Update (post-Game): Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to your 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith. We here at MotSaG tip our hat to Troy, who played a flawless game. Almost all incompletions were drops, he stood in the pocket and was in complete control. Troy had made a bad throw or two, but looked amazing.

Some semi-live blogging:

The first quarter just came to an end with Gonzo carrying the Buckeyes all the way down the field, capping off the drive with a catch in the Endzone.

Buckeyes 7, Texas 0

Half just came to an end, but Ohio State got completely jobbed on the roughing the passer call. Everyone watching this game knew that was a bad call, but Texas had a nice drive to punch the ball to tie the game. But Texas can not stop Troy Smith, he is absolutely shredding Texas’ secondary. The 29 yard TD to Ted Ginn Jr. with 11 seconds left in the half was a thing of beauty. Ohio State goes in at the half winning.

Buckeyes 14, Texas 7

Some half time thoughts:

I’m a little nervous that we’re having trouble stopping the run. Charles has been better than Young, but they’re both playing well. McCoy has only thrown a couple passes downfield, but he’s playing well. Our Defense has been better than I thought we’d be, but stopping the running game needs to be a priority.

Troy Smith is looking great, laser accurate and patient as heck. Gonzalez has completely owned Texas’ defensive backs and Ginn is playing well. We haven’t been running the ball well, but we haven’t had to. Here’s to a great second half.

McCoy made his first mistake, throwing over the middle right to Lauranatais, setting up the only 3rd quarter score.

Buckeyes 17, Texas 7

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, I think it’s safe to say that Ohio State validated their top ranking. It seemed like Texas threw in the towel around the five minute mark, with Colt McCoy running an option play on third and long. That was a little disappointing to seem them so deflated, but they got absolutely worked.

Congratulations, Ohio State, the #1 team in the nation.

Ohio State 24
Texas 7
Final

Wow, I can’t believe it’s actually here – the day before the Texas game. Buckeye fans have been looking forward to this day for quite some time, and now we’re just a day away. This game has been dissected, turned inside out, analyzed and then reanalyzed. Then the analysis has been put through a strainer, reducing this game to the essence of pure, unadulterated College Football. #1 versus #2. Two heavy-weights, slugging away at each other, one looking for revenge, the other, validation. For one, the path to the BCS Title Game becomes easier. The other stumbles but certainly doesn’t fall. For 3+ hours on Saturday Night, all eyes will be on Austin.

And we can’t wait!

So for your reading pleasure, allow us to present some of that analysis. We’ve got you previews from:

The O-Zone’s Preview
CBS SportsLine’s preview
The 614’s Texas Preview
Pfef looks at the keys to the game
Buckeye Commentary has a bunch of links more previews
A little pregame voting on ESPN (When I voted, 41.2% had picked OSU to win in a close finish and 38% voting Texas to win in a close finish. Only 4.8% had picked Texas to easily win.)

BuckeyeXtra has a recap of the defensive… shortcomings in the NIU game. It also has the best quote from Selvin Young describing Garrett Wolfe: “Those guys were getting their feet wet against a scatback who can make anyone miss in a phone booth.”

Word is that tens of thousands of Buckeye Fans will be descending on Austin this weekend. This seems to rub this Dallas columnist the wrong way. (He does redeem himself here, though)

Lots of bloggers were talking to each other this week. I find this is funny, because I thought this was war, but whatever. You’ve got the guys at Burnt Orange Nation interviewing Keith from Buckeye Commentary. Then, Keith returns the favor.

Pfef also joins the fray, interviewing one of the guys at Bevo Sports.

Are you a college football fan but you don’t have a dog in this fight? BaggyPantsDevil at the MZone looks at this dilemma and decides he’ll be rooting for Texas.

So what about the game? Currently, the Longhorns are favored by 2.5. So what’s your prediction?

Last week, we kept track of how long it was before the specter of [HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED] was brought up by the commentators. It took them less than half an hour. We’re taking bets on this week. Right now, the line is at 5 minutes. Right after they mention the suspension of Brown.

Some other things we’re willing to bet on:

How many interceptions does Colt McCoy throw? (over/under at 1.5)
How many rushing yards does Troy Smith have? (over/under at 50)
How many times does Texas sack Troy? (o/u at 2.5)
How many man-hours will be lost today in Columbus and Austin as people discuss the game with friends and co-workers? (no line)
How many times do they show Kirk Herbstreit in the booth, as a favor for the lady fans (and me)? (over/under at 5)
How many times does Musberger call Ted Ginn Jr. “Teddy”? (o/u at 5.5)

MotSaG Predictions:
el Kaiser

Final score: OSU: 37 – Texas: 31
McCoy’s INTs: 1 (under)
TS rushing yards: 95 (over)
Texas sacks: 2 (under)
Man-hours: I know I’ll personally be responsible for the loss of dozens of hours in my office, especially while I chat with theMonkey.
Kirk Herbstreit shots: NOT ENOUGH
Musberger: He calls TGJ “Teddy” once and Herbstreit pushes him out of the press box.

sportsMonkey
Final score: Texas rallies in the fourth quarter to bring the score close, but the new time rules bite them in the ol’ Horns hide and they come up short. OSU: 31 – Texas: 27.
McCoy’s INTs: 1 (under). I still think he makes two turnovers, though. Either two INTs or an INT and a fumble.
TS rushing yards: 70 (over)
Texas sacks: 2 (under) One of them will be technically called a sack, but will actually be a TS rush for a loss.
Man-hours: How many hours are there in a week? Yeah, whatever that number is, plus five.
Kirk Herbstreit shots: Eleventy billion.
Musberger: 5.5. The half comes from when he catches & corrects himself. Late in the game Herbie takes the open container away from Brent as punishment.

Zeke
Final score: OSU: 27 – Texas: 23
McCoy’s INTs: 1 (under)
TS rushing yards: 42 (under)
Texas sacks: 3 (over)
Man-hours: I was stuck in the Blackwell (for those of you not from Columbus, the Blackwell is a hotel on tOSU campus) at a conference all day, so I was not able to contribute to the man hours lost yesterday.
Kirk Herbstreit shots: Definitely over 5
Musberger: I would say the o/u is exceeded after we hear welcome to Austin and before the kickoff. Can I get a “Holy Teddy”?

Predictions around the blogosphere:
I’m an ideas man: OSU: 35 Texas: 31
Burnt Orange Nation: Texas: 27 OSU: 24
Heisman Pundit: OSU: 24 Texas: 19
Blog for the Sports Gamer: OSU: 31 Texas: 17

Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments, or if you’re a blogger, send us a link or trackback to your post!

We’re starting a new regular feature here at Men of the Scarlet and Gray now that the season is upon. We’ll start each Friday with an Open Thread where the MotSaG bloggers will discuss that week’s game, along with some predictions which will almost certainly be embarrasingly off. But we’ll make them with pride. We invite our readers to chime in as well, let us know what you think about the game, your predictions, what have you, in the comments.

Week #1 brings the beginning of the much anticipated 2006 season with an opening game against Northern Illinois. Expectations are sky-high and questions abound about the defense, and hopefully Northern Illinois and Garrett Wolfe will prove a worthy opponent for week one.

For a preview, check out The 614’s preview or Buckeye Planets exhaustive NI Preview.

Vegas has the line at about 18 points.

In addition to the final score, how about a couple other predctions:

How rushing yards will the new OSU defense give up (over/under at 120 yards)?

How many touchdowns will Ted Ginn Jr score (over/under at 1.5)?

How many touches will Beanie Wells get (over/under at 8.5)?

My predictions are:

I think the Huskies might threaten early, driven by adrenaline and the atmosphere of the Horsehoe, but this game will be over by the middle of the second quarter. OSU will pound the ball with the running game against NI’s small-ish defense and simply wear them down. On defense, I imagine this will be try-outs for the Texas game for the defensive backfield. I think our depth and speed overwhelm the Huskies.

Final score: 31-10
NI’s rushing yards: 100 (under)
TGJ’s TDs: 2 (over)
Wells’ carries: 10 (over)

Zeke’s Predictions
Final Score: 38-17
NIU’s rushing yards: 119 (under)
TGJ’s TDs: 1 (under)
Wells’ carries: 13 (over)

I would agree with Kaiser that NIU will be able to move the ball early. I fully expect as the game goes along OSU’s front four will be too much for NIU’s OL to handle. The 7-8 man rotation on the DL with keep the guys fresh. I can’t count how many times I have heard this week listening to radio and preview shows, “the game is won in the trenches”. I think it will be key for OSU to get pressure on the Huskie QB with the front four, allowing the speed of the back seven to make plays.

In the past few years it has taken a few games for OSU’s offense to get up to speed, I don’t think anyone expects it to take time this year. I sure don’t. I would’nt be surprised if the score is something like 17-10 at halftime, with the Huskies hanging in, but I fully expect the second half to be dominated by the Buckeyes.

sportsMonkey’s Predictions
NIU is a perfect first opponent for OSU – a solid team with a good first unit that will challenge the Bucks and coaches.

If I were a Texas fan, I’d be a bit nervous over the difference in first opponents between OSU and the ‘Horns. OSU will be tested by NIU, and will be able to come away with some good experience and opportunities to learn and improve. Texas won’t be tested at all by North Texas, which will make preparing for OSU next week much harder.

As is the case for most MAC schools, I expect NIU’s first team to come out swinging, and make it a competetive first half for the Bucks. Garrett Wolfe put up a buck-fifty against UM last year, including a huge 76 yarder. But a team like NIU simply doesn’t have the two-deep that a Big Ten school has, so things will start to fall apart for them by the end of the second quarter/beginning of the third quarter.

Final score: 34-13
NIU’s rushing yards: 130 (over)
TGJr’s TDs: 1 (under)
Beanie’s carries: 7 (under)

Earlier this month, the pre-season polls started coming out. Our Ohio State Buckeyes were bubbling to the top, the cream that they are. I don’t remember which one was first (the ESPN/Coaches poll?) but I started getting nervous. The Sports Illustrated poll wouldn’t be far behind. Would they doom OSU’s chances at the National Title by featuring us on the cover? If they did, could we finally break the curse? I, like most of Buckeye Country, was a bit nervous picking up SI’s College Football Preview. Sure, there was more than one cover, the regional covers alleviating a little of the possibility of a 6-way curse, but there it was, hovering.

I was reminded of another SI cover:

I remember an IMMENSELY talented Buckeye team, lead by a talented quarterback, talented receivers and monster defense. I also remember a fateful afternoon in November, a dark, cold night in the ‘Shoe and a fateful fumble and a gut-wrenching interception, the hopes of a National Championship lost. With Troy and company on the cover of this year’s SI College Preview, I hope we don’t have to live through that again. Though the parallels between this team and the ’98 team aren’t strong, I still have two fears going into the season.

Overconfidence is my first fear. The players have been hearing the hype. They’ve seen the shows, they’ve seen the polls. How much is going to their head? On the outside, the Buckeyes, especially Troy Smith, have been saying all the right things. Coach Tressel has been training them well. They are keeping things very close to the vest (pun intended). Reading the article in the New York Times (discussed here earlier) painted a picture of low-key living by some of the Buckeyes, and hopefully they’ve been able to avoid the hype, to some extent.

Second, I worry about the expectations of the fans. Fellow MotSaGer Slyvester-Yon Rambo and I always discuss our “eternal contentment” with the Buckeyes. After the 2002 championship, we both decided that we would be content with OSU teams that go 10-2, 9-3, beating Michigan and winning the Big Ten but maybe not making it to the BCS Championship game each year. But is that enough for Buckeye fans as a whole? With all the hype and hope, will anything but a trip to the Fiesta Bowl BCS National Championship Game be a disappointing season? Will fans be able to stand another disappointment at the hands of Texas or a loss to the Hawkeyes in Iowa City?

And couple that with the players on the field. Will the pressure and their own over-confidence be too much to handle? Will the young defense feel the need to perform immediately, stunting their development? Or will it propel the team to play harder, to prove the pundits right?

Only time will tell. Time that is quickly approaching.

Ahh, those poor guys at the M-Zone. Longing for the days of yore, they have posted a video of OSU’s “Greatest Hits” from the past 30+ years. We noticed that there were only a couple “highlights” from the past decade, so we’re here to fill in the blanks:

We also find a few pictures that will help jog their memories. Remember this picture?

Or this one?

And there’s always this one.

Yeah, we remember those, too.