Buckeyes Preview 9/28/17: Ohio State @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

By Jason Disantis, @JasonInCLE


The temperature wasn’t the only thing scorching last Saturday at Ohio stadium as the Buckeye offense finally showed what it could look like against the Rebels of UNLV.

Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) dropped to number eleven in the polls despite a thirty-three point victory which featured J.T Barrett throwing five touchdown passes to five different receivers. The Buckeyes threw seven touchdown passes to seven different receivers including one of over 20 yards from Barrett and two of over 20 yards from Dwayne Haskins. A total of 13 players recorded a catch for the Buckeyes. In less than a half of work J.T. Barrett threw for 209 yards which moved him into second place all-time for passing yards at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes return to Big Ten play this weekend as they travel to Rutgers (1-3, 0-1 Big Ten) for prime-time game under the lights.

Rutgers has had a rough start to the season going 1-3 and often shooting themselves in the foot on offense. Head Coach and former Buckeye defensive coordinator Chris Ash is aware of the Scarlet Knights mistakes on offense.

“We’re just our own worst enemy right now on offense in those situations. In games against some really good opponents, and we can’t do that,” Ash said. “We can’t have those self-inflicted mistakes that we continue to have that doesn’t allow us to sustain drives and create momentum that we want and need as we move forward.”

Ash knows that if Rutgers wants to start to click on offense they’re going to have to clean up their mistakes. That is going to be tough to do with a Buckeye defensive front that is one of the most talented and deepest in the nation.

“They have always had high-level players, players that are going to go on and be high draft picks or go to the NFL, and obviously be great college players,” Ash said. “But it’s the depth that they have at the D-line that makes it such a special defensive unit.”

For the Buckeyes, they can continue to fine tune their passing game against a Rutgers team that lost their top cornerback, Blessuan Austin, to a season ending knee injury last week.

While Rutgers will be trying to fill the void of losing their best corner Ohio State will be getting healthier. Mike Weber, last year’s leading and 1000 yard rusher, will be returning from a hamstring injury that has slowed him early this season.

Defensively the Buckeyes will continue to try and clean up their play in the secondary. They haven’t been tested since week two against Oklahoma and the inexperience is showing with three pass interference calls last week against UNLV. They shouldn’t get much of a test from Rutgers either.



The Scarlet Knights are led by Louisville transfer quarterback Kyle Bolin. The Scarlet Knights are only averaging 163 yards passing on the young season and Bolin has thrown double the amount of interceptions to touchdowns, 6-3.

The Buckeyes biggest concern is going to be keeping Janarion Grant bottled up. Grant will most likely be a game time decision after suffering a concussion against Morgan State and didn’t make the trip to Nebraska last week. Grant is a wide receiver/kick returner who displays a good combination of speed and athleticism. When asked if he was concerned about Grant not being able to go against Ohio State Ash said “As of right now, no.”

Ash is going to need Grant and anyone else he can get to suit up as it’s going to be all hands on deck this Saturday night when the Buckeyes come to town.



What: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
When: September 30, 2017 at 7:30 PM ET
Where: High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
Watch: Big Ten Network
Spread: OSU -30.5
Over/Under: 54
Money Line: OSU -10000, Rutgers +4000

Buckeyes Preview 9.30.16: Rutgers Scarlett Knights @ Ohio State Buckeyes

By Jason Disantis, @JasonInCLE

This Saturday the #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) are back at home for their homecoming game and to start conference play against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten).  The Buckeyes are coming off of a bye week after their biggest win of the season on the road against Oklahoma while Rutgers is heading to Columbus after losing to Iowa last week.  

The biggest story line of this game has more to do with who will be on the sidelines rather than on the field.  Rutgers head coach, Chris Ash, was Urban Meyer's co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from January 2014 to December 2015.  And while the Ohio State coaching staff will recognize many of the coaches across the field this game should bring back some memories for current Buckeyes co-defensive coordinator and former Rutgers head coach, Greg Schiano.  

Meyer has already noticed the impact Ash and the coaches he took with him have made on the defensive side of the ball for Rutgers.

"They do a very good job and their defensive line is much improved and the guys are bigger and stronger and they also stole one of our strength coaches, Kenny Parker, and it looks like it.  They're very strong," said Meyer. 

Although these coaches know each other well the talent on the field is still worlds apart.  

J.T. Barrett will resume his Heisman campaign as he looks to improve on his 650 yards passing and 13 total touchdowns through three games. Barrett leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency and touchdowns while orchestrating an offense which leads the conference in scoring average.  

Mike Weber is number two in the Big Ten in total rushing and yards per game only to Rutgers junior running back Robert Martin.  

The Buckeyes defense will be looking to add to their conference leading 11 turnovers this Saturday.  Previously turnover-free Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield was picked off twice by the Silver Bullets secondary as the Buckeyes "basic" defense proved to be a problem for the Sooners.  Now the Buckeyes will look to force a Rutgers offense lead by senior quarterback Chris Laviano into the same mistakes.  


Chris Ash has a lot of work to do at Rutgers before the Scarlet Knights can stand toe-to-toe against the Buckeyes and come out winners.  The talent differential is just too much and it would take a major letdown by Ohio State to give this game up at home.  It's going to be good for the Buckeyes to get their first taste of Big Ten play this year as they have some tough in-conference match-ups in the upcoming weeks.  

What:  Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
When:  Saturday October 1, 2016 at 12:00 PM ET
Where:  Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Watch:  Big Ten Network (BTN)
Line: OSU -39, O/U 60

Spread Offense, College Football Week 5: Clear Your Weekend Schedule

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta


For most people, the weekends are a time to catch up on things around the house. Whether it's yard work or house work or even a DIY project, most of those chores occur on the weekend since the majority of people usually don't have the time throughout the week. Friday and Saturday night are also popular date nights. Dinner and a movie, maybe a stop at a local bar for a few drinks or a walk in the park even, perfect time to stay out a little bit later and spend some quality time together.

I'm here to tell you to clear that schedule and give yourself a whole weekend of free time in order to watch football. The house work can be done early Saturday morning or pushed to Sunday or even next weekend, it can wait. As for date night, hopefully you are fortunate enough to be with someone that also enjoys college football, maybe even have a date night that is football-centric (can't go wrong with a sports bar). If not, then hopefully he/she understands your passion of football and will understand that you want to just sit home and watch TV all weekend, make it up to them  by taking them out to a Sunday morning brunch and/or buy them something to show your appreciation for their understanding (just some suggestions).

Before we get started, I just wanted to fit in a little paragraph on my thoughts on LSU firing Les Miles. I see some people saying that if they would have snapped the ball just a half second sooner against Auburn then he would still have a job and his only other loss this season being by 2 points to a top 10 team in Wisconsin. Fair points, but after last season where LSU practically fired him then brought him back, he basically had to win a national championship in order to keep his job this season. If a program is sold on not retaining their current head coach then it's much more beneficiary to let him go earlier in the season rather than later, especially for recruiting. Les Miles will land on his feet somewhere, he had a great run at LSU and a coaching career that most would love to have. He'll be fine but the writing was blatantly on the wall that his time was up, LSU made the right call for their program.

Week 5 is loaded with games and you won't want to miss a snap,  here's a rundown of the top games, starting on  Friday night.

FRIDAY SEPT 30TH

We get a battle of 2 top 10 teams on Friday Night. The #7 ranked Stanford Cardinal is 3-0 and every one of their games has been spotlighted so far in my weekly article (Kansas State, USC, UCLA). They face the #10 ranked Washington Huskies in Seattle, who have yet to play a marquee game. The Huskies have a lot of preseason hype and so far their record is beginning to prove themselves, but this will be the big test in truly showing that they belong. Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State followed by an OT win against Arizona have been Washington's current schedule, so while both sides of the ball has looked impressive, many are waiting for this game before giving them credit. To show that they deserve a top 10 ranking, they'll need to slow down Ryan Burns and Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey was stifled, for his standards, against UCLA last week but in crunch time the Cardinal found different ways to get the job done. While offensive players like McCaffrey and Washington's QB Jake Browning get a lot of attention, it's been both teams' defenses that have truly been their strong point. Washington leads the NCAA in takeaways while only giving up an average of 14.5 points per game, Stanford is even a bit better there with only 12 points per game. Get ready to see some big plays sprinkled in with an overall defensive game in this highlighted Friday night game.

SATURDAY OCT. 1ST

Ok...so I lied. If there's a time to do some house or yard work then during these noon games would be it. #13 Baylor at Iowa State, #23 Florida at Vanderbilt, #22 Texas at Oklahoma State, #14 Miami at Georgia Tech and Rutgers at #2 Ohio State makes this a somewhat "meh" start to the college football day. By all means still watch but if there's a pressing needs that has to get done then there's definitely some time to take care of it here.

At 3:30 though, we get rolling! #11 Tennessee, coming off their big win over rival Florida, heads to Athens to take on the #25 Georgia Bulldogs. The Vols finally broke the losing streak against Florida (11 straight), are still undefeated and have their sights set on the SEC East title. Georgia was undefeated until last week, where they were outplayed and overmatched by Ole Miss, ending in a 45-14 lopsided loss. Tennessee still has a history of slow starts and one of these games it is going to get them unless they can get it together and start figuring out how to have better starts. They are currently in the gauntlet stretch of their schedule, with Texas A&M and then Alabama looming, so it's time for them to put a full 4 quarters together. Georgia has to find another playmaker other than Nick Chubb to step up in order to win this game. They've scraped by in their first 3 games and then did not have an answer for Ole Miss, it's also time for them to play to their full potential and see what kind of team they truly are or else this could end up being a long season for them.

Also at 3:30 is a battle of 2 of the top teams in the Big Ten, which btw, is the best conference in the NCAA. #8 Wisconsin, coming off a statement win against Michigan State, travels to the mitten again to face the #4 Michigan Wolverines. Wisconsin looked about as a good as a team could look last weekend, their defense stymied the Spartans and their offense continually picked up big first downs on their way to a 30-6 win in East Lansing. MSU and LSU (who Wisconsin defeated in week 1) typically have 2 of the best offensive and defensive lines in the country and the Badgers controlled the trenches all game against both teams. They'll need to do so again if they want to remain undefeated by beating the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan is looking like a well-oiled machine this year, the kind of team we come to expect from Jim Harbaugh. QB Wilton Speight has been way more than a game manager and he throws to 2 of the country's elite WR's (Darboh, Chesson) along with a top Tight End(Butt). The return of CB Jourdan Lewis is big for an already good defense and their LB/DB/KR/PR/WR(practically everywhere) playmaker, Jabrill Peppers, has become of the most electric players in the country. Wisconsin has been battled tested and will go on the road in this one, Michigan looks to pass their first big test by playing and beating a top 10 team, this game has everything a college football fan wants.

Smothered in between the 3:30 and 8pm games is a 5pm kickoff between the Oklahoma Sooners and the #21 TCU Horned Frogs. Not sure if anyone predicted in the offseason that the Oklahoma Sooners, Big 12 champs and college playoff team from last year, would be unranked with a 1-2 record. Fortunately for them, both losses were non-conference games, meaning they still control their own destiny in winning the Big 12. They will need a good defensive game on top of good performances from Mayfield, Mixon and Perine on offense though if they want to avoid 1-3. TCU sits at 3-1, with their lone loss being an OT thriller against Arkansas. Former Texas A&M QB Kenny Hill has been their dual-threat that they need for this offense and RB Kyle Hicks has been a big complement to him in the run game. Both teams leave a lot to be desired on defense though, both giving up more than 380 yards and 25 points a game on average. This game looks to be a offensive firepower game that we are all so used to when it comes to the Big 12.

And then, we arrive at our main event of the evening. #3 Louisville vs. #5 Clemson in a conference clash that takes place in Death Valley. Before we get to the game, be sure to tune in for the pregame where they will almost for certain show the Clemson entrance. It is easily the best entrance in all of college football, they arrive via bus and enter through the stands and run down a hill and onto the field. Trust me, it's worth tuning in early for and if it doesn't get you hyped up for the game then you may not have a pulse. The game will be about the QB's here, Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Deshaun Watson of Clemson. Both are top 5 in the Heisman race with Lamar Jackson right now being the heavy favorite to win it. After a slow start in the first 2 weeks and just when people started to wonder if something is wrong with Clemson, they have turned it up big time and are looking like they are in full form now. Louisville has started off fast and continued a torrent pace of putting up ungodly offensive numbers, including a 63-20 beat down at Florida State. Both defenses have looked good this season as well, Clemson's has kept them in those first two games while their offense struggled and Louisville's just doesn't get the talk that it deserves considering how good their offense has looked. Clemson has one of the best home-field advantages in the country and Louisville has already gone on the road this season and won a big game, this game just looks so close and so good on paper, it's truly a can't miss game.

On The Mark 10.26.15: #Buckeyes v. #Rutgers Recap

J.T. Barrett solidifies the Buckeyes starting QB spot with 49-7 destruction of Rutgers
By @MarkW2112

J.T. Barrett came in to Saturday nights game against Rutgers Scarlet Knights as the starter for the first time this season.  He proved that he belongs there for the rest of the season as the #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes destroyed Rutgers 49-7 in a game that wasn't even close.  From the moment Barrett stepped on to the field, you could sense that the offense was different with him in the game.  Barrett threw for 223 yards and 3 touchdown while running for 101 yards and 2 scores.

Ezekiel Elliot ran for 142 yards and 2 touchdown for his 13th consecutive 100 yard rushing game while Michael Thomas lead all receivers with 103 yards and a touchdown.  Braxton Miller, while not scoring a TD, made another impressive catch that bounced off his body but had enough concentration to make the highlight reel catch.

The Buckeyes defense, meanwhile,  Rutgers offense.  Starting QB Chris Laviano had no chance against Joey Bosa and the front line of the Buckeyes.  While the Buckeyes only had 2 sacks, they were in the face of Laviano for most of the game before being replaced by Hayden Rettig who helped give the Scarlet Knights a touchdown before the end of the game to wipe out the shutout.

My take:  The Buckeyes were firing on all cylinders with J.T. Barrett behind center.  He appeared to be confident and comfortable running the offense.  It appeared to inspire the whole team as the defense played its best game all year.  Rutgers had no chance against this mighty Buckeyes team.

Player of the game:  The entire Buckeyes team and coaching staff played and coached their best game of 2015.

Next for the Buckeyes:  a bye week for Halloween, then back at the Horseshoe to play Minnesota on November 7.

TV Weekend 10.23 - 10.24

By @nevaRWilliams

Undateable (FRI, NBC, 8pm)
Last Man Standing (FRI, ABC, 8pm)
The Amazing Race (FRI, CBS, 8pm)
Reign (FRI, The CW, 8pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXSTV, 8pm)
Truth Be Told (FRI, NBC, 8:30pm)
Dr. Ken (FRI, ABC, 8:30pm)

A Football Life: Steve Largent (FRI, NFL Network, 9pm)
Shark Tank (FRI, ABC, 9pm)
Hawaii Five-0 (FRI, CBS, 9pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXSTV, 9pm)

Blue Bloods (FRI, CBS, 10pm)
The Knick (FRI, Cinemax, 10pm)
Z Nation (FRI, SyFy, 10pm)
Satisfaction (FRI, USA, 10pm)

Black Jesus (FRI, Cartoon Network, 11pm)
------

Da Vinci's Demons (SAT, STARZ, 8pm)
Doctor Who (SAT, BBC America, 9pm)
Blunt Talk SEASON FINALE (SAT, STARZ, 9pm)
Survivor's Remorse SEASON FINALE (SAT, STARZ, 9:30pm)
Saturday Night Live Classic: Sept. 28, 1991, Michael Jordan, Public Enemy (SAT, NBC, 10pm)
REPEAT: Saturday Night Live: Miley Cyrus (SAT, NBC 11:30pm)

======

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Memphis @ Tulsa (FRI, ESPN, 8pm)
Utah State @ San Diego State (FRI, ESPN 2, 10:30pm)

Clemson @ Miami (SAT, ABC, 12pm)
Iowa State @ Baylor (SAT, ESPN, 12pm)
Pittsburgh @ Syracuse (SAT, ESPNU, 12pm)
Northwestern @ Nebraska (SAT, ESPN 2, 12pm)
Kansas State @ Texas (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 12pm)
Auburn @ Arkansas (SAT, SEC, 12pm)

Indiana @ Michigan State (SAT, ABC, 3:30pm)
Tennessee @ Alabama (SAT, CBS, 3:30pm)
Maryland vs. Penn State (SAT, ESPN, 3:30pm)
Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (SAT, ESPN 2, 3:30pm)
Kansas @ Oklahoma State (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 3:30pm)
Wisconsin @ Illinois (SAT, Big Ten, 3:30pm)

Texas A&M @ Mississippi (SAT, ESPN, 7pm)
Florida State @ Georgia Tech (SAT, ESPN 2, 7pm)
Utah @ USC (SAT, FOX, 7:30pm)
Ohio State @ Rutgers (SAT, ABC, 8pm)

Wyoming @ Boise State (SAT, ESPN 2, 10:15pm)
Washington @ Stanford (SAT, ESPN, 10:30pm)

MLB PLAYOFFS
ALCS, Game 6: Blue Jays @ Royals (FRI, FOX Sports 1, 8pm)
ALCS, Game 7: Blue Jays @ Royals (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 8pm) *if necessary

NBA
Preseason: Rockets @ Spurs (FRI, NBA TV, 8:30pm)

NHL
Canadiens @ Sabres (FRI, NHL Network, 7pm)

Lightning @ Blackhawks (SAT, NHL Network, 8:30pm)
Blue Jackets @ Avalanche (SAT, FOX Sports Ohio, 9pm)

MMA & BOXING
Bellator MMA Live 144 (FRI, SPIKE, 9pm)

Boxing: Kell Brook vs. Diego Chaves (SAT, Showtime, 9pm)
Boxing: Terence Crawford vs. Dierry Jean (SAT, HBO, 9:30pm)

NASCAR & RACING
Formula One: United States Grand Prix, Qualifying (SAT, NBC Sports, 12:30pm)
Camping World Truck Series: Fred's 250 (SAT, FOX, 1pm)
Sprint Cup Series: CampingWorld.com 500, Qualifying (SAT, NBC Sports, 4pm)

SOCCER
English Premier League: Arsenal FC vs. Everton FC (SAT, NBC, 12:30pm)

OTHER SPORTS
2015 IRB Rugby World Cup: First Semifinal, South Africa vs. New Zealand (SAT, NBC, 2:30pm)
Figure Skating: ISU Grand Prix: Skate America (SAT, NBC, 5pm)

#Buckeyes Preview 10.23.15: Ohio State @ #Rutgers Scarlet Knights

By @jddisantis

Saturday night the Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0 conf) will travel to High Point Solutions stadium to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2 conf) in what is a slow weekend in college football (as evident by this being a nationally televised night game).  Both teams are coming off of big wins for their respective programs and will look to continue that momentum through the Big Ten schedule.

Ohio State made national news this week as coach Urban Meyer realized what everyone in the nation had been saying for two weeks, J.T. Barrett is the better quarterback right now.  Meyer was hesitant as Cardale Jones struggled the past couple weeks to make any changes at the quarterback position.  The Buckeyes instituted a red-zone package with Barrett at quarterback two weeks ago against Maryland which proved to be the right move as the Buckeyes scored six touchdowns in six red-zone possessions against the Terrapins.  Last week against Penn State Jones once again got the start and once again struggled with accuracy, throwing for just 84 yards against the Nittany Lions.  

It took one half and two possessions into the third quarter for Meyer to replace Jones with Barrett for good.  J.T. could literally take the job and run with it as he has shown a better understanding and execution of the read-option, tallying up over 100 yards against the Nittany Lions.  "Red-zone production and third-down production were the two areas that made the difference.  (Barrett) earned that with the way he played Saturday," Meyer said.

Rutgers has won two of three and have played their three best games of the year.  Their one loss in the last three games was to then #4 Michigan State who they stuck close to and only lost by a touchdown, 31-24.  Their wins came at home vs. Kansas and most recently a comeback 55-52 victory at Indiana.

The Scarlet Knights haven't found a way to stop anybody this year as they are giving up 29.2 points per game.  They will rely on the connection of quarterback Chris Laviano to wide out Leonte Carroo and running back Robert Martin to try and keep up with the Buckeyes offense.  All three of those players are coming off of career highs in either yards or touchdowns against Indiana.

This game wouldn't garner much interest if it wasn't for the change at quarterback for the Buckeyes.  Many pundits expect the Ohio State offense to take off with J.T. Barrett under center and exhibit the dynamic playmaking ability that made them the first ever unanimous pre-season #1 team in the nation.  This team is loaded and has been getting closer and closer to exploding as the weeks have passed.  Unfortunately for Rutgers, Saturday night may be the moment it explodes.

What:  Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
When:  Saturday, October 24, 2015.  8:00 PM ET
Where:  High Point Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
Watch:  ABC
Line: OSU - 21.5, Over/Under 63.5

On The Mark 10.17.14 Ohio State vs. Rutgers Preview

By @MarkW2112

The Ohio State Buckeyes, after another week off, face off against first year Big 10 opponent Rutgers Scarlet Knights.  While the Buckeyes are favored by 19.5 points, don't overlook the strong start of the Scarlet Knights, who are 5-1 so far this season.

The Buckeyes will again look for the continued growth of J.T. Barrett and his strong cast of offensive weapons with an offensive line that also seems to be getting better every game.

The Buckeyes defense will need to contain quarterback Gary Nova who passed for 404 yards and three touchdowns against Michigan 2 weeks ago.  Their defense also leads the Big 10 in sacks with 24.

My take: this will be a challenge for the Buckeyes even at the Horseshoe.  Rutgers is no push over team and will make plays both on offense and defense.  It's up to the Barrett, Ezekiel Elliot and arsenal of receivers to keep scoring and keep mistakes at a minimum.  The defense will need to concentrate on containing Nova both up front and with good coverage in the secondary.

Prediction: It will be a shoot out, but the Buckeyes will prevail 49-31.

What: Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Ohio State Buckeyes

Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH

Time: 3:30 PM

TV: ABC, ESPN2

Around the B1G with K8, 8.29.14: Big Ten Season Preview

Around the B1G with K8
By Cleveland Kate (@ClvlndK8)

With all the changes in the Big Ten this off-season, let’s start with a look at the new divisions and the 7 teams in each one. Frankly, I like the “East” and “West” names much better than “Legends” and “Leaders.” I never really understood the point of those names and trying to remember who was in each division was a pain in the neck.

Big Ten – East
Ohio State
Penn State
Indiana
Maryland
Michigan State
Michigan
Rutgers

Big Ten – West
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Illinois
Iowa
Purdue
Northwestern
Minnesota

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are some tidbits worth knowing about the teams…

Minnesota – Jeff Jones, running back recruit, is still awaiting an eligibility decision from the NCAA. His SAT scores and GPA were not good enough to gain him admission and a football scholarship. He had an option to go to JUCO for two years, improve academically, and then transfer. He’s declined that option and Coach Jeff Kill and the Gopher staff is working hard on his behalf to get the NCAA to grant him eligibility. In the meantime, David Cobb and Berkley Edwards will do just fine.

Rutgers – If nothing else, joining the B1G has done wonders for ticket sales… their home opener sold out and the 30,927 season tickets sold is a new record. It’s too soon to tell if they’ll be able to compete with the “Big boys” on the field, but fans are definitely excited.

Michigan State – Ranked #8 to start the season, and the favorite to win the B1G again this year, the Spartans have 15 starters returning.

Penn State – Christian Hackenberg is one of the best QBs in the conference, perhaps all of college football. While they are struggling with depth issues, they have still put together a solid team and watching Hackenberg should be fun even if their record isn’t great.

Iowa - As a result of the season-ending injury to starting fullback Adam Cox, the Hawkeyes will move freshman linebacker Aaron Mends over to the FB position. Mends was a 3-star recruit at linebacker but he did play quite a bit of running back in high school, so Coach Kirk Ferentz is hopeful this will fil the need created by Cox’s injury.

Michigan – It’s clear the Coach Brady Hoke is on the hot seat and even he seems to know that. Back in January he fired Offensive Coordinator Al Borges, as if it’s his fault that the offense struggled, and hired Doug Nussmeier. While Nuss may have a national championship on his resume, it won’t be enough to beat the Buckeyes. Just saying.

Purdue - Yeah, not really a good team and nobody worries about them on the schedule… the biggest question being can we score over 50 on them or not… But this year they’ve hired a new head coach, are paying him big money, and expect to start seeing results. It may take a few years to see a difference in the win column, but don’t be surprised at the changes Coach Darrell Hazell brings. He held assistant coaching positions at Oberlin, Eastern Illinois, Penn, Western Michigan, Army, West Virginia, and Rutgers. Hazell then served as the wide receivers coach at Ohio State under Jim Tressel from 2004 to 2010. In December 2010, Kent State hired him as its head coach, where he was named 2012 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year by the conference's coaches. And now he’s off to Purdue.

Ohio State – Yeah, I saved this one for last. Ranked #5, that could quickly change depending on how the QB situation plays out. While the injury to QB Braxton Miller is devastating for him on a personal level, most believe – myself included – that freshman J.T. Barrett might be just fine taking over the job. He’s an Urban Meyer Guy and, if his high school You Tube videos are for real, should be able to hold his own this season. While I’m not sure we can get back to the top of the B1G, there’s no reason to write the Buckeyes off just yet…

So that’s what I have for this week. Stop back next week for my list of “happenings” in the B1G, stuff I think you should know, and general Buckeye positivity….

Respectfully Submitted,
Cleveland Kate