BTB Roundtable Questions: We Didn't Write These Questions Edition

Onward and upward, my Big Ten friends! We forge ahead, never daunted, into the formerly uncharted waters of the Buckeye Psyche. That's right - this week's questions are courtesy of Our Honor Defend, a Buckeye blog that - get this - takes its name from the fight song! Clever girl. Then again, we take our name from...wait...where did we get this name? Champ? Is this really the only game that matters? I mean - there are plenty of games that matter more: the game of life, the game of love, the most dangerous game...maybe we need a fight song.

Either way, here we are, nomenclature be damned.

On to the questions!

01. We're all basically in conference play now, sans Purdue who played
visitor to Notre Dame over the weekend. What did you see in the
conference opener that you liked? What did you see that sucked
noodles? If you're one of the Purdue blogs, what did you see against
Notre Dame that has you nervous (or even optimistic) for your
conference opener against Penn State this Saturday? Oh, and, have fun
with that game, by the way.

There isn't a Wisconsin blogger of any reliability here in this group, so I'll take on Wisconsin:

What I liked: I liked the defensive line. They were blowing UM off the ball in the first half, and were the primary reason for the obvious disruption in the UM offense. Offensively, Everidge didn't have a bad day, it's just that his major mistake went for 6 the other way. He also had a ton of pressure in his face from UM's own defensive line. I liked how our defense forced turnovers - even if Michigan helped a ton.

What I didn't like: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. There. Now that's out of the way. Rationally, I didn't like the playcalling. Michigan was blitzing a ton and we didn't make them pay. I think (correct me if I'm wrong) the first screen play that we set up went for 40 yards or so. Too bad that was in the 4th quarter. Also, I didn't like the penalties. On two separate occasions, penalties (a roughing the passer and the ineligible receiver) allowed Michigan to maintain a drive, or stop us from scoring. If more restraint (or just plain common sense) is used on either play - UM has a much, much harder time winning that ball game. Finally, I saw warning signs from the secondary. On several occasions, UM had a guy deep with a step. Threet couldn't make us pay; others will.

Also - sucking noodles is fun, impolite, and delicious. Never shall the term "sucking noodles" be used to connote a bad thing again.

02. Ole Miss punked #4 Florida in Gainesville. #1 USC got punked by
Oregon State on national television? What's the underlying theme
behind these bizarre upsets? You guessed it: magic. Some kind of
hocus-y pocus-y sorcery in the form of "familiarity". The idea being
pitched around is that these upsets come in conference games because
the underdog has played the heavily favored team before, and thus
isn't afraid of them nor surprised by anything they do. Should I buy
this idea? Or are these upsets more likely the combination of
something more conventional, like great/horrendous gameplanning,
preparation and execution by the underdog/favorite team respectively?

That question, when properly sorted, simply asks "why do significantly outmatched teams beat really really talented teams?"

As always, I have a theory.

I think that a great deal of "winning" comes from the play of the linemen on both sides of the ball. If the offensive line is getting a good push, the offense works - it's that simple. The Quarterback could be primed to have the game of his life, if pass protection isn't there, he won't be successful. A Tailback could be ready to carry for 212 yards on 47 rushes - if the run blocking isn't there, he won't be successful. The offense stops and starts with the offensive line. A lot of times, I think these linemen get ready to face a team that they've deemed - despite their coache's instance to the contrary - weak, and expect a walk-through. Meanwhile, on the other side of the line, the previously named "weak" line is getting ready for the game of their life.

Look at USC: Sanchez was running for his life for the majority of the game. His offensive line came out expecting to dominate, found out that those defensive guys are D-1 players too, and they're really really trying, and couldn't switch it on in time to save the defeat. Same with USC's defensive line - which is why they allowed mini-back to run all over them.

The bottom line (get it?) is this: If the linemen come to a game expecting to push around the opposition at practice speed, that team is primed for an upset. It almost happened when Ohio State played Ohio, it did happen when USC played the other OSU, and it will happen again this season.

03. Entering the season, Beanie was the Big Ten's Heisman favorite.
After a few games, Javon Ringer had put up the Heisman stats, though I
don't think anyone could've believed that Ringer would have the hype
machine necessary to get him to New York. Yet, after this week, I see
his name mentioned more and more in the Heisman race. Do you think
Ringer, at this pace, gets to New York on something more than a
courtesy visit (on courtesy visit, see: everyone last year not named
Tim Tebow; everyone in 2006 not named Troy Smith)? How about Daryll
Clark? Is Daryll Clark of Penn State legitimately in the Heisman race
after week 5?

Ringer might get a nice trip to New York and a front-row seat to watch the Heisman get handed to SEC/B12 QB de jour. I've written before that the Heisman, almost exclusively, goes to the best quarterback on a conference championship contending team. It takes a very, very special runningback or wideout to win that award - and although I like Ringer - Reggie Bush he ain't.

04. With the nonconference schedule basically over, do you think the
Big Ten collectively bettered its standing from the maligned position
it was in before the season began? For every Wisconsin victory over
Fresno State and Penn State thrashing of Oregon State, there's
Michigan's turnover bonanza against the Irish and Ohio State's
neutering by USC. Long question short, what sticks out more: the
positives or the negatives for the conference?

No, no, and no. This non-conference season simply re-enforced the fact* that the Big Ten is a middle of the road BCS conference.

05. As I'm sure you may have seen on your moving pictures box, the
Ernie Davis movie has been getting a lot of publicity for its imminent
release to theatres. The story, of course, centers around the first
African-American Heisman winner and some of the trials that come from
being a black athlete, playing before the Civil Rights movement and
playing in the Cotton Bowl. Does your football program have an
uplifting story that you think is movie-worthy? If so, please share
it.

In 1998, a player named Josh discovered a rocket-arm, and made the team as a walk-on. As he was still only a walk-on, he had to earn his stripes, practicing throws in the back yard to his Golden Retriever, Buddy. Soon, however, he discovered that Buddy could make all the impossible catches, and was a better receiver than those on his team. The two combined to make an unstoppable force on the football field. However, an evil duo of Russian circus-managers attempt to kidnap Buddy and use him as their main attraction, while Josh's team makes it to the championship. Can Josh save Buddy before the big game?

Find out here!



Seriously though - Tom Harmon rocked pretty hard. Would love to see a movie about his life.


*The Big Ten is not the ACC, or the Big East - so we've got that going for us. However, from top to bottom, I think the Big Ten hold their own with the Pac-10, gets beat soundly by the b12, and gets crushed by the SEC. I've railed against this line of thinking for a long time, but this year especially, the Big Ten just isn't that strong.