Buckeye86 said:
Yeah, comparing a team that went 13-1 to one that hasn't even played a down yet and saying the one who hasn't played a down is the better team. That's really a great arguement. Not only that, but I'm assuming you're from Texas... how would you even know?? Do you make it a habit to study MAC football teams?
I think that North Texas has their best team in years. Even better than sometime in the past when they were almost undefeated with a QB who almost took a pro team to an undefeated season in his rookie year. Don't even get me started on Baylor.
Yes, I bet college football, I know all the teams. Here's a write-up on the game that I did a few weeks ago for another board. The reason I brought this up is b/c if you are a betting man, you should take the UNDER and MIAMI. I am not saying tOSU will lose or anything. This conversation is INDEPENDENT of the Texas/tOSU match-up.
-----------
Ohio State vs. Miami Ohio +16 (-110)
Tressel has a history of struggling with weaker OOC opponents, especially MAC opponents. He and his teams are king of the ugly wins in these matchups, covering 2-6 of their last 8 games ATS in similar situations, in just the last 2 years. I think Marshall last year is a real fortune-teller. They had a big game @ NC State the following weekend. And the year before, they played Bowling green and lost ATS, while having Northwestern the following week. This year, the trend should continue as they have MAC opponent Miami Ohio and a big game the following weekend against the Texas Longhorns.
2004 (LINE W/L)
Marshall: 21-24 (-16.5 L)
Cincinatti: 27-6 (-13.5 W)
2003
Bowling Green: 24-17 (-10.5 L)
NC State: 44-38 (-9.5 L)
Sand Diego State: 13-16 (-31 L)
Washington: 28-9 (-9 W)
Miami Ohio did the bowl think last season and now want to play Giant killer. I think this game will be more of a test than Buckeyes hope. The Redhawks have one of the better receiving corps in the nation, and should be able to exploit tOSU's secondary. Ryne Robinson (65 catches, 932 yards, 4 TDs) was the primary target a year ago after the loss of star Martin Nance to injury. Robinson can get open and has good downfield speed and should also be Miami's primary punt returner. Nance (25-1 TD in five games) didn't participate in the spring as he was recovering, but he's a star in the making as he is a 6-5, 210-pounder, a sharp route-runner, a great pass catcher and a decent runner after the catcher, as he caught 90 passes two seasons ago from Ben Roethlisberger. R.J. Corbin (26-319-1) will also be in the mix in multiple receiver sets. The offensive line returns four starters, led by second-team all-MAC center Todd Londot and guard Nate Bunce, a 6-7, 323-pounder. All but one starter will be over 300 pounds, and the unit is very physical. So Ohio State's largely untested front will be, in a word, tested. Josh Betts, senior QB (267-442, 3,495 yards, 23 TD, 14 INT) is not much of a runner, but he can get out on the edge and throw well on the run. Where Miami could have problems is running the ball. The loss of Luke Clemens to graduation leaves Brandon Murphy as the top yardage guy, and he picked up just 248 yards with four TDs last year. A nice cutback runner, Murphy averaged 5.2 ypc and often makes the first tackler miss. Miami likes to throw to its backs, and Murphy has the speed to cause problems. The RedHawks turned the ball over 30 times last season (14 INTs, 16 fumbles), and spent much of the spring working on ball security.
Defensively, Miami runs a 4-3 that needs to improve. The RedHawks allowed 22.9 points per game, and foes were able to run for 123 yards and pass for another 215 per contest. tOSU isn’t well versed in scoring many more points than that, so this game could stay interesting. Miami did manage to put together 38 sacks last season and grabbed 27 turnovers from opponents. Miami lost both starting defensive tackles, but has some depth up front and may be able to offset that. End Marcus Johnson (54 tackles, 12.5 TFL, 7.5 sacks) is a going for his second straight All-MAC honors this season. He's quick off the ball and strong enough to deal with physical offensive tackles. Jarrod Rich is solid on the other side and is more of a run-stopper. The linebacking corps is a good one, led by All-MAC performers John Busing (93 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1 INT) and Terna Nande (86 tackles, 9 TFL). Nande especially is a disruptive force, standing 6-1, 230 and running a 4.45. He moves to defensive end on passing downs to give Miami more speed off the edge, so he'll have to be accounted for. In the secondary, Darrell Hunter was a second team All-MAC player and a legit NFL prospect after clocking a 4.32. Blessed with good size, the 6-1, 210 pound Hunter is a solid cover man who doesn't mind playing in run support. Ryan Redd will man the other side and is the team's best tackler in the secondary. Steve Burke returns at one safety spot after missing much of last year with a hand injury.
The loss of kicker Jared Parseghian will hurt, but there is experience there with Todd Soderquist back. Primarily a kickoff specialist last season, Soderquist was pretty consistent with 10-of-14 field goal attempts in his career and worked on his leg strength this spring. Punter is a work in progress as redshirt freshman Jacob Richardson had a big spring, but has yet to kick in an atmosphere as intimidating as Ohio Stadium.
I see Ohio State pulling out an ugly 10 point win. That is with a TD return by Ginn. I wouldn't be suprised if they even pulled off the upset with the Buckeyes looking ahead to the Texas game.
Score Prediction: tOSU 27 Miami 17
Buckeye86 said:
Yeah, comparing a team that went 13-1 to one that hasn't even played a down yet and saying the one who hasn't played a down is the better team. That's really a great arguement. Not only that, but I'm assuming you're from Texas... how would you even know?? Do you make it a habit to study MAC football teams?
I think that North Texas has their best team in years. Even better than sometime in the past when they were almost undefeated with a QB who almost took a pro team to an undefeated season in his rookie year. Don't even get me started on Baylor.
You can't compare Sunbelt North Texas to MAC Miami Ohio. Two totally different conferences. Sunbelt is probably the weakest conference in the land, whereas MAC plays giantkiller and is arguably the strongest nonBCS conference.
