THE B?G TEN

As I predicted last week right here in front of all six of you, the Big Ten laid a serious egg this weekend and convinced me that it’s just as well that OSU can’t play in the postseason because there’s no way this conference is putting a team in the title game anyway. Let’s take a look at just how horrible our league is right now and what’s in store for us this weekend, if we can stand to watch:

Wisconsin: The Badgers were probably most people’s pre-season favorite to repeat as conference champs with both of the other good teams in the Leaders division ineligible for the title. Then they went and barely beat something called Northern Iowa, which I imagine is similar to North Korea but with corn and soybeans instead of thinly-veiled nuclear proliferation. That red flag manifested itself on Saturday against Oregon State, a team that probably isn’t even going to have a winning record this year. Wisconsin failed to score for the first 58:19 of the game and then had what appeared to be a successful onside kick called back after finally getting one those “touched downs” of their very own. So, yeah, go ahead and say the Badgers got screwed, but we both know they weren’t going to score anyway.

This week, Wisconsin hosts Utah State, fresh off of an upset of in-state rival Utah, a Pac-12 team that’s better than Oregon State. Since the transitive property is never wrong in college football, this means Wisconsin will lose to the Aggies by two touchdowns, so 14-0 probably.

Michigan State: The Spartans are going to win the Big Ten and it’s probably even going to be close. But first they have to lose to Notre Dame. They will do this with a late pick-six on what should have been a drive to set up the game-winning field goal.

Michigan: Michigan is back, or so I’ve been told, but it seems that wherever they went, they learned a few things there. A week after being treated like a MAC team by Alabama, the Wolverines almost fell victim to Air Force’s version of that nasty service academy option attack. This means that Michigan is a laughably bad team and there is nothing anyone can say to disprove that. I know this from my own experience with Michigan fans following the Ohio State/Navy game in 2009.

This week Michigan plays UMass, which is a school with a football team and not a Catholic social networking site like I thought. Thanks, Google!

Nebraska: I was so fooled by the Cornhuskers beatdown of Southern Miss in week one that I didn’t even include their game against UCLA in my doomsday prediciton. Oops. This week they play Arkansas State and should probably win by 30. They won’t though. They’ll probably lose.

Iowa: Iowa lost 9-6 to Iowa State in THE GAME OF THE CENTURY!!!!!! RE-MATCH! RE-MATCH! RE-MATCH!

This week they play Northern Iowa, that team from earlier who almost beat Wisconsin. Poor, poor Iowa.

Penn State: Despite all their sanctions, I honestly believed that PSU would still be a decent team this year. Well, forget it. They’re terrible and they deserve it. Make no mistake about it, they lost to Virginia because of Jerry Sandusky. When Texas took advantage of the open-season on PSU players and snagged their kicker, they also snagged a W. His replacement missed on 13 points’ worth of kicks in the 17-16 loss. Is it all his fault? No, not technically, but it is like 95% his fault.

Penn State loses to Navy this week.

Purdue & Illinois: With the situation in the Leaders division, you could have made an argument for one of these teams getting to the B1GCG this year, and I guess you still could. Purdue only lost to Notre Dame by 3 so maybe they’re still in it. Illinois on the other hand got totally Michiganed by Arizona State’s Alabamacity. It’s pretty embarrassing.

These two will be playing Charleston Southern and Eastern Michigan this week and it doesn’t really matter which one is which.

Northwestern, Minnesota & Indiana: These teams are a combined 6-0. Besides Ohio State and Michigan State, they are the only unbeaten teams remaining in the conference.

I know.

Indiana plays Ball State and Minnesota plays Western Michigan. I wouldn’t even know what to predict for those games at this point. Northwestern will take on Boston College, who hired Jim Bollman to coach the offensive line because nobody in Boston has ever seen football played by humans I guess.

ALSO HAPPENING

Florida @ Tennessee, if you like pretending it’s the ’90s and can’t find a 90210 marathon.

Arizona State @ Missouri sounds like something I should care about, like politics or children.

USC @ Stanford probably won’t live up to the hype.

BYU @ Utah, because the loser has to try to sell people on Mormonism for two years.

I promise you I will get better at the timing of this post especially if El Kaiser has anything to do about it. Week 3 was full of injuries and postponed games due to weather. Here goes nothing.

Jalin Marshall– His team Middletown Middies Winton Woods 51-13. Jalin had a tough day rushing 24 times for 70 yards. He also completed 4 of 7 passes for 70 yards and 1 TDs.
Eli Woodard– His team Eastern defeated Sewell 9-6. Woodard was part of a dominating defensive effort.
Cam Burrows– His team Trotwood-Madison lost to Wayne 21-14. Cam helped 1 tackle against a team that avoided him all day.
Joey Bosa– His team St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Cypress Bay 43-17. Joey did not play due to injury.
Marcus Baugh– His team John W North lost to Alemany 54-14. Marcus didnt play due to a concussion.
Evan Lisle– His team Centerville beat Withrow 27-21. As an O-lineman he didnt have any stats but he helped his team with impressive blocking all night.
Ezekiel Elliott– His team John Burroughs HS beat Priory 59-28. He scored 4 TDs in the game. Runs of 47 and 41 and 2 and 1 yard.
Billy Price– His team Austintown Fitch beat Brunswick 35-7. Billy helped to hold Brunswick to 128 yards and he had 14 total tackles.
Jayme Thompson– His team Toledo Central Catholic won 35-7 over Perrysburg. He helped hold Perrysburg to 117 yards through the air and 13 yards on the ground.
J T Barrett- His team Rider beat Ryan 21-15. JT scored a late, game-winning touchdown to snap Ryan’s 25-game win streak. He was 4-of-7 for 84 yards and a touchdown and rushed 17 times for 97 yards and a score.
Michael Hill– His team Pendleton lost to Belton-Honea Path 41-7. Their defense had a horrible game.
Taivon Jacobs– His team Suitland beat Oxon Hill 56-0. Taivon had a 50 yard catch for a TD and a 55 yard punt return for another score.
Darron Lee– His team New Albany beat DeSales 56-2. He was 3-of-5 passing for 42 yards and carried the ball five times for 23 yards and a score. He also returned a punt for a touchdown. Also starred as a Safety on defense.
Tracy Sprinkle– His team Elyria lost to Midview 37-27. Tracy had a decent game with 7 tackles and 2 TFL and 4 QB hurries and a forced fumble for a TD.
Tim Gardner– His team Lawrence Central defeated 32-23. Tim helped keep his team undefeated.
Johnny Townsend– His team Boone and their game with Timber Creek was postponed.

The player who sticks out most to me over the first 3 weeks is probably one of the least heralded member of the class. Tracy Sprinkle is putting up huge stats week after week. He has starred even when his team lost. I expect him rankings to rise significantly over the long season.

Ohio State beat UCF by 2 touchdowns, but there was some real causes for concern Saturday.

All week prior to the UCF game, Urban Meyer cautioned his players, coaches, the media and fans that UCF was a highly talented team littered with NFL talent. UCF was a decent opponent but the Buckeyes were beaten all day by a foe other than The Knights…themselves. Ohio State had 10 penalties totaling 79 yards, at least 3 broken plays (2 of which were turned into first downs thanks to Miller) and 3 turnovers. With all that, they still won by 15 points vs. a team that Urban Meyer compared to an SEC type squad.

OSU wasn’t hampered by the slow start they had vs. Miami as they scored on their first drive thanks to Braxton Millers quarterback draw right through the heart of the UCF defense. OSU put up nearly 250 yards of total offense in the first half and 17 points. Miller had 100 yards rushing by halftime and midway through the 3rd quarter the game was a 3 touchdown game. Rather than turning into another laugher, UCF stuck around and made things mildly interesting tacking on a late 3rd quarter TD before both teams were shut out in the 4th quarter.

What the Buckeyes need to work on:

• The broken plays need to stop. This offense gets Miller hit enough, they don’t need multiple plays with TB’s not knowing where to go, causing Miller to scramble for his life. This is all part of the newly installed offense and the growing pains that come with it.
• The penalties need to be cleaned up. Too many procedural penalties that constantly put OSU at 1st and 15 rather than 1st and 10.
• Braxton Miller has got to do a MUCH better job on reading the zone read option. Two plays in a row he read the defensive end badly and caused a 3rd and long. Both plays should have been positive plays if read properly.
• Ryan Shazier is a complete and total freak at LBer, however he needs to take better angles and read his keys much better. The long Storm Johnson run that set up the playaction TD pass in the 2nd quarter were both results of poor play by Shazier. A bad angle lead to the 48 yard run that set up a goal line play that saw a UCF tightened get behind an overly aggressive Shazier in the end zone.
• The OSU pass defense needs to be tightened up.  From the defensive line to the secondary…it’s broken. Currently OSU is 99th in pass defense and 74th in sacks in the country. Those two stats are very much related. Ohio State desperately needs to get more pressure on opposing QB’s. Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington got a ton of snaps vs. UCF and showed flashes but very little pressure was generated. 1 sack in 41 pass attempts isn’t going to get it done. Without Nathan Williams it seems like the Buckeye pass rush is very average. Perhaps Shazier needs to blitz more often. Missing Williams(injured), Bennett(injured), and Bellamy(quit football) has hurt OSU and without a pass rush, even the most pedestrian QB’s can thrive.
• The defense is lacking that imposing, dominating feel it’s had in the Tressel era. Fickell needs to figures some things out.
• Ohio State needs a playmaker at runningback. Hyde is injured, Dunn is a freshman, and Rod Smith is a fumbling machine. Perhaps the addition of Jordan Hall this week with unlock this offense.
• Why…WHY did Urban Meyer accept that penalty after Adolphus Washington crushed Bortles on 3rd down causing an incomplete pass? Instead of 4th down and forcing a FG attempt, UCF converted on 3rd and long after the penalty and ended up scoring a touchdown to make things interesting.

What looked good for the Buckeyes:

• Braxton Miller…DUH! Miller completed 75% of his passes, ran for 141 yards and accounted for 4 touchdowns. Many times he was electrifying and efficient as a passer. Braxton Miller is currently 4th in the Big Ten is passer efficiency and leading the Big Ten is rushing. Miller is also tied with Le’Veon Bell for total scoring. In other words, Miller is a total badass.
• Orhian Johnson was crowbarred into the starting “star” position at the urging of Urban Meyer and he rewarded his coach by being a beast all day. Johnson was 2nd on the team in tackles and had a key redone interception that thwarted a drive by UCF.
• Travis Howard had another interception giving him 3 for the season which leads the country.
• Philly Brown has emerged as a go to player for OSU on offense. Brown had 33 yards rushing on 2 carries and another 48 in receiving. Meyer said after the game that Brown would be more of a focal point moving forward.
• Brionte Dunn only had 29 yards rushing(averaged 5.8 yards per carry) but showed more potential and will be THE guy moving forward with OSU’s depth issues at running back.
• What is working on defense? It’s not all doom and gloom on defense. OSU is currently 25th in the nation in scoring defense, 8th in rushing defense, and 3rd in the country in interceptions. There is obviously talent there, they just need to figure some things out and put it all together.

It did look ugly at times vs. UCF Saturday but OSU still won by 15 and put up over 400 yards of total offense. The offense is still very fun to watch and the future looks bright. OSU is still undefeated, something only 4 other teams can say in the Big Ten. For everything that went wrong Saturday, remember this…it could be worse, OSU could be PSU.

PS.

Dear Opposing Defenses,

Braxton Miller laughs at you:

As always thanks to Josh Winslow for the great photos.

jwinslow.com

The game was good and terrible to watch. There are some good thing to take away from the game but it’s clear OSU needs some work.

1. Braxton Miller isn’t Tim Tebow. I’d like to see Miller take less shots. He needs to go down rather than sacrificing his body. It’s week two Braxton…calm down.

2. Offense needs to be tightened up. Two many broken plays that resulted in at best Miller becoming Houdini and at worst OSU losing yards on 1st down.

3. Miller needs to do a better job of reading the option. There were far too many times he read the play incorrectly resulting in a loss of yards.

4. Too many penalties that made thing difficult for a Buckeye offense still learning. Dumb procedural penalties that didn’t happen and can’t happen with a young, green offense.

5. Braxton Miller is incredible. Absolutely gifted football player who is still clearly learning how to play his position.

6. The OSU secondary picked off Bortles 3 times, but that doesn’t sugar coat the fact that there is a real problem in the back 7. Communication seems to be an issue as multiple blown coverages lead to TD passes and big plays that kept drives going.

7. Injuries are concerning…Howard and Hyde both in street clothes early on.

8. With less that a minute left why was OSU running the football. Take a knee and end the game. Absolutely terrible clock management that resulted in a fumble by an inexperienced running back.

Full review to come later.

Thanks to ESPN for the stats.

Following a game, our Buckeyes coaches grade each player’s performance.  This season, Urban has termed a winning performance a ‘championship performance.’  Those offensive players with a ‘championship performance’ last week included Braxton, Carlos Hyde, Zach Boren, Andrew Norwell, Jack Mewhort, Philly, and Devin Smith.

For Week Two, I’ll give my criteria for a “winning performance,” all of which I think will lead to a Buckeyes win this week and toward more wins later this season.  (The list is not by any means all-inclusive.)

1.          Faster Start by Buckeyes Offense

Just be honest … Even the most confident fan (raise my hand) had at least the slightest bit of doubt after watching the offense sputter in the first quarter against the Redhawks last week.  However, the commercial break came, I came back to my senses, and Braxton started the second quarter by leading a four play 63 second touchdown drive and a seven play touchdown drive in 2:22 after a three and out by the Miami offense.  All was good and the offense imposed its will on a less talented Redhawks squad for the remainder of the afternoon.

With that said, the Buckeyes are facing a different animal in UCF as the Knights have led Conference USA in defense the past three years and have been one of the top defenses in Division 1 (9^th in total D, 16^th in rushing D, and 23^rd in passing D in 2011).  While yards and first downs may be harder to come by Saturday, I’m looking forward to the Buckeyes coming out firing on all cylinders and scoring two offensive TDs in the first quarter.  Two offensive TDs in the 1st  will earn a winning performance.

2.          Delay of the arrival of the Storm both on and off the field

(Not talking about the Storm who dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent months)  After rushing for over 200 yards last week in its 56-14 drumming of the Zips, UCF brings a run heavy offense into the Shoe.    Starting for the Knights is Miami Hurricane transfer Storm Johnson after Latavius Murray suffered an injury in the win over Akron.  A winning performance will include the Buckeyes holding Storm to less than 70 yards.

I’m also hoping that Mother Nature either gets the thunderstorm or rain out of its system in advance of kickoff.

3.           Put up or shut up

While the Redhawks looked to spread out the Buckeyes defense in route to throwing 54 times, UCF is going to look to run the ball right at the Silver Bullets.  The difference in style should provide an early and often test for a relatively green, but talented, group of linebackers.  In addition, the Knights present the perfect precursor for teams like the fighting Bielemas later this season.

I’m looking forward to seeing the trio of Sabino, Shazier, and Grant keep the Knights ground game in check.  After giving up an average of 141.54 rushing yards per game last season, I would consider holding the stable of backs for the Knights under 100 total yards rushing a winning performance by our defense.  As a group, I am looking for a combined 25+ tackles by our linebackers, including at least three TFL in order to earn a winning performance (last week our starting three linebackers totaled 16 tackles, 0 TFL).

4.           Higher Completion Percentage from Miller

So, I admit it, I am a Braxton Miller defender to even the harshest critic, but I am looking for him to pick up where he left off last week.  Miller started last game 1/7 and ended it 14/24 (58%).  For those of us rusty in subtraction, that means that after the paltry start, Braxton went 13/17 (76%).

While I am not expecting Braxton to complete over 75% of his passes on a regular basis (although one can hope), I also don’t expect him to complete fewer than 60% of his passes either.   Good news for Braxton, he will face a similarly ranked defense this week as Miami (OH) was the 24^th ranked passing defense last season while UCF was 23^rd.  In his second game in the new offensive system, a winning performance from Braxton will include completing over 65% of his passes.

5.          Sacks

Last week, the Buckeyes only totaled TWO sacks (the only 2 TFL) while Miami had three sacks (7 total TFL).  The good news for Buckeyes fans is that both of the sacks came from true freshmen phenoms Noah Spence and Aldolphus Washington.  The bad news is that the Silver Bullets only had two sacks/TFL.

Not only do the Buckeyes need to limit the sacks and hits on Braxton which is almost impossible given the style of the offense, but the Silver Bullets also have to be able to create more unfavorable down and distance situations through sacks and other TFL.  As UCF was 100^th in sacks last year, allowing one sack is the goal and would qualify as a winning performance.  And as for sacks/TFL by the Buckeyes defense, three sacks and/or eight total TFL is a winning performance.

6.          100 Yards Receiving, 100 Yards Rushing by Hyde

I cannot remember the last time we had a 100 yard receiver, but I’m ready for one this week and I’m sure I am not the only one.  Philly came close last week when he finished with seven receptions for 87 yards and a TD.  Here’s hoping Philly or Stoney break the century mark for receiving yard this Saturday.  A winning performance goes to any wr/te who totals 100 or more yards receiving this week.

Ok, ok.  I know that Braxton ran for over 100 rushing yards last week and you can call me greedy, but I want over 100 yards from a running back and not #5.  While I get as excited as any Buckeyes fan when I see Braxton running with the ball especially when he goes untouched, it is in the best interests of Buckeye Nation to keep Miller healthy by limiting hits on him.  Also, Carlos Hyde is the primary back until Jordan Hall returns, so his chances of having a 100 yard performance after that point will go down significantly.  Therefore, a winning performance to any running back in the Scarlet and Gray who rushes for over 100 yards.

7.          Under 200 yards passing

The Silver Bullets allowed 313 passing yards last week, albeit that the Redhawks ran a pass-first offense.  With a more balanced team comes more balanced numbers.  A winning performance by the Buckeyes will include limiting the passing yards to fewer than 200.

Despite the relatively high number of yards allowed by the Buckeyes, Travis Howard came away with two INTs and Bradley Roby would have had an INT if his foot was at least one shoe size smaller.  Both CBs were deemed to have earned a ‘championship performance’ last week by Coach Meyer.  I’m hoping that they have similar performances this week and are able to lockdown the UCF receivers.  An INT by either would earn that player a winning performance.

8.          A W by Air Force

I admit that I am a hater of all things related to that school up north so much so that I dressed in Oregon Ducks gear and attended the Oregon game that followed that school up north’s memorable loss to 1AA Appalachian State (I was also in attendance at the Buckeyes win that year when we chanted O-H-I-O around their stadium).  At the Oregon game, we quacked like we were cheering for the Mighty Ducks and we watched that school up north’s second consecutive loss to start the 2007 season.

I could go on, but you get the point.  I am one of those Buckeyes fans who cannot cheer for that school up north regardless of the circumstances.  At the hands of a SEC school or not, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of last weekend’s reality check.  Moving on, I think it is extremely unlikely that Air Force will be able to pull off the upset with a spread of 21.5 last I checked, but if Air Force gets the win, they’ll earn a winning performance in my book in addition to the record book.

Well, that’s all I have for Week Two.  What would earn a winning performance from you?

The mighty UCF Knights travel to Ohio Stadium Saturday and bring with them a bounty of newspaper clippings blowing sunshine up their proverbial backsides. Everyone from Phil Steele to OSU’s own Urban Meyer has compared The Knights to a Big Ten level team and even a mid range SEC team…that must mean they are unstoppable. How on Earth will the Buckeyes compete?

I can see how the football gods have anointed UCF as being a formidable foe…I mean…they did beat the snot out of Akron, a team that a year ago was so bad they made Joe Bauserman look like a Heisman finalist. Against the Zips, Bauserman completed 75% of his passes and accounted for 4 TD’s. The rest of the year…Bauserman completed 40% of his passes and was benched.

I’m certainly not saying the Knights are a push over because they are not. They have some talent on their team and will be more competitive than Miami was vs. OSU last week. I believe Urban Meyer is talking up UCF in an effort to focus his team on the task at hand. It’s an old coaching tactic to mentally prepare players for an opponent.

Last year UCF was 5-7…in Conference USA. 5-7. I’m fairly certain that the hyperbole used by Urban Meyer is a bit extreme. UCF has some talented players, like Storm Johnson who’s name is better than his game. Johnson is a Miami Hurricane transfer who will start in place of Latavius Murray who was injured in last weeks glorious victory vs. the storied program of Akron. They have some speed at the WR position highlighted by Rannell Hall who had 2 touchdowns last week. Their QB is Blake Bortles, a 6-4 220lb hulk of a QB hell bent on setting college football ablaze with his 2 star ability. Yes, most of the UCF roster is littered with 2 and 3 star recruits passed over by the Florida, Florida States and Miami’s of the world. Forgive me for not having my hair blown back by the talent at UCF.

UCF offense vs The Ohio State defense:

UCF runs a traditional, pro style attack with elements of the spread sprinkled in. Allegedly their QB is a decent athlete and will run the ball off the zone read option. If he does…he will be greeted by 3 blue chip linebackers and be in for a long day. UCF has a stable of talented backs and will run the ball. That is their strength. Run it, run it well and playaction off the run…with a few wrinkles added in. I’d imagine the OSU defense will be A-okay with playing this type of offense compared to the 54 pass attempts by the quick drop and fire Miami Red Hawks last week. Difficult to get pressure with the front four when the ball is gone in a split second. I look for John Simon and company to soil Bortles jersey early and often. Bortles is an accurate quarterback, but like most QB’s…especially young ones, will make bone-headed decisions when pressured, like he did last week getting picked off after carelessly throwing the ball into coverage. UCF will counter OSU’s dominant front 4 by trying to throw the ball quickly and letting their speedy WR’s do something after the catch. UCF will be somewhat productive, but OSU will eventually lay their Chuck Norris rated pimp hand down.

The Ohio State offense vs the UCF defense:

UCF’s talent is on defense. They have a formidable front 4 lead by Victor Gray and Troy Davis. Okay, I’m kidding…they aren’t formidable…last year UCF accounted for 17 sacks which was good for 95th in the country. Like Miami last week, UCF will look to force Ohio State to throw the football. They will make Braxton Miller beat them with his arm rather than his legs. The only problem with that is UCF has some depth issues in the defensive backfield. Last years star defensive back Josh Robinson went off to the NFL and now UCF must rely on A.J. Bouye, a guy coming off a torn ACL to lead the secondary, among others.

Last week OSU stopped themselves for an entire quarter and still hung nearly 600 yards and 56 points on Miami. While I realize that Miami is terrible those numbers are still impressive. 21 of those points came under the command of backup QB Kenny Guiton who Meyer is very high on. Meyer has continued to talk about the possibility of both QB’s being on the field at the same time. I believe this offense will be a work in progress all year and will reach it’s pinnacle vs. Michigan in the Michigan Bowl November 24th. Mark your calendars folks. The Michigan Bowl. But I digress…with that said, the offense will continue to show periods of “what the hell was that?” and periods of “OMG, this is the absolute best offense I’ve ever seen in my life. I think there will continue to be truly terrible moments from Braxton Miller who is still learning his position as well as truly jaw dropping “did you see that” moments from him as well.

Overall:

While I don’t believe UCF is as advertised, including what Urban Meyer would lead you to believe I think they are certainly better than the Miami Redhawks and will at times challenge OSU for more than a quarter. But in the end OSU and Braxton Miller will have gaudy numbers and highlight worthy plays.

Nostradamus portion of the preview:

Score prediction:

Ohio State: 49
UCF: 17

Braxton Miller:

Passing: 250 yards 3 TD’s
Rushing: 90 yards 2 TD’s

Number of murdered QB’s by John Simon: 14

Carlos Hyde: Rushing: 100 yards — and Brionte Dunn nipping at his heels.

Feel free to add song requests for OSU game highlights as the season goes on. I’ll be making individual highlight reels after games (wins only).