Guest Panel Introduction-W.T.

 

W.T. is wise beyond his years and he has a highly scientific manner for picking winners of the games. He will dig deep for the treasure which awaits the winner of the Guest Panel contest.

What to Expect

I expect Ohio State to come out the gates guns blazing, so look for a high score with touchdowns early in the game. The Bulls ended last season with some positive momentum on offense. The Bulls are led by a talented running back, and OSU still has some questions at linebacker, so look for Buffalo to have 200 rushing yards. The Bulls will also have 200 passing yards. The Ohio State defense will not have its best game, but with time it will become better. Ohio State will not be at full strength with the running game but it still should have 300 rushing yards, despite Khalil Mack at linebacker. The passing game will have some drops and missed throws for a total 250 passing yards. Ohio State will win 48-13.

Things to Watch

Team Captains
Ohio State has eight team captains this season, with six seniors and two juniors. This year's captains are tackle Jack Mewhort, quarterback Braxton Miller, quarterback Kenny Guiton, center Corey Linsley receiver Corey Brown, safety C.J. Barnett, safety Christian Bryant, and linebacker Ryan Shazier.

Winning Streak
Ohio State has the longest active winning streak, with twelve straight wins last season. No other team went undefeated last season

Scouting the Bulls

As with many teams from the Mid American Conference (MAC), there are multiple players from Ohio on the roster. Thirteen players hail from Ohio, including the punter Tyler Grassman who is from Columbus. Last season the Bulls had a record of 4-8, winning three of the final four games of the season. The team returns nine starters on offense and seven on defense.

Offense
At quarterback is sophomore Joe Licata who completed 52% passes for 1,045 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. Licata took over the starting position for the last four games of the season. Senior running back Branden Oliver had 821 rushing yards in seven games last season. In his career he has 2,514 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns. Alex Neutz led the receivers with 1,015 reception and 11 touchdowns yards last year.

Defense
Senior linebacker Khalil Mack has a career 11 forced fumbles, which is 9th best in the NCAA history. He also has 35 career tackles for loss. Last season Mack led the team with 94 tackles.

2013 Buckeye Special Teams

Ohio State extended its recruitment beyond the Western Hemisphere with the 21-year old freshman punter Cameron Johnston from Australia, where football is play a little bit differently. Johnston has impressed the coaches, but he has yet to play in a college game. Drew Basil should be able to focus on place kicking. The punt coverage was atrocious last year, allowing two returned touchdowns. The kickoff coverage was not much better, allowing one touchdown and over twenty yards per punt return. Returning punts will be Corey Brown and Jordan Hall. Returning kick-offs will be Jordan Hall and possibly freshman Dontre Wilson.

2013 Buckeye Defense

On the defensive line are Washington and Spence who looked very skilled as freshman last year. Also on the line will be Joel Hale and Michael Bennett. Ohio State will most often play with two linebackers and five defensive backs. The linebackers hope to gain some more respect after the injuries and inconsistency last season. Ryan Shazier looks to build on a strong season and he will play in tandem with Curtis Grant while Perry will be the third available linebacker. At safety will be two experienced seniors, Bryant and Barnett. At cornerback will be Armani Reeves and Doran Grant. Reeves is playing in place of Bradley Roby, who is missing the first game due to a late night incident in July. Filling the fifth defensive back spot is Tyvis Powell, but watch for highly touted true-freshman Vonn Bell to play some minutes.

2013 Buckeye Offense

At quarterback is Braxton Miller who enters his junior year with high expectations. His name has been mentioned for major awards, but he has to improve as a passer and with his decision making when scrambling. He can't take hits like he did last season. Kenny Guiton is available for snaps as well, with the Purdue game forever etched in our memories. At running back there are two suspensions, including Carlos Hyde who will miss at least three games due to an after hours incident this summer. Rod Smith will miss one game due to a violation of team rules. Jordan Hall will need to stay healthy this season and fill the void at running back while taking some direct snaps and catching the ball. Also available at running back will be Bri'onte Dunn. At receiver are senior Corey Brown who led the team in receptions,  the inconsistent Devin Smith, Evan Spencer, and two capable tight ends Heuerman and Vannett. The offensive line returns four of five starters with Linsley, Norwell, Decker, Mewhort, and Hall expected to start. 

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 116-23. Meyer was 12-0 at Ohio State in his first season. He earned his graduate degree from Ohio State and worked with the team as a graduate assistant under Earle Bruce from 1986-1987. He was an assistant coach at Illinois State under former OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock. He later re-joined Earle Bruce at Colorado St. In 1996 he was hired as an assistant coach under Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, and he remained with Notre Dame through 2000. In 2001 he started his head coaching career at Bowling Green and in two years he had a record of 17-6. He was hired at Utah in 2003. In his first year Utah won its bowl game, and during the second year the team was undefeated and won the Fiesta Bowl. He was 22-2 in two years at Utah. He had a record of 65-15 during his six years at Florida, including two BCS National Championships.

Jeff Quinn
Jeff Quinn has a record of 9-27 at Buffalo and record of 10-28 overall with two bowl game interim coaching positions at CMU and Cincinnati (2010 loss to Meyer's Florida team). He was an assistant at Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Grand Valley State, Ohio Northern, and Depaw. He graduated from Elmhurst in 1984 where he was a member of the football and wrestling team.

The Series

This is the first game between Ohio State and Buffalo. Ohio State is 32-2 in the last 34 season openers, with loses in 1999 to Miami and 1986 to Alabama. Ohio State is 28-1 against current member of the MAC. Ohio State has hosted a MAC team each year since 1997, with the exception of the Toledo game at Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2009.

Guest Panel Introduction-Big Dog

Team 'Ballz to the Wallz'

AKA: 'INTERNATIONAL TEAM! BIG Dog', and 'Big DOG'.

We have turned over a new leaf, so to speak. It was a sunny august day in the year of our lord 2014. A bocce tournament was in the offing, generous rewards, trinkets, and bountiful prizes for the best team name......thus, our new moniker.  Seriously, this was the best we could do.

Anyway, about the team.....

Sir Ballz, he has been picking since his finger could reach his nose. Early on only because it seemed like a place to store fingers. Soon, however, picking had new meaning in the form of boogers, then sports teams. Much less painful, creating a feeling of joy and elation, the sports teams picking has finally 'stuck'.  Always for fun, never for money though, not in the game for that purpose. An Ohio State Buckeye Fan since birth!  He often went with his mother as a child and tailgated next door to the varsity club (when parking was available there)! 

Next, Lady Wallz, truly the beauty and brains of the operation, she is amazing!  I am blessed.....a wife that hates to shop! Loves to play golf! Feels bad if she spends $100 on clothes! And better than all of that, enjoys a great beer! Stay away boys, she's a keeper. Oh, a final note, she understands football better than most men, and enjoys virtually all sports!

The young man in our home isn't so young anymore......he's 18! He is fiercely independent and is fairly sure he is smarter than both of his parents combined. He might help pick a time or two this year, but we think he'll be more on the sidelines of this activity. We look forward to a great 2013 Buckeye campaign.....GO BUCKS!

Guest Panel Introduction-Mel Kiper’s Hair

A well know component of the most famous and recognizable NFL Draft commentators, I've been the silent driving force on-top-of every Kiper insight including the Matthew Stafford call (that he would be the #1 overall NFL pick before he even left high-school – BOOYAAHH!!!). You can thank me for the first Mock Draft ever (and later this season for the money you made by putting your eggs in my prediction basket) So I might have bombed on a couple (Andre Ware/Mike Williams) but you can't dispute the startling accuracy I showed with Hall-of-Famer John Elway or the amazing Trent Dilfer. Mel might be credited with the Big Board but it was me who me who came up with the measuring system of vague and mostly incomprehensible statistics that cumulatively indicate who will be an all-star and who will be a thumb-sucker. This year I find myself selling my draft stock and moving down into the NCAA trenches where-by I'll put on my jock-strap, overcome my nerdy exterior, and bring the whompin-stick down on Grandpa Holtz and crotchety Lee Corso. Beware the Hair!!!