Eleven Warriors

11W Inc. is pleased to announce the hiring of employee #4. Mark, who has actually been contributing to the Buckeye NFLer of the week for a while until he got up to speed with the levers and gears, will now get his cut of the $0.13 we take in each day from Google ads. He'll be taking over that feature as well as contributing other posts. As a 6th-team all-Ohio offensive lineman, he's uniquely suited to bolster our trench commentary.

Shawn Springs of the Washington Redskins takes home this week's Buckeye NFLer of the Week award. Shawn pitched in with 7 solo tackles as the Redskins defeated the Arizona Cardinals 21-19.

Springs had an injury-riddled 2006 season with the 'Skins. He didn't make his season debut until week 6 of 2006 after having surgery on an abdominal muscle. In December of 2006, he was placed on injured reserve with a fractured clavicle. Shawn has since recovered from his injuries and has returned to his starting role in 2007 as the Redskins shut-down corner.

Shawn Springs deserved this week's award for his outstanding performance during week 7 against the Cardinals. We also felt it was worth mentioning that Springs has not practiced with his team the past few weeks. Springs has been flying back and forth from Washington to Dallas to be with his ailing father, Ron Springs. Ron Springs, also a former Buckeye and NFLer, fell into a coma after complications arose from a surgery to remove a cyst from his elbow on Oct. 11.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Springs family.

Basketball season is drawing closer and Thad has another stellar recruiting class coming in. This year's roster features only 4 players with any type of Division I playing time and it may take them some time to gel.

However, just like last year's young team, they will have some "older" leadership. Greg Oden was often confused with Morgan Freeman last year, as he lead the Buckeyes to the National Title game and played beyond his age of 43. This year, Buckeye freshman Dallas Lauderdale will be looking to compete well beyond his tender age of 40.

Dallas Lauderdale is one of the few lucky Americans who doesn't need a different name to star in porno movies and comes to Cbus via Solon, Ohio. The wide bodied Lauderdale will help the Buckeyes rebounding margin and will assist our underclassmen in obtaining beer (for the ladies of course) without a fake I.D. Dallas is part of another highly ranked recruiting class. All 5 incoming freshman, were ranked in the top 150 last year, giving Matta another top 10 class. As fans, we may have been spoiled by the success of last years team, but something tells me this year will not be a let down.

When Thad arrived at Ohio State he made no bones about turning tOSU into a national powerhouse and he continues to be prophetic in that case. Coach Matta received two more verbals this past weekend, for the class of 2010! Trae Golden and Cameron Wright gave the Buckeye coaching staff their commitments after a campus visit over the weekend. While Cameron is not rated nationally, Trae joins Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas in the top ten of the 2010 class. Matta has already put a top 5 class together for 2008 and as mentioned before on 11W, the present and future is looking bright.

It wasn't nearly as bad as the past couple of weeks, but the 2007 football season still feels as if Hunter S. Thompson is at the wheel. Strike that. Hunter S. Thompson after he smoked a joint composed of Jim Morrison's ashes that were soaked in mescaline.

The Buckeyes are still our number one, although LSU will more than likely get more than it's share of BlogPoll love later this week. The hits keep on coming.

There are quite a few big games this week: Boston College at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Cal at Arizona State, USC at Oregon, Florida at Georgia and the Buckeyes revisiting the site of their last regular season loss when they take on Penn State in Happy Valley.

As always, you can check the ballots of every voter and the final version is due Wednesday morning, so get your thoughts in by Tuesday night if you think we got it wrong.

1		The score didn't reflect the true domination of the Spartans. Happy Valley or bust Saturday night.	--
2		This team has the type of magic that NC teams need. Much needed bye week coming up.	2
3		The Ducks hung 55 on Washington behind 450+ on the ground. The Trojans come to Autzen this weekend.	3
4		The Sooners squeaked by hapless Iowa State on the way into a bye week.	2
5		Enjoyed a bye week before heading into Blacksburg for a huge game this Thursday night.	--
6		Put up 31 in the first half on the way to a rout of Mississippi State. The Mountaineers are at Rutgers this weekend.	3
7		Had a bye, but welcome a wounded Cal to town this weekend.	3
8		Tebow looked pretty amazing in the win over Kentucky. Next up: The Game Formerly Known As The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party	5
9		The Jayhawks are 8-0 after picking up their first win in Boulder since 1995.	2
10		Like BC, Tech also enjoyed a bye prior to the Thursday night matchup. This should be some collision.	2
11		Evidently Mizzou's defense can play a little ball as well.	5
12		Irish prove to be the perfect pick-me-up ahead of Oregon trip.	2
13		Things don't get much easier for the Bulls. This weekend, they travel to 6-1 UConn.	10
14		It wasn't pretty, but the Horns pulled away from Baylor to move to 6-2.	3
15		The OBC drops his first ever game to Vanderbilt. Practice gonna be a biotch this week.	8
16		The Dawgs had a bye ahead of welcoming the Gators to town.	4
17		You lost to Karl Dorrell. Ha-Ha. The Bears are limping into Tempe.	9
18		UVA pulled off a nail-biter over Maryland.. yet they're 7-1.	--
19		Big win at Illinois without the services of Hart. LLLLloyd is starting to think his job is safe again.	6
20		After taking on LSU and Florida back-to-back, Kentucky catches a break in the form of Mississippi State at home this weekend.	5
21		Evidently, this team thrives off of off-the-field drama. Oh Noes.. the whiteout is near.	NR
22		Had a bye or we would have found a way to move them down a few more spots.	--
23		Seriously. Is Tennessee any good? Nobody knows. At any rate, Bear Saban gets a crack at his old team this weekend in Tuscaloosa.	NR
24		If Rutgers ain't the Cinderella, ain't nobody gonna be the Cinderella. West Virginia travels to the near Big Apple this weekend. That should be interesting.	NR
25		Click-clack. You gotta play defense after scoring at the end. Click-clack.	4

DROPPED OUT: Tennessee (#19), Cincinnati (#23), Texas Tech (#24)

Bea-nie!! Bea-nie!! Bea-nie!!
Bum ankle or not, Beanie Wells is a mother. The press reports may have minimized his impact in the victory over Michigan State, but whenever the team needed a play, Wells came to the rescue. He had a big run on each of the two crucial opening drives and his reverse field jaunt for 27 was Barry-esque. Then when the team needed to kill clock at the end, he was there again.

His patience as a back is something that cannot be taught. Yesterday was one of those games where Wells made his two very-capable backups look like walk-ons.

As good as the team has looked this season, they've done it all with arguably their best player at only 80% for the last month or so. If he gets into a groove during this stretch run, it will make Boeckman's life that much better.

The Best Defense in America
Do you think Ringer is wishing he were a Buckeye now more than ever? The way Animal, Freeman and the rest of the defense hounded him was beyond impressive. Here's Ringer's rushing total the last five weeks: 144, 145, 185, 203 and 49. Can you pick out the OSU game? He got a gift from the zebras or he would have had a fumble to his credit as well.

Laurinaitis continued his stellar play, but the unsung hero amongst unsung heroes on this unit could very well be Marcus Freeman. It's almost as if the two linebackers are having a contest to see who can lay the most wood each weekend. Freeman finished 3rd on the team in tackles and also had the key block to seal Ray Small's 21 yard punt return.

I realize it's nigh blasphemous, but is this unit better than the 2002 edition? 2005 was pretty sick as well, but this team, despite being so young, may be a more talented group than those other two defenses from what we've seen so far. Still a lot of football to play, no doubt, but...

The O-Line Has It Going
I'm not ready to indict the line for the two Spartan defensive scores in the 3rd quarter. It's not like Michigan State trotted out a bunch of cripples - they have some players. Sparty's defensive front was good coming in and the Buckeyes did a good job of neutralizing that for most of the game. Those two plays and the Wells fumble were just football plays. Sometimes your opponent is going to make plays, especially when they're a decent team like the Spartans are. That's just football.

Saint-Dic will be playing in the NFL next season and I'm just happy that this is the last time the Bucks will have to take him on. He broke the Big Ten record for forced fumbles when his 8th of the season came on the Boeckman hit. He stands just two short of the national record with four games to play.

Simply put, the offensive line has played exceptionally well for the past two months. There have been the occasional sack allowed, but what I see is a quarterback given a lot of time to pass and nice holes for the running game. I continue to have doubts about their ability to fire off on a 3rd or 4th and short situation, but you have to be happy with the body of work through eight.

A More Emotional Vest
Tressel is showing more emotion on the sidelines this season. There was the jig at Washington and several times over the past couple of weeks where he's been a little more animated than normal on the field, including a couple of instances against the Spartans.

Could this be something he took away from the BCS debacle? Have a little more fun with things, show some more emotion? Part of the healing process even?

One of the things I love about the Vest is that he never rarely says or does anything stupid. Those that have ever read FARK, realize that most people on earth are bad at this. I'm sure if the Senator lets loose a little bit more here and there, he'll do so in a dignified manner.

Telecast Notes
The candid moment where Matta and Tressel were discussing the advantage of not having to worry about your tie length when wearing a tie was priceless.

As a victim of the "skinny side be longer than the fat side" myself one too many times, I can appreciate this benefit to wearing a sweater vest. The only downside is that I'm a good 20 years away from being old enough not to look stupid wearing one.

The promo for the ACC/Big Ten challenge got me salivating about something similar for football. The Big Ten and PAC10 would never do one because they'd fear jeopardizing the luster of the Rose Bowl, but the Big 12 would be a great candidate. Throw one of the cupcakes off the schedule of each team and then you can get: Michigan/Missouri, Ohio State/Oklahoma, Wisconsin/Texas and Penn State/Kansas.

Beanie Wells has taken his share of shots this year regarding his toughness. Either everyone was wrong, or that criticism has made him stronger as evidenced by today's 31 carry, 221 yard, 1 TD performance in a 7 point win against the Spartans. The 9th best rushing effort in OSU history got an early start as Beanie led long scoring drives on Ohio State's first two posessions with runs of 48 and 35 yards leading to a 10-0 cushion with 4 minutes left in the opening quarter. The lead would increase to 17-0 on Beanie's 5 yard TD run on the heels of Doug Worthington's interception giving OSU the ball at the Spartan 29 yard line.

The 17-0 halftime lead appeared to be more than enough to move OSU to 8-0 considering the dominance of the Buckeye defense but there was also the sense that Tressel buttoned up the offense a little early giving MSU an opportunity to hang around. That point not withstanding, the Buckeye offense still had enough to muster a 3 play, 70 yard drive midway through the 3rd quarter giving OSU a 24-0 lead before the offense slipped into the fifth dimension.

QB Todd Boeckman stained what was an otherwise solid performance tossing a 54 yard INT for a TD then promptly fumbled on the ensuing possession giving up another TD trimming the OSU lead to 24-14 with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. It wasn't all Boeckman's fault as the line failed to pick up blitzes and guard Ben Person racked up 3 false starts in another sporadic performance by the offense but in a season where survival is truly what counts, Beanie took over in the 4th quarter. The man carried the ball on 13 of OSU's final 15 plays (two drives) chewing up 59 yards and 9 of the final 12 minutes to secure the win. It was simply a dominant performance and seems to have gone a little underappreciated, at least in the initial game summaries I've seen.

Not to be outdone, the Silver Bullets again brought the heat holding the supposedly explosive Spartan offense to 3 points on just 185 total yards including only 59 on the ground. The defense was so dominant that MSU ran just 3 plays in OSU territory through the first 3 and a half quarters and only 8 plays for the entire game. That, my friends, is domination. The pundits likely won't see it that way and will again attack the Buckeyes for their schedule but the fact is that this game was another complete mismatch if you subtract two plays from the equation.

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OFFENSE:

As usual, the offense got off to another quick start behind Beanie's big runs and Todd Boeckman's early marksmanship but sputtered for most of the 2nd half. Am I being too critical or does it appear this team lacks a killer instinct sometimes triggered by the tendency to become over conservative with the playcalling? After taking the 17-0 lead in the 2nd quarter and before the final two drives where Beanie took over, the Buckeyes either punted or turned the ball over on 5 of 7 possessions and committed numerous unforced penalties. I can only hope this was part of Jedi Tressel's master plan to ensure a focused week of practice before heading to Happy Valley, the site of OSU's last conference loss back in 2005.

Getting back on the postive tip, Boeckman showed what he's capable of early, connecting on his first 10 passes including a 14 yard TD strike on a nice grab by TE Jake Ballard and later a 50 yard TD pass to Brian Robiskie giving OSU a 24-0 halfway through the 3rd quarter. Boeckman appeared in total control hitting 7 different receivers and tying a school record with 12 straight completions before making two poor decisions in the face of the blitz. The real issue to ponder is whether or not Boeckman can avoid the big turnover in tight spots as the Buckeyes hit the meat of the schedule. On paper, the PSU game is a mismatch but the Bucks have shown they're no stranger to struggling in Beaver Stadium and a couple turnovers could prove fatal to what could be a magical season.

The up and down performance by the offense certainly drew the ire of Kirk Barton as he's been around long enough to realize the Buckeye offense is playing with fire:

"When your foot is on that jugular, you have to kill that fool,'' offensive tackle Kirk Barton said. ''You don't just back off, let him stand up and punch you a couple of times and then knock him back down.''

One last thought before we move to the defense - Is there any reason Brandon Saine seems to be morphing into a wideout? I know he's got hands and Tressel loves Mo Wells, but Saine loses that double-threat effect on a defense if he's constantly split out or going in motion. It's not like Mo was having a great day with 9 carries for 18 yards.

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DEFENSE:

We keep saying it, but you know the Buckeye defense is impressive when it's more exciting to watch them on the field instead of the offense. Today's effort continued the season long dominance of the Silver Bullets as they held the Spartans to 3 points on 10 total possessions allowing just 59 rushing yards to the nation's #9 ranked rush offense coming in at 242 ypg. RB Javon Ringer was held to 49 yards on 18 carries after averaging 178 ypg in conference play. The Spartans didn't fair much better through the air as Brian Hoyer was held to 12/24 for 126 yards including a Doug Worthington interception at the MSU 29 setting up Beanie's 5 yard TD to give OSU a 17-0 lead.

For the game, Jim Heacock's group forced 7 punts including five 3-and-outs led by James Laurinaitis' team high 12 tackles. The five 3-and-outs brought the season total to 49 on 103 possessions equating to an amazing 47% rate. The swarming defense stopped MSU on 10 of 13 third downs and allowed just 4 plays of over 10 yards. Yes, you read correctly. Just 4 plays over 10 yards and two of those occurred on the Spartans final drive. That's why it's more fun to watch the defense this season. They keep their intensity for the full 60.

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SPECIAL TEAMS:

The special units had an up and down day as Ryan Pretorious nailed a 42 yard FG in a windy Shoe but later had a 37 yarder blocked. The FG unit needs to get it together before next week if Tress is going to play close to the vest in the hostile environment. I'm too lazy to research exactly how many have occurred but blocked or botched FG attempts are getting a little too commonplace for a championship team.

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NOTES:

The Buckeyes wore #23 decals on their helmets in honor of Ron Springs who is still in a coma down in Dallas... Hoyer's 2nd completion came in the team's 4th possession...The defense didn't allow a TD for the fifth time this season...Ohio State is now 65-9-1 when ranked No. 1 in the country...The offense has scored on the opening drive in 4 straight games and 6 of 8.

Perhaps Georgia knew something when they celebrated on the Vanderbilt star at midfield last weekend. Is winning in Nashville that tough?

The Commodores sent the latest top 10 team tumbling when they handed the Old Ball Coach and his #6 Gamecocks a 17-6 setback this afternoon.

Spurrier's sparkling 14-0 record against Vanderbilt came crashing down faster than you can say "era of parity".

#20 Tennessee took one on the chin, going down to Alabama 41-17 and #19 Cincinnati lost by 7 to a 2-win Pitt. Highly regarded Oklahoma managed to squeak by a one-win Iowa State -- a team that lost to Kent State.

Best conference? Best team? Who really knows anymore.

With each passing weekend -- each upset and crazy outcome, this Buckeye team looks better and better.

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After our plea for the whereabouts of former Buckeye safety and special teams kamikaze Tito Paul, a reader fills us in.

Paul is now an insurance agent for State Farm in Delaware, OH. Thanks Zeke!

To his credit, Mason did bounce right up. Anyone know what Tito Paul is up to these days?

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Elsewhere, Laurinaitis was named a semi-finalist for the Butkus and Lombardi awards. Three other Big Ten mates join him in the semi-finals: Michigan's Shawn Crable, Penn State's Dan Connor and J Leman of Illinois. Leman, and his patriotic neckwear is looking tough this season.

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PREVIEW: #1 OSU vs. Michigan State

Giving up 181 yards on the ground to Rice? 7 sacks to a team that had only 16 coming in? All this to a team that lost to Maryland by 10? But.. but they beat Auburn.

Now there are only 3 major undefeated teams left. And Hawaii. The BCS nigthmare scenario of 6 one-loss teams moves closer to reality.

#2 Ohio State 7-0, 3-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

October 20, 2007 3:30 PM ET ------ Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH

Michigan State 5-2, 1-2 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

After chewing up their first seven opponents, giving up less than a touchdown per game along the way, the Buckeyes are finally set to enter the meat of their schedule.

This could not come at a better time because while the they sit atop the initial BCS rankings, the team's SOS needs some help to quiet the chattering masses. Starting with Michigan State this weekend, the Buckeyes' final five opponents all sport respetable 5-2 records.

While the Spartans would obviously lose by 40 to a comparable SEC squad like Auburn, Georgia or Tennessee, Sparty is bowl-bound and has played extremely well outside of one week this season.

That week of bad play saw the Spartans watch Northwestern's C.J. Bachér throw for 500+ in leading the Wildcats to an overtime victory. In East Lansing.

Outside of the occasional blip, Spartan fans are pretty happy after replacing the walking comedy goldmine that is John L. Smith with Zanesville native Mark Dantonio prior to the start of this season.

The Dantonio subplots for this game are numerous. After getting an early break as an assistant coach at Ohio State in the mid eighties, he joined Jim Tressel's staff at Youngstown State where he served for 5 years. After helping the Penguins to an 11-0 regular season record in 1990, he left to join Glen Mason's staff in Kansas.

Tale of the Tape

OHIO STATE	OFFENSE	MICHIGAN STATE
35.7 (24th)	SCORING	36.9 (18th)
414.0 (41st)	TOTAL OFFENSE	467.0 (15th)
195.1 (27th)	RUSHING	242.7 (9th)
218.9 (69th)	PASSING	224.3 (63rd)
OHIO STATE	DEFENSE	MICHIGAN STATE
6.6 (1st)	SCORING	24.9 (54th)
211.9 (1st)	TOTAL DEFENSE	332.6 (36th)
62.9 (2nd)	RUSHING	101.4 (24th)
149.0 (2nd)	PASSING	231.1 (68th)

In 1995 he came back to the Midwest, joining Nick Saban in East Lansing and remained there until Tressel hired him to serve as the Buckeye defensive coordinator when he got to Columbus. After a successful run that included the 2002 National Championship, he got his first head coaching gig at Cincinnati where he promptly built that program up before taking the head coaching position at Michigan State.

So, if you're keeping up, Dantonio has two stints at each Ohio State and Michigan State and just four years after leaving the Buckeyes, is back in town to face his good friend with his 2nd different team in two seasons. And six is afraid of seven because seven ate nine.

Last season the Buckeyes waxed Dantonio's Bearcats, but his Cincinnati team didn't have Javon Ringer. The reigning Big Ten offensive player of the week and human wrecking ball comes into Columbus after having ripped Indiana for 203 on 29 attempts.

Ringer is in that group of elite Big Ten backs with Hart and Mendenhall and will be one of the better backs the Buckeyes will see this year. That's the type of challenge that gets a top defense up to play. Banged-up or not, this game comes down to how well the Silver Bullets do in containing the powerful back.

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Opponent Just how good is Javon Ringer? The junior from Dayton checks in as the nation's 7th leading rusher with 932 yards on the season good enough for a healthy average of 133 a game. After going for 80 in the opener against UAB, he has amazingly increased his production in each subsequent game: 83, 92, 144, 145, 185 and the 203 last week. Crazy to think that after getting 144 in week 4 against the Irish, he followed it up with four proegressively better weeks.

	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TDS
Ringer	132	932	7.1	80(TD)	6
McFadden	147	822	5.6	56(TD)	7

Though Ringer has a game in hand, his numbers compare favorably to Darren McFadden's. Anticipating the Felix Jones comeback, consider that the top two rushers from Michigan State, Ringer and senior Jehuu Caulcrick (#30), have only 100 less yards than the two great Arkansas backs have on the year.

With Ringer's speed and Caulcrick's power running, the two-headed attack will challenge the Buckeye front and linebackers. Ringer's ability to break long runs after a missed tackle really isn't one of those things you can game plan for.

The quarterback play the Spartans have received out of junior Brian Hoyer (#7), another Ohio product, will keep the Buckeye defense from giving all of its attention to the Spartan running game.

After serving as Drew Stanton's understudy for two seasons, Hoyer is having a near Boeckman-like season, completing 61% of his passes for 11 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions. He threw for four touchdowns against Notre Dame, hung 323 on Wisconsin in the narrow loss and completed 20 of 23 last week against Indiana. All you can really ask for out of a first year starter, really.

Hoyer's favorite target is 6-2 junior Devin Thomas (#5). After seeing limited action last season as a sophomore, Thomas broke out of the gate with back-to-back 100 yard games to start the season and is currently leading the conference in receiving yards per game. He lit up Indiana for 13 for 148 last week, yet the week before, the fearsome Northwestern Wildcat secondary held him to 61 yards on 5 catches.

Thomas is Hoyer's primary look when scanning the field, so much so that he has more receptions than the Spartans' 2nd and 3rd-leading receivers combined. The yardage side of things is even more telling as he has more receiving yards on the season than his closest four teammates. Ringer will catch some balls out of the backfield and senior tight end Kellen Davis (#80) will use his size (6-6/246) to position himself for a few receptions.

The Spartan offensive line, while seasoned with upperclassmen, is prone to giving up sacks. Hoyer is not exactly a mobile quarterback and the matchup between his offensive line and the Buckeye front will be of concern to Dantonio.

The defense, led by havoc-wreaking end Jonal Saint-Dic (#94) has been able to get after opposing quarterbacks this season as the Spartans are 2nd in the nation in team sacks. Saint-Dic is leading the Big Ten in fumbles foced (7!!), is 2nd in sacks (8) and 3rd in TFLs. Senior linebacker Kaleb Thornhill (#41) and senior safety Travis Key (#13), both captains, are other players to watch out for.

Their defensive stats may be skewed from the Northwestern game, but other teams have been able to run, throw and most importantly score on this unit. Bachér had his 520, P.J. Hill got 155 on the ground.. you get the picture. They're giving up 34 points per game in Big Ten play and that number has a good chance to rise after this weekend.

Lest we not get too overconfident, Dantonio will put the Spartan defense in the best position to neutralize the Buckeye offensive attack. He was the secondary coach for the Spartans that dark day in November of 1998 and we all remember Will Smith sacking Ken Dorsey on the Hurricanes first play championship game in 2002. Most importantly he knows Tressel and his tendencies. He may not have had the bodies to get it done against the Vest last season, but he's back this year with better talent.

Devin Thomas also does duty returning kicks for the Spartans and is 7th in the nation averaging over 31 per return. Although he doesn't have any scores on the year, that kind of average creates a lot of short fields for the offense. On the flip side, the team is near last in the NCAA in punt returns and punting.

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Notes: This game will mark the 3rd time in 10 years that the Spartans have faced off against a #1 ranked Buckeye teamm... MSU is 3-13-1 all-time against top-ranked teams, including 2-4 against the Buckeyes when they've been ranked #1... Amazingly, Michigan State is 9-5 against teams ranked in the AP top 10 since 1997... The Spartans and Ohio State are tied for the nation's 3rd-toughest remaining schedule - their remaining opponents have a .719 winning precentage... MSU offensive coordinator Don Treadwell spent 6 seasons with Tressel at YSU... The Vest's nephew Mike Tressel is the Spartans linebackers and special teams coach... Michigan State's roster has 17 Ohioans on it... Dantonio wants this rivalry to be a trophy series.

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Buckeye Breakdown After leaving the Kent State game due to injuries last week, both Anderson Russell and James Laurinaitis will be back on the field to face Michigan State. The Animal thing we thought was small, but Russell's quick return surprised most everyone.

The Buckeyes will need both of them to stop the Spartan's mixed attack led by Ringer. He's entering this game with a chip on his shoulder after growing up a Buckeye fan only to have the school essentially pass on him after his senior season at Chaminade ended with him missing the last six due to injury and he had some issues with the ACT. Elusive and quick (4.35/40), as Ringer goes so go the Spartans. Hopefully Boom Herron got his Ringer-on in scout team play during practice this week.

Caulcrick, one of those guys like a Sam Sword where it feels like they've been playing for the same school for a decade, gives the Spartans another option in the backfield and he is the team's primary goal line option.

Between the twenties the Buckeye front will look to limit Ringer's gains and turn up the heat on Hoyer. They shouldn't have any problems getting to Hoyer, but you can bet Dantonio will want to take advantage of that Buckeye speed by mixing it up with draws and screens. Marcus Freeman and the rest of the linebacking corps will have to bring it once again.

Ringer, Hoyer and the gang have probably never seen a defense like what they'll run up against this weekend. The injuries are pretty annoying, but a lot of young, talented players are getting valuable field time. There's no reason to believe the Buckeye defense won't be up to the task and if Michigan State scores more than 14, I'll be surprised.

The offense will be ready to help their defensive counterparts. Michigan State is susceptible to the deep ball and the Buckeyes have a wideout that hasn't caught a bomb in a couple of games. Expect to see Tressel continue to take various chances downfield during the course of the game.

The emergence of Brian Hartline going from a heady, possession receiver type guy to downright playmaker has been a lot of fun to watch. It's no coincidence that as Boeckman continues to grow, so have his receivers. Robiskie, Hartline, Small and crew will put pressure on the Spartan secondary.

For the passing game to get going, the Buckeyes must know where Saint-Dic is on every play. The speed rusher will present a great redemption opportunity to Barton and Boone. If he gets to Boeckman, there's a good chance he'll knock a ball or two loose and turnovers are to victories what Joe Paterno is to road etiquette.

With Beanie seeing only four touches last week, he should be charged and ready for what's sure to be a physical game. Brandon Saine should also see more touches than he saw against the Flashes as he works his way back into more substantive playing time. His explosiveness is known, but his receiving ability is giving opposing coaches yet another aspect to game plan for.

The Buckeye offense will keep it going and the defense will lock down things early on well enough to get into a lead that forces Dantonio into throwing the ball more than he'd like to. Contain Ringer, keep Caulcrick away from having an impact and force Hoyer to throw to beat you.

If Ohio State comes out and executes on offense, defense and special teams the way they have for 98% of this season, there's no chance of an upset. Tress will have the squad focused, they'll be up for the Ringer challenge and barring a turnover bonanza, they'll be heading to Happy Valley at the 8-0 many fans expected prior to the season.

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Notes: Tressel is 4-0 against the Spartans since he arrived... The Buckeye defense has allowed only 4 touchdowns all season... The Wiz has added the hit on Anderson Russell last weekend as a candidate for his 2nd Annual Cheap Shots of the Year... The win over Kent State marked the first time OSU has scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams in the same game since 1997... Todd Jones shares his account of the end of the 1974 MSU upset over OSU... The Buckeye defense has one fewer three-and-out (45) than they've given up points on the season (46)... Bruce Hooley peeps out the Woody...

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Jason: OSU 31, Michigan State 10
Chris: OSU 30, Michigan State 13

Lord, I can't catch a break! I went 0-4 for the 2nd consecutive week while Jason recorded a 2-2 mark. For the year, I stand at a dismal 12-15 while Jason is just showing off at this point with an 18-9 mark. Taking ND to cover took sack and the Mizzou pick was nice. That said, I feel I still provide a service to all of you. Easy money is betting against whatever I predict. You're welcome. Dammit.

With Sparty in town, it was tough choosing an MSU alum to sit in as this week's guest picker. If our readership wasn't so classy I would have invited Chris Hansen but instead I've rolled out the red carpet for former 3-time MSU All-American and police cadet Bubba "Hightower" Smith. Let's see if the king of law enforcement and former florist still has the mojo. Hell, it won't take much to beat at least one of us.

Now on to the picks:

South Florida (-3) @ Rutgers (ESPN 7:30) It's this year's media darling versus last year's as the Bulls head to Piscataway for a battle against upset minded Rutgers. The key to the game will be whether or not the Bulls can slow down RB Ray Rice. Last year, Rice went for over 200 as Rutgers won 22-20 in Tampa.

Chris: I like Rutgers to pull the upset at home, 23-20. Jason: South Florida passes its first test 30-20. Hightower: I'd shut down Rice but USF won't. Rutgers 20-17.

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Florida (-7) @ Kentucky (CBS 3:30) The Wildcats look to avoid a letdown after their upset of previous #1 LSU last weekend in Triple OT. Worse yet, they face a Gator squad that had a week off to stew over the loss at LSU. The battle of QB's Tebow and Woodson should be fun to watch. The Wildcat D is getting some props for its toughness but do they have the speed on the outside?

Chris: While it would be orgasmic to see Florida lose their third in a row, I'll say Gators prevail 30-24. Jason: You have to figure fatigue would play a role here. The Gators are fresh off a bye and win 24-20. Hightower: I think Mahoney arrested 4 Gators in the last week. Kentucky 27-24.

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Michigan (-2.5) @ Illinois (ABC 8:00) Lloyd's bunch has quietly put together a five game winning streak including a 48-21 pasting of Purdue last week. That streak could come to end if Mike Hart isn't able to go but expect him to suit up. Meanwhile, the Zooker's crew came back to earth with an ugly 10-6 loss at hapless Iowa. The loss marked the third straight game in which Zook had to pull Juice Williams for excessive sucking. To beat UM, they'll need Juice to control himself and stud RB Rashard Mendenhall to come up big.

Chris: Night game on the road smells like trouble, but UM prevails 24-20. Jason: Champagne bores teams into playing badly. I like Illinois 28-17. Hightower: I think I saw Lloyd Carr at the Blue Oyster. Illini 23-20.

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Auburn (+10.5) @ LSU (ESPN 9:00) Most expect LSU to take Auburn behind the woodshed after losing at Kentucky but the Tigers are tough on the road posting an amazing 13-1 record the last 3.5 seasons. Also of note, the last 3 LSU/Auburn games have been decided by a total of 8 points. This year's game features two Top 10 defenses but LSU gets a significant edge when comparing offenses. Auburn is averaging just 3.9 ypc and managed 0 TDs last week against Arkansas.

Chris: LSU doesn't lose night games at home but they'll get a scare. LSU 20-13. Jason: LSU will be out for blood. LSU 33, Auburn 14. Hightower: Hooks used to blab about how great Auburn was. LSU 27-14.