Zip for the Zips

Ohio State gave Luke Fickel a shutout victory in his bow as Buckeye head coach as Ohio State was never threatened in a 42-0 shutout of overmatched Akron.
Joe Bauserman tossed three touchdown passes to Jake Stoneburner and ran for another in his first start at OSU.
Ohio State hosts Toledo next week before a road trip to Miami.

Buckeye Leaves

1) Under Jim Tressel,every year it seemed that there was talk of getting the tight ends more involved in the offense and that never seemed to come to pass.
In that vein,it was nice to see Jake Stoneburner used in the passing game.
Stoneburner is difficult for a linebacker to cover and tough for a defensive back to tackle.
In a year with so many questions at wide receiver,Stoneburner could be a huge asset for the Buckeyes.

2) I thought Joe Bauserman looked pretty sharp and accurate with his passes and showed signs of being at least a decent game manager.
Unlike Todd Boeckman's run,a few years back,Bauserman should at least be able to make the throws.

3) I liked what I saw of Braxton Miller in the second half and at least early on in the season,this is exactly how I would like to see Miller used-Here and there to gain experience until he is ready to be the full time QB and if that means Bauserman plays well enough that Miller waits until next year,I am fine with that...

4) Running for over 200 yards is all well and good against Akron,but I would have liked to have seen a run longer than 24 yards against such opposition.
Perhaps that was because the speedier backs were on suspension,Jordan Hall (Gift bag from a breast cancer fundraiser) or nicked up Jamaal Berry,so I'll wait and see on the topic against Toledo next week.

5) Great pick on a tipped pass by Andrew Sweat,who's interception led to the third Buckeye touchdown that salted the game away for good.
Sweat is the OSU top hope as that veteran linebacker that glues everything together that they seem to have every year.

6) Thanks to the Columbus Dispatch for dropping this exchange from Lou Holtz on Mark May.
Too bad I missed this as I cannot stand Mark May and his relentless Ohio State and the Big Ten sucks schtick,but Uncle Lou put him in his place with number seven..

7)." Lou Holtz comes off as the crazy uncle who will say anything, but this time his anything was better than everything else spoken all day. As Mark May carped about how Ohio State was underachieving against Akron, Holtz quipped, “Jesus loves you; everyone else in Ohio thinks you’re an idiot.” Zing."
Count this person in Maryland as thinking that Mark May is an idiot too.....

8) Chris Spielman commented during the game on Braxton Miller perhaps being more skilled than Terrelle Pryor.
I'll wait to see Miller a bit more before that conclusion,but I will say this-I think Miller is going to be more of a passing threat than Pryor ever was and he looks to be just as fast as a runner,although not with the power that Pryor possessed....

9) I was asked by one reader on my prediction on the Buckeyes since I did not do a preview.
Let's go with this-Depending on the results of Miami's suspensions (what a joke the NCAA is),let's go either 10-2 or 9-3.
If Miami is as handicapped by their issues as Ohio State,I like the Buckeyes to win,but if the NCAA lets them off light for now,OSU could lose that one.
The other losses? Wisconsin at home and at Nebraska where Buckeye alum Bo Pelini will have the Huskers over the top in their first game in the conference against OSU.

10) Look for a tougher test next week from Toledo,who looks to be one of the MAC's better teams along with Miami (Ohio version) and Northern Illinois.
One of these days,the "wrong" MAC team is going to show up at the wrong time and bite the Buckeyes,I doubt this is the time,but Toledo might be in this one for a while.

Photo Credit:Marvin Fong-Cleveland Plain Dealer