When it was pointed out that the defense has not given up a touchdown this season, Ohio State linebacker and leading tackler Raekwon McMillan said, “We don’t like field goals, either”. “The other side of that is they got to see how you want to play it, so they get to make their adjustments as well”. He still threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns.
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Q: What is the case for an Ohio State victory over the Sooners? The Cougars beat Oklahoma 33-23 in the season opener. But it’s the first game against Houston – the only real competition we have on which to judge OU’s offense – that should worry OU fans. Once again Evens turned the ball over and this time it was to defensive back Marshon Lattimore who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. That talk has died down after the Sooners’ loss to Houston, but Mayfield has an innate knack for making plays, especially when forced to improvise.
Trend: Oklahoma is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games in September.
Ohio State coaches expressed concern this week about getting so many young players ready for the first away game in a hostile atmosphere against another top-tier team.
You may recall that I had ranked this game at Oklahoma as the toughest game on Ohio State’s 2016 schedule.
Q: What about Oklahoma concerns the Ohio State coaches the most?
Despite starting off their national title defense a year ago with a 10-0 SU record, the Buckeyes were just 4-6 ATS and never looked as sharp as they did in 2014.
And the game has two marquee quarterbacks.
You will notice No. 91 for Houston comes up field too quickly on this play, which allows Mixon to break loose. Overrated. Ohio State will deliver a swift yet vengeful fist to the Sooners’ jaw on Saturday night. This could be hard for them to do, because the Oklahoma tackles have struggled with a good pass rush so far this season. Unless our man Kendall, Oklahoma’s newfound and self-proclaimed savior, plans on suiting up as a pass rusher of some sort, that improvement won’t be happening. I would not be shocked to see the Buckeyes put a spy on Mayfield early on to try and keep him contained. And its chances against Ohio State?
When the ball isnt out quickly, Mayfield can be even more unsafe.
“They’ve got good players at every spot and they’re coached well, which is obvious”, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said this week. Some people would say luck might play a role, but Barrett isn’t among them.
While Samuel is lightning in a bottle for the Buckeyes offense, Weber is more of a thundering runner at 5-foot-10 212 pounds.
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The Buckeyes must also be aware of Perine out of the backfield. The Oklahoma Sooners already had their awful game this season, and are looking to get back into the Top 10, and back into national title contention.
