Photo: ESPN.com

On Halloween in the 'Shoe, Buckeyes fans were rewarded with a number of "treats" offensively and defensively thanks to a couple of "tricks" against the Aggies of New Mexico State. The Ohio State offense racked up 559 yards while the Buckeye defense held the Aggies to a measly 62 yards on the day. New Mexico State was no match for the talent of Ohio State as Jim Tressel pulled out many of the starters after halftime as the Buckeyes held a four-score lead. I had the pleasure of watching the game from the north stands of the stadium. Here are my thoughts on today's resounding victory:

No Candy for the First Quarter

The first quarter ended scoreless despite Ohio State gaining solid yardage on offense. Tressel tested Pryor's arm several times in the first quarter by letting the Buckeye quarterback throw deep passes to his receivers. These first quarter passes resulted in no "treats" for the Buckeyes as Pryor and his Crew were unable to punch the ball into the endzone.

(On a side note, the second quarter started off with a quick Buckeye rushing touchdown by Terrelle Pryor. Kirk spun the 'Roulette Wheel' and lost horribly as he chose to sit in the south endzone while conceding his ticket in the north stands to a friend. Pryor's rushing TD was the first of six Buckeye touchdowns on the day, all of which were accomplished in the north endzone of the stadium.)

Collect Call to 419

After scoring a total of four touchdowns in the first four games of the year, Mr. '419' Dane Sanzenbacher did not find the endzone in any of games five through eight. Today someone called the operator and reestablished the connection to the 419 area code as Dane scored a pair of touchdowns (one thrown by a fellow receiver) against the Aggies. He finished with 72 yards on four catches in today's contest. Dane is an integral part of this offense and I am surely hoping we can keep the connection to the 419 alive as the Buckeyes battle the likes of Penn State, Iowa, and 'That Team Up North.'

Costume Party

On a spooky Halloween afternoon, Coach Tressel wore an extremely creative costume: 'An-Aggressive-Play-Caller-With-Killer-Instinct.' Though Tressel had Pryor come out after the first half in street clothes and sat the majority of his starters midway through the third quarter, he kept his foot on the pedal for the entirety of the game. I do not hid the fact that I am typically unhappy with Tressel's coaching mentality, but today was an exception. Tressel was ready to go for the first down on 4th-and-5 with just a few minutes remaining in the game. Ultimately a false start turned down-and-distance to 4th-and-10 and the Buckeyes punted the ball, but seeing that 'killer instinct' out of Tressel made me smile.

In addition to Tressel wearing a costume in today's game, I also saw a few other players wear their Halloween costumes this afternoon:

• Duron Carter pulled off the 'Punt Returner' costume well as he returned a pair of punts for 24 yards.
• Offensive lineman Andy Miller threw on his 'Tight End' costume for a few plays (one of which resulted in a touchdown).
• Andrew Moses wore a costume called 'Starting Left Guard' as he replaced an injured Justin Boren in today's contest.
• Devin Barclay wore his 'Starting Kicker' costume today as Pettrey left the game due to injury in the second quarter.
• Quarterback Joe Basuerman threw on his 'Starting Quarterback' costume in the second half of the game today as he relieved Pryor from his duties thanks to a 28-0 Buckeye lead. Joe completed a pair of deep passes to Duron Carter for a total of 75 yards through the air.
• DeVier Posey also had a surprise costume that no one in the stadium expected: 'Quarterback.'

What's it Feel Like to be a Ghost?

Today the New Mexico State offense and defense seemed virtually invisible. The Buckeyes dominated the game on both sides of the ball as the game's outcome was not even once in question. The Aggies entered the game ranked as the worst offense in the NCAA and they certainly lived up to that billing. I think a major reason for the tremendous success of the Buckeyes today can be attributed to the fact that we are in the middle of the Big Ten season, so a match-up against a team the likes of New Mexico State is closer to a scrimmage than a football game at this point.

TP'ing the Aggies

Terrelle Pryor TP'ed the Aggies in the first half today as he finished with 135 yards passing on 11 of 23 passing and 83 yards rushing on nine carries. He rushed for one touchdown and passed for one touchdown. Had Terrelle been given the opportunity to play in the second half I am sure he would have eclipsed the 200-yard mark passing and the 100-yard mark rushing, which is quite an accomplishment against any team.

While dressed in his costume, Jim Tressel TP'ed the Aggies as well with a pair of 'Trick Plays.' The most memorable trick play, of course, was the reverse to wideout DeVier Posey. Posey crossed over from the right side of the field and threw a 39-yard pass (which traveled about 55 yards in the air) to fellow receiver Dane '419' Sanzenbacher. Posey's pass was a tight spiral and was thrown just right so that only Dane was given an opportunity to catch the throw. In addition to Posey's trick play, Tressel allowed Pettrey to capitalize on an onside kick opportunity. Pettrey lightly tapped the football off the tee and immediately sprinted forward and recovered the ball after it had traveled 10 yards. Seeing these trick plays as part of our arsenal makes me feel confident that the coaches and players may have a couple more 'tricks' up their sleeves for the remaining non-Halloween games on the schedule.

How Sweet It Is...

...that this Buckeye team is talented enough to give their 7th-string tailback a chance to tote the ball in the game. Today we saw (in order of appearance): Brandon Saine, Jordan Hall, Boom Herron, Jermil Martin, Bo DeLande, KC Christian, and Joe Gantz. Even more impressive is the fact that DeLande and Christian are walk-on running backs and are not scholarship players. The Buckeyes finished the game with 310 yards rushing on 49 carries (6.3 ypc). The running game is the backbone of this offense and I was happy today to see the coaches return to what works best for the Buckeyes.

Jawbreakers

Attention everyone! This Ohio State team is officially being dubbed as 'An Equal Opportunity Defender.' The Buckeye defense has pitched shutouts against Toledo, Illinois, and New Mexico State. This list includes the potential for both Big Ten (Illinois) and non-Big Ten (Toledo, NMSU) teams to be shut out by the Buckeyes. This list includes both high-powered offenses (Toledo, Illinois) and virtually non-existent offenses (NMSU) to be shut out by the Buckeyes. Furthermore, this list includes the opportunity for teams to be shut out on holidays (Halloween, if it counts) and typical Saturdays. No matter how I spin it, you cannot argue the impressive statistic that in its three shutout victories this season, Ohio State has outscored its opponents by a margin of 113 points.

The defense today swarmed the ball carrier and shut down the 'powerful' NMSU passing game. Once again winning the turnover battle, I cannot emphasize how important turnovers are to the outcome of a football game. The Aggies did not cross their own 35-yard line all afternoon and only managed to convert two first downs on the afternoon. It was no secret coming into the season and it is certainly no secret now, this defense will keep this Ohio State football team in contention for every game it plays this season.

Kicks from the Krypt

Blame it on the wind. Blame it on the holder. Blame it on the Halloween spirits. Or blame it on the New Mexico State defense. (Okay, not the last one...) Whatever you want to blame it on, facts are facts, and Buckeye 'Krypt Kickers' Aaron Pettrey and Devin Barclay combined to go 1-for-5 on the day for field goals. Sitting in the stadium I can attest to the intense winds that clearly affected both the kicking and punting game. (By the way, punter Jon Thoma averaged just 31.3 yards per punt compared to 45.0 yards per punt for the Aggie punter.) Performances like this are not typical of Buckeye teams in the 'Tressel Era.' I feel confident about our chances in each of the remaining game (although a loss to Iowa would not surprise me), but I am far from confident from putting my trust in any kicker on our roster with the game on the line.

Offensive Player of the Game Award: DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher

For the many reasons reflected in this article, I could not keep myself from selected our top two receivers as the players of the game today. Mr. 419 recorded two touchdowns on 72 yards receiving. Mr. Posey threw for 39 yards on one pass (to Mr. 419 of course) and caught 5 passes for 79 yards himself. As the season progresses, I feel confident saying we have one of the best tandems of wideouts in the nation. Dane brings strong hands without a fear of going across the middle. DeVier brings athleticism, shiftiness, and a fundamental knowledge of the position. If these two aren't enough, recall that we also have the son, Duron Carter, of former Buckeye-great Cris Carter. Duron finished the game with 82 yards on 3 catches.

Defensive Player of the Game Award: The Entire Defense

I caught some grief from Kirk for nominating the entire defense once again for the game ball, but I have to stick to my convictions here. Pitching a shutout against any football team is quite a tall order and to hold the opponent to 62 total offensive yards while doing so is even more impressive. I realize we were tapping into our third-string defense, so I have to give out a plethora of game balls, but it's okay because I don't pay for them.

The Buckeyes travel to State College next week to take on Pennsylvania State University. The Nittany Lions of Penn State are a talented team and I am willing to go out on a limb here and predict that the game will not result in a shutout. In all seriousness, I'm taking the Buckeyes in a game that is decided by less than 10 points.

Until next week,

Go Buckeyes!

ThunderBuck

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