What to Expect

The injury at the quarterback position has literally taken the legs out of Illinois' offense. The passing game has been anemic in the past two games, as it hasn't even eclipsed 150 yards. The rushing game has never been strong, outside of the Texas State game, but it did eclipse 100 yards in the last two games. Look for Illinois to have 95 rushing yards and 210 passing yards. Illinois has not been able to stop the run, allowing an average of 258 rushing yards/game which includes 458 yards for Nebraska, 349 yards for Purdue, and 401 for Wisconsin. Illinois is slightly better against the passing game, but it did allow 336 passing yards in the Texas State game. Look for Ohio State to have 350 rushing yards and 275 passing yards. J.T. Barrett will be limited in action, and I don't expect him to run but he will hand it off to the running backs and he should have a good day of passing. Cardale Jones will play most of the second half. Elliott should have a 150+ yard day, but he will have the support of other running backs. Rod Smith would have had a large number of carries this week if not for his departure from the team due a rules violation. Ohio State will win 48-17.

OSU Last Week

Ohio State had a strong first half and held a 17-0 lead at halftime with touchdowns by Ezekiel Elliott and Jeff Heuerman along with a 49-yard field goal by Sean Nuermberger. Penn State kept Ohio State out of the endzone for the entire second half while it scored 17 points to tie the game with nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. In the overtime both teams had touchdown runs, but a costly penalty on the PAT by Penn State put Ohio State in favorable field position in the second overtime. J.T. Barrett had his second touchdown in the second overtime. The Buckeye defense prevented Penn State from scoring and ended the game with an impressive sack by Joey Bosa. Ohio State escaped with a final score of 31-24.

Scouting the Fighting Ilini

Illinois started the season with a 3-1 record in non-conference play, but it has a 1-3 record in the B1G, for a season record of 4-4. Illinois has victories against Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, Texas St., and Minnesota. The Fighting Illini lost to Washington, Nebraska, Purdue, and Wisconsin. The Illini offense averages  284 passing yards, 106 rushing yards, and 28 points. The defense allows 216 passing yards, 258 rushing yards, and 34 points.

Offense

Sophomore quarterback Wes Lunt started the season and he was successful on the field in September completing an average 66% of his passes for an average of 313 passing yards/game. Lunt fractured his fibula in the Purdue game and he will miss 4-6 weeks. Taking Lunt's place is senior Reilly O'Toole who is an Oklahoma State transfer. In the Minnesota win O'Toole had 59 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown and he completed 14 of 21 for 118 passing yards and one touchdown pass. At running back are both Josh Ferguson and Donovonn Young who collectively have 719 this season with ten touchdowns. Both running backs have a combined 384 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Also at receiver are Mike Dudek, Geronimo Allison, and Josh Freguson.

Defense

The defensve has 59 tackles for loss, which is 21st in the nation, and 14 of those tackles were in the Texas State game. Linebacker T.J. Neal Jr. had 12 tackles against Minnesota last week.

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 61-23-2.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 134-26. Meyer is 30-3 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 31-38, with a 10-22 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 0-4 against Ohio State which includes two losses as the coach of Toledo in 2009 and 2011. 

The Series

This will be the 101st meeting of these two teams, and OSU leads the series 65-30-4. 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 Year
In last year's 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.

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. There wasn't much movement in the rankings, as Funtik and Hudy are still in a tie at first place. Philly Cheese moved into a tie at third place with Corso due to a 5-1 record. Only one panelist picked Illinois as a winner on Saturday.

 

Standings:

1. Funtik the Hog (35-19) (4-2 last week)
1. Hudy (35-19) (4-2 last week)
3. Corso (34-20) (4-2 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (34-20) (5-1 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (33-21) (4-2 last week)
5. W.T. (33-21) (5-1 last week)
5. Cliff Diving Raoul (33-21) (5-1 last week)
8. Big Dog (32-22) (4-2 last week)
8. SPAM (32-22) (4-2 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (31-23) (5-1 last week)
11. Mel Kiper's Hair (29-25) (4-2 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (28-26) (5-1 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Illinois vs. Ohio State

2. Arizona vs. UCLA

3. Utah vs. Arizona St.

4. Air Force vs. Army

5. Auburn vs. Ole Miss

And the oddball game this week is:

6. New Mexico vs. UNLV

What to Expect

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg leads the conference with 272 passing yards/game, but that statistic is inflated a bit due to the 454 yards against UCF and in Big Ten action he only averages 228 passing yards/game. Despite all of those yards against UCF he only threw one touchdown and had 2 interceptions. Overall he only has thrown for five touchdowns, which includes one in the last four games. This season Hackberg has seven interceptions. The running game for Penn State has not quite developed under Coach James Franklin, in fact Belton, the leading running back has not had over 65 rushing yards in one game yet this season. Look for Penn State to have 75 rushing yards and 230 passing yards.

Penn State brings in the nations #1 rushing defense, which limits teams to 60.8 rushing yards/game. However Penn State has not faced a strong running team, and statistically Michigan is the best of Penn State's opponents so far this season with its average of 164 yards/game. Ohio State presents a challenge to Penn State as it averages 259 rushing yards/game. Penn State has not defended the passing game well this season, and both UMass and Northwestern had over 250 passing yards. Look for Ohio State to have 175 rushing yards and 300 passing yards. Ohio State will win the game with a final score of 42-20.

Things to Watch

Current Streaks

Dating back to the Kent State game, Ohio State has had four consecutive 50-point games, which is a school record. Last week Ohio State tied a school record with its fourth consecutive game with at least 500 yards of total offense.

OSU-PSU at Night

Penn State has indicated that the game Saturday is a sell-out and the home crowd will attempt a "White Out" with the fans all wearing white in an effort to intimidate the Buckeyes. This is the sixth night game dating back to 2005 between Ohio State and Penn State. The Ohio State records indicate that each team has won two night games, with Ohio State vacating the 2010 game.

Scouting the Nittany Lions

Penn State has a record of 4-2 (1-2 B1G) with victories over UCF, Akron, Rutgers, and UMASS. The Nittany Lions have lost the last two games against Northwestern and Michigan. Penn State averages 93 rushing yards, 282 passing yards, and 21 points while the defense allows 60 rushing yards, 222 passing yards, and 15 points.

Offense

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg was the 2013 conference freshman of the year and this season he leads the B1G with 272 passing yards. The top receiver at Penn State is DaeSean Hamilton with 93 yards/game for a total of 560 yards. The other receivers with touchdowns this season are Eugene Lewis, Jesse James, and running back Bill Belton. At running back are Bill Belton and Akeel Lynch with 287 and 153 yards each. Belton has three touchdowns. Running back Zach Zwinak has three touchdowns as well.

Defense

Linebacker Mike Hull is second in the conference with 10.7 tackles/game with a total of 64 tackles. Deion Barnes and defensive tackle Anthony Zettel both have 3 sacks. Cornerback Trevor Williams and Safety Adrian Amos both have two interceptions. Amos leads the team with 31 consecutive starts.

OSU Last Week

Ohio State won its homecoming game over Rutgers with a final score of 56-17. Ohio State scored twice in the first quarter with a touchdown pass to Nick Vannett and touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott. Rutgers scored once in the first quarter, a touchdown run. Ohio State controlled the second quarter with three touchdowns, Nick Vannett had one touchdown reception, Eli Apple recovered a fumble and ran it four yards for a touchdown, and Rod Smith had a touchdown run. Ohio State led at halftime with a score of 35-7. Ohio State continued its dominance into the third quarter with two touchdown runs by J.T. Barrett. Rutgers finally had a 42-yard field goal halfway through the third quarter. Ohio State scored its last touchdown with a touchdown pass to Evan Spencer. Rutgers scored the last points of the game early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown run. Ohio State ran the ball for 324 yards, including 107 yards by Barrett. Ohio State passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 133-26. Meyer is 29-3 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.

James Franklin

In his fourth year as a head coach he has a record of 28-17. In his first season at Penn State his record is 4-2. Franklin is a 1995 graduate of East Stroudsburg (PA) where he played quarterback. Franklin was an assistant coach at Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, James Madison, Washington St., Idaho St., Maryland, Green Bay Packers, Kansas St., and Maryland. Prior to Penn State Franklin was the head coach at Vanderbilt during the years 2011-2013.

The Series

OSU leads 15-13 in a series that dates to 1912. OSU is13-7 since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993. Penn State last defeated Ohio State in 2011.

Last Time
Ohio State dominated Penn State last year with a final score of 63-14. Ohio State scored 42 points in the first half while Penn State scored seven. Braxton Miller was 18 of 24 for 252 passing yards with three touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns. Carlos Hyde ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Kenny Guiton had two rushing touchdowns. The defense intercepted two passes from freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg.

Guest Panel-Week 9 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. Hudy has moved into a tie at first place with Funtik, but there wasn't much movement otherwise in the standings. Most of the panel struggled to pick Kansas St. as a winner on Saturday.

 

Standings:

1. Funtik the Hog (31-17) (3-3 last week)
1. Hudy (31-17) (4-2 last week)
3. Corso (30-18) (5-1 last week)
4. Philly Cheese (29-19) (4-2 last week)
4. Old Bag of Man (29-19) (4-2 last week)
6. W.T. (28-20) (4-2 last week)
6. Big Dog (28-20) (4-2 last week)
6. SPAM (28-20) (4-2 last week)
6. Cliff Diving Raoul (28-20) (5-1 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (26-22) (4-2 last week)
11. Mel Kiper's Hair (25-33) (3-3 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (25-25) (4-2 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Ohio State vs. Penn St.

2. Maryland vs. Wisconsin

3. Rutgers vs. Nebraska

4. Michigan vs. Michigan St.

5. Minnesota vs. Illinois

And the oddball game this week is:

6. Texas St. vs. Louisiana-Monroe

What to Expect

Rutgers has a decent quarterback, but the offense has some weaknesses. The Scarlet Knight offense lost its running attack with the injury to Paul James and the receiving yards are not evenly distributed between the receivers. The Ohio State defense should prepare for the run, but it really can focus on putting pressure on the QB and limiting passes to Caroo. Rutgers has struggled to run the ball in Big Ten games, with only 102 yards against Penn State and 74 against Michigan, but there has not been a similar decline in the passing yards in conference games. Look for Rutgers to have 70 rushing yards and 285 passing yards. Despite the strong defensive line of Rutgers, teams have had some luck passing the ball against the Scarlet Knights, including two teams which passed for over 300 yards. The Rutgers rushing defense has been pretty solid with only one team eclipsing 200 rushing yards. Look for Ohio State to have 200 rushing yards and 300 passing yards. Ohio State will win 45-21.

Things to Watch

No More Bye-Weeks

Ohio State has already exhausted its two bye-weeks and it will paly seven straight games, starting Saturday and going through the Michigan game on November 29. Ohio State published the bye-weeks for 2015-2019 and those dates are October 31, 2015, September 24, 2016, October 21, 2017, October 27, 2018, October 12, 2019, and November 2, 2019. You will notice that it is unusual to have two bye-weeks and it only occurs again in 2019.

OSU after Bye-Weeks

Ohio State has a record 17-9 after bye-weeks, which includes six consecutive wins after open weeks. Ohio State's last home loss after a bye-week was in 1990 against Illinois. Ohio State's last road loss after a bye-week was at Penn State in 2005.

Homecoming Weekend

This is the 102nd homecoming weekend and 93rd homecoming football game. Ohio State has a record 67-19-5 in homecoming games. The homecoming parade is Friday night at 6PM and it will start at Ohio Stadium and end at the Ohio Union. A pep rally will occur at the Ohio Union after the conclusion of the parade.

Scouting the Scarlet Knights

This season Rutgers is 5-1 with victories against Washington St., Howard, Navy, Tulane, and Michigan. Rutgers lost to Penn State. On offense Rutgers averages 159 rushing yards, 267 passing yards, and 29 points. The Scarlet Knight defense limits teams to 135 rushing yards, 261 passing yards, and 21 points.

Offense

At quarterback is junior Gary Nova has had a good season which included 404 passing yards and three touchdowns last week against Michigan. He did struggle against Penn State by throwing five interceptions. So far Nova is completing 62% for 1601 yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. The running back position is now held by sophomores Desmon Peoples and Justin Goodwin after the injury to Paul James earlier this season. Peoples has 326 yards and Goodwin has 197 yards and one touchdown. Leading the receivers is junior Leonte Caroo with 91.3 yards/game and five touchdown receptions. No other receiver comes close to Caroo's 548 reception yards. Jonarion Grant, John Tsimis, Tyler Kroft have a combined amount of 403 yards in receptions.

Defense

The defensive line is a strength of this team, and it has 24 sacks so far this season, which is third in the country and first in the Big Ten. Kemoko Turay has 5.5 of those sacks. The team has 42 tackles for loss. Linebackers Steve Longa and Quentin Gause lead the team with 41 and 34 tackles respectively.

OSU Last Game

Ohio State went on the road and came home with a 52-24 victory. Ohio State scored twice in the first quarter with a touchdown run by Rod Smith and a touchdown reception by Jalin Marshall. Maryland scored mid-way through the first quarter with a 57-yard field goal. Ohio State dominated the second quarter with two touchdowns and one field goal, while limiting Maryland to one touchdown. The score at halftime was 31-10. Ohio State scored three more times in the second half with a 30-yard pass to Devin Smith, a touchdown run by J.T. Barrett, and a returned interception by Raekwon McMillan. Maryland had two touchdowns in the second half. Ohio State's defense had four interceptions, and limited Maryland to 66 rushing yards. J.T. Barrett continues to be efficient with the ball, and at Maryland he completed 78% of his passes for 267 yards, with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. Ezekiel Elliott had another 100+ yard game with 139 yards. Backup quarterback Cardale Jones had one of the highlights when he hurdled over a defender during a run.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 132-26. Meyer is 28-3 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.

Kyle Flood

In his third season as a head coach all at Rutgers Kyle Flood has a record of 20-12. He is a graduate of Iona where he was a varsity lineman. After coaching at a high school he started coaching at the college level at C.W. Post in 1995. He also was an assistant at Hofstra and Delaware. He first joined the Rutgers staff as an assistant coach in 2005 and he was named the head coach in 2012.

The Series

This is the first meeting between these two schools. Rutgers is playing its first year in the Big Ten and it will play Ohio State every year as a member of the East division.

Guest Panel-Week 8 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. Funtik's lead has narrowed down to one game and Hudy is holding second place by himself. Old Bag of Man continues to climb and his 5-1 record helped him jump from fifth to a tie at third with Corso and Philly Cheese.

 

Standings:

1. Funtik the Hog (28-14) (4-2 last week)
2. Hudy (27-15) (5-1 last week)
3. Corso (25-17) (3-3 last week)
3. Philly Cheese (25-17) (3-3 last week)
3. Old Bag of Man (25-17) (5-1 last week)
6. W.T. (24-18) (4-2 last week)
6. Big Dog (24-18) (4-2 last week)
6. SPAM (24-18) (4-2 last week)
9. Cliff Diving Raoul (23-19) (3-3 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (22-20) (3-3 last week)
10. Mel Kiper's Hair (22-20) (4-2 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (19-23) (3-3 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Rutgers vs. Ohio State

2. Kansas St. vs. Oklahoma

3. Texas A&M vs. Alabama

4. Notre Dame vs. Florida St.

5. Stanford vs. Arizona St.

And the oddball game this week is:

6. New Mexico St. vs. Idaho

Guest Panel-Week 7 Games and Standings

Here are the games for the Guest Panel to consider this week. Below are the standings as well. It was a crazy weekend of college football and the Guest Panel struggled as a result. Funtik is still holding a two game lead, but Corso has been joined at second by Hudy and Philly Cheese who both had 3-3 records. Cliff Diving Raoul was the only panelist to have four correct predictions and he was rewarded by moving from tenth to a tie for fifth. This week the panel is picking all oddball games.

 

Standings:

1. Funtik the Hog (24-12) (2-4 last week)
2. Corso (22-14) (2-4 last week)
2. Hudy (22-14) (3-3 last week)
2. Philly Cheese (22-14) (3-3 last week)
5. W.T. (20-16) (1-5 last week)
5. Big Dog (20-16) (2-4 last week)
5. SPAM (20-16) (2-4 last week)
5. Old Bag of Man (20-16) (2-4 last week)
5. Cliff Diving Raoul (20-16) (4-2 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (19-17) (2-4 last week)
11. Mel Kiper's Hair (18-18) (3-3 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (16-20) (1-5 last week)

And the oddball games this week are:
1. Western Michigan vs. Ball State

2. Wyoming vs. Hawaii

3. Massachusetts vs. Kent State

4. Connecticut vs. Tulane

5. Old Dominion vs. UTEP

6. Penn State vs. Michigan

What to Expect

The weather should clear out before kickoff, with minimal impact on the game due to the artificial field. Maryland's offense depends on dual-threat quarterback C.J. Brown and with his playing status unclear Ohio State has to still prepare for his running ability. Regardless Maryland will not have the passing success of UC and it will need the running game to be successful. Ohio State should be able to limit Maryland's running game to 120 yards and Maryland will only have 200 passing yards. Coach Edsall is known for his defensive background and experience, but he doesn't have the personnel to be an elite Big Ten defense this season. Maryland appears to be most susceptible to running, but the passing defense is not stellar and the team allows over 430 combined yards/game. Ohio State will have a balanced attack again, with 250 rushing yards and 300 passing yards. Ohio State will win 42-27.

Things to Watch

Byrd Stadium

This will be the first time Ohio State visits Byrd Stadium, the on-campus football facility in College Park, MD. The stadium has a capacity of 54,000 and the game has been sold out. The stadium, built in 1923, is named after Dr. Harry C. Byrd who helped in the efforts to build the stadium. Byrd is a former football coach and president of the University.

Ohio State Ranked #1

Ohio State continues to be ranked first in the nation in average home game attendance, with an average of 106,761, which is ahead of Texas A&M, Michigan, LSU, and Alabama. The attendance at the Cincinnati game was an Ohio State record crowd of 108,362.

Scouting the Terrapins

Maryland averages 155 rushing yards/game, 262 passing yards/games, and 36.8 points/game. The Terrapins' defense allows 200 rushing yards/game, 234 passing yards/game, and 19.8 points/game. Maryland is 4-1 with a 1-0 record in the Big Ten, with wins against James Madison (52-7), USF (24-17), Syracuse (34-20), and Indiana (37-15). Maryland lost to West Virginia 37-40.

Offense

At quarterback is C.J. Brown who has completed 57% for 128 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Brown is the team's leading rusher with 266 yards and five touchdowns. Brown's status for Saturday remains unclear due to a sprained wrist, and if he misses playing time he will be replaced by Caleb Rowe who is not known for his running ability. Rowe played in the majority of the games last season. At receiver is Stefon Diggs with 29 catches for 398 yards and two touchdowns. Diggs was a recruitment target of Ohio State, but he chose the school closer to his hometown of Gaithersburg, MD. Diggs also returns kicks. Diggs has 3,424 career all purpose yards which includes 1,833 reception yards. Also at receiver are Deon Long and Marcus Leak. The running backs have split time this season with Wes Brown running for 182 yards and Brandon Ross running for 178 yards.

Defense

Linebacker Yannick Ngakoue has 17 tackles this season and he leads the Big Ten with seven tackles for a loss. Safety Sean Davis leads the team with 42 tackles. Linebackers L.A. Goree and Cole Farrand have 38 tackles and 35 tackles respectively.

OSU Last Week

Cincinnati scored with a 60-yard touchdown pass on its first possession. Ohio State scored the next 23 points, all in the first quarter, which included two touchdown runs, a safety, and a touchdown pass. Ohio State scored first in the second quarter with a touchdown pass, but Cincinnati had two touchdown passes to close out the half with a score of 30-21 in favor of Ohio State. Ohio State had a field goal, which was quickly followed by a touchdown pass by Cincinnati. The Ohio State defense shut down Cincinnati for the rest of the game and the Buckeyes scored 17 more points for a final score of 50-28. The Buckeye defense allowed 352 passing yards, and three touchdown passes to the same player accounted for 221 of those yards. The Cincinnati defense allowed a NCAA record 45 first downs along with 380 rushing yards and 330 passing yards. Ohio State dominated the possession clock for 41 minutes against 18 minutes for Cincinnati. J.T. Barrett had another great game passing 26/36 for 330 yards and Ezekiel Elliott had a breakout game with 182 rushing yards.

The Series

This is the first meeting between these two schools. Maryland is playing its first year in the Big Ten and it will play Ohio State every year as a member of the East division.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 131-26. Meyer is 27-3 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.

Randy Edsall

In his 16th season as a head coach he has a record of 91-95 and his record in four seasons at Maryland is 17-25. Edsall is a graduate of Syracuse where he played quarterback. He started his coaching career at Syracuse as a graduate assistant in 1980 and he held a variety of assistant coach positions at Syracuse through 1990. He has also been an assistant coach at Boston College, Jacksonville (NFL), and Georgia Tech. He was head coach at Connecticut in the years 1999-2010.