SB Nation - DeVier Posey

If College Football Had a Playoff: #9 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ #8 Ohio State Buckeyes

Jeremy Mauss — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:00:19 -0000

Continue the new break out hit of the season "What if College Football had a Playoff' returns for game two of the playoff. Before we get to game two the winner of game one was an expected blowout by Alabama soundly defeating Troy to move on to host the winner of this game.

Now this matchup features two completely different styles with Georgia Tech who runs a triple option and is taking that game to the 'Shoe in Columbus to face the 'we wanna be spread but really a smash mouth football team' Ohio State.

The Ohio State defense is very good but the question has always been the speed of their defense (or lack of speed). Speed and assignment defense is what Ohio State would need to do to try to stop the Georgia Tech option. Last year LSU shut down the Tech option with their speed and Ohio State is a bit behind in their speed then LSU.

Ohio State really wants to pound the ball has the wild card in Terrelle Pryor who is a so-so passer but if the Buckeyes use roll outs and move the pocket that will help use his abilities rather then to just drop back and throw.

Just because of the contrasting styles this should be a very good game. To give some help to those who are not sure who would win I turned to What if Sports to simulate this game.

What if Sports has Ohio State winning a close game 35-31, but Georgia Tech had a 31-20 lead going into the fourth quarter before allowing the Buckeyes to score 15 points to their zero to loss the game. The decision here is for the fans to vote to see who moves on.

Check back daily at 12 PM eastern time to vote for the next matchup, and voting is only for 24 hours. As they say in Chicago vote early and vote often.

Ohio State Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Joe Bauserman	5	30.0	6	19	31.6	124	24.8	6.5	0	0	9	10	2	1.1	0	-	-
Terrelle Pryor	12	93.0	144	258	55.8	1828	152.3	7.1	16	10	142	707	58.9	5	7	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Joe Bauserman	5	9	10	2	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
K.C. Christian	2	5	14	7	2.8	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bo DeLande	1	3	5	5	1.7	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Gantz	2	4	6	3	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Daniel Herron	9	139	558	62	4	7	8	48	5.3	6	1
Jermil Martin	3	11	84	28	7.6	1	0	0	0	0	0
DeVier Posey	12	2	19	1.6	9.5	0	52	727	60.6	14	7
Terrelle Pryor	12	142	707	58.9	5	7	0	0	0	0	0
Brandon Saine	12	131	694	57.8	5.3	4	15	165	13.8	11	1
Dane Sanzenbacher	11	2	8	.700	4	0	27	506	46	18.7	6
Ray Small	11	4	40	3.6	10	0	15	175	15.9	11.7	0
Lamaar Thomas	9	1	6	.700	6	0	1	10	1.1	10	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Jake Ballard	9	13	126	14	9.7	0
Zach Boren	3	4	23	7.7	5.8	1
Duron Carter	6	13	176	29.3	13.5	1
Daniel Herron	9	8	48	5.3	6	1
DeVier Posey	12	52	727	60.6	14	7
Brandon Saine	12	15	165	13.8	11	1
Dane Sanzenbacher	11	27	506	46	18.7	6
Ray Small	11	15	175	15.9	11.7	0
Jake Stoneburner	2	2	30	15	15	0
Lamaar Thomas	9	1	10	1.1	10	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Devin Barclay	4	-	-	-	-	-	4	7	60.0%	12	12	100.0%	24
Aaron Pettrey	9	-	-	-	-	-	13	19	70.0%	28	29	100.0%	67

Georgia Tech Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Josh Nesbitt	13	83.0	73	153	47.7	1689	129.9	11	10	4	259	991	76.2	3.8	18	-	-
Jaybo Shaw	4	-50.0	1	2	50	18	4.5	9	0	1	12	51	12.8	4.3	0	-	-
Tevin Washington	1	100.0	1	1	100	21	21	21	0	0	6	40	40	6.7	0	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Anthony Allen	13	61	597	45.9	9.8	5	5	112	8.6	22.4	1
Lucas Cox	3	9	31	10.3	3.4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jonathan Dwyer	13	221	1346	103.5	6.1	14	3	25	1.9	8.3	0
Stephen HIll	8	5	84	10.5	16.8	1	6	137	17.1	22.8	1
Roddy Jones	11	53	345	31.4	6.5	3	0	0	0	0	0
Preston Lyons	11	30	139	12.6	4.6	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jonathan Malone	1	1	5	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Josh Nesbitt	13	259	991	76.2	3.8	18	0	0	0	0	0
Embry Peeples	11	28	143	13	5.1	0	8	244	22.2	30.5	1
Jaybo Shaw	4	12	51	12.8	4.3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Quentin Sims	1	2	19	19	9.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Orwin Smith	11	5	26	2.4	5.2	0	2	26	2.4	13	0
Demaryius Thomas	13	1	3	.200	3	0	46	1154	88.8	25.1	8
Tevin Washington	1	6	40	40	6.7	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richard Watson	4	9	37	9.3	4.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Marcus Wright	11	32	190	17.3	5.9	3	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Anthony Allen	13	5	112	8.6	22.4	1
Jonathan Dwyer	13	3	25	1.9	8.3	0
Stephen HIll	8	6	137	17.1	22.8	1
Daniel McKayhan	2	1	18	9	18	0
Tyler Melton	4	5	46	11.5	9.2	0
Embry Peeples	11	8	244	22.2	30.5	1
Orwin Smith	11	2	26	2.4	13	0
Demaryius Thomas	13	46	1154	88.8	25.1	8

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Scott Blair	11	-	-	-	-	-	14	19	70.0%	43	44	100.0%	85
Chris Tanner	3	-	-	-	-	-	0	1	0	14	14	100.0%	14

via l.yimg.com

Poll

Who wins the matchup?

Georgia Tech

120 votes

Ohio State

62 votes

182 votes | Poll has closed

Linebacker Who?

Law Buckeye — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:03:34 -0000

On Saturday, I left the creature comforts of the village by the Olentangy with friends and a fiance in toe, to head to State College for Ohio State's showdown with Penn State. What follows is a brief re-count of our trip to Penn's Woods.

11:46 a.m.: We leave Columbus late after sitting for the morning MPRE exam. Things started an hour and four minutes behind schedule, resulting in a stressful change of vehicle in front of M's carriage house. She greets us with a box of fresh pastries from a local French bakery. I change into my uniform: the Nike "Tressel" sweater-vest, complete with a Brooks Brother's undershirt and grab a cranberry scone. We point the navigation to State College, PA, and learn that our projected arrival time is 5:04 p.m., some ninety minutes after kickoff. We're down, but we're not out. We've got a perfectly good second half to live for.

12:45 p.m.: Barreling down I-70, we learn -- first over the radio, and later from a phone call from Graham, that Iowa's Ricky Stanzi has gone down whilst rolling out on a naked bootleg against Northwestern. The prognosis is negative.

3:01 p.m.: The sky is blue as we bolt through a tunnel into downtown Pittsburgh. There's an unexpected commotion near Heinz Field, and we remember that there's another team in Pennsylvania that owns a one-loss record. Alas, we have bigger fish to fry.

3:34 p.m.: With kickoff looming we scan the AM dial desperately for some resemblance of a broadcast. Finally, we hit an undulating signal from a local Happy Valley station. The signal rate drops in and out, replaced by a unrelated jazz overture. Ohio State returns the opening kickoff to the 25 and it's on.

3:49 p.m.: Terrelle Pryor skips through a fold in the pressure and burns Navarro Bowman for a 7 yard rushing touchdown. I smack my knuckles on the sunroof in jubilation. After the Buckeyes force Penn State to another 3 and out, I declare to my passengers that we've come to play. We're weaving through orange foothills and soft mountains, the open landscape punctuated by power lines. It sounds like Ohio State's defensive front is having a field day with the Nittany Lions, a fact that makes me swell with hope. An embarrassingly partisan radio announcer admits another Ohio State 12 yard gain.

4:14 p.m.: Graham Zug knifes through the Ohio State secondary for a 31-yard gain setting up a goalline standoff that ends when Daryll Clark holds the ball across the hash on fourth down. I get a text immediately from a friend's girlfriend that the score is suspect. We hold our breath, as the announcer concedes that "It's a close call." The ruling on the field is confirmed. It's a tie game, and I immediately second guess Tressel's decision to punt from the 29.

4:59 p.m.: With less than 3:00 minutes to play in the second half, and the Goodyear Blimp hovering like a winged seraph on the horizon, M announces that she has to pee. We swing into a local Outback Steakhouse to do the deed. The hostess comments on our choice attire, but lets us in. Ohio State forces a Jeremy Boone punt with approximately 2:10 left. I put my hands in my pockets, convinced we're headed to half up by three.

5:11 p.m.: Just off the exit we get our first glimpse of Beaver Stadium, a spaceship-like fortress nestled in a pastoral embankment beside the interstate. The sun is glancing off the mountains, painting the landscape in a brilliant orange halo. We swing into a non-permit space in the grass beside a local Hospital and bundle up as the clock expires on the first half. We march off through farm land for the quarter-mile walk to the stadium.

5:19 p.m.: We check in on the north end and are greeted by a labyrinth of steel buttresses and concrete. The sounds of the marching band move through the portals as we shuffle for the ramp to head to the upper deck. I'm trying to be objective here, but I've got to say, the traffic management of this stadium sucks. We've forced to zig-zag back and forth through the packed concourse, smashed between iron girders and chain link safety fences. The air is sweet and stale with sweat and hot dog buns. We earn our way to Section NKU, and finally, break out into the open space. Beaver Stadium is alive with madness, a white brimmed monster of hollow sound and fury. We climb up to the 92nd row and are greeted by the familiar faces of friends. I survey the twin-press boxes, and the natural grass surface. A colleague hands me a Camel Pak filled with rum and tells me to "Bite and Suck." I do, and am warmed to the core. The steel bleachers move with the swell of anxiousness.

5:39 p.m.: The second half kicks off and it's us against the whiteout. We hold the Nittany Lions on another series and I comment to a friend about the play of linebacker Brian Rolle. "He's everywhere," my friend responds. Ohio State gets the ball back and after a string of rushes and an incomplete pass pins Penn State at their own 13. "Ten points," says my buddy "won't be enough to win this." I agree without hesitation. Turns out, we were both wrong.

6:17 p.m.: Pryor steps up in the pocket, turns his shoulders and heaves a "Hail Mary" up into the sky. I immediately go numb -- wasn't it Woody Hayes that said only three things can happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad? The long ball floats and bobs, as a free safety and cornerback close on the left side of the field. DeVier Posey waits and STEALS THE PASS AT THE LAST SECOND, I jump with estranged joy as Posey darts through the secondary and INTO THE ENDZONE. We roar from the high decks, trading high fives and singing low taunts of elation. We're up 10 points, and for the first time I think we just might have the game. The thought is electric. Our D is back on the field and they're playing off the momentum, dancing jigs behind the line of scrimmage. Beaver Stadium belongs to us.

Happy Valley Indeed...

6:27 p.m.: And just like that Ray Small blows through another leaky Nittany Lion coverage scheme for 45 yards back to the Penn State 47. Jeremy Boone makes a killer knee-cap tackle that saves the touchdown. Pryor takes the reins again, and after a short handoff and incomplete pass we're facing 3rd and 11. The student section is re-energized after the Buckeyes call a timeout, and I let doubt eclipse my mind for a brief second as we line up 4 wide. Pryor moves forward on the keep, and as he charts the open space to the left hash I see an outside linebacker is keyed in on the play. Pryor glides, flashing his trademark motionless moonwalk, and beats the defender to the sideline for the first down. Seven plays later we're in the endzone, after Pryor dishes the ball to a leaping Brandon Saine. It's right in front of the visitor's section, and we go nuts as Penn State fans fill the aisles. Confident in the seventeen point lead I throw out a few hypothetical titles for this article to a friend, including the admittedly insensitive: "You Are...Losers."

Ultimately, "Linebacker Who?" sticks.

7:01 p.m.: After an Ohio State interception, and the usual clock-killing pleasantries, I wait for the clock to hit zero before snapping the iconic scoreboard photograph.

That would be this one...

7:25 p.m.: We file out of the stadium, singing "We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan." (Love it or hate it, Ohio State is probably the only fan base that would rip Rival A, after beating Rival B). With the advice of a few helpful locals we wonder over to College Avenue, the backbone of a handsome New England downtown with shops, restaurants, and (of course) bars. We wait in line for a table at Bill Pickles Tap Room, a game day oasis with tudor-stylings, plentiful LCD feeds, and craft-beer by the pitcher. I drink a Leinenkugel's, and scarf down a soft pretzel, while we draw envious stares. The locals are friendly, even concilatory, and it's clear everyone is all in for the Big Ten.

11:48 p.m.: With designated driver M at the helm, we hop into the car and head east to Altoona -- the nearest available lodging. We buy a six-pack of Yuengling from a bowling-alley bar, and settle down at a local inn, strangely complacent with the Big Ten championship just a week away.

Wha Happened? Week Ten

RossWB — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:00:30 -0000

I'm told there were other games going on during and after just Northwestern successfully executed their gameplan of "knock out Iowa's best offensive player" for the second consecutive season. So Wha Happened?

Nice tune, but it needs more Caruso.

Ohio State 24, Penn State 7
Sigh. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. All Penn State needed to do to ensure that Ohio State's reign of terror atop the Big Ten over the last five years (and their accompanying pratfalls in BCS games: 1-3, including two humiliating beatdowns in National Championship Games) was truly done, to drive a stake through their cold, unfeeling, blackened hearts, to send them to a Florida bowl game... was just win this one fucking game. Alas, the Penn State offense coughed up a hairball of a performance (Daryll Clark went 12/28, 125 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 20 yards rushing, 1 TD on the ground, though he didn't get much help from his offensive line or any receivers not named Graham Zug) and the Nittany Lions just never appeared to be in sync. Maybe Clark needs Creepy Sex Offender Lion to console him.

His counterpart, the boy wonder Terrelle Pryor, contributed the sort of confounding stat line that's becoming typical of his play: 8/17, 125 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, five carries, 50 yards, 1 TD on the ground. Looking at it purely in terms of black and white numbers, it's not exactly impressive stuff. And yet... he did guide them to a decisive victory and he did make some big plays when OSU needed them -- the 62-yard bomb he threw to DeVier Posey (fast becoming one of the best big-play receiver in the Big Ten) was a key play in opening up the game. It gave Ohio State some much needed breathing room and the two-score margin seemed to make Clark press even more, with predictably disastrous results against the Buckeye defense. Still, the Ohio State win did have the effect of dramatically simplifying the Big Ten title race: whoever wins next week's Iowa-Ohio State tilt will be smelling the roses in Pasadena. So no pressure or anything in that one.

Not even Mike Barweis' brutal fitness regimens can save Michigan from the knife that is Big Ten conference play.

Purdue 38, Michigan 36
Life among the peasants sucks, doesn't it, Big Blue? It was a lot easier when you were a member of the aristocracy and teams like this just rolled over for you. Shame the peasants don't do that when you're down rolling around in the filth with them. The numbers for Michigan are grisly: losses to middling Purdue teams in back-to-back years, five consecutive Big Ten losses (which is actually worse than any losing streak they had in-conference during last year's horrorshow of a season), and eleven conference losses (and counting) over the past two years -- with games against Wisconsin (in Madison) and Ohio State (in Ann Arbor) still to come. Losses in both of those games would lead to perhaps the grisliest stat of all: a second consecutive season without a bowl game. The culprit, as it has been pretty much the entire season, was largely the GERG-led defense. The LOLverine defense conceded nearly 500 yards of offense (494, to be exact) for the second straight week, with most of the damage coming through the air: Joey Elliot went 28/39 for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns (and a pair of interceptions). RichRod may or may not be burning up on the hot seat this year, but it would be stupefying if Greg Robinson was back as defensive coordinator next year.

Meanwhile, Danny Hope's maiden voyage on the SS Boilermaker continues to be a long, strange trip. Three weeks ago, they had a season-defining upset of Ohio State in West Lafayette. A week ago, they got blanked by Wisconsin, 37-0, in a game in which virtually nothing went right. And now they go into Ann Arbor and pick up their first win there since 1966. And all this is after the crazy first part of the season, in which they lost a series of nail-biters and bizarre, turnover-filled games. Yet in spite of all the ups and downs they've endured this season, Purdue finds themselves still alive for a possible bowl game (they just need wins over Michigan State and Indiana), which would be a helluva way to cap off Danny Hope's crazy first season.

BHGP salutes Tiger Woods for his stance on gophers.

Illinois 35, Minnesota 32
Remember what we wrote about Adam Weber's offensive explosion last week?

But what to make of the TRY FIGHT WIN HEAVILY PENALIZED Gophers a week after losing their top offensive weapon (Decker) and nearly getting shut out in back-to-back games by Penn State and Ohio State (only a garbage-time touchdown against OSU's reserves prevented that ignominious fate)? Was this an aberration? A sign that the Gopher offense may not be quite as woeful as we thought? Considering that Weber hadn't thrown for a TD pass since the Wisconsin game 28 days ago and that he nearly doubled his season total for TD passes in one game, we lean towards the former explanation.

Yeah, we're gonna go with "last week was a mirage" for $1000, thanks. Weber's first half this week:

5/17, 74 yards, 0 TD, 1 fumble, 1 pick-six ("That's an interception returned for a touchdown." (c) Pat Harty).

Now that's more like the Weber we've come to know and love this season. All told, the Golden Gopher offense managed only 288 yards (just 66 on the ground) against an Illinois defense not previously known for its stopping power. Meanwhile, the Save the Zooker's Job Tour continued with... yet another win? Huh. That still doesn't sound right. Juice Williams' ankle got tweaked, but Jacob Charest proved to be an able fill-in (10/19, 195 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) and Jason Ford tacked on 82 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. With the win, the Illini retain their unlikely bid for a bowl appearance and a desire for revenge by proxy demands that this corner of BHGP will be cheering them on when they take on that other Big Ten team from Illinois next week. And, fuck, if you can't root for a mustache like this you have no soul.

Don't pretend you care about this game.

Wisconsin 31, Indiana 28
John Clay ran wild in the first half (15 carries, 134 yards, 1 TD), but got concussed; freshman Montee Ball came in and picked up right were Clay left off (27 carries, 115 yards, 2 TD), including the game-icing touchdown with eight minutes to go in the game. It was classic Wisconsin football: 294 punishing yards on the ground and just enough passing (194 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) to keep the opposing defense honest. The only difference between this week and last is that the defense was a bit looser and let Indiana get enough points to keep it interesting. Indiana is now in "win or stay home during bowl season" mode for the final two games; sadly next week involves a trip to Happy Valley to play a pissed-off Penn State team. Ouch.

Your recommended daily dose of surreality.

Michigan State 49, Western Michigan 14
Sparty jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and never looked back, ensuring that Western Michigan wouldn't add a Big Ten scalp to their collection for a third straight year. WMU had no answers for the Spartan offense -- Kirk Cousins dissected their pass defense (22/25, 353 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), while Ashton Leggett gashed them on the ground (14 carries, 110 yards, 4 TD); all told, Sparty rolled up 602 yards of offense. With the win, MSU moves to 5-5, needing just one more win to get to bowl eligibility. A difficult game with Penn State awaits at the end of the season, so next week's game at Purdue could be a virtual elimination game for bowl contention.

And Here Come The Pretzels

Run Up The Score — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:42:59 -0000

On yesterday's ESPN GameDay show, Chris Fowler and the crew passed along information that Penn State coaches indicated their offensive playbook would be uncharacteristically open against Ohio State. The coaching staff trusted the improved offensive line, and especially trusted Daryll Clark to win the game for Penn State. If such a strategy was ever in place for the Penn State offense, it was scrapped after their first offensive play of the game as defensive end Cameron Heyward bolted through Dennis Landolt and Evan Royster, defensive tackle Todd Denlinger spun around Johnnie Troutman, and defensive end Thaddeus Gibson hopped over a weak chop attempt by Ako Poti. The result, 2nd and 16, and 59 minutes of puckering.

And shame on you for not fighting through your doubleteam, Doug Worthington!

Sifting through the rubble this morning, and nothing has changed. Yesterday's game was an absolute owning of the home team -- coaches, players, fans, offense, defense, special teams -- from beginning to end. Cameron Heyward is an unblockable monster. No matter which Penn State offensive lineman he lined up against, they were quickly and embarrassingly thrown aside. Daryll Clark was hit and hurried, and again unable to carry the team in those circumstances.

Clark will take some justified heat for this loss. Fair or not, his place in Penn State quarterbacking history will be roughly alongside Wally Richardson's 1995-1996 run -- fondly remembered, but nowhere approaching legendary. Daryll will leave Penn State with a shared Big Ten title, love and respect from a vast majority of the fanbase, and gaudy stats against awful teams. People will be happy to see him when he returns to campus in 5, 10, 20 years. But he won't be a Penn State legend or anything close to it.

I suspect the coaching staff feels embarrassed this morning. There's absolutely zero excuse for the ongoing clusterfrick that is Penn State's special teams unit. If Joe Paterno expects to win games with defense and special teams, it's probably a fine idea to actually have good special teams. Given the athletes on this team, are we supposed to believe that Drew Astorino is our best ~~punt returner~~ designated fair catcher? Penn State's punt team practically handed Ohio State their first touchdown and took the life out of the crowd. And it's clearly not a matter of putting bad athletes on the field for kicking plays -- the players chasing Ray Small down the field on his first punt return are A.J. Wallace, Knowledge Timmons, Josh Hull, Chris Colasanti, Navorro Bowman, Brandon Beachum, and Andrew Quarless. And they were put in a bad position by an awful Jeremy Boone punt.

The playcalling was atrocious. If you don't have enough confidence to throw the ball on 3rd and 5, do us all a favor and kneel on the ball three straight plays and punt. Your defense will get the same amount of rest, and there's no risk at all! Beats the hell out of running the same tired crap right at Ohio State's strengths, or letting your quarterback get battered play after play.

Tom Bradley and the defense don't get a pass for this either -- they let the team down repeatedly on some crucial third downs. D'anton Lynn blew a coverage that led to DeVier Posey's long touchdown. On Pryor's rushing touchdown, Bowman had him dead in the backfield and was shaken off. They had their chances to turn the game around, or even just get off the damned field, and failed.

Finally, man up and give credit to Terrelle Pryor and Ohio State. This can't be stressed enough: they dominated every single aspect of the game. As for Penn State, they had their two toughest opponents at home and blew it. While 10-2 is still within reach and sounds great, this season has already been cast upon the disappointment heap. Penn State will end up in some middle-tier bowl with a cheesy sponsor. Don't worry. We'll pretend to care about it.

Happy Valley indeed

Sam @ WWAHT — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:41:18 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

Browse more photos »

Mea culpa: I didn't really think we had much of a chance. The mismatches seemed to be few and far between, but the one that seemed to matter most - the Buckeye offense versus Penn State's defense - was in Penn State's favor by such a wide margin, I thought it invalidated the overall evenness of the two teams.

I was wrong. And I couldn't be happier about it.

There's so much credit to give to so many different people, I'm not sure where to begin. Who thought we wouldn't turn the ball over once, against one of the ballhawkin'est defenses in the country? Who thought we'd total 200 yards rushing against far and away the best rushing defense we've played all year? Who thought we'd have any sort of passing game whatsoever?

I imagine a few of you über-homers out there thought we did, but going into this game, what exactly did you base that on, you mad bastards? I submit that it was absolutely nothing, other than mindless faith in your team. Well, you were right this time.

The Good

- First things first: I have to give it up for the playcalling, but can I at least only do it in isolated instances? It's not like anything between the field goal drive and Pryor's first passing TD was revolutionary. What was new and interesting wasn't executed right in the first place. Didn't even look practiced. But outside of that? It was the best-called offensive gameplan since.... Happy Valley 2007. Hey, Penn State, can we trade stadiums?

- This is Terrelle Pryor's signature "Terrelle Pryor" win. He was not amazing. For an entire half, he wasn't even particularly good. But on two out of three instances when Ohio State badly, badly needed him to just be a competent quarterback, he actually did it. Against an excellent defense, no less. He nailed that bomb to Posey perfectly, did an excellent job of hitting his checkdown on Brandon Saine's receiving TD, and he juuuust overshot Sanzenbacher before the half. There were arm punts here and there, but the fact that they didn't land in the hands of some greedy DB has to count as some bit of progress. Overall, I don't think you can deny that he did the best job yet in his young career of "managing the game", as the cliché goes. For once, he didn't force anything. Had those first down drops been brought in by usually-surehanded Devier Posey and Duron Carter, it might have been considered the unquestioned best performance of his career.

- I thought the Ohio State offensive line did an excellent job, considering, in both pass and run pro. Even without JB Shugarts, they made the Penn State front four largely irrelevant for much of the game. I was not expecting Ohio State to gash PSU like they did, and the line played the biggest part. It's not like Herron was having the greatest day seeing the holes that developed, but the Buckeyes were still able to pick up 4-5 yards on the ground consistently enough to take pressure off of Pryor. These guys deserve all the crap they've gotten these past few years, just as much as they deserve the bulk of the credit for today's offensive success.

- The defensive line has completely recovered from the Purdue loss. Cameron Heyward might have made himself a 1st round pick this year with the job he did today. That sucks, but it's tough to deny that he looked like the best player on either team today. I feel like a complete jackass for suggesting he move back to DT over the summer. He's an excellent strongside DE.

- I thought Herron and Saine both finally lived up to the hype, even if it was only in fits and starts. Both looked far quicker against Penn State than they have at any time this year. Hope Herron can get healthy in time for Iowa, but I wouldn't count on it.

- I think it's safe to say Ray Small, while not living up to expectations by any stretch, isn't quite a bust. First, he saves our bacon against Ohio U, and today, his punt returns changed the dynamic of the whole game. I can't help but wonder what might have been if the dude had kept his head straight for his first three years in Columbus.

- I thought Devin Barclay looked calm, cool and collected in such a raucous environment. He's no Mike Nugent, and probably not even Josh Huston, but he came up pretty big in his first road start.

The Bad

I can't believe this, but this is going to be rather short.

- Let's not make Jake Ballard block anybody the rest of the season. Dude just can't do it. Relying on him to stop a DE is like asking a paraplegic to stop a freight train. It's just not fair.

- Graham Zug getting loose in the secondary so consistently was worrisome. Seemed like he was the only reason Penn State was driving most of the time. Luckily, this was mostly a first half problem, and seemed to get sewn up fine after that.

- I still consider anything-and-short automatic for most teams against our defensive interior. Our DTs are good, but they just can't push the opposing interior back in these critical situations. Not with any consistency anyway.

The Downright Confusing

- The Wildcat was deployed in the first half at the most confusing time possible, and was appropriately stuffed. It was deployed in the second half, and worked. What? Did Jim Tressel really wait nine games to use this? I suppose this is more ammo for the "he's holding stuff back" crowd, but man, this was shocking. If we're going to use it again, let's put someone back there who might actually be a threat to pass at some point (Posey? Some former high school QB?)

- I don't think Penn State fans repped particularly well at all. Booing their own team, leaving early when the game was still technically in doubt.... not pretty. I'm not enough of a jackass to make any grand proclamations about their "classlessness" or something, but... I was disappointed. For the record, I don't think any fan should ever boo their own team.

- I guess we didn't need it that much in the end, but the lack of play-action is perplexing. Especially when we're running on almost every first down.

If you read the live thread, you'll remember me saying that Purdue changed my entire perspective on this season. Well, this is just as much of a gamechanger. While it doesn't wholly make up for the Purdue loss, it shows us definitively that things are actually trending up, the offense is getting better, and this defense is more than a beneficiary of having played bad offensive teams. Remember that one maxim about Jim Tressel teams always getting better? I'm close to rechristening it The Grand Theory of Ohio State Football in post-Cooper Era. Today was about as much proof as one will ever need. Still, Iowa, even without Ricky Stanzi, will be no slouch, and Michigan is Michigan. Ohio State will have to guard against a letdown in both games. The road to Pasadena is winding, if not particularly long. I guess I can't blame you for smelling roses after today's game. Let's just hope the team isn't quite yet.

Just Golden

Sam @ WWAHT — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:21:15 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

about 1 month ago: Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) steps up and into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown run against Minnesota during third quarter action in their NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State wide receiver DeVier Posey blocks Minnesota cornerback Marcus Sherels, right, for Pryor. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete )

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Touchdown passes are good for the soul. They're also good for sophomore quarterbacks who had yet to prove they could play consistent football against a live, non-MAC, non-Illinois defense. Terrelle Pryor was far from perfect today, but if you watched the game, you couldn't help but feel good. Yes, there were blown coverages. But there had been blown coverages before this season, and Terrelle couldn't hit the gloriously open man to save his life. Today, he did, and as sad as it may be, that's most of the progress I was looking for.

The first half was a tad agonizing, to put it lightly. The Ohio State offense was just misfiring, rather than out-and-out failing to establishing anything resembling a consistent drive. DeVier Posey dropped two touchdown passes. The offensive line looked lost, though it didn't feel like anything new. The defense was inches away from forcing Minnesota into three-and-outs, just like it was against Purdue for 90 percent of the game. In the comment thread, I noted:

Seems like the offense is more misfiring than anything else today, rather than out-and-out failing to achieve anything resembling consistency. I know how this sounds, but we’re inches away from 28-0 and next-to-no complaining from the peanut gallery. Two dropped TD passes, and a third that was just thrown behind the receiver and picked off. We’re sustaining drives, Pryor is hitting open men, he’s running when nothing else is available, and Saine looked good before the injury (concussion?).

In the second half, the agony would mercifully end.

For the first time this season, it actually felt like the miscues from the first half were corrected and produced noticed results in the second half. Posey's case of the dropsies? Gone. Offensive line? Vaguely competent. Defensive line, which was decidely lackluster in the first and second stanzas? Reinvigorated. It was a bit shocking, given that this coaching staff's calling card lately has been bashing its head into walls until they break. The stark difference between the halves? It's tough to deny that lot of it resulted from coaching. While we won't be eating crow about the offensive staff anytime soon since it's Minnesota, it would be shortsighted to not give the staff credit; yes, even Bollman and Siciliano.

The Good

- Terrelle Pryor finally earned his way into this category today. The stats aren't all that sexy: 13 for 25, 239 yards, two touchdowns, and one pick that would have been a touchdown if it had been better placed. In another first for this season, Pryor ran with confidence (!) and, after the first half, was fully willing to absorb hits if it meant extra yardage. Not to sound like a complete blowhard, but can anyone deny he played angry today? Excellent performance, and just what he needed to bounce back from Purdue. Also awesome? 104 yards on the ground at a 7 yards-per-carry clip.

- Jordan Hall. When Saine went down with an injury in the 2nd, I'll admit, I started dialing up the local noose store, just to see if they shipped in bulk. Either Ohio State was going to burn Berry's redshirt and risk further injury, or Jordan Hall was going to have to manbeast his way into full-time, every down status. I had completely forgotten about one Jermil Martin, but more on that in a minute. Hall looks excellent for a freshman, and I've already thought up a nickname: "Baby 'Tonio", as in Antonio Pittman, who he's looking more and more like with each carry.

- Speaking of baby running backs, how about Jermil Martin? His long TD run was Beanie-esque, bowling over defenders and dragging fools into the end zone. I half-expected him to get up and rip his jersey in two, but he didn't. I'm still praying to gods I don't even believe in that Saine is fine, but it isn't the end of the world if he's out for next week.

- I can't go without mentioning Posey, of course: 8 catches, 161 yards, two touchdowns. Two dropped score prevented him from having the mother of all monster days, but as the object of Pryor's stare-down desire, he's doing quite well for himself.

- Welcome back to the category, defensive line, though you technically didn't go anywhere since I was too busy ranting after Purdue to categorize your performance. Five sacks on the day was excellent, especially considering two of them came against the annoyingly-elusive Marqueis Gray.

The Bad

Well, not a whole lot was legitimately bad, but there were some minor issues that better teams than Minnesota will take advantage of.

- Aaron Pettrey. His struggles continued, but were prettied up a bit by a late, long field goal to make it 38-0. Why is he missing short-yardage field goals? The first was from a tough angle, granted, but he was automatic in '06 from almost any distance. He was supplanted last year due to Pretorius' strong leg, not because the South African Sensation was particularly accurate. Wazzup?

- This is a stretch, but I was a little surprised by the intermittent success Minnesota had on the ground. As the conference's worst rushing offense, I didn't expect them to get over 75 yards. Instead, they had the best day on the ground of any Ohio State opponent all year, exceeding Wisconsin and USC's mark of 118 yards by five. I'm not sure what to think. I could chalk it up to the front seven having a bit of an off day in that respect, but I hope the team doesn't. There are a few things to work on before the trip to Happy Valley.

- I don't think the secondary had the best day. Most of Weber's incompletions resulted directly from enormous pressure from the DL. Back-up Marqueis Gray had a surprising amount of success through the air and on the ground, making DBs miss and forcing them to bite hard on a few different play-action passes. They were by no means awful in holding Minnesota to 163 yards through the air, but a better quarterback will make Ohio State pay if it fails to bring enough pressure, just as Joey Elliot did.

- Perhaps Tim Brewster will fall back on the "getting our offense some late-game practice excuse", but scoring a TD against the back-ups to prevent the shutout was lame.

The Downright Confusing

- Well, at least the offensive line didn't make the bad category again, as its play improved after the first drive. Pryor was only sacked once, and the OL directly benefited image-wise from Pryor making far better decisions under pressure than he did in West Lafayette. All that said, they opened some gaping holes for Martin and Hall, and outside of "False Starts" JB Shugarts, they trimmed down on the penalties.

- Is it some sort of ritual for Minnesota kick returners to muff the kickoff? How many different times did that happen today?

- Coleman's missed tackle on Gray's 25 yard-run in the first quarter was surprising, but he redeemed himself on yet another brilliant pick.

While this wasn't quite the perfect way to bounce back from Purdue, I think both units got a good bit of confidence playing a Minnesota team that, in the end, might not be as good as its record indicates. Most importantly, Pryor gave his critics plenty of crow in showing that he can be terrific when he puts it all together. While I don't think he needs any more confidence (dude is downright arrogant at times, which is fine, as long as he backs it up), a game or two to get his head right is just what this team as a whole needs. This was an excellent start. While New Mexico State won't mean jack for Happy Valley, another good game under his belt may slow the game down for him just enough to keep the Buckeyes mighty competitive on November 7th .

Minnesota may have a winning record....

Sam @ WWAHT — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:15:19 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: Penn State running back Evan Royster (22) runs for a gain after taking the hand off from quarterback Daryll Clark (17) as Minnesota tackle Brandon Kirksey (96) dives during the second half of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Penn State won 20-0. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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... but how good are they really? Let's let the stats have their say...

2009 Big Ten Rushing Offense

	Name	G	Att	Yards	Avg.	TD	Att/G	Yards/G
1	Michigan	7	304	1645	5.41	21	43.43	235.00
2	Penn State	7	253	1309	5.17	13	36.14	187.00
3	Wisconsin	7	295	1291	4.38	15	42.14	184.43
4	Illinois	6	223	1023	4.59	8	37.17	170.50
5	Ohio State	7	262	1106	4.22	9	37.43	158.00
6	Michigan State	7	245	955	3.90	9	35.00	136.43
7	Purdue	7	221	951	4.30	9	31.57	135.86
8	Indiana	7	229	886	3.87	9	32.71	126.57
9	Iowa	7	251	846	3.37	8	35.86	120.86
10	Northwestern	7	272	816	3.00	13	38.86	116.57
11	Minnesota	7	209	724	3.46	10	29.86	103.43

2009 Big Ten Rushing Defense

	Name	G	Att	Yards	Avg.	TD	Att/G	Yards/G
1	Penn State	7	210	528	2.51	2	30.00	75.43
2	Ohio State	7	232	615	2.65	5	33.14	87.86
3	Michigan State	7	233	693	2.97	3	33.29	99.00
4	Wisconsin	7	245	802	3.27	6	35.00	114.57
5	Northwestern	7	241	804	3.34	9	34.43	114.86
6	Iowa	7	227	893	3.93	4	32.43	127.57
7	Michigan	7	244	913	3.74	10	34.86	130.43
8	Indiana	7	273	1012	3.71	11	39.00	144.57
9	Purdue	7	278	1070	3.85	16	39.71	152.86
10	Minnesota	7	295	1153	3.91	11	42.14	164.71
11	Illinois	6	219	1077	4.92	10	36.50	179.50

2009 Big Ten Passing Offense

	Name	G	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD	Rating	Att/G	Yards/G
1	Michigan State	7	232	139	59.9	1963	8.5	7	15	146.29	33.1	280.4
2	Purdue	7	269	160	59.5	1871	7.0	11	15	128.12	38.4	267.3
3	Northwestern	7	259	175	67.6	1851	7.1	5	9	135.21	37.0	264.4
4	Penn State	7	219	136	62.1	1720	7.9	7	13	141.27	31.3	245.7
5	Indiana	7	244	152	62.3	1689	6.9	7	8	125.52	34.9	241.3
6	Iowa	7	217	128	59.0	1615	7.4	8	11	130.86	31.0	230.7
7	Wisconsin	7	201	128	63.7	1473	7.3	8	9	132.06	28.7	210.4
8	Michigan	7	175	101	57.7	1341	7.7	8	11	133.68	25.0	191.6
9	Minnesota	7	193	107	55.4	1332	6.9	9	7	116.06	27.6	190.3
10	Illinois	6	184	101	54.9	1128	6.1	7	5	107.74	30.7	188.0
11	Ohio State	7	167	92	55.1	1211	7.3	8	10	126.18	23.9	173.0

2009 Big Ten Passing Defense

	Name	G	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD	Rating	Att/G	Yards/G
1	Penn State	7	199	102	51.3	1144	5.7	8	3	96.49	28.4	163.4
2	Iowa	7	215	106	49.3	1169	5.4	15	5	88.70	30.7	167.0
3	Ohio State	7	249	139	55.8	1377	5.5	12	6	100.58	35.6	196.7
4	Wisconsin	7	181	102	56.4	1480	8.2	9	11	135.15	25.9	211.4
5	Purdue	7	238	137	57.6	1495	6.3	8	6	111.93	34.0	213.6
6	Northwestern	7	214	132	61.7	1590	7.4	10	12	133.24	30.6	227.1
7	Minnesota	7	225	139	61.8	1598	7.1	5	8	128.73	32.1	228.3
8	Michigan	7	246	142	57.7	1630	6.6	7	6	115.74	35.1	232.9
9	Michigan State	7	245	150	61.2	1651	6.7	4	15	134.76	35.0	235.9
10	Indiana	7	211	131	62.1	1654	7.8	6	11	139.45	30.1	236.3
11	Illinois	6	190	118	62.1	1448	7.6	3	9	138.60	31.7	241.3

The stats say... not very. Even Purdue had a notable strength in its passing game. And while the Boilers have been in every game they've played, Minnesota was never truly "in" its most recent game, a 20-0 shutout at the hands of Penn State. The offense is the only one ranked behind the Buckeyes' in the conference. That, my friends, takes work. This, um, sounds eerily familiar:

Moving forward, expect Minnesota's offense to have sporadic success when their offensive line is not dominated. Minnesota's running backs aren't big enough to compensate for nonexistant holes, Adam Weber is not good enough to overcome a lack of blocking, Eric Decker needs at least a few seconds to shake defenders, and the defense needs time to catch some wind on the sideline. Without blocking, a team is bound to lose badly. If just two or three top tier offensive lineman had played for Minnesota, I'll maintain that this game could have been much closer. Offensive line as it is, Minnesota never had a chance against Penn State's NFL-calibur defensive front.

Now how scary is it that Ohio State supposedly has not just two or three, but four "top-tier offensive linemen", and can't block Purdue, much less Penn State? Okay, that's enough hand-wringing for now. Exchange "Adam Weber" with "Terrelle Pryor", "Eric Decker" with DeVier Posey/Dane Sanzenbacher, and you basically have the Ballad of the Buckeye offense. These are two offense mired in confusing amounts of inadequacy, and it's looking like the difference this Saturday will again be the Buckeye defense. Minnesota's defense, on the other hand, is not particularly good at anything, but of course, neither was Purdue's.

I can personally guarantee that Minnesota is looking almost exclusively at Purdue game tape right now, and that Tim Brewster - say what you will about his coaching, he's probably not retarded - is emphasizing the quick release to Adam Weber more than ever this week. Defensively, the Gophers are going to try to do what everyone else is doing with great success; sticking eight in the box and daring Pryor to do what he hasn't done yet this year against a team with a defensive pulse: make 'em respect the pass.

Remember how I said this was the stretch in which Pryor has to prove himself? Well, he isn't right now, and Minnesota is his last chance against a live defense to do so before the trip to Happy Valley. I dunno about you, I'll take any progress I can get here, even against a team that's probably not as good as its record indicates. Just limiting turnovers, Pryor-inspired and otherwise, would be an excellent start.

Fun With Statistics: TFL v. Iowa, Cupcakes in Happy Valley, B10 WR's Explode

grahamfiller10 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:32:39 -0000

A huge win over Wisconsin, coupled with the initial BCS poll, led to an avalanche of Iowa stories and publicity. But hopefully you all won't forget this statistic from Saturday's game: 8 runs for negative yardage, 3 sacks on Stanzi for 22 yards. Great line play by Wisky, plus some shaky blocking from Kyle Calloway and company showed that the Hawkeyes have a long way to go.

Adam Robinson rush over left end for a loss of 3 yards to the Wisc 45.

Brandon Wegher rush left for a loss of 4 yards to the Wisc 30.

Adam Robinson rush over left end for a loss of 1 yard to the Iowa 26.

Brandon Wegher rush over left tackle for a loss of 2 yards to the Iowa 17.

Brandon Wegher rush up the middle for a loss of 1 yard to the Iowa 34.

Adam Robinson rush up the middle for a loss of 2 yards to the Iowa 27.

Brandon Wegher rush over left guard for a loss of 1 yard to the Iowa 39.

Brandon Wegher rush right for a loss of 7 yards to the Wisc 37.

...

The combined record of Penn State's opponents: 24-21, surprisingly solid for a cupcake laden schedule. Of course this is skewed by 7-0 Iowa, 4-2 Temple, and FCS Eastern Illinois, which stands at 5-2.

...

Keith Smith of Purdue, who runs to space better than any wide receiver in the Big Ten, had another huge game against Ohio State Saturday. Here are the stats of arguably the most effective seven wide receivers in the Big Ten. And a quick nod to Ohio State's DeVier Posey, who is the next Chris Carter/Ted Ginn in Columbus.

Receiver	Size	REC	YDS	TD	Saturday's Statistics
Eric Decker	6'2'' 215 lbs	47	731	5	1 rec, 42 yds
Keith Smith	6'2'' 230 lbs	54	710	4	12 rec, 125 yds
Tandon Doss	6' 3'' 197 lbs	48	676	2	7 rec, 130 yds, TD
Blair White	6'2'' 200 lbs	45	635	6	12 rec, 186 yds, 2 TD
Derek Moye	6'5'' 195 lbs	27	472	4	6 rec, 120 yds, TD
Z. Markshausen	5'11'' 180 lbs	50	459	1	16 rec, 111 yds, TD
Aaron Valentin	6'1'' 205 lbs	39	453	7	10 rec, 97 yds, 2 TD

As I was watching Saturday's action, it became increasingly clear that a couple receivers were having huge huge days. Valentin made a circus catch for a TD and then ran in a bubble screen late against the Buckeyes, proving that he might be the most explosive player in the Big Ten. Markhausen, who looks like a walk on, pulled in 16 receptions against MSU - he is Kafka's #1 option now. And Blair White, who didn't have a scholarship until this year, torched the very torchable NW defense and gave support to my opinion that White has the best hands in the Big Ten.

Monumental upset brewing?

BoilerTMill — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:58:44 -0000

My apologies for the lack of updates on football this week. There are a number of reasons for this. First, most of us aren't really existed about being the latest speedbump on Ohio State's road to the Big Ten championship. Second, I actually started a real life, full-time job this week and I have been dealing with that start up. In an effort to become the king of all internet media in the state of Indiana, I am now managing the Indiana page for CoachesAid.com. It is basically a comprehensive Indiana High School Sports site that I will be running out of my home. It is still in its infancy, but I figured that if I can grow this place I can grow that one while managing an actual staff of writers.

Of course, I am not going to let it compromise my work here. It will basically just pay all the bills for the fun that goes on here at Hammer & Rails. That being said, we could have a fun afternoon on Saturday. For some strange reason we always play Ohio State very well. The recent history in the series has included a number of close games in which we really had no business playing them that closely. It has been five years since we beat the Buckeyes, but with a modicum of offense and a turnover-free afternoon we might be able to spring a major upset.

2009 Record: 5-1, 3-0 Big Ten

2008 Record: 10-3, 7-1 Big Ten

Bowl result: Lost to Texas 24-21 in Fiesta Bowl

Blog Representation: We Will Always Have Tempe, Buckeye Battle Cry, Eleven Warriors, Men of Scarlet & Gray, Buckeye Blog

Series with Purdue: Ohio State leads 37-12-2

Last Purdue win: 11/13/2004 at Purdue 24-17

Last Ohio State win: 10/11/08 at Ohio State 16-3

Of the other 10 Big Ten teams, we only have an equal or longer losing streak against Penn State. Of course, we currently only have a winning streak against Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, so that doesn't mean much. This year's Ohio State team is much like their past few teams. They have won the games they should win, but lost a close game in their biggest matchup to date.

As a Purdue blog, I am required to include this video in any discussion of Ohio State.

Ohio State offense:

The Buckeye offense has not been overly prolific, but it doesn't need to be when the defense is playing at a high level. A prime example is last year's game in Columbus. The offense was awful, but the defense limited Purdue to a 53 yard field goal and even got a special teams touchdown on a blocked punt. We might expect more of the same, as running back Dan Herron (246 yards, 5 TD's) has already been ruled out for the Purdue game. The offense as a whole is averaging almost 30 points per game, which is more than enough for their defense.

There are complaints that quarterback Terrelle Pryor has been relatively ineffective, and that the defense giving him the ball in good position is the only reason Ohio State is scoring. In truth, isn't that the opposite of what Purdue is doing? We are giving opponents the ball in a great position to score, while our offense often must drive the length of the field. Pryor is 72 of 128 on the season with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. He has only thrown for 948 yards. His percentage of 56% is not great, but he is still a major running threat. He is second on the team in rushing with 333 yards and three touchdowns.

In place of Herron, who has been starting lately, is Brandon Saine. Saine has 349 yards rushing on the season but no scores. We will also likely see some of Jordan Hall (103-0). Once again, our run defense will be tested by a rushing attack that gains nearly 172 yards per game from multiple ballcarriers. I stress again though, our run defense has been good of late. It has just been put in bad positions. Last week Minnesota racked up yards as it killed the clock after our mistakes. We have shown we can stop Ohio State last year, and we absolutely must have the same defensive effort again.

The Ohio State passing game is not a huge threat, but there are plenty of playmakers in this unit. DeVier Posey (21-268-3) leads the team in receptions, while Dane Sanzenbacher (16-326-4) is a big play threat. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more of Ray Small (5-77-0). One of his best career games came in a six catch, 70 yard effort with a touchdown against Purdue two years ago.

Ohio State's offensive line is big and very good, as you can expect from them. They have allowed just eight sacks through six games, and that is with Pryor being an elusive quarterback. All five starters will return next season, as guards Bryant Browning and Justin Boren are juniors, while J.B. Shugarts, Mike Adams, and Michael Brewster are sophomores. If we can generate a push against this line like we did last year we might stand a chance.

Ohio State defense:

I am not really afraid of moving the ball against one of the best defenses in the country. I am more afraid of giving it up. The yards we have gained show we can move the ball, but we haven't scored more than 21 points in our last four games because of turnovers. We lead the nation in turnovers right now with 20. Ohio State's defense has produced 14 turnovers. That is not a good sign.

Senior safety Kurt Coleman is a bit of a do everything guy for them. He is second on the team in tackles with 43, has two interceptions (one returned for a score) and has forced three fumbles. Fellow safety Jermale Hines also has a pick six and 30 tackles with a sack. These may be two of the best safeties in the league, but with the Ohio State defense you get a lot of best ______ in the league at that position.

The Buckeye pass rush will be furious, so our offensive line must give Elliott time to throw and open some holes. Ohio State has 18 sacks on the season, with 12 different players being involved in a sack. They have also generated 37 tackles for loss, or more than six per game.

Junior defensive end Thaddeus Gibson is, quite simply, a beast. He is speedy at 6'2" 240 pounds and has 6.5 tackles for loss. Cameron Heyward, leads the team in sacks with three and is the bigger defensive end at 6'6" 287. Todd Denlinger and Doug Worthington are good sized defensive tackles that can close the middle all by themselves.

Should we find room to run, linebacker Brian Rolle will likely be there. Rolle leads the team in tackles with 51 and has an interception. Austin Spitler and Ross Homan are also your typical Buckeye linebackers in that they play all over the field. They are good against both the run and the pass, meaning our short passing game will likely struggle.

Ohio State Special Teams:

While our special teams units have been a collection of mistakes in nearly every game, Ohio State's has been very sound. Ray Small is an excellent kickoff returner that has already returned one for a touchdown. He has just two returns, but for 142 yards and a score. Since that is about the only thing we haven't given up on special teams yet, you can expect that to happen Saturday. For good measure Small also returns punts, but only averages four yards per return. Both coverage units are very good as well.

Ohio State uses a two punter system. Jon Thoma only averages 39 yards per kick, but has dropped nine of 20 attempts inside the 20. Ben Buchanan has a bigger leg, averaging 43 yards on four kicks.

Austin Pettrey is a solid kicker for the Buckeyes, hitting 11 of 14 field goals with a long of 52. The senior is more than good enough to give Ohio State points anytime they get across the 35. There is a gigantic advantage for the Buckeyes in all aspects of special teams.

Intangibles:

What else can we say at this point? Ohio State is steaming along, destroying everything in its path before a three game finish of Iowa, Penn State, and Michigan. We are inventing ways to lose games. We could and probably even should be 6-0 right now. We also haven't beaten a ranked team in six years, while Ohio State is in the top 10. Officially, this is our first crack at a ranked opponent this season. It may be our only one as well. A win in this game would erase a lot of bad from earlier in the year, but that is a very tall order.

Still, I can't explain why we continue to play close games against Ohio State. The last two could have been wins if they had not completely shut down our offense. For us to win we have to break through and at least score the first meaningful touchdown in the series since 2004. We also have to get past our mental block and stop turning the ball over. Unfortunately, I won't believe it until I see it at this point in regards to turnovers.

Keys to the Game for Purdue:

Don't turn the ball over
Do not abandon the running game
Be patient on defense and contain the running game
On punts, run off the field as soon as it is kicked. On kickoffs, take a knee immediately whenever an opposing player is close. It has gotten that ridiculous.

Ohio State by the numbers: the offense.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:51:01 -0000

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I linked the OSU defensive stats yesterday, and the offensive stats, while satisfactory, are not overwhelming.

Total offense: 367 (#63)

Passing offense: 186 (#82)

Passing efficiency: 130.25 (#58)

Rushing offense: 181 (#42)

Scoring offense: 28.5 (#55)

Sacks allowed: 3 (#13)

Terrelle Pryor, after a promising freshman year, has been roughly flat compared to last year, statistically. Pryor has completed only 57 percent of his passes compared to 60 percent last year. Pryor, in 87 passing attempts, has matched last season's total of 4 interceptions. He has run for 58 yards a game and 6 yards per carry. To some degree, Pryor's stats skew downward because of an 11-25 performance against USC. On the other hand, 3 of his 5 touchdown passes were against Toledo.

Pryor leads the Buckeyes in rushing with 235 yards. Close behind are Daniel Herron (233 yards and 5 TDs, but only 3.6 YPC) and Brandon Saine (181 yards, 5.7 yards per carry). Unlike in most seasons, no dominant running back has emerged for the Buckeyes. In the receiving corps, Dane Sanzenbacher leads the Buckeyes with 277 yards and 4 TDs on only 12 catches. DeVier Posey leads the Buckeyes with 15 catches, and caught the only OSU passing TD not caught by Sanzenbacher.

As when the tables are turned, OSU's protection of Pryor and IU's pass rush will match strength against strength. IU is among the nation's sack leaders, and the Buckeyes give up very few sacks.

Pryor, however ordinary his numbers to this point, is always a threat, a 6-6 quarterback who leads his team in rushing.