Happy Valley indeed

Mea culpa: I didn't really think we had much of a chance. The mismatches seemed to be few and far between, but the one that seemed to matter most - the Buckeye offense versus Penn State's defense - was in Penn State's favor by such a wide margin, I thought it invalidated the overall evenness of the two teams.

I was wrong. And I couldn't be happier about it.

There's so much credit to give to so many different people, I'm not sure where to begin. Who thought we wouldn't turn the ball over once, against one of the ballhawkin'est defenses in the country?  Who thought we'd total 200 yards rushing against far and away the best rushing defense we've played all year? Who thought we'd have any sort of passing game whatsoever?

I imagine a few of you über-homers out there thought we did, but going into this game, what exactly did you base that on, you mad bastards? I submit that it was absolutely nothing, other than mindless faith in your team. Well, you were right this time.

The Good

- First things first: I have to give it up for the playcalling, but can I at least only do it in isolated instances? It's not like anything between the field goal drive and Pryor's first passing TD was revolutionary. What was new and interesting wasn't executed right in the first place. Didn't even look practiced. But outside of that? It was the best-called offensive gameplan since.... Happy Valley 2007. Hey, Penn State, can we trade stadiums?

- This is Terrelle Pryor's signature "Terrelle Pryor" win. He was not amazing. For an entire half, he wasn't even particularly good. But on two out of three instances when Ohio State badly, badly needed him to just be a competent quarterback, he actually did it. Against an excellent defense, no less. He nailed that bomb to Posey perfectly, did an excellent job of hitting his checkdown on Brandon Saine's receiving TD, and he juuuust overshot Sanzenbacher before the half. There were arm punts here and there, but the fact that they didn't land in the hands of some greedy DB has to count as some bit of progress. Overall, I don't think you can deny that he did the best job yet in his young career of "managing the game", as the cliché goes. For once, he didn't force anything. Had those first down drops been brought in by usually-surehanded Devier Posey and Duron Carter, it might have been considered the unquestioned best performance of his career.

- I thought the Ohio State offensive line did an excellent job, considering, in both pass and run pro. Even without JB Shugarts, they made the Penn State front four largely irrelevant for much of the game. I was not expecting Ohio State to gash PSU like they did, and the line played the biggest part. It's not like Herron was having the greatest day seeing the holes that developed, but the Buckeyes were still able to pick up 4-5 yards on the ground consistently enough to take pressure off of Pryor. These guys deserve all the crap they've gotten these past few years, just as much as they deserve the bulk of the credit for today's offensive success.

- The defensive line has completely recovered from the Purdue loss. Cameron Heyward might have made himself a 1st round pick this year with the job he did today. That sucks, but it's tough to deny that he looked like the best player on either team today. I feel like a complete jackass for suggesting he move back to DT over the summer. He's an excellent strongside DE.

- I thought Herron and Saine both finally lived up to the hype, even if it was only in fits and starts. Both looked far quicker against Penn State than they have at any time this year. Hope Herron can get healthy in time for Iowa, but I wouldn't count on it.

- I think it's safe to say Ray Small, while not living up to expectations by any stretch, isn't quite a bust. First, he saves our bacon against Ohio U, and today, his punt returns changed the dynamic of the whole game. I can't help but wonder what might have been if the dude had kept his head straight for his first three years in Columbus.

- I thought Devin Barclay looked calm, cool and collected in such a raucous environment. He's no Mike Nugent, and probably not even Josh Huston, but he came up pretty big in his first road start.

The Bad

I can't believe this, but this is going to be rather short.

- Let's not make Jake Ballard block anybody the rest of the season. Dude just can't do it. Relying on him to stop a DE is like asking a paraplegic to stop a freight train. It's just not fair. 

- Graham Zug getting loose in the secondary so consistently was worrisome. Seemed like he was the only reason Penn State was driving most of the time. Luckily, this was mostly a first half problem, and seemed to get sewn up fine after that.

- I still consider anything-and-short automatic for most teams against our defensive interior. Our DTs are good, but they just can't push the opposing interior back in these critical situations.  Not with any consistency anyway.

The Downright Confusing

- The Wildcat was deployed in the first half at the most confusing time possible, and was appropriately stuffed. It was deployed in the second half, and worked. What? Did Jim Tressel really wait nine games to use this? I suppose this is more ammo for the "he's holding stuff back" crowd, but man, this was shocking. If we're going to use it again, let's put someone back there who might actually be a threat to pass at some point (Posey? Some former high school QB?)

- I don't think Penn State fans repped particularly well at all. Booing their own team, leaving early when the game was still technically in doubt.... not pretty. I'm not enough of a jackass to make any grand proclamations about their "classlessness" or something, but... I was disappointed. For the record, I don't think any fan should ever boo their own team.

- I guess we didn't need it that much in the end, but the lack of play-action is perplexing. Especially when we're running on almost every first down.

If you read the live thread, you'll remember me saying that Purdue changed my entire perspective on this season. Well, this is just as much of a gamechanger. While it doesn't wholly make up for the Purdue loss, it shows us definitively that things are actually trending up, the offense is getting better, and this defense is more than a beneficiary of having played bad offensive teams. Remember that one maxim about Jim Tressel teams always getting better? I'm close to rechristening it The Grand Theory of Ohio State Football in post-Cooper Era. Today was about as much proof as one will ever need. Still, Iowa, even without Ricky Stanzi, will be no slouch, and Michigan is Michigan. Ohio State will have to guard against a letdown in both games. The road to Pasadena is winding, if not particularly long. I guess I can't blame you for smelling roses after today's game. Let's just hope the team isn't quite yet.