The last game for RichRod’s first season at the Big House is over and done, and thank God. Ohio State toyed with Michigan much like a cat would do with a dead bird en route to a 42-7 victory.

Really, though, the game was scarcely that close, as Michigan saved its worst performance of the year for the last. The Wolverines were 1-17 on third down. That is not a typo. Nick Sheridan’s numbers were just as anemic: 8/24 through the air, 87 yards, and of course no touchdowns. He will be sent to the gulag immediately.

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I want to congratulate Jim Tressel for ensuring that his Buckeyes still have a chance to play in the BCS Championship game. Since the pollsters didn’t bury the Bucks (#13?), by holding out Beanie Wells in what now turns out to be a somewhat meaningless game, Tressel’s team will have a better chance to run the table in the Big 10 - and then benefit (again) from the creaking, maddening machinery of the BCS.

With a healthy Wells, even after Saturday’s SoCal shellacking, the rest of the Big 10 is probably no match for OSU. So long as UGA, UF and Okla. lose, you can almost guarantee the Bucks a return trip to the BCS’ big game (and another rout at the hands of the Trojans). I can already hear people firing up their CPAP machines in South Beach.

(Right before I called in the airstrike to escape the fourth quarter)

That whole scenario is far-fetched, you say? Then you haven’t been paying attention to the dark ages of a once-great sport. Yes, the pageantry and atmosphere of games like OSU-USC at the Coli is what defines college football, especially when you’re there to experience it first-hand.

But Saturday as I settled into my seat at the game (thanks to My Boy Barry), I couldn’t help being pissed about Tressel not allowing Beanie to play.

Safe to say, Wells could’ve beaned up and done more than the entire Buckeye backfield that day. But Tressel & Co. are gaming the BCS to perfection. They know that to risk further injury to Wells would be to eliminate the Bucks from BCS Championship Game contention.

(Those eyes smoked me out of the ESPN 710 VIP Tent)

Now, isn’t that what the great college game is all about? Sandbagging in front of a hundi-thousand in the most-anticipated college football clash in years?

DEADSPIN Editor A.J. Daulerio spent Saturday with me, and provided the day’s only excitement. On our walk to the stadium, A.J. accidently dropped his ticket. He didn’t discover this fact until he had until we’d walked five minutes down the road.

After backtracking about 1000 feet, we found the ticket, still somehow sitting on the sidewalk. (If only the fine citizens of Watts had been more considerate, and prevented us from attending the game.)

Now onward, to some of my fun pics from the Coli collection (Rick Reilly, Billy Bush, anonymous hotties!): Read more…

• Novak Djokovic jostles with the Big Apple crowd, “Who’s faking it now?”

But at least he still has Leryn Franco on his side.

• Vanderbilt vanquishes Steve Spurrier & South Carolina yet again, and even pours a little salt into the Gamecocks’ wounds.

• New coach, new players, new attitude - it all adds up to the same ol’ result for the Washington Redskins.

• Stephon Marbury apparently isn’t very helpful to his relatives.

• Something’s cookin’ with Vince Young, as the Titans QB hopes you can’t beat his meat.

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Ohio State Heisman hopeful Chris “Beanie” Wells was carted off the field with a foot injury during the third quarter of the Buckeyes’ 43-0 win in their season opening game today with Youngstown State. With OSU near the goal line for yet another score, their star running back fumbled a hand off and fell to the ground holding his right foot.

The Buckeyes who were a favorite by many to get to a third straight BCS Championship Game in January may have seen their championship dreams vanish in August.

Ken Gordon who is live blogging for the COLUMBUS DISPATCH wrote, “Ohio Stadium went deathly quiet as Wells writhed in pain, holding his right foot. It appeared he hurt it when he planted his foot to cut, it looked like he was hurt before getting hit.”

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