State of the Buckeyes: Ohio State's First Half in Review

The first half-way decent opponent OSU faced, the Huskies still couldn't find enough offensive fortitude to put an "L" in the Bucks' record.  The OSU rushing game really came together nicely with a total of 263 yards on the ground, led by two strong backs—Chris Wells (24 carries, 135 yards) and Brandon Saine (9, 83).  Now Washington stands with record of 2-4. 

But check out the Huskies' other losses: UCLA (44-31), No. 1 USC (27-24), and No. 14 Arizona St. (44-20)—not too unimpressive, and almost knocking off the then-No. 1 USC.  Where was the press on that?

Week 4: OSU (#8) vs  Northwestern (W, 58-7)

This was a breakout week, showing the familiar, balanced, Tressel-driven offense: 205 passing yards and 191 rushing yards, for a total of 396 yards. 

An emerging star at WR, Brian Robiskie really showed up with 89 yards and three touchdowns.  The guy looked about as impressive as any Ted Ginn performance I've seen (note "about").  Wells' performance was notable as well, with 12 carries totaling 100 yards (8.9 avg.).  And it would be a crime to not mention the guy who has so far proved to be an efficient replacement to No. 10—Todd Boeckman (11/14, 179 yards, 4 TD).

I don't want to get into a whole bunch of defensive stats, because in most games they are pretty staggering.  But I have to mention Northwestern's 33 rush attempts for a total of zero yards.  That's impressive no matter who you are playing. 

Northwestern now stands at 4-3, with a notable win over Michigan State.

Week 5: OSU (#8) vs Minnesota (W, 30-7)

For the first time in the season, the Buckeye offense carried just as big a load, if not bigger, than the defense.  This game showed some vulnerability in the OSU pass defense, as the Gophers put up 232 passing yards.  However, the "D" figured out a way to keep all that passing yardage in between the end zones, allowing only seven points.  Minnesota now stands at 1-6.

Week 6: OSU (#4) vs Purdue (#23) (W, 23-7)

The Bucks' faced their first ranked opponent and largest test to date in Purdue at West Lafayette.  The Bucks unveiled a pretty impressive WR core in Robiskie, Ray Small and Brian Hartline, who all had comparable numbers.  Boeckman threw three interceptions, two of which were more like long punts, pinning the Boilermakers inside their own 10 each time.  The defense continued its dominance, allowing just 4 yards rushing.

This could have been argued as the Buckeyes' first quality win. But Purdue's performance in Week Seven—losing to Michigan 48-21—sort of discredited that notion. (Or was it just a resurgent Michigan team?) Purdue now stands 5-2. 

Week 7: OSU (#3) vs Kent State (W, 48-3)

What can I say? OSU's sixth ho-hum opponent out of seven.  Honestly, as much as I like to see the Buckeyes win, even I hate playing all these terrible teams.  In my opinion, it is really the only argument that fuels those who think OSU shouldn't be No. 1.  Tentatively, I have to sort of agree.  Anyway it was a blowout, as expected. Kent St. is now 3-4.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?