The writing had probably been written on the wall for quite some time as Donald Washington and Jamario O’Neal had been withheld from practicing and there was rumors as to what had been going on with the players, but Ohio State made it official, suspending the two defensive players for the first two games of the season. Football coach Jim Tressel had already mentioned previously that the two players were going to have to “earn their car keys back”. Love the analogy….

The University has not commented on the infractions involved, but evidently it was enough to keep them from even suiting up for the first two weeks of the season–but not severe enough to keep them from the showdown with USC. While this obviously shouldn’t hamper the Buckeyes in terms of upsetting the team balance considerably for the first two games, it could make a major difference in terms of chemistry once these two step onto the field for the first time in what is probably the biggest college football game of the season.

Washington started every game last year at cornerback, while O’Neal has mostly served as a backup at strong safety. You cannot undermine at least Washington’s importance in the game against the Trojans, and he’ll have to get his game legs up to speed very quickly if he wants to survive. This is certainly a part of the game you know Pete Carroll will exploit if Washington is in or if Washington’s backup gets a lot of time, regardless.

Can’t these guys stay out of trouble?? Sheeeesh! I don’t want this blog to start looking like a police report, but good gawd!