A Glance Around The Big Ten

Those who watched the Ohio State vs Toledo game on Saturday saw a very sloppy performance by a Buckeye team who, in fairness, were without seven suspended players, including five starters, and injured DE Nathan WIlliams.  That said, the Buckeyes punted six times, had a punt blocked and missed a field goal.  The Offensive Line had trouble anchoring effectively or getting much of a push, and LB's Storm Klein and Andrew Sweat missed several open field tackles.  The Safeties also played slow, took some bad angles and were often out of place.

Toledo Head Coach Tim Beckman is very familiar with Jim Tressel's offense and Jim Heacock's defense from his two years -- 2006-06 -- on Tressel's staff, and it showed as Toledo only ran 4-5 plays the whole game but was successful in executing them, led by speedy WR Eric Page, who burnt the Buckeyes on numerous bubble screens and short passes

On the other hand, the peculiar handling of the QB rotation, or lack thereof, by Ohio State Head Coach Luke Fickell was a definite head scratcher, especially after Fickell had stated that both 25-year-old Senior Joe Bauserman and Freshman Braxton Miller would play vs Toledo, as each QB had been bracketed with an "or" as the starters on the depth chart the last two weeks.  Both Bauserman and Miller performed well vs Akron, with Miller completing 8 of 12 passes for 130 yards and 1 score; he also had two passes dropped and was active running the ball.  

However, on Saturday, Bauserman struggled mightily after a smooth opening touchdown drive.  In fact, the Buckeyes went four straight possessions in the first half without points, but for some reason the talented Miller never entered the game.  Bauserman was indecisive in the pocket, was holding the ball too long at times and missed several open receivers.  Miller, of course, adds the extra element of tremendous quickness and pocket awareness that seemingly would have taken some pressure off an offensive line that was not having its finest day in pass protection.  

Bauserman's second half struggles continued, as he rarely looked beyond 10 yards downfield in his progressions and was settling for a lot of safe dump offs and underneath routes.  He finished the day 16-30 for 189 yards and a score.  Miller, who last week was called "one of the best athletes in College Football" by ESPN Analyst Urban Meyer, never saw the field, and the Buckeyes dodged a bullet, 27-22, in game where they were outplayed by a scrappier Toledo squad.  

With starting LT Mike Adams still suspended for the next three games along with WR Devier Posey and RB Boom Herron, the Ohio State offense is short of playmakers, and one would think that they could use another weapon like Miller, especially with Miami (FL), Colorado and Michigan State upcoming.  Bauserman is an ideal backup and game manager, but he is not going to be a difference maker at the game's most important position.  If the Buckeyes had an elite defense, a dominant running game and a solid kicking game, then Bauserman could indeed manage the offense.  

That said, the immediate future of Ohio State football, as well as Luke Fickell's, rest with the arm and development of Braxton Miller.  In fact, the best chance of Fickell becoming the Head Man in 2012 and beyond is with the development and success of Miller during Fickell's one-year job interview  -- an interview which has 10-12 weeks remaining.  Whether Fickell's decision was based on the concern of potentially dividing the locker room between upper and lowerclassmen as was rumored to have in happened in 2008 when Terrelle Pryor replaced the 2007 starter and All-Big Ten Senior QB Todd Boeckman, a bizarre oversight, or a belief that somehow a commitment to Bauserman as the starter in Week 2 gives the Buckeyes the best chance for success this season, it was the wrong decision and message to send this young team -- a decision that could retard the offense's development and hurt morale.  

Miller needs to showcase his immense playmaking skills if the Buckeyes are going to defeat an angry Miami (FL) team on Saturday and compete for another BCS birth.

If you like offense and turnovers, then the Michigan/Notre Dame game was a great way to end your Saturday night.  Notre Dame dominated Michigan's porous defense for much of the game, amassing over 500 yards while holding the ball for 37 minutes.  In fact, Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd was a man amongst boys, catching 13 balls for 159 yards -- almost at will.  However, ND had four huge turnovers, with two coming in the red zone and another in Michigan territory. 

Then, after Michigan QB Denard Robinson struggled for much of the first three quarters in Offensive Coordinator Al Borges' new system, Borges took some off the structure out of his attack and turned the offense over to the playmaking Robinson, who made some big plays on the ground and benefitted from Notre Dame DB's, who showed some of the worst ball skills in recent memory down the stretch.  

While it was a nice win for the Michigan program, it was gift wrapped by an ND offense who has now committed ten turnovers in two games.  

Overall, it was a  pretty rough weekend for the Big Ten:  Penn State still doesn't have the playmakers on offense or the team speed to play with a quality SEC team like Alabama.  Purdue lost on the road to Rice, and Minnesota lost at home to New Mexico State.  The real shocker, though, was in Ames where Iowa State upset in-state rival Iowa 44-41 in triple overtime.  While one could figure that Iowa State would have kept it close in a rivalry game, the loss is a disappointing start for a young, but talented, Iowa squad.  Nebraska also needed a late kickoff return at home to hold off an athletic Fresno State team.

On a positive note, Russell Wilson continues to look like a great fit and a playmaker for the Badgers, who blanked Oregon State 35-0 and were more stout in their Front 7 on defense than in Week 1 vs UNLV.  While Ohio State still has the most NFL talent in the Conference, Wisconsin is showing early on that they are once again the team to beat in the Big Ten.