Making Sense of Buckeye Football Coming Up Empty in the Fiesta Bowl

The Bucks’ second invitation in three seasons to the College Football Playoff went everything but as planned.  They matched up against the ACC champion Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl which takes place in Glendale, Arizona.  The Tigers wasted no time turning the Buckeyes’ dream of returning a national title to Columbus into a nightmare when they ran up the score to a tune of 31-0 on New Year’s Eve.  The final score and outcome of this game was certainly a surprise to Buckeye fans everywhere as well as to many college football spectators across the country.  This includes myself.  However, looking back on this game it really shouldn’t be incredibly surprising that the Bucks got beat in the way that they did.  Of course hindsight is 20/20 but this match up was bound to be problematic from start to finish.  Getting badly embarrassed in the last game was not at all what the Buckeyes and their fans had in mind but now looking back it seemed to be inevitable.

It’s been no secret that the Buckeyes like to run the ball.  They were 18th in the country in rushing attempts per game.  Their 245 rushing yards per game (five and a half yards per carry) was good for twelfth overall which made them by far the best in the Big Ten and put them right behind Alabama in ranks.  The Bucks’ leading rusher this season was red-shirt freshman Mike Weber whose 1096 rushing yards was good for sixth in the Big Ten.  His six yards per carry mark was good for third in the Big Ten (100 carry minimum).  The downside to this was that it was the only thing they could do well.  Though being a run-first team has been in the program’s genes for quite some time, they haven’t looked much more one dimensional than they have now.  The superior Buckeye running game was backed by an inferior passing game.  As far as passing offense goes, their 214 yards through the air per game puts them at 82nd in the country.  Junior quarterback J.T. Barrett was the sole owner of the offense in the 2016 season after spending 2015 in limbo for the starting spot with Cardale Jones in the mix.  His 2555 passing yards this season put him at 58th in the country and his 24 touchdown passes had him at 30th.  Barrett has always been a solid dual-threat quarterback for the Bucks since he first began as the starter in 2014.  In fact, he received attention in the Heisman race in 2014 for his unexpectedly great regular season performance in place of injured Braxton Miller.  Since then, Barrett’s play has wavered a bit.  Whether it’s been a lack of confidence after having to battle for his job back when he got injured during the 2014 season, throwing to new receivers, recent offensive line issues, or dealing with changes in offensive coordinator is anyone’s guess.  With that in mind, what was most worrisome had to have been the fact that the leading receiver for the Bucks was none other than star running back Curtis Samuel.  Normally you’d want to see one of your receivers up their on the list of receiving statistics for the team.  In the Bucks’ case, Curtis Samuel is by far the leading receiver of this team with 74 receptions, 865 yards, and seven touchdowns.  The next receiver down the list is Noah Brown with 32 receptions, 402 yards, and seven touchdowns.  It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what this Ohio State offense was about.  When a player listed as a running back is doubling up the top wide receiver in receptions/receiving yards then you know there’s something going on.  Samuel was also the Buckeyes’ most productive rusher with 771 yards on the ground (7.9 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns.  Having that one player who does it all is great but it doesn’t lack its negatives.  The Curtis Samuel factor of Ohio State’s offense made it great but also left it vulnerable.  The moral of the story is that the Bucks were able to survive the Big Ten without using much variety in their offense by relying on Curtis Samuel’s elite talent and Weber/Barrett running the ball.  Getting by on that strategy could only hold up for so long until they met up with a team that could effectively game plan against it…

Image Credit:  Art Foxall/UPI

This abysmal performance on offense against Clemson has many people wondering about what happened to the 2016 Buckeye offensive domination that occurred against Oklahoma (45-24), Nebraska (62-3), and Maryland (62-3).  The answer that makes the most sense is that the defenses of those teams are not very good especially considering Oklahoma and Maryland rank outside the top 75 in total defense.  In this match up, the Bucks were going up against Clemson who is the eighth ranked total defense in the country.  Now before we delve into how Clemson used their defense to shut down Ohio State’s attack, I want to remark on the how this defense relates to a similar match up Ohio State faced this season.  When the Bucks played Michigan in what turned out to be the de facto Big Ten championship game, they were tops in the nation in total defense and passing yards allowed.  This makes them much better than the Tigers.  So why did the Bucks hang 30 points on Michigan and get shut out by Clemson?  Michigan allowed Barrett to get outside the pocket and pick up yards using his legs.  Yes, they held Samuel to under 100 total yards from scrimmage, Weber to just 23 yards, and Barrett to just about nothing through the air but they seemingly forgot that Barrett can run the ball too.  He ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.  And all of this is without even mentioning the fact that their quarterback Wilton Speight turned the ball over three times in the worst places possible including a pick six he threw to allow the Bucks to get their first points on the board, a fumble on the Bucks’ one yard line, and throwing a pick on his own 30 yard line.  All of this must have looked very familiar for the Buckeyes when Clemson made mistakes and Deshaun Watson threw them two picks.  The first of those two occurred on Watson’s first drive of the game which was right after the Bucks came out looking completely out of sorts on their first drive.  That interception by Gareon Conley on Clemson’s own 33 yard line was a huge momentum changer that should have easily turned into points and an early lead.  Instead, the Bucks came out and squandered what turned out to be one of many opportunities that Clemson gave the Bucks to make this a game.  A quick three and out was the product of that turnover which led to a missed field goal.  The next opportunity missed was when Parris Campbell returned the kickoff following their made field goal for 54 yards to Clemson’s 42 yard line.  This was another chance to make some noise and completely reestablish momentum.  The offense did move the ball all the way to their 22 yard line but eventually lost enough yards to make it a 47 yard field goal which was missed.  Then, there was the fluke 31 yard field goal miss by Clemson which gave them an empty possession and the Bucks the ball.  They followed that missed field goal with two three and outs.  Clemson also shut down every facet of the Ohio State run game.  They limited them to 88 total rushing yards.  The outcome against Michigan was much different than that of the outcome against Clemson in just a couple ways but namely because of the missed opportunities that the Bucks did cash in on against their rival.

Since I brought up the missed field goals, I would like to state that I put more blame on the offense for the misses than anything.  Yes, as a senior kicker for Ohio State, he should be able to make field goals like that (nothing worse than a good football team who for some reason has an unreliable kicker) but the offense should have been much more efficient on those possessions.  On both of the possessions that resulted in missed field goals, the Bucks started well inside Clemson territory (Conley interception and Parris Campbell 54 yard kick return).  The offense didn’t move the ball more than about ten yards on each possession which in turn wasted prime opportunities to score given their starting field position.  I’m also confused as to why people are giving this much extreme criticism to the kicker.  This kid was kicking in what was the biggest game of his life after just having a poor performance in the last game he played in against Michigan.  He was actually having a pretty good regular season up until the Michigan game.  His confidence was shot and the offense really didn’t help him very much by setting him up for two 47 yard field goals.  That’s the second thing I want to remark on.  A 47 yard field goal is most definitely not a walk in the park.  There are many times in NFL games every Sunday where kickers miss 33 yard point after attempts much less 47 yard field goals.  The thing about this that is most confusing is that people are still giving him grief about his missed field goals even though they had nothing to do with the outcome of the game.  Ohio State would have had a nice six points come out of those possessions and maybe a little momentum but the Bucks were simply outmatched regardless.  I mean 31-0 isn’t typically considered a close game.  It would have been much different if the Bucks were to have lost against Michigan due to field goal misses because that game was marginally closer.  I would have definitely condoned some criticism of the kicker’s 21 yard field miss in that case.

One thing that I really do not understand and can’t get over about this game is the play calling.  The Buckeyes’ first hand off to a running back wasn’t until their third possession of the game where they handed it off to Samuel who ran sideways for a loss of eight yards.  I understand that the Bucks likely came into this game knowing that Clemson was going to go all out on stopping the run (which they did) but running the ball is what they do best and that’s what got them there so they should have at least made a concerted effort on getting it going before they got too far behind.  Clemson’s interior defense may be strong but the Bucks needed to keep them honest.  It would have been especially smart to get Weber going early and often in this game because as a first year player in a game like this he needed to get his feet wet and confidence up.  Weber’s fumbling issues in this game looked like it may have come from him trying to do too much.  Curtis Samuel and Mike Weber combined for just 11 carries in this game.  Weber should have had half of that in the first two possessions.  Barrett ran the ball as much as Samuel and Weber combined with his 11 carries which totaled to -2 yards at the end of the night.  Ohio State only managed 88 yards on the ground on 23 attempts.  The run game is essential to any game plan especially in a tough match up such as this.  Apparently it wasn’t in Ohio State’s.

Image Credit:  Aaron Doster – USA TODAY Sports

There really isn’t much to say about the passing game for the Bucks in this match up so here’s some numbers that should tell the story.  The passing game was technically the most productive aspect of the offense with Barrett completing 19/33 pass attempts (58%) for 127 yards.  However, he did throw two interceptions.  The first interception was a high pass to Curtis Samuel where the ball deflected off his hands and into the hands of a Clemson defender.  That was a good pass but it sailed just a tad too high for the smaller Samuel to haul in.  The other pick was just a prayer that Barrett threw up in desperation on a long fourth toward the end zone where Clemson defenders ran in and just picked it off.  They took that one all the way back to the Bucks’ 20 yard line where they scored another touchdown to make it 31-0.  I do respect Barrett’s decision to be aggressive on those times he threw picks and take shots down field to try and make big plays happen for his team in their deficit.  However, he only seemed to start taking shots down the field when it was obvious that it was coming.  It seemed like only in desperation did the Bucks go down the field.  Clemson does have a pretty good secondary with Cordrea Tankersley and Jadar Johnson but the way that Clemson was loading the box early seemed to at least open up something down the field.  If any early passing was going to catch Clemson off guard in this game, it would for sure have been some deep passes.  A perfect example of this was right before the first interception happened where Barrett drew two defensive pass interference calls on Clemson when he dialed up consecutive deep balls.  Though they were a bit under thrown, he put major pressure on the defense and led the Bucks to what could have been their most productive drive.  Unfortunately, it was already too late for the Bucks so there wasn’t much left they could do regardless.

The battle between Ohio State’s offensive line and Clemson’s defensive line was easily the marquee match up in this game.  Except this battle was more of a pummeling.  It’s safe to say Clemson’s defensive line made Ohio State’s line look like they didn’t even belong on the same field.  Ohio State’s offensive line gave no resistance at all even when Clemson would only rush four.  This allowed their defense to sit back in coverage and not allow any lanes for Barrett to throw into while also bringing pressure.  Some of this can be attributed to starting left guard Michael Jordan getting injured on the first drive (returned and played injured).  You could also attribute it to right tackle Isaiah Prince doing his best impression of a piece of Swiss cheese during the game.  The Clemson defense accounted for 11 total tackles for loss and three sacks.  These numbers would have been much higher if Barrett wasn’t such a mobile quarterback and unable to escape the frequent line collapses.

Image Credit:  factoryofsadness.co

To end this on a good note, the Buckeye defense played fairly well in this game considering what they had to work with.  The Clemson offense did put up 31 points on them but it really could have been so much worse.  The Bucks’ offensive blunders were so bad that it made the defense stay on the field for the vast majority of the game.  The Bucks were 3-14 on 3rd down.  The time of possession in this game favored Clemson 35:51 to Ohio State’s 24:09.  With Clemson averaging about 40 points per game, it’s hard to be on defense for that long and hold an offense like Clemson’s down.  The defense kept Ohio State in the game for the most part by keeping the score at 17-0 until late in the third quarter.  All the offense needed to do was score and it would have been a game.  With the offense not putting any pressure on Clemson, the Buckeye defense finally did give out.  Raekwon McMillan gave it all he had in what would be his last game as a Buckeye in this contest.  He was in on what seemed like just about every play.  His 15 total tackles, 12 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack led the team.  Gareon Conley and Malik Hooker each had an interception to end their times as Buckeyes.  Linebacker Chris Worley added 10 total tackles with eight solo tackles.

Featured Image Credit:  (AP / Ross D. Franklin) – http://www.newsday.com

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The Buckeyes Return to the Playoffs With Sights Set on Clemson in Semifinal

 

The #3 Ohio State Buckeyes match up with the #2 Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for the College Football Playoff Semifinal on New Year’s Eve.  Ohio State is 11-1 with an 8-1 conference record and Clemson is 12-1 with a 7-1 conference record.

The college football playoff system has been good to the Buckeyes.  The key product that was created when the college football playoff was formed is ‘opportunity’.  Sometimes an opportunity is all you need to win a championship.  Just ask the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Ohio State’s 2014 bid as a four seed was all they needed in order to secure a title.  The Bucks’ three seed placement this time around would have meant exclusion from championship contention in the past but times have changed as we’ve entered a new era of college football with the CFP and its committee.  Considering how many players the Bucks lost in the off season, it is certainly a incredible feat for them to return to the playoffs.  It was almost like everyone was preparing for a down season for the Bucks after everyone declared for the draft.  That what most people thought but Urban Meyer had other ideas.  This team was on a mission to prove the doubters wrong after listening to the talk about not having anything remaining following a historic draft class departure.  Ohio State was built for postseason play and have proven they won’t falter when given the opportunity.  Two of the last three seasons have led to a college football playoff berth with the first one ending in a championship in 2014.  The Bucks have yet another opportunity to convert a playoff berth into a championship beginning with a date with the Clemson Tigers in Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl.

The Clemson Tigers have entered this college football playoff as a two seed after repeating as the ACC champion.  Their title run as a one seed came up short last season when they fell to Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide in the title game.  Nonetheless, the Tigers had a very successful season overall.  They were led by quarterback Deshaun Watson.  He was a Heisman finalist in 2015 and ACC Player of the Year.  He also won MVP in the semifinal at the Orange Bowl last season as well as adding a few other fine accolades to his name.  Watson helped the Tigers to a undefeated regular season in 2015.  Though Clemson may not be as flashy this year with teams like Louisville and others taking the spotlight, they are definitely just as dangerous.  Clemson’s return to the playoffs in what could be Deshaun Watson’s final year in a Tigers uniform is something to take very seriously.

Image Credit:  collegefootballnews.com

The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Clemson Tigers are well acquainted as they met just two years prior when they played in the Orange Bowl during the 2013 season.  Clemson won that match up 40-35.  That was back in the quarterback Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde days.  The Bucks had to face a Clemson team that featured the likes of Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant, Adam Humphries, Bashaud Breeland, and Vic Beasley.  Just about all of those Clemson players I named have made their mark in the NFL as well.  Players who were on the roster in this game that are playing in it this year include Ohio State’s Pat Elflein, Dontre Wilson, and Gareon Conley.  Clemson is returning Jordan Leggett, Mike Williams, Jay Guillermo, Ben Boulware, and Jadar Johnson.  Pat Elflein has been a leader for this Bucks team especially as a veteran anchor for the offensive line.  He was named a team captain for the 2016 season.  Ben Boulware, Jadar Johnson, Jay Guillermo, and Jordan Leggett are all major contributors to this Tigers team and were also named team captains for the 2016 season.

Coaching:  When looking at a close match up in postseason play, it’s always a smart choice to consider the coaching for each side.  In this match up, Urban Meyer will be calling the shots for the Bucks when going up against “Dabo” Swinney and his Tigers team on Saturday.  Meyer holds 165-28 (86% win pct) overall record Swinney while holds a 87-28 (76% win pct) record.  Meyer has won five conference titles (two Mountain West titles with Utah, two SEC with Florida, and one Big Ten with Ohio State) and has three national championship wins in three championship game appearances (two with Florida 2006-2008 and one with Ohio State 2014).  His overall bowl record stands at 10-2.  Since Urban Meyer was hired as head coach in 2012, the Buckeyes have went five years straight with no more than one loss in a regular season.  Swinney has won three conference titles (all ACC titles with Clemson) and has appeared in the national championship game once where he lost to Alabama in 2015.  His overall bowl record stands at 5-4.  Sure, Meyer has the definite advantage on paper as far as a storied career goes but don’t count Swinney out.  Since he assumed the job as head coach at Clemson, “Dabo” has brought in top notch talents from around the nation.  It’s no mistake that he’s coached players from the likes of C.J. Spiller, Sammy Watkins, Tajh Boyd, to current first round talents Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams.  His enthusiastic coaching style is a motivator for the young players on his team and creates the emotional spark that makes them unique among many college programs.

Image Credit:  AP Photo/Alan Diaz – http://www.ohio.com

Offense:  Ohio State has had a bit of a rough go at it on offense throughout this 2016 season while trying to cope with the mass losses they suffered at key positions.  However, the emergence of Curtis Samuel, Mike Weber, and resilience of J.T. Barrett has been enough to keep the Bucks afloat while the rest of the young guys got comfortable with the offense.  So in retrospect, the way the Buckeyes have played on offense this season has been relatively conservative considering the players they’ve chosen to involve and not calling on Barrett to throw the ball down the field, so this offense has likely not even evolved into its true form yet.  Look for the Bucks to shed all restrictions in their playoff run and utilize the talent stored on their roster to shock their opponent and open up new new lanes that their opposition could not have seen coming.  Clemson may be best known for their aggressive offense that can attack you from just about every position and score at will but what many people don’t realize is that their defense has also been instrumental to their success.  Their defense sits at eighth in the nation overall in total defense.  They are eleventh overall in scoring defense allowing around 18 points per game.  Their third down defense and interceptions rank within the top ten.  With those statistics in mind, their greatest attribute has to be their ability to wreak havoc in the backfield of their opponents.  They rank inside the top five in terms of total sacks and tackles for loss.  Their defensive line may be a bit younger with some freshmen and sophomores getting a lot of time (much like the Bucks) but they are most definitely getting the job done.  Senior defensive tackle Carlos Watkins leads the Tigers in sacks with a total of 8.5.  Freshman defensive end Christian Wilkins is the tackles for loss leader of this defense with a total of 12.  Stacked behind this productive defensive line is a core of linebackers led by senior Ben Boulware who leads the team with 105 total tackles and his second in solo tackles with 50.  He also paces the team with nine tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.  The defensive backs for Clemson are solid to say the least as their team passing efficiency defense ranks in the top five and as I mentioned earlier they are also in the top ten in interceptions.  Clemson’s defensive backfield is anchored by their two seniors in corner back Cordrea Tankersley and Jadar Johnson.  Tankersley has three interceptions and Jadar Johnson has five.  Johnson’s five picks are good for fourth in the nation.  What’s most interesting about these defensive backs is that the youngest, sophomore free safety Van Smith, is the team’s leader in solo tackles with 59.  Clemson ranks outside of the top 20 in rushing defense so it is absolutely necessary that the Buckeyes take advantage of this and get the running game going.  The Bucks have done their best work on the ground this season and should look to continue their success in this game in order to set the tempo.  Since Barrett went down with a tragic injury in 2014, he was not able to lead the Bucks in the playoffs after leading the team to its doorstep.  Unlikely hero Cardale Jones stepped for Barrett and led the Bucks to a 59-0 victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game earning the Bucks a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff which led to an eventual National Championship.  Though he is with a very different team, Barrett now has an opportunity to add to his legacy in this season’s playoff push.

Defense:  This Buckeye defense has been a gift this season as (much like the offense) they’ve stepped up big time in the absence of last season’s stars.  Not only have they stepped up, they’ve been nothing short of spectacular.  The Buckeyes have maintained a top five ranking in red zone and scoring defense for maybe the entirety of the season, leads the nation in interception return touchdowns with seven, are one interception from the top five in total picks, top ten in third down defense, and most importantly they are top three in total defense.  As far as development goes, the Buckeye defense definitely deserves national attention for putting together a special unit all the way around especially with the plethora of first year starters that they had to cope with this season.  The defensive line hasn’t been the biggest story for the Bucks this season but the way it has evolved to make the defense a more complete unit makes it an interesting detail.  They started off the season predictably slow considering losses of Adolphus Washington and Joey Bosa.  They started to put things together as they began to mesh as time went on.  This became especially evident in the final game of the year.  The defensive line showed out and proved to the nation that they could also be a force at just the right time when they caused all kinds of problems in TTUN’s backfield.  This will be especially helpful against Clemson and the dual threat Deshaun Watson.  The emergence of young defensive ends sophomore Sam Hubbard and freshman Nick Bosa has been excellent in aiding this pass rush.  They each have seven tackles for loss and combine for eight total sacks and 66 total tackles.  One of the most influential players in this defense is Tyquan Lewis.  He has led the Buckeyes in sacks for the second straight season.  He currently has 7.5 sacks and leads the team with ten tackles for loss.  His experience and play on the field has set an example for these young guys and made them better in the process.  This defense is led by middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan.  He is easily the leader of this defense and could arguably be the most valuable player on this team.  He leads the team with 87 total tackles and is a key cog in what makes this defense tick.  This is his second straight year of leading the team in total tackles.  The defensive backs for the Bucks have been the most productive for this defense.  This group is pretty much completely made up of players who haven’t had much prior experience on the field with this defense.  This is especially so for Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, and Damon Webb.  Gareon Conley is the veteran of this group.  They have been outstanding this year as they have contributed immensely in making the Buckeyes one of the best pass defense teams in the nation.  Their ability to turn interceptions into points has made them a dynamic bunch to be feared by quarterbacks and coordinators everywhere.  Malik Hooker’s six interceptions has him tied for third in the nation.  The Buckeyes match up very well with the Clemson especially from a defensive standpoint.  The talented secondary for the Buckeyes is exactly what is needed to slow down this high powered Clemson offense.  The Tigers have a variety of receivers that Watson likes to spread the ball around to.  Leading this group of receivers is junior first round talent Mike Williams who has accrued 84 receptions, 1171 yards, and 10 touchdowns.  He’s a big target at 6’3″ 225 pounds which makes him a difficult match up.  Junior Artavis Scott is another favorite of Watson’s with 71 receptions.  He may not be very tall at 5’10” but his hands and speed makes up for it.  Look for sophomores Hunter Renfrow, Ray-Ray McCloud, and Deon Cain to be involved in different ways as well.  Deon Cain may only have 32 receptions but he is the second leading receiver on the team with 621 yards and 9 touchdowns.  It doesn’t take a whole lot of opportunities for him to make an immediate impact on the game.  Then there’s senior tight end Jordan Leggett.  He’s a solid receiver who can be a go-to guy for Watson.  His 6’5″ 260 pound frame makes him a mismatch no matter who is guarding him.  This Ohio State secondary has to be on its game and not let these Clemson receivers get to them.  They have proven that they are capable of playing great defense so they cannot let this big stage cause them to play their game any different.  Clemson also features a run game that can keep defenses honest though with junior running back Wayne Gallman.  He’s got some experience with Clemson and was on the roster when Clemson played Ohio State back in the Orange Bowl.  He’s ran for over a thousand yards this season and has accrued 15 touchdowns.  Raekwon McMillan and the linebacker corps will have to remain vigilant on keeping Watson and Gallman contained throughout this game.  If it comes down to tough yardage, the Buckeye defense will have to step up and continue their success in third down situations. Keeping a sharp eye on Watson all game is critical if the Bucks want to reign victorious over this versatile Clemson offense.

Trends:  Clemson is 2-0 in the all time series over Ohio State.  Ohio State’s strength of schedule is ranked #1 and Clemson’s is ranked #7.  Urban Meyer’s bowl game record is 10-2.  Dabo Swinney’s is 5-4.  This will be the seventh time in fifteen years that Ohio State has went to the Fiesta Bowl.  Through those games Ohio State is 5-2 including a 44-28 win over Notre Dame last season.

Featured Image Credit:  Bill Bender – http://www.sportingnews.com

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The Ohio State Buckeyes Look to Finish Their Regular Season Hot in Grand Finale Against TTUN

The #2 Ohio State Buckeyes face off against #3 TTUN on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.  Both teams hold a 10-1 overall record with each team suffering a loss against a Big Ten Opponent.  (OSU loss @ Penn State, TTUN loss @ Iowa).

Believe it or not, the game is here.  THE Game is here and it arrived on a road that consisted of a few twists and turns that may not have been expected but certainly turned out to be what we all wanted.  The Buckeyes are ranked #2 and TTUN is ranked #3, playoff spots are on the line, and the game is being played at Ohio Stadium in the beautiful city of Columbus.  Not like Ohio State actually needs much other motivation to get up and give it their all against TTUN but those factors certainly add to it.  It doesn’t matter if one team is undefeated and the other team has yet to defeat a team, every player and coach for each side is going to come out and give it all they’ve got in this game for their teammates, staff, and fans now as well as every single other player that has stepped on the field to make their mark in this rivalry’s spirited history.

Coaching will be a significant factor in this match up as both teams are headed by two of the most successful coaches in the game of football.  Head coach Urban Meyer leads the Bucks into this game with a fair amount of experience playing against TTUN as he is 4-0 when facing them since he took the reigns at Ohio State.  Head coach Jim Harbaugh leads TTUN into this game with a 20-4 record since he took the job there last year.  His team lost 13-42 in his first outing against the Buckeyes as head coach in 2015.  Coaching becomes even more important with the Bucks struggling a bit against their divisional rivals this year.  Urban Meyer will need to be vigilant in drawing up a solid game plan to counter this TTUN squad.  However, this feat will be anything but simple considering Harbaugh’s ability to be anything but predictable.  Yes, TTUN may be without their starting quarterback (Wilton Speight) due to injury, but there really shouldn’t be any doubt that Harbaugh has something up his sleeve to fill in for the missing piece.

Offense:   They will have to show up against this tough TTUN defense ready to play from the very first snap if they want to keep the game flow in their favor.  When I say TTUN’s defense is tough, I mean ranked first in the nation tough.  Through eleven games, they rank first in the nation in many categories including total defense, tackles for loss (9.3 per game), third down conversion defense (21.1%), scoring defense (10.9 points per game), and passing yards allowed (137 yards per game).  Fortunately, TTUN’s offense isn’t exactly the most talented offense out there so if the Bucks get off to a slow start then there’s no need to panic.  The Bucks offense will have to face off against some reputable veteran players on the TTUN defense including Jabrill Peppers (Junior.  Ranked 18th in total tackles for loss with 16 and leads team in solo tackles with 43), Channing Stribling (Senior.  Ranked 14th in passes defended with 15), Taco Charlton (Senior.  Leads team with six total sacks), and Ben Gedeon (Senior.  Leads team in tackles by far with 94 total).

Defense:  The Buckeye defense has played well this season.  They still haven’t allowed an opponent to score over 24 points.  That 24 points was scored by Oklahoma who ranks third in the nation in scoring offense (67 touchdowns).    The other opponent to score that much was Penn State which we all know how that happened (special teams TD).  In fact, the defense has only allowed two touchdowns in the last three weeks.  With all of the talk going around about TTUN’s defense, people seem to have forgotten about Ohio State’s.  The Buckeyes rank fourth in the nation in total defense, seventh in third down conversion percentage (28.8% which is one spot better than Alabama), fourth in scoring defense (13 points per game), and seventh in red zone defense.  The Buckeye defense has to step up against TTUN’s offense and do their part.  Their offense is certainly not incapable but definitely containable.  TTUN’s offense features some explosive players that the Bucks need to hone in on.  Sophomore Quarterback Wilton Speight (if he plays) can throw the ball pretty well and make things happen all over the field.  Jabrill Peppers is one of the most versatile playmakers in the nation who can play offense just as well as he plays defense.  The defense must be on their toes when he as the ball in his hands.  Senior running back De’Veon Smith leads the way for TTUN with 750 rushing yards.  He’s a tough back who really keeps his legs moving and can shake a couple tacklers before going down.  Not only do they use Smith but they get some other backs involved to shake things up.  They’ve got the other backs in the tandem with freshman Chris Evans, Isaac Ty, and big fullback Khalid Hill.  Evans is right behind Smith in total yards with 547 and Ty has logged 417 total yards.  Evans and Ty create great change of pace options to bolster this offense.  Hill does all of the heavy lifting.  He has just 22 carries but has scored nine touchdowns.  TTUN also has a standout receiver in senior Amara Darboh.  He leads the team in receiving with 758 yards and six touchdowns.  Finally, the receiver that’s been a pain for Ohio State is senior tight end Jake Butt.  He’s a big receiver who has the veteran experience to make smart plays and get open.  He can be especially dangerous in the red zone.  This match up will be the perfect opportunity for some of these young players on defense to really make a name for themselves.

Keys for Ohio State Offense vs TTUN Defense:  It is becoming more apparent with each coming game that Barrett is the one piece of this team that needs to be on point from start to finish in order for the team to succeed.  If he plays well then the whole team plays well.  In last week’s game, that was not quite the case.  The Bucks had trouble getting into a rhythm on offense which led to choppy drives and short possessions.  The lack of big plays on the offensive side of the ball really curtailed the momentum which played right into the hands of the Spartans.  This is a really troubling development considering the Bucks’ recent success against Nebraska and Maryland.  The Buckeyes will have to get into their rhythm against TTUN and not let them control this game.  Per usual, Barrett and Samuel have to make their mark in this game early and often to kick start this offense.  The most important key to this game has to be the battle up front.  The offensive line absolutely cannot take this day off.  They have got to come out angry right off the bat and make a statement.  The Bucks need to get Mike Weber rolling from the start and set the tone with solid gains on the ground.  This will open up seams for Curtis Samuel and some nice play action opportunities from Barrett to get this Buckeye offense going.  If not, then the Buckeyes could succumb to another erratic passing and quarterback draw type of game that TTUN will have much greater success defending.

Keys for Ohio State Defense vs TTUN Offense:  The Bucks have to do a better job tackling and containing.  They have seen the better running backs in the Big Ten rip off huge gains several times.  The most recent running back to go off against the Bucks was Michigan State’s LJ Scott who went off for 160 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.  The defense left huge gaps for him to break out and pick up some big gains.  They’ve got to get some hats on the running backs on Saturday afternoon or they’re gonna be eating the dust when De’Veon Smith and company come through.  The defensive line and linebackers have to get through and cause problems to stir up the backfield so Speight or O’Korn are forced into making mistakes.  If they let him get too much time then Darboh and Butt will get free and pick up chunk gains.  Ideally, the Bucks can force TTUN to throw the ball so the opportunistic defensive backs in Malik Hooker, Gareon Conley, Damon Webb, and Marshon Lattimore can get involved.  This will allow the Buckeye defense to create turnovers and set up a short field for the Buckeye offense to go to work.

Trends:  Ohio State and TTUN have met 112 times.  TTUN leads the all-time series 58-47-6.  Ohio State has won the last 11 of 12 match ups with TTUN.

Featured Image Credit:  thespun.com

Buckeye Football… Still Playoff Bound?

The heartbreaking loss at Penn State now has Ohio State fans asking the same question:  Do the Buckeyes still control their own destiny en route to the college football playoffs?  Sadly, the answer is no.  However, they still have an opportunity to reach their goals this season of reaching the Big Ten Championship and ultimately the college football playoffs.  The path will look a little different on the way there though.

Photo by:  David Jablonski (mydaytondailynews.com)

Penn State’s win over Ohio State turns out to have had a much more significant impact than originally expected.  The outcome of this game didn’t just impact Ohio State, it also put Penn State in the picture as well.  This win completely changes the outlook of their season as they now look at a relatively soft schedule that gives them a solid chance to win out.  Penn State plays (in order) @Purdue (3-4) (1-3 Big Ten) (Penn State won 62-24), Iowa (5-3) (3-2 Big Ten), @Indiana (4-4) (2-3 Big Ten), @Rutgers (2-6) (0-5 Big Ten), and Michigan State (2-6) (0-5 Big Ten).

Ohio State’s schedule looks a bit more difficult.  Penn State was looking like a mere bump in the road on the way to facing the tougher foes remaining on their schedule.  That bump in the road turned out to be more than the Bucks could handle as the Nittany Lions ended a four game losing streak against their top rated rival and defended Beaver Stadium.  As a result, Ohio State now looks at a couple of their toughest games still left on their schedule while having no margin for error.  Ohio State plays (in order) Northwestern (4-3) (3-1 Big Ten) (Ohio State won 24-20), Nebraska (7-1) (4-1 Big Ten), @Maryland (5-3) (2-3 Big Ten), @Michigan State (2-6) (0-5 Big Ten), and Michigan (8-0) (5-0 Big Ten).

Michigan is now the only team in the Big Ten that truly controls their own destiny on the way to the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff.  They are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten.  All they need to do is win out and they’re in.  Unfortunately, the Buckeyes can’t say the same.  Since it happened to be Penn State that beat them, the Bucks need some things to go right for them in order to even get into the Big Ten championship.  This is because Penn State is a pretty competent team this year who currently holds a 4-1 Big Ten Conference record which now ties Ohio State.  This gives Penn State the tiebreaker over Ohio State if necessary which could be the case in the end.

Photo by:  Tim Fuller – USA TODAY Sports

Scenarios:

One loss Ohio State beats undefeated Michigan and Penn State wins out

This scenario appears to be the most likely of the bunch.  Michigan and Penn State each have favorable schedules to finish the season.  The only opponent either team faces that currently holds a winning record in the Big Ten is Iowa.  Penn State gets to play Iowa at home under the lights.  This leaves Ohio State.  As I referenced earlier, Ohio State’s schedule still has some strength left in it.  The Big Ten has not exactly been a cake walk this season for the Bucks.  They started their conference track off hot with a 58-0 routing of Rutgers (currently tied with Michigan State for worst Big Ten Conference record so far at 0-5).  The Buckeyes just struggled against Big Ten West opponent Northwestern who had a 3-1 record in the conference entering Ohio Stadium on Saturday.  Fortunately, the Bucks get to face Big Ten heavyweights Nebraska and Michigan in the comfort of home at Ohio Stadium.  The Bucks are undefeated at home (5-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) this season.  If this scenario occurs then there would be a three way tie between them that would be decided by Michigan beating Penn State which would eliminate Penn State and Ohio State beating Michigan which would eliminate Michigan.  Ohio State would be the Big Ten East representative.

One loss Ohio State beats undefeated Michigan and Penn State loses another game

This scenario is also very likely.  Penn State wasn’t exactly expected to finish their season 10-2 so it wouldn’t really come as a surprise if they stumbled along the way and took another loss.  This would give them two conference losses and almost certainly eliminate them from contention.  Michigan will most likely run the table until they travel to Columbus and face Ohio State in their final game which will decide who will be the Big Ten East representative.  The Buckeyes just have to survive their final games before they face Michigan to ensure they get an opportunity to return to the Big Ten title game they missed out on last year.

One loss Ohio State beats one loss Michigan and Penn State wins out

This scenario seems to be the least likely.  If Michigan were to somehow lose a game before they face Ohio State in their final game and then they get defeated by Ohio State then they would have two conference losses which would put them behind both Penn State and Ohio State.  That would eliminate Michigan and leave Penn State and Ohio State in a tie.  They would be tied with one loss each in conference play.  Penn State’s win over Ohio State would give them the tiebreaker and send them to the Big Ten championship.  This would be Penn State’s first appearance in a Big Ten Championship game.

One loss Ohio State beats one loss Michigan and Penn State takes another loss

Also a very unlikely scenario.  Not impossible though.  At the college level, anything can happen.  Ohio State wins out, Michigan somehow loses before they play the Bucks then lose to the Bucks, and Penn State loses again.  Michigan ties Penn State with two losses against Big Ten teams while Ohio State wins the Big Ten East by default with just one loss in the Big Ten.  The Bucks advance.

Summary/Outlook:  One thing that Buckeye fans surely did not expect out of this season is that they would also be part-time Michigan fans.  Due to the Buckeyes losing to Penn State, they now need the Michigan Wolverines to finish their season strong.  However, as I pointed out earlier, the Bucks don’t for sure need Michigan to win out.  They just need them to win out until Penn State takes another loss.  So for now, Buckeye fans can at least take a positive out of a Michigan win (as hard as that is to do).  As for the Buckeyes, they just have to keep winning.  That’s the one and only thing they need to focus on.  If they win the rest of their games then they’re all but assured their spot in the Big Ten Championship.  They can’t be looking ahead to Michigan either.  With the way the Bucks are playing, they absolutely have to take it one game at a time so they don’t take another loss before they even get there.  On a positive note, Urban Meyer has been through situations like this before and his teams have only gotten better from losses like this.  Ohio State plays best when their backs are against the wall.  They thrive when there’s doubters.  The loss to Penn State may have been exactly what they needed.  When the Buckeyes won the national championship in 2014 they took an early loss to Virginia Tech.  That loss was exactly what they needed in a sense that they needed something to humble them and draw in the doubters.  Then, to end the season they had Heisman contender J.T. Barrett go down right before the Big Ten Championship game which brought everyone to believe that Ohio State’s playoff hopes were shot and they’d become incapable of being a contender.  Sure enough, they entered the Big Ten Championship game with third string quarterback Cardale Jones at the helm and blew Wisconsin out of the water in a 59-0 win.  They played stronger than ever to end the season in order to secure a spot in the first ever College Football Playoff.  That strong play transferred to the playoffs where they beat Alabama convincingly in the semifinal and handled Oregon in the Championship.  Ohio State’s 2015 season was an example of what happens when the Buckeyes don’t have a loss or adversity to play through.  The Bucks had some close calls throughout the season but pulled through to stay undefeated until late in the season.  This more than likely made them believe that because their team stayed healthy and also undefeated that they weren’t capable of losing a game.  They finally suffered a loss in their second to last game against Michigan State.  By then, it was too late.  They went on to beat Michigan by almost thirty points but their playoff hopes were gone by due process.  Any loss earlier in the season may have been enough to get them more mentally dialed in for that game but of course nobody can say that for sure.  They went on to demolish playoff contender Notre Dame by 16 points in the 2016 BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl.  I’m not saying that playing through adversity is necessary for every team and that they absolutely need to take a loss in order to be successful but I believe it definitely helps.  This is especially true at the college level.  Playing through injuries to star players, losing players to the draft, taking a bad loss, etc.  Anything that draws doubters is fuel to the fire and teams absolutely feed off of that.  The Bucks may have suffered a bad loss to Penn State but it was also a timely one.  Clearly the most talented team didn’t come out on the right side of that match up but it may have been just what they needed.  Ohio State should take this in stride and use it to their advantage on the way to finishing their season strong.

Photo from:  www.thesportsbank.net – paulmbanks

Trends:  Since the Big Ten expanded to fulfill the NCAA’s 12 team requirement for a conference championship game in the 2011 season, Ohio State has appeared in the championship twice (2013 and 2014).  Ohio State won their first Big Ten Championship in 2014.  The Bucks would have certainly made an appearance in the Big Ten Championship in 2012 during Urban Meyer’s first season at Ohio State (12-0 record in regular season) had the Bucks not been ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA rule violations.  As head coach at Ohio State, Urban Meyer has never finished worse than first place in the Big Ten East division (tied for first in 2015).  All three of Urban Meyer’s championship teams suffered a regular season loss.

Cover photo by:  Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports

Nittany Lions Pull Off Upset Win Over #2 Buckeyes in Happy Valley

The Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to University Park to face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium in a Saturday night Big Ten East showdown.  The game was highly publicized and broadcast live for the whole world to witness.  Penn State ultimately emerged victorious at the end of the contest by a score of 24-21 in their favor.

Penn State may have lost to Pittsburgh and got smoked by Michigan but that didn’t stop them from getting up to get a statement home win over Ohio State.  The Bucks must have forgotten about what happened just two years ago at Beaver Stadium where the Nittany Lions dragged the game out to double overtime.  The Bucks got the win in that game but the Nittany Lions certainly looked like they were out for revenge this time around.

Offense:  Ohio State was coming off a big game in Madison where they erased an early deficit to complete a comeback win against the Wisconsin Badgers.  This was certainly an emotional victory for the young Buckeyes as they displayed resilience in their first close game while being in such a tough environment.  However, this game also revealed some of the team’s flaws.  The Bucks were not able to get their offense going early which led to Wisconsin taking an early lead.  The Bucks were held to just two field goals in the first half as Wisconsin led by 10 points.  The recent struggle of getting the offense started early is definitely alarming.  Teams seem to be finding a groove in game planning against Ohio State.  The young receivers had big shoes to fill when the Bucks graduated pass catchers Michael Thomas, Nick Vannett, and Braxton Miller.  Due to this, J.T. Barrett had to start all over again when it came to building chemistry with his receivers.  This leaves the Bucks with no real reliable receivers to go to when the going gets tough.  Barrett sure got going on his own though as he constantly made plays when nothing was there and he was under pressure.  The receivers have had difficulty creating separation this season which has forced Barrett to scramble around in the pocket and not have much time to get good looks going down the field.  This leaves the multi-tool that is Curtis Samuel.  He helps out immensely in the passing game with his ability to always be open as a check down option and his ability to make defenders miss and turn on the burners for a long touchdown any time he has the ball in his hands.  Samuel’s veteran experience that he’s achieved throughout his Ohio State tenure has certainly earned the trust of quarterback J.T. Barrett yet the team found ways to not get him enough touches.  He had just two carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.  Mike Weber is a very talented back and can do some major damage between the tackles but he was only averaging 3.4 yards per carry in this game and couldn’t get much going.  He finished with the bulk of the work at 21 carries for 71 yards.  Samuel also pitched in eight receptions for 68 yards which led the team in receptions and yardage.  Overall, ten total touches for such a talented and experienced player who was hot in this game should not be acceptable.  This game also kind of reminded me of the last time Ohio State lost which was when we played at home against Michigan State last year and Ezekiel Elliott only touched the ball twelve times the whole game.  Even J.T. Barrett carried the ball more times than Elliott at fifteen carries.  The Buckeyes did carry the ball a lot in this game against Penn State with Weber notching 21 carries, Barrett 17 carries, and Samuel 2 carries.  The point is that the carries didn’t go to the right player.  Curtis Samuel was the hot hand that Penn State couldn’t cover so the Bucks should have found ways to get him the ball every chance they could get.  On the season, Samuel has 527 rushing yards on 64 carries (8.2 ypc) and Weber has 683 yards on 115 carries (5.9 ypc).  They also each have four rushing touchdowns.  With that being said, I have no doubts that Urban Meyer and Ohio State’s upper echelon coaching staff will figure it out and find ways to get them in a rotation that best fits the current game flow.  Now to break down where all of these problems begin: the offensive line.  Ohio State’s offensive line was horrid on Saturday night allowing Barrett to get sacked a total of six times.  This is Penn State’s second highest sack total since sacking the quarterback seven times when they played Kent State (now 2-6) in the season opener.  Two of those six sacks were recorded on the last possession of the game when Barrett needed protected the most.  That is more sacks than the Bucks have allowed the entire season leading up to Saturday night (5).  Ohio State’s offensive line has played well this season so far this season by allowing the backs to run for 5.8 yards per carry and 281.6 yards per game but certainly struggled to contain Penn State’s pass rush this game.  This can be a worrisome development for the Bucks because of what I mentioned earlier about the receivers not getting open down the field and teams starting to game plan with that in mind so opposing teams will now be looking to send the blitz more often forcing Barrett to have to get the ball off even faster.  Teams are starting to hone in on stopping Ohio State’s potent running game and teeing off on Barrett in obvious passing situations.  Penn State is ranked 95th in rushing defense and Ohio State ran for a season low 168 yards.  Not good.

Photo by:  Jim Davidson

Defense:  The Buckeye defense has been pretty stout this season as they let up just three touchdowns through the first four weeks, haven’t allowed more than 24 points in a game through all eight weeks (ranked fifth overall allowing just 14.4 points per game), and rank second in the nation in red zone defense.  The one big issue that has haunted Ohio State’s defense is that they’ve been prone to giving up big plays.  This has been especially evident during the last two games.  Wisconsin gouged the Bucks’ defense for several big plays two weeks ago which allowed them to put up points while only having to execute just a few plays at a time in each scoring drive.  On Wisconsin’s very first play they completed a 28 yard pass to Jazz Peavy which got them to midfield and then they got two first downs to get into field goal range a couple plays later.  The first play of their next drive, Corey Clement ran for 68 yards to Ohio State’s 27 yard line where Alex Hornibrook threw a 24 yard touchdown to Peavy just three plays later.  This put the Bucks down ten points real quick.  This same defensive struggle continued against Penn State on Saturday.  This time with Ohio State leading 12-0 late in the second quarter.  Penn State came out of a timeout on their own 28 yard line on a 3rd & 8 with 47 seconds remaining in the half and completed a pass for a big 19 yard play to their own 47 yard line and a first down.  Trace McSorley found receiver Chris Godwin open when he exposed an opening in the zone defense.  McSorley gets sacked by Bosa a player later so they expend another timeout to save clock.  On the next play, McSorley runs from pressure in the pocket and just lofts one up to receiver DaeSean Hamilton who makes the catch for a huge 34 yard gain to the Ohio State 20 yard line.  McSorley takes a shot at the endzone the very next play because why not take a shot when this Buckeye secondary is getting shredded down the field.  That one goes incomplete but the play after that they take another shot at the other side of the endzone and catches the defensive back with his back turned again and Chris Godwin catches the touchdown right over top of him to end the half.  The Bucks have to clamp down on defense when it counts.  Whether it be at the end of the game in a close 4th quarter/overtime situation or just holding the opposing team to no points going into the locker room at half.  Coming out of the half, the Buckeye defense treated the game like they did when they came out in the first quarter and didn’t let Penn State put anything on the scoreboard.  Then the fourth quarter began.  Penn State started out hot from the very first fourth quarter possession.  McSorley found his tight end Gesicki wide open for 16 yards on the first play would should have been more had he not fell down.  On the next play, running back Saquon Barkley busted loose for 37 yards to the Ohio State 37 yard line.  On the third play of the drive, McSorley hit receiver Saeed Blacknall with a 35 yard bomb to the Ohio State 2 yard line.  Defensive back Marshon Lattimore just arrived late to pick up the receiever as Blacknall was wide open streaking toward the endzone.  Penn State scored on a quarterback keeper the next play.  This drive sounds familiar doesn’t it?  Pretty similar to the drive that Penn State ended the first half with when they needed to put points on the board to stay with Ohio State.  This game would have been much different had the Bucks limited Penn State from getting huge chunk gains in pivotal areas.  One of the most important keys to winning a football game or any game for that matter is to end the half strong and end the game strong.  Sports games are strongly dictated by momentum.  You have to be in control of the momentum in those key parts of the game.  It’s that simple.  Ending the half and starting the fourth quarter the way that the Bucks did is absolutely unacceptable.  Have to make defensive stops when it counts.

Special Teams:  Can’t miss PATs.  Can’t have punts blocked.  Can’t have field goals blocked.  Special teams is arguably the most important part of the game.  All great teams do it well and consistently do it well.  If a team can’t do the little things right by having their special teams play polished and mistake free then they’re going to suffer the consequences.  I think the Bucks learned their lesson after this game.  The hard way.

Photo by: Abby Drey

Trends:  This was Penn State’s fifth home win as they are undefeated at home this season.  The Buckeyes’ streak of 2o straight road wins has been snapped by this loss.  This also ends the Buckeyes’ four game winning streak over the Nittany Lions.  Last time these teams met at Beaver Stadium, Ohio State won by a touchdown in double overtime.

Credits:

Cover photo by:  Rich Barnes – USA Today Sports

Ohio State Rolls in Barrett’s Debut Start

The Ohio State Buckeyes recorded their eighth straight win Saturday night at Rutgers in a 49-7 rout.  The matchup almost ended in a 49-0 shutout if it wasn’t for a Rutgers touchdown with 13 seconds remaining.  This is OSU’s second total win over the the Scarlet Knights since they joined the Big Ten in 2014 (OSU 56 Rutgers 17).  With this win, the Bucks have added to their win streak of 21 straight wins (nation best).

JT Barrett filled the stat sheet Saturday night with 14/18 passing completions for 223 yards with three touchdowns and 13 rushing attempts for 101 yards with two touchdowns.  This was easily the best performance by either of the quarterbacks on the season.  The 49 points scored in this game tied their season with the 49 they put up against Maryland two weeks ago in which Barrett scored three rushing touchdowns.  Barrett did have a fumble on the first drive but that didn’t stop the Bucks from continuing to be fluent on offense under his command.

When Meyer was on air with 97.1 The Fan he had this to say about Barrett, “He just works so hard on his trade.” He’s a “coach on the field; he motivates those around him; he’s a tough guy. At that position, if you’re a tough guy, it permeates to other players.”

Meyer also had this to say about their win over Rutgers, “To go on a road and beat a team that woulda could shoulda beat Michigan State… and play like we did in that environment, I’m pleased with everything.”

Ohio State will be on bye this weekend.  The Buckeyes will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Shoe on November 7th.  They will be led by interim coach Tracy Claeys after the recent retirement of Jerry Kill.

The Ohio State Buckeyes Prepare for Big Ten Clash with Penn State Nittany Lions in Columbus

Ohio State has remained flawless so far this season as they pursue a repeat title run.

Their 6-0 start to the season has not come easily though as they have been challenged closely by teams like Northern Illinois, Indiana, and Maryland who was level with the Bucks until later in the game when Ohio State became too much for them to handle.

Penn State is 5-1 on the season and undefeated in the Big Ten.  Their single loss came on their first game at Temple.  The Nittany Lions were 38-0-1 when facing the Owls since 1941.  The loss was surely a heart breaker for the fans and organization as they were anticipating a season full of potential with star quarterback Christian Hackenburg at the helm once again.  

The Buckeyes are 16-13 all time versus the Nittany Lions and have won three straight in their matchups since 2012.  The Buckeyes are 9-7 all time when playing at home in this series. Four of those seven wins from Penn State came from 1912-1964 when they won four straight in Columbus.  Ohio State finally broke that early losing streak at home in 1975. The Bucks also lead the series away with a 7-5 at State College.

Urban Meyer will once again roll out the dual Quarterback attack that they’ve used over the past couple weeks that features Cardale Jones (Junior) and J.T. Barrett (Sophomore).  Meyer has given Jones the nod once again to start this week.  Meyer will deploy his most recent tactic that he used against Maryland again this weekend in their matchup with Penn State.  This tactic is to have Jones on the field up until the redzone where he is replaced by Barrett.  This bodes perfectly with the QB’s given attributes.  Meyer isn’t quite so sure about this as being the season long solution though.  Monday, he said, “I think so, but I’m not writing it in Sharpie yet.  We’ll see how it goes.”  

Keys for Ohio State in this game is to establish the run with Ezekiel Elliott against the 26th ranked rushing defense of Penn State.  The Bucks may not be able to get too much of their passing game going with receiver Corey Smith out for the season with a knee injury and Penn State’s 13th ranked defense in passing yards allowed.  Possibly the largest factor in this game will be getting fifth year senior and former Big Ten Player of the Year Braxton Miller involved early and often.  He moved positions from quarterback to H-Back after a shoulder injury that ended his season last year and the rise of young QB J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones.  Miller is extremely athletic and deadly in the open field. Miller recorded three rushing attempts for 11 yards and five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.