By Patrick DorseyThe Daily Northwestern

Following the Buckeyes’ 54-10 domination of Northwestern on Saturday, Ohio State center Doug Datish stepped to the microphone to make his opening statement.

And he said this:

“Thanks (to) Northwestern for just coming out there and playing hard.”

And this:

“That’s a good, quality step for their program.”

No, that’s not a typo, nor a quote taken out of context.

Ohio State’s starting center actually thanked his opponent for its effort. He called a 44-point loss a good thing for the Wildcats. He might as well have complimented them on those snazzy black pants.

But however condescending those comments sound (and, for the record, Datish did not say them in a condescending manner) they precisely summed up this game.

While coach Pat Fitzgerald and the like were fuming about The One That Got Away – NU’s big chance to knock off No. 1 – the Buckeyes were offering their ho-hum comments about another ho-hum game, all while reminding us of one thing:

As long as Ohio State showed up, NU didn’t stand a chance.

And Ohio State showed up.

Sure, the Cats did move the ball for a while, totaling 144 yards in the first quarter and 235 by halftime.

And no, NU didn’t help itself by turning the ball over four times in the first half, with three of those giveaways being almost unforced errors.

Quarterback C.J. Bach