Admit it. There was a time this past summer when basketball just ended, baseball was losing its buzz, and hockey was nowhere to be found. You found your self reading Phil Steels' preview magazine for the ninth time and suddenly sensed football was right around the corner. Before you knew it the itch went viral inside your blood stream and as you looked in the mirror for the first time in weeks you realized you had come down with a bad case of college football cabin fever. Its what they warned you about. It just takes one article to feel the buzz and one web video hit of the top plays of last year and you're hooked. Just me?
Even if your itch wasn't as bad as mine I'm sure as a college football fan you did plenty of previewing what is now the current season. One of the many headlines that crossed your path was Ohio State and their road to a BCS championship. Experts near and far skimmed down their schedule and called for one game to be their block in that road. The trap game. They circled it, diagnosed it, and warned us. If anybody was going to snap the Buckeyes' 17 game win streak and put a halt to their chances for a perfect season it is going to come on Saturday. So I'm here to tell you, if Northwestern is everyones surprise team, then they're no surprise at all.
Northwestern's Back...Is Back.
The team thats averaging 41 points a game, ranks 16th in the nation, and is undefeated won't be the same team that Ohio State faces Saturday. The team the Buckeyes line up against at 8PM in Evanston, Illinois will be better. After missing the last three games with a leg injury one of the best rushers from the Big Ten a year ago will return to the lineup and couldn't have had better timing. Venric Mark rushed for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns last year and was named second-team All-Big Ten. Mark will be a big boost and spark to an offense that hasn't had much trouble scoring points in his absence and will be used in a variety of different ways. Mark will be back returning punts as well where he was an All-American last year with a 18.7 return average.
Home Sweet Home
One of the main reasons experts picked the Buckeyes to stumble against the Wildcats wasn't just because they are one of the more talented and explosive teams in the conference, but also because they will be playing in front of a stadium full of Northwestern fans in Evanston, Illinois. Unlike most trips to Ryan Field for Ohio State the stands won't be filled with red like they're used to. HIstorically, games in Evanston have been semi-home games for the Buckeyes because of their large fan base and vice versa the Wildcats smaller one. With both teams undefeated and ranked, and ESPNs College Gameday in town Northwestern is making a strong push from letting that happen again. It will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes handle themselves if they get behind on the road as it would be a situation they're not too familiar with. Nonetheless they will face some real adversity with a hostile crowd that will give the wildcats a home field edge.
A Wisconsin Hangover
Many say this Ohio State team was more jacked up for last weeks battle against the Badgers than the current game against the Wildcats. I'm sure Urban Meyer will tell you differently, but the fact remains their game against Wisconsin was a four quarter nail biter and sucked a lot of gas out of the tank. Sometimes a dramatic win like that will cause a team to get caught up in the victory and celebrate too much as they reflect the win. As the following weeks preparation continues along, players and sometimes coaches, will have a partial lack of focus due to the high energy and mental wear and tear that was absorbed during the hard fought battle leaving players with a feeling of " I deserve this" when gloating about their last weeks conquest. No doubt Northwestern will be 100 percent focused and if Ohio State comes into the game anything less than they're in trouble.
Double Duty
The Buckeyes have double the homework this week when preparing for the wildcats two highly efficient, and highly effective quarterbacks. They both carry different strengths and will force the Buckeyes to be prepared for which Urban Meyer admitted would be "complicated". Kain Colter is the runner, averaging 6.1 yards per carry and had rushed at least 11 times in his last three games. His running threat allows his to be deadly accurate when he does decide to pass, often creating wide open lanes to throw into like his 77 completion percentage suggests. Trevor Siemian is the pocket passer, throwing for almost three times the yards as Colter (671 yards) with four touchdowns and two interceptions. With a very underappreciated receiving unit, both quarterbacks should have plenty of target to choose from Saturday. The mix-and-match of these two will be something the Buckeyes haven't faced this year and will keep their defense on its heels physically and mentally for all four quarters.
Defense Wins Championships
Someone told me once that offense wins games and defense wins championships. Well there is no denying the Buckeyes will need to win this game if they want a chance at a championship title, but is their defense up to the task? Ohio State doesn't have much trouble scoring points but has had a hard time preventing them. An inability to create turnovers has been somewhat of an achilles heal for the defense. They also haven't been able to get much a a pass rush going through their first five games leading way to very few sacks. The pass defense had problem of their own last week as they couldn't handle shutting down Wisconsin's Jared Abbrederis as the nation watched cornerback and NFL prospect Bradley Roby get torched throughout the night. All this adds up to a consistently inconsistent defense.
On the other side of the field Northwestern has 10 interceptions on the year with four of them returned for points. Add in a fumble recovery and the Wildcats lead the conference with almost three turnovers a game. However, they've also allowed an average of over 300 yards passing a game which ranks 117th in the nation meaning Braxton Miller will have plenty of opportunites to throw the ball down field, but what team is going to catch it?