On The Mark 11.29.15: #Buckeyes vs #Michigan Recap #OSUvsMICH

Hail to the Victors! Ohio State destroys Michigan in The Big House 42-13
By @MarkW2112

Yes, we all know The Victors is the Michigan fight song. But on this day, in Ann Arbor, at Michigan Stadium, it was the Ohio State Buckeyes who were the victors. And what a win it was, as they destroyed the Wolverines 42-13 in a game where the Buckeyes ran over Michigan's defense like a hot knife to butter. It was won in the trenches, with Ezekiel Elliot running for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns and J.T. Barrett running for an additional 139 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. He also threw for a touchdown on a beautiful pass over the defenders head and in to the waiting hands of Jalin Marshall. The Buckeyes offensive line had no problem opening holes for the rushers today as they had last week against Michigan State.

It was the first game for coach Jim Harbaugh against Urban Meyer. It was supposed to be a match set up like Bo Schembechler vs. Woody Hayes. Instead, it was another nightmare for Michigan fans who've seen the likes of Lloyd Carr and Brady Hoke take a beating from Ohio State over the last decade. Quarterback Jake Rudock looked sharp to the start, especially on a beautiful touchdown pass to Jehu Chesson, who led all receivers with 111 yards receiving. Other than a few nice receptions by Jake Butt, the Ohio State defense held their ground all day long, holding all Michigan running backs to a total of 57 yards. Rudock had his day finished early after former high school teammate Joey Bosa, who blew by the offensive tackle to hit Rudock in to the Big House turf. Wilton Speight took over for the rest of game, including an interception to Bosa after batting the ball to himself and almost taking it to the end zone. Adolphis Washington was also disruptive, getting to Rudock many times during the game. It was a hugely disappointing beginning to the Harbaugh era.

My take: This is how the Buckeyes should have played all year. Offensively, it was the best game of the year, especially against a top 10 opponent. J.T. Barrett and Ezekiel Elliot were outstanding today. It seems that having Tim Beck and Ed Warinner up in the booth together was exactly what the offense needed. It's just too bad they couldn't have figured this out before losing to Michigan State, who beat Penn State to win the B1G Eastern division. If there is somehow some luck on the Buckeyes side, there is a very slim chance they could make it to the 4 team playoff. But they blew the opportunity by playing so poorly against Michigan State. The consolation prize is going to the Rose Bowl, a place that meant so much to both the Buckeyes and Michigan in years past.

Player of the game: Ezekiel Elliot. After criticizing the coaches after the heartbreaking loss to Michigan State, Elliot manned up and plowed through Michigan defenders on his way to a 30 carry, 214 yard day. He surpassed Eddie George with the second most rushing yards of any Ohio State player, only behind Archie Griffin. He will be missed in Columbus but his career in the NFL will be one to watch.

Play of the game: While it didn't score a touchdown, Ezekiel Elliot's 66 yard run in the first half seemed to give the push the Buckeyes needed on offense.

Next for the Buckeyes: To be determined.

#Buckeyes Preview 9.6.15: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech #Hokies

By @jddisantis

This Labor Day get the family time out of the way early because Monday night the National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes will try to avenge their only loss of last year by traveling to Blacksburg for a showdown with the Virginia Tech Hokies.   There is no shortage of storylines attached to the Buckeyes and their first test of the 2015 season.  Here is a breakdown of four areas of this game that I will be watching closely as the Buckeyes will attempt to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 14.

1.   Who’s under center?:   Everyone has heard the age-old-adage, “If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.”   Well, that’s not the case for the Buckeyes.  In the 2014 season we saw something that movies are made of as Ohio State had TWO quarterbacks go down to injury yet their third string QB, Cardale Jones, stepped up and won the Big Ten Championship, National Semifinal and National Championship with a combination of size and arm strength reminiscent of JaMarcus Russell.   With 2-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Braxton Miller moving to WR, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones have been battling it out this summer for the starting job.   After watching Cardale in the final three games of last year many fans forget that J.T. Barrett was himself a Heisman contender before getting injured late in the season. 

Urban Meyer said that both quarterbacks will play in this game and reports have said that he will notify Barrett and Jones on Saturday who will start, although he will not tell the team until Monday night before the game.   Both men have been very humble during this process and have shown 100% support for the other so whatever the outcome I don’t anticipate any animosity towards the other.  Personally I would go with Barrett (who was recently named a team captain) but how could you argue with either player. 

2.  How badly will the recent suspensions hurt Ohio State?:   This offseason four Ohio State players received one game suspensions for “violating Department of Athletics policy.”  It is believed that the violations involve marijuana and academics.  The biggest impact the Buckeyes will be missing is potential #1 overall pick in next year’s NFL draft, junior defensive end Joey Bosa.  Sophomore H-back Jalin Marshall, senior WR Corey Smith and junior H-back Dontre Wilson will also be missing in action against the Hokies.  With WR Noah Brown down for the year with a broken leg the suspensions of Marshall, Smith and Wilson hurt even more.  We can expect to see a healthy dose of newly transitioned Braxton Miller to make up for the loss along with the emergence and continued growth of WR Michael Thomas. 

Redshirt sophomore Sam Hubbard will be starting in place of Joey Bosa, with Jalyn Holmes getting time as well.  Despite not playing all last year Hubbard was compared to J.J. Watt by former assistant coach Kerry Coombs and coach Meyer has mentioned that he thought about burning Hubbard’s redshirt year because he knew Hubbard was an NFL caliber player who won’t end up staying for four years.  Hubbard had two sacks in the spring game and exhibited the type of talent that has coaches excited to see what he can do on the main stage.  The Buckeyes may not have Joey Bosa out there Monday night, but they just might have the next best thing.   

3.  Braxton Miller’s switch to WR/H-back:  This offseason was filled with rumors and questions about the two-time Big Ten Offensive POY.  Will Braxton compete for the starting QB at Ohio State?  Will he transfer to Oregon or FSU to play QB there?  All of those questions were answered when Braxton Miller said he would be staying at Ohio State and make a transition to WR.  This was a great business decision for Miller as his potential at QB in the NFL was minimal but as one of the best athletes in college football he will have an opportunity to showcase that athleticism and playmaking ability at a different position.  Due to his recent injuries I think many fans have forgotten just how dynamic a playmaker Braxton Miller is and he should get ample opportunities to remind the nation Monday night against the Hokies. 

4.  Michael Thomas vs. Kendall Fuller:  One of the best battles you will see this opening weekend and maybe all year will be between Ohio State’s top wide-out Michael Thomas and Virginia Tech’s All-ACC cornerback Kendall Fuller.  We’ll have to wait and see if Fuller is going to follow Thomas throughout this game but they will definitely see a lot of each other.  Fuller is a fluid athlete who has football in his DNA as all three of his brothers have played (two are currently playing) in the NFL.  Michael Thomas also has NFL DNA as he is the nephew of former NFL wide-out Keyshawn Johnson.  Thomas is a technician at the position and will try and use his 6-3, 210 pound frame to his advantage against the smaller, faster Fuller.  Kendall Fuller is being touted as a sure fire first rounder while ESPN’s Todd McShay has Michael Thomas ranked as his #1 WR on his big board.  Keep your eyes on these two players as this battle will surely have game, and draft implications. 

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.