FREE - GBK’s Preview: Ohio State Buckeyes
Scott Stuart
GoBlackKnights.com continues its preview of Army West Point’s opponents in the 2017 season, with a peek at the 3d opponent and toughest challenge on the schedule, the Buckeyes of Ohio State.
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When: 4:30 PM EST. Saturday, September 16th at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
Series Record: This is the first meeting between the two teams.
OSU’s Record (1-1)
2017 Recap:
Game 1: Indiana played the Buckeyes close for the first half, but eventually Ohio State took charge to win the game 49-21.
Game 2: The #5 ranked Sooners of Oklahoma traveled to Columbus to take on the #2 Buckeyes this past weekend and after a low scoring first half tie at 3-3. The Buckeyes scored on the opening drive of the second half, but then the Sooners’ offense exploded with touchdowns on four of their next five drives to win the game 31-16. The loss dropped OSU to 8th in the AP Poll and 9th in the Coaches Poll.
2016: Ohio State won 11 of 12 regular season games, with their only loss coming at Penn State 24-21. Clemson blanked them in the Fiesta Bowl 31-0.
Buckeye Offense
Ohio State runs a balanced offense with possibly a slight preference to running the ball.
2017 Stats after 2 games:
Scoring Offense: 32.5 points per game (63d in FBS)
Total Offense: 473 yards per game (37th in FBS)
Rushing Offense: 229.5 yards (5.4 yards per attempt) (32d in FBS)
Passing Offense: 244 yards (7 yards per attempt) (57th in FBS)
2016 Stats: OSU scored an average of 39.4 points per game. They rushed for an average 245 yards/game and passed for 214 yards/game.
Quarterback: Senior JT Barrett (6-2, 220 lbs) is playing his fourth season as the Buckeye quarterback and his third year as team captain. He appeared in 36 games prior to this season and had a 26-4 record as a starter. In his career at OSU, he has completed 510 of 807 pass attempts (63.2%) for 6254 yards with 69 touchdowns and 19 interceptions for an Efficiency Rating of 151.8. He has rushed for 2467 yards in 480 attempts for a 5.1 average. He finished in the top 10 of the Heisman voting twice.
Running Back: Freshman RB JK Dobkins currently leads the Buckeyes in rushing with 253 yards in 42 attempts for an average of 6.0 yards per attempt and 123.6 yards per game. He ranks 8th among FBS rushers. JT Barrett is the second leading rusher on the team with 154 yards in 31 attempts.
Receivers: RS-Junior WR, Parris Campbell has 9 receptions for 163 yards (18.1 yards per reception). Behind him is RS-Sophomore KJ Hill who has 7 receptions for 50 yards.
Offensive Line: Senior Jamarco Jones (6-5, 310 lbs) at LT; Sophomore Michael Jordan (6-7, 310 lbs) at LG; Senior Billy Price (6-4, 312 lbs) at Center; RS-Sophomore Brandon Bowen (6-7, 312 lbs) at RG; and Junior Isaiah Prince (6-7, 310 lbs) at RT.
Scott Stuart
Buckeye Defense
OSU plays a 5-2-4 defense with one DT and 4 DEs on the line, 2 LBs and a conventional backfield of 2 CBs and 2 Safeties.
2017 Stats after 2 games:
Scoring Defense: Allowed 26 pts per game (75th in FBS)
Total Defense: Allowed 463.5 yds per game (5.5 ave per play) (107th in FBS)
Rushing Defense: Allowed 61 yds per game (1.89 ave per carry) (13th in FBS)
Passing Yards Allowed: 403 yds per game (129th in FBS)
2016 Stats: OSU gave up an average of 15.5 points/game; allowed an average of 124 yards rushing, and 172 yards passing.
Defensive Line: Freshman All-American RS-Sophomore Dre’Mont Jones (6-3, 295 lbs) at NT and at Defensive Ends: Big 10 DL of the Year, Senior Tyquan Lewis (6-4, 265 lbs); Freshman All American Sophomore Nick Bosa (6-4, 270 lbs); RS-Junior Sam Hubbard (6-5, 265 lbs); and Senior Jalyn Holmes (6-5, 270 lbs).
Linebackers: Senior Chris Worley (6-2, 230 lbs) is a converted Safety/OLB starting at MLB this season. Junior Jerome Baker (6-1, 225 lbs) starts at the other LB spot.
Defensive Backs: Senior Safety Damon Webb (5-11, 195 lbs) is the only returning starter in the defensive backfield. Sophomore Jordan Fuller (6-2, 207 lbs) starts at the other safety. Junior Denzel Ward (5-10, 191) is at one CB, and RS-Sophomore Damon Arnett at the other CB.
2017 Season Outlook
The Buckeyes were ranked #2 in the country before being upset by the Sooners, which dropped them to 8th in the AP Poll and 9th in the Coaches Poll.
Outlook for the Game
The Buckeyes suffered a major setback in their aspirations for the season, and they can hardly afford to have a bad game against Army West Point; so we would expect HC Urban Meyer to light a fire under them this week. Only the most optimistic of Army fans expects the Black Knights to have a chance of winning this game, and most would settle for making the game interesting for 4 quarters. Unfortunately for Army West Point, the Ohio State defense is stronger against the run than they are against the pass, while the Black Knights have not had much success in the passing game this season. It will be interesting to see how that effects HC Jeff Monken’s game plan.
Quote from Kirk Herbstreit - ESPNU College Football Live (9/12/17)
“First of all they [Ohio State Buckeyes] better get ready for Army and the flexbone. Don’t just mark that one off as a victory and move on.”
“Monken has done a great job in putting in an offense that is very similar to a Navy and a Georgia Tech and if you don’t have eye discipline against them and you’ll look up in the 3rd quarter and it’s 17-13 and they’re taking the air out of your ball. They have to get ready this week before they think about Penn State and Michigan. They have to try and beat Army first before looking down the road.”
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