Guest Panel-Week 10 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. Dr. Funkenstein and Corso were the only panelists to go 6-0, and as a result Corso moved up from 8th to a tie for 5th and Dr. Funkenstein moved from 10th to tie for 7th. Mel Kiper benefited off a 5-1 week and now holds first place by himself.
      

Standings:

1. Mel Kiper's Hair (37-17) (5-1 last week)
2. Batman (36-18) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (35-19) (5-1 last week)
3. Pat Head (35-19) (5-1 last week)
5. Big Dog (34-20) (4-2 last week)
5. Corso (34-20) (6-0 last week)
7. Philly Cheese (33-21) (3-3 last week)
7. Paul the Octopus (33-21) (4-2 last week)  

7. Dr. Funkenstein (33-21) (6-0 last week)
10. Pryor's Ego (32-22) (4-2 last week)

11. Buckeye Cock (30-24) (4-2 last week)

12. Spam Sandwichsan (29-25) (3-3 last week)
13. Hudy Delights (27-27) (3-3 last week) 
   

Games for this week:
1. Indiana vs. Ohio State
2. S. Carolina vs. Arkansas
3. LSU vs. Alabama
4. Michigan vs. Iowa
5. Missouri vs. Baylor
And the oddball game this week is:
6. UTEP vs. Rice

What to Expect

Lessons from Michigan State Game
Before the Michigan State game, it was not clear if there were any weaknesses on the Wisconsin team. As I stated in the scouting report, the BCS computers may have it right this time, as they were not impressed with the wins by Wisconsin, including the win over Nebraska. The wins were blowouts and perhaps the lack of defense in the opponents prevented us from seeing the weaknesses of Wisconsin. Although it was only one game it did provide footage to indicate Wisconsin can struggle on third downs and punt coverage. Wisconsin was 4 of 9 on third downs and Michigan State had a 36-yard return on one punt and blocked the other Wisconsin punt. Also evident was that Russel Wilson can throw interceptions, with two against Michigan State but only one before the game.

What to Expect
OSU has had success with the running game and they should not stop running the ball. Michigan State was limited to 109 rushing yards, so running will not be easy against Wisconsin. OSU should have 200 yards on the ground and 150 yards in the air. Michigan State was able to throw for 290 yards and three passing touchdowns against Wisconsin. Braxton Miller and the young receivers worked on the passing game during the bye week, in particular the short passes. The passing game will look better, but don't expect a 180 degree change. OSU will be conservative due to inexperience at QB and the receivers, but will make the necessary passes including a couple big play passes. The Ohio State offense cannot afford to have any turnovers since this game will be close, and the Buckeye defense needs to come up with an interception and a recovered fumble. The defense will limit Wisconsin to 200 rushing yards and 170 passing yards. Wisconsin will move the ball, but Ohio State will limit the scoring opportunities. OSU needs to force multiple three-and-outs and take advantage of Wisconsin's punting troubles. OSU will win this critical Big Ten game with a score of 27-20.

Things to Watch

OSU Back In Driver's Seat
Starting the Big Ten season with two losses appeared to quickly take OSU off the path to the Big Ten Championship in Indy. However, with a win over Illinois and a loss by Wisconsin, Ohio State again has a chance to win the Leaders division and make it to Indy. Penn State currently leads the division and has no conference losses, but their remaining games will be difficult against Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. If Ohio State wins out, Penn State will need to lose a second game in order for Ohio State to win the Leaders division. Ohio State would control the tie-breaker with wins over Wisconsin and Penn State.

Roster Update
Jaamal Berry is listed in a police report for hitting a man in the face with his open fist at 2AM late last Friday. The Columbus Police have not filed criminal charges against Berry, although the victim's attorney has indicated that he did file a lawsuit against Berry. The old saying needs to be stated, "Nothing good happens after midnight (or ten o'clock according to Tressel.)" Berry previously was involved in a physical altercation with a student on campus back in September, but no charges were filed. At this point Berry has not been suspended for the Wisconsin game, but he will be if charges are filed, and possibly even if charges aren't filed. Backup cornerback Dominic Clarke missed the Illinois game after a BB gun incident, and he is available to play this week.

Scouting the Badgers

This Season
Wisconsin comes into this game ranked #15 after falling from the top-ten with a 37-31 loss last week at Michigan State. It was the first loss for Wisconsin, and based on the BCS computer rankings it may have taken them out of the running for the National Championship game, unless multiple teams in the top ten loss one or two games. The BCS computer rankings were not impressed with the wins over UNLV (51-17), Oregon State (35-0), N. Illinois (49-7), South Dakota (59-10), Nebraska (48-17), and Indiana (59-7). Wisconsin averages 47 points/game while rushing for 252 yards/game. The Wisconsin defense limits teams to 287 yards/game and 13.5 points/game

Russell Wilson
Quarterback Russell Wilson has been called a hired gun or mercenary by some, since he has benefited from an NCAA rule that allows a player to play one more year of football after graduating from another school. In Wilson's case he did not play his freshman year and graduated after playing three years at N.C. State. N.C. State gave him an ultimatum to choose football over professional baseball, so he left the school with his degree and one year of eligibility left. He was able to play at Wisconsin without sitting out a year, due to an NCAA exception that applies when the second school offers a degree unavailable at the original school. This season he has completed 109 of 149 passes for 1780 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only three interceptions. Two of those interceptions came against Michigan State last week. He is second in the nation in passer efficiency.

The Rest of the Offense
Running the ball are Montee Ball and James White. Ball has benefited from better training in the offseason and he leads the Big Ten averaging 109 rushing yards/game. In 13 games he has scored at least one TD and he has a total of 34 TDs. He was able to rush for 115 yards against a stout Michigan State defense last week. He will also catch the ball. Joining Ball is James White who had a impressive freshman season last year earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year with 1,052 rushing yards. This year White has 458 rushing yards, as Ball has had more carries this season. At receiver are: Nick Toon who is averaging 84 yards/game with six TDs; Jared Abbrederis who had 91 receiving yards, 41 punt return yards, and 39 kickoff return yards against Michigan State; and tight end Jacob Pedersen who has six touchdowns with 19 receptions.

Defense
Linebacker Chris Borland leads the conference with 71 tackles and has 10 tackles for loss. Also at linebacker is Mike Taylor with 14 tackles, who forced a Michigan State fumble last week. Marcus Cromartie came in after CB Devin Smith suffered a season-ending injury in the Oregon State game. Cromartie has quickly collected 22 tackles. The leader on the defensive line is Louis Nzegwu with 4.5 sacks this year.

OSU Last Game

The Ohio State defense and running game carried the team when the passing game was limited to one completion. Illinois turned the ball over three times, with two interceptions and a lost fumble, and OSU was able to score 14 points off those turnovers. Boom Herron came back after a two separate suspensions covering the first six games of the season, and for the second year in a row against Illinois his running game proved critical. In this game he had 114 yards and one rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Drew Basil had a 43 yard field goal in the first quarter against the wind, to give him eight consecutive FGs in a row after missing the first two of the season. The only pass of the day was a touchdown pass to tightend Jake Stonebrunner in the fourth quarter, who now leads the team with six TD catches. The defense limited Illinois to 285 yards and didn't give up points until halfway through the fourth quarter when Scheelhaase threw a short TD pass to Wilson. OSU cornerback Bradley Roby appeared to back up his pregame talk by limiting the game of star receiver A.J. Jenkins and intercepting a ball thrown to Jenkins.

The Series

OSU leads 53-17-5 in this series that dates back to 1913 (2010 game vacated). 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.

Last Year
In 2010 OSU had a short one-week 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. 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.

The Coaches

Luke Fickell
Luke Fickell is 4-3 in his first year as a head coach. Luke Fickell has been an assistant coach for 13 years. He was a graduate assistant at OSU under John Cooper in 1999. He was a defensive line coach at Akron from 2000-2001. Early in Jim Tressel's tenure at OSU, he hired Fickell as the special teams coordinator. He eventually coached the linebackers and was a co-defensive coordinator. Going into this season he was the assistant head coach, and was promoted in May to head coach, after Jim Tressel retired. Prior to coaching, Fickell was a four year starter for OSU, from 1992-1996. During his career, OSU was 41-8-1, won two Big Ten Championships and won the 1997 Rose Bowl. He started a school record 50 consecutive games. After graduation he spent one year on the injured reserve team for the New Orleans Saints.




Bret Bielema
In his sixth season as a head coach, all at Wisconsin, he is 55-17. 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 1-3 against Ohio State.