The Writing on the Wall

I didn't see this coming, yet the facts/signs were there.

I wrote on Thursday that it was evident that if there was a game that this team would lose this season it would be @ Wisconsin, historically and factually speaking. The Badgers just seem to have whatever makes OSU vulnerable to a loss, and Saturday was no exception.

Seriously, why do some people think Wisconsin is a joke? My question is do these people watch football? They play hard nosed, physical football and are 9 to 10 win candidates every single year.
They may not be elite - I certainly don't believe that - but they are a tough team to deal with. If Wisconsin had better overall talent then they would look like a lot of OSU teams of the past.

I was afraid that this type of game might happen, either on the road at Wisconsin or at Iowa, but not like this. UW absolutely destroyed the Buckeyes up front on the offensive line and ran the ball down their throats like no other team I have seen in years. It was an unbelievable thing to witness, and I guess you have to give Wisconsin credit for that.

I give credit to Wisconsin being the better prepared and more prepared team that night and having a raucous crowd on hand to witness the beatdown. What I do not give them credit for is the fact that the Buckeyes came in not ready for the challenge at hand and immediately felt the sting as David Gilreath returned a kickoff return to the house on the very first play of the game, and the momentum never really seemed to trail off. Well, the only instance I suppose would be when Ohio State ran off 18 straight points to make it a field goal game. That was the only time I was proud of the Buckeyes that night, because the defense that is supposed to be one of the best in the nation decided to sit back and take it all night long in Madison.

Too bad, because I really thought this team was special. The Buckeyes are still very good in my opinion, but they aren't special. They have two weeks to get wins against Purdue and Minnesota before they have a bye week, which much like last season should give the team time to focus and realize that the season isn't over and the Big Ten is still at hand.

I really don't want to say this now, but a national championship appearance still isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Let's see if this team can become special between now and November 27th.