Separation Saturday. Veritable college football mana, sent from the Lord on High Himself, to sate his unworthy children on this great Saturday in Febtober.

That’s great and all, but this is a Buckeye Blog. We will keep a watchful eye on those teams above us. And that’s all. It’s all about the Purdue Boilermakers and that really big bass drum. Seriously. That thing is huge.

So what is there to look for in this game? Youth. After the carnage from OSU’s helmet-to-helmet collision with Wisconsin last week, it looks like we’ll be seeing more freshmen this game. This season was supposed to be the Year of the Senior. Turns out, we were all a few years early.

So what about those Boilermakers? How about some data? Buckeye Planet has their thorough preview up, as does The O-Zone.

Do the Boilermakers have a chance? Their fans don’t seem to think so, looking at what they think the keys to their victory are. Jeff at the BBC warns of a trap game.

The line sits at 19 (at least last time I checked). What say you?

Your prediction could win you a copy of Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes on DVD (Available to the losers non-winners at Amazon.comand A&E TV). If your prediction is the closest to the final score, you win! Deadline for entry will be Saturday at 3:30 PM EDT. Former contest winners are not eligible. Lo siento.

(In the case of a tie-breaker, pick a winner of the OU/Texas game)

el Kaiser’s prediction:
I’ve been predicting offensive explosions lately, so I’m playing this one close to the vest. I still think OSU wins big, but they don’t cover.

OSU: 27
Purdue: 13

sportsMonkey’s predictions:
I have two: one that assumes Tresselball will continue in C-bus for the remainder of the year; and one that speculates that the reason for the vanilla schemes over the past month is temporary, and only due to Beanie’s injury and Pryor’s inexperience.

If it’s “I’m playing Tresselball”:
OSU: 27
Purdue: 13 (late TD in garbage time)

If it’s “Pryor has developed ahead of schedule and we should get him more practice with a wider playbook”:
OSU: 44
Purdue: 3

I would like to propose a new definition for the word insanity. The old way of thinking was “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” My new proposal is, “obtaining successful results by doing a thing and then not doing it over and over again.”

In every big game over the past couple years, the Buckeyes seem to come out of the gate with great success on their first drive with creative play calling and inspired line play. The Buckeyes take the lead and then almost immediately go in to Tresselball mode and it takes a deficit in the fourth quarter to snap them out of it. We need the killer instinct.

That being said, a win is a win. A win in an amped up Camp Randall is more than a win, so let’s not get down on the Buckeyes. I had to watch it on tape delay and I accidentally erased it after I watched it, so you won’t get detailed analysis from me, but a few observations before I retire for the night:

• The Stiff Arm of Justice™ made a triumphant (and brutal) return. Beanie was running angree.
• The monkey and I were worried about a game coming down to being in Terrell Pryor’s hands. We weren’t sure how it would go down, but in Camp Randall, with four minutes left, Pryor certainly calmed those fears.
• The defense was getting pushed around at times, but overall, came up big when it counted. Gameballs to Jenkins and Homan.
• EVIL Robo showed up, but sorta-GOOD Hartline showed up, redeeming the Brynamic duo for now
• Did I mention how devastating Beanie was tonight? Yeah, wrecking ball at the end of his arm and tank treads for feet.

Also: Huge congrats to commenter Mike, who was very prescient in his prediction:

“OSU 20
Wisky 17

Late turnover on what would be game winning drive for Wisconsin and the Bucks seal it with field goal. Pryor struggles but plays well in the end…when it matters most. Not good on the nerves but should be a great game to watch!”

He pretty much got it all right: Late turnover, check. Pryor struggles but plays well in the end, check. Not good on the nerves, quadruple check. Great game to watch, big fat CHECK CHECK CHECK.

Nice work, Mike. I’ll be asking you to help out on my next wrong of bets! We’ll be in touch.

I thought about posting this on Saturday, giving us something to do with our free time while we wait the unbearably long hours until kick-off. Unfortunately, most of the MotSaG camp will be AFK during the game, so hopefully YNBA will be able to hook us up with the semi-live blogging of the game.

Oh, by the way? Pay no attention to the recent upset of a team ranked higher than Ohio State. Nothing to see there.

To get your Buckeye Knowledge on, Chris over at 11 Warriors wraps up Tressel’s press conference earlier this week, with lots of Wisconsin Game chewy goodness. They also have the most recent depth chart for your examination.

You worried about Terrel Pryor’s first away-from-home start? We’re not. Neither is Buckeye Commentary.

You want Buckeye Planet? We got your Buckeye Planet right here. If you’re looking for more previews, check out Dotting The “I” or the Gerdeman’s preview at The O-Zone.

Now it’s time for predictions: This time, though, we’re doing things a little different. We’re upping the ante and holding a little contest. Hopefully this will become a common occurrence around these parts. For this week’s prize, we’re giving away a copy of Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyeson DVD. If your prediction is the closest to the final score, a winner will be you! Deadline for entry will be Saturday at 8:00 PM EDT.

The tie-breaker question is: How gains more yards on the ground, OSU’s running game or Wisconsin’s?

My predictions:
Final score: OSU 31 – Wisconsin 27
Ground game: Wisconsin falls behind earlier, forcing them to go to the air, while Beanie grinds out yards and clock time: OSU

sportsMonkey’s predictions:
Final score: OSU 38 – Wisconsin 17
Ground game: If we’re going by past trends as being indicative of future performance, Wisco has been struggling with mobile QBs. Pryor and Wells will outrush Pajamas Hill and Co.: OSU