Bootlegs!!!!!

I got the Comparoni write up. If you want it, PM me with an e-mail, and I'll shoot it out to you.....

I think we win tomorrow motherfuckers. Fuck the GOP and Fuck ISIS!!! WE GOT THIS SHIT! IT IS WINNING TIME!!!!!

Why is it not on tater mail yet.

tTy - check your PMs

Forget it. He's rolling.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:Why is it not on tater mail yet.

what the hell.....how does someone get tatermail......you fuckers are part of Anonymous, amirite?

I don't need comp to tell me we're gonna win this game. I firmly believe this team's focus and resolve bests the Buckeyes' and we leave 105,000 disappointed fans in Columbus on Saturday night. Go green you fucks

DWags wrote:Why the fuck is it 65 between St Johns and Clare?

Fuck I hate 127.

All the highways in LA are 60 mph and the drivers here strictly adhere to that suggestion

I'm thinking that tTy is either passed out, or he the night hasn't even started for him.

Either way - he seems to have slipped away from his computer

DWags wrote:Why the fuck is it 65 between St Johns and Clare?

Fuck I hate 127.

DWags wrote:Back to 70 just past Ithaca

Columbus is the other way - just trying to be helpful

I hope your wife is driving.

A text has been sent. He's probably canning corn.

PRE-SNAP READ: Michigan State vs. Ohio State

The biggest game of the Big Ten regular season is here as No. 9 Michigan State travels to Columbus for a Top 10 match-up with No. 3 ranked Ohio State. Click through for Jim Comparoni's in-depth breakdown in this week's Pre-Snap Read:

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Michigan State enters this game that so many have been looking forward to for so long with a 9-1 record, a Top 10 ranking, still a shot at the National Championship. MSU is here, with this opportunity. And now that they’re here, no one is giving them a chance to win.

That’s just the way MSU likes it.

The last time they were in a situation like this, the Spartans were a decided underdog in going to Michigan. MSU came forward on that day with its best defensive effort and performance of the year. They dialed it up. MSU has some talent and physicality and mature experience. When they collectively dial it up, they can be stingy.

On that day at Michigan, MSU was still trying to figure out who their starting defensive backs were. MSU started Khari Willis and Grayson Miller at safety. Those guys were okay. But they have been shuffled back to reserve roles, overtaken by guys who are playing a little bit better, giving MSU a higher ceiling at corner and strong safety.

Two weeks ago when MSU lost at Nebraska, MSU started those two freshmen, plus another true freshman at corner in Tyson Smith.

MSU played too many DBs that day. They were a mess. They were still auditioning DBs, coming out of the bye week. That’s a big reason why they lost.

MSU smartly shortened the DB bench last week against Maryland and showed some progress. Maryland isn’t any good on offense, but MSU had a chance to operate with more comfortability with a base of four guys in the defensive backfield. They ran to the ball harder and tackled better, and with more force. There is progress.

So now, look for MSU to dial up the same fervor and emotion in the front seven that they had at Michigan, and this time it’s with what I think is a better, improving secondary behind it.

This time, they won’t be going against a mediocre offense such as Michigan. They will be going against what I think is the best, well-balanced run game in the country. But in some ways (pass defense, and some aspects of the defensive line), Michigan was better than Ohio State.

FINAL ANALYSIS FIRST

I gave MSU a 43 percent chance to win at Michigan. I said MSU needed some aspects to play like they hadn’t yet played up to that point in the season. And MSU did just that, primarily in run defense. Now MSU needs to do the same thing, and then some.

I would give MSU less than a 37 pct chance of winning this game, but that might be more than some are giving. I think Mike Bellotti is saying zero chance. That might be true IF Ohio State comes in dialed-up, motivated and ready to battle like they did last year.

This is OSU’s game to win or lose. Their talent is better than MSU’s but it isn’t just talent that sets OSU apart WHEN Ohio State is on. When Ohio State is on, they block with physicality, win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, tackle with force, and get you twisted up with an array of misdirection that makes their spread option run attack so difficult to stop. And then they can stab you with the passing game if they feel like it.

That’s when Ohio State is on.

MSU’s hopes reside in the possibility that Ohio State might be a little sleepy at the switch, take their eye off the prize, forget to tend to their knittin’, as Keith Jackson would say.

OSU has shown signs, in my estimation, of become dulled in their senses.

Their LBs are still outstanding. The RB Elliott is still outstanding. The o-line is still pretty good with ground blocking and sometimes outstanding. The d-line is getting sleepy. The DBs are good, but not great across the board.

Last year, they came to MSU as a 60-man unit sharpened and polished and pointed and dying to make a statement. They were sharp, and talented, and they were on. And they stayed on the rest of the year.

MSU, like I said in the Skull Session Podcast, was the team that became a little too cool for school prior to the OSU game. They had beaten OSU the year before, and won the Rose Bowl. OSU lost the Orange Bowl. Then OSU lost its second game of the year vs Va Tech last year. MSU was riding on its high horse, thinking it was going to own OSU at home this year even easier than the year before. MSU was coming off a brutal beating of Michigan, and entered a bye week as the toast of the town, with back slapping aplenty.

MSU’s program under Dantonio has been one of discipline and team direction. There have been some occasional off-field bobbles, but not many. And there have been very, very few since 2009. MSU didn’t have any trouble during the bye week last year prior to the OSU game, but I have heard from sources that MSU did dabble a little bit too much in being the toast of the town. They thought they were better than they were. They underestimated Ohio State, as crazy as that sounds. To quote Apollo Creed, they lost the eye of the tiger. OSU had it, times 10.

Every team has talent. Every team has players. Most teams have good schemes, good coaching. Commitment, attitude, motivation and “buying in” and having the will to win collisions - those are the things that separate winners from losers on a lot of occasions, on surprise occasions.

MSU has good talent, good coaching, good schemes. OSU is just as good or better in those three areas, and playing at home.

After losing to Nebraska, a choke-up Shilique Calhoun addressed the team in the locker room and said that loss is what this team needed.

How strange does that sound? You NEED a loss?

Well, that might or might not be true. But the point, in my opinion, is that Calhoun knew something was missing. He was HOPING that this loss could spark MSU to jumpstart whatever had been missing. It remains to be seen whether he was right or not. Last week was a good start, winning with cruel physicality on defense. That’s the first time we’ve seen that, this year.

There are times when something is missing. When I watch Ohio State this year, on most weekends, something seems to be missing.

This year’s Spartans might have thought they could hit a switch and regain the stride they had last year. They wondered about “letting up” on teams, as Riley Bullough put it. They wondered.

I wonder about Ohio State. They survived close calls with Northern Illinois, Indiana. Then they gradually switched QBs, and the offense looks like it is coming back alive with JT Barrett.

They’ve been good all year. But they haven’t been great. Meanwhile, some aspects of that defensive line - which has talent, but maybe not GREAT talent - has been getting a little sleepy.

MSU’s best hope is that the same dynamics that befell the Spartans at Nebraska catch up with OSU in this game.

Impossible? It happened in the Big Ten Championship Game in 2013. Many of the players have moved on. But OSU, for that game, was supremely confident. MSU jumped out to a big lead, and OSU marched back, and then - maybe like Baylor in the Cotton Bowl - thought the game was over. But the bottom line is that OSU from a mental, motivational and attitudinal standpoint, didn’t match MSU’s single-minded intensity in the 2013 Big Ten Championship Game. And MSU did not match OSU’s level of collective jihad in last year’s game.

It happened to MSU last year. Alabama believes it happened to them lat year vs OSU. Miami believes it happened to them in National Championship losses to Ohio State (2002) and Penn State (1986).

It happens. Talented teams get full of themselves, become too cool for school, become asleep at the switch. The best coaches, from Urban Meyer, to Saban to Dantonio, try to protect against it. But sometimes is just sets in on teams. That’s why coaches yearn for great leadership and are constantly looking for motivational ploys.

Can MSU win this game? Not if OSU is smart, sharp and wants it. That’s kind of iffy because OSU has spent several quarters of games this year not looking they have the 100 pct jihad desire that is necessary to win the whole thing. MSU has to hope that OSU is still drowsy while MSU shows up with that 60-man level of sharpness, commitment and motivation that is necessarily to pull off major upsets. It takes some fear of losing, it takes some respect. MSU had those against OSU in 2013. Heck, Holly Holm had that against Ronda Rousey last week. Sorry about the women’s MMA reference, but sports history is littered with situations like this. Take a good team like MSU, tell them they have no chance, spruce them up into a sharp, focused frenzy and put them in battle with an opponent that everyone is saying will win easily, and … 60 minutes later it’s much closer than anyone expected.

These are mental intangibles. They are often impossible to gauge, impossible to predict. But SOME of the elements are in place for a psychological imbalance for this game. Urban Meyer has been working to prevent it all week. It’s certainly not something you should bet on. But these mind game shifts do hit from time to time - often when you least expect it, which is precisely the point that makes them possible.

Michigan State hasn’t looked all that good this year, but there are signs they are on an uptick, with developing in the defensive backfield and possibly the run game. There are questions about Connor Cook, questions about the weather. If Cook’s throwing is affected just a little bit, it will severely hurt MSU’s chances of winning. Everyone knows that. In order for MSU to win, MSU needs OSU to be asleep at the switch just a little bit, and MSU needs Cook to have one of those 340-yard passing games. AND Michigan State needs to contain the run, avoid pass defense busts.

Those are tall orders.

And if Cook is at just 80 pct, MSU’s chances fall sharply.

As of Friday afternoon, the weather forecast for Columbus on 47 degrees at game time with a 100 pct chance of rain, with winds reaching 15 mph.

USUALLY, foul weather benefits the underdog. In this case, it benefits the team with the better rushing attack (OSU) and hurts the team with the better passing attack that also relies disproportionately on the passing attack (MSU).

Ohio State is very good when they are focused, when they are physical.

This game is Senior Day at Ohio State.

They haven’t played a Top 25 team all year, much less a Top 10 team. You can say they are untested, but that theory doesn’t hold. Many of these guys won the National Championship last year. They don’t need to be tested. They CAN play at a very high level.

This isn’t a matter of an OSU team having gone untested. It MIGHT be a matter of an Ohio State team that has been allowed to go flat, due to not being tested. Have there been internal and external distractions? Can this team flip the “on” switch and suddenly be as dominant as they were last year. They probably think so. And they might very well prove it.

The fact that this is the first quality team OSU has played all year might spark OSU to roll and shine like they haven’t all year. Perhaps they have been waiting for something like this to bring them together and start their drive toward another National Championship.

The most likely scenario is that OSU will play up, and be sharp, physical, fast and win by at least 10 points.

Both teams are talented. But programs have accomplished at high levels in the last few years. Now there are questions as to how far along MSU is in team development, after an array of injuries messed up their mojo. And my question about Ohio State is whether they can lock in from a mental and motivational standpoint, on call, to match a level of jihad that MSU is going to carry this time.

If you go by the body of work, Ohio State is the better team. OSU hasn’t been great this year, but they’ve been better than MSU. Everyone knows that.

If you go by talent, OSU has the edge.

For MSU to win, it’s going to necessitate some drowsiness by the Buckeyes. That’s possible. I’m not saying it’s probable, but it’s possible. See the video later in this Pre-Snap Read for a few curious examples from last week.

If OSU is just a bit low in the motivational and psychological aspects of the game, where will it manifest itself on the field? One area that MSU needs this to manifest itself is in MSU’s hope to stop the OSU running attack.

Beating Ohio State, Step 1

1. Stop or contain RB Ezekiel Elliott.

Sounds good. But it’s very hard to do.

He tough on inside zone runs, and outside powers. And then they sprinkle in the zone read option, where if you sell out to stop Elliott, then Barrett keeps inside or outside (depending on the play). And it all becomes an enormous handful.

Stop Elliott, make OSU beat them with the pass.

Yeah. Sounds good in theory. Very hard to do.

Can MSU do it?

Maybe.

Here are the building blocks toward having a chance:

Ohio State hasn’t been great on the ground every single week. But they have been very good every single week, and occasionally great. They have yawned through some games. They have spent too many games and too many snaps with the wrong guy at QB. But now that they have JT Barrett running the show again, the ground game is CAPABLE of catching fire again.

They yawned through some aspects of the run game last week vs Illinois and the week before vs Minnesota (when Barrett was suspended due to a DUI). But when OSU is awake and oiled up on offense and ready to go, the run game is outstanding, very hard to stop. The day they played at Penn State, they were the best running attack I’ve seen all year.

There have been other running attacks around the country that have sprung big gains and put up huge numbers in particular games on particular occasions. But Penn State has NFL talent on the d-line, and the things OSU did with the run game on that day (rushing for 315 yards on Oct. 17) was truly excellent, with shades of the oh-my-gosh running attack OSU put on Alabama last year.

Stop elliott, make JT Barrett passing game beat you.

Well …

We saw last year that the JT Barrett passing game can be pretty darn good. Close to perfect, in fact.

But this year, he isn’t quite in that same type of rhythm. Not yet anyway.

And he has good WRs, but not quite as good as last year.

And the pass protection for OSU is far worse than last year, especially at right tackle.

So the OSU passing attack isn’t quite as lethal a dose of poison as last year, in the pick-your-poison situation when trying to defense OSU.

So okay, I’ll go along with it. Stop Elliott, make JT Barrett and the passing game beat you. This idea would have had A LOT more merit back in September and half of October when OSU was stumbling along with Cardale Jones as the QB.

Now that Barrett as back, maybe the poison is getting stronger. But he didn’t look that sharp last week against Illinois, missing a couple of open receivers, and getting affected by the pass rush.

But I’ll go along with it, in theory, for argument’s sake: Stop Elliott, make Barrett beat you.

However, stopping Elliott is something no one has been able to do in the last 15 games. He has 15 straight 100-yard rushing games.

Although OSU’s o-line has struggled in pass protection, they have been able to churn out the ground game on a consistent basis. The one time they met a truly good run-stopping defense, (Penn State), the Buckeyes operated with National Championship effectiveness on the ground in running for more than 300 yards. That was back on Oct. 17, the night MSU beat Michigan. Now both teams will try to reconnect to aspects of quality play they had a month ago. MSU’s excellent ground defense vs an average Wolverine rushing attack; and OSU’s great ground offense against an excellent PSU ground defense. That will be a terrific challenge for MSU.

MSU has had a good run defense at times this year. MSU experienced problems in run defense at Nebraska that I would categorize as being asleep at the switch. Now, MSU’s defensive front is going to come after it harder and stronger and more motivated than at any time since the UM game. They were impressive against UM. Ohio State MIGHT have trouble cracking 170 yards rushing if MSU brings it like that.

In the last four games, OSU has rushed for:

283 vs Illinois
189 vs Minnesota (without Barrett)
281 vs Rutgers
315 vs Penn State

People remember the awesome passing display of Barrett last year vs MSU. But oh by the way, OSU rushed for 268 yards against one of the top rush defenses in the country. (MSU shouldn’t feel bad. OSU had just as much success on the ground vs. Wisconsin and Alabama, two other Top 10 rush defenses). But MSU’s rush defense, so far this year, hasn’t been nearly as good as last year.

Holding OSU to 170 yards rushing would be a major accomplishment, and a necessary step. I know 170 sounds like a lot. But from there, MSU will need Barrett to be a bit inaccurate, like he was last week vs Illinois.

* LAST WEEK: Illinois played OSU tough for a while, played good defense, had a couple of chunk plays but missed two field goals. Could have been 14-9 midway through the third quarter if they had made those field goals.

Illinois beat the right tackle Farris on a regular basis and beat other o-linemen including the C, LG, LT at least once along the way. Illinois quietly has a good defense this year. Top 40 in the nation in total defense, after being outside the Top 100 last year.

2 WEEKS AGO: Minnesota was playing evenly with OSU, statistically and everything for almost the entire first half. The score was 0-0 with 5:00 left in the first half when Minnesota threw a pick-sick on third-and-6. OSU brought a blitz, with LB 37 Perry rushing, heated him up, QB took a chance.

Minnesota had missed a field goal earlier, otherwise OSU would have been down 3-0 late in the first half.

Then OSU converted a third-and-18 QB draw by back-up QB Cardale Jones as part of a two-minute drive late in the 1H to make it 14-0. Ballgame.

In other games: OSU was tied 28-28 midway through the third quarter with Maryland. OSU flirted with disaster vs Northern Illinois and Indiana.

The things that went wrong in those games don’t necessarily apply to this MSU game from a match-up standpoint, aside from the penchant for drowsiness.

ONE THING TO LOOK FOR: BLITZING MSU LBs

How will MSU go about stopping the run?

Aside from its base defense that we see every week, I would look for MSU to incorporate the LB blitzes that we saw last week. The double-ILB blitzes into the A-gaps, and the occasional one-LB blitz as part of a five-man rush.

MSU ran these blitzes last week more than any time in the Dantonio era. Mike Tressel said the linebacker blitzes could be used this week as a means to stopping OSU’s double-team offensive linemen of getting out to the linebackers. Bring the linebackers into the gaps, be aggressive inside, rather than sitting back on the heels like a sitting duck, waiting for the combo block to arrive at the LB level.

Sounds good in theory. And it might work for a few plays maybe stop a drive or two. But you can’t do it all the time. OSU will counter will speed option to the outside and passes to Elliott on the perimeter like they did against Va Tech.

The key for MSU could be the timing of these LB blitzes. If MSU can pick up WHEN the inside zone, tight zone read is coming, then the LB automatic blitzes might be sent. It takes great intel to get that kind of read on an offense. That intel is over my head. I don’t know if MSU will have something like that in, but I suspect MSU believes they can’t blitz LBs every play like they did last week. But they’re going to do it a lot.

If MSU can be a step ahead this year in the defensive cat and mouse game as to when to bring those LB blitzes to contain the inside zone read game, that’s another step toward having a chance.

Last year OSU seemed to be onto when MSU was blitzing and just happened to have the perfect all for big, pivotal plays vs blitzes two or three times.

Roll the dice and get lucky this year rather than OSU having the perfect play on (for example, the first time MSU ran a corner blitz the whole game last year, OSU just happened to throw their first bubble screen of the game to the other side. It got out for 30 or so yards. Just happened to roll the dice wrong).

Going to need to know WHEN to bring those LB blitzes. Maybe with help through superior intel. Maybe some luck. Maybe a little bit of both.

The LB blitzes by themselves won’t stop the run game cold. But maybe it can help stop just enough plays to stop just enough drives to keep Ohio State under 28 points.

Watch this video for reasons why LB blitzing at the proper times could help contain OSU’s run game:

2. Win on the d-line. This is a cliché, but it starts with wins up front. MSU was supposed to have an elite, National Championship level d-line this year. Even if the rest of the team showed cracks, the d-line was supposed to be the equalizer every week.

The d-line has been good this year, and at times very good. Very good vs Michigan, and very good last week vs Maryland. The d-line will be up for this game, and they need to be. And the d-line HAS THE CAPACITY to present OSU with its toughest test of the year.

MSU must win individual battles at DT and DE. Last year against OSU, the Spartans almost never won individual battles up front.

Penn State, which has excellent talent on the d-line, maybe as good or better than MSU, was firm at time on the d-line vs OSU, but they wore down after facing all those double teams. Mike Tressel says OSU wants to make your d-line quit. You must have the depth and the will to battle for 60 minutes. Very hard to do. No one has stopped OSU’s ground attack since Va Tech at the beginning of last season.

Be strong across the board on the d-line. Get off blocks and win. Last year, MSU’s d-linemen didn’t get dominated, they just got stalemated. They didn’t lose. The MSU d-linemen were tied.

I asked d-line coach Ron Burton about this a few days after the game. I said in going over the film, I wasn’t seeing MSU d-linemen lose, get blown off the line. Burton said that’s true, but that wasn’t enough. He said tying is losing against Ohio State. Need to have individual DT and DE victories more than occasionally.

I’m not saying MSU needs to win on the d-line on every play. Be firm all the time on the d-line, and win up front more than occasionally, and spice it up by rolling the dice correctly with some LB blitzes, and you’ve taken a big step toward controlling the OSU ground game. Easier said than done.

3. Tackle! Even if the d-line is winning and bouncing plays, even if the LBs are blitzing and beating the combo-block into the gap at the right time, even if the LB is there, or the safety is there, THEN you still need to tackle.

Barrett is shifty with decent ability to get yards after contact.

Elliott is all of it; he’s shifty, fast, powerful, vision. You can scheme everything correct, and get a safety to the hole to make a tackle at 2 yards, and Elliott makes the guy miss and goes for 13. Even if all the x’s and o’s work out well, even if you win on the d-line, you STILL need to be able to tackle at LB and safety.

I think Cox is tackling pretty well at safety right now. Nicholson was terrible at it in September, has been better over the last two weeks. Good enough to tackle these guys? We will find out. My guess is no, not quite. To contain the OSU run game, it takes a great defensive 11 across the board, winning up front, staying gap sounds and doing it on the fly with LB blitzes, and THEN tackling extremely well. MSU is very good in most areas of the front seven, and getting better at safety. I’m not sure they will past this litany of tests down-in and down-out.

And that’s just to stop most of the inside run plays.

There are still option plays to keep a lid on. And you have to deal with fatigue vs tempo.

And then there are the jet sweeps and the passing attack.

They are explosive, they are physical, they are tied together, and the guys toting the ball are exceptional. And he threw it PERFECTLY vs MSU last year.

4. The d-line and LBs have to rotate out and stay fresh. OSU’s double team blocking makes you want to quit. The tempo aspect just adds to the avalanche. MSU’s experience in playing vs the tempo of Oregon (and Oregon, Baylor & OSU last year) made MSU adjust to the idea of playing 22 guys on defense. MSU hasn’t had to do much of that in recent weeks. But they had it in and ready for Oregon, practiced it August. They are prepared for it mentally. And MSU has some depth to carry it out. That could serve them well for this game. PSU didn’t have that kind of depth, or the experience in handling tempo.

Is OSU becoming a little too cool for school? OSU needs to be sharper than in the video below vs MSU:

THE MUST LIST

1. Contain the OSU run. See above. Easier said than done.

2. No busts in pass defense. OSU’s passing attack is good enough and MSU’s pass defense has been shaky enough that MSU simply cannot help matters by giving up free big plays through the air. MSU failed miserably in this area at Nebraska.

Last year, Darian Hicks gave up a 71-yard TD on a slant pass vs OSU after missing a tackle. This was moments after MSU missed a field goal that would have given MSU a 24-14 lead, moments after a holding penalty took a 28-14 lead off the board. Miss a field goal, Hicks misses a tackle, and it’s 21-21.

Tressel says there are a lot of guys, especially Ohioans, who are very eager to play this game. He made that point on Wednesday a couple of times. And he said Hicks is a guy that is really, REALY dying to play this game.

Is Hicks good enough?

I still don’t know. He’s a junior. He struggled last year. He had injuries and illness this year. Despite all the playing time he has had, we are just now getting to the point of learning what Hicks is and what he can do. I honestly don’t know. He looks okay sometimes. Maybe he’s on uptick. MSU needs it.

If Hicks is solid, then Cox can stay at safety and maybe MSU can stick with a base four in the secondary and get a level of same-patness that has been lacking, and then with that comes running to the ball faster and defending the run and short passes with better speed and force.

3. Cook has to be red hot. Even if MSU’s ground attack is good, MSU is still going to need 300-plus yards from Cook. Everyone knows that.

So what about his shoulder? Well, the shoulder problem might stem from a hit he took at the very end of the Nebraska game. This thing might be more than one-week deal. This might become a chronic, late-season thing.

I’m hearing that Cook is about 75 pct. What does that mean? I suspect it means he will play through it. But what will that do to his accuracy, his precision?

It also erases his running ability, which hurts the offense. He will probably be less likely to put his body in harm’s way on a scramble and MSU will likely be less likely to call run plays. This is a big deal because MSU has relied on Connor Cook runs in third-and-short, and third-and-medium situations. Cook had THREE QB runs in the first half of last year’s game against OSU. It’s an important chain-moving aspect of MSU’s offense that I don’t think will be available to them in this game.

I wouldn’t be surprised if MSU tries some QB runs with Damion Terry in the game, but it’s not as effective with Terry because Terry doesn’t have the pass threat that Cook has. It’s the pass threat that makes Cook’s ability to run that much better in zone read keep situations and speed option keep situations - not necessarily during the play, but at pre-snap.

It’s no secret MSU needs a huge day from Cook. I have no idea whether can or will deliver.

4. MSU must run the ball at least a little.

Again, this is a cliché. I liked some aspects of MSU’s ground game last week, especially the outset of the second half. MSU’s ground offense has been in the bottom third of the Big Ten all year. It’s a substandard ground attack. Or at least it has been.

Can you count on the run game waking up and providing 130 yards rushing in this game at least? It didn’t happen against Michigan, with various injuries being part of the problem.

MSU rushed for 178 yards last year vs OSU. Jeremy Langford had a 33-yard TD on an inside zone to the left in the first quarter that gave MSU a 14-7 lead.

Looking back at that film, the MSU ground attack was better than many of us give it credit for. When watching them every week, you start to take the 100-yard games by Langford for granted. That was a good outfit.

MSU hasn’t been close to that this year. But they COULD be on an uptick, now that they are three weeks into being back together, through the bye week (for better or worse), through the lessons of the Nebraska game (for better or worse), and coming out of a pretty favorable 141-yard showing against a Maryland team that had ranked No. 3 in the Big Ten in rushing defense in conference games.

As for Ohio State, their run defense is good, but not great. Not as great as I would expect it to be.

Upon further review, I can see some of the chinks in the armor in their ground defense.

Their defensive tackles are just okay

Three-tech Adolphus Washington was supposed to be an All-America candidate, a high-round draft choice type of guy. But he’s had a lazy career. This was supposed to be his year to step up, but he is an up-and-down player.

Maybe he will hit the “on” button and be great in this game. But I doubt it. He’ll have a good play here or there.

But down-in and down-out, OSU’s DTs are okay, but not great. You don’t see them making dominant plays. A superior effort by MSU could result in a better running attack than some might expect. Penn State rushed for 195 yards as a team. PSU tailback Saquon Barkley rushed for 194 on 26 carries. He’s kind of a quick, tough fighter maybe like a Javon Ringer. He might be quicker than MSU’s RBs, but MSU has some RB ability that, again, might be on an uptick.

OSU’s linebackers are outstanding. They are fast, they are forceful, they are correct.

OSU usually stops the run by merely being firm at the d-line, and allowing LBs to fill with all that great talent.

But if you can win vs those yawning defensive tackles, then you can possible get a combo block out to the LB level more often than OSU is accustomed to.

Even then, OSU’s LBs are quite good at getting off of blocks and rallying to the ball.

They’re good. There is a reason why they have won 30 straight Big Ten regular season games (national record by any big five conference team). And you can’t be that consistent unless you consistently stop the run, which OSU has done.

Now OSU has another test to pass. And I think MSU will present them with a better test than some are expecting. And there is a CHANCE that Ohio State’s run defense will show some cracks that we haven’t seen before.

Overall, MSU needs to stay out of second-and-11. They can’t get handled up front when trying to run.

Have to get into at least second-and-eight, or second-and-seven. Second-and-five would be ideal, of course, but let’s be realistic. Get a little something on first down run plays, make their DTs feel your weight, make THEM wear out for a change. The back-up DTs are not as good as MSU’s back-up DTs.

Get a little something with first-down runs, and give Cook a chance to manage with some play-action passing.

The brief rundown on OSU’s personnel groups:
* Very good ground attack, as you know.

* Potentially outstanding QB, when he’s on, which is most of the time. Although Tressel made an interesting comment this week about Barrett and what a terrific player he is “when he’s on,” and when he is in a rhythm. He isn’t necessarily great all the time. He was a little bit less-than-perfect last week vs. Illinois, coming off his suspension. Does he have all his oars in the water? Probably. But … that’s why we play the game.

* Good at WR. Not great. Not as good as last year.

* Good at TE. Effective blockers on strong-side runs with kick out blocks. 85 is physical on crack blocks. They are serviceable and eager to do their blocking.

* Good with run blocking, very good vs PSU.

* Average in pass protection, and sub-average at right tackle in pass protection. They try to get help for the RT Farris. If he is left alone vs Shilique Calhoun too often, Calhoun can turn in MORE than one game-changing play against Farris. Calhoun will go against him when OSU has the ball on the left hash.

* OSU is good on the d-line, but not great, not dominant, not what I would call National Championship level on the d-line.

Bosa is very talented. It truly takes more than one to block him in pass protection situations. Michigan has no one like him.

But I think Michigan might be better than OSU at the other three d-line positions. Maybe not more talented than Washington, but on a down-in, down-out basis, I think I would take UM’s DTs over OSU’s.

OSU’s d-line is firm against the run. They don’t get moved. But they don’t dominate.

Now might they get moved a little if they yawn against a jihad-driving Spartan running attack? Maybe. That’s why we play the game.

OSU has 30 sacks on the year, No. 3 in the Big Ten (MSU is No. 4 with 29. PSU is No. 1 with 42. Maryland is No. 2 with 34, by the way).

* OSU is outstanding at linebacker. You’ve heard me talk about then. 43 Lee in the slot LB is fast. The MLB (5 McMillan) is fast, and a strong-grip tackler. They play big and with force. They are horses.

* The CBs are good, as you would expect. I thought CB Apple was a star on the rise last year. He still looks good. Maybe not as good as UM’s Lewis. But he’s good. I’ve seen him tested deep three times in the three games I studied (vs Illinois, Minnesota and Penn State), and he closed it off nicely, with time to look back for the ball.

The other CB, No. 8 Conley., I haven’t seen a lot. Some OSU writers think he’s a little bit of a weak link. MSU is going to test CBs.

OSU plays a lot of man-to-man. Cook and his frisbee-catching dog WRs have excelled with breath-taking plays vs man-to-man of Rutgers, Michigan, Indiana and others. They’ll get more chances in this game. Gotta finish.

* OSU’s punter is good, place kicker is average, kickoff coverage is good. OSU is middle of the pack in the Big Ten in punt returns with Jalin Marshall. Very good speed.

What About Va Tech and NIU?

I said earlier that the things Northern Illinois did don’t apply to this game. However, Northern Illinois (and Va Tech last year) gave OSU problems by changing their defense.

“Northern Illinois changed their whole defense," Meyer said after that game, "and we weren't able to adjust and adapt and we slowed down the offensive line."

Would MSU do such a thing? Well, if MSU had a top five defense and was great and comfortable at simply doing what they do, then no that would be a silly idea to change a defense for one game. But MSU doesn’t have a good defense this year. They are trying to get to that level. I doubt MSU would overhaul EVERYTHING for this game. But might there be a brand new package of “duct tape” defense just to throw things off? I wouldn’t doubt it. This time. This one time, for the first time in the Dantonio era. I wouldn’t doubt at least an odd-ball package that perhaps could be played more and more if this game if MSU finds success with it.

* Last year, Va Tech upset Ohio State 35-21 during the second week of the season. Va Tech used a Bear front, something Va Tech d-coordinator Bud Foster says he had not done in 20 years. It stopped the inside run, and it pressured the QB on third down - just like the ’85 Bears used to do.

Urban Meyer admitted defeat, admitted he didn’t anticipate the Bear front, didn’t have answer for it.

A lot of teams have tried to emulate Va Tech’s since then, but Meyer and his coaches have long since answered.

And we saw it again this year when Va Tech tried the same basic principle again. This time, OSU went with more speed option to the outside, and used Elliott a bit as a receiver to the outside.

OSU also used the designed QB keeper with Elliott as a lead blocker to gain back a numbers advantage in the box. OSU loses that numbers advantage if the QB hands it off and becomes a spectator.

Elliott didn’t have as many touches as a ball carrier vs Va Tech. OSU had the weapons to find success elsewhere.

Might we see MSU run SOME Bear front in this game? It’s possible. MSU has shown a Bear (double-eagle) front on a handful of plays over the years. I would imagine MSU might shift to a Bear late in a cadence on a down, distance and formation that has a tendency to be a handoff to Elliott.

* On offense, look for a screen to the RB or two: Illinois and Minnesota have hit a couple vs OSU in the last two weeks:

* RB screen to speedy Illinois RB Josh Ferguson, gain of about 30. Sucked those pass-rushing d-linemen upfield.

* Minnesota hit a similar play for about 12. Delayed RB screen to the short side, away from Lee, Bosa and Bell.

OFFENSIVE PERSONNEL

QB JT Barett

* You know all about him.

* Began to re-emerge this year as the go-to QB during the victory over Penn State on Oct. 17.

* He started to look like his old perfect self in his first game back as the starting QB vs Rutgers on Oct. 24. He was 14 of 18 for 223 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs in that game. OSU won, 49-7.

Then he went out drinking and driving, got arrested and suspended for one game.

He sat out the Minnesota game.

Came back last week at Illinois and was a middling 15 of 23 for 150 yards with 1 TD and an INT while being hit. Pass protection broke down a little bit. He wasn’t great, which gives MSU a little bit of hope.

* Very good at looking off the safety. He’s a little deliberate in mechanical in how he goes about it, but the end result is fully effective.

* As a runner, he runs like a tailback, with vision, cutting ability, speed, agility, and even a little bit of power.

* Very good on the QB run game, riding the mesh for an extra beat or two out wide, which opens the inside play-side gap wider and wider the longer he holds. This is what Dantonio is talking about when he says he’s patient.

* I wonder if Meyer expected Barrett to win the job all along. Meyer understandably went with the national championship QB. The offense was good but not great. Barrett began seeing time as the red zone QB. He became the starter in the last half of the season. Conveniently, this limited the wear-and-tear on Barrett.

OSU’s style of play puts the QB in harm’s way a lot. I said several years ago that the program that is able to establish and maintain TWO athletic, multi-faceted QBs to pilot the zone read option offense would be the program that gets an edge on the rest of the country. We saw years ago that Oregon and West Virginia were outstanding with zone read option. But when Dennis Dixon and Pat White were injured, those teams’ national championship hopes went up in flames.

Meanwhile, big, physical QBs such as Tim Tebow, Cam Newton and Vince Young were able to finish 12- and 13-game seasons without enduring season-ending injuries. Guys like that are hard to find. In lieu of those type of horses, the speed option program that can work with TWO quarterbacks would have an advantage. OSU has built that kind of an advantage. No one knew OSU had three QBs that could play at a national championship clip.

Meyer hasn’t been an innovator as a coach. He’s been a duplicator. But he duplicates with an innovative edge, going back to his days at Bowling Green when he was among the first to adopt the spread. He has added to it every year, staying at the forefront of cutting edge concepts, such as tempo, and misdirection.

TENDENCIES:

* On third-and-short, or third-and-medium, they don’t throw it much. They default to the QB keeper. Designed QB runs such as the QB lead to the outside with Elliott as a lead blocker. They run this in short yardage. They check to it to run away from blitzes.

* OSU has run 65 pct of the time on first-and-10 when Barrett has been QB.

* OSU ran the ball on 10 of its first 11 plays last week vs Illinois, although there was a feeling that OSU was keeping things vanilla for the Spartans.

JONES OR BARRETT

* Prior to last week, there was a big difference in red zone efficiency by each QB this year:
Barrett: 16 TDs in 20 red zone opportunities. 80 pct TDs.
Jones: 7 TDs in 17 red zone opportunities. 41 pct TDs.

QB CARDALE JONES

- Has not had a good year. You’ve read all about it. Lost his starting job two-thirds of the way through the season.

- Most recently, vs Minnesota while Barrett was suspended for a DUI, Jones was 12 of 22 for 187 yards.

- At one point in that game, it was 0-0 in the second quarter. On second-and-10, he threw behind WR 3 Thomas on double slants. Thomas was angry with the QB and the Wr showed frustrated body language. Meyer was frustrated too. They yanked Jones and sent Braxton Miller in to play QB on third-and-10. They ran a QB sweep, and it got stuff for about 2 or 3 yards. And the frustrations continued.

* He missed open receivers on three occasions that cost OSU first downs vs Penn State and resulted in punts.

* He was a bulldozing, successful run threat last year during the championship run. That was when he and OSU was desperate to get those extra yards through contact. He and OSU tried to win this year without that type of destructive posture. He didn’t have the throwing talent/efficiency or the quick-footedness for outside runs to keep the job.

The Buckeyes' offense struggled early in the year with Cardale Jones when a defense overstuffs the box to take away the inside run game. This left the Ohio State offense behind schedule, resulting in a low third down conversion rate and stalled drives.

* BRAXTON MILLER has attempted only one pass this year.

Meyer loves Braxton Miller, says “it’s an honor to coach him.” But OSU hasn’t made much use of Miller this year, aside from the opener vs Va Tech.

Cardale Jones has done some brooding and pouting. Makes me wonder about the leadership on the team.

RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT (6-0, 225, Jr., St. Louis).

You know all about him.

* 1,425 yards rushing.
* I love him as a blocker on Barrett’s QB sweep runs, and in pass protection.

* 15 straight 100 yard gains

* Elliott had 15 yards in the first half against Rutgers. Exploded in the second half

* Back-up RBs don’t get much play.

To broaden your football knowledge, check out the inner workings of OSU’s Dart Tackle Power, a play that MSU also uses when pulling a tackle to the weak side.

This play went for a long run vs MSU last year with Tai Jones getting out of his gap. Check it out, learn about it, identify it on Saturday:

WIDE RECEIVERS

OSU has four effective WRs: Thomas, Marshall, Miller and Samuel.

3 WR MICHAEL THOMAS (6-3, 210, Jr., Los Angeles)
* Team-high 45 catches. Averages 14.5 yards per catch and 65 receiving yards per game.
* 8 TD catches.

* Not as good as Devin Smith was last year.

* Kind of clunky vs press coverage, a little awkward, a little stiff. Good receiver but not beautiful.
* 50-yard TD vs Rutgers’ cover-three. MSU will bail into cover-three similar to this, but you would expect MSU to tackle better than Rutgers did on this play:

link: http://ow.ly/URUAb

(Notice that Barrett delivers the ball on time, as the receiver is coming out of his break. He possibly could have thrown it quicker, but it worked out).

* Has TD receptions in 8 of OSU’s 10 games.

+ Got behind the safety on a post to catch it at 23 yards and take a huge hit from the other safety at 20 yards for a gain of 22. Went straight out. Stunned.
+ TD on the very next play, play action deep outside fide, perfect pass vs good coverate.
* “He isn’t the fastest guy. I’ve grown to appreciate him this year as a route runner and to go up and catch the contested ball,” said ESPN Draft analyst Tim McShay.

7 JALIN MARSHALL (5-11, 205, Soph., Middletown, Ohio)
* Second on the team with 27 catches. 14.6 per catch. Long of 48. 3 TDs. Averages 44 yards receiving per game.
* Was a jet sweep guy last year.
* Beginning to come around as a WR similar to the way RJ Shelton has for MSU.
+ Over route play action for gain of 23. Caught at 16. Late in the first half last week. 57 allowed some pressure.
+ Bubble screen gain of 4.
+ Deep go route for 44 yards vs Minnesota. Good release move. He has very good speed on fly sweeps although I haven’t seen him break one in a while. That speed and quickness has been polished into some good release moves. Looks to me like he has better release moves than Michael Thomas.

WR BRAXTON MILLER (6-2, 215, Sr., Huber Heights, Ohio)

* Former standout QB and Heisman candidate.
* Now he’s a role-playing WR and occasionally wildcat rushing QB. Has attempted only one pass this year.
* 22 catches, with a long of 54. Averaging 33 yards receiving per game.
* Third on the team in rushing with 218 yards for the year, only 35 attempts on the season (roughly three or four carries per game for you math majors). Averages 6.2 yards per carry. A long of 53.
* Had a huge coming-out party as a slot back in the opener vs Va Tech, with the spin move from hell, but hasn’t done much since.

+ Had a 54-yard TD catch early in the 2H vs Va Tech on a post corner. The QB rolled out and had time to read two other components of a triangle stretch as part of that route combination. -
+ Had 5 catches for 79 yards vs Maryland. Other than that, and the Va Tech game, has been quiet.

4 WR CHRIS SAMUEL (5-11, 200, Soph., Brooklyn, NY)
* 18 catches on the year. 2 TDs. Long of 40.
+ 30-yard TD vs Rutgers off of play action. Barrett executed the play fake, looked off the safety to the other side and came back to Samuel with an accurate pass.
+ gain of 9 on double slant in the red zone last week at the end of the first half.

TIGHT ENDS

TE 81 NICK VANETT (6-6, 260, Sr., Westerville, Ohio)
* 7 catches on the year.
* Good kick out blocker.
* Good body control as a receiver.
* Doesn’t get the ball much but I’ll bet he makes the NFL.
+ Caught a slant on the second play of the game last week vs a 2-deep zone very much like MSU’s. OSU went empty on this second play of the game, scripted the TE as the first option. Soild cut and catch. Gain of 15.

TE 85 MARCUS BAUGH (6-5, 255, Soph., Riverside, Calif)
* 1 catch on the year.
* Is a physical blocker in two-TE sets, hits hard as a crack blocker vs LBs when in motion.

OFFENSIVE LINE

* OSU is excellent in run-blocking. Not excellent in pass protection. Poor in pass pro at right tackle. Substandard in pass pro as a unit. Not sure why that is, but it just is. Not sure if the loss of Tom Herman has something to do with it. I think OSU’s o-line coach Ed Warriner is an excellent o-line coach.

He struggled as a play caller early in the year. “It's more coaching than playing performance,” Meyer said in mid-September.

Warriner was on the field, trying to coach the o-line. It was hard for him to get a feel for what the back seven was doing, and call plays accordingly.

Meyer talked of in the past telling coordinators up top like Herman or Dan Mullen at Florida to run a type of play and "it's boom, and we're on the same page and we're going. We're not quite there yet."
"We're getting there. It's not as smooth," Meyer said in late September.

* Warrner has shared o-coordinator duties with QBs coach Tim Beck. Beck is the former o-coordinator at Nebraska under Bo Pelini. He had some good days against MSU’s defense in the past, but got stuffed last year.

* OSU is No. 5 in the Big Ten in sacks allowed, having given up 15, but it’s become a bigger issue in recent weeks.

* O-line allowed three sacks in the first half vs Minnesota. One was a delayed green dog blitz when LT Decker took his eye off the LB. One was a coverage sack. But still.

* Penn State had four TFLs vs OSU in the first quarter.

* In the run game, they are very good at getting movement with their double teams. (And then they mix in power and misdirection).

“They move you as good as anybody,” Tressel said. “Their goal is to make interior defensive linemen quit. You can tell that’s the case. We have to challenge our guys with that. But we also have to fill very fast as linebackers so they can’t stay on the double-teams. We also have to blitz, so they can’t stay on those double-teams. So we have to do some things to help those guys out.”

“Our goal going into the game was to be very aggressive,” Tressel said. “We said in our goal is to be not only aggressive as players, but aggressive as coaches. We wanted to get our guys to be able to turn it loose, and they did.

“Now this week, we know Ohio State watched that, and they’ll probably come back with a bunch of screens and quick passes and things like that to offset the blitzes, but we’re going to stay aggressive.”

Last week when OSU began using six and seven man full slide protections, Elliott, Nick Vannett, and Billy Price were all beat off the right edge.

"They are good enough," Meyer said. "I just don't know if we work at it enough. That's the challenge I will have for our coaches. It's not just them. We're going to hammer that one hard this week."

LT 68 TYLER DECKER (6-8, 315, Sr., Vandalia, Ohio)
* He was supposed to be great. The unit it great at times with the run game, but I’m not sure Decker has had the killer year he was expecting.
- Missed a block on third-and-goal at the 6 last week, resulting in a stoppage and a missed field goal. He was late getting off the line, allowed the DE to make first contact and get low on him, bounced him back.
-Left Tackle Taylor Decker got beat inside for a sack last week.
* But he certainly is not a slouch. He’s a plus player overall, as long as not napping.

"Collectively, obviously [pass protection] wasn't great (last week),” Decker said. “We were trying to do some play action and things like that off the passes and it was just people leaking off blocks a little bit," Decker said. "That's something we've got to shore up. The run game was good, but there's receivers out there that deserve more touches and they need to get more touches to open up the run game even more."

LG 54 BILLY PRICE (6-4, 310, Soph., Austintown, Ohio)
* Converted d-lineman.
- Allowed pocket pressure on 2-5 INC in 2q last week.
- Beaten by a slanting DT on a power read option last week, and his guy bounced the QB, made him spin, which led to a hit and fumble for OSU in the second quarter.
- Failed to finish a block vs a third-string DE on a QB counter in the first quarter vs Penn State.
* He is better than these negatives. But it’s not hard to find some failed plays by these o-linemen.

C 50 JACOBY BOREN (6-2, 285, Sr. ,Pickerington, Ohio)

* Was pushed into Barrett for a QB pressure once last week.
* Solid center, but I don’t see him doing amazing things like the center they had two years ago.

RG 65 PAT ELFLEIN (6-3, 300, Jr., Pickerington, Ohio)
* He is their best o-lineman from what I’ve seen.
+ Mobile on power. Quick feet, short steps, gets there, finds his man, good contact.

RT 57 CHASE FARRIS (6-5, 310, Sr., Elyria, Ohio)
* Converted d-lineman.
* He’s the only member of the o-line that didn’t start last year.

RT FARRIS
* Calhoun is going to be a big problem for 57 when Calhoun is at left DE,when he is to the field. OSU is going to have to keep a RB in at all times, or pull that left guard to help protect the right side. That’s a mismatch of disproportionate results. Demetrius Cooper should be able to beat him too.

* Farris has been beaten by speed rushes. Illinois' pass rushers would occasionally take a hard step upfield, getting Farris off balance, and then cut inside, leaving Farris vulnerable both inside and out.

- Substandard in pass protection. Stiff roly-poly type. Surprised OSU has to use this guy at right tackle.

- From what I’ve seen, I’m not sure he could start for WMU or CMU. Allowed a sack fumble to Minnesota in the red zone. Didn’t get beat physically on that play. He missed a slide call. Everyone slid to the right. He didn’t. Bumped into the left guard. He and the LG were blocking the same guy for a second, and the blitz-threat LB came off the edge to turn the corner and knock the ball loose from the QB. Physical problems, mental errors. I’m surprised they have to resort to this guy.

Ferris beaten vs PSU: http://ow.ly/URXc8 vs Carl Nassib, the best pass rusher in the Big Ten.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

* OSU isn’t dominant on the d-line, aside from Bosa. They are just firm, and their LBs fill quickly and physically and tackle well. That makes the team very good against the run vs the mediocre running attacks they have faced. But I think a d-line needs to be better than this in order to stop the best run offenses in the country.

DE 97 JOEY BOSA (6-6, 275, Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
* Looks terrific on film to me but only has four sacks. Leads team with 15 TFLs.
* Team-high 11 QB hits (no one else with more than 5).
* He and Shilique Calhoun are 1-2 in career sacks among active college players.
* On the outside rush, extends both arms to the tackle, controls him while running his feet with great trunk strength for a somewhat lean guy.
* Can dip his shoulder and keep coming.
* Usually plays to the field, like Shilique Calhoun.
* Began last week as boundary DE but normally plays field DE.
* The real deal:
+ With all the speed, long arms, feet moving he ALSO has upper body movements, upper body flexibility to CROSS YOUR FACE WHILE ON THE FLY. Just not many like him.
* And he can move inside and play some DT in pass rush situations, did it for a sack vs PSU, getting around PSU’s right guard, faking inside to set up and outside rush and then countering back inside. He executed those three head and shoulder moves in an instant while charging forward with great quickness and power. He’s a handful. Few other can do this. That’s why he is expected to go No. 1 in the NFL Draft.
+ Take off, long strides, get low and dip the shoulder, keep the feet moving, long arms, first contact, shock and control.
+ TFL last week slanting inside with a rip move, shooting the gap, making the tackle as a corner blitzes through his usual outside gap.
* Projected to be the No. 1 player taken in the draft this spring by ESPN’s Todd McShay.
“He has the ability to separate and get off blocks,” Spielman said. “I think he is the best all-around defensive lineman in the country. His feet never stop moving.”
* Has been dropping into coverage on zone blitzes from time to time; had a pass break up doing this vs Minnesota.

* They have dropped him into shallow pass protection as part of man-drops and zone blitzes in recent weeks.

DE TYQUAN LEWIS (6-4, 260, Soph., Tarboro, NC)
* Team-high 6.5. sacks. 11 TFLs. But only 1 QB hit, aside from his sacks.
* Shoulder club outside move guy. Big, athletic, hands. He’s an Ohio State d-end. Much better than he was a teen-aged second-stringer last year.
* Good ability. I’ve seen him snooze a couple of times.

(back up DE 6 DE Sam Hubbard, 6-5, 255, R-Fr., Cincinnati Moeller promising player. A little lean. Good wheels and balance. Plays DE on pass rush situations).

THREE TECH DT: 92 ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON (6-4, 290, Sr., Cincinnati)
= This sounds strange, but he looks good on the first play of a drive. And then kind of lets the pilot light flicker from that point on.

* 6 TFLs, 20 solos, 20 assists. (By comparison, Malik McDowell has 10.5 TFLs and 35 stops on the year).
* He seems to turn it on on third-and-long when he can try to rush the passer.
* I expected to see more out of him on film.
* Good physical burst and ability once in a while. Okay vs double-teams when he wants to. Other times, he concedes a yard or so.

NG 90 TOMMY SCHUTT (6-3, 290, Sr. Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
* Not a great player. Solid but unspectacular.
* Played with a broken wrist against PSU, then they sat him for a game or two.
* Had a sack and a broken wrist while playing vs PSU. He was a PSU commitment at one time and wanted to play in that game.
* He had 1.5 TFLs for his career prior to this season. Meyer said Schutt had “underachieved for a while.”
+ Two-gap pushed the center back a yard, disengaged to bounce an inside zone play on 2-9 in the second quarter last week. MLB filled for a TFL.

NG 51 JOEL HALE
* Filled in for Tommy Schutt as the new starting DT.
* Hale is a fifth-year senior, lifetime reserve. Schutt was a lifetime reserve prior to this year. This position is ORDINARY for Ohio State.
+ Played double-teams reasonably well early in the Minnesota game.
+ Not terrible. Showed some horses moving the Minnesota center back two yards on a poser in the second quarter.

(NG 77 Michael Hill, 6-3, 295, Jr. played a little last week. Just a guy. Wide body. Slow. Would not see time in MSU’s rotation).

Defensive tackle position seems to be to be an area of inconsistency and under-achievement for OSU. MSU will attack there. Defenses can begin to crack leaks inside. OSU seems to know this. They are trying to get their DTs riled up.

"We've got to stop the run game, most important. They can't run inside the tackles, that's our number one goal," said Bosa. "We've got to make sure the ball bounces outside and I think once we dominate the run game, that's when we really get after them in the pass and that's what we've got to do on the d-line."

DE 53 DAVON HAMILTON (6-4, 300, Pickerington, Ohio)
+ Pretty good looking bull rush for a sack late in the first half last week.
* This guy has potential

LINEBACKERS

* This is where talent meets desire and tenacity for OSU. These guys are good.

43 LB DARRON LEE (6-2, 235, Soph., New Albany, Ohio)
* Excellent one-step quickness. Fastest LB I’ve seen in the Big Ten this year.
* Runs like a tailback
* On edge plays, gets wide quickly, sets the edge, forces it back to the help.
* Got his bell rung by a blocker, hit blind last week. missed one play.
* Freak who can cover slot receivers.
“If he leaves now, he is going to be a first-round pick,” McShay said. “He is one of the most talented defensive players in the country.”

(Replaced by Jerome Baker when Lee went out. 17 true freshman. “He is the next star on this defense,” said Luke Fickel.)

5 LB RAEQUAN McMILLAN (6-2, 240, Soph., Hinesville, Ga)
* Team-high 97 tackles. 4.0 TFLs, not a lot for an active MLB.
“One thing Raequan struggled with is in coverage on those read routes, his eyes go back to the quarterback. Any time a receiver comes into your area, you have to take that zone coverage it into man-to-man. He is still learning to do that as he grows in that position,” Said Chris Spielman
* Runs extremely well sideline-to-sideline and showed it vs a bubble screen last week. Smooth fast. Wow. Sure tackler.

37 OLB JOSHUA PERRY (6-4, 254, Sr., Galena, Ohio)
* 6.5 TFLs. 3 sacks.
* he runs around like a sports car and hits like a truck. You think, wow that guy plays with some force. Then you look up his bio and find that he is 6-freaking-4 inches tall and 254? No wonder guys cave when he hits them. Then you stop and think, wait a minute, he is running and changing direction LIKE THAT at 6-foot-4? Then you realize what guys look like when a program gets to pick first when recruiting.
+ Minnesota tried to get him on a throwback wheel to a RB. He covered it like a blanket.

* Plays the same position as Jon Reschke and I don’t think he moves quite as well as Reschke, doesn’t tackle as sure.
* Captain.
* Was lost in late October for a couple of games to an ankle injury. He’s back. He’s good.

(His back-up, 33, Barkley, struggled against Penn State with false steps and general experience errors. OSU replaced 33 and went to third-stringer Williams in the second half against PSU).

DEFENSIVE BACKS

CB 14 ELI APPLE (6-1, 200, Soph., Voorhees, NJ)
* Looked like a future Hall of Famer last year as a true frosh. He’s just been okay this year.
** Overall, he’s a good, quality CB. But don’t put him in the Hall of Fame just yet.
- Missed a tackle that resulted in a 45-yard gain off a slant play in the first quarter vs PSU.
- Got beat for a 56-yard pass in the third quarter against PSU.
+ Tested deep on a fade on a 1-10 sudden change last week. Good coverage. INC.
+ Defended a deep fade well vs Minnesota. had him covered all the way. Press, off-hand jam. He covered him hip-to-hip so early that he was able to look back for the ball.
- Allowed a slant and then missed a tackle vs PSU WR Godwin for a gain of about 40. Safety Powell with a casual effort and angle when Apple was missing that tackle, letting it get out further.

CB 8 GAREON CONLEY (6-0, 195, Soph., Massillon, Ohio)
* I don’t have a great read on this guy. I’ve tried to watch him closely and haven’t seen anything good or bad. Looks okay to me.
* Some OSU writers think he might be a weak link.
- Allowed too much room to Minnesota WR KJ Maye for 21 on a slant/go/corner.

11 FS VONN BELL (5-11, 205, Jr., Rossville, Ga.)
* Excellent player. Hits well, runs straight and fast to contact.
+ 19 yard pick six vs Minnesota to give OSU a 7-0 lead late in the first half. OSU came with a seven-man rush, blitzing all three linebacker. Cover-one. Bell covered the slot WR and out-jostled him for an intermediate 50-50 ball.
* Third-leading tackler. 1 TFL.
* Straight line fast and physical with low form tackle to blow up bubble vs Illinois for a gain of 1.

23 TYVIS POWELL (6-3, 210, Jr., Beford, Ohio)
* I don’t have a strong read on him.
- Missed a tackle on an inside zone at 9 yards that got out for 30 last week vs Ferguson.
- Missed a tackle during PSU’s lone TD of the game.
* IF Michigan State can get some movement vs OSU defensive tackles and get a combo block out to a LB and put the RB in space vs No. 23 from time to time, there might be a broken tackle in for MSU from time to time.

3 DAMON WEBB (5-11, 193, Soph., Detroit)
* Runs well middle of the field in man-to-man, often vs TEs and RB in nickel.
* Gets time in the nickel defense and looks fast and capable.

SPECIAL TEAMS
* OSU has strong punter, Cam Johnston. One of the best.

* Very good punt and kickoff coverage helps tilt field position in favor of its defense, eventually its offense. For example, Rutgers’ and Penn State’s average starting field position were inside the 20. OSU’s was 15 yards better than each opponent.

* 7 Jalin Marshall is the punt returner. He is a plus returner.
* Kicker Jack Willoughby is below average. He is 7 of 11 for the year but is 0-for-4 from beyond 39 yards.

* OSU fumbled three punt and kick returns last year vs MSU, losing two of them. MSU scored a TD off of one of them, and missed a FG off the other.

ADD IT ALL UP

I could go over and over the complexities of OSU’s offense, but it’s not worth it. You know what they do. They are quick and physical. It’s just plain hard to keep them from getting 10 yards in three plays.

But if the MSU d-linemen win far more than OSU is accustomed to seeing, this game could tighten up. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but it needs to happen right now for MSU to begin to make magic happen.

MSU will be aggressive on defense. MSU can’t tip off the blitzes like they might have been doing last year. Timing of those blitzes is key, doing it when OSU is running inside zone, to begin to keep a lid on Elliott.

MSU’s o-line is overdue for a statement-making game. Everyone is forgetting that they were regarded as potentially the top OL in the country this year. And it’s appropriate that people have forgotten because the unit has had a forgettable season, due in part to injuries.

Do they have a great game in them? If they get movement on these good (not great) often-sleepy OSU defensive tackles, then get out and make No. 23 tackle, MSU could put a drive or two together.

And then Cook needs to sizzle. Hard to say what kind of Cook we’re going to see.

It’s POSSIBLE for MSU to pull this thing off. But OSU has to be an accomplice. They need to be sleepy.

Chance are that OSU will be riled up and enthused to play great against the first quality opponent of the season, and to do it on Senior Night.

But MSU fully expects to do well at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and shock the country. They expect to win. You can see it.

Losing by 2 TDs is the most likely scenario. Scenarios by which MSU can pull an upset are possible. HOWEVER, if OSU comes loaded for bear and gets hot, a 56-10 type of loss is possible too.

OSU scored 49 on a terrific MSU defense last year. If OSU had not lost two possessions on a fumbled kickoff and a fumbled punt, would OSU have scored 56? 63? Were it not for hand to face penalty vs Shilique Calhoun that negated a big play, might OSU have scored 70 last year vs MSU? That hand to face was the only reason OSU had a drive stall in the first 59 minutes of the game.

OSU hasn’t approached that level of offensive proficiency this year. But something about MSU made OSU dig down and find something close to perfection last year.

I know it’s cheesy to say anything from an upset win to a blowout loss is possible, but you all have watched football long enough to know that football works that way sometimes.

MSU has a chance. They are going to show up with a sharp plan and ready to play physical. OSU had better not hit the snooze button.

Uploading an hour long podcast to soundcloud. Standby law breakers!!!!

#BOOTLEGS!!!!

BOOOTLEEEEGGGSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. I have given up officially. I got about to the point where he starts breaking down the players. 

Comp is on the same page as I am it seems. A lot of this is going to come down to motivation. And I ain't not smart enough to figure out who is going to better be able to turn the switch on there. Yet, if we come out equal in that regard we're probably gonna lose. 

I think I just saved you guys some reading.

thanks tTy - does Comp charge by the word?

tl;dr

DWags wrote:

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:I hope your wife is driving.

Youngest is. We watched the MSU game oldest and wife went home youngest and I going to see grandma

Christ you were running pretty late to get a Spikeburger.

Is there going to be ab exam on this?

DWags wrote:Why the fuck is it 65 between St Johns and Clare?

Fuck I hate 127.

It is not even a freeway. It was 55 a couple of years ago.

tTy wrote:
TIGHT ENDS

TE 81 NICK VANETT (6-6, 260, Sr., Westerville, Ohio)
* 7 catches on the year.
* Good kick out blocker.
* Good body control as a receiver.
* Doesn’t get the ball much but I’ll bet he makes the NFL.
+ Caught a slant on the second play of the game last week vs a 2-deep zone very much like MSU’s. OSU went empty on this second play of the game, scripted the TE as the first option. Soild cut and catch. Gain of 15.

TE 85 MARCUS BAUGH (6-5, 255, Soph., Riverside, Calif)
* 1 catch on the year.
* Is a physical blocker in two-TE sets, hits hard as a crack blocker vs LBs when in motion.

OFFENSIVE LINE

* OSU is excellent in run-blocking. Not excellent in pass protection. Poor in pass pro at right tackle. Substandard in pass pro as a unit. Not sure why that is, but it just is. Not sure if the loss of Tom Herman has something to do with it. I think OSU’s o-line coach Ed Warriner is an excellent o-line coach.

He struggled as a play caller early in the year. “It's more coaching than playing performance,” Meyer said in mid-September.

Warriner was on the field, trying to coach the o-line. It was hard for him to get a feel for what the back seven was doing, and call plays accordingly.

Meyer talked of in the past telling coordinators up top like Herman or Dan Mullen at Florida to run a type of play and "it's boom, and we're on the same page and we're going. We're not quite there yet."
"We're getting there. It's not as smooth," Meyer said in late September.

* Warrner has shared o-coordinator duties with QBs coach Tim Beck. Beck is the former o-coordinator at Nebraska under Bo Pelini. He had some good days against MSU’s defense in the past, but got stuffed last year.

* OSU is No. 5 in the Big Ten in sacks allowed, having given up 15, but it’s become a bigger issue in recent weeks.

* O-line allowed three sacks in the first half vs Minnesota. One was a delayed green dog blitz when LT Decker took his eye off the LB. One was a coverage sack. But still.

* Penn State had four TFLs vs OSU in the first quarter.

* In the run game, they are very good at getting movement with their double teams. (And then they mix in power and misdirection).

“They move you as good as anybody,” Tressel said. “Their goal is to make interior defensive linemen quit. You can tell that’s the case. We have to challenge our guys with that. But we also have to fill very fast as linebackers so they can’t stay on the double-teams. We also have to blitz, so they can’t stay on those double-teams. So we have to do some things to help those guys out.”

“Our goal going into the game was to be very aggressive,” Tressel said. “We said in our goal is to be not only aggressive as players, but aggressive as coaches. We wanted to get our guys to be able to turn it loose, and they did.

“Now this week, we know Ohio State watched that, and they’ll probably come back with a bunch of screens and quick passes and things like that to offset the blitzes, but we’re going to stay aggressive.”

Last week when OSU began using six and seven man full slide protections, Elliott, Nick Vannett, and Billy Price were all beat off the right edge.

"They are good enough," Meyer said. "I just don't know if we work at it enough. That's the challenge I will have for our coaches. It's not just them. We're going to hammer that one hard this week."

LT 68 TYLER DECKER (6-8, 315, Sr., Vandalia, Ohio)
* He was supposed to be great. The unit it great at times with the run game, but I’m not sure Decker has had the killer year he was expecting.
- Missed a block on third-and-goal at the 6 last week, resulting in a stoppage and a missed field goal. He was late getting off the line, allowed the DE to make first contact and get low on him, bounced him back.
-Left Tackle Taylor Decker got beat inside for a sack last week.
* But he certainly is not a slouch. He’s a plus player overall, as long as not napping.

"Collectively, obviously [pass protection] wasn't great (last week),” Decker said. “We were trying to do some play action and things like that off the passes and it was just people leaking off blocks a little bit," Decker said. "That's something we've got to shore up. The run game was good, but there's receivers out there that deserve more touches and they need to get more touches to open up the run game even more."

LG 54 BILLY PRICE (6-4, 310, Soph., Austintown, Ohio)
* Converted d-lineman.
- Allowed pocket pressure on 2-5 INC in 2q last week.
- Beaten by a slanting DT on a power read option last week, and his guy bounced the QB, made him spin, which led to a hit and fumble for OSU in the second quarter.
- Failed to finish a block vs a third-string DE on a QB counter in the first quarter vs Penn State.
* He is better than these negatives. But it’s not hard to find some failed plays by these o-linemen.

C 50 JACOBY BOREN (6-2, 285, Sr. ,Pickerington, Ohio)

* Was pushed into Barrett for a QB pressure once last week.
* Solid center, but I don’t see him doing amazing things like the center they had two years ago.

RG 65 PAT ELFLEIN (6-3, 300, Jr., Pickerington, Ohio)
* He is their best o-lineman from what I’ve seen.
+ Mobile on power. Quick feet, short steps, gets there, finds his man, good contact.

RT 57 CHASE FARRIS (6-5, 310, Sr., Elyria, Ohio)
* Converted d-lineman.
* He’s the only member of the o-line that didn’t start last year.

RT FARRIS
* Calhoun is going to be a big problem for 57 when Calhoun is at left DE,when he is to the field. OSU is going to have to keep a RB in at all times, or pull that left guard to help protect the right side. That’s a mismatch of disproportionate results. Demetrius Cooper should be able to beat him too.

* Farris has been beaten by speed rushes. Illinois' pass rushers would occasionally take a hard step upfield, getting Farris off balance, and then cut inside, leaving Farris vulnerable both inside and out.

- Substandard in pass protection. Stiff roly-poly type. Surprised OSU has to use this guy at right tackle.

- From what I’ve seen, I’m not sure he could start for WMU or CMU. Allowed a sack fumble to Minnesota in the red zone. Didn’t get beat physically on that play. He missed a slide call. Everyone slid to the right. He didn’t. Bumped into the left guard. He and the LG were blocking the same guy for a second, and the blitz-threat LB came off the edge to turn the corner and knock the ball loose from the QB. Physical problems, mental errors. I’m surprised they have to resort to this guy.

Ferris beaten vs PSU: http://ow.ly/URXc8 vs Carl Nassib, the best pass rusher in the Big Ten.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

* OSU isn’t dominant on the d-line, aside from Bosa. They are just firm, and their LBs fill quickly and physically and tackle well. That makes the team very good against the run vs the mediocre running attacks they have faced. But I think a d-line needs to be better than this in order to stop the best run offenses in the country.

DE 97 JOEY BOSA (6-6, 275, Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
* Looks terrific on film to me but only has four sacks. Leads team with 15 TFLs.
* Team-high 11 QB hits (no one else with more than 5).
* He and Shilique Calhoun are 1-2 in career sacks among active college players.
* On the outside rush, extends both arms to the tackle, controls him while running his feet with great trunk strength for a somewhat lean guy.
* Can dip his shoulder and keep coming.
* Usually plays to the field, like Shilique Calhoun.
* Began last week as boundary DE but normally plays field DE.
* The real deal:
+ With all the speed, long arms, feet moving he ALSO has upper body movements, upper body flexibility to CROSS YOUR FACE WHILE ON THE FLY. Just not many like him.
* And he can move inside and play some DT in pass rush situations, did it for a sack vs PSU, getting around PSU’s right guard, faking inside to set up and outside rush and then countering back inside. He executed those three head and shoulder moves in an instant while charging forward with great quickness and power. He’s a handful. Few other can do this. That’s why he is expected to go No. 1 in the NFL Draft.
+ Take off, long strides, get low and dip the shoulder, keep the feet moving, long arms, first contact, shock and control.
+ TFL last week slanting inside with a rip move, shooting the gap, making the tackle as a corner blitzes through his usual outside gap.
* Projected to be the No. 1 player taken in the draft this spring by ESPN’s Todd McShay.
“He has the ability to separate and get off blocks,” Spielman said. “I think he is the best all-around defensive lineman in the country. His feet never stop moving.”
* Has been dropping into coverage on zone blitzes from time to time; had a pass break up doing this vs Minnesota.

* They have dropped him into shallow pass protection as part of man-drops and zone blitzes in recent weeks.

DE TYQUAN LEWIS (6-4, 260, Soph., Tarboro, NC)
* Team-high 6.5. sacks. 11 TFLs. But only 1 QB hit, aside from his sacks.
* Shoulder club outside move guy. Big, athletic, hands. He’s an Ohio State d-end. Much better than he was a teen-aged second-stringer last year.
* Good ability. I’ve seen him snooze a couple of times.

(back up DE 6 DE Sam Hubbard, 6-5, 255, R-Fr., Cincinnati Moeller promising player. A little lean. Good wheels and balance. Plays DE on pass rush situations).

THREE TECH DT: 92 ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON (6-4, 290, Sr., Cincinnati)
= This sounds strange, but he looks good on the first play of a drive. And then kind of lets the pilot light flicker from that point on.

* 6 TFLs, 20 solos, 20 assists. (By comparison, Malik McDowell has 10.5 TFLs and 35 stops on the year).
* He seems to turn it on on third-and-long when he can try to rush the passer.
* I expected to see more out of him on film.
* Good physical burst and ability once in a while. Okay vs double-teams when he wants to. Other times, he concedes a yard or so.

NG 90 TOMMY SCHUTT (6-3, 290, Sr. Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
* Not a great player. Solid but unspectacular.
* Played with a broken wrist against PSU, then they sat him for a game or two.
* Had a sack and a broken wrist while playing vs PSU. He was a PSU commitment at one time and wanted to play in that game.
* He had 1.5 TFLs for his career prior to this season. Meyer said Schutt had “underachieved for a while.”
+ Two-gap pushed the center back a yard, disengaged to bounce an inside zone play on 2-9 in the second quarter last week. MLB filled for a TFL.

NG 51 JOEL HALE
* Filled in for Tommy Schutt as the new starting DT.
* Hale is a fifth-year senior, lifetime reserve. Schutt was a lifetime reserve prior to this year. This position is ORDINARY for Ohio State.
+ Played double-teams reasonably well early in the Minnesota game.
+ Not terrible. Showed some horses moving the Minnesota center back two yards on a poser in the second quarter.

(NG 77 Michael Hill, 6-3, 295, Jr. played a little last week. Just a guy. Wide body. Slow. Would not see time in MSU’s rotation).

Defensive tackle position seems to be to be an area of inconsistency and under-achievement for OSU. MSU will attack there. Defenses can begin to crack leaks inside. OSU seems to know this. They are trying to get their DTs riled up.

"We've got to stop the run game, most important. They can't run inside the tackles, that's our number one goal," said Bosa. "We've got to make sure the ball bounces outside and I think once we dominate the run game, that's when we really get after them in the pass and that's what we've got to do on the d-line."

DE 53 DAVON HAMILTON (6-4, 300, Pickerington, Ohio)
+ Pretty good looking bull rush for a sack late in the first half last week.
* This guy has potential

LINEBACKERS

* This is where talent meets desire and tenacity for OSU. These guys are good.

43 LB DARRON LEE (6-2, 235, Soph., New Albany, Ohio)
* Excellent one-step quickness. Fastest LB I’ve seen in the Big Ten this year.
* Runs like a tailback
* On edge plays, gets wide quickly, sets the edge, forces it back to the help.
* Got his bell rung by a blocker, hit blind last week. missed one play.
* Freak who can cover slot receivers.
“If he leaves now, he is going to be a first-round pick,” McShay said. “He is one of the most talented defensive players in the country.”

(Replaced by Jerome Baker when Lee went out. 17 true freshman. “He is the next star on this defense,” said Luke Fickel.)

5 LB RAEQUAN McMILLAN (6-2, 240, Soph., Hinesville, Ga)
* Team-high 97 tackles. 4.0 TFLs, not a lot for an active MLB.
“One thing Raequan struggled with is in coverage on those read routes, his eyes go back to the quarterback. Any time a receiver comes into your area, you have to take that zone coverage it into man-to-man. He is still learning to do that as he grows in that position,” Said Chris Spielman
* Runs extremely well sideline-to-sideline and showed it vs a bubble screen last week. Smooth fast. Wow. Sure tackler.

37 OLB JOSHUA PERRY (6-4, 254, Sr., Galena, Ohio)
* 6.5 TFLs. 3 sacks.
* he runs around like a sports car and hits like a truck. You think, wow that guy plays with some force. Then you look up his bio and find that he is 6-freaking-4 inches tall and 254? No wonder guys cave when he hits them. Then you stop and think, wait a minute, he is running and changing direction LIKE THAT at 6-foot-4? Then you realize what guys look like when a program gets to pick first when recruiting.
+ Minnesota tried to get him on a throwback wheel to a RB. He covered it like a blanket.

* Plays the same position as Jon Reschke and I don’t think he moves quite as well as Reschke, doesn’t tackle as sure.
* Captain.
* Was lost in late October for a couple of games to an ankle injury. He’s back. He’s good.

(His back-up, 33, Barkley, struggled against Penn State with false steps and general experience errors. OSU replaced 33 and went to third-stringer Williams in the second half against PSU).

DEFENSIVE BACKS

CB 14 ELI APPLE (6-1, 200, Soph., Voorhees, NJ)
* Looked like a future Hall of Famer last year as a true frosh. He’s just been okay this year.
** Overall, he’s a good, quality CB. But don’t put him in the Hall of Fame just yet.
- Missed a tackle that resulted in a 45-yard gain off a slant play in the first quarter vs PSU.
- Got beat for a 56-yard pass in the third quarter against PSU.
+ Tested deep on a fade on a 1-10 sudden change last week. Good coverage. INC.
+ Defended a deep fade well vs Minnesota. had him covered all the way. Press, off-hand jam. He covered him hip-to-hip so early that he was able to look back for the ball.
- Allowed a slant and then missed a tackle vs PSU WR Godwin for a gain of about 40. Safety Powell with a casual effort and angle when Apple was missing that tackle, letting it get out further.

CB 8 GAREON CONLEY (6-0, 195, Soph., Massillon, Ohio)
* I don’t have a great read on this guy. I’ve tried to watch him closely and haven’t seen anything good or bad. Looks okay to me.
* Some OSU writers think he might be a weak link.
- Allowed too much room to Minnesota WR KJ Maye for 21 on a slant/go/corner.

11 FS VONN BELL (5-11, 205, Jr., Rossville, Ga.)
* Excellent player. Hits well, runs straight and fast to contact.
+ 19 yard pick six vs Minnesota to give OSU a 7-0 lead late in the first half. OSU came with a seven-man rush, blitzing all three linebacker. Cover-one. Bell covered the slot WR and out-jostled him for an intermediate 50-50 ball.
* Third-leading tackler. 1 TFL.
* Straight line fast and physical with low form tackle to blow up bubble vs Illinois for a gain of 1.

23 TYVIS POWELL (6-3, 210, Jr., Beford, Ohio)
* I don’t have a strong read on him.
- Missed a tackle on an inside zone at 9 yards that got out for 30 last week vs Ferguson.
- Missed a tackle during PSU’s lone TD of the game.
* IF Michigan State can get some movement vs OSU defensive tackles and get a combo block out to a LB and put the RB in space vs No. 23 from time to time, there might be a broken tackle in for MSU from time to time.

3 DAMON WEBB (5-11, 193, Soph., Detroit)
* Runs well middle of the field in man-to-man, often vs TEs and RB in nickel.
* Gets time in the nickel defense and looks fast and capable.

SPECIAL TEAMS
* OSU has strong punter, Cam Johnston. One of the best.

* Very good punt and kickoff coverage helps tilt field position in favor of its defense, eventually its offense. For example, Rutgers’ and Penn State’s average starting field position were inside the 20. OSU’s was 15 yards better than each opponent.

* 7 Jalin Marshall is the punt returner. He is a plus returner.
* Kicker Jack Willoughby is below average. He is 7 of 11 for the year but is 0-for-4 from beyond 39 yards.

* OSU fumbled three punt and kick returns last year vs MSU, losing two of them. MSU scored a TD off of one of them, and missed a FG off the other.

ADD IT ALL UP

I could go over and over the complexities of OSU’s offense, but it’s not worth it. You know what they do. They are quick and physical. It’s just plain hard to keep them from getting 10 yards in three plays.

But if the MSU d-linemen win far more than OSU is accustomed to seeing, this game could tighten up. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but it needs to happen right now for MSU to begin to make magic happen.

MSU will be aggressive on defense. MSU can’t tip off the blitzes like they might have been doing last year. Timing of those blitzes is key, doing it when OSU is running inside zone, to begin to keep a lid on Elliott.

MSU’s o-line is overdue for a statement-making game. Everyone is forgetting that they were regarded as potentially the top OL in the country this year. And it’s appropriate that people have forgotten because the unit has had a forgettable season, due in part to injuries.

Do they have a great game in them? If they get movement on these good (not great) often-sleepy OSU defensive tackles, then get out and make No. 23 tackle, MSU could put a drive or two together.

And then Cook needs to sizzle. Hard to say what kind of Cook we’re going to see.

It’s POSSIBLE for MSU to pull this thing off. But OSU has to be an accomplice. They need to be sleepy.

Chance are that OSU will be riled up and enthused to play great against the first quality opponent of the season, and to do it on Senior Night.

But MSU fully expects to do well at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and shock the country. They expect to win. You can see it.

Losing by 2 TDs is the most likely scenario. Scenarios by which MSU can pull an upset are possible. HOWEVER, if OSU comes loaded for bear and gets hot, a 56-10 type of loss is possible too.

OSU scored 49 on a terrific MSU defense last year. If OSU had not lost two possessions on a fumbled kickoff and a fumbled punt, would OSU have scored 56? 63? Were it not for hand to face penalty vs Shilique Calhoun that negated a big play, might OSU have scored 70 last year vs MSU? That hand to face was the only reason OSU had a drive stall in the first 59 minutes of the game.

OSU hasn’t approached that level of offensive proficiency this year. But something about MSU made OSU dig down and find something close to perfection last year.

I know it’s cheesy to say anything from an upset win to a blowout loss is possible, but you all have watched football long enough to know that football works that way sometimes.

MSU has a chance. They are going to show up with a sharp plan and ready to play physical. OSU had better not hit the snooze button.

Bump

That's a lot of words.

Jesus, tGreenWay, I skipped it once already. tl;dr. What it comes down to, if I can figure it out, is whether this is a double revenge game or a triple revenge game for us or O$U. Whoever has the most revenges going for them wins.

GO GREEN!!!!

And I'll give Connor Cook the final words:
WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!????????

DWags wrote:Why the fuck is it 65 between St Johns and Clare?

Fuck I hate 127.

We could be at 55mph like it used to be.  Quit complaining.