OSU/New Mexico State:Jim Tressel As Edward Longshanks For Halloween?

One of my all-time favorite movies is Braveheart. I have a personal copy of the movie, and will usually watch it whenever it is on when I am flipping channels at night.

In the spirit of Halloween, and looking ahead to this week’s Ohio State/New Mexico State game on Saturday afternoon in Ohio Stadium, I believe Jim Tressel could possibly play the role of Edward Longshanks against the Aggies. Let me explain how this analogy could work ~

Remember the scene where William Wallace is captured and turned over to the English, to be “purified through pain” under the order of Longshanks? This is the role New Mexico State will take in Ohio Stadium, beginning at 12pm EST. I believe New Mexico State will be pure as the driven snow by the time this game concludes. This game could get ugly quickly. I have a feeling this game could resemble the 1996 home opener for Ohio State against Rice, when Ohio State won 70-7.

Another of Longshanks’ moves in Braveheart was to send all of the reserves into battle, knowing the battle was won for the English. Looking ahead to Saturday’s game, I believe Ohio State fans will have an opportunity to see the following walk-on players throughout the second half of the game:

Quarterback – Justin Siems

Tailback – Joe Gantz, K.C. Christian, Bo DeLande

Fullback – James Georgiades

Wide Receiver – Ricky Crawford, Ryan Schuck, Joe Cech, Tony Harlamert

Tight End – Spencer Smith

Offensive Guard – Chris Malone, Scott Sika

Center – Andrew Moses

Defensive Tackle – Don Matheney, Jon Lorenz

Defensive End – Tom Ingham, Stewart Smith

Linebacker – Tony Jackson

Cornerback – Taylor Rice

Safety – Nate Ebner

Kicker – Devin Barclay

While I respect what Coach Tressel stated earlier this week about using this game against New Mexico State as an opportunity to improve and get better, I also believe this is a perfect opportunity to reward all of the young men on the squad who toil in relative anonymity for Ohio State football. Here is an opportunity to give every one of these young men a chance to play in Ohio Stadium in an actual game, in front of what should be a decent sized crowd.

Well, if Coach Tressel does not want to play the role of Edward Longshanks on Halloween against New Mexico State, maybe he can make sure the Aggies get some decent goodies in their bag for their trip home to Las Cruces.

Prediction: Ohio State 42, New Mexico State 3

Playing New Mexico State Is Neither A Trick Nor A Treat For Ohio State

Making their debut appearance into Ohio Stadium on Halloween at 12pm EST, courtesy of The Big Ten Network, will be New Mexico State. Yes, that same New Mexico State that was written by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports as being the worst football program in America this past summer.

A few weeks ago, Trey Bradley of The Bleacher Report wrote an article detailing how The Big Ten was barely BCS worthy. Keep in mind, this article was written before Ohio State lost to unranked Purdue, throwing Ohio State's season into a seemingly endless cycle of analysis and criticism of Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, and anyone else who has anything to do with Ohio State football.

Are there any other Ohio State fans out there besides me who feel playing New Mexico State will actually hurt Ohio State's program in the long-run? The reputation of Ohio State football has been taking a beating nationally...well, since Ohio State took this beating about three years ago.

It is bad enough Ohio State played Youngstown State back in 2007...but then Ohio State played Youngstown State again in 2008. Here are some of the other cupcakes Ohio State has played the last few seasons - Akron. Kent State. Ohio University. Troy - well, maybe I should take it easy on Troy. I mean, the mighty Florida Gators played Troy earlier this season, and everyone knows that every team Florida plays gets their best shot.

Getting back to Ohio State, and The Big Ten in general, playing weak non-conference games are what is hurting the conference in terms of reputation, as well as the aforementioned rankings. I believe Pete Fiutak of collegefootballnews.com made an excellent point last spring when he suggested The Big Ten play ten conference games, with two non-conference games. How better would Ohio State's schedule look if Ohio State played Michigan State and Northwestern, rather than Toledo and New Mexico State?

In order for Ohio State's reputation to improve, Ohio State needs to win the big games, such as the game earlier this season against USC. In the meantime, Ohio State can start to regain some measure of respect by simply not scheduling games like the one coming up this Saturday.

Who Can Help Jim Tressel Point The Way For Ohio State's Offense?

Following the 26-18 Purdue victory over Ohio State on October 17th, I wrote some short-term suggestions on what Jim Tressel and his offensive staff could possibly implement immediately this season to generate some type of offensive momentum. Ohio State fans will see this coming Saturday against Minnesota what changes, if any, Tressel and his coaching staff have made.

The focus of this article will be on long-term suggestions for the offense Jim Tressel may need to contemplate this coming off-season. These are ideas that would not only benefit Ohio State offensively, but could also benefit Ohio State's recruiting efforts going forward.

Before I make any suggestions, there are a few things that Ohio State fans need to understand and grudgingly accept:

1. Jim Tressel does not fire his assistants: Loyal to a fault, Tressel's staff on both sides of the ball has stayed relatively intact during his nine year tenure in Columbus. Assistants who have left Ohio State (Mark Dantonio, Mark Snyder, Tim Spencer, Bill Conley, Mel Tucker, Tim Beckman, Joe Daniels) have left on their own accord for better opportunities at other schools, the NFL, or in Bill Conley's case, retirement into a consultant role.

Joe Daniels has been battling cancer the last few years, and was moved into an administrative position prior to this season. Nick Siciliano, who previously served as Ohio State's offensive quality control coach, was promoted to the quarterback coach position prior to the 2009 season.

Looking at Siciliano's resume, one will see that Siciliano has relatively little experience coaching the quarterback position. Another important thing you will see - Siciliano formerly coached under Jim Tressel at Youngstown State from 1997-1999. Remember what I wrote up above - "Loyal to a fault" when you think of Tressel and his assistants.

2. Jim Tressel will never relinquish the play-calling: As frustrating as this point is for Ohio State fans to accept, Tressel has openly stated on previous occasions that he needs to be involved in the play-calling. On his call-in radio show last week, Tressel freely used the term "micro manager" to describe himself when it comes to his work with the offense.

Now that I have presented what I consider to be the facts as they relate to Jim Tressel and the Ohio State coaching staff, let me present some scenarios that I believe could possibly unfold after the conclusion of the 2009 season.

Long-Term Suggestions:

1. Bring In A New Offensive Coordinator: There are rumors that Jim Bollman, long the whipping boy of Ohio State's fans, will follow the lead of Joe Daniels and take an administrative position. This would open up an opportunity for a new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

Who could possibly enter into a situation as I described up above? A few weeks ago, I suggested bringing back former Ohio State offensive coordinator Glen Mason, as he previously worked with Jim Tressel years ago. Mason would fit into the criteria I described up above (loyal to Tressel, would allow Tressel to make the play calls).

Another possibility I believe is worth entertaining would be Lee Owens, the current head coach of Ashland. Similar to Glen Mason, Owens formerly served as an offensive line coach at Ohio State and has designed offenses comparable to what Tressel prefers - a strong running game, with an efficient passing game that limits mistakes.

Again, keep in mind what I wrote up above - Jim Bollman serves as both the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator. With their respective backgrounds, either Glen Mason or Lee Owens could serve that dual role going forward into 2010.

2. Recruit Quarterbacks Of Comparable Style Consistently: During Tressel's career at Ohio State, these are the players he has recruited at quarterback - Justin Zwick, Troy Smith, Todd Boeckman, Joe Bauserman, Rob Schoenhoft, Antonio Henton, Terrelle Pryor, and Ken Guiton. Looking at that list, I would classify Zwick, Boeckman, Bauserman, and Schoenhoft as traditional drop-back passers, while Smith, Henton, Pryor, and Guiton would be classified as dual-threat quarterbacks.

The reason I bring this up is it seems as though Ohio State under Tressel has failed to establish what their offensive identity is, and one needs to look no further than the important quarterback position. When it seems as though every other recruiting class has different styles of quarterbacks, how can one expect to establish an offensive identity or rhythm?

While I respect Jim Tressel's style of building his teams around the talent he recruits, perhaps a new offensive coordinator can definitively recruit a mobile quarterback who can run Tressel's ball control offense. The logic of this approach would be that Ohio State would be able to essentially run the same offense, no matter if the quarterback suffers an injury or is ineffective.

In his book The Winners Manual, Coach Tressel wrote, “Success is the inner satisfaction and peace of mind that come from knowing I did the best I was capable of doing for the group.” At the conclusion of the 2009 season, it will bear watching to see what decisions Coach Tressel will or will not make that he believes will be best for his group, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Can Jim Tressel Revive Ohio State's Offense In The Short-Term?

"Abominable". "Ugly". "Apoplectic". These are quoted words from a live game blog from bucknuts.com, an Ohio State-oriented website, to describe Ohio State's performance against Purdue. The official Ohio State athletic website used the term "dismal" to describe the same game. There have been worse losses in bowl games under Jim Tressel, but the 26-18 loss to Purdue may rank as the worst regular season loss in Tressel's tenure.

Ohio State's record now stands at 5-2, 3-1 in conference play. Ohio State has remaining games with Minnesota, New Mexico State, at Penn State, Iowa, and at Michigan. It is entirely possible, based upon Ohio State's offensive performances this season, that it will only win one or two more games.

How can Jim Tressel possibly turn Ohio State's offense, and season, around? Here are some suggestions for short-term changes that Tressel and his offensive staff can implement. The next article offers some suggestions for the long-term.

Short Term Suggestions
1. Go to a four wideout set with Brandon Saine in the backfield with Terrelle Pryor: It is painfully obvious that Ohio State's offensive line, especially at the tackle positions, struggles tremendously with pass protection. Terrelle Pryor suffered through four turnovers, two of which were fumbles that took place while Pryor was being sacked. Going to a four wideout set, with WRs DeVier Posey, Dane Sanzenbacher, Ray Small, and Duron Carter, will accomplish two things for Ohio State right away.

First, it will spread out opposing defenses, leaving the opposing secondaries in one-on-one situations that perhaps Pryor can exploit. Secondly, in the event that teams blitz or pressure Pryor, he can take off running for positive yardage. That leads to my second point, which is to...

2. Let Terrelle Pryor Be Terrelle Pryor: Ohio State fans are tired of hearing about Pryor's quarterback development, or lack thereof. Any and all talk of Pryor developing as a passing quarterback need to be completely shelved. Here is the reality of Terrelle Pryor's eventual NFL future - it will not be at quarterback.

Pryor has reputed 4.3 speed and is 6'6", 240 lbs. It is time for Ohio State to use Pryor in the manner and fashion that made Pryor such a highly recruited player out of Jeannette, PA.

Using Pryor as more of a runner instead of a passer will help move the chains and maintain Ohio State's time of possession, where Ohio State is struggling. Instead of making Pryor the focal point of the offense, I would...

3. Make Brandon Saine The Focal Point Of Ohio State's Offense: While Ohio State struggled offensively against Purdue and against Wisconsin, Brandon Saine stood out to me as the only consistent offensive threat. Saine is not the stereotypical Ohio State running back Jim Tressel has typically relied upon, like predecessors Chris "Beanie" Wells, Maurice Clarett, or Jonathan Wells.

While Brandon Saine may not necessarily run people over, Saine's abilities seem to fit better into what Ohio State could be doing with Terrelle Pryor at the helm. Brandon Saine holds the Ohio high school record for the 100 meter dash (10.38) and is a dependable receiver out of the backfield.

Going back to my first suggestion, by having Saine as the lone running back in the backfield with Pryor, it opens up several possibilities. Saine could be sent in motion, as Ohio State could try to isolate Saine against a linebacker or safety. With Saine's speed, that is another mismatch for Pryor to exploit. Another possibility would be to...

4. Incorporate Lamaar Thomas More Into The Offense: While Lamaar Thomas has been used on special teams as a return specialist, Thomas was recruited out of high school as arguably one of the fastest players in the country . Using Lamaar Thomas as a slot receiver, or even in the same type of role as Brandon Saine as a receiver out of the backfield, is a mismatch Ohio State has not used yet. Another mismatch that Ohio State could take advantage of would be to...

5. Use Jake Stoneburner At Tight End More: Stoneburner has battled leg injuries so far this season, but he would be a receiving tight end along the lines of former Wisconsin tight end Travis Beckum. Isolating Stoneburner on a linebacker would be another mismatch for Ohio State to exploit. Stoneburner could also be a threat on the goal line in jump ball scenarios.

These are short-term suggestions that Jim Tressel and his offensive coaching staff could possibly implement immediately. My next article will suggest some long-term changes that Jim Tressel could contemplate after the season.

Purdue Gives Ohio State An Unwanted "Valentin", 26-18

Instant Analysis: Just when Ohio State fans felt that they had witnessed an offensive debacle last weekend against Wisconsin, the offense came out and laid an even bigger egg against Purdue, losing 26-18 in West Lafayette, Ind.

The loss tremendously damages Ohio State's hopes of winning the Big Ten and earning a Rose Bowl berth. This loss also was Ohio State's first loss to a non-BCS bowl opponent, since the 2004 loss, also at Purdue .

More importantly, this loss will only serve to intensify the completely justifiable criticism towards Jim Tressel, QB Terrelle Pryor, and Ohio State's offensive line.

Ohio State suffered throughout the entire game with five turnovers and numerous penalties. Almost from the onset, Ohio State never seemed to be in synch offensively with Pryor fumbling during the first set of offensive downs for Ohio State.

Pryor made it interesting at the end, throwing a desperation touchdown pass to DeVier Posey and running for a two-point conversion.

Pryor's frustrations with the inadequate pass protection could be seen on Ohio State's last offensive possession, with Jim Tressel being seen trying to calm Pryor down before Ohio State attempted a play on 4th and 14.

Purdue deserved to win this game as they completely dominated Ohio State in every phase of the game.

WR Aaron Valentin was especially effective throughout this game, scoring two touchdowns. Unlike Ohio State, Purdue's offense kept Ohio State's defense off-balance and was efficient enough to score 26 points.

Where does Ohio State go from here? With a homecoming game next week against a resurgentMinnesota team, as well as a tough November schedule that calls for games at Penn State, Iowa, and at Michigan, it is not beyond reason that Ohio State could be playing in one of the lower-tier Big Ten bowl games.

Purdue Has "Hope" For An Upset Over Ohio State

Game Seven: Purdue Boilermakers

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium (West Lafayette, IN) 12:00PM EST, The Big Ten Network

Head Coach: Danny Hope

Purdue Players Who Were Recruited By Ohio State: N/A. Purdue WR DB Royce Adams was interested in Ohio State, but never offered a scholarship by Ohio State.

Purdue Rushing Offense vs Ohio State Defense: Purdue ranks 6th in the Big Ten at a little over 145 yards per game, while Ohio State's rushing defense ranks 2nd in the Big Ten at allowing only a little over 89 yards per game. Purdue sophomore RB Ralph Bolden has been impressive at times this season, averaging nearly 100 yards per game.

Considering how Ohio State was able to slow down Wisconsin RBs John Clay and Zach Brown last weekend, I believe Ohio State will be able to contain Ralph Bolden. Ohio State's defensive linemen and linebackers are the strength of this Ohio State squad. I look for Ohio State to play more of a nickel defense, playing S Anderson Russell more as a nickel linebacker versus playing LB Austin Spitler who is more of a traditional linebacker.

Edge: Ohio State

Purdue Passing Offense vs Ohio State Defense: Purdue's passing offense ranks 2nd in the Big Ten with 265 yards per game, while Ohio State's pass defense efficiency ranks 3rd in the Big Ten at allowing nearly 183 yards per game. Purdue QB Joey Elliott is leading the Big Ten in total offense at nearly 284 yards per game, but has already thrown 9 interceptions this season.

Considering how effective Ohio State's defense was able to pressure Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien last week (6 sacks), I will be watching to see how Purdue handles the Ohio State pass rush. Elliott will have to get rid of the ball quickly - his favorite target is WR Keith Smith, who Ohio State will probably match up against CB Chimdi Chekwa. I have to give the edge to Ohio State, based upon their performances the last few weeks defensively.

Edge: Ohio State

Ohio State Rushing Offense vs Purdue Defense: Ohio State's rushing offense ranks 4th in the Big Ten at a little over 172 yards per game, while Purdue's rush defense ranks 10th in the Big Ten at allowing a little over 167 yards per game.

Ohio State will be relying on junior RB Brandon Saine, who will be making another start in lieu of the injured Daniel "Boom" Herron. Saine will share the load with freshman RB Jordan Hall, and redshirt freshman RB Jermil Martin. Considering how Ohio State struggled to establish any running game last week against Wisconsin, I look for Ohio State to concentrate on this area of their offense.

Edge: Ohio State

Ohio State Passing Offense vs Purdue Defense: Ohio State's passing offense ranks last in the Big Ten (is there any Ohio State fan surprised with that one?) at a little over 166 yards per game, while Purdue's pass defense efficiency ranks 5th in the Big Ten at allowing a little over 212 yards per game.

It would be charitable to say that QB Terrelle Pryor struggled last week against Wisconsin. It will be curious to see if the Ohio State coaching staff tries to put Pryor into passing situations comparable to their successful two-minute drill at the end of the first half last week against Wisconsin.

Look for Purdue to try to defend Pryor the same way Wisconsin did, by trying to keep Pryor in the pocket and not allow him to get outside on the perimeter. Until Ohio State's offense shows that it can handle that type of defense, every Big Ten team will look to emulate Wisconsin's success.

Edge: Purdue

Special Teams: Purdue's Aaron Valentin is leading the Big Ten in punt returns with an average of nearly 14 yards per return. Purdue's PK Carson Wiggs kicked a 53 yard field goal last season against Ohio State, and has kicked a 59 yard field goal so far this season.

Ohio State's Ray Small exploded with a 96 yard kickoff return that helped Ohio State maintain momentum last week against Wisconsin. PK Aaron Pettrey is leading the Big Ten in scoring, and has kicked a 52 yard field goal this season.

Edge: Even

Intangibles: As I wrote previously, the last time Ohio State lost to a non-BCS bowl opponent was back in 2004 at Purdue. The 2002 Ohio State/Purdue game was one for the ages, where Ohio State had to rally with a "Holy Buckeye!" pass to hold onto their national championship hopes.

Purdue is 1-5, and has nothing to lose. This is the type of game that it would be easy for Ohio State to look past Purdue. Purdue played both Oregon and Notre Dame down to the wire, and I believe will be giving this one everything they have to pull off the upset.

Slight Edge: Purdue

Prediction: Even with Ohio State's offensive struggles this season, I look for Ohio State's defense to shut down Purdue by the middle of the 3rd quarter, if not sooner. Ohio State's defense has tremendous depth and speed, and will be too much for Purdue to handle.

I am going to go with Ohio State 35, Purdue 14 as Terrelle Pryor looks to rebound from his tough game against Wisconsin.

A Look Back At Ohio State & Purdue, 2004

November 13, 2004, will probably not go down in Ohio State history as a date to remember by Ohio State fans, or even Purdue fans. For the record, Ohio State lost at Purdue 24-17 in Ross-Ade Stadium. Ohio State fell to a 6-4 record, and was in the midst of arguably Jim Tressel's worst season since Tressel became Ohio State's head coach in 2001.

Why am I bringing up a loss to Purdue? Here's the answer - November 13, 2004 was the last time Ohio State lost a game to a non-BCS opponent.

By the time Ohio State and Purdue kick off on Saturday afternoon on October 17, 2009, it will have been 1799 days, nearly a five year span, since the last time Ohio State lost to a team that did not appear in a BCS bowl game.

How does that compare to the other top-ranked teams in college football, you ask? Let us take a look at the teams ranked ahead of Ohio State, seeing when was the last time these teams lost to a non-BCS bowl participant, to put this in perspective ~

# 1 Florida: Currently undefeated, Florida lost last season to unranked Ole Miss at home 31-30 on September 27, 2008, or 385 days ago from this coming Saturday.

# 2 Alabama: Currently undefeated, Alabama lost 17-10 at Auburn on November 24, 2007, or 693 days from this coming Saturday.

# 3 Texas: Currently undefeated, Texas lost 39-33 to Texas Tech on the last play of the game on November 1, 2008, or 350 days ago from this coming Saturday. Texas Tech did wind up playing in The Cotton Bowl last season, as did Ole Miss, but we all know that The Cotton Bowl was not considered a BCS game last season.

# 4 Virginia Tech: Currently with one loss to # 2 ranked Alabama, Virginia Tech lost 16-14 at Miami (FL) on November 13, 2008, or 338 days ago from this coming Saturday.

# 5 Boise State: Currently undefeated and mentioned as a possible "BCS Buster" this season, Boise State technically last lost to a non-BCS opponent last bowl season in The Poinsettia Bowl to # 11 TCU 17-16 on December 23, 2008.

Considering both Boise State and TCU were undefeated but relegated to The Poinsettia Bowl, I am willing to dig deeper. Boise State's last non-BCS loss occurred in The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl to East Carolina 41-38 on December 23, 2007, or 664 days from this coming Saturday.

# 6 USC: Currently ranked one spot ahead of Ohio State (and deservedly so, I might add, due to USC's victory over Ohio State), USC lost to unranked Washington 16-13 on September 19, 2009, or 28 days ago from this coming Saturday.

To be fair to both USC and Washington, it is entirely possible that Washington could still win The Pac-10. Looking further, USC lost at Oregon State 27-21 on September 25, 2008, or 387 days ago from this coming Saturday.

Critics like to point out Ohio State's shortcomings in recent bowl games, or even this season against USC. One thing to keep in mind - Ohio State under Jim Tressel will never overlook any opponent; the evidence is clear from the fact that Ohio State has not lost to a team considered to be a weaker opponent in nearly five years.

Win the games you are supposed to win. That is a lesson these other top programs unfortunately have had to learn in the all-too-recent past, unlike Ohio State.

Ohio State Looks To Hand Wisconsin Its First 2009 Loss

Game Six: Wisconsin Badgers

Location: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH) 3:30PM EST, ABC

Head Coach: Bret Bielema

Wisconsin Players Who Were Recruited By Ohio State: RB John Clay, OL Josh Oglesby, WR Kraig Appleton, DE Pat Muldoon. Lesser Extent - OL Jake Bscherer, OL Bill Nagy, WR Kyle Jefferson, CB Prince Moody.

Wisconsin Rushing Offense vs Ohio State Defense: Wisconsin is leading The Big Ten in rushing offense with a little over 217 yards per game, while Ohio State's run defense ranks first in The Big Ten at allowing a little over 83 yards per game. This will be the key match-up for this game and could be the key factor in determining the winner of the game.

Wisconsin's rushing attack is led by big John Clay with 582 yards this season; Clay is averaging 5.2 yards per carry. At 6'2" and 250 lbs, Clay is truly a load to bring down. Clay is helped in the running game by Zack Brown, who does not have the physical dimensions of John Clay but is still averaging 4.1 yards per carry behind the traditionally massive Wisconsin offensive line. Brown has had some fumbling problems in recent games, so it will be interesting to see how much he plays against Ohio State. Keep an eye on #68 Gabe Carimi for Wisconsin, as he is arguably Wisconsin's best offensive lineman. Wisconsin is the most effective team in The Big Ten in red zone offensive efficiency.

Ohio State's defensive line is fast and deep, led by senior DE Doug Worthington and junior DE Thaddeus Gibson. Ohio State rotates interior defensive linemen, such as Todd Denlinger, Cameron Heyward, Robert Rose, and true freshman John Simon. Losing an interior lineman such as Dexter Larimore with a knee sprain for this game will test Ohio State's depth tremendously. Ohio State's linebackers, led by junior MLB Brian Rolle, will be tested by Wisconsin's massive offensive line. I want to see how senior LB Austin Spitler plays against Wisconsin.

Edge: Even. Ohio State has been playing very well defensively since and including the USC game, but Wisconsin's running game may be Ohio State's biggest test yet. The loss of Larimore for this game makes me call this one even. As I wrote up above, this is the key match-up for the game.

Wisconsin Passing Offense vs Ohio State Defense: In years past, Wisconsin's passing game has not been nearly effective. Behind the play of QB Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin is leading The Big Ten in passing efficiency. Tolzien has been completing nearly 66% of his passes and has thrown 9 touchdowns versus 3 interceptions so far this season. Wisconsin's leading receivers are WR Nick Toon and TE Garrett Graham.

Ohio State will welcome back the return of senior captain and safety Kurt Coleman from a one game suspension. Ohio State's secondary currently ranks second in The Big Ten in pass defense efficiency. I will be curious to see if Ohio State will cover Garrett Graham with a linebacker such as Ross Homan or if they will bring in Anderson Russell as a nickel defensive back.

Edge: Even. As I have written up above, Wisconsin is very effective in the red zone and has been playing well offensively both running and passing. Ohio State is the first big defensive test this Wisconsin team will have faced so far this season.

Ohio State Rushing Offense vs Wisconsin Defense: Ohio State's rushing offense ranks third in The Big Ten with nearly 189 yards per game, while Wisconsin's rushing defense ranks seventh in The Big Ten with allowing 128 yards per game. Ohio State will return RB Daniel "Boom" Herron from an ankle injury that kept Herron out of the game last week versus Indiana. I look for RB Brandon Saine, who had a career game against Indiana, to start against Wisconsin.

I look for Wisconsin to employ a defensive strategy similar to what USC attempted by stacking eight or nine in the box, daring Ohio State to win through the air. Ohio State has abandoned its traditional I-formation and has been using spread formations to help get their running game going.

Edge: Ohio State. Brandon Saine looks to be the best running back on the Ohio State roster, and I believe this may be his most pivotal game yet as a Buckeye. QB Terrelle Pryor's impact as a runner will also play a part in this game as well on designed quarterback draws and option plays.

Ohio State Passing Offense vs Wisconsin Defense: Ohio State ranks last in The Big Ten in passing offense, while Wisconsin's pass defense ratings rank eighth. Terrelle Pryor had a solid game last week against Indiana, throwing three touchdowns. Pryor's favorite targets are WR Dane Sanzenbacher and WR DeVier Posey.

Wisconsin's defense is led by DL O'Brien Schofield, who is leading The Big Ten in sacks and tackles for loss. The Wisconsin secondary, led by CB Jay Valai, are fearsome tacklers, as Ohio State's Sanzenbacher and Herron discovered last season in Camp Randall Stadium.

Edge: Wisconsin. With the news that several Ohio State offensive linemen have been battling the flu this week, I believe this will give Wisconsin the edge at disrupting Ohio State's passing game. Terrelle Pryor may need to step up in the pocket to avoid sacks; look for Wisconsin to assign a spy on Pryor to negate Pryor's rushing threat.

Special Teams: Ohio State's kickoff coverage ranks second in The Big Ten, while Wisconsin is right behind. Ohio State K Aaron Pettrey may be making his coaches nervous with his missed kicks last week against Indiana. Wisconsin's Brad Nortman ranks fourth in The Big Ten in punting while Wisconsin's Philip Welch is doing a solid job on field goals for the Badgers.

Edge: Even. Both teams place a tremendous emphasis on special teams.

Intangibles: Jim Tressel is 1-2 against Wisconsin in Ohio Stadium. Wisconsin has traditionally been a challenging opponent for Ohio State, going back to the Earle Bruce and John Cooper regimes. With a 3:30pm kickoff, and first place in The Big Ten standings, this is as big as it gets for the Ohio State home crowd.

Edge: Ohio State

Prediction: Just like last season, and almost every game during Jim Tressel's career against Wisconsin, I look for this one to come down to the wire. Jim Tressel is 3-3 against Wisconsin, but I look for Ohio State's defensive speed to be the difference in this one against the Badgers. It should be late in the 4th quarter, but I'm going to go with Ohio State 24, Wisconsin 21.

Wisconsin Has Badgered Ohio State's Home In Tressel Era

On October 10th at 3:30pm EST, Ohio State will take the field against the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers. While this game will help to determine the eventual Big Ten champion, I will be anxious to see if another small, possibly overlooked record can be evened out - Jim Tressel's home record against Wisconsin.

Jim Tressel has an even record against Wisconsin, having defeated Wisconsin three times (2002, 2007, and 2008), while also losing three times (2001, 2003, and 2004). Surprisingly, Tressel has had more success against Wisconsin on the road than in Ohio Stadium.

In 2001, Ohio State blew a seventeen point lead and lost to Wisconsin, 20-17. That was during the first year of the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State.

In 2004, Ohio State blew a ten point lead to Wisconsin, losing 24-13. This loss ended Ohio State's eighteen game home winning streak in Ohio Stadium.

In 2007, Ohio State was able to defeat Wisconsin in Ohio Stadium 38-17. This was the first time the teams faced each other since the 2004 season, due to The Big Ten's rotating schedule.

Will Jim Tressel be able to even up his home record against Wisconsin? We shall see on Saturday afternoon.