Search Results for: stiff arm of justice

Nine Reasons Why the Buckeyes Will Win

September 11, 2008 by 1 Comment

This is more like it.

Time for a gut check. We talked about all the reasons why the Buckeyes will lose to USC. Not a fun thing to do, but let’s not ignore reality. USC is a great team. They’re favored by ten points. It’s going to be a dog fight. But Ohio State is a great team, too. Here are a few reasons why the Buckeyes will win this Saturday.

Reasons why OSU will beat USC

PSU Boeckman shows up – There’s no shortage of criticism right now being leveled at 6th year senior Todd Boeckman. Most of it is fairly deserved criticism, some of it maybe not. Either way, Boeckman’s recent performances, going back to last year, have been less then stellar. Against lesser competition, Boeckman has shone. But his best moments were last year in hostile Beaver Stadium where he went 19 for 26 with 253 yards and 3 TDs. Up to that point, there were still a lot of questions about the offense and Boeckman. He was lights out. Now he has let those doubts bubble back up. After lackluster passing the past two games, we’re worried about USC. We need PSU Boeckman to make an appearance. If the game comes down to Boeckman’s arm and it’s PSU Boeckman, we have a very good chance.

Beanie is 100% – This is a no-brainer. If Beanie is wielding the Stiff Arm of Justice to great effect, running over so many Trojans, we all breathe a sigh of over-burdened relief. If he is able to cut and plant on his gimpy toe, the future will be bright. Blue blockers may even be necessary. We’ll know in the first few snaps (I don’t think we go to Beanie on our first offensive play) if Beanie really is up for the “45 carries”. If he is and he’s chewing up yardage, keeping USC capable offense of the field, things will be looking UP. WAY UP.

Jenkins and Chekwa/Washington shut down USC’s WRs – Turner and Hazelton are fast and are improving over last year’s performance. With Sanchez’s accurate arm, these guys are dangerous. We know Jenkins can shut down anyone in the country, but he also is prone to taking chances and occasionally biting on fakes. Whoever starts at the other side is going to be tested early. Both Washington and Chekwa are capable, but they need to be ready. USC is going to try to run the ball early and I think the Buckeyes will need 8-9 guys focused on stopping the run, leaving the CBs on islands. If Jenkins and Chekwa lock down the USC WRs, the rest of the D is more than capable of stopping the running game, putting USC between a rock and a hard place. (That hard place being Cameron Heywards biceps)

The OL actually blocks someone – This is definitely my biggest question mark. Do we have elite linemen or not? Besides Alex Boone, is anyone going to step up and push some people around? The D-line for USC is not small. Head’s and shoulders above the OU cats. If the OL is opening holes (for Beanie or Boom or anyone) then OSU can win. An elite RB like Beanie is able to hide certain defeciencies of an offensive line but the younger backs cannot. That front push is tantamount. We need fire-cracker fights, not pillow fights. Oh, and protect Boeckman. That’d help too.

The Brynamic Duo get separation – Robo and Hartline, WRU? Seeing a wide open Brian (take your pick) frequently will go a long way in making PSU Boeckman’s day a lot easier.

Special Teams or defense scores – Long field goals with time expiring, punt returns, interception returns. Take your pick. If one of more happens, then we will win this game. Almost certainly. Ray Small, show that you not only are a better man, but that you are also learning how to play football. Your time is now.

Imaginitive playcalling (both sides) – I mentioned this previously, but it bares repeating. Imgainative playcalling is so important. Mostly on the offensive side, but the defense could use an attitude adjustment. Heacock has said he’s going to unleash the defense. Let’s see it. Blitz blitz blitz and stop playing so much soft friggen zone. PLS.

USC inexperience at OL – This has been one weakness if the ES(EC)PN wonks have been quick to point out — USC has a relatively inexperienced offensive line. They’ve only played one game together, against a cream-puff defensive line. Our D-linemen should be licking their chops. If the USC O-linemen show their inexperience, we win. And so does Mark Sanchez’s orthopedic surgeon.

The Terrell Pryor X-factor – You knew it was coming. Finally, the Terrell Pryor factor. I’m still a huge proponent of giving him a significant role in the game. Situations where he can only help (early 2nd quarter snaps, first-and-goal). I’m also a firm believer that Tressel has something up his sweatervest. Something

So I’m stopping there. But don’t let me stop you. Fill up the comments with many more reasons why the Buckeyes will be USC.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With:

Six Reasons Why the Buckeyes Will Lose

September 11, 2008 by 4 Comments

I don’t want to do this, but I must.

Contrary to what the rest of the country would have you believe, the Buckeyes have a chance against USC on Saturday. But as delusional as we Buckeye fans can be, we can’t ignore the 295 pound Samoan in the room. There’s a good chance Ohio State will lose to USC. AS much as it pains me to do this, here’s a list of reasons why the Buckeyes will lose on Saturday.

Blech, this is making me sick to my stomach, so let’s get this one over with and move on.

Reasons why OSU will lose to USC

The two headed hydra of Cushing and Maualuga go off – The entire USC defense is good, but Maualuga is a manimal and Cushing is no slouch. If Maualuga is having his way with Beanie & Co., blowing up everything in sight, that most certainly spells certain doom for the Buckeyes. No running game means game-over for the Buckeyes.

Then again, there is this:

So maybe there’s no cause for concern? Right…

LSU Boeckman shows up – The monkey and I are firm believers that there are two Todd Boeckmans — the one who looked every bit the part of an OSU QB against Penn State last year. Crisp passes, great decisions, and leadership. Then there’s the Todd that crapped the bed against LSU. If that Boeckman shows up, we’re done for. If the game is in his hands and his head isn’t where it needs to be, cry in despair. He’ll be winging it downfield with abandon, but this time USC has the type of athletes that will make him pay.

Can’t stop the run – This goes without saying. USC has a stable of running backs that would make most breeders in Kentucky jealous. Carroll can throw out the horses without much drop-off in performance. If OSU can’t stop the run, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Kaiser household.

Beanie can’t perform – I almost hesitate to even insinuate that Beanie won’t be able to perform at an acceptable level. This is another no-brainer. If he can’t plant on his gimpy toe, no amount of the Stiff Arm of Justice is going to help.

Players are still hungover (shellshocked?) from the OU game – I think it’s foolish to think that the OSU players are unaffected by their performance last week against OU. If they come out flat again and dig themselves an early hole, it will take a miracle to climb out of it. Someone needs to come out early and absolutely annihilate someone. I’m looking right at you, Mr. Wilson.

A vanilla game plan – I-formations and Maurice Wells off-tackle aren’t going to cut it. We’re not asking for double-reverses and Annexations of Puerto Rico. But mix things up. Pass on first down. Stop trying to hit the fly routes 257 yards downfield. Bootleg with a TE dragging across the middle. Screens with Beanie. Use Terrell Pryor. Anything to make the game exciting.

There are plenty more reasons, but let’s not dwell on the negatives. Remember, Buckeye fans, it’s us against the world. We need all the positive energy and karma we can muster. Let’s move on and think about actually winning the game!

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With: ,

OSU Blue Ribbon Preview

July 15, 2008 by 3 Comments

The MTV of the sports world has published the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook‘s 2008 Ohio State Team Preview.

It’s a must read. It contains enough scary language to shake the knees of Big Ten offensive/defensive coordinators – mostly stuff we already knew, like:

“The talent and depth is amazing. Traditionally, quarterbacks make big improvements in their second full year of starting, which bodes well for Boeckman. With a horse like Wells at his disposal, experienced receivers, and a veteran line in front, he doesn’t need to try and do too much… The addition of Pryor and emphasis on using backs such as Saine in the passing game will be interesting to watch.”

However, the Yearbook’s research revealed some interesting changes to the Buckeye offense that we may see this season:

“His workload is not likely to increase this year, however, mainly because the Buckeyes are trying to diversify their offense a bit. As part of that effort, OSU spent much of the spring working on a formation that features two tailbacks on the field at once, a so-called ‘pony formation.’ The reason behind that effort is to get more out of sophomore Brandon Saine (6-1, 217), Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2006 and a high school track star.”

Pony formation? Wow. I’ve said it before: could you imagine the possibilities for this offense if Pryor replaced Boeckman in near-goal-line situations, with Saine and The Stiff Arm of JusticeTM in the backfield, and the Brians and Nichol on the line?

Defensively, the analysis gives the Buckeyes the following kudos:

“Defensively, the front needs to step up. But with all four tackles and three experienced ends returning, that should happen. Laurinaitis, Freeman and Jenkins are All-America caliber, and again, the defense has incredible depth. No question, this is the favorite to win the Big Ten, which would be the first time a team has won three straight outright league championships.”

It’s a bit odd that the review talks up the superiority of the OSU defense but then gives them a grade of ‘B,’ but that seems reasonable to me, if for no other reason than no other defensive squad dropped 15 interceptions last year (which is also mentioned). Still, if this year’s team can get the butter off its hands… they could easily control most Big Ten offenses — just like they did last year, but more consistently.

Enough! I’m getting sucked into analysis already, and we’ll have enough of that over the next month or so. For now just be sated with the Yearbook’s Preview.

H/T: Sean @ ATO

Filed Under: College Football, Ohio State Football

Start stocking up on antacids

June 25, 2008 by 7 Comments

The preseason hype is starting already.

So it could be the Big 10 versus the SEC for the third year in a row. Power and speed versus just speed. The good guys versus the bad. 73-16 Tressel versus 72-19 Richt. The Stiff Arm of Justice and Tackling FailTM versus Knowshon Moreno. Boeckman’s wounded ducks versus Stafford’s overthrows. The North versus the South – CFB’s metaphorical civil war may continue.

I hope hope hope hope this happens. Not only because it’ll mean another chance at redemption, but also because, if Georgia’s involved, we might be able to recycle all of our Waterboy jokes again.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Five Things – OSU Offense

January 6, 2008 by 1 Comment

OSU FootballWe’ve listed the five things we’re keeping an eye on the defensive end, so here are the five things to look for on the offensive side of the ball:

5. Offensive line vs. Dorsey (and his little friends) – There’s no denying Dorsey is a game changer, even if he isn’t 100%. Cordle, Person and Rehring will have the hands full, literally. Dorsey on one side, Favorite on the other and a whole lot of manhood coming up the middle. How will they handle such speed?

Brian Robiskie4. Which Boeckman shows up? We talked about which Laurinaitis shows up, but the question is a valid one for Boeckman as well. Will we have the laser focused dead-eye Boeckman that showed up against Penn State or the ‘implody’ Michigan State Boeckman that couldn’t keep the ball out of Spartan hands? The Killers B’s want to know.

OSU will lean heavily on Beanie, but it will be Boeckman that will be under the most pressure. That makes us a wee bit nervous.

3. Wrinkles? What changes will we see coming out of the gate? OSU could surprise everyone and go with the spread with Boeckman (a-la Michigan, but that might be too obvious) or bring Henton in and let him throw the ball (oh please, Heavens, no). Something needs to be added for a nice little wrinkle to get Les’ knickers in a bunch. I wonder how he’d feel if he saw ‘Beanie McFadden’ line up in the shotgun?

2. Go right at the teeth of LSU’s D – This is a combination of #5 and #1. The Buckeyes can’t shy away from the challenge of Dorsey and the LSU defense. They need to go right at Dorsey and, as on defense, attack attack attack.

1. Beanie Beanie Beanie – Here’s where it gets real simple. The Stiff Arm of Justice™ has had a nice long layoff and is itching to punish some bad people. If Beanie’s ankle is 100% (we know the stiff arm never tires) then LSU has no idea what is coming for them. A steady diet of Beanie is just what the doctor ordered for OSU fans.

Chris “Beanie” Wells

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Wisconsin Performance Evaluations

November 7, 2007 by 3 Comments

OSU FootballLet’s do this

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Defense – 3 Sweatervests

I struggled with this one. On one hand Vernon Gholston and James Laurinaitis had huge games. Almost 20 tackles for the Little Animal and four sacks for the Python Tamer. Laurinaitis was free to roam thanks to the D-line keeping blockers off him and Gholston and the rest of the DE’s (we are so deep at the ends, it’s almost unfair) got pressure all game long. On the other hand, you have the to two sustained touchdown drives, missed tackles on crucial 3rd-and-long plays and again, TWO TOUCHDOWNS. I’ll give Jenkins a little slack for his missed tackle on Beckum, as Travis has NFL talent and size. He is a big dude (6-4, 224) and Jenkins (6-1, 208), not as much. Nevertheless, that was one of many missed tackles that drove me crazy.

I’m taking all this under consideration without giving any weight to the luck Wisconsin had on more than one occasion. It can’t be ignored. The second touchdown was a desperation heave by Donovan, off his back foot, into the most improbable and almost uncatchable location possible. Kudos to him. There’s no defense for going up against Lady Luck.

This has nothing to do with the Defense’s performance, but I was really hoping PJ Hill could have played in this game. Zach Brown was a competent runner, but the defense could have used Hill as preparation for Mendenhall this week and Hart next week. They need confidence they can shut down a great running back, not just a decent one. Still, how can you be worried about opposing offenses when you see this:

Ohio State’s Defense

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Opponent – 1 Sweatervest

Wisconsin came close to getting the dreaded no-sweatervest score not because of how they played (which wasn’t bad and would have earned them at least 3.5 SV’s) but how they acted after the whistle. I mentioned it in my semi-live update, but it bears repeating — hooting and hollering and getting in people’s faces after you make a tackle, no matter how impressive it was, has no place when you are losing by 14 points. Get pumped, high-five your buddy and get your sorry, no good, yella, losing-the-game-by-14-points keester back to the huddle. You made a great play. Good work. Now do it again on the next play.

Ooops, did Beanie just ran over your FACE?!

I listened to some of Bielema’s press conference after the game. He mentioned that he didn’t want his team to back down, not to be intimidated. That’s fine. Do it with your arms and legs, not your mouth. One of my favorite aspects about Tressel-coached teams is that you never see this. It’s never “look at what I did,” it’s all about “what we did.” Cue up Beanie’s score and run straight to the bench if you want to see how to do it. Make a great play? Great. Get ready to line up and run another.

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The Running Game – 4 Sweatervests

Like most of you, I was wondering where the running game went during most of the second and third quarters. I thought we had good success running Beanie on the first couple of drives, when Wisconsin was obviously playing to stop the pass. Getting away from the run was a mistake and it showed. Going back to the run paid dividends very quickly. Twenty eight straight points prove that point.

I love how Beanie is running. Even when it looks like he’s in pain after every run, he gets back there and does it again. Wisconsin defenders were lucky they never really got close to tackling him. They were spared punishment via the Stiff Arm of Justice™

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Officiating – 0.5 Sweatervests

Garbage. Absolute garbage. While I can’t point to any particular play, I had the pervading feeling the whole game that we were getting jobbed. A missed holding call here, a questionable call there. Maybe I’m not remembering correctly. Something just didn’t feel right. But worse than the missed calls were the fact that they never flagged Wisconsin for obvious taunting on more than one occassion. They had the power to take control of the game, but the never did.

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Vernon Gholston – figure it out

What more can be said about our collective man-crush? Wisconsin’s offense, Donovan in particular, was absolutely abused by Gholston. We’re talking pull-the-pants-down, spanked-on-the-bare-bottom-with-a-wooden-paddle-with-holes-cut-out abused. The defense is starting to call him “The Animal.” I don’t think that’s quite right. I prefer Manimal. Dude is just sick.

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Overall Performance – 4 Sweatervests

Baseline: 3 Sweatervests; +1 for each of Beanie’s TD runs, -1 for each of Wisco’s; +1 for each time Donovan was sacked, -1 each time a Wisconsin player whooped it up after a non-play.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Michigan State Performance Evaluations

October 24, 2007 by Leave a Comment

OSU FootballI’m still surprised how the Ohio State/Michigan State result has been perceived. Not just nationally, either. The headline on the sports page of the Columbus Dispatch was “Quite a fright.” Are you kidding me? I know the writers don’t pick their headlines, but that is ridiculous. A fright? Seriously? Hardly. Michigan State came into Columbus with a vaunted rush game and something to prove. Ohio State’s defense put them in their place. Let’s start there:

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The Defense: 4.5 Sweatervests

Michigan State and its one-two punch of Ringer and Caulcrick came into this game running other defenses over. They were averaging over 450 yards of offense a game. These are not insignificant numbers. Michigan State may not be a great team, but they are good. You don’t rack up that kind of yardage without some talented players.

That being said, Ohio State’s defense absolutely dominated the Spartans. Gholston & Company held the double-J’s to 59 yards on the ground, 2.1 yards per carry. That’s stout. Nine first downs, total. Solid tackling, good adjustments, everything. Laurinaitis continues to be a leader by example, racking up 12 tackles and really seems to be everywhere on the field. Everyone is flying to the ball. This is a fun defense to watch.

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The Opponent: 3.5 Sweatervests

As I mentioned above, Michigan State is not a bad team. They laid the wood to a good Indiana team (the same team that played Penn State tough last Saturday) and matched Wisconsin stride for stride for 3+ quarters. They also beat Pitt (even though it wasn’t pretty) who just beat a good Cincinnati team. They were averaging almost 37 points a game and gobs of yards coming into the Horseshoe.

They’re also a well coached team. Give Dantonio a couple years and he’ll have Michigan State in the thick of the Big Ten again. Don’t be fooled. Ohio State beat a pretty good Michigan State team.

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Beanie’s Stiff Arm: 4 Sweatervests

It’s unfair, actually, how easily Beanie pushes around defenders. You know as soon as you see him switch the ball to his other hand that the Stiff Arm of Justice™ is coming, halting all in its path.

My only concern is that he relies on it just a little too much. It also leaves him vulnerable for arm/shoulder injuries. But for now, he seems to be doing just fine. Stiffing people is Beanie’s business, and business is good.

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Vernon Gholston: 5 Sweatervests

Gholston decided to descend from his throne atop Mount Olympus to play as a mere mortal this week. Can’t let anyone get too suspicious. We’ll give him the decidedly mortal five Sweatervests.

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Overall Performance: 4 Sweatervests

Baseline: 3 Sweatervests. +1 for Ballard’s catch. Thing of beauty. +1 BIG D. That’s a D with 72 point font. +1 for Beanie’s 221 yards. More of that, please. -1 for Boeckman’s INT, -0.5 for his lost fumble (not entirely his fault) and -0.5 for Beanie’s almost lost fumble. Less of that, please!

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Seven Years!

June 26, 2013 by 3 Comments

This past Saturday, June 22nd, marked the seventh anniversary of the launch of this here little OSU blog site, Men of the Scarlet and Gray.

(Just for reference to how old MotSaG is, the freshmen joing the OSU football team this fall were in the fourth or fifth grade when MotSaG was launched. Twitter didn’t exist. At least we had YouTube.)

In that time, we’ve watched a Heisman Trophy winner grow up right before us, we’ve seen on of the most amazing human specimen to grace a Buckeye uniform, have watched a stiff-arm become a meme, saw the Buckeyes assume their rightful position as Rose Bowl Champs, and got the SEC monkey off their back (no matter WHAT the NCAA says, that game happened and you can not take that away from us).

Unfortunately, we also had to watch a legend fall from grace but along with that, got to watch a phoenix rise from his ashes.

Oh, we’ve also been on a couple amazing NCAA tournament runs, too. A couple Final Fours ain’t too shabby. This was pretty great (see also: here and here).

Oh, and this happened in that time, too:

GAHHHHH

We shared this Ted Ginn Jr. Highlight film in our first post, and I feel it’s only appropriate that we share it here again, for old-times sake, to remember how blessed we Buckeye fans have been in the 21st century, and to remember how badly Ted Ginn and company deserved that title in 2006. He did not deserve to go out like this.

Those teams of Ted, Troy and Gonzo were something special. I have a feeling Urban has been amassing a group of kids that are going to make Ted Ginn Jr. look like he was running in molasses.

Filed Under: Blogging

5 Reasons Ohio State will Lose to Texas

January 5, 2009 by 1 Comment

OSU FootballThe prodigal bloggers return, with a healthy dose of pessimism and doubt. All season long, something has been off. Last season, the second trip to the MNC game against LSU was supposed to be a year early. This year was supposed to be the year. But after an injury to Beanie’s Toe and a disastrous showing in Southern Cal, this season has taken on a feeling of almost desperation. Fans are grabbing onto positives and try to ignore the cold hard truth — this team has its problems. A team with much potential, but not a lot to show for it. They are untested. How will they do against one of the best teams in the country? The facts say: not so hot.

Allow us, for a few minutes, to be negative and speculate on some reasons why Ohio State will lose to the Texas Longhorns (don’t worry, we will only allow the pessimism to last for so long)

Offensive firepower – Let’s get this one out of the way. Texas has offense weapons like whoa. While they’re runnning game doesn’t scare me much (but should it? They did average 176.9 yards/game), the combination of Colt McCoy, Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley is dangerous. We should have a healthy fear of this. They averaged 476.4 yards/game, 301.3 yards through the air/game and 43.9 points per game. All in the top ten in the nation. Ohio State does have one of the better defensive backfields, but Texas can (and will) score at will.

Passing is the name of their game, but Colt will tuck and run. They run an efficient offense with a huge O-line. This has been giving me day- and nightmares.

Texas’ MNC snub – This could go either way but I think will harden their resolve. There’s no debating that Texas felt they deserved a spot in Thursday’s Championship game. Chip on their shoulder, something to prove, all that.

After Utah’s huge upset of LOLbama, the Monkey and I are thinking that Mack Brown will point his team to that outcome and Texas won’t be coming out asleep. They are hungry and want to show the nation that they deserve to be in the conversation again. Look for aggressive passing and play-calling early on. They’ll be going for the jugular.

Colt McCoy Heisman snub – Speaking of snubs, an argument could be made that Colt McCoy will also have something to prove. He is the focal point of the offense and he can and will do damage.

He’ll also be looking to exact revenge after he got smacked around in 2006. Remember when he looked like a scared 12 year-old with Laurinaitis breathing down his neck? Now he looks like a 14 year-old with chin stubble.

Ohio State Vanilla Offense – As mentioned earlier, Texas has a potent offense. Ohio State really doesn’t. If this becomes a shoot-out and Tressel is not sampling flavors at the ice cream counter, this will be ugly. There is no way we can hang with Texas in a barnburner.

I haven’t mentioned Texas’ defense at any point yet, but they do have a very good defense. The line anchored by beastman Orakpo (candidate for coolest name ever) and linebacker extraordinaire Kindle will cause havoc on Ohio State’s lackluster offensive line. If Tressel and Bolman aren’t calling plays to counter their aggresiveness, no amount of Stiff Arms of Justice™ will make a difference.

I’ll be on the bridge, ready to jump, if we line up in a power formation with Maurice Wells in the I. Seriously, I will take my own life. Or at least scream at the TV and embarrass myself in front of my friends and family.

BCS Burnout – This one be more about the fans than the football team. As Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg famously said “I know this music.” Buckeye fans are getting tired of seeing our team smacked around in front of millions on national TV. Surely the seniors on the team are equally tired. But will the motivation be there? This team has lacked leaders all season long. Will tomorrow night be any different?

Let’s hope so.

So those are a few things that are making me nervous. What worries you?

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

Penn State Open Thread

October 26, 2007 by 3 Comments

OSU FootballSome quick shots for tomorrow’s 8 PM kick-off:

Gameday will be in State College, the first time in a while.
Forecast: Partly cloudy and cool. Looks like it will be windy.
Spread: Ohio State is currently a 3.5 point favorite
Your Defensive captain? Captain Pythons, of course.

Rivals has a preview of the game, along with a look at “Who has the edge“. The Buckeyes have the edge, if you’re wondering. The indefatigable guys at Eleven Warriors have their preview up, along with Buckeye Planet. Not sure anyone gets more thorough the BP guys. Gerdeman gives his dos centavos at The Ozone.

The Wizard of Odds is calling it the Game of the Week and had a couple Big 10 bloggers, 11 Warriors and We are Penn State talk about the game. I got a chuckle out of this line from Kevin at WaPS:

“… and — shockingly — Morelli may be the best quarterback they’ve faced so far this year.”

Certainly he didn’t type that with a straight face.

QBs Ohio State has faced, with their numbers:

Tom Zetts (YSU) 112/192, 1191 yards, 4 TD/5 INT, 112.1 rating
Chris Jacquemain (Akron) 86/144, 915, 8/4, 125.9
Jake Locker (Washington) 95/200, 1193, 11/9, 106.8
CJ Bacher (Northwestern) 216/346, 2598, 14/8, 134.2
Adam Weber (Minnesota) 181/310, 2046. 19/15, 124.4
Curtis Painter (Purdue) 213/339, 2238, 22/6, 136.2
Julian Edelman (Kent State) 98/189, 1318, 7/9, 133.1
Brian Hoyer (Michigan State) 127/211, 1602, 11/4 137.4

Penn State’s #14:
Anthony Morelli: 147/247, 1739. 13/7 130.4

You decide. I’d say he looks middle-of-the-road to me.

My thoughts? I’ve been going back and forth on this one. On paper, Ohio State should win without breaking a sweat. Penn State’s resume isn’t impressive and Ohio State’s talent is clearly bigger, stronger, faster. That’s on paper. In my head, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s an ambush waiting for the Buckeyes. How is it going to go? This hasn’t been good for my digestive system. As of right now, I’m not planning on eating tomorrow. I have gone from thinking this will be a tough game (after Week 1) to thinking we’ll plow the Nittany Lions like everyone else (after Week 5) to not knowing what’s going to happen (today, right now). One thing I’m not worried about: Our Defense. One thing I am worried about: mistakes. If the game is close and the crowd is into it, I’m going to be nervous. If we’re winning by nine or ten points half way through the third quarter and Beanie’s Stiff Arm has been meting out Justice™, I will be relaxed.

Please, fellow MotSaG’ers, calm my nerves and help me get some rest tonight.

Your test questions are:

  • Final Score?
  • Who has a bigger game, Dan Connor or James Laurinaitis?
  • Between the QBs, who throws more INTs? The good QB in a hostile environment or the bad one?
  • Which defense gives up more yardage?

el Kaiser says:
OSU: 27 PSU: 16 (NB: I do not feel good about this prediction. Seems too high)
#40 or #33: Laurinaitis comes away with two turnovers and 12 tackles. Connor plays well, but is overshadowed by the Little Animal.
QBs: Morelli is going to have nightmares of Jenkins and Washington. He throws 3 picks to Boeckman’s 1.
Defense: Penn State. Beanie & Co. show they can rack up yards against a good D. OSU holds Penn State to under 300 yards total offense.

sportsMonkey says:
OSU: 20 PSU: 6
#40 or #33: Connor’s carrying the heavy load for PSU. Laurinaitis is a better LB, but he has help (and OSU’s defense is much deeper). My guess is you’ll hear Connor’s name called more often.
QBs: Morelli, like any QB who is about to face a good defense, is hoping that Joe Pa will let him open things up so that he can avoid some pressure. Not gonna happen.
Defense: PSU will give up 100 more yards than OSU.

Sylvester Yon-Rambo says:
OSU: 33 PSU: 12 I truly believe it will not be a close game at all if we score first like we have a lot this year.
#40 or #33:Connor should have a bigger day but it based on his defense being on the field a lot.
QBs: I think Boeckman will play a clean game and Morrelli will lose it for his team 4 INTs for Morelli and 0 for boeckman
Defense: OSU gets 425 yards of offense and gives up 184 yards on defense.

I am praying that all my predictions are correct…… PLEASE FOOTBALL GODS allow me one more week at least of BUCKEYE GLORY. more prayers to come next week.

Zeke says:
OSU: 25 PSU: 13
#40 or #33: Connor will probably have more tackles; however, Little Animal will make more of an impact. LA gets an INT and a couple of sacks.
QBs: Morelli, I feel like Boeckman is improving each week on timing the deep throw. Most of his interceptions early in the season were due to an under thrown deep ball.
Defense: PSU gives up more yardage.

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