Archives for October 2013

MotSaG TV Guide

We are down to just 6 major undefeated teams and 8 overall, with Texas Tech and Missouri bowing out last week. This week features one matchup of two unbeatens: ACC and in-state rivals Florida State and Miami. Aside from that, there is little action on the no-loss front, with most of the big teams taking the week off ahead of what should be an exciting weekend starting next Thursday.

But for this week, we’ll have to find other interesting games. For fun and definitely not for gambling, I’m including “Best Case/Worst Case” scenarios according to an experimental prediction model based on the Performance Against Expectation measure I introduced yesterday in The Spread. Note that “best” and “worst” are from the perspective of the favored team.

Saturday

Noon

Ohio State @ Purdue. Yeah, going to West Lafayette makes me nervous too, but I think this Buckeye team is getting stronger every week, while the Boilermakers are… probably… such nice people. (BTN)

Best Case (OSU): Ohio State 57, Purdue 0. Worst Case: Ohio State 35, Purdue 16.

3:30pm

The World’s Largest Outdoor Emergency Room. SEC East rivals Florida and Georgia have been like twins this season. Both started out ranked in the Top 10, suffered numerous injuries en route to identical overall and SEC records (4-3 and 3-2), and are now unranked. Expect a close one, and maybe even overtime, if both teams have enough healthy players that is. (CBS)

Best Case (UGA): Georgia 27, Florida 14. Worst Case: Florida 24, Georgia 13.

Michigan @ Michigan State. This game is probably going to decide the Legends division. Michigan has not been good on the road under Brady Hoke, and Sparty has a stellar defense to go with their intermittent offense. (ABC)

Best Case (MSU): Michigan State 38, Michigan 13. Worst Case: Michigan 21, Michigan State 14.

8:00pm

Miami @ Florida State. Miami has had a couple of close calls lately, while Florida State has been rolling over opponents like some kind of giant rolling Native American thing. This one probably ends like you think it will: early. (ABC)

Best Case (FSU): Florida State 55, Miami 14. Worst Case: Florida State 24, Miami 21.

MotSaG’s 2013 Pick ’em Contest Update

FootballIt’s your weekly reminder to get your picks in for the Pick ’em Contest.

Here are the updated top five standings:

Rank Pick Set Name Total Pts W-L
1 buckeye lad 105 105-77
2 Phil my nuts Go Bucks 99 99-83
3 Josh 99 99-83
4 buckeye nation 94 94-88
5 Urban Meyer Wieners 92 92-90

Josh makes a huge leap in week 9, hitting on 15 of 20 picks to jump up to a tie with Phil my nuts. Urban Meyer’s Wieners hold on fifth place is looking tenuous at best at this point.

At this point, it’s probably too late to join, but if you’re just looking to test your mettle against the spread, (I believe) you can still join the league:
Yahoo’s Fantasy College Pick’em:
Group ID: 11226
Password: buckeyes

The prize package includes:
$25 Amazon.com gift certificate
An 11×14″ Framed Copy of Braxton Miller’s SI cover from SICovers.com.

SI_OSU
… and more…

B1G Week 10 Preview: The Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy

Looking at the B1G schedule for week 10, its pretty obvious what game stands out and is the must see thriller for B1G fans. I’m talking of course about the Ohio State-Purdue game! Everyone has been circling this game on their calendar for months. But in all seriousness the game that actually stands out is Michigan @ Michigan State. The winner will undoubtedly have an advantage in the Legend’s division race. The loser will face a much tougher road if they hope to reach Indianapolis. Before we go any further let’s talk about the other match ups around the conference.

Illinois @ Penn State

Talk about the battle of beaten down teams. These two teams are coming off absolute nightmare games, in which each were dominated. Penn State was handed its worst loss in over a century by Ohio State and Illinois was steamrolled by the Michigan State defense. Both are ready to put last weekend behind them and couldn’t get to Saturday soon enough. The game being at Happy Valley is pretty big for Penn State because they’ve been beaten soundly at both of their road games this season. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg is coming off his worst game of his career. He threw for only 112 yards, two interceptions and was pulled out of the game in the second half. A normally solid Penn State rushing attack only got 120 yards on the ground and zero touchdowns. Illinois had very similar numbers offensively last weekend. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase only threw for 103 yards and an interception. The Fighting Illini only mustered 25 rushing yards. To me this game comes down to who can respond best from a beat down and can actually apply what they learned from it to make themselves better. I think Penn State responds best and thrives off their home field advantage, cruising to an easy victory behind star receiver Allen Robinson.

Minnesota @ Indiana

Indiana is a high-scoring team with a bad defense. Minnesota is a team that rides behind its solid running game and consistently steady defense. I see Minnesota having no problem running the ball and putting up points in this game. The big question is can their defense stop the high-powered offense of Indiana? Indiana is averaging 342.7 passing yards per game, which is the 10th best average in the FBS. Their average of 42.4 points per game is good enough for eighth overall in the FBS. The Hoosiers even scored 28 points against a tough Michigan State defense. At the same time Minnesota’s defense has demonstrated they can slow down high-scoring offenses too, as Nebraska couldn’t get going at all last weekend against the Gophers. This game is pretty even and I could see any team coming out on top on this one. You can’t go wrong picking the Hoosiers or the Gophers.

Northwestern @ Nebraska

These are two teams that could definitely use a win at the moment. Northwestern is currently mired in a four-game losing streak after opening the season 4-0. Nebraska is coming off a surprising road loss to Minnesota and once again has Husker fans questioning the leadership of Pelini and whether or not he should be replaced. This is something I’ve been discussing in length with some Nebraska and B1G fans. My opinion seems to constantly be shifting on Pelini and I’m really not sure what to make of the situation. Pelini has consistently delivered good seasons at Nebraska, but I think some Husker fans are ready for the program to take the next step and return to the national conversation. Right now it’s hard to gauge both teams and what to expect from them. I think this will be a tight game, but I’ll go with the team that has home-field advantage and has a little more to play for in Nebraska. I expect Martinez and Nebraska to play with some passion and deliver a win to the home crowd.

#24 Wisconsin @ Iowa

Wisconsin has been rolling ever since losing to Ohio State, but this could be trap game for the Badgers in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes can be a tricky team to face when playing them in Kinnick Stadium. And of course you can’t forget about the pink visitor’s locker room that is supposed to play psychological games with opposing players’ heads (I rarely hear this mentioned on broadcasts now). Both of these teams play a similar style of offense. They like to pound it on the ground and only pass when necessary. Iowa is led by the one-two punch of Mark Weisman and Damon Bullock, while Wisconsin has their own dynamic duo in Melvin Gordon and James White. The Badgers duo has the edge in terms of talent, but they will face one of the best red zone defenses in football. While Iowa has the home-field advantage, Wisconsin has had two weeks to prepare for this game. I think Iowa puts up a good fight, but in the end Wisconsin has the talent edge on offense and defense.

#21 Michigan @ #22 Michigan State

Trophy
Source

How about this? Two ranked B1G teams facing off against each other! Not only is this a heated rivalry game, but a game that will no doubt affect the Legend’s division race in the B1G. Michigan State currently leads the division and is the favorite to face Ohio State in the B1G Championship game. The Spartans have one of the best defenses in the country and have suffocated opposing teams all season long. The big question mark all season has been the offense, which prompted me to go on this rant. Well now it appears the offense is coming around too. Michigan State has scored 40 or more points in two of their last three games. Michigan got a much-needed bye week after winning a shootout against Indiana two weeks ago. Michigan, unlike it’s rival Michigan State, has had a pretty good offense all season, but have struggled mightily on defense. The return of star linebacker Jake Ryan will help once he gets back to 100% again, but it’s going to take more than one player for Michigan to fix their defensive woes. I expect the Michigan coaching staff will try some new schemes in this game to try to shake things up on defense. While on paper this game appears to be in favor of Michigan State, you can never predict what will happen in rivalry games. Most of the time this game goes down to the final minutes or seconds even, so I won’t be surprised if this is the case again. It should be a fun game to watch (especially if Michigan loses).

Game 9 Preview the Purdue Boilermakers

Today we are going to sit back and discuss the Purdue Boilermakers. Why is it every time I think of Purdue I feel like Jerry Seinfield and Newman? Oh yeah its because they have been a thorn in the Buckeyes side. The last time the Buckeyes won in West Lafayette the current freshman class was in the seventh grade in high school, I’ll let that one sink in for a minute. They have lost four out of the last six at Ross-Ade Stadium. Hmm, “Purdue”.

The Boilermakers are last in the league in third-down conversions (29.5 percent), red-zone offense (62.5 percent) and red-zone defense (92.6 percent) and are tied for third in the B1G for turnovers (15).

What do these stats really mean?

In reality it should mean a another round of internet trolls crying the Buckeyes ran up the score on another hapless B1G team. Still its Purdue and even though they are 1-6 so far this season you can’t overlook them and By the sounds of it coach Urban Meyer and company aren’t.

“We’re going into November, we are competing for championships,” he said. “So you can bet the focus is very intense.”

We can sit here and play the stat game all day like the Buckeyes are 9th in the NCAA in rushing averaging almost 300 yards a game while Purdue’ rushing defense is 90th allowing 192 yards a game. Flip it around and Purdue isn’t very well at running the ball themselves averaging 76 yards per game while the Buckeyes surrender almost 96 yards on the ground per game. So that three, four, five headed monster of Hyde, Wilson, Miller, Hall, and Elliot should all be getting big yardage.

Purdue is averaging 13.1 points per game while surrendering 34.4 points, Ohio State is averaging 47.2 points per game and surrendering 19.1 points a game.

On paper this is going to get ugly, on the field you are going to see Purdue’s new head coach and former Buckeye assistant head coach Darrell Hazell have his team fired up and ready to play. The unfortunate part for the Boilermakers is that they don’t have the athleticism that Ohio State has and that is going to win out in the end.

What to expect when Purdue has the ball

True freshman quarterback Danny Etling has only played three games this season replacing Rob Henry, Etling has thrown four interceptions and zero touchdowns. His top wide receiver DeAngelo Yancey is averaging 21.8 yards per catch and running back Akeem Hunt is averaging 10 yards per catch while he is rushing for 3.7 yards a carry. If Ohio State’s defensive line and linebackers don’t get pressure it can be a long night for the Buckeyes.

I believe Meyer will have his team up for this game remembering how close it got last year and we are going to see that same pressure the Buckeyes showed the Crying Lions.

What to expect when Ohio State has the ball

Fireworks and lots of them. Hyde is going to wear down that defensive line of Purdue and Miller is going to carve them up from the pocket. Look for Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett to be more involved as Meyer wants. The Buckeyes speed is going to be no match for the Boilermakers especially the likes of Dontre Wilson. Miller is really showing he is getting this offense and he is running it very well.

Predicition

Everyone will be crying about something the Buckeyes did like score possibly the 100 points? No seriously I think the Buckeyes can hand Purdue their second shut out in a row and this is going to be a serious blow out.

Insane stat alert: Ohio State is 281-0-1 when they score over 35 points!!

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

Good Morning Buckeye Nation.

Get your vote on: Buckeye quarterback commit Stephen Collier needs Buckeye Nation to represent and vote for him as player of the week. Collier who was voted Homecoming King went 12-20 with 327 yards and 4 touchdowns and rushed for 54 yards and another touchdown. Here is the link to vote for Stephen: http://www.albanyherald.com/polls/2013/oct/week-9-albany-herald-player-week-award/results/

Here are the highlights from his performance against Harris County:

SuperBand: The Ohio State Marching Band is getting recognized for what they have been doing this year. Apparently they are getting 10-15 million views on their youtube videos for the awesome halftime shows. Yesterday the they were featured on the Today Show.

Haterade Nation: I was going to go off on a certain writer and his ignorance and obvious disdain for the Buckeyes. I was going to oh never mind not like he would be capable of reading my dribble of pointing out he is a moron specially since I might have already done it before, I have lost track on who I have gone off on since it seems Buckeye Nation against the world.

Thanks to Josh Schott (Mr B1G) posting something that really was entertaining and made sense. Greg Doyel of CBSSports has a really nice article.

There are additional facts but they don’t seem to matter, even if the fact is the Buckeyes kicked it onside with three seconds left in the half — they didn’t want the ball back; they wanted to prevent a long kickoff return before halftime — and if another fact is that the referees made an obviously incorrect spot on Penn State’s fourth-down play and Ohio State challenged the call to get its defense off the field, which is allowed. Only, it’s not allowed when the team doing it is Ohio State. Better to ignore the bad call and give the other team charity, because charity isn’t insulting to a fellow Big Ten football school. Challenging a bad spot is insulting. Or something.

Bad Dad: Seems that Illinois QB Nathan Scheelhaase’s father is no longer allowed on the University of Illinois campus after a incident with university police. Guess that takes the embarrassment by a family member to all new heights, he won’t have to ask his dad to drop him off around the corner since that’s as far as he will allowed to be.

Until next time Buckeye Nation…

It’s 6:14pm On A Wednesday and Penn State Still Sucks

Buckeyes in the NFL: Week 8

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Baltimore Ravens

John Simon (LB) (2009-12)- The Ravens enjoyed a week 8 bye. They will resume play in week 9.

Cincinnati Bengals

Mike Nugent (K) (2001-04)- Didn’t record any field goals in the Bengals week 8 victory over the Jets. Nugent did convert seven extra points in the 49-7 rout.

Dane Sanzenbacher (WR) (2007-10)- Recorded 2 catches for 18 yards in the week 8 victory over the Jets. Sanzenbacher continues to see some time in the slot for the Bengals. If the Bengals offense continues to play like they did this week, Sanzenbacher will continue to post statistics.

Houston Texans

Devier Posey (WR) (2008-11)- The Texans enjoyed a week 8 bye. They will resume play in week 9.

Indianapolis Colts

Daniel “Boom” Herron (RB) (2008-09, 2011)- The Colts enjoyed a week 8 bye. They will resume play in week 9.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Mike Brewster (C) (2008-11)- Continues to be a back-up across multiple positions on the offensive line. Brewster has yet to start a game for Jacksonville this season but it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Jaguars to start playing some of their younger players. It continues to shock me that Brewster has not seen more playing yet this season. The Jaguars continue to be winless and this time they had to go across the pond (England) to lose.

Denver Broncos

Justin Boren (G) (2009-10)- Didn’t record any statistics or playing time for the Broncos in week 8. Boren is currently on the injured reserve. If he gets healthy, it will be difficult for him to see any playing time unless the offensive line becomes decimated with injuries over the course of the season.

Miami Dolphins

Brian Hartline (WR) (2006-08)- Recorded 4 receptions for 37 yards in the Dolphins week 8 loss to the Patriots. Hartline was targeted 6 times, which was third most on the Dolphins. Mike Wallace and Charles Clay were the only two Dolphins who recorded more targets.

Austin Spitler (LB) (2006-09)- Recorded 1 total tackle for the Dolphins in week 8. This marked the return of Spitler. He’s been in and out of the lineup much of the season.

New England Patriots

Nate Ebner (DB) (2008-11)- Recorded 4 total tackles for the Patriots in their week 8 victory over the Dolphins. Ebner saw some time in the injury plagued New England secondary. This was his first playing time of the season other than special teams. Ebner definitely took advantage of the opportunity.

New York Jets

Santonio Holmes (WR) (2003-05)- Holmes is still nursing an injured hamstring and didn’t play yet again in week 8. The Jets have just two more games until their bye week and they’ve considered shutting Holmes down through the bye week.

Nick Mangold (C) (2002-05)- Started at Center for the Jets in week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mangold and the whole offensive line struggled for much of the game against the Bengals. They didn’t open up many running lanes and left QB Geno Smith in some tough situations.

Oakland Raiders

Terrelle Pryor (QB) (2008-10)- Pryor went 10-for-19 for 88 yards and two interceptions and ran the ball 8 times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Most of his yards came on a 93 yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage for the Raiders against the Steelers. The Raiders held onto the 21-18 victory.

Chimdi Chekwa (CB) (2007-10)- Didn’t record any statistics in week 8 but did get some playing time on the punt unit. Chekwa can definitely find a solid role on special teams if he is committed to it.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cameron Heyward (DE) (2007-10)- Recorded 6 total tackles in week 8 for the Steelers. Statistically speaking, this was Heyward’s best game from a tackle perspective. He continues to carve is role in the Steelers defense.

Mike Adams (OT) (2008-11)- Adams has lost his starting role with the Pittsburgh Steelers because of his poor play. The Steelers have been playing better in the past few weeks. Unless something changes, I can’t see Adams regaining his starting job in the next few weeks.

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Dallas Cowboys

Will Allen (SS) (2000-03)- Allen was cut by the Cowboys two weeks ago.

Carolina Panthers

Ted Ginn Jr. (WR) (2004-2006)- Recorded 5 receptions for 80 yards in week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also had 2 kick-off returns for 44 yards and 2 punt returns for 7 yards. Ginn dropped a sure touchdown from Newton but it appears he’s finally making his mark in the league.

Ben Hartsock (TE) (1999-03)- Didn’t record any statistics for the Panthers in week 8. Hartsock played well but just doesn’t get the receiving opportunities fellow TE Greg Olsen gets.

Detroit Lions

Rob Sims (OL) (2002-05)- Started at LG for the Seahawks in week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys. Helped the Lions gain 623 total yards and score 31 points in their victory.

Green Bay Packers

A.J. Hawk (LB) (2002-05)- Recorded 5 total tackles in week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings. The Packer defense is banged up so a lot is being placed on Hawk. He continues to play well and be the leader of the defense.

Ryan Pickett (DT) (1998-00)-Recorded 2 total tackles in week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings. Most of the time Pickett doesn’t record any stats because he eats up offensive linemen so guys like Hawk can run free.

Jake Stoneburner (TE/WR) (2009-12)- Was active but didn’t record any statistics in week 8.

New Orleans Saints

Malcolm Jenkins (CB) (2005-08)- Recorded 5 total tackles in the Saints victory over the Bills in week 8. Jenkins is a play maker on the defensive side of the ball and continues to play well.

Will Smith (DE) (2000-03)- Placed on injured reserve (IR) for the remainder of the year. Smith injured his ACL back in August.

New York Giants

Jim Cordle (C) (2007-09)- Started at Center for the Giants in their week 8 victory over the Eagles. David Baas is injured and it has opened the door for Cordle to start and play consistently. The Giants moved the ball but were only able to come away with field goals.

Johnathan Hankins (DT) (2010-12)- Didn’t record any statistics in week 8 but did play a few snaps.

Philadelphia Eagles

Kurt Coleman (DB) (2006-09)- Recorded 1 total tackle for the Eagles in their week 8 loss to the New York Giants. Coleman didn’t start but he saw a little bit of time in the secondary. His main contributions continue to be on special teams.

Washington Redskins

Doug Worthington (DE) (2007-09)- Has been placed on the IR (bicep) for the remainder of the year.
St. Louis Rams

James Laurinaitis (LB) (2005-09)- Recorded only 3 total tackles for the Rams in their week 8 loss to the Seahawks. The Seahawks offense struggled quite a bit so it was surprising Laurinaitis didn’t have a higher tackle total.

Jake McQuaide (LS) (2008-10)- Starting long snapper for the Rams in Week 8.

San Francisco 49ers

Donte Whitner (DB) (2003-05)- Recorded 1 total tackle for the 49ers in their 42-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 8. He also deflected a pass.

Alex Boone (G) (2005-08)- Started at guard for San Francisco in Week 8 against the Jaguars in London. The 49ers rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns.

The Spread, Week 10: Exceeding Expectations

I want you to think about the Penn State game for a minute. Hooray, you’re probably thinking, I was just about to do that anyway! Don’t get too excited, because I also want you to think about the Buffalo game. Can’t I just think about the Penn State game twice? No. No you can not.

It’s not exactly a bold statement to say that one is a fine example of Ohio State exceeding expectations this season, while the other is an unfortunate example of the Buckeyes’ failing to meet expectations. We all know that by watching the games and having our own expectations, as fans, for the team’s performance.

We also know that Texas far exceeded expectations by blasting TCU last weekend, because we consume enough sports media to understand where other teams in other conferences stand and what the primary storylines surrounding them are. (In this case, it’s pretty much impossible to turn on ESPN or a sports talk radio and not encounter questions about Mack Brown’s long-term viability as the Longhorns’ head coach.)

And that’s all fine and dandy, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could quantify a team’s expectations (or rather, our expectations for them) and then measure those against actual performance? So instead of just knowing that Ohio State and Texas both did better than we thought they would, we would know how much better and which of those teams did more better. (That’s right, all my English teachers ever, I just used “more better” in a sentence and there’s nothing grammatically wrong with it!)

As you’ve no doubt guessed by now, we can and it’s all thanks to the sketchy subhumans who bet on college athletics and the even sketchier and subber-human beings who provide them the tools to do so. Specifically, I’m talking about The Line and The Over/Under Number, and they are important to us because of what they represent: perception, in numerical form.

The purpose of these two numbers, for bookmakers, is to inspire equal betting on both sides. While I don’t claim to understand the inner workings of it, suffice it to say that it is better for bookies if the money on both sides of each of these numbers is even. That’s why the numbers sometimes change: heavier betting on one side will “push” the number until things even up. Because of this, the numbers are not a prediction of what the outcome of the game will be, per se, but they do represent what the general gambling public collectively believes will happen.

Because of this, it is fair to use these numbers as the expectation for a team’s performance (two teams, really). To do this, we have to combine them to produce a “final score” prediction, which is math so simple, I figured it out. Basically we need a prediction such that the winning team’s score – the line = the losing team’s score and both add up to the over/under number. I’m going to leave it at that, because we ain’t blog to play SCHOOL.

Keep in mind that different sources will have slightly different numbers for each game. This shouldn’t impact results too much. I use this site when possible and Google for any numbers its missing.

So, the “Vegas Expected 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, which is remarkably in line with the Vegas score.

As you know, things didn’t quite turn out so well and we all felt a little disappointed (although some more severely than others) after the game. While Ohio State’s offense did produce nearly 90% of the projected points, the defense gave up nearly twice as many as expected. These two numbers are combined to get a final “Performance” score, expressed as a percentage. (The final scores for both teams in a single game will total 200%.) It turns out that Buffalo was indeed our worst performance against expectations of the whole season, at a sad 3.34%.

By contrast, the VES for the Penn State game was 36-21. Here at MotSaG, YNBA picked 52-24 and Tony reined himself in to 41-20. We didn’t talk to a Penn State blogger (that is so us), but I did find this, where the three pickers who chose OSU to win went with 34-24, 37-24 and 31-27. Average pick: 39-24, again eerily close to the Vegas prediction.

Once again, things didn’t go how we thought they would, but this time it was in Ohio State’s favor. The Buckeyes posted a stunning 208.33% (yes, that means PSU got a negative score) for this game, third best in the nation last week behind Houston’s upset rout of Rutgers and Michigan State’s manhandling of Illinois. Texas came in 5th with 196%.

What good does any of this do us? Well, it gives us some insight into the intangible areas of overrated-ness and bias. If a team had an exceptionally high score week to week, we might start to wonder if they’re being overlooked or not taken seriously by the media/general public. A team that consistently posts low scores would suggest just the opposite: that they are looked at favorably despite not living up to the hype on the field.

In case you’re interested, Ohio State’s season average so far is 105%, and 122% if you take out the Buffalo outlier. (Note: there were no available numbers for the FAMU game, and I probably would’ve thrown it out anyway.) For the most part, we are playing as expected overall, but are probably a little bit underrated. Michigan’s season average is 89.71%, so they are probably a little bit overrated. Their worst performance was -41.05% against Akron, which is nearly five times worse than Penn State’s loss to us. I’m glad I could make you smile.

Purdue: By The Numbers

As always, presented without comment. (Now with 4th Down Conversions!)

Statistically Speaking
Ohio State
Value (Rank)
Value (Rank)
Purdue
Advantage
Rushing Offense (ypg) 295.6 (9) 192.7 (93) Rushing Defense (ypg) Ohio State++
Passing Offense (ypg) 221.6 (76) 206.9 (25) Passing Defense (ypg) Purdue+
Pass Efficiency 168.7 (7) 130.9 (75) Pass Efficiency Defense Ohio State+
Total Offense (ypg) 517.3 (8) 399.6 (69) Total Defense (ypg) Ohio State+
Scoring Offense (ppg) 47.3 (5) 34.4 (105) Scoring Defense (ppg) Ohio State+++
Rushing Defense (ypg) 95.9 (6) 76.1 (121) Rushing Offense (ypg) Ohio State+++
Passing Defense (ypg) 240.3 (80) 202.4 (92) Passing Offense (ypg) Push
Pass Efficiency Defense 129.4 (70) 99.3 (121) Pass Efficiency Offense Ohio State+
Total Defense (ypg) 336.1 (14) 278.6 (122) Total Offense (ypg) Ohio State+++
Scoring Defense (ppg) 19.1 (15) 13.1 (121) Scoring Offense (ppg) Ohio State+++
Turnover margin +1.00 (13) -0.71 (102) Turnover margin Ohio State++
Penalty Yards/game 46.1 (52) 45.4 (44) Penalty Yards/game Push
Sacks (/game) 2.50 (32) 3.00 (108) Sacks Allowed (/game) Ohio State++
Sacks Allowed (/game) 1.38 (34) 1.43 (101) Sacks (/game) Ohio State++
3rd Down Conv. (%) 52.8 (7) 46.6 (111) 3rd Down Conv. Def (%) Ohio State+++
3rd Down Conv. Def (%) 33.0 (23) 29.5 (114) 3rd Down Conv. (%) Ohio State++
4th Down Conv. (%) 68.8 (16) 64.3 (98) 4th Down Conv. Def (%) Ohio State++
4th Down Conv. Def (%) 50.0 (56) 43.6 (78) 4th Down Conv. (%) Push
Redzone Offense (%) 92.5 (10) 92.6 (117) Redzone Defense (%) Ohio State+++
Redzone Defense (%) 78.3 (40) 62.5 (122) Redzone Offense (%) Ohio State++
 Legend
  Difference <25 in National Rank = Push
  Difference >25 in National Rank = Ohio State
  Difference >50 in National Rank = Ohio State+
  Difference >75 in National Rank = Ohio State++
  Differences >100 in National Rank = Ohio State+++

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

Boiler Down: Players to Watch Week 10 Purdue

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The Boilermakers are doing everything they can to hype this game up this weekend.  The Boilermakers are looking to wreck the Buckeyes undefeated run as they’ve done in years past.  Here are a few players that could make that happen for Purdue, and also some guys who will do their best to prevent that from happening from Ohio State.

Purdue

Akeem Hunt, Running Back #1-  Hunt is the every down back for Purdue.  While his statistics don’t jump off the screen, he is still a main cog in the Boilermaker offense.  Hunt is the leading rusher,  in attempts and yards, and also the leading receiver in receptions.  He is a very versatile back, almost like a Jordan Hall.  He has the ability to rush 15-20 times a game effectively, as well as break out in the passing game and cause matchup issues with opposing linebackers.  Hunt will have to be accounted for on the field as Purdue will rely heavily on him to help out the true freshman quarterback Purdue will be starting.

DeAngelo Yancey, Wide Receiver #80-  While Yancey is a freshman, he has been a bright spot for the struggling Purdue offense.  Yancey is a big play receiver averaging 21.8 yards per catch so far this season.  He is a good size kid at 6’2, 200 pounds, and with that size comes a great leaping ability.  Yancey was projected out of high school to be more of an H-back, however he has been placed at wide receiver and has been having a productive freshman campaign.  Yancey will not out run a player like Roby, but he is a physical receiver and will be a threat going across the middle of the field, and in the red zone in jump ball situations.

Bruce Gaston, Defensive Tackle #90-  Every time Purdue has upset Ohio State in recent memory, there has been one defensive lineman who seemed to single handedly wreck the game.  Whether it be Ryan Kerrigan, or Kwann Short, Purdue is very good at producing quality defensive lineman, and Gaston may be the next to come out.  Gaston is a large guy at 310 pounds, and he will do his best to clog up the middle of the line.  Last year against the Buckeyes Gaston did not have much an impact on the game, however with another year under his belt Gaston looks like an improved player and will be a good challenge for the quality Buckeye offensive line.

Ohio State

Dontre Wilson-  Ever since the Northwestern game where Wilson got limited touches, and also had a bad week of practice, Wilson has become a serious player in the offensive scheme.  Wilson played his first quality game of his career last week.  We saw Wilson flash some against Iowa, but last week he finally seemed to begin to not only run with purpose and confidence, but he also blocked pretty well.  I’m excited to see what Wilson will do this week against a pretty average Purdue defense.  The Buckeyes may need an electric play to wake them up and get things going against Purdue and Wilson can definitely provide that for this offense.

Jeff Heuerman- When Meyer says they have to find more ways to get a player involved its not a suggestion its a promise.  Heuerman has been blocking his butt off and playing at a very high level according to his coaches.  I think this week he will be rewarded for all of his hard work.  A lot of attention will be played to stopping Braxton, Carlos Hyde, Dontre Wilson, Devin Smith, etc.  However, Purdue can not cover everybody, and I think this week will be the week Heuerman gets 6 or 7 catches, and really exploit the matchup problems he presents.

Carlos Hyde- This guy has been an absolute man this season.  Coming off another huge night against Penn State, Hyde will look to leave his bruising mark in West Lafayette.  This will be one of the better challenges he will face this year versus the Purdue front four.  Bruce Gaston and Ryan Isaac present a very good challenge for the Buckeye star running back.  Gaston and Isaac are transitioning well to the 3-4 nose tackle, and have the ability to clog up the middle, however we have been seeing a more agile Hyde of late. His vision has been improving which has given Hyde the threat of being able to bounce a run outside if the middle is clogged.  Hyde’s patience is the most underrated part of his game, and this week it will be vital as the Buckeyes might struggle to move the gigantic nose tackles of the Boilermakers.  If the line handles the Boilermakers front four and Hyde is his normal self, expect another massive day from him.