In the annals of American folklore and popular culture, the traditional comic legend of the bewildered "side-kick" goes back historically to the 18th and 19th Centuries. Folk heroes like the 19th century Mike the Bowery B'hoy, an urban tough, and Daniel Boone with his compatriots tramped through the Appalachian wilderness. American folklore frequently comes in stories where the pairs reveal the true meaning of the story’s intent. Charlie Brown is flummoxed by Lucy. She takes the football off the ground when he wants to kick and Charlie lands on his arse. Good Grief, she tricked him again.

"Boy Wonder" Robin is generally perplexed and stares, quizzically, at Batman, exclaiming "Holy Cow, Batman".

The sidekick always appears to be perplexed. But Lucy and Batman are in control of the moment.

"Holy Understatement, Batman". Throughout the profoundly American Batman and Robin history, Robin was the bewildered understudy and his confusion began with an exclamation, "Holy" followed by a word or phrase suited to the situation.

In "The Case of the Empty Chamber", Ohio State fans require the skills and insight of Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery. Could it take a Sherlock to find the vague clue, the spot on the rug, the dirt smudge on the boot, a clue required to solve the mystery of the Empty Chamber? For a team ranked No. 3 in the most recent end of the season football poll, The Ohio State University faces the classic problem of an "empty chamber" in the position of the quarterback.

"Holy Transfer, Brenna." Of course, Justin Fields has transferred to Ohio State and hopes to play football in 2019. He has appealed to the NCAA for a positive "hardship" decision in order to play.

"Holy Transfer Portal, Batman."

Last year’s third string quarterback Tate Martell seemed destined to be the starting quarterback for 2019. Tate Martell’s most famous quote "I was born to play for Ohio State. I am not just going to walk away from something that I have put so much time into and there is not a chance that I won’t go out there and compete for that." But, the combination of Urban Meyer’s departure and Justin Field’s arrival sealed Martell’s fate

With some of the quarterback rotation chambers empty, Haskins’ departure for the NFL, Martell’s escape to Miami, and potentially, if he does not receive a NCAA approval for hardship, Justin Fields will be on his way to a good academic year without football, waiting a season to play. Then, the quarterback position might be dicey. The third team quarterback was apparently freshman Matthew Baldwin, who came to Ohio State as Ryan Day’s quarterback recruit.

According to The Lantern (OSU, Jan 17, 2019), Day himself noted that Baldwin has not been able to prepare fully for the position. Day was reported to say that "In terms of throwing them out there to the fire, he’s still not quite ready for that. But this spring he’ll have that opportunity."

Ohio State has had great college QB’s in recent years, Troy Smith won the Heisman, J. T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins kept Ohio State’s QB position in excellent shape. Perhaps Matthew Baldwin can get up to speed and carry the load at this vital position.

What is the answer? There are even more quarterbacks who might want to come to Ohio State through the portal. Nick Starkel from Texas A&M has registered with the transfer portal and indicated that Ohio State is on his list of potential landing spots. In the remarkable era of increased movement, once a player has graduated he is at liberty to transfer and complete his eligibility.

"Holy Phoenix Batman, look to the West"

Finally, the Ohio State fan base might want to wait for star recruit from Phoenix, Arizona, Jack Miller. Now only a junior in high school, Miller was aggressively recruited and signaled his intent to come to Ohio State in the summer of 2018, shortly after Miller and his family came for a visit to the Ohio State campus. Jack’s father and sister were touring the library when I met up with them. His father said his son was over at the OSU practice facility "throwing the ball." The Miller family enjoyed their visit to the campus. Though Miller was injured during his last season, he was recently cleared to resume practice.

It might take Sherlock Holmes to solve the "Case of the Empty Chamber". Ohio State finds itself in a bit of a quandary. Come fall, Ohio State and Coach Day will hopefully have the answer, but waiting for Spring Ball will require patience.