By Special Contributor Chris Holloway
For the past 10 years, the month of November has brought unbridled joy and success to the Buckeyes. They have lost just twice in November since 2003, and closing out the season with four consecutive wins has been the hallmark of this program since that day in 2001 when Jim Tressel took over as head coach.
Since 2005, the squad has lost just a single November game -- a Juice Williams powered Illini victory in 2007 -- that marred an otherwise perfect regular season.
The tradition of winning games in the weeks before Thanksgiving did not falter on Saturday as Kevin Wilson brought his 1-8 Hoosiers into the Horseshoe. Indiana had not won against the Buckeyes in 16 straight tries -- their last win coming in 1988.
There was not a single pundit that believed that Indiana could break this losing streak, especially after the abrupt dismissal of DeMarlo Belcher -- the team's leading receiver -- for violation of team rules.
With Belcher gone, the receiving corps for Indiana looked even bleaker than that of their opponents, as they were without their top two receivers.
The Buckeyes were not without their missing pieces either. Jordan Hall, the do everything back, injured his ankle during the last kick return against Wisconsin, and missed the game.
Jamaal Berry was involved in an altercation before the contest against the Badgers. During the week, he was officially charged with several counts and was suspended indefinitely. In the backfield, they would not be missed, but where their absence would be most felt was in the kick return game.
In normal situations, with Hall out, Berry would be in the mix to return kicks. Since his suspension, there was speculation as to who would be returning punts and kickoffs. Thoughts drifted to anyone from Chris Fields to Dan Herron to Rod Smith, who had been practicing with both the linebacker corps as well as the running backs. In the end, it was Devin Smith, the receiving hero from a week ago, that would end up with kick return duty.
Neither team figured to throw the ball all that much in this game, given their shortcomings in the passing game. Braxton Miller may have saved the day with his arm a week ago against the Badgers, but most would agree that it was an anomaly.
We all know that Miller has the potential to be a finesse passer, but so far he has not been given the chance as the Ohio State coaching staff has opted for a more conservative style of play.
On the opposite sideline, true freshman quarterback Tre Roberson was showing glimpses of greatness in the opportunities that have been presented to him. A dual threat QB in his own right, Roberson had the ability to make plays with not just his feet, but his arm as well. This would become evident to the Buckeyes early on.
Taking the field for the coin toss, the Hoosiers won and elected to receive. Drew Basil, with shades of his last kickoff against Wisconsin, booted the ball out of bounds on the opening kickoff to give Indiana the ball at the 40-yard line. After a run-heavy drive that took the Hoosiers to the Ohio State 18, Indiana was forced to settle for a field goal to give them the early lead at 3-0.
Devin Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 17 yards to the Ohio State 26. The decent return was marred by a drive that only gained 20 total yards, with 15 of those coming on a penalty. A collective groan was heard as the drive ended in disaster when Braxton Miller fumbled the ball at the 46, with Indiana recovering.
A Tre Roberson pass for 11 yards to Kofi Hughes and a 16-yard run up the gut by the true freshman QB set up a five yard run by Stephen Houston for the first touchdown of the game. The Bucks now trailed 10-0 and horrible thoughts of Purdue 2009 and Illinois 2007 began to creep into the minds of the Buckeye faithful.
Those thoughts were quelled for a moment as on the very next drive when Miller broke free and in just a few strides, set the school record for longest rushing TD by a Quarterback -- scampering 81 yards to the house and cutting the Indiana lead to three.
The Silver Bullets recorded the first of their three and outs after the kickoff, assisted by an Indiana penalty, and Ohio State took back over on their own 41. As they began their next march down the field, the offensive line showed some weakness in the trenches. In all, the Buckeyes allowed six sacks on the day, two of which came on this drive.
Miller did show some shades of passing acumen when he hit fullback Zach Boren for a 22 yard strike, only to be sacked again. The Buckeyes settled for three to tie the game when the second quarter began.
If the fourth quarter of the Wisconsin game was the Clash of the Passing Games, then the first half of the Indiana game was classic Tresselball.
The kickers for both teams were the story in this half, hitting their field goals and MVP Ben Buchanan pinning the Hoosiers deep within their own territory on seemingly every punt. Basil and Ewald combined for three field goals in the second quarter -- the only scores in the period -- and at halftime the teams went to the locker room tied at 13 apiece.
Just before the break, there was shock and confusion at the tactic that Coach Wilson employed, calling successive timeouts with little time on the clock, only to kneel the ball down and let the clock run out. Given that Ohio State would take the ball in the second half, the decision by the first year head man was a head scratcher. Perhaps he feared the pick six, or perhaps communication was an issue.
Whatever the reason, the Buckeye coaching staff had to feel a little underwhelmed at the outcome of the first half, and the choruses of boos did nothing to dispel the notion that they had to come out stronger in the second half.
They were not expecting to be tied going into the break, much less being exposed on defense as they had been. Indiana seemingly had the middle of the field occupied on short routes, and were able to connect on just about every short or mid-range crossing route they ran.
Ohio State took the ball to start the second half, and Boom Herron promptly broke off a 40-yard run. The celebration was short lived, however, as Braxton was sacked yet again and then intercepted by Webb, the second turnover by the freshman QB.
It seemed as if the Bucks could not get anything going unless it was a breakaway, big play. The defense, porous at times, found their real steel and managed another three and out. Pines punted, and Ohio State took over at their own 48, giving them magnificent field position.
On their first play, Braxton took off for a 13-yard gain, followed by runs of 20 and 15 by Herron -- the latter ending in the endzone to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game at 20-13.
Indiana responded in-kind on their next drive, with Roberson hitting Hughes for with a 34-yard strike, and just like that, the game was knotted again at 20.
Miller and crew then had their most sustained drive, going eighty yards down the field, using the rushing attack that everyone figured them to use almost exclusively.
Carlos Hyde, who was complaining on Twitter about his lack of carries and playing time after the Illinois game, provided the bulk of the yards on the drive -- even though his longest run of the day to that point was negated by a holding call on Corey Brown. After another breakdown in protection led to yet another sack, Braxton responded by taking the rock to the house on a 20-yard run that saw him waltzing into the end zone. Ohio State was back in the lead, 27-20, and they would not relinquish it again.
The Hoosiers had control of the ball when the final period started, and took it down the field to the Ohio State 18. On 4th and 9, the Indiana field goal unit came out, only to have a false start penalty levied against them. Ewald, whether shaken or just frustrated, pushed the football wide left with just nine minutes and change left in the game.
All Ohio State would need to do was eat away at the clock to secure their third consecutive Big Ten win. Those hopes were nearly dashed briefly however, as Herron fumbled on the first play, with Miller recovering.
Boom came off the field, apparently shaken up a bit, and El Guapo came on. Hyde and Miller joined up to grab the first down at the OSU 35, only to have Miller sacked once more, and the drive stalled. Buchanan came on to punt, and booted the kick to the Hoosier 28.
Coach Heacock's defense looked for another three and out, only to be stymied by a Roberson pass to Hughes that kept Indiana's hopes alive.
Roberson rushed for another first down to the Ohio State 44, but on the very next play, was intercepted by Travis Howard. Howard read the route beautifully, stepped up to the ball, and returned it 15 yards to the OSU 42 yard line.
After a 4-yard gain by Hyde, he broke through the middle of the defense and steamrolled his way down to the Indiana 7.
Boom came back onto the field, rushed right for five, and Hyde showed why he should be the short yardage bruiser by punishing his way through the Hoosier defense for a two-yard score.
The Buckeyes ended the game with three 100-yard rushers on the day -- just the fourth time in school history that feat was accomplished. The last time this had happened was in 1989 against Northwestern when Dante Lee, Scottie Graham, and Carlos Snow each eclipsed the mark.
The lead was now a more-comfortable 14 points with just two and a half minutes remaining. All of the Buckeye touchdowns had been on runs. Braxton posted two; Boom found the end zone once after having his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown snapped against Wisconsin, and of course, Hyde and the final nail in the coffin for Indiana.
Ryan Shazier and company produced their last three and out, with big #10 coming through the line to sack Roberson and Michael Bennett recording his own sack just two plays later to force the turnover on downs.
With a minute and 40 seconds left on the clock and Indiana out of timeouts, the Buckeyes lined up in the victory formation for three consecutive kneel downs, and the clock ran out to give Ohio State a hard fought win -- one that kept the hopes of an appearance in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game alive.
The Buckeyes continue to need a bit of help to make it to Indianapolis, but you have to figure that the scandal currently swirling around University Park will have an effect on the Nittany Lions as they prepare for the most difficult stretch of the season.
A loss against either Nebraska or Wisconsin, coupled with Ohio State winning the rest of their games would see the Buckeyes in the Promised Land.
Iowa showed what we already knew -- Michigan can be beaten -- as the gave the Wolverines another Big Ten loss.
As long as Ohio State can avoid looking past Purdue as they almost did Indiana this week -- which isn't exactly a guarantee this season (remember 2009?), they nearly control their own destiny.
While the game wasn't even close to being the blowout that many expected (and yes, that HD predicted), and the team kept the fans on a razor's edge the entire game, what matters at the end of the day is the win.
Now, with six wins in the regular season and three left to play, the Buckeyes are officially bowl eligible. Where they end up come bowl season is almost entirely up to them.
Prepare, execute, and limit mistakes, and this team could be headed to the Rose Bowl for the second time in 3 years.
After an offseason of scandal, strife, and a sea of change in the locker room, nothing could be sweeter than smelling roses on January 1st, 2012.
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I finally dropped UF from No. 1 after their not-so-great performance vs. Tennessee. They finally played a BCS team, and not a very good one, and I was not impressed. Texas gets the slight nod over the Gators this week after mostly containing a highly explosive Texas Tech offense.
See Texas above. Pounding cupcakes, then barely beating an average BCS team will bite you in the ass every time.
Jahvid Best is absolutely my Heisman front-runner until further notice. The Gophers have a decent team, but Best carried the Bears to the road win with 100+ and five touchdowns, and carried his team to the top three of my ballot. 
Running back Mark Ingram and quarterback Greg McElroy have Tide fans sold, that once again, this is their year. I know they beat Va Tech in week one, but these last two pushover games have shown me very little. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but I'm still not 100% sold on these elephants. 
Ho hum, the Nits won their third game of the year vs. their third high school caliber opponent. I really feel when Penn State plays a real team, they are going to crash and burn, but I'll keep them here for now so I can laugh harder when it happens.
The Tigers went out and beat the Washington Huskies in week one, something USC failed to do, so I moved them up three spots this week even though their last two wins were over Vandy and A directional Louisiana team. I still don't know who to truly believe in from the SEC West... 
The Broncos are 3-0 and look to be the new flavor of the week for the mid-majors after BYU's blowout loss to unranked Florida State. Quarterback Kellen Moore and running backs Jeremy Avery and DJ Harper could all start for many BCS schools. Other than maybe at Tulsa on October 14, Boise State's remaining games are all pretty much guaranteed wins. I don't see them going anywhere from here, but up. 
The Rebels are 2-0 after drilling Southeastern Louisiana 52-6. Their other win was over Memphis, so this ranking is somewhat a leap of faith at this point, mainly because I'm on the Jevan Snead bandwagon. This Thursday, they play at South Carolina, then at Vanderbilt the following week, and on October 10, they will host No. 3 Alabama. The next two games are very winnable, likely setting up a potential top five showdown with the Tide in three weeks. 
What a difference a week, and more aggressive play-calling, makes. Albeit it, Tressel wasn't as afraid of making costly mistakes vs. the Rockets as he was against the Trojans. Terrelle Pryor wasn't perfect, but he was very good overall, accounting for over 300 totals yards and four touchdowns in just over three quarters. Unless I'm on crack, look for more of the same next week as the Buckeyes open Big Ten play when they will host what seems to be a previously over-valued Illinois team.
After starting outside of the top 25 this preseason, the Bearcats have steadily clawed their way into my top 10. They traveled to Corvalis and came away with a 28-18 victory. That is no easy task to win there. Just ask USC. Brian Kelly can coach, and Tony Pike can play quarterback. In fact, Pike is absolutely a (darkhorse) Heisman candidate as of right now. If Cincy keeps winning, and if Pike keeps playing this way, the Bearcats and Pike may once again find themselves in a BCS bowl, and Pike could be in New York at the Downtown Athletic Club come December. 
Hurricane quarterback Jacory Harris just might be better than Robert Griffin and Terrelle Pryor. He hasn't gotten the hype and the headlines until now, but that hasn't stopped him from leading the Canes to two huge wins over then No. 25 FSU, and of then No. 8 Georgia Tech. The Canes might be back, or at least close to being back. Their games the next two weeks will be tell-tell as they travel to No. 13 Va Tech before hosting No. 12 Oklahoma. Before the season, the experts thought "The "U would be 0-4 to start the season. As it looks right now, 4-0 is a definite possibility.
Freshman QB Landry Jones has made leaps and bounds in his first two career starts. Jones set a Sooners record by tossing six touchdowns in the 45-0 rout of Tulsa on Saturday. OU now has a bye week and an extra week to prepare for their now bigtime showdown in Miami vs. the No. 11 Canes in two weeks. This game sure isn't going to be the easy win many thought it would be just a few short weeks ago. It could end up being one of the best games of the year.
The Hokies have bounced back from their week one loss to Alabama and have found another star running back in Ryan Williams. Nebraska, then No. 15, came to Blacksburg with plans to upset the Hokies, but Va Tech came from behind and held on for a 16-15 win. Next week, surprising No. 11 Miami and rising-star Jacory Harris come to town in what could be the game of the week. Don't miss it.
The Cougars had a week three bye, but will get back at it this week as they host Taylor Potts, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech hung in for a while vs. Texas Saturday night in Austin, but in the end, Colt McCoy and the Texas "D" were too much. Houston has already pulled the upset of the year over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in week two and quarterback Case Keenum is a big reason why Houston is ranked where they are. If they win over the Red Raiders this week, they are almost a lock to go undefeated and sould have a great shot at a BCS bowl.
A lot of people want to make excuses for USC when they lose a game they aren't supposed to, to an inferior Pac-10 opponent. I'm not one of those people. Who cares that Barkley didn't play? Corp was already the starter for USC until he was injured just before the start of the season. Others say you can't drop USC below a team they already beat (i.e. Ohio State) to which that I say, tOSU looks to have learned from their mistakes vs. USC and improved over the past week, while USC regressed and looked like they didn't belong on the field vs. Washington. BYU beat Oklahoma head to head, but you'll notice they aren't in the top 25 this week, while OU is. USC may have been questionably better than the Buckeyes last week in the Shoe, but this week, most definitely not.
Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant showed this week that the Cowboys do belong, and that their loss to Houston may have been the result of a letdown and a fluke after their big week one win over Georgia. Their next two games are against Grambling State and Texas A&M. The Cowboys should win each of those games before a somewhat brutal stretch to close out October when they host Missouri, travel to Waco to face the Baylor Bears, then host the Longhorns on October 31. If their defense plays like it did against Houston, October won't be kind to the Cowpokes, and my rankings will ultimately reflect that. 
The Frogs jumped a few spots this week after a few upsets but they still need a signature win to solidify their ranking. That could come this week as they will travel to South Carolina to take on the (2-1) Clemson Tigers. Clemson running back CJ Spiller has been great out of the backfield and as a return man, so for TCU to have a chance to win and hold onto their top 15 ranking, they must contain Spiller and move the ball offensively against a Tiger defense which last week, held Boston College to just seven points. 
The good news for the Jayhawks (3-0) is they are averaging 42 points per game on offense, led by QB Todd Reesing and running backs Jake Sharp and Toben Opurum. The bad news is, we still don't know if they're really any good or not. Nor will be know before October 24 when they host Oklahoma. Their next three games are all extremely winnable, meaning Kansas will likely start (6-0). In their final six, at least five are possible losses. I guess all I can say to Kansas fans is enjoy it while you can.
Nebraska led at halftime, and practically the entire second half of the game at Va Tech, until when it mattered most. Tyrod Taylor threw the game winning TD with just 21 seconds left on the clock to shock the Huskers. Nebraska had not one, but two touchdowns taken off the board, one by penalty, and one because the receiver fumbled the ball when he hit the ground. It was a valiant effort and Nebraska still hangs in the top 20 on my ballot this week.
I guess I really can't justify putting UM lower than 20 for now, so by default, the Wolverines crack the top 20, even though they still have not beaten anyone good. The lucky win over Notre Dame looks much less impressive when you consider that MSU, who lost to Central Michigan of the MAC last week, gave the game away to Notre Dame in the final minutes over the weekend in South Bend. Michigan fans are getting way carried away and even touting Tater as a Heisman candidate, in 2012 in small print, but still. Right now, he's their hero and savior, and at least 1000 times better than Pryor, McCoy, or Tebow among others—but he will choke when UM finally plays a good team, and when he does, then we'll see just how much UM fans really love him.
Georgia Tech has really disappointed the last two weeks. A close win, barely holding on at home vs. Clemson a week ago, and now a blowout loss to Miami has the Yellow Jackets out of the top 20 on my ballot. Jonathan Dwyer has underperformed in the last two games and if he and Josh Nesbitt can't get back on track, GT won't be in my top 25 much longer. 
Take away QB Chase Daniel, TE Chase Coffman, and WR Jeremy Maclin and what do you have? A Missouri Tigers team that looks almost as good as when those three were still suiting up. This years Tigers (3-0) are led by QB Blaine Gabbert. Sure, they've beaten up on two weak teams the last two weeks, but they did open the year with a 37-9 beatdown of Illinois on a neutral site. The next four games (at Nevada, vs. Nebraska, at Oklahoma State, vs. Texas) will truly measure how good these 2009 Tigers are.
Pitt was my pick to win the Big East, followed by West Virginia, then Cincy. RB Dion Lewis has been outstanding taking over at RB for Shady McCoy. I still believe Pitt could challenge the Bearcats for the conference crown, and fittingly, they play each other in the final game of the season. The Panthers handled the Navy Triple option much better than the Buckeyes did, but that was week one when OSU opened with the Midshipmen, and to be fair, Pitt plays NC State next week, not USC, so really no reason for them to look ahead. 
I suppose they could prove me wrong, but I still do not like this Seminoles team, and I don't think FSU will win more than seven or eight games this year. That being said, they just whipped BYU in Provo, and everyone remembers that BYU beat Oklahoma on a "neutral" site, so I have no choice but to move them back onto my ballot, but I trust it won't be for long. (Sorry FSUTampaGuy).
Iowa dropped out of my top 25 after the miracle win when they blocked two FG's vs. Northern Iowa in week one. The Hawkeyes (3-0), are now back after two wins over BCS teams. Now, Iowa State is a Big 12 doormat so that win did not sway me and Iowa did not move up last week, but Arizona is a pretty decent team from the Pac-10 so I do now believe Iowa is worthy of of the No. 25 slot. This coming Saturday, the Hawkeyes travel to Happy Valley for a game I am greatly anticipating. Penn State has yet to be tested and I'd love nothing more than to see an instant classic, and an Iowa victory. The game is the 8PM Saturday night ABC game—Don't miss it! 
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