Random thoughts on the Big Ten this year

So we're about half-way through the football season, and I think that we can all say that we're surprised (as usual) at what's happened so far this year. That's a big part about why we all love college football so much.

Anyway, I'll spare you the recap details. What I really want to talk about today is the Big Ten conference (and the Buckeyes, of course). First, some random observations:

• Javon Ringer looks like a beast. He is currently my pick for the Heisman trophy. Here is a guy who is averaging something like 160 yards per game and 2 touchdowns per game through the first 7 games of the year. If the voting for the Heisman took place today, he is my runaway pick. He is consistent, and he is a work-horse back there for the Michigan State Spartans. Why is he barely even being mentioned during the press' early Heisman trophy talks? If that's not a hardcore anti-Big Ten bias, I don't know what is. If Javon Ringer were putting up those numbers at USC, LSU, or Florida, you can bet your paycheck that you would be hearing his name all over ESPN, FSN, and the sports world blogs. With that being said, I think that this weekend is a much scarier matchup for the Buckeyes than most might think. We're playing at Michigan State and Javon Ringer has not skipped a beat all year. Here's hoping that the Bucks knock him out of Heisman contention.
• Penn State. Just writing that scared me a little bit. Penn State looks like the best team in the Big Ten right now. Notice that looks is the key word in that sentence. The best team in the Big Ten is The Ohio State University Buckeyes. But back to PSU. I think the Buckeyes will have its hands full against MSU and PSU. These will be extremely close games, and I think that winning them will require us to play turnover-free (or near turnover-free) football and a strong kicking game (both punting and field goals). We will need to win the field position battle which I think that we can do. PSU does not look weak on either side of the football. On offense, their Spread HD works like the posi-track rear end on a Plymouth... it just does. On defense, they're not making headlines, but they are playing very well. They don't seem to miss many tackles (a rarity these days), and they have held their opponents even when they haven't needed to... which is a lot. The Nittany Lions are putting points on the board, and you typically see defenses which loosen up a bit when that happens, but for the most part, they aren't giving away much.
• The Ohio State Buckeyes have this weird tendency to play to their competition's level (except for a certain game against a certain team that shall remain unnamed). I think that our offense has looked somewhat anemic lately, but my gut tells me that the Buckeyes are just doing what it takes to get it done and nothing more. Obviously, we'll have to wait and see, but I wouldn't be surprised to see us squeeze out a couple of close victories against MSU and PSU in the coming weeks. I am also hoping for the rankings to shake up a lot like they did last year. As good as USC looks, I'd really like to see the Buckeyes get another shot at the Trojans (with a healthy Wells and Pryor at the QB reins) whether it's in the National Championship game or not.