osu 63, Michigan 39

[Jeff Buchanan]

The Game Week!

My early prediction?

One team will win.

[drok]

Win with character. Win with cruelty.

[WM Wolverine]

Just win!

[Cody_Russell]

Are we getting the same refs as 2016? Please, god no.

Ohio State has won 13 of 14 vs M. The one M victory being vs Luke Fickell and the 6-6 Ohio State team.
I'll believe M can win when I see it. Until then, nope.
Ohio State 26, M 24.

Maryland had so much success running to the left. Funny because Ohio State will correct that and likely be steady on D. It's been the case in the 21st century... There is no need to be fooled of a potential Ohio State weakness.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Are we getting the same refs as 2016? Please, god no.

........ There is no need to be fooled of a potential Ohio State weakness.

On your first point. I know our rivals love to hear us complain about the refereeing but the screw up with the kicked ball by IU's Tackle at the end of the first half was just a continuation of screwed up calls from BT referees that have game changing implications. They are a matter of record and the BT has recognized some of them publicly. I don't care about the nit-picky stuff, the lack of offensive line holding calls (in fact I like this) and what I perceive is a lack of consistency in PI calls and targeting calls (it has gotten better as the season has progressed) when there is not a game altering circumstance.

What does bug the shit out of me are the muffed calls, including PIs, holding calls and the bungled kicked ball situation in the IU game. when the call one way or the other has game changing implications. I don't think these are hard to identify. Others may differ. Refs in this game don't get a pass because they got the hit on Berkely Edwards right. So obvious. Or they got some calls wrong on IU as well. Get the big calls right. That's all I ask for.

It's sad that we are as worried about getting a bad refereeing crew in a critical game than we are about predicting an outcome solely based on the effort and skill of the teams. BTW, that was John O'Neils crew yesterday. We won't have that crew for the game in c-bus. I think it was O'Neil that called the loss in 2016 but I can't say for sure. I'm sure the other conferences have their own concerns about the impact of blown calls on game outcomes. It's part of the game I guess and you have to play through them.

On your second point ....... you're saying talent is sandbagging? He's not. I've picked up on his detailed criticisms and seen them all myself.

LB play isn't good. Like talent and in the case of Don Brown as a point of comparison, I'm not sure if it's Brown's or schiano's schemes and what they coach the players to do when we see a unit give up a big play. It's probably a bit of both and not worth pinning down at our level. But, It's frustrating. I trust talent's take on schiano though. Something was clearly not working in the 1st half at Maryland and it took a long time to clean it up. schiano has had more than one game like that. I have also seen bad S and CB play both as a matter of coaching and execution that does not seem to improve or get corrected. The parallel for me is that we never saw M's OL improve last season. It has improved dramatically in 2018 with the exit of Drevno and Frey and the entry of Warriner. That is not a coincidence. Both strange and talent have called for shciano's departure. We should trust them on this .....osu's defense is suspect and can be exploited in a way that probably has not been present for along time.

On offense, the RT position is weak. osu is struggling like M was last year on the OL. I feel confident that Brown will have some schemes and packages that will make it difficult for osu's OL line calls and for Haskins to make his reads. The thing we saw v. IU - the open middle zone that Ramsey repeatedly and successfully threw into - can't be repeated v. osu as that sort of thing is in Haskin's wheelhouse in spades. I'll predict we won't. That was a pretty obvious defect in what Brown was doing v. Debord. haskins does not like pressure or getting hit. ufm seems to be good at adjusting for this by giving haskins the kinds of throws he's good at. I do think osu's run game is better than it was a few weeks ago but it is still not dominating like it has in the past.

So, I think the things we worry about and the reasons that are thrown around about this game being different than any other football game are overblown. Sure, it's a huge game so intensity is magnified. Yes, the refereeing could have an untoward impact on the game. But, fundamentally it's a football game that is going to be won or lost on the field of play mostly based on the skill and efforts of the individual players making plays. The coaching staffs are among the best in the nation. They will do their best to put their respective teams in a position to win ..... we can only hope but the records of these two coaching staffs indicate they will do their parts so, it will be up to the players to execute.

Having said that, there is a paper trail of play that is certainly predictive. There are numbers that are predictive. The intangibles don't overcome those entirely. I like M's chances and have liked them since Purdon't ass-railed osu. osu's win at Maryland Saturday or M's v. IU at home in AA didn't change that.

[iam416]

[iam416]

34-7

[AlabamAlum]

The OSU defense is the headscratcher here. Yeah, I know Bosa and whatever, but they have been just bad in several games. It has
to be one of the worse defensive efforts that a Meyer team has produced and it's not like the Bucknuts have faced offensive juggernauts.

OSU is

-52nd in scoring D
-63rd in rush D
-77th in pass D
-70th in total D

M is

-24th in scoring offense
-23rd in rushing offense
-87th in passing offense
-47th in total offense
______________________________________

OSU is

-8th in scoring offense
-54th in rush offense
-4th in passing offense
-2nd in total offense

M is

-4th in scoring D
-14th in rush D
-1st in passing D
-1st in total D

______________________________________

My brain says that M wins big. My gut feeling is that OSU finds a way to keep to close with the potential to steal a win at the Shoe, though.

[iam416]

[maxreturn]

It should be cut and dried what Brown's homework is this week. Leaving the middle vacant made it far too easy for Ramsey. When somebody wasn't open on a quick slant or crossing pattern he ran for first downs I believe on at least 5 occasions. IU wasn't the first team this year to exploit this vulnerability. Got to come up with an answer for this or it could be a long afternoon. Fix that and please open up the play book in the red zone, especially on early downs. Six field goals isn't going to cut it.

[WM Wolverine]

Haskins isn't the threat to repeat what Ramsey did.

[iam416]

Correct

[Jeff Buchanan]

Correct

So, Ramsey IS better than haskins? Isn't that what started this exchange? You contending that assessment of mine?

Did I mention I hate the internet forums for the reasonable exchange of ideas? ....... OTH, this week, be certain that I have unrestrained disgust of anything and everything to do with osu football.

FUCK osu.

[iam416]

[maxreturn]

Haskins isn't the threat to repeat what Ramsey did.

If you're talking about running the football you may be correct. But did you watch the Maryland game? He's not a speed burner but a couple of times he did take off when no one was open and/or was pressured and he ran quite effectively. Overall, I think he can be every bit as effective as Ramsey if UM doesn't fix the issue, especially with his arm.