Archives for November 2014

Predicting Every Single FBS College Football Game: Week 14

November 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Record in Week 13: 42-17 (71.1% of games predicted correctly) To see my picks for week 13, click here.
Overall Record for the Season: 549-220

Last week’s games weren’t exactly the best. But you won’t have to worry about that this week. There are plenty of great games to watch, including several rivalry games and games that will have implications on playoffs, conference championships and bowl games. This will also be the last week of the season for several programs. It’s getting down to crunch time! Not only are these games going to be more exciting than normal, but I have picked a lot of upsets because I see a lot of carnage happening. Let’s take a look…

Tuesday Nov. 25
Ohio @ Miami (OH) – Pick: Ohio

Thanksgiving Night
TCU @ Texas – Pick: Texas (Upset)
LSU @ Texas A&M – Pick: Texas A&M

Friday Nov. 28
Northern Illinois @ Western Michigan – Pick: Western Michigan
Nebraska @ Iowa – Pick: Iowa
Houston @ SMU – Pick: Houston
Western Kentucky @ Marshall – Pick: Marshall
UCF @ South Florida – Pick: UCF
Ball State @ Bowling Green – Pick: Bowling Green
Toledo @ Eastern Michigan – Pick: Toledo
Akron @ Kent State – Pick: Akron
Buffalo @ UMass – Pick: UMass
Arkansas @ Missouri – Pick: Arkansas (Upset)
Navy @ South Alabama – Pick: Navy
Arizona State @ Arizona – Pick: Arizona
Stanford @ UCLA – Pick: Stanford (Upset)
Colorado State @ Air Force – Pick: Colorado State
Virginia @ Virginia Tech – Pick: Virginia Tech
East Carolina @ Tulsa – Pick: East Carolina

Saturday Nov. 29
South Carolina @ Clemson – Pick: South Carolina
Cincinnati @ Temple – Pick: Cincinnati
West Virginia @ Iowa State – Pick: West Virginia
Purdue @ Indiana – Pick: Purdue
Illinois @ Northwestern – Pick: Northwestern
Team Up North @ Ohio State – Pick: Ohio State
Rice @ Louisiana Tech – Pick: Rice
Georgia Tech @ Georgia – Pick: Georgia
Kentucky @ Louisville – Pick: Louisville
Old Dominion @ Florida Atlantic – Pick: Florida Atlantic
North Texas @ UTSA – Pick: North Texas
NC State @ North Carolina – Pick: North Carolina
Syracuse @ Boston College – Pick: Boston College
LA Lafayette @ Troy – Pick: LA Lafayette
Utah @ Colorado – Pick: Utah
Idaho @ Appalachian State – Pick: Appalachian State
Texas State @ Georgia State – Pick: Texas State
New Mexico State @ Arkansas State – Pick: Arkansas State
Wyoming @ New Mexico – Pick: Wyoming
Florida @ Florida State – Pick: Florida (Earle Bruce Upset Special)
Rutgers @ Maryland – Pick: Maryland
Michigan State @ Penn State – Pick: Michigan State
Minnesota @ Wisconsin – Pick: Wisconsin
Notre Dame @ USC – Pick: USC
Mississippi State @ Ole Miss – Pick: Ole Miss (Upset)
Baylor @ Texas Tech – Pick: Baylor
San Jose State @ San Diego State – Pick: San Diego State
UAB @ Southern Miss – Pick: UAB
Kansas @ Kansas State – Pick: Kansas State
Tennessee @ Vanderbilt – Pick: Tennessee
Connecticut @ Memphis – Pick: Memphis
BYU @ California – Pick: BYU
LA Monroe @ Georgia Southern – Pick: Georgia Southern
Wake Forest @ Duke – Pick: Duke
Pittsburgh @ Miami – Pick: Pittsburgh
Hawaii @ Fresno State – Pick: Fresno State
Middle Tennessee State @ UTEP – Pick: UTEP
Auburn @ Alabama – Pick: Auburn (Upset)
Oregon @ Oregon State – Pick: Oregon
Utah State @ Boise State – Pick: Boise State
Nevada @ UNLV – Pick: Nevada
Washington @ Washington State – Pick: Washington

I’ll let you know how I did with my predictions on next week’s post. Let me know in the comments what you think of my picks and feel free to ask me why I picked the way I did. Also you can follow me on Twitter @SchottJosh.

Filed Under: College Football

MotSaG Live Episode #15 – Beat The Team Up North Week

November 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

It’s beat the team up north week! That means this week’s podcast is special and different from the norm. This podcast we had two different guests join us to discuss The Game. First we were joined by former Ohio State defensive end Matt Finkes, who I’m sure many Buckeye fans remember from the 90s. He was honest and informative as always and gave a great insight to what The Game is all about. In the second part of the podcast we were joined by Anthony Broome, a contributor to Maize n Brew, part of the SB Nation network. Broome discussed numerous topics with us from Hoke’s inevitable dismissal to who they think will be their next head coach to previewing this week’s game between Ohio State and the team up north. He’s also going to find out what happened to all of the #FireBrandon t-shirts!

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With:

Negabuck- No Pity for Michigan

November 25, 2014 by 2 Comments

 

Coming off another sometimes impressive/sometimes horrendous win against a very pedestrian Indiana squad, the Buckeyes fix their focus to the final game of the regular season against Michigan.

Indiana is a team that really sucks but they are a different kind of suck than most other sucks.

Their quarterback couldn’t throw a pass further than 20 yards down the field but they have arguably two of the best playmakers in the conference in Tevin Coleman and Shane Wynn-two guys who can turn any crease into 6 points. These two burned the Buckeye defense on Saturday a few times and kept the game close from an offensive side.  SEC East leader Missouri learned this the hard way as well.

Indiana’s defense was given three gift turnovers and the outmatched Hoosiers played about as well as they could have, all things considered.

The Buckeyes look as good as any team in the nation when things are going smoothly but turnovers are turning into an alarming issue. If Ohio State continues in this giving mood they will be in trouble in every game the rest of the season- yes even this Saturday.

Growing up a 90’s kid, I have learned to never sleep on any Michigan team, no matter the year. So forgive me if I am not feeling sorry for the Michigan team and fans during another disappointing campaign in 2014 and neither should you.

I’m not feeling as much of the awesome hate that usually comes this time of year and this is because human nature is to not kick a horse while he’s down. Brady Hoke is a lame duck and will probably be coaching his last game for the pee and blue on Saturday and many Buckeye fans are sleepily going through this week looking forward to the Big Ten Championship Game.

Well I say not only should you kick this horse while they lay dying, but you should also elbow drop this horse to hell…

 

 

 

Here are ten reminders to get your blood boiling about that poopy school to the north:

 

 

10.  1996-

The first vivid memory in my tiny little Buckeye brain is of the heartbreaking season finale of the 96 Rose Bowl year. Ohio State was up 9-0 at the half and didn’t score again while losing to a Michigan team that finished 8-4.

Ohio State finished 2nd in the country after the bowl games…

9. 2013 Premeditated attack on Ohio State’s smallest player-

I don’t care what anybody says, last years game contained an organized attack on a spunky Ohio State freshmen.

After some pregame trash talk, the first time Ohio State frosh Dontre Wilson touched the ball the Michigan hoodlums did this…

 

The scuffle lead to Dontre and senior offensive lineman Marcus Hall getting ejected with no Michigan penalites….

8. Desmond Howard-

Turd.

7.  Taylor Lewan-

Not only did he knock out an Ohio State fan after last years game… Seriously

But he’s the one who “allegedly” threatened to rape a girl who accused his roommate of sexual assault if she spoke to the cops… Super Seriously

He has denied the second allegation and how can you not believe a guy with such a great smile?

6. Kyle Kalis-

After decommitting from Ohio State after the Tat-Gate situation came to light (not a big deal) and receiving some nasty tweets from some white trash Buckeye fans (probably me) the lifelong Ohio State fan had this to say… LOL

When asked about the 2012 game between the Big Ten rivals, which will be played in Columbus.

“There will be blood on the field and it won’t be mine. … Quote it. Let them know.”

Kalis didn’t even see the field during the loss and is currently a big part of Michigan’s atrocious offensive issues.

5. 2003-

Not many Ohio State fans bring up this season (probably due to still being drunk from the previous National Title season) but Michigan cost Ohio State a shot at defending their national championship after defeating the Bucks the last week of the year.

Gross.

4. Brady Hoke still says Ohio-

That worm says it just to get under dumb people like myself’s skin.

And it works…

3. 2-10-1-

John Cooper is in the College Football hall of fame but is not remembered as one of the games best due to some pesky team from some smelly state.

How annoying

 

2. 58-45-6-

Even though the majority of Michigan’s victories over Ohio State occurred when Babe Ruth was in grade school, Ohio State still needs 13 more wins in a row to tie the once great program.

#LivingInThePast

1. Trying to steal our loved one-

The University of Michigan had the audacity to offer Joey Bosa a scholarship…

Ohio State and Joey Bosa are perfect for each other and these snobs tried to intervene like a jealous ex girlfriend. Even though it didn’t work out for the jamokes, I will never forgive them for trying to ruin my everything.

They crossed the line and no amount of losing seasons will ever redeem the Michigan punks in my book.

 

 

 

I hope all Buckeye fans will get up with me Saturday at 6AM and start downing the hate juice (liquor) and remind themselves how truly disgusting and fun this rivalry is.

 

Bonus- I finally forced myself to watch the whole thing and was not disappointed. How long will you last?

 

 

 

 

 

Double Bonus Michigan Edition- It never get old:

 

 

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

B1G Weekly Recap: Buckeyes Clinch East, Badgers Hold Serve In West

November 25, 2014 by 1 Comment

Despite some momentary struggles, Ohio State accomplished its goal going into the weekend and that was clinching a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. Wisconsin held off a pesky Iowa team to improve to 6-1 in conference play and will clinch their spot opposite Ohio State in Indianapolis with a win in their final regular season game.

Ohio State 42, Indiana 27

The Buckeyes looked shaky against Indiana, even trailing in the third quarter after a 90-yard Tevin Coleman touchdown run, one of three on the day for him. When they looked their shakiest, they turned to a player many turned their back on just a week ago. Jalin Marshall returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown to regain the lead and Ohio State would never give it back.

Marshall set an Ohio State record by scoring four touchdowns in one half, adding three receiving touchdowns to his punt return. Indiana returns to Bloomington to finish their season while Ohio State will remain in Columbus and take on That Team Up North.

Illinois 16, Penn State 14

Illinois came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Penn State thanks to a David Reisner field goal with just eight seconds left in the game. Both offenses struggled in this one, with neither team hitting the 300 yard total offense mark. Christian Hackenberg went just 8-16 for 93 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Mike Dudek was consistent throughout for the Illini, catching 11 passes for 115 yards as Illinois moved to within a game of bowl eligibility. Penn State will head back to Happy Valley to host Michigan State and Illinois will go on the road to take on in-state rival Northwestern.

Minnesota 28, Nebraska 24

Ohio State’s win over Minnesota looks even better this week after the Golden Gophers were able to go on the road and knock off Nebraska. Tommy Armstrong threw for over 200 yards and Ameer Abdullah rushed for 98 but it wasn’t enough to take down Minnesota at home.

Despite throwing for just 135 yards, Mitch Leidner led the way for the Gophers, rushing for 110 and two scores. David Cobb added 80 and another score on the ground as Minnesota kept their hopes of a rematch against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game alive. Nebraska will go on the road at Iowa to finish out the regular season and Minnesota hits the road again as they travel to Camp Randall.

Northwestern 38, Purdue 14

Northwestern kept their slim bowl hopes alive by dominated Purdue in West Lafayette. Justin Jackson ran for 147 yards and two scores to lead the Wildcats to victory. Trevor Siemian left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury but that didn’t slow Northwestern down, as Zack Oliver came in and did his job.

The Wildcat defense was extremely tough on the Boilermakers, especially in the run game. Akeem Hunt managed just 60 yards on 20 carries and Purdue as a team combined for just 61 yards on the ground. Northwestern will host Illinois this week while Purdue goes on the road to take on the Hoosiers.

Michigan State 45, Rutgers 3

After losing to Ohio State at home two weeks ago, Michigan State has been nothing short of dominant, making quick work of both Maryland and Rutgers. This week, the Spartans jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead on the back of Jeremy Langford. Langford finished the day with 126 yards and two touchdowns.

Michigan State’s vaunted defense showed up again, holding the Scarlet Knights to just 234 yards of total offense. The Spartans picked off Rutgers three times as they cruised to another victory. Michigan State will go on the road next week to take on Penn State and Rutgers will also be away from home as they go to Maryland to close out the regular season.

Wisconsin 26, Iowa 24

Once again, it was the Melvin Gordon show for Wisconsin. On the week he would lose his single-game rushing yards record, Gordon made it to the 2,000 yards mark on the season. Gordon rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns on the day, bolstering his Heisman resume even more.

Jake Rudock did what he could to give the Hawkeyes a chance to win this game, throwing for 311 yards and two scores, but it was barely not enough. Iowa will host Nebraska next week and Wisconsin will host Minnesota in a play-in game for the Big Ten Championship.

Maryland 23, That Team Up North 16

Despite not having their best player in Stefon Diggs, Maryland was able to go into Ann Arbor and knock off the Wolverines for their seventh win of the season. C.J. Brown threw for 165 yards and ran for 87 and a score, but it was Wes Brown’s 1-yard touchdown run with less than six minutes left in the game.

Devin Gardner threw for 106 yards and an interception to go with 82 rushing yards in his final home game as a Wolverine. Maryland will go back to College Park next week to host Rutgers and That Team Up North will make a trip into extremely hostile territory to take on Ohio State.

What are your predictions for the upcoming slate of games? Will it be Wisconsin or Minnesota taking on the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game? Let us know below!

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

Urban Flips Another One

November 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Buckeyes head coach is at it again, making the nation mad and flipping kids to commit to The Ohio State University. This time he flipped a Utah commit and it must not of been hard to do seeing how said commit came to Columbus on November 1 for an official visit (Illinois game) and twelve days later he decommited.

Branden Bowen who is 6’7 and comes in about 315-330 lbs hails from Draper Utah which is just an hour south of Salt Lake City. Bowen who many have between a three and four star offensive lineman is the 22nd commit for the Buckeyes this season and he becomes the 4th offensive lineman. He joins Kevin Feder, Grant Schmidt and Matthew Burrell who just recently committed to the Buckeyes also. Branden played for Corner Canyon High School and were unfortunately eliminated in the semi-finals of the Utah State playoffs.

With Bowen’s committing to Ohio State 247sports now has the Buckeyes with the number 4 class nationally, not to bad considering so many Buckeye fans were scared during the summer that Penn State was getting all the recruits.

Brenden Bowen senior year highlights

Welcome to Buckeye Nation Branden.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football Tagged With:

Its Hate TTUN Week

November 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

How many days has it been since TTUN beat The Ohio State?

1094 days and counting

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

MotSaG B1G Power Poll Week 13

November 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Here we are the final week of the college football regular season for the Big Ten. Excuse me while I wipe away some tears as this season has come and gone so quickly but rest assured not only is this rivalry week but many B1G teams have bowl games to play. There are three teams fighting to become bowl eligible in this final week, two play each other and one well lets face it hopefully they lose big since they are playing the Buckeyes.

1. Ohio State (10-1,7-1) The Hoosiers gave the Buckeyes a scare on Saturday but this kid named Jalin Marshall made up for his miscues the week earlier and put the Buckeyes on his back and carried them into the B1G Championship Game.
Last Week: #1
Next Game: TTUN

2. Michigan State (9-2,6-1) Sparty isn’t out of the playoff picture just yet, there are scenarios where they could possibly get a spot if that SEC keeps beating itself up.
Last Week: #2
Next Game: @Penn State

3. Wisconsin (9-2,6-1) The Badgers win and they are in the B1G Championship game to face the Buckeyes and my preseason pick comes true but they play a strong Minnesota team.
Last Week: #3
Next Game: Minnesota

4. Minnesota (8-3,5-2) The Gophers knock off the Cornhuskers to make sure this Saturdays match up is for all the marbles and a possible rematch against the Buckeyes.
Last Week: #5
Next Game: @Wisconsin

5. Nebraska (8-3,4-3) Bo Pelini’s must have used up all his cats nine lives as the Cornhuskers drop two straight and are eliminated from possibly playing in the B1G Championship game or even tying to win the West.
Last Week: #4
Next Game: @Iowa

6. Maryland (7-4,4-3) Big Ten newcomer might have knocked the Wolverines out of bowl contention and they did this without Stefon Diggs. If the Terps win Saturday and Wolverines loose Maryland will have as many conference wins as TTUN has all season. Hail to the Victors
Last Week: #6
Next Game: Rutgers

7. Iowa (7-4,4-3) Many picked the Hawkeyes to win the West saying they had the easiest path but when you don’t know what team will show up and show no consistency you fail to get your goal.
Last Week: #7
Next Game: Nebraska

8. Northwestern (5-6,3-4) Everytime you count out the Wildcats the go on some kind of winning streak and claw their way back into fighting for a bowl berth, big game for them this weekend plus bragging rights for the State of Illinois
Last Week: #11
Next Game: Illinois

9. Penn State (6-5,2-5) They are happy in Happy Valley to be going bowling but they must have forgotten that they still have games to be played in the conference after getting beat by the Fighting Illini
Last Week: #8
Next Game: Michigan State

10. Rutgers (6-5,2-5) The Scarlet Knights first year in the B1G has been tough only beating TTUN and Indiana so far. Preseason I didn’t believe they would be bowl eligible but they got there and TTUN hasn’t. Hail to the Victors
Last Week: #9
Next Game: @Maryland

11. TTUN (5-6,3-4) Every year since Brady cHoke’s first at the helm of the Maize and Blue they have gotten worse, A Buckeye win will knock the Wolverines officially out of bowl contention and will undoubtedly finish cHoke’s career as the head coach. Hail to the Victors
Last Week: #10
Next Game: @TheOhioState

12. Illinois (5-6,2-5) The fighting Illini are fighting to become bowl eligible and it may influence the decision on keeping Tim Beckman on the sidelines.
Last Week: #13
Next Game: @Northwestern

13. Purdue (3-8,1-6) We have seen improvement and growth from Darrell Hazel’s team, but the injuries were to much to overcome and the Boilermakers are still rebuilding but seem to be heading in the right direction hopefully he gets some more time to see a different relevant team in West Lafayette.
Last Week: #12
Next Game: @Indiana

14. Indiana (3-8,0-7) Can the SEC East champs win a B1G conference game this year? The battle of Indiana will be their last hope.
Last Week: #14
Next Game: Purdue

Always love hearing your feedback, don’t forget you can email me at AskMotSaG@gmail.com with any questions.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football Tagged With:

Ohio State Is At “The Doorstep” To B1G Championship Game

November 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal…” ~ Henry Ford

The 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes, proud owners of a 9-1 record, return home to Ohio Stadium to face a traditional B1G rival with the visiting Indiana Hoosiers. Considering Indiana enters the game with a 3-7 record, is playing a true freshman quarterback, and has not defeated Ohio State since the 1988 season, Ohio State is heavily favored by the Las Vegas oddsmakers (34.5 point spread). By all reasonable expectations, by both Ohio State fans and Indiana fans, Ohio State has a tremendous opportunity to win easily. During the most recent Men of the Scarlet and Gray podcast, even stalwart Indiana fan Kyle Swick acknowledged the challenges that Indiana is facing against a talented Buckeye squad.

Lurking in the background, in the blogosphere, within Internet fan sites, on sports talk radio, are the audible hopes and dreams of a demanding fanbase for Ohio State to win out and emerge as one of the four participants in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Presently, Ohio State is ranked sixth in the latest poll of the College Football Playoff committee.

The obvious question that is on the mind of Ohio State fans before the Buckeyes meet Indiana – how will Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer keep his team focused upon Indiana, and not be concerned about the playoffs?

Below is an example of how focused Coach Meyer is upon the task at hand with Indiana…

Q. A little bit along those lines, you guys are kind of on two tracks here. You obviously have to win. That’s all you can control. But there is this playoff, you’re trying to get into the playoff. At 31‑24 win over Indiana probably won’t help you. How do you kind of balance the idea that you have to obviously take care of business, but there is this perception game?

URBAN MEYER: That’s not even going to be addressed. We wake up every November or we wake up every day to compete for championships in November. It’s at the doorstep now.”.

“It’s at the doorstep now…” . Coach Meyer knows that all of the talk about the playoffs is just that – talk. The task at hand is to defeat Indiana, and clinch a berth in The B1G Championship Game.

The three areas I will be focusing upon as Ohio State meets Indiana in Ohio Stadium at 12pm on BTN?

1. How Will Ohio State’s Defense Play Against Indiana’s Tevin Coleman? – As Coleman goes, so goes the Indiana offense. Coleman has rushed for 1678 yards, and is coming off an impressive performance against Rutgers (32 carries for 307 yards). While Ohio State’s defense has improved, last week Ohio State surrendered 145 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground to Minnesota’s David Cobb. Look for Ohio State to truly sell out against the run to bottle up Coleman as best as they can.

2. How Will Ohio State’s Jalin Marshall Respond After A Challenging Game At Minnesota? – The trials and tribulations of Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Jalin Marshall are well-chronicled, and we discussed them in great detail on the aforementioned MotSaG podcast. I will be keeping an eye on Marshall during the game, most especially on punt return opportunities.

3. Will Coach Meyer Substitute Backups After Ohio State Takes A Commanding Lead? – While I have complete confidence in Ohio State to win this game convincingly, I question whether Coach Meyer will substitute backups into the game. Cardale Jones, Bri’onte Dunn, Warren Ball, etc, should all play at least the fourth quarter, after the game has been decided.

Prediction: Ohio State rolls Indiana 63-17, impressing the College Football Playoff committee. More importantly, Ohio State earns a trip to Indianapolis for The B1G Championship Game.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With: , , , ,

MOTSAG TV Guide

November 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

All games Saturday, November 22, unless otherwise noted.
Rankings reflect current College Football Playoff rankings.

BUCKEYES

Indiana @ #6 Ohio State. Noon, Big Ten Network.

This is it. The last game before The Game, and Ohio State can clinch the East division with a win against the Hoosiers. Never take anything for granted.

UPCOMING OPPONENT

Maryland @ Michigan. 3:30p, Big Ten Network.

OTHER BIG TEN TEAMS

#25 Minnesota @ #23 Nebraska. Noon, ESPN.

Northwestern @ Purdue. Noon, ESPNU.

Penn State @ Illinois. Noon, ESPN2.

Rutgers @ #11 Michigan State. Noon, Big Ten Network.

#16 Wisconsin @ Iowa. 3:30p, ABC/ESPN2.

OTHER TOP NATIONAL GAMES

(11/20) #12 Kansas State @ West Virginia. 7:00p, FS1.

#15 Arizona @ #17 Utah. 3:30p, ESPN.

USC @ #9 UCLA. 8:00p, ABC.

MACTION!!

Tuesday, November 25.

Akron @ Kent State. 7:00p, ESPN2 (or ESPN3).
Ohio @ Miami (OH). 7:00p, ESPN2 (or ESPN3).

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Indiana Preview: A David Versus Goliath Story

November 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

osuHelmetExcept David’s sling isn’t a strong leather strap, it’s a used Kroger grocery bag. He doesn’t have a pocketful of smooth river rocks, he’s got a handful aqua blue aquarium gravel.

He probably doesn’t stand a chance.

Things started out so well for Indiana. They were the talk of the B1G after taking out last year’s SEC West Champ Missouri in a game that stunned everyone.

hoosiervictory

The Hoosiers went on to lose every one of their Big Ten conferences games after upsetting Missouri. A letdown game after an emotional high like that can be expected, even forgiven. Six straight conference losses can’t be.

Indiana lost its starting QB, Nate Sudfeld in a loss to Iowa. Chris Covington, Sudfeld’s back-up did not impress against Iowa. True freshman Zander Diamont came under center against Michigan State when #2 QB Covington’s season was ended with an injury.

Maybe those six losses are excusable.

As bad as Indiana has played at QB, Tevin Coleman has been a steady constant for them. The second leading rusher in the nation (behind Melvin Gordon) but probably a better back than Gordon. (Proof? Look at the way Coleman runs versus Gordon. Gordon runs behind a better offensive line yet still looks to bounce it outside whenever possible to use his speed. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But Coleman’s yards are man yards. B1G yards, between the tackles. Give me that any day of the week).

So that’s sets up one of the major story lines for Ohio State — can they stop the run. They struggled to stop MSU’s ground game and Minnesota’s Cobb had his way with Ohio State’s D. As was noted by our Ronnie Glickman, the currently constituted defense line is not built to stop a downhill rushing attack:

But, with Indiana operating with its fourth option at quarterback this year, there isn’t going to be much of a passing threat, which brings the safeties into the box to stop the running game. Doran Grant will probably draw coverage duties to shadow MotSaG favorite Shane Wynn, allowing the defense to focus on stopping the run. But without a space-eater like Jonathan Hankins, Bennett, Washington, Schutt and Company have their work cut out for them. Curtis Grant and freshman Raekwon McMillan will also have to step up their game as well.

On offense, there probably isn’t too much of a concern. Indiana’s defense is led by Linebacker T.J. Simmons, but I’m using “led” in very loose terms here. As you can see from the matchups in yesterday’s By The Numbers, Indiana can’s top anything on the defensive side of the ball. Ohio State’s offensive line will be too strong, J.T. Barrett too smart and the rest of his offensive weapons too quick for Indiana to hang around for very long.

I look for Ohio State to do what they’ve done since the Virginia Tech game — come out passing early, then establish the run by forcing teams to honor Barrett’s arm AND legs, and then let Ezekiel Elliot, Jalin Marshall and Curtis Samuel to do the rest.

At this point, Ohio State’s path to the B1G Championship Game should be academic. Indiana will prove a meatier test than Michigan (yeah, I said it) but it should be no more than a speed-bump.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football
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