November 23 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....Northwestern

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes turned in workmanlike performance in Wrigley Field, downing the Northwestern Wildcats 31-7.  Despite a slow start by the defense, and allowing the Wildcats to strike first, the defense was stout after that, allowing Northwestern a mere 50 yards on the ground and under two yards per carry.  Arvell Reese came off the bench and had his best game, tied for the lead with Jack Sawyer with seven tackles.  Sawyer forced a fumble that stopped Northwestern’s first drive that had the defense on its heels.  Sonny Styles had six stops and two sacks.  Caden Curry, C.J. Hicks and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. joined Styles in the sack column and David Adolph blocked a punt that led to Ohio State’s first touchdown.  Northwestern coach David Braun adopted a strategy of ball control for Northwestern’s offense, and for a while, it worked until the superior athletic talent of Ohio State finally won out.  Despite having the ball for 32 minutes of the game and getting into the ”red zone” four times, the ‘Cats were able to score just the one touchdown. 

                The Ohio State offense shook off the slowness as Quinshon Judkins led the way with 76 yards and two touchdowns.  TreVeyon Henderson contributed 74 yards and averaged nearly seven yards per carry.  Will Howard threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremiah Smith turned in a 100-yard receiving game on four receptions.  It was the second game this year in which Smith did not have a touchdown catch, but Carnell Tate had his best day with four catches and both of Howard’s touchdown passes. 

                This brings up the second top five matchup for Ohio State this season as undefeated Indiana comes to town next week.  Ohio State will need to avoid the slow starts on both sides of the ball and be on their game for the full 60 minutes.

GAME 10: Ohio State v Northwestern

November 16 Predictions

MY THOUGHTS.....Purdue

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes put together a workman-like performance in downing the Purdue Boilermakers 45-0.  It was the second shutout of the season.  Purdue managed 206 yards of total offense, the second fewest the defense has allowed this year and allowed a mere 2.6 yards on the ground.  Purdue quarterback Hudson Card was sacked four times and Purdue managed only 2-of-12 third down conversions.  A scoop-and-score by Jack Sawyer was one of the defensive highlights as Cody Simon led the way with six tackles and Sonny  Styles had five.  Both had sacks as well.  J.T. Tuimoloau was a pain in Purdue’s backside all afternoon with two TFLs a sack and he forced the fumble that led to Sawyer’s scoop-and-score. 

Quarterback Will Howard was the offensive star of the game, throwing for 260 yards and three scores, completing 81 percent of his passes, and adding a rushing touchdown.  TreVeyon Henderson led the way on the ground with 85 yards and a touchdown and Quinshon Judkins added 32 yards.  The special teams turned up special when Caden Curry blocked a Purdue punt that led to Ohio State’s first touchdown.  It was Ohio State’s first blocked punt in two seasons.

Next week, Ohio State is traveling to Chicago’s Wrigley Field for a game against Northwestern.

GAME 9: Ohio State v Purdue

November 9 Predictions