Boilermakers for what ails you
Buckeyes banged up after physical game at Wisconsin
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 3:14 AM
By
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.dispatch.com/osuchat
Still bruised and woozy from a head-banging game Saturday at Wisconsin, Ohio State probably could use a bye week. Purdue will do.
The Boilermakers visit Ohio Stadium this week, and they seem like an ideal opponent for the 12th-ranked Buckeyes, who saw two players literally knocked out against the Badgers and who will head back on the road to face a physical Michigan State team next week.
Purdue might be the valley between those peaks.
The Boilers are 2-3, have a pillow-soft run defense (ranked 104th nationally), have not beaten a ranked opponent in five years and are in the midst of a nasty quarterback controversy.
Easy pickings, right?
The Buckeyes, of course, run screaming from this line of thinking, fingers in their ears to avoid hearing such talk. Coach Jim Tressel does not approve this message.
Asked if he was concerned about a letdown game, Tressel said, "I would hope not. I hope we're really caught up in us trying to get better. This Big Ten game is worth as much as any other Big Ten game, so if you want to be the champions of the Big Ten, you better not have letdowns."
A chance at a third Big Ten title is what Tressel has been selling his players since OSU lost at Southern California on Sept. 13.
Cont...