The Ohio State Buckeyes face another tough road test against a rejuvenated Penn State team that regained traction with their threatening run offense.  A rivalry game with rabid and ruthless fans, decked in white causing another White Out against Ohio State.  This will be another hard-hitting rivalry game and Ohio State is yet again, the target for Penn State’s best effort or best shot.  Ohio State has its work cut out for them and this will be another stressful night for Buckeye fans.  For the second straight week the Buckeyes are on the road against a raucous crowd that is looking to give their home team an edge against the competition.
Ohio State
Coach Meyer and his staff will look to extend their road winning streak against the dreadful White Out conditions that will be in full effect upon their arrival to Happy Valley.  Urban Meyer as the Head Coach is currently 20-0 on the road and it has been that way for a couple of years now.  He now has his sights set on besting his record against a scrappy Penn State team that has won its last two games after a loss to TTUN.  This will not be an easy game and a cake walk is not expected in this contest.  The last two games against the Nittany Lions were two different types of games.  Last year was in Columbus and that was a snoozer of a game, the Buckeyes won handily by a 28-point margin 38-10.  Ezekiel Elliot ran wild during that game and racked up the yardage on the ground.  The year before that?  Ohio State escaped a White Out after the extra period on a walk-off sack by now San Diego Charger Joey Bosa 31-24.  This year looks to be the same after Saquon Barkley regained his confidence.  He will look to soften up the Silver Bullets and attempt to wear them out.  This, of course, would not be as easy because Dante Booker will return and he will look to reestablish himself into the lineup.
The Rushmen will be a key factor during the game. Â With Booker reinserted into the lineup and with the players such as Jerome Baker waiting in the wings, the Silver Bullets will more than likely keep a rotation to where no one is tired and fresh bodies will come into and out of the lineup. Â The BIA Crew will look to shut down the opposing Wide Receivers to help the front seven wreak havoc on the Penn State Offensive Line for the entirety of the contest. Â BIA or Best In America is cool and all, but I would like to put my two cents in and I would like to add my personal touch to it by finding a nickname for the unit. Â Most of the units on the team have awesome nicknames, The Slobs for the O-Line, The Rushmen for the D-Line, Zone 6 for the Wide Receivers, Tote Nation for the Running Backs and that leaves the Linebackers and Defensive Backs without a nickname. Â For the Linebackers and the Defensive Backs, jointly, they work well with each other and I will go ahead and call them the Scarlet Curtain, a tribute to the Pittsburg Steelers suffocating defense. Â Look for the Scarlet Curtain to blanket the offense and pepper them with unexpected blitzes from all angles. Â The Linebackers and the Defensive Backs will look to continue this years trend of causing turnovers and making plays in the backfield.
The Offense along with J.T. Barrett will be looking to rebound from another porous first half performance. Â Barrett and company turned it on in the second half against Wisconsin and even the 4th Quarter Jump Around session was no match for General Barrett and his second-half magic. Â Almost the whole Buckeye seemed to be dazed, but when Coach Meyer needed them the most, they all showed some fight and they eventually turned the tide. Â This week the Buckeyes will go up against another stout BIG 10 Defense that is going to give the Buckeyes their best shot. Â White Outs are a pain and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Â With the way the offense hasn’t been automatic, it should worry some folks, but we will have to see. Â The Slobs will look to establish the line of scrimmage and the run. Â Mike Weber should be able to find some holes, but again Penn State will look to take it away and force them to pass the ball. Â Samuel and Wilson will be used throughout the game as well. Â We never know and we will just have to see what they will do tomorrow.
Penn State:
During the last White Out game in Happy Valley, Ohio State barely escaped with a win. Â It took an extra period in Overtime on a walk-off sack to beat Penn State. Â If I remember correctly, Saquon Barkley was a huge factor in that very game and he is back again for another contest against the Buckeyes. Â He recently reestablished his presence in the run game and he is as confident as ever. Â He will look to gain huge chunks of yardage against the just as Corey Clement did when Wisconsin nearly upset the Buckeyes on their home field. Â I fully expect Trace McSorley to utilize his receivers on jet sweeps to confuse the Silver Bullets to open up the runs down the middle. Â McSorley is a scrambler and a passer and that could also be a factor in their strategy to defeat the Buckeyes. Â McSorley has 1436 passing yards and 8 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. Â Barkley has 582 rushing yards on 117 carries and 8 touchdowns. Â The leading receiver is DeAndre Thompkins and he has 328 receiving yards and a touchdown. Â The three will try to take down the Buckeyes and there is also a ton of intrigue behind the scenes as well. Â Receiver Chris Godwin, Quarterback Tommy Stevens and Tight End Mike Gesicki were all huge Buckeye targets that went elsewhere. Â Gesicki was the more outspoken out of the bunch and he will look to make an impact during the game.
Prediction: Â Buckeyes 41-21 Â
All in all, the Penn State team as a whole is just a dangerous as Wisconsin is because they are a rival and it is a BIG 10 contest. Â They will give it their best and they will put forth their best effort. Â I think they will play their best game and that will keep them within striking distance. Â The Buckeyes will struggle again through the air, but they will make up for it by wearing down the defense with their ground attack. Â I was to say this will be a blowout, but my predictions are always way off when the final score is recorded. Â I will predict another gutty performance by J.T. Barrett with help from Weber and Samuel.
The clash in Madison, Wisconsin between #2 Ohio State traveling on the road against a #8 Wisconsin who, earlier in the season upset LSU during the season opener at Lambeau Field. Wisconsin also played valiantly against TTUN and only lost that game by the same margin of 7 points.
This game had big College Football Playoff implications and both teams looked to solidify their standing within the College Football Playoff conversation. Ohio State and Quarterback J.T. Barrett added another hard fought, but yet impressive win against a raucous Wisconsin crowd that reacted relentlessly when their home team made a play on either side of the ball. They made their presence known and through all the adversity J.T. Barrett, Pat Elflein and Billy Price, the three offensive holdovers from last seasons Ohio State Offensive team proved to be valuable just as the game looked to get out of hand. After a poor first half and with a huge discrepancy with yardage gained compared to Wisconsin, the Buckeyes looked toward the three key cogs within their offensive scheme to compile positive plays to get the offense running smoothly and to right the ship that seemed to be on the verge of sinking. Although the yardage discrepancy looked insurmountable, J.T. Barrett took over in the second half, making huge impactful plays. one after another and he willed the Buckeyes toward victory. He finished throwing 17 of 29 passes for a modest 226 yards and a key touchdown pass during the overtime period of the game. Barrett also rushed 21 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns to aid in defeating the Badgers pesky defense that shut down the Buckeyes offensive attack during the first half leaving the then defeated Buckeyes with only 6 points by the end of the first half.  Once again the Buckeyes offensive playmakers failed to be less predictable and it showed. The loss of Tom Herman has left the remnants of their players with a far more conservative gameplan game after game and questions need to be answered before The Game because their passing deficiencies need to be addressed and improved because The Game could be for all the marbles this year. Although dependable playmakers such as Samuel, Wilson and Weber were “contained” they did manage to pick up key first downs and it proved that they can be depended on during big moments during a game.
J.T. Barrett wasn’t the only person who made plays when they counted the most. The entire Ohio State Defense made up for their lack of discipline and came back from the depths of oblivion. They weren’t tackling like they normally did throughout the season and they look visibly shaken for the first time and it showed. The halftime speech from Defensive Captains and the coaching staff had to be epic for the Silver Bullets to rebound the way that they did. They left the field during halftime with a 10-point deficit and they came back and allowed just 7-points during the second half which ended up as the first rushing touchdown surrendered by the Silver Bullets by way of a Fullback Dive play that caught the defense off-guard. They were ground up by Clements as he gashed the Buckeyes for huge chunks of yardage and it seemed like he would surpass the 164 yards that he ended the game with, but he looked visibly battered as he limped in-and-out of the offensive lineup. The Silver Bullets were also gashed on huge plays made by Jazz Peavy (6 rushes on the same play for 70-yards and 4 receptions for 76 and a 36-yard touchdown reception). The Badger Tight End Troy Fumgalli was also a huge part of the passing attack and he caught 7 passes for 84-yards, but he was held without a touchdown. Peavy and Fumagalli were both held in check during the entire second half because Coach Fickell and Schiano’s second half adjustments were to negate huge plays from those two Wisconsin playmakers and they succeeded. Factor that and the huge sacks during the second half and overtime victory, the young Buckeyes have grown from this near disaster. Gareon Conley also came up huge and his experience and with him being on of the three holdovers from last years squad, he was clutch for Urban Meyer and his unit. He ended with a single interception, but it should have been two. I am not an expert by any means, but I don’t understand it up to this very moment. A fumble was also not to be because Clement made contact with the ball when his elbow fell out of bounds. Again, I am not an expert but that was more plausible than the interception, but that is none of my business. There is still going to be some growing pains, but I think with these testy games against good competition against Indiana and Wisconsin, we will have to see where this leads and if they could execute better in the future.
Ohio State is coming off of a 21-point win against a Hoosier team that has exposed them a bit.  They played to their strengths, which is the run to make up for their lack of an effective passing attack.  The Buckeyes used a lot of eye candy to try to fool the Indiana Defense, but the were prepared.  They weren’t fooled by the constant movement by the Buckeye offensive playmakers and the constant shifts along the offensive side of things and it essentially shut off Ohio States ability to pass the football downfield.  Their inability to throw the ball is one of the biggest concerns for the Buckeyes and Coach Meyer and we will have to see if they can succeed against an experienced Badgers Secondary that is looking to further entrench themselves into the College Football Playoffs conversation.  The Buckeyes have a tall task on their hands because this Badger Defense has a ton of talent left over from the 59-0 shellacking that started the run to becoming the Inaugural College Football Playoff Champions.  Most Buckeye sites are claiming that a few still have that bad taste in their mouths and that they believe that it is their turn to embarrass the unbeaten Buckeyes squad that is young in just about every position on offense and on defense.  My biggest concern is that the Buckeyes aren’t an elite passing offense and that they will be one-dimensional.  The  Badgers will do their best to ensure this happens to increase their chances to secure a win, but we will see what Urban Meyer will do because he is a tactician during big games like this.  The Silver Bullets will be ready and luckily, they weren’t called out like the backup Oklahoma Quarterback did.  The bulletin board material was provided by former Badger Defensive Back Jim Leonhard.  He stated that the Buckeyes Receivers, namely Noah Brown “will not run away from you” and that no corner this season has “utlitlized the proper press technique” against him.  Basically saying that they run a “simple offense”.  I don’t know about you, but I see Coach Meyer mentioning this every chance he gets to J.T. Barrett and company.  I would like to see some offensive fireworks just like that BIG 10 Championship Game, but it is easier said than done and we will just have to see it live this Saturday.
Wisconsin is coming off a bye week and they had two weeks to prepare for the visiting Buckeyes. Â They suffered their first loss of the season to TTUN in what was a hard-hitting affair with TTUN outlasting the Badgers 14-7. Â The revamped Badgers Defense looks like a stiff test for the Buckeyes and the crowd will look to get their team into the swing of things. Â Their offense looked bleh against TTUN, but that might not be the case against the Buckeyes. Â The Buckeyes play similar to TTUN’s Defense and they could go player for player, at just about every position because both teams recruit well enough to stay dominant. Â The Quarterback position is the key part and we will have to see if he can withstand the pressure from the Buckeyes Defense, the Silver Bullets. Â The pressure will surely be turned up because the starter looked uncomfortable for the majority of the game against our Arch Rival. Â The strength of this Badger team is with their Defense. Â They match up similarly with the Silver Bullets, but with one major difference, Wisconsin is tied for 22nd in total sacks with 15 total and they average 3 per game. Â The Buckeyes Defense leads in Defensive Scores, Interceptions and Turnovers Forced. The Art of Defenses. Â This will be a test for both teams and the chip on the remaining BIG 10 Championship Game players shoulders will play an integral role during this game because it is the first time in two years since that beat down and they will look to return the favor.
The Buckeyes Defense was pretty good when they sorely needed a key stop. Â Although the Buckeye Offense put up numbers well below their season average, 383 total yards rushing and passing, they did their best and kept Indiana below their season averages, 281 combined. Â The offense gave up two turnovers, but the defense took it away twice and one was a pick-six, but it was negated due to a chop block during the return. Â This was a game where the defense looked like they were just going through the motions, expecting to show up and win, but for some reason, Indiana came out swinging for the fences and every time they hit the Buckeyes, the Buckeyes responded accordingly. Â This game baffles me. Â Indiana shouldn’t be in this, but like Jeremiah stated, Indiana IS the trap game, every year. Â They always play Ohio State close and although they eventually lost by 21 points, the game was much closer than the final score looked to be. Â There will be a lot of talk between the coaches and both units and I want them to be angry for the rest of the year. Â Like angry after the Virginia Tech and Michigan State losses angry and I think that they will get lit up by Urban Meyer because he looked furious. Let’s hope the Silver Bullets reload because again, it is only going to get harder as the season progresses on. It always seems like, during a couple of games, our offensive play callers seem to forget our strengths, our bread, and butter. Â This was close to last years Michigan State. Quarterback runs galore. Â Cute, ineffective trickeration, mass movement, you name it. Â Tim Beck and Ed Warriner tried it all. Â Hope they fix it prior to our date against TTUN. Â I am still a tad salty, but I still love my Buckeyes. Â Now, on to Wisconsin. Â O-H!!!
On the other side of the equation, you have Richard Lagow and Devine Redding. Â Lagow, a Junior from Plano, Texas has put up some eye-popping numbers so far this season. Â He is 79 of 127 for 1278 yards, with 9 touchdown passes against 6 interceptions. Â He completes 62% of his passes and has been sacked a total of 8 times so far. Â He threw 5 of his 6 picks against a scrappy Wake Forrest Defense that forced him to make errant throws en route to a 33-28 win on Indiana’s own home turf. Â If the Silver Bullets can force turnovers for the entirety of the game, they will be in good shape. The Buckeyes possess a stout defense that can turn offenses away and get to the Quarterback. Â It might take a little bit, but they will get what they want. Â At Running Backs Devine Redding returns and last season, he ground out 45 tough yards on 30 attempts for two scores and he will look for better results against a Buckeye Defense that made him earn every single yard from last year’s scrimmage. Â With just as many defensive weapons donning the Scarlet and Gray, we will see if the depth at every position prevents Redding from having a great game. Â The Buckeyes are a force to be reckoned with and they will impose their will against Indiana.
The Buckeyes rushing game was also highly effective, racking up 410 rushing yards on 53 carries for 4 scores.  Mike Weber led the way dicing up the Rutgers defense with 144 yards and a touchdown.  He scored on a 46-yard run and outran a host of defenders.  True Freshmen Demario McCall and Antonio Williams made the most of their opportunities when their numbers were called.  McCall showed his speed and he had 10 carries for 85 yards and a 39-yard scamper for a score.  Williams failed to score and he didn’t produce as much, but he toted the rock for 28 yards and the future sure looks bright for Ohio State at Running Back.  Receivers Parris Campbell and Johnnie Dixon both had one rush for 5-yards a piece, both for scores to put the game out of reach.  They will look to rebuild against Indiana prior to heading to Camp Randall Stadium and to Beaver Stadium.  With the lone road game being at Norman, Oklahoma, it is always interesting in the BIG 10.
Chris Ash spent two years at Ohio State coaching up the Defensive Backs.  During his tenure, he helped develop players such as Doran Grant, Eli Apple, Tyvis Powell and Vonn Bell.  He helped secure the commitments of some notable players like current players, Defensive End Jashon Cornell, Running Back Antonio Williams and Wideout K.J. Hill.  He brought in Safeties Isaiah Pryor and Brendon White for the 2017 Class.  He has proven that he was one of Ohio State’s best recruiters during his tenure and now that he is the head man at Rutgers, it is just a waiting game until he can stop the TTUN’s pipeline in the talent-rich state of New Jersey.  You can expect to see a lot of rugby-style tackles from the Scarlet Knights’ defense.  A lot of man to man defense.  A lot of press coverage.  I am not going to discredit Ash’s ability to turn a team around and I don’t plan on starting.
What if I had told you that sure, we lost Chris Ash to Rutgers, but we gained a former Rutgers Head Coach of 11 years and a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach in Greg Schiano? Â Well, it happened as quickly as Ash left for the Rutgers job. Â Greg Schiano basically built his career up from the dust during his tenure in Piscataway, New Jersey. Â He wasn’t known for flashy offenses, but he had a reputation for coaching high-caliber, highly effective defenses. Â He mirrors the defensive scheme that Coach Ash left behind. Â They both play man coverage and place their corners on islands. Â They both preach hard-nosed defense that covers opposing Wideouts for the duration of the play, so the front seven can put additional pressure on the Quarterback. Â The only difference? Â Coach Ash wanted to minimize big plays by shutting down the opposing offense, forcing punts. Â Coach Schiano craves and wants takeaways. Â Now seeing how Ohio State’s defense is leading the nation in takeaways and scoring defense, I think they responded accordingly without any dropoff in production.
. He has an almost identical numbers compared to Barrett. Â He has 647 passing yards with 5 touchdowns against two interceptions. The only difference is Laviano isn’t a Dual-Threat Quarterback. Laviano comes into the game with a 52% completion rating which isn’t good by any Head Coaches standards. Â Add that to the fact that he has been sacked 8 times, let’s just say that he might not like what the Silver Bullets have in store for him once he visits during Homecoming. Â He will look to take care of the ball and feed Robert Martin the rock to soften up the Buckeye Defense. Â It is easier said than done, but you never know in College Football. Â Things don’t always go according to plan and they MIGHT come in with a massive chip on their shoulders after they opened up as 38 point underdogs to start the new week.
The “Basic” Defense comes into the game after a convincing and satisfying win in Norman against a Sooners team that began the season as the #3 team in the nation. Â The Silver Bullets are back and they are feeding off of the mindset of Greg Schiano. Â They are looking for the takeaways and they sit at +11 and the #1 in the Nation In Takeaways. Â They will be going against a Rutgers offense that has struggled, so the results will vary, but I am feeling like since it is Homecoming at Ohio State, all bets are off. Â The Silver Bullets will look to put the pressure on early and often, forcing Laviano and his offense to struggle mightily. Â With no dependable Offensive Lineman on the roster, the Scarlet Knights might endure another long game. Â For what it’s worth, the Buckeyes are giving up 278 yards per game, 176 through the air and 102 on the ground so we will see if the Rutgers can get something going against a stout and loaded Ohio State Defense.
The Rutgers Defense is the polar opposite of the Ohio State Defense. Â They were lit up at Washington to open up the season and they currently are sitting at 2-2 coming into the game. Â The defense surrendered a total of 42 points combined to Howard University and New Mexico which doesn’t bode well for the Scarlet Knights because Ohio State is averaging 56.7 points per game through 3 games. Â They have a few sacks and interceptions, but they came during garbage time and against sub-par teams. The Rutgers will be tested early and often. Â I expect J.T. Barrett and company to run in down their throats until they find passing lanes, then before you know it the Buckeye reserves will gain some valuable playing after the game gets out of hand.
