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Brian Robiskie only caught three passes in yesterday's 58-7 victory over Northwestern but that's OK because they were all for touchdowns. Come again?

Todd Boeckman only completed 11 passes but that's just fine because four of the them were for scores. Say what?

Someone should tell these supposed no-names that they really should only try this stuff with a Heisman Trophy winner and a bunch of NFL draft picks, preferably first rounders.

With the offense beginning to flex its muscle, this year's defense is proving tougher, faster and smarter than last year's unit. They seem to love to play and take each yard and point personally. Plus, they have the advantage of knowing the spanking teams can put on them if they aren't paying attention (see games vs. Michigan and Florida, 2006).

Apparently, this group has more in common with its 2002 and 2006 predecessors than the 2004 unit everyone was fretting about. Good news for Buckeye fans but bad news for Big Ten teams hoping to get a break from a team that has now won 15 straight conference games.

New, old faces creating conference competition

This just in: Michigan has fully recovered from its two-game slide and with a true freshman quarterback at the helm of the offense. They put up big numbers against Notre Dame (not hard to do) and shut down Pretender State U. for their ninth straight win against the Nittany Lions (hint to State College, Ohio State usually gets rid of coaches before they reach this benchmark, but I digress...)

Penn State has to convince JoePa to retire. Aside from one year with Michael Robinson and Larry Johnson, their offense has been PAINFUL to watch for about a decade and I am tiring of being right about them not being true contenders.

At least Wisconsin is winning, although about as unimpressively as possible. I know Iowa has a good defense but I think the Hawkeyes had to put members of the band on offense so how on earth could last night's game be so close?

But all is not down in the Big Ten. There are a few teams making some noise from the mid-decks of the league. Purdue is forcing people to take notice of its offense again. Now, let's see how their defense holds up.

Illinois did something Louisville (formerly ranked and challenging for the national title) could not do: beat Syracuse. Not many thought they could even handle Indiana but the Illini did with ease. Of coures, nobody saw the game because the Big Ten Network carried it.

Meanwhile, Michigan State was nowhere near anybody's radar but here they are, 4-0, with a coaching staff that knows a thing or two about winning in the Big Ten.

And Notre Dame, a school that finds joining a conference beneath it, is 0-4 for the first time in its 119-year history. All is right with the world...

Tags: big ten conference, ohio state football