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OSU vs. Illinois

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Large Father's picture
October 31, 2014 at 9:19am
18 Comments

Tressels, Fickells and Urbans,

To be quite honest, I'm having trouble writing this week's prediction.

This may sound harsh but here's my expectation as an Ohio State fan.  I expect the Buckeyes to compete for a national championship every single year.  There is really no reason they can't.  They have a massive budget, amazing facilities, top well-paid coaches, a rabid fan base and play in a state rich with high school football talent.  If they don't compete for the national championship, I will still be a fan, but I may not feel compelled to write about it weekly, own a closet-full of Ohio State garb, take my five-year-old to skull session and worry about my daily routines in order to adjust for Ohio State football from late August through early January.

The Ohio State team that Michael Bolton-ed the bed at home against a bad Virginia Tech team reappeared for the second half of the Penn State game...and in my opinion, showed small glimpses of incompetence during the Rutgers game.

You can just tell when a team looks legit and when they are Creed.  And, there are three imperatives related to the construction of a team in order to win tougher games...even some games in Big Ten conference play...because a road game at night against a team that despises you (i.e. Penn State) is no cake walk.    

1) It is tough to win with a freshman QB
2) It is tough to win with an inexperienced offensive line
3) It is tough to win without a strong rush defense

Freshman QB

Obviously, it wasn't planned to have yet another season with a freshman QB, but Color Me Bad happens.  There have been many games this year where J.T. looked like the most accurate passing QB we've seen at Ohio State since 2006 Troy Smith.  But, he really struggled last week against Penn State - especially in the second half.  He looked like a freshman playing the most important position on the field.  In my opinion, he looked off a little bit in the second half of the Rutgers game when he went 8-19 passing.  I'm not sure what was causing the sudden inaccuracy, but his motion just changed.  All that said, his game winning touchdown run in OT last week as amazing.  With a sprained MCL, J.T. stood up one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten, Mike Hull, and drove him into the end zone.  I'm not sure where that strength came from...

Inexperienced OL

Unfortunately, the offensive line recruiting cupboard was bare when Urban arrived.  I'm not sure the previous coaching staffs understood that you have to field five of them.  So, this season, Ohio State takes the field with the second least experienced OL in college football out of 128 teams.  Penn State does have the top rush defense in the country; I thought their front seven actually looked pretty good.  PSU was quick to the ball and extremely physical.  But, the Lil' Romeo Ohio State offensive line did the Bucks no favors.  You could tell they were learning on the fly and getting a little frustrated.  At the very least, after the bear defensive look from Virginia Tech and zone blitz pressure from Penn State, there will be very few defensive looks that will be new by the end of the season.

Strong Rush Defense

This was Ohio State's saving grace...and it could be a real point of disparity tomorrow.  The Ohio State defense pounded Penn State.  The defensive line are more than occupying blocks and Raekwon, Perry and Lee are leveling the ball carrier.  I'll state the obvious - Joey Bosa is an absolute menace.  I thought he may have broken Christian Hackenberg's leg on the game-ending sack last week.  If you watch the replay, pay attention to the feet of the poor running back that tried to block Bosa; his feet lift off the ground.

So, I expect Ohio State to compete for one of the four playoff spots.  November football is when things become very clear.  

Yes, a road game at night against a team that despises you is no cake walk.  But, a road game at night against a very talented team next week is even tougher.  And, the Bucks need to get it done tomorrow at home and get back on track.

Touchdowns:  Zeke Elliot, Zeke Elliot, Dontre Wilson, Dontre, Dontre, Michael Thomas, Jeff Heuerman
 
OSU 52 Illinois 49 
 
Go Bucks!  Beat Illinois!  Michael Bennett for Heisman! 

Fleshy Father
 

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