Drew Thurman (11:44 am)

Mascot: Boilermakers

Stadium: Ross-Ade Stadium (62,500)

Coach: Joe Tiller (124-87-1, 12th year at Purdue, 85-57)

2007 Record: 8-5 (Won Motor City Bowl over Central Michigan 51-48)

2008 Record: 2-3

Base Offense: Ace (3 Wideouts)

Base Defense: 4-3

Lettermen: Returning - 41, Lost - 23

Returning Starters: Offense - 6, Defense - 6, Specialists - 1

Stars: RB Cory Sheets, QB Curtis Painter, LB Anthony Heygood

Cheerleaders:

Notable Alumni:

Neil Armstrong - First man on the moon
Bob Griese - Hall of Fame quarterback and ABC announcer
Orville Redenbacher - Popcorn mogul
John Wooden - Legendary basketball coach
Drew Brees - NFL quarterback

Purdue Overview:

The Boilermakers come into Ohio Stadium on Saturday a very disappointed team. They have a 2-3 overall record, and have lost their last two games to Notre Dame (4-1) and Penn State (6-0). The schedule has been pretty tough so far for Purdue, but the only quality win they have is over Central Michigan (3-2).

The offense has been a frustrating part of the losses thus far, especially in the loss to Penn State when they had only 241 yards in the game. This left Tiller and company so frustrated that they actually benched senior quarterback Curtis Painter to play Joey Elliott. Painter is the leader of this offense though, and has already been named the starter against the Buckeyes. So far Painter has 1225 yards passing with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Painter is only completing 57.6 percent of his passes though, which is the lowest since his freshman year with the Boilermakers.

Painter has two main targets he will hit a lot at wideout in Desmond Tardy (393 yards, 2 TD) and Greg Orton (330 yards, 1 TD). Tardy is the man to watch with his average of 15.7 a reception. Painter will also hit a whole host of other targets including Keith Smith (198 yards, 1 TD) and running back Kory Sheets (139 yards, 0 TD). Look for Sheets to play a big role in this game running the ball as well. He is averaging just under 100 yards a game, and has 508 total rushing yards with eight touchdowns. If Sheets gets outside he can bust the long one at anytime.

More disappointing than their offense has to be the play of their defense. So far, the Boilermakers are letting opposing offenses average 435 yards a game against them. The worst part is their running defense which has given up 196 yards a game. It is also important to note that the Boilermaker defense has only forced six turnovers so far in five games.

With all that said, expect to hear the name of linebacker Anthony Heygood a lot in this game. He has 44 tackles on the season, a forced fumble, and a interception. The other two men to watch on the defense is safety Tori Williams (33 tackles) and linebacker Joe Holland (33 tackles).

Prediction:

On Saturday you are going to see a very upset and angry Boilermaker team. How much of the outcome this actually alters no one knows, but I think very little outside of a personal foul penalty or two. On offense the game plan will be very simple; run, run, and run it some more. If Beanie stays healthy watch him bust several long runs against a poor tackling Boilermaker unit. His health is important though with Boom Herron's absence this week! I also expect to see Terrelle Pryor exploit this defense on numerous levels. Look for him to run early, and then look for the open man down field while extending plays. Also watch for Robiskie and Hartline to get involved in a big way like they did against Minnesota. Pryor seems very comfotable in Ohio Stadium, and I think he has another big day in the Shoe on Saturday.

On defense I think the Buckeyes have to target Kory Sheets above everything else. He is the heartbest of the Boilermaker offense, and can bust a long play if the defense does not tackle well in space. Look for the Buckeyes to shut him down up the middle, but I expect some success for Sheets on pitches and screens. It will also be important not to give Curtis Painter any early success. He along with the Boilermaker offense are rattled thanks to the poor start to the season, and I think the Buckeyes will capitalize on that early. Look for the Buckeye defense to force several turnovers in this game.

Overall, I think the Buckeyes will come out strong at home in this game. Purdue will have some decent success with short slants and bubble screens in the first half, but then the Buckeye defense will make the adjustments and shut them down. This will also be a big day for Pryor and Wells. I expect the Buckeye offense to be around the 200 yard rushing mark against the Boilermakers, but don't count out the passing game. Either Robiskie or Hartline will have a day over a hundred yards and help balance the offense for Ohio State. This to me is a momentum game for the Buckeye before heading to East Lansing. I see it...

Final Score: Ohio State 35 Purdue 13

Drew Thurman (11:59 am)

The seniors in this class have been through a lot together. The highs of never losing to Michigan, beating Texas at home, and smoking Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. They have also seen the lows of the two losses in the National Championship against Florida and LSU, and the blow out at USC this fall. It has been a roller coaster ride thus far for these seniors, and they have given us a lot of excitement and a lot of frustration. The funny thing is, that is exactly how the class is made up as well. There have been many individuals that have suprised us with their development, but we have also witnessed several guys that have never become what they were hyped to be. So even though the season is not over, let's take a look...

Overachievers:

1) James Laurinaitis: Laurinaitis came in as an average three star linebacker from Plymouth, Minnesota. We quickly found out that he was anything but average. He played in all 12 games as a true freshmen behind Bobby Carpenter, and would end up replacing Carpenter in the Michigan and Notre Dame games due to Carpenter's broken ankle. He won the Nagurski Award as sophomore with 115 tackles for the Buckeyes, and then won Butkus Award as a junior with 121 tackles. He is an All-American, who obviously overacheived from day one.

2) Brian Robiskie: Like Laurinaitis, Robiskie was not a star recruit on paper for the Buckeyes. He in fact was a two star wideout coming out of high school, and many wondered why we were recruiting him. Four years later, we have to wonder where the wide receiving unit would be without him. His sophomore year he started to make a statement with 383 yards and five touchdowns. Then last season he took over the unit with 55 receptions for 935 yards, and 11 touchdowns. This season has started slow for Robiskie, but there is no doubt he has overacheived.

3) Malcolm Jenkins: Jenkins came to the Buckeyes as an unknown three star defensive back from Piscataway, New Jersey. Jenkins put himself on the map early on with appearances in 10 games as a freshman with 37 tackles. Since then, Jenkins has become one of the premiere cornerbacks in college football. Jenkins shuts down almost everyone he lines up against, and has added a lot of attitude to the defense. Not many expected Jenkins to have the career he has at Ohio State.

Others in this category:

Curtis Terry
Steve Rehring
Brandon Smith

Disappointments:

1) Jamario O'Neal: The Glenville Pipeline has been quite generous to the Buckeyes throughout the Tressel Era. When "Super Jamario" came in, many thought he was the next great Tarblooder to play for the Buckeyes. As a five star defensive back, many had high hopes for his future. It has  been a bumpy road for Jamario though. Things looked up for him during his sophomore season when he took over the starting job at safety and recorded 30 tackles for the Buckeyes. The National Championship game against Florida started his downfall though, as Jamario was exposed in coverage multiple times. Since then, he has played a very small role in the Buckeyes defensive backfield. He is huge player that can come up and make the big hit, but he always struggled in passing schemes.

2) Maurice Wells: Wells was a top running back his senior season coming out of the state of Florida with 5,955 career rushing yards and 55 touchdowns. In fact, Wells played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a senior. Despite the impressive high school statistics, he has struggled playing for the Buckeyes. Some of it has been play calling, but the Buckeyes have never really been able to use Wells' speed on the outside. He has struggled breaking tackles from day one, and has really never lived up to the hype. He has been a hard worker though, and has never complained!

Did What We Expected:

1) Alex Boone: Boone came in as one of the prize recruits in the 2005 recruiting class. He started in the U.S. Army All-American game as a senior, and many were excited for his future at Ohio State. Now in his senior year, Boone has had great moments and some alright moments. Boone has honestly not been the next Orlando Pace, but he has been a very solid player. The Buckeyes will definitely miss him at left tackle next year! With his size and athleticism, he has a bright NFL career ahead.

2) Marcus Freeman: Freeman was a high ranked (4*) linebacker coming out Huber Heights, Ohio. His career looked to be slowed down in his second year as a Buckeye with a knee injury, but Freeman is now having his third solid year after that injury. As redshirt sophomore he had 71 tackles, and then last season he broke out with 109 tackles. Freeman has always been a great athlete at the outside linebacker spot, and probably does not get as much media attention as he should. Freeman has lived up to everything we had hoped! 

Others in this category:

Rory Nicol
Ben Person
Nadar Abdallah
Todd Boeckman

Drew Thurman (4:30 pm)

Everyone knew that this game against Wisconsin was going to be a tough one. It was an extremely weird game to me, and I almost felt like we stole a win from the Badgers. Regardless the Buckeyes got the victory, and took another step forward in my opinion. Anyways, let's look at the units...

Offense:

There is no doubt that many of you probably felt the frustration about our offense that I did early in this game. After a great opening drive where we looked like world champions again, the offense continued to miss opportunites. We had great field position time and time again, and found ways to misuse the chances we had been given.

A lot of this had to do with starting a freshmen quarterback on the road. I am not downplaying Pryor's importance or talent, but he finally looked like a freshman on Saturday. Pryor held on to the ball, was very indecisive, and made a couple of sacks way worse than they should have been. I understand that he caught a few bad breaks (his hand, dropped balls, and a Sanzenbacher KO), but this was the most rattled Pryor has looked. With that said, Pryor made up for his mediocre start with a very impressive closing drive. You may be able to credit that drive to Beanie's comments to Pryor. This is what he said:

"I said, 'It's a man's world right now, and he's taking a step into manhood right now,''' said Wells, who had a 33-yard TD run in the first quarter. 'He said he was ready.''' (ohiostatebuckeyes.com)

It obviously had an impact, as Pryor led the offense on an 80 yard drive taking up five minutes and 18 seconds. The drive was capped by an 11 yard touchdown by Terrelle Pryor himself. I really feel Pryor grew up a lot in this game, and this is so evident by his final drive. He really is a special player.

Another special player in this game was obviously Beanie Wells. Without him, we really would not have had a chance to win. His 168 yards and a touchdown carried the Buckeyes to victory. His two longs runs helped put up 10 of the 20 points the Buckeyes scored in the game, and Wisconsin really did not have an answer for him.

Overall, the Buckeyes offense did just enough. Quite honestly if this offense cannot put up more than 17 points in a game, they do not deserve to win. Outside of Beanie, this offensive still has a lot of work to do. They had almost the exact amount of offensive output as the Badgers (327 yards to 326 yards), and this offense is way better than that. Hopefully Pryor and the wideouts can get more in sync like they did on the last drive, and not put do much pressure on Beanie's shoulders.

Defense:

The defense's performance in this game has been a hot topic on a lot of boards, and I really do not understand why. (1) On the road (2) in a hostile atmosphere (3) against a good team, our defense gave us every chance to win. It is quite obviously that our defensive line is not the best, but we have known this since week one. Even still, this defense did a lot of things well. First, they limited the big play. Outside of the 35 yard pass at the end of the first half, the Buckeyes kept the Badgers in check. This is especially impressive when you realize that they had to deal with two 230 pound running backs. Unlike Beanie on the other side of the ball, Clay and Hill were never given the chance to break one long. 

Second, let's give some credit to the Wisconsin play calling. Wisconsin strayed from the vanilla play calling after the first few drives, and really kept the defense on its toes. They mixed in a lot of short passes, a variety of touches for David Gilreath, and even some two back formations with Clay and Hill. Even still the defense held them to 17 total points in the game and forced two turnovers. The defense played a lot better than anyone has given them credit for. What did we expect, to hold them scoreless? Maybe many don't realize the difficulty the Buckeyes have had in the past against the Badgers!   

Finally, I was very impressed especially with the linebackers in this game. Homan and Laurinaitis both had 10 tackles in the game, and really were physical throughout. I understand this is the style of offense we play better against, but the defense at least is starting to get some attitude back! 

Special Teams:

This is the best the special teams has looked all season long. First, Ryan Pretorius was 2/2 kicking field goals with a long of 34 yards. Neither one of these field goals were extremely difficult, but they were both big makes. On top of that, AJ Trapasso punted the ball the best he had all year. After a poor opening punt, Trapasso had 3 huge punts including a 67 yarder. His punts helped us win the field position war for much of this game, and it was nice to see him performing well again.

Finally, the return game looked a little sharper. Small did have a very nice 19 yard punt return, but his fumble did stop Buckeye nation's hearts. Overall though, the punt returns started to look better. On kick returns Maurice Wells really provided a spark in Herron's absense. His 35 yard return was the biggest victory the Buckeyes have had in the kick return game in quite sometime. With that said, Saine looked terrible again. There is way too much talent on this team for an injured, under performing player like Saine to be returning. Hopefully we see someone else there. 

Overall:

This game was going to be a tough one for the Buckeyes regardless, and coming out with a victory was huge. Wisconsin had the nation's second longest home winning streak and Bret Bielema had never lost at home, and still the Ohio State got the win. This team needed a victory coming out of Camp Randall, and they got one. Beanie looked strong, Pryor matured, and the defense did its job. To me this was a huge win despite of how sloppy it was. Now for Purdue...Go Bucks!

Other Reactions:

*Herron and Sanzenbacher both got rocked. Scary stuff as a fan!

*Robiskie may have had the biggest play of the game when he recovered Hartline's fumble!

*I am not sure why they chose to throw deep to a running back!

*Sabino is a blast to watch on special teams! He has big things ahead in his future.

*My predictions so far:

YSU: 42-10 (Actual 43-0)
Ohio: 45-7 (Actual 26-14)
USC: 12-28 (Actual 3-35)
Troy: 31-10 (Actual 28-10)
Minnesota: 33-16 (Actual 34-21)
Wisconsin: 23-17 (Actual 20-17)

Dave and Drew Thurman (11:40 am)

Mascot: Badgers

Stadium: Camp Randall (80,321)

Coach: Bret Bielema (3rd year at Wisconsin, 24-6 record)

2007 Record: 9-4 (Lost Outback Bowl 21-17 to Tennessee)

2008 Record: 3-1

Base Offense: Power I Formation

Base Defense: 4-3

Lettermen: Returning 48, Lost 24

Returning Starters: Offense - 8, Defense - 9, Specialists - 0 

Returning Stars: RB P.J. Hill, TE Travis Beckum, FS Shane Carter

Notable Alumni:

Alan Ameche - NFL Hall of Fame Fullback
Ron Dayne - Heisman Trophy Winner
Frank Lloyd Wright - Architect
Steve Miller - Musician
Joan Cusack - Actress
Charles Lindbergh - Aviator (Pictured Below)
Andy Katz - ESPN Columnist
Michael Mann - Film Director

Date/Time: October 4th, 8 PM (Eastern) 7 PM (Central)

Televison Info: ABC

Overview:

On offense the Badgers are very predictable. They love dominating with a big power rushing attack, which features huge offensive linemen and a down hill runner. This year is no different with the starting offensive line averaging 319 pounds per player, which is bigger than some NFL lines. Behind that line the Buckeyes are sure to see more than one power runner, actually they will see two in P.J. Hill (449 yards, 4 TD) and John Clay (191 yards, 4 TD). Just when the defense is ready to stuff the Badgers up the middle though, Wisconsin offers a speed option in Zach Brown (174 yards, 2 TD). So the Buckeyes primary objective is to slow down the rushing attack that Wisconsin offers.

With all that said, the Badgers passing attack is a lot less intimidating. Kansas State transfer Allan Evridge starts at quarterback for Wisconsin. His statistics are average at best with 752 yards passing and four touchdowns compared to three interceptions. In his defense, star tight end Travis Beckum has been injured much of the year. The third team All-American in 2007 could help both Evridge's touchdowns and completion rating for the rest of 2008.  The wideout are somewhat pedestrian, with not one receiver having more than 11 receptions this season. However both David Gilreath (139 yards, 1 TD) and ex-Tarblooder Kyle Jefferson (117 yards, 0 TD) have breakaway speed. In fact, the leading receiver thus far is tight end Garrett Graham with 154 yards and three touchdowns. So needless to say, the Buckeyes goal is to make Wisconsin beat them through the air.  

On defense, the Badgers return a very experienced unit. The strength of the defense seems to be in the secondary which features Shane Carter, who had seven interceptions in 2007 and already has two this season. Even though teams have not rushed for a great deal of yardage against the Badgers this year, their front seven does not appear to be overly intimidating. The defensive line is pretty small in comparison, and averages just 258.5 pounds per player. The linebackers aren't much bigger averaging 225 pounds per player, and depend much more on quickness than brute strength. Beanie Wells gashed them a year ago in Columbus with 169 yards and three touchdowns, and if healthy we should expect much of the same.

Prediction:

The big story in this game will be how freshman Terrelle Pryor will handle the pressure and atmosphere in Camp Randall Stadium. This is his first road test as a starter, and the brutal Badger fans will not make it easy on him. Camp Randall is always a tough place to go in and win, especially at night with a raucos crowd.

On offense expect the Buckeyes to try to establish the run first. Ohio State had 37 rushes compared to 22 passes a week ago against Minnesota, and Tressel would surely like to do much of the same this week. With that said, the Badgers will try to put eight men in the box, and make Pryor beat them through the air. With a talented secondary we should anticipate at least one mistake from the freshman quarterback. So Beanie's health is essential in this game because he the only runner that the Buckeyes have that can break though the eight in the box and take it to the house. The wild card is obviously Pryor's running ability as the Badger's have not seen a quarterback with his speed and agility yet this season. If he can keep mistakes to a minimum, break a couple of runs and hit a few big pass plays, you have to like the Buckeyes chances.

On defense there is no mystery to the Buckeyes strategy. In fact it will look very similar to the Badgers approach, with stacking the box. The key will be slowing down Hill, Clay, and Brown forcing Evridge to beat them through the air. However if the linebackers commit soley to the run, Evridge will find tight end Travis Beckum for the big play. This is a huge game for the defensive front seven, who need to be physical and cut down on missed tackles. If you can force the Badgers into throwing on long or predictable downs, you can have a field day getting to the quarterback. Last year Ohio State had 10 sacks against a very run-oriented offensive line, and Michigan exploited the same thing last week with four sacks. If the Buckeyes neutralize the run and force a couple of turnovers, they should have a great opportunity for the victory.

So overall, I think Beanie will run the ball this week 20-25 times, but don't count out Herron's impact off the bench. Like stated earlier Pryor makes a turnover in this game, yet he makes up for it with his feet and a couple of big touchdowns through the air. This will be a big day for Hartline, who has gone under the radar thus far in 2008. On the other side of the ball, expect some success for Wisconsin on the ground. In the second half though this success will be neutralized because of the need to throw the ball in a close game. When this happens look for sacks and turnovers from the Buckeye defense. This will be nail bitter, and a game that comes down the performances in the fourth quarter. Final score...

Drew has it: Ohio State 23 Wisconsin 17

Dave has it: Ohio State 24 Wisconsin 20

Drew Thurman (4:25 pm)

This week's News and Views is brought to us by the new Cincinnati Bengal Cedric Benson. The Bengals seem destined to have the most troubled players they can find on their roster. Sure they need a running back, but why bring on another player with conduct issues. Seriously, I am sure Maurice Clarett is looking for a spot on a team too. Ridiculous! Anyways, here are a few things I have been reading...

1) Drew Norman has written a solid piece over on BuckeyeXtra. He emphasizes the importance for toughness this week against Wisconsin. Not physical toughness, even though it is important, but instead mental toughness. I like the piece, let's hope the Buckeyes have that attitude come Saturday!

2) If you haven't read Tressel's comments this week, please do! There are a lot of telling things in his comments, especially on Wisconsin and what he expects. The place to read them is over on Buckeye Banter (Tressel Talk-Week 6).

3) Over on ESPN they have the article on Beanie's comments about still winning the Heisman. While I was excited to see his confidence, I was actually more impressed with his comments on Pryor. Seems they have become good friends off the field, and Beanie is very excited to be sharing the backfield with Pryor. Check the comments out..