Questions from Blacksburg

Your wondering what Hokie Nation is wondering about the Buckeyes, your curious as to what their mindset is along with what some of their questions are. Wonder no more Buckeye Nation as Dwight Lester not only answered some questions I had for him but asked me some questions.

FG: Urban Meyer stated he wasn’t going to name a starter until the day before or day of the game with the Hokies, give us here in Hokie Nation some insight on the most burning question around this game who the starting quarterback is going to be when the Buckeyes walk into Lane Stadium.

MotSaG: I can say after Urban Meyer’s press conference on Monday very little light was shed on the subject. He did however say he should have a feeling when the Buckeyes start Game Week Practices on Wednesday. He stated that it will depend on who does what in practice and can change weekly, even during the game. He did stress that mistakes weren’t going to be a reason to change “Mistakes are fixed by great effort”. Meyer says that this is still to close to call and he isn’t trying to be difficult or hide who he is actually going to put in to be the starter.

In all honesty I know its the million dollar question but who would Hokie Nation want to face? The quarterback that, in his first season after not playing any football for two years, finished in the top five of Heisman voting or the quarterback who won the Big Ten championship, Sugar Bowl and National Championship. Barrett starts he might have extra motivation since the only team he has lost to in college football is Virginia Tech, in his house. Jones starts and Hokie defensive tackles might get a little worried as Jones is know for tucking and driving defensive tackles back when he initiates the hit first.

Whoever lines up under center for Ohio State Monday night, Buckeye Nation knows the Scarlet and Gray are in good hands.

FG: Do you believe the revenge factor will play a big part in this game or will the Buckeyes treat it like any other stiff non-conference foe?

MotSaG: Not going to lie there probably is, for us fans without a doubt and I can imagine the players feel the same thing. The Hokies prevented Buckeyes from getting a perfect season. Urban said that he feels a little nudge because the Hokies defeated Buckeyes. He said he doesn’t want to take anything away from VT “They have great players and team” but he has always said the Buckeyes coaching staff didn’t prepare team for the scheme Hokies came at them with.

Will be hard to treat this like any other non conference foe seeing no matter how bad Hokies looked after beating OSU they are better than Hawaii, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Plus the game will be on national TV, the coveted Monday Night Football spot, it’ll almost be like an NFL game.

FG: What do you believe will be the biggest factor in the game on Labor Day? How will Ohio St use this factor to their advantage or overcome this factor?

MotSaG: The biggest factor right now is the WR position. Buckeyes have 3 players suspended and they are all pretty good then last week Noah Brown suffered a season ending broken leg. Can the buckeyes spread the field to allow Ezekiel Elliott to do his thing? Can Braxton Miller make some magic plays we are use to him doing while he was the QB? The WR group doesn’t have very much actual game playing experience now.

This can be an advantage because how much tape is available on them. How hungry are these kids to make a name for themselves and be the “next man up”.

FG: How big a part in the offense do you look for Braxon Miller to play?

MotSaG: Everyone who is familiar with Urban Meyers offense knows that the H-Back position is an integral part of the offense. Everyone is always curious as to who is the next Percy Harvin type to play the position. Nothing against any other Buckeye players but in my opinion Miller might be the closest. He truly is one of the greatest athletes in college football today. You don’t win Big Ten player of the year two years in a row (sophomore and junior years). Miller was a Heisman candidate before the injury last season, matter of fact, still is one just his odds are lower than if he was the QB. Braxton is a spectacular player and you sit there with your mouth dropped open with some of the moves he makes, they are seriously just like enjoying a video game. The major knock on Miller though is his toughness and durability, have to see how he handles hits when he goes across the middle to catch the ball.

FG: Losing Joey Bosa was a huge blow to the Buckeyes defensive pressure schemes. How do they recover and who do you think Hokie fans should be on the look out for?

MotSaG: Without a doubt not having Bosa and 4 other WR is going to hurt, but this is Ohio State. It was proven last year at the most important position (QB) it’s Next Man Up and Buckeyes have very good depth at every position since Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus.

That being said watch out for Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Adolphus Washington just to name a few on the defensive line. Buckeyes have a lot of depth there and will be rotating a lot to keep guys fresh. The linebacker group of Raekwon McMillan, Darren Lee and Joshua Perry is projected to be one of the best in the nation, Buckeyes secondary isn’t a slouch either as possibly one of the top units in the country since Chris Ash joined the Buckeyes last year to straighten that mess out. Eli Apple, Gareon Conley are the starting corners, Damon Webb will be the nickle and the safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell are some hard hitting ball hawks. They say the Silver Bullets are back. The tough hard nose defense that Ohio State use to have is back and they are ready to make that jump up to be elite. Even if they stole Pat Narduzzi and Michigan States defense they will just do it better than Sparty.