Good morning Buckeye Nation.

Long Time: Is it me or did it seem like its been a long time since we seen the Buckeyes football team in action? Have no fear for the wait is finally over and gameday is here, today’s opponent is the Iowa Hawkeyes. The last time they played each other was 2010 I believe with OSU winning 20-17 in Iowa, Kirk Ferentz is 1-7 vs the Buckeyes. Here’s a recap of that game for you to enjoy:

2018-2019 Announcement: I know we might be getting ahead of ourselves here but the B1G made an announcement on the dates for the 2018 and 2019 season openers and also the conference championship dates. Beginning in 2016 the B1G will move to a 9 game conference schedule first time since the 1983-84 seasons.

Mindnumbing BS: Everywhere you look these days everyone is saying how weak the schedule the Buckeyes play even if they go undefeated they might be left out of the title game. Bleacher Report just had a post about it tying the Buckeye with Louisville about strength of schedule. Well Louisville dropped their game last night to UCF so that link will now be dead, but my issue is the strength of schedule talk. Is it the Buckeyes fault that when they scheduled Cal they would basically suck years later? Its Ohio States fault for Vandy backing out too right. Wait nope its the Buckeyes fault that the rest of the B1G is unfortunately looking terrible around the country. I mean come on here Michigan drops to Penn State last week and Brady cHoke had a top ten team recruiting this last year. Look besides scUM recruiting well and having an over hyped coach that is not Ohio States fault for everyone else falling short. Every week you play a conference foe you have to bring your A game and every week you win you should be rewarded doesn’t matter what the score and style points are. Everyone remember the magical year of 2001 when there were a ton of close games and the Buckeyes pulled them out and were rewarded with a trip to a National Championship and beat Miami. Basically stop blaming the Buckeye for the weak schedule blame the B1G for they should be ashamed of themselves.

Football Committee: The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has finally been announced. The 13 member committee is a who’ who of college football. Tom Osborne, Archie Manning, and Barry Alvarez are just some of the members. There has been many people complaining about former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice being on this committee which is mind boggling to me. Rice is very knowledgeable about football heck shes a Cleveland Browns fans. You can pick any NFL team in the country and you pick the Browns tells me you know your stuff!!

Be Thankfully: I always try to remember whatever I am going through life there is someone who is going through something worse than myself. Well this seems it could relate to sports, no matter how bad that black eye that was left on the Buckeyes football program nothing can be compared to this.

Until next time Buckeye Nation…

We’re finally here. After this week’s games, the first BCS rankings will be released. For those of you who have been following “5 Things” over the years, or who have talked football with me in person, you know that I’m not a fan of the BCS formula. Particularly, I am not at all a fan of the Coaches Poll because it’s so superficial. I don’t think it’s always the actual coaches making the votes (which several coaches have admitted) and coaches have neither the time nor the inclination to watch games that involve teams that don’t have a direct impact on their team (e.g. teams within their own conference or teams ranked above them). I also don’t like that the big thing that was supposed to be better about this formula is the input of the computers because they were supposed to inject some objectivity into the process, but most years the two human polls make the computer rankings virtually irrelevant.

The first selection committee for the college playoffs was officially announced this week (even though virtually every member’s name was already leaked), and I don’t have a problem with any of the selections. I’m a little curious how they determined who was going to be the chairman (Arkansas AD Jeff Long), but I don’t really have any objection to that selection either. The most interesting choice in my view, wasn’t Condoleezza Rice, it was Tom Jernstedt. While I think it’s a good choice because of his extensive experience being involved with the basketball selection committee, which I think will be useful for the first few years of this one, I think it’s interesting that a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is a member of the first College Football Playoff selection committee. That sounds like a trivia question waiting to happen.

Let’s dive into some of these games!

1. UCF at #8 Louisville (Friday 7pm CST on ESPN): I think this will likely be the last chance this regular season for a team to challenge the Cardinals. It’s certainly possible that Houston could challenge them, but the Cougars likely won’t be undefeated by then, as they have to face BYU, Rutgers, and UCF before they visit Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Week 12. Part of me hopes they make it through that schedule because I’d love to write about the Cougars’ quarterback who I think has the second-best last name in college football after Clinton-Dix — O’Korn. This week, Teddy Bridgewater’s team faces a one-loss UCF squad that nearly knocked off South Carolina and beat Penn State. The Knights have two players that are fun to watch, in quarterback Blake Bortles and tailback Storm Johnson. Johnson, a former Miami Hurricanes back, was in that stable of backs in the 2010 recruiting class that included Marcus Lattimore and Michael Dyer. I call Bortles the “poor man’s Johnny Manziel” because he’s very creative in the pocket. He doesn’t take off in the rushing game as often as Manziel ( and he’s only averaging a little over a yard per carry), but he’s great at extending plays and making things happen. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so tonight because if the Louisville defense plays as well as it did last week against Rutgers then the Knights will be in big trouble. The Cardinals defense picked off Gary Nova four times (he’d only thrown four all season before that) and held the Scarlet Knights to just 12 yards rushing (one of two teams to hold them to fewer than 185 yards). Bortles will have to take care of the ball and convert on third down this week because they need limit the opportunities Teddy Bridgewater, his stable of running backs, and one of the best receivers in the nation in the red zone (Devante Parker) are able to get. Louisville is third in the nation in third down defense, allowing a first down only 24% of the time. This game will be closer than people think, just as was the case when the Knights faced South Carolina, but I don’t see an upset here. Louisville wins.

2. No. 22 Florida at No. 14 Missouri (11:21am CST ESPN3): I wish this game was on television because I want to see how Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk does against a strong, but overworked, Florida Gators defense. In an SEC battle that will include two backup quarterbacks, I think the Tigers have the advantage in quarterback play. I realize he’s a redshirt freshman and hasn’t even played an entire quarter, but as I wrote earlier this week, this guy is going to be good. The problem is that the Gators pass defense hasn’t allowed 200 yards passing yet this season and that includes games against Miami’s Stephen Morris (boy, was he frustrating to watch last night against UNC!) and LSU’s Zach Mettenberger. It also bears mentioning that the Gators are also very good against the run, having only allowed two teams to rush for more than 100 yards (Arkansas and LSU). Missouri is averaging 239 yards on the ground and I think Maty Mauk is actually a little more mobile than James Franklin so it’s possible that could cause some trouble for the Gators. The biggest problem for the Gators defense is that they’re on the field too much. Their offensive counterparts are only converting a little over 46% of their third downs and are averaging nearly eight penalties per game. Florida also lost their second-leading rusher this week, Matt Jones, for the season with a torn meniscus. Perhaps this will be a chance for freshman Kelvin Taylor (son of Florida alum and longtime NFL star Fred Taylor) to get some carries. He’s going to be good, but there just wasn’t room to give him playing time behind Jones and Mack Brown. The Gators actually have not one, but two, cornerbacks that can line up against Missouri’s star sophomore wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. He’s 6’6″ 225 and is a strong route runner, and he’ll have at least 6 inches on both Purifoy and Hargreaves III, but these two are great at positioning and being a ball hawk. In the red zone, though, I don’t know how they’d defend a fade route, or a back-shoulder throw. We’ll have to see how Coach Muschamp compensates for that. If Maty Mauk doesn’t turn the ball over, I think they have a chance to pull off another win. However, I think Florida’s defense wins out and either causes some turnovers or is dominant on third down (maybe both). Gators win a close one.

3. No. 9 UCLA at No. 13 Stanford (2:30pm CST ABC/ESPN2): UCLA is probably the team currently ranked in the top ten that gets the least amount of attention. Part of that is the fact that the west coast teams often play late and part of it is because the only Pac-12 teams that really are talked about are Oregon, USC, and Stanford. The Bruins already have road wins against Nebraska and Utah this season and are about to go through one heck of a stretch in their schedule (including this week at Stanford, at Oregon, Washington, and at USC). Stanford is coming off a loss to the Utes (at Utah) and I’m sure David Shaw has been working very hard this week to try to avoid back-to-back losses. The Cardinal haven’t lost two games in a row since 2009 when Jim Harbaugh’s squad lost at Oregon State and at Arizona. They’ll have to be very strong defensively to beat the Bruins as only four teams in the nation average more yards per game than UCLA (Baylor, Oregon, TAMU, and FSU). They’re averaging 547 yards of offense per game while Stanford is 48th in the nation in total defense allowing nearly 380 yards per game. UCLA’s Brett Hundley can often look like a prototypical pocket passer, but then he takes off running and changes the game. Even though I know he can run, it still often surprises me when he takes off. In that way, he reminds me of Andrew Luck in that he’s great in the pocket, but when he decides to run he has great athleticism. Hundley runs about twice as often as his counterpart, Stanford’s Kevin Hogan, but both are threats to run for a first down if it’s necessary. Both teams are in the top 15 in the nation in third down conversions, but I think what will change the game is defending them. The Bruins are second in the nation against third down conversions, only allowing a 24% conversion rate. I’m a big believer in the criticality of being able to convert third downs and being able to defend third downs and UCLA is in the top five in the nation in both categories. Stanford has to be thrilled that this game is at home, but I don’t think it will matter. Third downs will be the difference and I have to give UCLA the edge there. The Bruins win and, hopefully, gain some much-deserved attention for it.

4. Indiana at Michigan (2:30pm CST Big Ten Network): This seems like an odd choice of games to discuss doesn’t it? However, my Buckeyes face these two teams back to back to finish the regular season. Furthermore, I don’t put it past either of them to pull off a possible upset and you’ll see why. The Hoosiers rank 13th nationally in passing yards per game (331 yards per game) while averaging nearly 42 points per game. Coach Kevin Wilson is in his second year and has done a good job of implementing his offense from his days as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma (former winner of the Broyles award as the top assistant in the country). The Hoosiers have been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team this year in that it’s been difficult to get a good read on just how good they really are. They lost to Navy but beat Penn State by 20, for example. This is only the second road game on the season for the Hoosiers after a loss at Michigan State last week. MSU’s top-ranked defense was one of only two teams this season that was able to stop Indiana from scoring at least 30 points (Missouri). Michigan has the 13th-ranked team in terms of total defense so I’m sure they feel like if they can hold the Hoosiers under 30 points, they have a chance. The Wolverines are coming off a crushing quadruple overtime loss to Penn State last week for their first loss of the season. The Achilles heel for Michigan this year is turnovers, however, because only twice this season have they lost fewer than three turnovers (1 versus Notre Dame and 0 versus Minnesota). Devin Gardner has thrown 10 interceptions (versus 11 touchdowns) and five of them have come on third down. Two of the five interceptions the Hoosiers have on the season have come on third down, so we should probably keep an eye on that. As a Buckeyes fan, I actually need both teams to win this game to help boost my team’s remaining schedule, but a Michigan win would help more because there’s a chance they’re a one-loss team going into the final game of the regular season (although they still play at Michigan State, Nebraska and at Northwestern). However, with the Hoosiers ability to put up yards and points, Michigan’s tendency to turn the ball over, and Michigan’s struggles against weak teams like Akron and Connecticut, I can’t reasonably pick a Wolverines victory here. Indiana wins and pulls the upset!

5. No. 5 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson (7pm CST ABC): This is the game that I’ve looked most forward to this season. It’s a battle of legitimate Heisman candidates (Tajh Boyd and Jameis Winston) at quarterback and for the lead in the ACC Atlantic. I have a feeling that after this game I’ll wish they were in different divisions so that there would be a chance for them to meet again in the ACC Championship. This game should answer a question I’ve had about each team thus far. For Clemson: How will the Clemson defense handle a mobile quarterback? Jameis Winston only has 36 rushing attempts this season (averaging 3.75 yards per rush), but anyone who has watched him play can see he can fly if the need arises — and that need hasn’t arisen very often thus far this season due to the competition faced. For Florida State: How will that defense that is currently ranked 7th nationally in total defense handle a team that averages nearly 82 plays per game when their opposition thus far has averaged a mere 64? I’ve been an advocate of Boyd’s for years and it appears his senior season is working its way to being his best. However, he and the rest of the Tigers need to get past what ESPN’s David Pollack calls “Clemsoning”, which he defines as collapsing in big games. He frequently points out that the it was just two bowl seasons ago that the Tigers lost 70-33 to West Virginia after winning its first ACC Championship in 20 years. I think beating LSU in last year’s bowl season and starting this season off with a win over a healthy Georgia team should have gone towards overcoming that “Clemsoning” stigma, but perhaps it will take passing this test to do that. Florida State has started nearly every season in recent memory with preseason hype because they are perennially stacked with fantastic athletes (and the media’s seeming love affair with quarterback EJ Manuel). If there were no preseason polls (my dream scenario), I don’t think Florida State would be ranked this high. Well, maybe they would be given the media sensation that his phenomenal play has made “Famous” Jameis Winston. Yes, they beat a ranked opponent, but all that did was show that Maryland shouldn’t have been ranked (they lost 63-0) and it almost seemed liked they were moved into the Top 25 for the sole purpose of giving FSU a win against a ranked opponent. They wouldn’t do that though. (Why isn’t there a sarcasm font?) Both of these teams are in the top 20 in both total offense and total defense and only six other teams can make that claim (only FSU and Wisconsin are in the top ten in both categories, however). Clemson is first in the nation defending third down only allowing a first down an amazing 23.71% of the time. Even a healthy Georgia converted just four third downs (in 14 attempts) against the Tigers. If I put that on top of the fact that Clemson is playing at home (in the other Death Valley) where they’ve lost just three times since 2010, then I cannot convince myself to pick the Seminoles. I think “Famous” Jameis will still have a good game, but Clemson will lean on the senior quarterback to come through in the clutch and he’ll respond. Clemson wins a close one!

P.S. I think USC will upset Notre Dame as well.

We are down to just 14 undefeated teams, and this weekend brings us two games between unbeatens, plus a handful of others where no-lossers will be put to the test. Chances are we’ll still be in the double-digits when the dust settles Sunday morning, but you never know where a four-overtime upset might be brewing. For your viewing pleasure this week, I have provided a link to an interesting image that came up when doing a Google search for both team’s mascots together. Am I running out of ideas for the TV Guide? Why do you ask?

Friday

8:00pm

UCF @ Louisville. I mean, this guy. Right? (ESPN)

Saturday

12:21pm

Florida @ Missouri. Beat that, Napoleon Dynamite. (SEC-TV)

3:30pm

Iowa @ Ohio State. I don’t get it, but if we’re Sam Jackson, I’m for it. (ABC/ESPN2)

BYU @ Houston. Well, that’s what you get when you don’t come up with an original name. (ESPN News)

7:00pm

UCLA @ Oregon. So yeah, this came up because of the Boston Bruins, but still. Impressive. (ESPN/ESPN2)

8:00pm

Florida State @ Clemson. I don’t know. But it feels right. (ABC)

Iowa Hawkeyes 

Mark Weisman, Running Back #45-  Weisman is a bruising back.  He will be the first physical running test Ohio State will face this year.  He’s a hefty 6’1, 236 pounds, similar to a Le’Veon Bell.  The Buckeyes did their job last year against Bell, but the young Buckeye front four is not as big and stout as the one that was fielded last year.  Also, Weisman is a blue collar, hard nose runner who will not forfeit to a more dominant defensive front.  He will keep grinding and running hard in order to get the offense rolling for the Hawkeyes.  Not only will the front four need to be physical, they will also need to be relentless in bringing down Weisman.  If Weisman is able to get in to a flow, and maintain his pace of 4.5 yards per carry, the Buckeye front four will be in for a long bruising day, and more importantly, the Buckeye offense will be held at bay as the Hawkeyes will control the time of possession.  That combination could spell upset for the undefeated Buckeyes.

Kevonte Martin-Manley, Wide Receiver #11-  Manley is extremely manly (see what I did there?)  He is an imposing wide receiver at 6’1, 205 pounds, and plays even bigger than that.  However, he is the Hawkeyes only real receiving threat.  He leads the team in catches with 26 for 226 yards.  He will be physical, which should suit corner-back Bradley Roby very well, as Roby enjoys grabbing and disrupting receivers.  Their match-up will be interesting to watch, as Roby has had an underwhelming 2013 campaign so far.  Manley is also a threat on special teams since he returns punts for the Hawkeyes.  In the Hawkeyes blowout against Western Michigan, Manley contributed with two punt returns for touchdowns.  Freshman punter Cameron Johnston has had a stellar year so far, and he will need to ensure, if he punts to Manley, that he gives the coverage ample time to get down and cover the punt.

Anthony Hitchens, Middle Linebacker #31-  A senior linebacker, from Ohio, who was snubbed by Ohio State coming out of high school, who is a tackling machine.  Sound familiar?  Hitchens story definitely carries similarities to All-Big Ten linebacker, Chris Borland, from Wisconsin.  Borland proved to be a serious trouble maker for the Buckeye offense, and Hitchens possesses that same potential.  Hitchens is the rock of this Hawkeye defense.  He is ranked 23rd in the nation in tackles (59), and also leads the team in tackles for loss (5.5).  Hitchens will be looking to add to his already impressive 2013 year for Iowa, and continue to be the rock for the Hawkeyes 9th ranked defense.

Ohio State

Dontre Wilson-  Wilson saw extremely limited involvement in the Buckeyes last game against Northwestern.  Wilson’s limited action was due to what Tom Herman admitted, was a bad week of practice.  Those kinds of things will happen to a freshman.  The important part now is for Wilson to respond in a positive way, have a good week of practice, and make an impact Saturday.  It sounds like senior Jordan Hall is still struggling with a minor knee injury (surprise surprise right?), so Wilson’s services will be a great help to the Buckeye offense.  Wilson will be vital in two aspects of the game.  The first one will be for him to stretch the field horizontally for the Buckeyes run game, in order to help open up the inside zone for Carlos Hyde against an extremely stingy rush defense (ranked 8th nationally).  The second will be for Wilson to be more involved in the pass game, blocking or receiving, and help to provide more consistent explosiveness for the Buckeye offense.

Vonn Bell, Corey Brown, Tyvis Powell, or whoever plays free safety-  Somebody, anybody, has to step up and fill this role.  They don’t have to be as good as Christian Bryant was, but they need to be competent.  Corey Brown had an OK game against Northwestern, according to Coach Meyer.  However, Meye and Brown both know, OK will not cut it for this Buckeye secondary.  Meyer seems to be pressing for Coach Withers to get Vonn Bell ready to go and play.  I think that will be Ohio States best option.  Bell is already a solid tackler, but his speed is extremely underrated.  Bell may make mistakes, but his speed may help him make up for those mistakes.  He was not recruited heavily to just sit on the bench.  Meyer expects Bell to play and be successful, lets hope for this secondary’s sake that he is everything he is hyped up to be.  If not, hopefully Brown has studied the film, and made the proper adjustments in order to improve his play at the position.  At this point, the job seems to be between the senior and freshman.  Seniority will not win Brown the job, just as hype will not win Bell the job.  Whoever gives the Buckeye defense the best chance to be the best in the country will play.

Braxton Miller-  Braxton had a pretty average performance against Northwestern.  He did not register any touchdowns, had two turnovers, but did make clutch plays when needed.  A lot of Buckeye fans began to call for Kenny Guiton, and Coach Meyer was thinking it.  In the end, Meyer stated that he saw “the eye of the tiger” he needed to see in Braxton in order to let him finish the game.  Judging from his past two performances, Miller’s knee is not fully healed yet.  When Braxton was at his best last year, he glided through his cuts, and cut more ferociously horizontal than he is right now.  His knee is definitely bothering him, and I do not think its a mental hurdle, I think his knee is not fully 100%.  It looks to be at about 85%, which is really holding Miller back.  With the bye week, and a couple of hard nose games under his belt, Miller will face another tough defense.  The Hawkeyes will most likely force Braxton to throw against them and play to their strength, which is defending the run.  Good news for Braxton is, the Hawkeyes tend to give up big plays, and their secondary has been less than impressive.  I expect Braxton’s throwing numbers to out gain his running numbers again, but there may be opportunities for Braxton to scramble if the Hawkeyes begin to drop more players in to coverage.  Braxton should have a solid game against the Hawkeyes, as long as he is efficient with his reads (running and throwing), and takes care of the ball.

For those that follow me on Twitter and Google+, you saw that I was quite livid over the national media’s same old, yearly attack against the perception of the B1G conference. I’m quite frankly fed up with it. I’m not saying the B1G is anywhere near the best conference in America (I’d put the B1G fourth, just ahead of the Big 12), but this conference deserves more respect than it gets. I feel like the Buckeyes are responsible for it too because this derision from the media began after Ohio State lost back-to-back National Championship games to The Chosen the SEC conference. It then escalated after several embarrassing B1G losses in major bowl games to once again the SEC. Many have already written off the B1G again this season and many don’t see the conference redeeming themselves. Well I say they’re wrong. What needs to happen for redemption? Ohio State needs to make it to the national title game, which I think they will because 1) I don’t see the Buckeyes losing. 2) Oregon has too tough of a schedule to not lose at least one game. 3) The ACC champion always loses one game. Wisconsin also needs to win out, which would give them 10 wins and a possible shot at receiving an at-large bid for a BCS bowl game. And of course the rest of the B1G needs to do well on New Year’s Day too. This is all easier said than done, but don’t write off the conference after only seven weeks. There’s still a long way to go before bowl season.

Nebraska 44 Purdue 7

You know one team not helping the B1G’s perception? Purdue. The Boilermakers are just downright horrible. I’m not trying to take shots at them, but that’s just how it is for them right now. Nebraska out gained Purdue 435-216, but it wasn’t even that close. Nebraska’s backup quarterbacks Tommy Armstrong and Ron Kellogg split time in this game and weren’t that impressive, as they threw for three interceptions. But it didn’t matter because the running game did all of the work for the Huskers. The Cornhuskers rushed for 251 yards and five touchdowns, including 126 yards and touchdown from star running back Ameer Abdullah. Purdue’s only score came with 39 seconds left in the game. Let’s move on to the next game.

Michigan State 42 Indiana 28

Michigan State scored 42 points. And they were all offensive touchdowns! Let that sink in for a moment. This is the same Michigan State offense that could barely score against Western Michigan in their opener. Give credit to the coaching staff in East Lansing for turning it around. Also give credit to quarterback Connor Cook, who was 22 of 31 passing for 235 yards and two touchdowns. While Cook and the Spartans offense certainly aren’t lighting the world on fire, they now appear to have a good enough offense to help out their fantastic defense. Speaking of their defense, they were able to keep the Indiana offense in check and didn’t let them get into their normal pace. Indiana starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld completed 14 of 30 passes for only 137 yards. In fact his backup Tre Roberson outplayed him, completing 11 of 17 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns (quarterback controversy in Bloomington?). The Hoosiers’ running game only mustered 92 yards. Who do the Spartans’ defense get to victimize next? Purdue…oh boy.

Wisconsin 35 #19 Northwestern 6

On paper this looked like a fantastic match-up. And then Wisconsin reminded everyone they have a running game that will destroy any opposing defense it faces (minus Ohio State’s defense). Wisconsin did what they do best against the Wildcats, rushing for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Melvin Gordon rushed for 172 yards (one touchdown) and James White rushed for 101 yards (one touchdown). Give credit to the Wisconsin defense too, which is highly underrated. The Badgers held the normally potent Northwestern offense to only two field goals, under 200 yards passing and only 44 rushing yards. The Wildcats were clearly drained from their emotional loss to Ohio State the previous week and just couldn’t overcome a well rested Wisconsin team playing at home. Don’t be surprised if Wisconsin runs the table the rest of the way.

Penn State 43 #18 Michigan 40 (4 OT)

Now for the most thrilling game of the week. This game felt like it was never going to end, with both coaches choosing to play very conservative in overtime and rely heavily on their kickers. Except Michigan relied too much on their kicker, allowing Penn State running back Bill Belton to score the game-winning touchdown in the fourth overtime. Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons was 4 of 7 in his field goal attempts, with two costly misses that could have won the game for the Wolverines. Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner returned to his old ways, throwing two interceptions. But he still had a good performance. Gardner threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 121 yards. You can’t pin this loss on Gardner because he brought Michigan back in the game after trailing early (down 21-10 at the half). Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint was simply shutdown by the Nittany Lions’ defense, rushing for 27 yards on 27 attempts. Despite the bad performance from Toussaint, Michigan can pin this loss on their defense who let the Penn State offense make a late fourth quarter charge to send the game to overtime. Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, torching the Michigan secondary. It was a great win for the Penn State football program and head coach Bill O’Brien. On the flip side, it was a damaging loss to Michigan’s conference ranking and national perception. The Wolverines are a mess and will need to get it together quickly if they want to remain in the Legend’s division race.