Ohio State takes on Northwestern tomorrow in Indianapolis with the Big Ten title on the line.
A Buckeye victory would not only capture the conference the crown but if coupled with losses by Georgia and Oklahoma, Urban Meyer's squad would be a lock for the College Football Playoff.
There's no reason to get ahead of ourselves however as Pat Fitzgerald's squad comes in having won seven of its last eight games and the Buckeyes will have to avoid the distraction of a Football Scoop report claiming Meyer won't coach beyond the 2019 season.
With the battle against the Wildcats set for 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night in Lucas Oil Stadium, the roundtable is ready for action as 11W's own Kyle Jones, Kevin Harrish and David Wertheim dish out the hot takes.
I wish I could just ask a bunch of questions about the glory of last weekend but I’ll stick with just one. What stood out to you as the most glorious individual moment of the game and why?
Kyle: The opening touchdown to Chris Olave really set the tone for what was to come all day long. Haskins did a great job recognizing not only the coverage but also the pressure and made the right call at the line to ensure he had protection. From there, the call by Ryan Day to get Olave on the slower Brandon Watson was simply unfair and allowed the freshman to use his God-given speed to make the first of many such plays against the out-manned Michigan defense. At that moment, I knew the OSU offense would click all day as they simply had an athletic edge the Wolverines couldn't match.
Kevin: I'm going with the blocked punt. Ohio State was owning Michigan in basically every facet of the game, but the scoreboard still had things relatively close. I had no doubts the Buckeyes were going to pull out the win, but when I saw the punt get blocked I knew it wasn't just going to be a win, we were looking at an absolute bloodbath.
David: For me, it was Parris Campbell's jet sweep. This is a play that Ohio State has ran 10000000 times in the past few seasons, and Michigan got totally lost and had no way to stop it as Parris Campbell ran untouched down the sideline. That was the dagger in the game, as well, and really represented the game as a whole. Michigan just couldn't stop Ohio State.
Parris Campbell torched Michigan with 192 yards and two scores in a big time performance that has him just 97 yards short of 1,000 receiving yards for the season. Does he reach the mark by season’s end? Where would you slot Campbell among the best receivers of the Urban Meyer era?
David: Parris Campbell is one of the best athletes in the history of the Ohio State football program, but I wouldn't call him one of the best receivers. A lot of his yards come after the catch, representing his elite speed and athleticism rather than his actual skills as a wide receiver. That being said, the only two players I'd take over him (from the Urban Meyer era) are Michael Thomas and Curtis Samuel, both of whom were second-round draft choices.
Kyle: This is not meant to belittle Campbell's achievements, but many of those yards have come on running plays (like the 78-yarder last weekend that was initially ruled as such). It looks great in the box score and the effects can be devastating, but if we're judging him against pure receivers, I'd still put him behind Michael Thomas (duh), Devin Smith (for his ability to track the deep ball), and Curtis Samuel. Samuel was similar to Campbell in that he, too, was the beneficiary of many Jet Sweeps, but the current Carolina Panther also showed a knack for finding space in zone defenses on countless option routes, making him somewhat of a combination of the best of Campbell and K.J. Hill.
Kevin: Parris Campbell is an absolutely incredible game-breaking athlete who's developed into a lot more of a receiver than I ever expected. I'd absolutely, absolutely want him on my football team, but I'm still not sure I'd list him among Ohio State's best pure receivers because that's just not his skillset. Nobody touches Michael Thomas, but I'd probably have Devin Smith, Curtis Samuel and maybe even guys like Evan Spencer and Terry McLaurin ahead of him. But again, he's a dangerous weapon and I'd absolutely want him on my football team and I think he's going to make an NFL team very happy.
Ohio State’s defense only gave up one play of 40+ yards last week and it was in garbage time. Also of note, Michigan recorded 40% of its yards and over half its points in what was pretty much a meaningless fourth quarter. The linebackers, hell the whole defense, looked much better than we’ve seen although an open-minded person would attribute a portion of that success to Michigan’s love for tight ends and fullbacks and generally boring attack playing into Ohio State’s hands. So, how confident are you in Ohio State’s ability to keep Northwestern’s offense to under, say, 17 points? How bullish are you the defense actually permanently fixed some things?
Kevin: This is easy to say in hindsight, but if you read what I wrote last week ahead of the game and listened to my weekly appearance the radio in Fostoria (shoutout to the NWO Orthopedics Sports Huddle on 105.7 FM WFOB), I was totally unshocked by that Michigan offensive performance because nothing about that offense was built to hurt Ohio State. The Buckeyes struggle when teams can get the ball to athletes in space, and Michigan wanted to play in a phone booth with an average running back as their key player.
Northwestern isn't going to do that. They'll spread Ohio State out a little more and it could lead to a few chunk plays. But they also don't have the athletes that teams like Oregon State, Purdue or Nebraska had, so I don't think it's going to prove lethal by any means.
Kyle: The Michigan offense played right into the strengths of Ohio State's defense, keeping the action between the hashes and allowing Tuf Borland to play in his comfort zone. Without the same kind of offense reliant on heavy personnel packages, Northwestern will likely spread OSU out and force Borland and the other linebackers to play in space, which has often led to breakdowns in the running game. The Wildcats don't have the athletes to consistently make the Buckeyes pay for their mistakes, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them call for a variety of motions and misdirection that result in some big plays.
David: Ohio State plays better against pro-style offenses. Northwestern is not that. I think Ohio State's defense will play fine, and do well enough to win the game, but I think they will regress a little bit. I will say that Northwestern's offense doesn't exactly scare me, considering they've scored 14, 24, and 24 points in their last three games. If Ohio State wants any shot at the playoff, their defense will have to make a statement.
What’s the most important matchup to watch this weekend and how does that particular matchup play out? Maybe you’ve got Ohio State’s rush offense versus the B1G’s No. 4 ranked rush defense (134 ypg). Or maybe it’s the reverse and you’re focused on Ohio State’s ability to take away the run and make a somewhat turnover-prone quarterback throw the ball, or something else entirely. What say you?
David: Well the important matchup is Texas-Oklahoma. Without the favorable result that Ohio State is looking for, this game doesn't hold much significance for playoff implications. Therefore, that is probably the most important matchup of the day. In the game, it will be interesting to see how Ohio State's back 7 plays, as has been the case pretty much all season.
Kyle: Although they rank far below the Wolverine defense in this category, the Wildcat pass defense plays a style that's completely different from that of Don Brown. Unlike the aggressive, man-to-man style that the Buckeyes just shredded, Northwestern's secondary will work to keep everything in front of them all game long and force OSU to string together completion after completion in order to score. Given their penchant for committing stupid penalties that disrupt otherwise successful drives, this strategy may be the best way to keep Haskins and co. at bay.
Kevin: Urban Meyer has talked all week about how this Northwestern defense doesn't give up big plays, and he's right statistically and schematically. While Michigan played a lot of press man coverage, which the Buckeyes exposed with crossing routes, Northwestern plays a lot more zone and has shown excellent communication in limiting big plays. They'll force this normally home-run hitting offense to sustain longer drives, which hasn't always been easy for the Buckeyes.
We posed this question on the Eleven Warriors Radio Hour this week and I’m curious to your takes: Which Buckeye not named Dwayne Haskins would you say is the team’s most valuable player and why? On the radio show, we received like four to five different answers.
Kyle: This may seem like an unlikely answer, but I'd say Jordan Fuller. While the secondary has been inconsistent overall, with countless candidates auditioning for the starting safety role opposite him before Brendon White finally emerged late in the year, Fuller has been the most reliable member of the Buckeye back seven. Not only is he leads the team in solo tackles and is second overall behind only Malik Harrison, all while rotating back and forth between the two safety positions. Without his steady presence and versatility on the back end, who knows where the Buckeye defense might be today.
Kevin: I'm going with Terry McLaurin. He's arguably the best blocking wide receiver Urban Meyer has ever had – and that's an extremely high bar – he's a near legendary gunner on special teams, and he's proven himself a consistent receiving threat with over 500 yards receiving this season. More than that, he's been a leader on a team and a unit that's dealt with a ton of adversity. Earlier this week Urban Meyer essentially gave McLaurin credit for Chris Olave's development, saying it's his example that he's been following since he arrived at Ohio State. That sounds cheesy, but that stuff is important and damn hard to replace.
David: I'd go with the wide receivers. Every week, it seems like a new receiver steps up and makes a big play. At different times this year, Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, Binjimen Victor, K.J. Hill, and Johnnie Dixon have all made critical plays. They've helped Haskins go from an inexperienced quarterback to one of the best in the country.
Ohio State enters the game as a 14.5-point favorite over the Wildcats. Do the Buckeyes cover? Give us your final score and game MVP.
Kevin: I don't think Northwestern can score enough points or keep Ohio State's offense at bay long enough to keep this within a 14.5-point spread for 60 minutes. I think the Buckeyes win this one 49-10 and my game MVP is Dre'Mont Jones, who feast on a porous Northwestern offensive line.
David: If you've read House Money at all this season, you know I will never pick Ohio State to cover. I do think Ohio State wins, 31-17. Malik Harrison records double-digit tackles and J.K. Dobbins scores twice to earn MVP honors.
Kyle: I expect this game to remain close through the first half as Northwestern contains the explosive Buckeye offense while the Wildcats break a big play or two of their own. However, I can see OSU breaking things open in the second half as the overall team speed becomes too overwhelming, with one of the Buckeye 'Z' receivers, either Terry McLaurin or Johnnie Dixon, hauling in a pair of deep touchdown passes. OSU covers, 38-20.
