\jeff{krimmel}

In A Post-Loss Hangover

I am in my day-after, post-loss hangover today, because last night the number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes beat my number two ranked Texas Longhorns 24-7. And the score gives an accurate representation of what happened. We got beat, solidly, but we didn’t get embarrassed. Our offense couldn’t put much together, and their offense walked over our defense. Like I said, it was a solid beating.

I think we got exposed for our ill-achieved second place ranking. We definitely have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, but a very young and inexperienced quarterback combined with a surprisingly porous defensive secondary probably puts us closer to teams eight through ten. But with a team this young, we have a strong chance of improving as the year goes on. This season definitely isn’t over yet.

I must say I was moderately surprised with Colt McCoy. He didn’t play great, but who really could have expected him to play great in his second career collegiate start, especially against the number one ranked team in the country? He made a couple of impressive throws, he used his feet effectively, and he was able to take several hard hits and get back up and keep going. He’s no Vince Young, but I definitely think we can win with Colt McCoy at quarterback.

What we can’t win with is that leaky ass secondary. What happened there? Troy Smith and his receivers looked like Kurt Warner and the Rams circa 2000 when they were passing all over everybody. Smith could seemingly pick a receiver at will and rifle the ball to the guy, finding him wide open. Who exactly were we covering back there?

Oh, and ABC would have my head if I didn’t mention how poised Troy Smith is. Because Troy Smith is poised. He’s a senior, and he has an abundance of poise. He has some young guys surrounding him, and they rely on him. Because he’s poised. And you won’t find that in the statistics. Because there is no statistic for poise. But trust me, if there was a statistic for poise, Troy Smith would be leading the nation in it. Because that’s what he is: poised.

Finally, what in the hell was up with the announcing crew last night? Brent Musburger is fine, but why have the Texas A&M Aggie Bob Davie and the Ohio State Buckeye Kirk Herbstreit calling the game? Because that’s what I want to hear, a healthy dose of Longhorn-hating and Buckeye-loving. It was kind of like watching Keith Jackson and Dan Fouts fawn over USC during the Rose Bowl last year. Why does it happen that when Texas is playing a big nationally televised football game the network makes sure to put some folks in there who either hate the Longhorns or are brimming with passion for the Longhorns’ opponent? That gets old.

On a completely unrelated note, do female athletes get any hotter than Maria Sharapova?