Uhm....yeah
As much as I’d like to blow off the Ohio State vs. Marshall game and just trash Miami, that is the very reason why I need to write this post. The game against Marshall has all been forgotten as the world of college football looks to Sept. 11 at the first step in the Buckeyes quest for a 2010 BCS title. Throw in a Thursday night game and this could have all the makings of a suprise upset as the Buckeyes look past the…ahem…Thundering Herd…to the match up with the Canes.
Then again…maybe not.
Many will remember the last time we met Marshall in 2004. You know, the game that was saved by a last-minute field goal as the clock ran out. Unlike this year however, 2004 was a rebuilding year for the Buckeyes and one of (if not the) worst seasons under Coach Tressel’s tenure. The Buckeyes finished the regular season 7-4 with losses to Northwestern, Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue. Although the Buckeyes did go on to beat Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl, 2004 was training for the ’05 season which ended in a Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame.
Barring a catastrophe that would make last year’s Purdue loss look like a Buckeye bowl win, chances are, it’s going to be a long night for Marshall. The Vegas bookies have given the Buckeyes a 30 point advantage and I don’t think they’re far off.
Coming off a dismal 7-6 season, Marshall will be playing their first game under new head coach Doc Holiday. Marshall has also lost a number of players since last season, including Willie Corn, their quarterback transfer from Clemson who bailed for a Div II school when he found out Coach Holiday didn’t really want him in the quarterback spot.
Running from the quarterback spot might not have been such a bad move for Corn though as current quarterback Brian Anderson has been sacked 24 times in half as many starts. Against an Ohio State defense looking for live practice, North Greenville isn’t sounding like such a bad place to play football after all.
So yeah, there may be talk coming from the Ohio State locker room that we need to take one game at a time. How we have to get past Marshall before we can look ahead to Miami. But let’s face it. If we even come close in this game, well, then we will deserve the loud criticism I’m sure we will hear.
Prediction:
Coach Tressel will do all he can to keep it from getting out of hand but he may have trouble holding back 2nd and 3rd string players eager to prove themselves. It may not be a shut out due to a late game game score by Marshall but I say take the spread. The over/under was at 47 which the Buckeyes may put up by themselves. Remember, the Buckeyes have won their last 30 home openers by an average of 20 points. Marshall in the meantime has lost their last ten season openers by about the same amount.
Oh…and this:
Did I mention how much I hate Thursday night games. College football is to be played on Saturday and Saturday only (unless it’s a Bowl game and New Year’s falls on a week day). And while we might forgive Conference USA, it is totally unacceptable in the Big 10. This is also part of the reason I really hate the Jan 10th (or whenever it is) BCS Championship game.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
What sayeth the Egg Man?
I would not be surprised if it were closer than many think. I predict a “W” for the Buckeyes, but that’s as far as I go. I’m old enough to have seen just about everything and it’s the old ‘they have nothing to lose, so can pull out all the stops’. I know Tressel won’t be looking past Marshall (he’s been around a long time, as well), but players sometimes tend to do so. Go Bucks!! Beat the Herd!
Not to concerned. 37-3. End of story
Something lingering in my psyche gives me the same pause that Buckeye Mark talks about. It is fleeting though. Marshall just has way to far to go to become a challenger. Even if the Buckeyes do look past this game to Miami.
I think Carl’s going to be pretty close with the score.
It does not matter if you look past Marshall or not, the Suckeyes will beat Marshall. On September 11, get ready for the natural disaster that is the Hurricanes! We will come into your house and put a hurting on your highly touted QB as he will be on his back more than he will be in the end zone!! I personally cannot wait till next week. Once Miami beats the Luckeyes, we will walk off the field like it is business as usual.
Have that National Championship Trophy that you stole back in the desert polished and ready to go home with us after our victory in Columbus!!!
We will also be glad to take the hide of that weasel Terry Porter off your hands as well!!
Again I ask…where does this confidence come from? Give me something to back your smack talk. You guys talk a good show. You also have proven classless when it comes to losing. Although I know that we will have to go through this again and again in the coming days, I remind you of this:
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/media/ncf/2003/0103/photo/sharpe_i.jpg
Yeah…you’re right…bad call.
You will also recall that the resulting Ohio State touchdown wasn’t the last play of the game. The Buckeyes were called for pass interference on the next series putting Miami on the 1 yard line. Four tries later, the game was over and Dorsey gave his remarks to the press from his hospital bed.
But that has nothing to do with the 2010 game other than create media interest. As I said, show me why a 13th ranked Miami, a team that got beat by Wisconsin in the bowl game (when was the last time the Bucks lost to Wisconsin), will “put a hurting” on us. If you can back it up, than I’ll listen.
Until then, you are justifying my opinion of the average Miami fan.
Quick…What’s the biggest difference between a Miami fan and an Ohio State fan? Ohio State fans actually went to Ohio State.
Yeah Yeah Yeah……typical of an Ohio State fan……has to resort to insults……..
I would say that your boys are gonna be running scared next weekend. Just be glad you guys did not have the cajones to schedule us sooner. Just like the Gators….only schedule to play us when we are down and now wish you had not since we are on the rise…….
As far as the bowl game……a meaningless bowl……we get amped for championship games not meaningless bowls……oh, I forgot, Ohio State is always more concerned with getting to the Rose Bowl and not a championship game…..
It’s all about the “U”
Bad Bart I live in Florida and know all about you Closet Canes Fans. When you win you come out and spew your crap and when you lose and your team sucks like the have since thar Ohio State beat down in 2002 you go hide in the closet. Come back when you have some statistical data to back up your claims. If you don’t know what statistical means look it up in the dictionary, if you know how to use one.
Again, typical Buckeye fan….insults. Have I insulted the intelligence of Ohio State fans? No….have I tried to dig at each of you on a personal level? No.
I have worn my colors through the lean years and felt the sting of each loss. I don’t live in Florida, and I am surrounded by fans of other teams, and I am still very vocal in my support for my Canes.
Since you bring it up…How many times has Ohio State played for the National Title? I am curious. I would be willing to be that Miami has won more championships than Ohio State has lost.
Not sure what the point of the last comment was.. but yea Miami has won more than Ohio State has lost.. but then again Ohio State has also won more national championships than Maimi has.
I guess one easy way to avoid losing national championship games is to play in the Emerald Bowl and the Champ Sport Bowl rather than the BCS Championship game… our bad.
I must say it will be a real mistake to look past this game. While it is true Marshall was 7-6 last year this is a very different team. Of note, Willy Corn was #4 in the rotation and chose to go somewhere he could play. Note…our 3rd string QB was Mr. Florida football. Of the games lost, other than 2 of those games (1 ranked WVU which we led late in the 3rd qtr) were lost by a total of 12 points. There will be a game thursday night!
Let’s just get this out of the way. We’ve got seven. Miami has 5. No, Ohio state hasn’t lost more national championships than Miami has won. Don’t know for sure how many times the Buckeyes have played for the title because before BCS it came down to polling– not a title game. In recent history, yeah, we lost two. That’s more than you’ve seen in the last decade.
And while yeah, I get my digs in, you still fail to answer my question Bart. Give me something to back your confidence your beloved “Caines.” I haven’t seen anything from any Miami fan that doesn’t qualify as hot air.
The only hurricane I’m worried about right now is Earl and he’ll be long gone by the time your team shows their face in Ohio.
AB-I hope the weather doesn’t knock out the power on the Eastern seaboard. Maybe you should go buy that generator that’s powerful enough to run the big screen and the computer NOW so you can watch the game and blog tomorrow?
Marshall 24 Ohio State 21….. I know it seems impossible, I just have a feeling Ohio State comes out flat and Marshall some how gets the win
OSU 34 Marshall 10
A flat Buckeyes coupled with a perfect game by Marshall could make it competitive.. anything else and the Buckeyes run away with it in the second half.