Lack of focus would be the phrase to sum up the preparation and gameday execution of Illinois week. Coach Meyer admitted that he, the coaches, and the players were too focused on outside issues and lost the tunnel vision that they needed to come out and play well on Saturday. That lack of focus led to one of the Big Ten’s worst teams, Illinois, being within 9 points of the Buckeyes in the 4th quarter last Saturday. The Buckeyes would eventually pull away behind the running of Carlos Hyde, but for Coach Meyer and the whole program the message was received, take care of your task at hand and continue to block out anything else. This week, all hands will need to be on deck as a very explosive and talented Hoosier offense comes in to town on Senior Day in Ohio Stadium.

The Hoosiers Offensive Machine

Urban Meyer is an admirer of Kevin Wilson and believes Wilson was one of the early pioneers of the spread offense in college football. Wilson has this Hoosier offense making explosive plays through the air and on the ground. As a matter of fact, most would believe that this offense is predicated on a pass first philosophy, however, Wilson has developed this offense in to a run first, play action spread offense, with some option game mixed in. The Hoosiers have done a pretty decent job of obtaining balance in their offense. They rank 17th in the nation in pass offense, and 45th in the nation in rush offense according to ESPN.com.

The two quarterbacks that power this spread attack are Tre Roberson (5) and Nate Sudfeld (7) . Both quarterbacks possess quality arms. Sudfeld is the more accurate thrower, while Roberson can throw, but generally does a better job running the option aspect of this spread attack. Wilson will use both quarterbacks on Saturday. However, when Roberson is in the game the back seven will have to stay extremely disciplined since the Hoosiers run a lot of option with him, as well as run play action and take shots down field. When Sudfeld is in the game the pass rushers will have to be able to get home on their blitzes and rushes. Sudfeld can not be left sitting in the pocket or he will dissect a defense if he has time. Sudfeld possesses some mobility, however when he is in, if the Hoosiers want to run expect them to hand it off to their talented running backs Stephen Houston and Tevin Coleman.

Both of these backs are averaging around 7 yards a carry for the year, which should immediately get any defenses attention. Coleman is the every down back, while Houston will be used more in the option game and is a bit more explosive. The Hoosiers run game is nothing to scoff at as they have scored 23 rushing touchdowns this year and Houston, Coleman, and Roberson have accounted for 20 of those rushing TD’s. Getting Joshua Perry back for this game will be crucial, since the Buckeye linebackers can expect to have an extremely busy afternoon trying to defend not only this run game, but whatever play action the Hoosiers will try to run off of it.

The Hoosiers have two main targets when they run their play action and take shots down the field, Cody Lattimer and Shane Wynn. Lattimer is the most reliable of the receivers as he leads the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns, but Wynn could be the X-factor for the Hoosier’s offense this Saturday. Wynn was a big get for the Hoosiers out of high school as he came out of the Buckeye pipeline of Cleveland Glenville, but was never offered by the Buckeyes. Wynn is a very explosive and elusive player who can get in space quickly and create havoc. Preventing him from getting yards after the catch will be vital. Add in receivers Koffi Hughes, who is second in the team in receptions (35) and third in touchdowns (6), and Ted Bolser who has 30 receptions and 5 touchdowns on the year, and the Buckeye secondary will have their hands full on Saturday.

Expect Ohio State to play a lot of nickel and dime this week. Indiana’s only hope to keep this game close is to force a shootout like they did last year. The Buckeye defense as a whole needs to play at a high level this week. While this Hoosier team seems to play poorly when they go on the road, their previous success against Ohio State last year will provide them with some confidence going in to The Shoe. Tackling, rushing the passer, preventing deep plays, and preventing yards after the catch will be extremely vital for the Buckeye defense if they want to have success in stopping the Hoosier offense.

Hoosier Defense May Want to Hyde

Indiana does not have a quality defense. I could do my best coach speak impersonation and try and name some guys that could give the Buckeyes trouble, but there aren’t many. David Cooper, linebacker, is the Hoosiers best player, but he’s only the teams leading tackler. He doesn’t do much in pass defense or rushing the passer. Therefore, Buckeye nation should expect a very productive day from the Ohio State offense.

Tom Herman likes to utilize Braxton’s arm strength and stretch the defense by taking multiple shots downfield, which stretches the defense and provides more running lanes for Hyde. He tried to do that last week, however the wind did not cooperate which led to Braxton’s average completion percentage, and the Buckeye offense getting behind the chains, and stalling out at times. Herman needs to be patient with the deep ball. Running Hyde, Wilson, and Miller isn’t always the most terrible option. Wisconsin proved last week that running the football against the Hoosiers is a great way to set up the rest of the offense. I would expect Herman to do some self evaluating this past week, and give himself a shorter leash on how often they throw deep. That’s not saying that Herman will go in to a shell with the offense, but he wants the offense to operate as efficiently as possible so expect more intermediate throws that have the potential to be explosive rather than straight shots down the field.

As I said, Hyde and Miller should absolutely destroy this Hoosier defense. Wilson has said he wants to focus on Hyde, but that probably means giving Miller open running lanes which isn’t the wisest idea either. Running the football early and often for this offense would probably do it some good as it could keep the explosive IU offense at bay for a while, and give the Buckeye defense some rest. I would expect this offense to try and link drives together on Saturday if the defense seems like they can’t handle the IU offense. If they fail to do this then expect a similar shootout to last year.

Breakout Buckeyes

Coach Wilson, during the weekly Big Ten teleconference, already sounded concerned with the amount of play makers Ohio State has. This reminded me of Darrell Hazell’s comments prior to the Purdue game. What does that mean? I believe we will see another explosive performance from tight end Jeff Heuerman on Saturday. The easiest way to attack a poor defense is up the middle. If Herman wants to throw deep, he will need to have the Hoosier defense focused on Hyde and Heureman in the middle of the field in order for his receivers to win their one on one battles on the outside.

Also, according to Meyer Dontre Wilson deserves to be receiving more touches, generally that means, we will get Dontre the ball more. I would think Dontre can expect some opportunities running, receiving, and even returning in this game. He should have some success against this Indiana defense especially with the focus generally being on Hyde and Miller. Ezekiel Elliott may also see time in this game depending on how close this is.

Under the Radar Match-ups

The Hoosiers kicking game is one of the more efficient in the conference. Wilson is not afraid to have his kicker kick 40+ yard field goals if they are in range. The Buckeye defense tends to become very stingy in the red zone. If Indiana’s kicking game is successful it may help them stick around in the game, however if they kick too often and their defense surrenders too many touchdowns, the Hoosier will find themselves in a blowout.

Last week the Buckeyes surrendered their first punt return for a touchdown to one of the nations best returners. This week they will face Tevin Coleman who is a threat in the kick return game. The coverage teams have been pretty banged up, which has led to offensive players being taught how to properly tackle this past week. Watch out for Coleman in the return game to see if he has any success against this banged up unit.

This week the Buckeyes host the Indiana Hoosiers and their electrifying pass attack. The Buckeyes also host the abysmal Hoosier defense, as well as recognizing the Buckeye seniors in their last home game in The Shoe. Thank you to all of the seniors (and Roby and Shazier) for providing Buckeye Nation with your heart, body, and soul during your years at Ohio State, and good luck to all of you in the NFL or other endeavors. Now, lets get to some players to look out for on Saturday.

Indiana

Nate Sudfeld, Quarterback #7- Sudfeld is an imposing quarterback at 6’5 230 pounds. He’s got a powerful arm, is very accurate throwing the ball down-field, and even has a little mobility in him. He will be one of the best quarterbacks the Buckeyes will face this year not only because of his physical gifts, but also because of his knowledge and comfort in this offense. Sudfeld has had a very good year stat wise as he’s thrown for over 2,200 yards, 19 touchdowns, and has a 60% completion percentage. However, Sudfeld has had accuracy issues this season, especially away from home. While at home Sudfeld has an average completion percentage of 66.1, and has thrown for 18 touchdowns. Away from home Sudfeld has thrown for an abysmal 43.7% completion rate, one touchown, and two interceptions. For the Buckeye’s secondary, they can only hope he continues his sub par play away from home.

Tevin Coleman, Running back #6- Coleman did not play last week against Wisconin due to an ankle issue and is unsure whether or not he will go this week. Before his injury, Coleman was racking up stats comparable to Carlos Hyde. Coleman is averaging 7.3 yards per carry, as well as running for 12 touchdowns and 958 yards. In November, Coleman is averaging 11.1 yards per carry, and has ran for 3 touchdowns. Coleman is an all-purpose back, which will require the Buckeye linebackers to pay attention to him in the passing game as well. The Buckeye rush defense has been pretty stout this season, however, without Grant and Perry playing last week Shazier was the only linebacker who was able to make plays, which allowed the Illini backs to gain chunk yards occasionally. Good news for the Buckeyes is that Perry is listed as probable for the game Saturday, and is the Mike linebacker for the Buckeyes in their nickel defense. He should provide a little more run support for the Buckeye D and continue to improve his play.

Cody Latimer- This offense may be the last offense the Buckeye secondary wants to see after their continued struggles this season. Latimer is another big time wide out who will present a serious challenge to the Buckeye corners Roby and Grant. Latimer is 6’3, 215 pounds with good speed, and a quality pair of hands. Latimer has 60 receptions this year, for 926 yards, and 8 touchdowns. He’s a very good route runner and is Sudfeld’s favorite target. So far this season against the oppositions number one receiver the Buckeyes have consistently failed in locking down the quarterbacks main target. Latimer will have to be kept in check this weekend if the Buckeyes want to hold this offense down.

Ohio State

Carlos Hyde- Hyde should have a monster game again this Saturday. It will not only be his senior game, but also his opportunity to become Coach Meyer’s first thousand yard rusher. Hyde could easily go for 250 yards again this week, just go watch the Wisconsin-IU game from last weekend. I will be interested to see how long Hyde is left in. If the game remains close Hyde will run in to the fourth quarter and could put up stats that you can’t even rack up on NCAA ’14.

Devin Smith- Smith has been quiet this season. He had early success in the non-conference schedule, but since then his explosiveness has been kept in check for the most part. Against this defense Smith should have an explosive day. The offense will have plenty of opportunities to push the ball down-field, as long as the weather cooperates. Look for Smith to have one or two big time plays this week that will stretch this Hoosier defense out to open more run lanes for Hyde and Miller.

Bradley Roby, or just the Buckeye secondary in general- Seriously, if this secondary can’t hang with the likes of Illinois or Indiana, I can’t imagine what Jameis Winston or AJ McCarron will do to it. This will be a huge test for this unit. Last years game should weigh heavily on their minds as they were absolutely embarrassed by the Hoosiers. The Buckeye secondary needs to break up passes early, stay disciplined on run action, and stay focused for the whole duration of the play and game. If they do not it will be a long senior day, and the Hoosiers could pose another upset bid.

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

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

If you haven’t seen this yet, then go ahead and join the rest of Buckeye Nation in shaking our collective head at its brazen absurdity:

That’s right, in a game that Baylor was losing for most of an eventful first quarter, the Bears “rolled.” Meanwhile, in a game in which Ohio State never trailed, the Buckeyes “survived.”

Who cares what some ESPN online headline writer says? Well, some people do. And beyond that, you’d be surprised how influential a little subtle rhetoric can be.

As you know, we’re still saddled with a ridiculous system that forces poll voters and computer algorithms to dissect and compare every butt-whooping handed out each weekend to decide which team’s humiliation reflects better on the team that kicked sand in their face for three and half hours. Some of those voters are active football coaches, who are easily the group of people with the least amount of time to devote to such a task.

So they don’t.

It’s no secret that most coaches don’t even fill out their own ballots. They shove that job off on the SID to shut him up about how they haven’t filled out their ballot yet. Maybe they give him some vague instruction like “vote us #2.” It’s crunch time, so the SID pulls up ESPN.com to see what everybody did this week and adjusts last week’s rankings accordingly. This is the point in time where “rolls” vs. “survives” can have an enormous impact. And it’s not even close to being correct.

Now, this may cease to be a problem next year when the playoff starts and the Coaches’ Poll no longer has a direct impact on the rankings, but still, it would be nice to have something to glance at that would tell the story of a game better than a simple final score or suspiciously worded caption can, wouldn’t it?

As it happens, I have just the thing for us. A very simple and basic tool that works surprisingly well: The Average Score. The Average Score is exactly what it says it is, the average of every score that occurs during a game. Essentially, we take each scoring change from a recap like this, and then, you know, average them out.

Using this approach, we get the “scores” of Ohio State 36, Illinois 17 and Baylor 29, Texas Tech 23. The difference in the two games is now readily apparent. Ohio State never relinquished the lead and was never fewer than 12 points ahead (besides the beginning of the game, obviously). Meanwhile, Baylor once trailed by 13 and was only up by 8 at the half. Despite ending with remarkably similar scores, Baylor clearly did not “roll,” nor did Ohio State merely “survive.” And with Average Scores, we would never have made those assumptions.

In case you’re wondering, other average scores from last week include Alabama 12, Mississippi State 4; Florida State 36, Syracuse 0; and Michigan 11, Northwestern 10.7.

1.) Ohio State (10-0)- Beat Illinois 60-35. A lot of people will complain about 35 points given up (7 of which were from a punt return TD.) The fact that OSU went on the road in a trophy game and scored 60 points and won by 25 should be celebrated and not have to be defended by OSU fans.

2.) Michigan State (9-1)- Beat Nebraska 41-28. A great road win in an intimidating atmosphere. The Spartans continue to improve and look like they are destined to face OSU in the B1G CCG in 3 weeks.

3.) Wisconsin (8-2)- Beat Indiana 51-3. Wisky had 3 RBs go for over 100 yards rushing each. The defense shutdown a potent Indiana offense for the entire game. This was their best and most complete game of the year.

4.) Minnesota (8-2)- Was on a BYE this week.

5.) Nebraska (7-3)- Lost to MSU 41-28. Nebraska did what few have done lately… They scored a lot of points and moved the ball well on the MSU defense. Unfortunately the defense regressed back to early season letdown form.

6.) Penn State (6-4)- Beat Purdue 45-21. Bill O’Brien added a victory to his resume although who hasn’t beaten Purdue?

7.) Iowa (6-4)- Was on a BYE this week.

8.) Michigan (7-3)- Beat Northwestern 27-19. Hey look you won. Then again you looked absolutely dreadful in doing so. The offense is anemic and the defense is worn out with very little depth. They head on the road to face a tough Iowa team before hosting THE GAME in 10 days.

9.) Indiana (4-6)- Lost to Wisconsin 51-3. The Hoosiers got blown out and there is nothing positive to take from this game. The worst part is they go on the road to face the Buckeyes next.

10.) Northwestern (4-6)- Lost to Michigan 27-19. The Wildcats lost another heartbreaker. This time in Triple OT to the much hated Wolverines. Eventually Coach Fitz needs to win some of these games or he will get fired.

11.) Illinois (3-7)- Lost to Ohio State 60-35. Got in the way of the OSU train this week and got run over. Their offense has grown in spades from last year. The defense has a lot of room to improve.

12.) Purdue (1-9)- Lost to Penn State 45-21. Purdue is still in need of a lucky break and something good to happen to turn things in a positive direction. Maybe playing Illinois this week will help?

A huge issue whirling around NCAA athletics is whether college athletes should get paid or not. Many argue that the pay they receive is a free education. I believe with the money colleges and broadcasting networks make, college athletes should be getting paid. It seems unfair how these colleges and networks make money off college athletes and don’t pay them a dime. College athletics are producing revenues that they have never received, it is time to start paying the people that earn them their revenue.

The problem is that many athletes do not have any “side” money. A lot of the athletes would not be attending the school they attend if it was not for their scholarship. Playing as a Division One athlete is basically a full time job. Between practice, games, working out, film and anything else a college athlete does on top of studying, there is no time for an athlete to get a part time job. So, what happens if an athlete wants to go out and grab pizza with a friend? He won’t, because he does not have any money to spend due to his time spend on athletics. I am not saying athletes should be getting paid hundreds of dollars each week. Just enough to have some “side” money and to spend on enjoyment.

To solve this issue, the NCAA should provide colleges money to pay their athletes. In 2011-2012 the NCAA had revenue of 871.6 million dollars (Terbush). College athletes’ revenue was a big 0. The NCAA can definitely afford to pay out a couple bucks to each college to pay athletes. Student- athletes should see a piece of the huge pile of money that the NCAA generates off of them.

Also, I believe that every athlete should get paid the same amount. Star running back or bench warmer, each athlete should receive the same pay. If a certain athlete received more money than another athlete than it would become a problem. Athletes would all demand more money especially if one of their teammates are making more than them. There would be no point of the NCAA if this happens, the NCAA would seem as if it was a “pre” NFL for the players. To sum my point up, every college receives equal pay to pay every single athlete equal salaries.

In conclusion, I believe that the NCAA is ripping off these student athletes. There is no reason why the NCAA shouldn’t put out a small amount of their large fortune. Due to the 700,000 dollar ad rate for thirty seconds commercial time during March Madness, the NCAA as a whole would make 6 billion annually. I am not saying hire and employ these athletes. Just justify them with a small salary from all the money they generate.

WORKS CITED: “Should NCAA Athletes Be Paid?” US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. Terbush, Jon. “Is It Finally Time to Start Paying College Athletes? – The Week.” The Week. The Week, 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.

– I took a new approach to this weeks top 25 poll. I ranked the teams based on how they would be ranked if this was 1997 and not 2013. Bare with me you see with today’s atmosphere in CFB voting there is a perceived notion that voters can determine who the best teams are based solely on how their conference is perceived. There was a time and place when voters weren’t biased and didn’t openly share their biasness in an open forum at the minimum. In todays day and age the voters could care less about wins and losses. They care about spreading their agenda and forcing their views onto the rankings and convincing anyone who will listen that they are the end all and be all of great wisdom about CFB.

– It wasn’t that long ago that a teams performance was the judge for how they were ranked. Would Bama be considered the top team in the country beating a 4-6 (1-5) Miss State 20-7? Would Florida State jump OSU based on beating Clemson? Or how about the 2nd best team they beat this year was Bethune-Cookman?

– All you hear right now is Strength Of Schedule… Yes OSUs schedule is bad this year. Some of that has to do with OSU beating everyone they faced. What you don’t hear is Baylor’s is worse or FSUs and Bamas are barely better. Yes the great SEC is not giving Bama the bump in their SOS to even get their rating in the top 40 teams in the country.

– We live in a bizarre world where I feel the need to defend a team that has won 22 games in a row and scored 60 points and won by 25 on the road against a rival team. Truly Bizarre!!!

– So I went back to the last time I remember the BCS formula being non-existent and voters bias not being a badge of honor for them.

– In my opinion until the NCAA goes to a true playoff of 16 or more teams we will never be able to take the “human” aspect out of the decision making process and even then it may not work. What says you? How would you rank the teams this week?

OSU lowered the boom on Illinois 60-35 as Carlos Hyde beastballed his way for 246 yards and 4 TDs.

Miller added another 184 yards of his own on the ground, but struggled in the passing game in the gusty Champaign winds. Also struggling was the OSU defense, giving up almost 300 passing yards to Nate “Grandpa” Scheelhaase. (Is it just me, or hasn’t he been playing since about 1990?)

The Buckeyes started and finished at full throttle – a point that will likely go unnoticed by the talking heads. After going up by four touchdowns, the team lost focus and allowed the Illini to chip away at the lead. The game didn’t officially become in-hand until a 9-point swing in the 3rd quarter when OSU converted a safety and a subsequent TD back-to-back.

As much as fans may wish all OSU games could be as easy as the past few; a game like this is a good thing. The defense clearly was suffering from a bit of hubris after its domination of the B1G bottom feeders these past few weeks. Getting punched in the mouth, and being forced to respond, is good for this team as it continues to prepare to play real teams in the months ahead.

But the story of this game should be about Carlos “El Guapo” Hyde. Benched for the first part of the game (rumors indicated he missed a class this week), he still managed 246 yards in just over two-and-a-half quarters of football. He’s now about 50 yards shy of a 1000 for the season, a stat that of course should be considered in the context of him not playing the first three games against OSU’s weakest opponents. Had Guapo not been suspended earlier this season, there’s a very good chance he’d be at least a 1500 yard back this year.

Next week, Hyde should easily eclipse the 1000 mark, and perhaps exceed Keith Byars’ and Eddie George’s TD records. Most appropriately, he will likely do so during his last home game at the Shoe.

Stay tuned to MotSaG… Chip will have a more in-depth analysis of the game to be posted tomorrow.