Bullz-Eye's College Football Game of the Week
09/06/2006
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We’ll be dissecting one big college football match-up every week throughout the season. The game could be a big rivalry, it could have Top-25 implications, or it could just be a battle between two powerhouse programs.
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This week’s match up: (#1) Ohio State at (#2) Texas
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
Time: 8pm ET on ABC
RESULT: Ohio State 24, Texas 7
Why to tune in:
This is without a doubt the biggest game on the college football schedule this year. Coming off a national championship, Texas was ranked #3 in the pre-season AP poll while Ohio State took over the top spot, but following their dismantling of North Texas and Notre Dame’s near-death experience against Georgia Tech, Texas heads into this match-up #2. The game took an interesting twist Tuesday when Longhorns head coach Mack Brown announced that his best CB, senior Tarell Brown, has been suspended and will not play Saturday following his arrest on misdemeanor drug and weapon charges. The fact that the Longhorns lost their starting cornerback is one thing, but losing a guy who was going to draw Ohio State’s No. 1 wide out Ted Ginn Jr., is quite another. The Buckeyes thumped Northern Illinois 35-12 in the season opener and Texas thrashed North Texas 56-7, and in doing so, freshman Colt McCoy showed Texas that he is more than capable of running the offense. Playing in Austin is obviously a huge advantage for the ‘Horns, but Ohio State plays tough games on the road every year.
When Ohio State has the ball:
Anybody thinking that the Buckeyes won’t go after any corner that is lined up against Ginn is dreaming. With Brown not suiting up Saturday, expect Ohio State to feed Ginn even more. OSU quarterback Troy Smith threw for almost 300 yards against N. Illinois last week while adding three touchdowns. Smith won’t top his 72% completion clip from last week, because Texas still boasts a solid secondary even without Brown, but he won’t have to. Watch for the Buckeyes to stick with their game plan of a balanced attack, mixing passes with Smith and pounding the ball with Antonio Pittman. The Longhorns only gave up 95 yards of total offense against N. Texas last week, so they’re not going to panic without Brown. Without their senior corner, they will have to play more zone coverage to stop OSU’s passing attack. The ‘Horns might focus on taking away one facet of the Buckeye’s game plan (most likely Ginn) and completely rely on its front seven to take away Pittman.
When Texas has the ball:
McCoy matched Smith with three touchdowns last week and added 178 yards passing, but Ohio State’s defense isn’t North Texas and the freshman will get his first official test this weekend. Still, Texas has to feel confident that McCoy can ease the transition from Vince Young. If the Buckeyes have a weakness on defense, it would be their ability to stop the run. They allowed senior runner Garrett Wolfe 6.6 yards/carry last week and will face a bigger test this week in Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young. Plus, if Ohio State decides to load up against the run, they still have to contend with 6-5 junior wide out Limas Sweed. If the duo of Charles and Young can take the pressure off McCoy, the young quarterback may have more open looks in the passing game than OSU usually allows.
Prediction:
With no disrespect to Notre Dame and USC, these are the two best teams in the country and will show that on Saturday. But both teams don’t come without their issues. The Buckeyes have to be concerned about giving up five or more yards on 10-plus rushing plays last week, including a 52-yard gain by Wolfe at the start of the fourth quarter. The thing that saved OSU last week was that they didn’t allow the opposition to reach pay dirt when they did have sizable gains on the ground, and they were very good defending the pass. If Texas is allowed to run the ball this Saturday, the Longhorns will put the ball in the end zone (unlike NIU) and they won’t even have to rely on McCoy to win the game through the air. Without Brown in the secondary, Texas is going to have a helluva time trying to stop Smith, Pittman and Ginn. Smith only ran once last weekend, because he didn’t have to. He will run this week if it’s necessary to generate more opportunities on offense, but he’s smart enough to use every weapon in his arsenal. Look for WR Anthony Gonzalez to get some more attention from Smith this weekend, and freshman running back Chris Wells should also be a factor, although probably not as much as he was last week.
Questions or comments? Send them to astalter@bullz-eye.com.