Ohio State "D" Overrated, Buckeyes to Drown in the River Knile… ?

Hey gang, HD here again.

Another "writer" named Brad Audrain (what is it with that site and guys named Brad hating on OSU?) on the SEC Football Blog, Saturday Down South has posted yet another gem of an article that we felt needed some attention and rebuttal from Buckeye fans.

Please forward a link to this article to every Ohio State football fan you know!

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Copyright Brad Audrain / Saturday Down South


Since Knile Davis arrived on campus at the University of Arkansas, life has been frustrating for the 4-star back from Texas.

Soon after committing to be a Razorback, his entrance was trumped by the transfer of Broderick Green from USC, and the signing of a more highly touted running back in Ronnie Wingo Jr.

Davis graduated early and moved to Fayetteville in January to be ready for Spring practice. Unfortunately, after a week of practice, Davis broke his collar bone and had to sit out until the fall.

Davis never wavered in his decision to be a Hog, but with Michael Smith, Wingo, Green, De’Anthony Curtis, and Dennis Johnson all sharing time in the backfield with him, Davis knew it would be very difficult to see much playing time in his freshmen campaign.

Davis played through some more injuries his freshmen year and always ran hard when his number was called, but he received only 33 carries and averaged right around five yards a pop.

Once Michael Smith had graduated, the backfield opened up a little more. Dennis Johnson was lost for the season only a few games in, and Knile Davis was finally able to get his much needed carries.

For some reason, Bobby Petrino stuck with Broderick “chubby” Green for the first half of the season, and it ultimately cost the Razorbacks at least one win (possibly two because Green had a miserable game against Auburn that included a game altering fumble that lead to an Auburn TD return).

Davis did not complain even though anyone that watched Green take 8 seconds to hit the hole, knew he wasn’t worth the “charmin that he wipes his butt with.”

Knile finally had a big run against Texas A&M, and he never slowed down. After compiling 82 yards on 10 carries against the Aggies, Petrino continued adding to his work-load with fourteen carries for 91 yards at Auburn and 22 carries for 176 against that sweaty son of a bitch Houston Nutt.

Knile finished the season with 4 straight games gaining over 100 yards against some of the nations' top teams (3 of these 4 teams are currently ranked in the BCS Top 25, and they were all ranked in the Top 18 when the game was played).

The Buckeyes and E. Gordon Gee believe that they have faced a real schedule this season, and that their defensive statistics aren’t a complete joke to this point.

Ohio St. continues to brag about their defense against the pass and how it’s so highly ranked.

Well, Ryan Mallett and crew are up for the challenge, but the two-headed monster directed by Bobby Petrino is more than Ryan Mallett, Joe Adams, Greg Childs, Cobi Hamilton, and DJ Williams.

Ask LSU and their number one ranked run defense, which saw Arkansas two days after Thanksgiving. Knile Davis compiled 152 yards on 30 carries only one week after thrashing Mississippi St. for 187 on the same number of touches.

Arkansas finally has its' running back, and that is not good news for the Buckeyes and their overrated defense.

Arkansas does not intend to drop the ball on the SEC’s undefeated record against Ohio St. in bowl games, and Knile Davis is the reason the Hogs are confident.

The Sugar Bowl will be rocking on January 4th, and the River Knile will be running all over those Buckeyes.

I just wish E. Gordon Gee were on the field to take a stiff arm from the River Knile on his way to the end zone.

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As we stated before, we'll keep an eye out for any future garbage from either of the Brads and Saturday Down South. We can always use, and share, a few more good laughs. It should also prove GREAT to revisit these articles AFTER the January 4th Sugar Bowl...


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Ohio State vs. Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl—Ryan Mallett, Buckeyes Meet Again

When former Michigan QB Ryan Mallett transferred to Arkansas as a freshman on January 9, 2008, nobody would've imagined that the highly-touted superstar would see the Ohio State Buckeyes ever again.

Fast forward almost three years where Mallett has developed into a top-10 NFL prospect under the eye of Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino and taken the Razorbacks to their first-ever BCS bowl game.

And in an ironic twist of fate, Mallett's BCS opponent is none other than the team we all thought he would share battles with in Ann Arbor: the Buckeyes.

Mallett's transfer happen two months before Terrelle Pryor committed to Ohio State in March of 2008, meaning that a chance to imagine a Mallett vs. Pryor matchup in The Game never materialized.

The Arkansas gunslinger has gotten a taste of Ohio State's defense, filling in for Chad Henne in a rainy and windy contest in 2007 where he was 1-3 for just eight yards and was sacked once.

But this is different. This is a fully-developed QB under a coach who has coached in the NFL, albeit for only 13 games, and who loves to air it out.

And the defense Mallett will face is a much different unit compared to the group he saw in 2007.

This OSU defense is much more aggressive and faster than the 2007 defense, and most of all, they are opportunistic, tied for 12th with 29 takeaways.

The difference for Mallett is that he has seen good defenses in the SEC, including against Alabama and LSU, so this challenge may be nothing new to him.

And although OSU is ranked No. 4 in passing defense, they have not faced a better passer all season than No. 15 for the Razorbacks.

But for Mallett, looking back at his experience and his year at Michigan, he might have an extra edge to play against Ohio State simply because of that year with the Wolverines.

Even Jim Tressel felt relieved that he did not have to worry about seeing Ryan Mallett in Michigan, as he told The Ozone's Brandon Castel on Sunday.

"What was my reaction when he left? I'm not gonna lie, I was happy," he told Castel. "I thought I was done with Ryan Mallett."

Even back in early 2008, Tressel knew of the type of talent that Mallett would turn out to be.

And he has lived up to that billing and so much more.

Just imagine for a second if Les Miles had taken the Michigan job instead of Rich Rodriguez and had Mallett as his QB...

Scary thought. That winning streak over Michigan would not be as easy to extend as it has been in the past three seasons.

But nevertheless, Tressel must gameplan to shut down one of the game's best passers and arguably the best pure passer OSU has faced since NC State's Philip Rivers in 2003.

The OSU secondary has been banged up tremendously all season, but DBs Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence have been very good and should help take away favorite targets in WRs Jairus Wright and Joe Adams.

Rarely does a transfer from one big school to another work as a benefit for a QB.

But for Ryan Mallett, it has worked out better than anyone could have imagined.

Now he gets his chance to show his old rivals just how much he has improved since his days under Lloyd Carr at Michigan.


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Written by BlockONation Contributor Tim Bielik