Jake said:

"FACTS! EVIDENTS!"

Penn State payouts on Sandusky abuse claims now top $100M

Click to expand...

The latest payments mean the school's overall Sandusky-related costs now exceed a quarter-billion dollars.

Click to expand...

Could have built a lot of libraries for that.

Ohio State College Football Playoff analysis: Buckeyes may wind up battling a 2016 version of themselves - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State College Football Playoff analysis: Buckeyes may wind up battling a 2016 version of themselves
cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thoughts on where Ohio State, ranked No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, stands as we enter the 11th game of the regular season. 1. The Buckeyes are No. 9, but three of the teams ahead of them are guaranteed to take ...
Ohio State football: Michigan might have 2 shots to sabotage Buckeyes' playoff bidLandof10.com
Buckeyes' bounce-back creates interesting questions, starting with: 'What if?'ESPN (blog)
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview and PredictionAthlonSports.com
Scarlet and Game -Cincinnati.com -Toledo Blade
all 373 news articles »

Continue reading...

Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The redshirt freshman punter has yet to have one of his 29 punts this year returned.


After punter Cameron Johnston graduated last season, it would have been understandable if Ohio State saw a significant drop from the punter who was tasked to replace the Aussie. Drue Chrisman was the punter tabbed to replace Johnston, and the redshirt freshman from Indiana has more than held his own this year.

Today Chrisman was named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s best punter. Last year Johnston was named a finalist for the award, but fell just sort of winning the honor, which was awarded to Utah’s Mitch Wishnowsky, who is once again a semifinalist for the award.

While Chrisman’s stats of 43.8 yards per punt on 29 punts this year are impressive enough on their own, even more noteworthy is none of Chrisman’s punts this year have been returned by an opponent, making Ohio State the only school to have not allowed a punt return in 2017.

It will likely be tough for Chrisman to dethrone Utah’s recent string of dominance when it comes to the Ray Guy Award, with the Utes winning the last three years, and having Wishnowsky in the mix again, this won’t be the last year in which Chrisman is a semifinalist for the award. Ohio State doesn’t punt often, but they make the most of it when they are forced to because of Chrisman’s pinpoint accuracy.


The uniforms Ohio State will be wearing for next weekend’s PK80 in Portland have been revealed. The Buckeyes will play three games in the tournament, opening up with Gonzaga on Thursday night, either Stanford or Florida on Friday, and an opponent to be determined on Sunday.

The PK80 is a tournament designed to celebrate the 80th birthday of Phil Knight, the co--founder of Nike. The 16-team tournament features a number of traditional college basketball powerhouses, including Duke, North Carolina, and Michigan State.

“I think it’s dope, though. It’s something they though of. So we can’t take their idea, but I like it.”

Ohio State defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle on Miami’s turnover chain via Tim Bielik, Northeast Ohio Media Group


Over the last few weeks, Miami’s turnover chain has taken the college football world by storm. With many schools coming out with alternate uniforms and other items to try and not only inspire players, but also to woo recruits, the turnover chain is just the latest fad in college football.

So could a turnover chain be on the horizon for Ohio State? Don’t bet on it. It isn’t like the Buckeyes don’t have their own system for recognizing players for big players. Ohio State has been using Buckeye Leaf helmet stickers for motivational purposes for nearly 50 years. Unlike at Miami, where the turnover chain often just goes to defensive players, the Buckeye Leaves get everybody involved.

Although it is fun to think about Ohio State having a turnover chain like Miami does. Imagine if they had one last year. Malik Hooker pretty much would have never taken the turnover chain off!

“The real value gets added when you can guard multiple positions as well. I think certainly Keita is exhibit ‘A’ on that. I think you need a point guard that can run your team and run your system and then beyond that it can be pretty interchangeable, really.”

Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann on Keita Bates-Diop via Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch


If Keita Bates-Diop continues playing like he has in Ohio State’s first two games of the season, new head coach Chris Holtmann’s first season with the Buckeyes will go a lot smoother than many have anticipated. The junior forward redshirted last season after he missed most of the year due to leg injuries. The loss of Bates-Diop showed on the court, as the Buckeyes struggled for most of the season.

Not only does Bates-Diop give Holtmann’s young squad a lot of veteran leadership, but the redshirt junior has the ability to play multiple positions, which helps a Buckeye team that doesn’t have much depth. It also helps Bates-Diop is putting up some big numbers early on in the season, as he has recorded double-doubles in each of Ohio State’s first two games. If Bates-Diop can continue to play at such a high level, the Buckeyes will surprise a lot of people the rest of the season.

STICK TO SPORTS

• Condado opened up their Clintonville location earlier today.
• A safety alert has been issued by Ohio State after an armed robbery near campus last night.
• To the surprise of nobody, Anthony Precourt refused to commit to keeping the Crew in Columbus.
• Donate five cans of non-perishable food to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank at the Columbus Zoo tomorrow night and receive free admission to Wildlights.
• Facebook is partnering with Stadium to start streaming select college basketball games.

Continue reading...

Kaleb Wesson held out of Ohio State's game vs. Texas Southern: Buckeyes basketball news - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Kaleb Wesson held out of Ohio State's game vs. Texas Southern: Buckeyes basketball news
cleveland.com
"Ohio State freshman Kaleb Wesson has been suspended for the game vs. Texas Southern tonight for a failure to meet the expectations of the men's basketball program," Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said in a statement. "This is specifically regarding ...
Kaleb Wesson suspended for Texas Southern game247Sports
How to watch Ohio State vs. Texas Southern: Preview, game time, live streaming onlineLand-Grant Holy Land
Basketball Preview: Texas Southern at Ohio State | Eleven WarriorsEleven Warriors
Sports Chat Place (blog) -OSU - The Lantern
all 13 news articles »

Continue reading...

Ohio State players respect Miami's turnover chain, but have no intention of doing that themselves - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State players respect Miami's turnover chain, but have no intention of doing that themselves
cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Miami has the turnover chain. Ohio State wrestling has the pin chain. But will the Buckeyes' football team ever have something like that? If you ask some of the members of the defensive line, don't count on it. "It's all cool," OSU ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Ohio State should overwhelm Illinois, but the Illini have a few key weapons
Chad Peltier via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Fighting Illini are actually the worst team on Ohio State’s schedule this season, going by the S&P+.

If you liked watching last week’s game against Michigan State, you’re going to love watching Ohio State vs. Illinois.

Illinois is ranked 112th out of 130 FBS teams in the S&P+, making them the worst team that Ohio State will face this year. UNLV is at 98th, and even Rutgers is just 96th.


But even the specific matchups here greatly favor Ohio State. Just as Ohio State beat Michigan State last week by running the ball and continually making plays with its defensive line, the Illini struggle against the run and rank 89th and 123rd in offensive stuff rate and adjusted sack rate, meaning that the defensive line should rack up havoc plays this week.

That said, the Illini have a few weapons, so any sleepwalking or looking ahead to The Game could mean a closer-than-expected matchup.

When Ohio State has the ball


The Illini defense is more average than downright bad going by overall S&P+. But looking into each component, what’s really saving their defensive ranking is that they do a solid job preventing explosive plays, ranking 6th in unadjusted IsoPPP and 21st in plays allowed of 20+ yards.

The problem is that, after adjusting for the quality of opposing offenses, the Illini’s defensive IsoPPP+ ranking falls all the way to 91st. And all of their other opponent-adjusted rankings (overall success rate, rushing, and passing S&P+) are 90th or worse.

Given their rushing success rate (48.1%, 114th) and opportunity rate (42.8%, also 114th), the Buckeyes should find plenty of success on the ground behind Dobbins, Weber, and Barrett. I’d expect a pretty vanilla approach and limited carries for the first stringers, given that the next two weeks will be against much tougher defenses (assuming Ohio State plays in the Big Ten title game, which is highly likely), but the most interesting thing to watch here will be whether the Buckeyes continue last week’s trend of new formations (wide splits for receivers, unbalanced formations) and how the backups perform, if/when they get extended playtime.

Saturday might see rain and wind for the game, increasing the likelihood of a run-heavy day for Ohio State. I’d imagine that the Buckeyes go aggressive early to pile up a big lead they can then sit on and eat clock. Expect most of the passing to continue last week’s horizontal-stretch RPO concepts to running backs, slot receivers, and tight ends, with the occasional first-half deep shot to Dixon, Victor, or Mack. Either way, given the Illini’s passing success rate (42.5%, 88th) and lack of defensive havoc (107th), Ohio State should find plenty of success throwing in J.T.’s last game in The ‘Shoe.

When Illinois has the ball


A decade ago, Juice Williams and the Illini offense upset Ohio State because of OSU interceptions, holding Beanie to 3.4 yards per carry, and Juice Williams’ running. This year’s Illini are a far cry from that group, but they do have a run-first quarterback in freshman Cam Thomas. It’s unclear whether Thomas or sophomore Jeff George Jr. will get the start, but neither one has found much success throwing the ball, ranking 103rd in passing S&P+. Thomas has only completed 40% of his passes with three interceptions, while George Jr. is up to 51.9% as the better pocket passer. Both have negative touchdown-to-interception ratios, for what it’s worth. That’s largely due to an offensive line that is 123rd in adjusted sack rate (going up against Ohio State’s 24th-ranked adj. sack rate defense, with a defensive line that’s 4th in havoc rate).

But there are some silver linings for the passing offense. Freshman wide receiver Ricky Smalling is just the second-most targeted receiver, but leads the team in receiving yards while averaging a healthy 16.7 yards per catch. And tight end Louis Dorsey is actually second on the team behind Smalling in total receiving yards, averaging 18.4 yards per catch. Depending on Damon Arnette’s status, as well as the health of the linebackers, they could give the pass defense some trouble (assuming the quarterbacks have time to throw). I’ll especially be interested in the linebackers’ play after last week when Malik Harrison and Tuf Borland shined, while Worley looked much better playing on the outside.

The Illini run game also has some bright spots. Ranking 66th in overall S&P+, it might be the best part of this year’s team. The young offensive line still allows run stuffs on nearly 21% of runs, but freshman running back Mike Epstein has shown some upside averaging 6.1 yards per carry and a very strong 49.1% opportunity rate. Combine Epstein with quarterback Cam Thomas (7.4 yards per carry, 56.7% opportunity rate), and you’ve got a pretty solid combination of runners. They even managed the third-highest yards per carry average against the Badgers, at 4.06. This will definitely be the most interesting matchup to watch on defense, as any consistency here could keep the game competitive.

Takeaways

1. The Illini are overmatched in almost every statistical category, but have bright spots in their running offense with Cam Thomas at QB, tight end Louis Dorsey, and freshman receiver Ricky Smalling.
2. The young Illini offensive line has a very bad matchup with Ohio State’s elite defensive line, ranking 89th and 123rd in offensive stuff rate and adjusted sack rate.
3. The Illini defense is pretty solid, ranking 69th overall, and doing a great job preventing explosive plays. The interior of their defensive line is pretty strong, which should give a decent test to the offensive line to make holes. The weather might have an effect on the passing game, so expect a lot of horizontal RPOs, and plenty of bash. Look for whether Wilson continues to use last week’s unbalanced formations.

Picks

• S&P+: Ohio State 43, Illinois 11
• My pick: Ohio State 49, Illinois 10

Continue reading...

Ohio State recruiting mailbag: Buckeyes could land another Florida star; wide receivers next up - Landof10.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State recruiting mailbag: Buckeyes could land another Florida star; wide receivers next up
Landof10.com
Have Ohio State football recruiting questions? We've got answers. Join us every Thursday for the Land of 10 Ohio State recruiting mailbag. This week, we talk about a number of things, including how the Buckeyes could land another star from Jacksonville ...
Future Buckeye DB impresses in senior season highlight video247Sports
Anthony Cook, Emory Jones and more: What's the latest with Ohio State's top remaining recruiting targets?The Athletic

all 3 news articles »

Continue reading...

b/c we let up 55 to Iowa. No "benefit of the doubt" this year. Buckeyes need to win out in impressive fashion and still hope for help. Not impossible but not likely.

Buckeyes release trailer for emotional Senior Day vs. Illinois - Waiting For Next Year
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes release trailer for emotional Senior Day vs. Illinois
Waiting For Next Year
Long Live The Brotherhood has been the theme for much of the season, but that has become even more apparent in the last couple games when the Ohio State Buckeyes have worn undershirts that say it, which they future proudly while warming up prior to ...
D-tackle Antwuan Jackson to the Buckeyes : 'I'm on my way, soon'247Sports
The Ohio State defense will have their way with the Illinois offenseLand-Grant Holy Land

all 2 news articles »

Continue reading...

Miami looks to stay undefeated as they host Virginia in Week 12’s national College Football action
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Hurricanes have a showdown set with Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, but they still have some work to do before their matchup with the Tigers.

Last week ATS: 8-5-1 (4-2-1 National, 4-3 B1G)

Season ATS: 73-76-4 (32-32-2 National, 41-45-2 B1G)

After getting spoiled with some great matchups the last few weeks, this week’s schedule is pretty underwhelming. It’s essentially how you don’t eat too much close to Thanksgiving knowing of the impending punishment you are going to dish out to the turkey, sides, and dessert. MC&J was still able to find five national games that were worthy of your time on Saturday.

National games:


Virginia v. #3 Miami (FL) (-19.5) - 12:00 PM EST - ABC

Miami is really growing on people. Not only is Miami starting to get respect, especially after beating Virginia Tech and Notre Dame the past two weeks, but the turnover chain has people going out of their mind.

Virginia has been a lot better in Bronco Mendenhall’s second season, and the Cavaliers have already wrapped up bowl eligibility. The Cavaliers have a sneaky good quarterback in Kurt Benkert, who has thrown 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions so far this season.

The Hurricanes will stay undefeated, but I feel like this point spread is a little inflated, especially after last week’s demolition of Notre Dame. The Hurricanes might be in for a bit of a letdown, especially after two high-profile primetime games the past two weeks. Virginia is a solid team, and should be able to keep Saturday’s game within two touchdowns.

Miami 34, Virginia 24

No. 15 UCF (-14) v. Temple - 12:00 PM EST - ESPNU

The Golden Knights are in the driver’s seat of the Group of Five schools right now, but UCF has no margin for error, especially with Memphis sitting right behind them in the CFP rankings. Last week McKenzie Milton had another strong day, throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns in the 49-24 win over UConn.

Temple has been up and down in their first season after Matt Rhule left for Baylor. The Owls have split their last four games, with the last two being wins over Navy and Cincinnati.

Even though the Owls have been playing better lately, I’m not sure they are quite ready to handle what UCF is going to throw at them. Scott Frost’s squad is tested early, but pulls away in the second half to stay undefeated.

UCF 41, Temple 23

Kentucky v. No. 7 Georgia (-21.5) - 3:30 PM EST - CBS

The Bulldogs don’t have a lot of time to feel sorry for themselves after getting pasted by Auburn last week. Georgia will host a Kentucky team that is 7-3, but could have an argument for being 9-1 after losing to Florida by just a point earlier in the year, and by a field goal to Ole Miss a couple weeks ago.

The Wildcats aren’t going to throw the football unless they absolutely have to. Who could blame Kentucky for wanting to run the football when they have a running back like Benny Snell Jr.; the sophomore from Westerville has already rushed for 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns this year.

Kentucky has been pretty good at stopping the run this year, but they’ll have their hands full trying to slow down Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. If the Wildcats can slow the duo and make Jake Fromm do more with his arm, then Kentucky might even have a shot at the upset. I don’t think it’s quite that serious, but the Wildcats will at least give Georgia a game.

Georgia 28, Kentucky 20

Navy v. No. 8 Notre Dame (-18) - 3:30 PM EST - NBC

This game might be over in two hours with how much these two teams like to run the football. Navy is averaging 369.8 yards per game rushing this year, while Notre Dame is averaging 303.2 yards per game rushing. The Fighting Irish will be looking for a little revenge, as the 28-27 loss to the Midshipmen helped contribute to the 4-8 record Notre Dame posted in 2016.

Last week, Navy was even more Navy than usual. The Midshipmen beat SMU 43-40 without completing a pass. Quarterback Malcolm Perry made his first start last week and rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Mustangs. The bad news for Navy is Perry is dealing with an ankle injury, so his status is up in the air for Saturday’s game.

The good news for Notre Dame is they don’t have to see the turnover chain this week. Miami laid a whoopin’ on the Fighting Irish last week, but Notre Dame should bounce back ahead of their regular season finale against Stanford next week. Running back Josh Adams will have a big game after rushing for just 40 yards last week. Even if Perry plays for Navy, who knows how effective he’ll be. Give me the Golden Domers by three touchdowns here.

Notre Dame 42, Navy 21

UCLA v. No. 11 USC (-16) - 8:00 PM EST - ABC

What a quarterback battle we are in store for on Saturday night. After missing the game against Utah a couple weeks ago, Josh Rosen returned last week and threw for 381 yards and a touchdown in the 44-37 win over Arizona State. Rosen hasn’t gotten much help from his running game, or the UCLA defense, which is why you are seeing such a big spread for this rivalry game.

Sam Darnold had a rocky start to the year, but since the loss to Notre Dame, the sophomore has been excellent. The Trojans have won all three games since their setback to the Fighting Irish, Darnold has thrown for 906 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception. Darnold isn’t doing it alone, as running back Ronald Jones II has 552 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns during that span.

I know USC is a more talented team than UCLA. Jim Mora’s seat is still plenty hot, but I think the Bruins at least put forth a decent effort against the Trojans. Rosen keeps UCLA within shouting distance, but Darnold and Jones II are too much for the Bruins to overcome to pull the upset.

USC 38, UCLA 28

Continue reading...

Big Ten Q&A: Ohio State OT Jamarco Jones on toughest teammate & more
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Who was your favorite offensive lineman growing up? Name the one teammate you’d take with you to a brawl? If they were going to call a play for an offensive lineman to run the ball, who gets the call? It's a Q&A with Ohio State OT Jamarco Jones.

Continue reading...

Ohio State football: Michigan might have 2 shots to sabotage Buckeyes' playoff bid - Landof10.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football: Michigan might have 2 shots to sabotage Buckeyes' playoff bid
Landof10.com
All week long, our Land of 10 reporters following the Buckeyes will address pressing questions on the minds of the Ohio State fan base with our new daily feature. To ask Austin Ward a question, follow along on Twitter and suggest a topic right here.
Ohio State Football: Buckeyes owe themselves a clean victory vs. IllinoisScarlet and Game
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview and PredictionAthlonSports.com
Highlights from the Urban Meyer Show: OSU has to win Illibuck247Sports
Waiting For Next Year -cleveland.com -Martins Ferry Times Leader
all 42 news articles »

Continue reading...

Another blowout win for Ohio State seems likely versus Illinois
Colton Denning via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Podcasting about the Fighting Illini, and how terrible the Illibuck is.

Ohio State has played in a lot of blowout games this season:


The Buckeyes’ eight wins have been by an average of 35 points, and with Illinois on deck, it wouldn’t be a shock to see that average stay the same, or even increase a bit.

The Illini have a legitimate case for being the worst team Ohio State has played this season (112th in S&P+) and are projected to take a modest 32-point beating. So with Saturday’s game likely to get out of hand quickly, what will we discuss on this episode of The Hangout in the Holyland? The Illibuck, of course.

In a conference full of trophy games, the Illibuck is the only one Ohio State plays for, and boy, is it ugly. On today’s episode, Matt Brown and Colton Denning bury the Illibuck —as well as the “rivalry” with Illinois— and talk about why it’s one of the worst trophies in the conference. The guys also:

• Rank the trophies that are better. (Shoutout to the $5 Bits of Broken Chair!)
• Try to find any way that Illinois can pose a threat to Ohio State, and wonder if the Fighting Illini are built for tangible success in modern college football.
• Discuss Arkansas firing Athletic Director Jeff Long, and whether BERT will be back in the Big Ten soon.
• Take a look at the rest of Week 12, why you should keep an eye on non-power 5 games, and more!

You can find the podcast on our iTunes page, and we encourage reviews, comments, criticisms, etc. to help us deliver the best possible audio product. The more we hear from you, the better we can make it. We’re also on Soundcloud, and you can subscribe via RSS on your Android and Windows Phone devices here.

Continue reading...

Highlights from the Urban Meyer Show: OSU has to win Illibuck - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Highlights from the Urban Meyer Show: OSU has to win Illibuck
247Sports
It's Thursday which means Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer joins Paul Keels and Jim Lachey on 97.1 The Fan at noon. This week should be a bit different than the last show, after the Buckeyes lost 55-24 to Iowa. Now Meyer can discuss the 48-3 win over ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Found this in the interweb tubes. This list is for only teams that were ranked at least fifteen times, though there's a separate table for all teams. Higher is better.

Oregon 58½
Kansas State 56
Texas Christian 45
Michigan State 35½
Wisconsin 28
Alabama 22½
Iowa 20½
Virginia Tech -1
Penn State -5
Auburn -7½
Washington -19
Ohio State -25
Syracuse -34½
Clemson -36
Georgia -47
Texas A&M -47
Miami-Florida -55
UCLA -55½
Florida -56½
Tennessee -59
Louisiana State -72½
Michigan -76½
Florida State -87½
Nebraska -91½
Oklahoma -95½
Notre Dame -103½
Southern Cal -107
Texas -118

http://preseason.stassen.com/over-under/teams.html

Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview and Prediction - AthlonSports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview and Prediction
AthlonSports.com
The Ohio State Buckeyes, fresh off a 48-3 rout of Michigan State, look to continue their winning ways as the team will conclude its home slate of games on Saturday against struggling Illinois. Senior Day in Ohio Stadium is always an emotional affair ...
Ohio State football podcast: There's no sugarcoating Illinois is not the same test Iowa wasLandof10.com
Buckeyes release trailer for emotional Senior Day vs. IllinoisWaiting For Next Year
What To Watch: Texas Southern at Ohio State247Sports
Land-Grant Holy Land -Daily Illini -Eleven Warriors
all 19 news articles »

Continue reading...

The Ohio State defense will have their way with the Illinois offense
Christopher Jason via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Illini quarterback situation is not great.

Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith is not sure who is going to start for his football team on Saturday against the Buckeyes, but unfortunately for Smith, it won’t make a difference who he picks.

When re-watching Illinois’ 24-10 loss to Wisconsin, the game wasn’t actually as close as the scoreboard indicated. Smith flip-flopped his two quarterbacks throughout the afternoon, and neither could get anything going against a comparable defense to what they’ll see on Saturday.


On the 41 dropbacks that Jeff George Jr. and Cam Thomas made, they only completed 11 passes. On the 22 incompletions that were thrown, the majority of them were not even close to being completed. The offensive line let up a pressure on 30-percent of the dropbacks and as one can see, it was a complete disaster all afternoon.

Chayce Crouch began the season as the starter before struggling. Crouch struggled so much behind center that he was moved to H-back. Jeff George Jr. took over for Crouch and has completed only 50-percent of his throws to the tune of seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Smith decided to sub in true freshman Cam Thomas, who is a pretty good runner, but will not challenge any secondary through the air. George is the ‘better thrower’ of the two, but that’s not saying much.

• On Illinois’ first series, George went 0-3 with an interception. On this throw, he showed he does not have the arm strength to hit the 10-yard out. The Wisconsin corner wasn’t fooled by the route, and was able to undercut the route for the easy interception. George had to go somewhere else with the football in that situation.

• After subbing out George for Thomas, George was put back into the game and overthrew this receiver who created the most separation on the afternoon. George had a clean pocket and a wide-open receiver, but couldn’t hit him.

• I want to blame this on miscommunication between Thomas and his receiver, but it’s pretty clear that the outside receiver ran a go route to open up the quick out. The receiver actually got some good separation on the defender, but Thomas overthrew the out by about five yards.

• When Thomas enters the game, he’s most likely going to run the ball. They typically like to line up in an empty formation and call a designed QB Draw. After racking up 10-plus yards on a zone read, they never went back to it. Thomas flashes, but he’s extremely raw and inconsistent.
• This is another bad decision by Thomas. This was a slow developing banana route that was easily undercut by the safety. Luckily for Thomas, the safety dropped the interception.

• It’s tough to see what Thomas saw on this play. There were four defenders in the screen to only two receivers, and neither receiver had a chance to make a play on the football. It’s unfair to put all the blame on the quarterback in a situation like this, but he did throw it into an area where nothing positive would occur.

Overall, it’s going to be total destruction for the Ohio State defense against Illinois. The offense has freshman receiver Ricky Smalling as a playmaker, but he’s most likely going to be blanketed by Denzel Ward. The defensive line is going to get pressure on these quarterbacks early and often, which will result in plenty of mistakes. It’s going to be ugly for Lovie Smith and it’s not going to matter who he chooses to start at quarterback.

Continue reading...

Explosive kid.

Ohio State football podcast: There's no sugarcoating Illinois is not the same test Iowa was - Landof10.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football podcast: There's no sugarcoating Illinois is not the same test Iowa was
Landof10.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Get insight and reaction to Ohio State football on the Inside the Shoe podcast, brought to you by Land of 10. On the latest edition, Kyle Lamb previews the Buckeyes' game against Illinois on Saturday. Unlike the game against Iowa, ...
What To Watch: Texas Southern at Ohio State247Sports
How to watch Ohio State vs. Texas Southern: Preview, game time, live streaming onlineLand-Grant Holy Land
Touchdown Times: Ohio StateDaily Illini
Eleven Warriors -Sports Chat Place (blog) -OSU - The Lantern
all 12 news articles »

Continue reading...

Ohio State isn't being unfairly targeted, but targeting rule needs to be fixed - Landof10.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State isn't being unfairly targeted, but targeting rule needs to be fixed
Landof10.com
The Buckeyes have been hit with the stiffest penalty in the game four times this season, earning ejections and one-way trips to the shower because a targeting rule that was created with noble intentions has now become perhaps the most controversial in ...


Continue reading...

Turnure has been a great player for the Bucks Special Teams. Congrats to him again and well done!

How to watch Ohio State vs. Texas Southern: Preview, game time, live streaming online
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State will look for their third win in a row when they host Texas Southern at Value City Arena later tonight.

After starting off the 2017-18 campaign with wins over Robert Morris and Radford, Ohio State will look to stay undefeated under Chris Holtmann when they host Texas Southern tonight. The Buckeyes are 6-0 all-time against members of the SWAC, and tonight will mark Ohio State’s first-ever meeting with Texas Southern. The last time the Buckeyes played a member of the SWAC came back in 2015, when Ohio State thumped Grambling 82-55 in Columbus.

Ohio State had little trouble with Radford on Sunday afternoon, in a 82-72 win over the Highlanders. The Buckeyes led by as many as 26 points at one point in the second half of Sunday’s game, but a 23-8 run by Radford to close the game made the score look a lot more respectable for the Highlanders than it actually was. Keita Bates-Diop recorded a game-high 22 points in the victory, while guard C.J. Jackson added 19 points.

While there has been plenty of positive play for Ohio State to start off the season, there have been a couple of areas where the Buckeyes must improve if they are going to find success the rest of the year. Against Robert Morris, Ohio State turned the basketball over 19 times, and followed that performance up with 15 turnovers against Radford. With the competition about to ramp up with the PK80 Tournament next week — along with the start of conference play — the Buckeyes will have to take better care of the basketball.

Turnovers haven’t been the only issue for Ohio State early in the season. The Buckeyes have had a tough time finding their range from behind the arc. Ohio State made just five of the 18 three-pointers they attempted against Robert Morris, and on Sunday they made eight of their 27 attempts from behind the arc. If the Buckeyes are going to have any success this year, they’ll have to either improve on their long-range shooting, or find other ways to put points on the board.

Texas Southern comes into tonight’s contest having lost their first two games, but they are a team the Buckeyes can’t take lightly. The Tigers opened up their season with a 97-69 loss to Gonzaga on Friday, and on Sunday just missed out on a chance to take down Washington State in Pullman. The Tigers were up by as many as 22 points in the second half against the Cougars, but Washington State fought back to force overtime, and eventually earn a 86-84 win over Texas Southern.

Many Ohio State fans will notice a familiar name coaching Texas Southern, as Mike Davis is now in his sixth season with the school. The former Indiana head coach has amassed a 99-69 in Houston, and the Tigers have made the NCAA Tournament three times since 2014. Last year Texas Southern won the SWAC regular season title, along with the conference tournament, before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Numbers to know

143


Sunday’s win was the 143rd game Ohio State has won when they have had at least two Buckeyes recording a double-double. Not only did Keita Bates-Diop record a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but Jae’Sean Tate joined the junior by scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. In games where at least two Buckeyes record a double-double, Ohio State is 143-51 all-time.

136


Since the start of the 2010 season, Ohio State is tied with Kentucky for most home wins. The Buckeyes have posted a 136-22 record in Columbus since 2010, and a win would break a tie with the Wildcats for at least a day, as Kentucky hosts East Tennessee State in Lexington tomorrow night.

13


The 2017 portion of Texas Southern’s 2017-18 season will be spent exclusively on the road. The Tigers’ first 13 games of the season will take place away from home. Already Texas Southern has visited the Pacific Northwest for games against Gonzaga and Washington State, and after the Tigers leave Columbus they’ll play at Syracuse on Saturday and at Kansas on Tuesday. At least all the time spent on the road should bring Texas Southern together as they try to secure another NCAA Tournament bid.

Cast of characters

Ohio State

Keita Bates-Diop


After missing most of last season due to injury, the redshirt junior forward looks to be making up for lost time so far this year. Bates-Diop has recorded double-doubles in Ohio State’s first two games this season, and now the Buckeyes are 8-0 when Bates-Diop records a double-double. Even though Bates-Diop is returning from injury, it doesn’t look like he is on any sort of minutes restriction, as evidenced by the 32 minutes he was on the court for in Sunday’s victory against Radford.

Kaleb Wesson


The freshman has come off the bench in each of his first two games with the Buckeyes, but the Westerville native is already demanding more minutes with how he is playing when he is on the floor. After scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds in his Ohio State debut against Robert Morris on Friday night, Wesson added nine points off the bench in Sunday’s win. As long as Wesson can stay out of foul trouble, he should see his minutes continue to increase.

Texas Southern

Donte Clark


Texas Southern’s NCAA Tournament hopes got a big boost when they were able to land graduate transfer Donte Clark from UMass. The guard averaged 16.1 points per game during the 2015-16 season for the Minutemen, and 12.6 points per game last year. Clark has already been asked to shoulder a lot of the load for the Tigers, playing 85 minutes in his first two games. Despite the drop in scoring last year, Clark has shown he can still fill up the score sheet, recording 13 points in his debut with the team against Gonzaga, and following that performance up with 22 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Washington State.

Demontrae Jefferson


Teaming with Clark in the backcourt is reigining SWAC Freshman of the Year Demontrae Jefferson. Last year Jefferson averaged 14.8 points per game for the Tigers. The 5-7 guard from Milwaukee has been even better this year, scoring 20 points against Gonzaga, and 22 points in the overtime loss to Washington State. One area of Jefferson’s game Ohio State might be able to exploit is his ball security, as the sophomore is averaging four turnovers per game so far this year.

How to watch:


Game time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: 97.1 WBNS-FM

Streaming: BTN2Go

Continue reading...

Ohio State-Illinois Outrageous Predictions: Huge number of Buckeyes sacks, JT Barrett touchdowns - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State-Illinois Outrageous Predictions: Huge number of Buckeyes sacks, JT Barrett touchdowns
cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Who is best at achieving the ultimate combination of outrageousness and accuracy with his weekly Ohio State Outrageous Predictions? Find out thanks to Ryan Ginn from Landof10.com, our special guest this week, who has been tracking ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Vandals on hand to witness Buckeyes' 1000th win - Moscow-Pullman Daily News
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Vandals on hand to witness Buckeyes' 1000th win
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes showed why they are the winningest women's basketball program in the Big Ten on Wednesday. The Idaho Vandals got a front-row seat to the Buckeyes' 1,000 program victory, falling 99-56.
Kurelic: Buckeyes go for Georgia star; committed DB in picture247Sports
Women's basketball: Buckeyes get 1000th winThe Courier
No. 9 Ohio State 99, Idaho 56 | Linnae Harper stands tall in winThe Columbus Dispatch
OSU - The Lantern -Minneapolis Star Tribune
all 9 news articles »

Continue reading...