No White Out This Time

Though Ohio State holds the series edge since Penn State entered the Big Ten conference, Happy Valley has been a horror show of sorts for the Buckeyes. That includes the last time OSU visited State College in 2005. Just a few weeks removed from a heartbreaking home loss to Texas, the Buckeyes lost to an excellent but not superior Penn State team that ended up with just one loss. Though the defense was stout, Troy Smith had two key tornovers and the offensive gameplan was extremely conservative. But what people remember from that game was the "white out"; a riled up student section dressed in all white, loud enough to impact the game.

Fast forward to last night. Ohio State has not lost a regular season game since that ugly night in 2005, though there was that little speed bump in Glendale in January. We know Penn State treats the OSU game, above any other, like its annual Super Bowl. And surely the PSU fans would be ready to roll after a day of tailgating. But the Buckeyes dominated Penn State 37-17, and again are in control of their championship destiny. A few quick notes:

*The offensive line had its best team performance since the Washington game. Penn State has a number of talented pass rushers, including Maurice Evans, but Todd Boeckman had all day to find his stable of receivers.

*Jake Ballard and Rory Nicol are becoming factors as a TE tandem. Largely ignored last year, they are seing an increasing amount of targets - take that, Kevin Koger.

*I worry about the predictability of some of our play calls, especially the desire to run Brian Hartline on that in/cross route on third downs. But there were some nice wrinkes in last night's gameplan. And you have to be impressed with Tressel for continuing to pressure the defense with shots down the field.

*This WR trio of Brian Robiskie, Hartline and Ray Small is very impressive. Should Robiskie stay next year and if Small remains healthy, they have to be considered one of the most dangerous and diverse in the nation.

*How about a little love for Ryan Pretorius, who booted 3 FG's, including a 50 yarder to start the game? I truly believe that was a critical 3 points, but Penn State was jacked up at that point. Getting some points on the board, especially since PSU scored on the ensuing drive, was very important.

*Kick and punt return coverage remain a problem, and something that needs to be fixed asap. There have been way too many big play against these units this year. Some of that is due to inexperience, but at this stage of the season it's troubling.

*Little Animal versus Dan Conner. Blaah. Neither one was particularly impressive to me. Marcus Freeman was actually the best linebacker for the Buckeyes last night, as he continues to show improvement each week. Run defense is a huge concern at this point, as multiple running backs have shown an ability to rip off chunks of yardage. When we face classless, loudmouth Mike Hart, they'll need to step it up.

*The defensive line wasn't dominant but did it's job. Vernon Gholston showed some nice bursts of speed, and true freshman Cameron Heyward is making a big splash with Lawrence Wilson still on the shelf. I'm truly shocked that he's outperforming Robert Rose.

*Nice game for the entire defensive backfield. Safeties Anderson Russell and personal favorite Kurt Coleman were all over the field making big hits. And the coverage from Malcolm Jenkins, Donald Washington, and redshirt freshman Chimdi Chekwa was impressive. Though Anthony Morelli tends to make a lot of secondaries look good.