What to Expect

Oregon comes into the game as the media darling, even getting coverage by TMZ. The media loves the potent west coast offense and the team benefits off heavy financing and promotion by Nike. If you thought OSU was under the control of Nike, then you haven't seen Oregon. OSU is missing some key players on special teams with Pettrey not kicking and Small not returning kicks. The loss of Small and Carter at receiver will take away some targets, but it shouldn't shut down the OSU offense. OSU will keep running until Oregon stops them. Look for a few long passes when the Oregon defense loads up the line. Pryor says he is not limited by the knee injury, but it sounds like it was a big limitation at the end of the regular season. He needs to run to keep the Oregon defense on its toes. Oregon has not faced a defense like OSU. The OSU defense will limit Oregon, but OSU still needs to score at least 31 points to win this game. A touchdown or two on special teams or defense could make the difference in this game for OSU. OSU has the advantage in this game as they have the better defense and the more experienced coach. Look for OSU to win by 7 or less points.

Comparing the teams

On paper Oregon would win this in a close game, with OSU averaging 29 points/game and Oregon averaging 37.7 points/game. The OSU defense gives up 12.2 points/game and the Oregon defense gives up 23.6 points/game.

Defense
Although Oregon defensive stats are helped by games like UCLA (10 points), Washington State (6 points), and California (3 points.) The Oregon defense has given up 24 or more points in five games, with two of those as the last two games of the season. By comparison OSU has only given up 24 or more points in two games, with only one in the last two games of the season.

Offense
The Oregon Offense has had some high scoring games, with nine games with 35 or more points. By comparison OSU had three games with 35 or more points.

Common Opponents
There are two opponents in common between OSU and Oregon, and OSU lost to both USC and Purdue while Oregon beat both USC and Purdue. Luckily the transitive property does not apply to college football.

Coaches
Chip Kelly stepped in as head coach with a loaded team, especially on offense, but it is still his first year as a head coach at any college team. In contrast, OSU is led by Jim Tressel in his 9th at OSU and 24th overall. This is Tressel's ninth bowl game and fifth BCS game.

The Series

OSU is a perfect 7-0 against Oregon with series dating back to 1957. OSU has only played Oregon once in the Rose Bowl, and that was a 10-7 victory by Ohio State in 1957 on the way to a National Championship. The last meeting was in 1987 when OSU beat Oregon in Columbus during the last season for Earle Bruce. Below are the scores from the seven games.

1957 Ohio State 10, Oregon 7 (Rose Bowl)
1961 Ohio State 22, Oregon 12
1962 Ohio State 26, Oregon 7
1967 Ohio State 30, at Oregon 0
1968 Ohio State 21, Oregon 6
1983 Ohio State 31, Oregon 6
1987 Ohio State 24, Oregon 14

The Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his 9th season at OSU he is 93-21, with a career record of 228-78-2 in his 24th year of coaching. Under Tressel, OSU is 4-4 in bowl games. This is the fifth consecutive BCS bowl appearance for OSU under Tressel. Tressel is 14-1 in games against first year head coaches, with the only loss being to Purdue's Danny Hope this season.













Chip Kelly
In his first year as head coach and at Oregon he is 10-2.

Guest Panel-Bowl Games

The Guest Panel starts a new competition with the slate clean. Check back on December 18 for the picks/comments for all 34 bowl games.

NOTE-Panelists, please number your picks in the order in this post.

TIEBREAKER-Please list the total number of points scored for the Rose Bowl (OSU vs. Oregon) In the event of a tie for first place, I will look to the tiebreaker and the panelist closest to the total number of points, above or below, will break the tie and win. I will only use the tiebreaker for first place.

1. New Mexico Bowl
December 19th, Albuquerque NM, 2:30 pm ESPN
Fresno State vs. Wyoming

2. St. Petersburg Bowl
December 19th, St. Petersburg FL, 8 pm, ESPN
UCF vs. Rutgers

3. R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
December 20th, New Orleans LA, 8 pm ESPN
Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee

4. MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
December 22nd, Las Vegas NV, 8 pm, ESPN
Oregon State vs. BYU

5. San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
December 23rd, San Diego CA, 8 pm, ESPN
Utah vs. California

6. Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
December 24th, Honolulu HI, 8 pm, ESPN
Nevada vs. SMU

7. Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
December 26th, Detroit MI, 5 pm, ESPN
Marshall vs. Ohio

8. Meineke Car Care Bowl
December 26th, Charlotte NC, 4 pm, ESPN
Pitt vs. North Carolina

9. Emerald Bowl
December 26th, San Francisco CA, 8:30 pm, ESPN
Boston College vs. USC

10. Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
December 27th, Nashville TN, 8 pm, ESPN
Kentucky vs. Clemson

11. AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
December 28th, Shreveport LA, 5 pm ESPN
Texas A&M vs. Georgia

12. EagleBank Bowl
December 29th, Washington DC, 4:30 pm ESPN
UCLA vs. Temple

13. Champs Sports Bowl
December 29th, Orlando FL, 8 pm, ESPN
Miami vs. Wisconsin

14. Roady's Humanitarian Bowl
December 30th, Boise ID, 4:30 pm ESPN
Bowling Green vs. Idaho

15. Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
December 30th, San Diego CA, 8 pm ESPN
Arizona vs. Nebraska

16. Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl
December 31st, Fort Worth TX, Noon, ESPN
Houston vs. Air Force

17. Brut Sun Bowl
December 31st, El Paso TX, 2 pm, CBS
Oklahoma vs. Stanford

18. Texas Bowl
December 31st, Houston TX, 3:30 pm, ESPN
Navy vs. Missouri

19. Insight Bowl
December 31, Tempe AZ, 6:00 pm, NFL Network
Minnesota vs. Iowa State

20. Chick-fil-A Bowl
December 31, Atlanta GA, 7:30 pm ESPN
Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

21. Outback Bowl
January 1, Tampa FL, 11 am, ESPN
Northwestern vs. Auburn

22. Capital One Bowl
January 1, Orlando FL, 1 pm, ABC
Penn State vs. LSU

23. Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
January 1, Jacksonville FL, 1 pm CBS
West Virginia vs. Florida State

24. Rose Bowl presented by Citi
January 1, Pasadena, CA 4:30 pm ABC
Ohio State vs. Oregon
(TIEBREAKER-list total points scored)

25. Allstate Sugar Bowl
January 1, New Orleans, LA 8:30 pm Fox
Florida vs. Cincinnati

26. International Bowl
January 2, Toronto, Canada, Noon, ESPN2
South Florida vs. Northern Illinois

27. Papajohns.com Bowl
January 2, Birmingham AL 2 pm ESPN
South Carolina vs. Connecticut

28. AT&T Cotton Bowl
January 2, Arlington TX, 2 pm Fox
Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss

29. AutoZone Liberty Bowl
January 2, Memphis TN 5:30 pm ESPN
Arkansas vs. East Carolina

30. Valero Alamo Bowl
January 2, San Antonio TX 9 pm ESPN
Michigan State vs. Texas Tech

31. Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
January 4, Phoenix, AZ 8 pm Fox
Boise State vs. TCU

32. FedEx Orange Bowl
January 5, Miami Gardens, FL, 8 pm Fox
Iowa vs. Georgia Tech

33. GMAC Bowl
January 6, Mobile AL 7 pm ESPN
Central Michigan vs. Troy

34. Citi BCS National Championship
January 7, Pasadena, CA, 8 pm Fox
Texas vs. Alabama

Guest Panel-Regular Season Final Standings

Congrats to Buckeye Cock for his victory in the Buckeye Pregame Guest Panel Regular Season Competition! He will receive an OSU shirt and a certificate. Thanks to the entire guest panel for another great season of picks and funny and insightful commentary.

Keep an eye on the blog for the Bowl Game Competition. Everyone will have a clean slate for the Bowl Game Competition, which will have its own champion.

Final Standings:
1. Buckeye Cock (62-22) (5-1 last week)
2. Pat Head (61-23) (5-1 last week)
3. Batman (60-24) (5-1 last week)
4. Mel Kiper's Hair (55-29) (5-1 last week)
4. Andy Katzenmoyer's Professor (55-29) (5-1 last week)
6. Spam Sandwichsan (54-30) (3-3 last week)
6. Old Bag of Man (54-30) (4-2 last week)
6. Philly Cheese (54-30) (5-1 last week)
9. Big Dog (53-31) (4-2 last week)
10. Hudy Delights (48-36) (2-4 last week)
10. Yellow #5 (48-36) (4-2 last week)
12. Dr. Funkenstein (47-37) (4-2 last week)

The Trash Talk Begins

The Oregon papers are already talking trash about Ohio State and Pryor (who turned down Oregon.) Here is the article.

Guest Panel-Week 14 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. This is the last week for the Guest Panel regular season. Next week we will crown a champion for the regular season. There is a tiebreaker for first place. Everyone will have a clean slate for the bowl game competition, which will have its own champion.

Standings:
1. Buckeye Cock (57-21) (6-0 last week)
2. Pat Head (56-22) (5-1 last week)
3. Batman (55-23) (6-0 last week)
4. Spam Sandwichsan (51-27) (6-0 last week)
5. Mel Kiper's Hair (50-28) (3-3 last week)
5. Andy Katzenmoyer's Professor (50-28) (4-2 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (50-28) (5-1 last week)
8. Philly Cheese (49-29) (4-2 last week)
8. Big Dog (49-29) (4-2 last week)
10. Hudy Delights (46-32) (4-2 last week)
11. Yellow #5 (44-34) (5-1 last week)
12. Dr. Funkenstein (43-35) (1-5 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Oregon St. vs. Oregon (Thursday) (TIEBREAKER-list total combined points scored)
2. Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
3. Florida vs. Alabama
4. Texas vs. Nebraska
5. Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Arkansas St. vs. W. Kentucky (Thursday)

Guest Panel-Week 13 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. Next week is the last week for the Guest Panel regular season, at which point a champion will be crowned. Everyone will have a clean slate for the bowl game competition, which will have its own champion.

Standings:
1. Pat Head (51-21) (3-3 last week)
1. Buckeye Cock (51-21) (5-1 last week)
3. Batman (49-23) (3-3 last week)
4. Mel Kiper's Hair (47-26) (4-2 last week)
5. Andy Katzenmoyer's Professor (46-26) (4-2 last week)
6. Philly Cheese (45-27) (3-3 last week)
6. Old Bag of Man (45-27) (3-3 last week)
6. Big Dog (45-27) (3-3 last week)
6. Spam Sandwichsan (45-27) (5-1 last week)
10. Dr. Funkenstein (42-30) (2-4 last week)
10. Hudy Delights (42-30) (3-3 last week)
12. Yellow #5 (39-33) (3-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Illinois vs. Cincinnati (Friday)
2. Arizona vs. Arizona State
3. Arkansas vs. LSU
4. Utah vs. BYU
5. Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia (Friday)
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Eastern Michigan vs. Akron

OSU Beats Michigan...again

Photos from the dispatch.com

What to Expect

OSU has most of its players available for this game. On the O-Line Shugarts is set to start at tackle and Marcus Hall will get some minutes. Senior Jim Cordle will start. Tressel said Pryor is healthy, but he did not give many details so I am guessing he has some restricted mobility. I'll keep it simple, OSU should be able to move the ball against Michigan, especially in the air. Look for Pryor to air it out, although that doesn't mean OSU's strong running game will cool off this week. Assuming the OSU offense doesn't turn the ball over this shouldn't be close. Although one cannot discount the fact that it is a rivalry game and crazy things can happen. Michigan can run the ball, but they are missing one of their running backs this week. Michigan is due to win one of these rivalry games, and even though they can't play the spoiler regarding the bowl game, they can force OSU to share the title. I don't think this is the year for Michigan. OSU will win and Michigan will stay home for a second straight bowl season. Hopefully OSU's uniforms aren't a distraction for the team. I am a bit concerned that some players were complaining about the new shoes and possible ankle injuries. Nike provide four models of the shoe, but hopefully OSU will allow some players to keep their old shoes, especially the lineman.

Mirror Lake Jump

As most of you know, tonight is the night of the traditional jump into Mirror Lake for OSU-Michigan week. I was a part of the ritual during my college years. Here is an interesting article regarding the increase in the ammonia levels during the night. Hmm, where would the ammonia come from?

Mirror Lake during the day

Mirror Lake on Thursday night of OSU-Michigan week

Michigan So Far this Season

Michigan came out the gate and won the first four games against Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, and Indiana. Michigan was briefly in the rankings until the loss against Michigan State and then the team lost to Iowa. The last win so far this season was against Delaware State in the middle of October. In the Delaware State game, the offense had a school record 727 yards of offense with 461 rushing yards. Since then, Michigan has lost to Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin. Michigan leads the Big Ten and is 27th nationally in scoring offense with 31.3 points/game. The team is second in the conference and 21st nationally in rushing with 195 yards/game. However the defense has struggled allowing 28.1 points/game this season and 35 points/game in the conference. The defense has allowed teams to average 400 yards/game, with 164 on the ground and 235 in the air.

Scouting the Wolverines

Offense
At QB is true freshman Tate Forcier, who has been the starter the entire season, although he has missed some minutes with injuries. So far this season he is 58% for 1824 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. He also has 435 yards on the ground with 3 rushing touchdowns. At running back are seniors Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown. Minor will not play Saturday, due to a shoulder injury. This is Brown's first year as the regular starter and he has 480 yards this season with four touchdowns, and an average of 5.9 yards/carry. At receiver are senior Greg Mathews, redshirt freshman Roy Roundtree, and redshirt sophomore Junior Hemingway. Receiver Martavious Odoms is likely to return after missing time this season with a knee injury. On the line are fourth year junior Stephen Schilling, fifth year senior David Moosman, redshirt freshman Patrick Omameh, and fourth year junior Perry Dorrestein. Molk will miss the game again at center, due to a knee injury.

Defense
Safety Mike Williams is doubtful to play, due to an ankle injury. That loss is not good as the secondary has already had many issues. At safety will likely be redshirt freshman Jordan Kovacs and possibly redshirt freshman Brandon Smith. On the corners are junior Donovan Warren and junior Troy Woolfolk. On the D-Line are senior Brandon Graham, third year sophomore Ryan Van Bergen, and sophomore Mike Martin. At LB are true freshman Craig Roh, fourth year junior Obi Ezeh, and fourth year junior Jonas Mouton.

Rich Rod Pics

Rod-"Can we change the subject, football makes me cry."

Rod-"I would appreciate not getting kicked in the nuts this year"

Rod-"(puke sound) This team is making me sick."

(File Photo from 2008)
Rod-"This is the first of many victories to come this season!"

Rod to Pryor-"Ok, so can you take it easy on us?"

The Series

This will be the 106th game in what is considered the greatest rivalry in college football. The two teams first met in 1897 and have played every year since 1918. Since 1935 the game has been the last conference game of the season. Michigan leads the series 57-42-6, and leads 30-19-4 in games played in Michigan. As I have said in past previews, I think it is worth looking at the record since Woody Hayes first season at OSU. Since 1951, OSU leads the series 30-26-2. Before Woody Hayes Ohio State was considered the "graveyard of coaches." Starting with Woody Hayes, Ohio State took its rightful place in college football. Tressel has won seven of the eight games during his tenure.

Ohio State has won the last five games over Michigan. Last year OSU won 42-7 in Columbus. OSU led 14-7 at halftime, but took control early in the third quarter with a 42 yard run by Beanie Wells and then finished the drive with a 49 yard touchdown run by Boom Herron.

The Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his 10th season at OSU he is 92-21, with a career record of 227-78-2 in his 24th year of coaching.












Rich Rodriguez
In his 2nd year at Michigan, he is 8-15. In his 17th year as a head coach he is 113-77-2. He was the head coach at West Virginia for seven years. Prior to West Virginia he was an assistant at Clemson and Tulane. Before his work as an assistant he was the head coach at the NAIA division II schools of Salem and Glenville State. Rodriguez was a walk-on and eventually a scholarship player at West Virginia as a defensive back.

SCOREBOARD!

OSU victories over Michigan under Coach Tressel

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2002

2001 at halftime, final score 26-20
(anyone have a picture of the final scoreboard?)

Official Pictures-1954 Tribute Uniforms

Here are some official pictures of the uniforms for this week's game at Michigan. The pictures can be found on the official website at this link. I'll wait to see the uniform in action, but I think they look ok. I think Nike could have done a better job staying true to the actual 1954 uniform, specifically the helmet should not have a number, and the shoulder does not look the same.

The uniform from 1954

I really like the gloves

The shoes are nice.

Guest Panel-Week 12 Games and Standings

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

Standings: (REVISED)
1. Pat Head (48-18) (3-3 last week)
2. Buckeye Cock (46-20) (3-3 last week)
2. Batman (46-20) (6-0 last week)
4. Mel Kiper's Hair (43-24) (5-1 last week)
5. Philly Cheese (42-24) (3-3 last week)
5. Andy Katzenmoyer's Professor (42-24) (3-3 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (42-24) (4-2 last week)
5. Big Dog (42-24) (5-1 last week)
9. Dr. Funkenstein (40-26) (4-2 last week)
9. Spam Sandwichsan (40-26) (4-2 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (39-27) (3-3 last week)
12. Yellow #5 (36-30) (3-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Ohio State vs. Michigan
2. Penn State vs. Michigan State
3. California vs. Stanford
4. North Carolina vs. Boston College
5. Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Hawaii vs. San Jose State

What to Expect

The O-Line is banged up, but Shugarts and Adams should be available to play in limited action. Pryor missed some snaps in practice with his sore ankle. He says that it still hurts to make cuts in either direction, but he should be set for Saturday. Herron should continue to get some touches at RB, but he is not 100%. DT Larimore will play, but he also is not 100%. Iowa is clearly limited on offense with the absence of QB Stanzi. Let's face it, before the loss of Stanzi the offense was limited and barely getting by. The running game has not been consistent, due to injuries and lack of overall production. In four games the Iowa running game has failed to eclipse 100 yards, and one of those games was last week against Northwestern when Iowa was limited to 65 yards. The highest total for Iowa was 191 rushing yards in the Iowa State game. The running game was impressive against Penn State with 163, but the team no longer has Robinson who accounted for 88 of those yards. Without Stanzi, Iowa offense collapsed, completing just 30% of the passes and not scoring any points. Iowa must rely on its defense to create some turnovers or points. Both teams force turnovers with Iowa forcing 26 and OSU forcing 25. Iowa has a good defense, but OSU should be able to move the ball more easily than last week at PSU. This is the last home game, the senior game, with a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth going to the winner. OSU will be motivated and ready for the game. Look for OSU to get 200 on the ground and 150-200 in the air. Pryor will continue to limit his runs, but he will still be available to scramble. Iowa should be limited to 50-100 on the ground and 100-150 in the air. OSU should get 28-35 points, while Iowa will likely get 7-14. Assuming that happens, OSU will be heading to the Rose Bowl, no matter what happens in the Michigan game, but a loss to Michigan would not be expected or acceptable.

Hawkeyes So Far this Season

Iowa was perfect until last week's loss to Northwestern, with wins over Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Arizona, Penn State, Arkansas State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Indiana. Iowa has won some close games, with four victories by three or less points, which explains the fact that Iowa only averages 24 points/game, while giving up 15.9. The Iowa offense averages 348 yards/game with 119 on the ground and 230 in the air. The Iowa defense gives up 118 yards on the ground and 173 in the air.

Scouting the Hawkeyes

Offense
At QB is backup James Vandenberg, who played most of the game last week in place of the injured Ricky Stanzi. Stanzi had right ankle surgery this week and will miss the rest of the season. Vandenberg was 9 of 27 for 82 yards, no TD, and one interceptions in the game against Northwestern. At RB is Brandon Wegher, who took over for Adam Robinson after the Michigan State game after being his back-up. So far he has 502 yards and six touchdowns. At receiver are Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Trey Stross. Johnson-Koulianos has 553 yards and two touchdowns, while Stross has 368 yards and one touchdown.

Defense
At LB are A.J. Edds, Pat Angerer, and Jeremiha Hunter. Angerer led the team in tackles last year and leads the team in tackles this season with 106. Angerer had nine tackles against Wisconsin and 14 against Penn State. The line has Adrian Clayborn, Karl Klug, Christian Ballard, and Broderick Binns. At safety are Tyler Sash and Joe Conklin. Sash has the career record at Iowa with 350 yards on 11 interceptions. This season he has six interceptions for 203 yards, with three of those interceptions against Iowa State. At cornerback are Shaun Prater and Amari Spievey.

The Series

This is the 62nd game between the two schools, in a series that began in 1922. OSU leads the series 44-14-3 and leads 27-8-1 in games in Columbus. OSU has won 10 of the last 11 games. Iowa last beat OSU 33-7 in 2004 to snap an eight game winning streak by OSU. OSU won the last game between the two teams, 38-17 in 2006 in Iowa. In that night game, senior Troy Smith threw four touchdowns in the fifth game of his Heisman season. The OSU defense forced four turnovers from the previously undefeated Hawkeyes. Iowa turned over the ball in its last three possessions of the game.

The Coaches

Jim Tressel
In his 10th season at OSU he is 91-21, with a career record of 226-78-2 in his 24th year of coaching.











Kirk Ferentz
In his 11th season at Iowa he is 79-54, with a career record of 91-75 in his 14th year as a head coach. Under Ferentz, Iowa has two conference titles and seven bowl games. Prior to taking the head coaching position at Iowa, he worked as assistant head coach and offensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns before they moved to Baltimore. Ferentz was head coach at Maine for three years in the early 90's. Ferentz was an assistant under Hayden Fry at Iowa for nine years. Ferentz attended Connecticut, where he was a captain on the football team.

Guest Panel-Week 11 Games and Standings

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

Standings:
1. Pat Head (45-15) (3-3 last week)
2. Buckeye Cock (43-17) (2-4 last week)
3. Batman (40-20) (2-4 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (39-21) (2-4 last week)
4. Andy Katzenmoyer's Professor (39-21) (2-4 last week)
6. Old Bag of Man (38-22) (2-4 last week)
6. Mel Kiper's Hair (38-22) (2-4 last week)
8. Big Dog (37-23) (5-1 last week)
9. Hudy Delights (36-24) (2-4 last week)
9. Dr. Funkenstein (36-24) (4-2 last week)
9. Spam Sandwichsan (36-24) (4-2 last week)
12. Yellow #5 (33-27) (2-4 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Iowa vs. Ohio State
2. Auburn vs. Georgia
3. West Virginia vs. Cincinnati (Friday)
4. Utah vs. TCU
5. Arizona vs. California
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Tulane vs. Rice

Another Uniform Picture

Here is the most recent picture of the uniform for the Michigan game. No official pictures will likely be out until next week.