Ohio State enters an open week with a 6-1 overall record following last Saturday night's drubbing of Nebraska.
The victory capped a run of five straight lopsided affairs but things are about to get real a week from tomorrow as Penn State strolls into town looking to avenge being kept out of last year's College Football Playoff.
Though the Buckeyes may have the weekend off, there are no weeks off around 11W as the roundtable marches on with Ramzy, Vico and Jimmy set to eat.
Enjoy your steaks, gents..
Tanner Lee passed for 303 yards last week though much of it came after the game was well in hand. Still, Kendall Sheffield was still not good, many could question Damon Webb’s speed and angles and the linebackers still seem a bit of a mixed bag in coverage. How confident are you in the back seven’s ability to slow down what is currently the nation’s 22nd-best passing attack in Penn State?
Ramzy: A smart, competent passing team is going to attack Webb and the linebackers underneath moving laterally; there's a reason Webb leads the team in tackles. Baker Mayfield did this. Richard Lagow, in his NCAA-mandated Career Game Against Ohio State™ did this as well. The corner you pick on is Sheffield, and this will continue happening over the back half of the schedule. I'm 6/10 confident in the secondary. The team has too much momentum to go full Debbie Downer on what ails it.
Vico: Not very. I'm expecting next week's game against Penn State to be a high-scoring affair. I kinda like Ohio State's chances in that, but I'm expecting Penn State is going to mess with our defense similar to what Oklahoma did in Week 2.
Jimmy: I'm fairly confident in what the secondary is going to bring against Penn State. Listen — it's obvious they've kind of been the weak leg of the defense for the good chunk of the year. Indiana and Oklahoma was pretty bad. But this secondary has been going through the ringer while playing fairly well in these blowouts. I'd put money on them coming through against a real opponent in a marquee game. Against Penn St? Even better.
A bunch of true sophomores are having strong seasons for the Buckeyes. Names like Nick Bosa, Austin Mack, Ben Victor, Michael Jordan and Jordan Fuller, in particular, jump out at me. Which would you say is having the best season? Which, if different, is having the most valuable? Why?
Vico: I'm going to interpret "best" as "best overall" and "most valuable" as "filling a valuable role without which the defense would be worse overall." Therein, Nick Bosa is having the most best season with his team-high 10 TFLs and 4 sacks while Jordan Fuller is having a valuable season filling in for the departed Malik Hooker. Fuller's versatility is clear by this point in the season and his value to the secondary is immeasurable.
Jimmy: I'd say Nick Bosa is having the most productive season numbers-wise, but the defensive line is so good and so deep they wouldn't break without him. Ben Victor to me has been (and will be) the most valuable. The relationship he's developed with Barrett and the red zone threat he's become are going to be absolutely vital for the Ohio State offense down the stretch if they want the Big Ten and the CFP.
Ramzy: Bosa is going to get a tree in Buckeye Grove this year. He has 10 TFLs already and 2nd place is Hubbard with half as many. The ceiling for everyone else that list is 2nd Team All-B1G. I'm offended by this question. "Who's better, the All American, two receivers who combine for 58 receiving yards a game or an internet meme?" I won't dignify it with a response.
Sticking with “most valuable” theme, through seven games which assistant coach would you tab as the most valuable and why?
Jimmy: Larry Johnson. The defensive line has been one of the most dominant in college football, one of the best Ohio State has had collectively in a long time — and it’s largely because of the job this guy does. Talent is everywhere, Johnson just continually knows what to do with it.
Ramzy: It's Ryan Day on the offense and Larry Johnson on the defense. Tim Beck is Texas' problem now. An Ohio State quarterback is flourishing in a manner that hasn't been seen since Tim Beck's current boss ran that position group.
Vico: Some combination of Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day and, of the two, I'll go with Ryan Day. Day has done well to revamp the passing game with some staples he brought with him from Chip Kelly. The passing game still has glaring limitations but the fact Ohio State's passing game is as good as it's ever been under Urban Meyer is a testament to how those two, and I'm going with Day in particular, has maximized the passing game with those limitations.
Ohio State isn’t short on talent and the early mocks for next year’s draft already show names like Denzel Ward, Sam Hubbard, Nick Bosa, Tyquan Lewis, Billy Price, Dre’Mont Jones, Jerome Baker and others as possible selections. Which one is your way-too-early pick to have the most productive NFL career?
Vico: The obvious pick here would be Nick Bosa, but he's draft-ineligible for 2018. I'm torn between Sam Hubbard and Denzel Ward but I like Hubbard more as an NFL outside linebacker than Ward as NFL cornerback and will go with that pick. Hubbard's athleticism should translate well to the next level at a linebacker, notwithstanding what is still a steep adjustment.
Ramzy: Billy Price will play for a decade. Hubbard and Bosa will end up with nice pensions. Dre'Mont is so good; I just wonder where he plays in the NFL. Ditto Baker. Urban says all six "starting receivers" are NFL caliber but even the 2001 Miami Hurricanes didn't have six NFL receivers. The five guys with the longest NFL career from Ohio State's 2002 BCS Title team? Will Allen, Will Smith, Donnie Nickey, Michael Jenkins, Nick Mangold. If you use longevity as the alpha measure here, since the average NFL career lasts about 20 minutes - I'll bet on Price.
Jimmy: Billy Price is going to be a stalwart at the next level. I used to watch Scouting Ohio video's of Billy Price all the time when I was in high school and that was when he was absolutely devouring people as a defensive lineman. It's hard to believe that those days are over now but to see how far he has come as an offensive lineman, the skills and the intangibles — it's not even close. I hope my team picks him.
Heading into what is game week number seven for every B1G team except Ohio State and Nebraska, which squad has surprised you the most – good or bad – and why?
Ramzy: Good - it's Michigan State, which had a Tatgate-like summer and has smelled like a landfill since getting shutout by Alabama two CFPs ago. They took that L, went 3-8 to follow up and the long decline seemed to be in motion. And yet, they're looking at no worse than nine wins this season, unless the wheels completely fall off. Bad - the B1G West, which currently has one team over .500 in conference play. Iowa has the good fortune of being Ohio State's trap game right after it plays Penn State, but once that game comes and goes - that conference's only hope for a shred of relevance resides in Madison. Again.
Jimmy: I’d say Michigan. Going back to last year you would have thought the gap was being bridged closer, especially given the Ohio State — Michigan game. It’s probably the graduating 40+ seniors, but what if it isn’t? I mean I thought the defense would be stellar per usual, but I thought the offense would have evolved, or even improved. It feels like some real regression.
Vico: Purdue, easy. The Boilermakers quickly left Illinois and Rutgers in the dust as what was previously the most moribund program in the Big Ten. That the results were immediate (e.g. competitive games against Louisville and Michigan, big road win at Missouri) is the most astonishing. Purdue won't win the B1G West, but it could win eight or more games. That's a hell of a turnaround for Purdue in Jeff Brohm's first year.
Looking outside the B1G, which team ranked inside the top 15 or so do you consider to be the most overrated and why?
Vico: Miami, also an easy pick. Miami is more lucky than good. It's still plenty good in Mark Richt's second year. There's something to be said about how he was a good coach at a program in a conference in which Nick Saban has seriously warped expectations for everyone, but he just doesn't have the talent right now to credibly win a New Year's Six game or even the ACC. Should the two play, I'd expect Clemson to flatten the Hurricanes. Still, dumb luck has been kind to the Canes. I recognize that for what it is, and not that Miami is objectively the 8th best program in the country.
Ramzy: Well, Michigan is 15th. Its best win is, what, Purdue? The offense is a mess, which burdens its excellent defense. They 100% cannot come from behind. That's a problem against better-than-Purdue teams, and it's not how you want to describe a top-15 team.
Jimmy: As much as I want The U to be back, I really don't think they're just there quite yet. The Florida State game is a push with the low score differential considering the rivalry game, but escaping Georgia Tech at home last week is more indicative that they aren't a top 10 team. If Syracuse upsets their second top-10 team in two weeks on Saturday, I wouldn't be surprised.
With Ohio State on an open week, most Buckeye fans will zero in on the Saturday night tilt in Happy Valley as Michigan takes on now No. 2 Penn State. What are you looking for from the Nittany Lions to boost your confidence Ohio State handles them next weekend? Or do you need to see any chinks in the armor at all? Finally, Penn State enters as an 11.5-point favorite. Do they cover? Give us your final score.
Jimmy: If Penn State plays a close game with the Wolverines, I feel better about the way Ohio State looks going into next week against the Nittany Lions. I really, really don't think this Michigan team is good. The defense bails them out with consistently subpar offensive performances. I personally think next week in the Horseshoe is about to be a showdown. Penn State handles Harbaugh and co. 31-6.
Vico: I'd feel more optimistic about Ohio State's chances next week if Michigan's defense smothers Penn State's offense. Michigan has the best defense in the league. If its defensive line manhandles Penn State's offensive front, I think that would bode well for what we could do next week. That said, Michigan won't score points and I expect the Nittany Lions to cover. Best guess would be something like 23-10, Nittany Lions.
Ramzy: Saquon Barkley is quietly behind his own rushing pace from last season in part because defenses are selling out against him getting the ball behind the line of scrimmage. As a result, he has 29 catches for 395 yards. That's more receptions and more yards than any member of Zone Six, so the hype is justified. I'm interested in how Michigan picks neither poison when Penn State has the ball. Michigan's offense against Penn State's defense is going to be a sad mess. Indiana had Michigan dead to rights last weekend then blew its own foot off with penalties and forgetting it had Simmie Cobbs Jr. Penn State won't do that. Nittany Lions, comfortably - a two-touchdown cushion. Its non-Barkley cast will inflict the most damage.
Fox televised last weekend’s game giving us another dose of Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt. I love Gus but I prefer him on a hoops call. If you could have any duo, alive or dead, call this year’s edition of The Game, who are you tabbing and why?
Ramzy: No one. Just give me the nervous, ambient crowd noise from the most agonizing four hours of the year. In the 4th quarter I'll take O-H-I-O bouncing around Michigan Stadium again without any talking heads making small talk or reading media guide notes, thanks.
Jimmy: This is very hard for me, but I want Howard Cosell to do a college game alongside Sean McDonough. Don't ask me why, I just do. If John Facenda's "The Nativity" is playing in the background as the Buckeyes have an early Christmas in Ann Arbor all over Michigan, I wouldn't mind either.
Vico: Give me Keith Jackson on play-by-play with Dick Vermeil on color commentary. Old school Keith Jackson just had the gravitas for a marquee program like Ohio State. Further, I value insight and how sharp/quick the color commentator is. Vermeil had that, and a loose tongue to offer unfiltered commentary as he saw fit.
Since this is a great question, here are a few other picks. I loved young Brent Musburger, before he became an incurably horny old man who couldn't mask his gambling interest and his fascination with SEC co-eds. He would be my other pick for play-by-play. Also, I miss Mike Tirico, who was underappreciated as play-by-play when he used to do them for college football writ large.
Elsewhere, I value Todd Blackledge, Gary Danielson, and Mike Mayock for how quick and sharp they are diagnosing a play after it happened. Of those three, Mike Mayock is a real hidden gem. It was a shame he was wasted on Notre Dame football before he moved to the NFL Network full time.
