Yeah, I said it. One of the biggest games of the year, maybe of the decade, and all the media can talk about is Beanie Wells. Yes, he’s a Heisman contender. Yes, he’s a spark plug for the Buckeyes' offense. But hell, if you listened to analysts over the past week or so, you would swear THE Ohio State was a one man show. That’s not true. The Buckeyes are loaded with talent. And if the loss of Beanie Wells is worth this much hype, then obviously all the others are overrated. Besides, here in Los Angeles, we fully expect him to play.
But let’s look at what’s being preached, and what has occurred. Beanie was injured in the Buckeyes’ opener against FCS Youngstown State, leaving the game after running for 111 yards. That was an opening game 43-0 ass whipping, right? The Buckeyes followed up the opening weekend by struggling with the Ohio Bobcats. We all know this, because it was highly publicized. But how did Youngstown State follow up their paddling? They went back for seconds. “Thank you sir, can I have another?” In week two, Youngstown State was drubbed by South Dakota State by a tune of 40-7. Dakota’s Kyle Minnett ran for 123 yards and 2 scores. In fact, the Jackrabbits were more productive on offense (506 total yards) than the Buckeyes (495) managed against the Penguins.
Beanie Wells played in January’s BCS Championship game, and played well. Even with his 146 yards, the Buckeyes still lost by 14. Wells also played in the 2007 BCS title game against Florida, and the Buckeyes as a team rushed for only 47 yards against the speedy Gators defense, losing by 27 points. The point is, fixing whatever is broken doesn’t begin with Beanie Wells.
Flashback to 2006, and look at the UCLA Bruins. Ben Olsen goes down with an injury (imagine that?), and the team is set to face the second ranked Trojans. They insert Patrick Cowan as quarterback. Cowan allows Dwayne Walker’s defense to work, and he manages the game to keep his team in it. Final score, UCLA 13, USC 9.
Move on to 2007, and Stanford quarterback T.C. Ostrander suffers a seizure just days before the Cardinal are scheduled to meet No.1 USC in the coliseum, where the Trojans hadn’t lost since 2001. Insert Tavita Pritchard at quarterback, who never started a game. The 42 point underdogs take advantage of Trojan errors, and Pritchard tops his final drive with a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. Final score, Stanford 24, USC 23.
All this hype about Beanie Wells is painting THE Ohio State as a program without depth, and a program that leans on one man. The program is more rounded than the media is making them out to be. No mention of Trojans that are game time decisions, such as starting linebacker Brian Cushing and starting receiver Vidal Hazelton. Why? It’s because USC is expected to just plug in new players in those positions, and regardless of game time experience, they are expected to outperform their opposition. It’s always been the Trojan way. A man goes down, and you "fight on" with what you have.
But I’m pretty tired of hearing about Beanie Wells all week. Aren’t you? Yeah, I know. I just rambled about him, myself. But there’s a big difference between a “sky’s falling” rant, and just putting your frustrations simply, by saying……F@&* Beanie!
But let’s look at what’s being preached, and what has occurred. Beanie was injured in the Buckeyes’ opener against FCS Youngstown State, leaving the game after running for 111 yards. That was an opening game 43-0 ass whipping, right? The Buckeyes followed up the opening weekend by struggling with the Ohio Bobcats. We all know this, because it was highly publicized. But how did Youngstown State follow up their paddling? They went back for seconds. “Thank you sir, can I have another?” In week two, Youngstown State was drubbed by South Dakota State by a tune of 40-7. Dakota’s Kyle Minnett ran for 123 yards and 2 scores. In fact, the Jackrabbits were more productive on offense (506 total yards) than the Buckeyes (495) managed against the Penguins.
Beanie Wells played in January’s BCS Championship game, and played well. Even with his 146 yards, the Buckeyes still lost by 14. Wells also played in the 2007 BCS title game against Florida, and the Buckeyes as a team rushed for only 47 yards against the speedy Gators defense, losing by 27 points. The point is, fixing whatever is broken doesn’t begin with Beanie Wells.
Flashback to 2006, and look at the UCLA Bruins. Ben Olsen goes down with an injury (imagine that?), and the team is set to face the second ranked Trojans. They insert Patrick Cowan as quarterback. Cowan allows Dwayne Walker’s defense to work, and he manages the game to keep his team in it. Final score, UCLA 13, USC 9.
Move on to 2007, and Stanford quarterback T.C. Ostrander suffers a seizure just days before the Cardinal are scheduled to meet No.1 USC in the coliseum, where the Trojans hadn’t lost since 2001. Insert Tavita Pritchard at quarterback, who never started a game. The 42 point underdogs take advantage of Trojan errors, and Pritchard tops his final drive with a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. Final score, Stanford 24, USC 23.
All this hype about Beanie Wells is painting THE Ohio State as a program without depth, and a program that leans on one man. The program is more rounded than the media is making them out to be. No mention of Trojans that are game time decisions, such as starting linebacker Brian Cushing and starting receiver Vidal Hazelton. Why? It’s because USC is expected to just plug in new players in those positions, and regardless of game time experience, they are expected to outperform their opposition. It’s always been the Trojan way. A man goes down, and you "fight on" with what you have.
But I’m pretty tired of hearing about Beanie Wells all week. Aren’t you? Yeah, I know. I just rambled about him, myself. But there’s a big difference between a “sky’s falling” rant, and just putting your frustrations simply, by saying……F@&* Beanie!
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