The biggest surprise in the Big Ten so far this season might be Ohio State’s secondary
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeye defensive backs have been lights-out in 2016.

“[Biggest surprises in the Big Ten this season?] Ohio State's secondary”

- Brian Bennett, ESPN


The writers over at ESPN covering the Big Ten went over the biggest surprises this season so far. Some of the choices included Jabrill Peppers’ outstanding performances to date this season, Northwestern’s ugly regression, the rise of Wisconsin with a new quarterback to boot, and the turnaround of Nebraska gunslinger Tommy Armstrong. One of the topics, however, was also Ohio State’s secondary. The Buckeyes’ defensive backs have been superb to date and that certainly came as a surprise to most, considering that two of its members are tied for the lead in the FBS for interceptions at three each.

Star safety Malik Hooker has certainly stolen the show when it comes to the secondary, despite tremendous performances by Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore at cornerback. Conley has locked opposing wide receivers down while Lattimore is one of the two defensive backs mentioned earlier. Hooker is the other player with three interceptions to his name. Between those three players and Damon Webb, the secondary has been at its best playing in their ball-hawking nature.

“[Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year] 1. Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett”

- Austin Ward, ESPN


So far so good for Ohio State and its players. In the ESPN Big Ten award projections, the Buckeyes have a clean sweep for the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year (J.T. Barrett), the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year (Malik Hooker), and of course the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year (Barrett again). The choices are no-brainers at this point in the season. Although its early to hand the award to anyone, these two Buckeyes have made their case in the first four weeks of the season. Barrett has been playing at the level he was two seasons ago in 2014, when he finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Hooker, meanwhile, has emerged as a star safety for Ohio State’s defense and has three interceptions so far this season. He alongside the other defensive backs have been a terror for opposing quarterbacks including Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. Should Hooker and Barrett continue to dominate in their respective fields, they should have no problem locking up the award lists at the end of the season. And Ohio State will likely find itself in a position to compete for a championship because of it.

“[Big Ten Bowl Projections] College Football Playoff: Ohio State”

- Brian Bennett, ESPN


Another round of Big Ten bowl projections has made its way around. ESPN’s Brian Bennett broke down which teams will end up where according to how the teams have looked thus far. Slotted into the College Football Playoff is Ohio State, led by Urban Meyer and J.T. Barrett. After the Buckeyes walloped Oklahoma on its home field, it makes sense for Ohio State to be the favorite to make it to the playoff after four weeks.

As for the other slots, Wisconsin was chosen for the Rose Bowl while Michigan landed in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Nebraska is currently projected for the Outback Bowl, with Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl. Iowa finds itself in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, and Minnesota gets in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Penn State gets slotted into the Foster Farms Bowl, while Maryland fills in at the Quick Lane Bowl.

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Watch: Ohio State’s Official Highlight Reel vs Tulsa
tBBC Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

The Ohio State Buckeyes silenced any disaster the Golden Hurricane presented during week two of the college football regular season.

Despite a sluggish start, Ohio State put together a 48-3 win behind the defensive excellence of Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker, who scored on interceptions late in the second quarter to give the Buckeyes a 20-3 lead heading into the locker room.

The offense did the rest in the second half, scoring four touchdowns behind the leadership of J.T. Barrett, who scored two rushing touchdowns in the second half. Mike Weber, Curtis Samuel, and Barrett combined to rush for 225 yards and three scores.

Watch the official highlight video of the Ohio State football program above.

The post Watch: Ohio State’s Official Highlight Reel vs Tulsa appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Ohio State RB Mike Weber is filling Ezekiel Elliott’s shoes nicely
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 redshirt freshman has impressed through three games.

By now, we all know the storyline. Ohio State had to replace 3,961 yards and 43 touchdowns from Ezekiel Elliott. Once Elliott got selected fourth overall in the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, redshirt freshman running back Mike Weber was next-in-line for the “Cadillac position in college football.”

Through three games, Weber has fit right in and has exceeded expectations of Buckeye fans. Not only has he demonstrated the power that was advertised, but he has shown pretty good vision, acceleration and agility to make defenders miss at the second level.

He’s shown his power. Per CFB Film Room, out of Weber’s 350 rushing yards, a whopping 121 of those yards have came after contact, which equals 2.3 yards per contact, per attempt. Remember how Elliott was never stuffed at the line of scrimmage and always found a way to gain a first down on third or fourth-and-short? Well, out of his 53 carries, the Detroit native has only been stuffed at the line or behind the line of scrimmage on two of those carries.

Weber has also shown his surprising shiftiness by forcing 16 missed tackles. By comparison, Curtis Samuel — who has gained Percy Harvin comparisons — has forced 12 missed tackles on 31 carries. Pretty good for a “power back.”

Most importantly, Weber has moved the chains on 20 of those 53 carries.

Below, Weber shows his vision and acceleration. It seems as though the game has already slowed down — after just three games — for the redshirt freshman, which is extremely rare. One could argue that Weber is ahead of where Elliott was through his first three games as a starter.


His ability to see the crease slightly open up, cut on a dime and accelerate through the hole is extremely special.



Below, the play is designed to go through the A-gap. In one of the few plays where the Ohio State offensive line failed to create a hole against Oklahoma, Weber used his instincts and speed to get to the edge and make something out of nothing. His ability to accelerate after his feet have stopped is pretty impressive.


If there has been one so-called “issue” with Weber so far, it has been his inability to break the big run that Buckeye fans were so used to with Elliott. There have been a number of shoestring tackles in the secondary that have brought down Weber, that could have gone for six. Out of his 53 carries, two of those have gone for 20-plus yards and 12 of those carries have gone for 10-plus yards. He’s gotten to the second level often; he’s just an arm tackle away from breaking the big one.

Here’s an example:


Overall, for a 5’10”, 212 lb. running back, Weber has showed a lot more than power as a runner. He has a bowling ball-like stature and a thick lower body, which reminds people of Carlos Hyde. But just like Hyde, he possesses great vision and acceleration, which makes him more than just an in between the tackles runner.

Buckeye fans should be exited for what’s to come with Weber, because although he hasn’t hit a home run yet, he has shown certain traits that would suggest him breaking one in the near future.

With the mix of the offensive line opening gaps for Weber, expect him to keep wearing down defenses and moving the chains. Fans obviously won’t forget Elliott, but Weber has made the transition much easier than most expected.

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Cougars Battle Buckeyes Wednesday - SIUE Cougars Official Athletic Site
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Cougars Battle Buckeyes Wednesday
SIUE Cougars Official Athletic Site
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES: Ohio State is 3-6 and 2-2 in their last four games. The Buckeyes are 3-2 at home this season. Danny Jensen has three goals and three assists to lead the team with nine points. Parker Siegfried has played all nine games in goal ...


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Week 5 primer: No. 8 Wisconsin at No. 4 Michigan, anyone?
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Week 5 brings us the first full-blow Saturday of all Big Ten games, as all 14 teams are in action for the first time vs. each other. And there is no shortage of intriguing matchups.

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QB Danny Clark’s decommitment is a sign of the times at Ohio State
E.L. Speyer via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


This isn’t your slightly older brother’s Buckeyes.

A funny thing happened in the world of Ohio State recruiting this morning.

Quarterback Danny Clark, an Ohioan who had been committed to Urban Meyer’s program for nearly three years, renounced his pledge to Ohio State ... and many fans viewed it as a win for the Buckeyes.

The Danny Clark saga is a microcosm of the recruiting super power that Meyer has built in Columbus, and it should make Buckeye fans should feel excited, optimistic and uneasy all at the same time.

For the longest time, Clark epitomized the stereotypical boy-dream of a kid who grew up in the shadow of Ohio Stadium. “I truly felt I was born to play for the Buckeyes,” he expressed in his decommitment letter on Twitter.


Reading that passage, it’s easy to envision a young Clark playing catch with his Dad in the backyard, donned in a loose-fitting jersey of Scarlet and Grey. Only in Clark’s mind, he wasn’t tossing the ball around with his Dad, he was throwing strikes to Teddy Ginn or Santonio Holmes in front of 100,000 screaming fans.

It appeared that Clark’s lifelong dream would be realized when he committed to Meyer in December of 2013. So why was his storybook ending rewritten today?

For one, the 6’4 quarterback isn’t the best fit for Ohio State’s offense. Clark admitted this much. The quarterback run has always been a staple of Meyer’s spread option attack, and Clark is better suited for a more traditional pro-style approach.

But that was the case in 2013 as well.

In truth, the Ohio State program has changed more in the last three years than Clark has. In the late-winter of 2013, the Buckeyes were recovering from a devastating loss to Michigan State in the Big 10 title game. Yes, that was OSU’s first loss in 25 games under Meyer, but the program didn’t have the national cache it does today.

Everything changed when Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015. The postseason wins against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon served as a month-long infomercial for the Buckeyes’ recruitment brand. Blue-chip talent from across the country began to recognize that Columbus was a destination to realize college football glory. That notion was only further emphasized last Spring when five Buckeyes were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Meyer has always been an elite recruiter. Ohio State has always been a prestigious school. Yet the recent success has created an environment that has likely never been seen in the Midwest before; the OSU staff isn’t recruiting talent as much as it’s selecting it.

Unfortunately this means that sometimes even the most devout Buckeye supporters get left behind.

We’ll likely never know what transpired between Meyer and Clark leading up to today. Clark tweeted that he’ll never answer questions about the matter, out of respect for the coaches. The coaches are not even permitted to speak about specific recruits until national signing day in February.

Reading between the lines, it’s fair to assume that Clark didn’t develop into the player Meyer thought he’d be as a high school freshman. Ohio State has never signed multiple quarterbacks in a recruiting class under Meyer, yet the coaches actively pursued other options for the 2017 class well after Clark’s commitment. This summer Tate Martell, the second-ranked dual threat quarterback in the country, verbally committed to the Buckeyes.

Ohio State has a space issue, and this isn’t the year to spend two scholarships on a position where only one player can start. There are 17 prospects committed to OSU at the moment, but only six scholarship seniors set to leave the program after this season.

This means that the Buckeyes will need to shed at least 11 scholarship athletes from the current roster, through transfers or early entrees to the NFL. And that’s assuming Ohio State only signs 17 athletes this February, an unlikely scenario when the Buckeyes are considered to be leaders for a pair of five-stars, per 247sports, and in contention for other top-ranked recruits.

This is not a new scenario for the Ohio State coaching staff. The Buckeyes lost a commitment earlier this year from 4-star running back Todd Sibley, after he was asked to grayshirt in light of the numbers crunch. Sibley happens to be Clark’s teammate at Archbishop Hoban. It’s possible that the option to delay college enrollment for a year was presented to Clark, as well.

Even if Clark were to greyshirt, there was still no guarantee that he would ever play a meaningful down for his beloved Buckeyes. Emory Jones, the top-ranked dual threat signal caller in the class of 2018, is already in the fold for next year. He and Martell both seem better suited to succeed as Ohio State’s quarterback.

“Sometimes the writing is on the wall, and you just have to see through the tears to read what it says,” wrote Clark.

The writing is a list of four and five-star recruits from every corner of the country, destined to bring more championships to Columbus.

It’s OK to celebrate that. But don’t look past Danny Clark’s tears.

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Polls: It’s time to pick your Week 5 Big Ten winners
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Every week during the 2016 football season, the BTN.com team makes its Big Ten game predictions. We also provide polls for Big Ten fans to select their winners, and to compete with BTN’s Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina all season long. See our Week 5 predictions below, and scroll down to vote for your winners. Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) 2016 record: 37-8 Week 5 picks: Ohio State 51, Rutgers 0; Iowa 27, Northwestern 17; Maryland 33, Purdue 31; Minnesota 31, Penn State 24; Wisconsin 28, Michigan 27; Nebraska 49, Illinois 6; Michigan State 35, Indiana 24 Big Ten fans 2016 record:

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Will Ohio State’s Mike Weber break away this week against Rutgers?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State’s freshman RB has been close to busting through all season.

After a week off following their triumphant trip to Norman, the second-ranked Buckeyes are preparing to welcome an old friend back to the ‘Shoe in the form of new Rutgers Head Coach, Chris Ash. The former Ohio State Defensive Coordinator has guided the Scarlet Knights to a 2-2 (0-1) record in his first four games at the helm, coming off of a late 14-7 setback against Iowa last week. Despite an early .500 record, Rutgers has already had an up-and-down season.

Following an opening week blowout at the hands of Washington (now ranked in the AP Top-10), the Knights struggled early before pulling away against Howard and New Mexico ahead of dropping a heartbreaker against the Hawkeyes.

The betting line for this Saturday’s matchup opened at an absurdly wide margin, and the Buckeyes have outscored their first three opponents 170-37. So, conventional wisdom would dictate that the Ohio State offense will have its way with the Scarlet Knights. While that might eventually prove to be the case, Rutgers has allowed only 362.5 yards per week this season; a far cry from the 545.3 that the Buckeyes have averaged offensively.

While early season statistics aren’t always the best indicator of a team’s true identity, Ash will undoubtedly get his offensive units up to speed on the players that he coached in Columbus for the past two seasons. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the game will be on the other side of the ball, and how running back Mike Weber is used against Rutgers’ beat up front four.

Rutgers gave up 193 yards rushing against Iowa last week on 38 carries, most of which came before senior defensive end Quanzell Lambert suffered a season-ending knee injury. The team also lost one of the best playmakers in school history, wide receiver Janarion Grant.

So, while it is possible, and perhaps even probable, that given Ohio State’s dominating offensive line that many of the team’s running backs could be successful this week, it will be instructive to see how Weber responds in his first taste of Big Ten action, especially in advance of more bruising games on the horizon. It will also be telling how and where Offensive Coordinators Ed Warinner and Tim Beck choose to get him his touches. For that reason, Mike Weber is this week’s offensive player to watch.

The stats


Name: Mike Weber
Number: 25
Position: Running Back
Year: RS Freshman
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 222 lbs.

The first-year running back has instantly become a vital cog in the Ohio State offense, racking up 351 yards rushing and a touchdown in his first three collegiate games. While he has not yet shown the breakaway speed that Buckeye fans became accustomed to from Ezekiel Elliot and Carlos Hyde, Weber has proven that he is an effective between-the-tackles runner, who is able to get to the second level and occasionally make defenders miss.

While Weber has yet to break through with a signature long run, like Hyde’s against Michigan or Elliot’s against Alabama, he has appeared on the doorstep of breaking one off on multiple occasions, only to be tripped up at the last second by a defender. Given two weeks to recuperate following his first true game action since his high school senior season in 2014, perhaps this could be the game in which Weber has his moment.

Opposition research

Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports
Quanzell Lambert (22) and Cardale Jones (12) when Ohio State traveled to Rutgers in 2015.

Rutgers’ first four opponents have been incredibly well balanced offensively, passing for 723 yards and rushing for 727. However, the Scarlet Knights have not yet faced an offense as explosively balanced as Ohio State. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in scoring offense (56.7), total offense (545.3), rushing offense (306/gm), and yards per play (7.1).

In the best-case scenario, Rutgers’ defense would be thoroughly tested by the OSU offense, but late in the game against Iowa, Lambert, one of the team’s defensive leaders, suffered a knee injury that will cost him the balance of his season. Lambert had a total of 15 tackles on the year, including 1.5 for loss, and he led the team with four quarterback hurries.

This week’s depth chart shows that RS junior Darnell Davis will take over on the right side of the Rutgers line. Though not as experienced as Lambert, Davis does have eight tackles thus far in 2016, including two behind the line of scrimmage.

Davis will most often be going up against Ohio State’s left defensive tackle Jamarco Jones, who created a number of massive holes for Weber to run through against Oklahoma.



What to watch for


It’s unlikely that Ohio State will need a Herculean effort from Weber to defeat the Scarlet Knights, but with more potentially taxing games on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the Buckeye coaching staff uses the freshman back, and how he responds.

Given the attention paid to quarterback J.T. Barrett’s efficiency and H-back Curtis Samuel’s playmaking ability, Weber has become a bit of an under-the-radar weapon; chipping away at defenses for small chunks of yards at a time. Averaging 6.4 yards per carry, Weber is nearly always a threat to tear off a big gain, but hasn’t had many opportunities to make a spashy impact on the offense yet.

So far this season, Weber has seen the ball almost exclusively via the zone-read, and against Oklahoma, those runs were almost always designed to go up the middle; even though he did have success bouncing outside to extend plays and pick up extra yardage.

However, in previous games the play calling did allow for opportunities for the freshman to get to the outside via counters, sweeps, and screens.



Though Ohio State’s explosive playcallers have H-backs Samuel and Dontre Wilson at their disposal, it will be telling to see if they find opportunities to get Weber in space in order to allow him to not only show off his speed, but to also prevent him from taking as many hits as he has in the season’s first three games.

The Rutgers defense has only allowed three runs of 23 or more yards this season, two of which went for touchdowns, and while he has been tantalizingly on more than a few times, it would be nice to see Weber have a break away run and a breakthrough game this weekend.

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How will Buckeyes use LBs Jerome Baker, Dante Booker? Ohio State football depth chart analysis - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


How will Buckeyes use LBs Jerome Baker, Dante Booker? Ohio State football depth chart analysis
cleveland.com
When the Buckeyes lined up against Tulsa in Week 2, it was Baker who started alongside Raekwon McMillan and Chris Worley. Against Oklahoma in Week 3, Baker earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for having seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and ...
Dante Booker or Jerome Baker? Urban Meyer Says Ohio State Will Need Both Linebackers Going ForwardEleven Warriors

all 2 news articles »

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Buckeyes in the NFL: Week 3 - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes in the NFL: Week 3
247Sports
Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! With so many Buckeyes gracing the rosters of NFL teams, each Tuesday, Bucknuts will take a look at how each former Ohio State player did in their game.

and more »

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Audio: Listen to your Big Ten coach’s Week 5 teleconference
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

Each Tuesday morning during the Big Ten football season, the 14 Big Ten football coaches hold a Big Ten teleconference with reporters from around the country. We post the audio for each segment of the call here.Filed under: Audio Tagged: Teleconferences

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Depth Chart: Rutgers Week
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Once again, there were no major changes to the Ohio State depth chart as they prepare for Big Ten action. Within the last week, the injury bug has affected two Buckeye players and while they didn’t appear on the two-deep both of them have received playing time this year. The first player is redshirt freshman wide receiver K.J. Hill who had two catches on the season for 59 yards and one touchdown. Hill will be out 3-4 weeks and will have a lot of ground to make-up going into the heart of their schedule if he wants to see the field again. The second player who was injured was redshirt freshman Justin Hilliard who will be lost for the season. Hilliard had tallied four tackles on the year and was one of the back-ups at Weakside Linebacker.

OFFENSE

POS NAME HT WT CLASS
QB J.T. BARRETT 6’2” 225 JR (R)
JOE BURROW 6’3” 208 FR (R)
RB MIKE WEBER OR 5’10” 215 FR (R)
CURTIS SAMUEL 5’11” 200 JR
WR1 NOAH BROWN OR 6’2” 222 SO (R)
PARIS CAMPBELL 6’0” 205 SO (R)
WR2 COREY SMITH OR 6’1” 195 SR (R)
JOHNNIE DIXON 5’11” 198 SO
H-BACK CURTIS SAMUEL OR 5’11” 200 JR
DONTRE WILSON 5’10” 195 SR
TE MARCUS BAUGH 6’5” 255 JR
AJ ALEXANDER 6’2” 254 FR (R)
LT JAMARCO JONES 6’5” 310 JR (R)
EVAN LISLE 6’7” 308 JR (R)
LG MICHAEL JORDAN 6’7” 310 FR
MATT BURRELL 6’4” 305 FR (R)
C PAT ELFLEIN 6’3” 300 SR (R)
BRADY TAYLOR 6’5” 300 SO (R)
RG BILLY PRICE 6’4” 315 JR (R)
DEMETRIUS KNOX 6’4” 308 SO (R)
RT ISAIAH PRINCE 6’7” 310 SO
BRANDEN BOWEN 6’7” 315 FR (R)
WR-Z TERRY MCLAURIN OR 6’0” 204 SO (R)
JAMES CLARK 5’10” 186 JR (R)



There were no changes to the offensive depth chart. While there continues to be a number of “OR’s” we pretty much know who is starting by now.

DEFENSE

POS NAME HT WT CLASS
DE TYQUAN LEWIS 6’4” 266 JR
RASHOD BERRY 6’4” 252 FR (R)
DT DRE’MONT JONES OR 6’3” 280 FR (R)
DAVON HAMILTON 6’4” 297 FR (R)
DT MICHAEL HILL 6’3” 295 JR (R)
ROBERT LANDERS 6’1” 285 FR (R)
DE SAM HUBBARD OR 6’5” 266 SO (R)
JALYN HOLMES 6’5” 274 JR
SLB CHRIS WORLEY 6’2” 228 JR (R)
JEROME BAKER 6’1” 225 SO
MLB RAEKWON MCMILLAN 6’2” 243 JR
CRAIG FADA 6’1” 225 SR
WLB DANTE BOOKER OR 6’3” 236 JR
JEROME BAKER 6’2” 230 SR
CB GAREON CONLEY 6’0” 195 JR (R)
DAMON ARNETTE 6’0” 195 FR
CB MARSHON LATTIMORE OR 6’0” 195 SO (R)
DENZEL WARD 5’10” 185 SO
S MALIK HOOKER 6’2” 205 SO (R)
ERICK SMITH 6’0” 202 JR
S DAMON WEBB 5’11” 193 JR
JORDAN FULLER 6’2” 205 FR



The biggest question mark come game time for the defense is the status of Dante Booker. He has been out for the past two weeks and was replaced by Jerome Baker who played great. If Booker misses this game, Baker will step in once again. For the first time, Baker is actually listed as the “OR” at this position.

SPECIAL TEAMS

POS NAME HT WT CLASS
P CAMERON JOHNSTON 5’11” 195 SR
K TYLER DURBIN 6’3” 210 SR
LS LIAM MCCULLOUGH 6’2” 210 FR (R)
PR DONTRE WILSON OR 5’10” 195 SR
COREY SMITH OR 6’1” 190 FR
CURTIS SAMUEL OR 5’11” 200 JR
KR DONTRE WILSON OR 5’10” 195 SR
JAMES CLARK OR 5’10” 186 JR (R)
JOHNNIE DIXON 5’11” 198 SO



No changes to special teams this week. After being the kick returner against Oklahoma, I expected Parris Campbell to make the list but that would mean actually updating the depth chart.

The post Depth Chart: Rutgers Week appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Ohio State-Rutgers 2016 depth chart: Justin Hilliard, K.J. Hill left off due to injuries
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The fourth depth chart of the season has been released with updates from injuries.



Ohio State took care of business on the road against Oklahoma with an impressive 45-24 beatdown of the Sooners. Following the road trip, the Buckeyes got to take a week off from games and head into Rutgers fresh and ready to play once more. Here’s the breakdown of the depth chart above.

J.T. Barrett is the starting quarterback and will be for the entirety of the season, barring injury. Barrett and the offense took control of the game early on two weeks ago against Oklahoma, and should have an easy time against a much weaker Rutgers team. Barrett went 14-of-20 passing for 152 yards and four touchdowns. Joe Burrow remains the backup.

At running back, the duo of Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel continued to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. Weber remains the starter with OR in between he and Samuel. Weber rushed for 123 yards on 18 carries but was held out of the endzone. Still, a strong showing on the road for the freshman as he continues to show off his nice combination of power and speed.

The starters are the same as in previous weeks, as the receiving core continues its growth. Noah Brown OR Parris Campbell starts at X, Corey Smith OR Johnnie Dixon, and Terry McLaurin OR James Clark at Z. Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor are the third-string options. Brown had his breakout performance with four touchdowns and 72 yards on five catches against the Sooners while Campbell, McLaurin, and Clark all notched a reception as well. K.J. Hill was left off the depth chart after coach Meyer confirmed he would be out for three-to-four weeks.

The H-back spot remains with Curtis Samuel OR Dontre Wilson. Samuel had another explosive performance with 11 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown. He also hauled in two receptions for 20 yards. Wilson was quieter against Oklahoma, but still notched two catches for 19 yards.

The tight end spot is firmly locked down by Marcus Baugh with A.J. Alexander listed as the backup. Baugh wasn’t able to get a reception against Oklahoma, but the Buckeyes secured a big win on the road and may look to use more of Baugh against the Scarlet Knights.

The offensive line starters are listed as Jamarco Jones, Michael Jordan, Pat Elflein, Billy Price, and Isaiah Prince (from left to right). The offensive line got back on track against the Sooners, protecting Barrett pretty well and opening plenty of holes for the running backs all night long.

On the defensive side of the ball, Sam Hubbard OR Jayln Holmes and Tyquan Lewis remain listed as the defensive end starters. The backups at defensive end are Nick Bosa OR Jonathon Cooper. In the middle, Michael Hill anchors the defensive line alongside Dre’Mont Jones who replaced Tracy Sprinkle and Davon Hamilton is listed as the co-starter with Jones.

The linebacking core continued to be a strong unit against Oklahoma. Raekwon McMillan is still slotted in at middle linebacker. Surrounding him are outside linebackers Chris Worley and Dante Booker OR Jerome Baker. Booker suffered a slight MCL sprain early on against Bowling Green and a combination of Joe Burger and Jerome Baker have stepped in very well in his place. Rashod Berry, Joe Burger, and Craig Fada are your backups. Baker was the one to fill in for Booker against Oklahoma and even came up with an interception against the Sooners that he returned all the way for a touchdown.

At cornerback, Gareon Conley is the starter on one end and Marshon Lattimore OR Denzel Ward on the other for the second corner spot. For safeties, Damon Webb slides over this season with Malik Hooker getting the other safety spot. Erick Smith is listed as the backup to Hooker, while Jordan Fuller is the backup to Webb. Lattimore continued his hot streak, adding another interception to his total for the season, while the rest of the defensive backs were superb against Baker Mayfield’s passing attack. Conley had a injury scare in the first half but was only kept out for precautionary reasons. Urban Meyer said Conley will play against Rutgers at full-go.

For special teams, sophomore walk-on Tyler Durbin continues to be the starter at kicker for both kickoffs and field goals as Sean Nuernberger recovers from a groin injury that forced him to miss most of camp. Durbin hit all of six of his extra points against Oklahoma and knocked in a field goal from 31 yards out.

Senior Cameron Johnston remains as the punter, and that’s no surprise considering he’s been a mainstay since his freshman season and has done a tremendous job. Against Oklahoma, Johnston launched a 68-yard punt that helped flip the field position game.

At punt return, Dontre Wilson OR Corey Smith OR Curtis Samuel are all in play. Handling kickoff returns will be Dontre Wilson OR James Clark OR Johnnie Dixon. The long-snapping duties are given to Liam McCollough, and holding for kicks is Cameron Johnston.

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Urban Meyer says he’s not interested in LSU job, will stay at Ohio State as expected
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Duh.

After LSU fired Les Miles as its head coach, reports surfaced that the Tigers would at least reach out to Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, even if they didn’t expect to get a chance with him. But Meyer confirmed he is not interested in the position at LSU on Tuesday, during the Big Ten coaches teleconference. He said he hasn’t yet received any contact from LSU, but that he’s going to stay at Ohio State and remain the head coach.


This doesn’t come as much surprise, but it is probably a smart move by Meyer to get out ahead of the possibility. LSU is likely targeting all the big names, which is a good move even if they aren’t successful in luring away any of them. The two biggest candidates might be Houston’s Tom Herman (Ohio State’s former offensive coordinator) and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher.

Les Miles was fired on Sunday and Ed Orgeron was put in as the interim head coach while the search for LSU’s new head coach continues.

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Dienhart: Big Ten players join National Anthem protest
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Like it, hate or feel indifferent about, the National Anthem protests by athletes across America have had their desired effect of bringing awareness to how African-Americans are treated by law enforcement.

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Danny Clark, '17 QB pledged to Ohio State football since his freshman year, decommits from Buckeyes - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Danny Clark, '17 QB pledged to Ohio State football since his freshman year, decommits from Buckeyes
cleveland.com
In his statement Clark, who was born in Columbus, said he felt he was born to play for the Buckeyes -- which is why he committed to Ohio State at such a young age. Since committing in 2013, Clark had been a fixture at Ohio State games and camps, and ...
Ohio State football | QB prospect Danny Clark changes mind, decommitsColumbus Dispatch
Danny Clark Decommits From Ohio State BuckeyesCampus Insiders
BM5: Anything to Clark to UK rumors? Buckeyes back from bye247Sports
Akron Beacon Journal (blog) -Eleven Warriors -Campus Sports
all 22 news articles »

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The View From Beyond The Shoe: Turn It Down!
Mike Meals via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


On the evening of Sunday, September 18th, I was lying in bed watching the Packers vs Vikings as I tried to nod off to sleep. At one point, the offense stalled and had to punt. The ball was near midfield. There was a penalty. NBC cut to a zoom on the referee who proceeded to tell us all what we already knew, “Delay Of Game, on the offense, 5 yard penalty, still 4th down”.
At that point, I went to twitter to ask



I grew up playing football. I studied the game. I have learned the game. I spent a lot of time working with coaches. I’ve spend way more time watching the game. In this situation, I start going insane wondering what in the world is going on?

Everyone here at The Buckeye Battle Cry grew up (or grew older) worshipping at the Temple of Tressel. We all fully understand the importance of the kicking and punting game. We still take Mass with Meyer and hear him preach the same sermon. We have accepted that this side of the game is so important that it’s okay to have starters on the kick coverage team, punt coverage team, on…well, you get the point.

But common sense makes me wonder why you, as the head coach of the receiving team, would accept these penalties? If the ball is at midfield, the punter has only 50 yards to play with, obviously. The best punting team in college football coming into last weekend’s games was Utah (Ohio State was a close second). Utah averages 52.1 yards per punt, with a long of 66 yards. The best punt of the young college season is 71 yards, and our very own Cameron Johnston has a season long of 68 yards, which is tied for fifth longest of the year. Add in that only 13 punters in all of the FBS level of college football have failed to register a punt of or over 50 yards.

Now, I know I played a lot of football in my younger days, and have drank a lot of beer since then, but even my math comes to tell me that teams are probably going to kick it to the end zone from the 50 yard line. Now I know there are certain punters who could pin the ball inside the 10 yard line still from that distance. And I know there are some who could do because they lack the ability to hit the end zone from the 50. But why would you, as the coach, want to give them more room to work?

Last time I checked, getting possession of the ball at the 20 yard line was a lot better than taking over at the 5 or 10 yard line. You have more room to work, room for your quarterback to move and even take a sack (not that anyone wants you to take a sack), but you get my point, right? And as we saw in the Ohio State vs Oklahoma game, turning the field like Cam did can really set the tone for the rest of the game, depending on the offense’s ability to capitalize.
The real question on a lot of these punts in the first place is “Why didn’t the coach just go for it on 4th down?” but that is a question for another time and another article. Look at the North Carolina 37-36 win over Pitt this weekend, where they converted FOUR 4th down conversions. But what will it take for these coaches to realize that they are giving an advantage to the opponent? At some point, a light bulb needs to go off telling them to start declining the delay of game penalties.

Think about how many times an Ohio State game you’ve been watching has a field goal kicked because the offense sputters out at the 15 yard line. Now think what those offenses would give to have that extra 15 yards covered. Guess what…I have a way here to help on some of those red zone trips.

Writers Note: We at Ohio State have been blessed when it comes to kickers in the last 15 years or so. But if you have not, look at Cam Johnston’s stats for this season: 3 games, 11 punts, 557 yards, 50.64 yard average. Having a weapon like that for the few occasions (11 to be exact) that the offense has had to surrender the ball to pin the opponent deep in their own territory? No wonder Ohio State has managed to have such a lights-out edition of the Silver Bullets this year.

http://gty.im/503095950

The post The View From Beyond The Shoe: Turn It Down! appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Ohio State football | QB prospect Danny Clark changes mind, decommits - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football | QB prospect Danny Clark changes mind, decommits
Columbus Dispatch
When blue-chip quarterback Tate Martell committed to the Ohio State 2017 recruiting class in June, most analysts thought it was only a matter of time until the first QB commit in the class, Danny Clark, and the Buckeyes parted ways. That time came today.
Danny Clark Decommits From Ohio State BuckeyesCampus Insiders
Danny Clark, '17 QB pledged to Ohio State football since his freshman year, decommits from Buckeyescleveland.com
BM5: Anything to Clark to UK rumors? Buckeyes back from bye247Sports
Eleven Warriors -Campus Sports -The Spun (press release) (blog)
all 17 news articles »

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Danny Clark Decommits From Ohio State Buckeyes - Campus Insiders
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Danny Clark Decommits From Ohio State Buckeyes
Campus Insiders
Ohio State now sits at 17 commits for the 2017 recruiting class. The Buckeyes lost 194 recruiting points with Clark's decision. However, they're still ranked No. 1 in the college football recruiting rankings with 3,847 points, 404 points ahead of No. 2 ...
Ohio State football | QB prospect Danny Clark changes mind, decommitsColumbus Dispatch
Danny Clark, '17 QB pledged to Ohio State football since his freshman year, decommits from Buckeyescleveland.com
BM5: Anything to Clark to UK rumors? Buckeyes back from bye247Sports
Eleven Warriors -USA TODAY High School Sports -The Spun (press release) (blog)
all 15 news articles »

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Buckeyes in the NFL – Week 3
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Week three of the NFL is in the books, and the Buckeyes in the league had a pretty good showing. From one player playing almost every position on the field, to guys making their NFL debuts, let’s take a look at how the former Buckeyes fared in week 3.

Let’s start with Mr. Do-it-All Terrelle Pryor for the Cleveland Browns. Pryor became the first player since the 1980’s to have at least 2 receptions, 2 rushing attempts and 2 completions, he even got in the action on defense playing safety to close out the first half. It looks like all the hard work that Pryor put in to converting himself to a wide receiver has finally paid off, as he has become a prime target downfield, and proved that he can do it from other spots on the field as well. As the Browns season continues to fade away, they do have a bright spot in Terrelle Pryor at least. The Browns lost in overtime 27-24 after a missed field goal at the end of regulation forced the game into overtime.





Michael Thomas grabbed his first touchdown reception of the season last night in the Saints 45-32 loss to the Falcons. Thomas had seven catches for 71 yards and the touchdown.



Ezekiel Elliott was held scoreless in his third game, but he showed why he was the #4 overall pick in last years draft with hard runs and 140 yards rushing. The Cowboys won 31-17 against the Bears.



The other starting Buckeye running back in the NFL is Carlos Hyde, and he also had himself a big game going for 103 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The 49ers lost 37-18 to the Seattle Seahawks.



Darron Lee continues to prove he was a great pick-up by the Jets with another solid performance notching six tackles, with two of them coming for a loss. He also had a half a sack and one hit on QB Tyrod Taylor.



Complete List of OSU Players in the NFL for Week 3:


Cardale Jones – DNP

Adolphus Washington – 3 total tackles

Corey Brown – Four catches for 57 yards

Kurt Coleman – 8 Total Tackles

Ted Ginn Jr. – Three catches for 64 yards, 2 rushes for 5 yards, 2 kick returns for 44 yards

Andrew Norwell – Started on O-Line

Mike Adams – DNP

Mike Nugent – 1/1 on Field Goals, 2/2 XP’s

Terrelle Pryor – 3/5 passing for 35 yards, 4 rushes for 21 yards and a touchdown, 8 catches for 144 yards

Ezekiel Elliott – 30 carries for 140 yards, 2 receptions for 20 yards

Rod Smith – 15 yard facemask penalty on special teams

Jeff Heuerman – 1 catch for 29 yards (1st NFL game)

Bradley Roby – 2 Total Tackles

Taylor Decker – Started on O-Line

Corey Linsley – DNP (Injured)

John Simon – 3 Total Tackles

Jack Mewhort – Started on O-Line

Michael Bennett – DNP (Injured)

Jake McQuaide – Started at Long Snapper

Alex Boone – Started on O-Line

Nate Ebner – 1 Total Tackle

Vonn Bell – 3 Total Tackles

James Laurinaitis – 7 Total Tackles

Michael Thomas – 7 catches for 71 yards and first career NFL touchdown

Eli Apple – 1 Total Tackle

Johnathan Hankins – 2 Total Tackles

Darron Lee – 6 Total Tackles, 2 TFL, 0.5 Sacks

Nick Mangold – Started on O-Line

Jalin Marshall – 2 catches for 19 yards, fumble lost

Devin Smith – DNP (Injured)

Malcolm Jenkins – 5 Total Tackles

Cameron Heyward – 5 Total Tackles

Ryan Shazier – 2 Total Tackles

Joey Bosa – DNP

Joshua Perry – Played, no stats

Carlos Hyde – 21 carries for 103 yards, 2 TD’s, 1 catch for 2 yards and a two-point conversion

Tyvis Powell – Played, no stats

Nick Vannett – DNP (Injured)

The post Buckeyes in the NFL – Week 3 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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1. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, was founded in 1766 as Queens College. Rutgers is the 8th-oldest college in the United States, and one of the nine "Colonial Colleges" that were chartered prior to the American Revolution. Rutgers is located in New Brunswick New Jersey, although the school's football stadium is located in nearby Piscataway. The school is named for Colonel Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War hero who in 1825 donated $5,000 (equivalent to $105,000 today) and a bronze bell (still in use) to the college. Rutgers's athletic teams are known as the Scarlet Knights and their mascot is known simply as The Scarlet Knight.

2. Rutgers is famous for playing in the first ever football game, on November 6, 1869, versus Princeton. The Scarlet Knights won that game, which has been described as a cross between soccer and rugby, by the unlikely score of 6-4. The two teams played a week later and Princeton prevailed in the rematch, 8-0. Both teams finished the season with identical 1-1 records, and they split the inaugural (retroactive) national championship awarded by the National Championship Foundation and recognized by the NCAA.

3. Rutgers's split national championship in 1869 is the only one in school history. The Scarlet Knights' title drought is 146 years and counting, a streak that would make the Chicago Cubs blush.

4. Rutgers has an overall record of 653-633-42, for a .508 winning percentage. The Scarlet Knights have 33 conference championships, but only one in a major conference (Big East co-championship in 2012). Thirty-one of Rutgers's conference titles were in the former Middle Three Conference (in existence from 1929 to 1975), which also contained Lafayette and Lehigh (both now FCS schools and members of the Patriot League).

5. After leaving the Middle Three Conference, Rutgers became an independent school from 1976 to 1990. During this period, Rutgers had a record of 87-74-4 (.539 winning percentage) and their best-ever single-season record (11-0-0 in 1976).

6. From 1991 to 2012, Rutgers participated in the Big East Conference. The Scarlet Knights' posted an overall record of 114-143-1 (.444 winning percentage), but their record in conference was just 48-101-1 (.323 winning percentage), with one co-championship in twenty-two seasons (2012).

7. Rutgers spent one year in the American Athletic Conference (2013) before joining the Big Ten to start the 2014 season. The Scarlet Knights have a 5-12 record in Big Ten play, including a 0-1 record this season (a 14-7 loss to Iowa last week). Rutgers has a record of 17-44 (.279 winning percentage) against teams currently in the Big Ten Conference.

8. Rutgers and Ohio State have played twice, once in each of the last two seasons. The Buckeyes won both meetings handily: 56-17 in 2014; and 49-7 in 2015.

9. Rutgers has had only four consensus All Americans in its history (Ohio State has had 81). End Paul Robeson was a two-time consensus All American (1917, 1918) before earning a law degree and embarking upon a career as a singer, actor, and political activist; Robeson was one of the first black players in college football and he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1961 center Alex Kroll became the second Rutgers player to earn consensus All American honors; Kroll would later become president and CEO of Young & Rubicam, the nation's largest advertising agency. Tight end Marco Battaglia became Rutgers's only unanimous All American after catching 69 passes for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns during the 1995 season; Battaglia was a second round selection of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1996 NFL Draft.

10. Rutgers has been ranked in the final AP poll just four times: 1958 (20th); 1961 (15th); 1976 (17th); and 2006 (12th).

11. The biggest game in the history of Rutgers football happened on November 9, 2006, when the #15 Scarlet Knights (8-0) faced the #3 Louisville Cardinals (also 8-0) in Piscataway. After falling behind 25-7 midway through the second quarter, Rutgers scored 21 unanswered points including the game winning field goal by Jeremy Ito with just 13 seconds left on the clock. The Scarlet Knights were led by running back Ray Rice (22 rushes, 131 yards, 2 touchdowns); wide receiver Kenny Britt (2 receptions, 82 yards); and linebacker Devraun Thompson (9 tackles, 2 sacks, interception, forced fumble).

12. After its historic win over Louisville, Rutgers was ever so briefly in the 2006 national championship picture. However, the Scarlet Knights would go on to lose two of their next three contests (Cincinnati, 30-11; West Virginia 41-39) before rebounding with a 37-10 win over Kansas State in the Texas Bowl. Rutgers finished the season 11-2 and ranked #12 in both major polls.

13. Chris Ash, who was defensive co-coordinator at Ohio State in 2014 and 2015, was hired to be the head football coach at Rutgers prior to the 2016 season. Ash was replaced at Ohio State by Greg Schiano, who was the head coach of Rutgers from 2001 to 2011. At Rutgers, Schiano compiled an overall record of 68-67 (.504), and a record of 5-1 (.833) in bowl games.

14. Rutgers enters the game with a record of 2-2, with wins over New Mexico (37-28) and FCS Howard (52-14), and a blow out loss at #10 Washington (48-13) and a surprisingly close loss at home to Iowa (14-7). Statistically, Rutgers is middle of the road compared to other FBS schools, and significantly behind Ohio State in all major team categories. On paper, this game should not be close.

Team	Total Offense	NCAA Rank	Score Offense	NCAA Rank	Total Defense	NCAA Rank	Score Defense	NCAA Rank	Turnovers	NCAA Rank
Ohio State	545.3 ypg	10th	56.7 ppg	3rd	278.3 ypg	14th	12.3 ppg	9th	+9	1st
Rutgers	387.3 ypg	86th	27.3 ppg	80th	362.5 ypg	45th	26.0 ppg	63rd	-2	86th

15. Rutgers is led on offense by running back Robert Martin (58 rushes, 358 yards, 6.2 average, 1 TD) and quarterback Chris Laviano (59/113, .522, 647 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT). The Scarlet Knights' most versatile offensive player, wide receiver Janarion Grant (138 yards rushing, 210 yards receiving, 21 yards passing, 307 yards returning, 6 total TD), is out for the season after suffering an ankle injury against Iowa last week. The defense is led by sophomore free safety Kiy Hester (26 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 passes defensed), a transfer from Miami of Florida. Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton is a former five-star recruit and a one-time Buckeye target; the three-time team captain has 16 tackles and one TFL so far on the season.

16. The 2016 Ohio State-Rutgers game will be played at The Horseshoe in Columbus during Homecoming Weekend. Kickoff is set for noon with the game being broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Ohio State has been installed as a 37 point favorite.

Danny Clark Decommits from Ohio State
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The 2017 Ohio State recruiting class lost its founding member Tuesday morning when 3-star pro-style quarterback Danny Clark from Archbishop Hoban High School announced on Twitter that he had decided to decommit from Ohio State and reopen his recruitment.



The Buckeyes received a commitment from Tate Martell back in May, and that kind of put a strain on where things stood with Clark. He said all the right things about coming in and competing for the job, and not taking anything for granted. Clark and Martell both showed up for Friday Night Lights and many said Clark actually performed better at the camp. Martell is able to run the spread offense, while Danny is more of your traditional drop back passer that has never really been featured in an Urban Meyer offense.

Clark will have many suitors for his talents, and Kentucky seems to be the leader in the clubhouse for now as crystal ball projections have begun to roll in for the Wildcats. I expect Danny to take his time and figure out what he truly wants to do. You can tell in his letter how heartbroken he is to have to give up his dream of playing at Ohio State.

Buckeye Nation wishes you all the best Danny! Thanks for being such a great ambassador for The Ohio State University and best of luck in your future endeavors.

The post Danny Clark Decommits from Ohio State appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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QB Danny Clark decommits from Ohio State
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The longtime Buckeye commit will be playing elsewhere after all.

Ohio State’s 2017 class just got a little bit smaller, after the recruit who has been the member the longest will be playing his college football somewhere else.

Three-star QB Danny Clark, of Massillon, Ohio, just decommitted from Ohio State, per his Twitter account.


Clark originally committed to Ohio State as a freshman, and made it clear throughout this process that Ohio State was his dream school, so on some level, this is a somewhat surprising development.

But Ohio State has already added another quarterback in this recruiting class, in four-star dual-threat QB Tate Martell. Over the last year, it became increasingly clear that Clark’s skillset is less fitted to Ohio State’s offense.

Ohio State’s QB room is also looking pretty full in the future, as Joe Burrow, Dwane Haskins, Tate Martell and Emory Jones will all be competing to take over after J.T. Barrett, and all four are blue-chip QB recruits. Given how tight the numbers will be in the 2017 class, another QB commitment was not much of a need for Ohio State.

Clark’s decommitment leaves Ohio State with 17 current commitments in the class of 2017, which is still ranked #1 in the country.

Best of luck to Clark in the rest of his recruiting process and his career.

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Around the B1G: Week 5 Edition
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


This weekend was the dreaded bye week for our beloved Buckeyes. While I’m sure they wished they had the bye week later on in the season, Coach Meyer and his staff used the time to work on fundamentals and get everyone a little healthier as they get ready for Big Ten play. While the Buckeyes were off, the rest of the B1G took some time to solidify their place in the pecking order. The two most anticipated match-ups over the weekend was Wisconsin at Michigan State and Penn State at Michigan. Let’s take a look Around the B1G.

Illinois (1-2 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Bye Week.

This Week: Illinois travels to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the red-hot Cornhuskers. This game can be seen on ESPN2 at 2:30 pm.

Indiana (2-1 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Lost to Wake Forrest, 28-33. Things started off well for Indiana as Nick Westbrook caught a 75 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game. After that, Wake Forrest went on a 24-0 run over the next two quarters of game time which proved to be insurmountable. This game is a rough loss for Indiana as they completely dominated the game racking up 611 yards of total offense compared to the Demon Deacons 352 yards. The big difference was Richard Lagow throwing five interceptions to completely negate his 496 yards passing and three touchdowns.

This Week: After a demoralizing loss, the Hoosiers now must welcome Michigan State to town. This game can be seen on BTN at 8 pm.

Iowa (3-1 overall, 1-0 conference)

Last Week: Beat Rutgers, 14-7. The Iowa Hawkeyes came into this game hoping to prove their loss to North Dakota State was a fluke…instead they struggled against a pretty bad Rutgers team and left Piscataway with even more questions. In what was supposed to be a severe mismatch, the Hawkeyes allowed the Scarlett Knights to hang around until late in the fourth quarter when Akrum Wadley scored from 26 yards out for the eventual game-winning touchdown. Wadley finished with 84 yards on the ground on only 12 carries. Fellow running back LeShun Daniels added 79 yards on 13 carries.

This Week: The Hawkeyes host the surprisingly bad Northwestern Wildcats at 11am.

Maryland (3-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Bye Week.

This Week: Maryland will welcome the Purdue Boilermakers who are riding high off of their big win against Nevada. This game is at 3:30 pm.

Michigan (4-0 overall, 1-0 conference)

Last Week: Beat Penn State, 49-10. The #SeptemberChamps were at it again showing their dominance while beating a fellow former great football program to a pulp. With the mandatory Michigan bashing out of the way, Michigan actually looked very impressive as this game was never really a contest. The Wolverines went into halftime with a 28-0 lead and coasted to an easy victory in the second half. On offense, the Wolverines relied heavily on their run game as they pounded out 340 yards and six touchdowns. As much as they’ve struggled against the run, the defense stepped up and held Penn State to only 118 yards on 2.9 yards per carry.

This Week: Michigan hosts Wisconsin which is sure to be an amazing game. This must-see game can be seen on ABC at 3:30 pm.

Michigan State (2-1 overall, 0-1 conference)

Last Week: Lost to Wisconsin, 6-30. I will be the first to admit I was surprised by the outcome of this game. While I wasn’t as impressed with their win against Notre Dame as everyone else, I figured they were a lot better than Wisconsin. I thought the Spartan defense would shut down the inept Badger offense and score more than enough points to pull out the win. The defense did their part as they held Wisconsin to 317 yards of total offense but Tyler O’Connor and the offense struggled to do anything against the Badgers. The Spartans turned the ball over four times and were sacked five times.

This Week: Sparty looks to rebound as they travel to Indiana. The game can be seen at 8pm on the BTN.

Minnesota (3-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Beat Colorado State, 31-24. Minnesota leaned heavily on their run game as Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks combined for 191 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Mitch Leidner added 174 yards through the air and 61 yards on the ground. Defensively the Golden Gophers gave up 207 yards rushing but it was on 48 carries which only amounts to 3.3 yards per carry which is pretty good. Amazingly, the defense had 14 tackles-for-loss and was led by Steven Richardson who had four tackles-for-loss.

This Week: Minnesota travels to Happy Valley to face the Nittany Lions at 3:30 pm on the BTN.

Nebraska (4-0 overall, 1-0 conference)

Last Week: Beat Northwestern, 24-13. I warned people the Cornhuskers would be pretty good this year and they continue to pull out games those games they would have somehow lost last year. The biggest key for them was getting Tommy Armstrong Jr. to not turn the ball over and he has been brilliant…so far. On Saturday, the Cornhuskers combined for 556 yards behind the great all-around game of Armstrong Jr. Against the Wildcats, he ran for 135 yards on 13 carries and threw for 246 yards and one touchdown.

This Week: The Cornhuskers hosts the Fighting Illini’ which can be seen on ESPN2 at 2:30 pm.

Northwestern (1-3 overall, 0-1 conference)

Last Week: Lost to Nebraska, 13-24. As I mentioned above, the Wildcat defense struggled to contain Armstrong Jr. and it cost them the game. If you want a positive for the defense, they gave up 381 yards to Armstrong Jr. but only allowed him to score one touchdown. Offensively, the Wildcats tried to rely on the running game of Justin Jackson and Clayton Thorson but struggled to do so as they only combined for 122 yards on 30 carries.

This Week: The Wildcats travel to Kinnick Stadium to face the Iowa Hawkeyes. This game is at 11 am.

Penn State (2-2 overall, 0-1 conference)

Last Week: Lost to Michigan, 10-49. This was a total annihilation of the Penn State Nittany Lions as they only managed 216 yards of total offense. Trace McSorley was chased around all day and was sacked six times while only throwing for 136 yards. Their sensational running back, Saquan Barkley, was also completely shut down as he could only manage 69 yards against what had been a porous run defense.

This Week: The Nittany Lions host Minnesota this week on BTN at 2:30 pm.

Purdue (2-1 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Beat Nevada, 24-14. Surprising everyone…Purdue actually picked up a win against a FBS opponent. Down 14-3, the Boilermakers went on to score 21 unanswered points to knock off the Wolfpack. Quarterback David Blough threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns while running back Markell Jones added 131 yards on the ground. The Purdue defense deserves credit for holding the normally high-powered Wolfpack offense to 253 total yards which is over 100 yards lower than their season average…and less than Notre Dame allowed against Nevada

This Week: The Boilermakers will travel east to play the Maryland Terrapins at 3:30 pm.

Rutgers (2-2 overall, 0-1 conference)

Last Week: Lost to Iowa, 7-14. Rutgers played a great game on Saturday and took the Hawkeyes to the wire but at a significant cost to the season. During the game, they lost their best playmaker in Janarion Grant and their best defensive end Quanzell Lambert for the season. Additionally, they may have lost their star defensive tackle, Darius Hamilton for a period of time. This is not good as they head to Columbus to face the Buckeyes. Running back Robert Martin, who leads the B1G in rushing, ran for 106 yards and Justin Goodwin added another 76 yards rushing.

This Week: Rutgers travels to Columbus to face the Buckeyes at 12pm on BTN.

Wisconsin (4-0 overall, 1-0 conference)

Last Week: Beat Michigan State, 30-6. A huge congratulations to the Badgers on their win against Sparty in East Lansing. The Badger offense only managed 317 yards but the defense forced four turnovers and completely smothered the Spartan offense in the second half. Corey Clement only managed 54 yards on 23 carries but did provide two huge touchdowns. Alex Hornibrook received his first start at quarterback and tallied 195 yards and one touchdown.

This Week: Wisconsin travels to Ann Arbor in a huge match-up between top 10 teams. Make sure you tune-in at 3:30 pm on ABC.

CURRENT STANDINGS:

EAST CONF. OVERALL WEST CONF. OVERALL
Michigan 1-0 4-0 Wisconsin 1-0 4-0
Ohio State 0-0 3-0 Nebraska 1-0 4-0
Maryland 0-0 3-0 Iowa 1-0 3-1
Indiana 0-0 2-1 Minnesota 0-0 3-0
Michigan State 0-1 2-1 Purdue 0-0 2-1
Penn State 0-1 2-2 Illinois 0-0 1-2
Rutgers 0-1 2-2 Northwestern 0-1 1-3

The post Around the B1G: Week 5 Edition appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Ohio State football: Buckeyes, Rutgers know each other well - UPI.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football: Buckeyes, Rutgers know each other well
UPI.com
The second-ranked Buckeyes (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will take the field for their homecoming game and Big Ten opener with far superior talent to Rutgers (2-2, 0-1), which played a competitive game on Saturday at home against Iowa before falling 14-7.
Ohio State football | Ash's presence on Rutgers sideline prompts adjustmentsColumbus Dispatch
'Crazy' expectations soar for BuckeyesMansfield News Journal
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Indiana Hoosiers football game on Oct. 8 to kick off at 3:30 p.m.cleveland.com
Akron Beacon Journal -Defiance Crescent News (subscription) -Waiting For Next Year
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