An Ohio State Sports Blog
We’ve had another great day of watching some football (and hopefully go some things crossed off your honey-do list) and now it’s time for the Prime Time Showdown of your Ohio State Buckeyes taking on Northwestern University.
Hit the jump to join the fun in the Live In Game Chat.
I’d like to offer my sincerest apologies to MOTSAG readers for missing Week 5. It was an exciting week of games, and the aftermath was just as intriguing. Connecticut head coach Paul Pasqualoni was fired after his 28th game leading the Huskies (with a mere 35% winning percentage). This season the Huskies are 0-4 that includes losses to an FCS school, albeit a top ten one (Towson), and Buffalo. It’s a tough school at which to succeed in football and that only got tougher with the expansion of their conference from eight teams to ten, and soon to be fourteen teams. USC head coach Lane Kiffin was fired during a late-night discussion at the airport following the loss to Arizona State in which the Sun Devils put 62 points on the scoreboard against the Trojans. AD Pat Haden, who has been adamant about Kiffin’s job security all season, apparently couldn’t bear it anymore. The one thing the Trojans were doing well this season was play defense and perhaps when he saw that 62 in lights, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back (Hump Day!) for Haden. The worst thing that happened to Kiffin at USC was winning 10 games in his second season despite the NCAA sanctions that came down on the program six months after he was hired because of the Reggie Bush fiasco. That made it look like he could be successful regardless of these scholarship sanctions when in fact, he had a roster still filled with talent, so they hadn’t really hit him yet. Against the Sun Devils, the Trojans only had 56 scholarship players, and while that’s not an excuse, it’s not a cause for comfort either. The Kiffin-haters loved this dismissal just as much as they’ll hate it the next time he’s hired somewhere.
Texas’ Athletic Director announced this week that he’s retiring effective August of 2014. His name, DeLoss Dodds, has never seemed as appropriate to me as it has this season. It’s a season filled with turmoil and demands for Mack Brown’s dismissal due to the Longhorns’ underachieving thus far. What is it about his name that seems appropriate? If you say his name real fast, it kind of sounds like “The Lost Oddsâ€, doesn’t it? That phrase sums up the storyline perfectly so far, I think. I don’t think Mack Brown will be back next season, as I don’t think the Longhorns can win the Big 12 or even survive it with a winning conference record. If you missed last night’s game against Iowa State, a game Texas barely won, you missed an action-packed game. Additionally, I think Kiffin’s early-season firing was predicated on the idea of getting a head start on the Longhorns in terms of a search for a replacement. When’s the last time two programs of this caliber had coaching vacancies? I can’t remember it happening in my time as a football fan. The season is heating up both on and off the field, so let’s go ahead and jump into Week 6!
1. #25 Maryland at #8 Florida State (11am CST ESPN): The Terrapins, despite their taste in helmet decor, are looking good so far this season. They’re undefeated and have already won as many games as they did last season. If you’ll remember, Randy Edsell’s team finished the season last year having to start a linebacker (Shawn Petty) at quarterback due to the injuries that piled up at the position. Petty didn’t have a chance anyway as the Terrapins finished their season against Georgia Tech, at Clemson, Florida State, and at North Carolina. This season there is some stability behind center as C.J. Brown is completing 67% of his passes, averaging 10.5 yards per attempt, and has thrown seven touchdowns versus only one interception. They’re coming off a bye week after beating West Virginia (did you see the Mountaineers against Oklahoma State?) 37-0. Florida State, led by freshman phenom “Famous” Jameis Winston at quarterback, hasn’t really been tested yet this season although I was surprised that Boston College was able to put 34 points on the board against them last week. The Seminoles are third in the nation in points scored per game (51.3), behind Baylor (69.7) and Oregon (59.8), but will they be able to put up those kind of numbers against the Terrapins? They will certainly be tested given that Maryland is third in the nation in points allowed per game (10.3). Tallahassee is a tough place to play and I don’t know if Randy Edsell’s team is ready. The Terrapins are only allowing 98.5 yards rushing per game but they haven’t faced a backfield this deep. Wilder Jr., Devonta Green, recently converted safety Karlos Williams, and of course, the aforementioned Winston will be tough for the Terrapins to handle for 60 minutes. I think this game might start out close as they feel each other out, but I think as the game progresses FSU’s athleticism will be too much and they’ll pull away. FSU wins handily.
2. TCU at #11 Oklahoma (6pm CST Fox): Last week Oklahoma was finally tested and they took down Notre Dame by a couple of touchdowns. Blake Bell showed that he could throw the ball, which is something about which I think we were all dubious. I’m interested to see how the Sooners do against a pretty strong defense, especially against the run The Horned Frogs are only allowing 115 yards per game while Oklahoma has the 17th-best rushing attack in the country at 257 yards per game. The Sooners are averaging 48 rushing plays per game so these two forces are bound to battle and I think it could come down to Bell’s passing skills. TCU is tied for fifth in the country in interceptions gained, with nine in just four games played, so I don’t know how that will affect Bell’s comfort level in the pocket. On the other side of the ball, TCU is 65th in the nation in scoring offense and Oklahoma is only allowing 12 points per game. The Horned Frogs are a shocking 106th in the nation in third down conversions (31.48%) and Oklahoma is tied for 15th in the nation defending third downs (allowing only 28.57% to be converted). If they are going to struggle that much on third down this Saturday, and give the Sooners extra possessions, they’re going to need to cause some turnovers and excel in the return game. TCU is excellent at returning kickoffs as they are fifth in the nation in returns of at least 30+ yards and there’s a chance they may get several opportunities to improve upon that number with Oklahoma getting extra possessions. I actually think TCU has a chance to keep this game close if they can get their running game going and convert a few third downs. I also think that this may be a classic trap game for Oklahoma as they may very well be looking ahead at the Red River Rivalry (against Texas) in Week 7. Oklahoma still wins.
3. #4 Ohio State at #16 Northwestern (7pm CST ABC): College GameDay is in Evanston this week and this is probably the biggest game Northwestern’s played in since 1995 when the Wildcats won the Big Ten title and went to Rose Bowl (where they lost to USC). Current head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who will surely be a highly considered candidate for the USC and Texas openings, was a linebacker on that squad. The Wildcats are coming off a bye week that was perfectly placed in their schedule. Not only are they fresh and get to play a Buckeyes team that just came off a brutal game against the Badgers, but it allowed a little more time for their star running back, Venric Mark, to become healthy enough to play. Mark was hurt during the Wildcats’ Week 1 game against California and hasn’t played since. His replacement, Treyvon Green, hasn’t exactly played poorly in his place though. Green is averaging 6.85 yards per carry and over 100 yards per game since he’s taken over, so just because Mark is back, don’t expect Green to disappear from the game plan. What causes a lot of teams problems, and I’m sure this week will be no different, is the Wildcats’ quarterback duo of Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian. They’re both good passers and good runners. Colter can do a little bit of everything. In 2012, he caught 16 passes as a receiver, and in 2011, he caught 43 of them. They are often on the field at the same time, which, this year, usually means either a running play or some kind of play-action. However, don’t be surprised if Colter resurrects his times lining up as a wideout in attempt to throw off the defense a little. The Buckeyes lost their defensive leader, Christian Bryant, for the season last week on the second-to-last play against Wisconsin. Urban Meyer has stressed all week what an integral part Bryant played for the defense and that someone will need to step up and fill that role. In addition to his leadership role, Bryant was third on the team in tackles. This is the second real test for the Buckeyes and this time they don’t get the luxury of playing in front of their home crowd. I think the key will be the running game for the Buckeyes. Northwestern is only allowing 119 yards rushing, but they haven’t really played a run-heavy team so that number may be a little misleading. I don’t like applying the transitive property to football projections but the only team Northwestern and Ohio State have in common is California. NU beat them by 14 and TOSU beat them by 18. That could mean that these two teams are somewhat evenly matched (at least against high-powered offenses with weak defenses) and then the home team generally gets three points. That puts TOSU winning by one. It’s not exactly scientific, but this fan will take it. The only thing that gives me a little pause, and I’m not usually superstitious, is that my favorite athlete of all time is Michael Jordan, and his statue outside the United Center in Chicago was photographed wearing a Northwestern jersey this week. Buckeyes win, Buckeyes win, but I’ll be nervous until the clock strikes triple zero.
4. West Virginia at #17 Baylor (7pm CST Fox Sports 1): Do you remember that 70-63 battle between these two teams last year during which West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith threw for 8 touchdowns and a mere 6 incomplete passes? Yeah, well don’t expect that to happen this time around. Last week was the first time we’ve seen life out of the Mountaineers. They beat William & Mary by a mere 7 points to start the season and then were shutout and beat by 37 by Maryland. Yet last week, they held Oklahoma State to 21 points and walked away victors. Dana Holgerson finally decided to start Clint Trickett, the transfer from Florida State who was stuck behind EJ Manual (and left because of the emergence of the aforementioned phenom in Tallahassee), at quarterback and suddenly the Mountaineers looked respectable. He didn’t blow up the stat sheet as he only completed 48% of his passes and threw just one touchdown versus two interceptions, but he seemed to inspire confidence in his team and had them believing they could win that game. Baylor, on the other hand, is blowing up stat sheet after stat sheet. The Bears are averaging an astonishing 751 yards per game and 9.84 yards per play. Consider this for a second: Baylor has only played in three games (they’ve already had two bye weeks) and only 19 teams in the country have more total yards than the Bears. Granted, they haven’t really played anyone worth mentioning yet, as the best team they’ve played is probably a toss-up between Wofford (the #17 team in FCS) and Louisiana-Monroe. What we can say is that just like last year when everyone thought coach Art Briles was going to miss RGIII and he ended up being fine as Nick Florence outgaining him in total yards, it doesn’t look like Briles won’t miss Florence much either with the emergence of Bryce Petty. Petty hasn’t run as often as RGIII and Florence did, but then, he hasn’t had to either. Petty already has 1001 yards passing and only has 17 incomplete passes thrown. I’ll be honest, last week I thought Oklahoma State might put 70 points on West Virginia and that didn’t happen at all. I’m not going to say Baylor will put up 70 on the Mountaineers this week (even though they are averaging 69.7 points), but I feel comfortable saying they’ll put 50 on them and I don’t see West Virginia being able to do that even if Trickett is finished shaking off his rust. Baylor wins.
5. #15 Washington at #5 Stanford (9:30pm CST ESPN): I encourage everyone to stay up and watch this game. Going into the season the common thinking was that Stanford wouldn’t be tested until Week 10 when it hosts the Oregon Ducks, but that is not the case. Washington finally appears to be what a lot of us were expecting them to be two years ago behind quarterback Keith Price. They started the season off with a big win over Boise State without their star tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. They are undefeated and have won every game by at least 18 points. They held Arizona, a team averaging over 40 points per game going into their game, to just 13 points (despite the Wildcats running 86 plays). I’ve liked Price for a few years now and it’s taken awhile but he’s finally starting to look like the quarterback I thought he’d be. Almost more impressive is running back Bishop Sankey who is leading the nation in yards per game. He’s not a threat as a receiver out of the backfield (he only has four receptions on the year), which could be valuable against an attacking front four like Stanford’s, but he’s an excellent blocker. The Cardinal has no one who can defend Sefarian-Jenkins one on one so expect him to get chipped coming off the line to slow him down a bit. In the Huskies passing game, keep an eye out for junior wide receiver Kasen Williams, as I expect him to lead them in receiving this weekend. He’s a good route runner and is excellent at finding the soft spot in a zone. The problem for the Huskies lies on the defensive side of the ball, however. The Cardinal probably have the best offensive line in the country and offensively they’re so diverse that game planning is very difficult. Would you believe me if I told you that Stanford isn’t in the top 30 nationally in either passing or rushing yards per game? It’s true. However, the Cardinal convert 57% of their third downs, only commit 4.8 penalties per game, and have only turned the ball over 5 times in four games. They can run it with Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson and then in the passing game, they’ve gone away what we’ve grown accustomed to these last few years. Tight ends have only caught three passes this season while wide receivers Ty Montgomery and Devon Cajuste have over half of the Cardinal receptions. To be fair, Cajuste is built like a tight end and was recruited to play as one. However, when they saw this kid run and his vertical jump, they agreed to his request to play outside the seams. Washington is on the rise, and I definitely have Stanford on upset alert Saturday night because I think the Huskies will make it much closer than people think, but will they pull off a win? Not quite, the Cardinal win.
We haven’t done one of these in a while, but here’s an open thread to chat about the football played up until the game of the century of the week.
You can refer to Jason’s TV Guide, but here’s a smattering of today’s football spread:
Saturday
Noon – Maryland at Florida State
3:30pm – Georgia Tech at Miami (FL)
8:00pm -Ohio State at Northwestern
10:30pm – Washington at Stanford
Good morning Buckeye Nation.
No W Here: Remember former safety Donte Whitner? You know the hard hitting safety that came from Glenville High School in Cleveland. The one that went in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft to the Buffalo Bills. Well he is changing his name, thats right he doesn’t want to be called Whitner anymore he wants to be called Donte Hitner. Now that is a name change that I feel is pretty awesome especially since it does define who you are. Donte Hitner has a nice ring to it.
Come on Man: Look I’ll be honest I am one of those bitter Cleveland fans that felt jilted about how Lebron James handled his leaving the Cavs. I have tried to get over it and maybe hoped he came back so the Cleveland faithful can enjoy their favorite team winning a championship. I enjoy the fact Lebron has been a part of Ohio State and his viability with the program helps with recruiting. Here’s where I have a problem. Lebron recently said that if played at least a year of college basketball he would have done so for the Buckeyes. OK that’s cool but would have could have you didn’t but you still big time supporter of my favorite team. Then you go on to say that where ever in the world you are you rock the colors of scarlet and red. Um what? Apparently he doesn’t read our fine blog that reps the true colors of the Buckeyes. So Mr. James I will tell you wherever I go in the world (OK Ohio) I rock the colors of Scarlet and Gray, Brown and Orange, Wine and Gold (you remember those right) and the Navy, Red and White of the Tribe.
OSU vs NW Hype: Since its game day and our Buckeyes will tame the Wildcats tonight I’ll leave you some videos of past game highlights and the four letter networks Hype video for tonight’s game.
2008 Game:
2006 Game:
I’m excited to see the Buckeye fans at Ryan Field tonight to create that home field advantage that the Buckeyes get on the road.
Until next time Buckeye Nation…
This week the Buckeyes will be going against the Wildcats of Northwestern. While for years (decades) it could be said there isn’t anything wild about these cats Pat Fitzgerald the former linebacker and current head coach is helping lead Northwestern onto the national stage. This week I had the privilege to work with Jay from Lake The Post.
MotSaG: The last time ESPN’s College Game Day has been to Evanston was when coach Pat Fitzgerald was playing for the Wildcats, Mike and Mike radio show will also be in town and there are reports that tickets prices are around 160 dollars. Is this the biggest game in school history?
LTP: No. However, if you talk about the past 50 years, it is the most media exposure we’ve received in a week leading up to a game. It is GameDay’s 2nd visit to Evanston and 3rd overall (they came to the Wrigley game in 2010). I did a full post on the context of the “biggest game since…†concept which you can view here – http://www.laketheposts.com/2013/10/01/biggest-game-since/
That being said, this game is huge. It’s huge from a perception standpoint. NU gets this stage infrequently and the “average fan†will take this performance as its baseline for NU perception until we get this stage again. It is the hardest ticket to get in the 22 years I’ve been following the team.
MotSaG: Ohio State fans travel extremely well to watch their beloved Buckeyes as was witnessed in California vs the Golden Bears, Are Northwestern fans worried Ryan Field could be hearing the O-H-I-O chant and half the stadium filled with Scarlet and Gray?
LTP: Uhhh..yes. We obsess over this fact. We use crutches like the fact we have only 8,000 students, yet we sellout the 5,000 seat allotment of students. If we had 50,000 like you, well..you get the gist. Opposing fan presence is the single most painful topic of our LTP community. We’ve steadily increased NU attendance and will likely be more guarded this year against Scarlet & Grey since NU scheduled it as Homecoming. We have the 2nd smallest alumni base in Chicago and the majority of alums would need to get on a plane to get to the game, hence the reliance on converting non-alums to fans. It’s a tall order when you are a private school without the defacto boost of having the state name in your logo. A win on Saturday night, and it will go a looooooong way to solving that problem. All you need to do is look at then Dyche Stadium in 1996 and 1997 when it was packed with all purple to see that even pro sports town Chicago loves a college winner.
MotSaG: Speaking of California Northwestern only won that game by 14 points I believe the difference being the Wildcats returning two interceptions back for touchdowns. Is this because senior QB Kain Coltier went down with a concussion thus forcing the Wildcats into using only QB (Trevor Siemian) , who isn’t the dual threat as Coltier is,instead of them being able to use both?
LTP: Kain Colter went out on the second play of the game and yes, that was some adversity. What Ohio State and other B1G fans aren’t realizing is that our All-American (yes, All-American), RB/PR Venric Mark played in two series in that game. Our 3rd string RB, Treyvon Green carried us. We moved the ball on offense and racked up yards, the close score was a credit to Jared Goff, a new coaching staff and a very conservative Cover 4 defense that resulted in yielding truckloads of passing yards and offense. You got the same treatment by Cal, but were able to score more than we did.
MotSaG: The Buckeyes have shown, especially since last weeks game, they can stop the run. The Wildcats are another B1G team with a stable of running backs and as a group are averaging over five yards a carry do you see this working against the Buckeyes Saturday?
LTP: No. I think Ohio State will bottle up the run, though Kain colter will awe you with his escapability, much like Braxton Miller. Venric Mark is the X-factor. He ran for 1,336 yards thanks in part to both the option and his between the tackles ability to find seams. My hunch is OSU will stack the box and challenge us to beat you through the air. Enter Trevor Siemian. He’s the make or break. He’s very accurate, good arm, not as mobile as Kain. We’re way more loaded at WR than at RB. Seeing one guy torch you (Jarred Abbrederis) when we know we have 3-4 such weapons is what is giving us hope. That and the adversity in your secondary. That being said…next question. Gulp.
MotSaG: How big of an advantage for Northwestern is it to have an extra week of prep time to try and figure out how to stop the explosive Buckeye offense?
LTP: If you analyze the W/L post bye week stats for B1G teams, you’d argue it is a disadvantage if anything. Simply put, NU fans are scared about you torturing one of our CB spots. We lost our starter for the year in week one (Daniel Jones) and the freshman back-up, Dwight White, has been picked on every game since. We know it, you know it and the coaches even acknowledge you’ll challenge here. It will be interesting to see how Mike Hankwitz schemes to compensate for this.
MotSaG: Northwestern has I believe to be the toughest B1G schedule this season having to play Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Can the Wildcats run the table?
LTP: Highly unlikely. It may sound like a crutch, but we could get to Indy after starting 0-2 in B1G play. If we lose to you and Wisconsin, we’ll have to run the Legends Division table to get to Indy. That I think is very possible. Michigan looks terrible, Michigan State can’t find an offense, Nebraska has zero defense and hopefully iowa and Minnesota remain Iowa and Minnesota. Iowa is the one that is starting to scare NU fans a bit.
MotSaG: Will the Wildcats be at full strength for Saturday’s game?
LTP: Venric Mark hasn’t played in five weeks. Expecting him to be 100% is unrealistic. He’s a gamechanger and led the nation in PR last year (was named All-American for that). Daniel Jones as we mentioned is out for the season and the most unheralded injury is DT Sean McIlvy which is a question mark. He would be a huge loss.
MotSaG: How great is it to be covering a winning football team again and other teams not being able to look past Northwestern?
LTP: It’s awesome. Granted, the bar at OSU is higher, but for NU fans the bar is now raised to success equaling Indy. Five straight bowl games, a 10-win season last year and arguably the best recruiting class in history for 2014 (it would be top 25, but we only take 15 guys per year and the ratings services weight total number of commitments too heavily), plus a $225 million lakefront practice facility and life is pretty peachy. If we could just solve that attendance thing.
MotSaG: Pat Fitzgerald was a great linebacker for Northwestern and has been at the helm of the Wildcat program since 2006 and has done a great job turning the program into contenders. Does Pat ever have to buy food or coffee or does everyone in Evanston give him whatever he needs?
LTP: Pat has definitely become a Chicago celebrity. However, when you have the Bears, Cubs, Blackhawks, Sox and a world class city, the college spotlight doesn’t quite give you rock star status. He definitely can’t go anywhere now without being noticed and the Chicago media love the guy as do general sports fans in the area. He’s become the most valuable brand the school has ever had in Athletics.
MotSaG: What is your prediction for the game?
LTP: I wait until Friday for my picks, but I will say it will be a single digit game. I expect OSU to explode out to a big lead and NU will claw its way back just like Wisconsin. We’ll have to be at least +2 in takeaways to have a shot, b/c you’re going to put up 40+ points on us.-here is the link to their site hopefully he has his prediction up http://www.laketheposts.com/
I would like to thank Jay for taking out the time to work with us here at MotSaG and I’m sure he has been busy with all kinds of blog requests this week.
I will be honest I am a little worried about this game. Fitzgerald will have the Wildcats well prepared for the Buckeyes and yes an extra week will help them. The Buckeyes do have more talent than Northwestern and should win this game. It will be a great game and hopefully Corey “Pittsburg” Brown is ready to fill the huge shoes of Christian Bryant and that secondary finds whats its missing. Also hopeful the Buckeyes defensive line gets into the backfield and really disrupts the flow of whichever qb is playing, I don’t believe the Wildcats offensive line is as strong and good as Wisconsin’s was.
If you want to get involved and have questions about upcoming opponents feel free to send them in to me and I can send them on. Email your questions to AskMotSaG@gmail.com or MotSaG@gmail.com. Would love to know your thoughts on this post and hope you enjoyed it.
Congratulations to Ohio State on beating a solid Wisconsin team, 31-24. Ohio State seemed to take its foot off the gas in the second half (more on that later), but a win over a team like Wisconsin is always a good thing. As someone who was in attendance in Ohio Stadium for the victory, I would characterize the win as somewhat underwhelming. I would not be so harsh as the below tweet, but it gives a good analysis of what it felt like sitting in the stands during the second half ~
Braxton Miller returned to the starting lineup, showing little to no ill effects from his MCL injury. While I agree that Miller’s running abilities and elusive skills are a tremendous asset, I would prefer to see fewer designed quarterback runs. From my perspective, Miller would be far more dangerous on passing downs, scrambling if a play breaks down or a receiver is unable to get open. Even Coach Meyer stated that Miller carrying the ball 22 times is too much.
It seemed to me, and perhaps I am mistaken, that Ohio State’s offense under Kenny Guiton seemed more balanced than when Braxton Miller played versus Wisconsin. Guiton is not nearly the running threat that Miller is, and there were far fewer designed quarterback runs for Guiton during his games than for Miller versus Wisconsin. Also, Guiton seems to run the option better, forcing the defense to commit to the pitch, where Miller is more inclined to turn upfield on a quarterback keeper.
I am not advocating a quarterback change, or trying to incite a controversy. I would simply prefer fewer designed quarterback runs, especially for a quarterback coming off a MCL injury, and better offensive balance.
Regarding the designed Ohio State second half slowdown versus Wisconsin, I did not have as much of a problem with the conservative approach Ohio State decided to implement. Ohio State focused on shutting down Wisconsin’s running game, and forced Wisconsin to go the length of the field to score in the second half. Punter Cameron Johnston was consistently able to land punts deep in Wisconsin territory.
I do not have a problem with a conservative approach. I would argue that conservative does not have to mean predictable. Against Wisconsin, first and second downs were usually Braxton Miller designed runs (see up above), which would lead to third downs where Ohio State would sometimes convert.
Do you want to run the ball and chew up the clock? Absolutely. I would simply argue that with backs such as Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall (who should have played more versus Wisconsin, by the way), it is possible to be conservative yet not predictable.
Feel terrible for Christian Bryant with his injury at the end of the game. I am hopeful Ohio State explores the medical redshirt option for Bryant, even if Bryant is not granted one by the NCAA.
As for Bradley Roby…let’s just say that being projected as a first round draft choice does not mean that you will be a first round draft choice. Roby needs to rebound, starting with Northwestern.
On to Northwestern. With Bryant’s injury, the likely starter will be Corey “Pittsburgh” Brown. Brown was a highly touted recruit in the 2009 class, and this will be Brown’s opportunity to claim the starting job outright.
Heading up to Evanston, for another night game, another nationally televised game, versus an undefeated Northwestern team, what is the approach Ohio State should take?
Play Northwestern how former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel used to play Northwestern.
What does that mean?
Ohio State played Northwestern from 2001-2008, losing at Northwestern in 2004. While Tressel’s teams usually played Northwestern well, it seemed as though the loss in 2004 to the Wildcats seemed to spur the Buckeyes to play with a true killer mentality from 2005-2008:
Ohio State should come out, ready to go against Northwestern’s mediocre defense. While Northwestern has a solid offense, Ohio State should be up for the challenge, even with the loss of Christian Bryant in the secondary. I will go Ohio State 56, Northwestern 31.
Twenty teams enter the weekend undefeated and no more than seventeen will make it out unscathed, although I think that number will be even lower. This might be my favorite part of the college football season, as conference play gets into full swing and pretenders are knocked from their undeserved perches. A month from now, we’ll likely be down to just a handful of unbeaten teams. This week, we’ll celebrate the success of all of these teams with a look at some at their schools’ notable alumni.
Thursday
10:00pm
UCLA at Utah. Each of these Pac-12 schools boasts a significant contributor in the field of serial murder. While the Bruins lay claim to one of the more unique multiple killers (Rodney Alcala AKA The Dating Game Killer), the Utes counter with former law student Ted Bundy. (FS1)
Saturday
Noon
Maryland at Florida State. Before calling for an overthrow of the government and the eradication of the entire male gender (and also trying to assassinate Andy Warhol), Valerie Solanas graduated from the University of Maryland. But if you think that’s bad, Florida State is home to Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti, respectively the lead singer and guitarist for Creed. (ESPN)
3:30pm
Georgia Tech at Miami (FL). You might think Miami’s Sylvester Stallone, Ray Liotta, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Steve-O would put it over the top, but Georgia Tech has probably the best alumnus ever: the entirely fictional George P. Burdell, who–thanks to students hacking the new computerized registration system–once took 3000 credit hours in a single quarter. (ESPNU)
Minnesota at Michigan. The Gophers gave us this guy. (Yes, that’s two whole hours!) And that is truly unforgivable, but it doesn’t hold a candle to what the Wolverines have foisted on the world: Ted Kaczynski (the “Unabomber”), “Dr. Death” Jack Kevorkian, tag-team killers Leopold & Loeb, and (of course) the guy who taught everybody else how to serial murder, H. H. Holmes. (ABC/ESPN2)
8:00pm
Ohio State at Northwestern. Three Nobel laureates, eight Pulitzer Prize winners, and of course, the world’s only two-time Heisman Trophy winner. Nope, there are no embarrassing alumni in Ohio State’s storied history. So don’t even look. Trust me. Northwestern might have some, but who cares? They gave us Otto Graham, the best quarterback to ever play professional football. (ABC)
10:30pm
Washington at Stanford. Lots of famous people have dropped out of Stanford including actress Reese Witherspoon, golfer Tiger Woods, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and President of the United States of America John F. Kennedy. And, hey, remember how Ted Bundy attended law school at Utah? Well, he did his undergrad at Washington, making him the MotSaG TV Guide Player of the Week! (ESPN)
If you are like me, it’s easy to forget that the MotSaG College Football Pick ’em Contest in full swing. I forgot to make my picks last week but that’s not going happen again!
I’ll be updating the standings on a weekly basis and remind you to make your picks!
The top five standings are:
| Rank | Pick Set Name | Total Pts | W-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil my nuts Go Bucks | 58 | 58-44 |
| 2 | buckeye lad | 58 | 58-44 |
| 3 | Urban Meyer Wieners | 57 | 57-45 |
| 4 | enderbuck | 55 | 55-47 |
| 5 | Josh | 54 | 54-48 |
Congrats to Phil my nuts Go Bucks and buckeye lad for taking the stop spot through five weeks.
It’s not too late to join, but time is definitely running out. (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.
… and more…
This weekend’s slate of games are all B1G match-ups for the first time this season. It’s now starting to feel like the beginning of conference play and really when we start to distinguish the contenders and pretenders. I’m intrigued by this week’s games because each one appears close on paper. I could really see any of the teams pull off a victory in their respective games. So with this in mind let’s get to this weekend’s exciting match ups:
Penn State @ Indiana
Penn State comes into this game 3-1, with their only loss coming against Central Florida. Freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been slowly getting better as the season has progressed and is helped by having a stable of solid running backs. Indiana is 2-2 on the season and coming off their first real test of the season against Missouri. They lost 45-28 in that game and looked lost at times. The Hoosiers appear to be a team that will need a lot of points out of its offense to win games because their defense looks suspect after letting a team like Missouri run all over them. I think this game will be close for the first three-quarters, but I think Penn State has enough defense to slow Indiana down and enough on offense to win the game.
Illinois @ Nebraska
Both teams enter the game 3-1, with both of each their losses coming to ranked PAC-12 teams. If you told me at the beginning of the season these two teams were going to be evenly matched on paper coming in, I would’ve laughed at you. Nebraska has been underwhelming, specifically on defense. Illinois has been playing better than expected, particularly on offense. New Illinois offensive coordinator Bill Cubit has seemed to do wonders, especially for quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase who is having a great season. I think this will be a high scoring affair and it could come down to the final possessions. I’m picking Illinois to pull off the minor upset and to continue outperforming expectations.
Michigan State @ Iowa
If you’re looking for a good old-fashioned B1G game where it comes down to the running game and the defenses, this is the game for you. Iowa is coming off an impressive performance against Minnesota, in which they ran the ball with ease and stopped the run pretty effectively too. Michigan State has a championship caliber defense, but a mediocre offense. The Spartans’ defense should be able to get a leash on Mark Weisman and the other Hawkeye running backs. Iowa’s defense should also have no problem stopping Michigan State’s offense. Don’t be surprised if the final score is in the low teens. I like Iowa to win this game because they clearly have a better quarterback situation and they’ve also proven to make big plays on special teams.
Minnesota @ #19 Michigan
Why does Minnesota get to play for all of the cool rivalry trophies? Last week they played for the Floyd of Rosedale and this weekend is the Battle for the Little Brown Jug. The Golden Gophers were dominated by Iowa on both sides of the ball last weekend and looked exposed. So they clearly have no chance to win, right? We said this about each of the last two opponents Michigan faced and look what happened. The Wolverines should have lost both games. Minnesota has a solid enough defense to force Devin “Turnover Machine” Gardner to make some mistakes and keep this close. I can imagine this is an important game for Gardner because if he has another sloppy game the Michigan faithful might start calling for a quarterback change. I don’t see Fitzgerald Toussaint continuing to carry this team all season. I can’t predict a winner for this game, but I do predict this will go down to the final minutes. But will Minnesota be able to close the deal?
The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off of a huge win last Saturday night against the Wisconsin Badgers. It was by far their best win of the season. The buildup was immense for a late September game and the result was an emotional victory. Many times, after a team gets up one week for a big game on national television, they struggle to show up the following week.
I don’t expect that to be the case for this Buckeye team this weekend under the lights against Northwestern. For one, the players pay attention to the media and know that College Game day will be in Evanston on Saturday. The game at Ryan Field is slated for primetime on ABC just like last week. Not to mention, this is the biggest game Northwestern has played in since the 1995 Rose Bowl (may even be biggest game in NU history). Simply not showing up, will not be an option for Ohio State.
After completing 68% of his passes with four touchdowns, Braxton Miller is poised for another huge game against the Northwestern defense. Miller silenced the “start Kenny G†critics and looks to do the same again this week as he is full strength. It’s important for Miller and the offense to get off to a good start like they’ve been doing over the course of this season. Ohio State doesn’t need the purple crowd in Evanston to have a reason to get rowdy (Keep in mind, I’ll be in the stadium sporting my scarlet Buckeye gear). I think if Northwestern gets off to a good start, they’ll be in the game for 60 minutes. If Ohio State gets off to a good start, I think they eventually pull away in the second half.
There is no doubt; the Wildcats will see a heavy dose of Carlos Hyde in the backfield for the Buckeyes. The question is, how much will Herman and Meyer get Jordan Hall involved this week. Surprisingly, he was barely used last week after racking up 8 touchdowns in the first 4 games. Whoever the Buckeyes choose to give the ball to, I don’t think it will matter. The offensive line should be able to push Northwestern around and open up some holes as the game progresses. If the running game gets going early, it will open up the passing game for guys like Devin Smith and Philly Brown. I like Ohio State’s offense all day against Northwestern’s mediocre defense.
While Ohio State enjoys a huge advantage when their offense is on the field, I don’t think they can say the same when their defense is out there. While Ohio State was able to shut down Wisconsin’s run game, I think Northwestern’s attack will be tougher to stop. The ability to display two different quarterbacks with an array of different skills is impressive. Kain Colter is a true dual threat who is more dangerous with his legs than he is his arm. He has averaged over 6 yards a carry this season. Trevor Siemian is a more imposing figure in the pocket with a strong arm. His big strength is throwing the ball. He has already racked up 671 passing yards in part time duty.
In order for Ohio State to slow down this offense, they first must find a replacement for Safety Christian Bryant. Bryant’s season ending ankle injury in the second to last play of the game last week hurts the Buckeyes. His leadership and big play ability on the back end of their defense was huge. Now it’s time to see how the Buckeyes can respond. If the Buckeyes can make the Wildcats one dimensional like they did to Wisconsin, they will be successful. If the Wildcats can mix and match the run and pass with equal effectiveness, the Buckeyes could be in for a dog fight (or cat fight in this case).
In the end, I like the Buckeyes to remain unbeaten and move to 6-0 entering their bye week. It won’t be easy, but as the game wears on and the Buckeyes start to dominate the trenches, the margin will widen. Time for Ohio State to prove they can take the show on the road under the lights and in primetime. This might be one of their last chances to show the nation how good they really are.
