Ohio State Stock Market Report: Indiana

I'll admit, coming into the Indiana game, I thought that we might be in for a semi-shoot out. Now, I had every confidence that Ohio State would win, and by a fairly substantial margin, but I wouldn't have been surprised if Indiana had put about 400 yards of offense on the board and around 28 points or so. Indiana has a top 20 offense nationally, and other than the Wisconsin game, they've had no problems putting points on the board.

By the end of the game, I was disappointed that OSU didn't throw a shutout. In a snowstorm that brought us back to the days of Woody in a shirt and tie stomping the sidelines, the Buckeyes chewed up Indiana, spit them out, won the Leaders division, and secured a spot in the Big Ten Championship game in two weeks.

With two more wins, all the dreams that OSU envisioned for themselves are within their grasp, aren't they, Messrs. Hagar and Van Halen?

Run, run, run away
Like a train runnin' off the track
Got the truth bein' left behind
Falls between the cracks
Standin' on broken dreams
Never losin' sight, ah
Well just spread your wings

We'll get higher and higher
Straight up we'll climb
We'll get higher and higher
Leave it all behind

So baby dry your eyes
Save all the tears you've cried
Oh, that's what dreams are made of
'Cause we belong in a world that must be strong
Oh, that's what dreams are made of

Your SMR that just won the last Leaders division title in Big Ten history follows.

Blue Chip Stocks:

Braxton Miller, QB: On a day when weather and several dropped passes by his normally sure handed receivers conspired to give him some below average passing numbers, he still managed to rip off some devastating runs that helped end the game long before the clock hit zero's. He had two TD runs that were pretty impressive, and even though the weather wasn't conducive to an air raid passing attack, he hit Devin Smith on a beautiful 39 yarder to cap a 99 yard drive. Just another great effort to help send out the seniors a winner.

Carlos Hyde, RB: When you become the first running back to rush for 1,000 yards for Urban Meyer, you've done something special. When you do it after missing the first three games, it's damn near incredible. For as important as Miller is to this offense, Hyde transforms it from a somewhat finesse (dare I say gimmicky?) offense to a brutal, powerful running based offense that can chew the clock and impose their will on a defense.

Ryan Shazier, MLB: Shazier was everywhere today. Seriously, everywhere. In the backfield, filling the gap, sacking the QB, it didn't matter. I had to go to the airport before the game, and SHAZIER WAS AT THE ST. LOUIS AIRPORT. Everywhere, I tell ya. 20 tackles, 2.5 sacks, just an insane day. Oh hey, remember when everyone was going on and on about Jadeveon Clowney and what a dominant defensive player he is? If Shazier returns next year, I would hope he would get some press, because he's as good as any defensive player in the nation.

The Rest Of The Senior Class: Thank you, gentlemen, and good luck to you. You won a BCS game that no longer officially exists in the record book, suffered through a scandal that none of you had anything to do with, went through three different head coaches, and are now on the cusp of your third win against That Team Up North, your first conference championship, and two straight undefeated seasons. Thank you, and good luck to you in whatever endeavors you pursue.

Solid Investments:

Dontre Wilson, RB/WR: Was it me, or did it seem that the Buckeyes were kind of forcing the ball to Wilson early? He had four rushes for 26 yards, but it seemed like he was having trouble getting untracked. Until the third quarter, when he took what was officially listed as a pass from Miller and ran away from everyone for a 24 yard touchdown pass. That's one of the fastest kids in college football, and I am going to love watching him the next few years

Junk Bonds:

On a day when 18 seniors say goodbye to Ohio State, and the team sends them off with a convincing win in an old fashioned snowstorm and clinches a spot in the championship game, it would be very Mike Bianchi-ish of me to call anyone out. There wasn't anyone that really stood out for terrible play, anyway, so yeah, this would be a total phallic move.

Buy/Sell:

Buy: The dual QB threat formation that lead to Brax's leaping TD run off of Kenny G's handoff. That was a pretty cool formation. Guiton lined up behind center, Brax was out wide, and at the snap Miller came across the formation, took the handoff from Guiton, and leaped into the end zone for the score. Creative formation, creative playcall, touchdown.

Sell: Kenny not scoring a TD...and fumbling. I'm sure it wasn't the way he wanted to go out, and it wasn't the way we wanted to see him go out, but for a guy that was, for the most part, a career backup here, he's still leaving as one of the most popular players in recent OSU history. Thanks for saving last season by beating Purdue, and thanks for saving this season when Miller got hurt. Hope to see you playing on Sundays, or coaching somewhere real soon.

So Ohio State has won the Leaders division, and they will go on to meet Michigan State in Indianapolis in two weeks. That's going to be a great game, and we'll talk about it a lot...next week.

Now, it's Michigan Week. Here's your daily Michigan Schadenfreude:

Enough of Indiana. Enough of MSU and the Big Ten Championship game.

It's time.

It's time to embrace the hate. Wrap your arms around it, hug it, revel in it. Focus, find your chi, hate text your buddies, egg someone's house (wait, don't do that because that's just dumb), do whatever you need to do, but get ready, because it's Hate Week here in the Holy Land (hate week, holy land, yes we see the irony but it makes sense today) and by game time, you will be so fired up you'll be ready to run through a wall.

So get ready, because it's time to re-visit the Greatest Rivalry In All Of Sports.

It's Michigan week.

Today, I give you the infamous M Club Banner Incident. It was in 1973, the height of the 10 Year War, and rumor has it All American offensive lineman John Hicks, on order from Woody himself, lead the team out to the banner and tore it down.

Michigan was so incensed, so infuriated, and so motivated to exact revenge...that they tied Ohio State 10-10, and Ohio State went to the Rose Bowl after a vote of the Big Ten athletic directors. OSU curb stomped USC, and Michigan stayed home. Probably had to repair that banner...

Go Bucks. Beat That Team Up North.