Life without “The Vest” got off to a great start for No. 18 Ohio State over the weekend as they blasted the heavy underdog Akron Zips 42-0.

But what does this mean regarding the Buckeyes?

It’s too early to tell.

The Zips were not even a good sparring partner for new Coach Luke Fickell; that team was 1-11 last season. Regardless of the lack of a challenging opponent, OSU players did respond well considering how they have been saturated in one of the biggest scandals in NCAA history. They held the Zips to just 90 total yards in the romp.

The Buckeyes were playing about as short-handed as a team can get with a total of eight players on suspension for breaking a laundry list of NCAA rules and star QB Terrell Pryor packed up and long gone to the Oakland Raiders in the NFL.

Joe Bauserman, a no-name quarterback who has spent the last two seasons holding a clipboard on the sidelines spectating, finished 12-of-16 for 163 passing yards and three touchdowns without throwing a pick all day. To throw a little icing on the cake, the jubilant “fill-in” also ran for a 15-yard score.

In addition to Bauserman lighting up the stat sheet, we may want to keep an eye on tight end, Stoneburner who made his way into the record books, becoming the first Ohio State tight end to catch three touchdown tosses in one game.

Yeah, nice showing but was against the Zips who played with anything but. The better test will be down the road when they begin their Big Ten conference games. In the meantime, Toledo is up next (yeah they have a team) and that game is followed by a trip to Miami.

During the post-game presser, the vest-less Fickell said:

“We’re going to focus on the guys we have here…If it changes week to week, we’re going to continue to have guys step up.”

“If it changes week to week?” Does Fickell know something we don’t? Is this Jim Tressel led scandal not over yet?

Have to wonder if the NCAA gumshoes are still sniffing around the Buckeyes locker room and front office. They may be since this is one of the disgraceful incidents that just seems to never go away. After Tressel was forced out and Pryor and four other players were disciplined for “ink gate”, three others joined them on the sidelines from yet another discovered wrongdoing.

If nothing else, it’s a great way to sell programs with so many players shuffling around.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

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