Enemy Blogger Interview: Wisconsin

It's Wisconsin Week

As the Buckeyes prepare to host the Badgers this Saturday at 8 PM EST, Buckeye Nation knows this is a must-win game if Ohio State even wants a shot at staying in the race for the Big Ten Conference Championship game. Wisconsin is coming off it's first loss, and now travel to the 'Shoe. John Veldhuis of Bucky's 5th Quarter was nice enough to join us in answering our questions that we had about Wisconsin, and the game the 'Shoe.

1. Wisconsin has just suffered their first loss of the season after traveling to Michigan State. They still have good odds heading into this game to win the Leader's Division, since MSU falls under the Legends. What did that loss mean to the Badgers, and what does this upcoming game mean to them?

Well, the loss means that Russell Wilson is human after all. He didn't have a bad day, but the bad parts came at exactly the wrong times. In addition, it means that some of the season's high expectations came crashing down along with that tipped ball, into the hands of Keith Nichol. Preseason, I expected the Badgers to be right where they are now - 6-1 with a loss to Michigan State. After the first few games I believed (and I think a lot of other people did too) that this team was able to do something more than a Big Ten Championship. That's why it hurts now. This game is important because they still have 4 of their 5 next games against division opponents, and they'll have to beat a still talented Ohio State team on the road.

2. Ohio State traveled to Camp Randall last year ranked #1 in the country, and took their only fall the whole year. Are Wisconsin fans feeling some confidence heading into the rowdy 'Shoe?

I think they are, but it's more because of Ohio State's no-good very-bad offseason. Before the Time of Troubles started, this looked like a very tough game for the Badgers, and it still is, to an extent. Ohio State's offense doesn't strike fear into anyone right now, and I think the Wisconsin defense is coming in a little underrated after the loss to MSU, so I think they have a right to be confident for now. Ohio State will get back to their normal state sooner rather than later, so the Badgers need to take advantage while they have time. 

3. Who are the #1 play makers on offense, not counting Russell Wilson and Montee Ball?

Well, in addition to Ball, there's Nick Toon - he's the Badgers' No.1 receiver. He's had a good year so far, mostly because of his strong connection with Wilson. Toon's success has helped Jared Abbrederis, a sure-handed walk on who defenders can't forget about. If Toon is put on an island, Abbrederis usually finds ways to get open against the #2 corner. Finally, there's Jacob Pedersen. He's the Badgers' next "Big Thing" at tight end, and with all of the Badgers' other weapons drawing attention, defenses tend to forget about him. He's second in receiving touchdowns this year, so when defenses forget about him, they usually pay for it. 

Are The Buckeyes Going To Win The Big Ten?

How far can Fickell take this team?

Phil Steele in his latest predictions, has Ohio State winning the Big Ten Leader's division despite the losses of Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel. This isn't too surprising, and he obviously has a lot of faith in what Luke Fickell can do. I do as well, but I can't tell if they can win a B1G championship just yet. I have to be able to see Nebraska, Wisconsin, etc. The B10 is very deep this year, with Wisconsin (along with getting Russell Wilson), Michigan State, an interesting Illinois team, Nebraska, and some early underdogs that could step up with some pretty big upsets.

While I think it is possible, I think the first 5 games are going to be the real test for Braxton Miller (who's been rumored to be the starter, based off subtle notes in the Big Ten media day) and how he plays, along with our stable of running backs, will decide how the rest of the season plays out. Michigan State, Miami, and Nebraska are going to be some real tough tests, not just for Miller, but the defense as well. After the jump, look what Phil Steele has to say about his latest predictions on the Buckeyes.

The Road Ahead: A Breakdown of The 2011 Ohio State Schedule

Buckeyes know it's time to get rolling.

Ed. Note: First posted at Off Tackle Empire.


When Ohio State fans took in the excellent, 12-1, Sugar Bowl Champions season, they had no idea what they were in for during the spring and heading into the summer. The worst nightmare possible, Jim Tressel stepping down, was coupled with Terrelle Pryor leaving a year early, and the notice of allegations from the NCAA. With the official doomsday coming in August, this summer has been a gloomy one for Ohio State.

So what of the rest of the Scarlet and gray-clad Buckeyes?  Without Treselball, the offense (and defense) have been left to the assistant coach Luke Fickell. Now a head coach of a talent-laden Buckeye squad, the questions arise. Who will start at Quarterback? What's the offensive gameplan? Is Fickell even prepared to take a job like this? Buckeye fans across the country are skeptic at best to see how the 2011 Ohio State football team will fare. Let's take a look at the schedule and break each game down, and see what the road ahead looks like.

A Little Bit of Everything

They're winning, duh

Ed. Note: This post was written by Brady

Before I get to my weekly bitching and moaning about Buckeye football, I wanted to bring up the building excitement for the ongoing baseball season.  I know that anyone who stumbles upon this corner of the blogosphere isn’t looking for MLB updates but this is my one public forum on the internet and I’ll be damned if I don’t give a shout out to the Wahoo warriors at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

It was my 30^th birthday this past weekend (please direct all cash gifts to the Jim Tressel legal fund) and my wife organized a surprise weekend of baseball and debauchery in the great city of Cleveland for me.  The Indians managed to sweep their cross state rivals (sorry Ian) and the once unimaginable run at the AL central crown continues.  Not only do the Indians have a 7 game lead on their closest divisional foe but also sport the best record in all of baseball! Ed. Note: We'll be the one's apologizing come this post-season.

Watching this magical first two months has been a great reprieve from the endless bad news trickling out of Columbus this spring and I encourage any baseball fan to hop on that bandwagon before it fills up.  I am a huge MLB supporter and the Indians have continually punched me in the gut over the years with their near championship runs and mind numbing trades.  Finally, those player swaps are paying off this season and I can only pray that the Tribe is this year’s Cinderella.  Time will tell but almost 50 games have past us on the calendar and the Indians continue their dominance.  OK, enough baseball.  Let’s get to the Bucks.

Buckeyes Pay Wisconsin Back With Interest

Sullinger and the Buckeyes get revenge

Diebler lived up to his "Threebler" nickname Sunday, by hitting 7 of 8 shots behind the arc while scoring 27 points, as Ohio State (29-2, 16-2 Big Ten) set NCAA Division I records by making 14 of 15 3-pointers (93.3 percent) and hitting 14 in a row -- after missing the first. Still hurting from their first loss of the year, a 71-67 setback at Wisconsin on Feb. 12, the Buckeyes unleashed their best game of the season -- shutdown defense at one end and 68-percent shooting from the field at the other.


Freshman Jared Sullinger had 22 points just weeks after accusing a Wisconsin fan of spitting in his face as he left the floor at the Kohl Center. He had told several people that he not only wanted to beat the Badgers, but that he wanted to beat them by 50 points. It wasn't that big of a blowout, but they did defeat the Badgers by 28 in the 93-65 win. William Buford added 18 points and David Lighty 13 for the Buckeyes, who won their 22nd straight home game while dropping Wisconsin to just 4-5 in Big Ten road games this season.

Ryan had been the focal point for many fans in a capacity crowd of 18,809 who felt he had disrespected the Buckeyes after the first meeting when he said, "We won the game. Deal with it."

Josh Gasser had 17 points, Jon Leuer 16 and Keaton Nankivil 10 for the Badgers (23-7, 13-5). Jordan Taylor, who had scored 21 of his 27 points to lead the comeback in the second half of the first meeting, was limited to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting. He was shadowed throughout the game by Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft.

Diebler, Buckeyes Clinch Share Of Big Ten Championship

Threebler!

Whether wide open, fading away from a defender or with a bad look at the basket with a hand in his face, Ohio State's Jon Diebler had one of those games in which he just couldn't miss.


The kid was on absolute fire Tuesday night at Penn State, draining 10 3's for tying a conference record. Diebler had a career-high 30 points and set a school record with 10 3-pointers Tuesday night to lead top-ranked Ohio State to an 82-61 rout of Penn State to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title.

Diebler went 5 of 6 from behind the arc in the first half as the Buckeyes (28-2, 15-2) built a 15-point halftime lead and never let up. There wasn't much talk afterward about tying for the title -- a loss by No. 6 Purdue at Iowa on Saturday or an Ohio State win over No. 10 Wisconsin on Sunday would give the Buckeyes the title outright.

Penn State is now falling fast on the chances of going to the NCAA tournament this year, and they'd better find their footing quickly, otherwise their feet will be on the couch watching March Madness on the TV. 


Senior Talor Battle scored 18 points in his final regular-season home game for Penn State (15-13, 8-9).

Referees, BCS Thoughts

Just that stud.
AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

All during the game on Saturday against Michigan, referees were like hawks when it came to unsportsmanlike conduct. This included fighting (which, there was plenty of) excessive celebration, and holding up gloves to the 7th largest crowd for the OSU-Michigan game. Wait, what?

Yes, the referees had the balls to penalize Ohio State players all game long for holding up their hands and with the Nike provided gloves that formed a block "O". Of course, this didn't stop the Buckeyes, because hell, this is THE Game, and nothing was going to stop them from celebrating like they were supposed to. Look, I don't have a problem with referees flagging players for excessive celebration, but holding up your hands and forming a Block O isn't anything against the opposing team. Mr. Jay Z, sir, that is a penalty.

If Nike gives Pro Combat uniforms, and they also hand out the gloves, then the team in question also has to wear the gloves. It's just how it works. So why is that every time they did what they were told, Ohio State was penalized? Obviously it's not Nike's fault. They've done it before, and here, and here, and here. This is a lot of penalty's waiting to happen. There were no flags at all in those games, everyone seemed to think it was the next big fashion statement for the NCAA. Which by the way, I think the gloves look amazing and wish they would wear them every game.

Buckeye News All Around

Yesterday, FOX announced that they would be holding the Big Ten Championship game from 2011-2016. I'm actually OK with this, because I honestly thought the Big Ten Network might take it, for some reason. Obviously would not have happened because not everyone has the Big Ten Network, but you get my point. Hopefully Ohio State will be in that first one at Lucas Oil Stadium. The game is set for December 3rd at prime time. That is awesome, because we will be competing with the SEC for ratings.

Also announced yesterday was that Tyler Moeller would receive his medical redshirt. This guy will be back next season as a senior, and we already know that he will be leading this defense. The guy is an outstanding tackler, and always looking to make a play, big or small. He gets the job done, and I can't wait until next year to see him flying around like a Silver Bullet that he is.

Who you got?: #7 Ohio State vs. #20 Iowa

Ian: 17-13, Ohio State - It's going to be a defensive football game, and OSU's secondary almost loses Ohio State the game. Luckily, Pryor has a late minute, game-winning drive to seal the victory. Kinnick Stadium will be loud, though, and this was a tough pick.


SBB: 38-20, Ohio State - Let me start off by saying that to this point Iowa SHOULD BE A 4 LOSS TEAM at this point in the season. Typical of Iowa, they came in ranked high and collapsed for no apparent reason. Now that bye week madness is over, I expect the Buckeyes to come out fired up and unaffected by the pink locker room. The defense, mainly the secondary needs to play well, but it all starts up front. Can our front 4 get pressure on Stanzi and force mistakes? I think so, at least enough to make a difference. Boom goes for 100+ again and opens it up for the pass game.

Brady: 27-17, Ohio State -  Iowa will probably be pretty fired up with the Buckeye's visiting Iowa City this weekend.  Coming off a loss, I expect Iowa to throw everything they have at Ohio St.  Some big plays by the Buckeye offense and an untimely pick for Stanzi will be the difference.  A tough one, but the good guys come out on top.

Danny: 20-17, Ohio State - This is a tough game for me to pick.  If the Buckeyes that played the second half against Penn State show up, Ohio State wins.  If they come out slow like against Penn State, this will be Wisconsin all over again.  The O-line will have their hands full, and I don't see Sonic Boom getting anywhere close to the 190 yards he picked up this week.  This game will be won/lost by Terrelle Pryor.

Ohio State Basketball - Season Preview

It's finally here! Ohio State basketball tips off tonight at 7:00 against the Aggies.....of North Carolina A&T. Not exactly a marquee match up, but at least the team will actually be on the floor for a game that counts. With the season only hours away from officially beginning, now is a better time than ever to give our faithful (handful of) readers an idea of what to expect this year. If you are new to the site, or for some reason just missed them here are the four profiles I have done on the new freshman to the team: Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas, Aaron Craft, and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. I promise, I will get profiles up on Jordan Sibert and J.D. Witherspoon soon. For now, I want to focus on what lineups will likely be on the floor this year and how I think the team will finish in the Big Ten.

Turner carried the team last year.

Last year, lack of depth was a major problem for the basketball Buckeyes. This year, depth presents a different problem: Too much of it. Of course, I don't actually think that having an excess of talent is ever an actual "problem" (unless you are Mike Brown, and simply REFUSE to put good players on the floor...or call timeouts, or coach offense, or stand up to your players, etc.). Ohio State will be two-deep at every position, with several players (both starters and backups) having the ability to play multiple positions. There are five positions, so let's begin.

Jim Tressel's Milestone

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel notched his 99th win last Saturday against Illinois. That means that Ohio State's next victory (lookin' at you, Indiana) will make The Senator only the 3rd coach in Buckeye history to reach the 100 win milestone, joining Woody Hayes and John Cooper as the only other members of that club. Tressel has his fans and detractors, but nobody can say he has not been successful during his tenure. Whether you are in love with Tressel-ball (as I am) or you cringe when you see the "Run, Run, Pass" offense that is so often employed by Ohio State, Jim Tressel is approaching legendary status as an Ohio State coach, and I think it is time to take a look back on his career and some of his accomplishments, and to show some appreciation for the man that reminded us what it is like to beat Michigan.

Big Ten Divisional Split

Greetings to all of you, My name is Cliff and I'm one of the new additions to the InsideTheShoe team. As a buckeye fan and alum living in Florida I will be sharing some of my unique experiences here in "SEC Country" (or "ACC County" whoever is winning normally dictates that..but that's for a later post) as well as random Ohio sports thoughts and game analysis.

For now I'm gonna give my best guess on how the divisions will shake out in the Big T1E2N (all of this is subject to change with the likely addition of any new teams).

I think the conference will be split into Eastern and Western divisions with the dividing line being right between Illinois (west) and Indiana (east). Here's how it shakes out:

East

Indiana

Michigan

Michigan State

Ohio State

Purdue

Penn State

West

Illinois

Iowa
 Minnesota

Nebraska

Northwestern

Wisconsin

I think this format works best because it maintains the regional rivalries (OSU/UM, UM/MSU, Wisc/Minn, etc..) within the conference while actually creating others (Neb/Iowa, Neb/Wisc) and setting the stage for a damn good conference championship game. Championship game sites could rotate among regional NFL stadiums (Indy, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota, etc..). The Big Ten West is looking pretty tough right now!!

I can see it now, Ohio State and Nebraska playing for the 2012 Big Ten Championship at.....drumroll.....Soldier Field

Big Ten Championship Live Blog event!

Come here at 3:15 for the Live Blog to get started. We hope to see you here. All you have to do is put your cursor over the little play button and then add you name and start typing!