Photo: AP/Jay LaPrete

Today's message was clear: Coach Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, and the offensive unit had to put the Purdue game behind them and make major strides to stay in contention for the Big Ten title. They did just that on a banner day for the offense, which was highlighted by over 500 total yards and five offensive touchdowns as the Buckeyes rolled over the Gophers with 31 second half points.

Replenishing the Line: Today, the Buckeyes got back their starting tackles in a larger capacity. Both Andy Miller and Jim Cordle got more reps this week as they return from the flu and injury respectively, but it seemed like they split their reps at left tackle for the most part. Cordle got the start at left tackle, displacing sophomore Mike Adams, but J.B. Shugarts remained the starter at right tackle. Getting both of these guys back made an immediate impact on the offensive line's performance.

TP Renaissance: Terrelle Pryor truly did make some positive strides today, and it was for multiple reasons. First, let's establish that Minnesota's pass defense is below-average at best. Next, Tressel and the offensive playcaller (probably still mostly Tressel) FINALLY put Pryor in formations and packages in which he can succeed. Third, Pryor simply looked like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders. Pryor was 13-of-25 passing for 239 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. TP also ran for 104 yards on 15 carries plus a touchdown. With that rushing performance, Pryor joined Cornelius Green, Rex Kern, Art Schlichter, and Troy Smith as the only OSU 1,000 yard career rushers at QB.

On Sunday afternoon, Eric Mangini coached his first game in one of the most storied rivalries throughout NFL football; however, the new head coach could not end the 11-game losing streak to the Steelers. The one time fierce rivalry is losing its flare as the Browns have become Ben Roethlisberger's play toy. Cleveland kept it close, and midway through the 3rd quarter the Browns were only down by a field goal; however, the Steelers' passing game then took over and dismantled the Browns. Despite the outcome, Cleveland showed an almost respectable brand of football in their 27-14 loss.

Browns Without Key Contributors - The Cleveland Browns started the game without LB Kamerion Wimbley and TE Steve Heiden. Wimbley was out with flu-like symptoms, and Heiden was sidelined with a knee injury. I remember being a young kid watching this game and guys would play with casts on their arm. Now, Wimbley is out with flu-like symptoms. I guess its hard to get up for any game when you are 1-5, but this game is supposed to mean something no matter what. With Wimbley out, LB Jason Trusnik got the start and TE Greg Estandia filled in for Steve Heiden as backup tight end.

(Wild)Cat's Out Of The Bag - The Browns started the game in the Wildcat formation with Joshua Cribbs taking the snaps. The Wildcat proved to be an effective tactic for the Browns as Cribbs rushed for an average of 7.5 yards on 6 carries, but Cribbs did throw an interception in the red-zone, and he became the first player since 1950 to throw an interception and have a kick return for a touchdown in a game. With the lack of offensive production that is plaguing the Browns, expect the Wildcat formation to become a prominent part of the Cleveland offense.

Take It To The House - Josh Cribbs continues to show his value week in and week out. This week it came in the form of a 98-yard kick return for a touchdown. At the time, the Steelers just scored on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Ward to make it 14 to 0 in the second quarter, and the Browns were in danger of letting this game get out of control. Cribbs galloped through a Pittsburgh defender's diving attempt at a tackle and recorded his 8th career return for a touchdown and 3rd vs. the Steelers.

• Show Me The Money- The front office of the Cleveland Browns needs to take care of Cribbs' contract situation ASAP. Cribbs is the best weapon Cleveland has, and with the possibility of the Wildcat formation, who knows what Cribbs is capable of? If the Browns let this contract situation continue and Cribbs becomes disgruntled, the one shinning spot on the Browns roster besides the punter is going to be serious about a trade in the next couple of days before the deadline.

Photo: Bucknuts.com

Classifying today's loss to the Purdue Boilermakers as a "nightmare" gives this Ohio State team far too much credit. Ohio State played worse today than I have ever seen them play. There is absolutely no excuse for a team as talented as this Buckeye group to not only lose to, but to be completely embarrassed by, a "turnover happy," 1-5 Purdue team. If not for the fact that I am one of the most die hard Buckeye fans on the planet, I would have mimicked my roommates and stopped watching the game sometime during the third quarter. Here are my discouraged thoughts on today's disastrous debacle against the Boilermakers:

Photo: John Kuntz/Cleveland.com

Dan Marino said it best at halftime when describing this game: "This game is miserable to watch". The Cleveland Browns got their first win of the season, but make no mistake, this game was painful to watch. Eric Mangini received his first victory as the Browns head coach, and I am still asking myself how, but the answer is, the victory can be attributed to Dave Zastudil. That's right, the Browns victory is solely because of their punter. The Browns offense also recieved the majority of their yardage from Jamel Lewis. Lewis was in his first game back after sitting out the previous two games due to injury, and he rushed for over 100 yards for the first time since the 2007 season. In a game that somebody was bound to win, Cleveland made Buffalo pay for miscues and penalties to hang on for the ugly win.

Rookies Get The Start At WR - With the departure of wide receiver Braylon Edwards, Cleveland called upon their 2009 second round draft picks to start at WR. Mohamed Massaquoi started at the #1 receiver position and Brian Robiskie started at the #2 receiver spot. Massaquoi caught one of the TWO Cleveland completions for 16 yards, and Robiskie was never thrown to, but he did have a tackle when Anderson threw an interception to Jairus Byrd.

Photo: Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com

Eric Mangini spoke for the entire Cleveland Browns fanbase when he sent the message loud and clear today: "We've had enough of it, Braylon Edwards!"

We've had enough of your whining about how you've never truly been welcomed by some of the best fans in the NFL because you went to Michigan.

We've grown tired of your far too frequent off-the-field incidents, including drinking with Donte' Stallworth the night he killed a man, driving your car 120 mph, and the all-too-fresh Mike Tyson punchout of LeBron's good friend.

But, most of all, Braylon, we've grown tired of you drop, drop, dropping passes that most of us could probably catch and then not stepping up like a man and taking some of the responsibility for it.

His tenure as a Brown will be marked by one spectacular Pro Bowl season where he and Derek Anderson connected for almost 1,300 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns. It will also be marked by disappointment at what could have been if he had performed as well in his other seasons with the Browns. In Edwards' other four seasons with the Browns, he never had more than 884 yards or 6 touchdowns in season, both came back in 2006. This season, he had just ten catches and no touchdowns in four games, including zero catches last week with Derek Anderson back as the starting QB. He was thrown to at least five times that game, and he had one can-of-corn drop that would have given the team a first down on the first drive.

It took nearly 75 minutes to decide the outcome, and the action in between was entertaining, but the outcome was as predicted as the Browns fell to 0-4 on the foot of a Shayne Graham 31-yard field goal with just seven seconds remaining in overtime.

Pre-game housekeeping: With James Davis on IR and Jamal Lewis inactive, RB Jerome Harrison got his second straight start. Kicker Phil Dawson also was inactive for the second straight game as Billy Cundiff handled the kicking duties. Nickel safety Mike Adams replaced Brandon McDonald at starting cornerback. WR Brian Robiskie dressed for the first time since Week 1.

Photo: Jon Fobes/Cleveland.com

I had a feeling it was coming, I knew it was needed, and yet I breathed a sigh of relief when it finally came to fruition. Mark Shapiro pulled the plug on the Eric Wedge regime today, the entire regime in fact, as the entire coaching staff, including pitching coach Carl Willis, hitting coach Derek Shelton, 3B coach Joel Skinner, 1B coach Luis Rivera, bench coach Jeff Datz, and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez, were relieved of their duties effective at season's end.

And so ends the underwhelming tenure of Eric Wedge. In his seven seasons, he compiled a record of 560-568 with his lone playoff appearance coming in 2007 with the AL Central Division crown, and he brought the team to the brink of their sixth World Series appearance, only to be shredded by the Red Sox in three straight games. Wedge nor his team or its fanbase have truly recovered from those three games, and they may not for some time.

Photo: Thomas Ondrey/Cleveland.com

Not to be outdone by the Indians, Eric Mangenius and the Cleveland Browns have done the old switcheroo under center, ousting Brady Quinn and promoting Derek Anderson to the unluckiest player on the team.

Anderson will start his first game since Week 13 of last season against the Colts. He holds a record of 13-11 as a starter, compared to Quinn's 1-5 mark. Last week, in relief of Brady, Anderson threw three interceptions but did open up the vertical passing to an extent, throwing for first downs on third down to Mike Furrey twice and Braylon Edwards once. Mangini cited DA's third down success as a reason for his start, but while he was 3-for-7 on third down, he threw two of his three picks on third down as well, trying to force the issue.