"If Penn State makes it to Miami I'd be happy to drive.  I've got a hell of a good shortcut -- right through Savannah along the water." - W.T. SHERMAN

Systematic pirates of innovation that we are, The Rivalry, Esq. is borrowing a page from our Secsch friends at Team Speed Kills.  Each week we'll feature the best our team specific bloggers have to offer in neatly-packaged abstractions.

"It could have been worse."

That's what Around the Oval had to say about Ohio State's tight rope loss to Penn State.  ATO's coverage does a particularly nice job of excavating the controversial aspects of Buckeye play: why Boeckman sat, why Pryor is too hard on himself, if Offensive Coordinator Jim Bollman should take a hike, the defensive dexterity, Ray Small's thesbian tendencies, and the crowd pleasers.  If you're a Buckeye fan that still feels sour in the wake of Saturday's shortcomings, this is as good as Zantac.

"Those blowouts were compelling in ways words cannot describe, wins that were positively Wittgensteinian."

Black Heart, Gold Pants makes the most of a bye week by marinating and barbecuing Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times for making "too many stupid statements for a generic response."  Admittedly, we're all sort of hung up on this whole stand-up-for-the-conference crusade.  But, as long as you're in the mood, this is killer fodder.

"Who are these douchebags?"

After an afternoon in an ice-bath, the boys from Black Shoe Diaries stage a pre-emptive attack on the Texas Longhorns in true if you can't beat 'em, join 'em fashion.  The Hate Manual is chack full of all sorts of nasty preconditions: like, if Penn State faces the Horn's for it all, should they abandon the Spread HD and go to the run to keep the ball out of Colt McCoy's greasy fingers?

"I don't think so."

Says Maize n Brew on the subject of a potential Cal/Michigan rivalry.  Don't get them wrong: the 6-packs like the Golden Bear uniforms, Jahvid Best, even Berkeley.  It's just Michigan Men don't have to travel west of the Mississippi to get action.  Scandalous?  Just wait until you read the kicker: California isn't "loss worthy."  Hey Elaine, how about a sponge? 

"I would have expected this incredible start to translate into more verbal commitments than we could handle."

The Daily Gopher, sneaks a peek at the future of Rodent Recruiting.  Although the committment floodgates haven't opened just yet, GopherNation remains cautiously optimistic.  Check out his Top 10 wish list.  And it's not even December.

It's been twenty-four hours since the halides were shut off at the Colosseum -- the bright new bulbs brimming down in a burnt orange glow, bathing the historic stadium in a comfortable curtain of sovereignty.

So begins a new era in college football, but it has nothing to do with Southern California. 

It's clear now that the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes, the Cadillac mainstay of the Big 10 and New Yankees of College Football, are not going to win a national championship. 

And let's be honest.  That's okay.

Todd Boeckman is a big game liability.

I've often compared the rise and fall of the elite in college football to the stockbroker's dilemma.  Despite good input and experience the seasoned trader never fully knows whether the stock she tracks is at its apex, and thus on the verge of inevitable decline -- or, by contrast, whether it will keep going, climbing indefinitely.

Ohio State's zenith just might have been 2002.  That team became only the second in college football history to win 14 games -- including a spectacular upset of the awesome defending national champions.  Although they didn't know it then, it was the top floor for Larry Coker and the Hurricanes also.

And so, two teams headed to the lockers on that balmy night in Tempe, both benefactors and victims of a kind of manifest destiny.  That is the idea that greatness must come every time.  Progress every minute.  Dominance every second.

It's a mirage.  And yet, it's the nature of competitive ambition. 

It's time that Columbus faces a few facts.  Instead of continuous, systematic progress -- the Buckeyes are wallowing in second-hand smoke.  It's a lot easier to place blame than accept responsibility -- so I'll do my best to keep this impartial.  Here, are a few thoughts I had Saturday night:

1.  Todd Boeckman is a big-game liability.  His downfield passing ability hardly makes up for his pocket struggles.  After two seasons under center, he's simply not developing variance and adaption.  Compare Todd Reesing's performance in Kansas' loss to South Florida.  When forced to scramble, Reesing would reverse, throw off his back foot, and hit a sure receiver on one of a cluster of call-back routes.  Sure, this kind of effort led to the fatal interception that cost the Jayhawks the game -- but it also produced completions and carried a dynamic offense that moved the chains and put points on the board.  Which would you rather see?

Still, calling for Tood to sit is probably a bit premature.  I'd like to see a more natural transition, like from Justin Zwick to Troy Smith.  There's little question though, he has to go.

2. Ohio State has the athletes to play man to man defense.  Why does Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock stubbornly insist on zone?   Still, despite the lopsidedness of the contest, the defense put together a start to finish effort.  They didn't get much rest, and yet, they continued to hit hard -- forcing USC to punt twice and turnover on downs in the Fourth Quarter.

3. Didn't those tight end audibles look a lot like LSU in the 2007 BCS national championship?  Can you blame Pete Carroll for calling them?

And so, two teams headed to the lockers on that balmy night in Tempe, both benefactors and victims of a kind of manifest destiny.  That is the idea that greatness must come every time.  Progress every minute.  Dominance every second.

It's a mirage.  And yet, it's the nature of competitive ambition.

4. Why does Tressel allow his players to hang their heads in the locker room and on the sidelines?  Top down complacence is particularly frustrating, and it's one area in which Tressel's non-confrontational demeanor might paralyze his ability to motivate.  As he quipped afterwards, "We played as well as we could, with or without Beanie."  He can't be serious.  I challenge Jim to shed his diplomatic facade and display honest, unvanquished emotion.  It's okay to say "This wasn't acceptable."

5. Is it finally clear that the practice of scheduling back-to-back in-state lightweights and giving FCS revenue kickbacks isn't helping Ohio State learn to compete?  One in-state poodle a year is a fine.  Not two.   

6. Terrelle Pryor is the future of the Buckeyes.  Despite his limited playbook Terrelle displayed an aggressive patience, focus, and competitiveness on the national stage.  Keep your head up Pryor.  We need you.

So, the honeymoon with the sweater is officially over.  Inevitably, Jim Tressel and his staff (particularly Jim Bollman) will face chill-winds of criticism, and, for the first time meet overwhelmingly negatively public opinion in Columbus.  How they deal with it will tell us more about our leaders than win percentages ever have.

Saturday's loss is a tremendous opportunity.  It's time for Ohio State to bow out of the limelight, and to glean motivation from more than Top 10 exposure. 

Columbus too, needs to evolve: from a fan culture that expects to win, to one that merely demands to compete. 

It's time for the next wave.

Predestination, a doctrine supported by many Calvinists and folks living in Big Ten Country, is the general belief that God has already determined the course of events on this earth. Assuming that John Calvin was onto something, I have a strong feeling that the Trojans of USC have already won Saturday's game against Ohio State University. In fact, I just cannot imagine Him decreeing any other result in the showdown at the Coliseum.

Our SoCal friends over at Conquest Chronicles, in the spirit of humbleness and at the risk of losing all their readers, have made a pretty convincing case that Ohio State will not only hold their own against USC, but will dominate the game. Read this absolute foolishness here. The "psychological battle" argument is the star of their article.

The Reasons Behind My Beliefs

Where do I start? USC just doesn't lose regular season non-conference games. Since 2002, the Trojans are 15-1 in these early season tests,including stonings of traditional powers like Auburn, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, and Notre Dame. Coach Pete Carroll has recruited with religious zeal and instilled in his players an attitude of complete confidence. This recruiting/coaching recipe has led to early season blowouts of solid teams. This year looks to be no different, especially after the Trojans took the sword to Virginia in a 52-7 victory. The defense mixed up its blitz packages and attacked Virginia's quarterback relentlessly, leading to sacks and incompletions. Mark Sanchez and the stable of versatile running backs looked healthy and efficient in the aforementioned Virginia game.

Healthy and efficient are two words not being used to describe the Ohio State Buckeyes right now. Beanie Wells and his wounded foot will lack the explosiveness necessary to make a dent in USC's defense. Although USC's Conquest Chronicles suggests that Wells is merely resting his injured foot and playing possum, the Big Ten Network reported that Wells didn't play a full contact down the entire week after missing the Ohio University game. Wells will need to be miraculously healed to be a major factor against the fast, hard hitting Trojan D.On top of that, the other OSU running backs lack the north-south running ability of Wells and scat backs typically have trouble with the NFL-like quickness of the USC linebacking corp.

The resting place for the hopes and dreams of the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Of course if Pete Carroll and the Trojans watched any tape of the aforementioned Ohio game, he is sure to notice the horrendous performance by Todd Boeckman. Boeckman's sad statistics against the Bobcats (110 yards passing, 3 sacks, 0 touchdowns) don't even begin to show his lack of leadership and inability to deliver the ball to the wide receivers. And now I'm supposed to believe that Boeckman will walk into the Coliseum and lead the underdog Bucks to victory? He could barely lead them to a home victory against Ohio U!

Asking for a Miracle

The Ohio State University football team has taken major steps backward since the beginning of the season. Once thought of as an inescapably solid veteran team with an ace in the hole (QB Terrelle Pryor), now the Buck's have a wounded superstar, a struggling offense, and a defense that looked confused at times against a mid-major opponent. On top of that, they accepted an invitation to play a USC team that destroys non-conference teams and has so much depth that five star recruits happily sit on the bench.

The Buckeye's have been humbled and lost their air of invincibility. Will they rise from their lowly status and defeat the Trojans, like the great Biblical King Nebuchadnezzar of the Book of Daniel coming back from the wild to have his kingdom restored? I have a feeling the result of this game has already been ordained...and the Buckeye's won't be happy about the outcome