When I first started to do this preview I swear this is all I was thinking about…
This is the week we finally find out if a CFB team can beat an NFL team as Ohio State takes on Buffalo…. Wait what? Not the Bills? Hmmm
— Jeremiah (@SYRmotsag) August 26, 2013
I am sitting here racking my brain on how to write this preview. We all have a feeling about how it will go. Buffalo is vastly undermanned and will face a team that has been pushed hard all summer and has a lot of pent up aggression. On top of all that Ohio State is in the title game talk and Coach Meyer knows against these weaker teams they must put on a show for the voters so they will forget the fact that OSU is playing Buffalo.
Here is what I what I have discovered in my prep of the game preview.
Buffalo on Offense
Buffalo is lead by Sr. Running Back Branden Oliver a 5’8″ 210 lbs guy from Miami, Florida. Branden is a small scatback guy with tremendous speed. He avg over 100 yards a game last year in 8 games and over 5 yards a carry. His highlight reel is very impressive for a smaller guy he has no problem running between the tackles and taking the hits for the tougher yards.
The QB position is held down by SR Alex Zordich a 6’3″ 225 lbs Youngstown kid. Alex is a journeyman is other words he isn’t very good. He completes 51% of his passes and throws nearly as many INTs as he does TDs. Not much more to say about him. Except I hope he has a good personality.
Their best receiver is Alex Neutz a 6’3″ 2015 lbs SR from Grand Island, NY. He is a very talented guy last year he had 65 catches for 1015 yards and 11 TDs.
Offensive Prediction
If Buffalo has any chance of scoring these 3 guys will need to play their best games ever. I think 2 of them are very talented but will be going up against 11 extremely talented Buckeyes and that will be the difference. There is a real chance for a shut out in this game. Considering it is the first game of the year though Buffalo may get a couple of cheap scores probably FGs. I think they will score 6 points.
Buffalo on Defense
Buffalo on defense will be vastly undermanned and lacking in the speed department. last years Buffalo team was 37th in the nation in total defense only allowing 364 yards per game. They were 69th in scoring defense though giving up nearly 29 points a game.
The defense has three really good LBers and they are led by All-American candidate Khalil Mack a 6’3″ 248 lbs SR LB from Fort Pierce, Florida. Khalil is a tackling machine and a tough as nails LB that any team would love to have on their roster. Last year he avg. 9 tackles a game on a reasonably good defense for a 4-8 team. In this highlight film you can get a sense of his speed and power.
Defensive Prediction
It is hard to imagine that this defense will be good enough to slow down the Ohio State machine. Braxton and company will do their best to stay vanilla but we should see some new offensive wrinkles that Buffalo just wont have the answers for. I think Ohio State will put up 52 points on this Buffalo team.
Ohio State on Offense
You will see a lot of players in this game. I expect to see 3 deep in the first half. I wouldnt be surprised to see most of the Freshman class get significant time in this game. The biggest question mark is who will have the best play and score the most points. I could list off a load of players in this part of the post but suffice it to say I think most people are curious to see if Dontre Wilson is all that he has been hyped to be.
Offensive Prediction
They will score and score often. I think it will be a blow out before the 1st qtr ends. Ohio State puts up 52 points and over 500 yards.
Ohio State on Defense
The front seven… That is what we all need to watch this week. The DBs will be fine and a point of strength all season long especially once Roby is back. Ryan Shazier has to be the leader this year and direct the defense. The other 6 guys in the front 7 are all new starters and will need to gel quickly as a unit for this team to be a real NCG contender.
Defensive Prediction
Last year Ohio State made way too many mental mistakes early in the season and allowed lesser teams to stay in games they shouldn’t have been in. That being said I think the coaching staff has made not allowing that to happen a real emphasis this year. Ohio State will play a lot of your guys and they will make some mistakes so I think they will give up a couple of FGs and 6 points.
Final Score Prediction
Ohio State 52 – Buffalo 6
[…] Score” for the Buffalo game was about 45-11, Ohio State. For the record, our own Jeremiah guessed 52-6 and Buffalo blogger BrandedBull picked 41-17. Together, those two picks come out to about 47-12, […]