Still standing! Ohio State holds on 42-41

The Ohio State Buckeyes took the best shot from a rival that entered the day disappointed and left it the same way despite a grand effort as the Buckeyes moved to 12-0 with a 42-41 victory over Michigan!
Carlos Hyde smashed his way through the blue defense for 226 yards and the game-winning score while Braxton Miller threw for three scores and ran for two more as the Buckeyes maintained their undefeated record going into the Big 10 title game next weekend against the once-beaten Michigan State Spartans.....

Olentangy Offerings

1) Off the stick, as thrilled as I was to see Auburn dump Alabama and possibly give the Buckeyes their shot at the national title,I knew what was coming.
Should one loss Auburn leap over the Buckeyes into the number two?
My short answer is no. Undefeated is undefeated and for all the pounding that the media gives the Buckeyes for their non-conference schedule, Auburn wasn't playing Murderer's Row.

2) Hate to start off with a bad point, but boy did Luke Fickell's defense play poorly in this one.
Bad tackling and what seemed to be major problems stopping the screen pass (Bet on Michigan State practicing that all week) made the mediocre Devin Gardner look like a Hall of Famer.
I appreciate Fickell's contributions to the program as a player and getting the program through a rough time, but he might be better suited to making a move elsewhere...

3) Give Brady Hoke some credit.
I hate his braggadocio for a guy who hasn't won anything, but he had his team fired up and ready to play with a tremendous effort.

4) If I were a fan of the team up north, I would applaud Hoke for going to the well for the two-pointer and the win, but question the play call.
Hoke had to realize that overtime would favor OSU, who was killing their defense on the ground and saw their best chance to win was there and now, so I agreed with that call.
Where Hoke went wrong was the play when the screen and option had befuddled the Buckeyes all day long.
He played right into the Buckeye's hands, Thanks!

5) Carlos Hyde is a first-round running back.
I made the statement in the past that the oft-injured Jordan Hall was the team's best back.

I was wrong. Hyde might not be the fastest or the strongest, but his combination of the two reminds me of Eddie George,

6) Another thing I love about Hyde?
After his fumble that came after carrying defenders down the field with loads of extra effort, he was clearly upset on the sidelines, but not in an out-of-control manner.
If Hyde can show the same composure off the field, I'd love to see him as a Brown.

7) The fight.
I can understand Dontre Wilson getting fired up and tossed, but Marcus Hall wasn't even on the field!
Dumb play from a senior and as much as I can understand Hall's wanting to flip the bird to the fans, who I'm sure were not friendly, he shouldn't have done it.
It reflects badly on the program and university...

8) The Buckeye offensive line was the major factor in this game.
The loss of Hall, I thought could be major, and yet the big boys did not skip a beat and the play of the offensive line had to have influenced Brady Hoke's decision to go for two.

9) Carlos Hyde is the first-ever Buckeye with over 220 yards in a game twice in a season.
If Hyde hadn't missed those first few games due to off-the-field issues, Hyde would have won the Heisman....

10) Now it is the Spartans of Michigan State standing between Ohio State and BCS glory.
The Spartans have just one loss and lost by just one point to the Buckeyes last season in East Lansing.
A win over Sparty would add some points to the computer ratings that were lost with Wisconsin losing to Penn State yesterday.
Looks like a good one in Indy next week, despite the presence of Gus Johnson...

Photo Credits: Cleveland Plain Dealer