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BLOCK-O-NATION
  
Marshall @ #2 Ohio State
@

 For the first time in 13 years Ohio State will be playing a game on a weekday.  It might be strange for the Buckeye faithful, but it is doubtful to curb any of the enthusiasm that is building around the 121st edition of Ohio State football.

On the other sideline will be long-time assistant and first-time head coach Doc Holliday and his Thundering Herd of mystery.

There is a lot of mystery about what Marshall will be bringing to the field on Thursday night.  A new coaching staff at Marshall has had the OSU coaches chasing game tape from South Dakota to NC State to WVU to Florida and back again in an attempt to prepare for what type of system Marshall will be running.

All we know for sure is that 100,000 plus fans will be practically salivating at the thought of actual college football being played.  It should be a great scene in The Shoe.

When Marshall has the ball : Senior QB Brian Anderson will attempt to mesh his previous experience in a pro-style offense with what will likely be more of a spread offense this season at Marshall.  He has an experience offensive line to help him along the way with 3 seniors and 2 juniors starting in front of him.
Behind Anderson are 2 young RB's thanks to the departure of Darius Marshall after his junior season.  Combined Andre Booker and Martin Ward gained fewer than 500 yards of total offense last season, but it is now their turn to step up.
WR is a bright spot for Marshall with sophomore Antavious Wilson and senior Chuck Walker returning after 60 and 33 reception seasons respectively.  Wilson was a CUSA All Freshman team member in 2009.
Marshall will have to improve on their 81st ranked total offense in 2009 to threaten Ohio State because the Buckeyes appear loaded on defense.
Led by seniors Cameron Heyward, Ross Homan, Brian Rolle, Dexter Larimore, Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence the Buckeyes are very experienced on defense.  As a unit the Buckeyes were 5th nationally in both scoring and total defense last season with a lot of the same players returning.  Look for the front seven to give Marshall a very hard time on Thursday night.

When Ohio State has the ball : Pre-season Heisman Trophy favorite and junior QB Terrelle Pryor will lead the "new look" Buckeye offense onto the field.  With Miami FL looming in Week 2 it is doubtful that too much of the "new look" will be on display against Marshall. 
Pryor is surrounded by tons of experience as well.  His offensive line is all junior and seniors as are his skill position players minus sophomore TE Jake Stoneburner. 
In the backfield Brandon Saine and Dan Herron are the 2 headed monster that should get most of the carries, but also look for Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry and Carlos Hyde to have a chance to play Thursday.
Stoneburner will be a target for Pryor, but most of the passes will likely be thrown to DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher who combined for 95 catches 14 touchdowns in 2009.  This could be a chance for a 3rd WR to step up and stake a claim to the position for OSU.
Mario Harvey will undoubtedly be very active for Marshall coming off a 117 tackle 7 sack season at LB in 2009.  Defensive lineman Vinny Curry will need to be disruptive in the OSU backfield to keep the Buckeyes out of sync. Omar Brown leads the secondary for the Thundering Herd at Free Safety.

Special Teams : Opposite scenarios exist in the kicking game for these teams.  Ohio State returns kicker Devin Barclay and brings in a new punter with Ben Buchanan, while Marshall returns punter Kase Whitehead and brings in a new kicker with Tyler Warner.

Position Breakdown
Quarterback : Advantage Ohio State
Running back : Advantage Ohio State
Wide Receiver : Push
Offensive Line : Advantage Ohio State
Defensive Line : Advantage Ohio State
Linebackers : Advantage Ohio State
Secondary : Advantage Ohio State
Special Teams : Push
Coaching : Advantage Ohio State

Prediction : Ohio State 33 - Marshall 10



Rating

COMMENTS

nice write up. I think Mr. Bucknuts prdicted 34-10. Are u aware of that?

posted @ Monday, August 30, 2010 1:58 PM by Fear the Nut

Didn't know that. I don't go to Bucknuts much. More of an Eleven Warriors visitor.

posted @ Monday, August 30, 2010 2:04 PM by Maestro

Great preview. I think you probably hit it pretty close, although with that defense I'll be surprised to see the Buckeyes give up 10.

posted @ Monday, August 30, 2010 5:12 PM by GoldenEagles98

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