Matt Tamanini
Guest
Ohio State fans are split as to what the key to The Game is for the Buckeyes
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
But unsurprisingly, they are picking the non-cheaters to win!
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Heading into The Game, there has been an unbelievable amount of vitriol spewed on both sides of this rivalry. However, we are well aware that the loudest voices in any fandom often come from a relatively small corner of the community, so as we head into what is arguably the most anticipated and potentially influential game in the history of the greatest rivalry in all of sports, we wanted to check in with the larger fanbase in order to see what you were thinking about the game in that cesspool known as Ann Arbor — which reports indicate is a whore.
Earlier this week, as part of our OSU fan survey, we asked Buckeye Nation for their thoughts on what the major key to victory would be for Ohio State and what fans were predicting the score to be. Check out the results below.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
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I love how close these top-four results are, and I honestly can’t fault anyone for picking any of these options. I think for me, I would go with scoring touchdowns in the red zone, because that has obviously been an issue for the Buckeyes this season. Coming into The Game, they are 66th nationally in red zone touchdown percentage, getting into the end zone on just 29 of their 47 trips inside the 20. They have hit an additional 11 field goals, but that only moves them up to 59th in FBS, and we know that FGs aren’t going to win this game today.
Conversely, the Mitten State Astros are No. 2 nationally in red zone scoring defense and No. 1 in touchdowns allowed from inside the red zone. In 18 defensive trips inside the 20, they have only allowed six touchdowns and six field goals on the season.
But you know what’s kind of wild? Seven of those 12 total scores have come in the past two weeks against Penn State and Maryland — the Nits were three-for-three in the red zone (one FG, two TDs) and the Terps were four-for-four (one FG, three TDs). So, perhaps that’s a fluke, or maybe the improved competition highlighted some weaknesses in the Pompous Princes’ defense, or maybe they just aren’t as good in the most high-pressure situations when they don’t know what the other team is going to run.
So, if the Buckeyes are able to come up with some creative ways to punch it in — either with a returning Devin Brown in short-yardage, getting the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr. or Emeka Egbuka on some trick plays, or throwing when everyone expects them to run — and the Weasels have to actually play straight-up, this could be the difference between a win and a loss.
Interestingly, I spoke to a number of college football experts this week over on the podcast (check out those episodes in the player below), and they were all split on what the key to a Buckeye victory was as well. So, even though all OSU fans might not be official college football reporters and analysts, it’s nice to know that we aren’t to far off from the experts either.
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I am nothing if not a homer, so in traditional homer fashion, I not only picked the Buckeyes to win on our “Tailgate” podcast that was released earlier this morning, but I picked them to win by 15 points. I went with a score of. Good Guys 31, Sign-Stealing Scoundrels 16.
You can listen to the entire podcast here, and I think you should, because I go out of my way to call Ohio State’s rivals by anything other than their actual name, and I also avoid calling their coach by his name as often as humanly possible.
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
But unsurprisingly, they are picking the non-cheaters to win!
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Heading into The Game, there has been an unbelievable amount of vitriol spewed on both sides of this rivalry. However, we are well aware that the loudest voices in any fandom often come from a relatively small corner of the community, so as we head into what is arguably the most anticipated and potentially influential game in the history of the greatest rivalry in all of sports, we wanted to check in with the larger fanbase in order to see what you were thinking about the game in that cesspool known as Ann Arbor — which reports indicate is a whore.
Earlier this week, as part of our OSU fan survey, we asked Buckeye Nation for their thoughts on what the major key to victory would be for Ohio State and what fans were predicting the score to be. Check out the results below.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
Question 1: What is the one thing that the Buckeyes have to do to beat their rivals?
I love how close these top-four results are, and I honestly can’t fault anyone for picking any of these options. I think for me, I would go with scoring touchdowns in the red zone, because that has obviously been an issue for the Buckeyes this season. Coming into The Game, they are 66th nationally in red zone touchdown percentage, getting into the end zone on just 29 of their 47 trips inside the 20. They have hit an additional 11 field goals, but that only moves them up to 59th in FBS, and we know that FGs aren’t going to win this game today.
Conversely, the Mitten State Astros are No. 2 nationally in red zone scoring defense and No. 1 in touchdowns allowed from inside the red zone. In 18 defensive trips inside the 20, they have only allowed six touchdowns and six field goals on the season.
But you know what’s kind of wild? Seven of those 12 total scores have come in the past two weeks against Penn State and Maryland — the Nits were three-for-three in the red zone (one FG, two TDs) and the Terps were four-for-four (one FG, three TDs). So, perhaps that’s a fluke, or maybe the improved competition highlighted some weaknesses in the Pompous Princes’ defense, or maybe they just aren’t as good in the most high-pressure situations when they don’t know what the other team is going to run.
So, if the Buckeyes are able to come up with some creative ways to punch it in — either with a returning Devin Brown in short-yardage, getting the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr. or Emeka Egbuka on some trick plays, or throwing when everyone expects them to run — and the Weasels have to actually play straight-up, this could be the difference between a win and a loss.
Interestingly, I spoke to a number of college football experts this week over on the podcast (check out those episodes in the player below), and they were all split on what the key to a Buckeye victory was as well. So, even though all OSU fans might not be official college football reporters and analysts, it’s nice to know that we aren’t to far off from the experts either.
Question 2: What will the result of The Game be?
I am nothing if not a homer, so in traditional homer fashion, I not only picked the Buckeyes to win on our “Tailgate” podcast that was released earlier this morning, but I picked them to win by 15 points. I went with a score of. Good Guys 31, Sign-Stealing Scoundrels 16.
You can listen to the entire podcast here, and I think you should, because I go out of my way to call Ohio State’s rivals by anything other than their actual name, and I also avoid calling their coach by his name as often as humanly possible.
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Continue reading...