| Should stick to basketball |
Like Luke Fickell, Hoosier head coach Kevin Wilson is in his first year at the helm, and while they weren't expecting a National Title run, they were hoping for some improvement on last year's 5-7 record, and rejoin the bowl eligible teams. Clearly, it's gotten worse, as the Hoosiers are facing tough times, with 3 decent football games ahead of them, including this game. While an upset in the 'Shoe would be great for them, they aren't expecting any sort of miracle.
The 12 PM EST noon game should mostly be a snoozer, but a very important match up for Braxton Miller and the rest of this young offense. OSU sometimes gets lazy and plays down to opponents, but then turns it on when it gets close. That was under Tressel, granted, but Fickell has many of the same ideas and concepts, as he's already proven this season.
When Indiana Has The Ball
- The Hoosiers are similar to Ohio State in that they run a pro-based "spread". Quarterback Tre Roberson isn't as talented as Braxton Miller when it comes to running the ball, but Roberson has a respectable 267 yards, on 62 carries. The other man to watch, is running back Stephen Houston who leads Indiana in rushing with 577 yards on 111 carries. He's the real key to their offense. Indiana also switches in Edward Wright-Baker, who is listed as the starting QB, but he and Roberson continue to switch in and out.
- Surprisingly, the Hoosiers are generating 23.2 PPG, and 378 total yards per game as well. That's pretty impressive, but the problem that's hurt their offense the most? The defense, which has victimized the offense by giving up 36.2 PPG and 458.3 YPG. Ohio State's offense needs to take advantage of this, and develop Braxton even more as a passer. He's been a run-first QB, which is fine, but eventually he'll need to be able to pass first, and run as a last resort.
When Ohio State Has The Ball
- Boom Herron and Carlos Hyde are your tailbacks for the afternoon, and we should be seeing a lot of #34 after being bumped down to make room for Herron. Hyde still leads the team in rushing yards, with 408 on only 78 carries. This guy needs more opportunities to run the football. Braxton Miller was pretty damn good against Wisconsin, going 7/12 (a few dropped balls hurt his stats) for 89 yards, and rushing for 99 on 19 carries. A great chance to develop his passing game for the tough defense of Penn State can't be passed up. He's got to get better at making reads and making decisions to throw or run right away.
- I have no concerns on the defensive side of things. Truthfully, after the Wisconsin game, I won't be worried until we face Penn State and Michigan in our final two games. Maybe I'm being a bit cocky, but these guys have worked all year long, and have become one of the best defense's in the Big Ten again.
