No. 10 Ohio State (7-1, 4-0) vs. No. 3 Penn State (8-0, 4-0)

Date: Saturday, October 25
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Place: Ohio Stadium – capacity 101,568
TV: ABC will televise the game. Brent Musburger will call the play-by-play and will be joined in the booth by Kirk Herbstreit. Lisa Salters 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 from AccuWeather.com: Cloudy skies and a game time temperature of 47 degrees.
Latest Line: Penn State is an 2-point favorite. The Over & Under is 42.5.
Series History: This is the 24th meeting between the two schools. Ohio State owns a 12-11 record against Penn State, and the Buckeyes are 7-0 in games played at Ohio Stadium since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten Conference.
Last Season at Penn State: Chris Wells ran for 133 yards while quarterback Todd Boeckman threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns as the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes handily defeated No. 24 Penn State 37-17.

The tough Buckeye defense held the Nittany Lions to just 14 first downs and 263 yards of total offense.

Penn State actually held a 7-3 lead with 8:25 left in the first quarter after the Nittany Lions drove 78 yards in nine plays capped off on a 2-yard run by Rodney Kinlaw.

It took just six offensive plays, though, for Ohio State to claim the lead for good as Boeckman hit wide receiver Brian Robiskie on a 9-yard TD strike with 4:59 remaining in the opening period.

The biggest play during that drive and the longest of the game was when Boeckman connected on a 60-yard bomb to Ray Small.

Ohio State took a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter when Boeckman floated a pass to Brian Hartline on a jailbreak screen, who than ran untouched the rest of the way on a 16-yard scoring play.

Probably the turning point of the game came later in the second quarter after Penn State linebacker Dan Connor intercepted a Boeckman pass as the PSU 41.

The Nittany Lions drove 21 yards in five plays and faced a fourth-and-2 and the OSU 38. But Penn State head coach Joe Paterno elected to punt instead of going for it on fourth down and the kick sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

Ohio State ran out the clock in the first half and the Buckeyes led 17-7 at intermission.

After seven plays into the second half, the Ohio State defense forced Penn State to punt and the Buckeyes went the distance on their longest scoring drive of the night, going 87 yards in 13 plays capped off on a 15-yard pass from Boeckman to tight end Jake Ballard.

Both teams traded field goals, and with 9:52 left in the game, Ohio State led 27-10.

It took just 16 seconds for Ohio State to put another touchdown on the board when Malcolm Jenkins intercepted a wounded duck thrown by Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli and returned it 24 yards for a score that made it 34-10.

Analysis and Prediction: I really don’t think this game is going to be that close. So far this season, Penn State is 8-0 and ranked third in both polls as well as the first BCS standings. But who have they played? No one. According to the Saragin ratings, the Nittany Lions strength of schedule is 82, and Penn State has played just one game against a top-30 team.

The only teams Penn State has played that currently have winning records are Oregon State (4-3) and Illinois (4-3), and the combined record of their opponents is 22-35.

Sure, Penn State has a nice offense, but out of Penn State’s six Division I-A (FBS) opponents, only two are presently ranked in the top-half out of all 119 teams in total defense.

I also think that Ohio State’s offense is just as good.

The bottom line is this, defense wins championships, the Buckeyes have a better one, who have effectively shut down both the run (97.1 ypg) and the pass this year (168.2 ypg), while recording 21 takeaways, including 12 INTs.


Ohio State 38, Penn State 24

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Right: Penn State head coach Joe Paterno after realizing that the game was taking longer than expected and he’ll miss out on the senior dinner discount at the local Denny’s.
AP Photo

Did you know that Penn State’s Joe Paterno is entering his 59th year patrolling the sidelines and practice fields in some capacity for the Nittany Lions, and his 43rd as head coach?

Back in 1966, when the average price of a gallon of gas was 32 cents, the average price for a home was $14,200, the average worker made $6,900 per year, and some guy named Cassius Clay defeated some guy named Henry Cooper in two heavyweight title fights in London, Paterno took over the head coaching duties from Hall of Famer, Rip Engle. That’s how long Paterno has been in charge.

Joe Pa went just 5-5 that year in his first season as head coach, but went 8-2-1 the next year before rattling off back-to-back undefeated seasons in both 1968 and ’69, posting records of 11-0 each year, though the Nittany Lions did not finish No. 1 in any poll.

Following the ’69 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers made an offer to Paterno, but he turned them down, and they eventually hired some guy by the name of Chuck Noll. Michigan also beckoned, but Joe Pa turned them down as well, and the Wolverines went on to hire some guy named Bo Schembechler.

And he’s been there ever since, even when the New England Patriots made him an offer to not only be the head coach, but tossed in a minority stake in the team back in 1972.

In those 43 years, Joe Pa as won 372 games and two national titles, his first in 1982 and the other coming in 1986.

Since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 and through the 2007 season, the Nittany Lions had a record of 73-47, which is a winning percentage of .609. In those 15 seasons as a member of the conference, Penn State has won just two Big Ten titles and one outright championship.

If you do the math, 73 wins in the Big Ten over 15 seasons averages out to almost five per season, and in those 15 seasons they have finished 5-3 five times, while eclipsing that mark on five occasions (6-2 in ’93, ’96 & ’97; 7-1 in 2005, and 8-0 in ’94). Of course, the Lions have finished .500 or less in the five other years, too.

So far this season, Penn State is 8-0 and ranked third in both polls as well as the first BCS standings. But who have they played? No one. The only teams Penn State has played that currently have winning records are Oregon State (4-3) and Illinois (4-3), and the combined record of their opponents is 22-35. Also, out of Penn State’s six Division I-A (FBS) opponents, only two are presently ranked in the top-half out of all 119 teams in total defense.

Unfortunately for Buckeye fans, Anthony Morelli is out of eligibility. Joe Pa’s starting quarterback is junior Darryl Clark, who has passed for 1,531 yards while completing 63.3 percent of his throws with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Pretty good numbers, but that’s what you should have playing against Pop Warner teams.

The Nittany Lions will have a capable back toting the rock with sophomore Evan Royster, who has rushed for 893 yards on 116 carries while averaging of 7.7 yards per rushing attempt to go along with 10 touchdowns.

The top three wide receivers are seniors Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood. All three have at least 25 catches. Butler leads the team in receptions (30) and yards (486), while Norwood tops the list with five TDs.

The top returning tackler form last season, linebacker Sean Lee, tore the ACL in his right knee during spring practice and is out of the year. Leading the Lions in tackles this season is sophomore linebacker Navorro Bowman with 71 stops. Sophomore defensive end Aaron Maybin lead the team in sacks (10) and tackles for loss (14.5).

Oh, one more thing, since 2002, 46 Penn State football players have faced 163 criminal charges, according to an ESPN analysis of Pennsylvania court records and reports. Twenty-seven players have been convicted of or have pleaded guilty to a combined 45 counts.

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Right: Coach Tressel spoke with the media on Tuesday. (Correction: The person in the photo is actually former San Francisco 49ers’ head coach Mike Nolan, not Jim Tressel)
AP Photo

It’s that time of the week as Lord James Patrick Tressel addressed a panel of media members, most of which have fat asses clad in goofy golf shirts, at the Chick-fil-A in the food court inside The Mall at Tuttle Crossing. For a shameless plug, Chick-fil-A is having a “Mascot Movers” contest. Every week, Chick-fil-A and ESPN are offering one lucky fan Chick-fil-A for a year and a V.I.P. trip to the Chick-fil-A bowl. Anyone can enter once a week online here.

Now we have learned over the years that Coach Tressel talks about the previous game along with mentioning the top players from that game. Then he ballyhoos the upcoming opponent as if Tressel was going to face the 1985 Chicago Bears on Saturday.

When speaking of Joe Paterno, does he say, “the old man probably hasn’t had a boner in 20 years?” No. When given his thoughts on Penn State quarterback Darryl Clark, does he say, “he couldn’t carry Terrelle’s jockstrap?” No. So basically the entire press conference is a bunch a fluff with little substance. But here we go.

In Coach Tressel’s opening statements, he mentions that James Laurinaitis was the Defensive Player of the Week, and Beanie Wells was the Offensive Player of the Week vs. Michigan State. Austin Spitler was the Special Units Player of the Game, Alex Boone, won the Jim Parker Offensive Line Award, and the Attack Force Player of the Week was Ross Homan.

Later he states:

As we move forward, we understand the difficulty of the challenge. Penn State’s an excellent football team. I think anyone that’s watched them play knows that, number one, they’re veteran laden across the board, very talented offensively, defensively and special units. If you look at the Big Ten statistics or the national statistics, you see Penn State at or near the top in many, many of the categories, that’s the way they’re playing.”

When Coach Tressel opens the floor for questions, the first one out of the pie hole of Joe Q. Sportswriter asked what was the difference between the Purdue game and the Michigan State game:

Well, I think that our guys have been preparing hard all along and executing to a certain degree at times and then all of a sudden you have one guy that doesn’t and you look like you’re not quite the same team, but I think we came out and seized the momentum early in the game and that really does something for you. And when the defense is flying around like that and all of a sudden Michigan State has to be a little different team than they really are.”

A later question was about Terrelle Pryor, and if there was anything more special about playing against a school from his home state:

Terrelle would never admit it if there were. I’m sure he’s excited. He loves the big stage and the big challenge. He watches that film. He sees how good they are. He knows he’s from there. Columbus is just as close as State College is. I mapped it out for him. But he’ll be excited.”

Hmm, Columbus is 208 miles from Jeanette, PA. State College is only 120 miles away. But Columbus is a big city, and State College is out in the middle of nowhere.

Later, Coach Tressel was asked about what he expects “The ‘Shoe” to be like Saturday night:

I expect it to be loud and fun and energetic and I hope it’s very difficult for the away team to hear. That would be one of my goals. I hope all they see is red and Bill’s towels waving next to the red. I hope it’s a tough environment. Now, good teams enjoy that too when they’re away from home. I know we’ve enjoyed going into those scenarios. Doesn’t make them easy.”

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The Best Damn Player of the Game!

CB Malcolm Jenkins

For the second consecutive week, senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins has been named BuckeyeBanter.com’s “The Best Damn Player of the Game” after totaling nine tackles, which included 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble in Ohio State’s 45-7 win over Michigan State.

Jenkins, the leading contender for this season’s Thorpe Award and was a first-team all-Big Ten selection as a sophomore and junior, sacked Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter which jarred the ball loose and resulted in a 69-yard fumble return for touchdown by Thaddeus Gibson.

For the season, Jenkins has 36 total tackles, 3.5 TFLs, a sack, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a blocked punt.

Helmet Stickers!
RB Beanie Wells	LB James Laurinaitis

Junior running back Beanie Wells rushed for 140 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns vs. the Spartans. For the year, Wells had played in five games and is averaging 123.8 yards yards per contest with four scores.

Senior linebacker James Laurinaitis had 11 total tackles and 1.5 sacks against Michigan State. For the season, the Little Animal has racked 78 total tackles, including three tackles of loss and 2.5 sacks to go along with an interception.

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Right: Terrelle Pryor cruising into the end zone on his 18-yard TD run in the first quarter vs. Michigan State.
AP Photo

For about the first time all season, the offensive play-calling was imaginative, not predictable, the offensive line actually blocked, and Ohio State’s offense finally looked like the well-oiled machine everyone was expecting it to as the Buckeyes defeated Michigan State 45-7 on Saturday.

With the win, Ohio State moved up to No. 10 in both polls, and are ranked ninth in the first BCS standings, setting up a Saturday night showdown at The ‘Shoe against third-ranked Penn State.

Offensively, most of the damage against the Spartans came in the first half as the Buckeyes gained 259 of their 332 yards and scored 28 unanswered points.

Defensively, Ohio State held Michigan State to just 240 yards of total offense and limited Spartans’ running back Javon Ringer to 67 yards on 16 carries. If that’s not impressive enough, the Buckeye D forced five turnovers and scored on two touchdowns on fumble recoveries.

After both teams traded punts to begin the game, Ohio State was able to work with a short field and drive 47 yards in four plays for the first score of the day, an 18-yard run by Terrelle Pryor around the left end virtually untouched.

Three plays into Michigan State’s next possession, Kurt Coleman knocked the ball loose from Keshawn Martin and Donald Washington picked up the fumble and raced 44 yards down to the Spartans’ 17 yard line.

Five plays later Ohio State was up 14-0 when Pryor rolled out to his right, avoided a sack, and lobbed a pass to a wide-open Brian Robiskie in the end zone for the touchdown.

The Buckeye defense held the Spartans to three plays before punting, and once again had a short field to work with starting at their own 43.

It took just two snaps to go the distance as Pryor hit Brian Hartline for a 56-yard pass play and Beanie Wells punched it in from the 1. With 2:11 left in the first quarter, Ohio State was leading 21-0.

The Buckeyes added one more touchdown in the second quarter when Wells ran 12-yards and did the “Beanie Hop” into the end zone with 6:34 left until halftime.

Michigan State got on the board in the third quarter when they took the half’s opening drive and marched 85 yards in eight plays capped off on a three-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to Charlie Gantt.

The Buckeyes added 17 points in the fourth quarter on a 69-yard fumble return for touchdown by Thaddeus Gibson with 14:41 left, a 40-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey with 5:27 remaining, and Jermale Hines scored on a 48-yard fumble return for TD with just 15 seconds to go in the game.

Beanie Rushed for 140 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns, and Pryor added 72 more yards on 12 tries and another score. Pryor was also 7-of-11 passing for 116 yards and a TD.

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FINAL	1	2	3	4	-	T
	21	7	0	17	-	45
	0	0	7	0	-	7
SCORING SUMMARY
OSU: 1st QTR: Terrelle Pryor 18-yard TD run (Ryan Pretorius PAT)
OSU: 1st QTR: Terrelle Pryor 7-yard TD pass to Brian Robiskie (Ryan Pretorius PAT)
OSU: 1st QTR: Chris Wells 1-yard TD run (Ryan Pretorius PAT)
OSU: 2nd QTR: Chris Wells 12-yard TD run (Ryan Pretorius PAT)
MSU: 3rd QTR: Kirk Cousins 3-yard TD pass to Charlie Gantt (Brett Swenson PAT)
OSU: 3rd QTR: Thaddeus Gibson 69-yard fumble return for TD (Ryan Pretorius PAT)
OSU: 4th QTR: Aaron Pettrey 40-yard FG
OSU: 4th QTR: Jermale Hines 48-yard fumble return for TD (Ryan Pretorius PAT)

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BUCKEYES vs. SPARTANS

No. 12/11 Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) vs. No. 20/17 Michigan State (6-1, 3-0)

Date: Saturday, October 18

Time: 3:30 PM ET

Place: Spartan Stadium – capacity 75,005

TV: ABC will televise the game with Brad Nessler handling the play-by-play, Bob Griese and Paul Maguire providing color commentary, and Stacey Dales serving as 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 from AccuWeather.com: Sunny skies and a game time temperature of 58 degrees.

Latest Line: Ohio State is an 3 1/2-point favorite. The Over & Under is 42.5.

Series History: This is the 39th meeting between the two schools. Ohio State owns a 26-12 record against Michigan State, and the Buckeyes are 12-5 in games played at Spartan Stadium.

Last Season: Beanie Wells ran 221 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown while the Buckeye defense held the Spartans to just 185 yards of total offense as Ohio State won 24-17. The Buckeyes took a 24-0 lead midway through the third quarter when Todd Boeckman connected with Brian Robiskie on a 50-yard touchdown pass. The Spartans scored 17 unanswered points, with 14 of those coming off of two miscues by Boeckman, a poorly thrown pass that was intercepted by Otis Wiley and returned 54 yards for a touchdown, and a fumble as he was sacked by Jonal Saint-Dic that was recovered by SirDarean Adams and returned 25 yards for another score. On the plus side, the Buckeyes held the Spartan offense to just three points and limited running back Javon Ringer to only 49 yards on 18 carries.

Analysis and Prediction: This going to to be a knockdown, drag-out brawl similar to what the Buckeyes encountered in Madison two weeks ago. Both Wisconsin and Michigan State feature run-first offenses, and the Spartans rely heavily on Ringer, who has 1,112 yards on 247 carries with 14 touchdowns. So the key for the Buckeyes will be stopping Ringer, which they were able to do last year. If OSU can stop the run, MSU quarterback Brian Hoyer has completed only 50.3 percent of his passes, so it might be a good idea to crowd the box and make the Spartans beat you by throwing the football. The question is, will the Ohio State offense score any points this week? The good news is, Northwestern racked up 459 total yards against Michigan State last weekend and was 15-of-24 on third down conversions. The Spartans yielded 5.5 yards per carry on the ground, but the Wildcats did have three turnovers. As long as the Buckeyes can stop the run, move the chains offensively and don’t turn the ball over, they should come way with a win. Of course, the Buckeyes offense will have to play a lot better than they did last week against Purdue. It would also be a good idea to pass the ball a little more than they have in previous games, too. Ohio State 23, Michigan State 17

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

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 last season, 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.

This season, the Spartans lone blemish on their record is a 38-31 loss to California in the season-opener for both teams in Berkeley. Since then, Michigan State has rattled off six-straight wins, though none have come against a team ranked in both polls. (Note: Northwestern was ranked 22nd in the coaches poll, but not in the AP poll when the two teams met last week.)

As the architect of the rebuilding project in East Lansing, Dantonio, who is a native of Zanesville, Ohio, was also a 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 had seven starters returning from the 2007 season on offense, which include 5-foot-9, 202-pound senior running back Javon Ringer, and 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Ringer, a Heisman Trophy candidate, has rushed for 1,112 yards on 247 carries (4.5 yards per attempt) and 14 touchdowns. He is averaging 158.9 yards per game.

Hoyer has passed for 1,314 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions, but has completed 50.3 percent (86-of-171) of his throws.

Hoyer’s favorite targets are 6-foot-2, 188-pound sophomore wide receiver Mark Dell, who has 20 receptions for 443 yards with two touchdowns, and 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman B.J Cunningham has 19 catches for 322 yards.

Three starting offensive lineman returned from last year with senior right tackle Jesse Miller (6-6, 318), senior left guard Roland Martin (6-5, 330), and junior center Joel Nitchman (6-3, 297). Rounding out the starters are junior left tackle Rocco Cironi (6-6, 308) and redshirt freshman left guard Joel Foreman (6-3, 308).

While the offense is averaging 29.7 points per game, good for fourth place in the Big Ten, the defense is allowing 16.7 points per outing, ranking the Spartans fifth in the conference. Last season, the Spartans surrendered 26.6 points per game, so the defense has vastly improved under Dantonio.

When Dantonio 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.

Five starters returned on the defensive side of the ball, including the Spartans’ leading tackler, sophomore SAM linebacker Greg Jones with 52 stops.

Joining Jones as another returning starter from last season is sophomore WILL linebacker Eric Gordon (not the Indiana basketball player), who’s second on the team with 45 tackles.

Leading the team in tackles for loss and sacks is 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior defensive end Trevor Anderson with 6.5 TFLs and five sacks.

Anchoring the secondary is 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior strong safety Otis Wiley, who leads the team with four interceptions.

Aug. 30 at California, Lost 38-31
Sept. 6, vs. Eastern Michigan, Won 42-10
Sept. 13, vs. Florida Atlantic, Won 17-0
Sept. 20, vs. Notre Dame, Won 23-7
Sept. 27 at Indiana, Won 42-29
Oct. 4 vs. Iowa, Won 16-13
Oct. 11 at Northwestern, Won 37-20

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Right: Senator Sweater Vest, minus the vest, spoke on Tuesday.
AP Photo

It’s that time of the week when we crash Senator Sweater Vest’s weekly press conference at the Blue Danube on North High St.

This week’s episode was the longest of the season. Clearly, there are a lot of questions concerning The Ohio State University’s varsity tackle football squad, particularly on offense.

The Buckeyes will face their third ranked team of the year and will have a stern test this Saturday against Michigan State. This has become Ohio State’s toughest two-week stretch of the season. Following the match-up against the Spartans, the Bucks’ return home to square off against Penn State.

Defensively, Ohio State has played well for the most part, especially against more pass-oriented teams, but this week the Spartans feature a very good running game with Javon Ringer. Obviously, the offense must improve this week if the Buckeyes plan on leaving East Lansing with a “W.”

In Coach Tressel’s opening statements. he normally names the top players from each unit for the previous game. This week, no offensive players were mentioned.

Senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins was the Defensive Player of the Game after totaling four tackles, an interception, a pass break-up and a blocked punt.

During his opening statements, Coach T. talked about his struggling offense against Purdue:

Probably the poorest thing we did on offense was our lack of consistency and it showed in our grades. We didn’t have anyone grade a winning performance, therefore there must have been enough errors by guys through the course of the time that you were going to have a hard time putting together a string of first downs.”

Later, when Coach Tressel opens the floor for questions, the first one asked why the Buckeyes are having so much difficulty scoring touchdowns with nine starters that returned from a year ago?

Well, we’re not — I hate to say it, we’re not executing. I wish there were something different than that. Whether it be we didn’t — I don’t want to use the word guess, but we didn’t plan for the right look that they were going to be in on first and goal at the nine or we didn’t execute the play we had designed with all 11 guys.”

Later, he was asked if Terrelle has progressed the way he wanted him to and how Pryor fared last Saturday:

Well, he didn’t grade a winning performance, but I thought he progressed. Like I told him just yesterday we were sitting and talking that the number one quality that Troy Smith brought to our team was he was tremendously careful with the football, and as he grew into understanding the whole game, he became lethal for the opponents, but it started from the right foundation. And knock on wood, Terrelle’s done a pretty good job from that standpoint. I think he has grown in his understanding, and I think he’ll do nothing but progress.”

Coach Tressel then elaborated on Pryor:

I think right now, in his progression, he’s probably waiting until he’s 90 percent sure, and I’d rather that than he wait until he’s 60 percent sure, then he’d look like all those guys on TV that every time you turn on the highlights, someone’s running the other way with an interception, whether it’s us watching our film against Michigan State or you turn on the weekend highlights and you say, oh, yeah, Johnny threw for 320, but they had three of them that went this way. So I’d rather have him that way than, oh, it’s time to get rid of it.”

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CB Malcolm Jenkins

This week, senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins has been named BuckeyeBanter.com’s “Best Damn Player of the Game” after totaling four tackles, an interception, a pass break-up and a blocked punt that led to Ohio State’s only touchdown in the Buckeyes’ 16-3 win over Purdue.

Jenkins, the leading contender for this season’s Thorpe Award and was a first-team all-Big Ten selection as a sophomore and junior, blocked a Chris Summers’ punt early in the first quarter that was returned by Etienne Sabino 20 yards for Ohio State’s only TD of the contest.

On the first play of the second quarter, Jenkins picked off a Curtis Painter pass, his second in as many games.

For the season, Jenkins has three interceptions and 11 during his four-year career at Ohio State.

DE Thaddeus Gibson	LB Marcus Freeman

Sophomore defensive end Thaddeus Gibson had six total tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. He also forced a fumble when he sacked Painter in the first quarter which was recovered by Lawrence Wilson.

Senior SAM linebacker Marcus Freeman had nine total tackles.

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Right: Ohio State’s Etienne Sabino after he scored on a 20-yard blocked punt return for touchdown.
AP Photo

Hit and miss.

That’s how head coach Jim Tressel described his offense in Ohio State’s 16-3 win over Purdue, Saturday afternoon, in front 105,378 fans at Ohio Stadium.

Instead of looking more like a sleek sports car revving up on all cylinders, Ohio State’s offense looked more like a big ol’ Buick sputtering and backfiring down the road.

Newsflash to coach Tressel: The forward pass has been legal in NCAA football since 1906.

The Buckeyes’ had 56 offensive plays, but passed just 14 times. Starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor was 10-of-14 chucking the rock for 97 yards.

Ohio State ran the ball 42 times with Beanie Wells getting 22 carries for 94 yards, even though he missed some practice time during the week while battling flu-like symptoms.

Here’s what coach Tressel said following the game about his lackluster offense:

There was a moment where you looked good and there was a moment where you went backwards and we’re not consistent at all and it will be interesting to watch the film, but from where I was, we certainly didn’t control the line of scrimmage, that’s where it starts. “

Again, the offensive line didn’t perform as they should. Even with Tressel himself going down to yell and scream at the O-line during drills at practice, nothing has changed. Maybe it’s time to look at the depth chart and start weeding out the dead weight.

While Pryor didn’t look so freshman-like in previous starts, he clearly showed his age at times against Purdue. It just seems to me that he’s pressing to much to make a big play when he’s better off chucking the ball into the seats to avoid a sack.

Purdue did a good job of attacking, keeping their lanes and containing Pryor, not letting him outside where he’s more dangerous. But again, that’s goes back to the offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage.

Purdue head coach Joe Tiller on his defense and playing against Pryor:

We knew that we had to contain him somehow. We didn’t want him to get on the perimeter. We tried to get him in a position and pull him up and hopefully tag him on the backside to try to make a good play and maybe get a fumble.”

Coach Tressel on the struggling O-line, the pressure put on by Purdue, and the play of Pryor:

I think it’s tough on the quarterback and we’ve got to have a little bit more experience to be able to ignore those things, but we couldn’t stand there all day today, that’s for sure.”

The Boilermakers came into the game dead-last in the Big Ten in total defense, giving up 435.8 yards per contest. The Buckeyes managed just 222 total yards of offense against the worst defensive team in the conference.

One glaring problem is Ohio State’s red zone offense. The Buckeyes were inside the Boilermakers’ 10 yard line twice, once in the first quarter and again in the third, but came away with two field goals.

In the first quarter after a face mask penalty on Purdue gave Ohio State a first-and-goal at the 9, Beanie was stuffed for no gain, Pryor rushed up the middle of two yards, then on third down, Pryor’s pass into the end zone was broken up by Brandon King. Ryan Pretorius came on and kicked a 24-yard field goal.

In the third quarter after Pryor hooked up with fellow freshman Lamaar Thomas for a 16-yard pitch and catch, the Buckeyes set up shop at the Boilermakers’ 8 yard line. Three running plays, one by Mo Wells and two by Pryor, netted OSU minus-3 yards and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Pretorius.

Six offensive plays inside the 10 yard line and just one pass attempt.

Coach Tressel when asked about his red zone offense and how it needs to be more productive:

Score touchdowns. I hate to say that. We had first and goal twice on the nine and didn’t get in, not that that’s the easiest place to get in from, but we have to be able to gain a little bit more on first down. We were getting two or we got one on second down and had some penetration that knocked us backwards when we were in there and you’ve got to know that the field has shrunk and they’re going to be coming harder and you’ve got to break some tackles and complete some tackles and we just didn’t get that done. “

But without a balanced offensive attack, Ohio State’s future opponents are going to stuff the box and put a spy on Pryor to keep him bottled up. It’s time to give Terrelle an opportunity the throw the ball more often.

Ohio State’s defense played well, holding Purdue 298 yards of total offense. While that number seems a little high for a Buckeye unit that was only giving up 251.8 yards per game, the Boilermakers didn’t cross the Buckeyes’ 30 yard line until there were just 39 seconds left in the game, and never once did they cross the 25. Purdue’s lone points came on a 53-yard field goal by Carson Wiggs in the third quarter.

Ohio State’s only touchdown came in the first quarter when Malcolm Jenkins blocked a Chris Summers’ punt and Etienne Sabino picked up the bouncing ball and returned it 20 yards for a score.

Up next, Ohio State travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State, Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by ABC.

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Final	1	2	3	4	-	T
PURDUE	0	0	3	0	-	3
OHIO STATE	10	3	0	3	-	16
SCORING SUMMARY
OSU: 1st QTR – Etienne Sabino 20-yard blocked punt return (Ryan Pretorius made PAT)
OSU: 1st QTR – Ryan Pretorius 24-yard FG
OSU: 2nd QTR – Aaron Pettrey 49-yard FG
PUR: 3rd QTR – Carson Wiggs 53-yard FG
OSU: 4th QTR – Ryan Pretorius 22-yard FG

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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BUCKEYES vs. BOILERMAKERS

No. 12/11 Ohio State (5-1, 2-0) vs. Purdue (2-3, 0-1)

Date: Saturday, October 11

Time: 3:30 PM ET

Place: Ohio Stadium – capacity 101,568

TV: ABC will televise the game. Ron Franklin will call the play-by-play with analysis from Ed Cunningham. Jack Arute 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 from AccuWeather.com: Sunny skies and a game time temperature of 77 degrees.

Latest Line: Ohio State is an 18 1/2-point favorite. The Over & Under is 45.

Series History: This is the 51st meeting between the two schools. Ohio State owns a 36-12-2 record against Purdue.

Last Season: Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter, one to Ray Small and another to Brian Hartline, and the staunch Buckeye defense shutout the 23rd-ranked Purdue Boilermakers for 59 minutes and 50 seconds to claim a 23-7 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium. Boeckman finished with 200 yards on 17-of-29 passing, with two scores, but a career-high three interceptions. The law firm of Wells & Wells combined for 159 yards on 33 carries. Brandon Saine, playing in his first game since arthroscopic knee surgery following the Northwestern game, has 21 yards on six rushing attempts. The Ohio State defense held Purdue to just 272 yards of total offense, with just four of those coming on the ground.

Analysis and Prediction: So is Purdue’s defense not as bad as I thought, or did Penn State just have an off-day last Saturday when the Nittany Lions went into Ross-Ade Satdium in West Lafayette and walked out with a 20-6 win? I think I may be a combination of both, thought you can add that I don’t think Penn State is all that great. Purdue got off to an easy start to begin the season, facing FCS-member (Division I-AA) Northern Colorado, a team that went 1-11 in 2007 and won 42-10. Week two was a much tougher challenge for the Boilermakers, facing then-16th ranked Oregon in West Lafayette, losing to the Ducks 32-26 in two overtimes. The following week, Sheets broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run with a minute left in the game to lift Purdue to a 32-25 victory over Central Michigan, as the Boilermakers narrowly avoided a huge upset. Week four had the Boilermakers traveling to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where Purdue was handed a 38-21 defeat. Then last week against Penn State, Purdue’s defense played much better holding the Nittany Lions to just 20 points, but offensively the Boilermakers struggled to put any crooked numbers on the scoreboard and lost 20-6. Playing at home with Terrelle Pryor getting more comfortable and a lot more confident as the starting quarterback, I think the Buckeyes will have a feast day on the Boilermaker defense. Offensively, Purdue managed to get just 224 yards of total offense, with 83 of those yards coming on the ground against Penn State. They will have an even harder time moving the ball gainst the Buckeyes. Ohio State 34, Purdue 10

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Right: Ohio State’s men’s hockey coach John Markell prefers to stand during games because his seat is too hot.
Jim Davidson/The-OZone.net Photo

If there was one Buckeye coach with his cheeks firmly planted on the hot seat, it would be Ohio State’s men’s hockey coach, John Markell.

Markell is entering his 14th season as head coach, and since the 1995-96 season, he has guided the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament five times, marking the only appearances in the program’s history which included a Frozen Four berth in 1998.

But the problem is under Markell, Ohio State is coming off their third-straight losing campaign and their worst since the 96-97 season. Last year, the Buckeyes finished 11th out of 12 teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) with a record of 7-18-3, and were 12-25-4 overall.

Could you imagine Jim Tressel sticking around if the football Buckeyes had three-straight losing seasons?

The CCHA held its annual media day two weeks ago and the league announced the annual preseason polls. Notre Dame was picked first by the coaches, followed by Michigan and Miami, with Ohio State ranked seventh. The media selected the Wolverines as the conference favorite, followed by the Irish and Michigan State, and ranked the Buckeyes ninth.

Just four years ago, Ohio State was 27-11-4 and finished second in the CCHA with a record of 21-5-2, the Buckeyes’ highest finish in more than 20 years. The 27 wins tied for the second-most in program history and helped the team reach the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. Ohio State’s win over Michigan State in the CCHA Super Six semifinals put the team in the tournament’s title game for a second year in a row.

That was then, this is now.

The 26-player Ohio State roster is dominated by underclassmen. The squad includes just three seniors and two juniors, who are joined by 13 sophomores and eight freshmen. Last year, at least nine freshmen were regularly in the Ohio State lineup each game.

Peter Boyd, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore forward, is the Buckeyes’ top returning scorer with 24 points last season. Boyd is also the top returning goal scorer with 6-foot-1, 190-pound sophomore forward Kyle Reed with 10.

Ohio State’s top returning assists leader is 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward John Albert, who had 17 helpers during the 2007-08 campaign.

Along the blue line, the top returning defensemen are 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior Nick Biondo (4 G, 6 A), and 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore Shane Sims (1 G, 10 A) .

Hard-hitting 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior forward Zach Pelletier returns after sitting out all of last season with an ankle injury that required surgery.

Between the pipes, 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior goaltender Joseph Palmer returns after playing in 34 games last season. He had a goals against average of 3.12, a save percentage of .888, and a record of 10-19-4 during the 2007-08 season.

Top newcomers include 6-foot-1, 175-pound freshman forward Zac Dalpe, who was the 45th overall pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2008 NHL draft, the highest Buckeye draftee since Tom Fritsche went 47th in 2005. Others include 6-foot, 180-pound forward Taylor Stefishen, a fifth-round (136th overall) pick by the Nashville Predators, and 6-foot-1, 203-pound freshman defenseman Matt Bartkowski, a seventh-round (190th overall) selection by the Florida Panthers.

Ohio State has already played its’ only exhibition game on the schedule for 2008-09 season in which the Buckeyes defeated York, 9-3, last Friday at the OSU Ice Rink.

Sims had a goal and two assists, while Albert and sophomore forwards Todd Rudasill and Patrick Schafer each had two assists. Freshman forward Cory Schneider added a goal and an assist.

The Buckeyes begin the regular season portion of the schedule when they host the Miami RedHawks at Value City Arena, Friday night. Both teams will meet again Saturday night at the Steve Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio. Faceoff for both nights is scheduled for 7:05 p.m, and Saturday’s game will be televised on ONN.

Tags: Men's Hockey by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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Right: Greg Oden, doing his best Abe Lincoln impersonation, made his NBA debut last night.
Getty Images

Who would of thought that two former Ohio State centers would make their NBA debut on the same night?

Well that’s just what happened with Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers and Kosta Koufos of the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Of course one figures to be a prominent fixture in the starting line-up while the other will be fighting for garbage time even if he sticks in the Association.

Oden was in the starting line-up for the Trail Blazers as they hosted the Sacramento Kings in both team’s preseason opener at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden had to sit out all of last season after he underwent microfracture knee surgery in September 2007.

Oden scored on a two-hand jam just two minutes into the game and finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and was 3-of-5 from the foul line. He also had five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 20 minutes of game action.

About his performance, Oden had this to say to Jason Quick of The Oregonian:

It was all right. But there’s always room for improvement. I know I’m not in the best shape of my life and all I can do is work through that.”

Portland went on to defeat Sacramento 110-81.

Meanwhile down the left coast, the Jazz were taking on the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Koufos, the 21st-overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, played just two minutes and scored two points and did not accue any other statistics.

Koufos entered the game with just under two minutes left in the first quarter and drained a 21-footer from the right baseline in his only shot attempt. Shortly thereafter he left the game with a slight hamstring injury and did not return.

Since the Jazz already have three centers on the roster, starter Mehmut Okur and backups Kevin Lyde and Jarron Collins, Koufos is likely ticketed for the NBA Development League as a rookie at some point during the season.

Leaving early wasn’t the wisest move, huh?

Tags: Men's Basketball by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
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