Buckeyes blocked from Big Ten race

I am about to catch up on the weekends events with a series of posts over the next day.
Posts are coming on the Devils win in Washington,the Browns loss to the bottom dwelling Rams and the Seahawks upset win over Baltimore.
But first,Ohio State looked to be completing a comeback that would tighten the Big Ten race (Whatever their division is called) with an extra point boot against Purdue.
Alas,a block forced overtime where the Boilermakers touchdown trumped a Buckeye field goal and ended any OSU title hopes 26-23.
Ohio State falls to 6-4 on the season,still bowl eligible,but will need to defeat either Penn State or michigan in order to avoid a .500 season.

Buckeye Leaves

1) As I posted on Facebook (No Twitter for me),I hold Luke Fickell blameless for the blocked kick,but that kick likely eliminated any chance of his returning as the head coach next season.
I thought 9-3 would be the bar that Fickell needed to reach to have a chance at retaining the job and that went out the door with the blocked boot....

2) Braxton Miller did toss two touchdowns,but still just barely over 100 yards on the day.
The blame for that has to go to play caller Jim Bollman,who has abandoned any sort of daring or even the pretense of crossing patterns to try to open things.
Jim Bollman is one part of the Tressel era that I will not miss...

3) Boom Herron's run ended against Purdue as he finished with a little over sixty yards on the day.
All the blame cannot go on Herron as Purdue was putting as many as nine men in the box at times,showing that they had watched game film.
Ohio State was unable to make them pay for the strategy with an effective air game.

4) I wish I had counted the amount of missed Buckeye tackles in this game.
Suffice it to say,it would be high.
Simply poor tackling fundamentals...

5) Five Purdue sacks of Braxton Miller.
Considering the elusiveness of Miller,the high amount of sacks that are piling up on the frosh is alarming and will need to be addressed next season with seniors leaving the program that apparently are better than the reserves,yet allow high sack numbers....

6) Want evidence of the Bollman game plan?
Jake Stoneburner has the best hands on the team.
He also should be a valuable short to medium target for a young quarterback-zero catches,one ball thrown to him...

7) DeVier Posey returns for Penn State.
Does the fresh legs factor work for Posey as it did for Boom Herron?
Or is it that Braxton Miller cannot get the ball to him?
Or even that Jim Bollman will not open things up?
Beats me...

8) Second loss in two trips to West Lafayette.
Not sure why Purdue has stepped up as the average team to battle the Buckeyes tough,but my guess is the spread offense.
Not many Big Ten teams have used it and when Rich Rodriguez left michigan,one few team.
Like any offense,it is more effective when fewer teams use it...

9) Penn State in town next Saturday.
I'll miss the game live.
I'll be in Hershey to take a look at the Albany Devils,but I'll be here with a review of the tape,but here is hoping the Columbus crowd is fair to the Nittanys.
Be loud and let them hear,but be classy as possible.
They have enough problems without Buckeye fans adding to things...

10) Think the name Bruce Gaston (the Boilermaker kick blocker) is a name that Luke Fickell might remember for the next forty years????

Photo Credit-Chris Russell-Columbus Dispatch.