M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[iam416]

Madison is no picnic. It's always a thorny place for OSU to play.

[Jeff Buchanan]

By personnel and style, Buchanan. PSU tries to play how M plays, but does so with inferior players. They won't be able to test/expose the weaknesses of M's defense.

I have no clue whether they have good corners or not. If they do then they can probably slow down M.

From what I can tell, PSU's corners are OK. If Speight has time, he's going to hit Chesson or Darboh on a fair number of big plays because they will be open and, dang, Wilt can throw some to open receivers?

Will they get open? Maybe. PSU ranks #31 nationally in Pass D. Opponents are completing 64.9% of their passes for 168.7 yards per game (avg. completion, though is only 6.7y with a long of 67y). Through the air, PSU has given up 3 TDs and snagged 4 INTS ...... against mediocre QBR average of 122 (200+ pt. scale - QBs with a rating in this system above 160 are good, above 180, really good.)

PSU has also given up a fair amount of rush yardage at 177y/g at a 4.8/a pace. M is not much better after UCF and CU gashed the shit out of them on big plays.

Anyway, M will win. Not sure by how much. Depends on how this growth in the OL thing comes along like AA tells us it will. Never trust the observational or reasoning skills of anyone schooled in the state of Alabama...... or ohio for that matter.

[Hannibal]

I would make OSU #1 after Saturday night, with 'Bama #2 and Louisville #3.

[AlabamAlum]

I would make OSU #1 after Saturday night, with 'Bama #2 and Louisville #3.

Agreed. Ohio State is tye best team in the nation.

For that mattter, Lousiville, Houston, Michigan, Stanford, and maybe a few others are playing better ball.

[Hannibal]

Agreed. Ohio State is tye best team in the nation.

For that mattter, Lousiville, Houston, Michigan, Stanford, and maybe a few others are playing better ball.

Um, no

[Buckeye Paul]

Not that I'm bragging or anything about the Buckeyes, but..... okay, I'm bragging. They kicked ass.

[WingsFan]

[iam416]

Well, good news re Okudah - he's still a lock for OSU. That will give them 7 top 28 players. Akers, Browning and Holmes also have OVs set. Don't feel particularly bullish on any of those 3, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they got 1. Also, lol, Marvin Wilson may OV. LMAO. They have a better chance hiring HARBSUGH!!!! as a QB coach.

Related, kids who may go pro: JTB, Tyquan Lewis, Hubbard, Jalin Holmes, McMillan, Conley and maybe even Marcus Baugh.

[iam416]

Oh, shit...Malik Hooker, too.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Urbz says Conley will be back for next game. Good news

[THE_WIZARD_]

shaddup

[iam416]

Bye Week Update for Ohio State.

QB: JTB has been what I expected him to be. He's passed for 650 and rushed for 160 and accounted for 13 TDs. Beyond that, he's a true field general. He could be a little more accurate downfield -- he missed Samuel and Baugh for TDs against OU, but he's good enough.

RB: Weber has 351 yards at 6.5 ypc. He's shown some really good vision and some good speed, though not Elliot speed. He's still not quite able to take the 8-10 yard run and make it 40, but I think he'll get there. For now, he's a workhorse back that gives OSU a power running game. I think he's modestly ahead of Elliot at similar stages, but his ceiling is lower.

H-Back: Samuel. 260 yards rushing; 260 yards receiving. 4 TDs. He fell victim to talent surplus. He was behind Elliot and then Braxton and Jalin Marshall. He still played as a true frosh and then last year and always had that flash. Now he's the guy and he's proving an invaluable asset. Next to JTB, he's the most important piece to the offense.

TE: They still aren't using the TEs a great deal. Baugh has a ton of potential, IMO. I actually think he could declare early and get drafted in the first 4 rounds. The young 'uns are doing ok, I guess.

WR: Still love Noah Brown. They use a lot of other guys and none has really stood out. I think you have probably 4 interchangeable guys who are all pretty good "#3" WRs. And that works with Brown and Samuel.

OL: I thought they'd be good. I'm a little surprised they've shown this well this early. Eflein anchors the whole thing and Billy Price, against all expectations, continues to get better. He may actually play in the league -- and he couldn't block DSL at the start of the 2014 season. I love Isaiah Prince. That guy is a future 1st round pick. He was a late add to the 2015 class -- they were tight on spots and had their OL quota, but UFM couldn't turn down a player with his talent. Thank god. On the other side, Jamarco Jones is settling into things. I *think* he can be really good, but I'm not as sure about him as I am about Prince. Finally, Michael Jordan has been really good a true frosh. The prevailing thought -- and it's inching toward consensus -- is that this OL is already better than last year's and everyone thinks it's more talented.

DL: The strength of the DL is as expected the DEs. Lewis, Hubbard and Holmes have been pretty good. Holmes, in particular, has been a nice surprise as he's living up to his billing. Through in Nick Bosa, and that's a nice set of DEs. DT has been good, but IMO, relatively untested. I really like Hill, but Hamilton and Jones and Landers are all "merely good" players, IMO. OSU loaded up to stop the run against OU and dared the Sooners to beat their secondary. In so doing, the DTs weren't put under a ton of stress. They held up well enough, but we'll see how they do against the Badgers. Also, I'm really liking the "4 DE" alignment in obvious passing downs.

LB: McMillan is a first round pick and has played like it. Worley has been mostly solid. Booker is a bit of an unknown quantity because of an injury, but the coaches were/are high on him. And welcome Jerome Baker. Baker was a freak athlete for Benedictine and borderline 5* -- and he showed all that athleticism against OU. He had a great game. His pick-6 was nice -- you could see his speed -- but I thought he did a really nice job in space and against the run.

DB: Along with DT, my biggest concern coming into the season. Conley is really good. It was petrified when he went down. But, I tell you, Ward and Lattimore answered the bell. Lattimore is not much of a surprise, IMO. He's finally meeting expectations after working through some injury-plagued seasons. Ward is a surprise. I thought the dude could be a decent cover guy, but he's shown that he play physical, too. With 3 quality cover guys, I'm feeling bullish on CB. Meanwhile, Malik Hooker is playing himself into an early entry. I think he's playing better than Vonn Bell right now. He's every bit as athletic and he's actually showing an outstanding sense of the ball. Damon Webb is the weak spot in the secondary. He's been mediocre to date.

ST: Cameron Johnston is, IMO, the best punter in CFB. Against OU, the only time a punt really mattered he nailed a 67 yarder, net, that flipped field position in a big way. He, of course, also had a couple insider the 15, as per usual. Tyler Durbin appears to have won the job from the Nurenberg Trials. Thank god. I like Fight Club better than Nazi trials.

Recruiting

Not much to say. Okudah is in, though unannounced. That will bump them up to 310.22 under current ratings. I'm also becoming increasingly optimistic that they'll keep Shaun Wade. These guys are going to be key because I could see significant early exodus of secondary players.

Other than Okudah, there are 11 uncommitted 5* players and OSU should get OVs from 6 of them. I don't hold out any hope for Wilson or DPJ. Holmes remains a longshot, as does Trey Smith. But, Browning and Akers are very much in play.

Not worth going into 2018, and there's no real news on that front anyway. But, when I look at the top 30 for 2018, I think it's realistic that OSU will be around 6 or 7. For those scoring at home, they have 6 top 30 verbals right now with Okudah on the way and a shot at 1 or 2 more.

[iam416]

Shaddup.

[AlabamAlum]

They were just talking on ESPN how Ohio State is the best team in the country. Hard to argue.

[iam416]

Incorrect. Easy to argue. Ohio State is top 10, but not number 1. Still have lots of things to clean up and lots of areas to improve