Thursday, November 28, 2013

What to Expect

Two Seasons
Michigan has struggled in the second half of the season, with the defense allowing teams to score and the offense slowing down.
 
The Michigan defense has allowed four teams to pass for more than 300 yards and Penn State had 410 yards (three overtimes). During the non-conference schedule Michigan limited teams to 107 rushing yards or less. No Big Ten team has more than 168 rushing yards against Michigan, but only Penn State was limited to less than 100 rushing yards.
 
The Michigan offense reached a high point in the Indiana game in October, but in the four games since it has struggled. In two of the games, Michigan State and Nebraska, the Wolverines were limited to negative rushing yards. Last week the Wolverines had only 60 rushing yards and 98 passing yards. It doesn't help matters that the Wolverines have thrown twelve interceptions and have only seventeen touchdown passes this season.

Michigan's kickoff coverage has shown some vulnerability allowing four kickoff returns exceeding 40 yards, however none have resulted in touchdowns. Iowa had one return for 60-yards. Look for Ohio State to run back a kickoff for a touchdown. The Michigan punt coverage has had more success than the kickoff coverage.

Michigan will be limited to 75 rushing yards and 200 passing yards. Ohio State will have 200 rushing yards and 325 passing yards. Ohio State will win 45-21.

Things to Watch

New Uniforms
Ohio State will wear alternative jerseys in this game, which will be mostly white. This is the fifth uniform in the Nike "rivalry" series. The white jerseys will have large scarlet numbers on the front and on the shoulder pads. The names will be in black. The white pants have scarlet, black, and white lines on the sides. The back of the collar has seven Buckeye leaves and the front of the collar has a "block O." The helmet will be a shiny chrome with with a wide scarlet, white, and black stripe.

Roster Update

Linebacker Curtis Grant did not play against Indiana due to an ankle and back injury. He is expected to start on Saturday. Cornerback Doran Grant missed some time in the Indiana game, but he will likely start on Saturday.

Big Ten Championship Game
Ohio State will play Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on December 7 at 8PM nationally on Fox.

Scouting the Wolverines

This Season
Michigan started the season out 5-0 with victories over Central Michigan, Notre Dame, Akron, Connecticut, and Minnesota. In the next six games Michigan was 2-4 with victories against Indiana and Northwestern and losses to Penn State, Michigan State, and Iowa. Michigan averages 128 rushing yards/game, 234 passing yards/game, and 33 points/game. The Wolverines allow 116 rushing yards/game, 236 passing yards/game, and 25 points/game. Michigan has only allowed two 100-yard rushers this season.

Offense
Quarterback Devin Gardner has completed 58% for 2,509 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Gardner had a career high 503 passing yards against Indiana. Gardner has 473 rushing yards this season with 10 rushing touchdowns. Jeremy Gallon is second in the Big Ten with 1,109 receiving yards. He has three 100+ yard games this season. Tight end Devin Funchess has 686 yards this season. Fitzgerald Toussaint has rushed for 613 yards this season with 11 touchdowns.

Defense
Cornerback Blake Countess is first in the Big Ten with five interceptions. Raymon Taylor is close behind with four interceptions. Brennen Beyer has started five games at defensive end but has played the last five games at linebacker. After leading the team in tackles last season, linebacker Jake Ryan tore his right knee ACL in spring practice. Ryan returned to the team for the October 12 game against Penn State.

OSU Last Game

Ohio State won its last home game of the season with snowy, cold, and windy conditions. The victory secured a spot for Ohio State in the conference championship game and it was a school record 23rd victory in a row. Ohio State shut out Indiana in the first half with four touchdowns, all runs by Carlos Hyde and Braxton Miller. The shutout extended into fourth quarter with two touchdown passes between Miller and Dontre Wilson and one between Miller and Devin Smith. Indiana finally scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes to avoid the shutout. Miller completed 11 of 17 for 160 yards in the less than ideal conditions. Braxton Miller ran for 144 yards and Carlos Hyde had 117 yards. Hyde eclipsed the 1000 yard mark during the Indiana game, the first running back at OSU since 2008 and the first to do so in Urban Meyer's career. Ohio State has defeated Indiana 19 straight times since 1990. The final score was 42-14.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 127-23. Meyer is 23-0 at Ohio State, after going 12-0 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.

Brady Hoke
In his second year at Michigan he is 26-11 and has a career record of 73-61 in eleven years as a head coach. Hoke grew up in Kettering, Ohio and played at Ball State. He was an assistant at Grand Valley State, Western Michigan, Toledo, Oregon St., and Michigan (1995-2002). He took his first head coaching position at his alma mater Ball State and was there from 2003 until 2008. He then coached at San Diego State for two seasons, leading the Aztecs to a bowl game in 2010.

The Series

This will be the 110th game in what is considered the greatest rivalry in sports. The two teams first met in 1897 and have played every year since 1918, a streak of 96 straight years. Since 1935 the game has been the last conference game of the season. Michigan leads the series 58-44-6. Ohio State had a streak broken in 2011 of six straight wins (2010 vacated). Ohio State has won 9 of the last 11 games. OSU leads the series 32-27-2 since Woody Hayes' first season at OSU in 1951. 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.

The Coaches
The recent Ohio State coaches have the following records against Michigan: Woody Hayes was 16-11-1; Earle Bruce was 5-4; John Cooper was 2-10-1; Jim Tressel was 8-1 (2010 vacated); Luke Fickell was 0-1; and Urban Meyer is 1-0. The recent Michigan coaches have the following records against Ohio State: Bo Schembechler was 11-9-1; Gary Moeller was 3-1-1; Lloyd Carr was 6-7; Rich Rodriguez was 0-3; and Brady Hoke is 1-1.

Undefeated Teams in the Game
Both teams have ruined undefeated seasons of the opposing team. Michigan has won five games against undefeated Ohio State teams in 1969, 1973, 1993, 1995, and 1996. Ohio State has won five games against undefeated Michigan teams in 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 2006.

Last Year
Ohio State capped off an undefeated season with a victory over Michigan in Columbus last year. Ohio State scored early with a 3-yard run by Carlos Hyde. Michigan scored its first of three touchdowns with a 75 yard pass from Devin Gardner to Roy Roundtree in the first quarter. Drew Basil made his first of four field goals to close out the first quarter. Michigan scored early in the second quarter, but things became interesting in the last two minutes of the half when OSU scored a touchdown, Denard Robinson ran the ball 67 yards for a Michigan touchdown, and Basil made a last minute 52-yard field goal. The Ohio State defense limited Michigan to 60 yards and zero points in the second half. Basil had two more field goals in the second half to secure a 26-21 victory.

Monday, November 25, 2013

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. Please note that the regular season Guest Panel will continue next week through the conference championship games. Corso has extended his lead at first place to two games, based on his 5-1 record. SPAM is now joined for a tie at third place by three other panelists, including Old Bag and Philly Cheese who went 5-1.  The Arizona St. victory was only predicted by three of the panelists.
Standings:
1. Corso (57-21) (5-1 last week)
2. Funtik the Hog (55-23) (4-2 last week)
3. SPAM (53-25) (3-3 last week)
3. Mel Kiper's Hair (53-25) (4-2 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (53-25) (5-1 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (53-25) (5-1 last week)
7. Cliff Diving Raoul (50-28) (2-4 last week)
8. Hudy (48-30) (4-2 last week)
9. Ballz to the Wallz-Big Dog (47-31) (2-4 last week)
10. Batman (46-32) (3-3 last week)
11. ChadsOSU (43-35) (4-2 last week)
12. W.T. (42-36) (2-4 last week)


Games for this week:
1. Ohio State vs. Michigan
2. Florida St. vs. Florida
3. Alabama vs. Auburn
4. Northwestern vs. Illinois
5. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Eastern Michigan vs. Central Michigan (Friday)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

What to Expect

Ohio State won't be able to limit Indiana to 224 offensive yards and three points like Wisconsin, but it also won't be a repeat of the Indiana-Michigan game when the Hoosiers had 572 offensive yards and 47 points. I expect it to be somewhere in the middle with Indiana passing for 270 yards and running for 100 yards. Like Illinois last week Indiana will move the ball, but unlike Illinois last week Indiana won't be able to finish drives. Ohio State will have big running games from Hyde and Miller and the team will have over 300 rushing yards. The passing game will be better this week, but wind may be a factor again this week. The Buckeyes will have 230 passing yards. Ohio State will win with a final score of 63-24.

Things to Watch

Big Ten Championship Game
With a victory Saturday Ohio State would clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship game on December 7 as the winners of the Leaders division.  Wisconsin is one game behind and would lose the tiebreaker based on the loss to Ohio State. The likely opponent would be Michigan State, baring an upset in both of Michigan State's remaining games.

Carlos Hyde
Despite missing three games, Carlos Hyde is only 53 yards away from eclipsing 1000 rushing yards this season. It would be the first time an Ohio State running back has reached 1000 rushing yards at Ohio State since Beanie Wells in 2008. Braxton Miller had over 1000 rushing yards last season as a quarterback.

Senior Day
Prior to the game on Saturday 18 seniors will be honored for the last home game of their career. This senior class is part of the record-tying 22 game winning streak. The seniors are CJ Barnett, Drew Basil, Ivon Blackmon,  Corey "Pittsburgh" Brown, Corry "Philly" Brown, Christian Bryant, Chris Fields, Adam Griffin, Kenny Guiton, Jordan Hall, Marcus Hall, Carlos Hyde, Corey Linsley, George Makridis, Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell, Bradley Roby, and Jamie Wood. Roby has indicated that this will be his final season prior to the NFL, so he will be involved in the ceremonies.

Roster Update

It was announced last Saturday morning that two starting linebackers were not available, Joshua Perry was recovering from a concussion (not from football) and Curtis Grant was recovering from an ankle and back injury. Both Perry and Grant will play on Saturday. Defensive lineman Joey Bosa injured his neck during the Illinois game but he is expected to play this week. Offensive lineman Jack Mewhort missed some minutes due to a knee injury but he is expected to play against Indiana.  Braxton Miller missed one play on Saturday but he returned on the next possession and he will start on Saturday. The special teams continue to deal with injuries.

OSU-Michigan Time Released
I am not looking ahead to next week, but for those of you with holiday plans the OSU-Michigan game will be at noon on ABC next weekend.

Scouting the Hoosiers

Indiana has a record of 4-6 (2-4 Big Ten) this season. The Hoosiers have wins over Indiana St., Bowling Green, Penn State, and Illinois. Indiana has losses to Navy, Missouri, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Indiana offense averages 189 rushing yards, 306 passing yards, and 39 points. The defense allows 251 rushing yards, 283 passing yards, and 38 points/game.

Offense
Ten starers return on offense at Indiana. Quarterback Nate Sudfeld leads the Big Ten with 19 touchdown passes. He has completed 60% for 2281 yards.  Also playing at quarterback is Tre Roberson who has completed 57% for 759 yards. Roberson will also run and has 190 rushing yards and five touchdown runs. Leading the team in running is Tevin Coleman with 958 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. The Hoosiers have five receivers with over 1000 career yards receiving, which includes Cody Latimer, Kofi Hughes, Shane Wynn, Ted Bolser, and Duwyce Wilson. Latimer has 926 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.

Defense
The defense returned eight starters. Leading the team in tackles are linebacker David Cooper and safety Greg Heban with 73 tackles. Cooper is a junior college transfer. Heban was recruited to Indiana to play baseball and he impressed Indiana coaches at an intramural game, which prompted him to try out for the football team. He was awarded a football scholarship prior to the 2011 season. Defensive back Tim Bennett leads the nation with 19 pass breakups. Bennett is a converted safety in his first year at corner. Defensive end John Laihinen has 4.5 sacks.

OSU Last Game

Ohio State took an early 28-0 lead, but Illinois outscored the Buckeyes 21-7 through the middle of the third quarter. Ohio State's first four touchdowns included some exciting plays like a 70-yard touchdown run by Braxton Miller and a 63-yard interception return by Bradley Roby. The game seemed to turn in the third quarter when Ohio State forced a safety, which could have easily been a touchdown for Ohio State. In the next drive Carlos Hyde scored his second touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter Ohio State lost some momentum when Illinois moved the ball with ease and scored on a short touchdown run by quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase which was followed by a successful two point conversion pass. Ohio State was limited to a field goal in its next possession. Illinois moved the ball yet again on the next possession and scored but failed on the two point conversion. Carlos Hyde put the game out of reach with two 50+ yard touchdown runs. Hyde had a career day with 248 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Miller struggled in the passing game with the typical Illinois wind conditions, completing only 13 of 29 for 150 yards. Miller had more success on the ground with 184 rushing yards. Ohio State won the game with a score of 60-35.

The Series

OSU leads 68-12-5 all-time against Indiana, in a series that dates back to 1908. OSU has won the last 17 straight games, with the last loss in 1988 in Bloomington and a score of 41-7.

Last Year
It was a closer game than anticipated, but Ohio State sealed the victory with a recovery of an onside kick and final score 52-49 in last year's game. The offense did well with Braxton Miller throwing 13 of 24 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 149 yards. The defense however was unable to contain the Indiana offense, giving up 481 yards with 352 yards in the spread passing game. Ohio State scored early with a 12 yard run by Corey Brown. Late in the first quarter Drew Basil made a 35-yard field goal, but Indiana torched the defense with a 59-yard touchdown run in the next possession.  Indiana tied the game early in the second quarter with a successful drive capped off by a 7 yard touchdown run. Ohio State took back the lead with a blocked punt by Travis Howard, which Bradley Roby landed on in the endzone. Later in the second quarter, Miller connected with Devin Smith for a 60-yard touchdown pass. Ohio State led 24-14 at halftime.

Indiana made a short field goal in the third quarter, and Ohio State quickly responded with a 67-yard touchdown run by Miller. The scoring continued in the third quarter with a 76-yard pass by Indiana. Miller led a drive but was replaced by Kenny Guiton who had a short touchdown pass to Carlos Hyde. In the next possession Indiana moved the ball and made a 44-yard field goal to make the score 38-27. Carlos Hyde scored off a 1-yard run, after the video replay officials ruled that he was down at the 1-yard line in the previous play. Indiana moved the ball again, scoring on a 1-yard run. Ohio State scored its last touchdown with another long pass to Devin Smith, this one for 46-yards. The score was 52-34 and it appeared Ohio State had sealed a victory with six minutes left in the game. Indiana brought in third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld who efficiently moved the offense, completing the drive with a 12-yard pass. Indiana recovered the onside kick and scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 1:05 left in the game. The Ohio State lead was cut down to three points. The Buckeyes recovered the next onside kick attempt, but it was not an easy recovery. Ohio State ran out the clock and won the game 52-49.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 126-23. Meyer is 22-0 at Ohio State, after going 12-0 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.

Kevin Wilson
In his second year as a head coach his record is 9-25. Wilson was the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Oklahoma from 2002-2005, the offensive coordinator and tight ends and fullbacks coach from 2006-2010. Prior to Oklahoma he was an assistant coach at Northwestern ('99-'00), Miami OH ('90-'98), a North Carolina H.S. as head coach ('89), N.C. AT&T ('88), Winston Salem St. ('87), North Carolina as graduate assistant ('84-'86). He played at North Carolina as a walk-on and eventually under scholarship as a offensive lineman in the early 1980's.

Monday, November 18, 2013

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. Corso moved a game ahead at first place with a 5-1 record. The other panelists with 5-1 records who also moved up the rankings were Philly Cheese and W.T. The USC victory was a surprise to most of the country, including the entire panel which picked Stanford.
 
Standings:
1. Corso (52-20) (5-1 last week)
2. Funtik the Hog (51-21) (4-2 last week)
3. SPAM (50-22) (3-3 last week)
4. Mel Kiper's Hair (49-23) (4-2 last week)
5. Cliff Diving Raoul (48-24) (3-3 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (48-24) (4-2 last week)
5. Philly Cheese (48-24) (5-1 last week)
8. Ballz to the Wallz-Big Dog (45-27) (4-2 last week)
9. Hudy (44-28) (3-3 last week)
10. Batman (43-29) (4-2 last week)
11. W.T. (40-32) (5-1 last week)
12. ChadsOSU (39-33) (3-3 last week)


Games for this week:
1. Indiana vs. Ohio State
2. Baylor vs. Oklahoma St.
3. Arizona St. vs. UCLA
4. Texas A&M vs. LSU
5. Duke vs. Wake Forest
And the oddball game this week is:
6. SMU vs. South Florida

Thursday, November 14, 2013

What to Expect

Illinois will depend on the passing game as the running game will struggle on Saturday. Assuming the infamous wind is not an issue on Saturday, look for Illinois to pass for 230 yards and run for 75 yards. Ohio State will move the ball with ease and have 300 passing yards and 350 rushing yards. Ohio State will win 56-17.

OSU Last Game

Ohio State shutout Purdue with a final score of 56-0. The trouble for Purdue started early with Doran Grant intercepting the first pass and returning it for a touchdown. Braxton Miller passed for 233 yards and four passing touchdowns. In relief Kenny Guiton threw one touchdown and ran for two touchdowns. The Buckeye defense harassed Purdue's quarterback Danny Etling with six sacks and limited him to 13 passes for 89 passing yards. Carlos Hyde had another 100 yard game and it only took him eight carries to reach 111 yards.

Things to Watch

The Illibuck Trophy
There are many trophy games in the Big Ten, and OSU has the Illibuck with Illinois. The game against Illinois is the only trophy game for the Buckeyes. The Illibuck is the second oldest trophy in the Big Ten. Starting in 1925 these two schools passed a real turtle to the winner of the game. The live turtle represented the long life expectancy of the rivalry between the two teams. However in 1927 the turtle died and was replaced by a wooden replica. At halftime of the game, members of honorary societies from both schools meet to pass the the trophy to the winner of the game from the previous year. In the past the ceremony included the smoking of a peace pipe. OSU leads the Illibuck series 60-23-2.
 
After a Bye-Week
The Buckeyes are 14-9 in games after a bye-week with four consecutive wins dating back to 2011. Urban Meyer is 35-2 in his career as a head coach in games after a bye-week.

Scouting the Fighting Illini

Illinois has a record of 3-6 (0-5 conference) with victories over Southern Illinois, Cincinnati, and Miami. Illinois has loses to Washington, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State, and Illinois. The Illini average 136 rushing yards/game and 288 passing yards/game while allowing 239 rushing yards/game and 243 passing yards/game.
 
Offense
Senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase leads the Big Ten with 22 completions/game and 268 passing yards/game. In his career Scheelhaase has 9662 career yards of total offense. At receiver Steve Hull was recently converted from safety and he had 224 receiving yards against Indiana. Running back Josh Ferguson averages 53 rushing yards/game and leads the team with 483 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns.
 
Defense
Linebacker Jonathan Brown leads the team with 88 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore Mason Monheim is second on the team in tackles. At cornerback is Corey Lewis who missed over two seasons due to three ACL injuries and five knee surgeries, and he was granted a sixth year of NCAA eligibility.

The Series

This will be the 100th meeting of these two teams, and OSU leads the series 64-30-4 and has a record of 34-12 in Champaign (2010 game vacated). There have a been some streaks in the series with OSU having a 15-game streak from 1968-1982 and Illinois had a five game streak from 1988-1992. The series is the second oldest for Ohio State, behind the Michigan rivalry. The series ran uninterrupted from 1914 until 2003, when the teams did not play for two years due to the Big Ten rotating schedule. Illinois last beat OSU 28-21 in 2007, when Ohio State was ranked #1.

Last Time
Last season Illinois struck first with a 43-yard field goal almost halfway through the first quarter. Later in the quarter Carlos Hyde ran for his first of three touchdowns. Illinois scored once more in the first quarter, a 28-yard field goal. Ohio State dominated the second quarter with one field goal and three touchdowns.  Hyde had a five yard run for a touchdown, Rod Smith caught a 51-yard touchdown pass, and Hyde ran it in from 3 yards out. Ohio State led 31-6 at halftime. Braxton Miller led another touchdown drive, finished off by Miller running two yards into the endzone. Towards the end of the quarter Rod Smith fumbled after catching a four yard pass, setting up Illinois with favorable field position. Illinois was finally able to move the ball and after converting a few first downs, they scored on a one yard touchdown with a successful two point conversion. Miller had one more touchdown drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter with 37-yard touchdown pass to Corey Brown. Kenny Guiton took over and helped Ohio State move the ball to the Illinois 23 where he fumbled the ball. The fumble was recovered by Illinois for a 77-yard touchdown. Illinois again successfully ran a two point conversion. Illinois was not as successful with its onside kick attempt. Ohio State took over at the Illinois 44. Bri'onte Dunn ran it seven straight times and the last one was a three yard touchdown run. Illinois was unable to score on its last possession. Ohio State limited Illinois to 19 of 34 on passes for 91 yards. Illinois only had 170 of total offense. Ohio State won 52-22.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 125-23. Meyer is 21-0 at Ohio State, after going 12-0 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.
 
Tim Beckman
In his fifth season as a head coach he is 26-32, with a 5-16 record at Illinois. Beckman graduated from the University of Findlay, where he played defensive back. His coaching career started at Auburn as a graduate assistant, and he also was an defensive assistant at Western Carolina and Elon. From 1998-2004 he was an assistant under Urban Meyer at Bowling Green. He was an assistant coach at Ohio State under Jim Tressel in 2005-2006. After Ohio State he was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. Tim Beckman's first head coaching position was at Toledo, where he coached for three seasons, and led the team to two bowl games. Beckman is 0-3 against Ohio State which includes two losses as the coach of Toledo in 2009 and 2011.  

Monday, November 11, 2013

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. Funtik benefitted off a 4-1 record and joined Corso at first place. SPAM and Cliff Diving Raoul also moved up with 4-1 records. The Arkansas State victory proved to be a difficult prediction for all but two of the panelists. 
 
Standings:
1. Corso (47-19) (3-2 last week)
1. Funtik the Hog (47-19) (4-1 last week)
3. SPAM (46-20) (4-1 last week)
4. Mel Kiper's Hair (45-21) (3-2 last week)
4. Cliff Diving Raoul (45-21) (4-1 last week)
6. Old Bag of Man (44-22) (3-2 last week)
7. Philly Cheese (43-23) (3-2 last week)
8. Ballz to the Wallz-Big Dog (41-25) (3-2 last week)
8. Hudy (41-25) (3-2 last week)
10. Batman (39-27) (3-2 last week)
11. ChadsOSU (36-20) (3-2 last week)
12. W.T. (35-31) (3-2 last week)
Games for this week:
1. Ohio State vs. Illinois
2. Georgia vs. Auburn
3. Michigan St. vs. Nebraska
4. Stanford vs. USC
5. Michigan vs. Northwestern
And the oddball game this week is:
6. Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan

Monday, November 04, 2013

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. Corso's lead shrank by one game. Both SPAM and Hudy moved with 5-1 records. The UTSA victory was only predicted by two panelists. Although this is a bye-week for Ohio State, the Guest Panel will still predict winners. Check back on Friday for the picks and commentary.
 
Standings:
1. Corso (44-17) (4-2 last week)
2. Funtik the Hog (43-18) (5-1 last week)
3. Mel Kiper's Hair (42-19) (4-2 last week)
3. SPAM (42-19) (5-1 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (41-20) (3-3 last week)
5. Cliff Diving Raoul (41-20) (4-2 last week)
7. Philly Cheese (40-21) (3-3 last week)
8. Ballz to the Wallz-Big Dog (38-23) (4-2 last week)
8. Hudy (38-23) (5-1 last week)
10. Batman (36-25) (3-3 last week)
11. ChadsOSU (33-28) (3-3 last week)
12. W.T. (32-29) (2-4 last week)


And the oddball games this week are:
1. Western Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan
2. Southern Miss. vs. Louisiana Tech
3. Virginia vs. North Carolina
4. TCU vs. Iowa State
5. Arkansas St. vs. LA-Monroe