Ohio State and Oklahoma, the top two teams in the AP’s all-time rankings, will meet Saturday with the high stakes one might expect in such a matchup.
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Such projections would need to be recalibrated if OU knocks off Ohio State, the 2014 national champion. The college football odds for the game have the Buckeyes favored by a slim margin.
Late in the fourth quarter, with only about two minutes left in the game, Oklahoma’s Mixon Peacock rushed into the endzone, posting another six for the Sooners, after a march down the field. Oklahoma is led by their quarterback Baker Mayfield.
We know these are big games because of the numbers next to the schools, conference affiliation or tradition.
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”. Outside of the impact on the 2016 national title races (or even the early Heisman discussion), these two teams have combined for 12 Associated Press national titles, 12 Heisman winners and 1,739 victories.
The Ohio State Buckeyes will travel to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Sooners in a soldout stadium on the road. The Buckeyes were hit hard by losses on both sides of the ball, including at the skill positions on offense.
Complicating the Sooners’ task is the fact that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer will be receiving insights about the Sooners’ personnel this week from Houston coach Tom Herman, his former offensive coordinator who led the sixth-ranked Cougars past OU 33-23 on opening weekend.
Then there’s pride. The programs have met twice.
The current ESPN Football Power Index has Ohio State at No. 4 in the nation and Oklahoma in the No. 7 spot. Ohio State and Oklahoma have a history. “I don’t think it’s different than any other big games like the Big Ten games we have”, he said. They’re exciting for everyone really.
“This week’s going to be amped up”, Andrews said. “They are a really good team that we are playing and they are not just good players but they are well-coached and good concepts”.
“I expected more of a battle for J.T., but he and his family go by the premise that once it’s over, it’s over”, Meyer said.
The No. 3 Buckeyes (2-0) beat Tulsa 48-3 last week and now it’s time to find out if they can past their first true test of the season against the No. 14 Sooners (1-1). Against Tulsa, he caught five passes for 62 yards and ran eight times for 78 yards.
“It’ll be a big challenge”, said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, an OH native. Mayfield isn’t as dynamic as Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett on the ground, but he can use his legs to extend plays or run to escape pressure and scramble for key yardage.
Oklahoma has a strong run game, Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine have both found the end zone this season and are averaging nearly seven yards per carry combined. OU winning this game depends on two things.
The Oklahoma Sooners (1-1) are coming from a 59-17 win over the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks in Week 2. He’s also a return man. Dontre Wilson has averaged 11.2 yards per punt return for the Buckeyes, but the Sooners have yet to settle on one guy. The Falcons and Golden Hurricane scored a total of 144 touchdowns in 2015. We’re just going to rep them and rotate them until they separate themselves. If I am not good enough to play there, then I’m not going to play there. “You’re away and in a hostile crowd and they’re trying to ice you before the kick and you’re standing there probably shaking in your cleats and what a clever thing to do to try to get involved with that”.
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By erasing Oklahoma’s running threat, Ohio State could experience the same success Houston enjoyed during their memorable upset.
