Right: Beanie Wells is attended to by the training staff after going down with an injury in the third quarter.
AP Photo

Even on a bright, sunny day in Columbus, Ohio, the mecca of college football, dark clouds quickly loomed over Ohio Stadium with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.

On first-and-goal on the Youngstown State two yard line, Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman went back to hand the ball off to Beanie Wells, but he never got the it. In fact, Wells fell to the ground in a heap clutching his right foot.

Beanie was then helped off the field and later was transported to the locker room on a golf cart with a towel draped over his head.

Junior defensive end Lawrence Wilson, who broke his leg against Youngstown State last year and was out for the season, had this to say after the ball game:

When I went out there to check on him, I told him to relax and take a breath. I was crushed to see that kind of player go down, but I have a lot of confidence that he will be back. He’s one of those guys who is hungry and wants to play.”

Later in the fourth quarter to the delight of the 105,011 fans, Beanie walked out of the locker room and back to the Ohio State sidelines on the west side of the stadium wearing a boot on his right foot to witness the final minutes of the Buckeyes 43-0 win over the Penguins.

X-rays were negative, and reports say it’s a toe injury. WSYX-6 sports anchor Clay Hall asked Coach Tressel at his postgame press conference if it’s turf toe, but Tressel did not confirm or deny that.

Turf Toe is a sprain of the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint of the first toe. That is, the joint of the toe to the foot is sprained. The injury usually results from a hyperflexion mechanism; the toe is bent to far upward. This can result from a hard push off on a rigid surface, having the toe forcibly flexed while being tackled, or by stopping short allowing the toe to jam in the toe box of the shoe. These mechanisms cause damage to the ligaments of the joint and the joint capsule.

Before the injury, Beanie rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries, which included a 43-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-1 play during Ohio State’s first possession of the game.

The Buckeyes next four times with the ball resulted in four field goals by Ryan Pretorius.

While Ohio State was 7-of-14 on third down, and 1-of-2 in fourth down conversions, those three points are going to have be six against the better teams. The Buckeyes also entered the red zone four different times, and came away with three of those field goals and turned the ball over.

Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel had this to say following the game:

In the fumble, that’s when Beanie kind of planted on that foot and lost his balance, if you will, and just as he was receiving the ball, so, obviously, yeah, that’s disappointing. The couple times that we kicked field goals down in close, I think we had a first and goal at the nine maybe, first and goal at the eight, and we didn’t, in our first down play, get down inside that five and then all of a sudden when you’re in long yardage around the eight and nine and seven, that’s a difficult place to score from, but it will be a great lesson for us as to maybe what should we be working on from a design standpoint and what should we be executing a little better.”

Of those four drives that resulted in field goals, Boeckman threw two incompletions, Joe Bauserman also couldn’t connect on a third down pass play, and Terrelle Pryor was sacked for a loss of eight.

The Buckeyes scored their second touchdown of the game with just 1:32 left until halftime when Boeckman drilled a 31-yard pass to Brian Robiskie, who leaped up between two defenders to haul in the catch.

At intermission, Ohio State led 26-0.

On the Buckeyes’ second possession of the second half, Boeckman threw his second touchdown pass of the game when he hit freshman wide receiver DeVier Posey on the far-sideline and he dove into the end zone on a 25-yard pitch, catch and run.

Ohio State’s only other touchdown came with 12:48 left in the game when Pryor scored on an 18-yard option run.

Defensively, the story of the day is that the Buckeyes held the Penguins to just 74 yards of total offense which includes minus-11 yards rushing and only five first downs all game.

Youngstown State ran only 39 offensive plays, averaging a mere 1.9 yards per snap.

Meanwhile, Ohio State took 74 snaps and averaged 6.7 yards. The Buckeyes had 495 yards of total offense, 251 yards rushing on 51 attempts, and 244 yards passing on 43 tries.

Ohio State scored points on on nine of their 11 possessions, and the Buckeyes never punted. Of the two drives that were thwarted, one was on Beanie’s fumble and the other occurred on an incomplete pass by Pryor with just over a minute left in the game.

Boeckman was his steady self, passing for 187 yards on 14-of-19 passing and a TD. He was not sacked.

Pryor was 4-of-6 passing for 35 yards, while Bauserman connected on three of his six passes for 22 yards.

Pryor also ended up being Ohio State’s second-leading rusher after gaining 52 yards on nine attempts and a TD.

Minus Beanie’s injury, it was a good day all around for the Buckeyes, who will face the Ohio Bobcats, next Satruday.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

No. 2/3 Ohio State (0-0) vs. Youngstown State (0-0)

Date: Saturday, August 30
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Place: Ohio Stadium – capacity 102,329
TV: Big Ten Network will televise the game. Thom Brennaman will call the play-by-play with analysis from Charles Davis. Charissa Thompson is the sideline reporter.
Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 The Fan in Columbus is the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State Radio Network. The Jim Tressel pregame show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. “Big Daddy” Paul Keels will call the play-by-play and will be assisted by former Buckeye Jim Lachey in the booth and Marty Bannister on the sidelines.
Weather: Partly cloudy skies and a game time temperature of 79 degrees.

On the eve of Ohio State’s season-opener versus Youngstown State, head coach Jim Tressel is now the highest paid coach in the Big Ten.

Tressel, who is under contract until the end of January 2013, received a raise today of more than $1 million annually than the previous agreement.

Tressel’s list of starters who will not be in the lineup when Saturday’s game gets underway is growing.

Junior strong safety Kurt Coleman, who rolled an ankle in practice on Monday, will not play against Youngstown State. In his place will be sophomore Jermale Hines, a 6-foot-2, 212-pound converted linebacker who was listed as the nickelback on the depth chart.

We already know that starting cornerback Donald Washington will sit this one out against the Penguins as he serves a two-game suspension of violating an unspecified team rule, and sophomore Chimdi Chekwa will start instead.

Aaron Gant, Nick Anderson, Tyler Moeller, and DeVon Torrence will also get their opportunities to play in the secondary.

Defensive tackle Doug Worthington will not start either following his DUI arrest last month, but will play.

All three quarterbacks, senior Todd Boeckman, redshirt freshman Joe Bauserman, and true freshman Terrelle Pryor are all expected to play by the end of the first half. In what sequence, though, remains to be seen. My best guess is that Bauserman comes in first, but Pryor plays more.

In the running game, Beanie Wells will get his share of carries, and redshirt freshman Boom Herron will be the first one off the bench. How much, if at all, sophomore Brandon Saine will play remains to be seen. He’s not mentioned on the depth chart at running back, senior Maurice Wells is the other one of the three that are, but Saine is listed as a kick returner.

All four wide receivers on the depth chart are your usual suspects with senior Brian Robiskie, juniors Brian Hartline and Ray Small along with sophomore Dane Sanzenbacher. It will be interesting to see who else gets an opportunity to play. Taurian Washington? DeVier Posey? Flash Thomas? All should factor in at some point during the game.

Defensively, Ohio State may show a new look on occasion, switching from their conventional 4-3 alignment with a 3-3-5 stack defense.

Last year, the depth chart had two defensive ends and two defensive tackles on the D-line. This year, Lawrence Wilson is listed as the defensive end, with Todd Denlinger and Cameron Heyward at the tackles. Nader Abdallah is the starting in place of Worthington at nose tackle, a position Ohio State has not had on their roster in awhile.

The linebackers generally are aligned behind the linemen, hence the name “stack,” instead of in the gaps, while there are five defensive backs. There’s two cornerbacks, two safeties and a free safety.

But the strong safeties are more hybrid linebackers/defensive backs, like Hines or Moeller, which are called “field spurs” or just “spurs.”

They can creep up towards the line of scrimmage for run support, blitz, drop back into a zone, or cover either a tight end or back in man coverage.

Not sure how much of this you will see this against Youngstown State, if at all, but you will against teams that use the spread offense.

The 2008 edition of the Penguins are younger than the team that made the trip to Columbus last year, with nine underclassmen making their first collegiate start against the Buckeyes.

Junior quarterback Todd Rowan is also making his first start of his career, though Toledo transfer Brandon Summers will also likely take some snaps.

Youngstown State is banged up as well. The Guins’ top rusher from a year ago, senior Kevin Smith, will not play Saturday due to a pulled hamstring and has missed most of fall camp. His backup, junior Jabari Smith, along with redshirt freshman Kamryn Keys will get the bulk of the carries.

The strength of the Penguins’ D is on the line with senior FCS All-American defensive tackle Mychal Savage, and in the secondary with two veteran cornerbacks with senior Jarvis Richards and junior Lenny Wicks.

Unfortunately for YSU, all three linebackers, seniors Mike Barlak and Nate Ward. along with sophomore Jordan Edwards will be making their first start ever. The Penguins top tackler from a year ago, junior Roshon Simons, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker from Eastmoor Academy in Columbus, went down with a knee injury two weeks ago and will not play.

Prediction and Analysis

After losing two national title games in a row and with all of the all of the experience coming back, this Buckeye team is on a mission and will dispose of the young Penguins quickly in a workman-like fashion.

Coach T won’t run up the score on his old team, but Ohio State will still score a fair amount of points. If Youngstown State does get on the board, it will be late in the game against third-teamers.

Ohio State 45, Youngstown State 7

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel trying to put his arm around Kansas’ Mark Mangino.
Bucknuts Photo

Earlier today, I received an email from the public relations firm, Fahlgren Mortine, stating that Donatos Pizza, a Columbus institution for 45 years, will now be selling individual cheese and pepperoni pizzas on its signature thin crust at Ohio Stadium this season.

The email also stated that Donatos has signed a seven-year agreement with Ohio State to sell pizza at seven locations within the stadium – three on C-deck and four on A-deck and that they will cook all the pizzas on-site with the same ovens used in each store. The company sought to replicate the cooking process in its stores at the stadium to ensure customers get a hot, great-tasting pie every time.

In celebration of this agreement, Donatos catered today’s press luncheon at the Jack Nicklaus Museum, and none other than Kansas head coach Mark Mangino showed up to get his hands on some free pie.

If you have paid attention to this web site over the past five years, each week throughout the season I document what transpires at these press conferences every Tuesday, except for Michigan Week when it’s held on Monday.

Now I would personally attend, if only there wasn’t a restraining order placed against me by Coach Tressel after wandering to his home late one night with a notebook full of plays back in 2003. So now I have to rely on the information provided by ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

Coach Tressel’s opening remarks:

On behalf of everyone here we want to thank Donato’s for that wonderful lunch. If at some of the TV timeouts we are all dashing to the concourse for Donato’s this year, you’ll have to excuse us. It was wonderful. Thanks for supplying that.”

Well, everyone loves free pie, coach.

Later, Coach Tressel was asked about James Scott:

Well, James didn’t report to camp. Outside of that, I can’t give an update. He’s not with us.”

Those who stay will be champions.

Jimmy T. then elaborated on the status of Brandon Saine and Doug Worthington:

Brandon Saine, the trainers said today they felt he was like 95 to 100%. And sometimes with those injuries, right when they’re starting to feel better, it’s dangerous, and last week was that week, so we tried to keep him from overdoing it last week. He made a nice play in a live situation which shows the explosion that we all enjoy seeing him have, so I think Brandon will be fine. He’s missed practice time and practice is critical, but he’s going to be able to ease his way back into it. As far as Worthington goes, Doug will be suited up and ready to go. Exactly when he’ll get his car keys back in the course of a game, I don’t know that answer at this moment, but it won’t be at the beginning.”

Saine was nowhere to be found on the two-deep depth chart at running back, but was listed as one of the kick returners. Backing up Chris Wells will be redshirt freshman Boom Herron. Listed third is senior Maurice Wells. Worthington, who would of been a starter, is second behind Nader Abdallah at defensive tackle.

Lord James Patrick Tressel was then asked about how many snaps each quarterback may get against Youngstown State:

If you look at the quarterback situation, I would say there are two guys at number one and two guys sharing the number two snaps, which is the way it’s been going on a good bit during the camp. Todd has taken a lot with the ones. Joe has taken a lot of the snaps with the twos and some with the threes. Terrelle has taken a lot of snaps with the threes, but some snaps with the twos. So I would say based on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we’ll see just how much each guy will have an opportunity, but I’m hoping it would be nice in the first half of the game — we always like in the first half of the game to get our quarterbacks in there just so they’re not nervous anymore and all that. Perfect scenario for me would be to have all three of them get in the game that first half.”

FYI…Terrelle Pryor is listed third on the depth chart, but I am going to go out on a limb and say he’s next in line to get playing time behind starter Todd Boeckman.

Last year against Youngstown State, the Buckeyes had a hard time running the ball against the Penguins, and Beanie Wells had one of this worse outings of the season, gaining only 46 yards on 16 carries. Senator Sweater Vest explains last year’s game and the progress made by Beanie since:

I think Beanie, if you go back and look at the game, he was so anxious. Every time he got the ball he wanted to just go run for a touchdown and probably didn’t have his eyes on the task of how things were unfolding and the blocking scheme and he just wanted to go because he was so excited. What you saw as the season developed was a more patient back, a back who knew more about the schemes. He can stand in the I-back now and he can visualize how it’s going to be blocked because he’s seen a lot of the different looks. He’s had a lot more carries. And as a person, I think he’s done a very good job with — obviously there’s a lot more attention paid to him today than there was a year ago today, yet I think he’s done a good job keeping his eyes on the task at hand. One of the things that he wanted to accomplish going into last year was to be an Academic All-Big Ten player, to position himself to be so, and he did, and one of the things he talked a lot about this year was he wanted to maintain that because anybody can be something once and he wanted — and he did, and so I think a lot of things — he’s thinking the right things about all the various things that are happening in his life, but it’s tough when you get as much attention as he’s going to get both in numbers of people trying to tackle you, there will be a lot of attention on him and on people wanting to talk to you and have you thinking further out than you should be thinking.”

Later on, Coach was asked about which true freshmen may or may not play this Saturday:

I’d say better than 50% chance that (Terrelle) Pryor will play, Lamaar (Thomas), (Mike) Brewster would play, (Mike) Adams would play, (J.B.) Shugarts will play, defensively (Etienne) Sabino, (Keith) Wells, I think it’s still 50/50 with Nathan Williams, although I think it’s starting to push towards the 50 to play. I think he’s going to be really good. (Andrew) Sweat, I think it’s still 50/50. Who am I missing here? Zach Domicone? Probably 50/50, but I think he’s going to be good. He’s got a presence about him.”

About Donatos

Donatos operates over 200 stores in five states. My favorite Donatos pizzas are The Works® (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, onions & aged provolone cheese), Founder’s Favorite® (pepperoni, sausage, ham, hot peppers & aged provolone cheese), and the Mariachi Beef™ (ground beef, jalapeno peppers, sliced Roma tomatoes, cheddar and aged provolone cheeses, Mariachi spice & a side of sour cream).

For more information, check out donatos.com.

Do I get free pizza now?

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Right: Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock and his brother, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.
AP Photo

The Youngstown State Penguins, now a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference after the Gateway Football Conference changed it’s name back in June, ventures to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday.

The Guins went 7-4 last year but failed to make the playoffs. They are ranked 12th in both the FCS Coaches’ and The Sports Network preseason polls for Division I-AA teams.

Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock, the younger brother of Ohio State’s defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, enters his eighth season at the helm of the Penguins with an overall record of 50-31. He was the defesnive coordinator at YSU under then-head coach Jim Tressel during the 2000 season before taking over after Tressel was hired to lead the Buckeyes.

Ironically, Jim Heacock was already an assistant coach at Ohio State under former head coach John Cooper for five seasons before being one of the three coaches retained by Tressel from the prior staff.

Under the direction of Heacock and offensive coordinator Brian Wright, the Penguins will implement no-huddle, spread attack this season.

Eight starters return on the offensive side of the ball for Youngstown State, but have major holes to fill especially at quarterback.

Todd Rowan, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior from Braceville, Ohio, takes over for the departed Tom Zetts at quarterback. Rowan has attempted just two passes in his career, completing one for eight yards. YSU may also play 6-foot, 210-pound Brandon Summers, a transfer from Toledo, who made two starts for the Rockets in 2007, completing 14 passes.

Youngstown State’s top returning pass-catcher can also run the ball as well. Senior Ferlando Williams, a 6-foot, 195-pound wide receiver had 42 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 464 yards on 74 attempts and nine more scores.

In the backfield, the Guins top returning rusher is 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior tailback Kevin Smith, who had 610 yards in 124 attempts with 10 TDs last season. But he has missed most of fall camp with a pulled hamstring, and is not listed on the Penguins two-deep roster for the game against Ohio State. Junior tailback Jabari Scott, who gained 524 yards on 93 carries with five TDs in 2007, is listed as the starter.

Defensively, the Penguins use a 4-3 base with five starters returning from last season. Junior Roshon Simons, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker from Eastmoor Academy in Columbus, is the top returning tackler with 55 stops last year, but went down with a knee injury two weeks ago. A projected starter, Simons is not on YSU’s two-deep roster against Ohio State.

The top returning stoppers after Simons are 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior CB Jarvis Richards with 53 tackles, and 6-foot-2, 305-pound senior DT Mychal Savage, who recorded 43 stops, 4.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries in 2007.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: And Penn State bills itself as Linebacker U? Gimme a break!
Athlon Sports Photo

This is the last in a series of previews on the 11 teams in the Big Ten in the order I predict them to finish.

Ohio State
Predicted finish in Big Ten: First, 8-0

Last year, not wanting to pick Ohio State to win the Big Ten so I wouldn’t appear to be a homer, I choose Michigan. Then the Wolverines went on to lose to teams like Appalachian State and Oregon in the non-conference portion of the schedule and were defeated by Wisconsin and Ohio State to finish tied for second in the league.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, went on to win their second consecutive outright conference championship and the third in as many years after going 7-1 in the Big Ten last season.

No favoritism this year when I pick Ohio State to claim yet another Big Ten trophy since I have yet to find a publication, web site, or blog that isn’t tabbing the Buckeyes to win the conference.

And there’s a big reason for that. Ohio State returns 18 starters, nine each on both offense and defense.

Head coach Jim Tressel enters his eighth season at the helm in Columbus and has posted a 73-15 overall record and a .830 winning percentage. The Buckeyes have averaged 10 wins over the last seven seasons, and 11 victories in the last three campaigns. Under Tressel, Ohio State has played in three national championship games, winning one. Can you say “dy-nasty?” You will after this season.

Of the two starters not returning on offense, one is the fullback, a position player that’s used only about 20 percent of the time. The other is right tackle Kirk Barton with sophmore Bryant Browning taking off the vacated slot.

All-Big Ten quarterback and Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist Todd Boeckman returns for his senior year and his sixth in the program after passing for 2,379 yards with 25 touchdowns against 14 interceptions in 2007 while leading the Big Ten in passing efficiency with 148.94 rating.

The nation’s top-rated high school prospect and true freshman, Terrelle Pryor, also figures to get few snaps as a change of pace to Boeckman’s drop-back passing style and make plays using his feet and running ability.

Another First-Team, All-Big Ten selection, junior running back Chris Wells, returns after being voted the team’s Most Valuable Player by rushing for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

He has some help in the backfield with senior Maurice Wells, sophomore Brandon Saine, and redshirt freshman Daniel Herron.

Boeckman and Pryor have two very good receivers to throw to with senior Brian Robiskie and junior Brian Hartline. Robiskie had 55 receptions for 935 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Hartline added 52 catches for 694 yards and six TDs plus a punt return for another score.

Someone, though, has to step up as the third receiver and be a vertical threat. It was assumed that junior Ray Small was going to be that guy last season, who caught 20 balls for 267 yards last year. Others also in the mix are sophomores Dane Sanzenbacher (11 REC, 82 YDS, 1 TD), Taurian Washington (3 REC, 47 YDS, 1 TD), along with freshmen DeVier Posey and Lamaar Thomas.

Though not much of a factor in the passing game, tight ends Rory Nicol and Jake Ballard also return. Nicol, a senior, tallied 16 receptions for 84 yards, and Ballard, a junior, caught 13 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

One freshman who may line up as a slot receiver or tight end is true freshman Jake Stoneburner, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds, but can run the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds.

Four offensive linemen return, too, with senior left tackle Alex Boone, senior left guard Steve Rehring, junior center Jim Cordle, and senior right guard Ben Person.

While the offense will be much improved this year, it was the defense that helped the Buckeyes advance to the national championship game, and with nine starters back, the Silver Bullets should be their typical dominating self. This unit was ranked No. 1 in the nation in both scoring defense (12.8 points per game) and total defense (233.0 yards per game) last year.

The biggest hole to fill comes at the defensive end position after Vernon Gholston left after his junior year to enter the NFL draft. Junior Lawrence Wilson returns to the starting lineup after breaking his leg in Ohio State’s season-opener last year against Youngstown State. He will be joined by sophomore Cameron Heyward on the other side. Both sophomore Thaddeus Gibson and junior Robert Rose should also see some playing time.

The linebacking corps is led by returning All-American, Butkus and Nagurski Award recipient James Laurinaitis. The Big Ten defensive player of the year led team with 121 tackles.

Senior WILL linebacker Marcus Freeman also returns after being named to the All-Big Ten coaches’ second-team after recording 112 stops in 2007.

Joining Laurinaitis and Freeman will be sophomore Ross Homan, though senior Curtis Terry and sophomore Tyler Moeller should also see playing time at the SAM backer.

All four starting defensive backs return, though junior cornerback Donald Washington is suspended for the first two games. In his place will be sophomore Chimdi Chekwa. Fourth-year starting cornerback Malcolm Jenkins is arguably the best in the nation.

Ohio State’s only true test this season will be at Southern California on September 13, though games at Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Illinois won’t be blow outs. The Buckeyes finish no worst than 11-1 and could get to the BCS title game even with one loss, as long as there’s no major injuries to key personnel.

Sept. 27 vs. Minnesota, Win
Oct. 4 at Wisconsin, Win
Oct. 11 vs. Purdue, Win
Oct. 18 at Michigan State, Win
Oct. 25 vs. Penn State, Win
Nov. 8 at Northwestern, Win
Nov. 15 at Illinois Win
Nov. 22 vs. Michigan, Win

The Rest of the Big Ten Previews
in the order I predict them to finish:

2. Michigan State, 6-2
2. Purdue, 6-2
4. Wisconsin, 5-3
4. Penn State, 5-3
6. Michigan, 4-4
6. Illinois, 4-4
8. Northwestern, 3-5
9. Iowa, 2-6
10. Indiana, 1-7
11. Minnesota, 0-8

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: Senior Javon Ringer is the best running back in the Big Ten not nicknamed “Beanie.”
Athlon Sports Photo

This is the tenth in a series of previews on the 11 teams in the Big Ten in the order I predict them to finish.

Michigan State
Predicted finish in Big Ten: Tied for 2nd, 6-2

In my last preview, I predicted that Purdue would end up towards the top of the Big Ten standings because I love dark horses, but the Boilermakers may be a stretch. Michigan State, however, as all of the ingredients to challenge the top teams in the conference.

During the 2007 season under first-year head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans won their first four games before limping to an overall record of 7-6. But Michigan State did earn a bowl invite, their first in four years, to the Champs Sports Bowl losing to Boston College 24-21.

Of Michigan State’s six losses, no team beat them by more than a touchdown margin, and that includes games against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and the aforementioned Boston College. The Spartans other two losses came in overtime.

Dantonio, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, was an graduate assistant at Ohio State from 1983-84, and later served as the defensive backs coach at Youngstown State from 1986-90 under current Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.

Dantonio also served as an assistant at Michigan State under former head coaches Nick Saban and Bobby Williams from 1995 through the 2000 seasons.

In 2001, Dantonio reunited with his former Youngstown State boss and good friend at Ohio State for three seasons as defensive coordinator. His defense became known as one of the stingiest in the country. During the Buckeyes’ 2002 National Championship season, Ohio State ranked second nationally in scoring defense and third in rushing defense.

In the 2003 season, his defense ranked number one in the country in rushing defense and ninth in total defense, which led the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record and No. 4 national ranking and a BCS bowl invite.

Six Buckeye defenders were named first team All-Big Ten during Dantonio’s tenure at Ohio State and thirteen were drafted into the NFL, including two first round picks in Chris Gamble and Will Smith.

After leaving Ohio State, Dantonio went on the guide the Cincinnati Bearcats for three seasons compiling a record of 18-17 before being named head coach at Michigan State to replace John L. Smith.

Dantonio has seven starters returning on offense, which include senior quarterback Brian Hoyer and senior running back Javon Ringer.

Hoyer passed for 2,725 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while Ringer gained 1,447 yards on 245 carries (5.9 yards per attempt) and six more scores.

If there are major holes that need to be filled on the offensive side of the ball, it’s in the receiving corps. The Spartans top returning pass-catcher is Ringer, who a hauled in 35 balls for 295 yards.

Gone form last year’s team is wide receiver Devin Thomas, who left following his junior year after posting 79 receptions for a Big Ten-leading 1,260 yards and eight touchdowns. He was then selected in the second round, 34th overall, by the Washington Redskins in April’s NFL draft.

Two poised to become Hoyer’s favorite target is sophomore Mark Dell and senior Deon Curry, though both only combined to catch 44 passes for 420 yards and three TDs last year.

Three starting offensive lineman return with senior right tackle Jesse Miller, senior left guard Roland Martin, and junior center Joel Nitchman.

While the offense averaged 33.1 points per game, good for second place in the Big Ten, the defense allowed 26.6 points per outing, ranking the Spartans eighth in the conference.

When Danotnio came in last year, he eliminated the bandit linebacker and moved the Spartans into a more traditional 4-3 scheme just like the one he implemented at Ohio State. As the architect of the 2002 National Championship defense, progress should be noticeable in his second season.

Five starters return on the defensive side of the ball, including last season’s leading tackler, sophomore middle linebacker Greg Jones. He will anchor the defense after moving from strongside to the middle this season. Jones led the team with 78 stops (8.5 tackles for a loss), along with 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Joining Jones as another returning starter from last season is sophomore weakside linebacker Eric Gordon (not the Indiana basketball player), who recorded 62 tackles, fourth-best on the team in 2007 as a freshman.

Two starters return in the secondary which include senior strong safety Otis Wiley, who led the team in interceptions with four and had 49 tackles, plus senior cornerback Kendall Davis-Clark, who was second on the team with 72 tackles and also tallied four sacks.

The defensive line has the least amount of experience with only one returning starter in fifth-year senior defensive tackle Justin Kershaw. He managed to record a respectable 34 tackles but had just 1.5 sacks. Senior defensive end Brandon Long and his bookend, junior Trevor Anderson, who transferred from Cincinnati, will have to step up to get consistent pressure on the quarterback.

Michigan State’s conference schedule is quite favorable, taking on the likes of Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Purdue at home. The Spartans two toughest road games are at Michigan and Penn State. But with the Wolverines going to have a down year, stealing a win away from East Lansing will have the MSU towards the top of the standings at the end of the season.

Sept. 27 at Indiana, Win
Oct. 4 vs. Iowa, Win
Oct. 11 at Northwestern, Win
Oct. 18 vs. Ohio State, Loss
Oct. 25 at Michigan, Win
Nov. 1 vs. Wisconsin, Win
Nov. 8 vs. Purdue, Win
Nov. 22 at Penn State, Loss

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: No full carriage! No publicity stunts! No dice!

On Wednesday, Ohio State Director of Athletics Gene Smith took several jabs at Time Warner, Ohio’s largest cable provider and the last of heavyweights who have not signed on to carry the Big Ten Network.

Then Friday afternoon, Time Warner swung like a girl, open-handed and all.

The cable giant proposed a temporary arrangement to Ohio State’s Smith that would of allowed their Time Warner subscribers to see Ohio State football games on a pay-per-view basis until a long-tern solution was signed by both parties.

Time Warner would of let Ohio State set the price and keep all of the revenue, and the cable company would of also provided free converter boxes for those subscribers who didn’t have one in order to watch pay-per-view packages.

Smith forwarded the proposal to Big Ten Network which then on to FOX, who handles the administration and day-to-day operations of the channel.

The network suits responded by saying this nugget of wisdom as reported by Le Doug at the PD:

Time Warner is well aware that it cannot selectively choose to air a network’s programming in lieu of full carriage. In addition, offering to do so to a customer base it has effectively ignored for the past year in not carrying the network is counter-productive and creates both confusion and false hope.”

Basically, BTN is saying all or nothing. Either air the network or don’t. And with just a hair over seven days remaining until Ohio State’s first game, it appears that Time Warner customers are SOL.

Tags: Buckeye Sports by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Matt’s Morsel of Mental Might

While Gene Smith’s words hit the nail on the head, those of you who have been missing out on the Ohio State’s games that have previously aired on the Big Ten Network, I would assume you have made the switch already.

If not, what are you waiting on!?

I realize there are a select few who may not have the option of going with another cable provider, or having a satellite dish installed. I, for one, have lived in apartment complexes over the years that either forced-fed you Time Warner or structured their leases so that dishes were forbidden.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to have Insight Communications as my cable provider, so I have been able to watch BTN since its inception. This summer, when I moved into an area served by Time Warner, I switched to WOW, which is far cheaper than Time-Warner and they have BTN!

What’s amazing is that Time-Warner has an estimated 600,000 customers in central Ohio alone, and it’s the largest cable provider in the state.

That’s a huge chunk of the market.

With nine days left until Ohio State’s season-opener against Youngstown State, even if there’s an agreement signed today, it’s unlikely Time Warner will be able to broadcast the game in time.

Tags: Buckeye Sports by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Right: Senator Sweater Vest with my wife who acts as a spy to get privileged information.

Roughly 12,000 Buckeye fans made the odyssey to college football’s mecca known as Ohio Stadium to watch a two-and-a-half hour practice. While that’s considerably more than the 5,500 that showed up last year, it’s a far cry from the 28,000 that made the trip to the ‘Shoe in 2006.

One activity that was subtracted from the equation this time around was an autograph session. I think was a good idea.

Two years ago with my then five-year old son, we were nearly trampled to death when the gates opened just after 5:00 p.m., as fans stormed through in hopes of getting whatever they had in tow signed by the likes of Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr.

Waiting on the west side of the stadium, as soon as the gates open we walked in. Unfortunately, as we made it to the main concourse under “A” deck, thousands were running by us in all directions, which at that point I picked up my son and carried him up the ramp to avoid getting run over by a bunch of crazed autograph-seekers.

On Saturday as reported here on BuckeyeBanter.com, I pulled some resources together to give you some perspective on Ohio State’s jersey scrimmage held at the stadium.

Now I never claimed in my recap that I saw anything in person, since my jet pack malfunctioned and I crashed near the dairy barn on Carmack Rd., nearly a mile west of the Les Wexner Football Complex at The Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

But here’s a quote from Coach Tressel prior to Monday night’s practice as reported by Rusty Miller of the Associated Press and seen on bigtennetwork.com:

“We had a supposedly closed scrimmage on Saturday and some of our people brought in little blog sites (that said) ‘We saw this’ and ‘We saw that.’ Our coaches work hard on what we’re trying to prepare and would rather not have their thoughts and ideas and game plans out there kicked around until they get to showcase them.”

This is what I know about Ohio State’s possible offensive football schemes for the upcoming season, and it isn’t much:

Pistol Offense

The Buckeyes have been rumored to be implementing the pistol offense, which was originated by Chris Ault, head coach at Nevada. It is essentially a shotgun variation, or better yet, a cross between a shoutgun and singleback formation where the quarterback lines up three yards behind the center, and the running back lines up four yards directly behind the QB. Three wide receiver sets with a tight end are generally the norm.

The running game is more effective in this formation since the exchange happens closer to the line of scrimmage. It also works well with dual-threat quarterbacks, like Terrelle Pryor, who can throw and run.

The versatility of the formation can be utilized in a variety of ways. Because the quarterback is closer, he can see over the line and make downfield reads. He will also get the ball snapped to him faster, which can alter timing patterns greatly for a preparing defense.

One problem Ohio State had against LSU in the BCS National Championship game was that in the traditional shotgun formation where Todd Boeckman stood seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, it took longer for the plays to develop, which resulted in him getting sacked a season-high five times against the Tigers. One thing the Buckeyes are trying to work on (from what I hear) is a quicker passing game using shorter routes.

The pistol can also effectively use draw plays, counters, and options.

LSU used a version of the pistol last year.

I really have a better idea of what Ohio State won’t use offensively this year:

A-11 Offense

The A-11 offense is an offensive scheme developed by two high school coaches in California. It offers the appearance of having all 11 players in the field eligible to catch the ball, and any six of the eleven players can interchangeably become eligible on any given play with two quarterbacks in shotgun formation.

The base offense consists of a center and two tight ends surrounding the football, three receivers split right, three receivers split left. The number of players on each side of the center can vary, as long as there are at least seven players on the line of scrimmage.

Ohio State will not use this because it’s an illegal formation in NCAA football.

Wishbone Offense

Could you imagine Terrelle Pryor, Beanie Wells, Brandon Saine and Maurcie Wells or Boom Herron in the backfield at the same time, running the triple option made famous by Oklahoma in the 1970s?

I can, but that’s never going to happen.

Single-Wing Offense

This offense, developed by Pop Warner at the University of Pittsburgh back in the 1910s, lost its popularity after World War II, though it could be considered a precursor to today’s shotgun and spread offenses.

Back in the day, the single-wing offense consisted of an unbalanced line of seven, a quarterback, halfback, fullback, and a wingback. Sometimes the direct snap didn’t go to the quarterback, but rather the halfback or fullback. In this old-school offense, the quarterback had to be a good blocker.

While Florida coach Urban Meyer uses some aspects of this offense, I don’t think Ohio State will.

One thing that I can guarantee you is that you will see several new wrinkles to Ohio State’s offense against USC, compare to the rather tame play-calling you will see in the Buckeyes’ first two games against Youngstown State and Ohio.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Quarterback Joe Bauserman is having fun…


….as James Laurinaitis bears down on Beanie.


This is how Terrrell rolls…


…as Coach Tressel minus the vest looks on.


Quarterack Todd Boeckman eying his target.


And estimated 12,000 fans attended the practice.
All photos by Terry Gilliam – Associated Press
because I was not allowed to bring my camera.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Right: Ohio State’s Michael Jenkins (right) hauling in the game-winner.
AP Photo

There are exactly 12 days until Ohio State’s first game, and coincidentally, there was a certain No. 12 who scored the game-winning touchdown in what could arguably be the greatest play in the history of Buckeye football.

Thanks to the Big Ten Network, the 2002 Ohio State-Purdue contest was replayed on Sunday afternoon, billed as one of the conference’s “greatest games.”

I’m not so sure about that after viewing it again because there was some ugly football played on that gray, windy day in West Lafayette, Indiana, back on November 9, 2002, but the ending was spectacular.

In the first quarter, a pass thrown by Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel was intercepted by linebacker Niko Koutouvides, giving the Boilermakers great field position at the OSU 23 yard line.

Two straight completions by Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton put the Boilermakers in a first-and-goal situation at the six yard line before the Buckeye defense held firm. After three plays netted two yards, Berin Lacevic connected on a 21-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the opening stanza to give PU a 3-0 lead.

There was no more scoring until the last play of the second quarter when Ohio State had to rush their field goal-kicking unit out and Mike Nugent drilled a 22-yarder that tied the game at 3-all right before halftime.

During that drive with 19 seconds left, the Buckeyes faced a third-and-9 at the PU 12 yard line when Krenzel scrambled out of the pocket and gained seven yards on the ground. The problem was, Ohio State was out of timeouts and Krenzel didn’t get passed the first down marker, which led to the kicking team having to run out on to the field.

Purdue head coach Joe Tiller argued that the snap came after all zeros were displayed on the game clock, but replays clearly showed that the ball was on its way to the holder before time expired.

Purdue later reclaimed the lead with 7:30 remaining in the fourth quarter when Lacevic hugged the right upright with a 32-yard field goal giving the Boilermakers a 6-3 lead.

Both teams traded punts before Ohio State mounted their game-winning drive with 3:10 left to go in the game. A 22-yard punt return by Chris Gamble gave the Buckeyes the ball at the PU 46 yard line.

On the first play, Kenzel was sacked losing four yards. On second-and-14 at midfield, a poorly thrown ball fell incomplete. On third down, Krenzel hit tight end Ben Hartsock along the far-sideline for a gain of 13 yards just shy of a first down.

On fourth-and-one, Purdue was obviously expecting a running play, but Krenzel dropped back to pass, stepped up to avoid the rush, and lofted a deep pass to wide receiver Michael Jenkins who hauled in the 37-yard touchdown pass over his right shoulder after beating cornerback Antwaun Rogers in man coverage like a drum.

Gamble, who played both flanker and cornerback against Purdue while also returning kicks for Ohio State, sealed the deal when he made a tremendous play on a deep pass from Orton which was thrown into double coverage. Gamble made a diving catch for the pick at the OSU 11 yard line with 45 seconds to go.

Buckeye running back Maurice Clarett, who had nerve damage in his left shoulder that kept him out of the two previous games, started and gained 52 yards on 14 carries. OSU also played without starting wide receiver Chris Vance, who was attending his brother’s funeral.

Krenzel was 13-of-20 passing for 173 yards with one TD and one INT.

Orton and Brandon Kirsch combined to throw for 285 yards on 27-of-39 passing, but Orton was intercepted three times.

Purdue finished with more first downs (17-13) and more total yards (341-267), but also turned the ball over three times to OSU’s one.

Sure, Ohio State had several close calls prior to the Purdue game in 2002, winning 23-19 against Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium when Will Allen intercepted a Gino Guidugli pass in the end zone with 26 seconds left.

Five weeks later, Ohio State needed a touchdown pass from Krenzel to Hartsock early in the fourth quarter and an interception by Gamble at the goal line with 7:30 remaining to pull out a 19-14 win over Wisconsin in Madison.

In the Buckeyes’ next game against Penn State, Gamble had a 40-yard interception return for touchdown that gave Ohio State a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter. OSU held on for a 13-7 win in Columbus.

Of course the Saturday following the Purdue contest, Ohio State claimed a 23-16 victory over Illinois in overtime, and Maurice Hall scored on a three-yard run as the Buckeyes survived two late drives which included another game-saving interception by Will Allen to give OSU a 14-9 win over Michigan.

But the pass play from Krenzel to Jenkins, also known as “Holy Buckeye” thanks to Brent Musburger, will forever be etched in my mind as one of the greatest plays of all-time in Ohio State football.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Tonight, Buckeye fans will be able to get a sneak peak at the 2008 edition of Ohio State’s tackle football team as head coach James Patrick Tressel and his squad will conduct a full-contact practice at Ohio Stadium, which is open to the general public.

Gates open at 6:30 p.m., the players will arrive an hour later, and the practice is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m.

By the way, you can leave your cameras and Sharpies at home because photographs will not be allowed and there’s no autograph session this year.

But you can stick around for roughly two hours watching various drills and possibly a very vanilla scrimmage, since you never know who might be in attendance, so look out for anyone wearing Maize and Blue.

On Saturday morning, Ohio State had their annual jersey scrimmage at the ‘Shoe, which was closed to the public and the media.

Using the modified Stableford scoring system, the offense defeated the defense, 72-52, which means the “O” won the right to wear scarlet-colored jerseys at practice for the remainder of the season, hence, the name, “jersey” scrimmage, which pitted the first-team offense against the first-team defense, the second team “O” vs. the second-team “D,” and so on.

There were no official stats kept or timekeeping involved and the scrimmage lasted 165 plays. In perspective, there were 125 total plays in Ohio State’s season-opener against Youngstown State last year.

Coach Tressel had this to say following the scrimmage courtesy of ohiostatebuckeyes.com:

We got a lot of snaps in and a lot of kids will have a chance to watch film of themselves in the stadium. I thought they played hard. We’re coming off 13-straight practices so they weren’t at top-end speed, but I think they were trying to be and that’s the important part. The hitting was really good, I thought. Now the coaches will have a marathon film-grading session to see where we go from here. There weren’t many turnovers and some guys were making plays. Dane Sanzenbacher jumps out at me … he made some impressive plays out there. Brian Hartline, Boom Herron was probably the leading rusher. Maurice Wells looked very good as well. I thought all the quarterbacks played well. They all looked good. Joe Bauserman made a great play for a touchdown. Defensively, the guys who showed up, looked very sharp. It was good competition all around.”

Those who were held out of the scrimmage due to injuries or a risk of injury were wide receiver Brian Robiskie, along running backs Chris Wells and Brandon Saine.

Coach Tressel had this to say about Chris Wells, as reported by Doug Lesmerises of The Plain Dealer:

I’ve seen Beanie, he’s pretty good. I watch Chris in passing drills, he’s our best pass protector. I watch him in running drills, he’s probably our best runner. So I thought those other guys needed a little bit more.”

Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor ran for a score while throwing for another, but had an interception on a tipped pass and a fumble.

Senator Sweater Vest had this to say about his highly-touted rookie, as reported by Ken Gordon of The Dispatch:

He didn’t look like a freshman. He has good presence for a young guy. It looks to me like he’s going to be very, very good. He’s got extraordinary ability.”

Also on Saturday, the Associated Press released its’ Top 25 preseason college football poll with the Buckeyes ranked No. 2 getting 21 first-place votes just behind top-ranked Georgia.

Of course, I feel that there should not be any type of poll until the first week of October, but maybe that’s just me.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: Hmm, maybe its your practice apparel that’s giving your balls the itch?
USCFootball.com Photo

The news out of USC’s football camp is that roughly 25 percent of the roster is suffering from a problem with their balls, and not footballs, according to David Wharton and Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.

The article tries to paint the picture to their readers that on a daily basis, a number of Trojan players at practice have a “pained expression and an uncomfortable gait, feet spread wide, stepping gingerly across the turf.”

As head coach Pete Carroll calls it, “a skin irritation,” but the medical term is tinea cruris, or “jock itch.”

According to the article, the condition seems to have spread by way of new compression shorts, or tights, worn under their football pants.

Or maybe it came from Rey Maualuga’s pink, lacey thongs.

Carroll later said it was chafing, then added:

We’ve had to adjust to some new equipment that we’re wearing that didn’t work out right. It’s funny how that happened.”

Junior running back Stafon Johnson also added, while laughing:

Sometimes they can’t walk. I don’t know what it is, but I’m staying away from it.”

I have a feeling Snoop Dogg has something to do with this.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments

Heard earlier today on WBNS-AM 1460 the Fan in Columbus on “The Big Show” with Bruce Hooley, and later found on the Internet thanks to Doug Lesmerises of The Plain Dealer, it appears that Ohio State’s top returning pass-catcher may miss the Buckeyes’ home-opener against Youngstown State on August 30.

Senior wide receiver Brian Robiskie was seen recently leaving the Les Wexner Football Complex wearing a sling on his right arm to protect an injured shoulder.

According to The Plain Dealer, offensive coordinator Jim Bollman was quoted as saying this:

I hope he doesn’t miss any games, but that’s out of my hands. I think it’s going to be OK in time. We’re going to be cautious and smart.”

The Buckeyes will scrimmage Saturday, but Robiskie will be on the sidelines for this one.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: Senior quarterback Curtis Painter might be the best signal-caller in the Big Ten.
AP Photo

This is the ninth in a series of previews on the 11 teams in the Big Ten in the order I predict them to finish.

Purdue
Predicted finish in Big Ten: Tied for 2nd, 6-2

When I decided to make my Big Ten predictions, I wanted to go against conventional wisdom and shake things up a bit, not mirroring what every other mainstream publication was saying.

Within the conference, there’s Ohio State who should contend for a national title, and then there’s several good teams below the Buckeyes. I’m not saying that it’s a down year in the Big Ten, but it just appears on paper in the preseason that everyone’s pick to win the league title is head-and-shoulders above the rest.

But Purdue is one of those sleeper teams that just might surprise a few or a lot. Having played the game of tackle football, I know full well that emotion plays a big part in the sport.

Boilermakers’ head coach Joe Tiller is entering his 12th and final year at the helm, going 83-54 in 11 seasons guiding the Black & Gold, and is just two victories away from becoming Purdue’s all-time winningest coach.

Tiller has already handpicked his successor, hiring Danny Hope from Eastern Kentucky, who was an assistant coach under Tiller from 1997-2001. Hope will be the offensive line coach this season before taking the reigns next year.

As a mentioned above, emotion plays a huge part in this game, and with this being Tiller’s swan song, you know that everyone on Purdue’s roster wants their coach to exit as a winner.

One benefit Tiller has is senior quarterback Curtis Painter, who’s arguably one of the best on the Big Ten after throwing for 3,846 yards with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2007.

Painter’s top returning receiver is 6-foot-3 senior wide receiver Greg Orton, who had 67 receptions for 742 yards and three scores last season.

Orton, though, is the only returning starter in the receiving corps, but there are two seniors waiting in the wings with Desmond Tardy and Brandon Whittington after Dorien Bryant graduated and Selwyn Lymon was dismissed from the team.

While Purdue passes the ball far more than they run it, the Boilermakers do have a nice combo of speed and power in the backfield with a pair of senior tailbacks in 6-foot, 206-pound Kory Sheets, and 5-foot-10, 180-pound Jaycen Taylor.

Sheets led the Boilers in rushing with 859 yards on 168 carries and 11 touchdowns, while Taylor toted the rock 107 times for 560 yards and four more scores.

Three offensive linemen return which is anchored by 6-foot-7, 325-pound senior left tackle, Sean Sester, who has made 38 consecutive starts for the Boilermakers.

Clearly, Purdue can put points on the scoreboard. Last year, the Boilermakers led the Big Ten in scoring offense (34.3 ppg) and total offense (435.9 ypg). But can they stop anybody? This is where things most improve for the Boilermakers if they plan on climbing the ranks within the Big Ten.

Six starters return from a defensive unit that was seventh in total defense (389.2 ypg), and eighth in scoring defense (26.5 ppg) in the Big Ten for the 2007 season.

Purdue strength lies in their defensive line, where three starters come back from last year’s squad. Senior defensive end Keyon Brown, along with senior tackles Ryan Baker and Alex Magee will need to stuff the run and get consistent pressure on the quarterback.

The only returning starter among the linebackers is senior MLB Anthony Heygood, the Boilermakers’ top returning tackler with 80 stops last year.

If there is a weakness in Purdue’s defense, I believe it’s in their secondary, though two starters return with senior cornerback David Pender and senior free safety Brandon King.

In 10 of 12 games last year, Purdue scored 24 points or more. The only time they failed to reach that number was against Penn State (19) and Ohio State (7), and the Buckeyes pitched a shutout for 59 minutes, 50 seconds until Painter threw a 1-yard touchdown pass with 10 ticks left on the game clock.

Given that Purdue’s defense is their weakest link, it looks like a lot of their final scores will resemble those found in the Arena Football League, but they will end up with more “W’s” and losses.

Oct. 4 vs. Penn State, Win
Oct. 11 vs. Ohio State, Loss
Oct. 18 at Northwestern, Win
Oct. 25 vs. Minnesota, Win
Nov. 1 vs. Michigan, Win
Nov. 8 at Michigan State, Loss
Nov. 15 at Iowa, Win
Nov. 22 vs. Indiana, Win

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off