I hate Ohio State and I hate the Patriots. But I have to admit that their respective misfortunes this weekend had opposite effects on me:

If Tom Brady really did tear his ACL, then that sucks. He's either 1 or 1A in terms of pro QBs, and it would be so much more rewarding to watch Favre beat the Pats with Brady at the helm. Now, if the Jets can still beat a solid New England squad, it will have an asterisk.

On the other hand...

If Ohio had pulled off the improbable upset against the Luckeyes in the Horseshoe this weekend, that would have been like the greatest thing to happen to me ever.

Now, the Bobcat-Buckeye showdown Saturday had all the markings of a trap game, with the Bucks looking towards a showdown with USC next week. So I'm not so naive as to think that OSU won't show up against USC next week (heck, it's not like Cheaty McSweatervest ever fails to prepare his team for big games. Right? I mean, right?)

In Cheaty, We Trust

Go Trojans.

In related news, look at what OSU receiver Ray Small had to say about OSU vs. USC:

"Here at Ohio State, they teach you to be a better man," Small said. "There, it's just all about football."

Small's got a point,obviously:

During Tressel's time, Alex Boone (in 2006) did not face suspension from games after a DUI arrest, while players Steve Bellisari (2001), Redgie Arden (2002) and Brandon Joe (2002) were suspended for at least a game for the same offense. Quinn Pitcock (2002) and Fred Pagac Jr. (2002) also served one-game suspensions for alcohol-related offenses.

oh, yeah, and there's this:

Maurice Edward Clarett (born October 29, 1983 in Youngstown, Ohio[1]) is a former American football player. During his freshman year at Ohio State University, he was considered one of the best college football players in the country, leading the Buckeyes to a national championship. He is well known for unsuccessfully challenging the NFL's rule that a player must be out of high school for three years to be eligible for the entry draft, and for his tumultuous life in and out of the courtroom afterwards. Since the national championship game that made him a household name, Clarett has not played another game of football. The former tailback is currently serving prison time after accepting a plea deal amid charges of committing robbery, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and resisting arrest.

I'll let my man Carson Palmer have the last word:

It’s amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the crap I got to put up with being back there. I just can’t wait for two years from now when ‘SC comes to the ‘Shoe and I get to, hopefully have a home game that weekend and I can go out there and watch us pound on them on their own turf and kind of put all the talk to rest, because I’m really getting sick of it. I just can’t wait for this game to get here so they can come to the Coliseum and experience L.A. and get an old fashioned, Pac 10 butt-whooping and go back to the Big Ten.

Although for such a big talker Carson might want to throw for at least 100 yards next week.