Week Four: Ohio State vs. UAB—Quick-Hit Preview, History Lesson And Prediction

By HD Handshoe — BlockONation.com Founder

Ohio State/UAB—A Few Opening Thoughts...

No. 16 Ohio State may on the verge of starting 4-0 this season—thanks mostly to the exceptional play of sophomore quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender, Braxton Miller—but last weeks shaky defensive performance against California has coach Urban Meyer shaking his head.

The Buckeyes gave up several big plays of 15 or more yards—including an 82-yard-touchdown-run, the longest by an opponent in Ohio Stadium history—to Cal in their come-from-behind, 35-28 win.

"That is the most alarming thing," Meyer said on Monday. "I've watched Ohio State's defense for a long time, and I can't remember a defense I've been around that's given up this many (big plays). We've got to stop or we'll lose a game."

The cure that ails you for the Buckeyes, at least for this week, comes in the form of the 0-2 UAB Blazers.

UAB fell on the road to the old ball coach and No. 7 South Carolina last week, 49-6. With the odds makers having Ohio State listed as 36-point favorites, surely coach Meyer will expect a similar, and perhaps even more dominating, result for his Buckeyes against the Blazers this weekend.

Here are where Ohio State and UAB currently rank and compare statistically on offense to date:



The Buckeyes are 66th in total defense and 36th in scoring defense, allowing 18 points per game.

UAB is 104th in total defense and 120th in scoring defense, allowing 44 points per game.

You can get an expanded game preview via ESPN by clicking here.


Ohio State—UAB History Lesson And Trends

• Ohio State is 60-7 in Ohio Stadium since the 2002 season.

• This is the first-ever meeting between Ohio State and UAB.

• Urban Meyer coached teams are 37-4 in the month of September.

• Ohio State is 20-1 in first-ever meetings with an opponent in Ohio Stadium.

• Ohio State's defense has held opponents to 10 points or less 37 times since 2006.

• Ohio State's defense has allowed only 10 100-yard rushers in their last 52 games.

• Ohio State has held 69 opponents to 21 points or less since the start of the 2005 season.

• Ohio State is 44-7 overall vs. non-conference opponents since the start of the 2002 season.

• Ohio State has won 60 consecutive regular season non-conference home games vs. unranked opponents.

• Ohio State is seeking win No. 400 in Ohio Stadium. Their overall W/L/T record in The Shoe is 399-109-20 (1922-2012).

• UAB is 3-33 all-time vs. teams from a BCS conference.

• UAB is 3-19 overall vs. ranked opponents and 0-19 vs. ranked opponents from a BCS conference.

Final Thoughts and Score Prediction

The biggest offensive threat for the Blazers is QB Jonathan Perry who is averaging nearly 270 passing yards per game, but has also been picked off once and sacked five times in UAB's two games.

The Buckeye defense must play better against the pass and overall honestly, and I believe they will. If I'm wrong and they don't, a few players, and eventually a coach or two, could be out of a job.

UAB's defense is ripe for the picking here. They can't stop the run, and that is Ohio State's biggest strength, and they are dead last in scoring defense in the FBS.

This feels like the perfect time for the Buckeyes to hang half-a-hundred and then some offensively, and to get their defense back on track before league play begins in East Lansing next week.

Ohio State 66
UAB 9

"To be a champion, you have to believe in yourself when no one else will" - Sugar Ray Robinson

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Can Urban Meyer And Ohio State Debunk The Big Ten Stereotype?

By Tim Bielik — BlockONation.com Featured Contributor

No conference has undergone as much scrutiny and criticism in the past few years as the Big Ten has.

And most of it has been deserved.

The Big Ten has a reputation for being a slow, plodding conference full of conservative coaches who don't pull in big-time athletes.

Ohio State, one of the few Big Ten schools that can pull in those kinds of athletes, is largely to blame for the stereotype of the Big Ten after back-to-back national championship game losses. Ironically enough, the coach who dealt OSU its first title game loss is now standing on the Buckeyes' sideline: Urban Meyer.

The typical Urban Meyer team that we saw at Florida was almost the antithesis of Big Ten squad, full of speedsters and a very aggressive, opportunistic mentality on both sides of the ball.

The Buckeyes do have the ability to be that kind of team, even within a year or two, simply because of Meyer's national reputation and the reputation of the program itself. And he has the right quarterback to help him as well, in one Braxton Miller.

The sophomore is the prototypical dual-threat quarterback. He has already put together a strong start to his sophomore season—one that has generated early Heisman talks. With his ability to run and his potential as a passer, Miller has already shown that he's a perfect fit for Meyer's spread offense.

It's early, but thus far coach and quarterback seem to be an ideal match. They will have possibly two years together and will set their sights on winning conference titles and possibly a national championship.

But the biggest thing that might change in the Big Ten is that other teams in the conference will need to play catchup with the Buckeyes. Ohio State could be embarking on a run of conference dominance similar to that enjoyed at the end of the Jim Tressel era, when the Buckeyes won five straight Big Ten titles (the 2010 title was vacated, of course).

If they can win a national championship or two, that will force the other top teams in the conference like Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin to really step up their recruiting efforts and make sure they can compete with Ohio State.

First things first though, OSU has to be able to win a Big Ten championship, which they still have to wait a year for due to NCAA sanctions.

But in a way, it's better for Meyer and Miller to have that year because the first three games showed that—while they're good—they're not great...yet.

The mental lapses the defense had all last year have already created a few red flags, and the offense, though they are putting up nice numbers, struggles from a lack of consistency and too few playmakers.

Luckily, those are things that can be corrected and fixed in a year or two, probably sooner if you bring in the right players.

Meyer can do that.

And for the offense to continue to improve, Miller will need to continue to be the guy until he gets a stable of playmakers outside of the three he has right now: Corey Brown, Jake Stoneburner and Devin Smith.

There are no burners in the backfield, yet. But they are coming.

Meyer is already sending a message that his SEC way of doing things—in terms of what types of players he wants and what style he is going to coach—is coming to the Big Ten; other teams will either rise up to the challenge or sink to the back of the pack.

It's the foundation for a new era, and the Big Ten may never be the same again.

Urban Meyer and Braxton Miller won't let it.

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