What to Expect

The Michigan offense never quite developed as originally hoped under new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier who was hired away from Alabama. The team had its most productive offense in the first week against Appalachian State with 560 yards, including 350 rushing yards and 210 passing yards. Since that date the team has not eclipsed 500 yards and it only has topped 400 yards twice. The Wolverine offense really struggled against Minnesota with only 83 rushing yards and 88 passing yards. Look for Michigan to have 130 rushing yards and 175 passing yards.

The Michigan defense has defended the run well this season, but it has allowed over 140 yards five times. Minnesota had 206 rushing yards, while Northwestern had -9 rushing yards. The Wolverine's pass defense has been effective with a couple exceptions including the 402 yards allowed in the Rutgers game and the 273 yards allowed against Northwestern. Look for Ohio State to have 200 rushing yards and 300 passing yards. Ohio State will win with a final score of 40-17.

Things to Watch

Troy Smith #10

At halftime Buckeye great quarterback Troy Smith will be honored by having #10 placed permanently along the stadium along with other legends Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, Hopalong Cassady, Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Chic Harley, and Bill Willis. In his career Smith completed 62% of his passes for 5720 yards, 54 touchdowns, and a passing efficiency of 157. Smith was the overwhelming selection for the Heisman Trophy in 2006 and he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and to the National Championship game, which it lost to Florida. Ohio State no longer retires numbers, but it will have a display with his name and uniform number inside the stadium.

College Football Playoffs

My predictions is the same for the third week in a row, I predict one team from the ACC (Florida St.), Pac-12, SEC, and B1G being selected for the playoffs. If Ohio State loses a game, look for the Big 12 to take one spot. If Florida State stumbles then the SEC or Pac-12 will take a second spot.

B1G Conference Standings

Ohio State has secured the B1G East and the B1G West will be decided this weekend with the match-up of Minnesota at Wisconsin. The winner of that game will play Ohio State on December 6.

Scouting the Wolverines

Michigan has a record of 5-6 with victories over Appalachian St., Miami (OH), Penn St., Indiana, and Northwestern. Michigan has losses to Notre Dame, Utah, Minnesota, Rutgers, Michigan St., and Maryland. Michigan averages 166 rushing yards/game, 162 passing yards, and 20 points. The Wolverine defense allows 107 rushing yards/game, 194 passing yards, and 20 points.

Offense

Senior quarterback Gardner has completed 60% of his passes this season for 1663 yards, eight touchdowns, and thirteen interceptions. He still runs the ball, but his numbers are down from last year. So far this season he has 237 running yards. At receiver are Devin Funchess, Jehu Chesson, Deniss Norfleet, and tight end Jake Butt. Funchess has 625 yards and four touchdowns, and he has at least one reception in 24 straight games. Norfleet also returns kicks and averages 23 yards/return. Running back Derrick Green was injured in the sixth game and he will miss the rest of the season. The running back position is now shared by De'Veon Smith, Justice Hayes, and Drake Johnson. Smith has rushed for 515 yards and six touchdowns this season.

Defense

The leading tackler for Michigan is linebacker Jake Ryan with 104 tackles. Ryan is a Butkus finalist and he attended St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. Brennen Beyer has 5.5 sacks. Jourdan Lewis has two interceptions.

OSU Last Week

Ohio State scored first with a 65-yard run by Ezekiel Elliott on its first possession. Indiana was forced to punt on its next possession and Ohio State followed with a  touchdown drive capped off with a touchdown pass to Jeff Heuerman. Indiana finally scored with a drive that had four runs including a 53-yard run by the quarterback. In the next drive Ohio State committed its first turnover with a fumble by receiver Michael Thomas. Indiana moved the ball 18 yards, but it was forced to kick a field goal, which was good for 30-yards. Ohio State turned it over once more with a interception by J.T. Barrett. Indiana was unable to score, but on the next possession Barrett threw his second  interception of the game which led to another Indiana fieldgoal. The two teams traded punts to close out the half. Ohio State led 14-13 at halftime. The teams both punted early in the second half, but Indiana broke through with a 90-yard touchdown run by Tevin Coleman to take the lead.  Late in the third quarter Jalin Marshall returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown. Jalin Marshall had all three of Ohio State's touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 6 yard touchdown catch, 15-yard catch, and a 54-yard catch. Indiana only scored one additional time off a 52-yard touchdown run by Coleman. Ohio State won with a score of 42-24 and Barret threw for over 300 yards, while Elliott had over 100 yards rushing.

The Series

This will be the 111th game in what is considered the greatest rivalry in all of sports. The two teams first met in 1897 and have played every year since 1918, a streak of 97 straight years. Since 1935 the game has been the last conference game of the season. Michigan leads the series 58-45-6. Ohio State had a streak broken in 2011 of six straight wins (2010 vacated). Ohio State has won 10 of the last 12 games. OSU leads the series 33-27-2 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 2-0. 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 1-2.

Last Year
Ohio State won an exciting game with a final score of 42-41. The game was closer than expected as Michigan was able to move the ball with ease and had 603 yards of offense, which includes 451 yards passing. Michigan struck first with a drive capped off by a running touchdown by QB Devin Gardner. The two teams continued to trade touchdowns in the first quarter with a 53-yard touchdown pass between Braxton Miller and Devin Smith, a four yard touchdown run by Michigan, and a 53-yard touchdown run by Braxton Miller. Michigan scored early in the second quarter with a touchdown pass between Gardner and Jeremy Gallon. Ohio State scored in the closing minutes of the first half. The score was tied 21-21 at halftime. The Buckeye defense kept Michigan out of the endzone and scored two additional touchdowns with a run by Miller and a touchdown catch by Jeff Heuerman. Going into the fourth quarter Ohio State led 35-21. That lead was erased halfway through the fourth quarter after two touchdown passes by Michigan. Ohio State scored with two minutes remaining in the game, but Michigan had sufficient time to score a touchdown, with a score of 42-41. Michigan made the decision to attempt a two-point conversion, which failed when Tyvis Powell intercepted the pass. Ohio State secured the win with the recovery of the onside kick. Carlos Hyde had 226 rushing yards and Miller had 153 rushing yards. It was the first time both teams scored at least 41 points in the history of the rivalry.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 138-26. Meyer is 34-3 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.

Brady Hoke
In his fourth year at Michigan he is 31-19 and has a career record of 78-69 in twelve 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.

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. W.T. charged to sole possession of first place with a 5-1 record. Philly Cheese separated himself at second place while Funtik and Corso are sharing third place. None of the panel predicted the victory by Arkansas. The competition will continue through the conference championship games next week.

 

Standings:

1. W.T. (51-27) (5-1 last week)
2. Philly Cheese (50-28) (4-2 last week)
3. Funtik the Hog (49-29) (3-3 last week)
3. Corso (49-29) (3-3 last week)
5. Hudy (48-30) (4-2 last week)
6. Big Dog (47-31) (2-4 last week)
6. SPAM (47-31) (3-3 last week)
6. Old Bag of Man (47-31) (3-3 last week)
9. Cliff Diving Raoul (45-33) (3-3 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (43-35) (3-3 last week)
10. Mel Kiper's Hair (43-35) (5-1 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (40-38) (3-3 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Michigan vs. Ohio State

2. Auburn vs. Alabama

3. Mississippi St. vs. Ole Miss

4. Minnesota vs. Wisconsin

5. Oregon vs. Oregon St.
And the oddball game this week is:

6. UAB vs. Southern Miss.

What to Expect

It should not surprise anyone that Indiana will attempt to run the ball against Ohio State. Indiana is on its third quarterback and he has struggled to effectively run a passing offense. Diamont only had 11 passing yards against Michigan State, 24 against Michigan, 68 against Penn State, but he did have 179 yards against Rutgers. Indiana is led by one of the best running backs in the country. Tevin Coleman had 307 rushing yards last week against Rutgers. Look for Indiana to have 125 passing yards and 250 rushing yards.

Ohio State should move the ball with ease through the air against the soft pass defense of Indiana which allowed 395 yards against Bowling Green, 331 against Missouri, 336 against Maryland and 332 against Michigan State. The rushing defense has been better on average but it did allow 330 yards in the Michigan State game and 316 to Iowa. Ohio State will have 300 passing yards and 300 rushing yards. Ezekiel Elliott will eclipse 1000 rushing yards in this game. Ohio State will win with a final score of 63-21. 

Things to Watch

College Football Playoffs

My predictions from last week remain the same, I predict one team from the ACC (Florida St.), Pac-12, SEC, and B1G being selected for the playoffs. If Ohio State loses a game, look for the Big 12 to take one spot. If Florida State stumbles then the SEC or Pac-12 will take a second spot. The committee appears to be devaluing the Big 12, as I have done all season, and without a conference championship game TCU and Baylor have a limited ability to impress the committee. The Big Ten continues to gain respect with Ohio State and Michigan State ranked highly with Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota also in the top-25. Minnesota did not drop after its loss to Ohio State. If Ohio State wins out, it should be in the top-four.

B1G Conference Standings
Wisconsin ran over Nebraska and it appears to be the favored team to win the B1G West, but don't tell that to Minnesota. Minnesota's schedule is back loaded with remaining games against Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Minnesota could come out of that stretch with two additional losses or as the B1G West representative in the conference championship game. Nebraska was humbled in the Wisconsin loss, but it still has a shot at the conference championship. Iowa is also a long shot, but there are scenarios in which it could represent the B1G West.

Scouting the Hoosiers

The Hoosiers have a record of 2-7 with victories over Indiana State and Missouri. The team lost to Bowling Green, Maryland, North Texas, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State and Rutgers. Indiana averages 264 rushing yards/game, 146 passing yards, and 25 points. The Indiana defense allows 173 rushing yards/game and 258 passing yards along with 33 points.

Offense

Indiana is without the services of quarterback Nate Sudfield who had lead the team with 1151 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions prior to getting injured in the Iowa game. Chris Covington replaced Sudfeld but he tore his ACL in the Iowa game as well. Freshman Zander Diamont has been the starter since the Michigan State game in mid-October.  Diamont has completed 45% of his passes for 282 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. At running back is Tevin Coleman who is second nationally with 1678 rushing yards. He also has 12 touchdowns and he averages 7.84 rushing yards/carry. Also running the ball is D'Angelo Roberts with 460 yards and six touchdowns. The main receiver is Shane Wynn with 568 yards and three touchdowns.

Defense
Leading the team in tackles are linebacker T.J. Simmons with 58 tackles and Safety Antonio Allen who also has 58 tackles. Simmons has 4.5 tackles for loss while Allen has 2.5 tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Bobby Richardson has 5.5 sacks. 

OSU Last Week

Ohio State defeated Minnesota with a final score of 31-24. The Buckeyes scored the first two touchdowns with two big plays, a 86 touchdown run by J.T. Barrett and a 57-yard touchdown reception by Jalin Marshall.  Minnesota responded back with two touchdown runs in the second quarter. Ohio State closed out the first half with a field goal to take a 17-14 lead. The first half included an interception by Barrett. Ohio State finally started to separate with two touchdown passes in the third and fourth quarter to Michael Thomas and Evan Spencer. Unfortunately Minnesota was not done as it completed a touchdown pass halfway through the fourth quarter and kicked a field goal late in the game. Minnesota was unsuccessful in recovering the onside kick and Ohio State ran out the final minute of the game. Special teams struggled with two fumbles which lead to two of Minnesota's three touchdowns. Barrett had a big game with 200 passing yards and a record 189 rushing yards.

The Series

OSU leads 69-12-5 all-time against Indiana, in a series that dates back to 1908. OSU has won the last 18 straight games, with the last loss in 1988 in Bloomington and a score of 41-7.

Last Year
Ohio State beat Indiana on a snowy, cold, and windy day with a final score of 42-14. The victory secured a spot for Ohio State in the conference championship game. 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 Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 137-26. Meyer is 33-3 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.

Kevin Wilson
In his third year as a head coach his record is 13-33 all at Indiana. 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.

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. There was much movement in the standings and the end result is a four-way tie at first place. Both Corso and W.T. moved up due to 5-1 records last week. There are three weeks remaining in the Guest Panel season, since the season includes the conference championship games.

 

Standings:

1. Philly Cheese (46-26) (2-4 last week)
1. Funtik the Hog (46-26) (4-2 last week)
1. Corso (46-26) (5-1 last week)
1. W.T. (46-26) (5-1 last week)
5. Big Dog (45-27) (4-2 last week)
6. Hudy (44-28) (3-3 last week)
6. SPAM (44-28) (4-2 last week)
6. Old Bag of Man (44-28) (4-2 last week)
9. Cliff Diving Raoul (43-29) (3-3 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (40-32) (3-3 last week)
11. Mel Kiper's Hair (38-34) (4-2 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (37-35) (3-3 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Indiana vs. Ohio State

2. Minnesota vs. Nebraska

3. Wisconsin vs. Iowa

4. Arizona vs. Utah

5. Ole Miss vs. Arkansas

And the oddball game this week is:

6. Louisiana-Monroe vs. New Mexico St.

What to Expect

I don't expect Ohio State to be caught off guard by Minnesota, based on its high score victory over Iowa last week and Minnesota's recent jump into the CFP rankings. Minnesota had a great game last weekend at Iowa, throwing for four touchdowns on only 138 passing yards while running for almost 300 yards and three rushing touchdowns. It was easily the most potent offensive display by Minnesota this season and it appears the team has recovered from the disappointing loss to Illinois. Prior to the Illinois loss, Minnesota only had lost to TCU, one of the teams in the top ten fighting for a spot in the playoffs.

Minnesota moves the ball most effectively with the running game averaging 47 carries/game, but it completes only an average of 9 passes/game. The Gophers only had 99 rushing yards against TCU and it had a season high 380 against San Jose State. Minnesota has only eclipsed 200 passing yards in one game, the loss to Illinois. Look for the Gophers to have 175 rushing yards and 150 passing yards.

Minnesota has had success stopping the run, limiting four teams to less than 100 yards, but Purdue did have 298 rushing yards. Minnesota has struggled to stop the pass as four teams have had over 200 yards and Eastern Illinois had 310 passing yards. Ohio State will have 250 rushing yards and 275 passing yards. Ohio State will win 42-24.

Things to Watch

Big Ten Championship Game

Ohio State controls its own destiny with a one game lead over Michigan State in the Big Ten East. Minnesota is in a tie for first place in the Big Ten West with Nebraska and Wisconsin, who are both playing each other this weekend.

College Football Playoffs

It is a bit premature to discuss the playoffs, but don't tell that to the talking heads on the sports networks. Ohio State has three regular season games, and most likely one additional game with the conference championship game on December 6. Ohio State moved up to 8th in the CFP rankings released Tuesday night. The Buckeyes are behind three teams which also have one loss. Ohio State has 3-4 games in which to gain ground in the rankings, and Ohio State can impress voters with a victory over ranked Minnesota this weekend. It would further help Ohio State if its opponents continue to win games, most notably Minnesota and Michigan State. All three of the leaders in the Big Ten West are ranked in the CFP rankings, and a Big Ten Championship matchup with a one-loss Nebraska would be the best scenario for Ohio State. Big 12 teams will not have the benefit of a conference championship game. The SEC will continue to knock its own teams out of the playoff picture during the season and in the conference championship game. As things currently stand I predict one team from the ACC (Florida St.), Pac-12, SEC, and B1G being selected for the playoffs. If the B1G does not have a one-loss team available, look for the Big 12 to take one spot. If Florida State stumbles then the SEC or Pac-12 will take a second spot.

Scouting the Golden Gophers

Minnesota has a record of 7-2 (4-1 B1G) with victories over Eastern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, San Jose State, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue, and Iowa. The Gophers have loses to TCU and Illinois. Minnesota's offense averages 224 rushing yards, 140 passing yards, and 30 points. The defense allows an average of 137 rushing yards, 197 passing yards, and 21 points.

Offense

Mitch Leidner leads the team at QB, but Chris Streveler is available and he started the San Jose State game after the loss to TCU. Since that game Leidner has started every game. Leidner has 13 career touchdown runs. Streveler can also run at the QB position and he had 161 yards against San Jose State. Running the ball for the Gophers is senior David Cobb who averages 133 yards/game, and he had a career high 220 against Middle Tennessee. The main target at receiver is tight end Maxx Williams who has 326 yards this season with seven touchdowns.

Defense

The defense is second in the conference with 12 interceptions and has a turnover margin of +8. Damien Wilson leads the team with 88 tackles, which is second in the conference. This season Wilson has 8 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one interception. Defensive Backs Antonio Johnson returns kickoffs and he averages 28 yards/return. Defensive Back Jalen Myrick had a pick-six in the Middle Tennessee game and a 100-yard kickoff return in the Northwestern game.

OSU Last Week

It was a game which lived up to the preseason and season-long hype. The top two teams in the conference showed the nation in a primetime game that the Big Ten can compete at a high level. With a final score of 49-37 Ohio State came home with a victory over a top-ten conference team. Ohio State overcame a missed field goal, a muffed punt, and a fumbled kickoff return to hold a 28-21 lead at halftime. In the second quarter Michigan State had an opportunity to increase its lead to 10 points, but instead it missed a field goal and allowed Ohio State to score two touchdowns in the last four minutes of the first half. Michigan State had a long drive to start the second half, but it only resulted in a field goal. Ohio State followed it with a time consuming drive that included some critical runs by J.T. Barrett and Ezekiel Elliott, while Dontre Wilson was able to put his first half fumble behind him with a first down catch. That drive ended with a touchdown run by Elliott, giving Ohio State a 35-24 lead. Michigan State had a promising drive stall in the third quarter, when it failed to convert a fourth down. Dontre Wilson added a touchdown reception in the next drive which put Ohio State up 42-24. Michigan State responded with a touchdown, but Ohio State then scored behind four runs by Barrett and Elliott including a 55-yard run by Barrett. Ohio State again was up by 18 points and Michigan State scored on its next possession but missed the two-point conversion. Ohio State burnt almost five minutes off the clock with a series of running plays and one pass. Michigan State was unable to reach the endzone in its last possession as Ohio State only left thirty seconds on the game clock. Barrett completed 16 passes for 300 yards which included a 79 touchdown pass to Michael Thomas. Elliott had 154 yards of rushing while Barrett ran for 86 yards.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 136-26. Meyer is 32-3 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.

Jerry Kill

In his 21st season as a head coach he has a record of 151-96, which includes a 24-23 record in four years at Minnesota. Kill took over at Minnesota in 2010 after coaching at Northern Illinois for three seasons. He also has head coaching experience at Southern Illinois, Emporia State (KS), and Saginaw Valley St. (MI).  Prior to being a head coach he was an assistant at Pittsburgh State (KS) and Webb City High School (MO). Kill played linebacker at Southern (KS).

The Series

OSU leads the series 42-7. OSU has won 23 of the last 24 games (2010 game vacated), with the last loss taking place in Columbus in 2000 in the last year of the Coach Cooper era.

Last Time
In 2010 Ohio State dominated the Golden Gophers in a visit to Minnesota, with a final score of 52-10, a victory which Ohio State vacated from the records. Terrelle Pryor threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, going 18 of 22. Pryor had 55 rushing yards, while Dan "Boom" Herron had 114 yards for his first career 100-yard game. The offense had a total of 507 yards. The defense shut down QB Adam Weber after he directed a TD drive in the first quarter. The OSU defense sacked Weber five times and intercepted him once. The defensive pressure also caused him to fumble the ball twice including a fumble returned for a touchdown by OSU DL John Simon. Weber was 9 of 20 for 162 yards. Special teams had some highlights including a 70-yard punt return by Jordan Hall and a blocked punt.

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. Philly Cheese extended his lead to two games at first place due to a 5-1 record. Funtik holds second place by himself and there are four panelists tied at third place.

 

Standings:

1. Philly Cheese (44-22) (5-1 last week)
2. Funtik the Hog (42-24) (4-2 last week)
3. Hudy (41-25) (3-3 last week)
3. Corso (41-25) (3-3 last week)
3. W.T. (41-25) (4-2 last week)
3. Big Dog (41-25) (6-0 last week)
7. Cliff Diving Raoul (40-26) (3-3 last week)
7. SPAM (40-26) (4-2 last week)
7. Old Bag of Man (40-26) (5-1 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (37-29) (3-3 last week)
11. Mel Kiper's Hair (34-32) (2-4 last week)
11. Ice Bucket (34-32) (4-2 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Ohio State vs. Minnesota

2. Florida St. vs. Miami (FL)

3. Mississippi St. vs. Alabama

4. Nebraska vs. Wisconsin

5. Arizona St. vs. Oregon St.

And the oddball game this week is:

6. Troy vs. Idaho

What to Expect

Ohio State will have a difficult time finding a weakness in the Michigan State offense which is very balanced. Connor definitely favors Lippett at receiver, but the Oregon game shows that even a big game from Lippett may not be sufficient for Michigan State. In that game Lippett had 133 yards, but he only had one touchdown reception. Oregon also allowed Michigan State to pass for 343 yards, but Cook only threw a total of two touchdown passes. Oregon was able to pressure Michigan State at the line and limit the running game to 123 yards and force Cook to throw two interceptions. Joey Bosa and the OSU defense should apply a similar strategy of limiting the rushing game, while forcing Cook to make some mistakes. Look for Michigan State to have 110 rushing yards and 250 passing yards.

Michigan State has similar stats to Ohio State on defense, which means Ohio State will struggle to consistently run the ball. Nebraska only had 47 rushing yards while Oregon had 173. It is a bit surprising that Indiana had 213 rushing yards. Ohio State should have more success passing the ball based on the fact that Oregon had 318 passing yards and Nebraska had 282. Look for Ohio State to have 175 rushing yards and 250 passing yards. Ohio State will win this close game 31-28.

Scouting the Spartans

The Spartans have a record of 7-1 (4-0 B1G). Michigan State has wins over Jacksonville State, Eastern Michigan, Wyoming, Nebraska, Purdue, Indiana, and Michigan. The Spartans have one lose to Oregon. Michigan State's offense averages 254 rushing yards/game, 260 passing yards, and 45 points. The defense allows 95 rushing yards/game, 184 passing yards, and 20 points.

Offense

The offense is very balanced, averaging over 250 yards of rushing and passing each game. Junior quarterback Connor Cook is second in the Big Ten with 233 passing yards/game. He has passed for 1868 yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions. At running back is senior Jeremy Langford with 841 yards and ten touchdowns. The main receiver is by far senior Tony Lippett who averages 111 yards/game and this season has nine touchdowns. Also at receiver are Josiah Price with 258 yards and five other receivers with over 100 yards and at least one touchdown this season.

Defense

The Spartans lead the Big Ten with a +12 turnover margin, due to the defense forcing 22 turnovers. Leading the team in tackles is safety Kurtis Drummond with 39. Linebacker Ed Davis has 10 tackles for loss this season, which includes six sacks. Defensive end Shilique Calhoun also has six sacks this season.

Things to Watch

ESPN GameDay in East Lansing

This will be the 33rd time ESPN has hosted the show for a game involving Ohio State. In those games Ohio State is 21-11, including an 8-5 record on the road. Ohio State's first appearance on GameDay was the Notre Dame game in 1996. Ohio State has hosted GameDay an all-time high 13 times in Columbus.

Winning Streaks

Ohio State has won twenty straight Big Ten regular season games, and Michigan has won thirteen straight conference games. Both teams have won six straight games coming into this game. Michigan State is unbeaten at home, with a 5-0 record this season and a 12-0 streak at Spartan Stadium stretching back to last season. Ohio State has won 11 consecutive road games. Obviously some of these streaks will end after Saturday night.

OSU Last Week

Ohio State won the game with a score of 55-14. The Buckeyes controlled this game from the start with 31 points in the first half, including two touchdown runs by Curtis Samuel, a field goal, and two touchdown receptions by Devin Smith. The scoring didn't stop in the third quarter as Ohio State rattled off 17 more points behind backup quarterback Cardale Jones. Illinois broke the scoring drought late in the third quarter and scored again in the fourth quarter. Ohio State scored early in the fourth quarter with another touchdown pass by Jones. J.T. Barrett was limited to the first half and completed 15 of 24 passes for 167 yards and two touchdown passes. The defense held Illinois to 106 rushing yards and 137 passing yards. The defense also intercepted Illinois twice.

The Coaches

Urban Meyer
In the 12th season of his coaching career Urban Meyer's record is 135-26. Meyer is 31-3 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.

Mark Dantonio
In his eighth season at Michigan State he is 62-29 and he is 89-47 in his career which includes three years at Cincinnati. Dantonio was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State for three years, including the 2002 National Championship season. Dantonio moved to OSU with Jim Tressel, after spending five years as a secondary and defensive coordinator at Youngstown.

The Series

This will be the 43rd game between these two schools, with Ohio State leading the series 28-14. Ohio State has won eight of the last ten games.

Last year Ohio State won the leaders division and played Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State's winning streak ended at 24 games as Ohio State lost 34-24 to the Spartans. Michigan State had control early scoring the first 17 points. Ohio State finally scored halfway through the second quarter with a touchdown pass between Braxton Miller and Corey Brown. The Buckeyes had a 28-yard field goal to close the half trailing the Spartans 17-10. Ohio State tied the game early in the second half with a eight yard run by Miller. Ohio State took the lead halfway through the third quarter with six yard run by Miller. In its next possession Michigan State completed a 44-yard field goal. Michigan State kept Ohio State off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter and scored fourteen points to seal the victory. Miller and Carlos Hyde both ran over 100-yards and Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford ran for over 100 yards against Ohio State.

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. Philly Cheese moved from third to sole possession of first place with a 5-1 record. Most of the panel did not pick UCLA to win on Saturday.

 

Standings:

1. Philly Cheese (39-21) (5-1 last week)
2. Funtik the Hog (38-22) (3-3 last week)
2. Hudy (38-22) (3-3 last week)
2. Corso (38-22) (4-2 last week)
5. W.T. (37-23) (4-2 last week)
5. Cliff Diving Raoul (37-23) (4-2 last week)
7. SPAM (36-24) (4-2 last week)
8. Old Bag of Man (35-25) (2-4 last week)
8. Big Dog (35-25) (3-3 last week)
10. Academic Fraud (34-26) (3-3 last week)
11. Mel Kiper's Hair (32-28) (3-3 last week)
12. Ice Bucket (30-30) (2-4 last week)


Games for this week:

1. Ohio State vs. Michigan St.

2. Baylor vs. Oklahoma

3. Oregon vs. Utah

4. Kansas St. vs. TCU

5. Alabama vs. LSU

And the oddball game this week is:

6. FIU vs. Old Dominion