OSU Beats Michigan again...

Photos from dispatch.com

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 will be the last week for the Guest Panel Regular Season. Next week we will crown a champion for the regular season. Everyone will have a clean slate for the bowl game competition, which will have its own champion. Congrats to Pat Head, Carl, and Hudy for going 5-1 last week. Pat Head extended her lead at first place to five games. Carl moved up to third place.

 

Standings:
1. Pat Head (60-18) (5-1 last week)
2. Batman (55-23) (4-2 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (52-26) (4-2 last week)
3. Carl (52-26) (5-1 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (51-27) (3-3 last week)
5. Dr. Funkenstein (51-27) (4-2 last week)
7. Spam Sandwichsan (49-29) (4-2 last week)
7. Mel Kiper's Hair (49-29) (4-2 last week)
7. Tressel's Devil (49-29) (4-2 last week)
10. Buckeye Cock (48-30) (3-3 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (46-32) (5-1 last week)

12. Big Dog (41-37) (4-2 last week) 

Games for this week:
1. Auburn vs. South Carolina
2. Oklahoma vs. Nebraska
3. Florida State vs. Virginia Tech
4. Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati

5. Connecticut vs. South Florida
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Troy vs. Florida Atlantic

OSU Uniforms This Week

As I posted in September, OSU will have special uniform this weekend. This is similar to the Nike program last year. This year's uniform will honor the 1942 national champions. It is not intended to be a duplicate of the 1942 uniform, and it will have some camouflage in honor of the WWII vets that played for OSU before deployment. Below is a more recent picture of the uniform and the red helmet.

 

What to Expect

I think the Wisconsin game last week is a good example of how to beat Michigan. Wisconsin was able to limit Michigan to 168 rushing yards, and forced Michigan to throw the ball. Michigan did have some success in the air and passed for 274 yards. Wisconsin was able to run all over the soft defense of Michigan, and piled up 357 yards rushing and six rushing TDs. OSU does not quite have the power running game of Wisconsin, but they still should be able to get 275 rushing yards, including a 100-yard day for Herron. The passing offense for OSU will get 250 yards against the young secondary of Michigan. Michigan will get some rushing yards, but they will be kept under 150 yards on the ground. The passing game for Michigan will get 175 yards. OSU will win the game and extend the winning streak against the school up north, with a final score of 38-17,

Things to Watch

Injury Update

No major updates on the injury list this week. 

 

Player to Watch

Boom Herron has had a great second half to his season, so he is definitely on Michigan's radar. Herron should have a big day as OSU will pile on the rushing yards. He should have his third career 100-yard game. 

 

Will Rodriguez Be Back?

This may be Rich Rod's last regular season game at Michigan. Although he has guided Michigan to better season, it is still not up to Michigan standards. As the offense has progressed, the defense has taken its place among the worst in the country. It was not lost in the minds of the Michigan administration, that although the three overtime victory over Illinois was exciting, the defense allowed Illinois to score 65 points. Rich Rod has finally shown that his offensive system can work, but it has only resulted in a 7-4 record and that is with a dynamic QB. It is not clear that his system in the Big Ten will result in a better record in the coming seasons. He may try to fire defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, and that may be enough to save him for another year. I think he needed to win one of the big games against Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, or Wisconsin to save his job.

Scouting the Wolverines

Michigan is bowl eligible for the first time in Coach Rodriguez's tenure. The Wolverines are 7-4 and 3-4 in the conference. The team has wins over Connecticut, Notre Dame, Massachusetts, Bowling Green, Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue. The loses were against Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, and Wisconsin last week. The team is averaging 36 points/game while the defense gives up 33 points/game. The offense averages 257 yards rushing and 257 yards passing. The defense gives up 181 rushing yards and 263 passing yards.

 

Offense

QB Dernard Robison came out strong at the start of the season, and was mentioned as an early Heisman candidate. He played limited minutes last season, but this season he has started every game and missed some minutes for injuries. This season he is completing 63% for 2,417 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He leads the team in rushing with 1,538 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is second nationally averaging 342 yards/game. He has set NCAA records for rushing yards by a quarterback. Also running the ball is Vincent Smith with 571 yards and five touchdowns. The main receivers are Roy Roundtree, Darryl Stonum, and Junior Hemingway. Roundtree has 839 yards and six touchdowns and is the Big Ten's second-leading receiver with 76 yards/game. Stonum has 493 yards and he averages 24 yards/kick return. Hemmingway has 544 yards and missed the first two game of the season with a hamstring injury.

 

Defense

The defense has had its troubles, but there is some talent among the young players. The secondary has only two upperclassmen among the two deep at safety and cornerback. LB Jonas Mouton leads the team with 102 tackles and has two interceptions and two recovered fumbles. Tackle Greg Banks and tackle Ryan Van Bergen lead the team with three fumbles. Cornerback James Rogers leads the team with three interceptions.

OSU Last Week

Ohio State scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a touchdown in the last two minutes, resulting in a 20-17 victory over Iowa. OSU had 135 of its 353 yards in the fourth quarter. Iowa scored the first TD with a 19-yard pass in the first quarter. OSU scored its first points with a 18 yard FG in the second quarter. Ohio State took the lead 10-7 with a 77-yard drive finished off with a 5-yard pass to TE Reid Fragel. Iowa tied it with a 31-yard FG late in the third quarter. Pryor threw his second interception and Iowa scored two plays later to take the lead. OSU drove the ball down and settled for a FG to inch closer with a score of 17-13.  The defense stepped up, in particular John Simon who sacked Stanzi on first down and knocked down a pass on third down. With six minutes left OSU drove the ball 76 yards, and despite a missed catch by Posey in the endzone, OSU was able to score off a 1-yard run by Herron. Pryor converted a big 4th down with a 14 yard run, and Sanzenbacher had a 24-yard pass at the sideline to get OSU in the redzone. Iowa got the ball back but the OSU defense stepped up big including Heyward's first sack of the season.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 104-22, with a career record of 239-79-2 in his 25th year of coaching. He is 8-1 against Michigan.

Rich Rodriguez
In his 3rd year at Michigan, he is 15-19. In his 18th year as a head coach he is 120-81-2. Rod is 0-2 against Ohio State. 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.

The Series

This will be the 107th 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 57-43-6, and leads 27-23-2 in games played in Columbus. Michigan has not won in Columbus since 2000. 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 31-26-2. Before Woody Hayes, Ohio State was considered the "graveyard of coaches." Starting with Woody Hayes, Ohio State took its rightful place in college football and in the series with Michigan.

Last year Ohio State beat Michigan 21-10 in Ann Arbor. Michigan threw four interceptions and had one lost fumble, with that fumble leading to a defensive TD by OSU in the first series. The loss prevented Michigan from getting into a bowl game, and resulted in a 5-7 record. The OSU running game had 251 on the ground with 96 by Herron, 84 by Saine, and 74 by Pryor. Pryor was limited to 9 passes for 67 yards. OSU wore special Nike uniforms that were inspired by the 1954 uniforms.

SCOREBOARD

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2002

2001
From Halftime, missing final scoreboard

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. Congrats to Pat Head and Hudy Delights for their 5-1 records. Pat Head extended her lead to four games at first place. Spam, Mel Kiper, and Tressel's Devil moved up from 8th to 7th. The Guest Panel will also be here next week for the conference championships.

 

Standings:
1. Pat Head (55-17) (5-1 last week)
2. Batman (51-21) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (48-24) (4-2 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (48-24) (4-2 last week)
5. Dr. Funkenstein (47-25) (4-2 last week)
5. Carl (47-25) (4-2 last week)
7. Buckeye Cock (45-27) (3-3 last week)
7. Spam Sandwichsan (45-27) (4-2 last week)
7. Mel Kiper's Hair (45-27) (4-2 last week)
7. Tressel's Devil (45-27) (4-2 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (41-31) (5-1 last week)
12. Big Dog (37-35) (3-3 last week)

 

Games for this week:
1. OSU vs. Michigan

2. Auburn vs. Alabama (Friday)
3. Boise State vs. Nevada (Friday)
4. Texas A&M vs. Texas (Thursday)
5. Arizona vs. Oregon (Friday)
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Buffalo vs. Akron (Friday)

What to Expect

Iowa had many close game victories last year, but they couldn't pull it out in Columbus with a back-up QB. This year the magic has not been there in the close game loses. Expectations were high this year for Iowa, and no one expected the team to have three loses. It will be interesting to see how Iowa shows up after the unexpected loss last week to Northwestern. Pryor has said he is excited about the gameplan this week, and based on the fact that Iowa allows 220 passing yards, I think OSU will have a big passing game with 250 in the air. The running game for Ohio State will not have as much success, only getting 150 yards against the stout run defense of Iowa, with Boom Herron staying under 100 yards. Iowa will get 100 yards rushing and 180 passing yards. OSU will win the game 27-17.

Scouting the Hawkeyes

Iowa has lost three close games, 34-27 at Arizona, 31-30 against Wisconsin, and 21-17 last week at Northwestern. The wins were against Eastern Illinois, Iowa State, Ball State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana. Iowa averages 30 points/game with 153 rushing yards and 252 passing yards. The defense limits teams to 15 points/game, 86 rushing yards, and 220 passing yards.

 

Offense

QB Ricky Stanzi leads the offense completing 66% for 2,482 passing yards. RB Adam Robinson averages 101 yards on the ground. He has 914 rushing yards this season with ten touchdowns. He missed the Indiana game, but is good to go this week. At receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos has 673 yards, and Marvin McNutt is close behind with 660 yards. Also making catches are Allen Reisner with 370 yards and RB Adam Robinson with 270 yards.

 

Defense

The leader on defense is defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who is a Lombardi Award finalist. The linebackers have had injuries to starters Nolan McMillian and Jeff Tarpinian. Safety Tyler Sash has 58 tackles and two interceptions. On special teams Punter Ryan Donahue is a Ray Guy finalist and he averages 44.7 yards/punt with a long of 73 yards last week.

Things to Watch

Injury Update

Cornerback Donnie Evege from special teams is expected to miss another game or two. Tyler Moeller was granted a sixth year of eligibility for his medical hardship. He already missed last season for head trauma, and he is missing the second half of this season with a torn pectoral muscle.

 

Player to Watch

Ricky Stanzi, a Mentor, Ohio native, missed his chance to play OSU last year. This is his chance to get a signature win and attempt to bring Iowa closer to the preseason expectations. Stanzi has been extremely efficient, leading the Big Ten with 22 TD passes and a pass efficiency of 167.

 

Bowl Game Update

OSU needs to win the remaining two games in order to get a BCS bowl game. If OSU, Wisconsin, and Michigan State win out, there will be a three-way tie with Wisconsin likely getting the Rose Bowl pick and OSU likely has the edge over MSU for the Big Ten BCS at-large pick, for the Sugar Bowl or another BCS game. If OSU wins out and Wisconsin and Michigan State lose, OSU gets the Rose Bowl. For OSU to get into the National Championship game, 6-7 teams above them would have to lose. OSU wants all its previous opponents, like Miami, to continue to win and improve the computer rankings.  

OSU Last Week

OSU won last week in Columbus against Penn State, 38-14. The Buckeyes started out slow, with Penn State leading 14-3 at halftime. OSU responded with 35 unanswered points in the second half. OSU took its first drive in the third quarter from the two yard line all the way down for a 5-yard TD run by Herron. Herron had a career high of 203 yards. The defense had two returned interceptions for touchdowns, including a 34-yard return by Devon Torrence and a 30-yard interception return by Travis Howard. In the second half Pryor threw a pass up that was bounced around and found its place in Sanzebacher's hands for a 58-yard TD. In the final minutes Pryor threw a 3-yard TD to Stonebruner. The OSU running game had a banner day with 314 yards, while Pryor's throwing game was a bit down with 113 yards.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 103-22, with a career record of 238-79-2 in his 25th year of coaching. He is 6-3 against Penn State. He is 4-1 against Iowa.

 

Kirk Ferentz
In his 12th season at Iowa he is 88-57, with a career record of 100-78 in his 15th year as a head coach. Under Ferentz, Iowa has two conference titles and eight bowl games. He is 1-6 against Ohio State, with the only win against Tressel in 2004. 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.

The Series

This is the 63rd game between the two schools, in a series that began in 1922. OSU leads the series 45-14-3 and leads 17-6-1 in games at Iowa City. OSU has won 11 of the last 12 games. Iowa last beat OSU 33-7 in 2004 to snap an eight game winning streak by OSU. The Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes last year in Columbus, 27-24 in overtime. Replacement kicker Devin Barclay hit the 39-yard kick to seal the win for Ohio State and assure the team of another Big Ten Championship. Iowa had the ball first in overtime and replacement QB Vandenberg was sacked 10 yards on thrid and threw an interception for a touchback on fourth.OSU had the lead at halftime 10-3, with a FG and a running touchdown by Saine.  Iowa scored its first touchdown in the third. It was a high scoring fourth quarter as both teams had two touchdowns. OSU scored with a running touchdown by Herron and a long 49-yard by Saine after Iowa threw an interception in the previous series.

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. Congrats to Philly Cheese for being the only panelist with a 5-1 record, and he jumped up into a tie for third.  He was the only panelist that moved up in the rankings this week.

 

Standings:
1. Pat Head (50-16) (4-2 last week)
2. Batman (47-19) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (44-22) (4-2 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (44-22) (5-1 last week)
5. Dr. Funkenstein (43-23) (4-2 last week)
5. Carl (43-23) (4-2 last week)
7. Buckeye Cock (42-24) (4-2 last week)
8. Spam Sandwichsan (41-25) (3-3 last week)
8. Mel Kiper's Hair (41-25) (3-3 last week)
8. Tressel's Devil (41-25) (3-3 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (36-30) (3-3 last week)
12. Big Dog (34-32) (3-3 last week)

 

Games for this week:
1. OSU vs. Iowa

2. Arkansas vs. Mississippi St.
3. Nebraska vs. Texas A&M
4. Oklahoma vs. Baylor
5. Wisconsin vs. Michigan
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Colorado State vs. Wyoming

What to Expect

Much has been made of Tressel's record after a bye-week. He is 2-4, which is not great, but it isn't horrible. Tressel has dismissed questions, but you have to think that it isn't lost on him that his four losses are almost 20% of his overall losses at OSU. Pryor will once again get a chance to play well against his home-state team. He had a great game last year, but a couple costly mistakes in his freshman year kept him from winning his first big conference game. The OSU defense will keep the Penn State running game in check, limiting them to 90 yards on the ground and keeping Royster under the century mark. OSU will keep PSU to 175 yards in the passing game. Penn State will slow the OSU offense, but I still expect OSU to get 175 yards rushing and 215 yards passing. OSU will win 34-13.

Scouting the Nittany Lions

This Season

Penn State is 6-3 and 3-2 in the Big Ten. The wins were against Youngstown State, Kent State, Temple, Minnesota, Michigan, and Northwestern. The losses were to Alabama, Iowa, and Illinois. PSU averages 24 points/game, 149 yards rushing, and 219 yards passing. The Penn State defense allows teams to score 20 points/game, 156 yards rushing, and 189 yards passing.

 

Offense

At QB is Matt McGloin. He is 58% for 551 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception. He took over as the QB for the last three games, in the place of freshman Rob Bolden. At RB is Evan Royster, a graduate student, who is the career rushing leader at Penn State with 3,652 yards, including 734 yards this season with four rushing touchdowns. He had 150 yards against Michigan two weeks ago. At receiver are Derek Moye and Brett Brackett. Moye has 615 yards and four touchdowns, while Brackett has 385 yards and four touchdowns. Both receivers are 6'5" or taller.

 

Defense

Leading the team on defense is Chris Colasanti at LB and Ollie Ogbu at DL tackle. Colasanti had 10 tackles against Illinois. Ogbu has 2 tackles for loss against Northwestern. Also at LB are Michael Mauti and Bani Gbadyu.

OSU Two Weeks Ago

OSU had a bye last week. Two weeks ago, OSU dominated in a visit to Minnesota, 52-10. Pryor threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, going 18 of 22. Pryor had 55 rushing yards, while Dan "Boom" Herron had 114 yards for his first career 100-yard game (as predicted on this blog). The offense had a total of 507 yards. The defense shut down QB Adam Weber after he lead a TD drive in the first quarter. Weber was sacked five times, intercepted, and he fumbled the ball twice including a return by DL John Simon for a touchdown. Weber was 9 of 20 for 162 yards. Special teams had some highlights including a 70-yard punt return by Jordan Hall and a blocked punt.

Things to Watch

Injury Update

With the bye week OSU was able to rest some players, and both LB Ross Homan and LB Dorian Bell should be back this week.

 

Player to Watch

All eyes will be on former walk-on QB Matt McGloin with Penn State. Joe Paterno made history when he started the season with freshman Rob Bolden, but McGloin has filled in quite well. Before this season he had thrown two career passes, and he saw his first major action against Minnesota this season, going 6 of 13 for 76 yards and two touchdowns. In the past three games the offense has scored 109 points, which equals the amount scored in the first six games. McGloin has been the difference maker in the most recent games. As the passing game has developed, Royster at RB has increased his yards on the ground.

 

Who Should I Root For This Week?

Adam Rittenberg with ESPN had a nice breakdown of what it would take for OSU to get into the Rose Bowl (or get the automatic Big Ten berth). OSU needs to win the remaining three games. This week OSU wants Wisconsin to lose to Indiana as this would erase the head-to-head advantage Wisconsin has over OSU. Also this week OSU wants Iowa to beat Northwestern, as this would make a victory by OSU next week against Iowa look better. Illinois has looked more and more like a quality win by OSU, and if Illinois continues to win, it will help OSU. Miami (FL) needs to win the rest of their games, to help OSU's computer rankings.  

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 102-22, with a career record of 237-79-2 in his 25th year of coaching. He is 6-3 against Penn State. Tressel in the second-winningest active Division I-A coach behind only Joe Paterno.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Paterno

In his 45th season as a head coach, all at Penn State, he is 400-132-3. Last week he became the first NCAA Div. I-A coach to record 400 wins, and only the third coach in all divisions of football. He currently leads the all-time victories among major college coaches. Paterno is also the longest serving head coach at one school in major football history. He has led the school to two national championships in 1982 and 1986. He was an assistant at Penn State for 16 years prior to his time as head coach. He is already in the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

The Series

The series is currently tied 13-12, with OSU having an 8-6 advantage in games played in Columbus. OSU leads the series 11-6 since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993. Last year OSU beat PSU 24-7 in State College. It was a breakout game for Pryor, as it was his first big road victory in a hostile environment. The game was tight through the first half, with OSU leading 10-7. Ohio State scored the last 14 points and secured the win. Pryor passed for 125 yards, threw two touchdowns, and ran in one touchdown. The defense limited Penn State to 201 yards.

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. Congrats to Pat Head for extending her lead to three games. She was one of three panelists with a 5-1 record, including Carl who moved up from 8th to 4th, and Tressel's Devil who moved up from 10th to 7th. Mel Kiper moved up from 8th to 7th.

 

Standings:
1. Pat Head (46-14) (5-1 last week)
2. Batman (43-17) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (40-20) (4-2 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (39-21) (3-3 last week)
4. Dr. Funkenstein (39-21) (3-3 last week)
4. Carl (39-21) (5-1 last week)
7. Buckeye Cock (38-22) (2-4 last week)
7. Spam Sandwichsan (38-22) (3-3 last week)
7. Mel Kiper's Hair (38-22) (4-2 last week)
7. Tressel's Devil (38-22) (5-1 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (33-27) (4-2 last week)
12. Big Dog (31-29) (2-4 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Penn State vs. OSU
2. Georgia vs. Auburn
3. Kansas St. vs. Missouri
4. Miami (FL) vs. Georgia Tech
5. Iowa vs. Northwestern
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Ball State vs. Buffalo (Friday)

Guest Panel-Week 10 Games and Standings

OSU has a bye, but the guest panel is here for you this week.

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. There weren't any changes at the top as Pat Head and Batman both continue in the first two spots. Joining Philly Cheese at third are Buckeye Cock, Dr. Funkenstein, and Old Bag of Man (up three spots). There were three panelists with 5-1 records, Pat Head, Batman, and Old Bag of Man.

Standings:
1. Pat Head (41-13) (5-1 last week)
2. Batman (39-15) (5-1 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (36-18) (3-3 last week)
3. Buckeye Cock (36-18) (4-2 last week)
3. Dr. Funkenstein (36-18) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (36-18) (5-1 last week)
7. Spam Sandwichsan (35-19) (3-3 last week)
8. Mel Kiper's Hair (34-20) (3-3 last week)
8. Carl (34-20) (3-3 last week)
10. Tressel's Devil (33-21) (4-2 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (29-25) (3-3 last week)
11. Big Dog (29-25) (4-2 last week)

Games for this week:
1. Baylor vs. Oklahoma St.
2. TCU vs. Utah
3. Arkansas vs. South Carolina
4. Arizona vs. Stanford
5. Alabama vs. LSU
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Boston College vs. Wake Forest