Interesting Stat: Ohio State has hosted 12 College GameDay broadcasts. Ohio State's record is 9-3, with losses to Penn State, Texas, and Southern California.
• Get the crowd out of the game- As all Big Ten fans know, Camp Randall is one of the toughest venues in the conference, if not the nation, to play in. Now factor in the evening start, hours upon hours of time for the students/fans to hit the sauce and Gameday broadcasting live. All of that gives you the toughest road test that the Buckeyes will face this season. At kickoff, the atmosphere will be electric no doubt and even the most veteran Buckeye will have butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. I do believe that Ohio St. is more explosive and possesses the most talent between the two teams but the gap isn’t very large. As seen on almost every college football Saturday, lesser teams can win on pure emotion, a big play and turnovers. I don’t think that OSU will have any trouble getting up for this one but they had better be ready to get hit in the mouth a few times. Wisconsin has some HUGE guys on their front lines and a power rushing game featuring one of the best in John Clay. A good way to silence the hornet’s nest that will be Camp Randall is to jump on these guys early and often.
•Control the Badger rushing attack- Wisconsin comes in with a dangerous running game with power backs John clay and Monte Ball along with the lightning fast freshman James White. The Badgers and Buckeyes aren’t all that different in that they pride themselves on power running and controlling the clock with a bruising ground game. It will be imperative for the OSU front four to control the line of scrimmage and allow the linebackers to run free and make plays. OSU has had success in seasons past against the Badgers in this department but the danger is always lurking in the Wisconsin backfield. If Clay is given a chance to build a head of steam on handoffs, it could be a long and painful day for the Silver Bullets. The Buckeyes did a brilliant job last year in the Shoe minimizing the Wisky ground attack and a similar effort will be needed to come out victorious. Tolzien is a decent quarterback but doesn’t really scare me in regards to torching the Buckeye secondary. As long as OSU forces Scotty to beat them with his arm instead of turning around and handing it off all night, I like the Buckeye’s chances.
•Smart play calling- All Buckeye fans have pulled their hair out at one time or another when questioning the play calling. Too many times (in my opinion) Tressel will dial up the Dave play (or as my friend and I like to call it “the running into the bodies" play). While it does get blown out of proportion and I am sure we will see plenty of Dave this weekend, I would love for the aerial assault to continue on Saturday. Don’t get me wrong, OSU must run the ball effectively to set up the passing game but lets try and buck the trend for this one. Creative running plays on later downs and some shot safe passes on the early ones will keep the Badgers guessing along with tilting the time of possession in our favor. Last years victory of UW was more the exception rather than the rule. Losing the TOP battle will get you beat way more than it will win games for you. OSU can’t count on pick 6’s all night to supplement their own scoring drives. Controlling the clock will keep our defense fresh and can be demoralizing to the opposing defense. As long as the Buckeyes can stay in manageable third downs, I like our chance of staying on the field for extended drives. Wisconsin’s secondary has been a big question mark and I look for Pryor to exploit it of given the chance.
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•Special Teams- The kickoff and punt coverage units have been better as of late. Since Tressel has plugged in more starters, the running lanes have been closing a lot quicker for opponents. In regards to the OSU return game, the turf monster hasn’t reared its ugly head since Miami although no Buckeye has been that close to returning one anyway. Overall it hasn’t been the disaster it was to start the season. In big games like this, special teams always seem to play a huge factor in the outcome. Kickoff coverage Saturday will be key in ensuring that the Badgers have a long field to navigate. Field goal protection will also be important because we all know a Tressel lead offense sometime sputters in the red zone during big games. I am hoping that Berry and Hall might finally break one this game. They have been close a few times and I am really impressed with the explosiveness that each has shown this year. What better time to finally house one than in Madison?!
•Don’t let #1 go to your head! - I wouldn’t expect this to be a problem for a Tressel team but you never know. A lot of these guys were playing high school ball the last time Ohio St. was on top of the mountain. It is a great honor to be thought of as number one but it can also put a huge target on your back. If they weren’t going to receive every teams best shot already, that little number in front of the OSU name will guarantee they do now. When I heard that Pryor called a team meeting the afternoon the team found out about the new rankings, I was very impressed. I really think that TP has turned the corner and is ready to lead a championship team. The next huge step is on the horizon and I for one can’t wait for Saturday night to arrive!
