Hard to believe in just 100 days, our Rockets will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. By September 19th, we’ll be no stranger to strong teams with big names — first facing Purdue, then Colorado (at least it’s at our house) and then tOSU. The writing on the wall already says that the Rockets can’t begin to slow down the Buckeyes and that its just a gimmie, a warmup, for tOSU but I don’t think you can call it so early and I use last year’s Michigan game as my reasoning.

Now, I know what you’re saying: Michigan is no Ohio State – and I agree… but they are a part of the Big Ten and growing up buried in Buckeye/Big Ten coverage/support/analysis/love (by everyone but me) I’ve learned that often times, those teams behave similarly. Toledo had no shot in the Michigan game – out matched and out manned on paper, in just about every way. The only people that gave Toledo any hope were the same people who were still laughing about Appalachian State and how a team like that (admittedly, very talented in their own right, obviously) could come into the Big House and get the job done.

I’m not pretending that Michigan played like the Michigan of old, but they did their thing and we did ours – and when the dust settled, Toledo was victorious. Was it talent ? Could be. Was it coaching ? Perhaps. Was it luck ? There might have been that thrown in. My point is that, given the opportunity, we rose to the occasion and faced the “bigger” “stronger” “faster” “better” team, and won. Some of our players were snubbed by Big Ten recruiting — they weren’t tall enough, not fast enough, not big enough to play Big Ten ball, they said. Yet, when the chips were down, in the face of adversity and under all that pressure, those same players lined up and we came out on top. Talent: check. Coaching: check. Poise: check. Luck: check.

My point is, on paper, it’s an uphill battle for the Rockets but, if I’ve learned anything from my time as a Rocket fan, it’s not to count us out. I’ve seen improbable wins, come from behind victories and some plays that just shouldn’t have worked, that did. It’s a tough battle, but I have confidence that Beckman will have our guys ready to play and we’ll come out shooting. Does it matter that it’s OSU and the general populous thinks we can’t win ? Not one bit. It’s two teams out there battling with one goal in mind. We have just as good a chance at winning as they do, maybe better, in fact, since no one thinks we can. Go Rockets