What to Expect

Minnesota is in a freefall, but that fall will eventually end. Unfortunately for the Gophers, the fall will continue for another week. This won't be another shutout as Minnesota will get 200 yards in the air. However the running game will not be as effective and will only amount to 100 yards. The Gophers are extremely green on defense and they are vulnerable to the pass and run. The running game for OSU has gained some momentum lately. I think Boom Herron will finally get his 100+ yard game this week, as OSU will rack up 225 yards on the ground. The running game has been complemented well with the passing game, and Pryor will slice up the secondary for 250 yards in the air. OSU will win 42-17.

Things to Watch

Injury Update

Offensive lineman J.B. Shugarts has been dealing with an injured foot, missed the second half last week and is expected to miss a couple games. Safety Corey "Pittsburgh" joins the growing group of injured Buckeye defenders, and he will be out through Spring 2011 practices after a knee surgery. Also injured in the secondary this season are: CJ Barnett for the season (knee); Tyler Moeller for the season (chest); Christian Bryan for the regular season (knee); LB Ross Homan will miss another game with a sprained foot; and Homan's backup Dorian Bell will miss the game with a concussion. It has been speculated that LB Etienne Sabino will sacrifice his redshirt season and get some time at linebacker, but Tressel confirmed that OSU has no plans to play Sabino and he won't make the trip to Minnesota.

 

Player to Watch

The Buckeyes have been looking for a solid #3 or #4 receiver after the loss of Duron Carter this summer. Taurian Washington for the most part has been the #3 receiver and TE Jake Stonebrunner has been a solid option when healthy. The up and coming receiver is Corey "Philly" Brown, a true freshman. Last week he had his first career touchdown reception and had 2 receptions for 38 yards. Unfortunately he was part of one of Pryor's interceptions, but it didn't prove to be fatal in the game. In total he has 81 yards, which puts him at sixth at OSU in yards this season, but he has averaged 13.5 yards/reception which is third best amongst the OSU receivers with at least five receptions.     

 

What Bowl Game Will OSU Play

It is very early and a lot could change, but inquiring minds want to know. Let's do a quick summary. Michigan State has beat Wisconsin. Wisconsin has beat OSU. Wisconsin has beat Iowa. That leaves Iowa with one loss in the conference, Wisconsin with one loss, OSU with one loss, and Michigan State with none. Michigan State plays at Iowa this weekend. OSU plays at Iowa in November. Obviously if Michigan State wins out, it will win the Big Ten and either go to the BCS National Championship or represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl, and Wisconsin or OSU could take another BCS spot. If OSU wins out, beating Iowa, and Michigan State loses, OSU could possibly jump Wisconsin in the BCS rankings for either the National Championship Game or the Rose Bowl. OSU still needs some other teams on top to lose to get into the National Championship Game, but crazier things have happened and #1 teams are dropping like flies.

Scouting the Golden Gophers

This Season

It has been a struggle this season for the Golden Gophers, going 1-7 and 0-4 in the Big Ten. Along the way, head coach Tim Brewster was fired. The season started with a win against Middle Tennessee State, but the loss to South Dakota showed troubles to come. The losses continued against USC, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Penn State. The team averages 24 points/game while opponents score 31 points/game. The offense averages 140 yards on the ground and 246 yards in the air. The defense allows teams on average to get 194 yards on the ground and 212 yards in the air. The defense allows an average of 6.8 yards/play, which is worst in the NCAA. The defense gives up 5.5 yards/carry and 8.9 yards/catch.

 

Offense

At QB is the very experienced Adam Weber, who holds the Minnesota career records in attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. This season he has completed 55% for 1961 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Splitting the running game are Duane Bennett and DeLeon Eskridge. Both have had 100+ yard rushing games this season. Bennett has 444 yards and two touchdowns, while Eskridge has 444 yards and two touchdowns. The top receivers are Da'Jon McKnight with 542 yards and nine touchdowns, MarQueis Gray with 432 yards and four touchdowns, and Eric Lair with 407 yards and two touchdowns.

 

Defense

The defense is very inexperienced, as the stats above show. The only returning starter was Kyle Theret at safety, and he has 41 tackles including one interception. Linebacker Gary Tinsley leads the team with 56 tackles. OL Jewhan Edwards has not been a starter, but he has played in 30 games over his career. OL Brandon Kirksey is the team captain.

OSU Last Week

OSU had a big first half with 415 total yards and 42 points. The Buckeyes recorded the first shutout of the season beating Purdue in Columbus, 49-0. Tressel is now 20-2 in games following a loss at OSU. Pryor had good numbers, 16 of 22 for 270 passing yards, with three touchdowns, but he did have two interceptions. Pryor is now third place in the all-time passing yards. Herron led the team in rushing with 74 yards and two touchdowns, while Sanzenbacher had 86 receiving yards and one touchdown. The OSU defense shut down Purdue, only allowing 118 yards of offense and 30 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 101-22, with a career record of 236-79-2 in his 25th year of coaching. He is 16-1 against coaches in their first year coaching at the school. Tressel is 7-0 against Minnesota.

 

 

Jeff Horton

Jeff Horton is the interim coach, replacing Tim Brewster on October 17. He is 0-1 so far this season and is 20-49 in his seventh year as a head coach. Going into this season he was the co-offensive coordinator. Pryor to Minnesota he was an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions and the St. Louis Rams. Before his time in the NFL he was the quarterback's coach at Wisconsin. He has head coaching experience at UNLV and Nevada. He was also an assistant coach at UNLV and Nevada. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Lou Holtz at Minnesota.

The Series

OSU leads the series 42-7 and leads in Columbus 22-3. OSU has won the last seven games by an average of 23 points. OSU has won 23 of the last 24, with the loss in Columbus in 2000 near the end of the Coach Cooper era. Last year in Columbus, the Buckeyes won 38-7. It was a slow start with no team scoring in the first quarter. Pryor had a breakout game last year with 239 yards in the air and 104 on the ground. Posey had a big day with eight catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Hall led the running game with 75 yards and a touchdown. Minnesota threw two interceptions and had two lost fumbles.

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. Pat Head continues to hold a two-game lead at first place. Philly Cheese is now in sole possession of third place. SPAM and Dr. Funkenstein moved up to fourth with 5-1 records. Carl and Old Bag of Man also had 5-1 records and moved up to seventh place.

Standings:
1. Pat Head (36-12) (4-2 last week)
2. Batman (34-14) (4-2 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (33-15) (4-2 last week)
4. Buckeye Cock (32-16) (3-3 last week)
4. Spam Sandwichsan (32-16) (5-1 last week)
4. Dr. Funkenstein (32-16) (5-1 last week)
7. Mel Kiper's Hair (31-17) (4-2 last week)
7. Carl (31-17) (5-1 last week)
7. Old Bag of Man (31-17) (5-1 last week)

10. Tressel's Devil (29-19) (3-3 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (26-22) (3-3 last week)
12. Big Dog (25-23) (4-2 last week)

Games for this week:
1. OSU vs. Minnesota
2. Michigan St. vs. Iowa
3. Oregon vs. USC
4. Missouri vs. Nebraska
5. Georgia vs. Florida
And the oddball game this week is:
6. North Texas vs. Western Kentucky

What to Expect

OSU will have plenty of motivation with the tough loss last week at Wisconsin and the loss last year against Purdue still fresh in the minds of many of the players. Purdue comes in with a nothing to lose attitude. so they will be relaxed. It isn't clear what attitude OSU will bring to the game, but again they should have plenty of motivation. Due to the injuries Purdue is now more of a running team, but I don't expect them to abandon the passing game this week. OSU is as vulnerable as ever against the passing game, especially with the injuries at safety. Purdue will get 150 yards on the ground and 150 yards in the air. OSU will have success this week on offense, getting 200 yards on the ground and 250 yards in the air. Purdue will keep it closer than expected, and OSU will win 31-17.

Things to Watch

Injury Update

Leading tackler linebacker Ross Homan injured his foot last week and will miss at least a few weeks. Another loss in defense is freshman Christian Bryant at the Star position (linebacker/safety.) Bryant was filling in for the injured Tyler Moeller. Bryant is out with a foot infection and his return is unknown.

 

Players to Watch

Obviously all eyes will be on defensive lineman Ryan Kerrigan, who terrorized Pryor last season. The less obvious player to watch is senior RB Dan Dierking, who had a 42-yard run and a total of 125 yards against Minnesota. He has had two 100-yard games this season. Purdue has been forced to go away a bit from basketball on grass, based on the personnel loses, and now is running the ball more. Also running the ball will be mobile QB Rob Henry, who had 57 rushing yards and three rushing TDs last week.

 

Purdue Dissed by Kent State

Wow, I would have never predicted a MAC team cancelling a game with a Big Ten team, especially when they have a guaranteed payout to the Big Ten team. This week Kent State announced it was cancelling the game next season with Purdue, despite the $400k guaranteed payout to Purdue. Purdue is now scrambling to find an opponent for a game in less than 10 months. Kent State also announced that it will be playing at Alabama on the newly available date. I don't know if Alabama is guilty of stealing an opponent, but it doesn't look very good.

OSU Last Week

OSU had a short stay at #1 in the polls, losing 31-18 at Wisconsin. It was a game where the stats were very similar between the teams: OSU with 22 first downs and Wisconsin 22; OSU 155 rushing yards and Wisconsin 184 yards; OSU 156 passing yards and Wisconsin 152; OSU 14 passing completions and Wisconsin 13; and OSU total offense 311 yards and Wisconsin 336. However those stats don't show that OSU was only 14 of 28 and had some critical missed throws/catches, while Wisconsin was 13 of 16 with some big play action passes. Wisconsin scored first with a returned kickoff return on the first play, showing that the OSU special teams have not progressed as hoped since the Miami game. Wisconsin led 21-0 in the first half, and OSU surged with a 18-point comeback, but the Wisconsin offense put it out of reach with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. John Clay became the first RB in 29 games against OSU to break 100 yards, getting a total of 104 yards. Boom Herron was one of the bright spots for the OSU offense, getting two touchdowns and 91 yards. Pryor struggled with 14 of 28 passing for 156 yards and one interception. Pryor used his legs, but his three sacks resulted in a reduction of 21 yards, so his net yardage was only 56 yards on the ground.

Scouting the Boilermakers

This Season

Purdue is 4-2 and has won four of the last five games. The Boilermakers lost the opener at Notre Dame and lost the fourth game to Toledo. The wins were against Western Illinois, Ball State, Northwestern, and last week against Minnesota.

 

Offense

Purdue has been riddled with injuries, losing starting QB Robert Marve, running back Ralph Bolden, and the main receiver Keith Smith all with torn ACLs. The next best receiver will miss the OSU game and likely a couple more with a sprained foot. Stepping in for QB has been redshirt freshman Rob Henry who has 210 passing yards and 189 rushing yards in two starts. At RB lately has been Dan Dierking with 353 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

 

Defense

The leader on defense is DL Ryan Kerrigan with 28 tackles. He is second in the NCAA with 14 tackles for loss and leads the Big Ten with 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He will be playing on Sundays next year.

The Series

OSU leads the series 37-13-2 and leads in Columbus 24-5-2. Purdue knocked off OSU last year in West Lafayette, 26-18. Purdue struck first and had the lead at halftime 9-7. Purdue continued to control the game in the third quarter, holding a 23-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. OSU attempted to make a comeback in the fourth quarter with 177 yards, but Purdue held on for the win. It was an ugly game for OSU with five turnovers including three lost fumbles and two interceptions. OSU had nine penalties including a momentum killing 15-yard facemask late in the fourth quarter.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 100-22, with a career record of 235-79-2 in his 25th year of coaching. Tressel is 19-2 in games played after a loss. He is 0-1 against Coach Hope and 5-2 against Purdue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danny Hope
In his second season at Purdue he is 9-9. His career record is 44-31, in his seventh season. Prior to taking the head coaching position he was the associate head coach, focusing on the offensive line and recruiting. His promotion to head coach was planned and coordinated with the retirement of coach Joe Tiller. Hope first worked with Tiller at Wyoming in 1996. He was also an assistant coach under Tiller at Purdue from 1997-2001, coaching the offensive line. After leaving Purdue in 2002 he served as an assistant head coach at Louisville. Hope had previously been an assistant coach at Louisville from 1987-1994. His assistant coaching career also includes a brief stop at Oklahoma in 1995. He was a successful high school coach in Florida in the 80's, which is where he is from. He was a head coach at Eastern Kentucky from 2003-2007 with a record of 35-22. Hope played at Eastern Kentucky as an offensive guard.

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. It was a rough week for the Buckeyes and for the Guest Panel. Congrats to Batman for moving into second with a 4-2 record. Pat Head held her lead with a 4-2 record, thanks to the help of her cousin last week. Two other panelists had 4-2 records, Philly Cheese moved up to third place and Mel Kiper moved into fifth place.

Standings:
1. Pat Head (32-10) (4-2 last week)
2. Batman (30-12) (4-2 last week)
3. Buckeye Cock (29-13) (2-4 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (29-13) (4-2 last week)
5. Spam Sandwichsan (27-15) (3-3 last week)
5. Dr. Funkenstein (27-15) (3-3 last week)
5. Mel Kiper's Hair (27-15) (4-2 last week)
8. Carl (26-16) (3-3 last week)
8. Tressel's Devil (26-16) (3-3 last week)
8. Old Bag of Man (26-16) (3-3 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (23-19) (2-4 last week)
12. Big Dog (21-21) (3-3 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Purdue vs. OSU
2. Oklahoma vs. Missouri
3. LSU vs. Auburn
4. Wisconsin vs. Iowa
5. Nebraska vs. Oklahoma St.
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Florida Atlantic vs. Arkansas St.

What to Expect

Wisconsin will come in with a high powered running game which averages 240 rushing yards/game. The passing game definitely comes second, but it still averages 209 yards/game. OSU can't stop the Wisconsin two-headed running attack, but they can limit the damage. Last year OSU made Wisconsin pass the ball and limited the running game to 118 yards. This year Wisconsin will get 175 rushing yards. The Wisconsin passing game is primarily to the tight ends, and will get 150 yards in the air this week. The Wisconsin defense is weaker against the pass, so OSU should get 250 passing yards. OSU will get 200 yards on the ground. OSU will win 27-17.

Scouting the Badgers

Wisconsin comes into this game 5-1 with wins over UNLV, San Jose State, Arizona State, Austin Peay, and Minnesota. The sole loss was to Michigan State. Wisconsin has not had a turnover since the second game of the season, against San Jose State game, The Badgers also don't commit a lot of turnovers, with only 20 so far this season, tied for the lowest in the country. Wisconsin is 11th in the country in rushing offense with 240 yards/game.

 

Offense

QB Scott Tolzien leads the team with 69% completions for 1201 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. At RB are John Clay and James White, who both average 80 yards/game and have 1,177 combined rushing yards, which is second best in the country for a running back duo. Clay has been mentioned in Heisman talk as he has averaged over 100 yards in 11 of his last 12 games. Freshman White has an average of 7.7 yards/carry with a total of eight rushing TDs. TE Lance Kendrick leads the team in receiving yards and is leading the TEs nationally with 391 receiving yards.

 

Defense

The defense has only allowed one rushing touchdown this season, and has not allowed a running back to gain 100 yards. LB Culmer St. John leads the team with 33 tackles, including ten in the Minnesota game. CB Antonio Fenelus leads the team with two interceptions. FS Aaron Henry leads the team with two fumble recoveries.

 

Things to Watch

Injury Update

All reports are that Pryor is good to go and capable of running. I still think we are not getting the whole picture and that his running has to be limited. TE Jake Stonebrunner had a good practice yesterday and it has been said that he will be available for the game Saturday. WR Grant Schwartz is still getting looked at after being taken to the ER the week of Indiana. OL Mike Adams has been dealing with the flu, but is supposed to play on Saturday. OL JB Shugarts missed some practice this week with a re-occuring foot injury, but is expected to play.

 

Player to Watch

There is much talk about John Clay, but be sure to keep your eyes on the other RB, freshman James White. White has rushed 494 yards this season with 8 touchdowns. He also has caught 5 balls for 55 yards. Additionally White will return kicks for the Badgers. He is smaller than John Clay, so he is a different kind of runner and each time he touches the ball he can take it all the way. Although it was against Austin Peay, he was only the second freshman (Ron Dayne was the other) in Wisconsin history to have four rushing touchdowns in one game.

 

Can Bielema Win the Big Game?

There is pressure on Bielema to win a big game. Although Bielema is highly successful, especially at home, he is still looking for a signature win. He hasn't beaten OSU and his frustration showed last year when he stated how much he hates losing to OSU. Additionally he has lost some favor with fans after going for two points against a highly over matched Minnesota team. Bielema has had a lot of success in his young career, but a win against a #1 OSU team would surely help him win back some fans.

OSU Last Week

OSU beat Indiana 38-10 in Columbus last week. OSU scored the first 38 points before Indiana hit a 36-yard FG in the third quarter and Indiana had its only touchdown with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Pryor was 24 of 30 with a career high 334 passing yards in the game, with three passing touchdowns in the first half, including a 60 yard pass to RB Brandon Saine. Boom had two running touchdowns, with a 39-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 8-yard TD run in the third quarter. The defense limited the potent passing offense of Indiana, only allowing 141 passing yards and intercepting the ball three times. Devin Barclay hit a 31-yard FG at the end of the first half. OSU won the turnover battle, forcing three turnovers, while losing one fumble and Pryor throwing one interception.

The Series

OSU leads the series 53-17-5 in this series that dates back to 1913. The Buckeyes lead the series in Madison with a 24-10-2 record.. In the last 14 games, OSU leads 8-5-1, including victories in the last three games. In the last 9 games it is a bit closer with OSU leading 5-4. The last three games in Madison have been decided by a total of 15 points. Wisconsin has faced a #1 OSU team seven times in the history of the series, with the only victory in 1942.

 

Last Time

Last year the #8 Buckeyes defeated the #24 Badgers in Columbus, 31-13. The Buckeyes only had 184 yards of offense, but the defense and special teams had 21 points. The two touchdowns on defense came off interceptions by Kurt Coleman and Jermale Hines. Ray Small had a 96-yard kickoff return. Wisconsin's offense moved the ball, getting 250 yards in the air and 118 yards on the ground, but the OSU defense proved to be the difference in this game. Pryor threw one interception, which put Wisconsin in favorable field position. On fourth down during that drive, Wisconsin ran the ball into the endzone on a fake field goal. OSU's lone offensive touchdown was a 32-yard pass to Posey at the end of the first half.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 100-21, with a career record of 235-78-2 in his 25th year of coaching. The win against Indiana was victory #100 at Ohio State for Tressel. He was the third fastest coach to win 100 games at a Big Ten school, behind Michigan coaches Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler who both won 100 in the 119th game. Tressel is 4-3 against Wisconsin and 3-0 against current coach Bret Bielema.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bret Bielema
In his fourth season as a head coach, all at Wisconsin, he is 43-15. After his second season he was 21-5, and was only the third coach in Big Ten history with that many victories in two seasons. The other two coaches being Michigan's Fielding Yost with 22 and Tressel with 21. After playing at Iowa he worked as a graduate assistant and then a Linebackers assistant coach at his alma mater. For two years he was an assistant defensive coordinator at Kansas State. Bielema joined wisconsin as a defensive coordinator for two years prior to being named head coach. He is 0-3 against Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel.

Guest Panel-Week 7 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Congrats to Pat Head for going 3-2 and holding first place. The only other people with records above .500 last week were Old Bag and Mel Kiper, who both moved up in the standings. Tressel also moved up a spot.

Standings:
1. Pat Head (28-8) (3-2 last week)
2. Buckeye Cock (27-9) (2-3 last week)
3. Batman (26-10) (2-3 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (25-11) (2-3 last week)

5. Spam Sandwichsan (24-12) (2-3 last week)
5. Dr. Funkenstein (24-12) (2-3 last week)
7. Carl (23-13) (1-4 last week)

7. Tressel's Devil (23-13) (2-3 last week)
7. Old Bag of Man (23-13) (3-2 last week)
7. Mel Kiper's Hair (23-13) (3-2 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (21-15) (2-3 last week)
12. Big Dog (18-18) (2-3 last week)

 
Games for this week:
1. OSU vs. Wisconsin
2. Illinois vs. Michigan St.
3. Arkansas vs. Auburn
4. South Carolina vs. Kentucky

5. Iowa vs. Michigan

And the oddball game this week is:

6. Florida Int. vs. Northern Texas

What to Expect

Indiana is a passing team, and they will attempt to win it through the air on Saturday. OSU should be able to get some pressure on QB Chappell, as the O-line for Indiana looks vulnerable. Indiana will run the ball, but not very often. Look for OSU to limit Indiana to 75 yards on the ground and 200 yards in the air. Indiana has never beat a #1 team, Indiana has never beat a #2, and Indiana has only beat a #3 team once and that was in 1967. OSU has dominated Indiana in the past and that will continue in this game despite the improved Indiana passing game. Pryor won't run much, although reports indicate he is capable of running. Look for OSU to run against this weak run defense that allows over 200 yards/game on the ground. There will be at least four running backs used by OSU on Saturday and that will open up the passing game. The O-Line should be able to make holes much easier as the passing game develops. OSU will get 275-300 yards on the ground and 200-225 yards in the air. The Buckeyes will win 41-17.

OSU Last Week

OSU beat Illinois in its conference opener 24-13. Boom Herron carried the team on his back in the fourth quarter, getting 54 of his 95 rushing yards in the last quarter. In the windy conditions Pryor was limited to 76 yards passing and Illinois had 109 yards. Pryor left the game in the third quarter with a quad strain, and returned after a trip to the locker room. Pryor had 104 yards on the ground, including a long of 66 yards in the first quarter. Pryor is now second in the OSU records for rushing as a QB with 1,783 yards. Illinois intercepted Pryor and Bauserman. OSU lost the turnover battle and only forced one interception.

Things to Watch

Injury Update

Tyler Moeller is out with a torn pectoral, ouch. It was an old injury and according to reports, it was a ticking time bomb and he could not strengthen it as he recovered from the head trauma last year. Being the optimist he has said this gives him a chance to get it properly healed before hopefully playing another year at OSU or at the next level. He is in his fifth year, and will start the paperwork for a sixth year, and he makes a good case but nothing is for sure. Taking Moeller's place is true freshman Christian Bryant, who had a good preseason. Backing up Bryant is starting safety Jermale Hines and fellow nickleback Nate Oliver. Pryor had a quad muscle strain and all reports are that he is good to go, but we may not be getting the whole story. Tressel said the pop sound was his knee brace. TE Jake Stonebrunner is not likely to play, as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain. WR Grant Schwartz had a scary practice this week as he was taken off the field on a streaker after landing bad and have a moment of unconsciousness. Schwartz will miss this week and will continue to be evaluated.

 

Player to Watch

If you don't know him already you will soon know the name Zach Boren at fullback, the younger brother of offensive lineman Justin Boren. As you may remember Justin transferred after Rich-Rod took the job at Michigan. It was a big deal that Boren transferred, considering it was to OSU, and because his dad played for Bo back in the day. Well with Justin at OSU, it was an easy decision for Zach to come to OSU. He has been tearing it up at FB, picking up some big blocks and clearing the way for the running game. He also has some good hands and gets some balls thrown his way. Last week he was the lineman of the week, yes the lineman of the week. Keep watching this sophomore, as he will only get better. Oh and word is there is another Boren brother in high school and OSU is looking at him...

 

Don't Freak Out...yet

It was a windy day in Champaign, and so is the case when you play in Memorial Stadium. I have only been to one game there, but it was pretty windy. Illinois is a windy state, think Chicago. The wind had an effect on the kicking and passing game, which means the running game was affected. That makes sense, because if you are struggling to pass with the wind, then you will run and the defense will load up the box in anticipation of the run. Many teams have loaded up the D-Line against OSU, forcing Pryor to pass, and up until this week teams have paid the price. This week the passing game was not effective, one because of the wind, and two because Pryor was hurt. There were some points of concern from the game, including Pryor's injury and the season ending injury of Tyler Moeller, but there is no need to freak out at this point. If the O-Line continues to struggle as they did Saturday with the run, then you can officially freak out. If Pryor is limited in mobility and teams load up the box, then the running game will struggle, and you can freak out. If the young players (some true freshmen) going in as injury replacements on defense struggle, then you can freak out. Until some of those things happen, there is no need to freak out. As Bob Hunter said in a blog post this week, remember this is Indiana.

Scouting the Hoosiers

Indiana is 3-1 and lost their first game last week against Michigan. In that game, Indiana gave up a touchdown in the last 30 seconds, after a shootout filled with record performances. Indiana scored 35 and had 568 yards. The defense allowed Michigan to rack up 574 yards, including 277 in the air and 297 yards on the ground. In the opener Indiana came out the gates against Towson with a score of 51-17. The Indiana passing game had 366 passing yards against Western Kentucky, with a final score of 38-21. Indiana had four touchdown throws against Akron and won 35-20. Indiana averages 39.8 points/game with 106 rushing yards/game and 348 passing yards/game. The Hoosier defense gives up 25 points/game, 207 rushing yards, and 190 passing yards.

 

Offense

Fifth year senior Ben Chappel leads the team as the QB with a 342 passing yards/game average, which is first in the Big Ten and third in the nation. He has 12 touchdowns and one interception. Indiana has some tall receivers with 6-5 Damarlo Belcher, 6-3 Terrance Turner, 6-3 Tandon Doss, and 6-5 TE Max Dedmond. At receiver: Belcher averages 93 yards/game; Turner had 121 yards against Akron; Doss also returns kicks and had 363 all-purpose yards against Michigan; and TE Max Dedmond is more of a blocker but he has two career TDs. In the redzone you will likely see Ted Bolser at TE, and he has four TDs this season. At RB Darius Willis runs and catches the ball with 298 rushing yards, four rushing TDs, 102 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. 

 

Defense

The D-Line is full of guys starting positions for the first time this year, including DE Darius Johnson, Mick Mentzer at DT, and DE Terrance Thomas. DT Adam Replogle started the year at DE and is now at tackle. Adam's brother Tyler is a co-captain linebacker and has led the team in tackles in all but the Akron game, which he missed for an injury. Also at LB are Donnell Jones and Jeff Thomas, who have 18 and 20 tackles respectively. At safety are recently converted cornerback Lenyatta Kiles and converted wide receiver Mitchell Evans. At the corners are converted wide receiver Matt Ernest and veteran Richard Council. It has been reported that CB Council will not play this week due to a hurt knee and taking his place would be Andre Burks who has some experience from last season.

The Series

OSU leads 66-12-5 all-time against Indiana, in a series that dates back to 1908. In Bloomington, OSU leads 23-2-1. OSU has won the last 15 straight games, with the last loss in 1988 in Bloomington and a score of 41-7. 

 

Last Time

OSU won the game last year in Bloomington, 33-14. Pryor had three touchdown passes, 166 passing yards, one interception, and 63 rushing yards. Saine led the team with 113 yards. Indiana didn't have much luck on the ground, with 28 carries for 18 yards. The OSU defense also forced three turnovers, with two interceptions and a forced fumble.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 99-21, with a career record of 234-78-2 in his 25th year of coaching. With a victory in Columbus on Saturday, Tressel will have victory #100 at Ohio State. In his 121st game he would be the third fastest coach to win 100 games at a Big Ten school, behind Michigan coaches Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler who both won 100 in the 119th game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Lynch

In his 4th season at Indiana he is 17-24, with a career record of 98-91-3 in his 18th year of coaching. Before Indiana he was head coach at the other Indiana schools of Butler, Ball State, and DePauw. In his first year at Indiana he led the team to a bowl game and seven win season.

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. Buckeye Cock and Pat Head continue to hold the lead. No one moved up in the panel.

Standings:
1. Buckeye Cock (25-6) (6-1 last week)
1. Pat Head (25-6) (6-1 last week)
3. Batman (24-7) (5-2 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (23-8) (6-1 last week)

5. Spam Sandwichsan (22-9) (5-2 last week)
5. Dr. Funkenstein (22-9) (5-2 last week)
5. Carl (22-9) (5-2 last week)

8. Tressel's Devil (21-10) (4-3 last week)
9. Old Bag of Man (20-11) (4-3 last week)
9. Mel Kiper's Hair (20-11) (4-3 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (19-12) (5-2 last week)
12. Big Dog (16-15) (3-4 last week)

 
Games for this week:
1. Indiana vs. OSU
2. Michigan State vs. Michigan
3. LSU vs. Florida
4. Florida St. vs. Miami
And the oddball game this week is:

5. Florida Atlantic vs. Louisiana Monroe