The Raiden Blog

Late in Saturday night's contest between Nebraska and Ohio State, with the Buckeyes leading and moving the ball better than they had all season, disaster struck.

Braxton Miller went down with an ankle injury, Joe Bauserman warmed up, and Luke Fickell didn't stand up and say "waaaiiiittt a minute here."

You know the rest of the story, the Buckeyes went on to blow it and lost 34-27. On the plus side, they covered the spread. On the downside, they're 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time in years.

Here's what you need to know about the Buckeye collapse: they couldn't move the ball, the defense wore out, and Taylor Martinez can really run.

Here's the key stat: Joe Bauserman in two road games this year, 3/24 for 26 yards and a pick. That's about 1.04 yards per attempt.

Braxton Miller is clearly the better quarterback of the two and brings more to the offense. He was starting to show signs of what he can become tonight, but there's also the danger of a smaller quarterback who runs a lot. Nebraska fans can relate.

Bottomline, if healthy, this is Miller's team the rest of the way, period. If Luke Fickell holds onto his job, and at this point, it's doubtful, it will be because Braxton Miller got healthy and learned to avoid hits, and he also reeled off six wins in a row.

If forced to take Bauserman as his starter the rest of the way, look out, these Buckeyes may not go bowling for the first time since 1999. Yes, I had to look that up.