Ohio State's Opponent Roundup: Week 8

Another crazy week in college football culminates in #11 Missouri upsetting the #1 Oklahoma Sooners on national television. Now let's look at how Ohio State's schedule fared this weekend.

Marshall Thundering Herd vs. East Carolina Pirates - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Jon Williams ran for 111 yards and a touchdown to help East Carolina stay perfect in Conference USA by beating Marshall 37-10 on Saturday.

Marshall's Record: 1-6

North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Miami (FL) Hurricanes - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Sean Spence and Brandon Harris danced toward the sideline in such exaggerated celebration that they drew a penalty. Randy Shannon chest-bumped 310-pound left tackle Orlando Franklin. Allen Bailey shook his fist and screamed at no one in particular. No, it wasn't the old days of bad-boy Miami football. But the Hurricanes showed plenty of fire -- and got a win that saved their Atlantic Coast Conference title hopes. Jacory Harris threw three touchdown passes to move into second place on Miami's career list, Damien Berry ran for his fourth straight game of 100-plus yards and the 25th-ranked Hurricanes scored the game's last 30 points to easily beat North Carolina 33-10 on Saturday night.

Miami's Record: 5-2

Ohio Bobcats vs. Miami (OH) RedHawks - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Donte Harden and Boo Jackson rushed for two touchdowns each and Ohio's defense forced six turnovers in a 34-13 win over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. Vince Davidson rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries as the Bobcats (5-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) had scoring drives of 87, 47, 48, 85 and 26 yards.

Ohio's Record: 5-3

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. Virginia Cavaliers - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Marc Verica threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and punter Jimmy Howell also had a passing score as Virginia beat Eastern Michigan 48-21 on Saturday night. Off a fake punt, Howell found Trey Womack for a 56-yard touchdown pass to give the Cavaliers (3-4) a 38-21 lead in front of a crowd of 36,600 at Scott Stadium -- the lowest attendance since a game against Duke in 1997.

EMU's Record: 1-7

Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase turned a quiet 123 yards of passing into a pair of touchdowns and the Fighting Illini returned interceptions for two more Saturday in a 43-13 rout of Indiana. Illinois (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) led 27-10 at the half and held on through a sloppy, mostly defensive second half, all with the help of five Indiana turnovers.

Illinois' Record: 4-3

Indiana's Record: 4-3

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema has a Hawkeyes tattoo on his leg and, apparently, a trick up his sleeve. The former Iowa player and assistant coach stunned his alma mater with a fake punt midway through the fourth quarter, and Montee Ball ran 8 yards for a touchdown with 1:06 left as the Badgers (No. 13 BCS, No. 10 AP) rallied to beat the Hawkeyes (No. 15, No. 13) 31-30 on Saturday.

Wisconsin's Record: 7-1

Iowa's Record: 5-2

Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers - Recap - October 23, 2010 - ESPN
Matt McGloin threw two touchdown passes to Derek Moye for Penn State in relief of injured starter Rob Bolden, and the Nittany Lions used struggling Minnesota to get their first Big Ten win, 33-21 on Saturday.

Minnesota's Record: 1-7

Penn State's Record: 4-3

Michigan was on a bye this week; they are 5-2.

Opponents' Record: 48-42 (53%)

Oklahoma's loss helps Ohio State in the national championship race, but the rest of the day did not benefit the Buckeyes enough in the Big Ten race. Wisconsin's escape on the back of Kirk Ferentz's clock management issues makes it doubtful that Wisconsin will lose another game in the regular season. Their upcoming contest against Michigan in three weeks may force Buckeye fans to root for those people up north. In fact, it's those other people up north that are causing the Bucks the most trouble, with Michigan State's second half rally against Northwestern putting more focus on the Spartans game against Iowa next weekend. Ohio State needs Iowa to win that game to regain control of the Big Ten title race.

The Big Ten is probably the most balanced conference in college football this season, with four legitimate contenders for the conference crown and three teams who are certainly bowl worthy (Michigan, Northwestern, and Illinois.) Penn State is on a bit of a precipice right now, and it's hard to tell whether they will scrape out the two more wins necessary for a bowl game.

It's one of the most exciting years in Big Ten football that I've ever seen, and also one of the more uncomfortable, at least from a Buckeye perspective. The stretch run should be fun.