Player Suspensions

Thanks for the Present...

Last week OSU received an early Christmas present, and unfortunately it was of the coal variety for bad behavior. Five players (QB Pryor, WR Posey, RB Herron, OL Adams, and DE Thomas) were suspended five games by the NCAA for selling trophies/awards and signatures for cash and discounts on tattoos back in 2009. The penalty was four games, but a fifth game was added because the players did not self report. The suspension does not cover the Sugar Bowl, and will start at the beginning of the next season. LB Jordan Whiting was only suspended for the season opener.

 

Why Not the Bowl Game?

The Big Ten wanted to delay the punishment in consideration of the graduating seniors on the team and the Sugar Bowl officials. Gene Smith has defended the punishments, but has left open the door for Tressel to do bowl game punishments.  Tressell made the players commit to come back next season, or else they were not allowed to make the trip to the Sugar Bowl. He received a commitment from the players, but it is not a written contract. Tressel has indicated he will not make the players sit out any part of the Sugar Bowl.

 

Pay it Forward, I mean Pay it Back!

Additionally the players must pay a charity the amount of money they received. The amount can be paid in payments and Gene Smith has indicated that scholarship money could be used. Some of the players have stated that the money was for their families, and if that is true it may be hard for the players to make payments. A payment plan must be setup and a sufficient amount must be paid before the players are reinstated for the sixth game of the season.

 

Can I Still Place a Wager?

Vegas briefly removed the game from the boards, based on the concern over suspensions for the bowl game. Rest assured gamblers, the game is on the boards and OSU is still favored to win.

  

Will an Appeal Help?

There is a possibility the NCAA will reduce the penalty to four games with OSU's appeal. The appeal process would be done by early January, right before players must decide if they are entering the NFL.

Scouting the Razorbacks

Arkansas finished the regular season with a record of 10-2 including a 6-2 record in the SEC. The Razorbacks beat Tennessee Tech, ULM, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, UTEP, Miss. State, and LSU. The two losses were to Alabama and Auburn. The offense averages 37 points/game, while the defense gives up 22 points/game. The offense passes for 338 yards/game while the rushing game averages 150 yards/game. The passing offense ranks third in the NCAA. The defense gives up 157 rushing yards and 182 passing yards.

 

Offense

At QB is Ryan Mallett, who may be familiar to OSU fans as he is a transfer from Michigan. This season he is completing 66% for 3,592 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. In his career he is 58% for 8,108 yards and 67 touchdowns. He has broken or tied 38 school and stadium records at Arkansas. His career average for touchdown passes is 30 yards. RB Knile Davis has rushed for 1,183 yards this season and 13 touchdowns. He averages 98.6 yards/game. At receiver are TE DJ Williams, Joe Adams, Codi Hamilton, and Jarius Wright. DJ Williams has 589 yards, and four touchdowns. He won the Mackey Award for the top tight end in the nation. He leads the nation with 1,817 career receiving yards among active tight ends. Joe Adams and Cobi Hamilton both have 100-yard games this season. Jarius Wright averages almost 35 yards per touchdown reception.

 

Special Teams

At placekicker is freshman Zach Hocker who is perfect on PATs and 13/16 for FGs with a long of 51 yards. Receiver Joe Adams is the main punt returner and he has averaged 17.9 yards/return and he has one return for a touchdown. Receiver Lance Ray is the main kickoff returner and he averages 22.5 yards/return. Dylan Breeding handles the punting.

 

Defense

Defensive end Jake Bequette leads the team with 7 sacks. The unit as a whole averages 3 sacks/game. At linebacker are Jerico Nelson, Anthony Leon, and Jerry Franklin. Franklin leads the team with 93 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss. Leon had four tackles for loss against Tennessee Tech. At safety are Rudell Crim and Tramain Thomas. Thomas leads the team with four interceptions. At cornerback are Darius Winson and Issac Madison.

OSU Last Game

Ohio State beat Michigan 37-7 in the 107th game of the biggest rivalry in college football. In addition to its seventh straight win over Michigan, the Buckeyes won a share of its sixth consecutive Big Ten Conference championship. Tressel is now 9-1 against Michigan. Both teams moved the ball in the first quarter, but no one scored. OSU scored first with a FG early in the second quarter. After an 18 yard punt by Michigan, OSU moved the ball in five plays with Sanzenbacher catching the game's first touchdown. The Buckeyes scored their second of three touchdowns in the second quarter with a 85-yard kickoff return by Jordan Hall. It was his first career return for a touchdown, and the first by Ohio State this season. The third touchdown was a pass to Posey with three minutes left in the half. Michigan scored one touchdown in the second quarter, but couldn't reach the endzone for the rest of the game. Boom Herron had a career high of 175 yards, including one 89-yard run and 32-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. Barclay hit two more FGs in the third quarter for a total of three FGs. The Michigan offense struggled for most of the game and due to an ineffective substitute punter, Michigan was forced to go 1 of 5 on fourth downs.

The Coaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Tressel

In his 10th season at OSU he is 105-22, with a career record of 240-79-2 in his 25th year of coaching. He is 5-4 in bowls and 5-3 in BCS bowl games. He has never coached against Petrino or Arkansas.

 

 

 

Bobby Petrino

Petrino is 23-14 in his third year at Arkansas and 64-23 in his seventh year as a college head coach. He is 3-2 in bowl games and 1-0 in BCS games. As the head coach of Louisville he beat Wake Forest in the 2007 Orange Bowl. He is only one of three coaches to lead two programs to a BCS game, including Urban Meyer at Utah and Florida and Nick Saban at LSU and Alabama. In addition to coaching at Louisville, he also was on the coaching staffs at Arizona State, Nevada, Utah State, and Auburn. He also coached in the NFL at Jacksonville and briefly at Atlanta. Petrino played quarterback and later coached with his dad at Carroll College in Montana. He also played basketball at Carroll. He has never coached against Tressel or Ohio State.

The Series

This is the first meeting of Ohio State and Arkansas in football. This is the first BCS game for Arkansas. Ohio State has appeared in eight BCS games.

New Big Ten Logo, Names

The Big Ten released the new logo, as the old logo had a hidden "11" which doesn't make sense with the twelve teams next year. Additionally, the Big Ten released the names of the divisions for football, and the name for the Championship game and awards. Below you will see the logo and the names.

 

Divisions:

Legends: Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Northwestern

Leaders: Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue.

 

The championship game trophy will be named the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy, in honor of former University of Chicago coach Amos Alonzo Stagg and Penn State coach Joe Paterno.

The MVP of the championship game will be named the Grange-Griffin winner, in honor of OSU two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin and Illinois' Red Grange.

The conference coach of the year will be named the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year, in honor of former OSU coach Woody Hayes and Michigan's Bo Schembechler.

Guest Panel-Bowl Games

The Guest Panel starts a new competition with a clean slate. Check back on December 18 for the picks/comments for all 35 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 Sugar Bowl (OSU vs. Arkansas) 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
Dec. 18 Albuquerque, NM 2:00 pm
Brigham Young vs. Texas-El Paso

2. uDrove Humanitarian Bowl
Dec. 18 Boise, ID 5:30 pm
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State

3. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Dec. 18 New Orleans, LA9:00 pm
Ohio vs. Troy

4. Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg
Dec. 21 St. Petersburg, FL8:00 pm
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisville

5. Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
Dec. 22 Whitney, NV 8:00 pm
Utah vs. Boise State

6. SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl
Dec. 23 San Diego, CA 8:00 pm
Navy vs. San Diego State

7. Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Dec. 24 Honolulu, HI 8:00 pm
Hawaii vs. Tulsa

8. Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Dec. 26 Detroit, MI 8:30 pm
Florida International vs. Toledo

9. AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Dec. 27 Shreveport, LA 5:00 pm
Air Force vs. Georgia Tech

10. Champs Sports Bowl
Dec. 28 Orlando, FL 6:30 pm
West Virginia vs. North Carolina State

11. Insight Bowl
Dec. 28 Tempe, AZ10:00 pm
Missouri vs. Iowa

12. Military Bowl Pres. By Northrop Grumman
Dec. 29 Washington, DC 2:30 pm
East Carolina vs. Maryland

13. Texas Bowl
Dec. 29 Houston, TX 6:00 pm
Illinois vs. Baylor

14. Valero Alamo Bowl
Dec. 29 San Antonio, TX 9:15 pm
Oklahoma State vs. Arizona

15. Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Dec. 30 University Park, TX 12:00 pm
Army vs. Southern Methodist

16. New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Dec. 30 New York, NY 3:20 pm
Kansas State vs. Syracuse

17. Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Dec. 30 Nashville, TN 6:40 pm
North Carolina vs. Tennessee

18. Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
Dec. 30 San Diego, CA 10:00 pm
Nebraska vs. Washington

19. Meineke Car Care Bowl
Dec. 31 Charlotte, NC 12:00 pm
South Florida vs. Clemson

20. Hyundai Sun Bowl
Dec. 31 El Paso, TX 2:00 pm
Notre Dame vs. Miami (FL)

21. AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Dec. 31 Memphis, TN 3:30 pm
Georgia vs. Central Florida

22. Chick-fil-A Bowl
Dec. 31 Atlanta, GA7:30 pm
South Carolina vs. Florida State

23. TicketCity Bowl
Jan. 1 Dallas, TX 12:00 pm
Northwestern vs. Texas Tech

24. Outback Bowl
Jan. 1 Tampa, FL 1:00 pm
Florida vs. Penn State

25. Capital One Bowl
Jan. 1 Orlando, FL 1:00 pm
Alabama vs. Michigan State

26. Gator Bowl
Jan. 1 Jacksonville, FL1:30 pm
Mississippi State vs. Michigan

27. Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio
Jan. 1 Pasadena, CA 4:30 pm
Wisconsin vs. Texas Christian

28. Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Jan. 1 Glendale, AZ 8:30 pm
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma

29. Discover Orange Bowl
Jan. 3 Miami Gardens, FL 8:30 pm
Stanford vs. Virginia Tech

30. Allstate Sugar Bowl
Jan. 4 New Orleans, LA 8:30 pm
Ohio State vs. Arkansas

31. GoDaddy.com Bowl
Jan. 6 Mobile, AL 8:00 pm
Middle Tennessee vs. Miami (OH)

32. AT&T Cotton Bowl
Jan. 7 Arlington, TX 8:00 pm
Louisiana State vs. Texas A&M

33. BBVA Compass Bowl
Jan. 8 Birmingham, AL 12:00 pm
Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky

34. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Jan. 9 San Francisco, CA 9:00 pm
Nevada vs. Boston College

35. Tostitos BCS National Championship Game
Jan. 10 Glendale, AZ 8:30 pm
Oregon vs. Auburn

Guest Panel-Regular Season Final Standings

Below are the final standings for the Guest Panel Regular Season. Congrats to Pat Head for her victory in the Buckeye Pregame Guest Panel Regular Season Competition! She will receive an OSU shirt and a certificate. She has held the lead since Week 7. Also joining her on the podium are Philly Cheese and Carl, who jumped into a tie for second place. Thanks to the entire guest panel for another great season of picks and funny and insightful commentary.

 

The bowl games are around the corner, and the games will soon be posted. Everyone will have a clean slate for the bowl game competition, which will have its own champion.

 
Final Standings:
1. Pat Head (63-21) (3-3 last week)
2. Philly Cheese (58-26) (6-0 last week)
2. Carl (58-26) (6-0 last week)
4. Batman (57-27) (2-4 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (56-28) (5-1 last week)

6. Buckeye Cock (54-30) (6-0 last week)
7. Mel Kiper's Hair (53-31) (4-2 last week)

8. Dr. Funkenstein (52-32) (1-5 last week)
8. Spam Sandwichsan (52-32) (3-3 last week)
10. Tressel's Devil (51-33) (2-4 last week)
11. Hudy Delights (49-35) (3-3 last week)
12. Big Dog (46-38) (5-1 last week)