The heartiest of welcomes to the 2015 Ohio State football season.
Pundits and coaches can say what they'd like, but for Ohio State it was always about the season-ending gamut of Michigan State/Michigan/B1G championship. The days of the Buckeyes talenting opponents into dust is over.
It's the time we've come to know and love: The one where we get to see how our local gang of amateur athletes stack up against the nation's best.
The only way I could be more excited is if somebody injected a caffeinated FourLoko into my aorta.
Illinois victory ICYMI:
- Five things we learned.
- Notebook: Zeke's streak, defensive domination, and Meyer's 4th-and-11 conversion.
- Debriefing: Everything to know about Ohio State's latest win.
PASS PROTECTION PROBS. Going into the season, the Slobs were seen as a surefire strength of the team. Ten games in and they haven't disappointed, but they've had their critics.
Is it my imagination or did Ohio a State return 4 OL from a National Championship team?!? Wouldn't have any idea watching them block.
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 14, 2015
It only takes a comparison between Ohio State's rushing and passing yards to see in which set the offensive line is most comfortable.
From chicagotribune.com:
[Guard Billy] Price said run blocking is what this line "loves to do." Pass blocking is what it has to do. Or do better.
"We're going to start to play some teams here, and we can't just run, run, run 40 times a game," left tackle Taylor Decker said. "We'll have to throw some passes and drop back. It's something we'll have to work on. Michigan State has some very good pass rushers."
To be fair, Illinois' defensive line was the first unit to draw Urban Meyer's praise during Thursday's call-in show, but It didn't feature the likes of Shilique Calhoun. It may be a tough week of self-evaluation for Ohio State's head coach:
At this point, Urban has to consider a change at right tackle. Farris is consistently holding the offense back and it's costing OSU.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 14, 2015
True freshman Isaiah Prince is the next man up, according to the depth chart. If he were to make a change, my bet would be our good pal Jamarco Jones (currently listed as Taylor Decker's backup) would get the nod.
Until then, perhaps it's Decker with the best #take:
48-3, 10-0, 3rd All-time rusher #GoBucks https://t.co/97UBhiMqTf
— Taylor Decker (@TDeck68) November 14, 2015
SPARTANS ON DECK. Despite Big Ten refs bungling a call in Lincoln, Nebraska, there's still some juice in Saturday's Spartan-Buckeye banger. GameDay is coming to Columbus.
From 247sports.com:
Besides [Connor] Cook, Burbridge has become a true star this season with 65 catches for 1,021 yards and six touchdowns.
Some have questioned the MSU defense this year after longtime coordinator Pat Narduzzi left to become the head coach at Pittsburgh. The Spartans have given up 23 or more points six times. DE Shilique Calhoun (eight sacks) remains from the great MSU defenses the last couple of years, but on the whole there has been a slight drop-off.
[...]
Still, this game will decide first place in the Big Ten Eastern Division with one game to play. If OSU loses, it would have to go on and win at Michigan in Week 12 and hope MSU loses its finale to Penn State the same day to win the division.
From dreams of dumping Undefeated Iowa in Indianapolis to a rooting interesting in Michigan State–Penn State is a gap the Grand Canyon couldn't accommodate.
I have the local team tipped for a big win (shocking, I know), but I'm excited to see Ohio State's roving pass defense match wits with Corny Connor Cook. Cook smoking with both barrels is MSU's only hope.
J.T. Barrett carved Michigan State with the medical detachment of a coroner in East Lansing last season. Even though he and Mike Thomas zapped them last year, I expect them to stack the box and make Ohio State's offensive line give Barrett and his receivers enough time.
Some will say Ohio State needs to open it up to win, but I disagree. This defense is not your unexpected baby's Michigan State defense. Ohio State just needs to execute.
BRAXTON MILLER: GRINDING. We're 10 games into the Braxton Miller-to-wide receiver move. We've seen him silence raucous road stadiums, but we've also seen him disappear for large swaths of gameplay.
While it should be noted he suffered a nasty, game-ending injury against Minnesota, Miller was again for the most part absent from the win over Illinois.
From cleveland.com:
Things have changed, mainly his position. He's still one of the most physically gifted runners I've ever seen -- nobody can make people miss more effortlessly than him -- but his transition to wide receiver from quarterback is still a work in progress. And because it's November, and Michigan State week, it's time we start officially changing how we view production from the fifth-year senior.
It's not that the explosive plays aren't going to come, but when they do, they should be viewed as a bonus. It should never be an expectation.
Miller touched the ball two times in Ohio State's win over Illinois. That's because he wasn't open, sure, but there have to be some deficiencies in his game that are preventing the Buckeyes from making that number bigger.
I keep waiting for Braxton Miller to throw, but maybe it's a sucker's bet at this point.
Regardless, with how many offensive playermakers the Buckeyes roster (and Zeke's diet/OL's pass protection issues), various perimeter playmakers will always fall through the cracks when it comes to statistical output.
It's just the weirdness of a healthy Braxton Miller falling through a game's cracks still hasn't worn off.
MIKE THOMAS KEEPS MAKING (NON-YET EXISTENT) MONEY. Illinois safety Taylor Barton (6-1, 225) rocked Ohio State wide receiver Mike Thomas during an attempted first quarter reception Saturday.
Thomas lost the battle, but like a boss he rallied from the depths to win the war.
From theozone.net:
Thomas remained down for a few moments and would have had to come out of the game if not for a targeting flag that was thrown. While the referees reviewed the penalty, Thomas was able to get back to the sideline and regain his wind.
The flag was picked up because it was ruled that the Illini didn't target Thomas. That wouldn't keep the Buckeyes from targeting him on the very next play, however, when he told both Urban Meyer and receivers coach Zach Smith that he was ready to go back in.
"I kind of got the wind knocked out of me," he said. "So I went to the sideline and Coach was kind of aggressive, so he was like, ‘No, no, no, is he alright?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ So he put me back on the field and I knew that if he trusted me to be in that position and call that play, I have to somehow snatch the ball and come up with it. So I did my job and it came out as a touchdown."
Thomas basically embodied the quote by which I live my life:
ZEKE SITTING PRETTY. Eddie George told Ezekiel Elliott Heisman Trophies are won in November. Ezekiel Elliott is sitting at 15 consecutive games over 100 yards (181 on Saturday) with two nationally televised games against rank foes remaining before balloting closes.
The stars are aligning
— EzekielElliott#15 (@EzekielElliott) November 14, 2015
If you saw Indiana's valiant effort against Michigan, then just replace IU's Jordan Howard and its L with Ezekiel Elliott and an Ohio State W and that's how I envision Elliott baking his Heisman cake.
(Jim Harbaugh convulsing in rage spasms on the sidelines will be the icing.)
THOSE WMDs. Tigers and piranhas may join crocodiles as Indonesian death row guards... Saved by Hot Pockets: Akron man misses plane crash by minutes... Man points GoPro wrong way for entire Las Vegas vacation... The decades-long battle to catch an international arms trafficker... Afroduck back... Art critic apologizes to Shia LaBeouf... Why is there an 'R' in Mrs.?
