Week Two: No. 1 Ohio State vs. Hawaii—Week One Quick Recap, History Lesson, Trends, and Prediction

By HD Handshoe — BlockONation.com Founder

The No. 1 Buckeyes look to improve to 2-0 on the young season against the Rainbow Warriors during this extremely short week after their 42-24 primetime "revenge" win on Monday night at Virginia Tech.

Late in the third quarter,the #Braxspin became a BIG thing, and the Buckeyes never looked back, enroute to their 18-point victory.

There are very few questions surrounding the Buckeyes outside of Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett being listed as co-starters on this weeks depth chart. Also this week the depth chart gets deeper as Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, and Corey Smith all return from their one game suspensions.

Both the offense and defense already looked solid and very capable in the tough Lane Stadium environment against assumingly a better opponent than Hawaii and the old adage says the biggest leap for a team is from game one to game two, That's a potentially horrible nightmare and lopsided blowout awaiting Hawaii.

The top three things I can say about the Rainbow Warriors are one, they have former USC QB Max Wittek as their starting quarterback (there are a few reasons why Wittek is a former USC QB, so don't be too overly concerned), two, they'll be sporting these sweet throwback jerseys (pictured below) in The Shoe, and three, their pregame ritual dance known as "The Hata" definitely gives "Quick Cals" a run for the money.


Here are this weeks historical-data-tidbits and a few recent and/or ongoing trends for your consideration that might be of interest.

Ohio State—Hawaii History Lesson And Recent Trends

• Urban Meyer coached teams are 100-17 when ranked in the Top 25.

• Ohio State is 81-8 at Ohio Stadium since the start of the 2002 season.

• Ohio State is an astounding 296-1-1 all-time when scoring 35+ points.

• Head coach Urban Meyer is 52-5 in his career in games played in August/September.

• Ohio State's defense has held opponents to 10 points or less 42 times since 2006.

• Ohio State looks to extend the nation's longest FBS winning streak, currently 14 games.

• Ohio State has held 85 opponents to 21 points or less since the start of the 2005 season.

• Ohio State is 67-1 in the last 68 regular-season non-conference home games against unranked opponents.

• Ohio State is 8-1 all-time vs. current Mountain West Conference teams, but this is the first meeting vs. Hawaii.

Final Thoughts and Score Prediction

I don't intend or view the following statement as underestimating or disrespecting Hawaii in any way, but the Buckeyes should be able to play their second team the entire game and get a comfortable win here. Since the starters are going to go ahead and play, I'll offer up this semi-conservative game prediction.

Ohio State 62
Hawaii 17

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"It takes a little something special to be a great player. We don't have enough great players. TO HELL WITH THAT! We don't want to coach average! I don't wanna be around ya, why be around average?! Did you push yourself to be great today?" - Urban Meyer

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Five Deep—A Closer Look at Ohio State's 2015 Running Backs

By HD Handshoe—BlockONation Founder

Image courtesy of Taylor Wilhelm

A lot has been made — and rightfully so — of the unique position Ohio State finds itself in this coming season, with essentially three starting quarterbacks returning, but that's a discussion to save for later this fall.

While what happens this coming season at quarterback is about as clear as mud right now, the running back hierarchy should be a lot less cloudy.

Despite having off-season wrist surgery, certain 2015 Heisman Trophy candidate Ezekiel Elliott sits atop a heap of young and talented backs.

Running back coach Stan Drayton left the Buckeyes and took a job with the Chicago Bears in February causing some speculation that the production of Elliott and company could tail off without him.

Drayton was instrumental in developing the Buckeye's potent rushing attack during his three years in Columbus.

He also played a huge role in the recruitment of highly-touted running back Mike Weber, who signed with the Buckeyes just one day before Drayton's departure. Initially, Weber seemed to react somewhat negatively on Twitter but in the end was happy with Drayton's replacement.

Ohio State hired former Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford, whom many consider a very ample replacement and possibly even an upgrade.

Truthfully with each of their exceptional running abilities, I could go Eight Deep with this article or list Braxton Miller, JT Barrett and Cardale Jones at 3, 4, and 5 on the RB depth chart.

That's how great Ohio State is at running the ball, but since the QBs aren't RBs, I'll shelve that thought for the sake of this article.

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How I see them stacking up

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5. Mike Weber — 4-star incoming freshman that could potentially challenge Ball and/or Dunn for the backup to the backup spot. If my memory serves me correctly, being the 3rd man up wasn't a bad thing last season,...not at all...

4. Warren Ball Jr. 2014 Stats — 18 carries, 88 yards, 4.7 yards per carry.

3. Brionte Dunn 2014 Stats — 9 carries, 63 yards, 7.0 yards per carry.

2. Curtis Samuel 2014 Stats — 58 carries, 383 yards, 6.6 yards per carry, 6 rushing touchdowns and 11 receptions for 95 yards.

1. Ezekiel Elliott 2014 Stats — 273 carries, 1,878 yards, 6.9 yards per carry, 18 rushing touchdowns and 28 receptions for 220 yards.

We may know a little more about where the RB chips will fall under Elliott once Spring football concludes on Saturday, April 18th.

Than again, there could still be some jockeying behind Elliott and Samuel through the end of August and right up to kickoff in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech on Monday September 7th.

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Ohio State Football 2012: Depth Chartin' Part I — Quarterback and Running Back

Ohio State finally began Spring Football this week.

Practices under new head coach Urban Meyer have been labeled intense, but that's not exactly shocking given the annual expectation level at Ohio State.

With many early-arrivals from the highly-touted 2012 recruiting class already on campus, several position, and depth chart battles have emerged.

Just after NSD, Meyer stated that he did not recruit guys to redshirt at Ohio State — a refreshing and welcomed change from previous seasons where seemingly seniority sometimes mattered more when it came to playing time than on-the-field talent.

Jim Tressel was a great coach but most would agree that he was often too loyal to his upperclassmen.

It does not matter how long any player has been in the program. No one should earn their playing time based on seniority (cough, Joe Bauserman, cough). The best 22 players should start regardless of what class designation they belong to, period — and Meyer gets that.

By the time the Scarlet and Gray game is played on April 21st, the depth chart should be pretty firmly set. There is, however, still some time to jostle things around a bit and for guys to move up in the ranks, so with that in mind, here's a very early look at how the depth chart is shaping up at several key positions.

Quarterback

Obviously, there's no quarterback controversy in Columbus — Meyer was practically frothing at the mouth during his introduction press conference over the prospect of coaching Braxton Miller, but Buckeye fans shouldn't soon forget that Meyer played two quarterbacks while at Florida back in 2006 (Chris Leak and some guy named Tebow) and that turned out pretty well for them (41-14).

Miller is the starter, but a solid backup QB is just as important, especially when you have a dual-threat QB who's going to take some hits — which means backup Kenny Guiton and freshman Cardale Jones will both need to be game-ready.

So far, Meyer has liked what he's seen from both Miller and Guiton, saying "Both those kids, the answer is yes, they can throw." Now, there's all the other stuff that goes on, but they can physically throw the ball, both of them. I feel good about those guys."

When he's gotten the chance to play, Guiton has shown he can guide the offense, and given Meyer's comments, he could occasionally find himself on the field, if for no other reason than to mix things up and keep opposing defenses guessing, or to give Braxton a quick breather and/or some in-game coaching — something he sorely lacked in 2011.

Depth Chart

Braxton Miller

Kenny Guiton

Cardale Jones

Running Back

While the hierarchy at quarterback has been established, determining the backfield pecking order could be described as a blurry quandary — not so much because of a lack of talent or depth, but rather, a lack of "working together" experience between the new staff and the players, and because the incumbent, Boom Herron, is gone.

Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde are experienced-ish, while Rod Smith isn't — when he did play (ever-so-sparingly) in 2011, he fumbled away the ball, and his spot on the offense altogether temporarily when he was moved to defense — nor is 5-star true freshman, Bri'onte Dunn.

With the loss of Herron to graduation, no clear-cut starter returns or has emerged as of yet, so all four backs have been getting reps early on. Meyer said they have momentum and "as long as that continues the talent there is fine."

Hall is the most experienced, but unlike Hyde, he is unlikely to be a workhorse back that could carry the ball 20 times per game. Instead, dumping the ball off to him on a halfback screen or out of the slot would suit Hall's talents much better.

Hyde has drawn comparisons to Beanie Wells and even Eddie George. He's not as fast as Beanie, or as dynamic as Eddie, but he does have decent speed and power, and most importantly, he protects the football. In 2011, Hyde averaged 5.4 yards per rush and fumbled just twice in 106 carries.

While Smith and Dunn were both heavily recruited and highly rated coming out of H.S., they must both prove themselves on the field the rest of the spring and this fall.

The arrival of Warren Ball, a 4-star RB in the 2012 class, will also affect the final depth chart this fall. Between Ball and Dunn, one of them might have to redshirt this season, rather than waste a year of eligibility.

Depth Chart (subject to change)

Carlos Hyde

Jordan Hall

Bri'onte Dunn

Rod Smith

Warren Ball

Coming soon

Part II — Wide Receiver

Part III — D-Line / Linebacker

Part IV — Safety / Cornerback

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National Signing Day 2011: Ohio State Adds QB Jones, LB Grant

With the additions of Cleveland Glenville QB Cardale Jones and LB Curtis Grant (pictured at right), Ohio State's 2011 recruiting class moved up from fourth to third according to Scout.com.

Jones, a three-star recruit, will likely follow in the footsteps of Eddie George and Carlos Hyde by gray-shirting to attend a prep school for six months before arriving on campus. He will then be expected to red-shirt as a member of the 2012 class, allowing for a year or two of separation from 2011 top QB recruit Braxton Miller.

With the loss of Ross Homan and Brian Rolle, five-star and No. 1 OLB prospect Grant could immediately find himself in the two-deep for the 2011 Buckeyes.

In 2008, Etienne Sabino came to Ohio State under similar circumstances as the top-rated MLB prospect in the nation. He has two years of eligibility remaining so he may still eventually live up to the expectations he arrived with, but it does go to show that not every highly-touted guy makes an immediate impact on a program from day one.

It would be great to see Sabino have huge years in 2011 and 2012 and hopefully, Grant will have at least three huge years for Ohio State as well. He certainly has all the physical tools to succeed at Ohio State and potentially be one of the next great linebackers to come through Columbus.

Coach Tressel and his staff have once again assembled a great recruiting class and heading into 2011, the excitement as Spring ball and Fall camp near will be electric.



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(Photo copyright: Tim Casey - GatorCountry.com)