Ohio State blew into Husky Stadium last Saturday (9-15-07) as the No. 10-ranked team in the AP Top 25 Poll, and after beating Washington 33-14 became the No. 8-ranked team.
In other words, the Buckeyes’ victory over Huskies was so impressive they moved up two spots in the AP poll. Had Ohio State beaten the Tuba City Montana Bighorns (a factitious college in a factitious city in a real state) by the same score, the Buckeyes might well have dropped among the Top 25.
Whether you like it or not, University of Washington football is once again a big deal, in no small part because of Head Coach Ty Willingham and his avalanche of freshmen cascading down to the turf. Let me give a big shout out to Husky fans: There is no need to jump into Lake Washington because the Huskies lost to Ohio State. They were expected to lose, and they did. No big deal.
There should be no cause for alarm just because Washington is suffering from a form of freshmanitis. There is a much brighter future ahead. Did you notice that Washington led Ohio State 7-3 at the half and the Huskies had momentum on their side? Fans were dizzy with excitement at halftime, remembering Washington’s upset of No. 22 Boise State a week earlier.
The Huskies were inside Ohio State territory 6 times against the top-ranked Buckeye defense. They were ready to pad their lead on the opening drive of the second half, moving to Ohioufabetดีมั้ย State’s 19 before three consecutive plays lost yardage, the last a sack by linebacker Jim Laurinaitis.
Did I mention that Laurinaitis was last season’s Nagurski Award winner as THE nation’s best defensive player in college football? Laurinaitis has an “itis” too but his is like good HDL rather than bad LDL. A blocked 46-yard field goal attempt led to Buckeye Brian Robiskie running past Husky freshman cornerback Vonzell McDowell for a 68-yard touchdown less than 6 minutes into the second half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Husky freshman Curtis Shaw fumbled trying to get more yardage after he was initially hit. Ohio State recovered and then Chris Wells ran through an arm tackle by freshman Vonzell McDowell for a 14-yard touchdown run. In a scant 39 seconds the score changed from Washington ahead 7-3 to Washington behind 17-7 with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.
Did I mention that Ohio State has won 22 of its last 23 games? The Buckeyes only loss in 23 games was to Florida in the national championship game last January.