Buckeye View

Fiesta Bowl Preview

buckeye — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:28:37 +0000

As I sit here watching Utah, the same team that Michigan nearly beat in game one this season, dismantle Alabama and earlier today seeing Ole Miss nuke Texas Tech, I have to wonder about the surprises of bowl season. To date, 90% of fans polled on the Internet believe that Texas is going to wipe the floor with our beloved Buckeyes. Given Ohio State’s recent, big game performance against Florida, LSU, USC (ouch!) and PSU, I can understand the sentiment.

One thing really bothers me about this season is how USC could have possibly lost to Oregon State, 3-0 winners over perennial Big East powerhouse Pitt. I’d like to see USC/Florida because the Florida, is going to wipe the floor with the Sooners I’m sorry to say…

But this entry is about the Fiesta Bowl. What should we expect? Well, Texas offense is potent, there is no doubt and McCoy is quite a QB. Texas defense is serviceable, though not great. Texas special teams are average. The Buckeye O is average over the course of the season, but has shown signs of waking up over the last few games. The Buckeye D is very good, perhaps great. The special teams are above average. What does this mean? Nothing.

We’re going to see a veteran team in Texas and we’ll see how they respond to the whole situation with Oklahoma getting the nod over them to play Missouri and head to the MNC game. Will they have something to prove? Will they be despondent? Will they read all the bad press about how they should win easily and not show up?

And what about the fragile psyche of Ohio State? Having been handled like a cheap pinata by USC (Texas offense is every bit as good as USCs) and having no one believe in them. Hearing that they’re slow, weak, and have bad coaching; how will that affect the team? Are they hungry? Do they have something to prove? Will they show up? And if so, for all four quarters?

Empirically, by any measure, Texas should win this game. But the games are played to see how things actually shake out. While my mind is governed by statistics and I believe you don’t mess with a streak, something tells me we’re going to get a nice New Year surprise from this Buckeye team. I won’t name a score or a point differential, I’ll simply say there have been some big bowl surprises and I think OSU will be a member of that club when the final whistle blows late January 5, 2009.

GO BUCKS!

Michigan Crushed

buckeye — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:40:00 +0000

For the first time in the storied rivalry, Ohio State has won 5 in a row against Michigan doing so this time 42-7. I guess Michigan really is that bad - I thought the game would be much, much closer and after a 14-7 first half, I was feeling like my prediction was on the mark. A 28 point second half spurred by two big runs from Beanie and Boom, and it was all over.

The lone bright spot for the Wolverines was their punting game, which was featured early and often. Their long off season nightmare begins after the first ever 3-9 season posted by the Wolver-weenies. Meanwhile, this senior class leaves having won the most gold pants possible. Way to go!

At 10-2 (which is where I predicted the Buckeyes would be at this time) we’ll now see if they play in the BCS or have to settle for a non-BCS showcase. One thing is sure, they have an excellent chance to improve with 15 bowl practices and some time to get healthy.

Go Bucks!

Michigan Preview

buckeye — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:54:37 +0000

Is this it? Is it over so soon? This season seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye….it’s hard to believe. What’s even harder to believe is that the antagonist of this entry, those Wolver-weenies from that school up north, have fallen so far, so fast. Perhaps they are longing for old 9-3 Lloyd?

Hopefully, after tomorrow we’ll be talking about old 3-9 Rich. Tomorrow’s game is the last opportunity for a once proud Michigan football team to salvage some pride from a disastrous 3-8 season. Nothing has gone according to plan as players have left the program in droves, it’s been hard to field a serviceable offensive line, and the team has been beaten like a drum multiple times, and once by “little brother.”

I fully expect to see Michigan’s best game of the season tomorrow (if only because they are playing the Bucks.) There’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. The oddsmakers have installed Ohio State as 20 point favorites to get anyone to take the Skunkbears. I’m not a bettor, but I tend to think we’re in for a much closer game tomorrow, though it would be an upset of epic proportions for Ohio State to lose.

Will the Buckeyes extend their BCS bowl streak? Will the winged helmet team find redemption? Tune in tomorrow, and I’ll pen an answer to those questions and more.

GO BUCKS! Beat Michigan!

Buckeye recover Illibuck

buckeye — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:11:30 +0000

The Buckeyes downed the Fighting Illini in Champaign in a tough fought and poorly officiated game. Turnovers and special teams played a big role in the game as did the wind. It wasn’t really close after the first quarter though the Illini were able to move the ball on the Buckeye D and scored a touchdown against the backups in garbage time.

A good win. Go Bucks!

Illinois Preview

buckeye — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:05:57 +0000

Well, day job has definitely invaded over the past few weeks. With that being said, revenge, bad weather, disappointing seasons relative to expectations, and elimination from bowl contention will make this game tough. The Bucks go on the road to attempt to retrieve Illibuck which was unexpectedly snatched at the Horseshoe last year.

What will happen? I predict a tough, relatively low scoring game and a Buckeye win. If there are turnovers, it could get ugly. If not, it’s going to be a <30 point combined scoring event. Tune in tomorrow and see some retribution (hopefully this time, the refs won't be on the take and throw Illinois the game.)

Go Bucks!

Buckeyes Skin Wildcats

buckeye — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:09:54 +0000

It happened as a romp, with Beanie Wells running rampant and Terrelle Pryor passing the ball around with precision. The defense, after a tuning up period where Northwestern scored a touchdown, clamped down. In short, it transpired as it should have on paper. You always wonder with this year’s team…

A good win. Go Bucks!

Northwestern Preview

buckeye — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:07:44 +0000

Northwestern has two reasons to think it can win this game: it’s playing at home and the Buckeye’s abysmal post-bye week record under coach Tressel of 1-4. That being said, without QB Bacher and star RB Sutton, it’s going to be a mighty difficult climb to that summit.

Vegas has installed the Bucks as 11 point favorites and if things go to plan (no wacky turnovers, stupid and sense penalties,) I’d look for them to cover enroute to a 31-10 type victory. But, this year things have been a little strange, we’re still breaking in a Freshman QB, the O line seems to play like Jeckyl and Hyde, and mental mistakes are the norm, not the exception. So….who knows?

We should expect the Buckeyes to take care of business in Evanston, even an ugly win by a point, is a win.

Go Bucks!

Buckeyes Implode in Loss

buckeye — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:52:40 +0000

Both defenses came to play, neither team gave up. The difference was mistakes. Two turnovers, one leading to the games only touchdown and the other ending any chance of comeback were the story. In the fourth quarter, both the PSU offensive and defensive lines took over and that was the game.

A tough home loss, nothing to be ashamed of in the effort department. Is there room for improvement? You bet. But we saw a much better team tonight than the one that got blown out in LA a few weeks ago. What happens from here? Penn State has a favorable schedule to win out and stands in a good position to play for all the marbles if that comes to pass.

Ohio State still has Illinois and Michigan (don’t laugh, all bets are off in rivalry games) - if the Bucks can get by those two teams, then they could wind up as an alternate selection in the BCS still. Otherwise, hello Capital One Bowl.

Any loss is tough to take and you hate to see it, but when the team plays hard and never gives up, then the complaining needs to be kept to a minimum. We’ll get ‘em next time, Go Bucks!

Penn State Preview

buckeye — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:58:17 +0000

Next up, the Nittany Lions at home tomorrow. Unlike many opponents, we have close comparison of Penn State and Ohio State, both having played on the road in Madison a week apart. The Buckeyes ground out a tough win by 3 points. PSU blew them away by 41.

This is a little different, PSU hasn’t had good luck in the Horseshoe so we can hope the trend continues tomorrow. Penn St has an explosive offense and a stingy defense. If there’s a blowout in the Shoe, PSU is likely to be on the giving rather than receiving end.

Over the past couple of weeks, our Buckeyes are playing better football with a great showing in East Lansing last week over a solid MSU squad. The D Line has perked up and the whole defense looks better as a result. The offense showed some signs of life too.

Penn St will force Pryor to beat him with his arm, not his or Beanie Well’s legs. Clark, PSU’s dynamic QB will cause some grief for the Buckeye defenders. I don’t think this has a good outcome (hey, it worked last week, so I’ll try it this week too.) PSU 27 OSU 17.

And, I didn’t wear my lucky Buckeye shirt today, the last time that happened the Bucks lost by 32 in LA…not a good omen. Hope I’m wrong! Go Bucks!

Buckeyes Slay Spartans

buckeye — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:43:57 +0000

Now, this was the team we expected to see at the beginning of the season, at least for the first 1.5 quarters. They sprinted to a 28 point lead and then the offense stalled again. I’m ever so happy to have been WRONG, WRONG, WRONG on the preview of this game. I was really pessimistic that the team would shoot out of the gate like that.

Special teams were generally good (excepting an early fumble leading to bad field position.) The defense was awesome and really pitched a shutout, the passing game of the Spartans perked up once they started holding blatantly. Pressure leading to a fumble and return for a touchdown took the wind out of their sails and sealed the deal. A late fumble recovery and return for a touchdown turned insult to injury. Overall the D forced five turnovers and contributed 14 points.

The rushing offense was very strong, we still saw the requisite false starts and motion penalties killed drives. Passing was generally efficient until the second quarter, what a great effort from Brian Hartline to haul in that long pass in the second quarter that took the Bucks down to the Spartan 1. Robiskie still doesn’t look like himself.

In all, a very good win for the Bucks on the road, over a very good Michigan State squad. Now, people will say MSU sucks because they were blown out at home by OSU. Oh well…final score? 45-7.

Great win, Go Bucks!