Ken
Guest
tBBC Preview: Northern Illinois
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The #1 Buckeyes (2-0) host the MAC’s Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0) this Saturday at 3:30 PM ET. Can Ohio state comfortably take care of business? Let’s see..
Overview:
This is a tough game for me to get a handle on. One one hand, Northern Illinois traditionally has very good teams and the Huskies are currently 2-0. On the other hand, their opponents (UNLV, Murray State) are not that formidable. However, the Huskies do put up a lot of points, so they do a good job ox executing their offense. The Buckeyes cannot take this team lightly.
Northern Illinois averages 48 PPG. They do this by averaging 375 YPG passing (twice Ohio State’s average) and 220 YPG rushing (about 50 YPG less than Ohio State).
Ohio State on Offense:
Last week Ohio State’s offense scored 31 points, but left a few on the field. The FG on the possession where they had 1st & Goal at the 6 yard line comes to mind. The good news is that Ohio State’s offense is pretty well balanced. As bemoaned in a few article at this site, and I’m sure at others, Ohio State has a few decisions to make and performance issues to address. It was good to get Marshall, Wilson and Smith back last week, only Jalin made a significant contribution. The Buckeyes still need to figure a way to get them the ball. Hopefully a “normal” week of practice gets them back on track. One bright spot from last week was that the offense had no turnovers.
According to Urban, part of last week’s struggles against Hawai’i was due to the Rainbow Warriors using a 3-5 front. I would expect Northern Illinois to use something similar. Just to see of OSU’s line learned anything this week.
The Northern Illinois defense is aggressive, with “big play” (INT, TFL, Sacks) similar to Ohio State’s. Their linebacking corps is the heart of this defense. Senior Boomer Mays (6’0″, 244) leads the team with 17 tackles. Freshman Renard Cheren (6’0, 224) has 15 tackles, junior Sean Folliard (6’2″, 231) has 10 tackles and junior Jamaal Payton (6’0, 226) has 9 tackles.
Ohio State on Defense:
NIU is averaging 48 PPG, so they can definitely find their way into the end zone. Granted, it’s been against UNLV and Murray State, but the Huskies have taken advantage of the opposition.
Their rushing attack is led by junior RB Joel Bouagnon (#28) 6’2″ 226. Joel has averaged 102 YPG at a 5.7 YPC clip, which are respectable numbers. The concern is that he has scored 5 TD’s in 2 games, so Bouagnon is definitely NIU’s money man. Four of his 4 TD’s have come when NIU was in the red zone.
As good as OSU’s back seven was against Hawai’i, they’d better be on their toes this game. Northern Illinois’ leading receiver is Kenny Golladay (#19), a 6’4″ 200 lb junior. Golladay has 17 receptions for 357 yards and 2 TD’s. For comparison, OSU’s receiver have a total of 31 receptions for 394 yards and 3 TD’s. This is a completely different level of play than what the Silver Bullets practice against.
When the Huskies get into the red zone, OSU better cover TE Shane Wimann, a 6’4″ 254 sophomore. Wimann has 6 receptions (7.2 YPR) but has 3 TD’s. NIU will run play action and look for Wimann in the flat, usually wide open. OSU linebackers can’t get caught peeking into the backfield like they did against Virginia Tech.
Wrapping It Up:
Ohio State has opened as a 31 point favorite; the spread has since moved to 34.5. It seems the bookies are pretty confident the Ohio State will get their offense sorted out by kickoff. We’ll see.
I think that the defensive intensity and play-making that we saw against Hawai’i will be evident gain against the Huskies. I think/hope that the OSU Brain Trust gets the offense back on track. Again, we’ll see.
Prediction: Ohio State tames the Huskies with a more focused effort on offense. They still won’t cover the spread, but it will be a much more “satisfying” win than against Hawai’i.
Kick-off is at 3:30 ET. Radio coverage will be by 97.1. Television coverage is provided by ABC with reverse mirror on ESPN2, check local listings. LiveChat will be here. We hope to see you then!
The post tBBC Preview: Northern Illinois appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The #1 Buckeyes (2-0) host the MAC’s Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0) this Saturday at 3:30 PM ET. Can Ohio state comfortably take care of business? Let’s see..
Overview:
This is a tough game for me to get a handle on. One one hand, Northern Illinois traditionally has very good teams and the Huskies are currently 2-0. On the other hand, their opponents (UNLV, Murray State) are not that formidable. However, the Huskies do put up a lot of points, so they do a good job ox executing their offense. The Buckeyes cannot take this team lightly.
Northern Illinois averages 48 PPG. They do this by averaging 375 YPG passing (twice Ohio State’s average) and 220 YPG rushing (about 50 YPG less than Ohio State).
Ohio State on Offense:
Last week Ohio State’s offense scored 31 points, but left a few on the field. The FG on the possession where they had 1st & Goal at the 6 yard line comes to mind. The good news is that Ohio State’s offense is pretty well balanced. As bemoaned in a few article at this site, and I’m sure at others, Ohio State has a few decisions to make and performance issues to address. It was good to get Marshall, Wilson and Smith back last week, only Jalin made a significant contribution. The Buckeyes still need to figure a way to get them the ball. Hopefully a “normal” week of practice gets them back on track. One bright spot from last week was that the offense had no turnovers.
According to Urban, part of last week’s struggles against Hawai’i was due to the Rainbow Warriors using a 3-5 front. I would expect Northern Illinois to use something similar. Just to see of OSU’s line learned anything this week.
The Northern Illinois defense is aggressive, with “big play” (INT, TFL, Sacks) similar to Ohio State’s. Their linebacking corps is the heart of this defense. Senior Boomer Mays (6’0″, 244) leads the team with 17 tackles. Freshman Renard Cheren (6’0, 224) has 15 tackles, junior Sean Folliard (6’2″, 231) has 10 tackles and junior Jamaal Payton (6’0, 226) has 9 tackles.
Ohio State on Defense:
NIU is averaging 48 PPG, so they can definitely find their way into the end zone. Granted, it’s been against UNLV and Murray State, but the Huskies have taken advantage of the opposition.
Their rushing attack is led by junior RB Joel Bouagnon (#28) 6’2″ 226. Joel has averaged 102 YPG at a 5.7 YPC clip, which are respectable numbers. The concern is that he has scored 5 TD’s in 2 games, so Bouagnon is definitely NIU’s money man. Four of his 4 TD’s have come when NIU was in the red zone.
As good as OSU’s back seven was against Hawai’i, they’d better be on their toes this game. Northern Illinois’ leading receiver is Kenny Golladay (#19), a 6’4″ 200 lb junior. Golladay has 17 receptions for 357 yards and 2 TD’s. For comparison, OSU’s receiver have a total of 31 receptions for 394 yards and 3 TD’s. This is a completely different level of play than what the Silver Bullets practice against.
When the Huskies get into the red zone, OSU better cover TE Shane Wimann, a 6’4″ 254 sophomore. Wimann has 6 receptions (7.2 YPR) but has 3 TD’s. NIU will run play action and look for Wimann in the flat, usually wide open. OSU linebackers can’t get caught peeking into the backfield like they did against Virginia Tech.
Wrapping It Up:
Ohio State has opened as a 31 point favorite; the spread has since moved to 34.5. It seems the bookies are pretty confident the Ohio State will get their offense sorted out by kickoff. We’ll see.
I think that the defensive intensity and play-making that we saw against Hawai’i will be evident gain against the Huskies. I think/hope that the OSU Brain Trust gets the offense back on track. Again, we’ll see.
Prediction: Ohio State tames the Huskies with a more focused effort on offense. They still won’t cover the spread, but it will be a much more “satisfying” win than against Hawai’i.
Kick-off is at 3:30 ET. Radio coverage will be by 97.1. Television coverage is provided by ABC with reverse mirror on ESPN2, check local listings. LiveChat will be here. We hope to see you then!
The post tBBC Preview: Northern Illinois appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...