Ohio State hits the road for the first time this year, heading out west to take on Pac-12 opponent Cal.

Cal will bring its Bear-Raid offense to contend with the Silver Bullets of the Buckeye defense.

Links of interest:

We took a look at how these two teams match-up, strictly from a statistical point of view in our weekly post, By The Numbers.

Ronnie looked at the players to watch.

Ronnie also previewed the Cal matchup.

Shannon had a chance to sit down with ShawnXT of calfootballblog.com for our weekly opponent Q&A.

So here’s a chance at another open thread to discuss whatever is on your mind for the Cal game. Score predictions, players of the game, how many times Gus Johnson loses his mind after a play by Dontre Wilson. Let’s hear your take on the game.

As always, presented without comment.

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

THE MOST IMPORTANT KNEE IN COLUMBUS: So here is what has been said recently about the most talked about knee in Columbus, the one attached to Braxton Miller.

Coach Urban Meyer has said:

“If he’s healthy to go, he’ll certainly go. If he’s healthy to play and play like Braxton plays, which, you know, he’s not your pocket quarterback, he does a lot of things for us, so those are decisions.

“We are not saving him or holding back. This will be everything we’ve got to win this game.”

Meyer also said that Braxton is “day-to-day”. They are planning on traveling to Cal this weekend with all four QBs on the roster.

As for his teammates, they say he’ll be back for Cal. Corey “Philly” Brown thinks he’s going to play as does tight end Jeff Heuerman.

LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES: It’s clear that Bradley Roby has been:

“If you forget what happened to you in the past, then you’re bound to repeat it,” he said. “I just want to keep that in my mind. I use that on the field, use that anger and aggression from that whole process.”

It’s good to see him back in the good graces of the coaches and the team, because the Buckeyes are going up against the most prolific passer in this young season.

OSU/MICHIGAN: WHO YOU GOT? The draft experts at ESPN (don’t laugh!) Mel Kiper and Todd McShay breakdown who they think is the better team. It’s an Insider story, so I’m not going to quote the whole thing, but so sayeth the Kiper:

So I’d certainly put the Wolverines next to Ohio State right now. But don’t forget about the team in Evanston. Pat Fitzgerald’s Northwestern squad could be really good, and both Ohio State and Michigan have to visit. One or both could fall in that game.

Read the whole thing ($) (If you can).

ETC: This is a strange way to announce your new starter at QB, but whatever works for you, Lane Kiffin. Whatever works for you. Is this real life?

It’s that time again, time to get your weekend kicked-off right: It’s the MotSaG Friday Open Thread.

First, Some things about San Diego State for you to read:

• You can read Garth’s preview here.

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Three Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

PROFESSOR TRESSEL: Martin Rickman of SI’s Campus Union attended Jim Tressel’s class “Principles of Coaching” at the University of Akron. There’s a lot here, so make sure you read it all.

A few choice quotes:

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As always, presented without comment.

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

With the first game of the season, you have to assume there will be jitters, mistakes and things are going to go sideways. This game was never in doubt but as with any first game of the season, it made manifest some of the issues that Buckeyes will have to work on as the season progresses.

At first, it looked looked like the Buckeyes might score an hundred points. After a couple runs by Jordan Hall, Miller’s pass out of the no-huddle offense struck for 47 yards from Braxton to Devin Smith.

The next series, Dontre Wilson made an appearance and was one ankle tackle away from breaking off a huge gain. His speed and ability to read blocks is very unfreshman-like. He is going to be special.

The Buckeyes would score two more times on a pass to Chris Fields and a 49 yard scamper up the middle by Jordan Hall. Things looked well in hand.

Going for two after the first two scores was, to me at least, a sign that Urban Meyer wasn’t fooling around. The QB sneak with Guiton and the pass to Hall were straight out of Urban’s High School playbook.

After going up easily 23-0, you have to give Buffalo credit for taking advantage of some Buckeye mistakes. The would make things interesting for a few minutes but The Buckeyes would prove to be too much to handle.

Ohio State 40
Buffalo 20

A few thoughts from the game:

ESPN was is mid-season form with their awful production, missing entire plays and horrible tight shots right before plays started. I thought I was watching BTN.

What a luxury it is that Kenny Guiton is on the sideline. After the inevitable cramps (you knew they were coming) beset Braxton, Kenny came in and calmly drove the Buckeyes down for a score at a point it looked like the Buffalo Bulls were going to make things a little too close for comfort.

Seeing Shazier being carted off was not a fun sight.

The fact that Warren Ball only saw the field a few times and Bri’onte Dunn was a non-factor is very telling. Wilson clearly is ready to contribute and even though Ezekiel Elliot wasn’t given as many chances, it looks like he’ll contribute as well. Dunn looks to be the odd man out.

The defense has work to do, but not having Roby to lock down Buffalo’s Nuetz did force the Buckeyes to play Reeves off him and the Bulls took advantage. The D line looked fine and Grant looks like he has improved his aggressiveness and should also be fine. With Shazier limited, Roby out and Barnett hurt, it’s really hard to get a true read on the defense. We’ll see how they look next week.

Finally, there was an Aussie punter sighting! He doesn’t leave his feet and he’s still booming punts. Too bad he isn’t going to be used too much this year. It’s a shame to see that leg go under utilized.

What did you think?

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It’s almost here: we are less than twenty-four hours from kick-off in the beloved ‘Shoe. Yours and my 2013 Ohio State Buckeyes will begin their pursuit of a National Championship begins NOW.

On Fridays during the season, we will be holding these “Open Threads” where we’d love to hear your thoughts. We want to hear your prediction for the final outcome, which players you’ll be watching, what kind of things you’d like to see. We want to foster a community discussion about the up coming game and hear from you, our readers, and what you’re thinking about

We had a chance to chat with another fellow college football blogger at UB Bull Run, Ronnie looked at which players would be the most interesting to watch, Chip listed some things he’ll be interested in seeing during the game and lastly, we previewed the game. Jeremiah thinks we win 52-6. What do you think?

So hit the jump, watch that excellent Leadership video Ohio State Football put out, tell us your thoughts on the game, AND GO BUCKS!

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We’ll have our first preview of the season up shortly, as the Buckeyes prepare for the Buffalo Bulls, but before we get to that, we wanted to review our offensive position previews and how it will all come together on the field.

Offensive Line

The offensive line, for years a blight on Ohio State’s reputation, has come into its own. With Coach Warinner leading the charge, Ohio State’s offensive line has come together to form a cohesive, strong unit that returns everyone but last year’s right tackle.

Corey Linsley (while currently fighting an injury) will start at center, flanked by Marcus Hall and Andrew Norwell. The left side of that line is going to be, as they say, NASTY.

Jack Mewhort will protect Braxton’s blind (and back) side while Taylor Decker handles offensive tackle duties on the right side. Decker is the only newbie on the line and will have to justify his spot in the starting lineup early on. But it will be Mewhort who, as Garth said in his preview, will take on the leadership role of the line:

And what is more, many look at his leadership potential and suggest that the most valuable role he will play is one the veteran inherits–that of team emotional soul after the departure of John Simon from last year’s edition.

To quote Garth again, “Nothing in 2013 will be as beautiful to watch as Ohio State’s big uglies.”

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