Ok – every weekend is great for tailgating at a major college football game, and Columbus ranks up there as one of the most iconic college football spots in the nation.

But this past weekend was particularly good, as the Ohio State Buckeyes had their backs up against the wall versus the Purdue Boilermakers, a team that has given the Buckeyes fits in recent years.

The Buckeyes were 8 points down late in the game, and their star quarterback, Braxton Miller, was on his way to the hospital for an injury he suffered in the third quarter. But backup quarterback Kenny Guiton found some magic in the past minute to miraculously tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion, and then led the Buckeyes to the win in overtime. I wish I was there.

Well, Jerod Morris was there courtesy of La Quinta to enjoy the game and all the tailgating leading up to it. Check out his diary of a very fun 36 hours.

Want to talk college hoops while also having an opportunity to win some cool prizes? Then join Bullz-Eye.com tonight as they team up with Infiniti and The Bachelor Guy to host a Twitter party during the Ohio State-Michigan game at 9:00PM ET!

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So stop by the party tonight on Twitter @bullzeyedotcom and talk a little hoops, cast your vote for a great cause, and possibly win some prizes!

Woody Hayes would be proud. Sort of.

The Ohio State Buckeyes partied like it was 1969 as they pounded Illinois into submission with a physical defense and a solid running game, winning 17-7. The Buckeyes spent most of the day in the power-I, and Dan Herron returned to the lineup to lead the running attack. Meanwhile, Braxton Miller completed only one pass in the game – a touchdown to tight end Jake Stoneburner. On this windy day, the formula worked well as Miller was more than happy to run out of the pocket. I don’t know who is on a bigger learning curve – freshman quarterback Miller or first-year head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell seems to figure things out, but he’s always about three quarters too late. Even with this win, the lack of imagination of the Ohio State coaches in the passing game is embarrassing.

Meanwhile, The Fighting Illini learned what it was like to face a real defense. Despite their collapse last week against Nebraska, the Ohio State defense is a solid unit that plays physical football. Illinois had built a 6-0 record against mediocre competition, but reality set in against Ohio State.

Then there’s the Ron Zook factor. He’s going to take some heat for a late-game decision to go for it on fourth down when he could have kicked a field goal to bring the Illini within one score of a tie.

The Buckeyes have been a mess all year, but it will be interesting to see if they can compete with Wisconsin in a huge home game in two weeks after their bye week. It also looks like the Michigan game will be competitive this year.

So, about that Ohio State offense. Woof.

The Buckeyes put on a performance for the ages, today against Michigan State. That is, if their ages were 8 or 9. They gained 178 yards in a 10-7 loss to the Spartans, 95 of it coming on their last two drives. The final drive covered 62 yards and ended in a touchdown pass by Joe Bauserman with 10 seconds remaining. Something to build on, I suppose.

But for the majority of the game, the Buckeyes were something worse than atrocious on offense, as true freshman Braxton Miller showed us all what it looks like when a true freshman with limited offensive weaponry around him plays against a legit Big Ten defense. That sight, but the way, is not pretty.

A week ago I wrote that Miller was the Buckeyes answer at quarterback, even though he struggled passing the football. Today he may have proven me wrong. I’m sure Miller, who is supremely talented (or so I hear), will one day be the man for the Buckeyes, and not out of necessity. But with DeVier Posey and Dan Herron coming back next week, it might be a better idea to just go with Bauserman and play boring, classic Big Ten offense. This is not to be confused with the so boring it’s kind of exciting offense that was on display today.

And before you get into the “Michigan State is top-ranked defense” argument, stop. The Spartans numbers are inflated by playing cupcakes and a Notre Dame team that was less interested in moving the ball and more interested in not letting Tommy Rees do Tommy Rees-type things in the second half. Even then, the Irish moved the ball up and down the field without a lot of interference at times.

The point is, this is not the best defense Ohio State is going to see this year, and yes things are going to get better when players return from suspension, but with who the Buckeyes have under center, it’s tough to even see it getting to “watchable.”

The defense is still solid, but it’s not as good as it has been, so I don’t see it being able to pull out games against better foes. It’s going to be a long season in Columbus.

Well, go figure. I change the name of this column to “Fade Material” and then I start handing out winning picks. If I knew that was all I had to do, I would have changed the title years ago and avoided all the years of .500 or below predictions.

After a 3-1 performance in Week 1, I finished 3-0-1 with my Week 2 picks. Georgia was a push against South Carolina but TCU, Alabama and BYU had no problems covering. I’m still looking for my first sweep of the season, so let’s see if we can’t nail it this week. (Although I admit to having reservations about “Road Test Weekend.” There are some tough games on the board…)

Auburn @ Clemson, 12:00PM ET
Everyone keeps waiting for Auburn to lose and all they’ve done the past two weeks is pull wins out of their backsides. The No. 19 Tigers find themselves once again as underdogs, this time against an unranked Clemson team. Nobody can ever quite figure out Clemson, which either plays the game of its life or sinks to the level of its competition. They’re 1-4 against the spread in their last five home games and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 versus the SEC, while Auburn is 4-1 ATS in their last five road games. Auburn is also 6-0 ATS versus a team with a winning record and 4-0 ATS in their last four games an underdog. I think the Tigers of Auburn keeps this within a field goal, making that 3.5-point spread highly attractive.
THE PICK: AUBURN TIGERS +3.5

Ohio State @ Miami, 7:30PM ET
The Buckeyes face their first road test under new head coach Luke Fickell and while they didn’t look particularly sharp against Toledo last week at home, I like OSU to win outright tonight. They’ll face a quarterback in Jacory Harris, who is coming off a one-game suspension and who was unimpressive against Oho State last year. He threw four interceptions, including three in the first half alone. Granted, that was a different Buckeyes team last season but the defense is still solid and I expect them to give Harris trouble again this time around. The Buckeyes are 11-3 against the number in all games over the last two seasons and 14-4 ATS in road games in September since 1992.
THE PICK: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES +2.5

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