Posted by Tom Fornelli

Ohio State has had a hard time getting anything going against Illinois all day, and things just got a bit harder.  After scrambling for a few yards Buckeyes quarterback, and Heisman candidate, Terrelle Pryor went to the ground untouched and stayed there.  After a minute or two he got to his feet and walked to the Ohio State sidelines with the help of two members of the coaching staff.

After being attended to on the bench Pryor walked to the locker room under his own power.  He has not returned to the game and has been replaced by Joe Bauserman.

UPDATE: After a few minutes in the locker room, Pryor came running out to the sidelines and has returned to the game.  He had suffered from what Buckeyes coaches called a mild left quad strain.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

I'm not sure what it is with Illinois that always proves so problematic for Ohio State, but the struggles are continuing today.  The Buckeyes are up 14-10 at the half, but for the first time this season they allowed their opponent to score first when Illinois forced a three and out from Ohio State to start the game, and then put together a nine-play drive that resulted in a touchdown.

The Buckeyes didn't waste time tying the game up when a 66-yard run by Terrelle Pryor set up an easy 8-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Saine.   Still, Illinois would take the lead back with a field goal -- the Illini also missed another field goal attempt -- and it wasn't until the final minute of the half that Pryor found Dane Sanzenbacher for a touchdown to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game.

It wouldn't be fair to say it's been a sloppy game from the Buckeyes, though they have had some issues on the offensive line, as Pryor has been sacked a few times and hurried into other throws.  To me, though, Ohio State looked more like a team that was just expecting to show up in Champaign and beat Illinois.  As if the Buckeyes thought that by simply being the better team they were going to win.

Which is a very dangerous attitude to have, and not one I'd expect from a team coached by Jim Tressel.   If the Buckeyes don't wake up and start taking Illinois seriously in the second half then, crazy as it sounds, they might not leave Champaign undefeated today.

It happened last year at Purdue, it could happen again.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

The Saturday Meal Plan is a helpful guide put together for you to maximize the results of your college football diet.  Just enough to leave you feeling full, but not so much you spend your entire Saturday in the bathroom.

Breakfast

Main Course - Clemson vs. #16 Miami - Noon - ESPN2

Okay, so once again breakfast has a lot of weak sauce in it this week, but we promise you that lunch and dinner are going to be a lot better.  Just remember what your mom used to tell you: breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  So eat this up because you're going to need it to help prepare you for the rest of the day.

Just beware that while the Miami looks good using too much Jacory Harris in it can cause indigestion.

Side Orders: This morning we offer some sides that should fill you up, but will probably leave you hating yourself for eating it later.  There's Ohio State steamrolling Illinois, and our "Ninth Place in the SEC" special, Mississippi and Kentucky.   If you already hate yourself, try some of the Minnesota and Northwestern.

Lunch

Main Course - #8 Oklahoma vs. #21 Texas - 3:30pm - ABC

Now that you've choked down your breakfast we can reward you with the real food for the day.  We're offering our Red River Rivalry this afternoon which is chock full of red meat deliciousness.   Just remember that the Longhorn can be somewhat tough and inconsistent. 

Texas has a lot on their plate this week, as they are coming off a rather embarrassing loss at home to UCLA last week, and a similar performance against Oklahoma this weekend could destroy the rest of their season. 

Side Orders: If you're not sure you can handle all the beef in our main course we do offer plenty of other options this afternoon.  There's Michigan State hosting Wisconsin in a game that will give us a better idea of what either team is really about this season.  There's also North Carolina State and Virginia Tech, or if offenses that set the game of football back 80 years are more your style, there's always LSU and Tennessee.   My advice is to just watch Patrick Peterson in that game.

Dinner

Main Course - #1 Alabama vs. #7 Florida - 8pm - CBS

We didn't lead you astray with our Alabama and Arkansas last week, and we promise you that this week's Florabama won't disappoint either.  Alabama has already faced it's first real test of the season, but this week they are the test.  Florida is 4-0 but didn't wow any of the critics until last week's Trey Burton-centric dismantling of Kentucky.

If the Gators can manage to get past the Tide they'll officially be back in the national championship picture.

Side Orders: It's not a bad night when your second choice features another two top ten teams.  If fowl is more your taste, then try the Oregon and Stanford.   The Pac-10 doesn't have a championship game, yet, but this game basically is just that.  Two high-scoring offenses finally get to test two defenses that have proven sturdy thus far.  If you prefer something a bit more old-fashioned we're also offering Iowa and Penn State.

Late Night Snacks

Nevada and Colin Kaepernick are two things you'll probably be hearing about quite a bit in the coming weeks, as they're essentially the last thing standing between Boise State and an undefeated season.  So why not check them out when they travel to Vegas to take on UNLV?

Posted by Tom Fornelli

Ohio State and Michigan just to refues to agree on anything, don't they?

A day after former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr looked into his crystal ball and predicted that Notre Dame would one day be a part of the Big Ten, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith picked up Carr's crystal ball and smashed it against a wall.  In an interview with Ohio State's student newspaper, The Lantern , Smith said the Big Ten is done with expansion.

"We're done with it," Smith said. "We're finished. The only thing that would cause us to look at it further is if someone contacted us. So, we're not going to go out and say we're thinking about expansion."

Smith also went on to say he thinks there are some schools out there that might contact the Big Ten or any of the other conferences, but unless they bring something -- money -- to add to the conference, they won't be considered.

So, in other words, the Big Ten isn't really done with expansion, they're just not actively seeking new members.  Which I'm not sure I totally believe, either.  When this all started Jim Delany said it would be a 12-18 month process, and though Nebraska sped that process up a bit, it's still going on.  Maybe Smith is right in that the schools won't be talking about adding teams when they meet in October, but that's just because they have to figure out what they're going to do with their current 12-team situation.

Once they're done with all that, though, the process will begin again.

Hat tip: CFT

Posted by Tom Fornelli

Now that Boise State has gotten past Oregon State it's entirely possible that when the regular season ends both Boise and TCU could be undefeated.  Which, depending on how the rest of the college football landscape unfolds, could create some BCS chaos.  For argument's sake, let's pretend that Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon all finish the season with a loss and TCU and Boise are the only unbeatens left standing.  Also known as The Doomsday Scenario amongst the BCS.

Would you put them in the BCS title game?

A lot of people wouldn't, preferring a one-loss Alabama or what have you, as they'd argue that Boise State and TCU didn't play the same quality of competition.  Which is a valid argument -- unless you've seen a Tennessee or Georgia game this year -- that has a lot of merit, and one that I might be inclined to agree with.

Still, if either school is looking for someone to stand up and sing their praises, they won't have to look further than the head coach of the team that both of them have beaten this year: Mike Riley.

Although Riley artfully dodged choosing between them Saturday, he did make a fairly significant statement after the news media scrum dissipated. Riley said that Boise State and T.C.U. were worthy of their top-five rankings, something that some coaches from high-profile programs have been hesitant to admit.

“I give both T.C.U. and Boise tons of credit to be where they are,” Riley said. “I would not in any way begrudge their positions one bit. They’re both fine programs with really good players; they’re good teams, and they’re well coached.”

Riley even went on to say that both Boise and TCU's defenses are "about as quick and fast as we've played against ever."  Considering some of the USC defenses Riley has faced during his years in Corvallis, that's not praise to be taken lightly.

Neither are Boise State and TCU.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

You are Rufus Bobcat, and your team -- the Ohio Bobcats -- faces quite a big challenge.  The Bobcats are in the Horseshoe taking on one of the best teams in the country in the Ohio State Buckeyes.  It's not going to be easy to knock off the Buckeyes, and they need a spark.

What are you going to do, Rufus?  How are you going to fire your team up?

You're going to tackle Brutus Buckeye, that's what!



Man, missing that first tackle and having your head come off while doing so is never a good omen, but at least Rufus didn't give up.  Sure, he failed to bring Brutus down and had to be escorted away by security, but he might have done a better job tackling than any of the Bobcats actual players did during their 43-7 loss.

Unfortunately for Rufus -- well, the kid playing Rufus -- the school didn't enjoy his performance as much as I did.

Video courtesy of Deadspin

Posted by Chip Patterson

It took three quarters of play, but Miami quarterback Jacory Harris finally found the end zone for the Hurricanes' first offensive touchdown.  Ohio State was able to turn four Harris interceptions into scores on the way to a 36-24 win.  

Ohio State's defense picked, rushed, and swarmed all over the field.  They made Harris force plays in his own territory, setting up Terrelle Pryor with short fields to to put points on the board.  Pryor finished the game with 233 yards in the air and 105 yards on the ground on a big day for Big Ten quarterbacks.  When Miami did get that first offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter, they were unable to stop Ohio State's offensive attack.  

Props to Miami's special teams for keeping it interesting, running back a kick in the first quarter and a punt in the second for touchdowns.  When Miami jumped out to a 10-3 lead, it looked as though this was going to be a close game.  But when the mistakes began, things unraveled quickly for Miami.  It was not just Jacory Harris though, Miami was penalized eight times for 59 yards and frequently were unable to bring down a scrambling Pryor with arm tackles.

All in all a pretty bad day for the ACC.  Between Florida State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Miami, the conference could be looking at a winless Saturday out of conference, depending on how things go for Maryland, NC State, and Virginia later this evening.

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Posted by Chip Patterson

The sky opened up in Columbus and it began raining down on Ohio State and Michigan Saturday afternoon.  The scores came in the form of kick returns, punt returns, and the traditional methods in the first half as Ohio State leads Miami 26-17 at the break.  Ohio State forced Miami quarterback Jacory Harris into three interceptions which were turned into Miami scores, but Miami's special teams has kept this game close.  Lamar Miller ran a kickoff back for a touchdown in the first quarter and Travis Benjamin ran a punt back in the second to count for Miami's only touchdowns.

Terrelle Pryor has picked up 177 yards through the air and added 46 on the ground so far for the Buckeyes, who have looked dominant throughout most of the first half.  If it weren't for the two big returns, Ohio State would be cruising at this point in the game.  But with the Hurricanes still two scores away, they need to figure out a way to neutralize Pryor if they want to have a hope in the second half.