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Game Thread Game One: #1 Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12 (9/2/06)

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Fox

NIllinois-Ohio St Preview

MORTON GROVE, Ill. (AP) - One of the nation's most explosive offenses has Ohio State atop the preseason rankings for the sixth time in school history.
But it's the performance of a rebuilt defense featuring nine new starters that may determine just how far the Buckeyes can go this season.Ohio State begins its quest for a second national championship in five years when it hosts a dangerous Northern Illinois team on Saturday.
High expectations are nothing new for a program that shared the Big Ten title last season and finished 10-2 after beating Notre Dame 34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl.
"You can't help but acknowledge it," Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said. "It helps you appreciate people's respect for Ohio State. It also reminds you that we haven't done anything in 2006 and there's a good bit expected, so we'd better get to work."
Ohio State will have to be careful to avoid looking past Northern Illinois and to its showdown with defending national champion and third-ranked Texas on Sept. 9.
The Longhorns beat the Buckeyes 25-22 at Ohio Stadium last season and the rematch in Austin is being billed as one of the games of the year.
The Buckeyes have never won a national championship after being ranked first in the preseason poll. When Ohio State won the title by going 14-0 in 2002, it began the year as the No. 13 team in the country.
"It's a good start to be in the national championship hunt, but we want to be there at the end, too," center Doug Datish said.
The offense may be the unit that carries Ohio State to Phoenix, site of the national championship game in January. Quarterback Troy Smith accounted for 2,893 yards of total offense and 27 touchdowns - 16 passing - last season while tailback Antonio Pittman rushed for 1,331 yards.
Smith will have wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., one of the fastest athletes in the country, to throw to. Ginn is also a dynamic return man and a player the Buckeyes want to feature prominently in several different capacities.
Ginn scored a touchdown four ways in 2005 - rushing, receiving, kick return, punt return - and has five career punt returns for touchdowns, tied for the most in Big Ten history with Iowa's Tim Dwight.
"People say how great our offense is," said Smith, 13-2 as a starter. "Within our unit, within our core group of people, coaches and everything, I know that the standards are going to be high for our offense. And we have to live up to them."
The offense is expected to be exciting, but it's the defense that needs to answer questions early on.
Only two starters - linemen Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson - return from a squad that led the nation in rushing defense and finished fifth in the country in total defense.
Ohio State had three players drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, including All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk, who went fifth overall to Green Bay.
"I'm not discouraged at all with our defense," said Tressel, who is 50-13 in five years at Ohio State, with two Big Ten titles. "We have a good staff, we have good leaders, you always want to be good up front. Now we need experience in the back seven."
The Buckeyes, though, will no longer haver linebacker Mike D'Andrea on the team. The highly touted Cleveland product, recruited at the same time as Hawk, hurt his right knee in practice two years ago during a bye week. He was never the same, playing in just seven games
The defense will have one game to work out the kinks before facing the Longhorns, but the Huskies will provide a strong test for the Buckeyes.
Northern Illinois came within a few seconds last season of winning its first Mid-American Conference title since 1983, and features senior tailback Garrett Wolfe, the NCAA's leading returning rusher.
Wolfe was fifth nationally last season with 1,580 yards - in nine contests - and has 3,286 yards in 20 career games.
"The Heisman talk is well-deserved," Huskies coach Joe Novak said. "He's got to have 12 great games."
The Huskies lost 31-30 to Akron in last season's MAC title game, giving up a touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining.
After finishing 7-5 in 2005, they were the preseason pick to win the MAC championship this season.
Phil Horvath was named Northern Illinois' starting quarterback after winning a competition for the job with Dan Nicholson.
Horvath's 70.6 percent completion rate led the NCAA last season and he was sixth in passing efficiency (159.2). He started the first nine games last season before missing the rest of the year with a broken left arm suffered on Nov. 5.
"Through camp I have been focusing on Ohio State and also the daily competition for the starting job," Horvath said. "Now I can focus 100 percent on preparation for Ohio State."
This is the first meeting between the schools.

Fox

Fearless predictions for every game

Come back here each Thursday afternoon for the latest edition of Fearless Predictions for every game, complete with the projected final score.
Fearless Predictions ACC | Big East | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA | MAC | MWest | Ind | Pac-10 | SEC | Sun Belt | WAC No. 11 Florida State at No. 12 Miami (FL) — Monday at 8 p.m. ET Line:
Miami -3.5 The game between Michigan and Ohio State might be a November treasure, but this rivalry is one of the most physical in the nation, bar none. Throw in the venerable Orange Bowl and there's a better than average chance for this game to be a classic.
Since the days of Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin, at least one of these teams has been in the national championship race deep into the season, which means the game is, well, important. It's even more important with ACC supremacy at stake, at least for now, until the end of conference title game when they could meet again. These two played a defensive, mistake-filled snoozer last year with Florida State finally breaking a long Miami hex, but now the two are far better and should play a far better game.
Kyle Wright will have to throw it 35 times with the Seminoles eating up the Miami running game thanks to no dynamic threat in the Cane backfield. Florida State forced former Virginia Tech QB Marcus Vick to throw 52 times in the ACC championship game, and it won't be shocking to see the same defensive gameplan apply. Weatherford has the better running talent to work with and eventually he'll be able to find either Greg Carr or Chris Davis deep down the middle for a big touchdown or key play off of play action against the Miami aggressive safeties. But, it is Miami playing Florida State in Miami, so you know what that means.

Prediction: Miami 19 ... Florida State 14
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​
No. 9 California at No. 11 Tennessee #151; Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET Line:
Tenn. -2 Florida State vs. Miami is the marquee game and everyone will be watching Notre Dame battle Georgia Tech, but this will likely be the most important battle of week one. If the Pac 10 really wants to be taken seriously by everyone east of the Rocky Mountains, this is a must win for Cal. The Bears are better than the Volunteers. They have more offensive firepower, better running backs, better linebackers, and the all-around talent to be in the hunt for the national title. However, Cal hasn't won a really, really big game since USC half-assed it in the 2003 loss.
Jeff Tedford's program could use a splashy victory to get the national respect it's been so close to cementing for the last few years. If you believe everything you read, Tennessee is being considered just a shade better than Temple after an overblown 5-6 season, but it has to come up with the opening day home win to ease the pressure off Phil Fulmer and his staff with the Florida showdown in two weeks. A win by the Vols would show that things are back to normal in Knoxville.
This should be fantastic. Tennessee will play far better than it did over the second half of last year, but Cal will be too consistent and too strong on both sides of the ball with the ground game taking over late.

Prediction: California 27 ... Tennessee 24
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​
No. 6 USC at Arkansas — Saturday at 8 p.m. ET Line:
USC -8.5 How much has Arkansas improved since last season's 70-17 Trojan pasting of the Hogs that saw 736 yards of total USC offense? The bigger national question is how far has USC fallen since losing all-time greats like Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White. This begins a brutal September for the Trojans with three road trips and a home date against Nebraska, but this is the game many think screams upset and will be a measuring stick for the national title contenders.
Arkansas, with a strong defense and tremendous ground game, started to look better and better over the second half of last season and is looking at this as the chance to get on the national map. Things might not have gone well for Houston Nutt and his program over the last two seasons, but it lost four SEC games last year by a total of 13 points, lost a 22-20 thriller against Texas in 2004, and beat the Longhorns in Austin in 2003.
The Arkansas ground game is strong enough to keep this from being another 70-17 disaster, but USC is still among the elite of the elite teams with too much speed and talent on both sides of the ball for the Hogs. The Trojans have something else they didn't have last year; a chip on their shoulder. Expect a focused team that coldly and efficiently takes care of business.

Prediction: USC 27 ... Arkansas 13
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​
Best of the Rest Northern Illinois at No. 1 Ohio State
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET Line:
OSU -18 These are considered the two best teams in their respective conferences and this should be more than just an exhibition for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is getting all the early love as the nation's number one ranked team in the big polls, and now it has to go out and prove it's a national championship caliber squad against a pesky Northern Illinois team that gave Michigan all it could handle in last year's opener. Yeah, the Wolverines won 33-17, but the outcome might have been far different had there not been a slew of unforced Huskie errors.. The Ohio State offense will get most of the attention, but NIU's diminutive star Garrett Wolfe might be the best back in the game and is worth the price of admission. There will be a few moments when NIU's offense makes some noise and throws a scare into the Buckeyes.
Prediction: Ohio State 38 ... Northern Ill. 16
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


No. 2 Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
Saturday at 8 p.m. ET Line:
ND -7.5 Can Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson torch the Irish secondary that's still smarting from the 2006 Fiesta Bowl? Is Notre Dame WR Jeff Samardzija the real deal? Can Notre Dame QB/cover boy Brady Quinn make a big statement in the Heisman race? Is Notre Dame worth all the hype? Can the slightly-maligned defense play close to as well as the offense? Can Georgia Tech pull off an opening day shocker like it did last year beating Auburn 32-14? Do you need any more reasons to watch? Notre Dame's upcoming games against Penn State and Michigan might be getting more hype, but this could turn out to be the most dangerous September game. Georgia Tech has two weeks off playing Samford and Troy before starting up the ACC season, so a big win would mean a red-hot start and plenty of national respect.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 23 ... Notre Dame 20
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​





North Texas vs. No. 3 Texas
Saturday at 12 p.m. ET Line:
Texas -41 The defending national champions take the field for a light scrimmage before the showdown with Ohio State next week. All eyes will be on Texas in game one of the post-Vince Young era, and panic sirens will go off if this isn't a big-time blowout by midway through the second quarter. North Texas is coming off a horrendous 2-9 season and will have to wait a little longer before trying to turn things around. Obviously the Mean Green doesn't have a shot at winning, but SMU will look like it's going half speed next week after seeing a team as good as UT. If UNT can do anything with some success, it'll carry over in a big way. You don't think Texas is a wee bit miffed over being passed over by Ohio State and Notre Dame in the first round of rankings? You don't think Texas is a wee bit tired about hearing how it was all Vince Young last year? Expect a bit of an early statement.
Prediction: Texas 54 ... North Texas 6
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


Washington St. at No. 4 Auburn
Saturday at 7:45 p.m. ET Line:
Auburn -15.5 Auburn and Washington State meet for the first time in an intriguing out-of-conference match up. There are about a dozen programs with a legitimate shot for a national championship in 2006, and Auburn is one of them with a power running game behind Kenny Irons, a precise mid-range passing attack, and one of the fastest defenses in the country. Their lack of beef on the defensive side of the ball could haunt them down the road, but not against a Wazzu team that relies more on finesse. SEC fans might bristle at this, but Auburn looks an awful lot like a (gasp!) Pac 10 team. That's not a bad thing. For Washington State, it's a pivotal year for head coach Bill Doba after posting back-to-back sub-.500 seasons highlighted by a strange 2005 with several close losses. When it's clicking, Alex Brink-to-Jason Hill is one of the most dangerous connections in college football.
Prediction: Auburn 34 ... Washington St. 20
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​

Marshall at No. 5 West Virginia
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET Line:
WV -21.5 Clean, old-fashioned hate belongs to the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry, but for one weekend, Marshall-West Virginia is going to borrow it. These two schools, who've met just once in 83 years, genuinely despise each other, which is a recipe for an insanely fun weekend in Morgantown. Marshall feels it was being ducked for years, and West Virginia doesn't pay much attention to its little brother down south. It's Coal Bowl I, the first of seven meetings between college football's version of the Hatfields and McCoys. The Mountaineers are brimming with optimism with speed and experience on both sides of the ball and eyeing more than just a Big East title. Marshall hasn't been Marshall of late winning just five of its last 15 games, but hope comes in the form of 25 returners with starting experience.
Prediction: West Virginia 34 ... Marshall 23
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


Southern Miss at No. 7 Florida
Saturday at 6 p.m. ET Line:
Fla. -20 The beginning of year two of the Urban Meyer era signals the end of the honeymoon in Gainesville. There were rough patches in 2005, but Gator fans are now expecting the school's first SEC title in six years, and maybe more if the offense takes a quantum leap running Meyer's spread option. The defense has no such issues and will contend all fall for the honor of being the nastiest unit in America. Southern Miss has long had a reputation as a giant killer, and will be a nice opening day test for Florida. The Eagles are fast and well-coached on defense, but this year's group lacks star power, and on offense, unproven Jeremy Young takes over at quarterback for three-year starter Dustin Almond. If the Gators are the real deal, it wins without much problem, but the Golden Eagles are good enough to make this interesting.
Prediction: Florida 34 ... Southern Miss 10
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​

UL Lafayette at No. 8 LSU
Saturday at 8 p.m. ET Line:
LSU -30.5 These might end up being the two best teams in their respective conferences. UL Lafayette appears to be the best team in the Sun Belt with a great backfield and a fantastic running game. The key will be to stay alive over the next two weeks against LSU and Texas A&M before things lighten up in a big way with McNeese State and Eastern Michigan. LSU will win in a walk and needs to work out any and all kinks with Arizona and Auburn coming up. JaMarcus Russell had better be razor sharp, or the LSU quarterback situation will get even more interesting. Russell is the most experienced quarterback in the mix, but Matt Flynn has shown he can run the attack and win and Ryan Perrilloux is a star-in-waiting. It's Russell's team, but there will be a concern if he doesn't carve up the Ragin' Cajun at will.
Prediction: LSU 52 ... UL Lafayette 10
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


UAB at No. 10 Oklahoma
Saturday at 7 p.m. ET Line:
OU -21 If nothing else, Saturday's game gives OU fans a reason to talk about something other than Rhett Bomar. The deposed Sooner dominated headlines in August, but he's no longer the team's starting quarterback meaning it's back to 2005 with Paul Thompson, who was moved to receiver early on, at the helm. OU is championship-caliber just about everywhere else, so Thompson's development will have a profound impact on the Big 12 and national title races. If he's got butterflies just before kickoff, imagine how Chris Williams will feel. He's got the unenviable task of succeeding Darrell Hackney, the face of the UAB program, in a rebuilding year for the Blazers. All he has to do is face one of the nation's best defenses in his first start out of the gate.
Prediction: Oklahoma 44 ... UAB 10
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​

Kentucky at No. 13 Louisville
Saturday at 8 p.m. ET Line:
L'Ville -22.5 They still play in the same state and don't like each other all that much, but with Louisville taking six of the last seven, this hasn't been much of a rivalry of late and now the stakes are higher with the Cardinals considered a national title contender. Thanks to Bobby Petrino's offense and recruiting, the UL has become a perennial powerhouse program that finally appears ready to get over the hump and get into the BCS. Ten months after tearing his ACL, Brian Brohm makes his return to the field, and as long as he and Michael Bush are upright, no one this side of Coral Gables will slow them down. If Louisville stalls this fall, you'll trace it to both lines, which must replace a ton of talent. Kentucky and Rich Brooks face a must-win situation in 2006 needing to show some sign of life. The Cats haven't bowled in seven years, but the schedule is conducive to six wins and the talent is deeper than last year. RB Rafael Little would be a household name playing for any other SEC school.
Prediction: Louisville 35 ... Kentucky 17
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


Vanderbilt at No. 14 Michigan
Saturday at 12 p.m. ET Line:
Mich. -25.5 It seems like years ago since Michigan tight end Tyler Ecker just missed getting in the end zone on an improbable kickoff return in the Alamo Bowl loss to Nebraska, and now head coach Lloyd Carr are on double secret probation needing a big year or else more major changes will be made. The Wolverines seem to be everyone's sleeper team in the BCS race with enough talent and experience to do some big things, but they have to prove they can be more consistent on both sides of the ball. Vanderbilt is in the first year after the Jay Cutler era and no one is expecting more than a lousy year. This is still a plucky team with most of the non-Cutler key pieces back, especially on defense. It'll be a monster upset if the Commodores pull off the win, but it should be more competitive than most Maize and Blue fans would like. This isn't your button-down, corporate Michigan team that you're used to. This is a lean, mean, fighting machine that's looking to make an early statement.
Prediction: Michigan 38 ... Vanderbilt 14
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​

Florida Atlantic at No. 18 Clemson
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET Line:
Clem. -33 Clemson gets a nice tune up before going to Boston College, while Florida Atlantic begins a brutal five game stretch of road games. The triumvirate of Clemson backs, James Davis, Reggie Merriweather and rookie C.J Spiller, are worth the price of admission, and they need this game to develop a steady rotation for the big games ahead. Could the three backs all go over 100 yards? FAU won't just roll over and be pounded on and should provide a little resistance for a few quarters. The Tiger offensive line will take charge from the first play of the game helping to pile up 275+ rushing yards against the outmanned Owls. Proctor will find plenty of room in the passing game and he should be 75% accurate to open things up for the ground game. FAU will get in the end zone in the second half and gain some confidence for the Sun Belt conference.
Prediction: Clemson 45 ... Florida Atlantic 7
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


Akron at No. 19 Penn State
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET Line:
PSU -17 The beginning of year two of the Urban Meyer era signals the end of the honeymoon in Gainesville. There were rough patches in 2005, but Gator fans are now expecting the school's first SEC title in six years, and maybe more if the offense takes a quantum leap running Meyer's spread option. The defense has no such issues and will contend all fall for the honor of being the nastiest unit in America. Southern Miss has long had a reputation as a giant killer, and will be a nice opening day test for Florida. The Eagles are fast and well-coached on defense, but this year's group lacks star power, and on offense, unproven Jeremy Young takes over at quarterback for three-year starter Dustin Almond. If the Gators are the real deal, it wins this without much of a problem, but the Golden Eagles are more than good enough to make this interesting.
Prediction: Penn State 31 ... Akron 14
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​

Louisiana Tech at No. 20 Nebraska
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET Line:
Neb. -20.5 Husker faithful haven't been as excited about the opening of a season since, well, the days of former head coach Frank Solich and the option and before anything called a spread made its way to middle America. Well, the option isn't going to be part of this Husker offense, but QB Zac Taylor will be with the pressure of having to carry the attack to an expected Big 12 North title. The last time Louisiana Tech came to town, WR Troy Edwards caught more balls in one game, 21 for 405 yards, in a 56-27 loss. The Bulldog receivers likely won't combine for that output this year, but this is a good WAC program used to playing on the road.
Prediction: Nebraska 38 ... Louisiana Tech 13
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​


Stanford at No. 21 Oregon
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET Line:
Ore. -11.5 Since no else plays a league game until Sept. 23, the winner can enjoy the view from the top of the Pac-10 for the next few weeks. Meet the new Ducks, same as the old Ducks. This is your historically typical Oregon team that's chock full of offensive weapons, yet has question marks on defense (after being one of the league's best last year), especially at cornerback. Stanford has all the components of a prolific passing attack, but lacks balance on offense and the killer instinct on defense to improve on last year's five wins and get to a bowl game. Trent Edwards could be poised for a Carson Palmer-esque senior year.
Prediction: Oregon 37 ... Stanford 30
Complete Fearless Prediction | GameTrax​
 
Upvote 0
G-FORCE said:
The week before Texas...........


You know when you should be preparing for them.

Don't get me wrong though, overlook us some more.
Click to expand...

The reason for fall camp is to prepare for the season. We happen to have more night games than normal this year. We used fall camp to prepare for the Season not just game 1, hence, a couple night practices. Once Saturday August 26 hit, we started preparing for game 1.
 
Upvote 0
greyscarlet said:
I have to imagine with the rather large advantage tOSU has at the line of scrimmage that niu will have to run a lot of screens and misdirection plays. I'm also assuming they do a lot of this, would the niu fans here agree?
Click to expand...

I would think so. They like to do play-action of course, but that might be less successful if Pitcock & Co are able to bottle up the middle. We pull the guards and center a lot. We'll probably do a few screens, but those can be dangerous if the defenders anticipate it, especially with OSUs speed. They might try to get Wolfe more involved in the short passing game (no pun intended) to try to get him in open space. Practices this year were closed to the public and they usually aren't. I don't know why.
 
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