I'm not too concerned.  The reason Marshall beat us is because we didn't show up in the first half.  We pretty much caught up and didnt let them score at all in the second half.  Had we played that entire game like we did in the second half we would have slaughtered Marshall.  I am also counting on OSU being caught with their pants down since they did slaughter Marshall and will probably beat Miami.  It will be interesting either way.


Oh and Marshall just played absolutely horribly last night.  They couldn't catch the good passes and the rest were terrible ones, they couldn't run the ball worth &^%* and they apparently forgot how to tackle. 

First off the Marshall team that beat us did so when we were still dealing with high profile injuries due to the beating we took throughout the year to make the MAC Championship game.  Also last night's team is a team in transition with a new coach and was unlucky enough to have to play the Buckeyes for their first game of the year.  We on the other hand are coming into a fresh new year with consistency and confidence.  Our first game is against an inferior opponent, which should hopefully help give us time to get our game legs and establish a rhythm.  Our second game is against a MAC opponent, which will give us a greater urgency to produce well and start our MAC campaign off the right way.  So by the third game when we do meet Ohio State we should hopefully be a well oiled machine capable of giving Ohio State all the fight they can handle, if not more.

The transitive property doesn't apply here. The Marshall team that beat us in December isn't the Marshall team that got raped last night, just like our team that lost to Marshall in December isn't the same team that will face The Thundering Turd in September. Different seasons different teams

Amen to the no injuries....but Keller can play for anybody.

I look for Bates to give them trouble and for our defense to be much better than Marshall's.

^^I have nothing to add except that that is an awesome avatar...if you don't have the copywrite, I want to make that my facebook picture.

I'm not sure it's a shock that the second-ranked team in the country is really good. And if Ohio State plays well and nothing weird happens, they will win by two or more touchdowns.

But good teams don't always play well and weird stuff happens. Like Ricky Dobbs can make the Ohio State defense look like Eastern Michigan's. And Boo Jackson's scrambling ability can make Ohio State's defensive line want to collectively punch itself, like Boo did in 2008.

If Ohio State goes into the game, runs the ball 35 times, doesn't turn it over and doesn't make a special teams mistake, it won't be much of a contest.

But at least one of those three things won't happen and I think Ohio has as good of a chance at upsetting Ohio State as any team besides Miami that walks into the Horseshoe this year. I'd say Ohio has as good of a shot as Michigan will at the end of the season.

And having nothing to lose is what makes this game so great for the Bobcats, imo. If Ohio State loses, there will be grief counselors available at the exits and waterwheels on the Olentangy powered by the tears dripping down from the pedestrian bridges that act like drawbridges to that oversized, overwrought Gilded-Age castle they call a stadium.

If Ohio loses, we can shrug and say, "What did you expect? Us to beat YOU?"

We have the ultimate passive-aggressive built-in excuse. And it's fantastic, because it means complete fearlessness from players. A lot of those guys have already been in that building, gotten over those panicky first minutes before kick-off. Boo excelled there.

We have a wonderful gift rooting for the underdog. A lot of times we overlook it between whining for more respect. That intense foreboding feeling fans of major programs get when it's close in the fourth quarter to a team they're supposed to beat by 42 points doesn't exist around here yet. Hopefully it will someday, but for now enjoy the freedom of having no one believe in the team you root for.

As difficult as it will be, we need to root for the Suckeyes to beat Miami the week before so they come out over confident against us.

If they lose they will come out angry and hyped.

we hung close through the first half of the 99 buckeye game and we finished 5-6 that season, in 08 we lead into the 4th quarter and finished 4-8. If we can play with intensity, not commit too many turnovers, and keep it somewhat close than we'll be in good shape.

the worst thing we can do is go in there, lose our poise and play sloppy like Marshall, and get a bunch of people banged up and injured.

Marshall plays WVU next week and their fans are seriously worried about their QB play. If we come out of the buckeye game at 2-1 and feeling good about ourselves we might be facing a somewhat dejected Herd team. either way, we need to beat them mercilessly.

Ozcat,

We are going to Columbus to win a ball game.  We aren't going there to bow down and kiss anybody's feet.  We aren't going there to try and do better than what Marshall did or even care what Marshall did.  Ask our basketball team how much time they spent admiring the great halo above Georgetown.  I'm sure you compared schedules and decided we'd lose by 30, since the Hoyas easily took care of Pitt during the regular season.  Both teams have business to take care of on Sept. 18th.  Go find a Justin Beiber concert to go to that weekend instead, because your attitude is lame and I don't want any chance of sitting next to you.

Anyways, I get goosebumps thinking about how it felt last time with Ohio fans on their feet screaming and cheering with pride,while the rest of the stadium was basically blanketed with nervous silence.  It's not going to be any easier than last time.  We are all aware of the task ahead of us, but we don't owe them any respect right now.  Have no fear.  We have 4 quarters of football to play until that final whistle blows.  Whether we come out on top or lose by 40, IT WILL BE ENJOYABLE TO WEAR GREEN AND WHITE no matter what.  We do it for Wofford comes to town just the same as we will do it in Columbus.  STAND UP AND CHEER!  Lets take care of Wofford and Toledo first though.

If you are an Ohio football player reading this: I hope you go into that stadium with the same pride as your fans have up in the nosebleeds.  Show em who Ohio really is and make the other side remember you forever!

PS.  To the three Ohio students wearing Buckeye jerseys sitting behind me last game.... I know you were having an identity crisis, just like Ozcat and wanted to switch back to green and white at halftime....so do yourself a favor and make the right choice this time.  Or go find a Justin Beiber concert to go to instead.   

-Buster the Bobcat

I'm not even an Ohio grad, but this has to worth at least a +1.

Great post, Buster.

Any person who goes to a game in which the Bobcats are playing while wearing columbus gear is not, by definition, a Bobcat fan.  Any such person should be shot.  In the interest of improving life on the planet.