That whooshing sound you heard this afternoon was the collective sigh of Minnesota fans as they realized their team won’t be starting 5-0.

ESPN is reporting that Beanie Wells will return to the huddle this weekend against Minnesota. A huddle that will look quite different – with Pryor at the helm and at least one freshman (possibly two) on the line.

All we asked after the SC debacle was significant personnel changes, and it looks like Tressel is trying to make amends.

If you feel bad for Minnesota fans, consider the poor Gopher front seven. The energy and anger Beanie built while being injured, watching his Heisman shot go by the wayside, and not being there for the SC loss is going to be taken out on the conference’s 9th ranked rush defense. I predict 972 yards of rushing, before he is spelled in the second quarter by Boom Herron.

Guess how many passes on first down in the second half? Not many…maybe one. I guess this is Bollman and JT’s approach to “getting better.”

If it wasnt for the pure talent of Terelle Pryor, the Troy Trojans would have won this game since T. Boeckman looked like “2004 Zwick” on his only series of the day. It was a good ride Todd…enjoy the pine, brother.

Bottom Line (excluding TP’s highlight reel playmaking ability)…

This was not enjoyable football. This was like being forced to watch New Jersey Devils game from the mid to late 90’s over and over again.

I am sure the Kaiser and SM will have some more commentary…Liverpool drew with Stoke City which is ‘teh suck.’ I am sure this will be an awesome Saturday. Somebody get Danielson an extra bib today…that much Tebow drool is borderline ridiculous.

~YNBA~

So it’s our job to make you Bucks fans feel more optimistic, eh? Do you want some reasons to feel less doomed going into this weekend? Let’s give it a shot.

If you haven’t heard, OSU doesn’t have a chance this Saturday. The Buckeyes are slow, plodding, underacheivers who are wasting everyone’s time with this fantasy of being among the nation’s elite. The one shot they had – a power game controlled by the nation’s best running back – has gone from "likely to happen" to "snowball’s chance" status over the past 24 hours with the doubtful status of Beanie Wells.

And the Trojans? Well, as the 52-7 buttwhoopin’ they laid on Virginia will tell you, they should just be given a pass through the rest of their season and sent straight to the NC game. No sense in delaying the inevitable, eh? Besides, it would be better for the self-esteem of everyone else in the Pac 10. Mark May could then die a sated man.

Or… is there reason for OSU to be optimistic?

Before you Buckeye fans open your veins at the probable loss of Wells, let’s try to be logical (read: non-ESPNish) about this. While it’s not perfect, the best indicator of future performance is past trends. Sure, there are exceptions, but if all we have is history, it’ll have to do. So, indulge me.

Big Road Game Trends

Let’s start by considering some trends surrounding this 2008 class of OSU starters. This Saturday’s game is just another in a long line of "huge regular season road games at night with national title implications" for these veterans. Consider the results of the past five:

It’s worth noting that the current group of offensive starters were not instrumental in the first two games in the list – they were there, but primarily led by Smith/Ginn/Gonzalez, et. al. However, the current group of defensive starters have been instrumental in all five matchups.

Four of the teams were ranked. Both Texas and Penn State had nationally-feared defenses. Trend-wise, note the yards allowed – the gradual improvement in the Buckeye defense is apparent. The overall view is obvious: OSU was never challenged in any of these games – even though the power running game was practically nonexistent (2006) or less than spectacular (Beanie’s 2007 injuries) in all of them.

Does this predict a victory for OSU this weekend? Of course not. However, it does clearly indicate that, quite simply, these are the types of games that this group of starters have historically played their best in. Of course the question still remains: "is OSU’s best better than USC’s best?" Only the game will tell. But for those hoping for OSU to lay an egg this weekend, or for USC to win in a blowout, the trends indicate that this is extremely unlikely.

The only thing we don’t have any history on is how the team will respond in a big game to a leader and captain going out to injury. Will the Buckeyes resign themselves to defeat due to disappointment over losing Chris Wells? Or will they rally and work harder? I could give you my honest opinion about that question here – but since this post is entitled "reasons to still be optimistic," I won’t, and we’ll move on.

"B-b-but Florida and LSU bowl game losses!!eleventy1!" Nonsense. This isn’t a bowl game. It isn’t a national championship game, no matter how hard the networks try to convince you. It’s in their interests to hype this game any way they can. This is just another big regular season game for both teams.

At any rate, there is a huge difference in playing in a national championship game against an opponent that you’ve known about for three weeks, having 50 days off beforehand; and a regular season matchup against an opponent that you’ve been preparing for all year.

USC’s Offense

What about this current class of USC starters?

This could be a post in itself – but let’s admit something obvious, here: this group of USC offensive players have never played against even a decent defense. The best defense that the Trojan starters have recently seen is UCLA’s – ranked 29th in total defense last year, and a team that didn’t even finish above .500. If you want to find a tougher defensive opponent than that, you’ve got to go back to the first game of the 2006 season, when the Trojans played Arkansas (ranked 26th in total defense).

Put another way, USC’s offense has not been challenged by a good defense for many years, and this group of starters has yet to be challenged by anything above mediocrity. OSU is coming into Los Angeles with the exact same players that led the league in defense for the past two years. Yes, their weakness for spread offenses and mobile QBs have been exposed and reviewed ad nauseam, but the fact remains that USC does not run an offense like Florida or LSU or even Illinois. The pro-set, sometimes-spread Carroll scheme is very similar to other Big 10 offenses, including the Buckeyes’ own scheme itself. In short, this is the type of offense that OSU has been specifically built to defend against, and they have a perfect record in doing so (with extreme prejudice, no less).

Experience

Finally, let’s compare and contrast experience. This group of Buckeye starters has more experience against the nation’s elite than any other team in recent memory – and not just OSU teams, either. They just might be the most experienced of any other team, period.

This specific group of OSU players has battled national champions and conference champions. They’ve won three conference titles in a row, and have endured the hype, preparation, experience, and ultimately the motivating humiliation for two consecutive national title games.

They’ve played against several of the nation’s top defenses and top offenses over the past couple of years.

They’ve played both with and against multiple Heisman, Thorpe, Doak, Maxwell, and Butkus winners.

They’ve played in big games of every type: home, away, bowl, day, and night. They’ve endured injuries to key, supposedly irreplaceable starters, only to replace them so that folks hardly noticed.

They’ve fought against teams headed by the nation’s elite list of coaches: Urban Meyer, Joe Paterno, Mack Brown, Lloyd Carr and Les Miles.

And if that resume wasn’t impressive enough, as of this Saturday, OSU will add Pete Carroll, Pac10 champs USC, another road night game, and numerous postseason award finalists from the Trojans squad to that list of experience.

Is there another college football team with a class of starters with such a deep resume? Certainly not. And definitely not USC.

In other words…

To sum up, this 2008 OSU squad has a historical trend of playing their best football in these types of situations. They’re infinitely more experienced than USC. They’ve been there, done that. It’s not likely that they’ll be intimidated or surprised by anything USC tries. And no offensive player on the current USC roster has the benefit of ever playing against even a moderately tough defense.

Again, does any of this make a victory more or less likely? Certainly not. But there’s no doubt whatsoever that the media’s propaganda view of OSU’s overall weakness is misguided, at least. The Buckeye defense alone should make this a better game that what most people think. And if USC’s overconfident "we grill steaks in the backfield" hubris keeps them from realizing the uncharted territory they’re going to find themselves in this weekend, they could find themselves surprised and reactionary against a motivated, deep, talented Buckeye team with way more to prove.

Or so Buckeye fans cautiously hope.

Jim Tressel said in today’s press conference that Chris Wells will be kept out of this Saturday’s game, but expected him to return to practice in the next couple of days.

He did not give a specific diagnosis, but it seems reasonable to conclude that it’s not a major injury. X-rays were negative, and they couldn’t have seen anything too serious on the soft-tissue MRI conducted yesterday, otherwise his practice would be restricted.

It’s likely that keeping him sidelined on Saturday is just a precaution, to ensure he’s ready for SC the following week.

(**see below for updates to this post) It’s totally second-hand and unofficial, but supposedly, a member of the OSU medical team used the phrase “turf toe” when questioned by a reporter about Wells’ foot. The discussion occurred in the background of Jim Tressel’s after-game press conference.

Replays of Beanie’s injury certainly support the rumor, as turf toe usually occurs when a player takes off quickly (bending his toes too far back), or stops quickly (jamming his toes against the front of his shoes). Beanie appeared to do both of those things on his final run.

It’s essentially a sprain of the capsule part of the big toe’s socket. Typically, it’s an injury that a running back can play through. OSU fans should remember Lydell ‘Turf Toe’ Ross, who played through the injury for two consecutive seasons.

However, it’s extremely painful, and the pain always affects the athlete’s performance. It’s a nagging injury that never heals until the player stops running on it (usually at the end of the season).

So, IF it’s true (again, remember this is just rumor), it’s mixed news. OSU might have Beanie, but it’s possible he might not be 100% for the rest of the season.

It’s a similar situation as what occurred in 2007. Last autumn, Wells played through an early-season knee problem; then for the rest of the season, he played with a chipped bone in his foot and a sprained wrist. Tressel counseled him about the need to play through pain, and Wells responded with a fantastic year. So at least playing through pain is not uncharted territory for Beanie.

Whatever happens, OSU fans shouldn’t get too worked up. If the worst case happens, and Beanie is sidelined for most of all of the year, then both Saine and Herron are more than adequate to get the job done. Both would start at any other school, and especially with what we saw from Pryor today, the OSU running game is in good hands. Of course, Beanie is at a different level, and we want him there, but no single game or single season should be worth risking his long-term health.

UPDATE:
Kicker Ryan Pretorius, who is Beanie’s neighbor in the locker room, told a television reporter on a local Columbus late-night sports program that “[Beanie’s] fine, it’s just his big toe.” The kicker didn’t seem that concerned about it.

UPDATE #2 (el Kaiser here):
Not much of another update, but at least a little more information, via The Dispatch:

A team insider said that after immediate X-rays showed showed no broken bones, further evaluation indicated it likely was a soft-tissue injury to the forefoot. Such an injury could cause him to miss anything from just a week to the rest of the season.

Yeesh.