Yesterday the Ohio State Buckeyes manhandled the Fighting Illini, 52-22, in a game that really wasn’t that close. Ohio State ran the ball at will, completed long pass plays, and throttled the Illinois offense as they moved to 10-0.
It also was a good example of why attending a game is a different experience than watching it on TV. Before the game, at halftime, and during all those timeouts when TV viewers are forced to watch commercials about cars and beer, Ohio Stadium was saluting our military.
When timeouts came, recorded greetings from Buckeyes serving abroad were played on the big scoreboard, and students in the ROTC were introduced down on the field. Before the game military members unfurled a huge flag as The Best Damn Band In The Land played the National Anthem, and then two fighter jets screamed by overhead. And at halftime, TBDBITL played a series of songs from military movies while the band members marched into patriotic shapes and Old Glory was displayed again, at the center of a star.
TBDBITL is always wonderful, and yesterday’s show and general salute to the members of our military, presented just a few days before Veterans’ Day, was well timed for another reason — at the end of a long and sometimes bitter presidential campaign, it was nice to see something that everyone in attendance, regardless of party affiliation, could cheer wholeheartedly.
The results of pre-conference play were not kind to the teams in the Old Conference. Michigan got pulverized by Alabama and then played badly in a loss to Notre Dame. Wisconsin lost to Oregon State and has struggled mightily against mediocre teams like Utah State and UNLV. Pre-season favorites Michigan State and Nebraska have fallen from the ranks of the unbeaten, with the Spartans getting pounded by Notre Dame and the Cornhuskers dropping a winnable game to UCLA. Iowa, Penn State, and Illinois already have two defeats. Minnesota is undefeated, but hasn’t played anybody. The best team in the conference could be Northwestern, which has knocked off Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Boston College.
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Many people will focus on the game at East Lansing, where Ohio State seeks revenge for the Spartans’ win last month. The Buckeyes’ dreadful showing in that contest triggered several inconsistent performances that have tested Ohio State’s mettle and raised questions about its NCAA Tournament hopes. A win against a top 10 team, coached by legendary Tom Izzo, in a brutal venue — and on Michigan State’s senior day, to boot — would answer those questions. Ohio State will need to shoot a lot better and rebound a lot better if they hope to do so.
The stories aren’t so pretty at the bottom of the conference. Minnesota’s season has been crippled by injuries, but Illinois has experienced an outright collapse that probably will result in the ouster of coach Bruce Weber. The Illini are baffling because they have one of the best big men in the conference in Meyers Leonard and a great scorer in Brandon Paul, but they play poor defense and lack the leadership and chemistry needed to win consistently. Nebraska’s coach, too, is likely on the chopping block; the Cornhuskers look to be far away from being competitive in the conference. And Penn State, which has a new coach this year, always seems to be rebuilding, but never quite getting to the top.
For Ohio State fans, there was joy in seeing the Buckeyes shoot the ball well. As Uncle Mack has (gleefully) pointed out in his last few basketball-related posts, Ohio State has thrown up its share of bricks in the losses to Michigan State and Michigan. Against Illinois — which, admittedly, is not one of the toughest defensive teams in the Big Ten — the Buckeyes shot 65 percent from the field and better than 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Getting some fast-break baskets and dunks certainly helped.
Last night I watched Illinois play Michigan State. It promised to be a tough game between two teams fighting for the Big Ten lead — but it became 
It should be a very interesting Big Ten season. By far the most surprising team so far has been Indiana. The Hoosiers, who were woeful the past few years, are undefeated and have a last-second win over mighty Kentucky under their belts. Many people thought Indiana was a year away, but perhaps coach Tom Crean and the young Hoosiers have other ideas. We’ll get a good sense of the Hoosiers’ real strength soon enough — they open at Michigan State and then welcome the Buckeyes to Assembly Hall in what should be a barn burner.
States are taking different approaches to their predicament. 
The actions of the Illinois legislature and Governor are precisely why “tea party” candidates were successful in the 2010 election and will be probably continue to be successful so long as government spending is out of control. It will always be easier for politicians to defer hard choices on spending, so as to avoid upsetting any constituency, and then seek tax increases imposed by lame-duck lawmakers who are leaving office and, perhaps, seeking jobs with the same constituencies who are trying to avoid spending reductions. I’m sure, however, that Illinois residents will appreciate the brave actions of their elected representatives and will be happy about paying even more taxes in a down economy where families have already engaged in significant belt-tightening.
