Buckeyes Preview 8/30/17: Ohio State Buckeyes @ Indiana Hoosiers

By Jason Disantis, @JasonInCLE


The Ohio State Buckeyes ended the 2016 season with a 31-0 ass-thumping to the hands of the eventual National Champion Clemson Tigers. With a new look to the secondary and a revitalized offense the 2017 Buckeyes will look to leave last year behind them and gear up for another championship run.


New Look Secondary

The Buckeyes have a huge task in front of them in trying to replace three first-round defensive backs. Junior safety Damon Webb will be the only returning starter. Although Webb didn’t get the attention that first-round studs Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker, and Gareon Conley received, he still had a solid year earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors and returning an interception for a touchdown. As the only returning starter Webb will have to step up as a player and a leader in the Ohio State secondary.

Denzel Ward will be the Buckeyes #1 corner this year as he makes his case to be the Buckeyes next first-round talent. Although not technically a starter last year, don't tell cornerback coach Kerry Coombs that. Ward played a lot last year as he was used heavily in cornerback coaches Kerry Coombs’ three-corner rotation.

"I would prefer it if you guys referred to him as the third starter at corner because that's what he was," Coombs said earlier this year. We had a true three-man rotation."

And if there is any doubt as to how good Ward can be, Coombs confidence in him is not lacking. "I'm telling you he as good as the other two [Lattimore and Conley]. He doesn't have to say it. I'm telling you that. I think he believes it, he just doesn't have to say it."

Opposite Ward will be redshirt sophomore Damon Arnette. Arnette was mostly used as a nickel corner last year, playing in all 13 games, although early season struggles caused his playing time to dwindle. Despite his struggles last year, the Buckeyes are high on Arnette’s talent, and swagger. Coombs said earlier this summer that Arnette reminds him of a recent Buckeye star.

“He has got charisma, he has got juice,” Coombs said. “He will remind you of Bradley Roby when he’s on the field with the swagger and the way he plays. I love that about him.”

Along with Ward and Arnette Ohio State fans will see a lot of junior college transfer Kendall Sheffield. Sheffield originally committed to Alabama as a five-star recruit but transferred to Blinn College after he redhirted his freshman season. As a highly touted transfer, he committed to Ohio State back in January of this year.

With the addition of Sheffield and growth of Ward and Arnette, the Buckeyes will display a trio of ultra-talented corners to fill the void left by Lattimore and Conley.

Alongside Damon Webb at safety, Jordan Fuller and Erick Smith have been listed as co-starters. Smith is entering his senior season and has the most experience of the two. Fuller is entering his sophomore season and has the most potential to make a Hooker-like impact roaming the secondary.


Perhaps the biggest addition to the Ohio State offense this year is new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.

Ever since Tom Herman left Ohio State after the 2014 season, the Buckeyes have lost some of that big-play explosiveness they were known for. In Herman’s final season as offensive-coordinator the Buckeyes had 56 pass plays of 20 yards or more. That is was the most in head coach Urban Meyer’s five years with the Buckeyes. Since then Ohio State has had just 38 in 2015, and 33 in 2016. Anyone who has watched the Buckeyes the last couple years has seen the obvious decline in big-strike pass plays.

Enter Kevin Wilson.

Kevin Wilson, who resigned as head coach of Indiana last season, is looking to regain that type of down-field aerial attack for the Buckeyes.

At the same time the Ohio State passing attack was regressing, Wilson’s offense at Indiana was posting seasons of 60 pass plays of 20 yards or more in 2015, and 52 in 2016.

It’s a fast-paced offense. An offense predicated on big play action fakes leading to downfield scores. An offense that will without-a-doubt average more plays per game and more yards per play than the Buckeyes have the past two seasons. An offense that will look to regain the form that won them a National Championship back in 2014.

This Thursday night Wilson will get his chance to showcase his offense against his former team, Indiana.

The Hoosiers are coming off of a 6-7 season which was highlighted by a 24-21 win over then #10 Michigan State in overtime. While typically game one of the season is used to iron out the wrinkles against a lower level opponent, Indiana will not have that luxury this year. They are going to have to hope the Buckeyes have A LOT of wrinkles to iron out and hopefully catch them at the right time. But with Ohio State’s new additions and a bad taste left in their mouth from last season, there may not be a “right time” for any opponent this season.

When coming up with this preview I noticed a theme. I kept remembering the good times of years ago.

I remembered Tom Herman’s offense and big plays downfield.
I remembered Hooker ball hawking and Lattimore and Conley locking guys down.
This season will look to bring us new memories, and hopefully, if just for a moment, make us forget.



What: Ohio State vs. Indiana
When: Thursday 8/31/17, 8:00 PM ET
Where: Bloomington, Indiana
Watch: ESPN Megacast including traditional broadcast on ESPN and six additional viewing experiences including a coaches film room on ESPNEWS and others
Spread: OSU -21.5
Over/Under: 57.5
Money Line: OSU -2000, IU +1250

Buckeyes Preview 10.7.16: Indiana Hoosiers @ Ohio State Buckeyes

By Jason Disantis, @JasonInCLE


The Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten), coming off of their most dominating performance of the season will host the Indian Hoosiers (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) this Saturday at The Shoe. While the Buckeyes are riding high off of a 58-0 curb stomping over Rutgers, Indiana is also feeling good coming out of a weekend where they knocked off Big Ten Champion Michigan State in overtime.

What the Buckeyes have been able to accomplish through four games has been nothing short of impressive. They have been dominant on both sides of the ball. The Ohio State defense only gave up 116 total yards to Rutgers last week and shut out the Scarlet Knights. The Silver Bullets lead the nation in scoring defense (9.3 pts/game), defensive pass efficiency and red-zone defense. The Buckeyes have yet to give up a rushing touchdown this season and are only surrendering 65 yards/game on the ground.

Offensively J.T. Barrett continues to keep his name firmly in the Heisman discussion. Barrett is coming off of a four touchdown pass performance and set the record for touchdown passes at Ohio State with 59. The most impressive part of that piece of history is that J.T. has done it in a little over two years as a starter.

“It’s just a great honor,” Barrett said when speaking about the touchdown pass record. "The tradition here at Ohio State is so rich. It's just in everything we do. Despite everything I've been through it feels surreal. That's crazy that I was just trying to do my part and do my best for the team and then broke the record. I'm truly grateful for it."

Indiana is coming off of their biggest win of the year after knocking off #17 Michigan State in overtime last week. The Hoosiers bring their Big Ten leading passing offense to Columbus led by junior quarterback Richard Lagow. Indiana also ranks second in total offense in the Big Ten, behind the Buckeyes. You better believe Urban Meyer is aware that Indiana is bringing their best team of late into The Shoe.

“For four years in a row it’s been swing as hard as you can,” Meyer said. “This is by far their best team.”

What: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Indiana Hoosiers
When: Saturday October 8, 2016 at 3:30 PM ET
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Watch: ESPN
Line: OSU -29, Over/Under: 59

#Buckeyes Preview 10.2.15: Ohio State @ Indiana Hoosiers

By @jddisantis

This Saturday the Ohio State Buckeyes will open up Big Ten play by traveling to Bloomington, Indiana to play the Hoosiers of Indiana University. This game will showcase two undefeated teams as both sit at 4-0 and look to gain more control atop of the Big Ten East standings.
Ohio State's offense finally showed some life as Cardale Jones played better, but still showed inconsistencies, especially in the second half against Western Michigan.  Although throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos, Jones also threw an interception and fumbled.

Ezekiel Elliot continued to play well rushing for 124 yards at 7.8 yards per carry clip.  Elliot has over 100 yards in every game this year to go along with five touchdowns.  Despite his success last week it was the second time this year Ohio State failed to get Zeke 20 touches.  Ohio State will be at their best when Elliot is getting the ball early and often and the Buckeyes can dictate the pace and flow of the game.

The Indiana Hoosiers boast some firepower of their own and are 4-0 for the first time since 1990. They will look to improve to 5-0 behind the nations leading rusher and the Big Tens co-offensive player of the week, Jordan Howard.  Howard ran for 168 yards and a touchdown in a win against Wake Forest last week.  Unlike the Buckeyes the Hoosiers have been focused and committed to getting Howard his touches giving him the ball 20 or more times in each game this season and over 30 the last two weeks.

While Howard is running, 6-6 senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld will be throwing as he has over 1100 yards on the year to go along with 7 touchdowns to just one interception,  Thanks to Howard and Sudfeld the Hoosiers are averaging 38.2 points and 522 yards per game.

While showing an ability to score on offense, the Hoosier defense has yet to stop anyone this year.  Indiana is giving up a whopping 499 yards along 32 points per game.  Add to that the suspension of one of the Hoosiers top interior defensive lineman, tackle Darius Latham, and Indiana could see those awful defensive numbers get worse.

This weekend the Hoosiers have a chance to shock the world by knocking off the nations number one ranked team and defending national champion Buckeyes.  With a chance to move to 5-0 for the first time since 1967 Indiana will be primed and ready for Saturday afternoon against the Buckeyes.  Ohio State will try to extend the nations longest winning streak while continuing to iron out the wrinkles on offense.  If the Silver Bullets can continue to dominate on defense while creating opportunities for the offense the Buckeyes shouldn't have a problem returning home to Columbus with a victory.


What: Ohio State vs. Indiana
Where:  Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
When:  Saturday, 10/3/15 at 3:30ET on ABC
Line:  OSU -21.5, O/U 66.5

On The Mark 11.24.14: #Browns & #Buckeyes Recaps

Buckeyes And Browns Both Win In Thrilling Weekend Of Football
By @MarkW2112

Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1), perhaps looking ahead to Michigan week, looked a little lost against Indiana for 3 quarters but thanks to freshman H back Jalin Marshall were able to overcome their mistakes with a 42-27 victory that may have solidified the number 5 spot in the Playoff committee's rankings on Tuesday.  J.T. Barrett may not have had his best game against a surprisingly tough Hoosier defense but he was good enough to lead the Buckeyes once again to victory with 302 passing yards and 4 touchdowns to also go along with 2 interceptions.  Ezekiel Elliot finished with 107 yards rushing on 13 carries, good enough to get him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season.  But it was Marshall who helped saved the Buckeyes.  Down 20-14 in the third quarter, Marshall took back a 54 yard punt return for a touchdown to make it 21-20.  After that, Marshall scored the next 3 Buckeyes touchdowns, including a phenomenal one handed grab, that sealed the victory for the Bucks.

Indiana (3-8) were able to keep up with the Buckeyes thanks to fantastic running back Tevin Coleman, who had 228 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, one of which on a 90 yard run.  The Buckeyes defense had it's issues once again but were able to withstand just enough to allow the offense to get themselves together and score 28 unanswered points before Coleman's last touchdown with 1:08 left in the game.

My take: the Buckeyes heads obviously weren't in this game.  Indiana took advantage of it and made the Bucks come back and win it.  With the win, the Buckeyes were crowned the Big 10 East champions and headed back to the Big 10 Championship game.  The 4 touchdowns by Barrett tied him with Drew Brees for the most touchdowns by any Big 10 quarterback with 42 total touchdowns this year.  The red shirt freshman has been outstanding this year and proven he is the future quarterback of the Buckeyes.

Next game: the big one with That School Up North, Saturday at noon at the Horseshoe

Browns

The Cleveland Browns surprising 2014 campaign made a stop in Atlanta today against the Falcons.  And wow, what a thrilling one it was!  The Browns win 26-24 on a last second field goal by Billy Cundiff after an unbelievable 61 yard drive engineered by Brian Hoyer with 44 seconds left and 3 timeouts.

The game started with the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was able to accumulate 120 passing yards in his first official game since last year.  Hoyer appeared to be targeting Gordon much of the game and while their chemistry was off a bit, they did have some big plays together.  The other big story of the game was the running of Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, who together combined for 150 yards rushing.  Crowell scored both of the Browns touchdowns, including a 26 yard run that showed his athleticism and burst of speed.  Hoyer was 23-of-40 for 330 yards but his 3 interceptions were a black eye before the last second drive took all of it away.  With big catches by Gordon, Miles Austin and Gary Barnidge, they were able to perhaps save the Browns season along with Hoyer's starting job.  Before that last drive, Hoyer's last interception lead the Falcons to take the lead 24-23 on a 53 yard field goal by Matt Bryant.

The Browns defense were able to keep the rushing yards down, giving up a season low 63 yards rushing, 34 from Steven Jackson.  Matt Ryan was 27-of-43 for 273 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception.  The worst news for the Browns defense might have been the injury to sensational safety Tashaun Gipson, who had to be carted out of the stadium with a leg injury.  It would be a big blow to the Browns secondary.

My Take: This team once again proved to be the Kardiac Kids Part II.  Brian Hoyer was able to redeem himself once again after 3 terrible turnovers with the incredible last second drive to set up Billy Cundiff field goal to win the game.  Josh Gordon is only going to get better and that's scary for the rest of the teams the Browns face.  If Tashaun Gipson were to miss the rest of the season, it's a blow to the secondary.  But on the plus side, the Browns were able to stay tough in the face of adversity and ultimately win the game.  It's one more step for Mike Pettine and his staff to create a winning atmosphere in Cleveland.  If he keeps this up, Pettine could win coach of the year with Ray Farmer executive of the year for his fantastic draft finds in Isaiah Crowell and defensive back K'Waun Williams, both undrafted free agents who have made huge impacts for this team.

Quick note: as I mentioned earlier about the Kardiac Kids, Brian Hoyer was the first Browns quarterback to throw for consecutive 300 yard passing games since Brian Sipe in 1980.

Next game: against the Buffalo Bills, either in Buffalo or somewhere else, depending on if they were able to remove the massive amounts of snow.

On The Mark 11.22.14 #Buckeyes vs #Indiana Preview

By @MarkW2112

The Ohio State Buckeyes, ranked 6th in the nation, take on the Indiana Hoosiers at the Horseshoe today.  This should be a cake walk for the Buckeyes in all aspects of the game.  Indiana is not a good team at 3-7.  The Bucks should out muscle them both on offense and defense.  The one stat to look out for today is if J.T. Barrett can break Drew Brees record of most touchdowns in a single season by a Big Ten quarterback.  He needs 4, which should be a pretty easy accomplishment today.

Joey Bosa and the defense should also have a big game against the Hoosiers offense, which is beset with quarterback injuries.  Freshman quarterback Zander Diamont, taking over for Nate Sudfeld, has been mediocre at best.  Running back Tevin Coleman, coming off of a 307 yard rushing game against Rutgers, might be a of an issue for the Buckeyes.  But if they stack the box and have Diamont beat them, it should be an easy day.

My take: favored to win by 6 touchdowns at home, if the the Buckeyes don't win today, Urban Meyer might need to be escorted out of Columbus in the Pope Mobile.

Prediction: Buckeyes win.  And probably win big.

What: Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio State Buckeyes

Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH

Time: 12:00 PM EST

TV: Big Ten Network

Now as for fixing for the Cavs...