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.

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.

STYLE POINTS — WHO NEEDS ‘EM? Urban Meyer certainly doesn’t care about them. This isn’t Dancing with the stars. Tom Herman doesn’t care for them, either:

Do the fans want to see everything they saw in the first quarter in the fourth quarter? Absolutely. Good for them. But it’s not going to happen. We have a responsibility to win the game. We don’t have a resposibility to put up ‘x’ number of points or ‘x’ number of yards. There were certainly very justifiable reasons for approaching the game the way we did there in the fourth quarter

Good for them, indeed. Let’s let the coaches do their and we do our job: support our team and be happy with SEVENTEEN FREAKING STRAIGHT WINS.

WERE THEY WATCHING THE SAME GAME? Football Outsiders ranks Ohio State #5, which is fine, they’re a top five team and all that. They’re also right that Braxton Miller reasserted his position as the starting quarterback of the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes. They were even on-point highlighting Chris Borland’s outstanding 16-tackle performance. But I’m not in total agreement with their review of Roby’s performance:

With slightly higher stakes on the line Saturday, Roby was back to All-American form against Wisconsin, accounting for eight tackles (one for loss), three passes defended and the only takeaway of the game, a third-quarter interception that set up Ohio State’s final touchdown.

Roby wasn’t the only reason that Jared Abbrederis ran wild to the tune of 200 yards. But he certainly isn’t blameless, either. Am I missing something?

BRAXTON NOT THROWING IN THE HEISMAN TOWEL: This is the kind of thing you have to love to read from a player of Braxton Miller’s caliber, going through what he’s gone through so far this season:

“The way we keep playing as a team as a whole, I feel like there’s all types of awards guys can get during that time,” Miller said. “I’m just going to play my game, keep leading the guys, and hopefully I’ll be looking forward to it after the season.”

I sometimes wonder if Ohio State fans would be okay with Braxton Miller not winning the Heisman as long as Johnny Manziel doesn’t win it and become the second two-time Heisman Trophy Winner. I think we all wanted to see Braxton take home the bronze statue, both because he’s a great Buckeye but also because Archie Griffin’s record needs to stand alone (at least until another Buckeye matches it).

JOHNSTON: AUSTRALIAN FOR PUNTER I have often lamented to Jeremiah that I sure wish Ohio State would look out West (WAY OUT WEST) and recruit some Pacific Islander football players, getting the guys that USC and Utah and the like always seem to find. Give the Buckeyes a little international flair. But let’s not forget Ryan Pretorius, the South African place kicker. And hey, you never know how hard Ohio State will pursue Hjalte Froholdt. But for now, Cameron Johnston will just have to give us our international representation:

Johnston’s grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to American soil. They attended Ohio State’s season opener against Buffalo.

“It was great having them for the first game and they loved it,” Johnston said. “They thought it was a great experience. They’ve never really seen anything like it before.”

AND WHAT NOT: Yeah, you’ll be seeing this in your nightmares.

This year for my annual soul-crushing Fraud List, I’ve enlisted the help of this handy page from the folks at teamrankings.com. Using their projections in conjunction with my own observations from past years, I hope to produce the most accurate group of potential fraud teams yet.

A “Fraud Team” is a team that reaches the sixth week of the season undefeated and then finishes the year with at least five losses. There are usually 2 or 3 such teams each season. This list projects the five most likely candidates for 2013.

1. Michigan

It’s a tight race between two teams from the Big Ten Legends division, but the Wolverines get the nod (or whatever the opposite of a nod is) for their uncanny resemblance to last year’s WVU team. While they’ve continued to win, their margin of victory has gone down each week, regardless of opponent quality. The last thing we saw Michigan do was almost lose to UConn, who just fired their coach. Let that sink in.

2. Northwestern

The Wildcats’ first three FBS opponents have won a total of three games so far. Their remaining eight have lost a total of seven. It’s the biggest disparity among remaining undefeated teams and it could bring the Nerds’ season crashing down.

3. UCLA

The Bruins have a good win over Nebraska, but that’s probably not going to help them with the less defensively-challenged Stanford and Oregon. Resurgent Washington and Arizona State will pose problems heading into the rivalry game with a suddenly-unpredictable USC team.

4. Missouri

The Tigers have had a nice start to the season following last year’s rocky initiation into the SEC, but now have to navigate a conference slate that includes Georgia, Florida and South Carolina in consecutive weeks and a season-ender against Texas A&M.

5. Houston

Two AAC teams–Louisville and Houston–are currently undefeated and something’s going to have to give. The conference isn’t exactly full of world-beaters, but expect the Cougs to end up with three or four losses this year.

Keep An Eye On: Maryland, Texas Tech, Washington.

The next three teams on the list, these unbeatens are probably good enough to stay under four losses, but any unforeseen negative development could tip things out of their favor.

For the second straight week, Ohio State is a participant in ESPN’s “Game of the Week”.  Same time, different place and opponent.  This time we’re on the road against the Northwestern Wildcats.  This will be a massive test for the Buckeyes, so lets take a look at some of the players that you should keep an eye on Saturday, who will effect the outcome of the game.

Northwestern 

The Dual QB system- Kaine Colter (#2) and Trevor Siemian (#13) are the two quarterbacks Ohio State will be prepping for this week.  Colter is the dual threat QB who is more likely to burn you on the ground, than through the air.  So far this season Colter is averaging 6.1 yards per rush, and only 7.6 yards per attempt.  He’s recorded 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions against the likes of Cal, Main, and Western Michigan.  However, he does have the Manziel look and elusiveness when he runs.

Siemian’s statistics aren’t much better.  He’s the passing quarterback in this system and he’s recorded 9.6 yards per attempt with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.  He is fairly accurate, and he can move out of the pocket and gain a few yards with his legs.  However, his effectiveness, along with Colter’s has been limited this year.  The reason for these quarterbacks lack of production is mainly due to the absence of their All Big Ten running back and utility man, Venric Mark.

Venric Mark, Running Back #5-  Mark is the key to the success of this offense.  While his injury has not been disclosed, it has held him out since the opener against Cal, which leads me to believe either the injury was serious, or Fitzgerald has been saving him for this game.  Mark is an electric, powerful running back, who can tear apart any defense he faces.  While the Buckeyes have staked their claim as a very good front seven against the run, they have yet to face a triple threat attack like Mark, Siemian, and Colter, who can punish you on the ground or through the air.  Mark will be available in some capacity this Saturday, according to Cats head coach Pat Fitzgerald.  However, he was listed as the starter, and I expect to see Mark in the game early and often.

Just to give you guys some idea of what Mark is capable of, here are is stats from last year: 226 rushes, 1366 yards, 12 touchdowns, 6 yards per rush, 20 receptions, 104 yards, 1 touchdown, and finally, 15 kick/punt returns for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He’s an extremely versatile weapon, that may cause Ohio State fits if they don’t contain him  If that isn’t enough, check out his highlight reel, to the theme of “Sharknado”.

Ohio State

Ryan Shazier-  If there is a dangerous weapon in the opponents backfield, it seems to be the common theme to assign that guy to Ryan Shazier.  Shazier loves the challenge of facing great, versatile running backs.  As previously stated, Mark is fast north and south, and he can also make you miss in open space.  If he breaks the first level of contain, Shazier will need to track him down, and prevent him from creating any serious damage.  I also expect Shazier to cover Mark coming out of the backfield, as Northwestern likes to use him in the passing game as well, either  as a dump off, or on wheel routes.  Shazier has the speed and talent to cover Mark, but he will have to be on his A game in order to negate the impact of Mark on the game.

Corey “Pittsburgh” Brown-  He’s the “other Corey Brown” in the Ohio State program.  Coach Coombs and Meyer have pegged Brown as the leading candidate to step in and replace senior leader Christian Bryant.  While the decision will ultimately come from Coach Withers, I’m expecting Brown to be pegged as the starter.  Brown has the most experience at the position, and when facing a pretty difficult offense to defend, experience will be key in this game.  I don’t think there is a huge drop off from Bryant to Brown in talent, in fact Brown may even be a better cover safety than Bryant.  However, the leader, and brains, of the Buckeye defense has a broken ankle, and while I don’t expect Brown to fill that role completely, he is a senior and he will be expected to step up in some capacity.

Devin Smith-  Week by week, Smith has been turning in to a legit, big time wide receiver.  He’s already recorded 20 receptions, for 335 yards, and 5 touchdowns through 5 games, averaging 16.6 yards per catch.  Last year Smith had 30 receptions and 6 touchdowns for the whole season!  He’s not just a deep threat anymore, he is developing in to a real wide receiver.  His routes have been sharp, and his ability to burn coverage deep, has opened up the short curls and outs underneath.  This guy is becoming a real play-maker and safety valve for Braxton.  His big plays, and consistency, will be needed this week.  Northwestern will provide a very hostile environment, and as Buckeye fans witnessed Saturday in the first half, Herman wants to take deep shots early and often.  If Smith can reel in one, or two, of those deep balls they may be able to tame that atmosphere.

Now that Smith is executing sharp quick routes, expect his routes to evolve in to double moves, which will drive secondaries nuts.  Northwestern’s defense is already pretty bad, if Smith can continue to provide consistent play for this offense, and also hit a home run once or twice, expect him to have a monster day Saturday.

As always, presented without comment.

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

(H/T to Jerry Emig @BuckeyeNotes)

Good morning Buckeye Nation.

May Hate: Just because its always great to rub it into Mark May of the four letter network when ever he’s wrong in his predictions and he is always wrong when it comes to picking against the Buckeyes. Mark May picked Wisconsin over The Ohio State University and we know how that ended.

Stupid May Buckeyes are for grown ups not for immature haters!!

Airport Termination: This isn’t Buckeye related except maybe Tom Herman’s might get thrown into the mix. Lane Kiffin was fired when the team arrived back in Southern Cali, at the airport. They didn’t even wait for him to make it back to USC facilities, kind of funny karma is.

Scouting Craft: Since Basketball practice has officially started across the NCAA Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report has a nice write up on Aaron Craft and his high school scouting report. I know its football season but I can’t wait to see the Buckeyes hit the hardwood this winter.

Add another Buckeye: PG Asia Doss from the D in Michigan has verbally committed to the Buckeyes. Coach Kevin McGuff keeps reeling in strong recruits for his 2014 class. Welcome to Buckeye Nation Asia glad to have you wear the scarlet and gray.

Buckeye Class: Dom Tiberi is a long time sports anchor for WBNS-TV in Columbus. Tiberi has had to suffer through the tragedy of losing his 21 year old daughter , Maria Elizabeth Tiberi, earlier this month. Before kickoff of the FAMU game there was a moment of silence for the Tiberi family and the Buckeyes wore stickers on their helmets with the letters MT to honor Maria.

Dom returned to the ‘Shoe for the first time since this tragedy and as you can tell by the video it is very moving. Almost all the players on the Buckeye team stopped by and gave him a hug. I have never met Dom but from everything I have heard this gentleman is the nicest and greatest person to be around. Here at MotSaG we would like to send our condolences.

Until next time Buckeye nation…