-Ohio State also leads the nation in turnover margin at plus-7, and have three pick-sixes on the season already.
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Scheduling future games – especially between two college heavyweights – isn’t a simple process.
No. 1 Alabama (minus 10) at No. 19 Mississippi – The last team to beat one of Nick Saban’s squads three straight seasons was Purdue (1997-99) when he was Michigan State coach.
The Sooners are looking for a return trip to the college football playoff, following losing to Clemson a season ago.
And if any of the Sooners, Rebels or Fighting Irish loses on Saturday, all will try to convince themselves that they will become the first two-loss team to make the playoff.
If Ohio State wins, it will contain either Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield or its two-pronged running game with Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. Maryland’s Perry Hills enters his game at UCF completing a Big Ten-best 73 percent of his passes. “We’re not focusing on that, but it does have the potential to affect later on in the season”.
The storied programs will meet Saturday for just the third time. Oklahoma won that game 65-21. Ole Miss had a 38-13 win against FCS Wofford last week, but the Rebels are still reeling from the meltdown they experienced against Florida State in Week 1. Ohio State and Oklahoma are two national brands and they haven’t played a lot, which makes it particularly exciting for our student-athletes and our fans. “They’re exciting for everybody”. Whether it was with Tim Tebow’s QB power runs, Carlos Hyde and Ezekiel Elliott destroying the A-gap, and now Mike Weber; Meyer wants to set the tone by running the ball before mixing in finesse play calls.
It’s a game that needs no more hype, but we got a little extra anyway.
BOWLING GREEN – The Bowling Green State University football team will not face an identical twin when Middle Tennessee comes to Doyt Perry Stadium today for a noon contest. “Half of it was real and half of it was made up”, Meyer once said. They had so much speed they could out-run the numerous turnovers that came with the wishbone offense they used. “Just the trust I had in [coach Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley], the stability here”. Mayfield is one of the best distributors of the ball in the country and that ability mixed with his athleticism make him a very risky dual-threat passer.
Austin Kendall doesn’t think Ohio State’s defense is very exotic (Getty). Up until this week, the Buckeyes have done a good job of rotating players in at the WR position. No matter what they do, they’ll have a tough time topping their original showdown. Mayfield occasionally struggles with forcing throws, so he’ll need to be careful against such an aggressive unit. “That’s where the crowd becomes a big factor”. He’s a matchup problem who could create openings for his teammates.
What’s on the line? Houston is one of the most efficient runners in college football, even dating back to last season.
Ohio State is a run-first offense, which bodes well for OU. While Oklahoma’s front seven held its own in the opener, its secondary surrendered 321 passing yards.
By the third week in August, Oklahoma’s defense was in game-planning mode. Perine and Mixon form one of the top running back combos in the country, and Perine’s power and Mixon’s versatility form the ideal complement. The German-born kicker executed a successful onside kick in the final minutes, then nailed the game-winning field goal from 41 yards out with three seconds remaining.
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