Matt Tamanini
Guest
Ohio State needs to get off the field on third down to beat Oregon
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
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.
It will be the game of the season tonight in Autzen Stadium as the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the No. 3 Oregon Ducks. Ohio State has looked fairly dominant through its first five games of the season, allowing more than seven points just once, but they will be in for a much different test tonight in Eugene.
The Ducks started off a little wonkily against Idaho and Boise State, but have since righted their metaphorical ship and look to be the impressive squad that many expected coming into the season. So, in a talent-equated game like this one, we wanted to see how Buckeye Nation felt heaving into the prime-time showdown.
So, in this week’s fan survey, we asked OSU fans what they thought was going to be the most pivotal factor in the Buckeyes winning, and then, what the margin of victory would be. You can check out the collective responses (and my unsolicited commentary on them) below. Then, if you want to add in your two cents, you can do so in the comments at the bottom of the page.
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With the Buckeye offense having clearly passed its first significant test of the season in last week’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, now it’s the Silver Bullets’ turn this week as they will be tasked with keeping Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon offense in check.
The Ducks enter tonight’s game with the No. 25 offense in terms of yards per game at 458.6 and the 31st-scoring offense at 35 points each game. Oregon is a pass-heavy team averaging 294.2 yards through the air per game — good for 19th nationally — while only putting up 164.4 yards on the ground, which has them at 67th.
Ohio State’s defense has been mostly stellar thus far, but Jim Knowles’ unit has had a tendency of giving up long third-down conversions. While that hasn’t especially hurt them against offensively deficient teams like Iowa, Michigan State, and Marshall, it absolutely could versus the likes of Oregon.
So, I think that the plurality of respondents here is correct; of course that can also factor in a handful of the other popular answers too, including the defensive line pressuring Gabriel and the linebackers playing disciplined football.
Of course, the OSU defense isn’t going to stop Oregon on every third-down opportunity, but if the Buckeyes can bow up better than they have in recent games, tonight’s contest could get out of hand. Personally, I haven’t minded the third-down calls because it seemed fairly evident given the extra cushion from the OSU corners, that Knowles was looking to prevent major splash plays. While bend-but-don’t-break is not always good for the heart, it does make sense, especially against a potentially more explosive offense like Oregon’s.
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It looks like the vast majority (77% to be exact) of Buckeye fans polled think this is going to be a relatively close game, which Vegas and NBC would probably appreciate. The line is just 3.5 points (with OSU as the road-favorite), and the gold standard college football analytics model SP+ projects Ohio State to win 29-26. Don’t get me wrong, I would happily take a three-point win, hell, I’d happily take a one-point win, but I don’t think that it will be that close tonight.
As we do every week, members of the LGHL staff all made our predictions for the game. We’ve got score, storyline, and MVP picks, and while you should click on that link and see what we’ve got to say, I will tell you that I am going 34-13 in favor of the Buckeye. I went further in-depth on this morning’s edition of the “Land-Grant Tailgate Podcast,” which you can listen to below.
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
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
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.
It will be the game of the season tonight in Autzen Stadium as the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the No. 3 Oregon Ducks. Ohio State has looked fairly dominant through its first five games of the season, allowing more than seven points just once, but they will be in for a much different test tonight in Eugene.
The Ducks started off a little wonkily against Idaho and Boise State, but have since righted their metaphorical ship and look to be the impressive squad that many expected coming into the season. So, in a talent-equated game like this one, we wanted to see how Buckeye Nation felt heaving into the prime-time showdown.
So, in this week’s fan survey, we asked OSU fans what they thought was going to be the most pivotal factor in the Buckeyes winning, and then, what the margin of victory would be. You can check out the collective responses (and my unsolicited commentary on them) below. Then, if you want to add in your two cents, you can do so in the comments at the bottom of the page.
Question 1: What will be the biggest factor in Ohio State beating Oregon on Saturday?
With the Buckeye offense having clearly passed its first significant test of the season in last week’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, now it’s the Silver Bullets’ turn this week as they will be tasked with keeping Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon offense in check.
The Ducks enter tonight’s game with the No. 25 offense in terms of yards per game at 458.6 and the 31st-scoring offense at 35 points each game. Oregon is a pass-heavy team averaging 294.2 yards through the air per game — good for 19th nationally — while only putting up 164.4 yards on the ground, which has them at 67th.
Ohio State’s defense has been mostly stellar thus far, but Jim Knowles’ unit has had a tendency of giving up long third-down conversions. While that hasn’t especially hurt them against offensively deficient teams like Iowa, Michigan State, and Marshall, it absolutely could versus the likes of Oregon.
So, I think that the plurality of respondents here is correct; of course that can also factor in a handful of the other popular answers too, including the defensive line pressuring Gabriel and the linebackers playing disciplined football.
Of course, the OSU defense isn’t going to stop Oregon on every third-down opportunity, but if the Buckeyes can bow up better than they have in recent games, tonight’s contest could get out of hand. Personally, I haven’t minded the third-down calls because it seemed fairly evident given the extra cushion from the OSU corners, that Knowles was looking to prevent major splash plays. While bend-but-don’t-break is not always good for the heart, it does make sense, especially against a potentially more explosive offense like Oregon’s.
Question 2: What will the margin of victory be in Saturday’s game against Oregon?
It looks like the vast majority (77% to be exact) of Buckeye fans polled think this is going to be a relatively close game, which Vegas and NBC would probably appreciate. The line is just 3.5 points (with OSU as the road-favorite), and the gold standard college football analytics model SP+ projects Ohio State to win 29-26. Don’t get me wrong, I would happily take a three-point win, hell, I’d happily take a one-point win, but I don’t think that it will be that close tonight.
As we do every week, members of the LGHL staff all made our predictions for the game. We’ve got score, storyline, and MVP picks, and while you should click on that link and see what we’ve got to say, I will tell you that I am going 34-13 in favor of the Buckeye. I went further in-depth on this morning’s edition of the “Land-Grant Tailgate Podcast,” which you can listen to below.
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...