...and fans. He is not a good teammate in the "fire of battle." He made up nice in the postgame interviews and pointed the finger at himself, but he needs to be a leader on the field...and keep his young receivers in the game...mentally.
• Albert Young - We didnt get to see him strut his stuff. Not surprising as the Buckeyes were up 14-3 early in the second quarter and Iowa was playing catch-up the entire game. Iowa was able to run the ball, but not consistently.

Iowa Defense

• Slow....really , really, really, slow. Iowa is a good team, but they are not elite. They had a chance on a national stage to make such a statement, but they were in shellshock after the first 10 minutes of the game.

Now OSU gets to play against themselves for the next 6 weeks. Complacency and health issues will give UM its only chance against OSU. Really, I know that UM is humming, but they havent faced a defense with a pulse. I want to see how they react to PSU in a few weeks where PSU will turn this game against UM into a one game season. We saw what Henne looked like as a freshman in the Shoe...he doesnt look that much better...unless he is playing against inferior competition, which has been every game this season, including Notre Dame.