For the third straight week, Ohio State leaves a a quickly-decided victory with more answers than questions.The team certainly feels like it's improving week-to-week, like I (and really, any half-way competent observers of OSU football) thought it would. But, of course, not everything is getting better all the time.  Injuries are piling up, and that's worrisome. Even so, there are areas that still need work, but I think it's becoming clear that they're narrowing by the week.

The Good (this is a long one)

- Brandon Saine. I'm a Brandon believer now (if you're wondering about the 60's vibe so far, it's just working so I'm rolling with it). The carries should be divied up 50-40-10 Saine-Herron-Hall from here on out. Saine showcased an entire repertoire of skills we badly need in the backfield, and has earned himself the starting nod.

 - It almost doesn't need to be said: the defensive line. Even with the loss of Larimore,  they dominated in the trenches and rendered the tricky IU pistol null and void. Rob Rose had a massive game for a reserve, forcing both a safety and a sack. John Simon? Never looked like a freshman. First half defensive game ball to Turd Durlinger Todd Denlinger for the game-changing pick that ended a promising IU drive. All this being said, it will be interesting to see how the post-Larimore DL looks against a more competent rushing attack in Wisconsin. Losing Larimore will matter eventually, for reasons of simple depth and stamina.

- Eeeeeeevil Jim Tressel. At the time of this writing, with 4:56 left in the fourth quarter and a 33-7 lead, Ohio State was still passing (a pass which resulted in a pick, of course). There are two plausible reasons for this:  1) Tressel doesn't want another gimpy RB getting banged up late in the game, and 2) he didn't like what he saw from Pryor in the first 56 minutes of the game, which is understandable: there was a lob here, an arm punt there, and of course, that final. Nevertheless, Tressel Ball wasn't nearly as ubiquitous in the second half as you'd expect.

- Sanzenbacher, Carter, Posey and Small caught everything thrown to them, even when Pryor left them out to dry.

- Terrelle Pryor, but just barely. He's here for those 3 TDS, each of them solid throws to open guys.  The second half was a little brutal, with the pick, and the requisite arm punts. He also made mostly good decisions when he kept the ball, and again ran with some noticeable determination that we didn't see against Navy and USC. He wasn't a worldbeater, but he was more than solid, so he gets the nod.

- Let's give some credit to JT (or is it Hazell?) - the playcalling has been decidedly less caveman predictable the past couple weeks. We're operating mostly out of the 'gun, we're utilizing read-option, misdirection, and play-action, and it's giving opposing defenses a lot more to prepare for than off-tackle left, off-tackle right, pass. Sure, it usually feels like all they're doing is saying "uh, take the ball and run Terrelle", but it's working, and on that note, credit also goes to...

- The offensive line. Outside of one sack in which I don't think anyone blocked anybody, the problems with opposing pass rushes have been mostly non-existent the past two weeks, and they're no longer getting pushed around in critical 3rd/4th-and-short situations. Shugarts struggled at  times, but he was no Bryant Browning '08.

The Bad

- Bill Lynch Tillering the affair by scoring a meaningless TD before the clock expired in the second half. I dug his flip-out against Michigan, but screw that guy. In the face.

- Is Aaron Pettrey on meth? Dude could probably drill 50 yarders while using crutches but apparently can't hit a chip shot FG when the game was still sorta in doubt? Anyone else a bit anxious about him kicking in front of the White-Out?

The Downright Confusing

- Where was Brandon Saine in between the first and third quarters? Was he gimpy too? Should I be stockpiling food and supplies How much food and supplies should I stockpile if he comes up with a hammy next week?

- This punt return game needs some life. I know Small was ridiculous last year, but right now, it seems he seeks out a cloud of opposing players and just hopes he can move them when he hits them. Thomas looked good on kick returns, so I think he'll be next in line if Small continues to underwhelm. 

- I know the offense put up 31 points, and I've been raving over just about everything and everyone, but our drives take forever. This helps us in low-scoring games in which TOP is as crucial as it gets, but against faster-paced teams with talent (i.e. not Toledo) and competence (i.e. not Illinois), it just might come back to bite us. The quick-strike attack that put us up 17-7 was gorgeous, but I feel safe in saying it had a bit more to do with Indiana's secondary flailing about than OSU's tempo. In one of these breather games, I'd just like to see a competent two minute-drive in a pressure situation. This is a minor quibble, but one I feel is worth mentioning.

So, Pryor's "key stretch" got off to a fairly good start. For increasingly common portions of the game, he looked like a quarterback, which is, after all, what I wanted. Next up is 5-0 Wisconsin, and they might be one of the least-impressive 5-0 teams you'll ever see: they've yet to beat an FBS opponent by more than 8 points. Regardless, they're unblemished, their offense is clicking (though, again, they seem to be racking up the purty stats against mostly bad defenses), and their defense is intermittently average. It could be our biggest test between here and Happy Valley though, and it's coming alarmingly early in the aforementioned stretch. The Badgers typically play us tougher than anyone else in the conference outside of PSU and Michigan, and I don't expect that to change, even with Bielema as incompetent as he clearly is. Thankfully, the rushing game Death Star is fully operational, and, as far as we know, the defensive line hasn't lost a step without Larimore. That should be enough to keep the Buckeyes ahead of the Badgers.