Ohio State—Penn State: Week 10 Preview, Free History Lesson Included

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation



No. 16 Ohio State (7-2) travels to State College this week to take on the No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1) in Happy Valley. Kickoff is Saturday at 3:30PM in Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions are currently tied with Ohio State for second place in the Big Ten standings, both with one loss apiece.

PSU lost at home to undefeated Iowa, while the Buckeyes dropped a shocker on the road at Purdue.

Ohio State controls their own destiny and can with its' fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship by winning their final three games.

For Penn State to claim at least a share of the title, they have to win out and get help (in the form of a win over Iowa) from either Northwestern, Ohio State, or Minnesota.


Penn State—By The Numbers:

Quarterback Daryll Clark and running back Evan Royster are the top offensive players for PSU.

Clark has 2158 passing yards, 148 rushing yards, with five rushing touchdowns, 18 passing touchdowns to only seven interceptions, and a QB Rating of 149.

Royster has 145 carries for 859 yards and five scores. He also has 11 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown.

The leading receivers for Penn State are Derek Moye (39 receptions, 648 yards, five touchdowns), Chaz Powell (26 receptions, 355 yards, three touchdowns), Graham Zug (30 receptions, 350 yards, five touchdowns), and Andrew Quarless (25 receptions, 340 yards, one touchdown).

Statistically, PSU has the top defense in the Big Ten but that 'D' will be tested this week as Ohio State might just be a little better than Akron, Temple, Syracuse, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, or Northwestern.


Ohio State—By The Numbers:

Terrelle Pryor has 1543 passing yards, 554 rushing yards, with six rushing touchdowns, 13 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a QB Rating of 129.

With injuries to Boom Herron and Brandon Saine, freshmen backs Jordan Hall and Jermil Martin have both earned playing time and may continue to see the field as a result of their play.

Pryor, Saine, Herron, Hall, and Martin have combined for 1612 yards on the ground and 15 rushing touchdowns. That's nearly 180 rush yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game.

Ohio State's top receivers are DeVier Posey (43 receptions, 595 yards, six touchdowns plus one passing touchdown), Dane Sanzenbacher (23 receptions, 460 yards, six touchdowns), Duron Carter (12 receptions, 164 yards, one touchdown), and Ray Small (12 receptions, 153 yards).

In shutting out the Aggies last week, the Buckeye defense held NMST to all of 62 total yards. On offense, the Buckeyes piled up 559 yards and had seven players amass more individual yards than the Aggies did as a team in 45 plays.

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11/7/2009—Game 10—3:30PM Kickoff
TV: ABC

VS.


Ohio State—Penn State History and Tidbits:

• This will be the 25th meeting between Ohio State and Penn State.

• The all-time series is currently tied 12-12-0 (the first meeting was in 1912).

• Ohio State is 5-2 overall in the last seven meetings vs. Penn State.

• Ohio State's last loss in Happy Valley was a 17-10 defeat in 2005.

• Ohio State's last win in Happy Valley was a 37-17 victory in 2007.

• Jim Tressel is 5-3 overall (3-1 at home, 2-2 on the road) vs. Penn State.

• Penn State is 5-4 all-time vs. Ohio State at home.

• Penn State has never beaten Ohio State in consecutive seasons.

• Penn State was 6-2 vs. Ohio State before joining the Big Ten in 1993.

• Penn State has one outright and two shared Big Ten titles: 1994, 2005, and 2008.

• This is Joe Paterno's 44th season as Penn State head coach.

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After a missed field goal and a punt in a scoreless first quarter of last weeks game against the Aggies of New Mexico State, Terrelle Pryor and crew exploded for 28 points in the second quarter and never looked back.

In fact, most of the starters, Pryor included, did not play at all in the second half. Many second, third, and fourth stringers on both sides of the ball saw considerable action as the Buckeyes cruised to the 45-0 blowout win and their third shutout of the year.

That will not be the case against Penn State. The Buckeyes will surely need every minute and every last ounce of 100% effort they can muster from all 22 of their starters if they are to earn a revenge-game victory over a very good Nittany Lions football team on their home turf.

A year ago, the teams met under somewhat similar circumstances at Ohio Stadium, with both perfect in league play. The Buckeyes led 6-3 in the fourth quarter when Pryor fumbled on a third-down play. The Nittany Lions, with Pat Devlin taking over for an injured Clark, drove 38 yards and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State had two more possessions, but had to punt after the first. Devlin then guided the Lions to a field goal for a 13-6 lead. Pryor's deep throw with 27 seconds left was picked off by Lydell Sargeant to seal the game.

I hope we see some of the wrinkles Tressel called against NMST, i.e. the onside kick, or double-reverse-pass by Posey, but I won't hold my breath.

After all, JT only goes for those kinds of plays against teams he still expects to thump even if the risks do not pay off.

This game could go either way, and it will probably be low-scoring and close.

But since it's a revenge game, and because I think the OSU defensive front can and will break through PSU's o-line and pressure Clark into mistakes, I'm going with the Scarlet and Gray.

No matter the outcome, I hope PSU fans will show some class and respect for the visiting Ohio State fans, and vice-versa.


Let's please not see another scene like this:




Final score prediction:

Ohio State 20, Penn State 16



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Ohio State—Purdue: Week Seven Preview, Free History Lesson Included

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


No. 7 Ohio State (5-1) travels to West Lafayette, Indiana to face the Purdue Boilermakers (1-5) Saturday at 12:00PM in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Offensively, Purdue hasn't been terrible. They actually have a decent QB in Joey Elliot and a very good RB in Ralph Bolden, yet they are still 1-5.

The blame has to fall squarely on their lackluster defensive efforts.

Purdue's defense has given up nearly 400 yards per game (164 rush, 233 pass) and has allowed close to 30 points per contest.

Conversely, Ohio State's defense has been absolutely spectacular since week two, but at times, their offense has sputtered and looked rather anemic.

Coach Tressel and the staff have to make calls more conducive to Pryor's capabilities and subsequently, Pryor must make better, and faster decisions, and protect the ball, and play within himself.

Sometimes it is though he is trying to force a pass and is locked in on his receivers rather than tucking the ball and running.

Last season, Pryor seemed to be more willing to run. This season, he seems to be more focused on becoming a pocket passer, which is OK, but he cannot, and should not abandon the skills and abilities that got him here.

This Purdue defense, much like Toledo and Illinois, should be the cure for what ails the Buckeyes on offense. In fact, over the next three weeks they should be able to tune up the offense quite well. After Purdue, the Buckeyes will face Minnesota and New Mexico State.

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10/17/2009—Game Seven—12:00PM Kickoff
TV: Big Ten Network

VS.

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Ohio State-Purdue History and Tidbits:

• Ohio State leads the all-time head-to-head series (37-12-2).

• Ohio State is 16-4 vs. Purdue in the last 20 meetings (dating back to 1983).

• Ohio State is 7-3 vs. Purdue in the last 10 meetings in West Lafayette (dating back to 1984).

• Ohio State has won 16 consecutive Big Ten road games.

• The last Ohio State loss at Purdue was in 2004 by a score of 24-17 (That year, Purdue was 7-5 and Ohio State was 8-4).

• Jim Tressel is 5-1 overall (2-1 on the road) vs. Purdue, outscoring the Boilermakers 117-62, or by an average game score of 20-10.

• This is Danny Hope's first year as Purdue Head Coach.

• Purdue's last Big Ten title was in 2000 (Co-Champions with Michigan and Northwestern).

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The Buckeye defense should focus on stopping RB Bolden first, but must also defend the play-action pass. I really do not expect stopping and containing Purdue to be much of a challenge.

The Buckeye offense should find little resistance moving the ball and scoring often.

I actually thought Purdue would have Indiana's W/L record and vice-versa, but I do believe the Boilermakers are better than their record, and probably better than Indiana, after seeing Virginia crush the Hoosiers last Saturday.

Final score prediction:

Ohio State 41, Purdue 10

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Ohio State vs. Wisconsin: Week Six Preview—Free History Lesson Included

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


No. 8 Ohio State (4-1) hosts No. 25 Wisconsin (5-0) Saturday at 3:30 in the Shoe.

Many, myself included, believe Wisconsin's perfect record is a result of a weak schedule, rather than them being a quality team.

That being said, this week will prove one way or another if the Badgers really are a good team, or if their opponents just have really been that bad, regardless of my personal opinion.

Will Terrelle get to play hero again this year?

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10/10/2009—Game Six—3:30PM Kickoff
TV: ABC

VS.

Here is the recent and all-time history between Ohio State and Wisconsin, and a few other tidbits:

• Ohio State leads the all-time head-to-head series (52-17-5).

• Ohio State is 12-7-1 vs. Wisconsin in the last 20 meetings (dating back to 1985).

• The last Ohio State loss at home to Wisconsin was in 2004 by a score of 24-13 (That year, Wisconsin was 9-3 and Ohio State was 8-4).

• Jim Tressel is 3-3 (1-2 at home) vs. Wisconsin, outscoring them 117-109, or an average game score of 20-18.

• Ohio State is currently 4-1 and their 2009 opponents have all been FBS teams with a combined W/L record of 14-10.

• Wisconsin is 5-0 and their 2009 opponents include one FCS opponent and four FBS opponents with a combined W/L record of 10-14.

• Bret Bielema is 0-2 vs. Ohio State since taking over the Badgers in 2006.

• Wisconsin's last Big Ten title was in 1999.

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Keys to the game:

The Buckeye defense will need to contain RB John Clay and force QB Scott Tolzien into mistakes. If Wisconsin is forced to try and win throwing the ball, the Buckeyes should prevail. If Clay breaks through and has a big day, the Bucks could be in trouble.

Ultimately, I expect the Buckeyes to win, but the game could be low scoring, and close most of the way.

I did not expect Wisconsin to be 5-0, but again, looking at their schedule, it isn't exactly a shock either. If UW had played OSU's schedule, I'm pretty confident that they'd be 3-2 or 2-3 instead of 5-0, but that's just an opinionated, educated, semi-unbiased guess.

Conservative final score prediction:

Ohio State 27
Wisconsin 17


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Week Five Fallout: Tate Forcier vs. Terrelle Pryor—Head to Head, Who's Better Right Now?

by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation

Separating the boys from the MEN.

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After Michigan started the season 4-0 and Ohio State began 3-1, the media and UM fans wanted us to buy what they were selling—That UM was back, and that UM freshman QB Tate Forcier was "the man".

What a difference one game can make.

I've heard and read UM fans referring to Michigan State as their little brother. It must really sting now that "little bro" has won the last two meetings, especially after this past weeks loss.

Every Michigan fan on the planet would have guaranteed a win and a 5-0 start before that game.

Forcier looked bad for all but the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, and UM lost in overtime, 26-20.

Whoops...

[/rant]

Ok, now as for comparing Forcier and Pryor to this point, we don't have much to go on but there are two things we do have that we can use to measure them against each other.

First is their individual performances against a common opponent (Indiana).

Second is their individual performances in the game that each has lost, as both teams are now 4-1.

(For the record, I am doing this because without much ground to stand on, UM fans would have you believe that Forcier is the better QB and a Heisman winner in-the-making, while Pryor, a player they all coveted in 2008, until he chose Ohio State over UM, "crumbles under pressure" and "can't throw" to save his life.)

vs. Indiana

Tate's numbers at home in Ann Arbor:

11/21 passing, 199 total yards (184 passing, 15 rushing) and 3 total touchdowns (2 pass, 1 rush) with 1 interception


Terrelle's numbers on the road in Bloomington:

16/27 passing, 222 total yards (159 passing, 63 rushing) and 4 total touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush) with 1 interception

Michigan's loss to Michigan State

Tate's numbers on the road in East Lansing:

17/32 passing, 250 total yards (223 passing, 27 rushing) and 2 passing touchdowns with 1 interception

Ohio State's loss to Southern Cal

Terrelle's numbers at home in Columbus:

11/25 passing, 213 total yards (177 passing, 36 rushing) and 0 touchdowns with 1 interception


Clearly Tate played better in UM's loss to Michigan State than did Pryor in Ohio State's loss to USC. But we know USC has one of the top defenses in the nation, while MSU is one of, if not the worst in the Big Ten.

So that tells us that Tate can play better against a bad "D" than Terrelle can vs. a very good "D", or in other words, not much.

Therefore, the best gauge we have are their individual performances against Indiana.

Pryor had slightly fewer passing yards, but more overall total yards (222 to 199) and more touchdowns. Pryor also played Indiana on the road, and the Buckeyes cruised to victory, while Michigan squeaked by MSU in Ann Arbor.

With it being a free country and all, you can make up your own minds, but I know who I'm picking and I don't even have to say his name, do I?

Here's a hint though in case you need it:

He's 12-3 as a starter and Tate only has five career starts....

While I do not claim this to be a scientifically proven and infallible method for comparing the two, it absolutely does provide some insight for now, and provides a jumping off point to spark the debate and add fuel to the rivalry fire.

It will ultimately be settled on the field on November 21, 2009 in Ann Arbor.


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Ohio State or Cincinnati: Who's The Best College Football Team In Ohio?

Posted by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation



When you think of college football in the state of Ohio in the past, you very rarely think of the University of Cincinnati. UC is known as more of a basketball school, until recently.

You usually think of Ohio State when you think of college football in Ohio—Seven National Championships, seven Heisman Trophies, and Ohio State is thr No. 5 most successful program in college football history.

You wouldn't put these programs in the same sentence because Ohio State has been on a whole different level to UC, but head coach Brian Kelly has had something to say about that, as he continued to foster the mentality that Mark Dantonio left.

In Coach Kelly's first year at UC he won 10 games, beating big teams like Oregon State, Rutgers, and Syracuse. He followed that up with 11-3 season and making it to a BCS Bowl in 2008.

Now already the Bearcats are undefeated and have a pretty decent shot at being undefeated and making it to another BCS Bowl—Maybe even the National Championship game.

Ohio State has had big games already this season, barely losing to USC, and they have a very young and talented team that can heat up at any point this season. They are not out of the title race yet this season, and I can definitely see them making it to a BCS Bowl game.

Since these two teams don't play each other, the question is which one is the better team. Ohio State is ranked ninth in the country, but UC are right behind them and climbing.

I think that right now UC has a more offensive-minded coach in Brian Kelly. Jim Tressel is an amazing coach and he wins a lot of games, but what Kelly does with the amount of talent he has is pretty amazing.

He took Tony Pike, a player who was sitting the bench (4th string to start 2008) and expected to sit the bench his whole career, and turned him into one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.

He doesn't get all the five-star recruits or the most top-100 players in the nation, but the players he does have play for him as if they are five-star caliber.

When you look at the quarterback position, I think Terrelle Pryor is a better athlete, but Tony Pike is a more complete pocket-passing quarterback at this point.

I think that if the Bearcats win all their games, and Pike continues to put up the stats he has through four games, he will likely deserve an invite to the Heisman Trophy presentation come December.

At the wide receiver position, the Bearcats Marshawn Gilyard is a sure-fire playmaker. Ohio State has some young, but talented receivers, but none are individually as accomplished as Gilyard so far this season. He's been compared to former Buckeye Santonio Holmes, which is a fair comparison because he can, and has, single-handedly changed, and won games for the Bearcats.

There is no doubt that Ohio State has the better running game. UC is a spread team that prefers to throw the ball. The way the Buckeyes ran the ball against Illinois was a great testament to how much talent is in the backfield for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes only threw the ball two times in the first half, and were up at the half 13-0 because of the running of Terrelle Pryor, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron.

Defensively the Bearcats have had a lot of great things going on, but Ohio State has one of the best defenses in the nation, specifically their front four, and they showed that against USC.

Besides the last drive, the Buckeyes were solid against an always talented USC team. They contained "the stable" of running backs and forced freshman quarterback Matt Barkley to beat them. Unfortunately, the "D" was tired and USC scored the game-winning touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the game.

Barkley did take a beating and as a result was unable to play against Washington the following week, which could have been the reason for the upset loss USC suffered to the Huskies.

They held a potentially high-powered Illinois offense to less than 100 yards rushing and Juice Williams didn't reach the 100 yard marker passing either.

Regardless of the win/loss records at the end of the season, I can't ignore the level of competition each of the teams have and will face this season.

Cincinnati is a good team, but without a head-to-head matchup, on paper Ohio State gets the nod.

Unfortunately, the Buckeyes and Bearcats do have a home-and-home series scheduled, but not until 2012, and by then both teams could, and most likely will be vastly different than they are now.


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Original Article by Kyle Strittholt—B/R Featured OSU Columnist & BlockONation Contributor

Ohio State-Southern California: Looking Back Historically—Looking Ahead Realistically

Written by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


Week two of the 2009 college football season features what will be the 23^rd all-time meeting between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the USC Trojans.

In recent years, a lot has been made of Ohio State's big-game losses on the national stage.

Because of those losses—all but one to a team ranked in the the top three—they have unjustly been ridiculed and labeled as an overrated program that always loses to every good team they play—usually in a blowout.

In this age of the Internet, and with the ease with which I was able to research and compose this article, you would think that today's fans outside of Ohio would know that college football was actually played before 2006.

Believe it or not, it's really true.

Way back in 1937, college football Goliaths, USC and Ohio State played each other for the first time.

Here is the all-time, head-to-head series listed by year, including the game result and where the game was played.


1937—Los Angeles

Southern Cal 13
Ohio State 12

1938—Columbus

Southern Cal 14
Ohio State 7

1941—Los Angeles

Ohio State 33
Southern Cal 0

1942—Columbus

Ohio State 28
Southern Cal 12

1946—Los Angeles

Ohio State 21
Southern Cal 0

1947—Columbus

Southern Cal 32
Ohio State 0

1948—Columbus

Ohio State 20
Southern Cal 0

1949—Los Angeles

Ohio State 13
Southern Cal 13

1954—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Ohio State 20
Southern Cal 7

1959—Los Angeles

Southern Cal 17
Ohio State 0

1960—Columbus

Ohio State 20
Southern Cal 0

1963—Los Angeles

Southern Cal 32
Ohio State 3

1964—Columbus

Ohio State 17
Southern Cal 0

1968—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Ohio State 27
Southern Cal 16

1972—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Southern Cal 42
Ohio State 17

1973—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Ohio State 42
Southern Cal 21

1974—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Southern Cal 18
Ohio State 17

1979—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Southern Cal 17
Ohio State 16

1984—Pasadena (Rose Bowl)

Southern Cal 20
Ohio State 17

1989—Los Angeles

Southern Cal 42
Ohio State 3

1990—Columbus

Southern Cal 35
Ohio State 26

2008—Los Angeles

Southern Cal 35
Ohio State 3


That adds up to 12 wins for USC, nine wins for Ohio State, and one tie.

Of the 22 meetings, only seven have been played in Columbus. The other 15 have been either been played in Los Angeles or Pasadena. Since 1968, eight of nine have been played in California.

After the Ohio State-Navy game today, and the fact that USC has won six straight in the series dating back to 1974, the overwhelming sentiment is that Ohio will lose, and lose badly, once again.

It might be a little premature to make that statement since I believe Navy is a very good team that will win at least eight or nine games, and maybe even as many as 10.

The Buckeye O-line still needs to play better and defensively, a couple of personnel moves are needed in my opinion. That being said, Pryor, Herron, Saine, Sanzenbacher, and Carter were all bright spots for the offense, so all is not lost after this win.

Either way, I am not sure that USC is going to just show up in Columbus and win with their freshman QB. Technically, it is possible, so we'll just have to wait and see. I hope they are over-confident now after today's games.

To the haters reading this who will inevitably post comments below that say Ohio State sucks and that they are overrated, and how they will get crushed next week...

I'm sorry my Buckeyes invited a real team from the FBS, and coincidentally, the nation's leading rushing team four years running, into the Shoe instead of Akron, San Jose State, Louisiana-Monroe, or Charleston Southern.

But then, that's another article all together.

Ultimately, the bottom line here is that Ohio State is one of the top teams of this decade, and of all-time and college football existed before 2006.

Yes, in the past three years, Ohio State has lost to the likes of Florida, LSU, Texas, and USC, but they have also beaten the teams they are supposed to beat.

Go ahead and kick us while we're down (in your mind anyway), but just take note that we are only going to get better all year long from week to week, starting next Saturday night versus unsuspecting USC.

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After a successful LIVE in-game chat for the OSU-Navy game, we're doing it again!

Next Saturday, BlockONation will host another LIVE in-game chat for the OSU-USC game right here on-site, starting at 7:30PM.

No registration is required. All you have to do is show up, create a handle and join in the LIVE discussion. We hope to hear from you then.


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