Guest Panel-Week 10 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:

1. Dr. Funkenstein (34-13) (2-3 last week)

1. Batman (34-13) (4-1 last week)

3. Philly Cheese (33-14) (3-2 last week)

3. Man Getting Hit by Football (33-14) (2-3 last week)

5. Nearsighted Nelly (32-15) (2-3 last week)

5. David Boston's Career (32-15) (4-1 last week)

7. Spamsandwichsan (31-16) (3-2 last week)

8. Pat Head (29-18) (3-2 last week)

Games for this week:

1. Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

2. Arizona State vs. Oregon

3. Cincinnati vs. South Florida

4. Wake Forest vs. Virginia

And the oddball game this week is:

5. Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh

OSU vs. Wisconsin this week on BTN

The Big Ten Network announced it will broadcast the upcoming OSU vs. Wisconsin game at noon. The following game against Illinois will be on ABC at 3:30. The final game against Michigan will be at noon on ABC.

Time Warner still has not struck a deal with the Big Ten Network, so yet again many fans will have to find a friend with satellite or head to a bar. I can't think of time when a #1 team was playing another ranked team, and the game was not on a network station or at least standard cable. Typically those games have a large audience and the networks try to grab them.

Another White Out

Ohio State was upset by Penn State in their last trip to Happy Valley in 2005. It is one of the few football games that I believe the home crowd truly had an affect on the outcome of the game. Below is a picture from that game. Not only did the students do a great job at coordinating a whiteout with issued shirts, but the crowd was loud and united. The university is asking students to do another white out this year, although they are running into some legal troubles. None of the issued shirts mention "white out", because NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets have a trademark on that term. However, a university press release mentioned the term "white out." There is no word regarding any legal action by Winnipeg.

CORRECTION: I don't watch the NHL, so I failed to realize the Winnipeg Jets are now the Phoenix Coyotes.

Notes from Michigan State Game

The score from the Ohio State-Michigan State game is deceiving. The defense dominated, only allowing 185 total yards and a field goal, but the Spartans had two late returns for a touchdown. Ohio State held a comfortable lead, but Boeckman under pressure threw an interception that was run back 54 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. In Ohio State's next possession, Boeckman fumbled when sacked and the ball was returned 25 yards for another touchdown. In the next possession Beanie Wells fumbled the ball, and Michigan State had their hands on the ball, but Beanie was able to recover the fumble. Ohio State punted the ball, and Michigan State drove down the field and settled for a field goal. Ohio State switched to conservative mode. On the kickoff, Ohio State setup for an on-side recovery, but Michigan State kicked a regular kick and Brandon Saine took a knee to avoid a turnover on the return. Beanie helped run out the clock. Outside of the turnovers, Boeckman had a great day, completing his first ten passes, tying a school record twelve straight completions, hitting 15 of 23 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Beanie gets the gameball, for turning in a career game with 221 yards and one touchdown. He was able to get some critical first downs to run down the clock at the end of the game. His ankle troubles did not appear to affect him.

Scouting the Nittany Lions

Offense
Penn State is led by QB Anthony Morelli, who is 59% for 1739 yards, 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Senior Rodney Kinlaw runs the ball and has 728 yards for six touchdowns. He ran over 100 yards in the games against Buffalo, Iowa and Wisconsin. Splitting receiving have been junior Deon Butler and junior Jordan Norwood, with 418 and 381 yards respectively.

This Season
The team is 6-2, 3-2 in the Big Ten. They have wins over Florida International, Notre Dame, Buffalo, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana. They have loses at Michigan and Illinois. Penn State struggled in the Michigan game, not getting any touchdowns, but they hit three field goals and lost 14-9. At Illinois, Penn State had over 400 yards offense, but Morelli threw three interceptions and Illinois won 27-20. Kevin Kelley has only hit 73% of his field goals, with a long of 53, and he is only 2 of 7 past forty yards.

Scouting Report
Penn State averages over 400 yards a game, with an average of approximately 230 yards passing and 180 yards rushing. Penn State is a well coached team, that is capable of beating a lot teams, but the team has showed some weaknesses. In the Michigan loss, they had very little success on offense, and Michigan has not been a solid defensive team. In the Illinois loss, Morelli turned the ball over three times. In the Indiana game last week, the team survived a scare, due to the defense forcing four second half turnovers, but the score was still close 36-31. Off three of those turnovers, the team had to settle for short field goals, because the offense could not punch it in the red-zone. Indiana is doing well this season, and is one win away from being bowl eligible, but last I checked they are the same team that has allowed a lot of offense, including 52 points by Michigan State. If a game is close, their place kicker is not dependable past forty yards. Penn State has had trouble on the road, but they are a different team at home. It is difficult to win at Penn State. The overall defense for Penn State is ranked fourth in the NCAA (OSU is first.) The team only allows 79.8 yards rushing, 199.8 yards passing, and 15 points/game. If the Penn State offense struggles, the defense is available to stop the opponent and force some turnovers.

Coach
The legendary Joe Paterno has an incredible record of 369-123-3 in his 42nd year at Penn State. He has been at Penn State since 1966. Paterno has the second most wins in NCAA history, only one game behind the 370 of Bobby Bowden at Florida State. If Florida State continues to struggle and Penn State wins games, Paterno will move to his rightful place above Bowden. He is 80 and Bowden is 77. Paterno faced criticism a few years ago, but he has gone 26-7 since the beginning of the 2005 season. In that same time Bowden has gone 19-14. Bowden is feeling some heat from the local media and some alumni. One fan went to the trouble of placing a for sale sign in the front yard of Bowden last weekend.

The Series

Ohio State and Penn State have only played 22 times, with the series tied 11-11. As you may know, Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993, making it a total of eleven teams. Each Big Ten team has two teams that are considered "rivals" in the Big Ten and those teams will play every year despite the typical rotation in Big Ten football that means Ohio State will not play two teams for years. Ohio State will play Penn State and Michigan every year. Penn State leads in games played at Beaver Stadium, 5-3. Ohio State won last year 28-6, in a game when the OSU defense came up big, intercepting three of Penn State QB Morelli's passes. In 2005 Ohio State entered the game, with a loss to Texas, with an outside chance of getting into the title game, but Penn State pulled an upset under the lights, beating OSU 17-10. Ohio State currently has a school record regular season winning streak of 26 games, with the streak starting after the loss at Penn State in 2005. Penn State is 18 of 19 in games at home since 2005.

Check back this afternoon

I will have posts regarding the game this weekend, up on the blog this afternoon. Sorry for the delay.

Gameday at OSU-PSU Game

The ESPN Gameday crew, which includes Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit, will be at University Park, PA to broadcast Friday night and Saturday morning. This is the first OSU game to be covered this year. Ohio State tends to draw a big TV audience for Gameday, as OSU holds the top two broadcasts of the show. Last year's OSU Michigan game in Columbus attracted the biggest TV audience in the history of the show. The crew was also at the 2005 OSU-Penn State game at Penn State, which was the second biggest audience in the history of College Gameday.

Guest Panel-Week 9 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:

1. Dr. Funkenstein (32-10) (5-0 last week)

2. Man Getting Hit by Football (31-11) (5-0 last week)

3. Philly Cheese (30-12) (4-1 last week)

3. Nearsighted Nelly (30-12) (4-1 last week)

3. Batman (30-12) (5-0 last week)

6. Spamsandwichsan (28-14) (4-1 last week)

6. David Boston's Career (28-14) (4-1 last week)

8. Pat Head (26-16) (4-1 last week)

Games for this week:

1. Ohio State vs. Penn State

2. Boston College vs. Virginia Tech (THURSDAY GAME)

3. USC vs. Oregon

4. California vs. Arizona State

And the oddball game this week is:

5. Rice vs. Marshall

ABC to Cover Games

ABC will be broadcasting three of Ohio States' five remaining games, 3:30 this weekend with Michigan State, 8:00 PM next weekend at Penn State, and back to the traditional start time of noon for Michigan on November 17. The remaining two home games with Wisconsin and Illinois have not be claimed by a network yet. The Big Ten Network has rights to at least one more game, which I assume will be Illinois, but if Wisconsin has a worse record ABC/ESPN may grab Illinois. ABC/ESPN are able to pick games first and the Big Ten Network picks up the remaining games that would normally be only covered in the two states involved in the game.

Schedule Gets Tough

As you know, the Buckeyes have won all the games so far this season, while many highly ranked teams have lost, and a good number of those loses have been to unranked teams. I as well as most of the nation am surprised by the number of upsets this season. I like the fact that Ohio State is #1 in the AP, ESPN, Harris Poll, and the season's first BCS rankings, although part of me wants Ohio State to sit at #2 for a few weeks, so the pressure and attention of being #1 is on another team. I think Ohio State's schedule has allowed this team to work in new starters, while only having two potentially difficult games, at Washington and at Purdue. At this point only one of OSU's remaining opponents (Michigan) is ranked, but it is fair to say the meat of OSU's schedule still remains with games at Penn State, against Wisconsin and Illinois, and at Michigan. Any of those teams could give OSU trouble.

Notes from Kent State Game

Ohio State scored once in the first quarter, and then four times in the second half. One of those touchdowns was a record setting 90 yard punt return by Brian Hartline. Another one of the touchdowns was a 70 yard returned interception by Donald Washington. Most of the starters were pulled in the second half, but under the direction of Schoenhoft OSU had one more touchdown and two field goals. One of those field goals was a 49-yard kick by Pretorius. Unfortunately OSU missed another chance at a shutout, when Kent State scored in the last three minutes. Both quarterbacks had great numbers, with Boeckman going 13 of 16 and Schoenhoft going 7 of 9. Beanie only had four carries for 17 yards and one touchdown. Leading in rushing for OSU was true freshman Saine with 69 yards.

Scouting the Spartans

Offense
Leading the offense is junior Brian Hoyer at quarterback. He saw some action last year, going in for veteran Drew Stanton. So far this season he is 61% for 1476 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. One stat that sticks out for Hoyer is the fact that he has been sacked 17 times. The Spartans have a great running game (9th in the nation), with junior Javon Ringer with 932 yards and senior Jenuu Caulcrick has 499 yards. The Spartans split their yards evenly on average with approximately 240 yards in passing and 240 yards in rushing. The leading receiver is Devin Thomas, and running back Ringer is second in receiving.

This Season
The Spartans started out well, going 4-0 with wins over UAB, Bowling Green, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. Then they had loses at Wisconsin and at home with Northwestern. They won last week at Indiana and have gone 5-2 this season.

Coach
The familiar face walking on the sidelines for Michigan State is Mark Dantonio, the former defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He was at Ohio State until 2004, and before that coached with Tressel at Youngstown State. They first met at Ohio State when Tressel was an assistant in charge of graduate assistants, and Dantonio was one of those assistants under Coach Earle Bruce. From the beginning they have been close friends. Dantonio's first stop as a head coach was at Cincinnati from 2004-2006 where he went 18-17 in three seasons. Dantonio played OSU twice at Cincinnati and lost in 2004 and 2006. This is Dantonio's first year at Michigan State.

The Series

This is the 38th game between Ohio State and Michigan State. OSU leads the series 25-12, leading 13-7 in games played in Columbus. Michigan State's most recent win was 1999 in East Lansing, and their last win in Columbus was in 1998, 28-24. In that game, the #1 Buckeyes were beaten by the unranked Spartans. It was the biggest upset I have witnessed in Ohio Stadium. Moving on to a better memory, OSU won at East Lansing last year, 38-7. In that game Ohio State dominate with 421 yards and MSU did not score until the last two minutes of the game.

Guest Panel-Week 8 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:

1. Dr. Funkenstein (27-10) (3-2 last week)

2. Philly Cheese (26-11) (3-2 last week)

2. Nearsighted Nelly (26-11) (4-1 last week)

2. Man Getting Hit by Football (26-11) (4-1 last week)

5. Batman (25-12) (3-2 last week)

6. Spamsandwichsan (24-13) (2-3 last week)

6. David Boston's Career (24-13) (5-0 last week)

8. Pat Head (22-15) (2-3 last week)

Games for this week:

1. Michigan State vs. OSU

2. Florida vs. Kentucky

3. Michigan vs. Illinois

4. Texas Tech vs. Missouri

And the oddball game this week is:

5. Nevada vs. Utah State

Beanie Ok

Tressel has said over and over again that Beanie is ok, despite his ankle troubles that have cut his minutes lately. The ankle problems are of the nature that resting a week would not help and playing is not making the ankle worse. Tressel has said that he plans to play all his starters in the Kent State game, despite the fact that Ohio State is heavily favored. Although I am sure he would pull them if the lead was high in the second half. He quoted former coach Earle Bruce in his reasoning, 'You're either getting better or you're getting worse,' and we've got to get better."

OSU Defense

Ohio State leads the nation in scoring defense at 7.17 points/game. Ohio State is second nationally in total defense at 210 yards/game and second in rushing defense at 46.5 yards/game.

Scouting the Golden Flashes

Offense
Junior quarterback Julian Edelman is throwing 51% for 1141 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions. Running the ball is sophomore Eugene Jarvis with 851 yards and two touchdowns. QB Edelman also runs the ball and has 358 yards. Jarvis leads receivers with 201 yards.

This Season
KSU is 3-3 this season with wins against Iowa State, Delaware State, and Ohio. They have loses to Kentucky, Akron, and Miami. Kent State's toughest opponent so far is Kentucky. In that game both teams had over 400 yards, but Kentucky benefited off four KSU turnovers. The only opponent OSU and Kent State have in common is Akron. Akron won in a close game, 27-20, but yet again Kent State had four turnovers.

Coach
In his fourth season, Doug Martin is 15-25.

Notes from Purdue Game

Facing a potent Purdue offense, OSU dominated, winning 23-7. The defense did not allow Purdue to score until the last minute of the game. In fact the defense did not let Purdue get past the OSU 40 until the last drive of the game. OSU would have likely scored more if Boeckman hadn't thrown three interceptions, and if the OSU defense had caught a couple of the passes they broke up and dropped. Pretorius hit three field goals, and is 10 of 12 for the season, with a long of 44 yards. Boeckman finished 17 of 29 for 200 yards. Beanie broke his streak of 100+ games, only getting 85 yards after leaving the game early.

The Series

This is second time these two teams have met. Ohio State won the first game in 2002 (Championship season), 51-17. This is the first time since 1926 that Ohio State has played three in-state teams in one season. OSU has not lost to an in-state opponent since 1921.

Gee

After a number of years, OSU again has a University President that is behind the football program, quite literally in this picture of President Gordon Gee and Vernon Gholston.

Guest Panel-Week 7 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:

1. Dr. Funkenstein (24-8) (4-2 last week)

2. Philly Cheese (23-9) (5-1 last week)

3. Nearsighted Nelly (22-10) (3-3 last week)

3. Batman (22-10) (4-2 last week)

3. Man Getting Hit by Football (22-10) (4-2 last week)

3. Spamsandwichsan (22-10) (4-2 last week)

7. Pat Head (20-12) (5-1 last week)

8. David Boston's Career (19-13) (4-2 last week)

Games for this week:

1. Kent State vs. OSU

2. Wisconsin vs. Penn State

3. Missouri vs. Oklahoma

4. Auburn vs. Arkansas

And the oddball game this week is:

5. Tulane vs. UAB

Saine Will Play

Brandon Saine will be available to play for a maximum of 20 plays, as he recovers from knee surgery. He had torn cartilage repaired and he missed the last two games. Having Saine back in the lineup adds yet another weapon in the backfield. Beanie has been banged up, but he continues to get 100+ games, Mo' Wells has had some quality runs, and even receiver Small took a snap last week.

Scouting the Boilermakers

Offense
The Boilermakers like to throw the ball, averaging 309 yards in the air, ranking as the NCAA's 14th passing offense and 10th overall in total offense. Leading the team at quarterback is junior Curtis Painter, who has 1542 yards this season with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior Korey Sheets runs the ball for the team, and he has 515 yards this season. Receiving is split between Dorien Bryant and Dustin Keller.

Season
Purdue enters the game as the country's lowest ranked undefeated team at #23. This season they have beat Toledo, Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, Minnesota and Notre Dame. The Boilermakers average 45 points/game and 309 passing yards/game.

Scouting Report
Purdue has a potent offense, but they have not been tested yet by a decent team. That being said, their defense has allowed quite a few yards. They rank 44th in the NCAA in rush defense and 92nd in pass defense. Compare that to OSU, who ranks in the top-ten in all defensive categories, including second in total defense. Look for OSU to run a balanced offense. Minnesota scored 25 points on Purdue, compared to seven points allowed by OSU last week. Notre Dame scored a season high 19 points at Purdue last week. If OSU can score early and limit turnovers, they should come away with the win. Although if OSU struggles, things could be interesting considering it is a night road game.

Coach
Joe Tiller is in his 11th season at Purdue. He has an 80-49 record at the school. He has had nine teams that have played in a bowl game. Tiller is known for his spread offense, which has been called "basketball on grass." He started his head coaching career at Wyoming. His best season was in 2000, when his team tied for first in the conference. That team was led by Drew Brees, who currently plays for the Saints.

Notes from Minnesota Game

Ohio State won at Minneapolis last week, 30-7. The Buckeyes survived in a week when four other top-ten teams were upset by lower or unranked teams. Boeckman completed 18 of 29 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Beanie had his two touchdowns in the first quarter. He had over 100 yards again. In OSU's first scoring drive, Trapasso almost botched a fake punt, but picked up the snap and ran 28 yards for the first down. In the second quarter the Gophers put together a 13-play 64-yard touchdown run. The OSU defense did allow 277 yards, but they had two interceptions and limited the Gophers to one touchdown. Below is the YouTube video of Brian Robiskie pulling in a 52-yard pass in the final minute of the first half.

The Series

Ohio State leads the series 35-13-2, 11-6 in West Lafayette. Due to the Big Ten rotation, which involves OSU not playing two Big Ten teams for two years at a time, OSU has not played since Purdue won in West Lafayette in 2004, 24-17. The last time Ohio State won at Purdue was in 2002 (National Championship year), when Krenzel passed to Jenkins on fourth down for the winning touchdown with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter. Below is the YouTube video with the 3rd and 4th down from that game. It gives me chills everytime I see that 4th down.

Saine May Play

Coach Tressel said earlier this week that freshman running back Brandon Saine would not play this Saturday, as he recovers from knee surgery, for an injury in the Washington game. He has missed the last two games. Today Tressel said Saine has looked good in practice and may play against Purdue.

Kent State vs. OSU will be on BTN

It has been announced that the Kent State vs. OSU game on October 13 will be on the Big Ten Network at noon. Time Warner still has not reached a deal with the network, perhaps with an upcoming game the talks will progress towards a compromise. WOW, another major cable provider in Columbus agreed to terms last week. The BTN is now carried on WOW, Insight, DirecTV, DishNetwork and some small cable providers.

The BTN will cover one of the remaining OSU conference games. That game has not been announced.

Guest Panel-Week 6 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well.

Standings:

1. Dr. Funkenstein (20-6) (4-1 last week)

2. Nearsighted Nelly (19-7) (4-1 last week)

3. Batman (18-8) (3-2 last week)

3. Philly Cheese (18-8) (3-2 last week)

3. Man Getting Hit by Football (18-8) (4-1 last week)

3. Spamsandwichsan (18-8) (4-1 last week)

7. Pat Head (15-11) (2-3 last week)

7. David Boston's Career (15-11) (2-3 last week)

Games for this week:

1. OSU vs. Purdue

2. Florida vs. LSU

3. Oklahoma vs. Texas

4. Cincinnati vs. Rutgers

5. Virginia Tech vs. Clemson

And the oddball game this week is:

6. North Texas vs. Louisiana-Lafayette