Another one: Week 1 neutral field matchup Ohio State vs. Stanford
- Thread starter pstone
- Start date
BuckAndSomeChange
Active Member
OSU info/thoughts from a Buckeye fan, who is small time compared to you guys.
--The 4 new starters on the DL are big time recruits, but have to stay healthy & may end playing too many min’s. Hankins wore down as the '12 season winded down & I foresee the starters playing too many min’s in '13. The veteran backups are simply not on par compared to what the Bucks normally have. On the flip side, by season's end, if the D-line stays healthy, there shouldn't be much of a productivity drop off from last yr. With a worn down Hank and a banged up Simon, the D-line wasn’t up to snuff late last yr. Adolphus Washington will be a stud & probably sooner rather than later. His upside is off the charts.
-Sticking with the D & with depth issues, the Bucks have lost 2 scholarship LB's since the Steele mag came out. L Roberts wouldn’t have played but D Perkins would have been in the mix & would have provided depth. And Steele is a little too anxious on Curtis Grant, putting him on his 2nd team All-B10 tm. Grant went from starting at the Mike at the beg of '12 to not being two-deep a few wks later. Meyer has sung his praises lately & he made some strides in the spring, but I will believe it when I see it (that Grant can play MLB at Oh St). Shazier is probably a legit All-B10 player, but not he’s not an AA. Overall, the LB position is far below expectations of an OSU linebacking core.
--The O-line (if healthy) is as good as it's been since the '96 line that had Pace. They have a new RT in T Decker, who struggled in the spring, but my guess is that Decker will be fine by the end of Aug. If not C Farris, a converted DL will start at RT. Like almost every position on the tm depth is a concern. The latest Boren (Jacoby) will probably end up being the top backup at any of the interior spots. Like Zack, Jacoby is far better than his recruiting rankings.
--Steele has one safety (C Bryant) 1[SUP]st[/SUP] tm All-B10 & the other (CJ Barnett) 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] tm. Steele is sniffing glue. My hope is that Bryant is simply adequate ‘cause he hasn’t been in the past. Barnett did appear headed for stardom in ’10 before tearing his ACL, but hasn’t been the same since the injury.
-The Bucks are strong at CB, although Roby is not the top CB in the land. He can be had, but there are few quality passing attacks in the B10. Doran Grant should be a good one once he gets his feet wet.
--Carlos Hyde became a man last yr. Prior to ’12 he was soft for his size. Not anymore & the Bucks need to run him more in ’12 but will probably continue to underutilize him, while running Braxton too much. If backup TB R Smith puts the ball on the turf one more time I see him falling down the depth chart. Redshirt Warren Ball had a nice spring and might get a look at the #2. Jordan Hall is more of a slot back & I don’t believe he will ever stay healthy.
--The WR’s are now experienced but there is no Ginn, Gonzo, Holmes, etc. No big-time guys, but C Brown & C Fields have made huge strides. Look for true frosh D Wilson to eventually take the so-called Percy Harvin roll (ahead of Jalin Marshall who is the higher ranked recruit and in competition for the same roll).
--Major question marks with the punter; one thing I think I know is that PK Drew Basil will not hold onto to the job.
--If Braxton makes half the strides Pryor made between his 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] & 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] seasons (and stays healthy), the Buckeye offense is going to put up more points than Steele has them scoring (41.3 ppg). Thought he was still behind the learning curve last yr and he still put up big #s. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer and took way too many sacks last yr. I think you’ll see big improvements this fall, as Tom Herman put extra emphasis on this area in the spring.
-- Thought Meyer would have made some moves w/ the Def staff in the offseason, but didn't. Jury still out on Fickell, Vrabel & Withers. Despite the depth/injury issues last yr, there is no way that D should have been as bad as they were.
--The 4 new starters on the DL are big time recruits, but have to stay healthy & may end playing too many min’s. Hankins wore down as the '12 season winded down & I foresee the starters playing too many min’s in '13. The veteran backups are simply not on par compared to what the Bucks normally have. On the flip side, by season's end, if the D-line stays healthy, there shouldn't be much of a productivity drop off from last yr. With a worn down Hank and a banged up Simon, the D-line wasn’t up to snuff late last yr. Adolphus Washington will be a stud & probably sooner rather than later. His upside is off the charts.
-Sticking with the D & with depth issues, the Bucks have lost 2 scholarship LB's since the Steele mag came out. L Roberts wouldn’t have played but D Perkins would have been in the mix & would have provided depth. And Steele is a little too anxious on Curtis Grant, putting him on his 2nd team All-B10 tm. Grant went from starting at the Mike at the beg of '12 to not being two-deep a few wks later. Meyer has sung his praises lately & he made some strides in the spring, but I will believe it when I see it (that Grant can play MLB at Oh St). Shazier is probably a legit All-B10 player, but not he’s not an AA. Overall, the LB position is far below expectations of an OSU linebacking core.
--The O-line (if healthy) is as good as it's been since the '96 line that had Pace. They have a new RT in T Decker, who struggled in the spring, but my guess is that Decker will be fine by the end of Aug. If not C Farris, a converted DL will start at RT. Like almost every position on the tm depth is a concern. The latest Boren (Jacoby) will probably end up being the top backup at any of the interior spots. Like Zack, Jacoby is far better than his recruiting rankings.
--Steele has one safety (C Bryant) 1[SUP]st[/SUP] tm All-B10 & the other (CJ Barnett) 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] tm. Steele is sniffing glue. My hope is that Bryant is simply adequate ‘cause he hasn’t been in the past. Barnett did appear headed for stardom in ’10 before tearing his ACL, but hasn’t been the same since the injury.
-The Bucks are strong at CB, although Roby is not the top CB in the land. He can be had, but there are few quality passing attacks in the B10. Doran Grant should be a good one once he gets his feet wet.
--Carlos Hyde became a man last yr. Prior to ’12 he was soft for his size. Not anymore & the Bucks need to run him more in ’12 but will probably continue to underutilize him, while running Braxton too much. If backup TB R Smith puts the ball on the turf one more time I see him falling down the depth chart. Redshirt Warren Ball had a nice spring and might get a look at the #2. Jordan Hall is more of a slot back & I don’t believe he will ever stay healthy.
--The WR’s are now experienced but there is no Ginn, Gonzo, Holmes, etc. No big-time guys, but C Brown & C Fields have made huge strides. Look for true frosh D Wilson to eventually take the so-called Percy Harvin roll (ahead of Jalin Marshall who is the higher ranked recruit and in competition for the same roll).
--Major question marks with the punter; one thing I think I know is that PK Drew Basil will not hold onto to the job.
--If Braxton makes half the strides Pryor made between his 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] & 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] seasons (and stays healthy), the Buckeye offense is going to put up more points than Steele has them scoring (41.3 ppg). Thought he was still behind the learning curve last yr and he still put up big #s. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer and took way too many sacks last yr. I think you’ll see big improvements this fall, as Tom Herman put extra emphasis on this area in the spring.
-- Thought Meyer would have made some moves w/ the Def staff in the offseason, but didn't. Jury still out on Fickell, Vrabel & Withers. Despite the depth/injury issues last yr, there is no way that D should have been as bad as they were.
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
thanks for the post
TheGarfather
Pretty much a regular
Stanford -3
Silkydiamonds
Imma sip this tea
All this makes me want to know what y'all make UO/Stan & by proxy UO/OSU
Silkydiamonds
Imma sip this tea
That's neutral or no?
Silkydiamonds
Imma sip this tea
Naw u good. I meant Oregon tho lol
Stan/Oregon
Oregon/Ohio St
Stan/Oregon
Oregon/Ohio St
lindetrain
Pretty much a regular
I have tOSU -4.5 on a neutral against Stanford. I know that's off at this point in time, but I'm taking an early stance on the Trees and firmly believe I'll be in the ballpark after we see a few games from them. Just don't like that squad this year.
TheGarfather
Pretty much a regular
I hope you're right, I do hate them.
lindetrain
Pretty much a regular
They were my favorite win total over bet last year, and are one of my favorite under bets this year. Conversely, I liked Michigan and Washington unders last year, and like their overs this year.
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
Guess I can see giving Stanford some benefit of the doubt as far as overachieving and their style makes them attractive in a finesse conference as far as garnering matchup benefits but if you break them down and their effort last year it is just hard for me to favor them over the buckeyes. QB was decent I guess and might make strides in the offseason but TOSU was better than Stanford last year ( imo ) and I don't see enough improvement or regression to make me think opposite just yet. Of course at small numbers you are splitting hairs with limited info and my pr are not close to final draft stage. Still .. Stanford was outplayed in a lot of games last season and luckboxed. I think if you have Stanford with a higher pr than tosu you are either fading tosu a lot, playing Stanford a lot or both. high on Michigan and Texas again this year ... shoot me.
Silkydiamonds
Imma sip this tea
VK liking Texas as well. They're legit, veteran & playing against a very young conf in B12. Having experienced high level players in CFB vs a bunch of teams with inexperience is always good. Mack Brown in yr4 of the CEO gig, I feel knows how to do this setup now. Expect a Joe Gibbs II kinda run here. Early success, some struggles midsession & a sick run to finish the season. 11-1 with no conf champ game. They should be good or Mack has got to go
Silkydiamonds
Imma sip this tea
Personally I'm coocoo for OU. I think Blake Bell has a season for ages. Cam Newtonish but alot better paasing numbers. Though everyone I talk to disagrees
RetroVK
This claim is disputed
Just not a fan of teams changing offenses being elite.. they are going to run more now and who can blame them? His passing had a ways to go ..... OU says happy with his throwing but what they gonna say? I will need to see it.
