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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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Early Fuel For the Rivalry Fire: Why the Buckeyes Will Dominate Michigan in 2012

By Shane Darrow — BlockONation.com Guest Contributor

There is no question that the Ohio State vs. University of Michigan matchup is one of the greatest rivalries in college sports.


Actually, let's just come right out and say it. OSU-UM is the BEST Rivalry in sports, period.
Whether it is basketball, hockey or baseball, these teams always give a little extra when it is against the other program. But the rivalry in football stands alone.

It's not simply known as "The Game" for nothing.

Here are some reasons why the Buckeyes will return to, and continue, their dominance this season.

Urban Meyer

Last year was the first year that the Wolverines defeated the Buckeyes since 2003, but with the addition of the legendary Urban Meyer, the momentum already feels like it is shifting to Ohio State.

Meyer brings in a history of success, and will implement the spread offense into a Buckeye system that is more than capable of being able to run it to a tee.

As a head coach, Meyer has a record of 104-23—that's a winning percentage of 81.8 percent. The Buckeyes have fallen a little over the last few years as the SEC has continued to run dominance on college football as a whole, but Meyer will be the one to turn that around.

He brings an SEC mentality to a historic Big Ten program. If the Buckeyes want to once again contend for a national title, Meyer is the perfect candidate to lead the cause.

Braxton Miller

Miller started nine games last season and had a very mediocre record of 4-5, but under Meyer's system he will undoubtedly shine. Even though his record may not show it, his statistics were actually very solid last year.

Miller finished the season with 18 combined touchdowns (11 through the air, seven on the ground), and had a QB rating of 133.6. He reminds me of a young Vince Young. Meyer is going to implement a system that will put Miller in a position to succeed.

Now that the reigns are officially with him, Miller will gain the confidence in camp that will lead to success on the field. When the Michigan game comes, he will be facing a more experienced Denard Robinson, but Miller has the skills to match him throw for throw, as well as run for run.

Home-Field Advantage

Over the past decade, the Buckeyes have found a way to win when playing at the Big House. Fortunately for Ohio State, the Wolverines haven't been able to win a game in Columbus since 2000. There is no denying that the Buckeyes are a different team on their home field, and that has shown over the last 11 seasons.

Urban Meyer is going to bring in a scouting class that will be awaiting the opportunity to compete against Michigan on their home field, and I can't even imagine the adrenaline rush that will overtake those players.

I don't only think the Buckeyes will just win the game...

I think they will absolutely control and bulldoze the Wolverines on both sides of the ball.

Final Score Prediction

Ohio State 42
Michigan 24

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How Has The SEC Gotten Away With Not Playing Meaningful OOC Road Games For So Long?

by HD Handshoe
Founder—Block-O-Nation



Seriously, can anyone answer this question, with at the very least, a semi-cognizant thought?

Since 1991, I think most people would agree the best team from the SEC has been the Florida Gators, and Alabama has arguably been a close second, just edging out LSU and Georgia in my opinion.

Over that span, Florida has won three national championships (1996, 2006, 2008) and Alabama has won two (1992, 2009).

Now, I know that basically every Florida, Alabama, and SEC fan in general will try to defend their pathetic out-of-conference road schedules until the death, but facts are facts, and they cannot be ignored any longer.

If UF, Bama, and the rest of the teams from the SEC do not start playing at least one true OOC road game per year during the regular season versus a decent team from a BCS conference, instead of some hopeless and weak FCS cupcake (examples: Charleston Southern, Memphis, Hawaii), then I say the entire conference should be banned from playing in the BCS title game indefinitely.

(I fully expect to, and cannot wait to hear from the likes of Le Roi, Larry, Carson, Sean, etc. after that last paragraph!)

I'm not just shooting my mouth off without the facts to back up my statements here. To further strengthen my stance, let's compare the OOC road games played by Florida, Alabama, and,—oh I don't know,—how about Ohio State—say from 1991, through 2009.


Florida Gators (1991-2009) OOC Road Games (0-1)

1991 @ Syracuse, a 38-21 loss

Sadly, that's it--that's the entire list of OOC road games for UF.


Alabama Crimson Tide (1991-2009) OOC Road Games (4-3)

1991 @ Memphis, a 10-7 win

1992 @ Tulane, a 37-0 win

1996 @ NC State, a 24-19 win

2000 @ UCLA, a 35-24 loss

2002 @ Hawaii, a 21-16 win

2002 @ Oklahoma, a 37-27 loss

2003 @ Hawaii, a 39-27 loss

2004-present, no OOC road games for the Tide (and no, "neutral site" games do NOT count as true road games).


Ohio State Buckeyes (1991-2009) OOC Road Games (10-3)

1992 @ Syracuse, a 35-12 win

1993 @ Pitt, a 63-28 win

1994 @ Washington, a 25-16 loss

1995 @ Pitt, a 54-14 win

1996 @ Notre Dame, a 29-16 win

1997 @ Missouri, a 31-10 win

1998 @ West Virginia, a 34-17 win

2000 @ Arizona, a 27-17 win

2001 @ UCLA, a 13-6 loss

2004 @ NC State, a 22-14 win (NFL star Phillip Rivers was the NC State QB)

2006 @ Texas, a 24-7 win (Colt McCoy was the UT QB)

2007 @ Washington, a 33-14 win (a healthy Jake Locker was the UW QB)

2008 @ USC, a 35-3 loss


Over the past two decades, you can plainly see, UF has played one OOC road game outside of the state of Florida, Alabama has played seven true road games away from the state of Alabama (excluding neutral site games), and Ohio State has played 13 OOC road games outside of Ohio—and not against the likes of Memphis, Tulane, and Hawaii either.

I know a lot of the responses will include references to UF and LSU beating the Buckeyes in 2006 and 2007, and that's fine. I won't dispute that, but I will say this.

If the teams of the SEC are so great, why not step up and play at least one real OOC game per year lke the Buckeyes do, instead of relying on the totally false "our conference schedule is too tough, so we need a break in our OOC games" excuse / crutch?

Florida beat Ohio State after they has nearly 60 days off, and LSU beat OSU essentially at home in 2007 in New Orleans.

Forgive me if I want to see just how well UF, LSU, or Alabama would fare against the Buckeyes in Columbus—and no, not just because of the weather.

That could be a factor depending on when played, but I'm more interested in seeing how those teams would deal with playing on the road, after living out of a hotel for three days, and then playing in front of 105,000+ Buckeye fans in a hostile environment behind enemy lines instead of always in the SEC backyard...


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Ohio State-Iowa: Week 11 Preview, Free History Lesson Included

by HD Handshoe
Founder—Block-O-Nation


The Big Ten will hold its' annual conference Championship game this weekend as the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1) visit Columbus to take on the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-2, 5-1).

Unlike the SEC, Big East, Big 12, and ACC, the Big Ten regular season means something. The best team during the season wins the title, period.

Critics of a playoff system for college football say it will decrease the importance of the regular season. Conference championship games held after the season already do that, and they are only held for one reason—money. It's like playing a bowl game, before your bowl game...

I like my football Big Ten style, and conference titles should be won—or lost—on the field during the season.

Now, on to the preview and history lesson.


Iowa—By The Numbers:

Starting QB Out: Check.

Starting RB Out: Check.

Backup RB Out: Check

Iowa's magical season and BCS hopes came crashing down last week as the Northwestern Wildcats handed the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season.

Adding injury to insult, starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi injured his ankle and had to have surgery. He will miss the final two games of the season.

The numbers aren't going to look very pretty, but nevertheless, here they are.

Stanzi will be replaced by freshman James Vandenberg. Prior to last weekend, he had attemped just three passes. For the season, he is 11/30 passing for 120 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, a 36.7 completion percentage, and a QB Rating of 63.6.

As mentioned Jewel Hampton was supposed to take over for NFL-departed Shonn Greene at running back, but has been out the entire season. His replacement, Adam Robinson was having a solid season until he was injured and now will miss the rest of the year as well. That means Brandon Wegher will take over as the starter the rest of the way.

Wegher had shared carries with Robinson so there shouldn't be much of a drop off. On the year, he has 502 rushing yards and six touchdowns, and has caught 13 balls for 112 yards.

The leading receivers for Iowa are Darrell Johnson-Koulianos (31 receptions, 553 yards, two touchdowns), Marvin McNutt (21 receptions, 547 yards, five touchdowns), Trey Stross (25 receptions, 368 yards, one touchdown), and Tony Moeaki (23 receptions, 274 yards, four touchdowns).

Iowa also boasts one of the best defensive units in the Big Ten and the nation. They've built that reputation against some solid teams, such as Arizona and Penn State. The Buckeyes o-line will have their hands full on Saturday.


Ohio State—By The Numbers:

Terrelle Pryor has 1668 passing yards, 604 rushing yards, with seven rushing touchdowns, 15 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a QB Rating of 130.6.

Pryor, Brandon Saine, Boom Herron, Jordan Hall, and Jermil Martin have combined for 1808 yards on the ground and 22 rushing touchdowns. That's nearly 180 yards and 2.2 touchdowns rushing per game.

Ohio State's top receivers are DeVier Posey (45 receptions, 672 yards, seven touchdowns plus one passing touchdown), Dane Sanzenbacher (24 receptions, 482 yards, six touchdowns), Duron Carter (12 receptions, 164 yards, one touchdown), and Ray Small (12 receptions, 153 yards). Small is also a huge contributor as a punt returner.

The Buckeye defense held Penn State to a season low seven points and only 201 total yards in Beaver Stadium last Saturday. Daryll Clark had one of the worst games of his career, while Pryor played mistake free as the Buckeyes rolled to a 24-7 win.

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

VS.


Ohio State—Iowa History and Tidbits:

• This will be the 62nd meeting between Ohio State and Iowa.

• Ohio State leads the all-time series, 44-14-3.

• Ohio State is 15-4-1 in the last 20 meetings vs. Iowa (dating back to 1983).

• Ohio State is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings vs. Iowa in Columbus.

• Ohio State's last loss at home to Iowa was in 1991 by a score of 16-9 (that year, OSU was 8-4, Iowa was 10-1-1).

• Ohio State's last home win vs. Iowa was a 31-6 victory in 2005.

• Because of the Big Ten rotating schedule, this is the first meeting since 2006.

• Jim Tressel is 3-1 overall (2-0 at home, 1-1 on the road) vs. Iowa.

• The Ohio State football program began in 1890 and all-time, they have an overall record of 816-308-53.

• This is Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz's 11th season at Iowa (79-53).

• Iowa is 1-5 vs. Ohio State under Ferentz, whose only win was a 33-7 blowout over the Buckeyes in Iowa City in 2004.

• Iowa has won or shared 11 Big Ten titles, their last being a co-championship in 2004.

• The last time Iowa finished ranked ahead of Ohio State in the final AP poll was 2004 (Iowa #8, OSU #20).

• The Iowa football program began play in 1889 and all-time, they have an overall record of 577-509-39.

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Even though both teams are ranked, the season appears to be slipping away from Iowa, while Ohio State seems to be peaking at the right time.

This game could still be a fairly low scoring game, as both teams are solid on defense, but without all those experienced weapons, I just can't convince myself that Iowa can score more than once or twice.

If the Buckeyes, and specifically Terrelle Pryor, can play like they did against the Nittany Lions, they may win in a bigger rout than I am predicting.


Final score prediction:

Ohio State 30, Iowa 6


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This article is also featured on
BusterSports.com and BleacherReport.com
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AP Photo--Charlie Neibergall

No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes

De Facto Big Ten Title Game

POST YOUR SCORE PREDICTIONS BELOW

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Penn State Fans Up In Arms Over Recent B.O.N. Article

by HD Handshoe
Founder
BlockONation.com


State Penn fans are getting fired up in response to the recent article here at BlockONation that was also published on the BleacherReport!

You can view all the madness and get a few good laughs (I certainly did) right here on a PSU blog known as BlackShoeDiaries.

They are fired up! I was actually emailed directly by someone from that site and that emailer suggested, in his opinion, that I wrote the article over sour grapes.

Here is the reply I sent to him:

LOL, not at all!

I have a good friend who is a PSU fan (his name is Britt Weber -- you're welcome for the shout-out Britt) so more than anything I wrote it to piss him off and to also spark some discussion for OSU & PSU fans over the dead time as the season nears!

It obviously worked! :)

In 2009, like 2008, OSU & PSU will be the top 2 teams so I figured I’d get the fans from both riled up and ready. I am here to pump you up! LOL!

Penn State and Ohio State were very similar and evenly matched last year honestly and the game came down to Pryor fumbling….it could have went either way and that night, it went PSU’s

Should be another good one this year in Happy Valley.

Good luck except for the OSU game and thanks for the publicity on BSD!

The article really was written in jest and only to spark discussion.

Could Pryor have scored the game-winning TD as I suggested in the previous article had he not fumbled?

Yes absolutely, but he didn't.

He fumbled, and OSU lost.

I for one am looking very forward to his Pennsylvania homecoming this November and I know PSU fans are as well.

It should be another battle but you know OSU will get their revenge!

Stay classy and thanks again for all the love BSD!

Buckeyes Set National Attendance Record For a Spring Footbal Game

It was windy and hot and my arms are burnt to a crisp, but it was pretty much a perfect day for the Buckeyes Scarlet and Gray Spring Football game yesterday!

I am proud to say I was part of the RECORD BREAKING 95,722 in attendance. No other school has ever had as many fans in attendance for a Spring game than Ohio State did for this one.


Game highlights (courtesy of the Big Ten Network)




Here are the pics I took. The first set are from my phone and the better closeup shots were with a digital camera—Enjoy!

View from outside the stadium of the South stands


The Block O that was the inspiration for the name of this blog


Just before the LAX game started


The stadium was nearly at capacity about 30 minutes before kickoff


More views of the record breaking crowd






#2 Terrelle Pryor warming up with a few of his O-linemen








The pics below here are the digital camera pics. You can click on any image to enlarge it!

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