Ohio St. vs Big 12 teams

[Stepintoliquid]

Some interesting facts I was reading at Bucknuts:

The Ohio State University has a record of 26-3-1 all time vs the Big 12! Ohio State has won their past 13 games vs Big 12 teams! Most recently the beating they laid on Kansas St. last year in the Fiesta Bowl.

Jim Tressel and his defense have historically shut down top running backs or quarter backs in big games. Hart for Michigan had only 60 yards and Sproiles from K St. was held to 45 vs OSU. Injury aside, MaGahee for Miami only had 21 yards rusing late into the game when he was injured as well.


A side from Holmes, Ginn, Nugent, a dome, turf, giving Tressel a month to prepare for a one dimensional offense, and having perhaps the best LB unit in the country with All American A.J. Hawk, 2nd team All Big 10 Rob Reynolds, and Anthony Schlegal. I'm gladly taking whatever points they will be recieving in this game while they win this game outright with or without Smith will not matter. If anything, I feel that will make the game closer than it would be with him. Before I was thinking Ohio St by 10. Without Smith and Zwick in, I'll say Ohio St. wins by 4-7 points.

Happy Holidays and best of luck this bowl season! :drink:

 

[brutusthebuckeye+]

:banger:

 

[bucbrowns31]

 

[Kegler]

Great info, thanks. To add to this, If you haven't heard Okie State suspended Darrant Williams and he did not make the trip. He is by far their best DB. The Cowboys Pass D was not that great to begin with and it went downhill after his injury.


I didn't follow the Buckeyes closely this year. Is Zwick that much worse than Smith or was it a matter of the team gelling and playing together late in the season when Smith was starting. Any feed back greatly appreciated.

 

[sphincter]

zwick started the year with rb ross and without wr ted ginn playing....ross has since been replaced by underclassman pittman......and ginn has 7 td`s in only 40 touches this year...

zwick came to ohio as a highly heralded guy.....the addition of these weapons will help him tremendously....

i like `em because of the defense...the linebackers in particular....vs the one dimensional cowboys..and the fact that they closed strong this year.....and tressel.....the guy is quite a big game coach..

one more thing....from what i`ve read,none of okie st`defensive backs are over 6`tall....that might make santonio holmes and ginn even more effective.....

then again,maybe morency runs wild....who knows...but,ohio st`s run defense has been consistently solid...

and i parlayed ohio st+4 with purdue vs az st(minus their qb)....

just think ohio st+4 is worth the shot...it`s a much better club than the one that started the season...in more areas than just the qb....

just an opinion...i`m sure there are solid okie st arguments to be made....the artificial turf may benefit them...and maybe zwick freezes...that`s why they call it gambling...

g.l.

 

[Kegler]

You are correct about Okie St. DB's. They are all under 6 ft. and just not very good. The question is will Zwick be able to take advantage. I like Les Miles as a Coach (I'm an OU fan by the way) but when the Cowboys play what I would call "Big Time" schools (Ohio St.- Mich - OU - texas - USC - Mia Fla- etc.) Their only success has been against Oklahoma, and those two years OU had the Big 12 south wrapped up and were looking forward to the Big 12 Championship game while the OU game was the Cowboys biggest game of the year. I like Ohio State in this game A LOT. Any more feedback would be great. I have been put on a lot winners and kept off of losers with threads like this where people actually discuss the games rather than making picks.

 

[GoSooners]

I'm an OU fan too. Your right, with the loss of Darrant Williams that was a big blow to the OSU defense who are weak on linebackers and defensive backs. The big key to this game IMO is if the Buckeyes can stop the OSU run game. They have one of the best blocking offensive lines in the country. I've seen teams put 9 men in the box and still not stop them. With OSU it's all about strength against strength. Can you beat us up front? If the Bucs do that and then execute on offense they should win the game. But something tells me it's going to be a tight fit. The Big 12 South Division was a very physical conference this year.

 

[sphincter]

should be an excellent game...and from what i`ve seen,miles is a fire and brimstone kinda guy...i expect okie st will come ready to play(unlike ucla...lol)....and i`ve read that this is as good a run blocking team as there is in the ncaa...

i expect it to be "a tight fit"...

btw...i`m no ohio st fan.....from baltimore...so i have no love for ohio.....just putting out info i picked up while researching this game....

should be a goody

 

[GoSooners]

His name eludes me at the moment, but I just found out on the sports news here that Okla St. has just suspended their starting defensive tackle for the Alamo Bowl game. He had been rotating with another player this year due to injuries. But there won't be any rotation at that position for this game. OSU is pretty thin all around on defense. Despite the Bucs losing their starting QB this game is looking more and more like it could go over the number.

 

[AlwaysKeen]

good thread here...didn't know a lot of this information...thanks guys...

 

[DeathEatsaCracker]

GoSooners, that's Jason Girtman who is suspended for the game.

So far, the suspension count for this game is two for Oklahoma State and two for Ohio State.

What's the over/under for suspensions?

 

[DeathEatsaCracker]

For those who haven't heard, the second Ohio State suspension is a WR who had sex with a 12 year old girl.

 

[Stepintoliquid]

Death, you are correct. The WR is Albert Dukes. He was charged in Bell Grade, Florida. What he is doing there while the team is in Texas preparing for the game is beyond me. Only think I can think is that maybe Tressel gave some players time off for Christmas?

Albert Dukes didn't not play at all or very little this season. He's at the bottom of the WR chart. This won't have any effect on the offense.

For anyone looking for information on this game, stats, etc. I strongly suggest you go to Bucknuts.com for loads of information.

Merrry Christmas!
-My early gift was the onside kick return for a td for over 38 in the 2nd half last night!

arty:

 

[GoSooners]

What's worse...A Michigan player who likes to beat the meat in front of women's dorms or an R.Kelly wanabee who likes his girls young...real young. Anyway I get the feeling there's more to cum. :hump:
Here's some power ratings for both teams

Okla. St is rated #25 on offense and #48 on defense.

Ohio St. is #48 on offense and #16 on defense.

Pretty even numbers.

Also keep in mind the intangibles here: Okla.St. fans travel well and they should have a big contingent there. Plus the game is being played in Big 12 territory with 50 thousand fans inside of a dome. It could get loud if things start going Okla. State's way. I believe Ohio St. will have to play well from the get go to keep the crowd out of it. I'm sure Tressel is aware of all of this. He's pretty conservative, but he might have a few early game tricks up his sleeve for this game. He better because I know Miles will. He's that kind of a coach.

 

[Stepintoliquid]

This might be the first of many Tressle/Miles match ups to come. Miles is the big favorite to replace Lloyd Carr up at Michigan next. He's from the school of Schembechler and rumored to be his favorite choice.

On a side note if this is a close game, I'd have to go with Ohio St. due to the trio of Nugent kicking inside a dome, and Ginn and Holmes on punt returns. Ohio St. also ranks in the top 5 with kickoff returns as well.

Tressel knows how to win close games.

Just curious Death, what's your thoughts on the big OU/USC game? I'd love to hear an honest opinion from a local there.

Happy Holidays!

 

[DeathEatsaCracker]

Just curious Death, what's your thoughts on the big OU/USC game? I'd love to hear an honest opinion from a local there.

In 2000 against Florida State, I thought OU was going to lose. Against LSU last year, I thought OU was going to lose. Right or wrong, the point is that I have always been able to analyze a game rationally despite my love and allegence for the Sooners.

That said, I think OU beats SC by at least 10 points. Reggie Bush is the only person preventing an OU blowout. Losing the last two games of the year was the best thing that could have happened to this year's team. All year long the Sooner's motto has been "Finish", and on the 4th, they will.

OU 38
USC 24

 

[sphincter]

here you go,step.....from a capper on another site that is a usc guy through and through.....

""""As of Dec. 17th, I am now thinking OU will beat USC. Everything seems to be going bad for USC in terms of preparing for the Orange Bowl. I cannot believe all the distractions and all the negativity going on. Make up your own conclusions but I gotta think all of this hurts USC to a certain extent and helps OU to a certain extent.

#1 Leinarts Heisman distraction
-not bad for program but distraction for team. Pluis motivation for OU. Personally I don't think its too big deal and Leinart only missed 1 practice. It also didn't affect USC 2 years ago against Iowa in OB when Palmer won over Banks. Many people love betting against team who won heisman.

#2 Lendale White and Manual Wright NOT GETTING BETTER!
-USC's best and only powerful RB White is still wearing a cast on his ankle. He has been playing hurt all year with his right ankle and against UCLA he hurt his left ankle. He says he will play in OB but he has not been practicing. Def. won't be 100%. Manual Wright is USC's 3rd best DT and he said he is 2 weeks away from healing from an injury he had against Arizona. He plays huge role on the USC DL and his ankle is not getting better.

#3 Hershal Dennis injured in practice yesterday and out for the game w/torn knee ligaments. He is USC's 3rd RB but more importantly he is the only other power running back USC has. White is not 100% and no Dennis. 4th string RB is Reed who is very good but he is more like Reggie Bush than White. Not a power back.

#4 Chow interviewing for Stanford job during UCLA week I think pissed off Carroll and was distraction for USC offense. Chow wants a head coaching job and he seems to give bad interviews or asks too much $$$. Remember, he is the highest paid OC in CFB at USC. Plus there are rumors that Chow and Carroll are not getting along. USC assistant AD is going to Syracuse and rumor is Chow will be a strong candidate there as well. So more CHow distractions/team distractions. How hard is he preparing for OU? I seriously question that.

#5 USC outstanding and beloved DL coach (Orgeron) took head coaching job at Ole Miss. He will be back at USC for their final 2 weeks of practice and coach at OB but none the less this is huge distraction. EVERYONE loves this guy and he will do an excellent job at Ole Miss!

#6 It just appears that everything going on and all the talk going on is about everything BUT the Orange Bowl. Very very weird for a team/fans who is playing for the National Championship on jan. 4th. Rumors about coaching staff and coaches not getting along. Rumors that seem to put a negative tone on preparation for the OB.

HERE IS THE BIGGEST WORRY OF THEM ALL.

Here are exact quotes from someone inside the program who sat next to Lane Kiffen (USC WR coach) at USC's awards banquet. Take it for what its worth.

"On a side note, Lane mentioned that the staff is very nervous about this game, in fact he mentioned that he had not seen PC this concerned. He said this was the best team they had ever played against and were worried that OU’s strengths play to our weaknesses, mainly the speed of their d-line versus the inexperience and tendency for mistakes of our guards. He mentioned that they had a hard time stopping UCLA’s d-line and that worried them. The only way we can win is if we strategically out coach them. If you think this is what coaches say before every big game, you’re wrong. I have been fortunate enough in the past to speak with various USC coaches before other big games (usually over a couple of beers) and they were very optimistic of their chances based on the film they had watched. This is obviously a different case."

Not good for USC and these are some solid reasons into taking OU! If you like OU already from a handicapping perspective, then you really gotta love OU now!

USC is inserting their OU game plan over this weekend and will be practicing hard from now until Jan. 4th. Each team I think is only allowed 15 practices and USC has used only a couple. The positive news is the defense reportedly looked sharp as well as the USC passing game. All WR's looked good and healthy."""

hope this helps...

 

[Stepintoliquid]

Thanks Sphincter and Death! Yes, it definitely helped tremendously. I appreciate your opinions. I love the fact that you back it up with cold, hard facts. I'm sure you've both noticed that so many people on here just scream 1 team to win and not really give any reasoning or information as to why. I can always respect anyone's pick win or loss if they can give their reasons as to why.

Living in southern California, I try to follow USC and the PAC 10 more closely now with better information and not having to stay up until 2 am eastern time to watch/scout a few teams out west. It's difficult to sometimes get fair coverage with the L.A. Times. I get the sense that Bill Pascke and the woman I can't recall her name who do most of the sports columbus tend to be 'SC homers rather often.

I had a lean on OU before reading both of your write ups. After reading your write ups, I'm on OU even more.

Thanks!

 

[GoSooners]

StepIntoLiquid...I also have to add my 2 cents worth here and say this has been a tale of 2 seasons for OU. If you asked me in the middle of the year when OU was struggling against teams like OSU and Texas A&M, if they could beat USC I would have giving you a resounding no. But OU has improved so much in the last few weeks that they've completely turned the season around and are playing like everyone thought they would.
Stoops said that he thought OU peaked too early last year. And by the end of the season with all the Heisman distractions for White and Mike Stoops stepping down as defensive coach, OU just wasn't the same team.
I believe USC is going through a lot of the same things that OU went through last year with all of these distractions.
These two teams mirror each other in so many ways it's uncanny. I believe for both teams their offenses are better than their defenses. And despite USC's problems I believe OU will have to score at least in the low 30's to win this game.

 

[DeathEatsaCracker]

I believe USC is going through a lot of the same things that OU went through last year with all of these distractions.

EXACTLY what I was going to add.