When opposing fanbases see an opponent from the Mid American Conference on the schedule of their favorite team, their initial reaction at times is one of delight.
Ohio State's Urban Meyer, though, isn't one of those people — especially considering who his No. 1-ranked Buckeyes host this Saturday in Columbus, the defending MAC champion Northern Illinois Huskies.
"Big Ten-caliber team that's winning, finds ways to win, found a way last week," Meyer said Wednesday after practice. "Those are the toughest teams."
The Huskies are 2-0 just like Meyer's Buckeyes, tallying home victories against UNLV and Murray State in the season's first two weeks.
This week, though, Ohio State's enjoying a luxury it didn't have when it prepared for its first two games of 2015: A full, regular practice week schedule.
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| NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES |
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2–0, 0–0 MAC ROSTER SCHEDULE |
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3:30 PM – SATURDAY, SEP. 19 OHIO STADIUM COLUMBUS, OH |
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ABC/ESPN2 WATCHESPN |
"To be back on schedule is definitely great," Buckeye senior defensive tackle Adolphus Washington said Wednesday after practice. "You get back into your routine of things that's happening. Everybody just feels great."
Ohio State looked a tad sluggish, at least offensively, in its 38-0 victory against Hawiai'i last Saturday, playing its second game in less than a week after downing Virginia Tech on the road, 42-24, on Labor Day.
Back on a regular schedule, though, the Buckeyes await a program that's won at least 11 games in the past five seasons and been crowned MAC Champions three of those years. It's not going to be a cakewalk.
"I played in that conference for two years, actually lost to them in '02," Meyer said, referring to his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. "We had like a big win streak and we lost to them and that place is so, this a really good plug for the AD and the administration, they just keep hiring great coaches one after the other. They're extremely well-coached, great players, big. This is Big Ten talent we're facing at certain positions."
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
The Huskies head to Ohio Stadium after pushing past UNLV, 38-30, Week 1 then trouncing Murray State, 57-26, last Saturday. Led by head coach Rod Carey, Northern Illinois returns 15 starters from a team that finished 11-3 in 2014 and lost to Marshall in the Boca Raton Bowl, 52-23.
Quarterback Drew Hare headlines a prolific offense that's averaged 594 yards per game in the early portions of this season. Hare's yet to throw an interception, completed 78.1 percent of his passes and tossed six touchdowns. Yes, the competition is nowhere near what he's set to see Saturday from Ohio State, but make no mistake about it: Hare can play.
"Quarterback's a stud," Meyer said Wednesday. "I watched the whole UNLV game and he's a runner, thrower, I think he's a senior, too. A really competitive guy."
Hare's actually a fourth-year junior, one of 10 starters on the Husky offense who is at least a junior. Hare took over for good as starter early in the 2014 season and, frankly, never looked back. He tallied 18 touchdowns against just two picks as a sophomore, while also rushing 153 times for 900 yards and eight scores, all good for second on the team. Hare's no Jordan Lynch, the former Husky quarterback who finished third in the 2013 Heisman Trophy voting while setting a national record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 316 against Central Michigan that season.
"He’s good on his feet and with his arm and that’s something we haven’t really seen yet and something we’ve really worked on preparing for this week," Ohio State defensive tackle Tommy Schutt said Wednesday. "Being able to stop the run with his feet as well as being able to get after the quarterback in the passing game."
Hare doesn't do it alone, obviously, and has more than capable teammates on offense to threaten any defense in multiple ways. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay's already racked up 357 yards on just 17 catches for two touchdowns, often taking advantage of single coverage as a result of defenses crowding the line of scrimmage to stop both Hare and tailback Joel Bouagnon in the running game.
As 11W's Kyle Jones outlined Thursday, outside of Hare, Golladay should be priority No. 1 for Ohio State's defense Saturday. The onus will be on cornerbacks Eli Apple and Gareon Conley to stay in front of him early in routes and force him back inside where they have help. If they're unable to do so, it could be a long day for the Buckeye secondary.
On the other side of the ball, the Huskies leave much to be desired. Against UNLV and Murray State, the unit allowed an average of 433 yards per game, including an astounding 305 through the air. Unless something drastic changes on the unit, Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett could have big days throwing the ball against the Huskies, regardless who's in the game.
"Communication on defense is going to be at times an issue because it's going to be loud at times when where on defense," Carey said Tuesday on Ohio Stadium, which he called a top-5 environment in the country, according to the official team website. "Probably not as loud, but it's going to be loud."
Northern Illinois' schtick is scoring points, doing so it droves to win games. Since Carey was promoted to head coach prior to the 2013 Orange Bowl against Florida State, the Huskies have eclipsed the 40-point barrier 11 times, including scoring more than 50 points seven times and even racking up 63 once in 2013. In addition to such prolific offensive outputs, the Huskies beat Big Ten teams Iowa, Northwestern, and Purdue in the last two seasons.
"I wouldn't call those upsets," Meyer said. "I think these guys are very good."
BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN
Simply put, Ohio State is aiming to play much better against Northern Illinois than it did in its home opener against Hawai'i.
"We're just ready to get back out there and play this week. We feel like last week we didn't really take a step forward," running back Ezekiel Elliott said Wednesday. "So we're just anxious to get back out there and see what we can do."
It wasn't always easy, but Elliott eclipsed 100 yards for the seventh straight game Saturday.
The Buckeye defense can hardly complain about its performance, holding the Rainbow Warriors under 200 yards of total offense while forcing four turnovers and pitching a shutout. Safety Vonn Bell even scooped up a fumble midway through the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown.
The other side of the ball, though, wasn't anywhere near reaching its potential. Dropped snaps, procedure penalties and passes off the fingertips led to an anemic offensive day, at least by Ohio State standards.
The short week had plenty to do with that, but Meyer wasn't ready to allow that to be the excuse for the miscues. He spoke about Hawai'i's odd defensive front causing problems and missed assignments for the offensive linemen this week, also noting how the Buckeyes haven't faced a base defense with an even front yet this year.
"We thrive on that. Teams are really challenging us to say, 'Beat us with the throw game.' We did OK, against Virginia Tech OK, Saturday we did not," Meyer said. "But they're challenging our run game and I think people are saying 'let's not let that Zeke Elliott tear us apart.' And that offensive line, 'let's move all over the place and create confusion.'"
Northern Illinois typically plays a base 4-3 on early downs, before changing to an attacking three-man front on passing or third downs. Ohio State hit some big plays against Virginia Tech, but didn't really against Hawai'i. Expect Meyer and the offense to look for that to change Saturday.
"Anytime you face a defense like that, the big hit opportunity is there, we've not hit it," he said. "Certainly last week, I think our big play was 20 yards, 24 yards. There were certainly opportunities to have them, but the edge blocking was not good."
HOW IT PLAYS OUT
Northern Illinois is going to get its yards offensively, provided Hare is able to continue throwing the ball with the pinpoint accuracy he has in the first two weeks of the season. Whether or not the Buckeyes can prevent the big play, though, will go a long way to determining the outcome of the game.
Ohio State is a 34.5-point favorite against the Huskies as of Thursday, and though it might be difficult to cover, the Buckeyes should win this game handily. Northern Illinois has talent highlighting a veteran offense, but the unit has yet to face a defensive unit with the skill and depth like the one Ohio State possesses.
Joey Bosa had a sack taken away from him last week because of a penalty, but we got a glimpse of just how deadly Ohio State's pass rush can be with both he and Darron Lee getting after the quarterback in passing situations. Hare is known for getting the ball out of his hands extremely quick, but if Ohio State's secondary can hold its own and take away the quick throws that make Golladay so dangerous, an opportunity for sacks will be there.
The Huskies could hang around early, but if Cardale Jones, Braxton Miller and the offense clean up its silly errors from a week ago and Elliott finds space to run (he should) the Buckeyes should ultimately run away with it.
ELEVEN WARRIORS STAFF PREDICTION: Ohio State 47, Northern Illinois 14
