9/09/2006

If I had one I'd bet my wife.

I cant sleep, eat, or sit still. my hands are trembling just writing this. this is by far the biggest game of the year and bigger than the actual national championship. this is the national championship.

this entire week i've been able to think only about this game and the obvious things it means if we lose. This week I think I've realized what having a period feels like, because what this game has done to my mind and my emotions is ridiculous.

Not too mention that the Browns opener will be less than 15 hours away by the time this game ends so all the cautious and reserved optimism of another season will be tested very quickly. I dont know if I can handle that. being a browns fan is tough enough but with all the promise that became uncertainty in about 2 seconds with bentley and then being combined with a potential blow to our national title hopes, it's going to require alot of ...whats that word...patience.

fuck.

An estimated 40.000 OSU fans are making the trip to austin for this game according to the Columbus dispatch. I know its early but this game could mean the season. I think we can afford one loss and still be in a title hunt but this one is about revenge. even though horns fans, should they lose, will say that "well, you didnt beat us when vince was here!" We did beat you. We contained young well enough that his ground game became ineffective and was forced to go to the air.

I'll become a homer for a second and state that Limas Sweed did not have possession when he came down in the endzone. he got his hands on it, bobbled it and was forced to trap it. Ryan Hambys dropped touchdown would have been the difference. It was 19-13 at that point and all the momentum was with the buckeyes. Hambys "should have been a touchdown" would have made it 27-13 and would have become a two possession game for texas. they answered but would have still fallen short, even if by one point.

I try not to discredit Vince Young but the 2005 longhorns were the most one dimensional teams I have ever seen. These so called "other weapons" become a mere distraction without young added in. As I've said in an earlier post, without Vince behind center Ohio States defense can key in on players like taylor, sweed, selvin youg, and jamal charles and if any defense can do this, its the Buckeyes. Young was the prime reason these players had any success. I could become a Heisman candidate with Young as my quarterback. I'd be wide open every play.

With the strength and speed of the front 4 the longhorns O-line is going to have fits. The players mentioned were merely good blockers. USC's defense was over rated to begin with but the way Young ran all over them tells me that Ohio State could have beaten USC as well. we stopped youngs feet, we would have stopped Bush too.

Tressel I'm sure has a gameplan soley designed for stopping texas's offense with defensive looks and concealed blitzes that are going to confuse the hell out of freshman quarterback Colt McCoy. so again Young barely beat us but somehow this poor kid actually has a chance? I'm not saying Texas wont move the ball, I'm just saying NO ONE is giving any edge whatsoever to the buckeyes defense. I know we have a young class of linebackers this year but so what? Their mentors were names like Hawk, Schlegel, Carpenter, oh and John Kerr learned from some guy named Wilhelm. I think our secondary is the weakest unit on the team but Malcolm Jenkins and Jamario O'Neal also had good mentors. "veteran" Safety Brandon Mitchell will knock you the fuck out.

This game is reminding me what it was like for the buckeyes leading up the 2002 National Championship against Miami. Every so-called expert said the buckeyes couldnt handle the speed of the hurricanes, that dorsey would throw 80 yard touchdown passes in his sleep and Mcgahee would shred the buckeyes front 7. we see how well THAT turned out didnt we. pathetic miami fans are STILL crying about that one. What no one outside of columbus realized was that the 2002 Ohio State Buckeye defense would become one of the, if not the best defensive units ever assembled in the history of NCAA football.

Texas fans are acting the same way. The comments and previews I've read pretty much suggest that ohio state not even show up. I know buckeye fans are guilty of the same thing but these so called fans are acting like NCAA football revolves around them. last I checked there were around 113 D-1A teams. Texas is hardly the center of college football and its fanbase is a joke compared to the fervor and passion displayed by buckeye fans.
one horn fan called us “the most obnoxious, arrogant, and rudest fans i’ve ever met, I had beer spilled on me all game long.”..so why did I take that as a compliment? haha. get ready for round 2 of those beer showers.


with a "hostile" crowd and "hot" weather the horns somehow have some imaginary advantage. Ohio Stadium is one of the most intimidating places to play in but we've lost there before. many times. Homefield advantage has nothing to do with it, its about execution and not being rattled by your opponent, not the crowd. We're the #1 team in the country and there is a reason for that but these horns fans probably didnt even know the buckeyes were a team, let alone a good one. we can win anywhere.

Young, like Dorsey, said that was the fastest defense he'd ever seen. Young said the Horseshoe was the loudest he'd ever played in so with those 40,000 plus scarlet and gray faithful behind them it could turn into the Horseshoe south especially if the buckeyes are up big. I know buckeye fans travel better than any other collegiate fanbase but I dont think that meant tickets sold. that'd be crazy.

The point is, Ohio state is a better team. With the suspension of "shutdown" horns cornerback Tarell Brown, Ted Ginn is going to have an even bigger game. I'm told some freshman is being told to stop #7 and on the faint chance that occurs Gonzalez will become a nightmare for the horns secondary.

even though Texas' defense might know a thing or two about stopping mobile quarterbacks it doesnt mean they will. Troy Smith, like young, thrives in these types of games. On the road at mishitgan last year is a prime example. He knows whats on the line and he is going to bring it. This is his last chance, He'll prevail.

Ohio state: 38
Texas: 21