Ohio State easily cruised past Minnesota with little effort last week, and that was enough to calm the nerves of some of the Scarlet and Gray faithful. Terrelle looked confident and reasonably competent running the offense. The defense put in strong effort, but fell just short of securing another shutout. Kicking game was sound. Everything pretty much went as planned.
In reality, New Mexico State will offer about as much resistance as the Gophers did and this week’s contest should be more of the same. That being said, there are 3 good reasons to watch this out of conference match up and cheer the Buckeyes to victory.
The tailback position has been won by attrition lately, and if there is any concern the team has healthwise, it’s here. The O-line has had its share of injuries to be sure, but as we head into the stretch run of the Big 10 it’s vital we get good play at the tailback position. No matter who it is, we have to be able to run the entire offense to keep the Aggies from keying on Terrelle.
It is rumored that freshman Jamal Berry may get some playing time, if in fact Brandon Saine and Boom Herron can not go on Saturday. The ideal scenario would probably be to redshirt him, but you never know. OSU would go into the game very thin on experience without either of these 2 veterans, on a day when you have to figure the Bucks will be implementing a smashmouth game plan. Keep your eye focused on this position.
Second, this would have been our bye week, and there would not have been a game at all. So the fact that we are welcoming a team with the 120th rated offense in the BCS division lets you know that Heiny Gate will be crowded and rocking by 2pm, long before this one is officially decided. The upside is we get to see some of the second and third team guys that normally wouldn’t get much time at this point in the season. Maybe even Joe Bauserman, though “there is no script for him to play like the early pre-season games” according to JT.
Momentum is tricky thing to harness, but we have a chance at redemption by winning out. This has to be the launching point. The Buckeyes would share in the conference title and get a shot at a high profile bowl game. This week won’t tell us much, but you do not want anything other than an absolute beat down to establish a dominant attitude before traveling out to Happy Valley. I look for OSU to get a little redemption for last year’s loss and knock JoPa out of the conference race with their second loss. We then get the chance to play spoiler against Iowa, which is a rare role for the Buckeyes to assume. Michigan… of course we beat them, but Forcier is much better than Barkley from USC and the wild card we must be ready for.
Since Saturday is Halloween, how about a little trick or treat for the fans? The game looks like it could get out of hand early, so how about something a little sweet? A gadget play, an exotic, trickeration if you like. Give Rich Rod and Kurt Ferenz something to think about that we’ll never run on them. We always seem to be able to scheme for at least 1 big offense play, but why not something a little less conservative? Fake a field goal attempt or throw a hook and lateral, anything other than 3 yards and a cloud of FieldTurf for 3 hours. Go Bucks.
