Weekend wrap-up  

It's hard to do a traditional "Student Body" post here, since we only picked one game last week. So instead I'll just highlight some of the notable things from this weekend:

-The most astonishing part of Ohio St.'s victory was how they gashed the Michigan run defense. Their offensive line deserves a TON of credit. Really no other way to put it. Troy Smith had time to make plays, and even if you discount his long touchdown run, Pittman still averaged over 5 yards/carry over what had been the nation's best run defense up to that point. Absolutely astonishing.

-I couldn't have been more wrong with how that game turned out. Well, I guess I could have because I did expect Michigan's offense to play well, I was totally unprepared for their defense to collapse under the pressure of Ohio State's whithering attack. Also, that game while thrilling, was close to being a blowout. If not for a couple of stupid turnovers, the final wouldn't have been nearly as close. If they do play in the title game, I expect the Buckeyes to prevail by a larger margin.

-I'm not sure about USC. That game against Cal was hardly inspiring. They didn't exactly fire on all cylinders. And Cal looked downright lousy. But I'm not sure if it's because they didn't play well, aren't that good to begin with, or were dominated by a good USC defense. Still, it was a good win, and in a rivalry that has had its' share of nail-biters, they won handily.

-Arkansas had an off game, but still made enough plays to win. The play of Dick is going to determine whether they have any shot at the title, or a huge BCS game. He needs to be consistent. McFadden found yet another way to be a difference maker. He is a legit threat to finish second in the Heisman (the winner is a foregone conclusion).

-Ok, so I never have to discuss Rutgers again, right? Right? Please say yes. That was a team I had serious doubts about all season, and were totally dominated in that game. While they played liked shit (notably Teel) the Bearcats gave them every opportunity to win. Cincy had stupid penalties, turnovers, they even muffed a punt and fumbled a handoff deep in their own territory when simply trying to run out the first half. Nope, Cincy simply outplayed the Scarlet Knights. If the Big East representative in the BCS doesn't win, everyone will rip this league, and rightfully so. They have one chance to redeem themselves, it just better not be against Boise St. since no one will pay any attention to that one.

-Poor Wake Forest. They had been walking a fine line all season, and their numerous injuries at running back spelled disaster against the Hokies. Grobe has them playing a very disciplined style with ball control a key component, and when they lost the ability to grind on the ground they quickly fell behind in an arms race. This team simply doesn't have enough talent to play a more wide open game with the big boys. Still, they have a shot at the ACC Championship game if they can beat a Maryland team that got throttled against BC.

-I really don't believe in rematches, for a number of reasons. First, we know that Ohio St. is better than Michigan, no one can really doubt that. And while the Wolverines fought back hard, they were close to being run out of the building in the third quarter before some big Buckeye mistakes deep in their own territory. Second, I think Ohio St. should spread out more, they played one difficult non-conference foe, and that was a Texas team that hasn't really proven much and was totally unprepared for that game. They need to prove their national champs, not just Big 10 champs. Between them, Michigan and Ohio St. have 2 wins against legit non-conference opponents, and those teams are Notre Dame and Texas, who both haven't really proved anything this year. While the SEC is discussed as the top conference in the country, neither of those teams has a single win that can even be fairly compared to a game played by a top SEC squad, no common opponents or anything. Third, no outcome to a rematch would be satisfying. If Ohio State won (and they would) then we'd know that they were definitively better than Michigan, but what if USC with one loss dominated a one loss Florida team? I mean, wouldn't that USC team have a very legit claim to being better than Michigan? Also, close losses are just that, losses. Everyone sweated Notre Dame for their close loss to USC last year, and what happens? They get stormed by Ohio St. in the Fiesta Bowl. Or, what if Michigan won the rematch, but it was close? I mean, who would really be considered the better team? If Michigan won the rematch on a fluke, or a questionable call, would it be wrong to say that Ohio St. is still the better team because their win was untainted? Would there be a rubber match? I just don't picture getting much satisfaction from any outcome from that game, it would ask more questions than it would answer. If Michigan really is the second best team in the country, than Ohio St. is DEFINITELY the best right now, and there is no reason for them to even play a bowl game.